Saturday March 31

PILGRIMAGE
  Today, we walk- over 1,150 strong.  Offer a prayer for open hearts, safety, and good weather.  Thanks.  [work day]
A DIFFERENT WORLD
For some, it’s chocolate. For others, it’s coffee or cigarettes. But as this Easter approaches, some young and devout Christians are anxious to return to what they gave up for Lent: Internet sites Facebook and MySpace.   Read more here. (Thanks to Gene.) [youth ministry]
A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE
After recent travels in Africa and Central America, the National Catholic Reporter’s John Allen has come to some conclusions about Catholicism in the global south as opposed to the north. "In the north (northern hemisphere), when Catholics become frustrated with the church, they usually just drop out, drifting into non-practice. In the south, when Catholics become frustrated, they often become Pentecostals. . . It’s no surprise that many nominal Catholics who feel underserved or forgotten respond positively to the close personal attention that Protestant groups are able to shower upon them."  Read more here.  [church]

Friday March 30

SPIRIT: FORTY DAYS AND A STARTING POINT
  "But, let’s face it.  Nothing is stopping you or I from starting a journey anew today.  As we enter into spring, might this be a time for scouting our own promised lands?  As we enter into Holy Week, might this be a time to seek God’s mercy and reform our lives?  As we enter to the Easter Season, might this be an opportunity to build our lives anew based on the whispered voice of the Lord?"  This article and others are available in the bi-weekly newsletter to which you can subscribe from this page.  [blogging]
NINETY DAY REVIEW
  Mark Batterson’s blog entry on Radical Transparency which was based on this Wired article on the See-Through CEO has gotten me thinking about my own personal motivations for blogging. 
  I blog so that I have a daily practice of doing a little public writing. Often I’m just advancing along a quotable quote. The goal of that is to do a small little piece of leadership in the field – - – by calling other’s attention to that which I believe (based on experience, contacts in the field – which is why I podcast – and my own general interest in church stuff and youth ministry.)
  I’ve reviewed my blog entries over the past three months.  This site has seemingly become much less personal in the new year.  You don’t have any obscure clues if I’m dating presently (not), if I’m happy (yes), where my kids are at (Meghan is in visiting for the Pilgrimage), or my present general mindset. (Anyway).  With the thought of "less me," it was hoped that the site might have greater usefulness for the field.  The reality is the site is all me – from the domain name to each and every editorial choice.
  I also set up this site to "advertise" my availability as a speaker.  Perhaps, I have been too subtle about that.  People wonder- – - why give the ppt’s away for free.  Ppt’s are only part of a presentation and a knowledgeable speaker makes a vast bit of difference.  So, HEY, I am available as a speaker.  Feel free to contact me.
  Anyway, after ninety days, we have well over 200 blog entries, 13 podcasts , 8 posted ppt’s, 6 published articles. Whatever this is… is sticking. Readership is up (Thank You.), and I renew my own resolve to keep this going. [blogging]

Thursday March 29

CAMP RULES
  What can we really learn from My Little Pony, Green Arrow, and the surprisingly vicious Hello Kitty?  That kids are likely to pay attention to the Forest Home Winter Camp rules!  Although I occasionally act-up and claim that I do not want to ever learn one more tech thing, I will have to figure out how to edit video! Until then, everyone should remember to "Have Fun!" [youth ministry]
ADOLESCENT ADDICTION
HBO has run a series on Addiction and has developed a specific site of resources related to teenagers.  See it here. [culture]

Wednesday March 28

TERRI TELEPAK IS "INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  Our thirteenth podcast of the year has been posted- One whole quarter of the year… and they said it wouldn’t last. The studio is now graced with Terri Telepak who is one of the truly classy ladies of Catholic youth ministry.  Her authentic gentleness disguises a strong resolve of faith, a sincere loyalty to the church, and a profound love of God’s people.    [studio]
ARCHDIOCESAN YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT PILGRIMAGE
  On Saturday, March 31, we will walk a record-breaking 1,110 along the new route of the youth Pilgrimage.  This week is are dedicated to spending some time in preparations (lots) and prayer (not enough) for the walk with Cardinal Keeler, our bishops, and over 1,000 young people. Learn more from the Press Release, the Registration Packet, the 2007 Promotional Video on YouTube, or a retrospective Look Back on 2006 Pilgrimage on YouTube. [work day]

