Catholic Youth Ministry Blog

Thursday, 24 July, 2008

AVOIDING BURNOUT
So, first day back into the office: An Eagle of the Cross reception scheduled with the Archbishop and young people, a meeting with IT folks scheduled while I was away, a newsletter to kick out, and a week-long leadership camp starting in 48 hours. So, perhaps this would be a good time to check out Life Teen's article on avoiding burn out.

Wednesday, 23 July, 2008

UNPACKING AT HOME
   Sorry for the disconnect. Been in a plane for the last two days. So, we have reformatted all the entries below. Basically, this web-site was used as a platform for the Archdiocese of Baltimore's own efforts at blogging the trip. See that effort here.
   The Catholic Review made WYD the cover story of this week's edition. See pages 14, 15, and 16 here to learn more about the ArchBalt group as well as local celebrations. Father Austin Murphy spoke at one of the local events and his presentation can be found here.
   Of course, the Vatican has all the addresses here. Also, the whole missal of the visit has been posted here. Of special note to those preparing for the Sacrament of Confirmation were the Holy Father's seven prayers to the Holy Spirit that occurred during the vigil. Each were related to the gifts of the Spirit and followed young people's witness presentations of their faith. At the end of each prayer, the holy Father invokes the patrons of World Youth Day. These prayers can be found on pages 113-119 of the missal.

Monday, 21 July, 2008
ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
   Andrew from St. Ann's: Today we went to the Aboriginal Cultural Center. Technically the WYD activities are over, but we still went and had a good time. The first half of the talk we had was all about the history and culture of the Aborigines. Did you know that there were hundreds of tribes and languages throughout Australia? The talk was very cool and very informative.
   After the main part of the talk, we learned about the weapons of the Aborigines. It was mostly different types of boomerangs (go figure) but it was all really cool. After that a handful of us tried the face and body paint they typically use, and then heard some mad didgeridoo playing. Later on, we also got to throw a boomerang. I failed miserably, but a few of us actually did really well. I blame the wind for my failure. All in all, the cultural center was really fun.
    Later that evening, we went for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant with the archbishop. At first, I was expecting to order from a menu, but surprisingly they just served a large selection of food to all of us as a group. The food was very good, and so was the desert. Real Italian food is a real treat. Anyway, I guess that’s it. I’m going to miss this WYD week, but I still can’t wait to get home.
    Amy from St. Louis: Today was our last day in Sydney. It’s sad, but at the same time, everyone is excited to get home. After waking up to a hearty hotel breakfast, we met up with Sue in the lobby (we missed her this weekend!) for an hour long bus ride to an aboriginal village.
    At the village, a young man named Ramb showed us all sorts of aboriginal weapons and hunting tools, including boomerangs, and showed us a map of all the aboriginal tribes in Australia. There are over 500 tribes and 700 languages and dialects. After we learned about the boomerangs, we got a chance to throw one- some of us better than others! We replenished our energy with a meal that included kangaroo and emu sausages (both actually tasted very good). We finished the trip with a final visit to the gift shop.
    In the afternoon, we divided into parish groups and did different things. Many visited the beautiful cathedral and then hit the streets of Sydney for a little gift shopping for those back home.
    Finally, we ended the day with a delicious meal at an Italian restaurant with the Archbishop. The food was fantastic and it was great to have one last meal with everyone together especially with our special guests Steve Angrisano and his son and Archbishop Edwin O’Brien.

STATE OF YOUTH MINISTRY: PUERTO RICO
> > Last year, we could find no links for the dioceses of Arecibo, Caguas, Mayaguez, Ponce, and the Archdiocese of San Juan. This year, we found four.

