The Catholic Church and Donuts....those Donuts just keep coming back.

There was a boy by the name of Steve who was attending school in Utah. Brother Christianson taught at this particular school. He had an open-door policy and would take in any student that had been thrown out of another class as long as they would abide by his rules. Steve had been kicked out of his sixth period and no other teacher wanted him, so he went into Brother Christianson's class. Steve was told that he could not be late, so he arrived just seconds before the bell rang and he would sit in the very back of the room. He would also be the first to leave after the class was over.

One day, Brother Christianson asked Steve to stay after class so he could talk with him. After class, Bro.Christianson pulled Steve aside and said, "You think you're pretty tough, don't you?"

Steve's answer was, "Yeah, I do."

Then Brother Christianson asked, "How many push-ups can you do?"

Steve said, "I do about 200 every night."

"200? That's pretty good, Steve," Brother Christianson said. "Do you think you could do 300?"

Steve replied, "I don't know... I've never done 300 at a time."

"Do you think you could?" again asked Brother Christianson.."Well, I can try," said Steve.

"Can you do 300 in sets of 10? I need you to do 300 in sets of ten for this to work. Can you do it? I need you to tell me you can do it,"Brother Christianson said.

Steve said, "Well... I think I can... yeah, I can do it."

Brother Christianson said, "Good! I need you to do this on Friday."

Friday came and Steve got to class early and sat in the front of the room. When class started, Brother Christianson pulled out a big box of donuts.

Now these weren't the normal kinds of donuts, they were the extra fancy BIG kind, with cream centers and frosting swirls. Everyone was pretty excited - it was Friday, the last class of the day, and they were going to get an early start on the weekend. Bro. Christianson went to the first girl in the first row and asked,"Cynthia, do you want a donut?"

Cynthia said, "Yes."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked, "Steve, would you do ten push-ups so that Cynthia can have a donut?"

Steve said, "Sure," and jumped down from his desk to do a quick ten. Then Steve again sat in his desk. Bro. Christianson put a donut onCynthia's desk. Bro. Christianson then went to Joe, the next person, and asked, "Joe do you want a donut?"

Joe said, "Yes."Bro. Christianson asked, "Steve would you do ten push-ups so Joe can have a donut?" Steve did ten push-ups, Joe got a donut. And so it went,down the first aisle, Steve did ten pushups for every person before they got their donut. And down the second aisle, until Bro. Christianson came to Scott. Scott was captain of the football team and center of thebasketball team. He was very popular and never lacking for female companionship. When Bro. Christianson asked, "Scott do you want a donut?"

Scott's reply was, "Well, can I do my own pushups?"

Bro. Christianson said, "No, Steve has to do them."

Then Scott said, "Well, I don't want one then."

Bro. Christianson then turned to Steve and asked "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Scott can have a donut he doesn't want?"Steve started to do ten pushups.

Scott said, "HEY! I said I didn't want one!"Bro. Christianson said, "Look, this is my classroom, my class, my desks, and my donuts. Just leave it on the desk if you don't want it." And he put a donut on Scott's desk. Now by this time, Steve had begun to slow down a little. He just stayed on the floor between sets because it took too much effort to be getting up and down. You could start to see a little perspiration coming out around his brow. Bro. Christianson started down the third row. Now the students were beginning to get a little angry.Bro. Christianson asked Jenny, "Jenny, do you want a donut?"Jenny said, "No."Then Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so Jenny can have a donut that she doesn't want?" Steve did ten, Jenny got a donut.

By now, the students were beginning to say "No" and there were all these uneaten donuts on the desks. Steve was also having to really put forth alot of effort to get these pushups done for each donut. There began to be a small pool of sweat on the floor beneath his face, his arms and brow were beginning to get red because of the physical effort involved. Bro. Christianson asked Robert to watch Steve to make sure he did ten pushups in a set because he couldn't bear to watch all of Steve's work for all of those uneaten donuts. So Robert began to watch Steve closely.

