evangelist n12b #2

NOVEMBER 10, 2011Volume LXXXVI • Number 2

www.evangelist.org

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SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

T H E O F F I C I A L P U B L I C A T I O N O F T H E D I O C E S E O F A L B A N Y

As our Catholic School Spotlight series nears its conclusion,we highlight St. Pius X School in Loudonville: Page 24

Words to Live ByIn his monthly column, Rev. Ron Rolheiseroffers some “mini-creeds” to anchor faith: Page 4

PRINCIPAL JAMES LEVESKAS lets students at St. Ambrose School in Lathamfeel his freshly-shaved head — a look he got after they met his fundraisingchallenge for the school. See more photos of this and the “Race forEducation” on page 15. (Nate Whitchurch photo)

FUNDRAISING = FUZZ Special Issue: Catholic TeensThis annual issue highlights the faith and activities of teens across the Albany Diocese —

including the winners of our “What’s on Your MP3 Player” contest! — Pages 7-115

BY ANGELA CAVES T A F F W R I T E R

If the members of the children’schoir hold their sheet music attheir sides, it means they don’tunderstand the words.

That’s one signal MeganSerian, 14, has learned to spot asshe co-leads the choir of smallsingers at St. Michael the Arch-angel parish in Troy.

“If they don’t understand asong, a lot of the time they’ll justnot sing,” she discovered.

The singers are more vocalwhen they’re bored, Megan said:for example, one boy made up asilly song about his fondness forsitting.

Megan and her friend OliviaKoonz, a fellow singer, actor andfreshman at Columbia HighSchool, started the group forchildren in kindergartenthrough eighth grade last year.

The two perform Broadwaytunes at area nursing homes in aparish song and dance group.“They’re excellent,” said BarbaraBerger, faith formation leader,who encouraged the girls to leadthe choir. “They’re both verypatient, very animated, very

focused.”The choir of about 23 children

has practiced every otherSunday since last month. Withhelp from the parish organistand music minister, Megan andOlivia have taught songs theychose from the hymnal andsongs the children know fromVacation Bible School or theparish’s summer sports camp.

A performance at the parishChristmas pageant is planned,and the children’s choir willeventually sing at monthly litur-gies.

“We don’t just choose songsthat sound great; rather, there’s ameaning to it,” said Ms. Berger,who’s taught the teens about theparts of the Mass.

More and more parish youthhave been asking about joining.Ms. Berger might break thechoir into different age groups.

“They are doing really well,”Megan said of the singers.

Olivia and Megan haveobserved that all children learndifferently and need to beaccommodated. Some are newreaders, so the girls made over-sized poster boards to helpteach them the lyrics. Othershave special needs and can’t sitstill for long.

“It’s taught me a lot aboutpatience,” Megan said, “becausesometimes we’re so busy rushingthrough life that we don’t realizethat they don’t understand whatcomes so easy to us. It’s alsotaught me about having fun.”

Olivia has taken a lot of cuesfrom Megan.

“It really helped me with myleading skills,” Olivia said. “Mygoal is to see how far the kidswill go. I get enthusiastic, too. Itgets everyone going and I’mhappy and they’re happy.”

Megan said her faith has beenenriched by a new understand-ing of songs she’s known sinceshe was young: “We sing a lot ofsongs about how good God is. Thesongs we sing teach them thatGod is a very forgiving person.”

CHILDREN’S CHOIR

Teens help kids make joyful noise

OLIVIA AND MEGAN

BY MARK PATTISONC A T H O L I C N E W S S E R V I C E

Washington — The UnitedNations chose Oct. 31 as the dateof the birth of the 7 billionth per-son inhabiting the planet.

The exact date when thatnumber was reached may be indispute: How many people real-ly live in Lebanon, which hasn’ttaken an official census in nearly80 years? How do little brothers

and sisters born surreptitiouslyunder China’s strict “one family,one child” policy get counted?

Dates aside, how do we pro-vide for the care and feeding of 7billion people — not to mentiontheir dignity?

“What will it take for them toproduce enough food?” askedBob Gronski, a policy adviserwith the National Catholic RuralLife Conference. “If they don’t

have enough income to producethe food, then what do they do?”

Gronski added: “Then energybecomes more expensive —scarce in some cases — [and]water resources become moreexpensive.”

Gronski said Americans mustask, “Are we really able to takecare of our own needs?” Heexplained: “One kind of foodcannot feed a population. All

kinds of food have to be grownhere. In the United States wedepend on these imports fromMexico and other places. But arethey [in Mexico] able to take careof their own needs? These arethe questions we should havebeen asking all along.”

According to the United

POPULATION

SEVEN BILLION AND COUNTING SEVEN BILLION AND COUNTING, SEE PAGE

17

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7November 10, 2011 T H E E VA N G E L I S T

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SERVICEWITH ASMILETOP, SENIORS IN A peace and justiceclass at LaSalle Institute in Troy posewith items they collected to send tosoldiers for the holidays. Middle, stu-dents and faculty from SienaCollege in Loudonville are commis-sioned as Catholic Relief Services(CRS) campus ambassadors toeducate their communities aboutpoverty worldwide. Below, ReyersBrusoe of St. Mary’s parish inAmsterdam grins after winning thirdplace nationally in the CatholicCampaign for Human Develop-ment’s youth arts contest, for whichhe wrote “Lend a Hand,” a song onaddressing poverty (read a previousstory at www.evangelist.org).

SHOUT-OUTTO CATHOLIC TEENS!

