The plane was quiet except for a couple of emotional outbursts, but nothing major. The only words I recall [the pilot saying] were, 'Prepare for impact.' I looked out the window and thought, there is a good chance we are going to die. I thought about my family and started praying. - Fred Berretta (Source: FOXnews.com) There was a big bang. I prayed and prayed and prayed. Believe me, I prayed. I knew we were going to crash. The question was: how close to the buildings were we going to be? Honestly. I thought we were all going to die. ... I kept thinking to myself, 'I didn’t get a chance to tell my family I love them.’ - Elizabeth McHugh (Source: Telegraph.co.uk)We feel for Fred, Elizabeth and the other 153 survivors who endured pure terror. But might we also envy them?--for their profoundly good fortune, sure, but more so for the new lease on life that we imagine such an experience would bring. To survive a plane crash, would this not make laughable the obstacles of fear, self-consciousness or routine that we've meekly surrendered to, preventing us from truly living in the freedom of Christ? Must we experience that plane crash to do so ourselves?
At the Canadian Catholic Youth Ministry Network conference, I caught up with Clay Imoo, Director of the Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry for the Archdiocese of Vancouver. Clay shared news about exciting initiatives coming out of the Archdiocese of Vancouver, his thoughts on the New Evangelization and some of the challenges of ministering […]