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Category Archives: Pastoral Care

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Are your teens licensed to pray? Empowering and helping teens to pray.

By | September 16, 2010

Driving Instructors are brave. They are out on the streets, seated right beside a young soul with little more than a second brake to protect them. As a driving instructor, you might need to work your brake at times. You will need to prepare them before you “start.” You might need to pull over and walk them through how to do certain things. The point is that you are actively helping them and empowering them to do it on their own. You’re not just teaching them a skill; you’re growing their own confidence in that skill.

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Dealing with the “Other Stuff” of Youth Ministry

By | February 11, 2010

When I first started in youth ministry I was green, youthful, and enthusiastic.  I attended Diocesan meetings excited, only to encounter tenured youth ministers who appeared burned out. The longer I stayed in youth ministry, the more I understood how people get burned out. On the outside I was as enthusiastic as ever, but in all honesty, I wanted to quit everyday. Not because of the teens–I loved them–but because of “other ministry stuff.” Let’s talk about that other stuff. I wish I knew

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Do you really want to change a teen’s life?

By | February 2, 2010

If you want to change a teenager’s life than don’t just pray for them…pray with them.

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Turning on the Light: Pro-Life & Youth Ministry

By | January 20, 2010

Sure, I always said that I was Pro-Life but what was I actually doing to help promote the Pro-Life movement, especially when it comes to the unborn? Bottom line is that I was doing nothing. I was letting everyone else do the work for me. I would tell my teens that protecting life is important but I was never passionate myself. How could I expect my teens to be passionate if I was not setting the example? I realized we absolutely cannot expect our teens to be passionate about the Pro-Life movement unless we are.

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Ministering to Teens of Divorce

By | June 24, 2009

A very worried grandmother showed me the crumpled first draft of her granddaughter’s writing assignment, My Most Painful Experience: “Without a doubt, my most painful experience was the divorce of my parents. It has ruined my life…I have seen them lie to each other, hurt each other. I could not stop the pain.” The young woman describes the ongoing effects of the divorce and the choices she has made since then, which have included dropping out of school, drug abuse, and now teen pregnancy.

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The Economy and Your Teens

By | January 23, 2009

Retreat deposits are due and one young girl raises her hand timidly. “What if my family can’t afford it right now?” she asks. It is all over the news and in almost every conversation. No part of the United States has been spared the effects of the recent economic downturn. Parish councils and staffs have likely had (or soon will have) a budget belt tightening meeting. Collections are down. And individual families are suffering through job losses, the market collapse or housing losses. Do

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Keeping Harmony in a Diverse Youth Group

By | October 22, 2008

Camp-bound last summer with a bus full of adolescents and courageous adults, we stopped at a mega-mall for a quick meal. You can’t beat the variety of a mall food court to keep everyone happy. As we all journeyed to our favorites, it struck me that our group itself was a food court of cultures, colors, ages and experiences: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, high school students, and adults–both gray and graying. How did this happen? Let’s consider where this all began. We are all created in the

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Pastoral Care: Secular and Sacred!

By | October 3, 2008

Looking at the US Bishops’ document on youth ministry, Renewing the Vision (hereafter RTV), you might argue that the component of Pastoral Care is the one most rooted in the secular world. Youth ministry leaders are called to respond to alcoholism, abuse, drug use, violence, a highly-charged sexual culture, immorality, death, and any number of other issues that seldom occur within the walls of our parishes. A critic might ask, “What’s that stuff gotta’ do with youth ministry?” RTV gives

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How Not To Ruin a Trip to World Youth Day

By | June 17, 2008

The deposits are paid, the bags are packed, and the kids are excited. You are about to take young people around the world (or across the country, state, or down the street for that matter) and you are responsible for the well being, health and safety of your group. What are some of the problems to avoid or prevent? Here are some tips that will keep your trip memorable for all the right reasons. Start the trip before the trip. Formation meetings before the bus leaves or the plane takes off are essential

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Starting Difficult Conversations about Suicide, Abuse, and Suffering

By | May 7, 2008

If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it will soon enough. The world is full of “ick,” and eventually one of your teens—or perhaps one of your adult leaders—will get some on his or her shoes. You have an idea about what is going on in their life, but you need to ask. You are concerned about this person, but you are afraid that what they tell you will be difficult to hear. How do we handle people in pain? Whether it is physical or emotional hurt, we can usually tell when someone is not feeling