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!