Catholic Teens 6-27-06

Hey All--

One of the things I love about St. Peters is the many priests and sisters who always seem to be around. Just this morning, we had 3 (!) priests celebrate Mass here. Fr. Louis, Fr. Dennis Worzella, and a priest from South Dakota who has been ordained only 2 weeks! He was here to visit his grandma and also Fr. Louis who was the Dean of Students at the Josephinum Seminary, where this young priest attended.

Similarly, last Thursday, we had 2 Schoenstatt Sisters here to begin a young woman’s group for some of our ladies. Both Sr. Maria Elena & Sr. Catherine were remarkable in their joy and youthfulness—both in their 20’s(that’s my guess anyway J ). They drove almost 3 hours from the Milwaukee area to spend the evening with us. And what a treat it was to have them here!

It has been said that there is no “vocations crisis”—that God is still calling, it’s just people aren’t listening anymore. God is still calling young men to the priesthood and young women to the convent. There are 2 opportunities coming up later this summer to help young people to “listen”.

August 4th is the V.I.P. (Vocations in Progess) day for the guys at Pacelli. And July 31st-August 4th is the Nun Run for the girls….take a road trip to 7 different convents in the Midwest J Details on both of these are below in the “Announcements” Section.

And similarly, please keep Katie Buss in your prayers as she prepares to enter the convent of the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (the EWTN Sisters) in mid-July!
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Question O' The Week:
I've also been told that if you wear a scapular and you die you get to go right to Heaven. If so, how does that work? Does that mean you won't really have a judgement or what? -We all will face a judgment. The Scapular is a very powerful tool, but it is not magic. We have to wear it with the right intention--which is to remind us of God and Mary, His Mother. And if we live each day, with God on our mind, we're well on our way toward Heaven. And, plus, we have Mary interceding us--and she's a very powerful help!---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intentions:
- For Katie Buss, Phil Kosloski, Sr. Mary Gabriel, & Franz Klein who are all actively pursuing their vocations to the convent or priesthood.
-For Fr. Derek Sakowski, Phil Kosloski, Natalie Timm, and all those others on a mission trip to Peru.
-That all young people may “listen” to God’s call, wherever it may lead.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.


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Announcements:
-The next Gen. JPII Youth Group meets Sunday night, July 9th!

-Vacation Bible School is July 24th-28th 845am-Noon each day. We’re looking for volunteers to help out! Interested? Send me an email!

-For Girls: Nun Run! Did you ever think God might be calling you to be a nun? Did you ever wonder what nuns do all day, what the lives of different religious communities looks like? Then join us for “Nun Run”, July 31-August 4. Starting with Mass at Pacelli, Monday, July 31, Fr. Derek Sakowski & Mrs. Mary Beth Meehl will lead 2 or 3 vans of young ladies (ages 14-30) on a 5-day road trip to the Twin Cities, LaCrosse, St. Louis, Rockford and back—visiting 7 different convents. If interested, contact Fr. Derek at 715-252-4396 or by email: frsakowski@spacs.k12.wi.us

-For Guys: Are you a V.I.P? (“Vocation in Progress”) Did you ever think God might be calling you to the priesthood? Spend an enjoyable and prayerful day with some of our finest priests to explore that possibility. There will be a mix of prayer, outdoor fun, witness talks, discussions, Mass, and good food shared with each other and with the priests. Any young men grades 7-12 are welcome! Coming Friday, August 4th, 10AM-6PM, Pacelli High School. To pre-register, call the Office of Youth Ministry at 608-791-0161

-Looking for something fun to do on Monday nights? Our parish softball team, including yours truly, and the infamous Natalie Timm, plays at 630pm at Zenoff Park, July 10th. The team is the St. Peter's Keys. We lost another tough one last night, 10-8 to Grazies.

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

For more information on St. Peters check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com

Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.

Catholic Teens 6-20-06

Hey All--

Ever notice some of the happiest and peaceful people you know happen to be people of faith? I always ask people if they’ve ever seen a picture of Mother Teresa not smiling? And people often speak of the incredible peace that exuded from the late great John Paul II. And I’m sure most of you know people who have a very deep faith…and chances are they are marked by a peacefulness and a happiness. Not that their lives are necessarily easy..Mother Teresa’s certainly wasn’t…and the same for JPII. But the Presence of God was with them. And that same gift is available to each of us.

I came across an interesting survey that sought to measure people’s happiness by country. On the one hand, it found that people in countries with material prosperity, like the USA tended to be happier then people in poor countries. That was a general conclusion. But then the researchers discovered something striking….a number of relatively poor countries had very satisfied and happy people, in spite of their poverty. The researchers looked a little deeper to find out why this was. The conclusion they came up with was those countries were the most Catholic. Hmmmmmmm.

