Troubadors

Before he became a priest, St. Francis was really into the Troubadour's love poetry. He would listen to the ones who would come through Assisi with fondness. If you can read French, and I know you all can do so fluently, here is an example.

After he became a priest, St. Francis became a Troubadour for the Lord, he sang love songs to God. One of his most famous is Brother Sun, Sister Moon and if we listen to it, we can get a sense of the sort of sappiness that is so common in Troubadour songs.



Two thousand years later people started calling Bob Dylan a "modern day Troubadour." He would travel around the country singing song that weren't complicated and spoke to people's simplest values. During his (admittedly) short Christian period he recorded What Can I Do For You? Its one of my favorite Christian songs. Take a moment to listen and think about what Dylan is asking us in this song? What he trying to tell us about God?

Just a Reminder

On October 18 (next Sunday) we will be meeting at Hopewell Community Park at 1:30pm.

If the weather forecast for Friday is really bad we will meet at Fatima. If the weather forecast is bad I will call people and let them know.

Youth Ministry Digest for October 11, 2009

Guys, I slipped up this week and didn't have this in time for Friday. Sorry about that. Just the same, there's a lot of new stuff this week so pay attention.

Our First Two Youth Group Meetings
Fright Night @ Kennywood
Movie Night
The Red Door
December

Our First Two Youth Group Meetings
The Youth Group has had two meetings so far. The first meeting had 29 people show up. The breakdowns were like so:

• 26 from Our Lady of Fatima
• 3 from St. Titus
• 48% boys
  
• 52% guys

There were 31 people at the second meeting:

• 28 from Our Lady of Fatima
• 4 from St. Titus
• 48% boys
• 52% guys

Six people from the first meeting did not come to the second meeting, and eight people showed up at the second meeting who were not at the first.

Fright Night @ Kennywood
I realize that I'm sounding like a broken record here, but we are going to Fright Night at Kennywood on the 24th. You need to RSVP with me by October 14 (that's Wednesday). You can RSVP by leaving a voicemail on my office line (724)375-7940, emailing me or through the Facebook group.
The cost of the ticket $21 dollars. The bus is $5. You also need to have a filled out Permission form.
Meet at Our Lady of Fatima at 5pm.

Movie Night
On November 14 we are having Movie Night at Our Lady of Fatima at 5pm. You do not have to RSVP for this event and there is no cost, simply show up.

The Red Door
The Red Door is a ministry to the homeless in Downtown Pittsburgh. We will be making and distributing lunches. We will be meeting at Our Lady of Fatima at 8:30am on November 21.

There is no cost to attend, but we are asking for a $5 transportation fee. Also, I need a permission form.

December
We have scheduled two events for December. An Advent Day of Reflection on December 5 and the Our Lady of Fatima live nativity on December 21. I will be putting more information out about these events closer to when the occur, but at this time I can say that you have to RSVP for the Day of Reflection by November 22.

One final note, I'm on vacation this week so I won't be in my office. If there is an emergency, please e-mail me.

Peace,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister

p.s. Here is a picture of my dogs

In The Desert

When St. Anthony of Egypt (in the fourth century ad) was twenty he sold all of his possesion, and donated his land to other villagers, and gave all the money to the poor. He then went out into the desert and became the first monk. He did all this because the Gospel that was read in Church that day was the story of Jesus telling the rich man "'If thou wouldest be perfect, go and sell that thou hast and give to the poor; and come follow Me and thou shalt have treasure in heaven."

Its rather obvious to us that the Church does not expect us to sell everything that we have and give the money away. The rich man was told to do this because his money was standing in the way of his ability to follow God. St. Anthony was a rich man before he became a Monk (he owned almost three hundred acres of land). Clearly he saw himself as the rich man.

St. Anthony left the world behind and lived the rest of his life in the desert. The desert is where God sends people to be tested and cleansed. After the Israelites left Egypt God kept them in the desert instead of letting them enter the Holy Land. Additionally, Jesus entered the desert for forty days after he was baptized. St. Anthony had the same reasons for entering the desert.

Probably none of us will never enter the wilderness (on a permanent basis at least), but we should maybe think about how St. Anthony viewed all of his stuff. Anthony's possessions made it harder for him to focus his life on God, and things finally reached the point where he had to make a choice between the two. What do we have that maybe holds us back from God? What would we be better off without?