This special issue is devoted to teens — with aspecial emphasis on music, the subject of our annu-al contest. Check out these stories and more onyoung Catholics:

Winners and runners-up in our “What’s onYour MP3 Player” contest share songs thatinspire them (pages 12-13)

A teen plans a career combining music andservice (page 11)

Teens from the Albany Diocese head toNCYC, the National Catholic Youth Conference(page 14)

How to stay safe online (page 8)

Did you know some saints were teenagers?(page 9)

Combining the Jewish and Catholic faiths in onefamily (page 10)

Photos highlight teen service and scholarship(pages 7, 8, 15)

8 November 10, 2011T H E E VA N G E L I S T

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BY KAREN OSBORNEC A T H O L I C N E W S S E R V I C E

Imagine what a miracle thetelephone felt like at the turn ofthe 20th century.

All of a sudden, people inAtlanta could speak with friendsin Chicago without leaving theirliving rooms. The world shrank.The telephone changed the waypeople related to the world.

Using a telephone is commonsense. That wasn’t always thecase. Historians note that peo-ple in 1915 had to be remindedthey didn’t need to scream intothe receiver to talk to someonefar away, or that they needed towatch what they said on thephone in a room full of people.

It seems funny now, but withevery advance in technology,people have to adapt theirstrategies to stay safe and polite.

When cell phones startedbecoming popular, peoplewould answer calls anywhere —in meetings, at dinner, in class. Afew years ago, your school andyour state probably had veryfew rules about cellphones; now,teachers and police enforcestrict policies in the classroomand on the road.

Now, social networking isrewiring our world yet again.Facebook, for example, is radical-ly changing the way peoplerelate to one another: Everyone’sdoing the internet equivalent ofanswering their phone whiledriving, or yelling into thereceiver in a roomful of people.

Internet safety and etiquettestarts with this central truth:Whatever is posted online,everyone will eventually see it,and you will never be able totake it down. Anything onlinelasts forever.

What does that mean forteens?

First, if you wouldn’t wantyour mother, coach or principalseeing your status update, photo

or link, don’t post it online —ever. Even private pages andphones can be hacked, ascelebrities such as ScarlettJohansson and Vanessa Hudg-ens have discovered. It’s betterto keep those things to yourself.

Likewise, it’s tempting to postthat hilarious photo of you andyour friends doing somethingthat may not be completely legit— but before you tag away, thinkof what a future employer mightthink. A 2009 study byCareerBuilder.com found that35 percent of employers decid-ed not to offer a job to a candi-date based on their Facebook orTwitter profiles.

Protect your digital rightsonline. Whenever you sign upfor a service on the web or get anaccount on a content-sharingsite, read the usage agreement,even if it’s long and boring.Some services lay claim torights to use your photos, wordsand creative expression howev-er they want; others will accesspersonal information and sell it.Make sure that what’s yoursstays yours.

Resist the temptation to over-share. Checking into Foursquareis the equivalent of going into acrowded coffeehouse and post-ing your whereabouts on thewall complete with blinkingneon lights. Your friends andfamily will see it — and so will awhole bunch of strangers whomay not have the best of inten-tions.

Don’t “friend” or add peoplewhose identities you can’t verifyin real life. Just like you wouldn’thand over the keys of your car toa complete stranger, don’t handover your personal informationto someone you don’t know.

You don’t have to swear offtechnology completely to staysafe on the internet — but, likethose pioneers of the past, youdo have to be smart.

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BY CASEY NORMILE

Deciding to follow Christ as ateenager can be an unpopulardecision. Many teens face notjust the usual challenges of ado-lescence, but also a culture that’suncomfortable with organizedreligion and unsure of what isright and what is wrong.

But as author Colleen Swaim,29, researched the lives of thesaints for her book, “Ablaze:Stories of Daring Teen Saints,”she discovered eight youngCatholics who lived lives ofextraordinary virtue, despite thepressures of society and age.

“If we look at the times thesepeople were living in, they weredifficult, very much like ourown,” said Mrs. Swaim. “But theyalso lived in times of seriousstrife — sometimes, when onecould lose their life if they wit-nessed to Christ. This gives ushope because if they can do it, socan we.”

Liguori Publications had men-tioned the need for a book onsaints for teenagers to Mrs.Swaim and her husband and fel-low author, Matthew.

Mrs. Swaim knew that herexperience as a high schoolEnglish and religion teacher atNewport High School in

Newport, Ky., had given her someinsight into the minds and spiritu-ality of teens, so she offered totackle the book project.

The author aimed to intro-duce teens to saints represent-ing both genders and all conti-nents — saints who are well-known and unknown, but all ofwhom were young.

Mrs. Swaim even bouncedideas off her students aboutwhich saints to include.Together, they came up witheight young Catholic saints: Ss.Maria Goretti, Dominic Savio,Stanislaus Kostka, Teresa of theAndes, Alphonsa and Kitizio ofAfrica, plus Blessed Chiara LuceBadano and Blessed PedroCalungsod.

“I loved researching the lesser-known saints,” Mrs. Swaim toldThe Evangelist. “I had to order a lotof books in foreign languagesfrom all over the world and con-tact those directly associatedwith the saints and their beatifi-cation efforts. It shows that thesepeople aren’t all famous figures,but they’re all accessible. Youjust have to break through tofind real people.”

Even in their time, the youngsaints experienced the trials ofpeer pressure. But Mrs. Swaim

noted that they also exerted“positive peer pressure” on theirfriends and family.

She told The Evangelist thatthough sometimes saints seemuntouchable, they actually havea lot in common with teenstoday:

• St. Dominic Savio, who diedat age 14 from illness, was tempt-ed by pornography and skip-ping school.

• St. Teresa of the Andes wasonly 19 when she entered reli-gious life as a Carmelite novice.She passed away only a fewmonths later from typhus. Butback when the future saintbegan high school, she’d writtenin her diary about hating herclasses, calling her classroom a“dungeon” and hoping it wouldbe “reduced to ashes.”