The details are below:
From National Review 3-13-06, Kevin A, Hassett
Recently a survey was conducted in conjunction with an institute titled the “World Database of Happiness”, an exhaustive compilation of over 1,500 high-quality surveys about self-reported happiness around the world. One conclusion, “the higher a country’s income, the more likely its citizens are to be happy.”
-But there were some surprises as well. Countries like Columbia, Guatemala, and Mexico are far happier then one would expect given their incomes. Others like Ukraine and Zimbabwe are far unhappier then the survey would expect. The countries that had the “highest degree of happiness” in spite of their economic standing all happen to be Catholic.
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Question O' The Week:
I've always been told that the middle finger means you are swearing to God. Is that true? --No. It is still wrong, because it is swearing, but you are not generally swearing to God--generally that action is aimed at some person. The only instance where it would be swearing at God is if you pointed at God and aimed it at Him. And that would be seriously wrong. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intentions:
-That the girls who attended the "Come and See days" at the Mater Redemptoris convent, may reflect on giving more of their personal time toprayer ,by the good Sisters examples shown to them, this week!
-For Fr. Louis and all those on pilgrimage to EWTN.
-For Fr. Derek Sakowski, Phil Kosloski, Natalie Timm, and all those others on a mission trip to Peru.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.


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Announcements:
-The next Gen. JPII Youth Group meets Sunday night, July 9th!

-Vacation Bible School is July 24th-28th 845am-Noon each day. We’re looking for volunteers to help out! Interested? Send me an email!

-Looking for something fun to do on Monday nights? Our parish softball team, including yours truly, and the infamous Natalie Timm, plays at 630pm at Zenoff Park Field 2. The team is the St. Peter's Keys. We lost a tough one last night, 16-11 to Fill’s Bar.

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

For more information on St. Peters check out the parish website: http://www.saintpetercatholic.com/

Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.

Catholic Teens 6-13-06

Hey All--

An amazing thing happened to me last week. I bought a new front door from Menards and was about to stick it into the trunk of my car. A gentleman saw me and asked where I was going with it. When I told him where I lived, he offered to put the door in his pick-up truck and drive it over. Once I got over my lack of trust (I grew up in Milwaukee you know!) I agreed. When I offered him something for his trouble, he refused, simply saying he hopes when he needs a hand, somebody will do it for him.

I’m still kind of amazed about it. My house certainly wasn’t even on his way home. It reminds me of Jesus’ saying, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” And just imagine what the world would be like if everyone did that!
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Question O' The Week:
“Why are we obligated to give to the church?”
-Good question. Who is the source of all of your blessings? God, right? Would you have anything if it wasn’t for God? (No, because it is because of Him that we have our talents, abilities, and even our life). So, in reality, everything we have belongs to Him.

-Now, how do we give back to God, for all He’s given to us? Ever tried mailing a check to Heaven? (It doesn’t work very well J ). Besides, God doesn’t need money in Heaven. But He does ask us to use it on Earth to help others. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were told by God to give 10% of their income to God, as a “tithe.” They did this by giving it to the Temple. This allowed the priests to be supported, the Temple supported, and the poor taken care of.

With the New Testament, we see people making offerings to the Apostles to be used in a similar way.

And today, by making our offerings to the Church, we allow the Church to run, the priests and leaders to be supported, the poor to be helped, and even such things as Catholic Charities to help others, our seminarians to be able to attend Seminary, etc.

Unfortunately, most Catholics give next to nothing. I think the average is less then 1%. That’s a long way from what God told the Israelites in the Old Testament! A great concrete example I heard, “if everyone gave to the Church the same amount they give to the cable company each month…..the church would not be in debt, and instead would be on firm financial ground.” Think about that…most people give the cable company more then they give to God. That says a lot about our priorities.

Now what about young people? I always tell the little kids, if you get an allowance of $1 a week, give 10 cents to God. Similarly, you’re in high school and have $10 a week spending money, give $1 to God. It’s not the amount that’s important, it’s the heart and that you’re making the effort.


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Intentions:
-For all our priests as they are in LaCrosse for a time of reflection and relaxation with Bishop Listecki.
-For all people who are suffering in any way, that they may find peace and comfort.
-For peace in the world, especially in Iraq and the Holy Land.
-For all these and any other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord....

Lord, hear our prayer.

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Announcements:
-Vacation Bible School is July 24th-28th 845am-Noon each day. We’re looking for volunteers to help out! Interested? Send me an email!

-Looking for something fun to do on Monday nights? Our parish softball team, including yours truly, and the infamous Natalie Timm, plays at 830pm at Zenoff Park Field 2. The team is the St. Peter's Keys. We lost a tough one last night, 7-6 to Graffiti’s. They’re undefeated, and are the only team we’ve lost too.

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens is a weekly email from Phil Lawson to Catholic Teenagers. To receive these weekly reflections, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com. On the other hand, if you’d like to be removed from this list, please send an email indicating that.