Bro. Christianson started down the fourth row. During his class, however, some students had wandered in and sat along the heaters along the sides of the room. When Bro. Christianson realized this; he did a quick count and saw 34 students in the room. He started to worry if Steve would be able to make it. Bro. Christianson went on to the next person and the next and the next. Near the end of that row, Steve was really having a rough time. He was taking a lot more time to complete each set. Steve asked Bro. Christianson, "Do I have to make my nose touch on each one?"Bro. Christianson thought for a moment, "Well, they're your pushups..You can do them any way that you want." And Bro. Christianson went on. A few moments later, Jason came to the room and was about to come in when all the students yelled, "NO! Don't come in! Stay out!"Jason didn't know what was going on. Steve picked up his head and said,"No, let him come."

Bro. Christianson said, "You realize that if Jason comes in you willhave to do ten pushups for him."Steve said, "Yes, let him come in."

Bro. Christianson said, "Okay, I'll let you get Jason's out of the way right now. Jason, do you want a donut?"

"Yes."

"Steve, will you do ten pushups so that Jason can have a donut?" Steve did ten pushups very slowly and with great effort. Jason, bewildered,was handed a donut and sat down. Bro. Christianson finished the fourth row, then started on those seated on the heaters. Steve's arms were now shaking with each pushup in a struggle to lift himself against the force of gravity. Sweat was dropping off of his face and, by this time, there was not a dry eye inthe room. The very last two girls in the room were cheerleaders and very popular. Bro. Christianson went to Linda, the second to last, and asked, "Linda,do you want a doughnut?

Linda said, very sadly, "No, thank you."

Bro. Christianson asked Steve, "Steve, would you do ten pushups so that Linda can have a donut she doesn't want?"Grunting from the effort, Steve did ten very slow pushups for Linda. Then Bro. Christianson turned to the last girl, Susan. "Susan, do you want a donut?" Susan, with tears flowing down her face, asked, "Bro.Christianson, can I help him?"

Bro. Christianson, with tears of his own, said, "No, he has to do it alone. Steve, would you do ten pushups so Susan can have a donut?"As Steve very slowly finished his last pushup, with the understandingthat he had accomplished all that was required of him, having done 350 pushups, his arms buckled beneath him and he fell to the floor.

Brother Christianson turned to the room and said.

"And so it was, that our Savior, Jesus Christ, plead to the Father,"Into thy hands I commend my spirit." With the understanding that He had done everything that was required of Him, he collapsed on the cross and died. And like some of those in this room, many of us leave the gift on the desk, uneaten"

-- Author Unknown

Holy Week

I hope you guys are having a wonderful spring break and Holy Week.

Holy Thursday - 7pm Mass of the Lord's Supper

Good Friday - Stations of the Cross 2pm

Lord's Passion Service 3pm and 7pm

Holy Saturday - Easter Vigil Mass 8pm

EASTER SUNDAY!!!!! - Mass 9am and 11am

Holy Week!

Did you know...that Palm Sunday is also the 22nd World Youth Day? We get to celebrate World Youth Day in our own diocese this Year. Click here to check out Pope Benedict's message to you (...and me) for World Youth Day!

To watch live coverage of Holy Week at the Vatican Check THIS out!

Vatican TV, so rad.

For Online Stations of the Cross to Increase your God time as Holy week approaches Click on the picture!

More stuff about Holy Week can be found....Here! Click for More on Holy Week!

While searching for stuff to do with Holy Week I found this amazing video. This man is such an awesome servant. Check it out.

Your path to holiness.

Hey everyone,

I hope we've kicked up your interest in learning more about why John Paull II called our bodies a Theology. We are in our substance studies of God! So cool. So go live out your sexuality the way God wanted you to.

For more awesome info on Theology of the Body check out www.nccmtob.blogspot.com

It's my alma mater's TOB site.

Here's a recap from last night.

