The Zanzucchis are the first married couple to be asked to compose the texts.

A friend from the Focolare Movement sent me the text. I thought I would share it with you all in case you were looking for something to personally reflect on or if you were needing some last minute inspiration for a teen led Stations of the Cross at your parish! Thanks for all you do for the young Church! May we all enter into the Paschal Mystery every day, but especially the next 3 days!

 WAY OF THE CROSS
AT THE COLOSSEUM

GOOD FRIDAY 2012

MEDITATIONS BY

Danilo and Anna Maria Zanzucchi

Focolare Movement
Founders of the “New Families” Movement

INTRODUCTION

Jesus tells us: “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross each day and follow me”. This is an invitation addressed to everyone: to those who are married and those who are single, to young people, adults and the elderly, to the rich and poor, and to people of every nationality.  It is also meant for every family, for its individual members and for the little community as a whole.

Before entering upon his final sufferings, Jesus, in the Garden of Olives, left alone by his sleeping Apostles and fearful of what awaited him, turned to his Father and asked: “If it is possible, let this chalice pass from me”.  Yet he immediately added: “Not my will, but yours be done”.

In that dramatic and solemn moment, a profound lesson is offered to all those who choose to follow him.  As with each individual Christian, so each family has its own way of the cross, marked by sickness, death, financial troubles, poverty, betrayal, wrongdoing, clashes with relatives, natural disasters. Yet each Christian, each family, in walking this path of sorrows, can look resolutely to Jesus, man and God.

Together let us enter once more into Jesus’ final experience on earth, an experience received from the Father’s hands: an experience both sorrowful and sublime, one in which Jesus distilled the most precious lessons of his life and teaching.  In this way we can learn to live our own lives fully, on the model of his own.

OPENING PRAYER

 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

R. Amen.

The lector: Let us pray.

A moment of silence follows

“Jesus, at the hour when we recall your death, we wish to fix our loving gaze on the unspeakable sufferings which you endured. These sufferings were gathered up in your mysterious cry from the Cross before you drew your last breath: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Jesus, you seem a twilight God: a Son without a Father, a Father lacking his Son. That cry, human and divine, which pierced the air on Golgotha, challenges and confounds us even today; it shows us that an unprecedented event has taken place.

An event which saves us: from death has come forth life, from darkness, light, from complete separation, unity.  Our thirst to be conformed to you leads us to see you forsaken, everywhere and in every way, amid our individual and collective pain, in your Church’s sufferings and in humanity’s dark nights, and everywhere and in every way  to bring your life, to spread your light, to beget your unity. Then as now, were you not forsaken,  we would have no Easter. “

1. Amen.

FIRST STATION

Jesus is condemned to death

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to John 18:38b-40

“After Pilate had said this, he went out to the Jews again, and told them: “I find no crime in him. But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover; will you have me release for you the King of the Jews?” They cried out again: “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Barabbas was a robber.”

”Pilate finds no particular crimes to charge Jesus with, so he gives in to the pressure of the accusers and thus the Nazarene is condemned to death. It seems we can hear you say: “I have been condemned to death; so many people who seemed to love and understand me have listened to lies and accused me.
They did not understand my words.
They handed me over to judgement and condemnation. To death by crucifixion, the most ignominious death.” More than a few of our families suffer because of betrayal by a spouse, the person we hold dearest. Whatever became of the joy of being close, of living in unison? What happened to the sense of being completely one? What became of the words “from this day forward” which were once spoken?

I look to you, Jesus, the victim of betrayal, and experience with you the moment when the love and friendship which had grown in our life as a couple fell apart, and I sense deep in my heart the wounds of trust betrayed, confidence lost, security gone. I look to you, Jesus, at this very moment when I stand judged by someone who has forgotten the bond that united us in total self-giving.
Only you, Jesus, can understand me, can give me courage,
can speak to me words of truth, even though I struggle to understand them.
You can give me the strength
that enables me not to judge in return,
not to succumb, for love of the little ones
who await me at home,
for I am now their only support.”

All: “Our Father….”

Stabat Mater dolorosa, iuxta crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius.

SECOND STATION

Jesus takes up his cross

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to John 19:16-17

“Then Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull, which is called in Hebrew Golgotha.”

“Pilate hands Jesus over to the chief priests and the guards. The soldiers put a purple robe on him and on his head they set a crown of thorns. They mock him throughout the night; they mistreat him and scourge him. Then, in the morning, they burden him with a heavy beam, the cross on which thieves are nailed, so that all can see what becomes of evildoers. Many of his followers flee.

