Catholic Teens - Saint Peter Catholic Church

Catholic Teens 5-6-08

2008-05-06T10:58:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

A frequent question asked by young people is, “what does a priest do all day?” Most young people only see Father on Sunday at Mass—what do priests do the rest of the week? Our pastor, Fr. Louis recently gave a snapshot into a week of his life in the parish bulletin. I think you’ll enjoy it. Likewise it should inspire you to pray for all of our priests!

“Every so often my spiritual director has me keep detailed track of my priestly activities over a seven day period. Ever since being ordained I have been amused at people who ask with deep wonder in their voice: “What do you DO all day?!” Of course, there is also the occasional jerk who asks with a sharp tone confident that the priest has the easiest “job” in the world – show up for work for an hour on Sunday and have the remainder of the week off! This time my spiritual director put me under “holy obedience” to share with you the details of my priestly ministry in your midst during a recent seven day period: nine hours celebrating Masses at Saint Peter, one hour celebrating Mass at an area nursing home, one hour presiding at the Liturgy of the Hours at Saint Peter, seven hours praying in private the Liturgy of the Hours (Breviary), seven hours of personal private prayer before the Blessed Sacrament, one hour of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with a parish group, seven hours hearing Confessions at Saint Peter, one hour hearing Confessions at Pacelli High School, three hours meeting with family members to prepare the Funeral Mass for their deceased loved ones, four hours celebrating Funeral Masses, two hours celebrating the Rite of Committal at the cemetery, four hours dining with the survivors at the funeral lunch, two hours giving public presentations at Saint Peter, two hours meeting with the Parish Finance Council, two hours speaking in Spanish with several immigrants from Mexico who came to the rectory seeking assistance, two hours visiting several homebound parishioners, two hours visiting several parish families in their homes, ten hours of appointments with people with various needs (for example, preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony, preparing for the Sacrament of Baptism, seeking answers to questions about the faith), five hours meeting with people who “drop in” at the rectory without an appointment, five hours doing paperwork and other office tasks, six hours on the phone returning calls, six hours on the computer answering emails, six hours preparing homilies and other presentations as well as written materials, and finally four hours doing research and homework as part of the National Catholic Bioethics Center program of certification in Catholic bioethics. Now if my math is correct, that was a 99 hour work week (of the 168 total hours in a week). And this does not include the five additional hours of other meetings (at the level of the parish, deanery, and Stevens Point Area Catholic Schools) and two hours of other liturgical functions at Saint Peter that were originally in my schedule but which I had to forgo on account of funerals. After showing these results to my spiritual director, I kidded him that the parish got their money’s worth out of me that week as net pay per hour worked out to be a little over $3.00. My uncle, who is also a priest, is fond of saying: “It’s a great life – if you don’t weaken!” Indeed, the priesthood is a great life and I am grateful to the Lord for such a wondrous gift! It is a humbling privilege to serve the Lord, His Church, and you!”

Saint Peter, pray for us! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us!
Father Kevin C. Louis

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

-In thanksgiving for the coming home of a beautiful baby born about 3-4 months premature.
-For a friend’s father—who has scarring on the lungs and whose cardiologist has just given him a month or two to live.
-For the intentions each of you have…..we pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

Announcements:
High School DTS—Next Session is Sunday, June 1st at 7PM. Join Catholic Teens grades 9-12 from throughout the area at St. Peter’s. “Through the Saints of Yesterday, the Dead Theologians Society inspires the Youth of Today to become the Saints of Tomorrow.”

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

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 4-14-08

2008-04-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

Hey All—

Well it’s finally here---Pope Benedict’s trip to the US begins tomorrow. It’s pretty amazing---only the 3rd pope to have visited the US. President Bush is even going all out—he’s personally picking the Pope up at the airport—during his 7 years as president, he’s never done that. In fact, a reporter at EWTN asked President Bush what he sees when he looks into the Pope’s eyes…the president’s response? “God.” Think the president respects the Pope?! Wow.

This trip will be Pope Benedict’s 7th international trip in the 3 years he’s been head of the Church. For some perspective, imagine your grandparents, at age 80 traveling around the world—and then giving speeches to thousands of people. That’s what he’ll be doing. I don’t know many, if any, 80 yr olds who could do that. Keep him in your prayers! Indeed, we are blessed to have him as our shepherd.

If you want to follow along every step of the way here’s some internet resources:

http://www.uspapalvisit.org/ –the official site of the US Bishops.
http://www.ewtn.com/ will have live continuing coverage.
-You can also watch EWTN on local channel 19 for live coverage.
Relevant Radio—93.9 and 92.9 will have regular updates on his visit as well.

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

-For Pope Benedict’s trip to the United States.
-For the young people from our area and diocese (38 of them) traveling to see the Pope.
-For a friend’s father—who has scarring on the lungs and whose cardiologist has just given him a month or two to live.
-For the intentions each of you have…..we pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

Announcements:
High School DTS—Next Session is Sunday, April 27th at 7PM. Join Catholic Teens grades 9-12 from throughout the area at St. Peter’s. “Through the Saints of Yesterday, the Dead Theologians Society inspires the Youth of Today to become the Saints of Tomorrow.”

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

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 4-9-08

2008-04-09T08:53:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

This is cool. Cardinal Dziwisz was JPII’s secretary for many, many years. Now he’s the archbishop of Krakow in Poland. The article below kind of gives you goosebumps. Indeed JPII is still with us J

Cardinal Dziwisz: Polish Pope Hasn't Left Us
Tells Youth They Are John Paul II Generation

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 3, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Pope John Paul II "has never left us alone," affirmed his longtime personal secretary on the third anniversary of the Pontiff's death.

Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, archbishop of Krakow, affirmed this Wednesday when he directed a meditation for youth at the end of a prayer vigil in the Vatican grottoes.

The young people, before the tomb of the Polish Pope, had a moment of silence at 9:37, the hour that John Paul II died on April 2, 2005. Thanks to a satellite connection, thousands of youth in Poland shared the same moment.

Cardinal Dziwisz told the youth: "You are the watchmen of the dawn, youth who announce the day, a season full of sun. You are the John Paul II generation, who have the task of the new evangelization."

Later, showing emotion, the prelate began to address his spiritual father: "Your service to the Church continues, even if in a different way. We think of your teaching, of your example in life, which keeps speaking to our consciences.

"We want to proclaim the sacred character of life and the sanctity of the family and marriage. In the name of Jesus, we are on the side of the poor, of the humble, of those who have nothing, of the persecuted in the name of justice or religion."

"From the window of the house of the Father, one sees better," Cardinal Dziwisz said, alluding to words that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger pronounced in the funeral. "Therefore, we ask you to watch over the youth of today, their aspirations, hopes, worries. John Paul II, Holy Father, thank you for everything."

==================================================Intentions:
-For a friend’s father—who has scarring on the lungs and whose cardiologist has just given him a month or two to live.
-For another friend’s father who had a very bad accident cutting up wood on Tuesday—he’s currently in the hospital in Madison.
-For the intentions each of you have…..we pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

Announcements:

Fr. Stan Fortuna (the “rapping priest” from Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s order) is coming!
Area Youth Rally: TONIGHT! Wednesday, April 9th with Fr. Stan Fortuna @ St. Bronislava. 6:30-9:00PM Open to all area teens and FREE!

The Newsboys are coming!
For those of you familiar with Christian music—the Newsboys should ring a bell. They are one of the top Christian music groups around—having sold more then 6 million albums. They’ll be at our own UWSP—appearing in the Quandt Fieldhouse on Friday, April 11th at 7PM. Tickets can be purchased at the University Box Office or by calling 800-838-3378.

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

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 4-2-08

2008-04-02T11:28:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

2 Things for you this week:

1. In preparation for Pope Benedict’s visit to the United States and for his birthday on April 16th,
Bishop Listecki encourages children, young people and adults to offer a Spiritual Bouquet for
Our Holy Father. Bishop Listecki will give
Pope Benedict XVI a card listing our prayers and sacrifices.

____ Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be ____ Apostles’ Creed ____ Sacrifices

____ Attend Mass and receive Communion ____ The Rosary ____ Litany

____ Divine Mercy Chaplet ____ Holy Hour ____ Other

If you’d like to include any offerings, email me back prior to April 8th as that is the deadline.

2. I just watched this video, it’s excellent!
Last semester one of our seminarians at Saint John Vianney Seminary, Sam
Sorich, filmed and produced a short film on SJV. It is a vocational film,
meant to inspire men to join seminary; specifically to join SJV but not
restricted to that. He did a superb job; probably one of the best short
films on seminary life that I have seen. The finished product has finally
made its YouTube debut. It is split up into two parts online, each about 7
minutes long.
I highly recommend that you watch it and distribute this video to as many
people as you can. Both to those who are considering seminary and those who
have no idea what seminary is. I believe DVDs are being made of the film,
so let me know if you would like to have one.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOrrV9vBAsI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOrrV9vBAsI
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAhTQrJPjLY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAhTQrJPjLY

==================================================Intentions:
-For a friend’s father—who has scarring on the lungs and whose cardiologist has just given him a month or two to live.
-For a couple of difficult pregnancies that people have asked for prayers—that everything goes smoothly and the babies are born healthy.
-For those newly received into the Catholic Church at Easter.
-For the intentions each of you have…..we pray to the Lord. Lord hear our prayer.

Announcements:

Fr. Stan Fortuna (the “rapping priest” from Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s order) is coming!
Area Youth Rally: Wednesday, April 9th with Fr. Stan Fortuna @ St. Bronislava. 6:30-9:00PM Open to all area teens and FREE!

The Newsboys are coming!
For those of you familiar with Christian music—the Newsboys should ring a bell. They are one of the top Christian music groups around—having sold more then 6 million albums. They’ll be at our own UWSP—appearing in the Quandt Fieldhouse on Friday, April 11th at 7PM. Tickets can be purchased at the University Box Office or by calling 800-838-3378.

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

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 3-18-08

2008-03-18T10:07:00.001-07:00

Hey All—
Looking for something to do over Spring Break—I know you’re all “bored” already J some of the topics for World Youth Day in Australia have recently been released.

World Youth “Day” actually lasts a full week—go figure. A part of the program is “catechesis” or teaching of the faith. However, the teachers aren’t like your normal CCD classes—here the teachers are Bishops and Cardinals. How cool is that?! In Toronto for WYD in 2002, our group attended a session with Francis Cardinal Arinze from Africa. He was Amazing!

Anyway, below are the themes that the bishops and cardinals will be speaking on—it’s something you can also look into on your own even now. Note that it is focused on the Holy Spirit—take that which you have received (or will receive) in Confirmation to an even deeper level!

Themes Announced for Youth Day Catechesis
Bishops to Guide Youth in Studying Holy Spirit and Mission
SYDNEY, Australia, MARCH 16, 2008 (Zenit.org).- The Pontifical Council for the Laity determined the themes for World Youth Day's catechesis sessions, which will focus on the Holy Spirit and missions.
Organizers of the July 15-20 youth event announced the Vatican's choices for the three days of catechesis, to be led by bishops from around the world in over 300 locations in Sydney.
On Wednesday, July 16, bishops will guide youth in learning about the call to live in the Holy Spirit, drawing from Galatians 5:25. The following day, youth will consider the Holy Spirit as the soul of the Church, as explained in 1 Corinthians 12:13. Friday, July 18, will be focused on the theme of World Youth Day, taken from Acts 1:8. That day's catechesis will highlight the Holy Spirit as the principal agent of mission.
"Catechesis represents the spiritual heart of World Youth Day, when young people from various backgrounds and circumstances unite to listen, reflect, discuss and pray in harmony," said Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, coordinator of World Youth Day '08.
"I encourage all pilgrims who are attending WYD08 to begin reflecting on the catechesis themes now," he said, "so that come July, they are spiritually prepared to witness the Spirit and gain as much as they can from their WYD08 experience."

==================================================Intentions:
This is one of the more heart-rending accounts I’ve heard in some time, please keep this precious family in your prayers:

PLEASE join us in praying for my very dear friend's little boy. He is 2 years old. His name is Marshall Wyatt Thompson. He is dying in the hospital and Doctors have not found what is wrong with him. His body is discarding all of his red blood cells through his urine. He was given a blood transfusion but he still continues to decline. The doctors are now saying whatever this is has damaged his liver. He is one of 6 children all under the age of eight. The mother, Kim, just gave birth to twins less then two weeks ago. Robby (his father) is staying with Wyatt at the hospital while Kim is at home with the new babies and other children. Please pray for this little boys life - I myself could not imagine loosing my own two year old son and Wyatt's mother is in torment just being away from him already. Thank you so much for any prayers you can offer for this precious child and his family.

Sincerely,
Lisa Yamin

Update received this morning:

GREAT NEWS!! Thank you all so much for your prayers!! They are working! A nurse came and woke up Marshall's daddy in the night and said that his red blood cell count has sky rocketed - so much so that it is almost miraculous!!! I have recieved so many responses from those of you who are praying for him - it has been truly amazing! Thank you and please keep it up.

Lisa Yamin

Announcements:

Fr. Stan Fortuna (the “rapping priest” from Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s order) is coming!
Area Youth Rally: Wednesday, April 9th with Fr. Stan Fortuna @ St. Bronislava. 6:30-9:00PM Open to all area teens and FREE!

The Newsboys are coming!
For those of you familiar with Christian music—the Newsboys should ring a bell. They are one of the top Christian music groups around—having sold more then 6 million albums. They’ll be at our own UWSP—appearing in the Quandt Fieldhouse on Friday, April 11th at 7PM. Tickets can be purchased at the University Box Office or by calling 800-838-3378.

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

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 1-22-08

2008-01-22T11:14:00.003-08:00

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.

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

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

2008-01-14T15:52:00.001-08:00

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

2008-01-07T18:27:00.000-08:00

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.

Catholic Teens 12-18-07

2007-12-18T09:51:00.000-08:00

Hey All—
I’m a big fan of sports, including college football (Go Badgers!). This year, Tim Tebow, a sophomore at the University of Florida, won the Heisman Trophy—given to the best college football player each year. Tebow had an amazing season---what is even more amazing, is that the doctors recommended that he be aborted because he would be born with disabilities. Thank God his mother chose life!

Mother of Heisman Trophy Winner Tim Tebow Rejected Doctor's Advice to Abort HimHeisman thanks God in award acceptance speech
By Thaddeus M. BaklinskiNEW YORK, December 11, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won U.S. college football's highest honour yesterday. If his mother had followed her doctor's advice when she was carrying him, he would be just another abortion statistic.Tim's parents, Bob and Pam Tebow, moved to the Philippines in 1985 to conduct a Christian missionary outreach. While pregnant with Tim, Pam contracted amoebic dysentery through contaminated drinking water. Her doctor told her that the medications she needed to recover would result in irreversible damage to the child she was carrying. She was advised to have an abortion.She refused.Tim was born healthy and robust in 1987. His mother described him as "skinny, but rather long." Today he stands six-foot-three, weighs 235 pounds, and has been described as a physical and athletic phenomenon.Tim was fortunate to be born into a family that has strong roots in their faith and a deep understanding of the precious gift that each life is not only to them, but also to the world.The untold numbers of children saved from abortion, or even surviving abortion, that have brought their talents. skills and contribution to the world, like Tim Tebow, are a resounding testament to pro-life work.In his acceptance speech Tim said, "I just (want) to first start off by thanking my Lord and savior Jesus Christ, who gave me the ability to play football, gave me a great family and support group and great coaches and everything around me."

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

-For all those who are alone or struggling during this Christmas season.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

March for Life Pilgrimage to DC: Januauary 19th-23rd. Sr. Stephania is again helping lead pilgrims from the Diocese of LaCrosse to stand up for life! Check out the Diocese of La Crosse Website for more info:
http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/March%204%20Life%20info.htm

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: 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 11-13-07

2007-11-13T12:33:00.002-08:00

Hey All—
The Deanery Marriage Prep team has a meeting scheduled for next Tuesday evening and they requested some babysitters. The evening begins about 530pm and goes till approx. 830pm. It’ll be held at St. Peter’s. Anyone interested in playing with some fun little kids for an evening? If so, shoot me an email.

The selection below is an actual letter sent by a 21 yr old in 1936 to his girlfriend, shortly before he was to be killed for his Catholic Faith. Amazing and heartwarming.
A Martyr's Letter to His Girlfriend
"Let My Memory Always Remind You There Is a Better Life"MADRID, Spain, NOV. 9, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of a letter from Bartolomé Blanco Márquez, written to his girlfriend from prison the day before he was executed during religious persecution in 1930s Spain. Márquez was beatified Oct. 28; the letter is published in the “Summarium Super Martyrio” of his beatification cause.Bartolomé Blanco Márquez was born in Cordoba in 1914. He was arrested as a Catholic leader -- he was the secretary of Catholic Action and a delegate to the Catholic Syndicates -- on Aug. 18, 1936. He was executed on Oct. 2, 1936, at age 21, while he cried out, “Long live Christ the King!”* * *Provincial prison of Jaen, Oct. 1, 1936My dearest Maruja:Your memory will remain with me to the grave and, as long as the slightest throb stirs my heart, it will beat for love of you. God has deemed fit to sublimate these worldly affections, ennobling them when we love each other in him. Though in my final days, God is my light and what I long for, this does not mean that the recollection of the one dearest to me will not accompany me until the hour of my death.I am assisted by many priests who -- what a sweet comfort -- pour out the treasures of grace into my soul, strengthening it. I look death in the eye and, believe my words, it does not daunt me or make me afraid.My sentence before the court of mankind will be my soundest defense before God's court; in their effort to revile me, they have ennobled me; in trying to sentence me, they have absolved me, and by attempting to lose me, they have saved me. Do you see what I mean? Why, of course! Because in killing me, they grant me true life and in condemning me for always upholding the highest ideals of religion, country and family, they swing open before me the doors of heaven.My body will be buried in a grave in this cemetery of Jaen; while I am left with only a few hours before that definitive repose, allow me to ask but one thing of you: that in memory of the love we shared, which at this moment is enhanced, that you would take on as your primary objective the salvation of your soul. In that way, we will procure our reuniting in heaven for all eternity, where nothing will separate us.Goodbye, until that moment, then, dearest Maruja! Do not forget that I am looking at you from heaven, and try to be a model Christian woman, since, in the end, worldly goods and delights are of no avail if we do not manage to save our souls.My thoughts of gratitude to all your family and, for you, all my love, sublimated in the hours of death. Do not forget me, my Maruja, and let my memory always remind you there is a better life, and that attaining it should constitute our highest aspiration.Be strong and make a new life; you are young and kind, and you will have God's help, which I will implore upon you from his kingdom. Goodbye, until eternity, then, when we shall continue to love each other for life everlasting.[Translation by ZENIT]

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

-For the soul of a young soldier who died in Italy and the comfort of his wife and 2 children.
-For all our diocesan seminarians.
-For the students who have recently been confirmed.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

Wednesday, Nov. 14th—6:30PM @ St. Peter’s Middle School. Jeff Leslie, youth minister at St. Bronislava will be here talking about some of the awesome opportunities for Catholic teens this summer. Come check it out!

March for Life Pilgrimage to DC: Januauary 19th-23rd. Sr. Stephania is again helping lead pilgrims from the Diocese of LaCrosse to stand up for life! Check out the Diocese of La Crosse Website for more info:
http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/March%204%20Life%20info.htm

Having gone two times in the past, I can say it’s an unforgettable experience!

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

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

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 11-6-07

2007-11-05T11:28:00.002-08:00

Hey All—

Phil Kosloski, seminarian for the Diocese of LaCrosse, was privileged to serve Mass for Pope Benedict XVI yesterday. How cool is that?!

He sent out a description of the experience…and I think it’s worth reading. It’s reproduced below:

----------------------------------------------
Greetings in Christ!Well, I served for the Pope today!! The Mass was for the deceased Cardinalsof the past year, so not only was the Pope there, but all of the Cardinalsin the area were also there. On the other hand it was a much smaller Massthan usual in St. Peter's as it was not open to the general public and itwas at the Altar of the Chair(however, our classmates were able to attendand were pretty close). About 2,000 were in attendence.The 10 of us seminarians here in Rome from SJV were the only servers today,so we all got some job of importance. My job was with the incense and I hadthe boat with the incense (while John Norman had the thurbile with thecharcoals).A couple of Monsignors were the MCs and directed us before Mass on what todo. One of them was American and helped one half of us, while MonsignorStefano, who knows very little English, told us what to do. It actuallywent quite smoothly after a few practice runs before Mass. During Massthere were no major mistakes that anyone could notice, so it went well.Before Mass, we all were waiting in this one room off to the side, and thenwe realised, with the vestments laid out, that this was the Pope's vestryand he was going to come in. So he walked in (he is quite short) and hisfirst thing was to put incense in the thurible, so I needed to open the boatand he then spooned out the incense and then we left. During Mass, I had tokneel down immediately before the Holy Father at one point before theGospel, where he put more incense in the thurible. And then again I had tocome right up next to him at the altar where he did the same. During theconsecration, we all were in front of the altar and myself and John weredirectly in front of the Pope's view, watching him the whole time of theEucharistic Prayer. Then finally we all recieved Holy Communion from the
Holy Father.I have posted some pictures below on my flickr account which our fellowstudents took of us during Mass. There were also professional photographerstaking pictures which we can order, and also a DVD which we can buy. Thatwill be later on, however.http://www.flickr.com/photos/pakosloski/<http://www.flickr.com/photos/pakosloski/>Also, you can check out the official photos on: http://www.fotografiafelici.it/<http://www.fotografiafelici.it/>After Mass, a few of the guys who were serving got the chance to be in thevestry where the Pope took of his vestments. He then turned to them andasked them why they were in Rome (in English). The four guys were dumbstruck that the Pope talked to them, but eventually stammered out that weare studying for a semester here in Rome. Then they got the chance to kisshis ring.Wow, what a day!!!!!Pax Christi,Phil

November is the month where the Church remembers and prays for our deceased in a special way. Our college-age DTS group will be reading off the names of those who have died amongst our family, friends, and parish this Thursday evening during our meeting---offering our prayers for them. If you have anyone you would like to have remembered/prayed for, feel free to email them to me and they will be included Thursday night.

==================================================Intentions:
-For all our diocesan seminarians.
-For Fr. Al Jakubowski and St. Stanislaus parish as he recovers his health.
-For the students who have recently been confirmed.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

Wednesday, Nov. 14th—6:30PM @ St. Peter’s Middle School. Jeff Leslie, youth minister at St. Bronislava will be here talking about some of the awesome opportunities for Catholic teens this summer. Come check it out!

