o Monday, December 31, 2007
HOPE AT SEASON’S END
The Ravens broke a long nasty losing streak yesterday at the expense of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith, led the team to a solid victory, offering hope towards the future.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
I’m sure that it is considered "bad form" to discuss site statistics. Yet, please indulge a moment here.  In December 06, this site received 725 visits and 1104 page views. Viewership on this site has grown 450% in visits and 375% in page views.  Thanks for your patronage as well as for your efforts in sharing the word.  Let’s see what happens in 2008. Bring on the New Year!

o Sunday, December 30, 2007
BLOG STAFF
All I want in the New Year is a devoted staff like this:

o Saturday, December 29, 2007
COMFORT AND JOY DEFINED
In challenging times, it can be difficult to "rest ye merry" as recommended in this Christmas greeting. Stephen Shields of Faith Maps confidently builds his argument for Olympic Calm, with a healthy Godfather reference tossed in for good measure:

     Many times – perhaps most of the time – - in the midst of controversy we need to express what Clementine Churchill called Olympic Calm.
     An cinematic example of this calm is seen in the character Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) when he speaks with a Producer named Woltz in the Godfather. (As Joe Fox – played by Tom Hanks - says in the movie You’ve Got Mail, “The Godfather answers all of life’s questions.”).
     The actor Johnny Fontaine had approached Don Corleone because he wanted a part in a movie being produced by Woltz. The Godfather promised him the role and sent his consigliore – Tom Hagen – to Hollywood to handle the matter. Here is how the scene played out just after Tom makes his request:

WOLTZ    Now listen to me, you smooth-talking son-of-a-bitch! Let me lay it on the line for you and your boss, whoever he is. Johnny Fontane will never get that movie! I don’t care how many – - daigo guinea WOP greaseball gumbahs come out of the woodwork!
TOM        I’m German-Irish…
WOLTZ    Well let me tell you something my Kraut Mick friend, I’m gonna make so much trouble for you, you won’t know what hit you!
TOM         Mr. Woltz, I’m a lawyer, I have not threatened you.
WOLTZ     I know almost every big lawyer in New York, who the hell are you?
TOM         I have a special practice; I handle one client — Now you have my number; I’ll wait for your  call — By the way, I admire your pictures very much.  (Script transcribed here)

     Though the last sentence of this scene clearly communicates Hayden’s demeanor, what you don’t see in mere text is that the Don’s attorney wasn’t touched by Woltz’ insults and raised voice. Hayden had grown up with the Corleone boys and was practically a son to the Don. He had absolutely nothing to fear from this powerful producer and knew it. He was so confident that at the end of this encounter, though he’s just been insulted and rebuffed, he’s calm and collected enough to compliment Woltz on his body of work.
    When it comes to matters of the Kingdom, we also can speak with such Olympic Calm. We serve the Creator of the universe and within the church against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. He has given us all that pertains to our life and we’ve no need to be anxious for anything.
    There are surely critical times when love for God and others may demand that we raise our voice or endanger a relationship (and even here, there can be an inner calm born of our conviction and security). But many times, we are in a position to dispassionately stay above the controversy and be the voice of reason and perspective.
That was a long snip of someone else’s stuff.  You can read the whole entry here.  I’ve had some recent encounters on not-so-Olympic Calm, so upon consideration of the above, I think I’m striking upon a new year’s resolution.

o Friday, December 28, 2007
FINGERNAILS
"It all started with a chair." Despite the well-earned PG13 rating for language, Juno is the exact sort of movie that should be embraced by the same folks who rallied around Bella.  Teenager has sex out of curiosity and boredom, gets pregnant, matter-of-factly considers abortion, reconsiders, and opts to have the baby adopted.  Meanwhile, the movie is filled with fast Gilmore Girl-like dialogue and the Golden Globe nominated Ellen Page is engaging and delightful in the title role. (When you see the movie, the first line and the post title will make sense.)
YOU KNOW?
DAD:            Meghan, what movie should we see today?
DAUGHTER:   Juno.
DAD:            No, I don’t, silly kid; that’s why I’m asking!!
DAUGHTER:   << rolls eyes >>
DAD:            Meghan???
DAUGHTER:   Yeah, Dad??
DAD:            What’s the state capital of Alaska?
o Thursday, December 27, 2007
PRAYERS FOR PAKISTAN
Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was assassinated today in bombing that also killed at least 20 others at a campaign rally. This does not bode well for another troubled part of our world. Get updated here.
THE ODYSSEY YEARS
There is a "generational trend among some young college-educated men and women who are free to choose flux over stability. Some social scientists have dubbed these post-college years the “odyssey years” — a nomadic period when young adults move from one job to another, from one city to the next, delaying marriage, children and permanent career tracks longer than previous generations. Spiritually, they tend to be seekers, a characteristic that applies even to many with deep roots in a traditional religion such as Catholicism and no great desire to venture too far from the fold." This is from NCR with an cover story, sidebars on stats, college students, and parish as well as an editorial.

o Sunday, December 23, 2007
MERRY CHRISTMAS – -  HAPPY NEW YEAR
Unless breaking news breaks, the blog is hereby shut down from new postings.  We’ll be back with hopefully some updates to the site on 01/01/08. Therefore, a final note for this year ~ ~ ~
DID’CHA NEED AN INTRODUCTION???
Probably something we need to be reminded of each Christmas . . .each time we celebrate the Eucharist . . .  each time we gather as family

o Saturday, December 22, 2007
SHHHHHHHH
Ahhhhh, a theme with which to wrap up the "blog sweet sixteen." The end of the blogging year comes with tomorrow’s posting!2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN
** THE ART OF SILENCE **
A year-end blog retrospective. From November 7 comes another of those self-revelatory entries:  After the noise of life – both in reality and virtual reality -  just shutting up turned out to be an important lesson.  It also serves as a healthy reminder going into the holiday break. 
The whole tongue bite incident has been rather revelatory.  My verbal silence (and requisite careful selection of words) has overflowed into this site.  For about ten days now, I go home and do not crank open the laptop-  I am resting my mouth, I am resting my typing fingers, heck, I’m resting.  Please remember, there was fore-shadowing of this all on October 6th – -  guess I took myself seriously.
    For all intents and purposes, I was 75% recovered in anticipation of doing my favored piece of training: the final session of the seminars.  Of course, three hours of training is tough to do without use of the tongue and risking re-damaging the healing, so it got "challenging" as it wore on.
   Now,  we are packing and going on the road to NCYC.   Still a little damaged, still attempting to be protective, I hope to be a better listener. Nonetheless, pray for me, I could use it.
   Meanwhile, I hope to kick back into the near-daily blogger to which you have grown accustomed.

