Catholic Teens
Hey All--
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, beginning a time of prayer and penance. What do the ashes represent? Well, as the minister says upon putting the ashes on your forehead, "Remember man that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." We're all going to die someday. And it's a good idea to have a sense of where you're going...heaven. And to prepare accordingly. Likewise, ashes were used in the Old Testament as a symbol of penance and sorrow for sins. Recall, that Jonah, the guy who was swallowed by a whale, went to Nineveh urging them to repent--they responded by putting on ashes and sackcloth to show their sorrow for their sins.
We do the same on Ash Wednesday and by fasting (2 small meals and one big meal). And, in reality, we get off pretty easy. Lent is 40 days long, based on Jesus spending 40 days in the desert in prayer and fasting, before He started His public ministry. Jesus didn't just fast for one day,....but all 40. Remember that before grumbling about being hungry tomorrow :-)
I smiled when I heard that the seminary, where future priests study, is having a liquid-fast Wednesday and Thursday...meaning no solid food for those 2 days. They're taking fasting seriously there! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question O' The Week:
"How long has the Bible been around?"
Well the Bible is a collection of books. The Old Testament has been around for thousands of years. It's the story from Creation up to when Jesus came(2000 years ago). The New Testament is the story of Jesus and what happened in the roughly 60 years after He ascended to Heaven. For several hundred years these books floated around, without there being an "official" Bible. In the late 300's, the Church held a series of councils to establish what was known as the "Canon" of the Bible. These councils prayed, studied, and discerned, which of the books was truly inspired by God and which weren't. They came up with a list and in 397 at the Council of Carthage, the books for current Bible were declared. Pope St. Innocent I in 405 formally approved this "Canon" and declared it closed. So the Bible, as we have it today, is about 1600 years old. Although the books included are hundreds or even thousands of years older.
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Prayer requests:
I'd like to start a new section for prayer requests. If you have anything or anyone you'd like to pray for, email them to me and I'll add them to the list here. (You can remain anonymous if you like).
Our 3rd Annual College Retreat is this weekend. About 35 young adults will be going to the Rosholt Lions camp to spend some time growing closer to God in holiness, asking where they are called in life, and of course, having a good amount of fun :-) Please keep all these people in your prayers.
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Announcements: Next Youth Group is Sunday, March 5th! 6PM @ St. Peter's. The topic is "Bring a Non-Catholic friend Night". Many of you have indicated you have friends who aren't Catholic who don't understand why you do the things you do. This is a night for you to bring them and have their questions answered. (There'll be pizza too!) Fr. Kevin Louis will be there to help explain things. It should be a fun night! Contact Natalie Timm timmgirl86@yahoo.com for more information!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, beginning a time of prayer and penance. What do the ashes represent? Well, as the minister says upon putting the ashes on your forehead, "Remember man that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return." We're all going to die someday. And it's a good idea to have a sense of where you're going...heaven. And to prepare accordingly. Likewise, ashes were used in the Old Testament as a symbol of penance and sorrow for sins. Recall, that Jonah, the guy who was swallowed by a whale, went to Nineveh urging them to repent--they responded by putting on ashes and sackcloth to show their sorrow for their sins.
We do the same on Ash Wednesday and by fasting (2 small meals and one big meal). And, in reality, we get off pretty easy. Lent is 40 days long, based on Jesus spending 40 days in the desert in prayer and fasting, before He started His public ministry. Jesus didn't just fast for one day,....but all 40. Remember that before grumbling about being hungry tomorrow :-)
I smiled when I heard that the seminary, where future priests study, is having a liquid-fast Wednesday and Thursday...meaning no solid food for those 2 days. They're taking fasting seriously there! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question O' The Week:
"How long has the Bible been around?"
Well the Bible is a collection of books. The Old Testament has been around for thousands of years. It's the story from Creation up to when Jesus came(2000 years ago). The New Testament is the story of Jesus and what happened in the roughly 60 years after He ascended to Heaven. For several hundred years these books floated around, without there being an "official" Bible. In the late 300's, the Church held a series of councils to establish what was known as the "Canon" of the Bible. These councils prayed, studied, and discerned, which of the books was truly inspired by God and which weren't. They came up with a list and in 397 at the Council of Carthage, the books for current Bible were declared. Pope St. Innocent I in 405 formally approved this "Canon" and declared it closed. So the Bible, as we have it today, is about 1600 years old. Although the books included are hundreds or even thousands of years older.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Prayer requests:
I'd like to start a new section for prayer requests. If you have anything or anyone you'd like to pray for, email them to me and I'll add them to the list here. (You can remain anonymous if you like).
Our 3rd Annual College Retreat is this weekend. About 35 young adults will be going to the Rosholt Lions camp to spend some time growing closer to God in holiness, asking where they are called in life, and of course, having a good amount of fun :-) Please keep all these people in your prayers.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements: Next Youth Group is Sunday, March 5th! 6PM @ St. Peter's. The topic is "Bring a Non-Catholic friend Night". Many of you have indicated you have friends who aren't Catholic who don't understand why you do the things you do. This is a night for you to bring them and have their questions answered. (There'll be pizza too!) Fr. Kevin Louis will be there to help explain things. It should be a fun night! Contact Natalie Timm timmgirl86@yahoo.com for more information!
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
posted by Phil Lawson at 11:55 AM
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