I lead an overnight retreat with high school teens from 6:00PM to 6:00AM where we didn’t sleep. It was on December 28th which in the Catholic Church is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. It was also two weeks after the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting.

The retreat schedule was to incorporate activities and team building in with scheduled time in the worship space for teens to reflect and journal on tough questions. The theme was discipleship with the extra emphasis of overcoming fear of the world and standing up for their faith through their words and their actions. The goal was for them to walk away from the experience more bonded, understanding they were not alone and that they could have a positive impact on the world.

Some of the reflection questions challenged the teens to think about how they would respond in specific difficult situations such as if they saw another teen being bullied or were asked to cheat on a test. My purpose was again, for the teens to consider how they would or should act if they ever found themselves in these scenarios and whether or not their actions would be what Jesus would want them to do. None of us really know how we will act in certain situations but it’s good to have thought about it so we might make better choices.

In addition, we discussed how we will be tempted to not step in to help a teen being bullied or we could be bribed to cheat on a test. I shared with them that the devil will look for their weaknesses but if they build up their defenses by strengthening their faith, they can make a positive difference in the lives of others. Also, reminding them, they are not alone and they have each other, their church family to lean on.

The night was a success and the participants had a fantastic time. I could even see the deepening of commitment to one another over the next couple of weeks. I was excited about how the experience would make an impact on their friends and families too. I was pumped!

Then one of my co-workers found a copy of the reflection journal the students worked on during their time in the worships space. They were offended with the questions and felt it was disrespectful for us to have had the event, especially on the Feast of the Holy Innocents and two weeks after such a horrendous shooting where kids died. The final draw was that I was teaching them that evil does exist and that they need to be prepared to defend themselves against it.

Now, these are not exact words but the general gist of the entire thing. The bottom line was they didn’t like that I was acknowledging that bad things happen and they thought it poor taste I was doing it in the shadow of an event that these students could relate to. They were afraid.

Fear can distort our thinking. Fear can cause us to miss out on experiences. Fear can keep us from seeing another perspective. Fear can twist reality. Fear can lead us in the wrong direction.

I believe in the phrase “education is power”. I believe that the more I know, the better prepared I will be to make a good decision. I believe my faith will guide me on the right path. I believe the opposite of faith is fear.

Jesus was tempted by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights in Chapter 4 of the Gospel of Matthew in the Bible. The Bible. If God speaks of the devil in the bible, then he does exist AND if the devil isn’t afraid to tempt Jesus, the Son of God, then what’s to keep him from tempting me?!? As the teens faith formation instructor, I felt an obligation not to sugar coat faith but to let them know the devil is out there so they will be prepared to stand in their faith when it happened.

The scripture passage used as the second reading this week tells us that our faith will be tested but don’t fear because Jesus came to save us. Jesus didn’t give into the devil and he overpowered death. The battle has already been won and the people of faith should be FREE FROM FEAR!

This retreat was one of my most favorite because of the depth of the conversations we were able to have due to the relevance of the topic in relationship to what was happening in the world. I have no regrets even though I would be reprimanded by my boss and it became the last retreat I’d lead at that church. My prayer is that those teens have no fear and they stand up for what they believe in all of the days of their lives!