As of recent, I have come to the unfortunate conclusion that being a young adult in the Catholic faith is much more shocking than it was 50 years ago. This very well may be my simple observation, however, the world is a constantly changing environment and religion is no exception. I grew up in the Catholic church, attending CCD classes through my sophomore year of high school, receiving every sacrament I can up to this point in my life, and as of recently, attending regular masses.

It seems to be a growing concern that less and less people are attending mass than ever before. I know that I have experienced it in my own church as most of our parishioners are of my grandparents’ generation with the exception of a few new families with little ones. When people hear that I still attend mass whenever I can, I typically get a shocked reaction. It’s scary to think that the world is losing touch with faith.

When I talk to so many people my age, I get the same response. “I believe that there is something larger above me, but I don’t believe that its God.” I completely understand that the topic of religion can be a sensitive one and I never try to prove my point about my faith to anyone. Everyone has their own reason to develop a relationship with faith, and sometimes it takes people a good majority of their life to find it.

A lot of people I’ve discussed my religion with explain that the largest reason that they don’t believe is because they felt like He let them down. It is very easy to question your faith when life hands you difficult situations. When I look at my sister who has to work so hard each day to perform simple tasks, I have been guilty of questioning why God would choose such an innocent and happy soul to have such a difficult fight. However, when you look at it from a different perspective, He gives us what he knows we can handle.

To me, too many things have happened in my life for me to turn my back on the one thing giving me hope. I have a sister with a very rare brain disorder, my dad and I both have type 1 diabetes, and I’ve lost quite a few people close to me. To be honest, I don’t know how I would have gotten through those situations without the belief that God will support me. My faith is so much more than celebrating Christmas and Easter. My faith gives me unwavering hope that I will be okay.

Believe me when I say that I do not agree with everything my religion preaches. However, with our new Pope, I think that we are finding ways to grow with our world rather than apart. Having faith in a world where it seems to be lost is not a bad thing in the least. Personally, I think the world is a pessimistic environment to live in. My faith provides me with a sense of optimism to combat the struggles of the real world. Have faith and be kind.