This year’s Diocesan Youth Day brought twice as many teens as last year from Brooklyn and Queens to the Immaculate Conception Center, Douglaston.

More than 600 people worshipped God together and learned more about their faith. Auxiliary Bishop Paul Sanchez joined them to help them prepare for the day.

Jamique Davis, 19, from Most Precious Blood, Bath Beach, said he was happy that the bishop was there to show the support of the Church leadership for youth.

He came last year as he was preparing to join the Church at the Easter Vigil. It was important for him to meet a bishop as an assurance of his decision. He is happy that some of his friends that will be receiving the sacrament this year have been afforded the same experience.

Seeking Inspiration

Personally, Davis came to the event “to be inspired by the Holy Spirit.”

He leads a praise and worship group at his parish and he said he sometimes gets dry spells. The event helped nourish his creativity and devotion.

Artemio Kowalski, 14, also from Most Precious Blood, said he was there with two goals in mind: “To not to get in trouble and to get closer to God.”

Fourteen-year-old Derek Ortiz, from St. Frances Cabrini, Bath Beach, said he never had been to a retreat before.

“I decided I wanted to have a different experience,” he said.

Maria Schmidt, 16, from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Dyker Heights, said she came to build upon her spirituality.

“I wanted to experience my devotion to God,” she said. “Once you get closer to God, all you have is joy.”

Bishop Sanchez said the teens were in good hands to help them reach their goals because they were assured of the presence of God during the Mass that started the day.

“It’s important to prepare them for the work of the future,” he said. “God carries on His work through the young and old.”

He was happy to see so many teens join him in worship of God but he was not surprised.

“I’m not surprised because I know so many people who worked so hard,” he said. “It’s bearing fruit.”

To help all the teens reach their goals at whatever stage in their faith they were at, Paul Morisi, event coordinator and youth minister for the diocese, organized diverse options for workshops, a Holy Hour with Jornada musicians and keynote speaker Andrew Richard.

The workshops were titled: Beautiful Beginnings, Leading the Way, Finding the Face of Christ, Filled in the Spirit and Youth Minister Workshops.

The Jornada Musicians played lively music and sang during Mass and the Holy Hour. They finished the Mass with “I’m Trading My Sorrows,” better known as “Yes, Lord.”

Kowalski was proud of his parish group for being the first during Mass to stand and clap. When asked why, he answered simply: “’ we’re from Brooklyn!”

Emily Vasquez, 15, from Blessed Sacrament, Jackson Heights, said she enjoyed the music because it was different. She came to the event to learn new things and the music helped her do that. She learned that this type of music helped her concentrate during prayer.

The event fell on her birthday, which she thought was a great way to celebrate.

“Why not have a new experience?” Vasquez explained her reasoning. “Why not spend a day with God and learn new things, meet new people?”

The keynote speaker also surprised many of the teens. Jessica Gomes, 15 from Ascension parish, Elmhurst thought the speaker was going to be someone older, who might not have understood teens all that well.

Richard works with Dirty Vagabond Ministries and came to speak at the event from Kansas. Gomes said he caught her attention from the beginning with the different icebreakers, including one where he asked the teens to find random items in the room, like shoelaces and big hoop earrings, and bring them to their teammate on stage.

After catching their attention, Richard asked them to think about professional sports. He asked them to think about the athletes who give their all for their team, to think about how amazing it is to watch an athlete be carried off after he took an injury for the good of his team.

Part of God’s Team

That’s kind of what Jesus did on the way to Calvary, Richard said. God gave His everything, His last bit of strength and resolve for His team, humanity. Richard said everyone is part of that team, no matter how much they sinned or how far they are currently from the cross.

At the end of his presentation, the keynote asked the teens to meditate on their relationship with God and commit or re-commit themselves to Him.

Ted Musco, director of the School of the Evangelization, which is now the umbrella diocesan office that encompasses diocesan youth ministry, said he was proud of the diocesan teens.

“It’s fantastic and unbelievable that so many enthusiastic young people took time out to participate in this youth day,” he said.

Unbelievable not because he did not think them devoted, but unbelievable because he said he knows how many opportunities and responsibilities students face in their schedules. He was impressed that they all still found a way to give up a Saturday for God.

“There is a sense that Jesus is here in Brooklyn and Queens,” he said.