Blog

Category Archives: Liturgy / The Mass

Blog

A Prescription for Good Core Team Health: Vitamin (Cycle) C

Recently during Mass my eldest daughter noticed something during the gospel proclamation – specifically, that St. Luke was not one of the original twelve apostles. I later tried to explain that St. Luke was a traveling companion of St. Paul and a convert to the faith, but not one of the original twelve men that Christ “sent forth” (apostle). “So, St. Luke didn’t really know Jesus?” my daughter insightfully asked. Little did I know that on this particular evening I would introduce my 7

Blog

Teens Distracted at Mass? Reverence Begins with Relevance

My first year in Youth Ministry was painful. I had a few solid Core Members and our Life Nights were going well. I had a supportive priest and a decent budget. I had a talented music ministry and parents who would do anything for me. I developed strong relationships with teens; saw an increase in the number of teens coming to Mass and a heightened interest in potential Core Members. All this…and I was really frustrated. “Frustrated?” some of you reading this might say. “How could you be

Blog

Song After Communion

Over the past years there has been a lot of focus on the song we sing after communion or as we sometimes call it the “communion meditation.” The time after communion is sacred and so it is appropriate that we sing a reflective song celebrating and focusing on the Eucharist we have just received. The communion meditation is often a song to be listened to by the entire assembly and is usually sung by just one cantor alone or the entire choir. It is often a song that the assembly would just actively

Blog

Music and the Communion Procession: Making it Work

Everything we do should flow from the Eucharist. Life Teen is centered around the Eucharist and has built its whole philosophy on the true presence of the body and blood of Christ, truly present in the Eucharist. This being said, great care should go in to everything we do that deals with this great Sacrament. As we receive the Eucharist it is important that we portray the correct symbolism and meaning. I know we’ve all seen it happen that the priest goes out to the people to distribute communion