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Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, founded to proclaim the Gospel to the whole world, we asked students to describe how young people share the Good News in today's world. Competing in two divisions, 3,589 students responded. Following are the winning essays. To read all the winning essays visit www.maryknollsociety.org/winners.

Division I (Grades 6–8)

First-Place Winner:

Clarissa Vokt

Good News Alive Today

In the days when Christianity was still forming, men such as Paul and Peter had much difficulty spreading the Good News of God but were very determined to do so, just as Maryknoll missioners are today. They had to sail to different lands, only to have stones thrown at them by people when they started to preach about the Good News. Today, we do not have to sail the seas to get the news across. We have the Internet. Popular websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo, Google and more can all help us spread the Good News to others.

The ways that I share the Good News are posting and reading articles on the social network websites about men and women doing good deeds in our community, to encourage others to do the same. I also send messages to others telling them to go to church on Sunday to celebrate the Eucharist, and learn all about the Good News.

I spread the Good News almost all the time when I help out at places in my community. Sometimes I volunteer to help at the park, where I help clean up after the animals and wash their feeding bowls so they always have clean water, because they are also God's creation and should be treated so.

If I am not doing community service, then usually I will go around the house and search for items that we no longer use, and donate them to organizations such as The Salvation Army to help those in poverty who do not have the luxuries we take for granted each day.

I experience the Good News being spread when I listen to the radio. There is a radio station called Catholic Radio that my mother and I listen to almost every day, and it is always talking about the Gospel, answering questions about our beliefs, and telling us about campaigns and upcoming Catholic events in our community.

One such campaign is called "40 Days for Life." This campaign draws attention to the evils of abortion with a three-point program including prayer and fasting, constant vigil and community outreach. My family joined this campaign together and we have blue wristbands we wear to show our support and spread the Good News everywhere we go.

Catholic Radio has expanded my knowledge of the Gospel and inspired me to share this Good News with my friends and neighbors. This radio station has their own page on Facebook, so I decided to join it and share the Good News with my friends on the social network, who did the same.

The Good News is being spread everywhere, from the radio to popular websites, and through community service, and is spread by everyone, including teenagers and older men and women. The ways in which the Good News is being spread may have changed over the past 100 years, but the meaning still stays the same, and today it is as alive as ever.

Clarissa Vokt, an eighth-grader at St. John Vianney School in San Jose, Calif., wins the $1,000 Bishop Francis X. Ford Award, named for the Maryknoll missioner who was in the first group of Maryknoll missioners to China and died in a prison there in 1952.

Division II (Grades 9–12)

First-Place Winner:

Kelly Dempsey

Living Gospel Message

Actions speak louder than words. We have all been preached those five words many times throughout our lives, but how many of us truly live by them? In this strange world within which we currently reside, one can easily get caught up in technology such as Facebook, video games and texting. All of these "advancements" in human society make hypocrisy almost effortless. The ability to hide behind a machine greatly facilitates one's desire to seem as if they are one great, generous person, without any of the inconveniences of actually being one. However, despite our culture of attachments to the many "glowing rectangles" around which our society seems to now revolve—computers, phones, iPods, cameras, televisions—there are the few who rise up despite these distractions and live a life of the Gospels. A wise man known as Saint Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the Gospel always; if necessary, use words." From the very first time I opened my eyes to now, 16 years later, I have seen and continue to see these words perfectly exemplified through the actions of my older sister and best friend, Erin.

Always strong with her relationship and faith in God, Erin, only three years older than myself, taught me at a very young age that God is always present and will always, no matter what, take care of me. Shortly after she turned 12, my parents finally deemed her old enough to watch over me while they went out, a concept that utterly terrified me. How on earth was my tiny 60-pound sister supposed to protect me when the burglars, who were sure to come in my parents' absence, broke into our house? However, once I voiced my fears, my sister pulled me into a giant bear hug and softly instructed me to ask God to take away my fears. With that simple prayer, my worries suddenly evaporated into thin air. From that day forth, I viewed my sister as standing in a new light, a light with Christ.

Erin, now a sophomore at Creighton University, a Jesuit school, still stands tall and true to her faith. During her freshman year, a time of trial for many Catholics as to whether they stay true to their faith or convert to sleeping in, Erin not only continued to go to church once a week and pray on a daily basis, but she also upped the ante. Her normal weekly church visit multiplied into going at least three times a week. In addition, she was able to spread the word around campus and singlehandedly increased weekday Mass attendance. Furthermore, despite the fact that she rarely is able to hit the sack before four o'clock in the morning due to her immense workload and jam-packed schedule, Erin has miraculously found time to volunteer for many non-profit organizations around Creighton.

Extremely selfless and humble in her actions and never even considering complaining about giving her limited time to those in need around her, Erin can be seen as a role model to all those who have witnessed her daily life. Her closeness to God can be witnessed through her gentleness with children, kindness to strangers, and sympathy, comfort and compassion for the less fortunate. Never harsh or slanderous, Erin is a walking example of God's message in our slightly off-kilter society today.

Kelly Dempsey, a 10th-grader at Holy Family High School in Broomfield, Colo., wins the $1,000 Bishop Patrick J. Byrne Award, named for the missioner who died on a forced march in Korea in 1950.

For information on our 2011 student essay contest, stay tuned to www.maryknollsociety.org/essay. Or send your e-mail address to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and we will send the 2011 rules when they are available.