Four finalists were selected from St. Pius X Elementary School to participate in the 2nd Annual Christ is Alive National Essay Contest sponsored by Communication Center (com.center.com), distributor of Catholic religious education curriculum. The theme for the contest originated from Pope Francis’s post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit, “Christ is alive, and he wants you to be alive! He is in you; He is with you and he never abandons you.”

Third through sixth grade students at St. Pius X were asked to write a one-page essay describing a moment when they felt close to God. According to Beth Hinojosa, principal of St. Pius X School, some of the essays were so good that it was hard to choose. She said teachers would come to her with several essays in their hands – unable to decide, but after prayerful consideration they were able to make a decision.

“Just reading their essays brought a lot of love and joy to our hearts – we see it every day, but it was especially nice reading our sixth grader’s essay. She’s new to our school and she received Christ’ love at Mass from our pastor, Father Paul Hesse,” Hinojosa said. “That’s pretty special.”

The four finalists selected to enter into the national contest are sixth grader Nevaeh Contreras, fifth grader Lizzie Leyba, fourth grader Sam Stadler, and third grader Joaquin Arellano.
 

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A Surprising Sunday

by Nevaeh Contreras

Imagine sitting in a pew with your family, on a Sunday afternoon. When you hear the priest speak the word of God, “Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed for the Lord our God is with you wherever you go,” and a feeling of relief comes over you. This is the moment I felt closest to God.

One Sunday afternoon, my family and I were attending church. Mass usually lasts an hour and this day started out like any other, repetitious! Of course, I was bored, and my mind was running a mile a minute. I was thinking about the class work from the prior week that I had not completed and how it would affect my overall grade average. I was afraid that it was going to be difficult to understand the following algebraic lessons that the teacher would teach us. Then the priest caught my attention while reading a scripture verse, I suddenly looked up at the priest and felt like he was talking directly to me. At this very moment I saw no one else in the church except myself and Father Paul [Hesse]. I felt the weight lifted off my shoulders. A sudden relief fell upon me My heart felt a little lighter and a calmness came over me. At that moment I knew the overwhelming feeling I had was gone and a sense of closeness that had given me comfort and direction. I knew I could always turn to the Lord.

In conclusion, even though this Sunday started out very boring and repetitive it was a day like no other. It was the first Sunday that I had felt the closeness of God. From this day on I knew that if I ever needed comfort, strength, direction, or relief I could always turn to the words Father Paul spoke that day. 

 

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Closeness to God

by Lizzie Leyba

Jesus Christ is truly incredible and amazing. We usually feel close to God every day knowing he will be at our side all the time and everywhere. But sometimes we feel close to God more than we can imagine. But of course, we all have different stories.

Sometimes we feel angry at ourselves or not happy in a way. But God will always be there to get us back up on our feet. I have had this feeling as well, but God helped me rise back up and to not lose hope.
Even if we do give up God will love us no matter what. It helps us to think and pray because the feeling of no hope is horrible, but with God we won't feel that anymore.

A time when I feel close to God is at Mass when I am lectoring.
It's the joy of spreading Jesus’s word and love. At first I'm nervous, but I then realize how lucky I am to have the opportunity to spread God's name. After mass I feel accomplished because I helped spread the name of the Lord.

I feel close to God when I'm at confession as well. God forgives me of my sins and I feel like I'm walking out with a halo over my head. It feels good knowing that even when I make bad choices God will always forgive me. I know this because God will love you no matter what.

God created us all to be equal and to love one another as we would love ourselves. No matter how we look God will still love us. So in the end don’t give up God will be there for us everyday. We were all made in God’s picture and he knows our emotions and helps us everyday. God is very extraordinary.
 

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Helping Others

by Sam Stadler
 
I feel Christ when I am helping others. It is important to me to help others. It is important to me to help people because I know that Jesus would do it. Another reason is I enjoy seeing people smile when I help them with things they need help with. When their faces light up with happiness , I become happy and know I am doing what Jesus would want.

When I am helping other people, I feel Jesus alive in me. I remember how he would help everyone he came across. He went up to the lepers whom everyone was afraid to go near. Everyone was afraid to go near them because they had leprosy, a disease that causes skin lesions and nerve damage and he healed them. I think Jesus healed them because he knew it was not right for them to live in exile.

I get a good feeling when I help people. I get this good feeling all the time when I help my parents and grandparents do the dishes or make the bed and other little things. I get this good feeling because I know I am doing the right thing by helping with little things. I also know it is what Jesus would want from me.

After reading about all of Jesus’ great works of mercy,I am inspired to go and help someone with something. Like helping my brother get to his classroom or cleaning my little brother’s room so my parents can relax and have a break. I know they enjoy the well-needed rest.

People feel Christ in all different ways and for different reasons. Some people feel Him at church, others feel Him when they see the Eucharist, and some feel Him when the wind rustles through the trees. Christ is alive in everything and everywhere.

 

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by Joaquin Arellano

A time I felt close to God was when I raised money for the people in Hurricane Harvey. One day, I was driving home with my mom from my grandparent’s house. We were living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at the time and Hurricane Harvey had hit Texas. My Grandparents, on my Dad’s side lived in Texas. So, we were worried about them and wanted to do something for them.

Then an idea hit us. We were going to make a lemonade stand to raise money for Texas. So, when we got home we started. A few hours into it, my mom told me the news was coming to film us. After the new filmed us I went to bed. That week we kept doing the same thing, selling lemonade. The news filmed us multiple times and we raised over

$2,000. I felt good because I had just helped people in need. You can find Jesus in those moments if you just look for Him.