This event which took place two thousand years ago is repeated in the history of the Church and of mankind. Even today. Once more, Christ’s body, the Church, is struck and wounded. Seeing you like this, Jesus, bleeding, alone, forsaken and derided,
we ask ourselves: “But all those people whom you so deeply loved,
and helped and guided, those men, those women, are they not us today?
We too have hidden for fear of getting involved, forgetting that we are your followers”.

But the worst part, Jesus, is that I too have added to your pain.
We who are spouses and our families have also added cruelly
to the burden you must bear. When we failed to love one another,
when we blamed one another, when we refused to forgive one another,
when we did not begin anew to love one another.

And yet we continue to yield to our own pride, we want to be always right, we demean those close to us, even those who have united their lives to our own.
We no longer remember what you, Jesus, have told us: “Whatsoever you do to the least of these little ones, you do also to me”. These were your very words: “to me”.

All:  “Our Father…”

FOURTH STATION

   Jesus meets his mother

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to John 19:25

“Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.”

”On the way to Calvary, Jesus sees his mother. Their eyes meet. They understand one another. Mary knows who her son is. She knows whence he has come. She knows what his mission is. Mary knows that she is his mother; but she also knows that she is his daughter. She sees him suffer for all men and women, those of the past, present and future. And she too suffers.

Certainly, Jesus, it pains you to see your mother suffer in this way.
But you must make her a part of this tremendous divine drama.
For such is God’s plan for the salvation of the human race.

For every man and woman in this world, but especially for us families, the meeting of Jesus and his mother on the way to Calvary is a powerful and ever timely event. Jesus gave up his mother so that each of us – including the spouses among us – might have a mother who is always there for us. Sometimes, sadly, we forget this. But, when we think about it, we realize that countless times in our lives as families we have turned to her. How close she has been to us in times of trouble! How many times have we entrusted our children to her, how often we have asked her to intervene for their physical health and, even more, for their moral protection!

How often has Mary heard us, and have we felt her near to comfort us with a mother’s love. Along each family’s way of the cross, Mary is the model of that silence which, even in moments of overwhelming pain, gives birth to new life.”

All: “Our Father…”

Quæ mærebat et dolebat pia Mater, dum videbat Nati poenas incliti.

FIFTH STATION

Jesus is helped to carry his cross by Simon of Cyrene

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to Luke 23:26

“As they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.”

“Perhaps Simon of Cyrene represents all of us, at that moment when we suddenly face a difficulty, a trial, an illness, an unforeseen burden, a heavy cross. Why? Why me? Why now? The Lord calls us to follow him, though we know not where or how.

The best thing to do, Jesus, is to follow you, to be open to what you ask of us.
Many families can confirm this by direct experience: it does nothing for us to rebel, it is best to tell you “yes”, for you are the Lord of heaven and earth.

But not only because of this can we, and must we, say “yes” to you.
You love us with an infinite love. More than a father, or mother, or brothers and sisters, more than a wife, or husband, or children.
You love us with a far-seeing love, a love which, above and beyond all things,
even in our moments of unhappiness, wants us to be safe and happy, in your company, for ever.

Even in families, at the most difficult times when momentous decisions must be made, if peace dwells in our hearts, if we heed and understand what God desires for us, then a light shines upon us, helping us to see matters clearly and to carry our cross.

The Cyrenean also brings to mind the faces of all those people who have been close to us at times when a heavy cross befell us or our family. He calls to mind the many volunteers throughout the world who generously devote themselves to comforting and assisting those suffering and in distress. He teaches us humbly to let ourselves be helped at times of need, and to be Cyreneans to others.”

All: “Our Father…”

Quis est homo qui non fleret,Matrem Christi si videret in tanto supplicio?

SIXTH STATION

Veronica wipes the face of Jesus

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the second letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians 4:6

“God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

“Veronica was one of the women who had followed Jesus, who understood who he was, who loved him; she suffers to see him suffer. Now, standing nearby, she sees his face, that countenance which had so often touched her soul. She sees it distraught, marred and covered with blood, yet ever meek and humble.

He cannot long endure. She wants to relieve his suffering. She takes a cloth and tries to wipe the blood and sweat from that face.

In our lives we have had occasion at times to wipe the tears and sweat of those who suffer. Perhaps we have assisted a terminal patient in the wards of a hospital, or helped an immigrant or someone looking for work, or listened to someone in prison. And in trying to ease their suffering, we may have wiped their face simply by looking upon them with compassion.

