Christ’s words in Luke are unsettling. He comes to set the earth on fire, and he speaks of division within households: father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law.¹ It is easy to move from that Gospel to a familiar catalogue of concerns about the young: confusion, despair, broken families, an uncertain future. The divisions are real. Some young people are lost. We have ample reason to pray. But we don’t give young adults enough credit.
My son and daughter-in-law, with a brand-new baby, were out voting at eight o’clock Monday morning, and there were “I Voted” stickers for the children. Another young mother, with her nine-month-old, shared the same pride in taking her baby to the polls. They are raising families and participating in the life of their country. No dooming here. I see the same energy in the young adults who help with my website. They have careers, families, responsibilities, and aspirations of their own, yet they make time to help carry this work forward. God bless them for it. When I consider what they already carry, their generosity strikes me as heroic.
At the Texas A&M accounting scholarship banquet I saw more grounds for confidence.² These were accomplished students with strong academic and service records: articulate, attentive, capable of reasoning through difficult questions. In one year the conversation had shifted dramatically toward artificial intelligence. Internships, employment, classroom expectations: all were in play. The students were choosing a demanding profession while confronting changes whose consequences nobody could fully predict. Laura Fulton emphasized the continuing importance of the human element as AI changes the profession.³ The young people before us were preparing to bring their own judgment to that work.
They have lived through the COVID years. Their questions about official pronouncements, expert authority, and vaccine injuries deserve serious attention. Wariness has not necessarily made them passive. The appeal of someone like Charlie Kirk, who encouraged participation within the system, is understandable. Voting carefully and showing up are practical beginnings.⁴ Among the young families I know, I see greater formation and steadier engagement than I saw among my own contemporaries when we were raising children. I am in awe of what these young adults are doing. They are getting on with life.
Their foundation matters. At the inauguration of his pontificate, John Paul II urged: “Brothers and sisters, do not be afraid to welcome Christ and accept his power. … Do not be afraid. Open wide the doors for Christ. … Do not be afraid. Christ knows ‘what is in man.’ He alone knows it.”⁵ The answer to fear is to welcome Christ. His knowledge of the human person grounds our confidence. That is what I see taking flesh in these young adults. Their relationship with Christ supplies the framework for judging truth and knowing what “better” means. Without that foundation, civic skill is technique. With it, work, family life, generosity, and public responsibility have direction. We don’t give young adults enough credit.
Notes
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Luke 12:49–53.
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See “A Different Conversation at Texas A&M,” Fides et Ratio, October 2026, https://fidesetratio.us/a-different-conversation-at-texas-am/.
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Author’s recollection of remarks by Laura Fulton, Senior Vice President and CFO of the American Bureau of Shipping, at the James Benjamin Department of Accounting Scholarship Recognition Banquet, Texas A&M University, October 15, 2026.
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On evidence and institutional authority during COVID, see Karen Early, “Essay 2: The COVID Scam and the Formation of the Mind,” Fides et Ratio, September 26, 2026, https://fidesetratio.us/essay-2-the-covid-scam-and-the-formation-of-the-mind/. On vaccine-associated cardiac injuries, see Early, “Covid Vax Problems,” September 15, 2022, https://fidesetratio.us/covid-vax-problems/, linking to Stéphane Le Vu et al., “Age and Sex-Specific Risks of Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following Covid-19 Messenger RNA Vaccines,” Nature Communications 13 (2022): 3633, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-31401-5. On youth and civic participation, see Early, “Charlie Kirk: Be the Change,” September 15, 2025, https://fidesetratio.us/charlie-kirk-be-the-change/.
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John Paul II, Homily for the Inauguration of His Pontificate, St. Peter’s Square, October 22, 1978, https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1978/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_19781022_inizio-pontificato.html.