New Year Youth Retreat

Here are some photos from our new year youth retreat – it seems a long time ago now, but there is still lots of excitement about it on Facebook… Here’s a taster from this really blessed weekend. Courtesy of Edward Morton Photography.

Happy New Yes…

On New Year’s Day, the Youth 2000 retreat sadly (and exhaustingly!) came to an end. The four days were heavily laden with the grace and glory of God; for many, many young people it was a moment of personal conversion as they encountered Christ in Confession, spent quiet time with Him in the Eucharist day and night, and expressed and received their joy and love in times of praise.

Now I feel that this New Year is truly a time of newness – God makes all things new in Christ! He does this again and again in our lives, transforming our hearts more than he changes the situations we find ourselves in – precisely because this is how he transforms these situations. Especially coming from such a blessed few days I feel that this new year is a time when we can allow God to make all things new in us. Even – and especially – those situations or relationships we feel are hopeless, cannot change, will never be life-giving – perhaps these are precisely the things we need to surrender to the Lord in this new year to allow Him to transform them. Expectant faith seemed to be one of the themes of our retreat. The woman with the hemorrhage who approached Jesus didn’t think to herself, “Maybe he will heal me” – she knew that if she touched him, he would heal her. Let’s not give our problems to the Lord thinking, “Maybe he will transform them” – let us know and be assured that he will transform them – in the best way, at the best time.

So, being sure of the newness that the Lord brings – each morning! – we can be courageous at the beginning of this year in once again saying YES… Whatever trials or discomfort this Yes will bring, whatever changes it will require me to make to my plans, whatever comfort zones I will be invited to step out of, whatever areas of sin I will be asked to relinquish… Let us say a wholehearted Yes to the Lord at the beginning of this new year, 2012. He will make all things new.

New Year Retreat

This is the enormous pile of over 250 personal invitations which were sent out to all the lucky 16 to 25 year olds in our parish! Every year between Christmas and the New Year in the parish we host a youth retreat which is held in the church and the primary school. Over the four days and especially on New Year’s Eve around 300 young people turn up for these days of prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament, teaching, Mass, Confession and joyful celebration. These are always a very blessed few days, with many conversions, young people returning to the sacrament of Confession, being affirmed in their faith through friendship with other young Catholics, and time to reflect on and speak with others about their vocation. As someone who discovered the beauty of Christ and the Church through Youth 2000, I have a great love of serving at these retreats and pray that many young people will hear the voice of Christ, longing to speak to their heart, longing to give them his joy and peace. This year will be extra special since my sisters, brother and brother-in-law-to-be will all be coming too so we get to continue celebrating Christmas together May the Holy Spirit open the hearts of those young people who attend this year to prepare them for the grace of encounter with Christ.

If you know a young person who would like to participate in this retreat, please see www.youth2000.org for more details or call 020 8675 2743.

Peer Ministry

One thing I have learnt through my involvement with Youth 2000 is that nothing works better than young people evangelising young people. This was how my own conversion happened. My parents could have told me any number of things about the Faith in an array of convincing ways, but for me, it was seeing other young people pray in front of the Eucharist that made me realise: “They have something I don’t have.”

This principle is something we are trying to introduce into our Confirmation programme this year. We have five eager young people in their late teens who are helping on the programme. They are great young people. Over the last few years they have received a lot of formation through the great work of our youth coordinator. They have been to Catholic Underground and Youth 2000 events in the parish and over the summer they went to World Youth Day in Madrid. And now they are contributing lots to evangelising the next generation of young people. They have offered to give their testimonies, and they are in charge of creating the all-important “atmosphere” (candles and music) for the prayer times. What a blessing! It shows that investing in youth ministry is more than worth it. As one of our catechists kindly pointed out, I am a “mummy” in the eyes of our thirteen-year-olds, so anything that the young people tell them is far more valuable than what I can teach them. Sad, perhaps, but true!

Media Coverage of World Youth Day

You know I am a big fan of Fr Robert Barron and Word on Fire, and what he has to say about the mainstream media simply ‘not getting’ World Youth Day is insightful. World Youth Day did not ‘fit’ with the reading of reality that the media want to portray – ‘good’ ideologies gradually replacing the old, fading Christianity – which is why they focussed on what was insignificant (a few protesters) compared to what was significant and real – a convergence of 1.5 million of young people from around the world in one place, united by their faith.

I have just returned from a smaller scale youth event – but still probably the biggest Catholic youth event in the UK – the Youth 2000 Festival in Walsingham. Here, Jesus has shown us over the weekend that by simply being faithful to Him – facilitating an event where He is present for five days, and creating the conditions for young people to be drawn into and open to His Presence – He will Himself enter lives and transform hearts. Last night we heard testimony after testimony of teenagers and young adults in their early twenties, whose emptiness and brokenness had been filled and touched by Christ. Once again He has shown me how HE does all the work – we just need to be open to what He wants to do, and tirelessly extend an invitation to all young people – Catholic and non-Catholic – He desires each one of them to be intimately in relationship with Him.

Hopefully I will soon be able to share some photos with you of this event

“Humanity is loved by God!…”

…This very simple yet profound proclamation is owed to humanity by the Church.”

 

This line is from a document issued by the Pontifical Council for the Family in 1995, The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality. Clearly it is a message thousands of young people need to hear urgently given the events of the past week in the UK.

Blessed John Paul II knew that young people needed to know the love God has for them, which is why he started the World Youth Days.

How timely it is that at this time millions of young pilgrims from around the world are getting ready to go to Madrid for World Youth Day, to hear of and experience the love of God.

At the end of August, there is another, more local, event to which young people each year gather to learn of and receive the love of God into their hearts: the Youth 2000 summer festival at Walsingham. Sometimes it seems like the Church is merely whispering the reality of God’s love to young people who are asleep, when we really need to enter their reality and proclaim it loudly so that they can hear. This is why events like the Youth 2000 festival in Walsingham are so important.

Here are a couple of clips: One about World Youth Day and one about Youth 2000. It’s not too late for young people to book for the Youth 2000 festival.