Tuesday March 27

WONDER AND AWE – THE OFFICE EDITION
  I been taking a lead on updating our office web site as well as kicking out our twice monthly Compass e-newsletter to the field, which went out yesterday. Today, we are going to do a little internal marketing and let the rest of our Catholic Center know who we are and what we do. Check out that edition here. [work day]
REV. SPEED WONDER
  A Portuguese group campaigning for safe roads has asked the Vatican to ensure that a priest who owns a souped-up Ford Fiesta "resist the temptations of speed."  Read more here .  [funny stuff]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: EUCHARISTIC WONDER
  May the Holy Spirit kindle within us the same ardour experienced by the disciples on the way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and renew our "eucharistic wonder" through the splendour and beauty radiating from the liturgical rite, the efficacious sign of the infinite beauty of the holy mystery of God. Those disciples arose and returned in haste to Jerusalem in order to share their joy with their brothers and sisters in the faith. True joy is found in recognizing that the Lord is still with us, our faithful companion along the way. (SC97)  [pope]

Monday March 26

WHY WE SHOULD TEACH THE BIBLE IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
  TIME magazine takes a look at our country’s deficiency in religious literacy and why there might be a case for teaching the Bible in our public schools.  Notable quote:
  "Simply put, the Bible is the most influential book ever written. Not only is the Bible the best-selling book of all time, it is the best-selling book of the year every year. In a 1992 survey of English teachers to determine the top-10 required "book-length works" in high school English classes, plays by Shakespeare occupied three spots and the Bible none. And yet, let’s compare the two: Beauty of language: Shakespeare, by a nose. Depth of subject matter: toss-up. Breadth of subject matter: the Bible. Numbers published, translated etc: Bible. Number of people martyred for: Bible. Number of wars attributed to: Bible. Solace and hope provided to billions: you guessed it. And Shakespeare would almost surely have agreed. According to one estimate, he alludes to Scripture some 1,300 times."  Read more here.  [culture]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: BELIEVE IT, CELEBRATE IT, LIVE IT
  This most holy mystery thus needs to be firmly believed, devoutly celebrated and intensely lived in the Church. Jesus’ gift of himself in the sacrament which is the memorial of his passion tells us that the success of our lives is found in our participation in the trinitarian life offered to us truly and definitively in him. (SC94)     [pope]

Sunday March 25

BANALITY OF HEROISM
   The banality of heroism concept suggests that we are all potential heroes waiting for a moment in life to perform a heroic deed. The decision to act heroically is a choice that many of us will be called upon to make at some point in time. By conceiving of heroism as a universal attribute of human nature, not as a rare feature of the few “heroic elect,” heroism becomes something that seems in the range of possibilities for every person, perhaps inspiring more of us to answer that call.
   Even people who have led less than exemplary lives can be heroic in a particular moment. For example, during Hurricane Katrina, a young man named Jabar Gibson, who had a history of felony arrests, did something many people in Louisiana considered heroic: He commandeered a bus, loaded it with residents of his poor New Orleans neighborhood, and drove them to safety in Houston. Gibson’s “renegade bus” arrived at a relief site in Houston before any government sanctioned evacuation efforts.
   The idea of the banality of heroism debunks the myth of the “heroic elect,” a myth that reinforces two basic human tendencies. The first is to ascribe very rare personal characteristics to people who do something special—to see them as superhuman, practically beyond comparison to the rest of us. The second is the trap of inaction—sometimes known as the “bystander effect.” Research has shown that the bystander effect is often motivated by diffusion of responsibility, when different people witnessing an emergency all assume someone else will help. Read more here. [blogging]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: EUCHARISTIC CHURCH IS MISSIONARY
"There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him." These words are all the more significant if we think of the mystery of the Eucharist. The love that we celebrate in the sacrament is not something we can keep to ourselves. By its very nature it demands to be shared with all. What the world needs is God’s love; it needs to encounter Christ and to believe in him. The Eucharist is thus the source and summit not only of the Church’s life, but also of her mission: "an authentically eucharistic Church is a missionary Church." (SC84)   [pope]