Sunday, 20 July, 2008
ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
   At the end of Sunday, Archbishop O'Brien met with the pilgrims and discussed the implications of World Youth Day with them.
Catholic Review article here

   Anne Marie from Holy Trinity: This morning I woke up to a chilly sunrise at Randwick field. I fell asleep last night to the sounds of Scythian, an Irish band, playing after the vigil prayer service with the Pope. Now is the main event of World Youth Day, the papal mass. People from all over the world, nearly 500,000 strong will be in attendance as the Pope presides over this Mass.
   He had many great things to say to us, but one point primarily sticks in my mind is that God made a “marriage proposal” to the human race and Mary accepted that proposal with her “yes” to accept the Holy Spirit in her world. (The pope said this in his introduction to the Angelus at the conclusion of Mass). Mary received power when the Holy Spirit came upon her and she was a witness to the Lord. If Mary had rejected God’s invitation, the world would not be as we know it today.
   The message I took from this is that we all must follow Mary’s example and say yes to the Lord. We will receive power to do whatever the Lord asks of us and will be stronger once we have done so.
   Mollie from Holy Trinity: Today after a restless night’s sleep, I awoke to the voices of pilgrims, anxiously awaiting the arrival of Pope Benedict. Together, we ate breakfast and had morning prayer at 8am. Eating breakfast and praying both sound like every day occurrences, but today, among hundreds of thousands of people, eating breakfast and praying were truly remarkable experiences. I was reminded numerous times throughout the day of our connectedness as a people on a journey of faith.
   During a little bit of downtime between morning prayer and mass, I was able to spend time with some pilgrims around the worked. I traded my jacket with a man from Italy for a blue hat and I traded some pins for more pins. I talked to a lady originally from the Philippines who is currently living in Australia. She and I talked for a good fifteen minutes and after Mass, she gave me a bracelet that she had been wearing along with a big hug and some kind porting words. In that moment I felt a deep sense of unity, just as I did during the Mass.
   Hundreds of thousands sang and prayed together. The readings and other parts of the mass were said in different languages and some of the songs were sung in Latin. It was during Mass that I realized more than ever how connected we, as Catholics, are because of our beliefs. Our cultures do not divide us because we have something far greater that unites us – God. I walked away from Randwick with an Italian hat, a bracelet, and a more concrete understanding of what it means to be a Catholic family.

Saturday, 19 July, 2008
ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
   Cody from St. Ann: Today was not as difficult as I had anticipated. It was still a long hard day. But, more importantly, today was a day of heart.
    A long grueling walk. . . no real food . . . and flaring tempers. These were some of the things which I was concerned I might expect along the way. As you may know, today was the actual pilgrimage of World Youth Day.
   We started out at the USA Mass held at the park. It was a great beginning. Everyone was excited to worship early in the morning. We left for the pilgrimage walk - - it was much shorted than I had anticipated. About 4 or 5 kilometers and it only took about 2 hours. Along the way was where I first witnessed heart - the heart to continue on, the heart of everyone around you, all so caring and loving. Most apparent was the heart and presence of Christ in the atmosphere. Just the feeling was amazing - - songs praising Jesus, chants and the unification of cultures. We are all one Church. We are signs that God is truly with us.
   The other sign of heart was after we had arrived an made camp. It was time for the vigil with the Pope. All you could see was hundreds of thousands of candles- all representing one Church. To see the heart of the Church unified in prayer with the Holy Father was simply breathtaking. All of this as well as the joy foud inside my own heart made today a highlight and one to be remembered.
     Megan from St. Louis: A long hike, a huge backpack, singing, dancing, trading stuff. What’s that sound like to you? It sounds like a pilgrimage to me.
    It began with waking up early and loading up on some carbs and eggs, and for some if us, baked beans and spaghetti, for breakfast. Then we piled our heavy backpacks on our backs and made our way to the Domain for the United States mass celebrated with about 5 bishops fro around America. It was fun celebrating with the USA delegation and singing with our wonderful musicians.
   Then, after a brief snack/ water break, we began the grueling hike to Randwick Racecourse where we would be sleeping the night. The hike was preety hard starting out, trying to get all of us from the Baltimore delegation to stay together. It was pretty sunny and hot and we felt a burning in our calves going up the steep roads to get there. Tired as we were, we pushed on, encouraging one another, and making sure we all drank water as we walked. It was really nice to hear people singing and it was fun talking to one another. I found strength during the hike by listening to father Gus break out into a song about carrying our loads and walking in the name of the Lord.
    Today, I learned that no matter how hard something is, you can find strength in others. I felt this strength in others around me and I hope I continue to feel this as we conclude this wonderful experience of World Youth Day.
STATE OF YOUTH MINISTRY: WASHINGTON, DC
   > > In our nation's capital home diocese, they offer a set of resources for coaches.
   > > Meanwhile, Mark Moitoza's Archdiocese of Military Services, USA webpage is still the model website for one and all!