Life Night #16 Vocations

Vocation:
-a divine call to God's service or to the Christian life.
-a function or station in life to which one is called by God: the religious vocation; the vocation of marriage.

Primary vocation - to live in union with God.

Secondary vocation - marriage? religious life? consecrated single life? priesthood?

How are you going to follow God's plan for your life?


Objective: Closing up Theology of the Body.
The world is a nasty place, full of lies about our sexuality and it's function.
In the celibate consecrated life you live out the heavenly ultimate marriage on earth.
Marriage is meant to be the sign post for our ultimate heaven.
If you want to change the world, listen to God’s calling and live out your sexuality the way it was meant to be lived, as redeemed by Christ.

How do you think you can live with your gift of sexuality in a celibate life? – living a celibate consecrated life is to live out our ultimate vocation, which is union with God. Our bodies are used sexually in marriage. In marriage we are pointed towards heaven. Marriage is like a road sign on our way to heaven. It is not our ultimate fulfillment. The destination of heaven and union with God is our ultimate vocation and fulfillment. If you know your purpose in life so well that you will become a “eunuch for the kingdom” you are skipping the road sign and going straight to living out the marriage on earth. Our ultimate fulfillment is to be married (in loving union) to God. If we can marry God while we’re still alive….Kudos!!! This is the celibate life. This is the religious life. The consecrated celibate life.

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of the priesthood?

is it this?

What’s the first thing you think of when you think of a nun?

is it this?

"I will wait for as long as you wish. It's just that I do not want our union to be delayed through any fault of mine. Meanwhile, I am going to do my best to make myself a beautiful wedding dress, all studded with jewels. I am sure, my Beloved, that when you consider it sufficiently adorned, no one will be able to prevent you from coming down and uniting me to you forever."
-St. Therese of Lisieux

(Awesome Bride of Christ. She was a carmelite.)

Why do you think there’s a shortage of priests? - Misconceptions about the priesthood, poor understanding of sexuality, poor catechesis about the Catholic Church, Men are emasculated in the media – portrayed as dumb, weak, beefcakes, only self-seeking instead of self-sacrificing. Being a priest is no cakewalk. If you are to be another Christ to His Bride the Church, you've got to be willing to go all the way and say "This is my body given up for you." To leave everything and follow Christ.


What do you think are some of the attractions in being a religious sister or monk? Living Heaven on earth!!!

Have you ever known a priest or nun that has made a big difference in your life?

What’s your reaction to marriage cannot be your ultimate fulfillment?

Marriage is only the road sign. You don’t stop and say “I’m here!” when you see a road sign that tells you you’re 50 miles from your destination….it points us to our heavenly marriage with Christ, but we cannot expect another human to fulfill our ultimate longing, if we do we’ll smother that person.

What’s your reaction to “God wants to marry you?”

Do you ever think you could be a priest or sister? Why or why not?

Why do you think it’s important for a priest or a nun to also have the qualities of a good mom or dad?

They are spiritual mothers and fathers.

What do you think it would be like to live a cloistered, contemplative life?

A sample
Still confused?

More Awesome Vocations Info

Vocations Office - Seattle Archdiocese

Vocations Office - Vancouver Archdiocese (Yes, Canada)

Vocations Video for girls

Info for Girls:

Council of Major Superiors of Women Religious

Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal

Sisters of Life

Missionaries of Charity

Carmelite Sisters of the Most Sacred Heart

Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia

Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist

Abbey of St. Walburga this is the one I was thinking of joining :)

Poor Clare Sisters

Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration

Info for Guys:

Vocations Video for guys

Mount Angel Seminary

Seminary of Christ the King (Benedictines)

Franciscan Friars

Dominicans Western Province

Carmelites Western Province (the order that Fr. Matthew, Fr. Charles, and Br. Laurence are from)

Missionary of Charity Fathers

Missionaries of the Gospel of Life

Legionaries of Christ

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

Norbertines

Love, Love, Love....Check out this website if you're just overwhelmed and want to read more about Love, Vocations, and Purity. There's a ton of cool stuff on here.