Blog on Hiatus

Because I am clearly awash with visitors, please note that there will be no updates to the blog this week. We are busy gearing up for our first youth group meeting this Sunday and as such I have bigger fish to fry.

Eco-Nun Strikes one for Nature

I came across this a few weeks ago and have been waiting for the right week to write about it. Its an article about the Sister's of St. Joseph in Baden and how they are doing all kinds of interesting things with sustainable farming.

I'll confess to thinking that nature, conservation and sustainability are important and I think what the Sister's are doing is worth thinking about.

Check it out here.

Youth Ministry Digest for September 19, 2009

Guys, lots of new stuff this week. So pay attention.

In this digest:
RSVP's
Office Hours
Upcoming Events

RSVP's
I realize that I have never explained this, but I want you all to know that I take RSVPing for stuff very seriously. It means that I can make sure I have enough chaperons and transportation for everybody who wants to go to go. It also means that when people show up I don't have to choose between the kids who already told me they were coming ahead of time and the ones who just show up to stuff.

Also, you can't RSVP for stuff with me in passing. If you RSVP for something I need it in a phone message ((724).375-7940), an email (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com), facebook or making sure I write it down when you tell me about it.

I only have 4 RSPV's for Kennywood (two on Facebook, two I wrote down). I realize that its a month away and that Youth Group hasn't really picked up yet, but if you know someone and they haven't RSVP'ed with me, get on their case about it.

OPEN OFFICE HOURS
Starting on Tuesday I'm going to start having open office hours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays 2-5pm. On Tuesdays I'll be at St. Titus. My office is in the old school building. You enter through the side of the building (where the principle's office used to be). On Wednesday I'll be at Our Lady of Fatima in the Religious Education office (in the school, ring the doorbell).

So why should you visit me during my open office hours? There are a couple of reasons:

1. You need religious counsel, I am a minister after all, and I do have an MA in Theology. So I can help you if you questions of a religious or spiritual nature.
2. If you need any other sort of advice, although I can't promise I'll know as much about other stuff.
   
3. Before I was your intrepid youth minister, I did enrollment management work for a University and that means I can help you get an insider's perspective on your college applications.
4. You saw a hilarious video on the Internet and you just had to show it to someone. (So long as it is PG)
   
5. You just want to hang out.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• October 4: Youth Group starts. 1:30pm. Fatima House. Our Lady of Fatima.
• October 24: Fright Night at KennyWood. 5pm. Meet the bus at Our Lady of Fatima. $21 for ticket; $5 for the bus. Permission Form. RSVP by October 14 or you can't go.

Good teamwork everyone,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister
titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com
(724)375-7940
Facebook
Calendar

p.s. Here is a picture of a French guy

Recruitment Drive Cancelled

I was talking with some of the Our Lady of Fatima staff yesterday, and I think we need to either reschedule or cancel the recruitment drive for the twentieth. We have a mission appeal on Sunday, and its really not cool for us to take attention away from an organization that helps the poor.

In Luke's Gospel, Jesus says "Blessed are the poor." Let's take some time to think about that when we hear the mission appeal on Sunday

If you see any other youth ministry kids please let them know. Sorry everyone.

Thanks,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister

Reading the Bible As Though You Have A Brain: The Two Our Fathers

I'm starting this "Reading the Bible As Though You Have A Brain" series to get the you to think critically about Scripture. To many Catholics (and Christians as a whole) take most things about the Bible for granted. We are starting by thinking about the Our Father.

Matthew 6:9-13 “Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one. For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

Luke11:2-4 He said to them, “When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.”

I used a different translation than we use in Church on purpose. Hopefully seeing the language slightly differently can help you think freshly about these passages. Notice that Luke's is shorter and that both versions include to a command to pray in a specific manner.  What might it mean that there are two different versions?  Which one is "correct?"  If so why?  Post your thoughts in the comments.

Youth Ministry Digest for September 11, 2009

Nothing new since last week. Let me just give you all a run down on our dates:

• October 4: Youth Group starts. 1:30pm. Fatima House. Our Lady of Fatima.
• October 24: Fright Night at KennyWood. 5pm. Meet the bus at Our Lady of Fatima. $21 for ticket; $5 for the bus. Permission Form. RSVP by October 14 or you can't go.

So how is everyone? School going okay so far? I'm alright. I took my wife to a concert on Thursday for her birthday (her birthday isn't until October but the band was in town now). The band was what's known as "industrial," or as I like to call it "noise and not music." But the event itself was pretty sweet.