March for Life Pilgrimage to DC: Januauary 19th-23rd. Sr. Stephania is again helping lead pilgrims from the Diocese of LaCrosse to stand up for life! Check out the Diocese of La Crosse Website for more info:
http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/March%204%20Life%20info.htm

Having gone two times in the past, I can say it’s an unforgettable experience!

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

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

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 10-16-07

2007-10-15T12:53:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

Some of you are getting closer to having to make college choices. It’s one of the biggest decisions you’ll make to this point in your life. Likewise, a college plays a big role in forming you—intellectually, socially, and spiritually. Here’s a nice article to give you some food for thought and some recommendations. Incidentally, the school my wife went too (Magdalen) and the school we got our Master’s degrees in (Ave Maria) are listed below.
20 US Colleges and 1 Canadian are North America's Most Faithful to Catholic Identity
MANASSAS, VA, October 3, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Today The Cardinal Newman Society announced the publication of a new comprehensive college guide for students and parents, The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: What to Look for and Where to Find It. Edited by Joseph A. Esposito, The Newman Guide will be officially published on Nov. 1, 2007.The culmination of two years of research and interviews, the unique Newman Guide recommends 21 Catholic colleges and universities which most faithfully live their Catholic identity and provide a quality undergraduate education. Each college profile examines the school's history, governance, Catholic identity, curriculum, student life and community.Those recommended represent the top 10 percent of Catholic colleges in the U.S. based on Catholic identity and cover a wide range of institutions in terms of history, size, location and academic focus.Colleges range from Mount St. Mary's University in Emmitsburg, Md., the nation's second oldest Catholic college, to Wyoming Catholic College of Lander, Wyo., which opened in Sept. 2007.Twenty of the colleges are located in the United States while one school, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, is in Ontario, Canada. Some were founded explicitly to meet the needs of Catholics seeking an authentic Catholic education while several have recently strengthened their identity and curriculum.The Guide's editor, Joseph Esposito, said, "These colleges and universities represent a unique perspective on higher education. They are all impressive institutions, offering a wide range of choices from a Great Books curriculum to a degree in motor sports management. But what sets them apart from others is the day-to-day living of their Catholic identity."This Guide will provide a valuable tool for parents and high school students seeking direction in the college-selection process," he added.Esposito, the Cardinal Newman Society's director of research, is a former Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Dept. of Education. He also has been a full-time writer for Catholic publications and an adjunct history professor.The recommended colleges are grouped into three categories: "Joyfully Catholic," "Born from the Crisis" and "Fighting the Tide." The first group is characterized by a Catholic identity that permeates all areas of campus life; the second includes institutions founded or expanded in the last few years; and the third group represents older colleges and universities that have succeeded in renewing and strengthening their Catholic identity.The "Joyfully Catholic" colleges are: Christendom College, The College of Saint Thomas More, Franciscan University of Steubenville, Magdalen College, Thomas Aquinas College, The Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, University of Dallas, and the University of St. Thomas (Houston, Tex.).The "Born from the Crisis" colleges are: Ave Maria University, Holy Apostles College & Seminary, John Paul the Great Catholic University; Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy, Southern Catholic College and Wyoming Catholic College.The "Fighting the Tide" colleges are: Aquinas College (Nashville, Tenn.), Belmont Abbey College, Benedictine College, The Catholic University of America, DeSales University, Mount St. Mary's University and St. Gregory's University.In addition to in-depth profiles of the 21 colleges, The Guide includes essays from prominent Catholic leaders. Among the clergymen are Archbishop Elden Curtiss of the Archdiocese of Omaha, Neb., noted writer and spiritual director Father Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., and author and evangelist Father C. John McCloskey III.Prominent lay contributors are philosopher Peter Kreeft, Cardinal Newman Society founder and president Patrick Reilly and Eileen Cubanski, co-founder and executive director of the National Association of Private Catholic and Independent Schools.The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College: What to Look for and Where to Find It will be available at bookstores nationwide beginning on Nov. 1. To order the guide:http://www.thenewmanguide.com/OrdertheGuide/tabid/347/Default.aspx

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

-For the students preparing for Confirmation.
-For a young man, Dale Cherney, recently injured in Iraq, who they do not expect to survive.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

DTS High School Group! Plans are underway to begin an area-wide High School DTS group. (As some of you know, we’ve had a successful college-age group for about 6+ years now.) Now it’s your turn to get in on the fun!

Jeff Leslie, the new youth minister at St. Bronislava is taking a group of teens and adults down to the Madison area to observe a DTS group. After that, the plan is to start one here. The trip to St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff is scheduled for Wednesday night, Oct. 24th. Leaving at 445pm returning at 1115pm. Transportation is free and there are only a handful of spots left. If you’d like to go email me or call Jeff at 341-6706.
For more information on DTS go to www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com

You’ll be hearing more about this group in the near future!

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

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

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 10-2-07

2007-10-02T08:21:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

It sure seems like Pope Benedict is spending a lot of time talking to young people. I certainly don’t think that’s a bad thing! J In a recent gathering of 500,000 youth in Loretto, the pope challenged young people to be “daring” in following the Truth. It’s easy to just go with the flow and do what everyone else is---but that’s not the way to Heaven, nor is it the way to following Christ. When you look at your world, and all the garbage that’s out there…especially on TV---do you want to be a part of that? Or do you want to be a part of something better?

I remember seeing a survey of preteens some time ago….they were asked what they wanted in life. A majority mentioned to “be famous”. And what does the pope have to say…”be humble”. Quite the opposite! Want proof? Compare the humble Mother Teresa with the “famous” Brittany Spears. Who changed the world for the better?

As the pope alludes too, the world needs you to be courageous, daring, and humble, in following Christ.
Don't Be Seduced, Benedict XVI Tells Youth
Says World Needs Daring ChristiansLORETO, Italy, SEPT. 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI invited half a million young people to go against the current in a world seduced by violence, despotism and "success at all costs."The Pope's appeal resounded at the closing Mass today in Loreto, where the Holy Father arrived Saturday for an encounter with youth from Italy and around the world."There are so many messages, above all through the media, that are being directed toward you! Be vigilant! Be critical!" the Pontiff exclaimed.Most of the young pilgrims had spent the night under the stars or in large tents. There were 150 bishops and 2,000 priests who concelebrated the Eucharist with the Pope.Benedict XVI spoke to the youth a few kilometers from the Italian national shrine, where, according to tradition, Mary’s house was carried stone by stone from Nazareth. He explained to the young people that the humility that they heard about in the Gospel passage read at Mass ("Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles himself will be exalted," Luke 14:11) is not "the way of renunciation but of courage."Under a scorching sun, the Bishop of Rome told the young people: "The message is this: Do not follow the way of pride but the way of humility."Go against the current: Do not listen to the interesting and seductive voices that today from many parts propose as models lives of arrogance and violence, of despotism and success at all costs, of appearances and having, of harm to being."Media influenceSpeaking of the enormous influence that media desire to have on young people, he told them: "Do not follow the current produced by this powerful attempt at persuasion."Do not be afraid, dear friends, to prefer the 'alternative' ways indicated by true love: a sober way of life attentive to others; affectionate relationships that are sincere and pure; an honest commitment in study and work; deep interest in the common good.”The Pope encouraged them to not be afraid "to appear different and be criticized for that which might seem foolish or unfashionable.""Your fellow young people, but also adults and especially those who seem the farthest from the mentality and values of the Gospel, have a profound need to see someone who dares to live according to the fullness of humanity manifested in Jesus Christ," he said."The way of humility, dear friends, is therefore not the way of renunciation but of courage,” Benedict XVI emphasized. "It is not the result of a defeat but the outcome of a victory of love over egoism and of grace over sin."

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

-For the students preparing for Confirmation.
-For the victims of the car crash on Hwy 10 this past weekend.
-For those who are persecuted for their faith.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

DTS High School Group! Plans are underway to begin an area-wide High School DTS group. (As some of you know, we’ve had a successful college-age group for about 6+ years now.) Now it’s your turn to get in on the fun!

Jeff Leslie, the new youth minister at St. Bronislava is taking a group of teens and adults down to the Madison area to observe a DTS group. After that, the plan is to start one here. The trip to St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff is scheduled for Wednesday night, Oct. 24th. Leaving at 445pm returning at 1115pm. Transportation is free and there are only a handful of spots left. If you’d like to go email me or call Jeff at 341-6706.
For more information on DTS go to www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com

You’ll be hearing more about this group in the near future!

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

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

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 9-25-07

2007-09-25T09:26:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

A few of our young people attend Steubenville University. One of the programs Steubenville offers is a semester of study in Europe, with the opportunity to travel and participate in pilgrimages. Jennifer recently wrote, describing her experience on pilgrimage in the former Yugoslavia. I think her reflection is worth passing on:
”There was also this huge hill withthe stations on it. The path was very rocky. These were huge rocks. Atthe top there is a huge white cross and we prayed there and sang somepraise and worship. Very awesome experience. You could see mountains inthe distance and the city below. To know that God loves us more than themountains that are so breathtaking and huge was a great feeling.We also visited this place where 30 priests were killed from thecommunist in 1945. We had mass in the church there and they explainedthat the communists told them to deny their faith or die. One by onethey went up to the crucifix kissed it and said, "you are my king and myGod." (or something like that) then one by one they were led outside andshot and then dragged to a cave outside and burned. Some of them werenot dead from the gunshot. It was a time to reflect on how hard thatwould be to do that and how amazing these men's faith were.We also visited a place where a priest talked to us. He was the priestof the children who received the messages and Mary actually appeared tohim once. The communists tried to make him say that the children werewrong and b/c he wouldn't they took him to jail for 1 1/2 years and hewas beat. He really pushed us to be better Catholics and live the faithand love people more. Not just to learn the faith but to believe it inour hearts. Pretty powerful”

Pretty amazing stuff. I hope some of you get to take advantage of these opportunities in the future. If nothing else, be inspired by the courage described above—and appreciate the freedom we have to believe in God today in America.
Note also, that this stuff still happens. In the tiny country of Belarus, formerly run by the Communists, all foreign-born priests have been ordered to leave the country. Pray for the people of Belarus.

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

-For the students preparing for Confirmation.
-For those who are persecuted for their faith.
-For the Catholic Church in Belarus.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

DTS High School Group! Plans are underway to begin an area-wide High School DTS group. (As some of you know, we’ve had a successful college-age group for about 6+ years now.) Now it’s your turn to get in on the fun!

Jeff Leslie, the new youth minister at St. Bronislava is taking a group of teens and adults down to the Madison area to observe a DTS group. After that, the plan is to start one here. The trip to St. Mary’s in Pine Bluff is scheduled for Wednesday night, Oct. 24th. Leaving at 445pm returning at 1115pm. Transportation is free and there are only a handful of spots left. If you’d like to go email me or call Jeff at 341-6706.
For more information on DTS go to www.DeadTheologiansSociety.com

You’ll be hearing more about this group in the near future!

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Sept. 28th-30th and Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

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

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 9-18-07

2007-09-18T07:55:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

Dream Big! Part of being young is dreaming of what the future has in store for you. The Pope recently encouraged young people to do just such a thing:

Benedict XVI said: "Allow me to repeat this to you tonight: Each one of you, if you remain united with Christ, can accomplish great things.

I love watching young people, full of so much potential—grow, develop, and then go on to do great things. And God has something amazing in store for each one of you---trust Him, follow Him, and you will not be disappointed with the result!
Dreams Can Come True, Pope Affirms
Tells Youth Christ Will Fulfill Their AspirationsLORETO, Italy, SEPT. 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI told young people not to be afraid to dream, since the Spirit of God is the one who places great aspirations in their hearts.This is the message the Pope left Saturday evening to the half-million young people gathered in Loreto. The encounter was part of the Italian bishops' pastoral program to focus on youth ministry.The Holy Father continued the message today at Mass, saying: "Unfortunately, today it is not unusual that many young people see a full and happy life as a difficult dream, and sometimes almost as an impossibility."Many people of your age look to the future with anxiety and pose many questions."The Pontiff said they ask themselves, "'How do we be a part of a society marked by many and grave injustices and sufferings? How do we react to egoism and to the violence that at times seems to dominate? How do we give full meaning to life?'"Do not be afraid, Christ can fulfill the deepest aspirations of your heart! Could there be unrealizable dreams when it is the Spirit of God who awakens and cultivates them in the heart?"Great thingsBenedict XVI said: "Allow me to repeat this to you tonight: Each one of you, if you remain united with Christ, can accomplish great things."This is why, dear friends, you must not be afraid to dream -- with open eyes -- of great projects of good, and you must not let yourselves be discouraged by difficulties."

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

-For the students preparing for Confirmation.
-For those suffering from depression.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-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:

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Sept. 28th-30th and Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is less then ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

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

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 9-11-07

2007-09-11T13:41:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

Something to think about:

Answered Prayers
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other manunworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.""You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.""Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?""He prayed that all your prayers be answered."For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.-- Author Unknown

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

-For the students preparing for Confirmation.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For the families and victims of 9/11
-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:

Vocations: Come & See Days for girls in Grades 7-10 at Mater Redemptoris Convent in LaCrosse (awesome group of sisters!) Sept. 28th-30th and Nov. 30th-Dec. 2nd. For info contact Sr. Stephania at snewell@dioceseoflacrosse.com

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is less then ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

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

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 9-4-07

2007-09-04T11:28:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

The Pope has been speaking to young people A LOT lately. Benedict XVI to Youth: Open the Doors to Christ
This past weekend he met with youths in Loreto—more on that in future weeks---today, however, I want to focus on what he said to youth in Assisi, Italy this past June 18th. It was a more casual gathering…as “casual” as a gathering with 10,000 people can be! During the Pope’s meeting with the youth, he invited them to ask him questions (how cool would that be?!) including the search for truth and how difficult it is to follow the example of St. Francis’ life.
The Pope concluded with a beautiful statement of his affection for the youth: “He affectionately concluded, ‘You are, dear young people, my joy, as you were for John Paul II."’
Enjoy, and strive to live out these beautiful things in your own lives!
ASSISI, Italy, JUNE 18, 2007 (\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.zenit.org\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>zenit.org\u003c/a\>).- Benedict XVI told young people in Assisi that they are his joy, just as they were for Pope John Paul II.\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Benedict XVI traveled to Assisi on Sunday, for a busy one-day pilgrimage marking the 800th anniversary of Francis' conversion.\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>The final event of the day was a meeting with young people. Some 10,000 youth, who had been gathered since dawn in the square outside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, were on hand for the address. The Holy Father extended the meeting for a half-hour longer than planned. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Tough questions\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>The youth were invited to address questions to the Holy Father. One young man, Marco Giuliani, said: "We have thousands of questions, but it is hard to find convincing answers. We\nare tempted to think that the truth doesn't exist, that each person has his own truth. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>"Naturally we like to be happy, but we, too, feel, like the Pope, that merely having fun will not make us happy. Help us, Holy Father, to understand, and to make St. Francis' experience our own." \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>A young woman, Ilaria Perticoni, said: "Holy Father, Francis fascinates us but it is not easy to follow him, imitate him." \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Papal responses\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Benedict XVI responded: "St. Francis speaks to everyone, but I know he has a special attraction for you young people. Your great presence here confirms that, as do the questions you asked me. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>"His conversion happened during the most vital time of his life, of his experiences, of his dreams. He lived 25 years without coming to terms with the meaning of life. A few months before he died he would recall that time in his life as the time that he was 'in sin.'" \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>The\nPope offered Francis and Clare as models for facing the numerous problems that often afflict the life of young people. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>"Many youths fall victim to drug use in search of an artificial happiness, or become prey of a culture that exalts egoism," the Holy Father said. "This was also the drama of Francis' life before his conversion." ",1]
);
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ASSISI, Italy, JUNE 18, 2007 (zenit.org).- Benedict XVI told young people in Assisi that they are his joy, just as they were for Pope John Paul II.The final event of the day was a meeting with young people. Some 10,000 youth, who had been gathered since dawn in the square outside the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels, were on hand for the address. The Holy Father extended the meeting for a half-hour longer than planned. Tough questionsThe youth were invited to address questions to the Holy Father. One young man, Marco Giuliani, said: "We have thousands of questions, but it is hard to find convincing answers. We are tempted to think that the truth doesn't exist, that each person has his own truth. "Naturally we like to be happy, but we, too, feel, like the Pope, that merely having fun will not make us happy. Help us, Holy Father, to understand, and to make St. Francis' experience our own." A young woman, Ilaria Perticoni, said: "Holy Father, Francis fascinates us but it is not easy to follow him, imitate him." Papal responsesBenedict XVI responded: "St. Francis speaks to everyone, but I know he has a special attraction for you young people. Your great presence here confirms that, as do the questions you asked me. "His conversion happened during the most vital time of his life, of his experiences, of his dreams. He lived 25 years without coming to terms with the meaning of life. A few months before he died he would recall that time in his life as the time that he was 'in sin.'" The Pope offered Francis and Clare as models for facing the numerous problems that often afflict the life of young people. "Many youths fall victim to drug use in search of an artificial happiness, or become prey of a culture that exalts egoism," the Holy Father said. "This was also the drama of Francis' life before his conversion."
\u003cbr\>"Your life's compass," said the Pope, taking a break from his prepared remarks, "must be the truth, because without truth the foundation for peace is lost." \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>An architect of peace\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>He continued: "Francis' commitment to peace is also to be seen as a form of prayer. This aspect of his life is of great contemporary importance in a world that has so much need of peace yet does not manage to achieve it. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>"Francis was a man of peace and an architect of peace. He showed as much in the mildness with which he approached men of other faiths, yet without silencing\nhis own faith in the presence of men of other faiths, as we see in his meeting with the sultan." \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>Benedict XVI then invited the young people to join him in Loreto in early September for his meeting with Italian youth. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>"Open the doors to Christ. Open them as Francis did, without fear, without calculations, without measure," the Pope exhorted the young people. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>He affectionately concluded, "You are, dear young people, my joy, as you were for John Paul II."\u003cbr\>\n\u003cp\>\u003cbr\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.zenit.org/article-19913?l\u003denglish\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>email this article\u003c/a\>\u003cbr\>\n\u003cp\>\u003ca href\u003d\"#113417c3e18f7af1_top\"\>top\u003c/a\>\u003c/p\>\u003chr\>\n\u003cp\>\u003cb\>\u003ca name\u003d\"113417c3e18f7af1_07061807\"\>\u003c/a\>Pope Urges Franciscans to Proclaim Christ\u003c/b\>\u003c/p\>Offers Francis' Faith in the Gospel as Guide\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>ASSISI, Italy, JUNE 18, 2007 (\u003ca\>Zenit.org\u003c/a\>).- Benedict XVI encouraged all Franciscans to walk in their founder's footsteps by responding to all of life's challenges with the Gospel.\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>The Pope delivered this message Sunday to the General Chapter of the Order of Friars Minor Conventuals in the Basilica of St. Francis. He underlined the modern-day relevance of the experiences of the great saint. \u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>St. Francis "understood himself entirely in light of the Gospel" and from this "comes the perpetual authenticity of his example," the Holy Father said. ",1]
);
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"Your life's compass," said the Pope, taking a break from his prepared remarks, "must be the truth, because without truth the foundation for peace is lost." An architect of peaceHe continued: "Francis' commitment to peace is also to be seen as a form of prayer. This aspect of his life is of great contemporary importance in a world that has so much need of peace yet does not manage to achieve it. "Francis was a man of peace and an architect of peace. He showed as much in the mildness with which he approached men of other faiths, yet without silencing his own faith in the presence of men of other faiths, as we see in his meeting with the sultan." Benedict XVI then invited the young people to join him in Loreto in early September for his meeting with Italian youth. "Open the doors to Christ. Open them as Francis did, without fear, without calculations, without measure," the Pope exhorted the young people. He affectionately concluded, "You are, dear young people, my joy, as you were for John Paul II."

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

-For students as they return to school.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For all the victims of the flooding and other natural disasters, especially the victims of Hurricane Felix in Central America.
-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:

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

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

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 8-28-07

2007-08-28T09:57:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

I hope you’re enjoying your last few days of summer!

At Mass this past weekend, Jesus offered some stern words about the difficulty of attaining Heaven. (Luke 13:22-30.) Indeed, He emphasizes that it is not enough to merely know of Him, or even by extension just go to Church. A person needs to live that Faith in their actions. May we do this, lest we also hear the response that Jesus gave to these people “I do not know where you are from…depart from me.”

Pope Benedict took up this reading and put a modern spin on it—using the image of a passport. He pointed out that the good acts we do, in a certain sense, “stamp” our passport on the way to Heaven.
Get Your "Passport" Ready for Heaven, Says Pope
Stamp It With Works That Show Friendship With ChristVATICAN CITY, AUG. 26, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Heaven is an equal-opportunity destination, but to gain entry one needs a "passport" stamped with virtues such as humility, mercy and truth, says Benedict XVI.The Pope said this today in a reflection he gave on the "narrow gate," before reciting the midday Angelus with several thousand people gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo.The Pontiff asked: "What is meant by this 'narrow gate'? Why is it that many people do not succeed in entering through it? Is it perhaps a passage that is reserved only for a few elect?"The Holy Father said that the message of Christ is that everybody has an equal chance of entering through the narrow gate, "but it is 'narrow' because it is demanding, it requires commitment, self-denial and mortification of one's own egoism." Christ invites all to heaven, he said, "but with one and the same condition: that of making the effort to follow him and imitate him, taking up one's cross, as he did, and dedicating one's life to the service of our brothers."Benedict XVI makes the point that "we will not be judged on the basis of presumed privileges, but by our works.""True friendship with Christ," he added, "is expressed by one's way of life: it is expressed by goodness of heart, with humility, meekness and mercy, love of justice and truth, sincere and honest commitment to peace and reconciliation."The Pope adds, "This, we might say, is the 'I.D. card' that qualifies us as authentic 'friends'; this is the 'passport' that permits us to enter into eternal life."

