DYER – A summer speaker series aimed at young adults through age 39 is bringing a growing community of Catholics together in the Diocese of Gary.
The June 4 program featured a speaker that fit right in with the young adult group. A member of the Sisters of the St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, Sister M. Josetta Rose, director of mission at Franciscan Health in Dyer and Munster, presented “Hope and Ceaseless Adoration.”
“I decided to attend because I wanted to get to know other young adult Catholics; I already know those in our parish,” said Jacob Quasney of St. Matthias in Crown Point. “I met a lot of people and talked to everyone the first week at St. John the Evangelist, and it looks like there will be a good-sized group again tonight.
“I’m glad to know there are so many young adults practicing their faith in our diocese; it gives me encouragement.”
Quasney, an usher and pastoral council member at his parish, finds St. Matthias “very welcoming” and likes the community atmosphere. The single, Northwest Indiana native is also a Knights of Columbus member.
He said he plans to attend all five speaker sessions, including the June 18 program featuring Sarah Unzueta on “Eyes That See, Corazon That Feels, a Table That Feeds” at St. Michael in Schererville, and the June 25 closer with newly-ordained Father Alex Kouris on “Discerning and Living Out Our Call I Humility” at St. Matthias, Crown Point. Both programs begin at 7 p.m., after dinner and fellowship at 6:30 p.m.
Attending her first young adult speaker session was Kristy Grino, who lives in Beecher, Ill. but attends St. John the Evangelist in St. John. “My sister, Allyssa LaBanca, brought me and I hope to find some peace and feel closer to God and the young adult community,”
LaBanca said she and her sister “have both been getting into our faith this past year … it’s good to be surrounded by a group of people our age who are practicing their faith.”
Vicky Hathaway, diocesan coordinator for Youth and Young Adults, is pleased with the response to the second year of the speaker series, which gives the participating parishes a chance to plan the meals and choose the speakers. “We had about 50 attend the first talk this year with Adam Ayers from the St. John the Evangelist staff, and it looks like we’ll have about the same number tonight,” she said. “There are young adults from a number of different parishes and they look like they are making friends., which is our goal.”
Naomi Mendoza, a parishioner at St. Francis Xavier in Lake Station, said she attended three talks last summer and is happy to return in 2025. “I met Sister Josetta when I attended the adoration brunch hosted a few months ago in Michigan City. I learned more about different perspectives on how people love God.
Mendoza said she appreciates the leadership of Father Jaime Perea, St. Francis Xavier pastor. “Everyone is so welcoming and tries to show their love for God. It’s a very active parish,” she noted.
Jared Carroll, who attends St. Michael the Archangel in Schererville, is using the speaker series as a way to learn more about the Catholic faith. “My mom, Nina Brown, and I are in the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults program; I was originally baptized as a Methodist, and have received the sacraments of reconciliation and Holy Communion, with confirmation still ahead,” Carroll said.
Joyful about “how Jesus has been with us and will continue to be, even if we weren’t always there for him,” Carroll said his OCIA studies have surprised him. “I’ve found that Catholics are a lot more accepting than how they are portrayed. There are rules to live by, but they are not hard to follow and they soon become part of your life.”
Sister Josetta, who grew up in Rochester, Minn. and joined the convent in 2020, said the charism of her religious order is “adoration for the Eucharist and the world, and each community member participates in 24/7 adoration that can mean awakening in the middle of the night to spend an hour of adoration in the chapel at their Mishawaka motherhouse.
“To live a life of adoration is to live as a child of God,” she said. “The reason we were made is for a relationship with God.”
Sister Josetta told her audience members, “There has never been and never will be another you, and God loves you so much that he continues to sustain you.
“If you look at our world, there’s no doubt there is brokenness – something is not quite right,” Sister Josetta added. “We find ourselves, at times, living more like orphans than children of God. Orphans must take care of themselves, are alone, and must trust only in themselves . . .but the truth is we are not orphans, and we are not alone. We are the adopted sons and daughters of God.”
The former FOCUS missionary at Ball State University said she was raised “by adoptive parents, and people ask me if I’ve met my ‘real’ parents. My adoptive parents are my real parents, while I am grateful for my birth parents who gave me life.
“Think of adoption in terms of our relationship with God … we are truly chosen. He didn’t need us, he wanted us,” Sister Josetta said. “Our daily hope must be nourished through the sacraments and daily prayer.
“God will sustain our hope and joy until all is revealed,” she said. “The Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead lives within us.”
Sister Josetta urged the young adults to send their prayer requests to the Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration, “where our sisters are praying 24/7,” at ssfpa.org.
Caption: Bridget Conry, of Schererville, a parishioner at Our Lady of Consolation in Merrillville, gets acquainted with Lorely Mora, a parishioner at St. Mary in East Chicago, during an icebreaker before Sister M Josetta Rose’s talk at St. Joseph in Dyer. A Young Adult Summer Speaker Series is bringing young people through age 39 together to share their faith as well as food and fellowship. (Marlene A. Zloza photo)
