My Experience @ Congress X
Fulfilling God's Plan for My Life
By Christopher A. Boudy, Sr.
Congress X in Buffalo, New York drew in many
African-American Catholics from church communities throughout the country.
I experienced a sense of fellowship and worship in God's name that was profound.
Energy filled every mass, gathering, event and workshop that I attended.
In fact, Congress X was a turning point in my life.
As soon as I touched down at the Buffalo Airport, I felt it. The Holy Spirit
came upon me and guided me through the four day spiritual journey in ways
I will never forget. However, one message radiated within my thoughts and prayers
throughout the entire event: "The family that prays together stays
together". I know we hear this cliché many times,
but if we look at it from the perspective of Congress X, we can see its significance
on a much larger scale.
I still think about all the love that was shared.
People who didn't even know me shared their faith. I developed strong bonds with
people I had met for the first time. It wasn't about who was from what community,
church, or group. Rather, it was about total togetherness. The fact that youth and
adults came together to show their love for God was an amazing experience. We didn't
just go to church; we were Church.
I had the honor of leading a breakthrough session
titled, "Communication, Education, and Evangelization through Modern Technology."
I made presentations to adult leaders and young people about using technology to
reach out to Christian youth today. I wanted it to be an experience that moved beyond
a usual seminar, and turn into an innovative approach to proclaiming the Gospel.
New technologies can, and must be used to spread God's message to the modern world.
As I was preparing for the session, it hit me. The gift God gave me was the ability
to understand how new technologies work, and how I can teach others to use them in
relevance to their daily lives. In a nutshell, Congress X was one more opportunity
for me to hear God's calling in my life, and to call others to hear theirs. As a
community, we had a chance to examine the important role technology plays in reaching
out to 21st century youth and young adults. They will be the leaders of our church years
from now and they are indeed leaders today as well. If we do not communicate with them
in ways they understand and prefer, we will be forced to watch our traditions,
our heritage, and our faith slowly slip away into the noise of society.
God's Plan became evident once again at Congress X,
and hopefully, we will listen to what is being said. We sometimes say, "What
does God want me to do with my life?" But once we understand God's Plan for us,
we then gain new insight into the real question. "What does God want me to do
with my life to help others". Again, I rediscovered what God wants me to do
with my life. I am called to use my unique gifts in my own way, so that others
will know, love and serve God more each day.
Christopher A. Boudy, Sr. is a technologist who
believes that everyone should benefit from the use of modern technology. His
goal is to use technology to bring youth closer to Christ. "To contact
Chris for any website development needs or technology consulting, you can
reach him at http://www.cbxwebdesigns.com"
