World Youth Day Pilgrim's meeting!!

If you're going to World Youth Day

don't forget the meeting tomorrow afternoon at 5:30 in the Youth Room!!

There's a lot of stuff going on! Where are you?

Just a quick update...

Mondays are for the 18+ crowd with Veritas.

Tuesdays we've got Church History

Wednesdays we've got lunch with Val and Service to the Migrant Workers in Burlington.

Thursday we've got BBQ Fire

Friday you can do whatever God calls you to do :D

We're going to Wild Waves on August 17th so make sure to get your permission forms in asap!

You get $5 off if your parent volunteers to drive!

If you've been to Ascend or if you feel God calling you to be part of the elite group of Youth Leaders at our parish come to a meeting on August 14th at 2pm in the Youth Room!

I'm in the office Monday to Friday if you need anything or have ideas for our upcoming year! I'm planning for September, so the time for input is now!!!

Hope you're all having fabulous summers!!!

Pray for the Soul

Please Pray for the Soul of Joseph Brant one of Stanwood High School's students who committed suicide last week.

Eternal rest grant unto him Oh Lord,

and may perpetual light shine upon him.

May he rest in peace.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed,

through the mercy of God rest in peace.

Amen.

If you would like to offer condolences to his Family you can sign their electronic guestbook

Here

Rattlesnake Ridge Hike

St. Benedict

Today is the Feast of St. Benedict. He's my favorite Saint, the Father of Western Monasticism. He wrote the Rule that Monks follow. It's a special day!!! If you want to know more about St. Benedict and his fabulous twin sister St. Scholastica click
Here

and

Here

Today is also the kick off to Lunch with Val at 12:30. See you at Lunch! Today we're having tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, iced coffees and maybe some sort of fruit.

Jr. High Scream!

Fire Fire Fire...BBQ

If it's raining later today we'll be watching Madagascar in the youth room at 7pm!!!

Sacred Heart wishes you Congrats!

It's the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and it's Stanwood High School Graduation!

Novena of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

V. Come, let us adore the Heart of Christ, wounded out of love for us.

R. Come, let us adore the Heart of Christ, wounded out of love for us.

V. Come, let us sing joyfully to the Lord; let us acclaim the Rock ofour salvation.

R. Come, let us adore the Heart of Christ, wounded out of love for us.

V. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hands are the depths of the earth, and the tops of the mountains are his.

R. Come, let us adore the Heart of Christ, wounded out of love for us.

V. His is the sea, for he has made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. Come, let us bow down in worship; let us kneel before the Lord who made us, for he is our God, and we are the people he shepherds, the flock he guides.

R. Come, let us adore the Heart of Christ, wounded out of love for us.

V. Rooted and grounded in love, may we come to understand with all the Saints the breadth and the length, the height and depth, until, knowing the love of Christ, which is beyond all knowledge, we may befilled with the utter fullness of God.

R. Come, let us adore the Heart of Christ, wounded out of love for us.

V. Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us.

R. Inflame our hearts with love for you.

Let us pray:

God, through the Heart of your Son, wounded out of love for us, you lavish upon us the infinite riches of your love; grant, we beseech you, that as we offer to him the faithful service of our devotion, wemay also show forth fitting reparation. Through Christ our Lord.

R. Amen.

Congratulations Seniors!! Time to start a new chapter! Always remember to keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and that your purpose in life is to know, love and serve God. UIOGD. Stay close to the Sacred Heart!

Evangelize!!!

Commercials including your very own Middle School Youth Group! Woohoo!! Youtube is awesome! The girls video will be up soon.

If you're coming to the Dinner on Sunday afternoon to celebrate with all the high school students graduating rsvp to the evite! I e-mailed it to your parents or whatever your family e-mail address is. If not, let me know!

The BigFoots, Tooth Fairies, Easter Bunnies, and Santa Clauses of the Catholic Church

Last Week we talked about the myths and misconceptions of the Catholic Church. If you didn't get your question answered, here are the most user friendly solid Catholic websites for figuring out what the truth is in relation to all those myths and misconceptions about the Catholic Church

This is a website that has all the Catholic apologetics you could ever want www.catholic.com

This website provides great scriptural background for Catholic apologetics www.scripturecatholic.com

Church History

Catholic Church History Extravaganza!!

313 Edict of Milan
Constantine makes Christianity the State religion which stops the persecution of Christians. The edict “legalized Christianity. Being that it was no longer a capital crime, Christians were able to come out into the open for the first time.”

325 Council of Nicea
The Pope wanted a general council convened to end the Arian heresy. “The Council of Nicea met, deposed Arius, condemned his heretical teaching, and formulated the Nicene Creed which is said to this day at every Sunday Mass and Divine Liturgy”.

520 St. Benedict – Monasticism, Christianization of Barbarians
St. Benedict of Nursia who is known as the Father of Western Monasticism established the first monastery in Europe at Subiaco, Italy.