See everyone later,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister

All Along the Watchtower

Nobody took a stab at the last trivia question. So I'm going to post the answer. The song is All Along The Watchtower by Bob Dylan. Dylan spent some time after he was in a bad accident thinking about the Bible. There is a debate among his biographers about whether he actually became a Christian, but a lot of his music from this time asks serious questions about ethics, faith and the apocalyptic imagery in Scripture. I think that last category is what I like best about All Along The Watchtower (its one of my favorite songs).

In this song Dylan took some of the images from the Book of Revelations and combined them with some of the reversals he found in the Gospels. In the Gospels, Jesus usually reversed people's beliefs about how the world worked. He would say things like "The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth" or that good shepherds left their flocks to go after the one lamb who has gone astray. These were the opposite of what people thought. Jesus' ultimate reversal occurred when he, God made human, was nailed to a cross and died.

The first verse of All Along The Watchtower goes:

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."

Here, the joker is taking his situation utterly seriously, while the thief is nonchalant. The situation in the song is the opposite of what we expect. In the second verse of the song features "two riders" (presumably the joker and thief) approaching "the Watchtower," while "princes [keep] the view."

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.

Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

I think that whatever Dylan thought about Christianity at the time, he was trying to reconcile the reversals he read about in the Gospels with some of the images in the Book of Revelations. These images are fiercer than many of us are comfortable with. For example, when Jesus first appears to John he has a sword in his mouth. Its sad that Dylan didn't keep with this stuff, but perhaps if we meditate on the what's going on in the song a little bit we can understand the Bible a little bit better.

Here is a video of Jimi Hendrix (Dylan always said that Hendrix did a better job performing the song) performing the song:

Youth Ministry Digest for September 4, 2009

Big digest this week. Some of the stuff I scheduled after the bulletin went to the printer so its announced for its first time here. So pay attention!

You'll remember from last time that there are two meetings for your parents coming up.

• The first is next Tuesday at 7pm September 9. It will be at the Upper Room at Our Lady of Fatima. This meeting has information about what Youth Ministry is, what we do. Its not required, but I highly encourage your parents to attend.
  
• The second is a meeting for any of your parents who interested in volunteering with Youth Ministry this year. It will be at 7pm on September 15 at St. Titus in the Church Hall. This meeting is required if they want to help. They need to RSVP with me by Thursday September 10 if they are planning on attending. My contact info is at the end of every Youth Ministry Digest post, so write it down and give it to them if need be.

Also, we are going to Alive Again! next Saturday, September 12. Meet me in the Our Lady of Fatima parking lot at 12:30 pm. Tell your parents we will be hoping to get back around 11pm. If you are planning on attending or know anybody who is planning on attending, please call or email (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com) me so that I know whether to schedule a bus or not. And remember you have to have a permission form and $15 when you arrive.

The last bit of old news I have is that I need volunteers to help me the morning of September 20 for a small recruitment drive. I need volunteers to help at both Our Lady of Fatima and St. Titus, and I'd like to make sure I have both parishes represented. If you think you can help please email (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com) me or confirm on Facebook ASAP.

Okay, new stuff now! For starters, we have a Fall schedule for Youth Group! It starting October 4, and going every Sunday after that until November 8. That's six weeks straight. The meetings will be held at Fatima House and Our Lady of Fatima (obviously). We are going to look into having some of the meetings at St. Titus too. I don't have to much scheduled out for the meetings yet, but I can tell you there's going to be lots and lots of food at the first meeting.

Finally, we're letting the spooky cat out of the haunted bag and announcing Fright Night at Kennywood!
When: October 24, 5pm
Where: Our Lady of Fatima
Cost: $21 for ticket; $5 for bus; one filled out permission form
RSVP: You must RSVP with me by October 14. If you do not RSVP you may not go. You may RSVP on Facebook, by emailing (titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com) me and calling me.

That's it for this week folks. Hope school is starting to settle down for y'all.

Sincerely,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister
titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com
(724)375-7940
Facebook
Calendar

Bishops

I know some of you went to St. Paul's Cathedral last year, but did you know that its actually the second Cathedral in the diocese of Pittsburgh? It goes without saying that the Cathedral is the main Church in the diocese, and its also pretty well known that a cathedral is the bishop's Church.