o Friday, December 21, 2007
A WISH FOR WINGS THAT WORK
One of my favorite Christmas specials is also one of the most obscure Christmas specials.  It features Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat and other friends from the long defunct Bloom County comic strip.  All Opus wants is some working wings; "not fancy wings, just plain-Jane, low-rent, barely bent. home-grown, bare-boned, off-the-shelf, two part,  K-mart, no-frills flappers which would be an improvement" upon his own.  Take twenty minutes out of your day and enjoy Part One,  Part Two, and the Lost Horizon conclusion of Part Three. You also never get a full definition of Santa, he’s either too close or too far, which is a cool visual take.  Also, the gift at the end of the story is a present given of and by the community- it’s real.  Merry Christmas – - gotta fly!
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?
It is a Christmas carol seems like a classic that has been around forever. . . who knew it was written during the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960′s???  Read more here
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** STEWARDSHIP AND TEENAGERS **
A year-end blog retrospective. From the category of favorite Papal quote of the year, posted on November 15
From the US Bishop’s Stewardship and Teenagers document:  “My appeal to you today, young people . . . is this: do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape from it. Live it intensely. . . . You, young people, are not just the future of the Church and of humanity, as if we could somehow run away from the present. . . . The Church needs you, as young people, to manifest to the world the face of Jesus Christ, visible in the Christian community. Without this young face, the Church would appear disfigured.”

o Thursday, December 20, 2007
TRADITION
Meanwhile, US News & World Report indicates that "Something curious is happening in the wide world of faith, something that defies easy explanation or quantification. More substantial than a trend but less organized than a movement, it has to do more with how people practice their religion than with what they believe, though people caught up in this change often find that their beliefs are influenced, if not subtly altered, by the changes in their practice.
    Put simply, the development is a return to tradition and orthodoxy, to past practices, observances, and customary ways of worshiping. But it is not simply a return to the past—at least not in all cases. Even while drawing on deep traditional resources, many participants are creating something new within the old forms. They are engaging in what Penn State sociologist of religion Roger Finke calls "innovative returns to tradition." Read more   here.
LESS MEANINGFUL
Meanwhile, over in Ireland, a study is conducted  regarding religious knowledge.  The punch-line: While the overall figures were not good, the drop in knowledge demonstrated by the poll, showed “that the Christian faith is becoming less meaningful to those under 25 years of age”. Older people of faith need to “seriously consider how they are passing on what they know to future generations." 
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** TOLD ‘YA SO **
A year-end blog retrospective. This was posted October 28, When the Pope’s trip was announced, it had affirmed what was foretold on this site on July 17. When the trip was announced on November 12, it seems as if we got it right. On April 19, 2008, there will be a "youth event" at St. Joseph Seminary (Dunwoodie) in Yonkers. oh, yeah, and if your were thinking that you can have a papal visit without a logo – - you’re right. It came out yesterday 
On September 22, I blogged about the Pope’s upcoming US tour and made an argument as to why there would be an event that was aimed at young people.  After a conversation with some episcopal leadership (September 26), I back-tracked on that possibility.  Now, recent hints are that it might occur in New York.  I’m still watching for it!!!

o Wednesday, December 19, 2007
DOES THE POPE NEED AN EXTREME MAKE-OVER?
Noted director Franco Zeffirelli thinks so and he’s willing to help. Read more here
NOT PACHELBEL

The original plan for today was to post this youtube that riffs all over Pachelbel’s Canon. But, a friend of the blog sent this one to me at the last minute. . .  Doesn’t all Christmas music begin to mesh together about this time of the season?? That seems to be the case in this a’cappella celebration.
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** YOUTH MINISTRY FUTURE ** 
A year-end blog retrospective. These were the blog entries of October 10 and 18. This actually started on Marko’s site.  It’s a long post and I included the follow-up posting as well.  After delivering the closing keynote at three national youth workers’ conventions, he wrote me this kind and encouraging note: Loved using “communion” as one of my “values” for youth ministry 3.0 (our preferred future) in my closing talk at NYWC!  Thanks for that.  I described it as better than community, since it implies Christ in the midst of our community. And I combined it with “mission” as a two-fer set of preferred values, that we’re a “communional” and “missional”.  Thanks for that great input.
Marko posted this question in his own site:
  "help me think about this.
  i’m working on my closing general session talk for the national youth workers conventions (first one is in san diego, next week!). and i’ve decided to talk about youth ministry: past, present and future. i’m hoping this will be an affirmation of how the collective of youth workers have reflected culture in good ways and bad ways as we try to live out our calling with teenagers, as well as a vision-y nudge toward our collective need for change.
   i’m trying to find a few words to best describe a preferred future, and would love thoughts from anyone.
   i have a handful of variables i’m using to describe where we’ve been, where we are, and where i hope we can go. but i’m having trouble landing on a few important words for the future:
   First question: if youth ministry past was “proclamation-driven”, and youth ministry present is “program-driven”, what’s our hopeful ‘driver’ in the future? my first thought was to say “kingdom-driven”. but that’s SO broad, and requires quite a bit of theological unpacking to be meaningful. i am considering “missionally-driven”, which also requires some unpacking (i’m not talking about taking missions trips, but about helping teenagers live into our present calling to be active participants in god’s kingdom work, here and now, with the assumption that that ‘practice’ will form a lifetime of praxisy faith that will sustain them long after they’re in youth group). ooh, maybe “praxis-driven”? ha, look at me, using all P-words. rick warren would be proud.
   Second question: if youth ministry past was focused around key themes of EVANGELISM and CORRECTION, and youth ministry present is focused around key themes of DISCIPLESHIP and POSITIVE PEER GROUP, then what would be the key themes of this preferred future? a brainstorm of some of the word-themes i’m considering: COMMUNITY, MISSION, KINGDOM, JOURNEY, CALLING, HOLISTIC, FLUID. i want to be careful not to merely use buzz words, which some of these could easily be.
   whatcha think?
My posted response:
   Marko-  Here’s my take (for what it is worth)
   FIRST: Youth Ministry future shall no longer be “-driven” but claim the driver’s seat.  
   Specifically, it is time to drive the church into her/our future.  We have the message (proclamation), we’ve programmed the message (even with intentional purpose, greetings Rick Warren), but has the message been transformative?  I know that we all might be weary of Barna’s and Soul-Searching’s challenges regarding our ministry, but……
   The proclamation and the program of youth ministry need to be our entire churches. It’s gonna hurt the ears of those ecumenically minded and especially sound dissonant coming from a YS stage, but perhaps now is the time to stick inside our own walls of doctrinal faith, and begin to transmit to “spiritual but not religious” young people and adults alike the message, values, theology, and the uniqueness of being Lutheran, Baptist, Mormon, Evangelical Methodist, or Roman Catholic.
    SECOND:  The word, therefore, is communion.
    The theme is what brings and keeps us together, what feeds us, and how do we image Christ throughout the world, both individually as well as corporately (as church.)
    As potentially divisive as the first answer just sounded, we can only come to a greater appreciation of each other after having fully owned what is ours.  Our societal discomfort with the seemingly extreme nature of Islam is that we no longer have sense in our mainstream faith the radical nature of Catholicism or the reformative nature of Protestant churches.
     We’ve been attempting to impact the head (cognitive), hearts (affective), and hands (behavioral) of young people. Perhaps it is time to begin to aim towards their feet – - – giving them a (spiritual) home in which to attain maturity in faith, to which to call upon throughout their lives, and from which to “go out and make disciples of the nations.
** FOLLOW-UP: YOUTH MINISTRY FUTURE ** 
(See Wednesday, Oct. 10)  So, I made the posting (second one up) and it largely went ignored amongst a very active response to Marko’s request.  That is until Marko weighed in later in the day. He made some clarifying comments about that which most everyone was talking about and then concluded with: i’m very intrigued by scott miller’s comments. COMMUNION is a great word and could embody much of what i’m thinking. It was a fascinating moment- a combination of pride head-rush as well as a, dude, I’ve gotta figure this out some more.

o Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BLOG CELEBRATIONS
Yesterday was the tenth anniversary of when the term "weblog" was coined.  This site is almost three-and-a-half years old and; yesterday, it was fortunate enough to be referred to, by Dave Hartline of The Catholic Report, as "the definitive (Catholic) Youth Ministry blog." Cool.  Thanks, Dave!
JUGGLING ELEPHANTS 
"May all your days be circus days." Business and Management books have moved into the land of parables. I recently bought this book while Christmas shopping; it was a fast and entertaining read.  Basically, we are the ringmasters of our own circuses, its our responsibly to get our acts together, and we can only be in one ring (work/relationship/self) at a time.  I feel as if I’ve been doing slightly better about this since October’s Resolution and the silence of early November . . .  Meanwhile, another intermission is coming at week’s end – - pass the cotton candy, please!
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** PERSONAL UPDATE II: RESOLUTION **
A year-end blog retrospective. A personal posting from October 6: So, the fall really became about computer crashes and personal crashes, pacing and health,  and biting my tongue.
   This blog has been in existence for over three years…  but it really kicked it up a notch in with the 2007 new year. Part of that was:
Ø a resolution/ commitment to post on a daily basis
Ø a resolution/ commitment to podcast on a weekly basis.
   Since then, I’ve added little series of posts like on Confirmation and “the States of Youth Ministry.” And then, in another level of insanity, I started to attempt to slideshare “First Up” webinars each month.
   I remember when I was posting three or four items daily in February. People were impressed with the output then, wondering where I found the time to do it.  
   This bad boy has been built up to level that, while I truly believe serves the field of Catholic youth ministry, is no longer serving me and my life.  Blogging is a form of a spiritual practice for me, but c’mon… moderation in all things.
   The move from offices to cubicles has demanded restructuring my work life and patterns.  There has been considerable tossing of the clutter surrounding me.  YOU, dear reader, are not a part of that clutter.  However, how I continue to minister within this venue needs some restructuring- – -
   So, new resolutions:
Ø While I will attempt to continue to post daily, there are no apologies (to self or virtual community) for not doing so.  
Ø The transfer from office space to cubicle living must impact “Inside the Youth Ministers’ Studio.”  I can no longer close the door, put the phone on the intercom, and record a interview. I now have four work mates that are less than eight feet away without walls and doors. Any future interviews will be done face-to-face. Since we don’t have folks visiting our diocese every week…. the weekly Wednesday schedule of the podcast, which has been difficult to maintain for the past months, is also discontinued.  You’ll get them as I get them.
Ø “First Up”….  What…..? Are you kidding me?  What was I thinking?  I have enough ‘live’ presentations (in the diocese as well as three outside the diocese in the next two months) to prepare, let alone attempting to set up power point and audio for a monthly schedule of presentations…. This doesn’t mean I won’t continue to do them…, but just when I have the moment, time, and intention.
    Whew!  Don’t know about you, but some self-imposed weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
    Meanwhile, might I invite your prayer support for all of us in Catholic youth ministry?  May we each continue to establish good boundaries, clear that which clutters our lives, and seek to be more effective on our ministries.  AMEN. 

o Monday, December 17, 2007
CHRISTMAS GREETINGS 
Passed along greetings this morning through the interweb with the encouragement "God rest ye merry."  If you did not get your own, my humblest apologies.  Your copy can be found right here
PREPPING PUBLICITY
Don’t know about you, but I’m prepping up some brochures and flyers in anticipation of early 2008 promotions.  Group Magazine has a helpful check-list of the stuff to be included in a good publicity tool.  Find it here.
A DAY WHICH WILL FOREVER LIVE IN INFAMY 
Yesterday, my beloved (4-10) Ravens lost in overtime to the Miami Dolphins (now 1 and 13). Unbelievable. Meanwhile, it’s seventy-four days until spring training opens up.
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN
** PILGRIMAGE ’08 **
A year-end blog retrospective. From September 28: The web site continued to expand how many platforms it had available to it.  Although YouTube videos were often posted here, I had become a producer and content-provider of efforts such as this. 
   For the Youth Contact meeting on Saturday, I’ve prepared two presentations to help promote.  This second one is my latest effort as a producer of YouTube content.  The editing is done by a highly skilled local youth minister.  

