The idea of speaking to - and sharing her faith with - thousands of fellow high school students in a big arena doesn't bother Erin Schaadt in the least.

In fact, the St. Joseph High School (Lakewood) senior and St. Cornelius Church (Long Beach) parishioner is more than looking forward to Youth Day 2005 at the Religious Education Congress in Anaheim. During the midday arena liturgy, Schaadt will be one of the high school students invited to offer reflections on the readings during the homily.

"It is a once-in-a-lifetime experience to just be there and to be with so many teenagers who are so enthusiastic about their faith, and they are there for that one reason," says Schaadt, who will be attending her third Youth Day. "It is so exciting and there is so much energy. It helps me throughout the whole year, especially in times when your faith just isn't as strong."

Schaadt's enthusiasm is shared by thousands of teens will fill the main arena and other halls of the Anaheim Convention Center Feb. 17. Two other liturgies besides the arena celebration will be celebrated, and more than a dozen workshops are offered on issues of life, justice and faith.

Many who attend Youth Day are active in multiple endeavors at their high schools. Schaadt, for example, is a member of St. Joseph's Campus Ministry Core Team, helps to plan liturgies, writes the general intercessions, and shares her thoughts on the readings - just as she will at Youth Day.

A self-confessed "big psalm reader," Schaadt prepares by reading the Gospel over and over, "lets it just sit inside" her, meditates on the readings and asks God to help her. "It reminds me that his presence is everywhere and it helps me in my faith."

In sharing her reflections, Schaadt will follow last year's example of St. Joseph classmate Carolyn Manalac, who spoke about a personal experience of getting into an argument with her mother before school and how she felt as the whole day went by and she had not reconciled with her. Manalac says this experience with her mother became an important teaching moment in her life.

Youth Day has a powerful impact on all students who attend the event, even beyond the liturgies and workshops. Most important to these students is learning that they are not alone.

"Teens are looking for confirmation," says Manalac. "They are looking for others who are in the same boat, who are going through the same questioning process and wondering if there are others out there like them. It's a blessing to learn that, wow, there are kids out there who have a good relationship with God."

That knowledge helps SJHS senior Jaclyn Cuda in practicing her faith. At her parish (St. Joseph, Long Beach), Cuda is a mentor in the Confirmation program; has gone to Mexico with the youth group as part of a house building project with Corazon; is a lector and Eucharistic minister for Life Teen Masses; and at St. Joseph is a Peer Helper in the counseling program.

"All too often, teens stop going to Mass during high school," says Cuda, whose mother encouraged her to go to Youth Day. "So going to Youth Day really gave me an outlook on how some teens are really involved in their faith, and it makes me happy to know that I am not the only one who likes to go to church and likes to be involved."

Schaadt says that many teens at Youth Day "are looking for other teens who have that faith, who are so sure in their faith, who can go out and say they are Christian and Catholic. They are looking for a renewal in their faith."

"Youth Day offers a unique opportunity for our students to share their faith with their peers," says St. Joseph principal Terri Mendoza. "The prayer and fellowship they experience is powerful and life changing. Year after year our students look forward to and are enriched by the Youth Day Masses, music and special sessions."

"At Youth Day, this is real life. These are real kids," says Schaadt. "They have their own problems, too. And this is their big day to celebrate God. They should be doing it every day, but this is their big day to really give thanks, to recognize God all around us. When I go it's just the best feeling ever to look around and see these kids so enthusiastic about God and their faith. And if they can do it, I can. They have that rock they go back to."

Manalac loves the fact that Youth Day allows a young person "to see how faith comes alive in other teens. It is time to just open up and be yourself and celebrate God."