I think a lot of times we think that the bishop is just a special kind of priest, the one in charge of the diocese and the one that reports to the Pope. This is actually untrue. You do have to be a priest to become a bishop, but a bishop something different than a priest, not just a priest plus.

To understand why this is the case we have to back to the apostles. After Jesus sent them out, the apostles established Churches all over the ancient world, and they set up bishops to be in charge. We know this because we have some of the letters that these very early bishops wrote. The bishops saw themselves as carrying on the work of the apostles after they died, and not as priests with some extra abilities. The bishops provide a line that stretches all the way back to Jesus (this is one of the nice things about Catholicism, history backs up many of our beliefs).

In fact, this situation with bishops is part of the reason the Pope is so important. The Pope isn't something other than a bishop. He's a bishop, but because he is the bishop that was appointed by the leader of the apostles, St. Peter, he has a special role to play in the Church. Just like Peter was able to coordinate where the apostles went and what they taught, the Pope helps organize the Church and makes sure everybody is on the same page.

Youth Ministry Digest for August 28, 2009

Youth Ministry is headed online! This past week Youth Ministry launched several online initiatives that you can get involved with right now. For starters, we now have our own Youth Blog. The blog will be updated two or three times a week. It can be found at:

http://titusfatimayouthministry.blogspot.com/. (add it to your bookmarks)

Designed for the high school aged members of our parishes, I hope everyone can benefit from the fun and accessible content we'll be adding. From the blog you can find:

• The website we designed specifically to keep parents up to date with everything Youth Ministry is doing.

• Our online calendar.

• A link to our brand new Facebook group. Please note, the Facebook group is open only to high school aged members of St. Titus and Our Lady of Fatima parishes.

Let me also assure everybody that we will continue to communicate through traditional channels as well and will take every step possible to not disadvantage those who cannot or do not wish to access the Internet.

In addition to this exciting news, please be aware of the following dates:

• There will be an information session for parents of high school aged children who are interested in the Youth Group. This meeting will be held in the Upper Room (the building next to the rectory) at Our Lady of Fatima Church on September 8th at 7PM. This meeting is not mandatory if your child wishes to participate in Youth Ministry, but is highly recommended.

• Any parent of a high school aged teenager who would like to chaperon or volunteer with the Youth Group must attend a mandatory meeting the following week. This will be held in Titan hall (under the Church) at St. Titus on September 15th at 7pm. Please RSVP with me no later than Thursday, September 10th. If you cannot make it on this date please contact me, and I will accommodate you.

• Any teen involved in Youth Ministry last year is asked to please volunteer some time for a small recruiting event on September 20th. Contact me if you can help or would like more information.

• Finally, the Youth Minister will be coordinating a trip to the Alive Again! event on Sunday, September 12th. The cost is $15 per teen, and a bus has been provided courtesy of Fr. Paul and Fr. Howard. The bus will leave from the Our Lady of Fatima lot at 12:30pm. We will be returning at 11pm. The mass, to be held at the event, will satisfy your Sunday obligation. Permission forms are available in the Church vestibule or on this webpage. Please RSVP on Facebook.
  

Anybody with questions or comments about these developments is encouraged to contact me at titusfatimayouthministry@gmail.com or (724)375-7940.

Adam

Your Intrepid Youth Minister

p.s. Here is a picture of one of my dogs getting a bath

One...One...AH AH Ah ah

Update: Now there are three.

Person has joined the Facebook group.

Carry On,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister

Back to School

For many of you, the School year starts up today. I know the announcement for the blog hasn't been in the bulletin yet, but I want to let you all know that I'm praying for all of you.

You should pray too. In fact you should use prayer to modulate your day. Before you start class, why not think a quick Hail Mary to yourself? When you are busy, I'm sure, studying and never goofing off at school ever, take a break, go to the drinking fountain and mumble a quick Glory Be.

For the ill-informed:

Hail Mary
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you;
blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.

Glory Be
Glory be to the Father, to the Son and to the Holy Spirit
As it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be: World without end.
Amen.

The Prayer of Tobias & Sarah

The Book of Tobit is one of my favorite books of the Bible; it's also one of the most overlooked. I hope that by the time you've read this you will think that this is a huge oversight. I think the thing that impressed me the most about it was the way parts of Tobit feel like they belong in modern times, rather than thousands of years ago.