Pure Love Club

Contraception and Abortion

You want to know about Contraception?

to read

Click Here.

or Here

or Here

or HERE

If you Like Listening Better.....

click below

Kimberly Hahn 1

Why Contraception is Wrong: [ReadAudio] or [MP3 Format]

Teaching NFP and Stopping Abortion: [RealAudio] or [MP3 Format part 1 and part 2]

Sorry, I couldn't find any videos for you who like visuals more.

Cool quote....

Here's a neat quote:

Passion is the evil in adultery. If a man has no opportunity of living with another man's wife, but if it is obvious for some reason that he would like to do so, and would do so if he could, he is no less guilty than if he was caught in the act.

- St. Augustine

Chastity

Remember, we are called to love in the image of the Holy Trinity. Father gives Himself eternally to the Son in Love. The Son receives love from the Father eternally. The love that is between them is so real and so strong that it is an eternal person, the Holy Spirit.

So we are made in the image and likeness of God to live in a communion of Love. Men giving their total selves to their wives. Wives receiving all of their husbands and giving their whole selves back to them. This love can sometimes be so incredibly blessed that it brings forth new life!!!

If you're not living God's plan for Sex, which is always within marriage being Total, Faithful, Fruitful, and Free you are not loving in the image of the trinity. You're not loving the other person with your total self. That sex is not total because you haven't given your life to them in marriage and if you're contracepting you're holding yourself back, it's not faithful because there's no commitment, it's not fruitful because you're not growing spiritually because of it and if you're contracepting you're not open to new life. It's not Free either, because you're not choosing the best for you or the other person. If you're going to love someone you have to be able to live in the mindset of Christ

"This is my body, given up for you."

Freedom is choosing the best outcome. License is the ability to choose. Don't get mixed up!

Freedom:

1. The condition of being free of restraints.
2. Liberty of the person from slavery, detention, or oppression.

Don't be enslaved by your desires. Be free to live and love without worrying about disease, hurting each other, objectifying someone, being objectified, etc. etc. etc. God calls us to be free. That's why he died for us.

from Life teen How far is too far?

As human beings, we crave relationships. And in each relationship, we need balance to meet all of our needs: God/Jesus, Our Parents, Our brothers and sisters, our friends, our boyfriends/girlfriends, our spouses. The more we go through life without this “balance” in our relationships, particularly from our parents, the more our needs get left unmet.
These unmet needs lead to poor choices, particularly with our sexuality. The needs create a longing in us for intimacy. Sexual experiences give the feeling of deep intimacy, but many times it is a false sense of intimacy, and not the real thing. It soothes us, helps us feel better, but doesn’t meet the deep need in us.

The danger here is that we are using sexual experiences like a drug – to create a feeling of what we need, rather than getting the real thing – it’s an allusion and can lead us into addiction, just like any drug could.



Here are some things we should consider -


1. Understand that before marriage your friendship is not for sexual pleasure. God wants you to learn to love each other and be best friends. Many marriages break up because they are based on LUST not friendship. Build your relationship on being best friends.

2. Make up your mind to enjoy what God has given you now. Friendships are precious, but can be ruined by the power of Lust. Lust will want you to have deeper and deeper sexual experiences and will never satisfy you. Choose right now to not be controlled by lust, but to enjoy your relationship.


3. If you have decided not to be controlled by lust, you’ll know to keep your hands to yourself. Touching people sexually inevitably leads to something deeper. In your heart you do know what is right, follow the Holy Spirit’s conviction, it is always for the best.


