Today, the Pope celebrated Mass at Westminster Cathedral. At the end of Mass Pope Benedict came down the length of the Cathedral to the steps which lead into the Piazza where 2,500 young people predominantly aged 16 – 20 gathered. The pope spoke briefly to them.

I ask each of you, first and foremost, to look into your own heart. Think of all the love that your heart was made to receive, and all the love it is meant to give. After all, we were made for love. This is what the Bible means when it says that we are made in the image and likeness of God: we were made to know the God of love, the God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and to find our supreme fulfillment in that divine love that knows no beginning or end…

I ask you to look into your hearts, each day, to find the source of all true love. Jesus is always there. Quietly waiting for us to be still with him and to hear his voice. Deep within your heart, he is calling you to spend time with him in prayer, but this kind of prayer, real prayer, requires discipline. It requires time for moments of silence every day. Often it means waiting for the Lord to speak. Even amidst the business and stress of our daily lives we need to make space for silence, because it is in silence that we find God. And in silence that we discover our true self.

The Pope is visiting England.  Hopefully, there was no confusion at the car dealers.

h/t to Aggie Catholics and Reality Check

Today, the Holy Father addressed Catholic School pupils both live and via remote feed from the Sports Arena of St Mary’s University College in Twickenham.  He address can be found via text and UPDATE video is available in four parts: One, Two, Three, and Four.

In his address, Pope Benedict said: “I hope that among those of you listening to me today there are some future saints of the 21st century.” He spoke about the people they look up to, saying: "We live in a celebrity culture and young people are often encouraged to model themselves on figures from the world of sport or entertainment. "Having money makes it possible to be generous and to do good in the world, but on its own it is not enough to make us happy.

In his message, he encouraged the young people to keep “always a bigger picture over and above the individual subjects you study, the different skills you learn…”  He encourage them to”

“Never allow yourselves to become narrow. The world needs good scientists, but a scientific outlook becomes dangerously narrow if it ignores the religious or ethical dimension of life, just as religion becomes narrow if it rejects the legitimate contribution of science to our understanding of the world. We need good historians and philosophers and economists, but if the account they give of human life within their particular field is too narrowly focused, they can lead us seriously astray.”

Here is a news report from the Daily Telegraph

Life is like riding a bicycle, in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving.

— Albert Einstein

For all of England (where he is visiting this very weekend)

as well as for the rest of us…

Here is a bit of a primer regarding Pope Benedict XVI.

<< A quick tip: There are programs like mediaconverter that enable you to download youtube videos and show them off-line in a class or on a youth night. >>

Roy Petitfils has served in schools as  a teacher, campus minister, counselor, and administrator. He is currently a clinical associate of a Catholic counseling center conducting individual, marriage, and family counseling. Roy writes a syndicated column, Our Young Church, for adults who work with youth. His C Round workshop will be No More Leftovers! Giving Your Marriage the Attention and Energy It Deserves. He blogs as a youth wallah.

Previous NCCYM podcasts include Mari Ann Callis and the New Orleans Youth Office.

TAKE TWO! (We experienced a rain delay on Tuesday) Just completed another visit again on Relevant Radio’s Morning Air show with host Sean Herriott. We discussed the end of  the pizza party as well as what counts as real participation.

Listen to the streaming broadcast or download the mp3.

Previous visits were on August 10, July 22, and June 24.  As always, thanks to producer Doug Thompson for helping to make this possible.

Last Wednesday, we were trying to share a little teacher love.

This is not only for school teachers at the beginning of the academic year, but because we in the Catholic Youth Ministry game have a something to teach as well.

Here is an office-friendly version of this Taylor Mail’s presentation that has already well gone viral on the web.

But, imagine hearing an in-your-face speakers like a Mike Patin or Ansel Augustine offering a youth-ministry friendly version of this —

Maybe at NCCYM???

There did not seem to be any Catholic Youth Ministry News that catch my attention this week, so we will forgo today’s usual Tuesday feature.

Meanwhile, we continue to tweak the site for your user-ability.  We have replaced the “share” button functionality that used to be at the bottom of each posting with twitter and facebook buttons. The hope is that, if you find something that catches your attention or even tickles your fancy (which is probably a violation of child protection procedures somehow) that you will pass along the posting to your own readers. If you do, comment below on the original post clarifying your agreement or disagreement so that your readers will see how smart you are!  Go for it!

Eric Gallagher of the Prepared Catholic has proposed five pointers regarding “trimming the fat” while planning the fall. He suggests that you

1) Take care of you first, especially regarding prayer time.
2) Step away from the ministry. Make time for family and friends.
3) Remember what works. Repeat. Even spice it up a notch.
4) Trim the Fat-  What was unnecessary? What was the programming that after it was over you wondered “Where the beef?”; and
5) “Meaten the Calf”  (Eric, is that really a phrase?)  What’s is the meat of your/our Ministry.  Eric reminds us it is in  the sacraments and the trained volunteers.  So, work on that as well.  It’s a good post and worth the read!