Topics of Faith are showing up more and more on YouTube. Here is a link to a music video on the Eucharist. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsS6Yv7l5_I

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

-For students as they prepare to return to school.
-For an increase in works of charity among all followers of Christ.
-For young people to be open to God’s Call in their lives.
-For all the victims of the flooding and other natural disasters.
-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:

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

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

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 7-24-07

2007-07-24T07:31:00.002-07:00

Hey All—
Hundreds of young people from our area and diocese just returned from the Steubenville Youth Conference held in Denver, CO. Many returned, having been changed. For many of the students, they were able to encounter Christ in the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit in a very profound and personal way. And having encountered God in a very personal way, they are now changed.
I wish every young person could at least experience one conference like this. The fruits are immesurable. Indeed, many, many vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life are springing forth from such events.
With Steubenville’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit—it dovetails nicely with something Pope Benedict recently said to young people preparing for World Youth Day next summer:
Pope Calls Holy Spirit the "Great Unknown"
Invites Youth to Meditate on His Role in SalvationVATICAN CITY, JULY 23, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's message for World Youth Day 2008 presents the Holy Spirit to young people and the world as the "great unknown."The Pope's message is a reflection on the theme he chose for the event to be held in Sydney, Australia, next July: "You Will Receive Power When the Holy Spirit Has Come Upon You; and You Will Be My Witnesses.""The common thread of the spiritual preparation for the appointment in Sydney is the Holy Spirit and mission," explains the papal message, published in Italian and French by the Vatican press office. Translations into other languages are forthcoming.The message continues: "Therefore it is important that each one of you young people, in your communities and with your educators, reflect on this protagonist in the history of salvation which is the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of Jesus."There are many Christians for whom he remains the 'great unknown.'"3 goalsThe Holy Father presents three objectives to the young people, both those who will be in Sydney and those who are unable to attend.He invites them to "recognize the true identity of the Spirit by listening to God's word in the revelation of the Bible."He suggests they "learn about his continuous and active presence in the life of the Church, in particular rediscovering that the Holy Spirit is the 'soul,' the life-giving breath of the Christian life, thanks to the Christian sacraments of initiation -- baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist."Finally, he exhorts them to "deepen their understanding of Jesus and at the same time to implement the Gospel at the dawn of the third millennium."The Pontiff says that preparation for Sydney should be an opportunity to "verify the quality of our faith in the Holy Spirit, to find it again if we have lost it, strengthen it if it is weakened, to savor it as a companion to our faith in the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ."He added: "Never forget that the Church, rather, all of humanity, all that which surrounds you and what awaits you in the future, expects much from you, young people, because you have in you the supreme gift of the Father, the Spirit of Jesus."

Many of you have been confirmed and have received the Gift of the Holy Spirit. Strive to grow closer to Him---strive to realize His Presence in the world---strive to do as He seeks—and both your life, and the world, will be changed.

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

-For our Vacation Bible School this week.
-For those who just returned from Steubenville—that they may continue to grow closer to Christ in their daily lives.
-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:

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

The Youth Group, Generation JPII: Watch for summer announcements!

*********Note: The next edition of Catholic Teens will come out at the end of August. Have a blessed rest of the summer!
*************************************************************************************

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 7-17-07

2007-07-17T13:55:00.003-07:00

Hey All—

I found this article by Christopher West. You may have heard of him, he frequently writes about JPII’s Theology of the Body. Sometimes it’s interesting to see what lessons can be learned from popular culture. He takes the latest Spiderman movie and does just that:

Lessons from Spiderman 3
I took my two older boys to see Spiderman 3 this past weekend. Watching all that jam-packed action had the same effect on them as would a 2-liter bottle of Coke. After their “sugar-high” subsided and they could actually speak, we had some great father-son chats about the movie’s many moral lessons.
I’ve been milking the moral lessons from Spiderman 2 for almost three years now. Doc Oc, the eight-armed supervillain from that installment, was an image of the passions gone wild. When our passions are out of control, humanity – as the movie memorably demonstrated – is on a train bound for destruction. Only Spiderman, here a Christ-figure sacrificing himself in cruciform, can save us.
Now with the release of Spidey 3, I’ve got lots of new material to draw from with my kids. It’s a multi-layered morality tale. One of the main questions this movie addresses is what do we do with the hurt we feel when other people cause us pain? “Revenge,” Aunt May tells Peter, “is like a poison. Before you know it, it can turn you into something ugly.” And it does. When the man who murdered Peter’s uncle escapes from prison, Peter chooses revenge and Spidey’s alter ego emerges, overtaken by black-alien-parasitic goo. These nasty symbiotes, Peter learns from his college professor, bind to their host, and “when they bind, they can be hard to unbind.” Uhuh.
It is very rare to see lust portrayed as something evil in a Hollywood movie. But here, Peter Parker’s lusty prance down main street is a clear indication that he is no longer “your friendly neighborhood Spiderman.” His respect for women has gone out the window. Peter only wises up when he sees how he has wounded his beloved Mary Jane. “I hurt her, Aunt May. I don’t know what to do.” “You start by doing the hardest thing,” she says. “You forgive yourself.”
Peter, in a fit of merciless rage, had already told a fellow-photographer who had cheated him out of a job at the Daily Bugle, “You want forgiveness? Get religion.” It was a sign of things to come. Where does Peter go to do battle with that diabolic goop that had overtaken him? To a church – a Catholic church. The cross atop the spire offers Spidey – and the audience – hope. In a grand image of what battling with sin often feels like, Parker breaks free from his oppression with the help of the victorious tones of the church-bell. In the next scene, we see Peter washed clean in a (baptismal) shower.
From then on, Peter learns how to forgive himself – and others. For three movies now we’ve been feeling Peter’s rage toward his Uncle’s murderer. [If you don’t want me to hear the ending of the movie, stop reading now]. At the end of this installment, having tried unsuccessfully to avenge his Uncle’s death earlier in the movie, Peter faces his Uncle’s killer. The killer tries to excuse himself, “I had no choice,” he insists. Peter calmly replies, “We always have a choice.” Then, as the murderer confesses what happened that fateful night, Peter shows compassion and utters those liberating words, “I forgive you.”
The movie ends with this bit of wisdom: “Whatever comes our way, whatever battle, we always have a choice. It’s our choices that make us who we are and we can always choose what’s right.” When others have hurt us, we can always choose forgiveness. As the Catechism teaches, “It is not in our power not to feel or to forget on offense; but the heart that offers itself to the Holy Spirit turns injury into compassion and purifies the memory in transforming the hurt into intercession” (CCC 2843).
In it’s own way, this is the message of Spiderman 3: hurt can be transformed into something positive. Forgiveness is the only path that brings true resolution to our pain. The alternative is to be possessed by the black-parasitic goo of bitterness and revenge. It’s our choice.

© Christopher West. All rights reserved.

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

-For the Steubenville Youth Conference to Colorado this week!
-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:

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

The Youth Group, Generation JPII: Watch for summer announcements!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 7-10-07

2007-07-10T07:26:00.002-07:00

Hey All—
Young people around the world and locally continue to progress toward Australia for World Youth Day 2008. The video anthem has been selected and displayed. You can see it by clicking on the link below. Note also, in the announcements section, that local youth minister, Megan Moss, is hoping to take a local group. Having been to Toronto for WYD 2002---it’s an incredible experience that I highly recommend.
World Youth Day Anthem Premieres
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The World Youth Day anthem was performed for the first time publicly by Australian musicians Guy Sebastian and Paulini."Receive the Power" was launched July 1 at a free outdoor event in Tumbalong Park, Darling Harbor, as the official song for next year's World Youth Day, to be held in Sydney, July 15-20, 2008.Sebastian, who wrote the song with Gary Pinto, has woven the lyrics around the event's theme chosen by Benedict XVI: "You will receive the power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8)."'Receive the Power' is a wonderful work, a foretaste of that day next year when by the power of the Holy Spirit divisions between peoples will be set aside and 'every nation, every tribe' will come together for the World Youth Day," said Bishop Anthony Fisher, the event's coordinator.The song, produced in collaboration with SONY BMG Music Entertainment, is also available in an international version with verses in Italian, Spanish and French.The video, which features footage from the previous World Youth Day in Cologne, can be viewed on the event's official Web site. On the same site, both the English and international versions of the song can be downloaded.

Intentions:

-For our own Sister Katie Buss as you receives her habit on July 16th in the Poor Clares (Mother Angelica’s order)
-For the upcoming Steubenville Youth Conferences.
-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:

World Youth Day 2008- destination: Sydney! The WYD cross has reached Australia and is ONE year away from being joined by thousands of youth 16-36 years old. There is still time to sign up for this amazing opportunity. If interested, contact Megan Moss, youth minister for St. Bartholomew, St. Joseph & St. Stephen parishes now! 341-1617x113 or meganmoss@togetherinfaith.org.

The Youth Group, Generation JPII: Watch for summer announcements!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 7-3-07

2007-07-03T13:31:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

This week I include a letter from Fr. Joe Hirsch. If you don’t know him, you’d have a hard time finding a more amazing priest. Hope some of you can attend this and for those of you who can’t, including the ladies---please keep this in your prayers---as the guys keep you in their prayers for the Nun Runs.
Special Announcement:
What? Threshold Retreat
Who? Juniors in High School and older
Where? Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, Winona
When? July 27 – 29
Cost? Nothing. Just come and we will cover the rest.
Is this just for guys thinking about priesthood?
This retreat is for young men who are willing to ask the question of “What does the Lord want me to do with my life?” We will talk about being open to priesthood and what priesthood is, but we just want to help you in whatever way we can to find and follow God’s call for you.
Who is putting on this retreat?
The retreat is given by Father Joseph Hirsch, Assistant Vocation Directors, and seminarians.
How do I sign up?
Just contact me at jhirsch@dioceseoflacrosse.com.
A message from Father Joseph Hirsch:
I write today to invite you to a very special gathering of young men your age and older—those entering junior year and beyond which is coming up July 27 to 29 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Winona, Minnesota. It is called the Threshold Retreat.
As you go through high school and college you are passing through a very important “threshold” in your life as you go from young man to adult. Every time I go to speak to groups of young people they ask questions like, “How do you know what you are supposed to do with your life?” Or “How does God guide us in our lives?” In the Threshold Retreat we will be dealing with these very important, yet fundamental questions which we all ask.
Assistant Vocation Directors Father James Kurzynski and Father Derek Sakowski will join me and a group of our seminarians to plan these three days of reflection and prayer. Our seminarians come from a variety of backgrounds, some in business, education, and some who are in college at this time. Just a couple of years ago they were where you are now. This retreat is a great opportunity to sit down with these men and listen to how they are discovering their call in life and their vocation. It is a time to ask them questions about how to face the next stage in life and how to be open to all possibilities of God’s call for you whether to the single life, religious, married, or to the priesthood and to the choice of your career.
For more information you can check out the diocesan website: http://www.dioceseoflacrosse.com/ministry_resources/vocations/calendar.htm
I hope you have an enjoyable summer with family and friends. If you have any questions you can email or call. I look forward to the possibility of seeing you at Threshold 2007.
Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Joseph Hirsch
Director of Vocations
jhirsch@dioceseoflacrosse.com
(608)791-2666

Intentions:

-For our nation, that we may truly be “one nation under God”.
-For the upcoming Steubenville Youth Conferences.
-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: Watch for summer announcements!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 6-26-07

2007-06-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

Hey All—

All of us have a natural inclination toward heroes. They are a good thing—people we look up too and seek to emulate. What boy hasn’t pretended to be Michael Jordan or LeBron James when playing basketball? The saints are also “heroes”---and unlike sports figures or celebrities, they will not disappoint. In the same way we seek to emulate the skills of a Jordan or a Bryant, we can also seek to emulate the lives of the saints. One such “hero” was recently recognized. A married man with 7 children, Odoardo Focherini, worked at a newspaper. He lived during the horrors of WWII in Italy. He was given the opportunity to help rescue Jews. Many would’ve just stayed away from the danger---saying “it’s not my problem.” Not Focherini---he risked his own life and in the process helped save more then 100 Jews. For that work, a work he attributed to his Christian faith, he was arrested, sent to a concentration camp himself, and died. As Christ tells us in the Gospels, “there is no greater love, then for one man to lay down his life for his friends.” Amen, and thank God for such “heroes”!
Pope Commemorates Holocaust HeroJournalist Saved More Than 100 Jews VATICAN CITY, JUNE 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of an Italian Catholic who was murdered by Nazis after saving the lives of numerous Jews. The Pope said that Odoardo Focherini is "an unforgettable model of a virtuous Christian husband whose example continues to speak to the Church today," in a message sent to the Diocese of Carpi through Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Focherini died in the concentration camp of Hersbruck on Dec. 27, 1944. The papal message commemorates the anniversary of his birth, June 6, 1907. The Holy Father "wishes that this significant occasion serve to remember the luminous message and the courageous witness to the Gospel of a generous layman who, imitating Christ, gave himself unceasingly for the salvation of his brethren," the message said. Biography Focherini was the manager of the newspaper L'Avvenire d'Italia. He was married and had seven children. In 1942, the director of the newspaper asked him to help some Polish Jews that had come to Italy on a Red Cross train, and had been sent to Bologna by Archbishop Pietro Boetto of Genoa. Focherini thus began an intense campaign in favor of Jews. He organized a network to expatriate Jews to Switzerland and thus saved the lives of at least 105 people. On March 11, 1944, Focherini visited Enrico Donati at Ramazzini Hospital in Carpi to plan the latter's escape to Switzerland using the network. After the visit, Focherini was arrested. He had just one interrogation, and was accused of writing a letter in which he stated that he was helping Jews “not for money, but out of pure Christian charity.” He was sent to a concentration camp where he died nine months later at the age of 37. Because of his network, which endured two years, the Union of Jewish Communities in Italy awarded him a golden medal in 1955. And Yad Vashem proclaimed him Righteous Among the Nations in 1969. His cause for canonization began in 1996. He will be remembered on Saturday at a Mass in Carpi. Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, will attend. ZE07060702

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Intentions:

- For all those seeking work.
-For all those being influenced away from God.
-For the upcoming Steubenville Youth Conferences.
-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: Watch for summer announcements!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 6-19-07

2007-06-19T10:16:00.002-07:00

Hey All—
Much has been made of the new vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, Gardasil and having it offered to teenage girls (or younger). Of course, we should do everything we can to prevent anyone from receiving cancer. Unfortunately, a few details have been lost in all the promotions.
One of your peers, Kristine, wrote a letter to the editor to the Stevens Point Journal—I really enjoyed her letter, especially her ending.
“I am a sophomore at SPASH and believe that Gardasil shouldn’t be necessary. I keep hearing a lot of talk about how it’s controversial because people are discussing when the right time is to give it to kids.
Why should we have to give it to kids at all? If parents teach kids good morals throughout their life, they should know that having sex and/or having sex with multiple partners will lead to consequences they may not want. As we grow up we are continually being taught to take responsibility for our actions. So, why are we giving irresponsible people a ‘get our of jail free’ card? Teens and some young adults need to learn what their consequences will be for committing incautious behavior. Cancer caused by reckless behavior is caused by that person and taxpayers should not have to bear the burden.
I’m sick of hearing commercials that claim you will be ‘one less’ cancer victim if you take Gardasil; you can be one less by simply controlling yourself.”
-Kristine Meshak – Stevens Point
-As published in the Stevens Point Journal, 6-13-07

There are lots of resources containing more info on Gardasil. Of particular interest was this via a good group called Judicial Watch on some of the effects of the vaccine…the stuff they don’t tell you:
Washington, DC) -- Judicial Watch, the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption, today released documents obtained from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, detailing 1,637 reports of adverse reactions to the vaccination for human papillomavirus (HPV), Gardasil. Three deaths were related to the vaccine. One physician’s assistant reported that a female patient “died of a blood clot three hours after getting the Gardasil vaccine.” Two other reports, on girls 12 and 19, reported deaths relating to heart problems and/or blood clotting.
As of May 11, 2007, the 1,637 adverse vaccination reactions reported to the FDA via the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) included 371 serious reactions. Of the 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormities.

Of course, most companies and especially Planned Parenthood, don’t believe teens can control themselves—hence they must be “protected.” Thankfully, God and many of us, have much higher opinions of you all!

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Intentions:

-For all those currently on the Nun Run Jun 18th-22nd.
-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: Watch for summer announcements!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 6-12-07

2007-06-12T08:37:00.002-07:00

Hey All—
Magdalen College (in New Hampshire) is starting a second campus in central Wisconsin. My wife graduated from Magdalen. They offer a summer program for high schoolers. Check out the website below. You won’t regret it.
In terms of fun balanced with growing in the faith and being nurtured intellectually, Magdalen is hard to beat.
NEW! SUMMER YOUTH PROGRAM AT DURWARD'S GLEN in BARABOO, WI
\u003c/font\>\u003c/i\>\u003c/b\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align:center\" align\u003d\"center\"\>\u003cb\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" color\u003d\"maroon\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight:bold;font-size:16pt;color:maroon\"\>July 29-August 11\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/b\>\u003cb\>\u003ci\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#993300\" size\u003d\"3\"\>\n\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight:bold;font-size:11.5pt;color:#993300;font-style:italic\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/i\>\u003c/b\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align:center\" align\u003d\"center\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" color\u003d\"red\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:red\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align:center\" align\u003d\"center\"\>\u003cb\>\u003ci\>\u003cu\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" color\u003d\"blue\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-weight:bold;font-size:20pt;color:blue;font-style:italic\"\>We hope you can refer someone: he or she will experience a totally new summer!\n\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/i\>\u003c/b\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" size\u003d\"3\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:11.5pt\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" color\u003d\"red\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:red\"\> \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" color\u003d\"red\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:red\"\>If you have any questions, or would like a \u003ci\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-style:italic\"\>new SYP brochure\u003c/span\>\u003c/i\>, please contact us by phone at 1-877-498-1723 (toll-free), or by email at \n\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"blue\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:blue\"\>\u003ca href\u003d\"mailto:admissions@magdalen.edu\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>admissions@magdalen.edu\u003c/a\>\n\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"red\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:red\"\>. We also invite you to refer interested youth to our website, \u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003cu\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"blue\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:blue\"\>\n\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.magdalen.edu/admissions/summeryouth.asp\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>www.magdalen.edu/admissions/summeryouth.asp\u003c/a\>\u003c/span\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/u\>\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp style\u003d\"text-align:justify\"\>\u003cfont face\u003d\"Times New Roman\" color\u003d\"red\" size\u003d\"5\"\>\u003cspan style\u003d\"font-size:18pt;color:red\"\>",1]
);
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July 29-August 11
If you have any questions, or would like a new SYP brochure, please contact us by phone at 1-877-498-1723 (toll-free), or by email at admissions@magdalen.edu . We also invite you to refer interested youth to our website, www.magdalen.edu/admissions/summeryouth.asp

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Intentions:

-For all those going on the Nun Run Jun 18th-22nd.
-For the soul of the young man who recently committed suicide and the consolation of all those who knew him. Eternal rest grant until him, O Lord, and let the perpetual light shine upon him. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in Peace. Amen.
-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: Watch for summer announcements!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 5-22-07

2007-05-22T08:37:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

As many of you know, Pope Benedict was in Brazil earlier this month. One of the first things he did, was meet with the young people. Below is what he had to say to them. There’s lots of great stuff here—and it applies to you as much as to the young people in Brazil. As the pope says, you have much to offer the world, your youthfulness is a treasure, and you are called to be apostles to your fellow youth!