“She was so melodramatic,”Mrs. Swaim remarked.

• Blessed Chiara Luce Badanois a fairly recent figure. Born in1971, she was 18 when she passedaway in 1990 from cancer. Whileshe loved athletics, she foundschool challenging. Though sheput in a great deal of effort intoher studies, her grades were stillpoor.

“She failed one of her classes,but that just shows that you

don’t have tobe perfect.Your gradesdon’t have anyeffect on God’s love for you,” saidMrs. Swaim. “These saints giveus inspiration that this is possi-ble.”

As for young Catholics today,the author be-lieves that theChurch’s em-phasis on youthministry and Blessed Pope JohnPaul II’s love for and focus on theyouth of the world has made theperfect situation for young Cath-olics to thrive.

Mrs. Swaim told The Evan-gelist that the same kind of holi-ness achieved by the eightyoung men and women in herbook can still be reached byteens today.

“No matter what our age, we’reall called to sanctity,” she said.“The fire that was lit by PopeJohn Paul II is continuing andwe’re calling for all youth tobecome ablaze.”

The sequel to “Ablaze,” whichwill examine the lives of evenmore young saints, will be pub-lished in summer 2012.

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THE VARSITY GIRLS’ volleyball teamfrom Notre Dame-Bishop GibbonsSchool in Schenectady held a cloth-ing drive at the school recently tobenefit Schoharie County victims ofthe summer’s tropical storms. Theteammates delivered the clothes toSchoharie High School; while theywere there, they also participated ina breast cancer benefit tournament,winning third place and a “best teamspirit” plaque.

VOLLEYTO SERVE


CATHOLIC TEENS

Treasured Melodies

Music from the Archives of the

Cathedral of the Immaculate ConceptionThe Cathedral Choir and Orchestra

directed by Thomas F. Savoy

Friday, November 18th, 2011

8:00 p.m. at the

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

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Music drawn from its musical archives dating

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Dubois are represented. Compositions by

the distinguished Canadian organist/composer

Leandre Arthur DuMouchel also figure

prominently in the collection. Professor

DuMouchel presided as Director of Music

of the Cathedral for some forty three years

(1876-1919), writing several works specifically

for the Cathedral choir of the time.

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The Jewish roots of Catholic-ism are taken seriously inBenjamin Davis’ interfaith home.

While his mother, LisaMcGarvey-Davis, is a catechistat Sacred Heart parish inCastleton, 17-year-old Benjaminaspires to connect with hisJewish faith by traveling to Israel.

Benjamin’s bar mitzvah cameat age 15 — two years later thanusual — after years of discern-ment and studying Hebrew.

“It’s the time when youbecome a man,” Benjamin saidof the ceremony. “When I was 13,I wasn’t at that point. [By 15], mylife was more important to methan it had been. I was comfort-able with who I was. [The barmitzvah] meant that I felt a partof something.”

Benjamin attended his moth-er’s Catholic parish and hisfather’s Jewish synagogue as achild. He and his brother werefour and six, respectively, whenasked which faith they wished tofollow. They chose to emulatetheir father, Barry. His youngersisters chose their mother’sCatholic faith.

Benjamin started Hebrewschool in 2000, but paused the

process to focus on school. Hismother started teaching herboys and other children aboutthe Old Testament and Jewishholidays in her home.

“We were celebrating all of theholidays anyway,” she remarked.

When it came time to preparefor a bar mitzvah, Benjamin’sinterest waned. “I looked at itmore as something that was tak-ing up my Sunday morning,” heremembered.

He considered converting toChristianity, but then he attend-ed a friend’s bar mitzvah: “It justseemed like a really great experi-ence. A lot of it is focused onhow you should treat one anoth-er. I thought it was good moralsto be following.”

In eighth grade, Benjaminbegan teaching himself theHebrew alphabet. He met withthe rabbi at Congregation BerithSholom in Troy weekly for half ayear and his parents joined himfor an eight-week family prepa-ration program.

Mrs. McGarvey-Davis com-mended Rabbi Debora Gordonof the reform congregation forallowing her family to pursueJudaism, since it’s traditional inthe Jewish faith for children tofollow the faith of their mother.

“We were not her normal fam-ily type,” Mrs. McGarvey-Davissaid of the rabbi.

In fact, she said, the rabbiinspires her work as a catechist:Mrs. McGarvey-Davis encoun-ters many families who arestruggling with bringing theirchildren up in the faith, and “Ialways want to be the person towelcome and encourage them.”

Benjamin and his motheragreed that the benefits of aninterfaith family outweigh thechallenges.

“I’ve actually really enjoyedthe whole experience,” Ben-jamin said, “because I’ve beenable to celebrate all the holidaysand get a wide variety of differ-ent points of view.

“My friends would say I’m solucky because I get double thepresents [by celebrating Christ-mas and Chanukah], but that’snot really how it works,” he con-tinued. “I had the choice tochoose if I wanted to be Jewishor not. A lot of people don’t havethat.”

To Benjamin, the biggest dif-ference between Christianityand Judaism is the emphasis onJesus. He still attends Mass occa-sionally to hear his mother andsister sing.

“It’s a very different atmos-phere” than going to temple, hesaid. “There’s a lot of emphasison prayer and worship. When Igo to temple, it’s much moreabout current issues and whatcan be done to help” with issueslike the conflict between Israeland Palestine.

Mrs. McGarvey-Davis saidher interfaith marriage hasmade her Catholic faith stronger“because I had to actuallychoose then to practice myfaith.”

The similarities between thetwo faiths have enriched herexperience at Mass: Catholiccongregants stand in reverencewhen the Gospel is proclaimed;Jewish congregants stand whenthe ark is opened to remove theTorah scrolls. Catholic congre-gants use consecrated wine and

bread for communion; Jewishcongregants consume blessedgrape juice and challah breadafter services.

