Diocese Honors 67 With St. Maria Goretti Youth Distinction

Editor’s note – a full list of honorees accompanies this story on TheMessageOnline.org.

Bishop Charles C. Thompson called the 67 recipients of the Diocese of Evansville’s St. Maria Goretti Youth Distinction for 2016 “the cream of the crop” during the March 6 Mass and Conferral Ceremony at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville.

“Because you are being honored today,” he said, “you have shown qualities and attributes in your own lives – already – of St. Maria Goretti. She chose to die rather than to give in to her attacker, showing great courage and virtue at a very young age.”

He noted that the young people being honored had already displayed elements of strong character, having embraced the values instilled in them by their families and faith communities.

Bishop Thompson said the theme of the day – the Fourth Sunday of Lent – is founded in God’s mercy and in having an ongoing relationship with God. He recalled something he’d heard from a professor in seminary about the day’s Gospel, Luke’s account of Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son.

“He said, ‘if you understood this story, you pretty much understood the whole New Testament,’” Bishop Thompson said. “For him, this epitomized the whole teaching of Jesus.” Bishop Thompson suggested that Pope Francis probably would agree with this, noting that the first line of the Bull of Indiction declaring the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy is, “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s Mercy.”

“He goes on to say that this may well sum up everything about our faith,” the bishop added.

He talked about the concept of repentance, noting that on Ash Wednesday, many who received the sign of the cross on their foreheads heard those administering ashes say, “Repent and believe in the Gospel.”

“We don’t just repent in despair,” he said, “but also to encounter and embrace God’s mercy and love for us. Repentance must be a part of our ongoing relationship with God. We hear that relational aspect in all three readings.”

“Each time we celebrate Mass,” he said, again focusing on the Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son, “we celebrate a God who comes running to us, who immediately embraces us with compassion, who immediately restores us … who never wants that dignity to be lost to us. What Jesus tells us in that story is that God loves us so unconditionally that He will do what seems, to the human mind, to be shameless. But that is the way of God’s mercy … beyond anything we can fathom.

“We gather here today to celebrate your honor of receiving the Goretti Award, which is a great award, but also to celebrate with you our dignity as children of God and ambassadors of Christ,” Bishop Thompson said. “May you have the courage of Maria Goretti to live your dignity day in and day out, and know the mercy of God for yourselves – and show that mercy in the way you treat others.”

Ten priests of the diocese concelebrated Mass with Bishop Thompson: Father Sadhakar Bhastati, Father Christopher Droste, Father Tony Ernst, Father Zach Etienne, Father Dave Fleck, Father Jason Gries, Father Ken Herr, Benedictine Father Godfrey Mullen, Father Jeff Read and Father Alex Zenthoefer. Deacons Gerald Gagne, Joseph Siewers, Michael Waninger and Edward Wilkerson assisted.

About the St. Maria Goretti Youth Distinction

The Saint Maria Goretti Youth Distinction recognizes young people for their outstanding contribution to the life, mission, and ministry provided to their family, parish, school and community. Any High School student who actively lives out his/her Catholic faith is eligible to receive this distinction. No more than two students are recognized from each parish.