Friday, 18 July, 2008
ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
   Jay from the Cathedral: Today was our second day of catechesis in Manley. Although we did not get any beach time, today’s presentation from Austrialian Bishop Toomey made up for it. Personally, he was my favorite. The Bishop spoke mainly about science and religion. The bishop said we use science to understand God’s creation more and we should be afraid of what we will find. As a skeptic of creationism and “the seven days” his speech showed me I could believe in God’s creation while learning about the world. His final message stuck in my head: “You were created and chosen by God to be who you are, and in his plan you are part of the salvation of the human race.”
   After Manley, we headed to the pray the Stations of the Cross at Barangaroo. It was a large performance and memorable.
   In the evening, we saw Steve Angrisano and Jesse Manibusen at the Domain.

Gillian from St. Joe's: It's hard to believe that it is already Friday and that we are approaching the climax events of World Youth Day. It has been amazing traveling through Sydney and seeing so many people on fire for Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit has blessed me with the chance to talk to many people and it is both humbling and encouraging to know that all 46 or so of us from Baltimore are among 500,000 other people who have come above all, seeking Jesus Christ. Our main event today was the Stations of the Cross. The first station was at St. Mary's Cathedral and those portraying Our Lord's Passion moved through the streets of Sydney to Darling Harbour and the Opera House before arriving at Barangaroo for the Crucifixion. The music and the prayer and the portrayal were all beautiful powerful reminders of how much Jesus loves the world. What was even more striking was again the relaxation that, thanks to Jumbotrons various sites, the entire city was praying the Stations of the Cross.
Another highlight of World Youth Day for me was the Catechesis talks we had Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. I enjoyed each bishop's talk on the Holy Spirit; Friday's theme was mission and evangelization, and our bishop Tom Burns of the UK's military diocese, encouraged us throughout his talk to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel and spoke about how to be Christ's witnesses without telling us directly how to be witnesses. I was especially moved by Bishop Burns' call to make church whoever we are, even in unusual circumstances. In his career as a naval chaplain, he realized this was his call because he was often the light of Christ on the vessel and sometime had to celebrate the mass on missiles and torpedoes. The bishop reminded us that wherever we go, we are part of the Body of Christ and must therefore bring and build the Church and the Kingdom of God to and in our world. This idea of being a living, breathing, fully alive witness for Christ was beautifully illustrated for me this evening when I stopped at a pharmacy to buy more film for my camera. As I was putting my change away, the teenager was working behind the counter asked how World Youth Day was going. In the brief conversation Cheryl, Georgina and I had with him, it was pretty clear that he just didn't understand why all of us pilgrims cam to Sydney but was impressed anyway that we made our journey. To me, this young man represents all the people in the world. The world might not understand, what we do but it is still watching us as we continue on our earthly pilgrimage. The question becomes: what are we showing them? Are we, by our presence, truly living witnesses?
As Friday closes we are looking forward to our pilgrimage walk to Randewick Racecourse for our overnight vigil and mass with the Holy Father. Our day will start with mass with the 50 United States Bishops and the other American pilgrims who have come to Sydney. 6 of us will be altar servers for this liturgy, and I will be one of three sacristans. The weather looks good for tomorrow and we are excited for a prayerful and joyous start to the final part of our World Youth Day Pilgrimage.
STATE OF YOUTH MINISTRY: WYOMING
> > Elaine Menardi, director for Cheyenne, writes about WYD for
SPARK magazine and quotes Father Richard Rohr, OFM, who tells us that “a pilgrim must be a child who can approach everything with an attitude of wonder, awe and faith. Pray for wonder, awe, desire. Ask God to take away your sophistication and cynicism. Ask God to take away the restless, anxious heart of the tourist, which always needs to find the new, the more, the curious. Recognize yourself as a pilgrim, asone who has already been found by God… We go on pilgrimage so we can go back home and know that we never need to go on pilgrimage again. Pilgrimage has achieved its purpose when we can see God in our everyday and ordinary lives.” All good thoughts before tomorrow's hike to the WYD vigil site.

