The Dignity of Every Student

Saint John Paul II was a great advocate and defender of the God-given dignity of every human being. Each person is uniquely born in the image and likeness of God; every person is a priceless work of beauty by our Father and creator. This truth is one of the most compelling reasons that we Brothers strive to meet with all of our students and young adults on a one to one basis.

I remember growing up in a large suburban parish in New Jersey. I had all sorts of questions and life struggles, but there were only a few priests for hundreds of people. For my unique struggles and questions I needed personal attention, but the church was too big to offer it.

Our heavenly Father wants to save, heal and enlighten everyone. His love for us is not efficient (he doesn’t save us in packs) but it is deeply personal. So the Brothers, our missionaries and outreach staff dedicate a large portion of our time to meet with and pray for individual students. There is immense transformation that happens in these meetings as our Father can speak through us directly to the specific needs of a young person. At so many of these personalized meetings, the student just needed to know they are “not the only one” that wrestles with certain doubts and sins. They often don’t even need answers as much as they need to be heard and encouraged.

A Brotherhood of Hope campus or young adult outreach might not be the largest in an area (although our numbers are solid), but we are generally the deepest and the most comprehensive. Like Jesus the Good Shepherd, we know our sheep by name and our sheep know us because we have loved them – one awesome child of God at a time.

Please pray for us as a new mission year begins and we try to reach hundreds of students and young adults with the Sacraments, our large and small group meetings and also one student at a time.

God Bless,
Br. Kenneth Apuzzo, BH
General Superior