o Sunday, December 16, 2007
HARD AS NAILS

Updated (12/18): Newsweek Magazine has also weighed in here
Updated (12/17): Hollywood Jesus reviews the film
here.
   You have those moments when you think you might be reasonably well connected and then you discover that a "Catholic" youth minister is featured in a documentary that has made the indie circuit    (2007 Tribeca Film Festival, the Silverdocs Film Festival – - DC! How did I miss this? – - and the Telluride Mountain Film Festival.) The film premiers on HBO on Monday night.  HBO pitches it as "When Justin Fatica steps to the altar, he becomes a whirlwind of energy, using a mix of professional wrestling, hip hop and Scripture to bring Jesus to his audience. An unordained Catholic minister (emphasis mine) and the founder of the Hard as Nails youth ministry, Fatica employs an intense, over-the-top approach that has connected with thousands of troubled teenagers, but also inspires resistance within his own Catholic Church." View the trailer here. Should be interesting!!
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN
** REFOCUSING CATHOLIC YOUTH MINISTRY **
A year-end blog retrospective. From September 1: What was yesterday’s breaking news is still breaking new ground. Still jazzed about the potential of this technology. Glad that I was able to make a second slideshare posting on Friday before getting nostalgic about the first
(To view with full screen or comment or contribute to the conversation, go to the SlideShare page here.) Is it time to re-vision the Vision of Youth Ministry?  And if so, what should our focus be?  Guests on this ambitious SlideShare slidecast. include Jeff Kaster, Mike Carotta from inside the youth ministers’ studio, and Sharon Bogusz from the Confirmation Summit.  If you could point towards the future of Catholic Youth Ministry, in which direction should we go??

o Saturday, December 15, 2007
THAT’S WHAT CHRISTMAS IS ALL ABOUT, CHARLIE BROWN
Over at Busted Halo, there’s a reflection on the impact of "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  When Linus reads the Gospel narrative of the birth of Christ, ‘it’s a sublime moment, devoid of melodrama or sanctimony, subdued and wholly arresting. Schulz fought passionately to preserve the speech in the initial broadcast, asking “If we don’t do it, who else can?” Considering the choices of other “classic” TV specials, the answer to Schulz’s question appears to be “no one.” Not Dr. Seuss, not Jim Henson, certainly not the obese snowman that looks and talks like Burl Ives.’ Read it all here.
SPE SALVI: MARY, STAR OF HOPE
And, we conclude our review of the Pope’s recent encyclical as he does with acknowledgement of the Blessed Mother: Certainly, Jesus Christ is the true light, the sun that has risen above all the shadows of history. But to reach him we also need lights close by—people who shine with his light and so guide us along our way. Who more than Mary could be a star of hope for us? With her “yes” she opened the door of our world to God himself; she became the living Ark of the Covenant, in whom God took flesh, became one of us, and pitched his tent among us. (49)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** BREAKING NEWS **
A year-end blog retrospective.  From July 12: And what is the joy of having a blog unless you get to occasionally break a news story.  The entry grew throughout the day and I had more to add.
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has a new spiritual leader. Archbishop Edwin O’Brien from the Archdiocese of Military Services USA will be moving up I-95 from his Washington DC base to join the Premier See. Rocco, of course, has got the lead here and here on the whole story. Cardinal Keeler has sent a letter, which included the following: I have known Archbishop O’Brien for more than 20 years.  He is a man of deep faith who has accomplished many great things in his service to the Archdiocese for the Military Services and the Universal Church.  He served as a chaplain in the United States Army and as rector at two seminaries prior to his ordination as a bishop.  I am confident you will welcome him warmly and that he will be able to count on the truly outstanding priests, religious and laity of this historic Archdiocese. . . He will be installed as Archbishop of Baltimore on October 1, 2007.  See the Catholic Review as well as the Sun articles here and here.
o Friday, December 14, 2007
FIRST UP:
THE FOUR C’S OF CATECHESIS
To watch with a full screen, please go here.) Context, Content, Communion, and Conspiracy. To emphasize content alone might be an effort in missing the point. The CDF’ released Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization and they made it in (despite some audio difficulties.) There are summary points on today’s release of as well as notes from the press release of it. 
   Glad to have a second slideshare posted – - It’s not perfect but I’m still jazzed about the possibilities.
SPE SALVI: NO ONE IS SAVED ALONE
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical:  No man is an island, entire of itself. Our lives are involved with one another, through innumerable interactions they are linked together. No one lives alone. No one sins alone. No one is saved alone. The lives of others continually spill over into mine: in what I think, say, do and achieve. And conversely, my life spills over into that of others: for better and for worse. So my prayer for another is not something extraneous to that person, something external, not even after death. In the interconnectedness of Being, my gratitude to the other—my prayer for him—can play a small part in his purification. (48)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** CHALLENGES OF DISCIPLESHIP **
A year-end blog retrospective. From June 26: The blog entry that would become a skit during our September Youth Contact meetings.
Mike Todd recently blogged that "It’s time for us to become what we claim to be – The People of God. This is as opposed to what we seem to really be – The People Loosely Affiliated With Some Vague Notion of God."  This generated a response which included this quote from Wilber Rees: "I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t want enough of him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not transformation; I want warmth of the womb, not a new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a paper sack. I would like to buy $3 worth of God, please."  Here’s a hard question… How much Jesus are you willing to purchase?  Here’s an even harder question… How much Jesus am I willing to purchase?

o Thursday, December 13, 2007
THREE MESSAGE THE GIRLS IN YOUR MINISTRY CAN NOT HEAR ENOUGH
They are:
1. “You are created with value”
2. “The other girls around you were created with value too”
3. “God moves through girls, like you, in radical ways”
Please read more here.
SPE SALVI: SUFFERING AS A SETTING FOR LEARNING HOPE
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: Our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world’s future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance. If we cannot hope for more than is effectively attainable at any given time, or more than is promised by political or economic authorities, our lives will soon be without hope. It is important to know that I can always continue to hope, even if in my own life, or the historical period in which I am living, there seems to be nothing left to hope for.   (35)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN
** HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW or THE SPIRIT MOVES IN STRANGE WAYS **
A year-end blog retrospective.  From May 27 as we celebrated Pentecost: Two of my favorite postings- yesterdays’ selection and today’s. . . I didn’t remember that they came one right after the other, and (silly me) that I posted them over Memorial Day weekend, not a time of heavy web traffic.
There are two things you never want to see made- – -   laws and sausage. Now we can add – - catechetical insights.   This is my story of happy coincidences.  Is it all as true as I might see it?  I’m unsure.
  Last November, we are re-opening the Basilica with a Youth Illumination mass and event.  Kristin Witte is drafting the prayers of the faithful.  As we are re-opening our spiritual home, she would like the faithful to pray for the homeless, but she doesn’t like the “rhythm” or the (her words) iambic pentameter of what she has written. I suggest that we pray for those who are “physically or spiritually homeless.”  It solves the rhythm issue, but, she asked “What does it mean???”  I dunno, but it’s done!
   Text gets approved upstairs.  In fact, the note described the petitions as well crafted and beautiful. Son Clark serves as the petition reader and Kristin and I sort of smirked at one another that many had prayed for the amorphous spiritually homeless.
   Fast forward about four weeks, and I am in Las Vegas for the National Conference on Catholic Youth Ministry.  I am to appear on a panel on adolescent catechesis with Bishop Malone from Portland, ME so I go to see his mega-workshop beforehand.  He comments that today’s young people need to have a better sense of Catholic identity.
   In my presentation, I share statistics as well as advocating the addition of home to the head, heart, hands nature of our work.  When talking catholic identity, I describe many young people as “spiritually homeless”.  It was an unplanned, off-the-cuff remark.  But, I did see Bishop Malone scratching notes and knew I’d have to share this story with Kristin.  Later, on the panel, Bishop Malone actually repeated my comment utilizing the same phrase.
   Last week, I was reading Bishop Malone’s keynote to the NCCL which appears in the May 17 edition of Origins (wait for it, here it comes) when I read the following quote.  I am emphasizing the teaching of the faith because we are dealing with legions of baptized Catholics who have religiously “homeless minds,” minds that could and should be at home in the truth revealed in Jesus Christ and his church-the truth that sets us free.
  Anyway, happy birthday, Church.  It is truly grace that you have survived so long.