Thursday, 17 July, 2008
ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
    Sean from St. Ann's: Today we went to Manly for our second catechetical session which was led by Bishop Conroy from England. The session was about the way we are community as Church. After the session, we briefly explored Manly. As we took the harbor ferry back to Sydney, we were stopped in the middle of the bay was the Pope’s boat arrival had stopped all water traffic. We could see the Pope’s boat from a distance.
    We did find a spot to see the Popemobile as it went through the city. It was really cool to see him only 10-15 feet away as he passed by.
    In the evening, we went to see singer Matt Maher. Adoration was also a part of this night’s program and it was really a moving experience.
       Alison from Mount Saint Mary Thursday began with another exciting morning of catechesis. This time our catechetical session was in a beach town called Manley and Scott led it. Suz, our tour guide, met us for breakfast and took us to the ferry to go to Manley. The ferry rise was very nice and we were able to see the Opera House and the bridge from the water. The church was so beautiful, but it also had a few flat screen TVs which was odd to see in such a conservative style church. Our musician, Curtis Stephan was great! (Check him out!) I feel like the whole dynamic of this catechetical session was completely different from the previous day. I think it was a combination of Curtis and the group of pilgrims that were there, but the Spirit and the energy in that Church were amazing! My favorite part was at the end of Mass the people of Paupa New Guinea got up and sang a song that I believe was specifically written for their WYD journey. Mark later asked us about our main WYD moment and memory so far and that was definitely it for me.
     After catechesis, we got the chance for some souvenir shopping and walking the beach in Manley. (It was much cheaper than Sydney!) As I walked down the beach and stuck my toes in the freezing water, I had to keep reminding myself that I was actually in Australia, on Australian sand, in Australian water. It’s still just so hard to believe that I’m finally here.
     We had to get the ferry back for the Pope’s arrival in the afternoon, but we had an unexpected surprise. Our ferry had to stop for a while because the Pope’s vessel was still on the water. So even though it was not as we expected to see him arrive, it was very cool and a different experience than most people had. We could see his boat off in the distance preceded by a fire-boat spraying water in front of it and many security boats around it, And we entertained ourselves with cards, music, juggling while we were waiting.
    When we arrived back at Circular Quay (pronounced “key,” how weird) Suz took some of us to see an Opel shop. They showed us a video and based taught us all about opals, black and white opals, how they were mined, etc. So that was very interesting and educational, and we did some opal shopping while we were there too.
     Then Melissa and I found a spot along the route that the Pope would take through the city. We were probably about 10 to 15 people back, because some people had been staking out their spot for hours. I’m glad that we didn’t stand there long because when the Pope did come by, he was going so fast that you hardly got a chance to see him. You guys at home probably got a better view of him on TV. I was expecting him to be inching along waving at us, the way he did when he rode around Nationals Stadium on his visit to the US a few months ago.   So, I was a little disappointed. I did get a video of him, though, which was a much better decision than to try and take a picture.
     The rest of the night held more festival activities around town. Melissa, Caitlin, and I had a great time at Darling Harbour. Well that’s it. Thanks for reading. PS., I live you Mom and Dad!
STATE OF YOUTH MINISTRY: WISCONSIN
   > > This summer found Green Bay sponsoring a mission trip for high school students to Floyd County, KY.
   > > Monthly Adoration is available at the diocesan center in Lacrosse. Oh, Eucharistic Adoration! Wow, I was just about ready to move!
   > > Fr. Thomas Loya will be here giving a confirmation retreat in Madison centered around Theology of the Body.
   > > Milwaukee has a watch here announcement on their site.
   > > Superior remind us that the bishops of the Wisconsin province proclaimed that “A parish’s catechetical ministry lies at the very heart of its mission. The mission of the parish is the mission of Christ: to form a people for God, to make disciples of all nations, to establish peace and justice among all peoples.”

