CANFIELD, OHIO-As Catholic students in high school graduate this Spring, Bishop David Bonnar has some words of advice: “When the questions emerge, when the uncertainty creeps in, when the peer pressure becomes more real, turn to Jesus.”
David J. Bonnar, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, shared his reflections on faith in public life at the First Friday Club of Greater Youngstown on the first Thursday of October 2024 at Avion on the Water Banquet Center in Canfield, Ohio. He urged Catholics to both pray and vote in pursuit of the four pillars of Catholic Social Teaching: the dignity of the human person, subsidiarity, the common good and solidarity.
Following his remarks, Bishop Bonnar answered questions from the audience. The first question came from a senior at Cardinal Mooney High School who asked for guidance about how to stay true to his faith as he prepares to attend college.
The Bishop complimented the young man on his thoughtful question and thanked the group attending the event before replying: “The key is a relationship with Jesus Christ. The best thing you can do is encounter Jesus every day.”
See the question and Bishop Bonnar’s full response below, starting at minute 35 of the video posted to YouTube by the First Friday Club of Greater Youngstown:
Later, a fellow member of the Cardinal Mooney senior class asked a followup question: “What is the best advice you can give me about getting involved [in Church and service projects]? What is the best way to go about doing that in college?” she wondered.
Bishop Bonnar responded, “I am so proud of you and what you represent. It gives me great joy. In terms of finding a similar environment … In every Catholic institution there is this thing called campus ministry […so] the first thing I would invite you to do is get involved with campus ministry.”
To illustrate the power of campus ministry, Bishop Bonnar told the story of visiting Walsh University to spend the day. He encouraged the students he encountered through campus ministry to work for the Church. That day he met a student named Maddie DiSalvatore (now Maddie Francisco) who became a high school campus minister after graduation. She now serves as our Diocesan Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Accompaniment.
The Bishop concluded, “It gets windy with just the ways of the world pushing and pulling, but stay grounded in Jesus and you’ll stand tall.”
See the full question and answer below, starting at minute 44 of the video posted to YouTube by the First Friday Club of Greater Youngstown:
For more information on universities involved in campus ministry in the Diocese of Youngstown, visit doy.org/ministries/campus-ministry.
To find out more about their upcoming luncheon series and videos of past speakers sponsored by the First Friday Club of Greater Youngstown, visit firstfridayclubofgreateryoungstown.org.