o Wednesday, December 12, 2007
SPE SALVI: HOPE AND PRAYER
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: A first essential setting for learning hope is prayer. When no one listens to me any more, God still listens to me. When I can no longer talk to anyone or call upon anyone, I can always talk to God. When there is no longer anyone to help me deal with a need or expectation that goes beyond the human capacity for hope, he can help me. When I have been plunged into complete solitude …; if I pray I am never totally alone.  (32)

2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** COMMUNITY: THE DIFFERENCE **
A year-end blog retrospective. From May 26: I’ve been able to embed a reasonable amount of YouTube videos on the site.  Since posting this, I’ve been able to download it and use it in training. The songs were written by the Tony Award-winning composers of "Avenue Q," Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx — Stephanie D’Abruzzo (an original cast member of "Avenue Q") guest stars as a woman who, after a fall, experience all conversation as singing.
Scrubs was a rerun last Thursday night, but it was one of my favorite shows – the My Musical episode.  (A patient comes into Sacred Heart after a head injury and hears everything as if it was in song.)  This is the last song before surgery, but it is also the nature of true community.  This, for me, is the healing nature of community and church.

o Tuesday, December 11, 2007
VALLIMAR JANSEN IS INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS" STUDIO
Enter the studio here.  In today’s podcast (two in a week – wow, huh?), I asked Val why she seems to love doing conferences so much.  Her response: "I love to walk with people who are people committed to service because that is what I am – -  I try everyday to recommit myself as a servant of God. It’s wonderful that we are all walking our own individual paths, but there is the bigger path that we are all on – - to build up the Kingdom of God."  We are all so inspired when Val tells a story or sings a song – -  but listen to when she speaks from the heart.  (FYI- Here’s the You Tube promotion of Val that we used for the Institute.)
WRITING ON A BLACKBOARD FORCES A TEACHER TO MOVE

Here’s a short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today – how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. is was created through a collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.
SPE SALVI: LIFE AS A DISCIPLE
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: For Augustine this meant a totally new life. He once described his daily life in the following terms: “The turbulent have to be corrected, the faint-hearted cheered up, the weak supported; the Gospel’s opponents need to be refuted, its insidious enemies guarded against; the unlearned need to be taught, the indolent stirred up, the argumentative checked; the proud must be put in their place, the desperate set on their feet, those engaged in quarrels reconciled; the needy have to be helped, the oppressed to be liberated, the good to be encouraged, the bad to be tolerated; all must be loved.”  (29)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN  ** THE SERIES **
A year-end blog retrospective. I learned a daily bloggers trick – -  stack up a whole series of postings on a related topic.  While not an individual posting, it is telling (about this blogger) in the choices made regarding what has merited a series:
  > National Vocation Awareness Week was commemorated January 08-13
  > Sacramentum Caritatis was released in March (14, 17-27)
  > We shared Good News about American Catholicism in April (15-21)
  > Our Confirmation "Week" in May (06-19, 22, 29) evolved into a full page
  > June saw a review of messages to young people found in Commencement Addresses. (17-24)
  > From July 9, throughout August, and wrapping it all up September 22, we went and visited various diocesan youth ministry websites throughout the States of Youth Ministry and merited it’s own page as well
  > We offered snippets of the US Bishop’s brochure on Stewardship and Teenagers in November (16- 20)
  > and, presently, you can see that we are reviewing the Pope’s second encyclical, Spe Salvi (Dec. 1-15), as well as this series of entries 2007′s Blog Sweet Sixteen (Dec. 6-21)

o Monday, December 10, 2007
FOLLOW THE THEME, NOT THE NEWS
Next Friday, the Vatican releases a “Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization.”  This new document, from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will stress the need to make the person of Jesus Christ, in his role as God incarnated to bring the full revelation of God’s plans through the Catholic Church, the corner stone and center of every program of evangelization and catechesis.  Hang in there, the news buzz will be all about the "one, true Church," all over again. Read more here.
FOLLOW THE NEWS, NOT THE RAVENS
It was a weekend sandwiched by the sublime and the ridiculous. Friday featured the Baltimore Symphony and Handel’s Messiah.  It was fascinating, complicated listening.  Each movement was based on scripture – a sort of Lectio Devina with violins.  Sunday, the Ravens were down 44-7 in a national broadcast from a rain-soaked stadium early in the third quarter when we opted to leave the game.  Yep, we were there – - ridiculous! 
SPE SALVI: NO GOD, NO HOPE; KNOW GOD, KNOW HOPE
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: In this sense it is true that anyone who does not know God, even though he may entertain all kinds of hopes, is ultimately without hope, without the great hope that sustains the whole of life. Man’s great, true hope which holds firm in spite of all disappointments can only be God—God who has loved us and who continues to love us “to the end,” until all “is accomplished.". Whoever is moved by love begins to perceive what “life” really is. (27)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN
** WHAT DID WE SAY ABOUT CONFIRMATION?  D. SCOTT MILLER AT THE SUMMIT **
A year-end blog retrospective. From the Confirmation Summit and posted May 18: This one just goes back to one of my best professional days of 2007. 
   Please eliminate the word mandatory. It is a graduation word; not a word of commencement or starting. Our programs should not be about demanding that the confirmandi fit. Our confirmandi should not be evaluating their own “successfulness” or completion based upon the perceived needs of the parish staff.
   Use of the word mandatory suggests a definition of the overall climate/spirit of the parish community. Does subjecting an experience as mandatory imply desire for participation of need for compliance?
   The “youth group” model of youth ministry has been severely questioned as it suggests that one size fit all. Is it not time that we begin to plan multiple options and flexibility in our Confirmation programming? Might this not be more indicative that our parish’s program is actually evangelizing the confirmandi, and their families, and their sponsors? 