Saturday March 24

MOVIES GUARANTEED TO MAKE MEN CRY
Entertainment Weekly has developed a list of movies that cause guys to get a tad weepy.  Big Fish (see picture for the moment where I lose it); Shawshank Redemption ("Get busy living or get busy dying"); Field of Dreams (Hey, Dad, wanna play some catch?); Saving Private Ryan ("Earn this") are all male Kleenex moments – at least mine.  But where’s White Christmas? ("We’ll follow the old man wherever he might go, over the hills and snow…) Check out the whole list here. [culture]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: RADICAL NEWNESS
The Christian laity, by virtue of their Baptism and Confirmation, and strengthened by the Eucharist, are called to live out the radical newness brought by Christ wherever they find themselves. They should cultivate a desire that the Eucharist have an ever deeper effect on their daily lives, making them convincing witnesses in the workplace and in society at large. (SC79)      [pope]

Friday March 23

SHINY HAPPY MONSTERS

Thursday March 22

LET’S GO, HOYAS – - – JESUIT BASKETBALL
Gonzaga, Holy Cross, Marquette, and Creighton were bounced in the first round. Xavier beat Brigham Young, then lost to top-ranked Ohio State in overtime. Georgetown and Boston College played each other last Saturday in a battle of East Coast Ignatian powerhouses. Georgetown prevailed, 62-55. Let’s go, Hoyas! [culture]
CHRONICALS FROM A CATHOLIC CAMPUS
Ave Marie University has got resignations, worship differences, and protests.  Thank God, the Vagina Monologues are not involved! Read more here. [church]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: GO
Regarding the dismissal at the end of the eucharistic celebration: After the blessing, the deacon or the priest dismisses the people with the words: Ite, missa est. These words help us to grasp the relationship between the Mass just celebrated and the mission of Christians in the world. In antiquity, missa simply meant "dismissal." However in Christian usage it gradually took on a deeper meaning. The word "dismissal" has come to imply a "mission." These few words succinctly express the missionary nature of the Church. (SC51)  [pope]

Wednesday March 21

ANNE MARIE CRIBBEN IS "INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  So, there we are at the comedy club at the NCCYM in Denver.  Two unknowns, Justin and our guest in the studio today, take the stage.  They boldly do a take off on the Bobbi and Marty Culp, the two school teachers who pick up gigs going melodies of music that they have no right to sing.  And they opt to do a parody on the entire field of catholic youth ministry.  The closer was Steve Angrisano’s Go Make a Difference.  The crowd, thinking that it might actually be a reverential ending begins to sing along.  The joke on all:  no one, including our song leaders, can actually remember the second verse!!! Funny enough, but, from my viewpoint, I could see Steve Angrisano himself enjoying the most immense belly laugh. 
  Ladies and Gentlemen, please give a listen to the sparkley and luminous Anne Marie today and learn more about Hello Kitty stationery, the world’s largest ball of string, and Jackie O in heaven.    [studio]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: EXPRESSION OF JOY AND LOVE
Saint Augustine rightly says in a famous sermon that "the new man sings a new song. Singing is an expression of joy and, if we consider the matter, an expression of love". The People of God assembled for the liturgy sings the praises of God. In the course of her two-thousand-year history, the Church has created, and still creates, music and songs which represent a rich patrimony of faith and love. This heritage must not be lost. Certainly as far as the liturgy is concerned, we cannot say that one song is as good as another. Generic improvisation or the introduction of musical genres which fail to respect the meaning of the liturgy should be avoided. As an element of the liturgy, song should be well integrated into the overall celebration. (SC42) [pope]

Tuesday March 20

BELONGING AND CONNECTEDNESS
William Dinges writes on The American Cultural Context for Adolescent Catechesis as part of the national series of papers on adolescent catechesis.  He reminds us that "It is important to remember that handing on the faith is never a matter of handing on doctrine alone; it is the handing on of a broader sense of belonging and connectedness to a living tradition. The problem today is not the decline in Catholic identity—even as that identity is contested and redefined ; it is the decline in Catholic communalism and the commitment to the church’s institutional expressions."  [youth ministry]
SUPPORT THE SPCA 
My oldest daughter works for the Maryland SPCA, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of pets and people in the community by fostering healthy animal-human relationships. Their major fund-raiser is the annual March for Animals. Please help me in encouraging Nichole and her roommate Johanna in their efforts to support the cause. [family & friends]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: KEY MOMENTS FOR THE FAMILY
In this regard, I would like to call particular attention to the relationship between Christian initiation and the family. In pastoral work it is always important to make Christian families part of the process of initiation. Receiving Baptism, Confirmation and First Holy Communion are key moments not only for the individual receiving them but also for the entire family, which should be supported in its educational role by the various elements of the ecclesial community.  (SC19)  [pope]