Here’s how Fr. J on www.lifeteen.com replied to someone who asked the question - “How far is too far?” “Burning passion is a blazing fire, not to be quenched till it burns itself out.” This passage from the Book of Sirach 23:16 kind of sums it up, doesn’t it? If you’re getting all hot and stuff with the person you’re with then chances are you’re going to get burned. I mean people can play all the “I can control myself ” games that they want to, but the truth is that its not just the action that makes something sinful, its also the intention. Christ said, “From the mind stem evil designs - murder, adulterous conduct, fornication (this is the one you’re asking about), stealing, false witness and blasphemy. These things are what makes a person impure.” (Matt. 15:19-20)

Now I know that being a teenager means that you're this big wound up ball of hormones, but I also know that the body must be subject to the Spirit. I also know that there should never be anything that gets in the way of you making to heaven, including your own passions. Think about it... is the brief time you’ll be having “fun” worth the chance of missing out on eternity with God? Add onto that, is your “fun” worth risking your partner’s chance to get into the big party God has waiting for us?


Every part of me wants to tell you that it will be real easy to avoid being tempted to give into your sex drive, but the truth is its not easy. Its not easy as a teenager and it doesn’t get any easier when you get older. Still, the message is clear... our bodies (and the bodies of those with us) are temples, are sacred because God made us that way and never should they be used as toys to get us excited. If you’re worried about going too far... answer to you is that you’re already there. Stop trying to push the boundaries of sexual experimentation and do something really cutting edge... actually get to know the person you’re with, because that experience, unlike sexual passion, has no limits.



For more info on Chastity, Dating and Theology of the Body....Click the picture!!

Good Advice

This again, it makes sense.

Shake, shake, shake....okay it's getting old.

The girls are winning the "Which gender is going to have the most attendees at the retreats this weekend?" contest.

So far I have:

14 girls

7 guys

Okay...there's no real contest. But seriously! Let me know if you're coming! It's going to be awesome!

Every single person registered in the youth group has been called......I wonder which team is going to win. :) See you all on Saturday!!! Bring friends!!

Cancelled

In case you didn't get the e-mail or get the message the Snowshoeing trip is cancelled. Sorry for all those who were looking forward to this trip. Maybe next time!

Keep your days clear for February 24th for

Shake your Beauty

and

Virtuous Reality!

Homosexuality

Here's more background info on what we talked about. Click on the underlined large words for the full articles and documents.

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church

Chastity and homosexuality

Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that "homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered." They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.

Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.

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

From Catholic Answers

Homosexuality

Every human being is called to receive a gift of divine sonship, to become a child of God by grace. However, to receive this gift, we must reject sin, including homosexual behavior—that is, acts intended to arouse or stimulate a sexual response regarding a person of the same sex. The Catholic Church teaches that such acts are always violations of divine and natural law.

Homosexual desires, however, are not in themselves sinful. People are subject to a wide variety of sinful desires over which they have little direct control, but these do not become sinful until a person acts upon them, either by acting out the desire or by encouraging the desire and deliberately engaging in fantasies about acting it out. People tempted by homosexual desires, like people tempted by improper heterosexual desires, are not sinning until they act upon those desires in some manner.

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

From the group COURAGE

Persons with homosexual desires have always been with us; however, until recent times, there has been little, if any, formal outreach from the Church in the way of support groups or information for such persons. Most were left to work out their path on their own. As a result, they found themselves listening to and accepting the secular society's perspective and opting to act on their same-sex desires.

His Eminence, the late Terence Cardinal Cooke of New York, was aware of, and troubled by this situation. He knew that the individual dealing with same-sex attractions truly needed to experience the freedom of interior chastity and in that freedom find the steps necessary to living a fully Christian life in communion with God and others. He was concerned that many would not find this path and would be constantly trying to get their needs met in ways that ultimately do not satisfy the desires of the heart.

In response to this concern, he decided to form a spiritual support system which would assist men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love.
Knowing of Fr. John Harvey's extensive ministry experience in this field, he invited him to come to his Archdiocese.

With the help of the Rev. Benedict Groeschel, C.F.R., and others, Fr. Harvey began the Courage Apostolate with its first meeting meeting in September, 1980 at the Shrine of Mother Seton in South Ferry.

