Catholic Teens 1-22-08

Hey All—
Words of wisdom from the Pope to young people:

“My appeal to you today, young people . . . is this: do not waste your youth. Do not seek to escape from it. Live it intensely. . . .

You, young people, are not just the future of the Church and of humanity, as if we could somehow run away from the present. . . .

The Church needs you, as young people, to manifest to the world the face of Jesus Christ, visible in the Christian community.

Without this young face, the Church would appear disfigured.”
- (Pope Benedict XVI to Youth in Brazil)


==================================================Intentions:

-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For all those innocent lives in the womb.
-For an end to abortion.
-For the safe return of all who traveled to DC for the March for Life and for the fruitfulness of their efforts.
-For all those who suffer for their beliefs in the world.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.



Announcements:
-Attached is a flier for the upcoming Vocations Night at St. Bronislava on Sat. March 1st—Fr. Hirsch and some of our seminarians along with Sr. Mary Daniczyk will be there.

-From Jeff Leslie—Youth Minister at St. Bronislava:
This e-mail is a reminder about the Adventure Camp & Steubenville summer retreats. Additional information about these, and other, retreats is available at our website (www.stbrons.com/youth) under the "Upcoming Events" link. We also have a number of fundraisers that are available to any area youth interested in one of our trips. These fundraisers are advertised at our website (www.stbrons.com/youth) under the "Fundraising" link (we already have several students who have surpassed $100.00 in fundraising - it isn't hard). Please pass the information along to your students.
Adventure Camp (open to grades 6 - 11) If you have been waiting for the last minute to register for Adventure Camp - the last minute has arrived. There are 6 spots still open (Diocese-wide) for Adventure Camp. If registration continues at the rate it has over the last 30 days, these spots will be filled by the end of the month. Anyone interested in attending Adventure Camp should not wait to register. Registration information is available at the web address listed above (Upcoming Events).
Steubenville (open to grades 8 - 12) We are currently taking registrations for Steubenville North in St. Paul, MN. We have a limited number of spots, so those interested should register soon. Registraion information is available at the web address listed above (Upcoming Events).

Area Youth Rally: Wednesday, April 9th with Fr. Stan Fortuna @ St. Bronislava.


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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 1-15-08

Hey All—

The 35th Anniversary of Roe v. Wade is upon us next Tuesday. 4 bus loads of teenagers from the Diocese of LaCrosse are going—please keep these pilgrims in your prayers.

With the approach of that horrific anniversary, here’s a timely set of statistics—based on the number of abortions since 1973:
Dr. Brian Clowes, HLI researcher, has examined the data from the 2007 Statistical Abstract of the United States (most recent census data) and extrapolated the numbers of the various professions and categories of Americans who have been eliminated in the wake of nearly 49 million legalized abortions, one third of all Americans conceived since 1973. The following numbers are based on the actual government estimates of the professions represented in America. So then, who have we lost to abortion?
· 2 US Presidents
· 7 Supreme Court Justices
· 102 US Senators and 589 Congressmen
· 8,123 Federal, district and local court judges
· 31 Nobel Prize laureates
· 328 Olympic medalists including 123 Gold medalists
· 6,092 professional athletes
· 134,841 physicians and surgeons
· 392,500 registered nurses
· 70,669 priests, ministers, rabbis and imams including
· 6,852 priests and 11,010 nuns (vocations "shortage"?)
· 1,102,443 teachers (K-12)
· 553,821 truck drivers
· 224,518 maids and housekeepers
· 336,939 janitors
· 134,028 farmers and ranchers
· 109,984 police officers and sheriff's deputies
· 39,477 firefighters
· 17,221 barbers, and
· 24,450,000... women (the gender of roughly half of all children aborted).
Via. Copyright 2007 - Human Life International Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,President, Human Life International
It reminds me of a cartoon I once saw…a man is complaining to God, asking why He hasn’t sent a cure for AIDS yet. God responds, “I did, but you aborted him.” Think about it…

==================================================Intentions:

-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For all those innocent lives in the womb.
-For all those who suffer for their beliefs in the world.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.



Announcements:

Area Youth Rally: Wednesday, April 9th with Fr. Stan Fortuna @ St. Bronislava.


*************************************************************************************

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 1-8-08

Hey All—

2 cool things this issue:
1. The Pope recently talked directly to the youth of the world and said that his recent encyclical, “Spe Salvi”, on Christian Hope—was directly relevant to them.
2. Fr. Stan Fortuna is coming to the area! Part of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal—Fr. Groeschel’s group---and known as the “rapping priest”—will be here April 9th for a youth rally. See the attached flier for more details!

Pope to Youth: "Spe Salvi" Is for You
Encourages Reflection on Hope in the Modern AgeVATICAN CITY, DEC. 14, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging university students to have group reflections on the theme of hope in the modern world, using his encyclical "Spe Salvi."
The Pope spiritually entrusted his second encyclical to the young people today, in a traditional pre-Christmas encounter with Rome's university students.
After a Mass celebrated by the Pontiff's vicar for Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Holy Father addressed the young people: "I spiritually entrust [the encyclical] to you, dear university students of Rome, and through you, to the entire world of the university, the school, culture and of education.
"Is the theme of hope perhaps not particularly suitable for youth?"
He continued: "I propose to you that you reflect, individually and in groups, on that part of the encyclical which speaks about hope in the modern age.
"In the 17th century, Europe went through an epoch-making change. Since then a mentality has become ever more widespread, according to which human progress is the work of science and technology, while faith concerns only the salvation of the soul. The two great concepts of modernity -- reason and freedom -- have been, so to say, 'disengaged' from God."
Benedict XVI said reason and freedom have "become autonomous and work together in the construction of the 'kingdom of man,' which in practice contrasts with the Kingdom of God. Hence, the spread of materialist ideas, nourished by the hope that, by changing economic and political structures, it will finally be possible to achieve a just society in which peace, freedom and equality reign."
"However, this process," the Pope continued, "which is not without its merits and its historical causes, contains a basic error: Man is not just the result of certain economic and social conditions. Technological progress does not necessarily coincide with the moral development of mankind. In fact without ethical principles, science and technology can be used -- as has happened and unfortunately still does happen -- not for the good but to the detriment of individuals and humanity."
On saying goodbye to the youth, the Pope asked that Rome may be "a model of hospitality for foreign students."
The Pope’s encyclical can be found at: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi_en.html


==================================================Intentions:

-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For a restoration of Hope in the world, especially in those struggling with hopeless situations or depression/suicide.
-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:

Area Youth Rally: Wednesday, April 9th with Fr. Stan Fortuna @ St. Bronislava.


*************************************************************************************

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.