Monday March 19
TRANSLATION PLEASE: DIVING BOARD or LAUNCHING PAD
  Yesterday, Joseph the Pope, preached about the Prodigal Son at Casal del Marmo, a youth penitentary in Rome. He said, “The Commandments are not obstacles to freedom, rather indicators on the road to life” and “the Gospel helps us to understand who really is God: our most merciful father, merciful beyond measure”. In the words of Benedict XVI, it is a matter of “what freedom is and what purports to be freedom”; in short “freedom is a launching pad towards the infinity of God’s love or the abyss of sin and evil”. Read more here.
  Two notes: 1) The EWTN used the phrase "diving board into the vast sea of God’s love."  {which would likely would have worked better with the teens present.}  2) The Pope presides a guitar and flute folk mass hot on the heals of the Sacramentum Caritatis.  Was he thinking to himself: In the course of her two-thousand-year history, the Church has created, and still creates, music and songs which represent a rich patrimony of faith and love. This heritage must not be lost. Certainly as far as the liturgy is concerned, we cannot say that one song is as good as another. (SC42)?  A rocking and rousing Itaialian version of Shout to the Lord was the communion meditation. [pope]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: CORPUS CHRISTI
  The Eucharist is thus constitutive of the Church’s being and activity. This is why Christian antiquity used the same words, Corpus Christi, to designate Christ’s body born of the Virgin Mary, his eucharistic body and his ecclesial body. This clear datum of the tradition helps us to appreciate the inseparability of Christ and the Church. (SC15) [pope]
SEIZE THE NEW WEEK
  It’s a brand new week, filled with more challenges.  Time to get focused. Time to keep focused.  Let’s go! [funny stuff]

Sunday March 18

DO NOT REBUKE THE CHILDREN

Chap Clark is a hero of mine, from way back in the early ’80’s.  Recently, he called for us to not allow ourselves to teach people to only maintain the status quo in Christian youth ministry. He contends that
  > No one disputes that youth ministry is a necessity for the church.
> There are many great resources, youth ministry is a machine.
> Youth ministry is a part of (Christian) seminary training, we are equipping for a life-long calling.
> There is a "warm spot" regarding healthy youth ministry.
Yet, Chap asks, "Are we anywhere close to what God intends for the Church regarding embracing the young?"  Watch or listen to the lecture here. [youth ministry]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: SUPREME ACT OF LOVE
In instituting the sacrament of the Eucharist, Jesus anticipates and makes present the sacrifice of the Cross and the victory of the resurrection. At the same time, he reveals that he himself is the true sacrificial lamb, destined in the Father’s plan from the foundation of the world, as we read in The First Letter of Peter (cf. 1:18-20). By placing his gift in this context, Jesus shows the salvific meaning of his death and resurrection, a mystery which renews history and the whole cosmos. The institution of the Eucharist demonstrates how Jesus’ death, for all its violence and absurdity, became in him a supreme act of love and mankind’s definitive deliverance from evil. (SC10) [pope]

Saturday, March 17, 2007
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS: SACRAMENT OF LOVE
Get ready, friends, for the next ten days, there will be some quotable quotes from the post-synodal apostolic exhortation. . .  This wondrous sacrament makes manifest that "greater" love which led him to "lay down his life for his friends" (Jn 15:13). Jesus did indeed love them "to the end" (Jn 13:1). In those words the Evangelist introduces Christ’s act of immense humility: before dying for us on the Cross, he tied a towel around himself and washed the feet of his disciples. In the same way, Jesus continues, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, to love us "to the end," even to offering us his body and his blood. (SC1)  [pope]
SACRAMENTUM SIMPSON

Once you go Vatican, you can’t go back again.  I’m beginning to put together a presentation on Catholicism 101 for non-Catholic high school teachers.  Perhaps this clip regarding Bart and Homer’s conversion will be a starting point.  Catholicism: It’s my favorite game, I just  can’t remember what to yell out when you win.  [funny stuff]

Friday, March 16, 2007
KIDS AND BOOKS
  Hot on the heels of daughter Meghan drafting a school report on Harry Potter comes this news report: "It’s a time of strong writing and strong sales as readers in the 12-to-18 age group rock the marketplace. ‘Kids are buying books in quantities we’ve never seen before,’ said Booklist magazine critic Michael Cart, a leading authority on young adult literature. ‘And publishers are courting young adults in ways we haven’t seen since the 1940s.’   Read more here. [youth ministry]

