Young Faith
Published: Friday, July 13, 2007
By Meredith Heagney
Columbus will soon be a hotbed for teenage Catholics. More than 20,000 teens are expected Downtown at the National Catholic Youth Conference in November to worship, hear internationally known speakers and artists, and meet other like-minded young Catholics. As part of an occasional series leading up to the conference, The Dispatch talked to three people about what it is like to be a young, devout Catholic. They are growing in their faith as they grow into adulthood, exemplifying the conference theme, "Discover the Way."
Amanda Zurface is a well-traveled young Catholic. The 20-year-old Washington Court House native has studied in Rome, volunteered in New Orleans and attended World Youth Day in Germany. She will represent her school, Ohio Dominican University, at an AIDS/HIV conference sponsored by Catholic Relief Services later this month in Chicago. The Catholic Diocese of Columbus named her Young Catholic Woman of the Year.
Q. How does your Catholicism come into your daily life?
A. I focus on God in everything that I do, or at least I try to. I offer everything up to him. I try to go to Mass on a daily basis. I receive the sacraments on a daily basis. I serve others. I try to live out the Gospel.
Q.What challenges do you face as a Catholic college student?
A. Temptations every young person encounters. Drinking. Personally, too much of anything is a sin. Normally, (with) college students there's a stereotype of drinking a lot and that's something I've had to encounter before. You know it's something that your faith does pop in there. You know it's wrong. You know it's not seeking the ultimate good. How is it helping you, how is it helping you grow in your faith?
Q.How do you handle temptations to drink or have sex?
A. You don't put yourself in that situation to be around them. I mean, you know they're there. You know who's going to be doing it. You don't go to those places. You try to have pure relationships. You know which people are into those kind of things. When you're faith-filled and you're at a certain level of your faith, personally, I'm attracted to people who are like that. If you get caught in something like that, specifically drinking, don't participate in it, and set a good example once again and just let them see what you're doing.
Q. Have you ever thought about switching religions, as some college students do?
A. I have never, no. I've never thought about switching. I mean, there's times that things happen and you kind of wonder, "What is God thinking," you know? "Where is this going?" No. I've always been pretty set in my beliefs, pretty strong. If you're doubting God for some reason, normally if you pray about it and offer it up, it goes away and you get the answer God is really trying to get to you.
Q. Do you try to convert non-Catholics your age?
A. It's not necessarily trying to convert them. I encourage other ... young people to look into the Catholic Church, just because I've found so much peace in it. There's so much goodness and virtue in the church and, yeah, I encourage it. I don't push it on people. I don't think that's the right thing to do.
Q. What do your atheist friends think of you?
A. You know, I really don't know what they think. I mean, they're not my closest friends, but I'm sure they probably find me pretty annoying. (laughs) Just because I'll tease them. I'll say little things when I'm leaving like, "God bless you," you know? Stupid stuff like that. Just to kind of keep God on their mind. And you know, I don't change myself around them, just so they know God isn't going to go away.
Q. Do your peers have any misconceptions about you because you're so devout?
A. I think a lot of people sometimes think I'm judging them when they are doing stuff that I don't believe in or that the church doesn't encourage, which is not true. And you know, they're judging me.
Q. You said sometimes gay people think you're judging them.
A. And it's not true. It's just like, you don't do premarital sex. If you act upon something that you're not in marriage, you know, it's a sin. So, if you are not married, and you're a man and a woman, and you have sexual relations or whatever, it's a sin. And so it's just the same thing with a gay couple. They're not married.
A fixture at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Pickerington, 17-year-old Ashley Logsdon has attended anti-abortion-rights marches in Washington, D.C., three times with the church's Respect Life committee. She wants to be a science teacher, though she hasn't ruled out becoming a nun.
Q. Are your friends as religious as you are? What do they think of you?
A. It's kind of a mixture. I guess only one of my really good friends is Catholic. ... I have a few friends who are Mormon. Some of my friends are less religious, but they definitely respect me and my being Catholic. So like, one of my friends may have a tendency to use not-so-nice language occasionally and he knows I don't tolerate it. So he knows if he's going to say something, he'd better keep his mouth shut when he's near me. I guess I only have one of my friends where I've, I guess, had a confrontation about it. She had been Christian and then converted to being Wiccan. So she's less tolerant of my faith but she's never rude to me or anything, but we don't discuss it.
Q. Can you talk about a time you spoke out against something you didn't think was right, even though it was uncomfortable for you?
A. It can be tricky when some of my friends are pro-choice. We had to do a persuasive speech for English this year, and they did a speech about why pro-choice is the way to be. We were sitting in a circle on the floor just talking about our speeches. They were reading the points or whatever, and I was trying to say there's no logic whatsoever in some of their points. (They are) some of my best friends, but I was debating with them because I couldn't in good conscience not say something, especially when they were going to present them to a class of 30 kids.
Q. Can you tell me about a time you didn't feel like a good Catholic?
A. Well, that's what confession is for! (laughs) I'd be the first to admit I'm definitely not the best person ever. I think I don't feel like such a good Catholic when I'm around my brothers because they are definitely annoying, to say the least, for lack of a more polite word. I mean, my brothers drive me insane, so I will shout at them or not be kind to them. Oh, they drive me crazy. So I don't necessarily feel so Catholic then.