And yet, all too seldom do we remember that in each of our brothers and sisters in need you, the Son of God, are hidden. How different would our lives be if we would but remember this! Little by little we would become aware of the dignity
of every man, woman and child living on the earth. Each person, beautiful or not, gifted or not,  whether newly conceived in a mother’s womb or advanced in age, represents you, Jesus.
And not only. Each of our brothers and sisters is you.
Looking upon you, utterly abased on Calvary,
we will understand with Veronica
that in every human being we can recognize your face.

All: “Our Father…”

Qui non posset contristari, Christi Matrem contemplari dolentem cum Filio?

SEVENTH STATION

Jesus falls for the second time

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the first letter of Saint Peter 2:24

“He bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

“For the second time as he makes his way along the narrow path to Calvary, Jesus falls. We can sense his physical weakness after the long night and the torture he had endured. Perhaps it was not just that ordeal, his own exhaustion and the heavy cross on his shoulders that made him fall. An unfathomable burden weighs on Jesus, something personal and profound which makes itself felt more clearly with each step.

We see you as a just another poor man,
one who made a mistake in life and now must pay for it.
You seem to have no physical or moral strength left
to face the new day. And so you fall.

We recognize ourselves in you, Jesus,
even in this further, exhausted fall!
Yet you get up again; you want to carry on.
For us, for all of us,
to give us the courage to get up again.
We are weak indeed,
but your love is greater than our failures;
it is always ready to accept and understand us.

Our sins, which you took upon yourself,
crush you, yet your mercy
is infinitely greater than our misery.
Yes, Jesus, thanks to you we get up again.
We made our mistakes.
We let ourselves be taken in by the temptations of the world
perhaps for nothing more than a glimmer of satisfaction,
at the thought that someone still wants us,
that someone says he or she likes us, even loves us.
At times it is a struggle even to maintain
the commitment to fidelity made in our marriage vows.
We no longer feel the freshness or the enthusiasm we once had.
Everything is repetitious, every act seems a burden,
We just want to escape.

But we try to get up once more, Jesus,
And not to fall into the greatest temptation of all:
that of not believing that your love can accomplish all things.”

All: “Our Father…”

Pro peccatis suæ gentis vidit Iesum in tormentis et flagellis subditum.

EIGHTH STATION

Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem, who weep for him

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to Luke 23:27-28

“And there followed him a great multitude of the people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.”

“Among the throng following Jesus there is a group of women from Jerusalem: they know him. Seeing him in this sad state, they join in the crowd and ascend to Calvary. They are weeping.

Jesus sees them and feels their sorrow for him. Even at that tragic moment he wants to leave them a word which communicates more than sorrow alone. He desires, for them as for us, not simply pity but heartfelt conversion, a conversion which acknowledges past failures, seeks forgiveness and begins a new life.

Jesus, how often, for weariness or blindness, for selfishness or fear do we close our eyes and refuse to face reality! Above all we choose not to get involved, we do not share, deeply and actively, in the lives and the needs of our brothers and sisters, near and far. We continue to live comfortable lives, we deplore evil and evildoers, yet we do not change our lives and we do not personally pay the price to change things, so that evil can be overcome and justice served.

Often situations fail to improve because we have made no effort to change them. We withdraw without having wronged anyone, but also without having done the good that we might have done and ought to have done. Perhaps someone else pays the price for us, for the fact that we were not there.

Jesus, may these words of yours revive us, and give us a portion of that strength which impels the witnesses to the Gospel – often martyrs, fathers or mothers or children – who by their blood, united to your own, have opened and continue to open even today a path to goodness in our world.”

All: “Our Father…”

Eia, Mater, fons amoris, me sentire vim doloris fac, ut tecum lugeam.

NINTH STATION

Jesus falls for the third time

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to Luke 22:28-30a

“You are those who have continued with me in my trials; and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom”.

“The ascent is brief, yet his weakness is extreme. Jesus is physically spent, but spiritually too. He senses that he has taken upon himself the hatred of the elders, the priests, the crowd, all of whom seem to want to unleash on him all the repressed anger caused by past and present oppression. It is almost as if they are seeking some sort of vengeance by lording it over Jesus.

And you fall, Jesus, you fall for the third time.
You seem to give up.
But see! With utter weariness you rise again
and take up anew the journey to Golgotha.
So many of our brothers and sisters throughout the world
are enduring tremendous trials because they follow you, Jesus.
They are going up with you to Calvary
and with you they are also falling
beneath the persecutions which for two thousand years
have been inflicted on your Body which is the Church.