With the endorsement of the Holy See, Courage now has more than 110 Chapters and contact people world-wide, over 1500 persons participating in its ListServs, and hundreds of persons per week receiving assistance from the main office and website. It has become a mainstream Catholic Apostolate helping thousands of men and women find peace through fellowship, prayer, and the Sacraments.

The Courage Central Office operates through the prayerful and financial support of the Archdiocese of New York as well as contributions and volunteer work from Courage members and other individuals and organizations committed to advancing its efforts.
Individual chapters throughout the world are self-supporting and exist with the permission of their diocesan Bishop.

In helping individuals gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the Church's teachings, especially in the area of chastity, Courage extends the Church's invitation to a life of peace and grace. In chaste living, one finds the peace and grace to grow in Christian maturity.

Copyright (C) 2000 Courage

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

If you are struggling with Homosexual inclinations or know someone who is feel free to come and talk with me or get in contact with the Washington Chapter of Courage.

TOB Intro Part II

I hope this week was a little easier to digest especially with all that small group time :) Next week we're talking about what the Church says about Homosexuality. Here's the info from last night!
(modified from Life Teen's "Off the Wall" night)

From last week’s talks, would you say that in this world sexuality is viewed as it should be?
No.

But our God is asking us, just like he asked Peter today, to have faith in Him. Have faith in his incredible plan for our sexuality so that we might marvel at the wonder he shows us when we do.

You, are the hope for this world. You, bearing God’s gifts, vision, and promise. Our generation has already started, there is a revival. Teens and young people are starting to wake up to the truth about their sexuality and are realizing that they shouldn’t settle for the lies about our sexuality.

We need to seek the truth about our sexuality and guard our hearts against the disordered messages we’re getting from everywhere. Oral sex, sex parties, petting, pornography…these are not okay. This is not what God had in mind when he designed you, body and soul. And the fruits of abortion, contraception, suicide, STDs, depression, and despair clearly show this. This is not the happiness God intended for you when he created sex.

I don’t know exactly where each one of you stands with your faith life, I wish I did but I’m not there yet as a youth minister, so let’s level the playing field and make sure we’re all on the same page. I hope and pray that all of you are rooted in the belief that the Catholic Church speaks the truth revealed by Christ, but in case some of you are unsure consider this point when listening tonight because everything that we’re talking about is rooted in scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. So consider this…

Is it possible that a rational, intelligent person could accept the teachings of Christianity, and more specifically the Catholic Faith, as Truth? Yes... The world is full of rational, intelligent people who not only believe them to be true, but have been willing to give their lives for what they believe. So, it must at least be something worth investigating right? So please, keep an open mind while we’re talking about the Theology of the Body because for the next 5 life nights, we may be discussing things you’ve never heard and possibly disagree with. And with that….let’s get onto the truth about ourselves.

Beginning in 1979, about after a year of being Pope, John Paul II began a series of teachings at his weekly Wednesday public audiences about the human body and sexuality. These five weekly teachings lasted FIVE YEARS. This collection is now known as the Theology of the Body, and it is revolutionary and prophetic. John Paul II could see even in the late 70’s how broken our sexuality was starting to become with the “sexual revolution” and where we were heading if it did not change.

So let’s look at where we began. We’ve already discussed Genesis a lot. When God created us in his image and likeness, male and female he created us. So realize this, every bit of you, who you are, how you were made, what you look like, from your fingernails, your eyeballs, even down to your genitals, is made in the image and likeness of God. Our bodies image Him and the functions of our bodies mirror and reveal to us the mysteries of God and His love for us.

