A Time Apponted for Everything

The school year is rapidly closing for all of our youth, especially for our high school seniors! The end of the school year means some pretty big changes for Youth Ministry. Nothing surprising or unexpected, but changes nonetheless as we send off our graduates and welcome a new batch of 6th and 9th graders into their respective youth groups. With each group coming and going, we know that the personality and energy of the youth group will transform to reflect the personalities of the new members. We welcome that kind of change and will find ways to meet your children where they are in their relationship with Jesus Christ. We're already planning our activities and events for the next school year and hope to reach both you and your families in new ways.

With the closing school year comes changing schedules for you and the youth group. School is out, but youth group is certainly in! We'll have near-weekly meetings on the beach for frisbee, bi-weekly sunday social gatherings and various other times for both high schoolers and middle schoolers to spent time growing in faith and fellowship. Please check out the summer calendar so you don't miss any of the excitement!

Finally, be sure to pray for all our graduates, seniors and 8th graders, as they make a pretty big transition in educational focus and lifestyle.

Many blessings and peace!

WTL Youth Ministry Staff

You Guys Have Laser Cats??

Unfortunately, we didn't get a great response for our Laser Tag outing on April 4th, so we've rescheduled for Saturday, May 9th! It will be a fun opportunity for our middle schoolers to get to know each other a little better and have a little fun together. We'll leave from St. Jude's at 10:40 and have unlimited laser tag at Game On! in St. Petersburg. There will be drinks and pizza lunch as well, for $15 a person. I need to have a count on who's coming before we go, so please get a permission form into your parish office by May 5th!

Want a permission form? Get it right here!

Definitely encourage your middle schoolers to bring friends, too (just let us know in advance)!

A Three-Year Cycle

The entire Church runs on a three-year cycle. Every three years, we go through 75% of the Bible at Mass. This year is a B year, which means that we're working our way through the Gospel of Mark, which portrays Jesus as particularly human. Each Sunday's readings are hand-picked to complement the Jesus we meet in the Gospel. With good preaching from our Priests and a healthy dose of Communion (and community!) we are slowly, steadily edified through the Scripture we hear proclaimed at Mass. This three-year cycle is built in hopes of providing a basic structure for continuing formation of all faithful Christians. It utilizes both variety spread out over time and repitition, to familiarize Catholics with the most important stories in the Bible.

We, in the WTL Youth Ministry, thought the three-year cycle was a pretty good model for presenting material. Afterall, if the Universal Church uses it, why not us? Also, given that Middle School is a three-year process of growth, both painful and joyous, what better plan for teaching our youth?

So, I'm excited to announce a three-year cycle of faith formation to be used in our middle school youth nights. The significance of the number three is no coincidence when talking about our liturgical or our middle school cylces; it comes from God Himself, Who is three-in-one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our own years will try to follow accordingly. 

We'll begin next fall with a "Father" year, focusing on Creation, Providence, morality, nature, The Old Testament and other things that can be related to God as Father. The next year will be a "Son" year, giving us the chance to talk about mercy, redemption, Mary, the New Testament, Social Teaching, Sacraments and more. The third year will be a "Holy Spirit" Year, opening the door to look at Church history, the Prophets, the communion of Saints, our personal gifts and talents and the needs of the world present today.

The program is ever-developing. Our hope is to inject each youth night with the kind of energy and zeal that our children need in order to see the truth being shared with them, the community they have in each other, and a strong sense of joy from all the gifts given us by our God. If you, as a parent, have suggestions for topics to go into our three-year cycle, please contribute them here or to Anthony at apaz@nd.edu. As always, we ask for your prayers as we labor to build the community that our middle schoolers need to live in the Spirit and the Church for the rest of their lives!

Mr. No-Depth-Perception

To illustrate the lack of perspective that many of us growing up in the US struggle against daily, the Core Team put together a short video called "Mr. No-Depth-Perception," based on a classic Saturday Night Live sketch. Our hope was to show how easy it is to make horrible mistakes when your sense of perspective is impaired. Most of us, being at once privileged by our material wealth and impoverished by our instant-gratification media and culture, suffer from skewed perspective no less than Mr. No-Depth-Perception does. 

Plus, we thought we might be funny. 

Enjoy the video and special thanks to Fernando for starring/producing/editing the little film!

Image is Everything

It's no secret to you parents that our teens are bombarded with ads that are designed to tell them one thing: you're not good enough as you are. The media sells things to us by telling us how empty we are without this item or how ugly we are without that product. For young people the pressure to be someone other than you are is constant and powerful.

Our life night on Sunday was all about exploring our inherent worth as Creatures of God. Christ reminds us in the 6th chapter of Matthew that our Father cares for the intimate needs of even the birds and flowers, as they are His precious creation. But we are not just creatures, like trees or insects, but Children of God.

Not only has God created us exactly the way He wanted us to be, but He created us in His image and likeness. Jesus, who perfectly embodies humanity's connection with God, shows us that we are not what the world of ads and politics tells us, which is somehow lacking. Instead, we are made to be heirs of an infinitely loving God. This inheritance is God's intention in designing and creating us, both as a group and as individuals.

