There are three prayers for you this night:

First, we pray that you might continue to grow and deepen in your Faith.  May you continue to explore your relationship with God who loves you fully and freely without condition.  May you find a church in which to share faith and may you find that church community to also love you fully and freely without condition.

Our prayers continue that you might continue to have Hope, which is so much more than a present-day political buzzword. Hope is the capacity to seek sunshine on your cloudiest day.  Hope is the anticipation of the better when you think you are experiencing the worst. Hope allows the oil of strength to dilute the ashes of weakness.

Finally, our prayer is that you continue to grow in Love, the greatest of all of these. Love is a matter of heart.  The Latin word for heart, "cour," helps to form words like courage and encouragement.  Love and courage are deeply connected.

We pray that your love for one another will give to the courage to be the best possible people that you can be as well as inspire others to their own excellence.  The song from Wicked describes it the best in that "Because we knew you, we have been changed for good."  Because of your faith, your hope, your love and courage, we have been blessed for good, may God continue to bless you as well.

If you are a regular reader of the blog or a recipient of my e-newsletter earlier this month, you might remember this post that played on the whole "Ch _ _ ch: What’s missing?" devise.

If so, I am sure you will appreciate how funny I found this picture from a local booze merchant.

Which leads us to a contest…..   What other two words can be used to still get the "…: what’s missing? U R" effect.

Comment away.  I’ll declare a winner on Halloween morning.  I’m completely unsure what the prize will be, but you should probably be in it for the honor of being the first www.catholicYMblog.com contest award winner, anyway!

Yesterday, ArchBalt opened the John Paul II Prayer Garden.  It is a wonderful spot of green in the midst of the city as well as a testament of faith.

The garden features plants, shrubs, and trees specifically chosen for their relation to the Bible, Pope John Paul II, or the local area.  For example, the colors of the fall annuals reflect those of the Papal flag: yellow and white.  In the spring, the blooming annuals will be red and white– the colors of the flag of the Pope’s native Poland.  Kousa dogwood trees were chosen because they tell a “visual story of the crucifixon of Jesus; the bracts (flowers) are in the shape of a cross, while the ends of the bracts resemble the nail scars and the blood.  The center is the crown of thorns worn by Jesus.”

The centerpiece of the garden is a seven-feet-tall, 850-pound bronze statue perched atop a polished granite base, patterned after a photograph of Pope John Paul II’s 1995 arrival at BWI Airport.  More here.

Catholic News Service reports that the most often repeated Bible story repeated at the World Synod of Bishops on Scripture is the tale of two disciples meeting Jesus on the road to Emmaus. Father Pasual Chavez Villanueva, superior general of the Salesians, told the synod earlier this month that the story give precise instructions for how to evangelize the young, emphasizing that it is Jesus who evangelizes through his word and that evangelization takes place by walking alongside people, listening to their sorrows, and then giving them a word of hope and a community in which to live it. Father Chavez told the synod that today’s young people definitely share with the disciples “the frustration of their dreams, the tiredness of their faith and being disenchanted with discipleship.” “Young people,” he said, “need a church that walks alongside them where they are.” More here.

Following Bishop Malone from last Wednesday, here’s a second podcast and video combination from the October 11th Institute.  Today, we are featuring J. Michael Norman, associate director in the Office of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Mike was in Baltimore leading a youth ministry track ay the conference.

Listen to the podcast to learn that Mike dreams of a future where “We will finally take Renewing the Vision and do part of it that we have never done. We will really grab hold of this catechetical enterprise, see that youth ministry has been doing catechesis and

can become one of the strongest catechetical components of our church. What better ministry does the ‘aha’ moment for a young person????”

Meanwhile, here’s my fourth shot at self-producing YouTube.   They are gonna get better, folks!  Our office just came into possession of some new Flip videocameras.  We see what a difference those make!!!  And I’m learning more regarding editing as well, so get prepared to become familiar with these “bumpers.”  (Anyone recognized the music yet!!!)

So, with acknowledgement that neither the audio nor the image is of the highest quality, please watch Mike as a storyteller – - who places his hands, his face, his voice, his very self all in service of the story – - – which is exactly that which is required of a good catechists. Let us place ourselves in service of The Story!