So undo the twisted ideas that say that the body is dirty, sinful, or unholy, or that your sexuality is unholy. The Catechism says “the flesh is the hinge of salvation”, but remember that is only true when “the flesh” is in line with the design of the creator. Our bodies are beautiful. We need our bodies for our faith. We believe in the WORD MADE FLESH who came to dwell among us and redeem the flesh. It is through your body that you sense and experience your faith. This is why we have sacraments, those outward and physical signs of inward grace being bestowed upon us by God. Holy water at baptism, sacred Chrism at baptism and confirmation, laying on of hands at confirmation and ordination, eating and drinking the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass, confessing your sins with your lips, anointing the sick, becoming one flesh in marriage; these are the sacraments, without your body you can’t receive them!
It is through our human flesh that we encounter the divine mystery.
To fully understand who we are and what we are we must understand in what image we are made and why.

Pope Benedict XVI has started off his Pontificate explaining it all for us, in his encyclical “God is Love”. God is a union of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God the Father is the lover, Jesus his only Son is the Beloved, and this love is so true and consuming that it is the blessed third person of the Trinity the Holy Spirit. When man and woman come together in a nuptial union, it images the trinity. This image is stamped in our bodies. So we are called also to reflect the love of God and love as he loves.

God loves us in many ways and these types of love are described by the scriptures and in much more detail in Pope Benedict’s encyclical. Some of the loves in the Bible describe God’s love as
-The love of an artist for his work.
-The love of a father for his son or daughter.
But the most used metaphor in scripture to describe how God loves us is that of the love between a Man and a Woman. The Bridegroom for his Bride. Our Church is called the eternal Bride of Christ and heaven is called the Eternal Wedding Feast.

Ephesians 5

Men your calling is to love your wives and all women as Christ loves the Church.

Women your calling is to allow yourselves to be loved as Christ loves you.

Submissive = under the mission

Suboordinate = under the order

Therefore....we are to be under the mission of men loving us as Christ loves us ladies. And men you are called to the difficult mission of loving as Christ loves. Corinthians 13 tells us....

Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, is not pompous, it is not inflated,
it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.

Don't settle for anything less, Christ wouldn't want you to.

Neat video.

Dove film, watch it again

Remember, women are God's masterpiece. God entered the world through a woman. Rejoice in your femininity girls, God does!

Theology of the Body

Click on the picture to read more...

(this is a condensed overview)

Click to Listen to Christopher West explain the Theology of the Body

click!Redemption of the Body
click!The Heart of God's Plan
click!The Human Body Shares in Divine Life
click!The Two Will Become One Flesh
click!The Human Desire for Heaven Gone Berserk
click!"Theological Time bomb"
click!Fuel of a Rocket
click!Live the Truth of The Spirit
click!Good News
click!Nakedness Without Shame
click!John Paul II
click!John Paul II Places a Value on Sex
click!Called With Power
click!Culture Has No Clue The Value of Sex
click!Eternal Plan of Love
click!Revolution For The Church
click!Theology of The Body is Not Just About Sex
click!Real Power From The Cross
click!Why is There Evil in The World
click!The Body Entered Theology Through The Main Door

Thirst

A new Rock band from our Diocese. Check 'em out. Just click below!

Thirst

Pro-Life Videos

Thanks for this video Jan. Take a look it's pretty cool. Keep your eyes peeled for TOB stuff coming soon.




This one is even cooler.

Jr. High Rally!!!

2007 Jr. High Rally

GOL: God on Line!

March 3,2007

Highline Community College

Save the Date!!!

T-Shirts!! Breakfast!! Snowshoes!!!

T-Shirt Designs!!! Apparently no-one wants to design St. Cecilia Youth Group T-shirts or something....so I guess we're going to extend the deadline.....How about Feb 24th? I've got some designs, but I know you guys can come up with catchy slogans and graphics and stuff.

Good News!! Since I have the big brown truck now....Breakfasts with Val will begin on February 7th! 8am-8:45am. Come eat and chat before you start your Wednesday school day. I'm thinking.....hashbrowns and scrambled eggs for our first go around. Sound good?

