Editor’s Note: This blog originally appeared on the National Catholic Register’s website, www.ncregister.com

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