It was nearly a. I was at a youth conference in Florida, and members of my youth group were in their hotel rooms for the night. We had just had a powerful evening of prayer, Eucharistic Adoration, and empowerment, and the teens in my group were buzzing. Around a. I could tell it was important. She was a high school senior who got drunk at parties nearly every weekend, had experimented with drugs, and had a reputation for being promiscuous. I think she even showed up for the youth conference hung over.
On the other hand, Julia was a sweet, wonderful girl, very beautiful, artistic, and full of good intentions. The first step is to admit the problem and to come closer to Jesus. That caught me off guard. Her parents were divorced.
Her brother was in rehab. This is not the conversation I was expecting. I told her that anyone who was a real friend would love her, not for her sharing vices with them, but because of who she was. I prayed with her and told her that Jesus would help her find her way. I encouraged her to keep coming to youth group to grow in a community of friends who were virtuous.
She came to youth group every week and tried to participate. I saw her, by herself, at Mass every Sunday. I followed up with her regularly and tried to encourage her.
With every game, skit, video clip, catechetical talk, and prayer exercise, she would try, but I saw her drifting further and further away. Julia had tried β and she had even articulated the problem. Unfortunately, the structure of ministry I had put into place was not sufficient to meet her basic needs. If you were stranded on a desert island, your first thought would probably not be about getting off the island.