Snowshoe!!! You know you want to come. It's only $26.50. We get a guided trek with an instructor from the Stevens Pass Nordic Center. Get your permission forms on Sunday!

Snowshoe!!

Here's the permission form for Snowshoeing! We're going on Saturday Feb 17th at Stevens Pass! The cost is $26.50 per person. Click on the little form to see and print the large permission slip!

Wise Men vs. Shepherds

January is Poverty Awareness Month!

Middle School - we talked about Poverty Last Night and our need to be aware of our Brothers and Sisters who are poor but still deserve Dignity. Click below to Learn More about Poverty. Remember we need to Learn, Act, and Give to help the poor. Don't just forget about them, they are people too.

Click! Click! CLICK HERE!! Watch a Video! Learn More!!!

Poverty USA Learn More!!

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High School - We learned about our spiritual gifts and Charisms and we took the Spiritual Gifts Inventory. Here's an overview.

Charism is simply the Greek word used in the New Testament for “favor” or “gratuitous gift.” Charisms, or spiritual gifts, are special abilities given to Christians by the Holy Spirit to enable them to be powerful channels of God’s love and redeeming presence in the world. Whether extraordinary or ordinary, charisms are to be used in charity or service to build up the Church. ….grace also includesthe gifts that the Spirit grants us to associate us with his work, to enable us to collaborate in the salvation of others and in the growth of the Body of Christ, the Church.(CCC 2003)

Charisms are gifts given to us to give away. Charisms are always focused outward.

Talents are inherited from our parents. They are natural tools that we were born with. Charisms are supernaturally given to us by God, not to say that the Holy Spirit won’t work with the natural talents you already have, but they are supernaturally empowered.

According to the teachings of the Church all baptized Christians are given charisms, though not all charisms are permanent.

This inventory will help us to discern which charisms we might have by identifying patterns you see in your life. But this is not the be all and end all of your gifts. Remember, some charisms are temporary and all charisms need to be developed through spiritual guidance and discernment.

Our CHARISMS are not super powers to be used for our own benefit. CHARISMS must always be focused outward and rightly ordered in the process of the Church. So if you have an extraordinary charism like prophecy, you must get guidance from a priest to develop this charism for the good of the Body of Christ instead of personal glorification or pride. For a charism to be used best it must be used with humility.

For more info on the spiritual gifts inventory and charisms check out.... www.siena.org

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Val's special note to the youth....

Now remember, the test you took was taken quickly. The workshop usually takes 3 days and there's lots of explanation into each Charism. If you want to know more about the high scores you got on your test come see me and we'll look at the big explanation in the book.

Your charisms are best used serving the Body of Christ, this is best determined by talking with someone who can guide you spiritually. The best bet for this would be a priest (Fr. Charles or Fr. Matthew or another Catholic ordained guy), a religious (Br. Laurence or some other handy dandy Monk or Nun you know), or if absolutely no one else.....maybe a youth minister (Me? uh.... I'd probably just refer you to Fr. Matthew anyways....you know that whole priestly ordination thing takes a lot of studying and wisdom gaining. Hah!)

So don't just wander around saying "I CAN DISCERN IF YOU HAVE AN EVIL SPIRIT IN YOU" if you think you have the charism of discernment of spirits, 'cuz that's not what we took the test for. This inventory was just to give you an idea of qualities you may not have recognized in yourself that can help bring others to Christ and help them live happier and more fulfilled lives. What better gift can you give to Christ but yourself and more souls for his glory?

Oh the Weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful bunch of Holy Days! Time to burst into the NEW YEAR!

First things first...our first Life Night this year is on Sunday the 7th! See you ALL after mass!

Second things second....we're having a

Youth Group T-Shirt Design Contest!

You can see the form here!

Click for entry form

Third things Third....

We're having a movie night on the 14th because it's a 3 day weekend. So no class, but Movie, Pizza, and Cranium!!

We'll be watching.....THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA

Here's a clip!