We wish, alongside these beloved brothers and sisters of ours, to offer our own lives, our weaknesses, our poverty, our daily sufferings great and small. Often we live lives anesthetized by prosperity, without making a strenuous effort to rise or to help humanity to rise. But we can rise, because Jesus found the strength to stand and take up the journey anew.

Our families are also a part of this threadbare fabric, tied to a life of ease which becomes the goal of life itself. Our children grow up: let us try to train them in sobriety, sacrifice, renunciation. Let us try to give them a fulfilling social life through sports, clubs and recreation, but not in such a way that these activities become simply a way of filling up their days and giving them whatever they want.

And so, Jesus, we need to listen to your words,
and we ourselves want to bear witness:
“Blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek, blessed are the peacemakers,
blessed are those who suffer for justice’s sake…”

All: “Our Father…”Fac ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum, ut sibi complaceam.

TENTH STATION

Jesus is stripped of his garments

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to John 19:23

“When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took his garments and made four parts, one for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was without seam, woven from top to bottom.”

“Jesus is at the soldiers’ mercy. As is the case with every condemned person, he is stripped to humiliate him, to reduce him to nothing. Indifference, contempt and disregard for the dignity of the human person here are joined to greed, covetousness and private interest: “They took his garments”.

Your robe, Jesus, was seamless.
This shows the care shown for you by your mother and your followers.
Now you find yourself disrobed, Jesus, and you experience the distress of those at the mercy of people lacking respect for the human person.

How many people have suffered and continue to suffer because of this lack of respect for the human person, for their privacy. At times we too may not have shown the respect due to the personal dignity of our neighbours by being possessive of those closest to us, a child or a husband or a wife or a relative, someone we know or a stranger. In the name of our supposed freedom we impinge upon the freedom of others: how casual, how negligent we have been in our way of acting and treating one another!

Jesus, who let himself be exposed in this way to the eyes of the world of his time and to the eyes of mankind in every age, reminds us of the grandeur of the human person and the dignity which God gives to each man and woman; nothing and no one should violate this dignity, for we are made in the image of God. Ours is the task of promoting respect for the human person and for his or her body. In particular, the spouses among us have been given the task of uniting these two fundamental and inseparable realities: personal dignity and complete self-giving.”

All:  “Our Father…”

Sancta Mater, istud agas, Crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide.
ELEVENTH STATION

      Jesus is nailed to the cross

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to John 19:18-19

“They crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them. Pilate also wrote a title and put it on the cross; it read: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”.

“Having come to the place called Calvary, the soldiers crucify Jesus. Pilate has a sign written: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”, to insult him and to humiliate the Jews. But, without intending to do so, this inscription testifies to a reality: the kingship of Jesus, the king of a kingdom unlimited by time and space.

We can only imagine the cruelty and the unrelenting agony which Jesus experienced during the crucifixion. We enter into the realm of mystery: why did God, who became man for love of us, let himself be nailed to a piece of wood and lifted up amid  atrocious physical and spiritual torments?

It was for love. Love. It is the law of love that leads us to give our own lives for the good of others. We see this in mothers who face even death in order to bring their children into the world. Or parents who have lost a child in war or in acts of terrorism, yet choose not to seek revenge.

Jesus, on Calvary you embody all of us, every man and woman, of the past, present and future. On the cross you taught us to love. Now we begin to understand the secret of that perfect joy of which you spoke to the disciples at the Last Supper. You wished to come down from heaven, to become a child, then an adult, and thus to go up to Calvary, in order to teach us by your life the meaning of true love.

Gazing at you on the cross, we too, as families, husbands and wives, parents and children, gradually learn to love one another, and to love and cultivate around us that openness which generously gives and gratefully receives. An openness capable of suffering, and of transforming suffering into love.”

All:   “Our Father…”

Tui Nati vulnerati tam dignati pro me pati, poenas mecum divide.

TWELFTH STATION

Jesus dies on the cross

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to Matthew 27:45-46

“Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’, that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’.”

“Jesus is on the cross. Hours of anguish, terrible hours, hours of inhuman physical suffering. “I thirst,” says Jesus. And they lift to his lips a sponge dipped in gall.

An unexpected cry rises up: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Is this blasphemy? Is the dying man crying out the words of the psalm? How are we to accept a God who cries out, who groans, who doesn’t know, who doesn’t understand? The Son of God made man, who dies thinking he has been abandoned by his Father?

Jesus, until now you had been one of us,
one with us in all things but sin!
You, the Son of God made man,
You, the Holy One of God,
became completely one with us
willing even to experience our sinful state,
our separation from God, the hell of the godless.
You experienced darkness in order to give us light.
You experienced this separation in order to unite us.
You accepted pain in order to leave us Love.
You became an outcast, forsaken, hanging
between heaven and earth, in order to receive us into God’s life.

