We are gonna be celebrating Valentine’s Day all week, offering up Catholic Youth Ministry Valentines out to a few folks. On Tuesdays, we offer Catholic YM News clips, so here is one as we celebrate all diocesan youth ministry types…  I’ve recently returned from the NFCYM annual membership meeting and these folks are just passionate and talented…  Marilyn is but just an example

ATLANTA – The Brooklyn diocesan coordinator of adolescent faith formation, Marilyn Santos, has joined the archdiocesan Office of Formation and Discipleship as associate director of youth ministry and associate director of inculturation.

In her first month of work here, she has seen some differences between her previous diocese and the Archdiocese of Atlanta. “The parishes here have embraced the idea of youth ministry as a catechetical ministry,” she said, noting that in her previous job, she was still working to convince parishes that youth ministry “is more than youth group. It is faith formation.”

As the associate director of inculturation, a ministry called an emerging trend throughout the country, Santos will work with Hispanic youth groups and those of other ethnicities and constituencies in the church that may be underserved. In a statement on the archdiocesan Web site, the office describes inculturation ministry as collaboration with “department entities, ministry leadership and parishes to ensure that the gospel and ministry permeate every culture. Drawn forth by the Catholic principle of ‘unity without uniformity’ we provide support, training, and resources that respect the richness of our multicultural Church.” Read the whole Georgia Bulletin article.

Adolescent faith formation is often identified as a critical parish priority. Parents, pastors, and many others share a common desire to pass on the richness of our Catholic faith to young people.

To identify a need and priority from the bleachers, however, does not necessarily translate into an action plan that leads to the desired results. Too often, parishes that genuinely desire to faithfully respond to their youth, don’t plan well, and are forced to lower expectations. They are left hoping that somehow teenagers will deepen their faith and stay active in the Church, yet they are not quite sure of what they can do to foster that reality.

It is time to fully enter the race. Lace up your ministerial shoes. John 14:31 encourages “Rise, let us be on our way.”

We are gonna be celebrating Valentine’s Day all week, offering up Catholic Youth Ministry Valentines out to a few folks.

First up is the Archdiocese of Baltimore.  It is more than work or ministry… it’s home and, yet, it’s more than that… it’s family.  We gather for our annual reunion at the pilgrimage, we are honored to share time with one another at our youth contact meetings or events such as NCYC.  We are blessed with wonderful talented people in our offices, parishes, and schools.  We often claimed that the ArchBalt is the “Premier See,” but seriously we daily work hard to earn that claim.

The second verse of Steve Agrisano’s Go Make a Difference:

Go make a diff’rence. We can make a diff’rence.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.
We are the hands of Christ reaching out to those in need,
the face of God for all to see.
We are the spirit of hope; we are the voice of peace.
Go make a diff’rence in the world.

In adolescent faith formation, as in athletics, it is exciting to sit in the bleacher seats and anticipate the seemingly Olympian achievements that will occur before you. It is, however, an entirely different experience to personally toe the starting line, awaiting the gun that will begin the race. We are the hands, we are the spirit, we are the ones to make a diff’rence.

While I have kept myself busy with silly tasks such as shoveling, the good sisters of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary over at the Monastery of Georgetown were out playing in the snow.  Click on the pics to enlarge and go to their site for a full report.

h/t to Jeff Miller

This is a prayer for another ordinary Sunday:

Lord, remain with us. Yes, we are the least of the apostles, not fit to be called apostles. Yes, by all rights, we should be doomed. We are unclean, surrounded by an unclean people. We are sinful; remove our wickedness, purge us from our sin.

In the eyes of all those around us and the angels above us, we aspire to sing your praises, Lord. Holy, holy, holy are You, the LORD of hosts! All the earth is filled with Your glory! When we called upon You, Lord, You answer by building up strength within us. Great is Your glory, Lord,

Lord, it is by your grace that we have become who we are, it has not been effective, Therefore, here we are ready to be sent to carry your Word. We will go. You ask us only to travel a short distance from the secure shore of loves. At your command, we will preach Your Good News. Have us share your Word so that others might believe.

