“Lukewarm Catholicism is no longer going to cut it.”
These are words a priest shared with my wife and me in our first year of marriage.
“What we need are holy souls – holy families and holy individuals. It’s only those with deep faith who will be able to survive the days ahead.”
2020 was a rough year for all of us. Still, we must never forget that there is another enemy far more significant than a pandemic. Satan wants solely to destroy our faith so that he can separate us from God’s love.
But God is on the move, and he is defending his own. He is calling us all to conversion and a deepening of faith so that we can resist the devil and live out the good news of the Gospel in our lives.
I am fortunate to work for a missionary organization called NET Canada. In response to the many young people who are losing their faith by the time they finish high school, NET sends teams of young adults to share their faith in schools and parishes so youth are transformed and re-engaged in their Catholic faith.
Given the current pandemic, people have asked why and how we brought not one, but three NET teams to British Columbia this year. That’s 20 missionaries who have accompanied over 2,000 youth this year – in a province that banned all in-person indoor religious worship.
Since NET missionaries focus on building personal relationships with youth, common sense would dictate that we’d be closed for the year. But that’s not how God saw it. That’s also not how the NET missionaries, community members, and leaders in the Vancouver and Prince George Dioceses saw it either.
Long before NET arrived in Vancouver four years ago, the leaders here were working to create an environment for people to experience conversion and a deepening of faith. The leadership team had been asking the Holy Spirit for direction and invited ministry leaders to discern with them. That vital groundwork has opened the doors for NET to flourish here.
Currently, NET is serving in three CISVA high schools, three Fraser Valley parishes, and several schools in the Diocese of Prince George. The focus is on the call to conversion and is taking place both virtually and in-person.
To get the NET teams here, generous donors have paid program and operational costs. We’ve had homeowners bless our missionaries with places to live. CWL ladies and local community members have donated household items, gift cards, and meals. Mothers, fathers, and young people have sacrificed their time to move furniture, clean, and turn these spaces into homes for our missionaries.
Only a few months after the NET teams settled in last fall, many beautiful stories of conversion were already surfacing. One NET team put on a retreat where 12 young people gave their lives to Christ. A young man that the NET missionaries have been journeying with over the last two years is currently in RCIA to become Catholic.
God is certainly on the move and defending his own. He is calling all of us to conversion and a deepening of faith, whether it’s youth, NET missionaries, or you and me. The words “lukewarm Catholicism is no longer going to cut it” ring true.
Let us lay aside all that is unessential and seek God with our whole hearts so we can live authentic lives of holiness. Our faith will not only help us survive the days ahead but empower us to live out the good news of the Gospel in new and exciting ways.
NET is wrapping up its 2020/2021 school year, but plans to send out new NET teams again this fall. If you feel prompted to get involved with the work of NET, you can visit netcanada.ca/vancouver-ministry or email info@netcanada.ca.
For those who played a role in helping bring NET missionaries to B.C. this year, thank you for your generosity and being a co-missionary with us in evangelizing young people.
Jean-Paul de Fleuriot is the western regional coordinator with NET Canada.
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