A mystery surrounds us,
as we relive each step of your passion.
Jesus, you did not cling to your equality with God
as a jealously guarded treasure,
but made yourself completely poor, in order to make us rich.

“Into your hands I commend my spirit”.
Jesus, how were you able,
in that abyss of desolation,
to entrust yourself to the Father’s love,
surrendering yourself to him, dying in him?
Only by looking to you, only in union with you,
can we face tragedies, innocent suffering,
humiliation, abuse and death.

Jesus experiences his death as a gift for me, for us, for our families, for each person, for every family, for all peoples and for the entire human race. In that act, life is reborn.”

All:  “Our Father…”

Vidit suum dulcem Natum moriendo desolatum, dum emisit spiritum.

THIRTEENTH STATION

Jesus is taken down from the cross and given to his mother

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

 From the Gospel according to John 19:38

“After this Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him leave. So he came and took away his body.”

“Mary sees her son die, the Son of God and her son too. She knows that he is innocent, but took upon himself the burden of our misery. The mother offers her son, the son offers his mother. To John and to us.

Jesus and Mary: here we see a family that on Calvary suffers as it experiences the ultimate separation. Death parts them, or at least it seems to part them: a mother and son united by an unfathomable bond both human and divine. Out of love they surrender it. Both abandon themselves to the will of God.

Into the chasm opened in Mary’s heart comes another son, one who represents the whole human race. Mary’s love for each of us is the prolongation of her love for Jesus. In Jesus’ disciples she will see his face. And she will live for them, to sustain them, to help them, to encourage them and to help them to acknowledge the love of God, so that they may turn in freedom to the Father.

What do they say to me, to us, to our families, this mother and son on Calvary? Each of us can only halt in amazement before this scene. We know instinctively that this mother and this son are giving an utterly unique gift. In them we find the ability to open our hearts and to expand our horizons to embrace the universe.

There, on Calvary,at your side, Jesus, who died for us,
our families welcome the gift of God:
the gift of a love which can open our arms to the infinite.”

All:  “Our Father…”

Fac me tecum pie flere, Crucifixo condolere, donec ego vixero.

FOURTEENTH STATION

Jesus is placed in the tomb

V. We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.
R. Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

From the Gospel according to John 19:41-42

“Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb where no one had ever been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, as the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.”

“A deep silence surrounds Calvary. John, in his Gospel, tells us that at Calvary there was a garden containing an unused tomb. It was there that the disciples of Jesus laid his body.

That Jesus, whom they had only slowly come to recognize as God made man, is there, a corpse. In this unfamiliar solitude they are lost, not knowing what to do or how to act. They can only console, encourage and draw close to one another. Yet precisely there the faith of the disciples begins to deepen, as they remember all the things which Jesus said and did while in their midst, and which they had understood only in part.

There they begin to be Church, as they await the resurrection and the outpouring of the Spirit. With them is the mother of Jesus, Mary, whom her son had entrusted to John. They gather together with her and around her. And they wait. They wait for the Lord to appear.

We know that three days later that body rose again. Jesus thus lives for ever and accompanies us, personally, on our earthly pilgrimage, amid joys and tribulations.

Jesus, grant that we may love one another,
and to have you once more in our midst,
each day, as you yourself promised:
“Where two or three are gathered in my name,
I am there, in their midst”.”

All: “Our Father…”

Quando corpus morietur, fac ut animæ donetur Paradisi gloria. Amen.

In our ministry, are we relying on our own competencies or do we rely on the signs and wonders of God? When is the last time you were awed by what God was doing with the teens at your parish?

I know that in reality the words aren’t changing, it’s me that is changing and with each new read I discover a whole new way of looking at them. As Catholics we hear the entire Bible proclaimed at Sunday Mass every 3 years. If you attend daily Mass you hear the entire Bible proclaimed every 2 years. Strange how many times reflecting on the same passages we just read, that the meaning at times is often new or different.

If we allow ourselves to continually strive to go deeper into our faith, how can we not be changed? How can we not find new meaning in the words that have changed Theologians, Scripture Scholars, countless numbers of Saints and sinners like us who have turned to the Word of God for direction and nourishment?

If you work with young people, make sure that you introduce them to Scripture. Lectio Divina, Bible Studies, Lectionary based groups and talks that most of the time allow Scripture to be proclaimed openly as you help young people understand the love that God has for them. After all, what is the greatest love story ever written?

