woah!

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I wanted to thank everyone for being so patient for my lack of posts. Conference season has taken over my life and it's been so busy, but I've found a few minutes before I get back to homework to write a post.


Thank you, thank you, thank you for your prayers. I feel that I should share that I've gotten hired as the Director of Youth Ministry for St. Louis Catholic Church in Alexandria, Virginia. It's in the Diocese of Arlington and I'm totally excited. It was one of two jobs that I was offered, (one was at an amazing parish out of state) and I am so excited to actually be almost a real live youth minister. I'm sure the nature of my posts will change as I get closer to the big day when I start and as I live my life as a youth minister (starting in August), but for now, much of my posts will be anticipatory.

I have lots of questions. I'm a little bit scared, a lot excited and totally amazed at the opportunity, which magnifies my questions by about 150 million. One question that I have that I'd love to know your opinion on is World Youth Day! I've never attended world youth day, so being able to go period is exciting, much less going to Australia...woah! Are you as youth ministers responsible for paying for it? Do you fundraise for it like your kids do? Does your parish supplement part of it? Can you tell what kind of fundraisers your parish does for WYD? I know that that's something that I'll have to work towards, so anything that you could help me with would be great.

I have one prayer request as well. Please pray for our conferences, most especially for our youth conferences and for an outpouring of the Spirit upon the conferences. The conference season has been amazing thus far and his grace is continually poured out upon the campus for the conferences. I hope you get the opportunity to bring your kids to a conference. I've never attended one, nor do I get to see them, as my job in the department does not put me in a place in which I see the conference. I do see the participants and i see how they are full of the Spirit. He's here, he's working and he's continuing to send his grace. Please keep us in your prayers...

Pope Benedict XVI To Youth (World Youth Day)

Pope Benedict speaks to the youth on the occasion of World Youth Day 2007, Palm Sunday:

Everybody feels the longing to love and to be loved. Yet, how difficult it is to love, and how many mistakes and failures have to be reckoned with in love! There are those who even come to doubt that love is possible. But if emotional delusions or lack of affection can cause us to think that love is utopian, an impossible dream, should we then become resigned? No! Love is possible, and the purpose of my message is to help reawaken in each one of you - you who are the future and hope of humanity-, trust in a love that is true, faithful and strong; a love that generates peace and joy; a love that binds people together and allows them to feel free in respect for one another.
...
My dear young friends, I want to invite you to “dare to love”. Do not desire anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love (cf Rev 5:13). Love is the only force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor, between cultures and civilisations.

It's a short but powerful read. Take it to your Religious Ed classes and read it for a prayer or to Youth Group or whatever you are doing with the kids. He is so accessable to read and understand and this letter is practical as it is beautiful.