On March 1st, we looked at the problem of how to have difficult conversations, appropriate ways to complain, and how to express our own feelings without hurting the feelings of others. This was in the context of the stories of the Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son. What were each of these feeling, and how might they have expressed their feelings, using their words?

 

"A Night of Mercy" Wake-a-Thon took place on February 26th and 27th. See our "Wake-a-Thon" page for details about how it went!

 

We spent the last couple of weeks of February writing and rehearsing our Stations of the Cross.

 

We celebrated Mardi Gras on February 9th, by learning how to make our own pancakes.

 

On February 2nd, we learned a simple magic trick that helps us remember how Jesus finds us and calls us to be disciples. We are each called by name.

 

January 26th was our Talent Show. We are an amazingly talented group of people, as it turns out.

 

On January 19th, we reviewed how to look things up in the Bible, and we went over some tips on how to proclaim the readings at Mass in an effective way. We also had a scavenger hunt that day.

 

On January 12th, we played "Holy Squares" (which is a lot like Tic Tac Toe) and answered a lot of important questions about how we are called in all sorts of different ways to love one another.

 

On January 5th, we prepared an episode of YOUTH TV on the Baptism of Christ in the river Jordan.

 

We finished 2015 with a laser tag outing on December 15th. We completed our 33 days of preparation for Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary on December 8th, with a beautiful Mass and ceremonial signing of our certificates on the Altar. At least nine of our Youth members did this, with several others continuing to ponder and contemplate with the intention of doing it next year.

 

We prepared for this during the month of November, as well as the first week of December. Our resource was "33 Days to Morning Glory" by Father Michael E. Gaitley. We did the weekly exercises and video at our Tuesday meetings each week, and we will participate in the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary as part of our Tuesday activities on December 8th. We will be joining adults who have been doing their own Preparation for Consecration throughout these 33 days.

 

In October we had our All Saints Day dress up party, with pumpkin carving. In the first week of October we looked at the Books of Wisdom in the Bible, and we made folding Wisdom finders using many of the proverbs that we found in the Bible. On October 13th, we hosted a Family Rosary for our families up in the Church. The following week, we did a YOUTH TV episode about how the blind man made good use of TIME and OPPORTUNITY, to be healed by Jesus. We also talked about how we use time, and how we can take advantage of the opportunities that come our way when we make the right use of the time we are given.

 

We launched our year of Youth Ministry with a service project for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, by collecting school snacks for disadvantaged children, and distributing grocery bags after Mass to encourage others to collect school snacks.  In September, we were looking at the importance of following God's will in our lives. We played "Fork in the Road" which is a decision-making game with actual forks on the path, where we had to make decisions that affected whether we ended up in "Hell" or in "Heaven." We also looked at the meaning of marriage, and we planned and celebrated a Catholic wedding for Barbie and Ken.