September - St. Augustine Catholic

WINNER OF THE INAUGURAL MSGR. JOSEPH JAMES WRITING SCHOLARSHIP AWARD
I hope for every person on earth to be touched
by God. I hope for those who have their doubts, to
finally see him, and recognize his powers. I believe
that in order to work towards these hopes and
dreams, we must spread his message to those who
are not fortunate enough to already know him.
I hope that one day, the young people of this
world recognize their responsibility of spreading
his Word through not only words, but through
action. Last year I participated in Plunge, a youth
volunteer program sponsored by St. Catherine
Parish in Orange Park. The group goes to St.
Augustine for a week to help the elderly and
people in need by making simple repairs and
improvements to their homes. We worked from
9 o’clock in the morning to 4 o’clock in the
afternoon. We slept at a nearby school and ate our
meals at the local soup kitchen. The teens in our
group made sure the needs of our clients were met,
and that they were happy with our work.
We began to see our clients as friends. We
exchanged stories throughout the day getting to
know one another.
The weeklong project is proof there are young
people willing to share their God-given abilities
with those less fortunate. The
Plunge slogan is “Faith without
action is dead” taken from James
2:17, 20. This is a powerful verse
from the Bible – one that I try
to live by each day. Through the
actions and deeds of our Plunge
group, I hope people recognize
Jesus working within each of us
and his word will spread like
wildfire. I hope our actions will
inspire others to want to grow in
their faith and get to know our
Lord more intimately.
It is through projects like Plunge
that you realize Jesus is within each
of us – young, old, able or fragile.
It is through our action, kindness,
love and thankfulness that we
SCOT SMITH
see God. These are the qualities in which I hope
eventually fill the people of this world.
I believe as long as there are good people in this
world willing to sacrifice their time and efforts
for others and who put others before themselves,
God will prevail. I hope that, like the teens of
Plunge, we all find time to become closer to him.
It is through our work for him that we receive his
blessings.
By spreading the word of God, I believe there
will be less hatred filling the world. With the
message of God being so clear, a true love for every
one of us should be found and exercised without
prejudice. The world would then have no choice
but to become a better place for future generations.
As long as we use the word of God to motivate
us to keep up our morale, and come together to
create a better place for ourselves, there is still
hope for the world to be engulfed in his message.
Hope for the future is all I ask. Hope that we
realize how great God can be, and how he can
help us overcome our obstacles. It is because of
his undying love that he forgives our mistakes and
faults. I hope that our actions show our beliefs, and
spark curiosity of why we love him so much — so
others will want to know him too.
I hope that eventually, every
person in this world embraces the
love of God, forcing all doubt and
hatred to be smothered completely
out of our lives. I hope we work
hard and never falter because
without action, our faith will die.
If we remain hopeful, I believe this
world has no choice but to become a
better place for everyone.
Rachelle Andone is a 2006 graduate
of Ridgeview High School in Orange
Park and a member of Sacred Heart
Parish in Green Cove Springs. She is
now attending the University of Florida
in Gainesville and plans to major in
graphic and commercial art design.
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