The Bible – nothing has or will ever top it!

You see their nimble thumbs blaze across miniature keyboards with the ferocity of a jungle cat. The light in their eyes is a mere reflection of the illuminated screen before them. They have no time for face-to-face conversations — not when there are virtual conversations offered through an unlimited text-message plan.

I give you the modern teenager.

So, just how do you break through the technological barriers of this tech-savvy teen subculture? What role (if any) does sacred Scripture play in the life of Catholic adolescents? Do modern teens actually want to pick up a Bible and read or have conversations with mouths and not thumbs?

Many adults today tell me that the “average teenager” couldn’t care less about the Bible. Extensive firsthand experience, however, demands that I humbly reply, “LOL” (“laugh out loud” in text-happy vernacular). I led my first teen Bible study almost 20 years ago and, while teen culture has dramatically changed, their desires have not. Teens want truth, and the Catholic Church has it.

You can read the rest of this blog at www.ncregister.com

1.) Your Time -
Teens live in a world where there are many people who don’t spend time with them. When they show up for Mass, Life Nights, Bible Studies, XLT or retreats they are counting on your time and frankly that you are going to be there. This is usually not a problem for paid youth leaders as it is your role to be there. However, it is especially true for Core members to spend time with teens and to be there for them. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that it is alright to not show up – teens are counting on you showing up. It matters to them!

2.) A Communal Connection -
Teens are counting on you making the connection between their lives and the Catholic faith. To break open the ways Christ is relevant for a teen today. Teens count on youth leaders to help them discover how living a life for Christ matters now and why it is important for them to be a part of a vibrant parish community. The best way to do this is to show radical hospitality, introducing them to everyone including your family, sharing with them how Christ is impacting your life and helping them to discover how God is currently present and moving in their life.

3.) Radical Hope and Encouragement –
We proclaim a compassionate and loving God. Teens need to see that you believe that. Teens are counting on you to accept them where they are and to love them enough to not let them not stay there. Teens need you to tell them that you are not perfect and God continues to form you and change you. Teens are counting on you giving them hope that they can change and that change can be good!

4.) You Counting on God –
Teens show up seeking Christ, how tragic if all they find is you! Teens are expecting you to be counting more on God than on your own talents and ideas. Teens need to see how you trust in God and His plan. They need to see you counting on His Grace. This is why Life Teen focuses so much on the Sacraments in youth ministry. You can minister to the shell of a teen all day long with little transformation. If you lead teens to the Sacraments, you are allowing Christ to reach the souls of the teens. Teens are counting on you making ministry at your parish about Christ, His Sacraments and being transformed by challenging teens to grow in their relationship with Christ and our Blessed Mother.

5.) You Striving for Holiness –
Teens aren’t counting on you to be perfect – just real. What they are counting on is your continual striving for Holiness in your life. If you are not being filled each day with the Love of God through prayer, Sacraments and Holy Scripture, there is a danger that you could remain involved in ministry for wrong reasons like needing affirmation from young people or making ministry more about looking successful to peers than making a real difference in the lives of teens and their families. Let teens see that you are not perfect, just striving each day to grow in your holiness. Teens are counting on you to be an authentic person striving to live as a true disciple lives. (This includes for those of you who are married or dating to be a holy example of marriage, family or courtship)

What do you think? What are teens counting on from you at your parish?

Do you consider yourself a bringer? If not, do you desire the Holy Spirit to inspire you to become one?

In the Catholic youth ministry world, there’s often a big difference between the bringers and everyone else. The bringers carry somebody or something. They seek or form community and make things happen. It’s not unusual to go to the smallest parish and find someone serving teens there who isn’t small at all. Sometimes, this is an unpaid servant, someone that’s inherited or acquired their mission out of necessity. There is amazing ministry happening there. Anyway, you can’t just say you’re a bringer and be one. It takes a lot of prayer and surrender to be a real bringer!

Bringers are servants who are actively praying and looking for new ministry ideas, actively seeking out more teens and volunteers, actively engaging young people and adults–and are not simply accepting what’s seen as a given and drag along with things because “that is the way we have always done youth ministry.” Bringers are often youth leaders that make the effort to pray about what God is asking, take on new challenges and work on coming to grips with things they are being asked to do for God. They seek out new teens and new opportunities and delight in the uneasiness that comes from being challenged to grow in holiness (and challenging others to do the same).

Pope Benedict XVI is definitely a bringer!

