Two conventions

I am going to try to make a point, and hope I make it intelligently.

I live next door to an arena.   In fact, I live between a minor league baseball stadium and the aforementioned arena.  So I am surrounded by sports!  The arena is owned by the local college,  the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.  During the school year, the school uses the facility for different purposes, especially for sporting events like the games played by the UMass-Lowell ice hockey team.   During the summer, though, (and I imagine at other times of the year, as well), other groups are allowed to use it when the school is not.
This summer, different religious groups have used it.  I have lived here for five weeks now, and it seemed every weekend up until this past one, the Jehovah Witnesses have used it for a meeting.  Every weekend, I would see families coming together, dressed to the max, and while I do not know exactly what was going on inside, I would imagine they were hearing some talks on their faith, perhaps doing some faith sharing, and likely praying together.
Before I move on to my main point, let me state that I do not agree theologically with Jehovah's Witness.  They do not believe Jesus is God, like Catholics do.  There are other things they believe that I do not, such an earthly kingdom will be coming, and that there is no hell.   They, however, do believe, though, that Jesus came from heaven and that he opened the door to salvation by his death on the Cross.  They believe one should follow his teachings.  So, they do have a fair degree of truth in what they practice and believe.
I myself, do believe 100% of what the Roman Catholic church teaches because I believe it is clear from the evidence that Jesus Christ founded one Church, and that He intended everyone to be a member of that one Church.   Therefore, it stands to reason that He would protect it from teaching error.
Having said that, while I agree 100% with what the Catholic Church teaches, I do not agree 100% with how Roman Catholics behave.  This is a key distinction that must be made in a society that does not like to make distinctions between people and actions.

So, I guess we finally come to the first point I am trying to make.   While I do not agree with everything Jehovah's Witnesses believe, I absolutely respect the way they were dressed and behaved for their meetings over the past several weekends.   It was great especially to see families coming together to fellowship, pray and learn together.

This past weekend, they were not there.  Instead, there was a Catholic youth convention.  This is a popular youth event that is held in different parts of the country, and is coordinated by a very respected Catholic college in Ohio.  High school students come in groups to fellowship with their peers, worship, pray, and learn more about their Faith.  I have heard many positive things about these weekend conventions, and I have no doubt that God works through the people that run them to touch the lives of many youth, who in turn, touch others with what they have witnessed.

However, I cannot help but contrast the two images.  In one group, we saw families coming together, dressed to the max, men in jacket and ties, ladies in dresses, and the children dressed very nice, as well.  In the other group, this past weekend, we saw young people, mostly without their parents, dressed in shorts and tee shirts.   I cannot help to think, boy would it not be great if we could have Catholic family conventions, where Catholics come as families to learn about the Faith, and grow together, as a family.  I think this is a sign of one of the problems in the Church today, we are not the family of God we are supposed to be.  We are a bunch of individuals, living our own lives, isolated from one another.
The contrasts between the two groups gave me food for thought, and I hope it does for you, as well.   One group was learning the fullness of Faith, the other only some truth, and some error.  However, the latter group,  in its outward presentation at least, I feel, to me, gave me a fuller witness to how things should be, families praying and learning the Faith together.

Joseph, Head of the Holy Family, pray for us.