“Jesus was Jewish and he wasraised as a Jewish boy, so whatI’m doing is raising a Jewish boy,”she said. “I think it has reallyenriched our life.”

Benjamin is proud of his abili-ty to read Hebrew: “I think it’sjust part of being Jewish.” Hepicked Menachem — whichmeans “to comfort” — as hisHebrew name and will add it tohis legal name when he turns 18.

Benjamin recently started ajob as an activity aide at a JewishCommunity Center and plans tostudy film in college. He looksforward to eventually making apilgrimage to Israel, “to be in aplace where you’re no longerconsidered a minority.”

FINDING FAITH

Jewish teen has interfaith family

BENJAMIN’S BAR MITZVAH (MITCH D. WEISS PHOTO)


At just 18 months old, BridieSchnore often lulled herself tosleep singing “Jingle Bells.” Byage four, her parents were con-vinced she was destined formusical greatness: She sangalong with German and Italianarias during her mother’s weeklyvocal lessons.

“She was always very linguis-tic,” said Bridie’s mother, MaryBeth, noting that her daughteralso spoke in full sentences at 14months old.

Bridie started violin lessons atage five. She learned technicalcompetence before graduallylearning to read music. Today,the 18-year-old is an accom-plished violinist and a freshmanmusic education major at TheCollege of Saint Rose in Albany.

A Glenville native, Bridiepractices her Catholic faiththrough service and music.

Gifts from God“Music is a way of praising

God. When you sing, you praytwice,” she told The Evangelist,quoting St. Augustine. “I just usethe talents that God gave me.”

Bridie aims to become a col-lege professor of music and

work with others who feel thesame way. Already, she hastaught weekly violin lessons,helped conduct the chamberorchestra at her high school andaided the second-grade cate-chist at her parish, St. Joseph’s inScotia.

Bridie’s violin career took offaround sixth grade, when shewas accepted into the presti-gious Empire State YouthOrchestra as a string ensemblemember for two years.

She then moved to ESYO’srepertory orchestra for threeyears and ultimately played forits youth orchestra, the mostadvanced group.

During her junior year of highschool, she played “Schehera-zade” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the famed CarnegieHall in New York City.

“It was really beautiful there,”Bridie said. “I was really gratefulto play where so many peoplehave played.”

She filled her time at Scotia-Glenville High School leadingorchestras and singing in aselect choir and drama club;she’s also played at Masses at St.Joseph’s.

Bridie’s love for violin intensi-fied when she attended a month-

long music camp sponsored bythe New York State SummerSchool of the Arts and staffed bythe Philadelphia Orchestra.

Play all day“That’s when I knew I wanted

to play every day of my life,” shesaid. “I want to teach peopleabout music because music’sbeen really important in my life.It’s another way of helping” peo-ple.

Saint Rose was a natural fit —and a familiar one, as she knewmany of the professors fromtheir collaboration with ESYO.

Bridie’s choice of college alsopleased her mother. Music stu-dents perform on Fridays, andMrs. Schnore has already beenin the audience.

“I miss Bridie terribly,” Mrs.Schnore said. But “I love thatshe’s only 20 miles away.”

Bridie is taking classes inmusic theory and learning how

to play other instruments inaddition to taking courses thatare core requirements. Musicstudents must practice theirmain instruments two hours aday; other instruments, half anhour each day.

Bridie and 10 other studentswere chosen to attend a 10-daymission trip to Washington,D.C., in January. They will live ina homeless shelter and workwith So Others Might Eat(SOME), an interfaith, communi-ty-based organization that helpsthe poor and homeless.

The students are alreadylearning about “food deserts” —parts of the city where healthy,fresh food is hard to find — andpossible solutions.

SALT service“What inspired me was the

SALT program I did in highschool,” Bridie said, referring tothe Albany Diocese’s ServiceAction Learning Teams, whichengage Catholic teens in com-munity service and social jus-tice. “I wanted to do somethingwhere I could see the impact Ihave on people.”

Upon returning from SALT,Bridie’s knowledge of and pas-sion for Catholic social teachingimpressed her mother.

“She cried all the way home,”Mrs. Schnore remembered. “Itwas emotional being exposed toso many people [who need help].She said, ‘Mom, it was so sad.’She got a lot out of that pro-gram.”


CATHOLIC TEENS

It is never too early

to ask God to guide you

in the discovery

of your vocation in life.

We Can Help!

Vocation Office

Rev. James Walsh – Sr. Rosemary Ann Cuneo, C.R.

[email protected] / [email protected]

518-312-9397 / 518-674-3818

www.AlbanyVocations.org

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COLLEGE LIFE

Music and serviceare her twin goals

BRIDIE AT THE STAGE DOOR OF CARNEGIE HALL AND IN CONCERT

RACHEL FAY, 16Junior, Home-schooled

St. John the Baptist parish,Valatie

• “Blessings” by Laura Storyincludes a line about blessingscoming through raindrops thathelps me remember the littlethings in life are what really mat-ters. This song helps remind methat, no matter what we do, Godis full of forgiveness. One linesticks with me: “We doubt yourgoodness, we doubt your love.” Idoubt God sometimes. Eventhough I know He has a plan forme, it’s hard to find Him duringthe bad times. “Blessings”reminds me to pray and givethanks to God for every littleblessing He has given me.

• “Keep Breathing” by IngridMichaelson is a song I startedlistening to during a time of dis-may, when — like the refrain says— “All we can do is keep breath-ing now.” It’s out of our hands; wehave to put our faith in God andtrust that he knows what to do.One line, “I want to change theworld...instead I sleep,” is likethat moment when you knowyou have to tell a friend some-thing they don’t want to hear.That’s when I pray that God willmake sure I do the right thing,even if I’m not sure what it is.