Pope to Youth: The Church Needs YouSays Christ Is Calling Them to Be Saints SÃO PAULO, Brazil, MAY 10, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's first full day in Brazil included a meeting with young people where he touched on themes as varied as protecting the environment and saintliness. The Pope arrived to Brazil on Wednesday for an apostolic trip that includes Sunday's opening of the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Holy Father spoke with youth today, basing his discourse on the Gospel passage of the rich young man who asks Jesus how he can inherit eternal life. After Christ tells him to sell what he has and "come follow me," the youth goes away sad. The Pontiff said: "The question in the Gospel does not regard only the future. "On the contrary, it exists as a task in the present, in the 'here' and 'now,'" the Holy Father said. "In short, the young man's question raises the issue of life's meaning. … [W]hat must I do so that my life is not wasted? "Jesus alone can give us the answer, because he alone can guarantee us eternal life. He alone, therefore, can show us the meaning of this present life and give it fullness." Apostles of youth Benedict XVI told the young people that Jesus' answer lies in the affirmation of the goodness of God. "To understand what is good, we need help, which the Church offers us on many occasions, especially through catechesis," the Pope explained. "Whoever keeps the commandments is on the way that leads to God. And you, young people of Brazil and Latin America, have you already discovered what is good? Do you follow the Lord's commandments?
\n\u003cbr\>"Many times, we who are\npastors feel a sense of trepidation as we take stock\nof the situation in today's world. We hear talk of\nthe fears of today's youth. \n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"These fears reveal an enormous\nlack of hope: a fear of death […] fear of\nfailure […] fear of remaining detached."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>Yet, the Holy Father told\nthe youth that they "radiate so much joy and enthusiasm."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"I\nsee you as Christ sees you," he said, "with a\ngaze of love and trust, in the certainty that you\nhave found the true way."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"You are the youth of the\nChurch," the Pontiff said. "I send you out, therefore, on\nthe great mission of evangelizing young men and women who\nhave gone astray in this world like sheep without a\nshepherd. Be apostles of youth."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>Marriage and riches\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>Benedict XVI encouraged the\nyoung people to "respect and honor" marriage, "an institution of\nnatural law, which has been raised by Christ to the\ndignity of a sacrament."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"God calls you to respect one another\nwhen you fall in love and become engaged, since conjugal\nlife, reserved by divine ordinance to married couples, will bring\nhappiness and peace only to the extent that you are\nable to build your future hopes upon chastity, both within\nand outside marriage," he told them.\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>Recalling again the Gospel passage\nof the rich young man, the Pope told them that\nyouthfulness is a treasure.\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"This episode causes us to reflect further\non the treasure of youth," he said. "It is not,\nin the first place, a question of material wealth, but\nof life itself, and the values inherent in youth.\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"From life\nsprings freedom, which manifests itself, especially in this phase, as\nresponsibility."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>The Holy Father encouraged the young people to be open\nto a vocation to the consecrated life.\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"Some are called to\na total and definitive self-giving, by consecrating themselves to God\nin the religious life -- an 'exceptional gift of grace,'\nas the Second Vatican Council expressed it," he said.\n",1]
);
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"Many times, we who are pastors feel a sense of trepidation as we take stock of the situation in today's world. We hear talk of the fears of today's youth. "These fears reveal an enormous lack of hope: a fear of death […] fear of failure […] fear of remaining detached." Yet, the Holy Father told the youth that they "radiate so much joy and enthusiasm." "I see you as Christ sees you," he said, "with a gaze of love and trust, in the certainty that you have found the true way." "You are the youth of the Church," the Pontiff said. "I send you out, therefore, on the great mission of evangelizing young men and women who have gone astray in this world like sheep without a shepherd. Be apostles of youth." Marriage and riches Benedict XVI encouraged the young people to "respect and honor" marriage, "an institution of natural law, which has been raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament." "God calls you to respect one another when you fall in love and become engaged, since conjugal life, reserved by divine ordinance to married couples, will bring happiness and peace only to the extent that you are able to build your future hopes upon chastity, both within and outside marriage," he told them. Recalling again the Gospel passage of the rich young man, the Pope told them that youthfulness is a treasure. "This episode causes us to reflect further on the treasure of youth," he said. "It is not, in the first place, a question of material wealth, but of life itself, and the values inherent in youth. "From life springs freedom, which manifests itself, especially in this phase, as responsibility." The Holy Father encouraged the young people to be open to a vocation to the consecrated life. "Some are called to a total and definitive self-giving, by consecrating themselves to God in the religious life -- an 'exceptional gift of grace,' as the Second Vatican Council expressed it," he said.
\n\u003cbr\>The Pontiff\nadded: "I pray that in this moment of grace and\nprofound communion in Christ, the Holy Spirit will awaken in\nthe hearts of many young people an impassioned love, prompting\nthem to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, chaste, poor and\nobedient, totally devoted to the glory of the Father and\nto love for their brothers and sisters."\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>Benedict XVI affirmed that\nthe Church needs young people. He asked them to follow\nclosely the progress of the 5th General Conference of the\nEpiscopate of Latin America and the Caribbean.\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>"My dear young people,"\nhe concluded, "Christ is calling you to be saints. He\nhimself is inviting you and wants to walk with you,\nin order to enliven with his Spirit the steps that\nBrazil is taking at the beginning of this third millennium\nof the Christian era."\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>ZE07051012\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.zenit.org/english/send_friend/index.phtml?sid\u003d107393\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>email this article\u003c/a\>\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003ca href\u003d\"#1127888c54ccf727_top\"\>TOP\u003c/a\>\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003chr align\u003d\"left\" width\u003d\"50%\"\>\u003cbr\>\n\u003ca name\u003d\"1127888c54ccf727_107394\"\>\u003cfont color\u003d\"#000040\"\>\u003cb\>After Mass, Pope Pays Silva a Visit\u003c/b\>\u003c/font\>\u003c/a\>\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>\u003cbr\>\nSÃO\nPAULO, Brazil, MAY 10, 2007 (\u003ca href\u003d\"http://www.zenit.org\" target\u003d\"_blank\" onclick\u003d\"return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)\"\>Zenit.org\u003c/a\>).- On the first\nfull day of his apostolic trip to South America, Benedict\nXVI paid a courtesy visit to the president of Brazil,\n\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>After celebrating Mass in private this morning, the Pope met\nwith Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at 11 a.m. \n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>An\necumenical meeting and a discourse with youth completed the main\nactivities of the Pope's day in Brazil. The Holy Father\narrived to the South American country on Wednesday for the\napostolic trip that will include the opening of the 5th\nGeneral Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the\nCaribbean.\n\u003cbr\>\n\u003cbr\>On Friday, Benedict XVI will start off the day with\na "popemobile" tour among the faithful. He is set to\ncanonize the first Brazilian-born saint during a 9:30 ",1]
);
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The Pontiff added: "I pray that in this moment of grace and profound communion in Christ, the Holy Spirit will awaken in the hearts of many young people an impassioned love, prompting them to follow and imitate Jesus Christ, chaste, poor and obedient, totally devoted to the glory of the Father and to love for their brothers and sisters." Benedict XVI affirmed that the Church needs young people. He asked them to follow closely the progress of the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean. "My dear young people," he concluded, "Christ is calling you to be saints. He himself is inviting you and wants to walk with you, in order to enliven with his Spirit the steps that Brazil is taking at the beginning of this third millennium of the Christian era." ZE07051012

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Intentions:

-For all victims of violence.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, June 3rd —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
Nun Run – June 18-22, 2007
Join us as we -- Visit with several different orders, both cloistered and apostolic, share in meals, participate in Mass and prayer, listen to the Sister's stories, enjoy informal discussion, see some sights in big cities. Be part of a road trip you’ll never forget! For more information, or to sign up, please contact Fr. Sakowski at
(715) 252-4396 frsakowski@spacs.k12.wi.us Also, there is a brochure attached to this email.

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

Note the next edition of “Catholic Teens” will come out June 12th.

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 5-15-07

2007-05-15T07:33:00.003-07:00

Hey All—

Here is a wonderful quote from St. Francis de Sales.
Jesus is the teacher of holiness. I go to Him because I want Him to teach me how to become a Saint. Of what use to me is all I learn in school if I do not become holy?-- St. Francis DeSales
Now, don’t use this as an excuse to slack off in school! Instead, it should inspire you. What is the purpose of your life? To join God in Heaven---and everyone in heaven is a “saint”. Our 8th Grade CCD teacher will sometimes put up a comparison on the chalk board concerning the value of various endeavors. School, job, money, vacations….all are temporary. Prayer, Mass, living a good life….those are all eternal. Which lasts longer? J
You can be the smartest man in the world, but if you don’t live with God, where are you going to end up? And I doubt the devil will be impressed by how smart you are.
To use another example, former president Bill Clinton is a lot “smarter” then Mother Teresa ever was. Who made more of a positive impact on the world?
Use your learning as a way to become holier and you’ll change the world…and stay on the road to Heaven as well.
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Intentions:
-For a family, especially the dad, who accidentally ran over his 4 year-old son. May they be comforted during this time of pain.
-For all victims of violence.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, June 3rd —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 5-8-07

2007-05-08T07:28:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

Saw a report on Monday that some 65,000 people have already registered for World Youth Day in Australia next summer. And registration has only been open for 50 days so far!

Here is what Pope Benedict had to say to youth in the Philippines…the same could be said to all of us!
New Apostles Sorely Needed, Says PontiffIn Message for Philippines' Youth Day (Zenit.org).- The world urgently needs new apostles anchored in Christ and in his Word, Benedict XVI says in a message heard by more than 10,000 Philippine youths. In his message, read by the apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the Pope reminded youth of the "urgent need for the emergence of a new generation of apostles anchored firmly in the Word of Christ, capable of responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel far and wide." The AsiaNews agency of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions published the Holy Father's words. He appealed to young people to "testify to the light of Christ, the shining beacon for our life's journey" and to "become familiar with the Bible, one's compass pointing out the road to follow." "By reading [the Bible], one will know Christ. Reading, studying and meditating on the Word should then flow into a life of consistent fidelity to Christ and his teachings," he said. ZE06111403

Many of you got Bibles for your Confirmation….don’t let it collect dust! During this time of year, you may want to read the Acts of the Apostles—the story of the early Church. It’s an enjoyable, interesting, and historical work of just what happened after Jesus’ Resurrection.

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Intentions:
-Some of you may remember Will Goodman from your Confirmation Retreat. He’s involved in all sorts of pro-life activities around the country and belongs to St. Peter’s Parish. He’s leaving for Poland to speak at an International Conference in defense of life there. Please keep him in your prayers!
-For all marriages, that divorce may never happen.
-For all victims of violence.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, May 6th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 5-1-07

2007-05-01T11:22:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

I received a question about Ouija boards from one of our teens. I can’t say this strongly enough…Don’t mess with them. Below is my reply to this teen.

Don't mess with Ouija boards. In fact, I wouldn't even watch others play it. The devil and demons can use such "games" to get at a person. In fact, exorcists will tell you that is one way that people end up getting possessed.

For the formal answer you can look at #2116 & 2117 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to "unveil" the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone. 2117 All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity. So I'd stay away from it personally and tell your friends to do the same.

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Intentions:
-For all those looking for work, especially on this the Feast of St. Joseph.
-For all immigrants.
-For all victims of violence.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, May 6th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 4-24-07

2007-04-24T07:14:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

As the late John Paul II’s life is examined for his potential elevation to sainthood, more evidence of his holiness emerges. In fact, there’s already a book out on “John Paul’s Miracles”—it’s available at Cornerstone Catholic Bookstore here in town.

JPII’s growth in holiness started at a young age—hence he’s a great example to young people. He certainly didn’t have an easy childhood, losing his mother at an early age, and then experiencing the horrors of WWII. Yet, he sought God in all of this—and there he found his hope and his purpose in life. And for that we can be eternally grateful. May you and I imitate his example!

Sanctity Began Early for John Paul II, Says CardinalVATICAN CITY, APRIL 2, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Pope John Paul II's intense relationship with God was already profound in his youth, said Cardinal Camillo Ruini at the close of the diocesan phase of the Pontiff's beatification process. In his homily during the closing ceremony, Cardinal Ruini, the vicar of Benedict XVI for Rome, commented on John Paul II's intense spiritual life.
\n\u003cbr\>Boyhood\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>The cardinal said\nthat Karol Wojtyla's spiritual life was "already strong, intimate and\nprofound in his boyhood, and that [it] never ceased to\ndevelop and grow stronger, producing fruits in all dimensions of\nhis life."\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>Cardinal Ruini added that God never sheltered Wojtyla\nfrom the trials of life, but rather was constantly "associating\nhim ever and anew to the cross of his Son\n... giving him the courage to love the cross, and\nthe spiritual intelligence to see, through the cross, the face\nof the Father."\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>The cardinal continued: "In the certainty of\nbeing loved by God and in the joy of returning\nthis love, Karol Wojtyla found the meaning, unity and aim\nof his own life.\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>"All those who knew him, from\nnear or only from afar, were struck by the richness\nof his humanity, by his complete fulfillment as a man.\n\u003cbr\>\n\n\u003cbr\>"But even more illuminating and important is the fact that\nsuch fullness of humanity coincided, in the end, with his\nrelationship with God, in other words with his sanctity."\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>Faith\n\u003cbr\>\n\n\u003cbr\>Cardinal Ruini said that the faith of John Paul II\nwas that "of a man who, in a certain sense,\nhad already seen the Lord, and who had made the\ndirect experience of the mysterious and salvific presence of God\nin his spirit and in his life."\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>It is because\nof this faith, continued the cardinal, that Wojtyla had felt\n"the necessity and the duty to offer and transmit to\nall the truth that saves."\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>Cardinal Ruini also recalled the\nlast moments of John Paul II.\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>With the help of\nthose present in his apartment, John Paul II prayed "all\nthe daily prayers: adoration, meditation and he even anticipated the\noffice of the readings for Sunday," said the cardinal.\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>The\ncardinal continued: "Then, he said with an exceedingly weak voice\nto Sister Tobiana Sobotka, his authentic guardian angel: 'Let the\nLord come.'\n\u003cbr\> \n\u003cbr\>"Afterward, he entered into a coma, and in\nhis room the vigil Mass for Divine Mercy Sunday was\ncelebrated."\n",1]
);
//-->
Boyhood The cardinal said that Karol Wojtyla's spiritual life was "already strong, intimate and profound in his boyhood, and that [it] never ceased to develop and grow stronger, producing fruits in all dimensions of his life." Cardinal Ruini added that God never sheltered Wojtyla from the trials of life, but rather was constantly "associating him ever and anew to the cross of his Son ... giving him the courage to love the cross, and the spiritual intelligence to see, through the cross, the face of the Father." The cardinal continued: "In the certainty of being loved by God and in the joy of returning this love, Karol Wojtyla found the meaning, unity and aim of his own life. "All those who knew him, from near or only from afar, were struck by the richness of his humanity, by his complete fulfillment as a man. "But even more illuminating and important is the fact that such fullness of humanity coincided, in the end, with his relationship with God, in other words with his sanctity."

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Intentions:
-For all those looking for work.
-For all victims of violence.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, May 6th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day. We’ll even be including JPII on one of the days!

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 4-17-07

2007-04-17T07:41:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

I recently came across this beautiful story about Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta as told by someone who worked with her.
Archbishop Comastri, who was a collaborator of Mother Teresa, concluded with an anecdote about her. To a photographer who asked her why she seemed so happy, Mother Teresa replied: "My eyes are happy because my hands dry tears. You, do the same: I assure you, it works." Source Zenit.org ZE07030601
How awesome is that? It’s a very fitting quote for this week as we just celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday. We are called to be instruments of God’s Mercy in a world that so badly needs it.
Realize as well that God has a plan for each and every one of us. No single person can dry all the tears in the world. No single person can help all the suffering. But each one of us can help someone. And to that one person, it makes all the difference in the world.
Pray to God, asking what He would like you to do. And then, when He answers your prayer, as He most assuredly will, act on it. Then you too will experience the happiness and fulfillment that animated Bl. Mother Teresa’s life.

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Intentions:
-For all those looking for work.
-For the health and recovery of Fr. Dennis Worzalla—now at Harmony Nursing Home in Stevens Point.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, May 6th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day.

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 4-11-07

2007-04-11T08:43:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

A vocation is our means of living out holiness. This is true whether the vocation is marriage, the priesthood, religious life or single life. Every vocation has in common the total giving of self for others. In marriage, you die to self for the sake of your spouse. As a priest, for the Church, as a religious for whatever the charism of your community is. Sometimes people think that marriage is easier then being a priest or nun. Not necessarily. For each is called to give up their own lives, desires, wants, etc for the good of another.

Sr. Anne Thole, a mere 35 years old, who loved music, organized the choir and even played guitar….gave completely of herself to save those who could not save themselves. As our Lord said, “there is no greater love then for one man to lay down his life for another…” May we be inspired by Sr. Anne’s heroic example!
Nun Dies Saving AIDS Patients From FireJOHANNESBURG, South Africa, APRIL 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The local press is calling the death of 35-year-old Sister Anne Thole a martyrdom. She died in a fire, trying to rescue AIDS patients from a burning hospice. Sister Thole was a novice director for her order. According to The Mercury, a local newspaper, the Maria Ratschitz Mission, outside of Dundee, caught fire on Saturday night, apparently from a patient's cigarette. The founder of the hospice, Sister Irmingard Thalmeier, said that five of the eight patients were evacuated from the fire, which started Saturday night. Three died with Sister Thole. Retired Dundee Bishop Michael Rowland was awakened and called to the scene. "By the time I got there, the building was blazing and we tried to put it out with garden hoses, but the wooden staircase and thatch were a column of fire," he said. "Sister Anne was so brave," the 78-year-old prelate said. "She gave her life for the patients. She exuded tremendous joy and had a great love of her vocation. She played the guitar well, and ran the choir and sang. All the novices loved her." ZE07040502
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Intentions:
-For all those looking for work.
-For all those who entered the Catholic Church this Easter.
-For the health and recovery of Fr. Dennis Worzalla—now at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Marshfield.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, April 15th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

Vacation Bible School: July 23-27th:
- We’re looking for volunteers to help! Shoot me an email if you’re interested in being a part of this. The school is for grades 1-5 and runs from about 8am to Noon each day.

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

Catholic Teens 4-3-07

2007-04-03T09:20:00.001-07:00

Hey All—
This is Holy Week—a time to intensely recall and re-live the experiences of Jesus' Passion. May you be blessed as you enter more fully into these Sacred Mysteries---hopefully able to participate in the Liturgies of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Saturday.

Jesus' Obituary
Jesus Christ, 33, of Nazareth, died Friday on Mount Calvary, also known as Golgotha , the place of the skull. Betrayed by the apostle, Judas, Jesus was crucified by the Romans, by order of the Ruler Pontius Pilate. The causes of death were crucifixion, extreme exhaustion, severe torture and loss of blood. Jesus Christ, a descendent of Abraham, was a member of the house of David. He was the Son of the late Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth, and Mary, His devoted Mother. Jesus was born in a stable in the city of Bethlehem , Judea. He is survived by His mother, Mary, His faithful Apostles, numerous disciples and many other followers. Jesus was self-educated and spent most of his adult life working as a Teacher. Jesus also occasionally worked as a Medical Doctor and it is reported that he healed many patients. Up until the time of His death, Jesus was teaching and sharing the Good News, healing the sick, touching the lonely, feeding the hungry and helping the poor. Jesus was most noted for telling parables about His Father's Kingdom and performing miracles, such as feeding over 5,000 people with only five loaves of bread and two fish, and healing a man who was born blind. On the day before His death, He held a Last Supper celebrating the Passover Feast, at which He foretold His death. The body was quickly buried in a stone grave, which was donated by Joseph of Arimathea, a loyal friend of the family. By order of Pontius Pilate, a boulder was rolled in front of the tomb. Roman soldiers were put on guard. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that everyone try to live as Jesus did. Donations may be sent to anyone in need.
Source: http://home.att.net/~scorh3/JesusObit.html (Go to this page and you'll see the version of this with graphics.)

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Intentions:
-For all those looking for work.
-For all those preparing to enter the Catholic Church this Easter.
-For the health and recovery of Fr. Dennis Worzalla—now at St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield.
-For the soul of Darlene Niemczyk, longtime staff member of St. Peter's who died last Thursday night.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, April 15th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
The topic is Vocations!

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 3-27-07

2007-03-27T11:10:00.002-07:00

Hey All—

Now this is cool. How’d you like to go to confession to the Pope?! Of course, remember that every time you go to confession…you go to Christ himself, represented by the priest “in persona Christi”.

I’ve heard stories that John Paul II would sometimes sneak down to St. Peter’s and plop himself in the confessional to administer the sacrament, unbeknownst to everyone else. J

Benedict XVI to Hear Youths' ConfessionsROME, MARCH 22, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Next Thursday, Benedict XVI will hear the confessions of young people from the Diocese of Rome during a penitential service for youth. Monsignor Mauro Parmeggiani, the director of youth ministry for the Vicariate of Rome, announced that the Pope will hear confessions in St. Peter's Basilica on March 29, beginning at 5:30 p.m., Rome time. The penitential service will prepare for the diocesan-level World Youth Day, to be held April 1, Palm Sunday. In a letter, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Benedict XVI's vicar general for the Diocese of Rome, invited "all the young people of the city to participate in this important ecclesial moment of prayer with the Pope." ZE07032201

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Intentions:
-For one of our young people’s dad who just lost his job.
-For all those preparing to enter the Catholic Church this Easter.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, April 1st —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.

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 3-20-07

2007-03-20T13:17:00.001-07:00

Hey All—
I was doing some thinking about Confirmation recently. To use the old terminology, at Confirmation, you become a “soldier for Christ.” You can picture your confirmation preparation as your “boot camp” or “basic training”. At the Confirmation ceremony, you are given your combat gear….the tools for the battle. These are known as the “Gifts of the Holy Spirit” (Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.) After Confirmation, you are deployed into the Field of Battle, otherwise known as the world.

Unfortunately, it appears that a lot of our young people, upon receiving Confirmation, either go AWOL or end up being deserters. You know what they used to do to military deserters? They were shot. Nowadays, they aren’t shot, but put into military prison. Nonetheless, the punishment is still.

Jesus states, “to whom much is given, much will be required.” Confirmation and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit certainly qualifies as being given a lot! Woe to those, who take the Gift and desert the cause. Something to think about….

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Intentions:
-For all who are preparing for Confirmation that they may adequately prepare for this gift and responsibility.
-For all those preparing to enter the Catholic Church this Easter.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, April 1st —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.

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 3-2007

2007-03-20T13:16:00.001-07:00

Catholic Teens 3-13-07

2007-03-13T10:05:00.001-07:00

Hey All—

Many of you heard Jason Evert 2 weeks ago, or have heard of him. His message of chastity and pure love is one, that if taken to heart, will lead toward a beautiful marriage. And one that lasts for life!
Here are some beautiful quotes on marriage for you to think about…and aim for as you look toward your own vocation.

"I want to see the radiant happiness of young lovers blossom into the mature love of husband and wife, and reach the crowning glory of fatherhood and motherhood. I want to see their castle of dreams materialize in the sanctuary of the Christian home, where love, peace and happiness abide. I want that home to be a little bit of heaven on earth, a foretaste of that eternal home where love abides and enraptures the soul." -From Courtship and Marriage, by Rev. John A. O'Brien, Family Life Center Publications.

Isn't that a beautiful quote??? It's something I share with our engaged couples. This is what the Church desires for every couple, and indeed, it is what every couple wants in their heart of hearts. As one priest stated, "the church is in the marriage promotion business." Amen!

Everyone seeks that type of happiness, but few actually find it. And with a divorce rate that is sky high—many find just the opposite. So aim high! Don’t settle for anything less then amazing in those you date. And root it all in God---and you are on the path toward that happiness.

Tertullian, one of the Church fathers, expresses it such: "How can I express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church, strengthened by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by angels, and ratified by the Father?" (CCC #1642) Announced by Angels! Try finding a wedding planner that can accomplish that!

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Intentions:
-For those preparing for marriage that they may come to know that peace and happiness of a marriage in Christ.
-For all young people, that they may “aim high”.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, April 1st —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.

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 3-6-07

2007-03-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hey All—

C.S. Lewis in his excellent book “Mere Christianity” points out that God gives us glimpses of Heaven here on Earth, but not too much, lest we stop striving for it in eternity. We see this throughout our lives in those wonderful grace-filled moments---experiences we cling too—that give us a taste of Heaven now. However, as Lewis points out, they do not last—but merely increase our desire for what awaits us after death.

We had one of those experiences this past weekend at our Annual College-Age retreat. Young adults and college students from around Wisconsin gathered for a weekend retreat focusing on discernment of vocations. We were joined by 3 priests, 3 sisters, 2 postulants, and one married couple. The weekend featured everything from the Liturgy of the Hours, to Irish Ceili Dancing; from inspiring talks, to snowball fights; from confession to tubing and snow football; from all-night Adoration to Catholic Jeopardy; and of course the Mass.

Unlike so many of the retreats we have for confirmation, the people at this retreat actually Wanted to be there! J And as you look toward the future, I hope many of you will come on this retreat in a few years….it’s an experience you’ll never forget!

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Intentions:
-For all young people, that they may come to know God more fully—and experience His Love and Peace.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, March 18th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.

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 2-27-07

2007-02-26T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hey All—

Jason Evert will be at St. Bronislava this Wednesday night from 6:30-8:30PM. He’s giving a bunch of talks in the area…and each one is different. The Wednesday night talk is called “Romance Without Regret”. If you’ve ever heard Jason talk, you know how awesome he is. If you haven’t yet, take my word…”GO!” It’s worth it.