UPDATE: (5:30 pm) The snow stopped a little after 4pm – - a twenty-eight hour snowstorm that reportedly brought 26.5 inches to BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport. as of Noon on Saturday. That makes it the second biggest storm in Maryland history.

Meanwhile, I have shoveled twice more today, each effort either easier or an indication that I am building upper body strength.  (“Bring it!”)

Finally, despite being Boy Scout-prepared on shoveling… a large tree has fallen with the parking lot blocking access to plows and egress for the rest of us. (click pic to enlarge.) I can’t imagine rescue from this until Monday morning…  we’ll see.  Anyway, I am appreciating the irony of Turner Classic Movies broadcasting The Great Escape.

- – -

(8:30 am) And, so the DelMarVa region is being hit with snowfall… again; on a weekend… again!

I’ve been documenting my own man vs. snow battle on fighting mother nature on access to car in the apartment complex’s parking lot on facebook: “shoveled Friday at 4pm, and again at 7:30 and now Sat. at 1:30am. Third round was even deeper, heavier. A near-by snow-laden branch has fallen. We ain’t done yet! BRING IT!”

The morning news brings reports that my neighborhood has already received 24 inches of the white stuff. And, yes, I did hear thunder-snow last night. Awesome!  So far, we have only faced one low front with another yet to arrive.    Snow is anticipated to fall until the evening.

Well, I just completed the fourth round of shoveling around 7:30 am and feel as is I am now winning the battle! I’ll have the shovel to where the snow plows will eventually skim and there is certainly more to snow to fall.  Click pics to enlarge.

(FYI, Nichole and Johanna – - the car on the left is yours!)

Meanwhile, I’m safe and indoors now…  Comfort food has yet to be broken into, books are stacked waiting to be read, firewood is also stacked, and a list of many chores and movies are lined up as well.  Snow???  BRING IT!

So, there was this great episode of The Office where the staff played Office Olympics while Michael, the boss, was away.

Now, The Office is a rather popular TV series that, like everything else on NBC, is about to be wipe-out by the Winter Olympics that are being held, seemingly, in Clay Imoo’s backyard.

All of which is to serve as an intro to this video which I tripped across  recently.  It’s awesome.

St. Joseph Life Teen in Modesto, CA along with their Director of Youth and Family Ministries, Carlos Gonzales, deserves kudos in putting together this promotional video for a (September) parish event.

Somewhere out there, Dwight Schrute is pleased.

Tim Schmoyer, over at his Life in Student Ministry blog, recently identified some Signs that a youth leader is lacking maturity and healthy adult relationships.

You know the type:
> the automatic buddy who will always side with a teen over their parent(s) or another adult in the program…
> the confessional adult who too often shares TMI (too much information) inappropriately in public and with the kids
> the “ambulance chaser” ready to rescue any young person out of any situation, not matter how big or small…
> the adult volunteer who hangs much more often with the kids than the other adults…

Tim has a whole list here; check it out, then come on back with a comment regarding any signs that you think are missing.

And, before moving on in a discussion regarding Catholic Adolescent Faith Formation and Evangelization In a New Era (CAFFEINE), a note about the Sacrament of Confirmation. For far too long, this has been perceived as a sacrament of graduation from religious education programming. What is being missed by the Church, but what young people already understand, is the difference between graduation and commencement.

The closing of one’s high school career is graduation from the present structure of their education. It also, is, however, a commencement or beginning to life after high school- whether that is college or work or service in the military. In the world of high school, graduation/commencement is not the indicator of an ending as much as it is a marker along the journey.

In a discipleship mindset, we are engage in inclusion rather than seeking to exclude. As a Church, however, we do exclude sacramentally. We anticipate baptism before the reception of other sacraments. Eucharist is not to be indiscriminately distributed. Young and dangerous Christine (who was previously mentioned here) was excluded from the parish council unless she had already received the sacrament of Confirmation.

Confirmation must be perceived as a sacrament of commencement, one that opens new doors in the church for young people. Liturgical ministries within the parish community, for example, might be just the beginning of potential venues for the gifts and talents of newly confirmed young people.