• “Courageous” by CastingCrowns is about standing up forwhat you believe, helping othersand building strong relation-ships. God sent us here to helpeach other. This song also makes

me think about my relationshipwith God: Is it as great as it couldbe? What can I do to work on it?

• “Your Grace is Enough” byMatt Maher puts me in a greatmood and reminds me that Godloves me. “Great is your faithful-ness, o God” means God hasfaith in us and will forgive us forour sins. Jesus always has ourbacks. Also, even the strongneed someone to guide them attimes. Sometimes it’s hard torealize that God’s grace and loveare all we need. I don’t knowwhere I would be without God.

KATELYN EASTERLING, 15Sophomore, Averill Park

High SchoolSt. Henry’s, Averill Park

• “The Climb” by Miley Cyrusreally empowers me. The mes-sage is about the journey andhow well you live your life. Itreminds me that God willalways be there through the voy-age, holding my hand. This songalso reminds me that everyonemakes mistakes and making abad decision doesn’t mean Godis going to frown upon you.

• “A Thousand Miles” byVanessa Carlton makes methink that just because you can’talways see things doesn’t meanthey aren’t there. It makes mefeel like I should never give upon anything. Whenever I hearthis song, it gives me hope andtells me it’s OK to miss peoplethat are no longer in my life. Itmakes me think of heaven.

• “Keep Holding On” by AvrilLavigne is a very emotional songfor me. It makes me think of help-ing someone through a difficultpoint in their life, the way othershave helped me. When peoplecome together, almost anythingis possible.

• “Firework” by Katy Perryempowers me to be myself. Thissong states very clearly to bewho you are, because “an origi-nal is always worth more than acopy.” “Firework” makes methink God made us all different

so we would be individuals. Noone should try to be anythingbut themselves — after all, every-one else is taken.

EMMA BRICELAND, 17Senior, Ballston Spa

High School Corpus Christi parish,

Round Lake• “The Breath You Take” by

George Strait says that life isn’tthe breath you take, but themoments that take your breathaway. This song definitely is ger-mane to faith and believing inyourself. Strait’s words sootheme and leave me feeling hopeful.When I am frenetic and stressedout with school, I take a deepbreath and think about thethings that take my breath away.

• “My Wish” by Rascal Flatts:All of the lyrics in this song arewords of encouragement. It saysto find God’s grace in every mis-take and know that somebodyloves you. Flatts tells his audi-ence to dream big and nevergive up when life doesn’t go theway we planned. I like listeningto this song before I compete infigure skating. I like to think Godis singing to me, encouragingme to perform at my best. Itcalms me down so my nervesdon’t get the best of me.

• “Christmas Shoes” by New-song reminds me how to be agood person. It is about a boywho wishes to buy shoes for hisMama but does not have enoughmoney. A man covers the billand realizes God sent him thatboy to remind him what Christ-mas is all about. This songdepicts the real Christmas spiritand how everybody should act.We all need to remember to begood Samaritans.

• “Sleepsong” by Secret Gar-den says, “May there always beangels to watch over you, toguide you each step of the way.”Before I go to sleep, I always lis-ten to this song. It is comfortingto know that there is always anangel watching over me andhelping me make decisions. Iknow God is always with me too,sending these angels.

MEGHAN KANE, 14Freshman, Bethlehem Central

High School St. Thomas the Apostle parish,

Delmar• “What Love Really Means”

by JJ Heller reminds me howamazing God is and how muchHe loves us all. If you feel asthough the world is against youand no one cares, God cares. Ifyou feel you need to changeyourself to impress someone,know that God loves you just theway you are. If you have sinnedand think that you will never beloved, think again because God

will forgive you and never stoploving you. As it says in the song,God will love you for you. WhenI listen to this song, I know thatGod loves me, and the mistakes Ihave made and will make willnever change His unconditionallove.

• “Free to be Me” by FrancescaBattistelli is true and inspiring.Being yourself doesn’t alwayscome easily. People can be quickto judge and feeling accepted issomething that many people,including myself, strive for.Many teens (girls especially) arepressured to be someone theyare not. In this song, she singsthat she’s free to be herself eventhough she’s not perfect and lifeisn’t perfect.

• “Angel By Your Side” byFrancesca Battistelli inspires meto reach out. There may be atime when all someone needs issomeone to listen or tell themthat everything will be okay —but sometimes you can’t saythat, and sometimes words can’thelp. Maybe what that personreally needs is an angel: some-one who will be “the strengththey can’t provide on their own.”You can be that angel.Sometimes God needs to actthrough people in order to get tosomeone who needs help.

• “Stronger” by Mandisa helpsme know that everything will beall right. When you have a par-ent who has cancer, the word“strong” takes on a whole newmeaning. Before, maybe you pic-tured a guy with big muscles;but after you see a loved one gothrough something as challeng-ing as cancer, that person comesto mind. I am a firm believer in thesaying, “What doesn’t kill youmakes you stronger,” and this isbasically what she’s singing about.Life is full of struggles. This songgives me something that, some-times, is the only thing that canhelp: hope.

KERRY LOSERT, 15Sophomore, Academy of the

Holy Names, AlbanyMater Christi parish, Albany• “Where is The Love” by The

Black Eyed Peas stuck with me[because of the line,] “The truthis kept secret; it’s swept underthe rug. If you never know truththen you never know love.” Thishas taught me to be more coura-geous and loving. Also, becauseof this song I found a small treethat had no sunlight in the forest,dug it up and planted it in a park.Without love, that tree wouldnot have survived.

• “Morningstar” by AFI hashelped motivate me when I don’tfeel like waking up in the morn-ing. Because of this song, Idecided to go to church more.