Part of the Confirmation process is going on a retreat. Many teens dread this part of their preparation. Yet, a retreat is a beautiful opportunity to refresh ourselves in the Lord. This is in effect what I and 2200 men did last weekend at a day-long Men’s Conference. We came together to focus on God and left renewed and refreshed. This coming weekend we are holding our annual “College-Age Retreat” at the Lions Camp in Rosholt. This retreat runs from Friday evening through Sunday morning. And the participants are EXCITED about it. Heck, I’m excited to be coordinating it! Please keep these young adults in your prayers!

Even the pope takes retreats. In fact, he’s on one this week. On top of that, he asked for our prayers for him while he’s on retreat. How cool is that? The pope asking for you and me to pray for him on retreat!

Benedict XVI to Spend Week on RetreatBefore praying the Angelus today with the crowds gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father asked the faithful to "please support me with your prayer, and I will be happy to do the same in the recollection of the retreat, invoking divine power on each one of you, on your families and your communities." -From Zenit.org

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Intentions:
-For this weekend’s college-age retreat.
-For the Pope on his retreat.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, March 4th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.

-Jason Evert will be at St. Bronislava next Wednesday. His talk is aimed at 7th-9th graders on "Romance without Regret"--in other words God's plan for relationships leading to holy (and lifelong!) marriages. This will be from 6:30-8:30PM and your parents are more then welcome!

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 indica

Catholic Teens 2-20-07

2007-02-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

Hey All—
Every 3 years the pope gathers the youth from around the world for a huge World Youth Day—in fact the next one is in Australia in the summer of 2008. Yet, every year there is also a local diocesan youth day. Pope Benedict issued the following to all of you on the occasion of this year’s Youth Day. I include it below. Enjoy!
Papal Message for 22nd Youth Day"A 'Discovery' of Love" VATICAN CITY, FEB. 5, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the message Benedict XVI wrote to young people, for the diocesan-level World Youth Day, to be observed April 1. * * * "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another" (Jn 13:34) My dear young friends, On the occasion of the 22nd World Youth Day that will be celebrated in the dioceses on Palm Sunday, I would like to propose for your meditation the words of Jesus: "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another" (Jn 13:34). Is it possible to love? Everybody feels the longing to love and to be loved. Yet, how difficult it is to love, and how many mistakes and failures have to be reckoned with in love! There are those who even come to doubt that love is possible. But if emotional delusions or lack of affection can cause us to think that love is utopian, an impossible dream, should we then become resigned? No! Love is possible, and the purpose of my message is to help reawaken in each one of you -- you who are the future and hope of humanity --, trust in a love that is true, faithful and strong; a love that generates peace and joy; a love that binds people together and allows them to feel free in respect for one another. Let us now go on a journey together in three stages, as we embark on a "discovery" of love. God, the source of love The first stage concerns the source of true love. There is only one source, and that is God. Saint John makes this clear when he declares that "God is love" (1 Jn 4:8,16). He was not simply saying that God loves us, but that the very being of God is love. Here we find ourselves before the most dazzling revelation of the source of love, the mystery of the Trinity: in God, one and triune, there is an everlasting exchange of love between the persons of the Father and the Son, and this love is not an energy or a sentiment, but it is a person; it is the Holy Spirit. The Cross of Christ fully reveals the love of God How is God-Love revealed to us? We have now reached the second stage of our journey. Even though the signs of divine love are already clearly present in creation, the full revelation of the intimate mystery of God came to us through the Incarnation when God himself became man. In Christ, true God and true Man, we have come to know love in all its magnitude. In fact, as I wrote in the Encyclical Deus caritas est, "the real novelty of the New Testament lies not so much in new ideas as in the figure of Christ himself, who gives flesh and blood to those concepts -- an unprecedented realism" (n. 12). The manifestation of divine love is total and perfect in the Cross where, we are told by Saint Paul, "God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us" (Rm 5:8). Therefore, each one of us can truly say: "Christ loved me and gave himself up for me" (cf Eph 5:2). Redeemed by his blood, no human life is useless or of little value, because each of us is loved personally by Him with a passionate and faithful love, a love without limits. The Cross, -- for the world a folly, for many believers a scandal --, is in fact the "wisdom of God" for those who allow themselves to be touched right to the innermost depths of their being, "for God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength" (1 Cor 1:25). Moreover, the Crucifix, which after the Resurrection would carry forever the marks of his passion, exposes the "distortions" and lies about God that underlie violence, vengeance and exclusion. Christ is the Lamb of God who takes upon himself the sins of the world and eradicates hatred from the heart of humankind. This is the true "revolution" that He brings about: love. Loving our neighbor as Christ loves us Now we have arrived at the third stage of our reflection. Christ cried out from the Cross: "I am thirsty" (Jn 19:28). This shows us his burning thirst to love and to be loved by each one of us. It is only by coming to perceive the depth and intensity of such a mystery that we can realize the need and urgency to love him as He has loved us. This also entails the commitment to even give our lives, if necessary, for our brothers and sisters sustained by love for Him. God had already said in the Old Testament: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev 19:18), but the innovation introduced by Christ is the fact that to love as he loves us means loving everyone without distinction, even our enemies, "to the end" (cf Jn 13:1). Witnesses to the love of Christ I would like to linger for a moment on three areas of daily life where you, my dear young friends, are particularly called to demonstrate the love of God. The first area is the Church, our spiritual family, made up of all the disciples of Christ. Mindful of his words: "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13:35), you should stimulate, with your enthusiasm and charity, the activities of the parishes, the communities, the ecclesial movements and the youth groups to which you belong. Be attentive in your concern for the welfare of others, faithful to the commitments you have made. Do not hesitate to joyfully abstain from some of your entertainments; cheerfully accept the necessary sacrifices; testify to your faithful love for Jesus by proclaiming his Gospel, especially among young people of your age. Preparing for the future The second area, where you are called to express your love and grow in it, is your preparation for the future that awaits you. If you are engaged to be married, God has a project of love for your future as a couple and as a family. Therefore, it is essential that you discover it with the help of the Church, free from the common prejudice that says that Christianity with its commandments and prohibitions places obstacles to the joy of love and impedes you from fully enjoying the happiness that a man and woman seek in their reciprocal love. The love of a man and woman is at the origin of the human family and the couple formed by a man and a woman has its foundation in God's original plan (cf Gen 2:18-25). Learning to love each other as a couple is a wonderful journey, yet it requires a demanding "apprenticeship". The period of engagement, very necessary in order to form a couple, is a time of expectation and preparation that needs to be lived in purity of gesture and words. It allows you to mature in love, in concern and in attention for each other; it helps you to practice self-control and to develop your respect for each other. These are the characteristics of true love that does not place emphasis on seeking its own satisfaction or its own welfare. In your prayer together, ask the Lord to watch over and increase your love and to purify it of all selfishness. Do not hesitate to respond generously to the Lord's call, for Christian matrimony is truly and wholly a vocation in the Church. Likewise, dear young men and women, be ready to say "yes" if God should call you to follow the path of ministerial priesthood or the consecrated life. Your example will be one of encouragement for many of your peers who are seeking true happiness. Growing in love each day The third area of commitment that comes with love is that of daily life with its multiple relationships. I am particularly referring to family, studies, work and free time. Dear young friends, cultivate your talents, not only to obtain a social position, but also to help others to "grow". Develop your capacities, not only in order to become more "competitive" and "productive", but to be "witnesses of charity". In addition to your professional training, also make an effort to acquire religious knowledge that will help you to carry out your mission in a responsible way. In particular, I invite you to carefully study the social doctrine of the Church so that its principles may inspire and guide your action in the world. May the Holy Spirit make you creative in charity, persevering in your commitments, and brave in your initiatives, so that you will be able to offer your contribution to the building up of the "civilization of love". The horizon of love is truly boundless: it is the whole world! "Dare to love" by following the example of the saints My dear young friends, I want to invite you to "dare to love". Do not desire anything less for your life than a love that is strong and beautiful and that is capable of making the whole of your existence a joyful undertaking of giving yourselves as a gift to God and your brothers and sisters, in imitation of the One who vanquished hatred and death forever through love (cf Rev 5:13). Love is the only force capable of changing the heart of the human person and of all humanity, by making fruitful the relations between men and women, between rich and poor, between cultures and civilizations. This is shown to us in the lives of the saints. They are true friends of God who channel and reflect this very first love. Try to know them better, entrust yourselves to their intercession, and strive to live as they did. I shall just mention Mother Teresa. In order to respond instantly to the cry of Jesus, "I thirst", a cry that had touched her deeply, she began to take in the people who were dying on the streets of Calcutta in India. From that time onward, the only desire of her life was to quench the thirst of love felt by Jesus, not with words, but with concrete action by recognizing his disfigured countenance thirsting for love in the faces of the poorest of the poor. Blessed Teresa put the teachings of the Lord into practice: "Just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me" (Mt 25:40). The message of this humble witness of divine love has spread around the whole world. The secret of love Each one of us, my dear friends, has been given the possibility of reaching this same level of love, but only by having recourse to the indispensable support of divine Grace. Only the Lord's help will allow us to keep away from resignation when faced with the enormity of the task to be undertaken. It instills in us the courage to accomplish that which is humanly inconceivable. Contact with the Lord in prayer grounds us in humility and reminds us that we are "unworthy servants" (cf Lk 17:10). Above all, the Eucharist is the great school of love. When we participate regularly and with devotion in Holy Mass, when we spend a sustained time of adoration in the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, it is easier to understand the length, breadth, height and depth of his love that goes beyond all knowledge (cf Eph 3:17-18). By sharing the Eucharistic Bread with our brothers and sisters of the Church community, we feel compelled, like Our Lady with Elizabeth, to render "in haste" the love of Christ into generous service towards our brothers and sisters. Towards the encounter in Sydney On this subject, the recommendation of the apostle John is illuminating: "Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. And by this we will know that we are from the truth" (1 Jn 3:18-19). Dear young people, it is in this spirit that I invite you to experience the next World Youth Day together with your bishops in your respective dioceses. This will be an important stage on the way to the meeting in Sydney where the theme will be: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8). May Mary, the Mother of Christ and of the Church, help you to let that cry ring out everywhere, the cry that has changed the world: "God is love!" I am together with you all in prayer and extend to you my heartfelt blessing. From the Vatican, 27 January 2007 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI [Translation of Italian original issued by the Holy See] � Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Intentions:
-For married couples, that they may receive the Grace necessary to persevere…for life.
-For all the youth of the world.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, March 4th —6PM in the St. Faustina Room.
-Jason Evert will be at St. Bronislava next Wednesday. His talk is aimed at 7th-9th graders on "Romance without Regret"--in other words God's plan for relationships leading to holy (and lifelong!) marriages. This will be from 6:30-8:30PM and your parents are more then welcome!

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 2-13-07

2007-02-12T15:24:00.000-08:00

Note: After a 3 week hiatus…our parish email is now up and running again! And so we resume “Catholic Teens”

Hey All—
There is a story of St. Gregory (pope from 590-604AD). Upon greeting emissaries from the Emperor Justin of the east, he wished to send them off with some gift. He took these officials to the Colosseum, bent down and scooped up a handful of dirt onto a cloth. The officials were disappointed, having expected something much more valuable or something more splendid. After expressing this to Pope Gregory, he looked at them and said “you do not know what you have.” He then opened the cloth, and the dirt was bleeding.

For the dirt was from a place that had seen many, many Christians martyred for their faith. And the blood of the martyrs bears witness to the truth of the Faith. We are blessed in America to have the freedom to worship God, but such is not the case everywhere. In its annual report, the Vatican cites 24 missionaries who died this past year. In many parts of the world, particularly Arabic countries, the freedom to practice Christianity is sharply curtailed. Note also the 9 priests in China who were recently arrested for practicing their Faith. May we give thanks for what we have, and pray for our brothers and sisters who suffer for their faithfulness to Christ and His Church.

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Intentions:
-For peace in the world, we pray to the Lord.
-For all those discerning vocations, we pray to the Lord.
-For an end to the horror of abortion, we pray to the Lord.
-For all those considering an abortion, that they may choose Life and get the help they need., we pray to the Lord.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, February 18th—6PM in the St. Faustina Room.

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

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

Catholic Teens 1-9-07

2007-01-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hey All—
We are called to proclaim the Good News of Christ everywhere. That’s Jesus’ command (see Matthew 28:19-20). Today there are more ways then ever before to spread that message. The internet is one of those forums for spreading the Good News. Check out the Vatican website sometime www.vatican.va It’s one of the best sites out there. It’s also one of the more popular ones on the internet.
The next frontier is “blogging.” And we now have our first Cardinal with his own blog. Cardinal Sean O’Malley, archbishop of Boston has launched his own blog. In it he shares reflections, stories and commentary. Yet another way for him, as a shepherd, to connect with his flock and help spread the Good News.
I had to smile when I saw this posting of his. It’s a true story from when he was a younger priest:
As I mentioned before, I was a prison chaplain for two years in the 1960s in Butler County, Pennsylvania. I always tell the story about giving my first sermon in prison. I was very nervous and searching for a topic when I had this inspiration of great escapes in the Bible. So I talked about Daniel in the lion’s den, the three lads in the furnace, St. Paul going over the wall in the basket and St. Peter in chains. I had their rapt attention, but the problem was, that night six prisoners escaped from the prison. I thought my first prison assignment was going to be my last!
http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/
Question O' The Week:

“How do we know if everything is true?”
That’s an age old question. Recall that even Pontius Pilate asked Jesus that same thing, “What is truth?” Well Jesus answered it “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Light.” But how do you “know”? You look at the evidence. You look at the history. You look at what the teachings are. You look to what people you trust have to say. As one of my favorite professors used to say, “God gave you a brain, use it.” J

The beautiful thing about Christianity is that it makes sense. You can look at the history and discover that it really happened. You can look at the “experts” (the saints) and learn from them. If Christianity were not True, do you think Mother Teresa would’ve been so amazing? Everything she did was based on her faith. Unlike a lot of religions, Christianity puts forth everything it teaches and invites people to look at it, study it, critique it, and then act accordingly. And in the end, billions have found it to be True.

Many, many, many books have been written to answer the question you ask. To name a few, CS Lewis wrote “Mere Christianity” as an explanation regarding the truth of Christ. St. Augustine’s “Confessions” details his own discovery of the Faith. “The Case for Christ” details the story of a reporter who was an atheist. He decided to study the history behind Christianity from a journalist’s perspective. In the end he discovered it was true and converted to Christianity. Another book out there is “Rocked by God,” which came out of the Steubenville Conferences. That one is more geared specifically to teens. And of course, there is the popular book by Matthew Pinto, “Did Adam & Eve Have Belly Buttons” which answers all sorts of questions from teens.
Christianity is true, but don’t take my word for it—look at the evidence…after all, “God gave you a brain, use it.” J

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Intentions:
-For “Aunt Irene” who just had surgery this week, we pray to the Lord.
-For a couple starting the process of divorce that they may find healing, we pray to the Lord.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.

Announcements:

Fr. John Amsberry from Oregon will be coming Tuesday, February 13th to St. Mary’s of Mount Carmel Church in Fancher. 6:00-9:00PM All students grades 7-12 are invited. There will be music, food, and Fr. John’s presentation. Fr. John is a graduate of Stuebenville and even spoke at the Stuebenville Conference in San Diego this past summer. Some of you may remember him from when he came to St. Bronislava a few years ago.

He takes as his motto this quote from St. Therese of Lisieux “After my death, I will let fall a shower of roses. I will spend my heaven doing good upon earth. My mission is to make God loved…”
Check out his website at www.uareloved.com

Even more cool, is that a teenager, Samantha, is coordinating this event. Check it out!

The Youth Group, Generation JPII:
-The next meeting will likely be at the end of January. Stay Tuned!

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 1-16-07

2007-01-16T08:55:00.001-08:00

Hey All—
Next Monday is the 34th tragic anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion (Roe v. Wade). In recent years we have looked down our noses, aghast at how little, people (Catholics especially) appeared to do to prevent the Holocaust. “How could so many sit by idly amidst such horror?” “Why didn’t they do something?” we wonder. Remember Hitler was democratically elected. You already know where I’m going with this….
When the abortion holocaust has ended, history will also judge us by asking “what did you do to prevent such atrocities?”
Even more profound is what awaits us on Judgment Day when we come face to face with God to give an account of our own life. And when He asks, what did you do to prevent the killing of the most innocent in the womb? What did you do to help mothers in such difficult circumstances that they’d even consider an abortion? What did you do to vote into office those who would help make abortion illegal again? And how will we respond? There is no excuse for doing nothing. There are houses, (Hannah House) to help mothers in difficult circumstances. Do you support them? St. Peter’s Family Life Committee has set up a Spiritual Adoption prayer effort that lasts 9 months. Did you take advantage of that? This Monday there is a day of prayer at St. Peter’s for an end to this tragedy. Will you come? 3 busses from the Diocese of LaCrosse are taking young people to Washington D.C. for the National March for Life. Did you support them? When the time comes to give an accounting. how will you respond?
This year there are 3 busses of teenagers from our own Diocese who will be making the trip to Washington for the National March for Life. (A few years ago, there were only a handful of us. Let us pray for them, for their efforts, and join them spiritually in overcoming today’s holocaust.

Question O' The Week:

Abortion
Would you consider abortion in the following situations?

1. There’s a preacher and wife who are very, very, poor. They already have 14 kids. Now she finds out she’s pregnant with her 15th. They’re living in tremendous poverty. Considering their poverty, and the excessive world population (editorial note: overpopulation has now been shown to be false), would you consider recommending she get an abortion?

2. The father is sick with sniffles, the mother has TB. They have 4 children. The 1st is blind, the 2nd is dead; the 3rd is deaf; the 4th has TB. She finds she’s pregnant again. Given the extreme situation, would you consider recommending an abortion?

3. A white man raped a 13 year-old black girl and she got pregnant. If you were her parents, would you consider recommending abortion?

4. A teenage girl is pregnant. She’s not married. Her finace’ is not the father of the baby and he’s very upset. Would you consider recommending abortion?

-In the first case, you have just killed John Wesley, one of the great evangelists of the 19th century.

-In the second case, you have killed Beethoven.

-In the third case, you have killed Ethel Waters, the great black gospel singer.

-If you said “yes” in the fourth case, you have just declared the murder of Jesus Christ!

-Author Unknown

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Intentions:
-For the Kluck family and the husband who may have cancer again, we pray to the Lord.
-For all those traveling to Washington for the March for Life, especially our own Fr. Sakowski, Danny, Arturo, & Jennifer, we pray to the Lord.
-For an end to the horror of abortion, we pray to the Lord.
-For all those considering an abortion, that they may choose Life and get the help they need., we pray to the Lord.
-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 scheduled for Sunday, February 4th—Watching the Super Bowl on the big screen in Kolbe Hall!

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 tha

Catholic Teens 1-2-07

2007-01-02T09:27:00.001-08:00

Hey All—
Mary is sometimes referred to as “the new Eve”. Meaning that she was the one who “fixed” Eve’s sin. Recall that it was Eve that helped bring original sin into the world, through eating the forbidden fruit. “The knot of Eve’s disobedience, was untied by the “Yes” of Mary’s obedience.” So what would it be like if Eve came to Mary? Take a look at this beautiful reflection::
When Eve came to Bethlehem
Little is written of Eve, other than two references to her in the book of Genesis and two in the New Testament.
Few think of her at Christmas, when Mary takes center stage next to Jesus.
Recently,I came across a beautiful story about Eve in the January '07 issue of First Things journal.
It was written by two French authors, Jerome Tharaud and Jean Tharaud, and is included in the book "Contes de Noel" (Seuil, 1997).
As Christians celebrate the birth of Christ, perhaps this story will deepen your appreciation of what the incarnation reveals, all the way back to the beginning:
"It was Bethlehem, the end of a long night. The star had just disappeared, and the last pilgrim had left the stable. The Virgin arranged the straw: at last the Child could sleep. But who can sleep the night of Christmas?
"Gently the door opens, so gently that it seems more like the wind was pushing it than a hand. A woman appears on the threshold, covered with rags. She was so old and wrinkled that you would have thought her mouth was one more deep wrinkle in a face the color of dirt.
"A fearful chill came over Mary when she saw her, as if a malicious fairy had come into the room. Fortunately Jesus was asleep. The ass and ox placidly continued munching their hay, as if there was nothing unusual, as if they had known her forever.
"The Virgin didn't take her eyes off her. The woman walked slowly, each step seeming to take centuries. She continued, the old woman, and approached the manger. Thank God, Jesus was still sleeping. How can one sleep on Christmas night?
"Suddenly he opened his eyelids. His mother was completely astonished to see that the eyes of the old woman and his eyes were exactly the same, they both shone with the same hope. The old woman sank down on the straw. One hand disappeared into her rags, looking for something, taking ages to find it.
"Mary watched her closely, still concerned. The animals watched her, too, but always without surprise, as if they knew beforehand what was going to happen.
"Finally, after a long time, slowly, tiredly, the old woman pulls out of her clothes a little object hidden in her hand, and she gives it to the child. All the treasures of the Wise Men and the offerings of the Shepherds, what could this be?
"From where she was, Mary could not tell. She saw only the shoulders bowed down, the woman's back, bent over from age, now bent over even more before the crib, and the Child within it. The ox and ass watched, and were not amazed.
"The woman stayed bowed before the Child a long time. Finally she arose, as if relieved from a great weight which had dragged her to the ground. Her shoulders were no longer bowed down, her head almost touched the low roof, her face seemed miraculously renewed, as if she was finding once more the vigor of her youth.
"She turned from the crib, smiled at Mary, and went out through the door into the dawning day. Finally Mary could see the mysterious present.
"An apple, a little apple, having within it all the sin of the world, given to the baby Jesus by Eve, for it was her, the old woman, who had come to worship the Child born of her blood, who would save her from her sins. The apple of the original sin, and the sin of so many who would follow her.
"And the little red apple shone in the hands of the Child, as if it were the globe of the kingdom and of the new world which had just been born with the King."
Reprinted by Tom Schaefer at 316-268-6586 at the Kansas City Eagle

Question O' The Week:

Time for some more questions….feel free to send them in!

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Intentions:
-For one of our teen’s grandparent who died last week, we pray to the Lord.
-For peace in this new year, we pray to the Lord.
-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 12-19-06

2006-12-19T09:23:00.001-08:00

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

2006-12-12T08:56:00.000-08:00

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.

