We Win!

We Win!

Hi my name is Art and I admit to becoming discouraged. Yep, I am stepping up and admitting that at times, especially of late, I have been guilty of discouragement.  Years ago when I first wadded into the attractive, yet tremulous waters of Catholic youth ministry, my pastor gave me the best advice I ever recieved. Actually he continued unabated giving me this advice even after I was no longer working for him at our parish.  His advice, “Do not get discouraged, it is a great weapon of the devil.”  How right he is.  Many times over the years I have let those sage words slip from my heart and head when I was overcome by circumstances.  

    But recently after a bout with this affliction, I recalled his words and was brought back to reality.   It was actually a combination of that advice and two recent events.   The first was a Kairos retreat that I was privileged to direct in the course of my day job.  The second was a moment at Stations of the Cross last night on Good Friday.  

    The Kairos retreat was astounding.  For the second time at a Kairos, I saw over four days,  discouraged, apathetic, confused students come to realize how much God loves them. I was witness to a true and real transformation,  that slowly unfolded before my eyes.  Its not like I did not expect it to some degree. But still when it happened, I was astounded by Gods mercy and grace.  

    The second incident happen just last night when praying the stations and looking at the huge beautiful crucifix in our parish.  It just hit me again. Satan thought he had won.  He managed to get the Son of God on the cross, (or that is what he thought).   But his victory sealed his defeat.  We won.  

      Christ’s was victorious in His death and Resurrection. Grace flowed and hope was reborn!   We won! 

     I feel the two realizations I have had are connected.  It is so easy to get discouraged.  The world seems like it may be on the precipice of collapse.  The country that I grew up in appears on the verge of unimaginable change.  We have been told “we are no longer a Christian nation. ”  We may not able to share our beliefes openly. We may be “forced” to act in ways that counter our conscience.  Seems hopeless. 

Many of the young people we see and work with are apathetic, lost, tired, lonely.  They claim a prayer life and a belief in God,  but reject His Church and the necessity of the Sacraments.  What is a tired overworked youth minister to do?  Well I will tell you. We are to remember that WE WON.  Christ is victorious.  Regardless os what else happens we only need to stand with Christ and we win.  We need to not only remember that, but tell our young charges this Good News.  They need hope. They need to know that it is worth fighting the fight of faith, staying in the game.  Encourage them to embrace the battle we fight with an ever unfaithful world.  Let them know they need to keep their “eyes on Christ the perfecter of faith.”  

Praise be Jesus Christ, for He  is Truly Risen!   May you have a glorious Easter. 

Art Bamert Jr

Sexting

In case you haven’t heard, an alarming trend among young people has now hit hyper-drive. It’s called “sexting” and for those not familiar with the practice, it involves mainly young women–and girls since some are only 12–taking nude and semi-nude photos of themselves and texting them to boys as a form of flirting. Seriously. In fact, it just hit the front page of our local newspaper in York County, PA this past week. Authorities are trying to get the teens help, but under the law, they could be charged with posessing child pornography for having it on their phones, or charged with transporting child porn if they were to forward it to friends. And do you think any of them did that? Duh.

It is a sad state of affairs in our culture when the world has convinced some young women that their greatest asset is their bodies. When the culture has trained young girls to reveal parts of themselves that should be reserved for their husbands someday, in order to gain someone’s attention, or to find worth in themselves. I for one, as a father of girls and as a youth minister, am very saddened by this.

Let’s all make a renewed pledge to help the women and girls in our lives–our mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, students, friends  and youth group members–to love themselves and understand that they are princesses of the King of Kings. Through God’s grace, may all women live in this reality and may all men give them the respect and dignity they deserve. Perhaps if we all work together, with God’s grace, things like sexting may disappear from our culture for good.

Youth Ministry Lite?

Lately I’ve been encountering a disturbing trend in youth ministry I will refer to as “Youth Ministry Lite”. It kind of looks like this: a youth rally is planned for teens (either jr. high or sr. high). The organizers want lots of teens to attend (perhaps mainly to make sure their costs are covered, I don’t know). So they plan as much “fun” and as little “meat” as possible. The event is filled with things like inflatable games, dances, icebreakers and games, but are woefully absent of things such as Eucharistic Adoration, reverent and joy-filled Masses, authentic prayer opportunities, and powerful talks. While I am not opposed to fun, and while I agree there needs to be a “fun factor” to attract some kids, I think when we plan events like this we are short-changing our young people. We perhaps place our fears and low expectations on them. In my experience, teens are drawn to excellence and they are eager to accept the challenges of the Gospel when presented with integrity and passion. They want to encounter Jesus in a real and profound way. I think more teens would eventually flock to Catholic youth events  that stress commitment to the magisterium, a joyful spirit, powerful talks, impacting worship and times for authentically connecting to God.    Our Fan the Fire ® Youth Rallies are a perfect example. More than 700-800 teens routinely fill 1-3 venues every year for the “solid food” that St. Paul mentions in 1 Cor. 3: 2. The 70’s are over, let’s stop doing youth ministry as if the greatest goal is just to have a couple hundred kids together smiling and laughing for a day. Let’s plan challenging, engaging events for young people where they might laugh, or even cry, as they encounter the living God in the Church He established. Events like this in a young person’s life can change them for a lifetime–or for an eternity.

Hello world!

Welcome to the new Catholic Youth Ministry Group Blog. We are very excited to be able to share with you our thoughts, ideas and experiences in Catholic ministry.  This is not the site of one lone blogger, but will be a vehicle for the staff of CYMG and their friends and colleagues who work in ministry to discuss the ins and outs of this amazing work we have been called to.  Please check back soon for articles on parish ministry, high school and college ministry, family ministry and more.