Good; all caught up? Here's my take on why at least some young people "don't got no religion". Their religion, seemingly, doesn't want them.
Oh, yes, we have youth groups. And we have mission trips. There's always a need for altar servers. But what about that kid who doesn't quite fit in any of those places? What if he's got questions nobody seems to have good answers to? What if he sits in the back of church, week after week, wondering what it all means, and no one ever bothers to ask him what he's thinking?
What if, and I wish I were being hypothetical here, a person in authority in the parish tells that kid he can't sit in the back of church? He "HAS TO" sit with his parents - even though his parents are perfectly fine with him sitting in the back of church? What if that person in authority tells him he either has to move or leave the building - during Mass?
If you were 15, and you had a lot of questions, and no one seemed to have the answers and then you got told to leave....well, would you have any religion?
Oh, Elise, tell us this idn't happen to someone in your family. Of course, the correct answer is, "Anywhere I sit in church, I'm with my family," but a fifteen-year-old could hardly say that without being seen as sassy, however politely it was said. Perhaps you could say it for him/her?
And yes, I am speaking up for that child.
"I will never give in. Viva Cristo Rey!"