Thursday, March 15, 2007
SPIRIT: THE DISCOMFORT OF Salvation
  "I slipped and tripped near the stairwell.  I completely lost my balance and found myself plummeting head-first towards the concrete wall of the stairwell.  The concrete wall was certain to do considerable damage to my skull, no matter how thick some of my friends claim that they think it is. I was "saved" by a steel banister along the stairwell."  This article and others are available in the bi-weekly newsletter to which you can subscribe from this page.  [blogging]
BASKETBALL JONES
  After many years of running a national NCAA Basketball pool, I opted out for the year.  There is just too much going on to shepherd friends through the bracket process.  We’ll still play in the office however.  [work day]

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
GENE MONTERASTELLI
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>>  Gene is another national leader in Cathilic youh ministry who has graciously agreed to visit the Youth Ministers’ Studio.  It is far to easy to dismiss Gene as that youth-friendly juggler boy.  Listen to the podcast, you you’ll quickly discover that Gene "gets" Catholic youth as well as what makes for successful ministry.  [studio]
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS
Just in case you may have missed it – - Yesterday a small and insignificant author wrote a brief note about a slightly obscure topic, the Sacrament of Love. This was sent to unimportant folks such as bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and the lay faithful and is about the Eucharist as the source and summit of the Church’s life and mission.  You might not find a report in CNN but you can find it here. [pope]

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
PRAISE
  From yesterday’s Franciscan University e-Inspiration: “Praise is the antidote to sin.  Saint Paul says that godlessness consists in knowing God but not giving Him the glory and the thanks that are His due (see Romans 1:21).  If that is so, then the opposite of sin is not virtue but praise!  . . .  Praise is what best helps us to decentralize and to recentralize on God.” (Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap.) [church]
praise IN danger 
   "As the professionalization and systemization of youth ministry continues, will there be a subtle shift in the hearts of youth ministry product consumers in regard to power? There seem to be so many youth ministry resources—games, Bible studies, sermon outlines, programming, organization, purpose, administration, leadership development, culture, family ministry how-tos, relational skills, small group ministry, and evangelism—in kits, books, magazines, DVD, Web, audio, conferences, and a variety of other formats—that coming to God in prayer first might seem…well, secondary."  For more, see Hoon Kim’s article on Ecclesiastical Pornography.    [youth ministry]
PRAISING 111 SHEEP WHO ARE LYING ABOUT THEIR MANLINESS
Spent the evening last night with some men and one kind hostess who all will remain nameless to protect the innocent.  (I’d only suggest who the guilty party might have been.) We laughed a lot and the blog entry title is a morph of every rude joke told last night.    [family & friends]

Monday, March 12, 2007
THINKING OUTSIDE THE BUN
  I’ve heard of Father Stan Fortuna for a long, long time now and always wondered why our paths have yet to ever cross.  I’ve even tried to book him, sight unseen but reputation strong, for various conferences. Last night, he was in central Maryland for a Mass and a chastity rally.  He was very engaging with the young people offering some solidly based content presented in a Robin Williams-ish attention deficit disorder sort of manner.  Like Williams, he was funny, brilliant, a bit risky, but passionate and talented.  [youth ministry]

Sunday, March 11, 2007
C’MON BLUE!
Mike Patin is in town, doing a parish mission and then a lay ministry training for the Archdiocese. Last night, Mike played hard with an eleven-year-old theologian, parents whose teenagers had sent them to church after they saw Mike at BYCC, a widow, and some feisty nuns.  It was a great reminder of the miracle of intergenerational church.  We all just need to be determined to all work together.  [church]
STUPID AND CONTAGIOUS REDUX

  (See March 2 for the reference) A Nordic friend passed along a copy of Paul Anka’s Rock Swings.  It is an adventurous achievement of audible awesomeness.  [family & friends]
SPRING FORWARD
  Really, you can just feel the season begin to change.  It was sunny and almost warm enough to crack the window in the car.  The hint of spring is with us, freshness and life and possibility are all around. . . so who had the bright idea that this would make a great occasion to lose an hour’s worth of sleep this weekend?  [funny stuff]