Catholic Teens 11-28-06

2006-11-28T07:36:00.000-08:00

Hey All—
What are the odds that creation came about “by chance” or apart from God?
Some people claim all life was created “by chance” through a bunch of chemicals and ingredients coming together “just perfectly.” This claim is hard to back up based on the odds alone. Take a look at this:
The “Odds of Life Created by Chance”
“The very simplest life form…would be comprised of 239 protein molecules, each of these containing an average of 445 amino acids of at least 20 different types and all 445 precisely slotted into position. The probability that such a simple creature would come together by chance (and none so simple has been found yet to exist) would be 1 x 10 to the 137,915 power. “Furthermore…each amino acid must first be activated by a specific enzyme, multiple special enzymes are required to bind messenger RNA to ribosomes before synthesis can begin or end, and with the exception of glycerine, only amino acids with left handed configurations can be used in protein synthesis. When you take all of these factors into account, the chance that a simple form of life could arise spontaneously by chance is: 1 x 10 to the 15,000,000,000 power.”-Hugh Ross, Genesis One: A Scientific Perspective, as cited in The Journal/ August 2006
-Put another way, the odds of everyone coming together so perfectly to create and sustain life “by chance” is equivalent to finding one needle in the middle of the solar system…that’s not a haystack, but the entirety of the whole solar system.

Question O' The Week:
“Can you become a Angel? And if you can how?”
-Nope. It’s a common mistake, incidentally, that traces its roots to the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life”. “Every time a bell rings….an angel gets its wings” at least according to Hollywood. J

Angels are purely spiritual beings. They are completely different from humans. In fact, they existed before God created Adam and Eve. The role of an angel is to be God’s messengers, help you and me get to Heaven, and do battle against the devil and the spiritual forces of evil.

Similarly, angels are not cute little things. They are imposing and powerful beings. In fact, whenever an angel appears in the Bible, the person generally responds in fear—because the angel is so powerful.

So while we don’t become angels, we should be glad they’re helping us on our way to Heaven! And we can thank them, both in our prayers now and in heaven—especially our guardian angel!

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Intentions:
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, especially on his trip to Turkey.
-For the upcoming visit to St. John Vianney Seminary that Fr. Sakowski is leading this weekend for young men, as they discern if God is calling them to the priesthood.
-For Cheryl, a parishioner who has been having eye problems, along with a spot they found on her brain, which they haven’t diagnosed yet.
-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, December 3rd, 6-8PM. We’ll be making Christmas cards for our parishioners in the nursing homes. 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.

Catholic Teens 11-21-06

2006-11-21T07:42:00.001-08:00

Hey All—

One of the beautiful truths of the Catholic Faith is how all of us are spiritually tied in together in Christ’s body. Hence, the prayers we offer for each other, whether they be local or global, do indeed make a difference. Pope Benedict will be going to Turkey next week on a pilgrimage for peace and dialog. Turkey is a majority Muslim country. As you can imagine there have been threats and rumors of violence. While we cannot be there physically with our Holy Father, we can be with him spiritually—praying for the success and safety of his trip.

One group, the Knights of Columbus are spearheading this effort. They have composed a prayer that anyone who wishes to support the Pope can say. My family and I will start saying it this Thanksgiving and continue through December 1st. I’d encourage you to do the same.

Here’s the prayer:
Spiritual Pilgrimage With Pope Benedict XVI
Prayer composed by Bishop William E. Lori, supreme chaplain, for the Spiritual Pilgrimage with His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI on his Nov. 28-Dec. 1 pastoral visit to Turkey.

Heavenly Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name, we humbly ask that you sustain, inspire, and protect your servant, Pope Benedict XVI, as he goes on pilgrimage to Turkey – a land to which St. Paul brought the Gospel of your Son; a land where once the Mother of your Son, the Seat of Wisdom, dwelt; a land where faith in your Son’s true divinity was definitively professed. Bless our Holy Father, who comes as a messenger of truth and love to all people of faith and good will dwelling in this land so rich in history. In the power of the Holy Spirit, may this visit of the Holy Father bring about deeper ties of understanding, cooperation, and peace among Roman Catholics, the Orthodox, and those who profess Islam. May the prayers and events of these historic days greatly contribute both to greater accord among those who worship you, the living and true God, and also to peace in our world so often torn apart by war and sectarian violence.
\n We also ask, O Heavenly Father, that you watch over and protect Pope \n Benedict and entrust him to the loving care of Mary, under the title of \n Our Lady of Fatima, a title cherished both by Catholics and Muslims. \n Through her prayers and maternal love, may Pope Benedict be kept safe from \n all harm as he prays, bears witness to the Gospel, and invites all peoples \n to a dialogue of faith, reason, and love. We make our prayer through \n Christ, our Lord. Amen.\n\n",0]
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We also ask, O Heavenly Father, that you watch over and protect Pope Benedict and entrust him to the loving care of Mary, under the title of Our Lady of Fatima, a title cherished both by Catholics and Muslims. Through her prayers and maternal love, may Pope Benedict be kept safe from all harm as he prays, bears witness to the Gospel, and invites all peoples to a dialogue of faith, reason, and love. We make our prayer through Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Question O' The Week:
In honor of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d share some things to be “thankful for” in place of the regular “Question O’ The Week”. You’ll notice these very hopeful things in the Diocese all concern young people….your peers. Good things are happening! And perhaps you’ll partake in some of these activities next summer? J
Things to be thankful for:
-200 Middle and High Schoolers from the Diocese of La Crosse attended Adventure Camp this July.
-13 young men and women have entered the Seminary and Religious Life from Aquinas High School is four years!
-17 young women who have visited Mater Redemptoris Convent and House of Formation have entered Apostolic or Contemplative Religious Life since its beginning in August 2000.
-32,000 high school teens attended Steubenville Youth Conferences this summer throughout the country and our Diocese of La Crosse sponsored four different trips (St. Paul, St. Louis, San Diego, and Louisiana).
-4 Mission Trips were sponsored by the Diocese of La Crosse for youth to Peru, Mexico, Columbia, and Lourdes.
-Over 350 young girls have visited Mater Redemptoris Convent and House of Formation is six years.
-In the last four years, 4 seminarians from Holy Cross Seminary and House of Formation have gone on for studies to the priesthood.
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Intentions:
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, especially on his trip to Turkey.
-That all may realize the source of all their blessings, and be truly thankful to God.
-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, December 3rd, 6-8PM. We’ll be making Christmas cards for our parishioners in the nursing homes. 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.

Catholic Teens 11-14-06

2006-11-14T09:17:00.000-08:00

Hey All—

We celebrated Veteran’s Day this past Saturday. Further down you’ll see a heartwarming picture of one of our soldier’s in Iraq. To offer oneself in service of their country is a noble endeavor. And we should commend those men and women who risk their lives in defense of others. “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” –John 15:13

A tough but heartwarming story and a picture of a medical Chief, John Gebhardt in Iraq. This little girl's entire family was executed...they intended to execute her also and shot her in the head...but they failed to kill her. She was cared for by John's hospital and healing up, but has been crying and moaning. The nurses said John is the only one she seems to calm down with, so John has spent the last 4 nights holding her while they both slept in this chair.
The girl is coming along with her healing.

As one priest said, “where there is love, sacrifice is easy.” And God bless our veterans and all those who serve America.
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Question O' The Week:
“Why do we say ‘God bless’ when someone sneezes?”
-I’ve heard 3 explanations for this.
1. That when you sneeze your heart stops for that moment, hence, “God bless you” is a good thing!
2. In times past, when diseases like the Bubonic Plague were ravaging the world, sneezing was a way of spreading the illness (which was deadly). Hence, “God bless you.”
3. Finally, one old legend was that evil spirits could enter into you when you sneezed because your eyes were closed and your mouth was open. (Yes, I’m serious.) To ward off these evil spirits, people would say “God bless you.”
-Feel free to correct me if you know of any other source for this tradition….either way, it’s a good thing and I’ll take all the “blessings” I can get!

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Intentions:
-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.

Catholic Teens 11-7-06

2006-11-07T07:40:00.000-08:00

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.

Catholic Teens 10-31-06

2006-10-31T07:03:00.000-08:00

Hey All—
We celebrate All Saints Day on Wednesday. There are billions of saints(all those in Heaven) and there are only 365 days a year. How to honor each one? Some get their own day..like St. Martin de Porres this Friday, but the majority don’t. Hence, All Saints Day, where we honor all the holy men and women that went before us. It is a day of celebration. And if you had lived 500 years ago, it’d be a national holiday, with no work or school J Too bad times have changed….

Realize that those saints in Heaven are also praying for you and me to someday join them!

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Question O' The Week:
“Why is the Catholic Church negatively portrayed so often in the movies and news.”

-Very perceptive question. Some of the negatives are self-inflicted through the sins of certain members of the Church. Yet, much of it isn’t. The things the Church stands for are often at odds with what segments of society want to see. The majority in the entertainment industry and news are pro-abortion, pro-embryonic stem cell research, pro-homosexual marriage, and against having too much to do or say about God. The Catholic Church, because of its size, tradition, and especially, Divine founding, is the organization that stands in the way of a lot of those things happening. If they can defeat the Church, it’s all the better for what they want.

On a deeper spiritual level, you have to ask what else is behind the attacks on the Church. God established the Church as His instrument on earth to help people get to heaven. The devil certainly doesn’t like that. And the devil is going to do everything he can to attack the church. And the devil can certainly use entertainment or news.

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Intentions:
-For those Confirmed at St. Peter’s this past Sunday, that they may be bold proclaimers of the Gospel, using the Gifts they’ve received in service to God.
-For the election next Tuesday, 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 5th 6-8PM. We’ll be talking about Prayer with Fr. Louis. He’s always a treat! 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.

Catholic Teens 10-24-06

2006-10-24T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hey All—
We just finished our 2nd weekend of Confirmation retreats. After reading the evaluations, it looks like everyone had a good time and got closer to God in the process. A retreat is not supposed to be a boring event. A good retreat refreshes a person. It allows for the opportunity to get away from the chaos of our every day life and take a step back to focus on the deeper issues of life. Our lives can be so busy and so noisy that God gets pushed into the background. A retreat helps us to “re-connect” and provides a fruitful environment for that to occur. Likewise, it is not unusual to have a profound spiritual experience of God at a retreat. These are important, because we carry this experience and memory with us through our whole life. And these events help to sustain us through the doubts and hard times.

And lest anyone think that a retreat has to be nothing but prayer on your knees, ask the students who convinced Fr. Louis to play charades last weekend with them! Or the guys who I spent an hour and a half playing football with and then rock climbing J

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Question O' The Week:
“How can we get better at seeing Christ in others?”

-Good question. It is what we’re all called to do, but it’s easier said then done.
The easiest way to get closer to Christ. Take a look at Mark 12:28-31 where Jesus enunciates the Greatest Commandment. Notice what comes first. “Loving God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” After that comes “loving your neighbor.” Jesus does this on purpose. If you truly love God above everything and with your whole being, you CAN’T help but love others as He does. It’s impossible to fully love God and not love your neighbors. Why? Because to get close to God is to then view everyone else as God does—with eyes of Love.

Do this and you will no longer be viewing others from a mere human standpoint, but through the eyes of God. And you will see each person as beloved in His eyes, even if disfigured by sin; and like the eyes of God, desiring that they come back to Him. And who knows, you might just be the instrument He uses for that end.

Again, easier said then done, but possible with God’s help. If you make an effort to pray frequently and even ask God directly to help you with this, He will. I often encourage college students to pray the Rosary when walking to class. That helps keep Jesus constantly before you and hence also before those you see.

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Intentions:
-For those being Confirmed at St. Peter’s this Sunday.
-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 5th 6-8PM. We’ll be talking about Prayer! Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held the 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month
****In addition it sounds like there’ll be a pumpkin carving outing coming up in the near future J

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 10-24-06

2006-10-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Catholic Teens 10-17-06

2006-10-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

Hey All—
Check out the story of this priest in Vietnam. What an amazing story of faith. And it’s awesome how he can look at his imprisonment as being part of the mission God had for him.
Imprisonment a Mission of Faith for PriestSpent 12 Years in Vietnamese Jail ROME, OCT. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Far from considering his imprisonment in Vietnam a tragedy, Father Joseph Nguyen Cong Doan sees it as a mission of evangelization. Speaking on Vatican Radio, the priest commented on his 12 years in a Vietnamese jail, accused of being a counter-revolutionary. Father Doan, 65, is a native of Vietnam, and was ordained a priest of the Society of Jesus in 1970. He was studying in Rome at the Biblical Institute when, in 1975, he was sent to Vietnam shortly before the fall of Saigon. The city name was changed to Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 when the Communist government took over. "The first 15 years" in the country, "that is, until the fall of the Berlin Wall, were very hard due to prejudices caused by history," explained the Vietnamese priest on Vatican Radio.
\nBecause "Western colonialism generated great confusion\nbetween the Church and colonialism itself ... there were many\nprejudices which made life hard. The Communist government suspected the\nChurch of being an accomplice of colonialism, so the Church\nsuffered from very tight control measures," said Father Doan.\n\nSpeaking of\nthe years he spent in prison, the priest said: "I\nnever regarded this sentence as a tragedy. For me it\nwas a mission."\n\nIt was a mission "with the prisoners, because\nit was the only way they could have a chaplain,"\nas "priests could not enter prisons."\n\nIn prison, "we were able\nto help much in clarifying numerous aspects, very many suspicions\nagainst the Church," "and a sort of dialogue was born,"\nhe said.\n\nPriestly presence\n\nThere were "political prisoners and ordinary prisoners" in\nthe jail. However, "the presence of a priest was very\nrespected, including by non-Christians," said the priest.\n\nMoreover, "many means" were\nfound "to celebrate Mass discreetly and to distribute Communion and\nthe sacrament of reconciliation to Catholic prisoners," stated Father Doan.\n\n"The\nChurch has always sought to contribute and cooperate in rebuilding\nthe country after so many years of war. Thus, little\nby little, a good relationship has been created. The seminaries\nare also full of young people. There are now seven\nseminaries in the country. It is still not enough, but\nit is already a lot," he explained on Vatican Radio.\n\nIn\nso far as professing the faith at present, without the\nrisk of persecution, Father Doan said that "problems are still\nperceived for those Churches that declare themselves to the government,\nbut everything is public for the Catholic Church; therefore, they\nare no longer afraid of Catholics.\n\n"The clearest teaching is that\nof St. Peter, who says we must always be prepared\nto give the reason for the hope that is in\nus, with love, patience and respect."\n",1]
);
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Because "Western colonialism generated great confusion between the Church and colonialism itself ... there were many prejudices which made life hard. The Communist government suspected the Church of being an accomplice of colonialism, so the Church suffered from very tight control measures," said Father Doan. Speaking of the years he spent in prison, the priest said: "I never regarded this sentence as a tragedy. For me it was a mission." It was a mission "with the prisoners, because it was the only way they could have a chaplain," as "priests could not enter prisons." In prison, "we were able to help much in clarifying numerous aspects, very many suspicions against the Church," "and a sort of dialogue was born," he said. Priestly presence There were "political prisoners and ordinary prisoners" in the jail. However, "the presence of a priest was very respected, including by non-Christians," said the priest. Moreover, "many means" were found "to celebrate Mass discreetly and to distribute Communion and the sacrament of reconciliation to Catholic prisoners," stated Father Doan. "The Church has always sought to contribute and cooperate in rebuilding the country after so many years of war. Thus, little by little, a good relationship has been created. The seminaries are also full of young people. There are now seven seminaries in the country. It is still not enough, but it is already a lot," he explained on Vatican Radio. In so far as professing the faith at present, without the risk of persecution, Father Doan said that "problems are still perceived for those Churches that declare themselves to the government, but everything is public for the Catholic Church; therefore, they are no longer afraid of Catholics. "The clearest teaching is that of St. Peter, who says we must always be prepared to give the reason for the hope that is in us, with love, patience and respect."
\n"So, after many years, the\nChurch in Vietnam has been able to create a dialogue,\nand, every year, the Holy See can send a delegation\nto the country to address several questions regarding the life\nof the Church ... though there are no diplomatic relations\nbetween the two states," he added.\n\n"All this is the result\nof the spirit of love, patience and respect, as St.\nPeter affirmed," said Father Doan.\n\nVietnam has over 80 million inhabitants,\nmore than 80% of whom do not practice any creed.\nIt is estimated that Catholics number more than 6 million\nand it is thought that between 80-90% of Catholics are\nactive.\n \nZE06101029\nemail this article\nTOP\n\n1st Knight-of-Columbus-Bishop to Be CanonizedRafael Guízar Valencia Known for His Zeal\n\nROME,\nOCT. 10, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Bishop Rafael Guízar Valencia will\nbecome the seventh Knight of Columbus to be canonized, but\nthe first bishop of the Catholic organization to be declared\na saint.\n \nPope John Paul II declared six other knights\nsaints in 2000, all of whom were martyred in Mexico\nduring the persecutions of the 1920s and 1930s.\n\n"We welcome the\ncanonization of our brother knight, Bishop Guízar Valencia, and know\nthat his life of courage and legacy of evangelization will\nbe an inspiration to each of our 1.7 million members\naround the world," said Carl Anderson, supreme knight.\n\nAnderson said that\nhe will attend the Oct. 15 canonization ceremony in Rome,\npresided over by Benedict XVI.\n\nRafael Guízar Valencia (1878 -1938) was\nborn in Cotija de la Paz, Michoacan, Mexico, and ordained\na priest in 1901.\n",1]
);
//-->
"So, after many years, the Church in Vietnam has been able to create a dialogue, and, every year, the Holy See can send a delegation to the country to address several questions regarding the life of the Church ... though there are no diplomatic relations between the two states," he added. "All this is the result of the spirit of love, patience and respect, as St. Peter affirmed," said Father Doan. Vietnam has over 80 million inhabitants, more than 80% of whom do not practice any creed. It is estimated that Catholics number more than 6 million and it is thought that between 80-90% of Catholics are active. ZE0610102

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Question O' The Week:

How do you talk to a Protestant about "Being Saved"? (Part II)
-Chances are anyone asking you that question has a familiarity with the Bible. So, in order to debate on their ground, you need to cite the Bible as well.

Recall that the Church teaches that “being saved” is an ongoing process. St. Paul taught this in Philippians 2:12 “work our your salvation with fear and trembling.” Elsewhere he talks about “running the race” as an ongoing process of conversion, conforming ourselves to God.

There is an Apologetics Concordance put out by San Juan Catholic Seminars, copyright 1999. This is an excellent resource that cites the above verse and those that follow:

Salvation as a Past Event: “I have been saved”
Rom 8:24 “for in hope we were saved”
Eph 2:5, 8 “by grace you have been saved through faith”
2 Tim 1:9 “he saved us, called us, according to his grace”
Titus 3:5 “he saved us thru the bath of rebirth, renewal by Holy Spirit”

Salvation as a Present Event: “I am being saved”
Phil 2:12 –See above
1 Peter 1:9 “as you attain the goal of your faith, salvation”
Salvation as a Future Event “I will be saved”
Mt 10:22 “he who endures to the end will be saved”
Mt 24:13 “he who perseveres to the end will be saved”
Mk 8:35 “whoever loses his life for my sake will save it”
Acts 15:11 “we shall be saved through the grace of Jesus.”
Romans 5:9-10 “since we are justified we shall be saved”
Romans 13:11 “salvation is nearer now than first believed”
1 Cor 3:15 “he will be saved, but only as through fire”
Heb 9:28 “Jesus will appear second time to bring salvation”

As you can see, the Bible taken in totality, points toward an ongoing process of “being saved.” Which, not surprisingly is what the Catholic Church teaches. You are now equipped next time someone asks you that question. You started being saved at Baptism and have been going forward ever since, and by the Grace of God, will keep “being saved” all the way to Heaven.

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Intentions:
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For the victims of the earthquake in Hawaii
-For the boys Confirmation Retreat this weekend.
-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 5th 6-8PM. We’ll be talking about Prayer! Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held the 1st & 3rd Sunday of each month
****In addition it sounds like there’ll be a pumpkin carving outing coming up in the near future.

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 10-10-06

2006-10-10T07:42:00.000-07:00

Hey All—

This prayer card was passed on to me:
No Time
I knelt to pray, but not for long,
I had too much to do,
Must hurry off and get to work
For bills would soon be due.

And so I said a hurried prayer,
Jumped up from off my knees;
My Christian duty now was done,
My soul could be at ease.

All through the day I had no time
To speak a word of cheer,
No time to speak of Christ to friends
They’d laugh at me, I feared.

No time, no time, too much to do—
That was my constant cry;
No time to give to those in need—
At last ‘twas time to die.

And when before the Lord I came,
I stood with downcast eyes,
Within His hands He held a Book.
It was the “Book of Life.”

God looked into His Book and said,
“Your name I cannot find,
I once was going to write it down,
But never found the time.”
-Copyright Fratelli Bonella-Italy

Quite a striking little poem.

Now there are all sorts of ways one can argue, cajole, or try to persuade someone to go to Mass every Sunday.

Yet, on a certain level it all boils down to: God said to do it. So do it. Period. End of Debate. Ever try arguing with God? It doesn’t work too well. As someone wisely commented, “they’re not the 10 Recommendations.”

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Question O' The Week:

How do you talk to a Protestant about "Being Saved"?
-The Catholic teaching (and the teaching for the past 2000 years) is that “being saved” that is getting to Heaven…is a lifelong process. It is the choice every day to follow God as opposed to one’s own desires or the various temptations of the world. We start “being saved” at our Baptism, when we are made “children of God.” To the extent that we live that out the rest of our life…we are continually “being saved.”

Now Protestants..that is those Christians who aren’t Catholic tend to have a different understanding of this. It’s complicated further by the fact that their view depends on which branch of protestant they are. For instance, someone who goes to Woodlands or any non-denominational church will have a different view then someone who’s a Lutheran. So the first step, once you understand what the Catholic teaching is, is to find out where they are at—what they believe.

Then you can engage them. And I’ll write more about that next week J

*Note---I’m running low on questions…so send them on in.
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Intentions:
-For the girls from St. Peter's on their Confirmation Retreat this weekend.
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-In thanksgiving for Fr. Dennis Worzella’s recovery and return!
-For a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
-For persecuted Christians.