Q. Do you date?
A. I don't date. I don't really particularly want to have kids, and I think that would limit me in being able to go places or to participate in a variety of ministries and doing different things for the world. So I don't really want to have kids, and to be married in the church, you should be willing to have children. So that sort of blocks out the whole marriage thing for me, so dating is kind of illogical. I mean, there's not really a reason for me to date, and I certainly would feel uncomfortable doing it.
Q. Do you try to persuade non-Catholics your age to convert?
A. I generally don't try to convince people to be Catholic, I guess because, well, first of all, I don't think it would be very effective. The most I've done is, one of my friends, he hadn't been active in the church because his family wasn't, and I kept pulling him along, trying to get him to come to retreats and stuff. So I guess I tried to help convince him to be a more active Catholic, and it worked.
Q. Have you ever been teased for being very Catholic?
A. On Ash Wednesday, people will laugh at you for having dirt on your forehead.
Q. Does it seem to you like most teens aren't very religious?
A. I think most aren't, but I think there are a lot who are, too.
Q. Why do you think some aren't?
A. It depends, I think, on your family and your parents and whether or not they're religious. I think a lot of the parents don't necessarily put the effort into encouraging their kids to be good Catholics, so I think some kids just aren't exposed to it in a positive light. But I think some of them who I know have very wonderful parents who are very Catholic, and the kids are too caught up in their friends and just the pressures of society or being a certain way.
Richard Jeric, 18, has been playing the piano at Mass since he was in the fourth grade. He just graduated from Bishop Watterson and will attend Kent State University in the fall to major in music. Two summers ago, he composed a Mass for his school in just three weeks. His dream job is to conduct an orchestra.
Q. What's the hardest part of being a Catholic teenager?
A. We're just bombarded with stuff to the opposite. There's just a lot out there that tells us to not care so much, think about ourselves, worry about what's best for you, act in a way that is more free and more loose that's not necessarily in accordance with morality and true social justice.
Q. How do you keep your Catholicism in the forefront of your life?
A. Prayer is a big part of it. Never losing sight that you are Catholic, and what you believe is Catholic teaching and should be the focus of everything you do, say, think.
Q. You said you speak out about political issues at school. Ever catch any flak for that?
A. A little bit. Most of it was just friendly bickering because we're all politically minded. We all, especially these years, are very strong in our beliefs, and I respect everything that everyone says and try to be as open as I can to what everyone says. But at the same time, I'm very vocal with: This is the way it has to be.
Q. Are you always in step with the church on political and social issues?
A. I try to be as much as I can. Obviously, some things will conflict to an extent. Sometimes there will be a criminal on Death Row, and, it's tough to say, "Well, that's not the way to do it." I haven't always agreed with some of the things the church has said about immigration, but I'm trying to read up as much as I can, trying to understand what they're saying, and hopefully trying to come to a mixed review, if you will, and formulate your own opinion obviously about what the best way to do it is. Because there's a lot of people that don't know what the best way is, and hopefully a lot of people getting together will create the best situation.
Q. Does your Catholicism affect whom you choose as friends?
A. I try not to just because we're all people, and ultimately, if we all have good sound moral beliefs, good social justice, we should all kind of think the same way. There will be slight differences. But in general, no, I don't really think about that when I'm picking friends. At the same time, I'm very involved at St. Brigid (of Kildare Catholic Church in Dublin), I'm very involved at Bishop Watterson. You know, most of the people I am around are Catholics. But at the same time, I've got plenty of Protestant, Jewish ... I've got friends that are of other denominations, and they're all wonderful.
Q. Do you date? Does your Catholicism influence whom you date?
A. I do date. I think that, yes, it is a part of what I'm thinking. I look to my parents as a very good example of just dating in a really good way. They dated for four years before they finally married. They really got to know each other and they really tried to understand the differences, the similarities, how they can work with each other and then, you know, made the final decision. And it's been, I think, a great marriage. They're coming up on 25 (years) this October.
Q. Ever been teased for being very Catholic or religious?
A. I don't think so, actually. Not to the extent I think that some kids may think about it. People know where I am. They know I'm involved. And I think that they kind of respect it, to a degree.
Q. Do you think your belief system will be challenged at college?
A. It could, definitely. I'm definitely expecting it. I'm still planning on going to Mass every week. We'll see how the whole Sunday morning wake-up goes.
Q. Are you expecting your moral standards to change?
A. I don't think morals. I think morals are more a part of who you are. Hopefully something like that wouldn't necessarily change.
Photo caption: NEAL C. LAURON / DISPATCH
Amanda Zurface, looking at a ceramic Jesus she made in high school, has been named Young Catholic Woman of the Year by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus. "I try to live out the Gospel," the 20-year-old from Washington Court House says.
JEFF HINCKLEY / DISPATCH
Ashley Logsdon works on her Bible studies at her Pickerington home. She is involved in many faith-based projects and committees and has gone to several anti-abortion-rights rallies.
DAVID FOSTER / DISPATCH
Richard Jeric, 18, will attend Kent State University this fall to study music. He has played piano for 10 years.
Reprinted with permission; The Columbus Dispatch © 2007.
