The Sixth Sunday of Easter - CCO IMPACT! Ottawa's "Cornerstone"

Mission & Evangelization

"Empowered by the Spirit, and drawing upon faith’s rich vision, a new generation of Christians is being called to help build a world in which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished – not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed.

"A new age in which love is not greedy or self-seeking, but pure, faithful and genuinely free, open to others, respectful of their dignity, seeking their good, radiating joy and beauty.

"A new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deaden our souls and poison our relationships."

--Pope Benedict XVI (Homily, Syndey WYD 2008, Sunday, 20 July)

These words of the Holy Father help us appreciate the importance of outreach to the youth of our church with the message of the gospel in a way that reaches them.

On Thursday evening, I dropped in on the weekly meeting of Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO)'s Cornerstone gathering for adolescents and young adults at the parish hall of Paroisse St. Thomas d'Aquin (situated across the street from our Diocesan Centre on Kilborn Place).

More than 200 young people had come to the session being offered by Impact! Ottawa, CCO's summer evangelizing program in the Archdiocese.  The 50+ university students from across Canada are learning in their training sessions how to present the Good News of God's love in personal witnessing, song, skits and every form of interaction.  On the weekends they are in ten parishes (both English-speaking and francophone) from Kanata to Orleans and parish communities in between.

Here are a few photos of the joyous sessions I took part in:

Praise and worship, prayer

A spoof on The Price is Right

Personal witnessing, challenging their peers

Fellowship, eats follow in the church hall and parish parking lot

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Sixth Sunday of Easter

Grant almighty God, that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion, these days of joy which we keep in honour of the risen Lord, and what we relive in remembrance may we always hold to in what we do. Through our Lord.