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By Nicole Roberts
What do you do as a young Christian when you hear terrorists have plane-bombed the United States? Young people from one parish – St Bernadette’s parish at Castle Hill – wrote personal prayer cards and sent
letters of sympathy to other young people in US parishes.
Youth minister, Sean Finucane, held a special night for teens and young adults following Sunday night Mass after the tragedy so the parish’s young
people could come together as a community and share their insights and offer support and prayers for those in need.
They discussed what had happened in New York and Washington, what action should be taken and
then each person wrote a letter to someone of the same age in America, expressing their thoughts and feelings about how the attack has affected them. This included where they were when they first heard the news,
their reaction, what they thought the reasons behind the attacks were and what could they do as individuals and learn from Jesus’ life to help them at this time.
“Such discussions are essential in dealing
with such an important and shocking issue rather than young people trying to put it at the back of the mind,” said Mr Finucane.
“Letter writing allowed support to be offered to those who needed it most. The
youth of America are now aware of the support that has been offered to them worldwide. The letters were sent to various parishes all over America.”
St Bernadette’s youth then sat down and wrote personal
prayer cards expressing their hopes and insights into the tragedy. Some wrote prayers for the victims killed in the attack, while others wrote prayers for world peace. Then they gathered around the cross to pray and
sing while parish priest Fr David Maguire blessed them. Prayers continued into the night.
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