Wednesday, 16 July, 2008
ARCHDIOCESE OF BALTIMORE DELEGATION JOURNAL
   Sean from St. Ann’s: Today we had our first catechetical session, led by Luis Antonio, a bishop from the Philippians. He was entertaining and the rally connected with the youth. His words about the Holy Spirit and putting Christ first were powerful and very thought-provoking. The bishop reminded us that we must reflect the humility of the Holy Spirit and be Christ-like as a light to the world.
  At today’s Mass at Holy Trinity Church, there will pilgrims from all over, including the Phillipeans, Canada, Australia, and Missouri. What I found fascinating was that as we sang the opening song, “Lord, I lift your name on High,” everyone sang together but had different hand motions. This is very much like the way we celebrate Mass. We have different ways of praise and worship, but we all focused on the Eucharist and have the same order of Mass.
    Later, this evening, after we had split up into smaller groups by parish, the St. Louis group returned to beautiful Bondi beach for a terrific concert. Once again, there were people from all over, uniting to glorify the Lord. We were fortunate enough to see Matt Maher perform with his band, and their music really inspired the crowd and seemed to unleash more of the World Youth Day spirit. All in all, this day, inspirited by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, was filled with some fabulous faith and fantastic fun.
   Theresa from St. Ann: Today was an early day, but it was worth waking up. We went to Merrylands which is about a 50 minute train rise from Sydney. There we waited for our first catechetical session with other parishes from across the world. While waiting about ten of us approached a Brazilian parish and taught them the “shakey-shakey” dance; everyone joined in and it was amazing. Laughter was our common communication from then on.
   Finally, we entered Holy Trinity Church and met a wonderfully spiritual bishop. He was Bishop Luis Antonio from the Philippians and he had a welcoming smile that warmed the whole church. He gave us a talk about the Holy Spirit in our lives and then we rolled right into Mass. Both the talk and the mass were moving experiences for everyone. Lunch followed Mass which brought more cross-cultural bonding. Many of us gathered in a large sit down circle to play “wallaby, wallaby, kangaroo;” similar to the US version of “duck, duck, goose.” People were running, laughing, sharing, and simply bonding together for a fun time.
   We then had a short Archdiocesan delegation meeting, and then were on our way back to Sydney for more spiritual sessions. We decided to go see Jesse Manibusen and hear him sing and talk. Jesse played his guitar and opened his session with songs about the Holy Spirit as well as some of his popular favorites. He is like a singer/song-writer/comedian/religious speaker all wrapped up in one. I personally liked his session because there was a calm point in his presentation which really gave me the opportunity to focus on the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s role in my life. This time showed me that the Holy Spirit really works through my Mom. She gives me strength at my weakest moments, and she pours out her love for me each and every day, just as Christ does for all of us. Later, Jesse sang a “Happy Birthday” to our youth minister, Karen, for her “23^rd (again)” birthday. Everything at this session was amazing.
   As the evening was coming to a close, we all made our way back down to Darling Harbour for last minister concerts and sessions. However, we were so tired after dinner, we decided to make our way back to the hotel for a good night’s rest.

STATE OF YOUTH MINISTRY: WEST VIRGINIA
> > The work of Wheeling-Charleston, like many diocesan offices includes youth ministry, young adut ministry, and college campus ministry.