• “Rise” by The Flobots is

about freedom and takingcharge. This song has taught meto take responsibility for myactions and be strong when it isneeded. For example, because ofthis song, I invited a girl to mytable when she was sitting aloneat lunch.

• “The Graduation Song (BestFriends Forever)” by Vitamin Chas helped me stay strong whenI was feeling blue about leavingfriends to go to different schools.Even though friends leave, youcan still stay together and bebest friends forever.

ERIC BALSCHUNAT, 16Junior, Queensbury

High SchoolOur Lady of the Annunication

parish, Queensbury• “Amazing Grace” by TheDropkick Murphies is a classicsong that conveys the savingpower of God. If I’m having a badday or have done somethingwrong, this is a good reminderfor me to put my trust in Godand He will send me on the rightpath again.

• “Turn Turn Turn” by TheByrds puts a Bible passage tomusic. It is a simple messagethat God has a plan. Sometimesbad things will happen, but withthe bad comes the good and inthe end God’s plan will turn outfor the better. “There is a season”puts an emphasis on the ongo-ing process of God’s plan. “Turnturn turn” — reminding me of aclock or the earth spinning —shows how natural God’s plan is.The song encompasses the bal-ance we can find in the way ofthe Lord.

• “Power of Soul” by Band ofGypsys is joyful and inspiring.The verses use metaphors totalk about a “high-flying” type ofperson and a “jellyfish” who hasno backbone. Drive and convic-tion are needed to be true to theLord. God gave us free will andthe power to do good. He didn’tjust leave us as “jellyfish” in Hiscreation. With the gifts Godgave me, I can do anything I setmy mind to!

• “I See the Light” by Hot Tunais an affirmation that God hasrevealed much of Himself to us.With His light in the world, wecan truly live in it, have our sinsabsolved and gain a deeperunderstanding of the Lord. Italso is about how we can, withthe help of God, find our way inlife. This song inspires me tofind God’s plan for me on a dailybasis, reminds me of how good itfeels to do His will and makesme glad that He has a plan forme.


CATHOLIC TEENS

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RUNNERS-UUP Only three winnerscould be chosen for TheEvangelist’s “What’s onYour MP3 Player” con-test, but so many talent-ed teens submitted inter-esting song choices,some of the runners-uupdeserved notice.


CATHOLIC TEENS

• “Speak Now” by Taylor Swiftis about two words that arecommonly heard at weddingceremonies. The silence thatfollows is the final momentwhere anyone can voice theirreasons the two should not beunited in marriage. The lyricsin this song are based onTaylor’s idea of how she wouldhandle planning to intervene ina marriage that was destined tofail...unless it was she who wasmarrying the groom. This songhas a deeper meaning to me. Itmakes me really consider say-ing things on my mind. It’s com-mon to not speak your opinionsbecause you’re worried about itcoming out wrong or you’renervous, but that’s what makesthe act even more courageous.There will be many times whenI’ll have opportunities to makean impact through what I say,but only if I am willing to takethose chances.

• “Mean” by Taylor Swift: Lifeis full of people who will hurtyou, through physical means orwords. It’s inevitable andpainful. It’s sad that we have tolive in a world like this, but theonly way to get through is totake each hurdle as it comes.

When someone does some-thing that makes me feel worth-less, I’ll listen to this song, asTaylor sings about how one day,I’ll be accomplishing greatthings, while those who hurtme will be nothing but mean.

• “Back to December” byTaylor Swift reminds me thatit’s impossible to say you havenever hurt someone, but it’svery seldom that we as humanbeings will admit our wrongs.For some, it’s embarrassing toadmit that they weren’t rightand that they made a mistake.“Back to December” is an hon-est apology for hurting some-one, and that shows a lot ofbravery. The lyrics encourageme to admit my wrongdoingsdirectly and not just shrugthem off. It also gives me a real-ity check that even if my apolo-gy is as sincere as it can possi-bly be, life with that person maynot ever go back to how it wasbefore I made my mistake.

• “Innocent” by Taylor Swiftsays that forgiving someoneisn’t always an easy task. TaylorSwift penned this song afterKanye West interrupted heraward acceptance speech.Whenever I listen to the song, I

always think to myself, “If shecan forgive someone for embar-rassing her in front of the world,I can forgive this person for thelittle things they did to me.”Even with that motivation, itcan still seem impossible to for-give and forget. In thosemoments of uncertainty, Iremember all the times that I’vewanted forgiveness andreceived it, and that brings methe faith and courage that Ineed to do the right thing.

• “Change” by Taylor Swiftshows we’ve all had points inour life where we ask ourselvesif all the pain is worth fightingthrough. It’s important that weget back up and try again. Thissong’s references to the futureare usually all I need to tellmyself that fighting for the life Iwant is always worth it. Weshould all fight each other’s bat-tles, because that is a true act oflove for one another.

• “Drifting” by Plumb is one ofmy favorite songs because whenI feel alone or far from God, I lis-ten to this song and it brings meback to Him. I think the song istrying to explain that no matterhow bad things get, there’salways something that can bringback the good. “Drifting”reminds me to pray more andkeep close to God, so wheneverthings in my life don’t happenthe way I want them to, I remem-ber that things aren’t as bad asthey could be and that I have aFather in heaven who loves meand is willing to forgive me forthe things I do wrong.

• “Manifesto” by The CityHarmonic is a song I listen toalmost every day because of thejoy and peace it brings me. Thissong reminds me of my faith andencourages me to strengthenmy relationship with God. Partof the lyrics are from the “OurFather,” which is my favoriteprayer. “Manifesto” helps meremember my faith as a Catholicand how good that faith is. Thissong encourages me to thinkabout how good our God is andall the good things he blessesme with.