While spending time in the presence of Christ available in the exposed Eucharist, our teens were invited to admit to Jesus how deficient they are made to feel. We all, including members of the Core Team, felt the reassuring presence of the Holy Spirit in Our Lady's Chapel Sunday night. The Spirit told each of us that we are destined for perfection, if only we would accept God's image displayed to all humanity: Jesus Christ.

The Bible and our faith in Christ affirm the cliché; image is everything! It's knowing whose image to put on that makes the difference.

Boys' Night!!

On March 13th, the WtL will be hosting a night for high school guys to get together and grow a little closer as men of God. We'll have a great night of games, movies (The Bourne Identity) and grilling outside. We'll also work on decorating our bathroom so that it looks better than the girls' room. Or, at least it will be more fuctional. So, if your kid's a boy, sign him up and have him invite a friend or two along!

New Look for the WTL Online

Hi Parents!

I recommend you all check out the WTL's website- www.wtlyouthministry.org. I've recently updated the look and tried to make it slightly more informational. 

Please take a look and let us know in the comments section of this post what things would make the website more helpful to you. What information would you like on that website? How can I make it more user-friendly? Let me know! We're open to all suggestions!

Pax et Bonum,

Anthony

Ecce Agnus Dei!

All are invited to St. John Vianney Parish on February 27 at 7 PM for the kickoff to our monthly night of prayer, song and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It will be an awesome evening for young and old alike.

The Rules Video

Check out our rules! Written by Janet, produced by Fernando, blessed by Fr. Joe.

Turning Over a New Leaf

"Prepare the way of the Lord!" cries St. John the Baptizer from the banks of the River Jordan. St. John exhorted his people, Israel, to change their ways, to turn-around, to undergo an inner conversion so they would be ready for the Messiah when he finally came. Many heeded his call and were baptized in that river. They allowed the water to cover them, killing their old habits and making room for new ways, aligned with the peace, justice and mercy their God demanded. From there they were turned in a new direction, cleaned off by a river that is at once life-giving and treacherous.

Those who followed John actually witnessed the moment when the skies were "torn open" and a voice boomed "You are my son; with you I am well pleased" after Jesus' own baptism. At our last Middle School Youth Group, we took this event as our inspiration for the evening- the Baptism of the Lord. It's very fortunate that this celebration occurs as we transition from Christmastime back to the regularity of Ordinary Time. The fact that God Himself, in Christ, wished to join us in Baptism is a strong indicator of how important this practice is to our Creator. We gain a new nature in baptism, the perfect, clean nature that Jesus brought with him to Earth. By following God's example of baptism, we start the work necessary to join Christ in heaven with His Father. 

And so, we reminded our middle schoolers, it is important to remind ourselves often of this great gift of a unstained nature! The new year is a natural time to look closely at ourselves and evaluate the cleanliness of our lives and behavior. Does our lifestyle live up to the new nature we were given at baptism? Perhaps looking back at the last year with its ups and downs, its blessings and challenges, will show us how we can honor the gift of baptism better in the coming year.

We thought about our grades, our habits, our favorite activities and our least favorite things to do. We looked closely at how our relationships with our parents, brothers, sisters, teachers, friends and coaches changed and developed over the last year. Then we asked about the most important relationship of all- our relationship with God. All of our kids took some time to look back at how they've messed up or what bad habits they might have. Our response to mistakes and fights is not only to apologize but to change our ways. So, our evening of reflection and sharing culminated in "turning over a new leaf" for the new year. Just like we go through a big cleaning process at baptism to turn over a new nature, we can do through smaller process each year, resolving to change one bad habit in favor of a good one. Those who had trouble getting along with their parents resolved to show their affection more often. Some who received many detentions decided to talk less in class. 

I am very proud of the willingness and creativity our middle schoolers show in confronting behaviors they know they can improve upon. As we make changes for a new year in our youth ministry program for St. Jude's and St. John's, I think we should keep in mind the effort our students put into all they do outside of youth upgroup. I'm pleased just to be able to meet them and hear how they think and act. I will follow their examples by looking for creative solutions to my bad habits. One 6th grader took the initiative to even leave our small group to find her mother (on the other side of the room) and tell her how much she loves and appreciates her. If only the rest of us could show such affection toward those we love!

Many blessings for a happy New Year!

New Year, New Calendar

Well, it looks like things will be changing a bit for our Middle School youth ministry program. In order to accomodate the busy schedules of our youth and, of course, their parents, we're changing the day and time of Middle School life nights. Starting on the 9th of January, we'll begin having Youth Group from 6-8 PM every other Friday. The location will remain the WTL youth room at St. Jude's. Additionally, we'll to have a monthly Saturday field trip or fun outting of some kind. To make it easy on everyone involved with Middle School Youth Group, there is now a calendar that you can access at any time right here.



Please refer to this calendar often and add it to your favorites for easy access!

Many Blessings for a Happy New Year!!