What does it mean to be a young Catholic today? How can I be more like Jesus in a world that seems to reject Him?

My name is María Ramírez. I grew up in a Catholic household and later in my teens I learned more about our beautiful faith and became more involved in it. It has always been my dream to become a doctor and serve Jesus in the sick and the poor, so I started medical school in 2015. The Lord has been faithful and throughout these years, every hardship I went through in my personal life became an opportunity for conversion in which God’s grace slowly transformed me, and still continues to do so. Yet, even if I had deep experiences of faith on my own, I didn’t know how to share them with others in a society that progressively became more hostile and unhappy.

World Youth Day 2019 in Panama was an immensely fruitful event for me, and one of its fruits in my life was the gift of meeting Shalom World. My friend who volunteered as a TV host for Shalom World for World Youth Day introduced me to Shalom Media and asked me if I’d like to translate a few articles for Shalom Tidings magazine. I accepted and didn’t think much of it, until I realized I could relate to the stories I was translating. It was as if God spoke to my heart through them. Little did I know, I had discovered a treasure. Since then, volunteering with Shalom as a translator has been one of the most fulfilling ways of serving God and sharing His Good News.

The youth today face obstacles that often leave us wondering whether God really wills our happiness or not. The Way of the Cross can bring us conflict; even with the people we love the most. In the midst of so many doubts, where do we find answers? God, as the loving Father He is, has different means of teaching us His Truth. One of them is Shalom Media. I experienced this myself when I was hurt and offended by the harsh words of a friend. I wondered how I could reconcile with him and love him the way God loves him, and then a week later I was assigned a translation that gave advice about the exact same topic my friend and I had argued about; that article saved our friendship and taught me about God’s Word at the same time. Through Shalom Media, God is reaching out to His children all over the world; all we have to do is open up our hearts to Him.

“From Heaven I will look after those who use modern and effective media for doing good in holiness, in Christ, in the Church” – Blessed James Alberione, Media Apostle