The history of the Catholic Church is filled with bringers. Mary the mother of God is often referred to as a bringer, St. Luke and St. Lucy’s names mean “bringer of light” and many of the saints set quite an example of what it means to be a bringer. Many priests I know are also bringers. Of course, the ultimate bringer is Jesus Christ! So Jesus death was the bringer to the nought of Death; for through Him life is made to reign, and through Him Death is abolished, to whom it is said:— O Death, where is your victory? 1 Corinthians 15:55

So how do you become a bringer? It starts with a choice, the decision to be aware and engaged, to pray about what God is asking you to do. Once you know what God is asking – do that, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else!

The number of bringers is growing. Young adults are choosing to jump off the corporate band wagon and serve the Church. At Life Teen our camp summer staffs and missionary programs are expanding as more and more young people decide to be bringers. A big part of this is a function of our ability to pray more, frequent the Sacraments, simplify and avoid working 14 hours a day in a ministry solely wrapped in “doing” rather than “being”, but part of the growth is the ease with which young people are seeing it as possible through a missionary heart to find and connect with other bringers.

One of the new challenges of our Church may be to form mission bases that engage and coordinate bringers. These communities are not separate but connected to and serving parishes, wherever there is a need for Evangelization. After all, true communion especially in Eucharist centered communities have been the places that radical servants and missionary disciples have always come from.

Once you identify this as your mission, to be a bringer, you save a lot of time and fear in your ministry. If the people around you choose not be bringers, I don’t know what you can do to change their minds. After all being a bringer is something that only the Holy Spirit can inspire. On the flip side, the rhythm of prayer and engagement bringers are living is going to grow in momentum over time, it is contagious, and you have all the tools crucial to be part of it-to be a bringer at the beginning of the new bringer movement.

It’s your choice – Do you consider yourself a bringer and if not do you desire the Holy Spirit to inspire you to become one?

• Crucifixes
• Holy Water, Oils and Incense
• Miraculous Medals
• Saint and Mary Statues
• Rosaries
• Candles
• Holy Cards
• Catholic Scapulars
• Saints Relics
• Catholic T-Shirts

Let’s face it – teens like stuff! Teens lives are filled with “Stuff” – but is it the best stuff or stuff that merely clutters an already busy life? Teens want the fullness of our faith and one of the treasures the Catholic faith offers are rich traditions and symbols. Make sure that you fill your youth rooms and retreat centers with Catholic items. Items like Crucifixes, rosaries, prayer cards and Saint Medals all reinforce the faith for young people. If you can, try to incorporate giving teens religious items when you can. It’s graduation and Confirmation time for many of us so here are some keys to gifts that can transform!

Here are 3 keys to introducing teens to Catholic stuff:

1. Don’t Just Hand It to Them and Expect It To Mean Something

   I once met Mother Teresa of Calcutta. She handed me 231 Miraculous Medals. Afterward she went on to tell me that Pope John Paul II had just blessed them for her. I immediately decided to hand them out to teens who I felt needed them. I have handed all the medals out to teens over my years in ministry. One thing I did was to tell each teen about how I got the medals and what significance they have. I also waited to give one to a teen until I felt like they were in a spot where it would make a difference. For example if they had lost a sibling or parent, had a particularly bad day, had just received an honor at school or was struggling in their faith and needed the encouragement the medal could give. Before you give teens Catholic items make sure you tell them why you are giving it to them and what they are supposed to do with it.

2. Let Prayer Lead the Way!

   If you are giving a teen a rosary, pray the rosary with them and then give the rosary to them. I guarantee it will mean more and will have impact for the teen to have prayed on that rosary with you. If it’s a Bible you are giving to the teen, include a short note with 10 of your favorite scriptures to pray written on it for them to find. It immediately will peek their interest and also get them reading the Bible right away! When gifts are associated with prayer, it has the power to kick start a teens devotional prayer life.

3. Don’t Be Cheap!

   By all means there are Catholic items that are out of our budget. What I try to do is to pick the best quality, either in material, feel or look that I can. The item needs to say to young people that we take our faith seriously. It needs to “ooze” holiness when looked at or held. If it looks like something that is a spoof religious item or falls apart right away, it can actually have the result of lessening our message. I once carried a 2 foot tall stunning Crucifix back from Krakow, Poland that I bought for one of our benefactors at the Shrine of Divine Mercy. It is a beautiful Crucifix and I wanted to make sure it was of quality. By the way, the conversations about the Crucifix on planes and trains coming home were amazing. Make sure the Catholic stuff you give is memorable and unique if you want it to have an impact.

So what is the Catholic “stuff” you are showing and giving to teens these days?

