It's Wednesday morning and Misericordia University is busy with camps and activities, but the focus for today is The 10th Light the Fire Youth Rally. It is a day packed with excitement, reflection, workshops, and opportunities to create relationships with others and strengthen one's relationship with God. This year, the event is even more special because it is the 10th one for the Diocese of Scranton and it coincides with the Year of Mercy for the Catholic Church.
The day begins with groups of welcoming teens and young adults leading hundreds of people to get registered to see what the day has in store for them. There are people from all over the diocese from various parishes and from all ages. Almost everyone is wearing the red T-shirt that was designed for the day, creating a unity among all those there. Mercy stations are set up throughout Insalaco Hall and the Intermetzo Cafe to help different causes. For example, there was a prayer chain station for the imprisoned, a station for decorating tissue boxes that will go to patients at a hospital, and a station to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to help feed the hungry. There were many different stations set up by some of the parishes to aid many different causes. However, these Mercy stations are only a small part of what is planned for the day.
The guest speaker for the day is Chris Padgett, who brings a lively energy to the stage. After the welcome, everyone is encouraged to go to a workshop where a speaker will talk about a specific topic either related to prayer or some part of their faith life. These speakers were chosen because their story has the ability to inspire others and they succeed. There are two rounds of these workshops with little breaks in between. Throughout the day the energy only increases.
One of the best parts of this one day retreat is the opportunity to have Adoration in the theater with everyone. The band Full Armor plays music for some time as everyone prays and worships. It is a time to reflect and to open oneself to Christ. It is a time to talk to God and be in His presence. There are priests in the classrooms hearing confessions, too. It is an amazing experience to be in the presence of Jesus Christ with about 400 people and each person is experiencing something different in those moments. While this part of the day is meant to be reverent, there is free time available for everyone to unwind and time for groups to get together to talk about their day.
The closing mass is what closes the day. Bishop Timlin is present, along with many parish priests and Full Armor provides the music. Being in the Lemmond Theater, celebrating the close of this joyous day with hundreds of people is truly amazing. It reminds everyone that the youth is the hope of the Church. The youth of the Diocese of Scranton has lit a fire that cannot be extinguished. Light the Fire is about igniting the flame of faith in each person and helping it flourish so that we set the world ablaze with the love of Christ.