Saturday, March 10, 2007
WHY I BLOG . . . AND, MAYBE, WHY YOU READ
  "Blogging is not bad but it is uneven. Beside the uncritical free flow of information, bloggers often waste far too much time reading and writing meanderings that are undisciplined. . . Blogs can function like a Catholic wire service on your desktop. You are connected into specialized events as they happen and receive entertaining commentary that you will either resonate with or love to hate." Read more here. Meanwhile, check out Anglican associate Ian Macdonald’s insights from his "Can Blogging Serve Youth Ministry?’ workshop from the Matrix conference in England. [blogging]
WHY I Post Training ppt’s
  It’s called sharing.  It shares by allowing participants to download the file for them to remember or repeat. It shares images with the field to help eliminate to scourge of boring ppt’s. It shares the word that I’ve got stuff on these topics and am available to train.  Sharing. [work day]
WHY not everything on wikipedia is accurate
   Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, has been plunged into controversy after one of its most prolific contributors and editors, a professor of religion with advanced degrees in theology and canon law, was exposed as a young community college drop-out. The screen-name Essjay was described as a "professor of religion with a PhD in theology and a degree in canon law" who was serving a "second term as chair of the mediation committee" which rules on disputes over information posted on the site. In fact, he was a 24-year-old from Kentucky with no advanced degrees who used texts such as Catholicism for Dummies to help him correct articles on the penitential rite or transubstantiation. Read more here. [blogging]

Friday, March 9, 2007
A GENERATION SEARCHING??
For those who might have missed the book, now the Soul Searching: A Movie About Teenagers and God is available. [youth ministry]
A SELFISH GENERATION??
    Is the narcissism of young people a fearsome national problem? Absolutely, according to a new study by San Diego State psychology professor Jean Twenge who draws a portrait of under-socialized young people fated to depression, self-destruction, violence and civic decay as they grow older. Her study’s conclusions fuel endless negative media commentary on today’s kids that will always find an audience — stories about crime, cheating, sexual license and celebrity worship.
   But Twenge and others are wildly mistaken about the Millennial generation.  No matter what teens say on surveys, there is scant evidence that they act more selfishly. In fact, the trends in youth behavior indicates that Millennials have much greater regard for each other, their parents and the community than Gen X’ers or baby boomers had at the same phase of life. Read more here. [youth ministry]

Thursday, March 8, 2007
IT’s a beautiful LENT
  So, how’s your Lent going? Catholic musician Michael James has created a web site called 40 Days of Praise. Each day of lent he is posting a video of a praise song he has written. The video includes playing instructions, a brief introduction to the song, and him playing it. He also provides the sheet music for you to download. The song, I believe, today’s offering, is a catchy upbeat, positive song based on the Creed, Thanks to my Brother Blue for calling attention to this.  [youth ministry]
IT’s a beautiful day
  Last weekend, Bono received an award at the NAACP Image awards. Catch a few of these quotes: (Martin Luther King, Jr. was) a man who refused to hate because he knew love would do a better job. . .  We need the community that taught the world about civil rights to teach the world about human rights. . . This is not about charity, it is about justice and equality. . . Where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die. God is with the poor and God is with us if we are with them. This is not a burden, this is an adventure.  [culture]

Wednesday, March 7, 2007
MIKE ST. PIERRE IS
"INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS’ STUDIO"
<<Enter the studio here.>> Mike offers a prospective on catholic youth ministry from inside the halls of a Catholic high school.  Mike and Mike Patin (01/17) and next week’s interviewee, Gene Monterastelli, are all co-collaborators on the bi-weekly e-newsletter, Resources for Living and Hoping. Have you signed up yet??  [studio]

Tuesday, March 6, 2007
SEMINARIAN SPORTS SECTION UPDATE
  Dateline: Rome where the 16-team Clericus Cup, a soccer tournament exclusively for priests and seminarians is being played. "The North American College squad beat the highly touted Pontifical Urbanian University 4-3 March 3 in a shootout after regular time ended in a 0-0 tie. When Daniel O’Mullane made the final shot, pandemonium erupted among the 60 or so U.S. flag-waving fans who watched from the sidelines." USA, USA, USA! Read more here. [church]

Monday, March 5, 2007
TAKE ME BACk
  Back from Daytona Beach tanned and rested-  really that’s what counts.  Played cards and dominoes with my mother, read two books and re-read another.  Walked along the beach. And now, back up and running.  [family & friends]

Friday, March 2, 2007
TAKE ME OUT
  Heading south for a long weekend vacation, hoping for some beach-side peace, internet quiet, and prayerful reflection.  Will be back up and posting Monday the 5th.   [blogging] In the meantime, here a little YouTube moment of zen. . .

STUPID AND CONTAGIOUS

  Here we are now, entertain us! Paul Anka takes on Nirvania.  "Rock does swing!" [funny stuff]

Thursday, March 1, 2007
STAFF OVERNIGHT
As a staff of five, we work very hard, are in-your-face passionate about Catholic Youth Ministry, and relished these opportunities to fine-tune the vision. It was a great overnight, But, WOW, am I exhausted! [work day]
SPIRIT: WHAT DENOMINATION IS ERIC CAMDEN?
Eric and Annie Camden have seven kids and a dog.  He is a pastor of a church.  I’m pretty sure that he is Christian.  But, I can’t get a handle much beyond that. What denomination is Eric Camden?  And does it really matter?  This article and others are available in the bi-weekly newsletter to which you can subscribe from this page. [blogging]
Auténtica presentación
  It’s a different world and a different church.  Monday, I offered a brief presentation that was translated for the audience.  I prepared a power-point that was also in Spanish.  [work day]

Change and conversion take time.  New habits and behaviors and reforming negative thoughts grow from a pattern of repeated actions that must occur over days and weeks before they truly take hold.

In the wisdom of our faith tradition, we have been given the forty days of Lent.  Forty days is a time-frame in which we continually connect religious significance.  Moses stayed on the mountain with the Lord. (Exodus 24:18)  Forty days were spent by the Isrealites in scouting the promised land. (Numbers 14:34) Before Elijah had heard the Lord in a whisper, he had “walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God” (1 Kings 19:8). Jonah had prophesied the destruction of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4) within the time-frame of "Forty days more.”  Before he began his public ministry, Jesus remained in the desert among wild beasts and tempted by Satan for forty days. (Mark 1:13)

In each of these examples, it was the forty days that was significant.  There never seems to be a commemoration of the initiation of the forty days.  In our calendar today, we are dependant on New Year’s Day to make a resolution or begin a diet.  Ash Wednesday leads us into a time of penitence.

But, let’s face it.  Nothing is stopping you or I from starting a journey anew today.  As we enter into spring, might this be a time for scouting our own promised lands?  As we enter into Holy Week, might this be a time to seek God’s mercy and reform our lives?  As we enter to the Easter Season, might the be an opportunity to build our lives anew based on the whispered voice of the Lord?

This Saturday, over one thousand young people in Baltimore will make a three mile pilgrimage to begin Holy Week. The end-point of their journey is to celebrate Eucharist at their Basilica.

Confucius has a proverb that "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." Saturday’s pilgrimage will begin with a single step as well. So, too, does change and conversion.  May God bless your next single step.

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(taped by phone 02/23/07)

BIO: Terri is a Pastoral Associate at Saint Raphael Parish, in Bay Village, Ohio. (Diocese of Cleveland) She has years of experience, having previously served as a diocesan director of youth ministry in Greensburg, PA.  For over ten years, she served on the USCCB Committee on Catechesis.

QUOTE TO NOTE:  I think a big part of Goal One of Renewing the Vision (which is “to empower young people to live as disciples) is a social justice or service outreach where we become Christ for others.  You actually put on the towel and wash the feet of your friends. We do that by performing the corporal works of mercy by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked. . . The goal is equipping our young people to be able to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

OBSCURE FACTOID: Terri was, is, and will continue to be one of the leading voices in our church regarding adolescent catechesis.

BEHIND THE SCENES:  Wooo Hooo.  A Tuesday night edit and an advance screening for the subject.  What a novel concept was this intended concept!  Terri answered the first question for probably about an additional 90 seconds, but it was edited for time constraints.  That is why the question came up as to how she spends the rest of her week.

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for March 28th.

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(taped by phone 02/23/07)

BIO: Anne Marie is the parish youth minister at St. Jane Frances de Chantal in Bethesda, Maryland.  She, along with her comedic partner Justin, form Over the Top Ministries. Anne Marie has been active for years with the summer Encounter the Gospel of Life program as well. Cribbs blogs regularly here.

QUOTE TO NOTE:  Anne Marie described that her job description includes being sparkly and luminous. “I wear glitter daily,” she suggested.  “I think the sparkly and luminous is part of just the joy that comes with youth ministry. I think that it is a definite job requirement… that there is a love and passion for (our ministry) and it comes out in the joy that we have for the work.