o Sunday, December 9, 2007
CHARLOTTE McCORQUODALE IS INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS" STUDIO
(Enter the studio here.) Does everybody remember back to those wild, care-free days when podcasts would come out weekly on Wednesday?  You do??  How kind!
  Well, that’s been over with for quite a while. In probably the clearest sign of returning health to the blog schedule, we are pleased to present the president of the board of directors for Ministry Training Source who is all about the the education and formation of lay ecclesial ministers.  Least you think that is just a thing going on here in the states, check out what’s been happening down under down under.  Meanwhile, Dr. Charlotte is an LSU fan, so Geaux Tigers!
TEEN PREGNANCY, STD RATES RISING
In a troubling reversal, the nation’s teen birth rate rose for the first time in 15 years, surprising government health officials. Some key sexually transmitted disease rates have been rising, including syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia. The rising teen pregnancy rate is part of the same phenomenon, said Dr. Carol Hogue, an Emory University professor of maternal and child health.  "It’s not rocket science," she said.  Read more here. Considering a potential moment of denial about this?  Then please read this student newspaper report of "discussion of drunkenness and sexual behavior at the Homecoming Dance and what to do about it dominated the first Student Senate meeting of the year. Sexual activity at the dance was so widespread that the Pavilion in which the dance was held smelled of sexual activity, said the student body president.
POLITICAL COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
Always enjoy a good comeback line – - Last night in Cedar Rapids (with Oprah at his side,) Obama responded to Hillary’s complaints that he has been contemplating a White House run since his early years. "Tomorrow I’m going to disclose all my kindergarten papers," he quipped. "I’m going to disclose that I experimented with coloring outside the lines." Read it here.
SPE SALVI
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: When someone has the experience of a great love in his life, this is a moment of “redemption” which gives a new meaning to his life. But soon he will also realize that the love bestowed upon him cannot by itself resolve the question of his life. It is a love that remains fragile. It can be destroyed by death. The human being needs unconditional love. He needs the certainty which makes him say: “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:38- 39). If this absolute love exists, with its absolute certainty, then—only then—is man “redeemed”, whatever should happen to him in his particular circumstances. (26)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** MIKE CAROTTA IS "INSIDE THE YOUTH MINISTERS STUDIO"  ** 
A year-end blog retrospective. From May 16: I’ve enjoyed all the studio interviews, really.  But this is the one to which I have come back and listened over and over.  And the timing of its released allowed me to make a connection to our Confirmation events. 
<<Enter the studio here.>>  When Mike Carotta was asked to forecast ten years into the future of Catholic Youth Ministry, he added that he hopes that “We have unchained confirmation. I really think that we have chained it to the desk, to the chair.  It serves a function.  It is highly informative.  And (yet) I keep wondering, after everything that we have learned about good faith formation with young people… Can we revisit Confirmation and begin to ask how can we enhance that experience so that it is more transformative in the lives of kids?"

o Saturday, December 8, 2007
THE MYSTERIOUS TICKING NOISE

(You’ll be humming this all weekend.)  Meghan, during her recent Thanksgiving visit, reminded me that she is fervent regarding all things Harry Potter and insisted that all blog readers would benefit from being exposed.  For those of us who are not HP fans, the ending is reasonably satisfying.  And, no, I’m not really sure I am comfortable with what happened to Dumbledore in the middle of the song… Anyway, enjoy!
SPE SALVI
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: Man always remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the kingdom of good will never be definitively established in this world. Anyone who promises the better world that is guaranteed to last for ever is making a false promise; he is overlooking human freedom. Freedom must constantly be won over for the cause of good. (24b)
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN ** the end of a sad daY **
A year-end blog retrospective. From April 17: It was not just the web-site that day; it was utilizing a decent sized e-mail list and getting information out for the next day. This was the one effort associated with the site that received the most response. 
   For those of us who serve and love young people, yesterday’s tragedy at Virginia Tech is most discouraging.  The loss of 33 lives and the injury of many more overshadow the horror of the Pennsylvania Amish in Nickel Mines or even Columbine.
   Here is a compilation of web-based resources for you to consider using in the upcoming days: (which included the NFCYM, Saint Mary’s Press, Youth Specialties, Talking with Young People, and American Psychological Association.)
o Friday, December 7, 2007
A VERY MILLENNIAL CHRISTMAS

The video attached is in Italian.  You’ll recognize the product pretty quickly.  The news is that an angry Italian priest has persuaded the company to withdraw the advertisement as it is disrespectful to Christianity. The commercial was denounced as "a blasphemous act." Being slightly lost on translation, I’m not sure I get the frustration.  It seems clever and celebratory and correctly aimed towards its desired demographics. Read more here. Sometimes, I think we serve a product, not unlike the Golden Compass, more by our public condemnations. "As usual," reports one of my favorite blogs, ypulse, "(the church has) most likely only drawn more attention to the thing and sparked more interest among youth." As Catholics, I’m not sure we are best served when we are acting only as a League of our own.
GOLDEN COMPASS
Despite what I said above about the movie . . . a task was given to engage in the Golden Compass discussion. Here’s a list of resources that were uncovered:
>  UPDATED: (12/13) One of my favorite bloggers, Rocco, chides that "It’s notable, however, that while the Catholic press — even the blogs — largely ignored what’s become American Catholicism’s largest annual gathering (Chicago’s Guadalupe celebration), it was the secular media that swarmed the place and covered every last bit with richness and amazement. Moral of the story: follow "golden" compasses too closely, and you’ll be led away from what’s really important… the good news, for one.
>  UPDATED: (12/11) The USCCB gave no reason for withdrawing the review of the film “The Golden Compass.” Read more here.
>  UPDATED: (12/9) New Line’s The Golden Compass, which has a reported budget of $200M+, has staggered out of the starting gate with an opening day of $9M. In the realm of big budget, family-oriented family films, Compass’ opening is absolutely anemic. Compass will have a hard time holding screens through the holidays.  Read more here
>  UPDATED: (12/8) Catholic Digest suggests "It is our hope that families will make a prayerful, informed decision whether or not to see the movie or read the books, and that, if they choose to do so, they will engage in serious discussion from a Catholic viewpoint. Such a discussion can be an important opportunity to engage children in a better understanding of why we as Catholics believe what we believe." More here
> What Diocese of Austin said: (link here)

The upcoming movie version of The Golden Compass has led to questions about the trilogy of books by Philip Pullman. Catholic schools and religious education programs should not encourage children to read any of these books and they should not be held in their libraries. The Golden Compass attempts to devalue religion, especially Christianity. Our children deserve better (emphasis mine) education than what is in these books and movie.

