It was tempting because nobody would find out. I also needed the money. And it was one paper. I remember the moment clearly, standing at my locker and contemplating the offer. $20 for a paper. My friend, desperate for a decent grade, asked me to write his English paper in
I thought about what a youth night or small group looks like in many parishes. I recalled conversations with youth ministers about how hard it was to recruit male core members and encourage male teenagers to participate in youth ministry. Most of our youth groups don’t look like that picture of the 90s grunge scene in Seattle, but they could. We just need to adjust our thinking about how we reach young men.
In ministry, we have a wonderful opportunity to help teenagers know Jesus Christ and encounter him in all of their circumstances and challenges. Being aware of our emotional background and history can help us accompany teenagers in a healthy and holistic way. If anxiety and depression are a part of your story, you have a unique opportunity to understand and accompany young people, but only if you are in a healthy place.
The desert has always been a place of death and life. Perhaps this is why it figures so prominently into the narrative of God and humanity. God leads people into a harsh wilderness to wander, but not without purpose. In the wilderness, God and the people build a relationship.
Mary remains a sign of the Church as a spiritual mother to us as Christ’s family as Jesus is her only son. (CCC 507). Mary is more than a vessel, but herself a sign to all of us.
We take for granted the gap between curiosity about these unique practices and understanding them, let alone incorporating them into our spirituality. For teenagers – especially this year – Lent is an important season.
When we stand up to communicate to a group of teenagers (or anyone, for that matter), we need to understand two things: context and content. The context is the state of the audience receiving the message.
We need community, and the good news is you are already part of a few, now get to work in transforming them from something where you are just a frequent shopper number into a place where you are sustained and supported.
The signs have been up for months and the ads keep interrupting your YouTube videos. The news is focused on it and social media is bursting with everyone’s opinion. The election is here.
