St. Anthony's High School Youth Group isn't big enough to have Mass in Church. Last Sunday, they gathered with Father Apo around the fireplace mantle in the parish center to celebrate Mass in a way that resembles how early Christians gathered for the Eucharist.
The very lives of early Christians were threatened if they expressed their faith publicly so they met in their homes to avoid persecution. Today, remaining true to one's religion while in high school isn't easy either. Student's face both a spoken and unspoken cultural oppression of religion from their peers. They live in an atmosphere of mental pressure that discourages expressions of religious faith.
In the video below, our student music leaders, Emily and Ethan lead us in singing Kumbaya during our Mass. According to a February 8, 2018 New York Times story, "The first known recording of that song was made in Darien, Georgia, in 1926, sung by a Gullah Geechee man name H. Wylie. The chorus was actually "Come By Here," which in Gullah's Creole accent sounds like cum-by-yah. Over time, that pronunciation transformed into what we know today as kumbaya. The hymn was a call to God to come and help the people as they faced oppression."
Please pray for our high school students this year as they go against what their peer culture is saying. May that have the courage to reach out to God and ask Him to "Come By Here."
