Catholic Teens 12-19-06

Hey All—

Here’s a very sweet story that is sure to bring a smile.

Marvelous innocence
It was the day AFTER Christmas at a church in San Francisco. The pastor of the church was looking at the manger scene, when he noticed that the baby Jesus figure was missing from the cradle. He immediately turned and went outside and saw a little boy with a red wagon walking down the street. And in the wagon, was the figure of the infant Jesus. So he walked up to the boy and said, "Son, where did you get that little baby Jesus that's in your wagon?"

The little boy replied, "I got him from the church."
And why did you take him?" asked the pastor.

The little boy replied, "Well, about a week before Christmas, I prayed and I told Jesus if he would bring me a red wagon for Christmas, I would give him a ride in it!"


Question O' The Week:

“If you are in mortal sin and you don’t know it, can you like grow in your spiritual life and learn to love God more.”

-That’s an interesting question. Because mortal sin effectively separates you from God. It’s like a brick wall between you and God. God continues to shower His Love on you, but you can’t receive it because of the wall your sin placed in the way. And you can’t receive His Graces until you allow Him to knock down the wall (confession & forgiveness).

Remember what is necessary for something to be a mortal sin however—it has to be a serious sin, you have to know it’s a serious sin, and finally you have to do it freely (without being forced). Hence, if you didn’t know you were in mortal sin, there’s some question as to whether you committed one with full knowledge.

So if you are in mortal sin, it is possible to learn more about God and that would almost certainly prompt you to seek his forgiveness and then be able to love God more and grow spiritually.

Note that in specific cases like this, you can ask the priest in confession as to whether it was a mortal sin or not. And he will help you. Of course, the best approach is to just stay away from serious sin and go to confession regularly anyway J

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Intentions:
-For one of our parishioners who was just diagnosed with MS. And for her family, we pray to the Lord.
-That all may come to know and appreciate the simple beauty of Christmas, when God became man in order to bring about our salvation.
-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 will be in January. Have a blessed Christmas!

Note: There will be no Catholic Teens next week. Have a blessed Christmas!

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 12-12-06

Hey All—
In early November, there was a meeting in Assisi, with young people from around the world. Their purpose was to promote dialog between people of different religions and to work toward peace. There resolution and plea to the world is printed below. These young people, about your own age, are a great sign of hope to a world badly in need of it. Take a look at what they have to say.

Message From Youth, to Youth"We Were United in a Single Purpose: Praying for Peace" Interreligious Youth Meeting Nov. 4-8, 2006 Assisi, Italy Message from Youth, to Youth We came together in Assisi, called from nearly 30 nations and representing 13 religious traditions, to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the historic Day of Prayer for World Peace in 1986. Invited by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and sent by our religious communities and organizations, we young people came here to carry forward the flame of peace ignited by our spiritual leaders 20 years ago in these same sacred spaces. We encountered one another with honesty and sincerity to build up the bonds of fraternity that unite us all as brothers and sisters in our humanity, fashioned by and in God. From our commonly held desires for happiness, justice and truth, we entered into genuine dialogue. We shared and learned about each other's cultures and beliefs, not to minimize or ignore our differences, but to grow in mutual respect, esteem and understanding. Though we do not share the same religious convictions, we have all inherited the same earth and share a common responsibility to be faithful citizens of society and to be good stewards of creation. We prayed according to our respective religious traditions, imploring from God the precious gift of peace. While our prayers were offered in different places, languages and ways, we were united in a single purpose: praying for peace. In this way, we testified to the truth that "prayer does not divide but unites and is a decisive element for an effective pedagogy of peace, hinged on friendship, reciprocal acceptance and dialogue between different cultures and religions" as Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his message for the 20th anniversary of the first Assisi meeting. We walked as pilgrims to the site of St. Francis of Assisi's conversion 800 years ago, when God called out to Francis "Go, rebuild my house." Likewise today, in the spirit of our respective religions, we young people hear the call to "Go, rebuild our world," which is too often broken by violence and war. We appeal to all people that peace is not something only to be sought in halls of government, but also in the halls of our synagogues, our churches, our mosques, our temples, our pagodas, our gurudwaras, our atash berhrams, our schools, our workplaces, our homes and most importantly in our hearts. We will strive to follow the path to peace, guided by the precepts of our respective religious traditions. In the "spirit of Assisi" and with a united voice, we echo the words of that great ambassador of peace, the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, as we cry out: Violence never again! War never again! Terrorism never again! In the name of God, may every religion bring upon the earth Justice and Peace, Forgiveness and Life, Love! We young people represent a new generation and a new hope. We resolve to return to our families and communities, to be advocates for interreligious and intercultural understanding and respect. We accept the responsibility of continuing the dialogue begun here in Assisi and we fully commit ourselves to working for justice and to be instruments of peace in our homelands and in every corner of the earth. ZE06111802
Source: www.Zenit.org

Question O' The Week:
“Do you know of some websites where I could get some info on being a nun. Basically info on everything like what they do, what to do to become a nun (education needed...), and where are different convents, etc “

-Sister Stephania Newell is the director of religious life for our diocese. She's awesome! Here is a link to the website that she has set up. There's lots of links off of there with information on being a sister. Her email is also there and feel free to ask her any questions. Like I said, she's pretty amazing.
http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/ministry_resources/consecratedlife/

Here's a link to the religious order that Sr. Stephania belongs too including the House of Formation for high school girls in LaCrosse--also very cool.
http://www.altonfranciscans.org/Apostolate%20subpages/House%20of%20Formation.htm
My wife's sister has been involved with the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. Here's their website:
http://www.sistersofmary.org/
Here's a website for the Nashville Dominicans. Sarah Weyker from our parish joined them--she's now Sr. Mary Gabriel.
http://www.nashvilledominican.org/

Finally, you may remember Katie Buss from our parish. Here's a link to the order she joined:
http://www.olamshrine.com/olam/nuns.htm


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Intentions:
-For the Gospel of Life, especially on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we pray to the Lord. Lord, hear our prayer.
-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 will be in January. Have a blessed Christmas!

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.