Recognized for reverence

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HOPKINTON - Boy Scouts were honored Sunday for their faithfulness and dedication to the church at St. John Bosco Chapel in the woods at Camp Yawgoog.

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin joined the scouts in celebrating “Scout is Reverent Sunday,” an opportunity, the bishop said, to take a step back to renew and thank God for the gift of their Catholic faith.

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Boys, ages 11-17 travel with their troops from throughout New England and surrounding states to attend the camp, which is situated on 1,800 acres of Southern Rhode Island wilderness. Scout groups visit Camp Yawgoog on different weeks from Sunday to Sunday throughout the summer months and have the opportunity to participate in daily Mass. Along with following the commandments, attending daily Mass is one way a scout may be fulfill his duty of reverence.

Each scout is called to be reverent explained Father Angelo N. Carusi, who also serves as diocesan chaplain for scouting. On “Scout is Reverent Sunday,” he also praised the scouts for their dedication to the church.

“The scout slogan is to do a good turn daily, which is to be nice to people. That is what it’s about,” Father Carusi explained. “Reverence is the scout practicing their faith, whatever their faith may be. It is part of the scout law. If the adults take it seriously, they will pass it on, and most definitely do.”

As described in the Scout Handbook – “A Scout is reverent. A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others.”

Jared Przyborowski, 13 of New Fairfield Conn., attended the camp last week and with his troop attended Mass daily. The young scout shared that living his faith, “going to church and being respectful” are examples of being reverent. Troop 137 and the other troops present Sunday were all honored with the Daily Mass Attendance Scout Award presented by Bishop Tobin.

“We are so grateful,” said Przyborowski. “It’s great that he could celebrate with us.”

Zach Loudden, 13, shared that he was honored to participate in the special Mass as altar server. He explained that it was a wonderful experience to serve Mass with the bishop.

“I’ve been able to serve Mass with a few bishops but this was probably the greatest experience,” he said.

During his homily in the outdoor chapel a simple structure set in the midst of hiking trails and trees, Bishop Tobin shared that developing a friendship with Jesus is the “work of a lifetime.”

“Faith ultimately is about developing our knowledge and our love and friendship with the Lord Jesus Christ,” the bishop said. “It’s all about friendship with Jesus.”

“There is nothing more beautiful than to know Jesus Christ and to speak to others of our friendship with Christ,” Bishop Tobin said, recalling the words of holy father emeritus, Pope Benedict.

“It’s a beautiful description and in a very simple way what our faith is all about. Our current Holy Father has also spoken about the importance of our faith. How do we develop our friendship with Jesus? Our friendship with Christ is like any other friendship. It needs the commitment of our time, and our effort energy, and attention if it’s going to grow and prosper and flourish.”

The bishop encouraged the young scouts to live reverent lives of prayer and devotion by receiving the sacraments, listening to the word of God, keeping the commandments, participating in the life of the church and serving the poor and weak.

“In all these ways that are expressions of our faith, we come to nourish and develop our friendship with Christ,” he said. “It’s not just about me and Jesus. It’s about sharing our faith with others. We become evangelists wherever we are, wherever we live and in whatever we do. You don’t have to travel to the ends of the earth to be a missionary, but in your own homes, schools and neighborhoods with members of your family and friends. You give a good example of your friendship with Christ and your discipleship.”

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