Catholic Faith and the Young
Through the eyes of a young Catholic
In Iceland, young people are longing to draw closer to God through attending Church services and spiritual programs. There is a group of youths who with the guidance of priests and nuns try to organize regular meetings and activities for youths who want to stay connected with the Catholic Church even after the Sacrament of Confirmation. Back in March, The Catholic Youth Iceland organized a weekend-get-away for Catholic youths from age 13 to 23 to join and to get to know more about God and our beautiful Catholic faith.
This following testimony is from 15-year-old Maria Lara David, who was offering her services during this activity and who allows us to witness a spiritual activity through the eyes of a young Catholic.
“Being part of a team that offers their service in a spiritual activity, I was nervous for my first youth camp. Especially since it had been my dream to serve more for the Catholic Church one day, when I had first signed up for youth camp I didn’t really know what to expect. I thought it would be an interesting weekend, with fun and games and some presentations about God, but what I hadn’t known was about the lasting impact on my heart, my faith and my perspective on life, and I had never thought I’d be serving one day.
When the day had finally come for youth camp, I was genuinely so nervous, especially because I’m not a social person at all. But I took a deep breath and told myself, I’m here to serve for a reason. God chose me to be on this path and I shall make the best out of it. This youth camp was going to be the first one and a big one too – not only were youths from Mariakirkja’s parish going, but also from Jósefskirkja and Landakot parishes, it was new but definitely something I was looking forward to. We stayed in Sólheimar, a self-sustaining eco-village with a great faith story, as we would later find out in Bishop David’s homily. The event hall was a pretty spacious place, it was very beautiful and comfortable to be in, and I just knew it was going to be a great weekend. The first presentation was in a talk show format which I really enjoyed and I felt like the people around really enjoyed it too. It gave me the opportunity to reflect about who Jesus Christ is to me, and it really gave me a better understanding that the Lord is more than a role model to me, but a best friend I can open up to, a guide in life, and a father I can go to in my deepest times. Discussion groups are one of my favorite things about youth camp, because I feel like it’s where I can really reflect on what I’m saying and I feel like I can open up a lot in these groups without feeling judged, and the feeling after opening up is like a weight being lifted off my shoulder.
The second day was filled with a lot of opportunities for reflection and fun activities. It started in the morning with a short service team prayer meeting, truly a lifting way to start a morning. Participants started the day by learning a song. The second presentation was a game show, and it was super fun. I felt like all the participants were really interested in this concept and it was amazing to see everyone participating including myself, the vibe was very enthusiastic and very educational at the same time. Afterwards was mass in the small chapel near the venue, the Holy Mass was celebrated by Bishop David and Fr. Piotr, and we all took a group photo with the Bishop after the Holy Mass in the beautiful Church of Sólheimar.
Afterwards we headed back to the venue and presented a skit, which was very inspiring and compassionate, because the message was that no matter how deep you fall, the Lord will always lift you up on your feet and be with you through everything. Then the third presentation came, and I had to give a testimony. I was nervous about my testimony about faith, I had written everything down, but I had realized my words should come from my heart, so then came my testimony, and I had my note just in case and then I started speaking. I was nervous but I genuinely felt moved by everything I said and I nearly cried, but I was happy I got to share about faith to people, and I genuinely hope they will grow more faith in the Lord as time goes on. Afterwards we had workshops: there was music, acting, and arts and crafts workshops. Me and 2 others were managing the arts and crafts workshop. I had so much fun seeing all the people who chose the arts and crafts workshop create these wonderful art pieces of the Lord, and some had painted crosses. Then we had a sportsfest, where the participants had a lot of fun in the games we had prepared for them. The fourth presentation was my favorite out of them all, it was titled “The power of the Holy Spirit”. It showed me more depth about how powerful the Holy Spirit is. My favorite part was the prayer activity that followed after the presentation. The parishes gathered into groups and someone prayed for them. Deacon Mike Frigge together with his wife April prayed over the youths from Maríukirkja, Sister Antipolo (blue sisters) prayed over the ones of Jósefskirkja, and Fr. Piotr prayed over the ones of Landakotskirkja. I cried during this moment, and it made me feel so alive and filled with so much grace. This moment truly filled my heart and was so vulnerable and beautiful.
Afterwards we were showing our workshop creations, the music video that the acting and music workshop had put together and the art workshop had amazing works of art, like these collages of Jesus.
On our last day we had our final presentation, which was called “Growing in the Spirit.” This really helped me understand more on how we can grow deeper in our faith in different ways like through prayer, studying the bible and other scriptures, acts of service or spending time with people who share the same faith as me. We ended the presentation by celebrating Holy Mass with Fr. Piotr followed by the Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (Adoration). We had a little reflection time, where we asked God where we need Him most in our lives. And during this time, I almost cried because I’ve been struggling so much before youth camp, and how this weekend genuinely changed my perspective on things. Our Adoration ended with a praisefest (praying to God through singing) and this was probably my favorite part of the weekend. We were singing praise songs and overall, the atmosphere was just great and energetically pleasant. We were singing a vibrant song and everyone participated in a “Bolognese” (train of people) which was super fun – my absolute favorite moment in Youth Camp.
This weekend has changed my perspective on things and has helped me since, God is truly great, and I am deeply inspired to keep living and learning to be deeply rooted in my faith. God truly had blessed me with great people, and I have no idea what I would do without God and these amazing other young Catholics. Cheers to an amazing and successful weekend youth camp 2025.”
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About the writer: Maria Lara David is a Filipina Icelandic, who wants to deepen her relationship with God through attending Church services and through acts of service. Together with other youths she helps to organize monthly activities for the parish youths.
About The Catholic Youth Iceland: The Catholic Youth Iceland is the youth organization of the Diocese of Reykjavík which helps organize youth activities with the guidance and support of priests and nuns.
- Youth Camp with youths from Landakotskirkja, Maríukirkja and Jósefskirkja
- Bishop David, Mass celebrant during Youth Camp
- Arts & Crafts workshop at Youth Camp
- Maria Lara David