-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, October 15th 6-8PM. We’ll be talking about Modesty & Chastity—anybody think those aren’t needed today?! 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: 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 10-10-06

2006-10-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

Hey All—

This prayer card was passed on to me:
No Time
I knelt to pray, but not for long,
I had too much to do,
Must hurry off and get to work
For bills would soon be due.

And so I said a hurried prayer,
Jumped up from off my knees;
My Christian duty now was done,
My soul could be at ease.

All through the day I had no time
To speak a word of cheer,
No time to speak of Christ to friends
They’d laugh at me, I feared.

No time, no time, too much to do—
That was my constant cry;
No time to give to those in need—
At last ‘twas time to die.

And when before the Lord I came,
I stood with downcast eyes,
Within His hands He held a Book.
It was the “Book of Life.”

God looked into His Book and said,
“Your name I cannot find,
I once was going to write it down,
But never found the time.”
-Copyright Fratelli Bonella-Italy

Quite a striking little poem.

Now there are all sorts of ways one can argue, cajole, or try to persuade someone to go to Mass every Sunday.

Yet, on a certain level it all boils down to: God said to do it. So do it. Period. End of Debate. Ever try arguing with God? It doesn’t work too well. As someone wisely commented, “they’re not the 10 Recommendations.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' The Week:

How do you talk to a Protestant about "Being Saved"?
-The Catholic teaching (and the teaching for the past 2000 years) is that “being saved” that is getting to Heaven…is a lifelong process. It is the choice every day to follow God as opposed to one’s own desires or the various temptations of the world. We start “being saved” at our Baptism, when we are made “children of God.” To the extent that we live that out the rest of our life…we are continually “being saved.”

Now Protestants..that is those Christians who aren’t Catholic tend to have a different understanding of this. It’s complicated further by the fact that their view depends on which branch of protestant they are. For instance, someone who goes to Woodlands or any non-denominational church will have a different view then someone who’s a Lutheran. So the first step, once you understand what the Catholic teaching is, is to find out where they are at—what they believe.

Then you can engage them. And I’ll write more about that next week J

*Note---I’m running low on questions…so send them on in.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intentions:
-For the girls from St. Peter's on their Confirmation Retreat this weekend.
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-In thanksgiving for Fr. Dennis Worzella’s recovery and return!
-For a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff with North Korea.
-For persecuted Christians.

-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, October 15th 6-8PM. We’ll be talking about Modesty & Chastity—anybody think those aren’t needed today?! 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.

Catholic Teens 10-3-06

2006-10-03T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hey All—

Salesman for God

The priest who helped facilitate my return to the Catholic Church had a great line:

When someone would complain about God or the Church He established, Fr. Dulek would look at them and say “That’s a question for management, I’m in sales.”

Of course the conversation did not end there, and Father was happy to go deeper, but it reflects the role we have.

We’re all in the sales department. We don’t make up the rules, we just implement them. And going further, we’re not in charge of all the background details, we just present the product…Christianity. God does the rest.

Indeed, we get into trouble when we start thinking “it all depends on us.” It doesn’t. We’re just the instruments. God is the one who moves hearts.

Of course, a good salesman totally believes in his or her product, and is therefore much more convincing. The more convinced we are of our “product” Christianity, the more effective we’ll be as “salesman for God”.

(By the way, I wasn’t Catholic 7 years ago---but that’s a story for another time J ).

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Question O' The Week:

“If God is all forgiving, why would He throw Adam & Eve into Hell for just eating an apple?”

-Well we don’t know if Adam & Eve are in hell. And God is all-forgiving. But you have to want that forgiveness. Remember, the people in hell don’t want anything to do with God, much less forgiveness from Him. The people in hell have rejected God completely.

-As far as “just for eating an apple.” You could say that about any sin. “It’s just a lie.” “It’s just sex outside of marriage.” “It’s just an abortion.” At the root of all sin is a choice to do the opposite of what God desires. The same evil intention is there whether the sin is “serious” or “small”. And of course, the “small” sins lead to bigger ones.

-Even though it was just a piece of fruit, it was done to challenge God so that, in the words of the serpent, “they could become like gods.”

*Note: Time for you guys to send in some more questions…I’m getting low J

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Intentions:
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For a family, formerly of Stevens Point, who just experienced a miscarriage.
-For Jan (my Mom) who is having surgery tomorrow.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For the continued recovery of Fr. Dennis Worzella
(He is hoping to come back to Stevens Point soon!)

-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September.
The next meeting is Sunday night, October 15th 6-8PM. We’ll be talking about Modesty & Chastity—anybody think those aren’t needed today?! 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.

Catholic Teens 9-26-06

2006-09-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

Hey All—

On September 17th, an Italian sister was killed in Somalia. She had spent her life in Africa helping the sick and vulnerable. How amazing it was that with her last breaths she spoke of forgiveness for those who had shot her. Click on the link below to see the full story.

Murdered nun asked forgiveness for killers as she lay dying, colleagues say The Associated PressSister Leonella, a nun who devoted her life to helping the sick in volatile regions of Africa, used to joke that there was a bullet with her name engraved on it in Somalia. When the bullet came, she used her last breaths to forgive those responsible.http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/09/18/africa/AF_GEN_Somalia_Nun_Killed.php

As our Lord said, “There is no greater love then for one to lay down their life for another….” May Sister Leonella pray for us in heaven!

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Question O' The Week:

“Why was Peter hung upside down on the Cross?”
-He requested it. He did not feel worthy to die in the same way as His Lord did. So he asked that he be crucified upside down. The Romans, happy to get rid of him, had no problem honoring his request.

Now Crucifixion is a painful enough way to die---in fact it’s one of the most painful ways period. Crucifixion upside down is even more painful.

What amazing love Peter had for Jesus!

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Intentions:
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For the continued recovery of Fr. Dennis Worzella
(He is now out of the hospital and recovering at his sister’s in D.C. Although his kidneys are still not working.)

-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September.
The next meeting is Sunday night, October 1st 6-8PM. We’ll be sharing stories from the summer Peru Mission Trip. 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 in

Catholic Teens 9-19-06

2006-09-19T06:53:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

You may have read about or seen on the news the controversy in the Muslim world over Pope Benedict’s recent remarks.

Some comments:
-Anybody with even a minimal understanding of Pope Benedict knows he was not trying to provoke a conflict.

-Very few people appear to have read the whole of his speech, which once again denounced any connection between God, religion and violence. This is not a new theme. In fact, when he last visited Germany for World Youth Day in the summer of 2005 he actually met with various Muslim leaders. One of his key exhortations to them, in addition to continuing dialog, was the need for them to denounce violence in the name of Islam. Unfortunately, too often this has not been carried out. (Simply follow the daily news reports).

Finally, Jimmy Akin, an excellent Catholic writer and commentator, hits the nail on the head with this statement:

From Jimmy Akin via: http://jimmyakin.typepad.com/defensor_fidei/2006/09/b16_clarifies.html

He is strong and resolute in his defense of the truth and willing to say unpleasant things when needed, but to deliberately provoke this situation is simply not Benedict's way of doing things. His way is the one described above, of promoting a dialogue that seeks to de-couple religion and violence.This is an intense time of suffering for him and for all those Christians who are at risk of Muslim violence.
Amen to that.

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Question O' The Week:

“What is the best way to get closer to God?”

Pope Benedict XVI recently answered this, “Be with him.” The best way to get closer to God is to spend time with Him. It’s the same way we get close to friends—we talk, we enjoy each other’s company, we spend time together.

How do we spend time with Him? There are all sorts of ways. Prayer—talking to Him. Eucharistic Adoration is about the best way. Just sitting in His Presence. You know when you’re with a good friend, how you can have fun whether you have formal plans or whether you’re just “hanging out”? It’s that way with God too.

Reading the Bible is another excellent way. Start with the Gospels or the Acts of the Apostles and read what God has to say to you.

Of course the Sacraments are a real encounter with God. You want to get really close to Him? Go to confession—and then you’ll have any roadblocks removed from the path to Him—and you will really feel and experience His love for you.

Finally, learning about God. As I’ve said before, “To know Him is to love Him.”

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Intentions:
-For our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For an end to violence in the name of religion.
-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September.
The next meeting is Sunday night, October 1st 6-8PM. We’ll be sharing stories from the summer Peru Mission Trip. Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held 2 Sundays a month! Watch for more info!

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 9-12-06

2006-09-12T07:56:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

Do Catholics regularly read the Bible? We’re supposed too! J

St. Jerome, who first translated the Bible in the 300’s, called “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Strong words, but true. Similarly, the Church encourages all people to prayerfully read the riches contained in the Word of God.

Below are some jokes from the Bible…in order to “get” them you need some knowledge of it. How many did you “get:”? Start reading J

Smiles from the Bible Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth? A. Ruthless. Q. What do they call pastors in Germany ? A. German Shepherds. Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible? A. Noah He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation. Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible? A. Pharaoh's daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet. Q. What kind of motor vehicles are in the Bible? A. God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David's Triumph was heard throughout the land. Also, probably a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord. Q.. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible? A. Samson. He brought the house down. Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden ? A. Your mother ate us out of house and home. Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible? A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once. Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy? A. The area around Jordan The banks were always overflowing. Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible? A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Q. Which Bible character had no parents? A. Joshua, son of Nun. Q. Why didn't they play cards on the Ark ? A. Because Noah was standing on the deck. (Groan...) PS... Did you know it's wrong for a woman to make coffee? Yup, it's in the Bible. It says . . . "He-brews" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' The Week:

“How long did Jesus suffer before he actually died?”

-His ‘Passion” began following the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. After the meal He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, where the Bible says he literally “sweated blood” because of the stress He was under. After that He was arrested and, over the next roughly 16 hours, He was tried in court, scourged, beaten, spit on and carried the Cross. Traditionally we hold that He was on the Cross from Noon to 3PM when He died.

So one can estimate 19 or so hours of physical torment. Who knows how much mental torment He suffered. He knew what was going to happen, well before it actually happened.
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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For all the victims of 9/11 and healing where hurt remains.
-For all students as they return to school.
-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September.
The first meeting is Sunday night, September 17th! @ 6PM. Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held 2 Sundays a month! Watch for more info!

We’ll be back next year!

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 9-5-06

2006-09-05T07:48:00.001-07:00

Hey All--

Last Friday I was standing in line for confession behind my wife and holding my son. I was rocking little William back and forth and I looked over at Patty. She was also rocking back and forth, except she didn’t have William. J It’s become such a habit, that she rocks back and forth whether she has William in her arms or not. It was kind of cute to see J Yet, since she does it so frequently, since she holds William so often that it has become second-nature.

Our Faith is supposed to be like that. Second-nature. It should be automatic that we pray before meals (whether at home, at school, or at a restaurant). It should be second-nature that we pray before going to bed each night. It should be automatic that we go to Mass each Sunday. All these are good things, and the more we do them the more the habit takes root, and in fact the easier it becomes to live the Faith. So much so, that like rocking little William, we do it because it is part of who we are.
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Question O' The Week:
“What is sin of omission? If we are with someone and they sin, do we have to tell them? If so, HOW?”

-A sin of omission is not doing/saying something that you know you should. For example: If you were to not tell the full truth "omitting" some of the details. Or if you were to witness a crime, but didn't say anything about it. Or a more extreme example, if someone were to come to you and say she was going to have an abortion and you didn't say anything..like how wrong that it is.

True Christian friendship asks us to let our friends know when they sin...and they should do the same for us. That's helping each other get to heaven. But few friendships are that good. In most circumstances, we're with people that we know, but aren't necessarily real good friends with. What do you do then? It depends on the situation. It usually does more harm then good to frequently be pointing out people's sins. Besides, we need to focus on ourselves anyway. At the same time, if it is a serious matter, we have an obligation to try and help that person.

In everything, always remember to pray to God, and especially the Holy Spirit, whom you received at Confirmation. Call on Him and He will guide you to when and what you should say!

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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For an end to all forms of violence, especially to the elderly and unborn, we pray to the Lord.
-For Fr. Dennis Worzella who has further tests scheduled in Washington DC (he has family out there).
-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September.
The first meetings is Sunday night, September 17th! Mark your calendars!
Look for meetings to be held 2 Sundays a month! Watch for more info!

We’ll be back next year!

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 8-29-06

2006-08-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

I don’t know how many of you remember the Columbine HS tragedy of several years ago—where 2 high school students took out their anger on their fellow students with guns, killing a number of them. During that incident, one of the young ladies was asked “Do you believe in Jesus?” She said “yes.” And was promptly shot and killed. A book actually is available with the title “She Said Yes” as I recall.

This is brought to mind by a story that came out Sunday. The 2 FoxNews Journalists who had been kidnapped and held in the Gaza Strip for the last 2 weeks, were asked at gunpoint to convert to Islam. Now I don’t know what religion the journalists were or are---but they agreed and converted. Although they rejected it once they were released.

Now none of us knows how we would answer in such circumstances, although we pray for the Grace to do what is right. It is striking how different their answer was from that of so many of the saints in heaven. Nearly all of them, when asked if they believed in Jesus, could’ve said “no” and lived. Yet, they refused to be untrue to God. They refused to deny the Truth that they knew.

May we also have the Grace to always be True to that which we know of God and Christ!

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Question O' The Week:
“Why was Hell created if God wants the best for us, since in Heaven all sin is gone?”
Good question. Indeed, God does want what’s best for us. Yet, He gave us the ability to choose (free will). And we can either choose God (Heaven) or choose to be apart from Him (hell).

For breakfast this morning, you can have milk and cereal, or you could have chocolate ice cream. What is better for you? And what will better sustain you until lunch? You have the freedom to choose and then you have to deal with the consequences of those free decisions.

It’s the same, on an even deeper level when you are choosing for God or against God—and consequences then flow from that decision.

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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism.
-For an end to all forms of violence, especially to the elderly and unborn, we pray to the Lord.
-For my grandmother and all others who are in the hospital.
-For Fr. Dennis Worzella and Fr. Augustine Bentil who are both experiencing health problems.
-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September. Look for meetings to be held 2 Sundays a month! Watch for more info!

We’ll be back next year!

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 8-22-06

2006-08-22T12:42:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

I was at the Diocesan Center this past weekend for an in-service. Bishop Listecki gave a talk Saturday morning that was quite good. He told us about a conversation he had with a friend of his who’s a Baptist minister. Bishop Listecki told his friend, “I pray for you to become Catholic.” The Baptist minister looked at him, surprised, and then said, “Thank you. I know how much your faith means to you.”

Quite the opposite of what you’d expect hunh? The Baptist minister wasn’t offended, instead he was touched. Because he realized how strongly Bishop Listecki feels about his faith and that by saying the above, he was praying for the best for his friend.

How strongly do we feel about our Faith? And is it strong enough to where we want our friends to experience that same joy?

If Bishop Listecki can say that to his Baptist minister friend, we should be praying for our friends and telling them about it too!
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Question O' The Week:

Did Adam & Eve really exist? I heard they were just a metaphor(metaphor)”.

-Good question. That’s a question that many people have contemplated. So what does the Church and its 2000 years of history have to say?
They did exist.
They are referred to as being real in other parts of the Bible. (Tobit 8:6, Acts 17:26, Romans 5:12)
And in 1909 the Pontifical Bible Commission affirmed it.
Finally, Pope Pius XII wrote an encyclical Humani Generis
“…the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now it is no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the Teaching Authority of the Church propose with regard to original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam and which, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own (Cf. Romans 54:12-19; Council of Trent, Session V, canon 1-4)” (HG 37)

Now that’s a mouthful, but basically it states that “yes” Adam (and Eve) did exist.

Source: The Great Adventure Bible Timeline by Jeff Cavins
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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, and for the continued ceasefire in the Middle East.
-For an end to all forms of violence, especially to the elderly and unborn, we pray to the Lord.
-For our non-Catholic friends, that they may become Catholic.
-For us, that we may become better evangelizers.
-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September. Look for meetings to be held 2 Sundays a month! Watch for more info!

We’ll be back next year!

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 8-22-06

2006-08-22T12:41:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

I was at the Diocesan Center this past weekend for an in-service. Bishop Listecki gave a talk Saturday morning that was quite good. He told us about a conversation he had with a friend of his who’s a Baptist minister. Bishop Listecki told his friend, “I pray for you to become Catholic.” The Baptist minister looked at him, surprised, and then said, “Thank you. I know how much your faith means to you.”

Quite the opposite of what you’d expect hunh? The Baptist minister wasn’t offended, instead he was touched. Because he realized how strongly Bishop Listecki feels about his faith and that by saying the above, he was praying for the best for his friend.

How strongly do we feel about our Faith? And is it strong enough to where we want our friends to experience that same joy?

If Bishop Listecki can say that to his Baptist minister friend, we should be praying for our friends and telling them about it too!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Question O' The Week:

Did Adam & Eve really exist? I heard they were just a metaphor(metaphor)”.

-Good question. That’s a question that many people have contemplated. So what does the Church and its 2000 years of history have to say?
They did exist.
They are referred to as being real in other parts of the Bible. (Tobit 8:6, Acts 17:26, Romans 5:12)
And in 1909 the Pontifical Bible Commission affirmed it.
Finally, Pope Pius XII wrote an encyclical Humani Generis
“…the faithful cannot embrace that opinion which maintains that either after Adam there existed on this earth true men who did not take their origin through natural generation from him as from the first parent of all, or that Adam represents a certain number of first parents. Now it is no way apparent how such an opinion can be reconciled with that which the sources of revealed truth and the documents of the Teaching Authority of the Church propose with regard to original sin, which proceeds from a sin actually committed by an individual Adam and which, through generation, is passed on to all and is in everyone as his own (Cf. Romans 54:12-19; Council of Trent, Session V, canon 1-4)” (HG 37)

Now that’s a mouthful, but basically it states that “yes” Adam (and Eve) did exist.

Source: The Great Adventure Bible Timeline by Jeff Cavins
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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, and for the continued ceasefire in the Middle East.
-For an end to all forms of violence, especially to the elderly and unborn, we pray to the Lord.
-For our non-Catholic friends, that they may become Catholic.
-For us, that we may become better evangelizers.
-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 will be picking up full-steam ahead in September. Look for meetings to be held 2 Sundays a month! Watch for more info!

We’ll be back next year!

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 8-15-06

2006-08-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

Today is the Feast of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven. It’s a Holy Day of Obligation, meaning we’re all to go to Mass today. (This is where you can wish you lived 500 years ago.) Because on a Holy Day—everyone was off of work and the whole town shut down to celebrate. Although I should add that in some places this is still the case. For instance, in Italy, the day is one of celebration, and in many Latin American countries as well.

We celebrate Mary being “assumed” into Heaven today, both body and soul. When we die, our soul goes to heaven(hopefully!) and our body into a grave—where it remains until Jesus comes again. Mary, because of her holiness and faithfulness, was given the reward of her body and soul going directly to heaven.

Did she physically die before this happened? We don’t know for certain. She may have and then at that moment been taken to Heaven or may have been taken before her death. The Eastern Churches refer to this as “the Dormition” of Mary---in other words “sleep”.

What we do know…is that she sits in Heaven with Jesus and all the saints, still watching us and praying for us..that one day we might join her!

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Question O' The Week:

Why do we have holy water at the entrance to the Church?
-It’s there for 2 reasons…we use it to bless ourself and to remember our Baptism. For it was Baptism that first made you a member of the Church. So every time you enter the Church and bless yourself, you remember your Baptism. On top of that, it is a blessing we receive that draws us closer to God and helps defend us against the evil spirits, that as St. Peter tells us prowl “like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

I believe it was St. Theresa of Avilla who recounted this tale. The devil appeared to her and she prayed him away. He then appeared to her again and she threw holy water at him. He never came back.
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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, and for the continued ceasefire in the Middle East.
-For a father of a young family having back surgery tomorrow morning.
-For the diocesan in-service this weekend.
-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.
Lord, hear our prayer.

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Announcements:

St. Peter’s Keys Softball:

The Keys ended on a downnote, losing 13-4 to the 1st Place, Second Street Pub. Defensively a good game was played but the offense disappeared after the 3rd inning. The team finished 7-7 on the year…not bad for our 1st try!

We’ll be back next year!

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 8-8-06

2006-08-08T09:03:00.000-07:00

lHey All--

While we were in San Diego everyone from the Gomez (Patty's family) side of the family raved about William and how he looked like a "Gomez baby." And indeed William does look similar to my wife's baby pictures! And the family rightly took pride in William as one of "their own." In fact, it was kind of cute to watch. J

It got me thinking a bit deeper on a theological level. Who do we belong too? Who do we "look" like? Who do we take after? As Baptized and Confirmed Catholics, the answer to the above should be "Christ." In those sacraments we freely give ourselves to Him and His service. We seek to imitate Him in all we do. As my in-laws saw themselves in William, so others should see Christ in us.

And what a beautiful thing that would be! And indeed, that is my prayer for little William and for all of you.

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Question O' The Week:

"Will men ever be able to marry and be a priest?"

-It's possible. In fact, they have that in the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Although, if they're married they can't become bishops.

We do know that some of the Apostles were married, including Peter. The issue is more one of practicality and sacrifice. As a priest you offer yourself totally and completely to Christ's Church. You get phone calls at all hours of the day (and night!). Having lived at St. Peter's Rectory for a year when I first came to Stevens Point, I saw just how busy the priests were. I can't imagine if they were married. When would their wife and children ever see them? And would that be fair to their family? Hardly.

Imagine it's the middle of the night, your wife and child are both real ill and you get a call from a parishioner who really needs you. What do you do? Which one do you leave hanging? I wouldn't want to have to make that choice.

Similarly, now speaking as a married guy with a child. My family comes first, even before my work at the Church. And that's the way it's supposed to be. If helping someone in the Church gets in the way of me taking care of my family, then there's a problem.

One other point, St. Paul says very explicitly, "I wish all men could be as I am, free to proclaim the Gospel." Now St. Paul was single. He was free to go wherever he needed to spread the Gospel. Could he have traveled and preached so much if he had a family? No. In fact, to travel and preach as much as he did, having a family, would've been wrong—because that would be his first priority.

Priests very much live out the exhortation by St. Paul.

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Intentions:

-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, especially in the Middle East.

-For the protection and respect of all Life from conception to natural death.

-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

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Announcements:

St. Peter's Keys Softball:

The Keys won both games last week and again last night!