Tobit is the story of Tobias and Sarah. Sarah has been married seven times, but on her wedding night, each time, the demon Asmodeus kills her new husband. Tobias is on his way to Media when he meets another traveler. He doesn't know it, but the other traveler is the angel Raphael in disguise.

After Tobias and Sarah meet and get married, Tobias uses some advice Raphael gave him to defeat Asmodeus.

Then Tobias remembered the words of Raphael, and he took the fish’s liver and heart out of the bag where he had them and put them on the embers of the incense. The odor of the fish so repelled the demon that he fled to the remotest parts of Egypt [the desert]. But Raphael followed him, and at once bound him there hand and foot.
Tobit 8:2-3

This section sounds like something more in sync with The Lord of the Rings than other parts of the Bible.

Tobit isn't just a story about a married couple, an angel and a demon, though. It is also a story about how God answers prayers. Right after Raphael drives out the demon Tobias and Sarah know they should immediately pray to God because they are so grateful for the help and happiness he has given them.

Blessed are you, O God of our ancestors,
and blessed is your name in all generations for ever.
Let the heavens and the whole creation bless you for ever.
You made Adam, and for him you made his wife Eve
as a helper and support.
From the two of them the human race has sprung.
You said, “It is not good that the man should be alone;
let us make a helper for him like himself.”
I now am taking this kinswoman of mine,
not because of lust,
but with sincerity.
Grant that she and I may find mercy and that we may grow old together.
Tobit 8:5-8

How has God helped you out of a bad situation, like he helped Sarah and Tobias? When have you, unlike Tobias and Sarah, not been quick to thank God, when He has answered your prayers?

The other nice thing about Tobit is (hint!) its short. Short enough to be read in an afternoon (hint!).

Find the Reference; Win 5 Points

I found this on a website about Geoffrey Chaucer, its the first verse of a very good song translated into Olde Englysh. Figure out what its a reference too, email me (or put it on our Facebook wall) your answer and win five points.

p.s. The points don't go towards anything. I will try to put trivia or a puzzle or some other sort of question up a few times a month. And I will track the points. So still try.

Help Wanted

Is anybody free on the morning of September 20? I need some people who were involved with the Youth Group last year to help me with a small recruitment event. We will be using the oppurtunity to let other people know how great Youth Group meetings were, all the fun stuff you did and how they can get involved.

A few days before the 20th we will be having a short get pow-wow to work out the details. Please let me know you can help be emailing me, getting in touch with me on Facebook or leaving me a voicemail at (724)375-7940.

Alive Again!

Update: Now you can RSVP on Facebook.

On September 12, at 12:30pm anyone grades 9-12 who has a permission form and $15 may go to Alive Again! An Event of Hope.

Alive Again! is an event being held at St. Benedict the Abbot Church, it will feature a concert with Matt Maher, mass with Bishop Zubik (it counts as Sunday mass), some speakers and dinner (included in the cost). We will be returning at 11PM.

You should be able to find a permission form in the Church vestibule or by clicking here.

Welcome to the Youth Blog

Hello everyone,

Let me introduce myself, I'm Adam, your new Youth Minister at St. Titus & Our Lady of Fatima parishes, and this is our blog. I started at the beginning of August and I have been working very hard to get everything ready for the upcoming Youth Ministry year.

We are going to have our first regular meeting at the start of October, but before then there are a couple of things I would like to fill you in on:

• I'm going to be holding an information session for your parents on September 8, 2009 in the upper room (that's the building above the rectory garage) at Our Lady of Fatima at 7pm. Your parents don't need to come for you to do (awesome) Youth Ministry stuff, but there's going to be a lot of stuff about the Youth Group that I'm going over at the meeting. So bug them about it.
• If your parents want to help out chaperoning when we go off site, or volunteering some other way, there is a meeting they need to attend in the St. Titus Church hall at 7pm on September 15. If your parents want to volunteer this meeting is mandatory. If they are going to be attending the meeting, they need to RSVP with me. So bug them about that too.
• We are on Facebook! If your parents let you use Facebook, click here and join our group ASAP!
• We do have one rule on Facebook though, you can't friend me or any other adult that you know through Youth Ministry directly. Its a legal thing that we have to do to protect everybody's privacy.
  
• One last computer thing, you can check on upcoming stuff through our online Calendar.

So please check this blog often, I'm hoping to write something new two or three times a week!

Thanks,

Adam
Your Intrepid Youth Minister