marianist.com/donate • 13 our hearts to each other that summer, and I remembered how it felt to be so raw and emotional with another person — someone I’d met just a few days earlier. LIFE creates a safe place to be that vulnerable — to be human.” It also may be the first time students are with other adolescents who are willing to talk about their faith in public. “That’s huge,” says Brother Mark. “It gives them permission to live their faith in an authentic way.” During the rest of the week-long program, students regroup with classmates to process what they have learned and create a plan to take back home. But to build faith communities at home, they must first experience what it means to live in community. For example, they share a bunkhouse and bathrooms, eat and do chores together. The adult leaders participate in this, too. “We make the pillars of the charism very tangible,” says Toni. “Instead of just verbalizing our values, we model them. We live out a ‘discipleship of equals’ by the way we behave and treat one another.” There’s more. LIFE teaches students how to com- municate with an individual and within a group. Father Ralph is dismayed by the discourse among public officials and on social media. “They are terrible models for our students,” he says. “LIFE teaches students to freely express their opinions and challenge one another, but in a respectful way. We provide a counter-witness to a style of public debate by modeling it,” he says. Something they can wrap their minds around While students sort out respectful approaches to communication, they also are developing an ethical framework for their lives. That’s enhanced by exploring social justice issues, such as water scarcity or human trafficking, where they are taught to ask: “What choices am I making that affect people caught in these struggles?” They learn that their actions have consequences. “Social justice is tangible. They can wrap their minds around these issues,” says Father Bob. “It also gets personal when students realize that kids caught in human trafficking, for example, are just like them, and it’s happening all around them, often right next door.” Kids also begin to realize that they are empowered to do something. “We help them understand that when tackling these big issues, we start by making small changes that eventually can have a big impact,” says Toni. Now, social justice is woven into the whole LIFE program. “That’s because your moral life isn’t just about one issue — or comes up only when you go to confession,” says Father Bob. “It is interwoven into all parts of our lives. As Catholics, we are compelled to act on this, not just because it’s the right and moral thing to do, but because our faith calls us to do this. The Gospels say to go out and look for those on the margins. Look for people who are different from you.” Some things never grow old Some days, Toni still finds herself worrying. “It’s a noisy world out there. Our students are pulled in many directions,” she says. “I worry about them burning out or going numb.” But along comes another LIFE summer program. “My heart almost bursts when I see so many kids come alive in their faith and bond with one another. Faith and family are the bedrock values of LIFE. They are universal and never grow old.” Those involved with the LIFE program say that with all of our culture’s craziness, it’s important that kids know they are not alone — and that they are needed. “We need high school students’ voices to be heard. We need their energy and huge ideas,” says Brother Mark. “We also need adults, LIFE modera- tors, Marianist religious, parents and teachers — wisdom figures — to guide them and let them know we are here for them. We’re in this together.” ■ Prayer is interwoven into the LIFE program, helping students develop a spiritual practice to meet life’s challenges.