>  Diocese of LaCrosse had a letter from Bishop Listecki here, a warning from their Office of Catechesis & Evangelization here, and a "What every parent should know" here.
>  Life Teen has developed "Pointing to the Truth: A Life Night on the Golden Compass" here
>  Sr Rose Pacatte, FSP; director of the Pauline Center for Media Studies, responds here
>  Diocese of Joliet here
>  Diocese of Davenport here
>  A Christianity Today web article "Catholics respond to Golden Compass" here
>  Catholic News Agency report here
>  and the USCCB movie review here
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN  ** A PERSONAL THOUGHT FROM OSCAR NIGHT **
and now, for something more frivolous, our year-end blog retrospective.  From February 26: Seemingly, I have not been above using the blog for personal gain.  Good to know that I was living in hope long before the recent papal encyclical!
Cameron Diaz, please marry me. Or, at least, let’s go out for a burger and a beer. Call…
SPE SALVII: RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE WHOLE 
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: How could the idea have developed that Jesus’ message is narrowly individualistic and aimed only at each person singly? How did we arrive at this interpretation of the “salvation of the soul” as a flight from responsibility for the whole, and how did we come to conceive the Christian project as a selfish search for salvation which rejects the idea of serving others? (16)

o Thursday, December 6, 2007
ITS BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE
Snow  (Click on picture to enlarge and see winter’s first snow on the Basilica and Cardinal Gibbons.)
LAUNCH SCHEDULE 2008
It seems that alot of what we are doing in the office has been similar to space shuttle launches.   They are quite spectacular to watch – loud noise, earth rumbling, and the  stunning ascension into the skies. But, also an unbelievable amount of technology, planning, effort, and luck to make sure everything goes off with minimal hiccups.  All that being said, next year’s schedule involves plans for fourteen – - count ‘em, 14 !!! – - launches.  
TV’S LATEST RAGE
No, it is not Pushing Daisies’ Kristin Chetowith, that’s my own obsession. It seems that chastity is all the rage this season on some TV series, including Pushing Daisies.  Are viewing audiences simply tired of the “we like each other so let’s hop into bed” motif to which we’ve become so accustomed? Read more here
2007′S BLOG SWEET SIXTEEN
As the year winds down to an end, everyone does a retrospective of the year. We could have done a top ten, but we had too many, but not enough for a top twenty or twenty-five.  What’s left? Sweet Sixteen!  It all starts up (we launch it) tomorrow and leads us all into our Christmas break. Read them all by scrolling UP!
SPE SALVI: ESCAPE FROM THE PRISON OF OUR "I"
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: This real life, towards which we try to reach out again and again, is linked to a lived union with a “people”, and for each individual it can only be attained within this “we”. It presupposes that we escape from the prison of our “I”, because only in the openness of this universal subject does our gaze open out to the source of joy, to love itself—to God. (14)

o Wednesday, December 5, 2007
THE BEGINNER’S MIND
Deacon Greg recent extracted this commentary regarding our political choices:  But, listen to what it might have to say about our own ministry as well:
      Leadership is, at its marrow, the chronicle of judgment calls. These will inevitably write the leader’s legacy. Don’t get us wrong. We are not discounting the importance of experience. Seminal and appropriate experiences must be drawn on and understood before judgments can be informed. But experience is no guarantee of good judgment. There is a huge difference between 20 years of experience that advances one’s learning and one year of experience repeated 20 times.
       In fact, there are numerous times when past experiences can prevent wise judgments. Barbara Tuchman long ago observed how generals tend to fight the last war, refusing to face new realities, almost always with disastrous consequences. And often, especially in today’s dizzying world, we need to understand what Zen Buddhists call the "beginner’s mind," which recognizes the value of fresh insight unfettered by experience. In this more contemporary view, the compelling idea is the novel one. Perhaps no one articulated the nature of the beginner’s mind better than the composer Hector Berlioz when he said of his more popular rival Camille Saint-Saëns: "He knows everything. All he lacks is inexperience."
         Judgment isn’t quite an unnatural act, but it also doesn’t come naturally. And speaking from decades of experience, we’re not sure how to teach it. (We know it can be learned.) Wisely processed experience, reflection, valid sources of timely information, an openness to the unbidden and character are critical components of judgment as well. As David McCullough reminds us over and over again, "Character counts in the presidency more than any other single quality."
FACING NEW REALITIES 
"Youth ministry is constantly in flux. . . What may have been true about youth three years ago might not be true now."  Read more here.
SPE SALVI: POWER, LOVE, AND SELF-CONTROL
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: Hypo- mone is normally translated as “patience”—perseverance, constancy. Knowing how to wait, while patiently enduring trials, is necessary for the believer to be able to “receive what is promised.” In the religious context of ancient Judaism, this word was used expressly for the expectation of God which was characteristic of Israel, for their persevering faithfulness to God on the basis of the certainty of the Covenant in a world which contradicts God. . .  It is the expectation of things to come from the perspective of a present that is already given. It is a looking-forward in Christ’s presence, with Christ who is present, to the perfecting of his Body, to his definitive coming. The word hypostole, on the other hand, means shrinking back through lack of courage to speak openly and frankly a truth that may be dangerous. Hiding through a spirit of fear leads to “destruction.” “God did not give us a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power and love and self-control”—that, by contrast, is the beautiful way in which the Second Letter to Timothy (1:7) describes the fundamental attitude of the Christian. (9)

o Tuesday, December 4, 2007
WINDS OF CHANGE
Every half a millennium or so, waves of change rock Christianity until they cause the kind of earthquake that forces historians to start using capital letters, as in capital R for Reformation.  Church leaders who can do the math should be looking over their shoulders about now, argued Phyllis Tickle at the recent National Youth Workers Convention in Atlanta. The truly "emerging churches" are the ones that are opening their doors at the heart of this changing matrix, she said. Their leaders are determined not to be sucked into what they call "inherited church" life and the institutional ties that bind. They are willing to attempt to tell the Christian story in a new way. Read more here.
ADVENT CALENDARS
Remember Advent calendars with the little doors you opened daily for a gift or surprise?  They are now on-line!  BustedHalo has one here and Beliefnet have put together one with readings and even music. Finally, YouthRoots also has a version here.
DISCIPLESHIP – SOPRANO’S STYLE?
Lifted this picture from the Ironic Catholic, but isn’t there a core of truth in this church sign?  When was the last time you heard this message, the threat of discipleship, at Church?
SPE SALVI: PROOF FOR THE PRESENT
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: Faith is not merely a personal reaching out towards things to come that are still totally absent: it gives us something. It gives us even now something of the reality we are waiting for, and this present reality constitutes for us a “proof” of the things that are still unseen. Faith draws the future into the present, so that it is no longer simply a “not yet”. The fact that this future exists changes the present; the present is touched by the future reality, and thus the things of the future spill over into those of the present and those of the present into those of the future. (7)

