Young Church, are you ready to be inspired today? Say Amen!”
“Amen!”
The resounding affirmation came from the more than 600 teens, youth ministers, two dozen priests and others who converged Feb. 8 on Donovan Catholic High School, Toms River, for the daylong Diocesan Youth Conference.
This year’s DYC had as its theme: “Inspired – You are the light of the world,” from Matthew 5:13-16.  The event featured keynote addresses, a service project, lunch, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Confession and Mass with Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.
In his homily, Bishop O’Connell encouraged the youth to be an inspiration to the world at-large.
“God has inspired you, has breathed his life and love into your hearts. He has inspired you to be a ‘light in the darkness’ as our First Reading [Isaiah 58:7-10] reminds us ‘to share your bread with the hungry, to shelter the oppressed and the homeless, to clothe the naked and not turn your back on your own’ so that ‘your light shall break forth like the dawn.’ This is a different message than the world wants you to believe,” the Bishop said.
“Today, let’s all make the decision to be inspired and to live that way. Sometimes later becomes never. Do it now,” he said.
INSPIRED: DYC 2020 will be featured in the March issue of The Monitor Magazine.  For multimedia coverage, including photo highlights, go to TrentonMonitor.com>NEWS>YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS .