HOBART – For the early lessons of childhood and the unsteady journey of adolescence, a simple scouting organization motto can be a sound piece of advice. “Be Prepared” is also an admonition for readiness in the spiritual life.
Gathered at St. Bridget for the annual Diocese of Gary Catholic Committee on Scouting’s Religious Emblem Mass on March 23, dozens of youth participants were encouraged to put their Christian values into action at every moment.
Bishop Robert J. McClory presided at the Mass, which called together members of the American Heritage Girls and Boy Scouts of America for the liturgy and for a medals ceremony, which followed. St. Bridget pastor and Scouting chaplain Father Benjamin Ross was joined by another concelebrant and fellow Eagle Scout, Father Steven Caraher.
“Today we heard Jesus asking all of us to be prepared,” said Bishop McClory, referencing biblical passages during his homily. “When we meet our Lord … what we will be asked to give an account for is if we accepted His love for us; did we accept Him as our savior. Did we say, ‘Lord Jesus, you are my savior, I’m not saving myself; I’m (dependent) on your mercy?’”
The bishop continued, “It’s not that the merit badges alone will get us into heaven, but how we live gives a reflection of the faith we have.”
He said that the youngsters, through the mentorship of their adult leaders, should “cultivate the ground,” or help others around them to prosper. The diocesan shepherd pointed to much “good fruit” already sprouted from the participants’ faith-affirming work in scouting programs.
“Congratulations on the accomplishments made and for all the scout leaders, the parents, families, brothers and sisters who have all had a part in saying, ‘We’re going to be prepared not just for generic situations that we encounter, but we will be prepared for what matters most and that is living a life of faith,’” said Bishop McClory.
Father Benjamin Ross was a newly-ordained priest when he began sharing his story of discernment and of the joys of being a scout more than a dozen years ago. In the audience at St. Thomas More School in Munster all those years ago was a young Steven Caraher.
Now Father Caraher, he is thankful for the lessons youth organizations had on his life and happy to see the eager youngsters participating at Mass. Their feats of faith were honored in an awards ceremony coordinated by the diocesan scouting committee chairperson Sue Kresich and Bishop McClory.
“Something that was going through my mind was remembering back when I was here 15 or 16 years ago,” Father Caraher recalled. “Just recently I found a picture with me as a young kid with all of my brother scouts with Bishop Dale Melczek, when I received my Light of Christ and Parvuli Dei (Children of God) awards.”
Over the past year, Father Caraher responded to mentoring opportunities, including parish visits to speak about the “gift of the priesthood.”
“Mrs. (Sue) Kresich asked me to be with the students who were earning their Pope Pius XII emblem, which is about vocations,” he recalled. “I told them that it was awesome to be a priest and I told them I came from the same place that they come from.”
Fifteen-year-old Joe Yearsich, a Hanover Central High School freshman, earned a Pillar of Faith pin for his completion of four religion courses. He was also the cross bearer for the Mass and wore a smile as he performed that honor.
“It’s an honor to have all four of these (awards) because it’s not something many scouts would be typically willing to do, willing to earn,” Yearsich said. “These mean to me to do my duty to God – whether that means helping others in school, or an activity that is in scouts, or helping at my church.”
Yearsich called his parents his first mentors, stating that their encouragement for him to join scouts helped him “realize how much it would lead to experience-wise.”
He said he is better able to adapt to things that he did not plan on through his early days in scouting when he stepped up to assist in mentoring during pandemic-modified meeting protocols.
“It showed me that while my troop may be experiencing (a slow season), it doesn’t mean that when we have new scouts come over that I can’t help them,” Yearsich explained.
Though they may be years away from a formal mentoring position, two American Heritage Girls spoke of the inspiring times they have had in their early years in the girls’ group. Over cake and refreshments in the St. Bridget school gymnasium, they returned to topics such as “faith” and “fun.”
Mary Keenan, 10, and Tessie Dustin, 9, were praised by AHG unit leader Michelle Wilson. The adult coordinator said the assistance of other parents providing their “unique gifts” has helped build up the Body of Christ. “We were thinking of the girls and having an organization where we could gather together to work on virtue building and building women of integrity, as a group.”
Keenan hosted a St. Patrick’s Day party for her leveling-up work. She said she didn’t mind the preparation. Certain kinds of activities keep her coming back to AHG meetings.
“It’s very fun how (we) do so many crafts, and scrapbooking is my favorite. (We) can take pictures, and (we) can make a page about it,” Keenan explained. “I did an Our Lady of Lourdes poster. We went to the Carmelite Monastery and we took pictures of a lot of stuff. My mom printed them, and I made this little poster about them.”
As a part of Troop 2020, Dustin completed faith lessons in each of the last three years to earn a pin.
“(We seek) to know about God more and be with other people more,” she said. “I think I will know how to do more stuff better.”
Father Ross said he has been eager to promote scouting during his ministry, recalling that he got a lot out of the group in which he rose through the ranks quickly because he joined as a teen.
“It’s really great to see all these young families and kids at Mass,” said Father Ross. “The scouting program has some great affinities to our faith in building up youth … ‘Be prepared’ and ‘do a good turn daily’ are very much in-line with our faith.”
Caption: Bishop Robert J. McClory presents an honorary certificate to American Heritage Girl Explorer Jane Swift (center), 9, as her parents Kathy and Mike Swift (at right) join her after the annual Diocese of Gary Catholic Committee Religious Emblem Mass on March 23 at St. Bridget church in Hobart. In his homily, the bishop praised the feats of faith accomplished by the girls, as well as attending Boy Scouts of America, and encouraged them to persevere in their belief. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