o Monday, December 3, 2007
ISN’T THIS LIKE DISCIPLESHIP?
Over at Busted Halo, Fr. Jim Martin is excerpting parts of his book, "A Jesuit Off-Broadway." In this excerpt, he’s talking about his experience working with Philip Seymour Hoffman on the set of "The Last Days of Judas Iscariot," where Fr. Martin served as a theological consultant: "When I asked Phil Hoffman about his directing style on “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot,” he readily agreed with the inherent strength of the parable—or, in his words, the personal anecdote—in its ability to communicate more than a strictly worded directive. "It’s the way I normally direct," he said. "The anecdotes and stories spark a discussion with the actors and it starts a give-and-take about the character or the scene. And the more personal the better. If I can be open with my life, then the actors usually feel more comfortable expressing themselves through the work." I asked if he ever felt the need to be more specific in his direction. "Sometimes you have to tell someone exactly what you want, but you can’t dictate," he said. "You have to keep suggesting. Otherwise, the person becomes a sort of empty shell, and they end up performing in a way that’s not at all, well, spiritual."
SPE SALVI: NEW SOCIETY AS GOAL
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: When the Letter to the Hebrews says that Christians here on earth do not have a permanent homeland, but seek one which lies in the future, this does not mean for one moment that they live only for the future: present society is recognized by Christians as an exile; they belong to a new society which is the goal of their common pilgrimage and which is anticipated in the course of that pilgrimage. (4)

o Sunday, December 2, 2007

THAT’S HOW YOU KNOW
Seen Enchanted yet?  In the spirit of Little Mermaid‘s Kiss the Girl and Beauty and the Beast‘s Be our Guest, here’s a Disney musical production number that just continue to raise up the level of crescendo. Done not with a cartoon cast, but a human cast.   Infectiously sweet, isn’t it?
SPE SALVI: MAKES THINGS HAPPEN
Here’s another snippet of the Pope’s recent encyclical: A distinguishing mark of Christians (is) the fact that they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness. Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well. So now we can say: Christianity was not only “good news”—the communication of a hitherto unknown content. In our language we would say: the Christian message was not only “informative” but “performative”. That means: the Gospel is not merely a communication of things that can be known—it is one that makes things happen and is life-changing. The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. (2)
MARKETING GENIUS
See those words at the very top of the web site?  Think we came about them easily and naturally?  Not necessarily so! Consider this: Scotland has replaced its airport signs proclaiming the country to be "the best small country in the world" with a new slogan. This new slogan, which was revealed Tuesday after six months of development and $250,000 spent on the project, is also printed on the posters in Gaelic as "Failte gu Alba." That new, expensive, well-developed slogan? "Welcome to Scotland." Read more here

o Saturday, December 1, 2007

WORLD AIDS DAY
Catholic Relief Services is marking the day with a special Web site. It also produced this video highlighting community-based HIV projects in Zambia. Meanwhile, New York, Maryland, and Florida have the highest rates if infection here in the states.  Where does your state rank? (50th is the highest rate). What is especially disturbing is that the number of newly infected teens and young adults is suddenly on the rise (Read more here.) Therefore, a question….  When has your parish last talked about this with young people and/or teens?
SPE SALVI: IN HOPE WE ARE SAVED
The Pope’s newest encyclical was released yesterday.  What a gift to the Church for the Advent season. For the next few days, we’ll be offering snippets – - – Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. (1)  Read them all by scrolling UP!
STEWARDSHIP AND TEENAGERS
The top 10 percent of America’s givers are very generous, while 80 percent or more rarely, if ever, make charitable donations of any kind. "This is the glass half-full perspective," said Dr. Christian Smith. (Yea, the same guy as the NSYR researcher.) "We’re not doing too bad. We’re doing pretty good. However, most American Christians turn out to be stingy financial givers — most, but not all." Read more here. Meanwhile, a reminder that the US Bishop’s published a document on Stewardship and Teenagers. 
BISHOPS AND TEENAGERS
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt of St. Paul- Minneapolis has written a reflection regarding his experiences at NCYC. Read it here.

(taped 09/10/07 in Baltimore)

BIO: ValLimar has a long history of singing sacred music, starting from the age of five. She received most of her training in music and performance from Howard University in Washington, D.C. She has sung and toured professionally throughout the United States, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium and Japan. She played the role of Beneatha with the Broadway touring cast in the European premier of Raisin. She went on to co-author a one-woman musical about the life of Ethel Waters that received a special commendation from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.  She has keynoted and led prayer and song at many liturgical and pastoral conferences, including NCYC.

QUOTES TO NOTE::: How can I today create disciples? It’s going to change the way I behave. It’s going to change the way I think. It’s going to change what I do at work, It’s going to dictate to me how my life is lived on a 24/7 basis.

BEHIND THE SCENES: There seems to be a new learning curve for the new computer and the mic.  You might have to turn the volume up.

B LOG REFLECTION: can be read here for December 11th.

(taped 09/10/07 in Washington, DC)

BIO: Dr. Charlotte McCorquodale, Ph.D. serves as president of the board of directors for Ministry Training Source, a nonprofit organization committed to the education and formation of lay ecclesial ministers. As co-founder and Director of Program Development and Research for Ministry Training Source, she serves as a national trainer and consultant for the field of lay ecclesial ministry.

QUOTES TO NOTE: We are going to see a real focus back on relational youth ministry.  I think we are going to see a shift from programs. Not that programs are bad… Large mega-programs have their value, but have the become the measure of our success? Have we lost the one-on-one?  How do we enable parish community to have one-on-one relationship with kids?

BEHIND THE SCENES: As an aside to our conversations at the NFCYM, I shared with Charlotte that I had begun to reach critical mass on blogging/ podcasting / slidesharing. . . . Little did I know back then . . . It’s taken a while to edit this and post it up.  Sorry Charlotte.

BLOG REFLECTION: can be read here for December 9th.