Failed romance leads to new life, says youth rally speaker

By John Shaughnessy

After his girlfriend ended their relationship, Matt Smith wondered if his life was worth living.

Instead, the break-up led to a moment that changed his life in ways he never expected.

“I was 20,” recalls Smith, who will be the keynote speaker at the annual Archdiocesan High School Youth Rally on March 3-4. “She dumped me. She dropped me like a rock. That first break-up does turn your life upside down.”

So did attending a Mass shortly after the break-up. The Mass was part of an event for Life Teen, an Arizona-based, international Catholic movement whose goal is to move teenagers closer to Christ.

“I stepped into this church feeling my life was ending,” Smith says. “When I was there, I saw young people who were serious about their faith. I could see it brought them joy and the clarity of their faith. Four months later, I was volunteering for that group. Six months later, I moved to New Orleans for that reality show.”

While the break-up led Smith closer to God, MTV’s hit reality show, The Real World New Orleans, brought Smith’s dedication to his faith up close and personal to a national television audience in 2000. During the show, he talked about how much his faith meant to him. He showed empathy for a roommate that everyone else rejected. He shared that he was a

virgin and saving himself for marriage.

“The response I received was very good,” Smith notes. “You don’t get a lot of religious sitcoms, religious movies or religious themes on television. Television is filled with promiscuous people, unrealistic ideals of beauty and unrealistic expectations in general. When people saw someone like me who is a real Christian, a real Catholic, something resonated with them.”

Father Jonathan Meyer has no doubt that Smith will connect with young people when he speaks at the Archdiocesan High School Youth Rally at Our Lady of Providence Jr./Sr. High School in Clarksville.

“He covers the challenging topic of our faith and reveals that it is possible to be Catholic in our world,” says Father Meyer, archdiocesan director of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. “Many young people relate to his ‘cool’ approach to Catholicism.”

Father Meyer hopes the high school youths will also relate to the workshops at the rally, which has the theme “The Fantastic Four and Countless Other Supernatural Heroes.” The Fantastic Four are the Gospel writers, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Their lives can be an inspiration to today’s youth, says Father Meyer.

“Our young Church is bombarded with a culture that demands of them to be different, unique, eccentric and bold,” says Father Meyer, who is also the associate pastor of St. Luke Parish in Indianapolis. “However, they are challenged to do this in ways that are contrary to our faith and involve sin. The saints were men and women who were different, unique, eccentric and bold, but they lived out these qualities for the love of Christ and his Church.”

The purpose of the rally is to gather high school students from across the archdiocese to celebrate their faith, Father Meyer says.

“It is a time for prayer, meeting new people, learning more about our faith and having a lot of fun,” he says. “My hope is that the young people who attend return

to their families, parishes and schools with a new desire to live bold lives of faith, service and love.”

Smith grew up in a family that emphasized those qualities.

“Faith and family and life were one and the same,” recalls Smith, who is now a national spokesperson for Life Teen. “People asked me how I kept true to my Catholic morals, how I didn’t drink or mess around. That was not the way I was raised. I know there are temptations in life, but I was raised to know what temptations are and how to deal with them.”

At 28, he shares his faith with young people who often aren’t familiar with his appearance on a reality show.

“I’m on this journey, too,” he says. “I don’t have this whole sainthood thing

figured out. I just know I need God like nothing else. That’s what I share—what God has done for me. Throughout my day, I take comfort in his faithfulness. My priorities are clarified through prayer. I feel I walk through life with a different set of eyes and a different set of ears. That’s what happens when you walk with Christ.”

Even Smith’s romantic life has changed for the better. He’s met a special woman after being introduced to her in an unusual matchmaking move concocted by his best friend and a woman that his best friend knew from church.

In the plan, Smith and his best friend were invited to have dinner one day by the woman, believing Smith and the woman’s daughter would make a connection. Smith and his best friend were invited for another dinner a week later. When Smith arrived for dinner the third week, his best friend wasn’t there. It was just him sitting across from the daughter.

They are scheduled to be married in April.

“I’m excited,” Smith says.

(For more information, or to register for the High School Youth Rally, contact

your parish’s youth minister or campus minister. You can also contact the Archdiocesan Youth and Young Adult Ministry office by calling Kay Scoville at 317-236-1477 or 800-382-9836, ext. 1477, or send an e-mail to her at kscoville@archindy.org.) †