The Keys had their eyesight adjusted for this game, drawing a large number of walks and scoring a "mercy-rule shortened" 18-6 Win over Grazies this past Monday night. The Keys started off strong with 10 runs in the 1^st inning, with the help of walks and only 2 hits. With some more standout defense, the team cruised from there.

-This was the Keys 4^th straight win. A win next week guarantees the Keys at least a tie for 1^st Place in the 2^nd Half!

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 7-25-06

2006-07-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

There's a long section for the Question O' The Week—so I won't say much today….other then I hope you're staying cool! And please keep those poor suffering people in the Middle East in your prayers. I read where approximately half the casualties are children. Lord have mercy.

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Question O' The Week:

First off---a follow-up to last week's question from Mariah:

Hi everyone,

I was reading the answer to the question about why God condemns people to Hell for eternity, and I noticed that the subject of free will came up. I used to always wonder, as I'm sure many do, why God creates people who end up in Hell if He knows that they will deny Him and sin. What's the point? It seems like God must be kind of a sick God, doesn't it? A few years ago, I read the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. Great book, by the way. I would highly recommend that you read it if you're so unfortunate as to not have read it already. Anyway, chapter twenty-seven says something I'd like to share.

"The Enemy (meaning God, remember, this book is narrated by a demon) does not forsee the humans making their free contributions in a future, but sees them doing so in His unbounded Now. And obviously to watch a man doing something is not to make him do it"

I'm not sure how theologically accurate that is, but it helped me to understand the nature of free will a little better. And it does set out the difference between free will and predestination.

So there we go. I hope I didn't annoy anyone with my off-the-wall and probably strange email!

Regards,

Mariah Pehoski

And on to this week's Question:

"Why can't you marry people that aren't Catholic?"

-Well actually you can. I'm not sure who told you that. However, it isn't encouraged. Why? Because a shared Faith is something that strengthens a marriage and helps the couple to make it through life. If you don't share the same faith, it is that much more difficult.

And with around 50% of all marriages ending in divorce, it's not easy today. Wouldn't you want all the help you could get?

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Intentions:

-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, especially in the Middle East.

I read where approximately half those killed in Lebannon and Israel are children.

-For all the other intentions you hold in your hearts, we pray to the Lord.

Lord, hear our prayer.

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Announcements:

-Volunteer Opportunity: This Sunday, the Diocese is honoring those who have been married 50+ years with a dinner and Mass celebrated by Bishop Listecki. They are looking for people to help serve and assist in other ways. It runs from 2pm w/Mass and ends about 5pm. To volunteer contact Alice Heinzen <1-800-255-6226> or email her at nfp@dioceseoflacrosse.com

-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 4^th, 10AM-6PM, Pacelli High School. To pre-register, call the Office of Youth Ministry at 608-791-0161

St. Peter's Keys Softball:

Mother Nature interrupted us last night with a 6-1 lead in the 4^th inning over 1^st Place Graffiti's. The game will be concluded next Monday night at 930pm. That will immediately follow our regularly scheduled game against Fill's Bar at 830pm.

Note: There will be no "Catholic Teens Email" next week. My family and I will be visiting relatives in California…where yesterday it was over 100 degrees J

God bless you!

Phil Lawson

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

Catholic Teens 7-18-06

2006-07-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

“Why can’t we all just get along?”

A general characteristic of young people is their idealism. If something isn’t right, let’s do something to change it. One area where this idealism is needed is Christian unity.

Sadly, with all the different Christian Churches (Catholic, Lutheran, Methodists, Baptists, etc….there are over 32,000 of them) we are not united. Adding further salt into the wound is that Jesus prayed this wouldn’t happen (John 17:20-23).

So what can we do about it? Pray for one thing…that in the words of Christ “they may all be one.” Second, learn your faith. In order to work toward unity, you first need to know what you believe. There’s a religious community of sisters who recently gave up having daily Mass and the Eucharist, while trying to work toward unity. Now as Christians, the Eucharist is our strength…it is, as the Catechism puts it, “the source and summit of the Christian faith.” To give it up, while trying to work toward unity is kind of silly.

And finally, have conversations with your friends who go to other churches. That friendly dialog is huge.

Some of us are doing just that later today at Emy J’s over coffee with some non-Catholic Christians. Together we’ll be looking at a document that works toward Unity, called “Catholics & Evangelicals Together.”

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Question O' The Week:
“How could God send people to Hell for an eternity? Doesn’t that seem a little harsh? Why bother creating them at all?

-Very good question. The answer of course lies in our “free will.”
First off, who ends up in Hell? Those who want nothing to do with God. God grants their desire. Read John 3:16-18. God desires to save all. But He won’t force anyone to go to Heaven. It’s a free choice. (And considering God is Love—isn’t that what love is—freely given?) Can I force someone to love me? Of course not. God gives us the freedom to freely love Him or freely reject Him.

Is it “harsh”? Not really. What is hell? It is simply the absence of God. And when God is not present there is chaos. Yet, if someone doesn’t want God in their lives here on Earth, why would they want to be with God in Heaven? And so hell is what they end up desiring. Although, it is certainly not a pleasant place.

Why bother creating them at all? Because each of us has the opportunity to choose to love or choose to reject God. He knows what we will do, but leaves it up to us to choose. Love by its nature seeks to spread and be shared. God didn’t have to create Adam & Eve—He knew they would fall. Did that mean He didn’t still love them? He still desired to share that love and still went ahead and created them. And I’m glad He did!

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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism, especially in the Middle East.
-For Unity among all Christians.
- For Sr. Katie Buss during her 1st week in the convent.
-For all the 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!

-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

St. Peter’s Keys Softball: The Keys snapped their losing streak with a much needed, 9-4 win over Opi’s Sports Bar. Key contributors included Fr. Sakowski in the leadoff spot, showing a great adeptness at reaching base and Alex Sommers with a nice defensive play. Our offense continued to produce with Lindsey Kramer, David Malay, and Joe Piffner all delivering key hits. The “Hustle” Award goes to Chris McKenna, turning a single into a double with some real aggressive baserunning, and later barreling over the other pitcher at home plate to score a run.

Our next game is Monday, July 24th at 6:30PM against Graffit’s, Field 2 at Zenoff Park

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

Catholic Teens 7-11-06

2006-07-11T07:51:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

“Gone to the dogs….”

Phil K. and I have been doing Rosary walks around the neighborhood of St. Peter’s as a way of evangelization. The people we’ve had a chance to talk too all have one thing in common…..they’re out walking their dogs. It’s been a great conversation starter!

We’ve decided we need to convince Fr. Louis to get a dog now J

Evangelization can take many different forms. There is of course, the foundation of prayer, especially for those who don’t know Christ and His Church. And from there one has to live the life of Christ. So that others may see Christ in you…and then be lead to ask the question: “Why are you so peaceful?” “Why are you so joyful?” “Why do you seem to have direction in your life?” And of course, you can respond…”God.”

Beyond this, there are more direct forms of evangelization. The Youth Group’s “Bring a Non-Catholic friend Night” this past winter was one great example. Others include striking up conversations about the faith with friends and others you meet. (Or one could say “the ones God brings into your life”)

The visible, public witness of the faith is perhaps the most powerful form of evangelization---not being in any one’s face—but just simply living your faith. My wife and I regularly take Rosary walks around our neighborhood—pushing William along in the stroller. When a group of us goes out to eat, we take the time to pray before meals. When JPII passed away, a group of us took a Rosary walk around the neighborhood.

All just simply living the faith and being willing to share it….with or without dogs J
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Question O' The Week:
I know that if the devil puts a bad thought in your head it isn't a sin if you dismiss it and don't entertain it. Can that work the same way with judging others? It seems almost like it is automatic to jugde someone but if you dismiss saying that that may not be true of the case is that okay?

-Right. We can't control the thoughts or emotions that come. It is how we deal with them or whether we dwell on them that makes the difference. For instance, if you were in a situation and you saw someone, and had a bad thought about them, you should just pray, "Lord, help me to view that person as you do...and please bless that person." Then put it out of your mind as best you can.

-These are also habits that we fall into. At that point, we do things almost automatically, and like any bad habit, it takes time to break. That’s where confession comes in. Each time you go to confession you are given Grace—and that Grace helps you overcome that bad habit, or sin. So take advantage of it! J After all, God wants to help you overcome your faults, it’d be silly to not take advantage of that assistance.

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Intentions:
-For peace in the world and an end to terrorism. Especially for the victims of the explosions in India today.
- For Katie Buss as she enters the convent this Sunday. And for safe travel for all who are going down to Alabama to send her off.
-For a 4 year old, tragically killed in a car accident and the family, in Virginia.
-For Fr. Louis on his vacation, that it is restful and refreshing. (Priests need a break every once in awhile too!)
-For all the 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!

-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 730pm at Zenoff Park, July 17th. The team is the St. Peter's Keys.
We lost a heartbreaker last night 13-12. The game ended with the bases loaded. Give credit to 2nd Street Pub as they made the plays when it counted!

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 7-6-06

2006-07-06T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

Last week I got to be on Relevant Radio’s “Connecting with the Bishop”—every Friday at 9am----93.9FM. It’s a weekly show where Bishop Listecki talks with various people in the diocese about different topics. This week’s topic was youth ministry and I was included with Fr. Derek Sakowski and Dan Kitzhaber(an awesome youth minister in Marshfield.)

It was a neat experience, and I even got to mention you guys and this email list J

On a more somber note, our prayers go out to the young people involved in the car accident in Rosholt this past Monday. For Sammy Jo, her family and friends, and everyone else in that community. We are all members of the Body of Christ, and when one member is hurt, we can all offer our prayers for them. And you know what? It makes an amazing difference. So please remember them in your prayers. Sammy Jo’s funeral is this Friday.

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Question O' The Week:
I've been told that when you say, for example, the Rosary. When you say the devil will probably never be by you when you say it because he hates that prayer so much. Is it kinda the same when you wear a scapular or will he "bug" you more and tempt you more to get you to become farther away from Christ?

-Indeed the devil hates the Rosary and he hates the Mass. He hates all things associated with God. And he will generally avoid situations where God is really present, like Mass or when you say the Rosary, or Holy Water. Why? Because the devil knows he is powerless against God. That's one reason why people generally try to have Holy Water in their home or a Crucifix in every room of the house. There's a story of a saint who was praying, the devil appeared to her..she threw Holy Water at him and he vanished.
> -However, the devil also knows the best way to "get back at God" is to tempt away those who love God the most. So the saints and all who try to follow God the most, will be tempted, especially hard. But, always remember that God is more powerful and will give you all the help you need, as long as you stay close to Him.
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Intentions:
- For Katie Buss, Phil Kosloski, Sr. Mary Gabriel, & Franz Klein who are all actively pursuing their vocations to the convent or priesthood.
-For Sammy Jo Kurdydyk, “Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord. And let the perpetual light shine upon her. May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, rest in peace. Amen.
-For her family and friends.
-For the other 2 girls hurt in the crash.
-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 has been CANCELLED for this Sunday. Watch for more info from Natalie!

-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 in

Catholic Teens 6-27-06

2006-06-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

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

2006-06-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

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

2006-06-13T11:43:00.000-07:00

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.

2006-05-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

Hey All---

I got asked the other day, what's the best part of marriage. I happened to be holding William, and just pointed right at him. :-) The gift of life, the gift of a child. What a beautiful fruit of marriage!

Further bringing that point home..and how our lives now revolve around him, a highlight of our anniversary this past Sunday was a 2 hour nap that little William allowed his tired parents to get :-) Welcome to parenthood!

Of course, we also had a nice dinner to celebrate as well :-)

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Question O' The Week:

"How do you find meaning in the Bible?"
-Good question. The Bible is the Living Word of God. And it does speak to us. There are a number of different levels of meaning in the Bible. The first, objective meaning, is what you can find in commentaries or the footnotes that most Bibles have. It's what the Church tells us is it means. And the Church relies on the saints and traditions of 2000 years to arrive at that meaning. (And these people are a lot smarter then you and me :-) ). The second level is a personal one. What is God saying to you through this passage? What stands out to you? For God uses his Word, in the Bible, to communicate to you and me.

When I teach Bible studies, I always do two things. We read through the passage and I always ask the person if anything stood out to them or especially caught their attention. (The personal meaning). And we'll talk about that. Next, we then go through the objective meaning as revealed by the Church through 2000 years of history.

One key note...since God is the author of the Bible...and leads people on both levels...the personal message can never contradict the objective meaning. After all, can God contradict himself? Of course not.

So read the Bible, do it in a spirit of prayer, listen to what God is saying to you, and read the footnotes and commentaries.

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Prayer Intentions
-For the McMahon family in LaCrosse. The father died tragically and the mom gave birth shortly after her husbands funeral. They have 3 other young children.
-For all the graduates, as they seek God's will for their futures.
-For all those affected by the earthquake in Indonesia.
For all of these and the intentions we each hold, we pray to the Lord.
.....Lord hear our prayer.

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Announcements
Next Gen. JPII Meeting---Sunday, June 4th, "Stump the Priest" in the park. 6-8pm at Pfiffner Park, Meet at the Gazebo.Think of some stumping questions for Fr. Louis. We will also have an ice cream social, I'll bring the ice cream, you bring your favorite topping. Bring any outdoor games as well. In case of inclement weather, the meeting will be held in Kolbe Hall.

Next Thursday--Sr. Mary Gabriel of the Nashville Dominicans will be coming home! She is from St. Peter's Parish. 5 years ago she entered the convent. She's coming back to say thank you to all who have been a part of her journey so far. Awesome young woman of God! Phil Kosloski, our parish seminarian, will be there as well. It's at 7pm in Kolbe Hall.

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-23-06

2006-05-23T13:12:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

Do you ever wonder whether you can make a difference in the world? Do you ever wonder, "what can I possibly do to change anything?" It's a good question...I mean we all feel very insignificant at times. Think about this little story...

A 10 year old boy was walking along the ocean shore after the tide had receded. He was picking up the starfish that had been left behind and one-by-one picking them up and tossing them back into the ocean. (For if they were just left, they'd die of exposure before the tide came back in). A 20 year old guy was walking along the shore and saw what the little boy was doing. He approached him and asked him why he was bothering to throw some of them back in, "after all, you can't possibly throw them all back in...what difference does it make." The little boy looked up at the guy, threw another starfish back into the ocean, and responded, "it makes a difference to this one." And the little boy continued throwing them back, one-by-one.

We all make a difference, and it's usually in the little things. You'd be amazed at the difference you can make, even in one person's life just by being there and helping. And just like the starfish who was saved and thrown back into the ocean, you may very well save someone's life. We all have our own part to play in this world, no matter how "little" or "insignificant" it may appear to others.

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Question O' The Week:
"I heard that people in Heaven don't remember their Earthly life. Is that true? Like you won't remember your husband/wife, parents, or friends?"

-Heaven is a very different place. It is eternal happiness with God and everyone is joined in Union w/God. So as opposed to having a "best friend" or just being close to your family on earth/.....in Heaven, you are that close to everyone. Everyone is a family, the family of God...and a perfect family at that.

Do you remember the stuff of Earth? Yes. Recall, your soul is immortal. The same soul you have on Earth, you also have in Heaven. Do you think Mary doesn't remember having Jesus at Bethlehem? Or that the saints don't remember how they got to Heaven? It's a pretty safe bet, that you'll remember stuff in Heaven :-)

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Prayer Intentions:
-For the soul of Shawn McMahon, and the consolation and peace of his family. (His wife's due date is tomorrow).
-For all young people, that they make wise choices now as they look toward marriage and their vocations in the future.
-For all married couples, that they may base their marriage in God, and thereby eliminate the high divorce rate.

For all of these and all your intentions, we pray to the Lord.
Lord hear our prayer.

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Announcements:
-I'm giving a talk on the Da Vinci Code tomorrow (Wednesday) night at 6:30PM. This is open to everyone, young and old!

-Looks like it's going to warm up this week..and in the 80's this weekend. Have a wondeful Memorial Day Weekend!

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-16-06

2006-05-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

Hey All--

With the arrival of the movie "The Da Vinci Code" this weekend--it's time to talk about it some more. Some are saying that since this is just a work of fiction, Christians should just "get over it" and not get upset. Indeed, it can seem that we are overreacting. But are we?

The book says that the Vatican has been involved in assasinations and has covered up the "fact" that Jesus married Mary Magdalene. That Jesus wasn't really "God" but just a good teacher. And that the Church waged a campaign to keep all these "facts" silent. Plus, it portrays the religious order, Opus Dei, has being well evil---having their own assasin.

But it's all fiction right? No need to be bothered by it.

Now imagine someone wrote a book and then a movie saying that Sony Motion Pictures, (the producers for the 'Da Vinci Code) were behind the 9/11 terrorist attacks. You think they would be upset? You bet! But hey, it's only "fiction."

Or, say someone produced a movie saying Dan Brown was behind the assassination attempt of John Paul II in St. Peter's Square in 1981. Think he would mind this "fiction"? You bet he would!

And for those same reasons, Christians, the Church, Opus Dei, and lots of others, are rightly upset.

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Question O' The Week:

"Has anyone ever actually gotten kicked out of the church?"
Actually, yes. Although it's rare and in reality, pretty difficult to pull off, at least in the public sphere. St. Paul talks about this in a few of his letters included in the New Testament of the Bible. If a person continues to sin, refuses to repent, and is trying to lead others into sin, St. Paul talks about removing them from the community. The purpose of that was two-fold. One to show the person in sin, the seriousness of what they were doing. And two, to protect the rest of the Christian community from being lead astray.

The Church does the same thing today, and the formal name for it is "excommunication." And again, it is pretty rare today. In fact, there have only been around 5 people excommunicated publicly in the last 30 years. That's out of over 1 billion Catholics! You have to really be doing something bad, refuse to try and be better, and be trying to lead others into major sin as well.

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Prayer Intentions:
I'm helping lead a retreat for the sophomores at Eau Claire Regis this Friday, for them, we pray to the Lord.
For all those graduating from UWSP this Sunday, that they may find good jobs and their vocations, we pray to the Lord.
For all our Catholic teens, we pray to the Lord.
--Lord Hear Our Prayer.

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Announcements:
-The next Generation JPII gathering is this Sunday, May 21st at 6PM @ St. Peter's. Fr. Dan Farley, pastor of St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish, and a military chaplain will be speaking about his year in Iraq. He's done this presentation throughout the diocese, so it's well worth your time!

-This Friday evening, there will be a prayer vigil outside Rogers Cinema from 6-9pm. This is in reparation for the blasphemy that the movie puts forth and a peaceful protest. Patty, myself and William expect to be there as well.

God bless you!

Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-9-06

2006-05-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

I've just heard a report that Amnesty International, that worldwide group that does so much good helping spotlight political prisoners and human rights abuses, is looking to now support abortion as a "human right". How sad and disturbing. A group that does so much good to defend human rights, would turn it's back on perhaps the most defenseless and innocent of all, those still in the womb.

I find my convictions about the life of little ones, while strong previously, becoming even more so as I watch my own son...so precious, so innocent, so defenseless, and so totally dependent on his parents. And it amazes me all the more that anyone could consider harming such a one, no matter what the circumstances.

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Question O' the Week:
"Is getting drunk at a wedding a sin?"
(Yes, this was an actual question submitted!)

-As God tells us, "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit." Shouldn't you treat it nicely? (Even if it's a wedding!) The Bible does not condemn drinking. After all, Jesus turned the water into wine at the Wedding at Cana. (It wasn't grape juice.) However, in many places the Bible does condemn getting drunk.

Remember, you are made in the image and likeness of God. You are a beautiful gift of Creation. Getting drunk harms that beautiful image. As St. Paul alludes too: "Christian remember your dignity!" In other words, you're better then that.

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Prayer Intentions:

-For Darlene, here at St. Peter's. She recently lost 2 of her cousins.
-For Loretta, whose husband is undergoing surgery and tests tomorrow.
-For Fr. Louis, suffering the effects of the flu and allergies.

-For these and all our intentions, we pray to the Lord! Lord, hear our prayer.

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Announcements:
Next Generation JPII Youth Group: Sunday, May 21st @ 6PM. Fr. Dan Farley, who served in Iraq as a chaplain, will talk about his experiences!

God bless you!
Phil Lawson

Catholic Teens 5-2-06

2006-05-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

Hey All---

Today is the Feast of St. Athanasius, one of my favorites along with little William's patron saint. He spent his life teaching that Jesus was God, and not just a mortal man. And he suffered greatly for it, but never gave up. It appears we could use some people like that today, given the many who now teach the same thing, ( i.e. the DaVinci Code and the Gospel of Judas).

Then again, God has already given us two amazing saints in our lifetime, John Paul II and Mother Teresa! :-)

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Question O' the Week:
I get into these discussions at school all of the time about the Catholic religion. There are a lot of people that I know that are confused about the Catholic religion and I know how to "straighten them out" most of the time but a few days ago we started to talk about Mary. They thought that we idolize her and I know we don't, we just pray to her, right? Why do we do this?

--I love that "straighten them out" good for you! :-)
Catholics idolize no one but God. He alone is the One we adore and worship. So how does Mary fit in? God thought pretty highly of her for one. Recall how the Angel Gabriel greets her at the Annunciation and then again at the Holy Spirit's words at the Visitation of Elizabeth, "Hail, favored one..." and "blessed are you among women..." Now there are only 2 people in the Scriptures talked about so highly--Jesus...and Mary. That's some good company! Look at Rev. 12:1..where it refers to "the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." That's Mary. Not a bad image.

Who was the first Christian? Mary. She was the first one to say "yes" to God, when she agreed to have Jesus. We do well to imitate her.

Similarly, who prompted Jesus to do his first miracle? Again, Mary, at the Wedding of Cana, where Jesus turned water into wine.

So we do not worship Mary, but we do honor her and imitate her. We ask her to pray for us and her intercession for us(the same way you ask your friends to pray for you when something bad happens or someone is ill.) She helps lead us to Jesus.

In essence, why do we attach so much importance to Mary? Because God does. If someone doesn't like it...they have to take it up with the Big Guy Himself :-)

Hope that helps!

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Prayer Intentions:
-For a friend of mine whose grandmother passed away on Sunday afternoon.
- For the help of the Holy Spirit , to enlighten all the SPACS teachersand administration to the promise of deepening the Roman Catholic faith, in our schools, thru prayers and devotions!!

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Announcements:

Next Generation JPII Youth Group this Sunday, May 7th. 6-8pm. Fr. Louis will talk about the spiritual world and demons. Promises to be an interesting topic!

God bless you!
Phil Lawson