When dad calls us, we must discern that call to make sure it is really Him calling. But discernment isn’t enough, once we recognize that it is His voice, we must respond. We have to move. This is why prayer is so important to our everyday lives. It is in prayer that we begin to know the voice of the Father. It’s amazing to me that in a crowded room, full of noisy kids, you’re children recognize your voice when you call. It’s because they know you, and they know your voice.
Don’t get me wrong, Catholics pray with their body. We lie prostrate, we kneel, we sit, and we fold our hands in a posture of prayer. Sometimes we even extend our hands over our head in an open posture of worship.
All of these postures, even the hands over the head, are rooted in Scripture and the Tradition of the Church. They reflect the interior disposition of the soul and it’s receptivity to Christ. So what about hand motions? Why do I say it is not prayer?
While many of us will make resolutions for the coming year for our personal lives, why not make some for our ministries as well? Here are some resolutions to pray about as you get ready to start a new calendar year of Youth Ministry.
A rhythm of prayer is absolutely necessary to get closer to God but it’s not going to be some specific formula and it’s not going to look the same for everyone. If you can find a way to incorporate all those prayers into your life then that’s amazing, but that’s not expected of everyone. Going from being a missionary to an office setting I had to change my rhythm to make sense according to my new role. But, there’s no better tool for ministry than a heart inspired by God.
Other than illegal hits to the head and questionable calls by referees, the most controversial part of the NFL season is a phenomenon called “Tebowing”. Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow openly proclaims his faith in interviews, post game press conferences, in coffee shops or wherever he is. After touchdowns and during particularly tense moments of [...]
You and I most likely will never have a feast day in the Liturgical Calendar of the Church. Thousands of years from now, people may not carry around our prayer card in their Bible, and we may never be declared a patron of anything. But we have everything we need to get to Heaven. Every day, when we wake up, we can renew our answer to Jesus when He asks “come follow me.” And it is in our response to that question, in ordinary ways, that you and I can become Saints – with a little “s.”
Is there Parishnormal Activity happening surrounding youth ministry at your parish? – do the Knights of Columbus accuse the teens of taking all their left over ketchup packets from last year’s Parish picnic? – is the key to the closet in the Parish Hall now attached to a Hockey stick because you as youth leader [...]
In my experience of imitating the saints and holy people I’m surrounded by now, I like to think that they are just created holier than me. They just have gifts that make them want to pray more. Those people, those saints and those people who know their faith better than me, were just born more interested in it. There’s some secret that God has revealed to them, because they are meant to be pray-ers.