My generation is lonely.

One of my sons in his early twenties declared he wanted to get a flip phone because he recognized the distraction of the “smart device.” I didn’t understand, so I suggested that he set some personal boundaries. “Mom, my generation is lonely. We have the entire world at our fingertips, and yet we don’t know how to meet one another in meaningful ways.” A few weeks later, I read an article that confirmed young adults are actively repelling technology for this very reason.

Our youth and young adults are carrying a heavy, quiet reality. Many are silently wrestling with deep questions of identity, belonging, and faith – whether they come from fragmented homes or families who faithfully attended Mass each weekend. In a world filled with secular noise, they are not hungry for more internet information. They are starving for meaning. 

The growing number of young people I see attending Mass and being curious about Catholicism is remarkable. Parents, grandparents, adult mentors and ministers: this moment demands more of our physical, loving presence with them. ​

As individual Catholics and as a collective faithful community, we must be more intentional in our interactions. Our youth need to see that the Catholic Faith is not a set of abstract rules, but a living, breathing relationship with a God who loves them exactly as they are and where they are. 

Christ is alive in our young people right now. They are not the future of the Church; they are its present! This is a battle for the hearts of our children, and it belongs to all of us. Let us walk alongside them, listen deeply, and empower them to set the world on fire.