• “Be Not Afraid” by Robert J.Dufford tells me that even in mydarkest and scariest times I’mnot alone. Jesus is always withme, even when it feels like I’malone. He never leaves our side. IfI’m scared, sad, or angry, I sing it;when I listen to “Be Not Afraid,” Ifeel as if Jesus is talking straight tome. I don’t want to overreact tosomeone just because I’m havinga bad day, and by listening tothis song I know that everythingisn’t as bad as it seems.

• “How Great Thou Art” byDaniel O’ Donnell: I like to listento this before my cross-country

meets, because it makes me feela lot less nervous. It’s like a mes-sage of praise to God, exclaim-ing how great and amazing Heis! “How Great Thou Art” alsohumbles me and helps me not tobe too proud of myself, becausewithout God, none of the thingsI do in everyday life would bepossible. Without God’s loveand forgiveness, I would not bethe person He helps me to be.

• “Trust In Jesus” by Third Dayhelps me to place my trust morein Jesus. Jesus is always there forus when we need Him. If weplace our trust in Him, we don’thave to worry about any of ourproblems. This song inspiresme to try to live a life more likeJesus did and to carry out myresponsibilities as a Catholic: tolove others as myself. It makesme think of the life Jesus livedand what He did and does for us.I can put all of my trust in Jesusand have a worry-free day,because He is my Lord forever.

• “Beautiful Things” by Gun-gor: On a mission trip this past

summer, they discussed howothers can judge you based onthings like religion or how youlook. The youth group leadersaid, “You are a beautiful child ofGod, and He loves you whenothers do not,” and they playedthis song. It showed me thatGod really does love you, nomatter what. He works miraclesand gives you hope when itlooks like there is none. I listen tothis song every day, and I cryevery time because it is so pow-erful and helps me rememberthat when you feel like you havenothing, you always have God.

• “Alive Again” by Matt Maher,I interpret as sometimes, peoplecan drift away from their faithand do things that may makethem forget what is really impor-tant in life, or they feel distantfrom God. I have felt that. Thechorus of the song says: “You

called and you shouted, brokethrough my deafness. Now I’mbreathing in, breathing out, I’malive again.” Before I went on myfirst mission trip two summersago, I had lost the strong connec-tion with God that I really want-ed. But God’s plan for me was togo on that mission trip, build myfaith and reconnect with Him —and when I came home, I was atotally different person, for thebetter, because I was “aliveagain” with a stronger faith inGod.

• “What Love Really Means”by JJ Heller is about a young boy,a woman whose husband hasleft her and a man in jail who iswaiting to die, who each ask Godto send them someone who willlove them for them. We all canfeel alone and that no one lovesus. But if you pray and talk toGod, He will give you a path to

follow. As the song says, He willlove you for you, not for whatyou have done or what you willbecome. This song really makesme believe that no matter what, Ican always rely on God to listento me and answer my calls.

• “When I Leave” by JJ Heller:A lot of high school juniors aretalking about what they want tostudy in college and what theywant to do as a career. I want todo something that will make abig impact on other people, justlike so many people I know havemade a huge and inspirationalimpact on me. As long as oneperson can look back on theirrelationship with me and saythat I really helped them in someway, I would be happy for myentire life. This song really showshow I feel about that. God has putpeople in my life that have impact-ed me in a big way. This song

reminds me that as a person, youshould be one to remember, andyou should do good for other peo-ple. When God calls you home,you will have left the world in animproved state, because you dideverything you could to helpchange it.

• “For Good” by Idina Menzeland Kristin Chenoweth is fromthe Broadway musical “Wicked.”The song says that certain peo-ple are put into your life for a rea-son, and you should cherishthem. They will make a bigimpact on your life. I have manypeople in my life who helpedchange me for the better. I thinkabout what my life would be likeif God did not make our pathscross. Everyone you meet canmake an impact on your life ifyou let them — and if you feellike you need someone inspira-tional in your life, pray to Godand ask for one. I did.

CONTEST WINNERSThis year’s new contest asked Catholic teens, “What’son your MP3 player?” Teens sent playlists of fivesongs that connect them to God, remind them to prayor get them through hard times, along with descrip-tions of how the songs help them. Entries rangedfrom Broadway tunes to Christian songs, classic rockto country. Here are the three winners.

MARIA HARTZ, 15 Junior, Scotia-Glenville

High SchoolSt. Madeleine Sophie parish,

Schenectady

KATHERINE EXUM, 13Eighth-grader, Windham-

Ashland-Jewett Central SchoolSt. Theresa of the Child Jesus

parish, Windham

NICOLE ST. ONGE, 16Junior, Hoosick Falls

Central SchoolImmaculate Conception parish,

Hoosick Falls


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High school senior AllisonDeutschman knows dozens ofCatholic teens preparing for con-firmation — but only about five ofthem attend Mass weekly.

One way to change that, shehopes, is by attending theNational Catholic Youth Confe-rence next week.

NCYC is a biennial, three-dayexperience of prayer, communi-ty and empowerment for Catho-lic teenagers and chaperones.This year’s gathering will be heldin Indianapolis, Ind.

“I really want to use this oppor-tunity to bring things that I learnthere to my church,” she said ofNCYC. “I’m looking forward tohaving a better grasp on my faith.I want to meet new people, hearnew stories.

“In a small town, you get sofocused on you, your beliefs, andhow it affects you. [NCYC] makesit easier because I feel like thereare people who understand whatI’m going through.”

Allison will join 197 otherteens and 78 adults from theAlbany Diocese at NCYC toboost her faith with more than20,000 young Catholics fromaround the country. Bishop

Howard J. Hubbard will attendthe beginning of the conference,Nov. 17, to celebrate Mass for thediocesan group.

The conference costs be-tween $600 and $1,000 per per-son. Many parishes and youthhave spent the year fundraising.