COLUMBUS, NE — A Catholic-based program is helping students grow in their faith. More than 190 high school students are taking part in the Godparents program, through which adult couples host youth gatherings in their homes. There the group discuss faith issues and how those issues relate to them in today’s world, said Belinda Keiter, youth ministry coordinator for St. Bonaventure Church. The program was started in 1995 and is based off a similar program in Omaha. More here.

HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND — The establishment of new offices for liturgy and young people demonstrates the emphasis New Zealand’s bishops place on those aspects of Church life, Bishop Denis Browne has said. Part of the restructuring plan is the dissolution of the National Council for Young Catholics and the National Liturgy Commission in favour of offices and paid positions in each area.  More here.

NIAGARA FALLS, NY — A Niagara Falls youth ministry will be experiencing a night of homelessness to gain insight, empathy and contributions for local charities. Students in the St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church’s youth program will camp out in cardboard boxes tonight to raise money for local homeless charity organizations. “We hope the children will gain an understanding of the social justice issue of caring for God’s creations, and helping your fellow man,” said Laurie Marschanke, youth minister at St. Vincent de Paul. More here.

KOMPONG CHAM, CAMBODIA — The youth apostolate of Kompong Cham apostolic prefecture is bringing life to the local Church and animating local youths of all faiths. Msgr. Antonysamy Susairaj, a member of the Paris Foreign Mission Society (MEP) organized the apostolate in early 2007 to motivate and mobilize young people to serve Cambodian society. reported, "Many young people knock at our Catholic Church looking for new answers in their quest for meaning in life, their daily life worries and sufferings, their uncertainties. We strongly believe the Church has a role to play in this youth inquiry."  "The Church must always be ready to bring reasons for hope to the new generation," he added. "This is what we attempt to do through the organized apostolate for the youth." More here.

HAMPSHIRE, IL — The Burlington-Hampshire Food Pantry is working hard to keep up with the increased demand for its services during these rough economic times. The youth group from St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Hampshire will trick-or-treat for non-perishable food items for the pantry on Sunday, Oct. 26. "If you are going out that day, you can leave your donated items on the doorstep," said Kim Alberth, SCB youth group coordinator. More here.

Got news on Catholic Youth Ministry?  Please e-mail let me know for a future Tuesday report!

Here’s an 11 minute mini-training from last month’s Orientation Day for our new youth ministers.  It is so easy to be young, fresh, and new. . . easier still to convince one’s self that all the weight of the parish’s youth ministry efforts must fall upon you.

There are so many "not so rich young women" (and men) out there surfing through the culture seeking the undefined "other." And we can choose the be "Real Christians of Genius" (see the video here) and heroically go at evangelism one-on-one.  But, I have become convinced that Jesus set up the 12 and the many others to go in two’s or small groups to do evangelization.

Our Church is pretty clear on this stuff – - It is the Church that evangelizes and catechizes… and not the individual.  At best, we individuals serve as collaborators with and on the behalf of the Spirit and the community.

Really would invite your comments on this, folks.

seriously, ’nuff said:

On Wednesday, we crossed-over a long awaited hurdle on Created to Love.  We "published’ a curriculum designed to assist parish and schools in providing Catechesis for Human Sexuality as well as to address Article 12 in the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People.

You can find both the Middle School Parish program and the Senior High Parish and School programs here

Meanwhile, also on Wednesday, we also offered the first of four implementation trainings – -  the powerpoint of which is now posted here for your viewing.

This work celebrates that "God calls everyone to holiness. He has very precise plans for each person, a personal vocation which each must recognize, accept and develop. To all Christians — priests, laity, married people or celibates — the words of the Apostle of the Nations apply: "God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved" (Colossians 3:12).  How we respond in human sexuality should be attached to God’s plan for each person while we must establish "safe environments" where all are treated as holy and beloved chosen ones of God.

I caught wind that Marko’s latest is available. I plan to be reading Youth Ministry 3.0: A Manifesto of Where We’ve Been, Where We Are & Where We Need to Go. as soon as it comes in the mail.  I was fortunate to play along on Marko’s blog when he was working through some of his themes and can’t wait to see how they all play out in the book. The book was supposed to release in February, but I think they rushed it because of YS’s national conferences.

Mark Riddle was gracious to send me an advance copy of his book Inside the Mind of Youth Pastors.  Seemingly, a recent re-posting of Mark’s stuff merited this attention . . . hey, it’s cool having a blog!  This book looks to be a primer for a parish and/or pastor considering hiring or placing a youth worker.

So, hopefully this weekend will provide some quiet reading time.