OBSCURE FACTOID: Anne Marie and Justin from Over the Top gave me my longest and hardest laugh (with tears) at the NCCYM in Denver. Read the blog.

BEHIND THE SCENES:  My Wednesday mornings with last minute editing continue to be a mess. Sigh, again!  Really pleased with the sound quality on this one (except for a little mic movement under a story of Anne Marie’s) despite being back to taping off the speaker phone.

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for March 21st.

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." – Philippians 2:12.

I have just returned from a four hour visit to the Emergency Room.  There is not a break in my rib-cage as I suspect with each deep breathe, just a contusion that will likely remain painful for a while longer.

It all started two weeks ago in a parking garage.  I slipped and tripped near the stairwell.  I completely lost my balance and found myself plummeting head-first towards the concrete wall of the stairwell.

The concrete wall was certain to do considerable damage to my skull, no matter how thick some of my
friends claim that they think it is. I was "saved" by a steel banister along the stairwell. I slammed into
it, hitting it on my side below my armpit.  It knocked the wind out of me.  I truly saw stars.

And I still have the residual pain of the contusion weeks later, so I went the ER this evening for x-rays…
just to make sure that I was not impeding my own recovery by not knowing how bad it really was… or was
not.  That steel railing clearly saved me and I have not been the same since the moment we first met.

Man stands in need of salvation from God. Divine help comes to him in Christ through the law that guides him and the grace that sustains him. (CCC, 1949)  When we recognize the power of God’s plan of salvation for our life, we cannot but be changed.  The barriers and boundaries protect us from hard and we are given grace and strength for the long haul.

But, we were never promised that it would be easy, or popular, or not scandalous, or even comfortable. The gift of the saving sacrifice of Jesus was none of that.  Why should we continue with the delusion that we as recipients should not be impacted, unaffected, or not discomforting?

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(taped live in my office in Baltimore 02/23/07)

BIO: Since 1996 Gene has been 52% (he out weighs his business partner) of APeX Ministries. As a performance ministry APeX combines death defying juggling, sketch comedy, drama, and personal testimony. Gene can get out of a straight jacket, pick off little green army men with a bull whip, ride a unicycle, ride a mini bike, juggle five balls, eat fire, and do a handful of card tricks (not all at once). Gene is a fellow collaborator on the Resources for Living and Hope and blogs regularly at http://brblue.org/blog.

QUOTE TO NOTE:  Inside the Youth Ministers’ Studio: The last time that you were out and saw a great adult to a good job of coordinating (youth) ministry services, it looked like…?
Gene: It looked like someone managing a whole bunch of adults. Their responsibility, on some level, wasn’t to the young people, at all. They were definitely the public face and they were the ones that did the greeting at the door, but most of their work was coordinating with the adults to make sure everything that was happening was happening well. It was the (other) adults job to interact individually with the young people. It was other high school students’ job to interact with the students coming through the door.

OBSCURE FACTOID: Gene and I first met on the exhibit hall floor at the NCCYM in Orlando in 1996.  I kept sending female youth ministers from Baltimore over to his exhibit area to stand still as Brad and Gene tossed bolwing pins pass them.

BEHIND THE SCENES:  This was my second face-to-face interview. Last minute editing continues. Sigh!

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for March 14th.

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(taped on phone 02/26/07)

BIO: Mike St. Pierre is the Director of Franciscan Youth Ministry at Archbishop Curley High School in Baltimore. With over ten years of lay ministry and a track record for success, Mike brings insight and experience to issues of faith and personal productivity.  Mike is a fellow collaborator on the Resources for Living and Hope and blogs regularly at http://mikestpierre.blogspot.com

QUOTE TO NOTE: (re: Catholic Identity) A lot of communities struggle with how do we use this institution, whether it is a hospital or a high school, to pass along our heritage, but the more proximate question for me is how do I help that teacher who is passionate about lacrosse; how do I help them be more passionate about Jesus?

OBSCURE FACTOID: Mike brings a whole “professional;” stance to his ministry, constantly looking at the best practices of the ministry field and looking to make applications to his ministry and teaching

BEHIND THE SCENES:  After some coaching from a friend and next week’s interviewee, I modified my own voice level a bit with the microphone.  Still learning.  Also, I have been a disaster the last three weeks with last minute editing- which is not fair to the interviewees who do not get their promised advance look.

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for March 7th.