1054 Split! The East and West Schism
Eastern Church becomes the Greek Orthodox Church by severing all ties with Rome and the Roman Catholic Church.


1095-1270 Crusades
“In 1095, the Byzantine emperor, Alexius Comnenus, sent ambassadors to Pope Urban II in Rome asking for help to defend Christianity from an imminent attack. The Arab Muslins had overrun the Holy Land, and Christians were no longer free to move about and visit their holy pilgrimage sites.” The Crusades were sent to free the Holy Land. 8 crusades and a lot of victims later, they turned out to be a total failure. It was a total disaster, all sides acted terribly. Some people think that the Crusades at least contained the Islamic expansion into Europe. “To Catholics, the Crusades are a poignant reminder that the ends never justify the means. The Catholic belief is that no matter how lofty the goal or noble the purpose, only moral means can be used. Otherwise, it’s an immoral enterprise. In other words, although the goal of defending and freeing the oppressed was good and noble, the Crusades should’ve stopped when many of the Europeans started making a profit on it and when Christians and Muslims alike resorted to barbaric tactics.”

1200 St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic

Beginning of the mendicant orders (don’t own any property and live off of donations). They preached and went outside the monastery unlike the Benedictines who are cloistered.

1309-1377 Avignon Captivity
After Pope Clement arrived in Avignon, France. Other Popes decided to follow in his footsteps, for 70 years afterwards. People were confused, Pope in Rome? Pope in France? There were multiple people claiming to be Pope at the time. St. Catherine of Siena finally said, “Enough!” and Pope Gregory XI listened and moved back to Rome.


1517 Protestant Reformation
Due to corruption of some clergy in the Church angry reformers decided to take action. October 31st 1517 Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of a Wittenberg Church. “Only by faith alone can man be saved. Good works are useless.” Sola Scriptura and Sola Fide (Scripture Alone, Faith Alone). There were a few problems among Catholic clergy at this time. The biggest problem was the selling of indulgences, basically asking the lay people to pay their way into heaven.


1541 Calvinism/ Presbyterianism
John Calvin establishes a new Church in Geneva, Switzerland. He said that Man has no power to do good. God chooses to save only some people. Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is only for the salvation of those God chooses (not everyone). When God chooses to save someone, they are saved and that’s it, they can’t be unsaved.


1553 Anglicanism / Episcopalianism
Henry the VIII declares himself the supreme head of the Church in England because the Pope refused to grant him an annulment because his wife gave him a daughter and not a son.


1545-63 Council of Trent - Counter Reformation
“During this age, known as the Counter Reformation, men and women who were considered outstanding in their holiness combated the attacks.” It was basically a council to counter the protestant reformation by clarifying it’s teachings and reviving the Church. Abuses were stopped, religious orders were revived, returns to piety and priestly spirituality were brought about. Booyah!


1858 BVM appears to Bernadette in Lourdes



1869-1870 Vatican I
Defined the doctrine of Papal Infallibility.


1917 BVM appears in Fatima


1962-65 Vatican II
“Presenting and explaining a 2000 year old religion to a modern world in contemporary terms was the primary goal of the council. No new dogmas or doctrines were proclaimed or defined bu the old ones were merely restated and re-emphasized with modern vocabulary and context. The content of the faith was not changed, but the context in which is was explained and the manner in which it was communicated was adapted for the modern era.” It allowed for the vernacular to be used instead of Latin, since many schools were not teaching Latin anymore. Latin is still the official language of the Church.

1978 - John Paul II becomes Pope
The People’s Pope. Ushers in World Youth Day. Puts an emphasis on the importance of the youth in the Church. Begins his pontificate teaching Theology of the Body. The most traveled pope in history. Need we say more? He was amazing.


2005 – John Paul II dies.
Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger is elected Pope and takes the name Benedict XVI

Barbecue

Thursday Night Fires (ehem...Barbecues) start on May 31st at St. Cecilia's. Bring a Friend, Bring a blanket. Come ready to have fun!

And no...you are not allowed to play with the fire.

Be good to our Earth

If you want to take a better version of the Ecological Footprint Quiz click

Here!

This is a ridiculous video. Hah! There's some good info if you watch it to the end though.

Relativism

I thought this would sum it up nicely. Don't buy into the idea that truth does not exist when it comes to morality. Some choices are wrong. If there was no truth, then Jesus would be a liar. We already established that he isn't at the beginning of the year remember?
Stay away from poison kids.

Check it out

Check out the Announcements on the Sidebar.

Also....Operation Clean Sweep Stanwood is happening again!

Join kids from other Churches and lots of people from the Community on April 28th in the old Thrify Foods parking lot at 9am. I won't be able to make it 'cuz I'll be on retreat with the Middle School, but anyone else is welcome to show. There'll be some food and other stuff after the event at a nearby Church. More details to come!

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.