Catholic Teens 11-7-06
Hey All—
Today is the election and although most of you are not of voting age, you can still pray. Part of our role as Confirmed Catholics is to pray and work for “the kingdom of God.” And we do that in many ways, voting for the candidates who most respect the laws of God being near the top.
Now the Church does not endorse specific candidates. It does however speak out on the things that concern God, society, and morality. This year, there have been several issues where the Church has been especially vocal, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, the death penalty and same-sex marriage. The Church’s teachings on all these are pretty clear.
Abortion is a bad thing. Embryonic stem cell research, which kills life at its earliest stages for research is a bad thing. The death penalty, especially in the US, is a bad thing. And same-sex marriage is a bad thing. There are long articles explaining each of these things so I won’t go into them here. The point is, this is what the Church is supposed to do…it’s why God gave the Church to us—to help defend life and morality, leading people closer to God.
A sad thing happened in Madison this past weekend. Bishop Morlino, awesome bishop with a background in science, had a tape played at each of the parishes of his diocese…explaining what the Church taught on the above issues---especially the death penalty and same-sex marriage. I was reading about one parish where people walked out because of the tape.
On the one hand that’s sad. These aren’t new teachings of the Church that Jesus founded. I hope that wasn’t the first time they heard those things. On the other hand, especially given that some of the teachings of the Church aren’t easy to follow----one thinks back to Jesus’ time. The same thing happened to Him. Read John 6---especially verse 66. Many then could not accept his teaching and walked away. Some things unfortunately never change. And so we pray….
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Question O' The Week:
“What do priests do all day besides praying?”
-A lot! When I first came to St. Peter’s 6 years ago, I lived at the Rectory with 3 priests and an occasional seminarian. I spent a year living here so I got to see the priests’ lives pretty closely. Often times I hardly ever saw the priests because they were always on the go!
With apologies to Fr. Louis and other priests who could give a much better explanation, I’ll give you an overview.
They celebrate Mass (every day). They pray the Liturgy of the Hours (which many of you have prayed on your retreat weekends). They meet with people in all sorts of situations—some preparing for marriage—some wanting to become Catholic—some preparing for Baptism—they celebrate Funeral Masses—they take part in meetings that concern the parish and school---they meet with people who are going through difficult circumstances, offering their wise counsel and prayers---they do “spiritual direction” helping people to see God’s purpose for their lives and grow deeper in Faith---they hear confessions—they teach classes—and they even find some time to eat!
A priest’s life is not an easy one, but you talk to them, and they’ll say it’s completely worth it! It’s also not boring!
One thing we should always do is remember to pray for our priests. They do great work, but they need our prayers and support!
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Intentions:
-For today’s election, that God’s Will be done.
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-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 Youth Group, Generation JPII:.
The next meeting is Sunday night, November 19th 6-8PM. “Bring a Friend Night!” Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held the 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month
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.
Today is the election and although most of you are not of voting age, you can still pray. Part of our role as Confirmed Catholics is to pray and work for “the kingdom of God.” And we do that in many ways, voting for the candidates who most respect the laws of God being near the top.
Now the Church does not endorse specific candidates. It does however speak out on the things that concern God, society, and morality. This year, there have been several issues where the Church has been especially vocal, abortion, embryonic stem cell research, the death penalty and same-sex marriage. The Church’s teachings on all these are pretty clear.
Abortion is a bad thing. Embryonic stem cell research, which kills life at its earliest stages for research is a bad thing. The death penalty, especially in the US, is a bad thing. And same-sex marriage is a bad thing. There are long articles explaining each of these things so I won’t go into them here. The point is, this is what the Church is supposed to do…it’s why God gave the Church to us—to help defend life and morality, leading people closer to God.
A sad thing happened in Madison this past weekend. Bishop Morlino, awesome bishop with a background in science, had a tape played at each of the parishes of his diocese…explaining what the Church taught on the above issues---especially the death penalty and same-sex marriage. I was reading about one parish where people walked out because of the tape.
On the one hand that’s sad. These aren’t new teachings of the Church that Jesus founded. I hope that wasn’t the first time they heard those things. On the other hand, especially given that some of the teachings of the Church aren’t easy to follow----one thinks back to Jesus’ time. The same thing happened to Him. Read John 6---especially verse 66. Many then could not accept his teaching and walked away. Some things unfortunately never change. And so we pray….
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Question O' The Week:
“What do priests do all day besides praying?”
-A lot! When I first came to St. Peter’s 6 years ago, I lived at the Rectory with 3 priests and an occasional seminarian. I spent a year living here so I got to see the priests’ lives pretty closely. Often times I hardly ever saw the priests because they were always on the go!
With apologies to Fr. Louis and other priests who could give a much better explanation, I’ll give you an overview.
They celebrate Mass (every day). They pray the Liturgy of the Hours (which many of you have prayed on your retreat weekends). They meet with people in all sorts of situations—some preparing for marriage—some wanting to become Catholic—some preparing for Baptism—they celebrate Funeral Masses—they take part in meetings that concern the parish and school---they meet with people who are going through difficult circumstances, offering their wise counsel and prayers---they do “spiritual direction” helping people to see God’s purpose for their lives and grow deeper in Faith---they hear confessions—they teach classes—and they even find some time to eat!
A priest’s life is not an easy one, but you talk to them, and they’ll say it’s completely worth it! It’s also not boring!
One thing we should always do is remember to pray for our priests. They do great work, but they need our prayers and support!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intentions:
-For today’s election, that God’s Will be done.
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Announcements:
The Youth Group, Generation JPII:.
The next meeting is Sunday night, November 19th 6-8PM. “Bring a Friend Night!” Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held the 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month
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.
posted by Phil Lawson at 7:40 AM
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