Catholic teens from around Brooklyn and Queens gathered on the morning of April 13 to praise God through dance, rap and adoration.

To reward and encourage teen leaders, the Office of Faith Formation held its annual Diocesan Youth Day at The Mary Louis Academy, Jamaica Estates.

“I felt like I needed to get away from everyday life and focus on what’s important,” said 14-year-old participant Aleksandra Ambroziak, who said she was surprised by what the diocese had in store for her. She thought she was going to have a quiet day of prayerful meditation.

Although there was time for eucharistic adoration, confession and Mass, the teens also participated in less traditional means of worship.

The keynote address this year was delivered by Bob Lesnefsky, who spoke under his hip-hop stage name, Righteous B. He had his audience on their feet dancing and rapping glory to God. They picked up his moves and prayed with him through words such as: “It’s about God from the crib to the casket.”

Lesnefsky runs a youth ministry urban outreach program to help teens make a personal connection to God.

 

He said his goal is to help youth “see that our God is a God of life and not someone who wants to turn you into a boring version of you.”

His message seemed to resonate with his audience. One of his participants, 15-year-old Russel Goeller, said he was inspired to try to find similar music because: “This guy can rap and rap about Jesus!”

Kymberley Gill, 16, said she learned a lot from the entertainer. She said he has shown her that prayer does not always have to be memorized and recited.

“It touched me,” she said, “because I always try to perfect my prayer, but now I know I can just say: ‘Hey God, thanks for this day.’”

The experience of having to get up to dance and sing with Righteous B helped Stephanie Adams, 14, overcome her shy nature. She said she will try to bring this newfound courage back to her parish, Holy Child Jesus, Richmond Hill, where she often volunteers. She hopes to be able to give it her all in an upcoming performance at a parish block party.

Paul Morisi, diocesan coordinator for adolescent and young adult faith formation, said the aim of the youth day is to expose youth to different aspects of their faith.

“The point is to engage the collective, to show them there are many opportunities to experience God,” he said.

 

Another benefit of the day is for youth to see that they are not alone in their quest to grow closer to God, said Ted Musco, director of the Office of Faith Formation.

“[We] bring young people together so they can see that there are others like the

m that want to experience the love of Jesus,” he said.

Paulina Babiak, 16, said that although she knew that there were many faithful young people, she had no idea that so many of her peers would be willing to make the sacrifice to wake up early on Saturday to go to a church event. Shannon Curran, 13, said she was inspired to see that so many young people are working through their struggle to put God first.

Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Chappetto, who celebrated Mass during the Youth Day, said this enthusiasm is one of the many contributions youth make to the diocese.

“They motivate us to keep going because of their energy,” he said. “I want to tell them how much they mean to the diocese, to Bishop [Nicholas] DiMarzio and to the pope himself.”