Your Diocese

CLIFTON—For two decades, he worked to market the talents of popular music groups, including Mötley Crüe and AC/DC. But, Deacon Bill Johnson of the Rockford Diocese now strives to promote God’s lyrics, taking the spiritual teachings of the church on the road.

The enthusiastic presenter, who speaks to children and teens at more than 50 faith communities and schools per year throughout northern Illinois, northwest Indiana and southern Wisconsin, presented a talk , dubbed “Seize the Day,” during a junior high rally April 14 at St. Peter Parish in Clifton. About 50 young people attended the rally at the rural parish.

“I’m very passionate about what I believe in,” Deacon Johnson told the Catholic Explorer prior to his presentation in Clifton.

Describing his interactive talks as packed with “high energy,” the 60-year-old deacon utilizes his passion for Catholicism and his sense of humor as conduits for motivating youngsters, teens and young adults to fully participate in the traditions and outreach initiatives of the church.

“He was a really good speaker,” said Kate Coghlan of the consolidated youth group of St. Patrick and St. Teresa parishes in Kankakee. The 14-year-old eighth grader at Kankakee Junior High School attended the rally in Clifton with other members of her youth group.

Deacon Johnson’s presentation was “touching,” said Patrick McClain, another member of the St. Patrick and St. Teresa youth group. “He really got us into it,” added the eighth grader at Aquinas Catholic Academy in Kankakee.

Ordained in 1998, Deacon Johnson holds a bachelor’s degree in communications as well as a master’s degree in youth ministry from Loyola University Chicago’s Institute of Pastoral Studies and serves as the youth minister at St. Daniel the Prophet Parish in Wheaton. The deacon also works as the campus minister at Marmion Academy, a Catholic high school for young men in Aurora, and performs pastoral duties at his faith community, St. Patrick Parish in St. Charles.

A regular presenter at faith events for adolescents, including the annual Joliet diocesan Youth Leadership Conference, Deacon Johnson said his presentation was intended to highlight the notion that God calls his flock to put their “faith into action.”

Talking with young people about matters of faith and morality since the 1980s, Deacon Johnson said he has discovered that youngsters and teenagers are more apt to help others once they realize that their contributions “do make a difference.”

Teresa Allen, a senior at Bishop McNamara High School in Kankakee, also challenged the young participants at the rally to make a difference in the lives of others. Speaking near the end of the event, the 17-year-old member of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Ashkum encouraged the other students to use their talents to help others. The young musician said she often plays the piano for residents at nursing homes. “Christ is the light of the world. We are called to share his light with others.”

Meanwhile, Deacon Johnson said that he would touch on the rituals and traditions of the church. He said he would encourage the young people to push negative ideas about the Mass, including notions that the liturgy is dull and uninteresting, out of their minds as they enter the church building. The deacon hoped he would be able to convey “the beauty of the Mass,” he said. He said he would ask the students to try to make connections with Christ, especially upon reception of the Eucharist in the midst of the liturgy.

The deacon stressed that he has learned that children and teens can connect with the Lord through receiving Communion. The speaker mentioned that a student at Marmion Academy had tragically lost one of his parents. He told Deacon Johnson he particularly feels his loved one’s presence whenever he receives Communion. The deacon elaborated on the young man’s sentiment, noting that the teen understands that receiving the Eucharist is the “closest” way people can touch Christ. Since his parent is now “with Jesus in heaven,” the young man believes reception of the sacrament is the closest he can be to his relative “here on earth,” the deacon said.

Deacon Johnson mentioned his personal delight when a teen begins to “connect the dots” when it comes to his or her Catholic faith. To that end, the motivational speaker utilizes sports metaphors and other entertaining techniques to shed light on religious truths.

The deacon was quick to emphasize that he credits his fervent beliefs to the love that the Lord has shared with him over the years, especially through the blessings of his wife of nearly 40 years, Carol, two children and one grandchild. He said, “I see God’s love in them.”

The traveling deacon’s personal quest has become helping people to discover that God loves them, he said. Deacon Johnson strives to “plant the seeds,” he said, as he conducts confirmation retreats, meetings with parents and teens and faith development workshops and spiritual reflection programs.

“He’s topnotch,” said Paul Mach, catechetical associate for young adult and youth ministries for the Joliet diocesan Religious Education Office, speaking about Deacon Johnson.

The diocesan REO sponsored the rally for sixth, seventh and eighth graders of the Clifton parish and surrounding rural communities in the southern portion of the seven-county Joliet Diocese. Mach noted that diocesan-sponsored events for youth of the diocese are typically held in Joliet or nearby communities. Kids in the southern region seldom attend because of the distance and other logistical factors, he said. “We want to reach out to them too,” he said.

According to Mach, the REO plans to continue offering programs for young people every other month in rural Iroquois and Ford counties in the southern expanse of the diocese. “We want them to get a sense that they are part of a larger church.”

The high cost of gas to run the buses make it difficult for rural parishes to send kids to the seat of the diocese for youth events, mentioned Kim Rabideau, youth minister at St. Peter Parish. Talking about the possibility of more diocesan programs being available for young people in the southern part of the diocese, she said, “That’s so fantastic.”

After the spiritually-charged event, Brad Gifford said, “It was really fun.” The 13-year-old member of St. Peter Parish added, “I learned a lot.”