Editor’s note: The following is a reflection by 17-year-old Jonathan Caputo of St. Mark Parish, Sea Girt, following his participation in the Diocese’s Mission: Jersey service retreat for teenagers held the end of July and first week of August.
We all want our lives to matter. At this point in my life, my parents are encouraging me to get good grades, choose a college, graduate, get a good job and make lots of money in the hopes that they have raised an individual who will be a responsible and reliable adult when I take my place in society.
Of course, I want that too; however, those things alone are only able to impact myself and my small group of friends and family. So, I find myself asking a more encompassing question, “What was I truly made for?”
Recently, I had the good fortune to attend Mission: Jersey, a community service retreat sponsored by the Diocese of Trenton that brings high school teens from other parishes together to live out our Catholic faith and help those in need. This five-night retreat finally gave me the answer I sought to my question. The retreat focuses on these four pillars: service, prayer, community and simplicity. We served at soup kitchens, food banks, clothing centers and worked at Seeds of Service (SOS), an amazing nonprofit ministry located in Brick. Its dual mission is to help families recover and rebuild after the devastating effects of Superstorm Sandy, as well as bring youth and young adults together with opportunities to serve, support and care for those faced with adversity.
It was such a humbling experience to shift the focus off of myself and onto others through serving. It was an opportunity to live out my faith by staying on God’s path and making a contribution to God’s other children. It was also a way of saying “thank you” for what Jesus has done for me, by sharing my compassion with others.
Each night, after working hard all day, our group assembled together in prayer. We also played faith-based games and icebreakers that were a lot of fun. Praying together gave me a deep sense of belonging and a feeling that I was an essential part of a greater purpose. It let me experience the presence of God and created a family bond between all of the volunteers. Praying together opened all of our hearts and minds to the needs of the people.
By relating to each other as members of a family, we became a strong faith-based community that was able to share our support and outreach to the broader communities around us. A simple gesture like reaching out a hand to the person next to us who seems lost or struggling is what community is all about, and I learned that God wants us to create a community where we can find comfort in each other during difficult times.
Simplicity in service showed me that there is real joy and fulfillment in life by being genuine, humble and kind and doing good quietly. Even though simplicity requires a certain amount of sacrifice, the reward I received by helping others was well worth it.
“What was I truly made for?” The answer to my question is to become more like God. We all have something in us and about us that God wants to use for the greater good. We don’t have to be superstars to make a difference in the world. Anything that we can do that enables us to spread God’s love is a talent. God wants us to use that talent by treating all human life as valuable, and every person, including “the least among us” should be treated with dignity and respect.
Mission: Jersey allowed me to come to this realization. It was a wonderful experience where I made new friends, realized the importance of service, experienced the face of Jesus in those that I served and encouraged me to continue my service to others. I highly recommend if you are in high school that you look into this great retreat and put your faith into action. I promise that it will be a very special and memorable time in your life.
Jonathan Caputo is a senior in St. Rose High School, Belmar.