Allison, who attends MohawkHigh School and HerkimerCounty Community College,first heard of NCYC when sheattended the diocesan ChristianLeadership Institute (CLI) atPyramid Life Center in Paradox.

“CLI was life-changing for me,”she told The Evangelist. “I’vemade so many friends that I’vekept in touch with more than I dowith the friends from my owntown.” Many of them, she added,will also be attending NCYC.

Allison looks forward to hearingsome of her favorite Christianbands at the conference. “It’s coolbecause it’s not your organ music,”she said. “It’s Christian rock; it’spop. It’s more relatable.”

The theme of this year’s NCYCis “Called to Glory,” a reference tothe scriptural theme for thatweekend. “They want everyoneto get together and just praiseJesus,” Allison said.

She’ll miss two college testswhile she’s gone, but “it’s worth it

in my opinion.”Leigh Jason, a junior from St.

Therese Chapel in Gansevoort, amission of St. Clement’s parish inSaratoga Springs, will room withAllison.

“I’m hoping that it’s just as funas CLI was,” Leigh enthused. “I’minterested in expanding my reli-gion. I know that it helps methrough life and helps me makemy decisions.”

Leigh is a catechist for kinder-gartners at St. Therese andhopes to learn more about minis-tering to young children.

Matthew Lee, a junior atStillwater High, is a sacristan atAll Saints on the Hudson parishin Mechanicville/Stillwater. Hemoved to the area from Texasover the summer and wants tomake new friends at NCYC.

He went once before, whenNCYC was held in Kansas City.“It was pretty fun,” he said. “It gotme closer to God.”

This will be the first NCYCexperience for Molly Maguire, asenior from St. John the Baptistparish in Walton. She’ll attendNCYC with teens from St. Peter’sparish in Delhi and Holy FamilyChurch in Downsville, a missionof St. John the Baptist.

Molly has attended the March

for Life in Washington, D.C., afew times with her family andenjoyed seeing thousands ofCatholics with the same values:“You see how important thesethings are to people.”

Darryl Scott, a sophomore atNotre Dame-Bishop GibbonsSchool in Schenectady, heardabout NCYC at a music and litur-gy camp at Pyramid Life Center.A member of the music ministryteam at St. Clare’s parish inColonie, he said he struggleswith faith and wants to “try to fig-ure out who I am as a person.

“If there is a God, then whydoes bad stuff happen in theworld? I never seem to find ananswer to that. I want to hearother people give their thoughtson our faith.”

LOCAL YOUTH

Teen leaderShannon McShane, a high

school senior, joined the youthgroup at St. Thomas the Apostleparish in Delmar to stay intouch with a friend who attend-ed. But after she went to NCYCtwo years ago, Shannon’s atti-tude toward the group changed.

“Youth ministry should be formy benefit,” she explained. “I feltI had a responsibility to be aleader.”

Shannon will be one of 80teens serving as “animators” —singers, dancers and speakers —at this year’s NCYC. She audi-tioned via video and trained inIndianapolis over the summer.

“That is just the ultimate prizefor me, to know that I have aninfluence on 22,000 teenagersat once,” Shannon said.

One highlight of her firstNCYC trip was a workshop onabstinence and teen pregnancy.The presenters were a man whohad waited until marriage forsex and his wife, who lost her vir-ginity at a young age.

“It was really cool to hear theirstories,” Shannon said. “Myboyfriend at the time was watch-ing the same thing. It reallyinfluenced me and emphasizedthat I wasn’t the only one”abstaining.

In addition, seeing Catholicsdance made the faith “seem verybelievable, which I think isimportant for teenagers nowa-days.” (AC)

NCYC-BOUND

Teens psyched for national conference

THE T-SHIRT local youth will wear toNCYC was designed by AudreyKeefe of St. Thomas parish in Del-mar and Bethlehem High School.NCYC sessions and workshopswill be streamed live at www.ncyc.info/index.htm.

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and healthier than a conventional home. So, build your next home to New York ENERGY STAR

standards, and come home to energy savings…and a whole lot more.

To get a free fact sheet or to find a participating builder near you,

visit comehometosavings.org/community2.1-877-NY-SMART

R Voss & iscosiAttorneys at Law

Ellen S. Ross

Michael C. Viscosi

Wills

Family Law

General Practice

105 North Perry Street

P.O. Box 21, Johnstown, NY 12095

518-634-1146 • Fax: 518-684-9256

[email protected]

Lux Mundi Advent Wreath

For Sale! Never Used!

$475 (originally $713.95)

For more information,

please call Don at 434-7413.

• 3 purple, 1 rose and the Christ Candles

• with 5 oil-filled container inserts

• includes Advent floor stand with greens

B AUYING NTIQUES

Antique furniture • oil paintings •glassware • jewelry •

sterling • coins • crocks • old toys • clocks • dolls • musical

instruments • older Coca Cola items • guns • swords •

military items • architectural items.

Joe Mazzones Auction Service

(518) 355-4821, Guilderland, NY

We CAN buy or sell one piece

or ENTIRE ESTATES.

ON YOUR MARK...GET SET...SHAVE!

ST. AMBROSE SCHOOL IN LATHAMhad tandem events recently: first, theshaving of principal JamesLeveskas’ head to honor a fundrais-ing challenge that students won;second, the Race for Education topromote Catholic education in theAlbany Diocese.Above left and middle, pre-kinder-gartners start the race and first-grader Gerard Farrington runs laps;at left, Isabella VanDecar andKatelyn Delancey from the pre-Krun together. Top right, Mr. Leveskas awards aniPad to top fundraiser Ramza Ryan;at right, the third-grader starts thehaircut with help from MollyO’Brian. (Nate Whitchurch photos)

evangelist n12b #2

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