Catholic teens take faith door-to-door

Apr 18, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Nearly 150 teens traveled to the Diocese of Arlington last week for the ‘Youth for the Third Millennium Mega Mission’--an outreach of Regnum Christi--for a week of door-to-door evangelization.

According to Arlington’s Catholic Herald newspaper, the teens were sponsored by five parishes — St. John Parish, McLean; St. Catherine of Siena, Great Falls; St. Louis, Alexandria; St. Anthony of Padua, Falls Church; and St. Mary of Sorrows, Fairfax.

St. Mary of Sorrows hosted nearly 30 young men for the mission. Many of the participants came from Maryland or Washington and were joined by members of local youth groups.

The participants went door-to-door several times during Holy Week, from Wednesday to Saturday. They explained that they were Catholic missionaries and invited people to attend Holy Week activities at the parish, including a Living Stations of the Cross, performed by young people from St. Mary of Sorrows. Some attended.

The teens returned with stories. Some people had welcomed them into their homes and listened to what they had to say. They met people who didn’t know how to return to the Church or didn’t realize they were welcome back. Others were less positive, slamming the door in the young people’s faces or expressing their anger toward the Church.

The teens also participated in service projects for their host parish. During the Stations of the Cross, the young people carried a tall wooden cross around the block. On the main highways along their route, people honked their horns in support.