Take a minute to stop and think about one teen who needs more faith and can have their day made by a gift of something Holy and Catholic. As St. Thomas More said “It can only be disgraceful for some Christians to snore while other Christians are in peril.”

It reminds us all of the importance of not dumbing down the faith for teens. They want our faith in it’s fullness with all the smells and bells that our faith offers. If we indeed expect teens to go deeper, to read scripture, to discern a vocation, to pray more, to sacrifice, to serve selflessly and to become radical disciples for Christ – They will!

Questions? Are you challenging the teens at your parish? Do you expect a lot from the teens and families that you serve? (Of course it will be hard to expect more from others if we are not expecting more from ourselves)

I recently told a priest that this had been an amazing Lent with much growth for me and I was ready for it to be over. He looked at me and said,  “don’t fast forward through this last week and especially Good Friday, we all need to remember the sacrifice.” He is right. So I am ready for God to rock this last week of Lent. Here are 4 things you can do this week to make sure that you “Crush It” all Holy Week long!

1.) Keep it Real…Very Real!

The best way to keep it real is to do an examination of conscience. If you have unconfessed sin, make sure you head to confession this week.

“Go to your confessor; open your heart to him; display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give you with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, Who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls.” – St. Francis de Sales

2.) Embrace Detachment!

We are supposed to be in the world, but we are not of this world. Make sure to focus on Christ this week. Shut off the TV, Computer, cell phone, shopping spree or whatever is keeping you more attached to this world than to Heaven. Especially on Good Friday, try to make it a day detached from even your school or work by taking time off and entering into Good Friday fully at least for a part of the day!

“Give me ten truly detached men. and I will convert the world with them.” – St. Philip Neri

3.) Show Up for Life!

My wife’s cousin once told her that he shows up for life. He attends weddings, funerals, baptisms, birthday parties of close friends and business associates. Those are the things he says mean the most to people and have the biggest impact. To show up for life the last week of lent and for it to have an impact on you – head to daily Mass early in the week! Later in the week attend the events of the Easter Triduum. It consists of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Easter Sunday. This includes the Great Easter Vigil, the high point of the Triduum. The word Triduum comes from the Latin word meaning “three days.” It begins the evening of Maundy Thursday and ends at Evening Prayer on Easter Sunday. Thus the Triduum consists of three full days which begin and end in the evening. The Triduum celebrates the heart of our faith, salvation, and redemption: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“If it is “daily bread,” why do you take it once a year? . . . Take daily what is to profit you daily. Live in such a way that you may deserve to receive it daily. He who does not deserve to receive it daily, does not deserve to receive it once a year.”
- St. Ambrose of Milan

4.) Dive Deep Into the Paschal Mystery!

Pray, fast and contemplate what it is that Christ is asking you to die to in order to rise with Him. Is it a hurt you have carried for years, a failed relationship or some area where you are continually prideful? Whatever it is lay it at the foot of the Cross this week. Let go of what you need to let go of and dive deep into the mystery of dying to self and rising with Christ! Focus on the amazing Cross! Read the account in Holy Scripture of the Passion of Christ! Breathe it in and reflect on it until it becomes new again in your heart.

“The passion of Jesus is a sea of sorrows, but it is also an ocean of love. Ask the Lord to teach you to fish in this ocean. Dive into its depths. No matter how deep you go, you will never reach the bottom.” – St. Paul of the Cross

It is my prayer that you have an amazing Holy week, one free of fast forwarding or falling into the trap of believing that God has already done all He wants to do with you this Lent. May we all go “Crush It” this week!

The middle school youth will learn about how the Bible was written and our approach when reading Scripture. The youth will also explore how the Bible can be read in different ways: literal, allegorical, moral and anagogical.

Edge Night at a Glance

This session tells the story of how the writers of Sacred Scripture were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write an account of how God was working. Through that same Spirit, we are called to read the Scriptures and apply them to our lives. However, since the Bible was written so long ago, we must be mindful to read the Scriptures from the perspective of the time they were written (the literal sense), while being aware of the deeper meanings: how it points to or foreshadows Christ (allegorical), how it calls us to live our lives as Christians (moral sense) and what it reveals about the eternal (anagogical sense).

The Gather activity is designed to help the youth understand that the Bible contains various types of writing: historical, poetic, prophetic, etc., and how this adds to the beauty and magnificence of the Bible. With their small groups, the youth will read a story from the Bible. Many of them may simply remember that the story exists, but not very much detail. By using the various senses of reading Scripture, the youth will come to a deeper understanding of the story of Salvation History.