I forgot my phone. Many of you will relate to this experience. For me, the most recent time this happened was a day I was traveling that was filled with family visits. The morning and afternoon were the Confirmation of my niece and the family party that followed. We went straight from there to dinner and a play featuring my nephews. Once I realized...

"Today Jesus, who is the way, the truth and the life, is calling you to leave your mark on history." Pope Francis, World Youth Day 2016 Right now, more than one billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 are studying, working, serving, and discovering their purpose. This is the largest generation of young people the world has ever seen, and...

"Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love." Mother Teresa A constant challenge in youth ministry is finding the "right" leaders. We struggle many times to recruit new ministry leaders and retain the current ones. The challenge persists for many reasons but the one I think that doesn't get enough conversation is ...

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" – Matthew 5:9-10 Seeking justice and peace can be a tumultuous endeavor. Pope Francis reminds us of that in his reflections about the beatitudes from his recent apostolic exhortati...

Matthew Kelly, in the concluding video of Dynamic Catholic's Best Lent Ever series, poses the question: "What part of your life needs resurrection?" What a great topic to ponder at the beginning of this Easter Season. We are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the victory of life over death, of love over sin, of hope over despair, of God ...

​Recently, my sister sent me a video showing a children's ministry at a church event where the group was being led in exercise and dance while singing words from Scripture. Where does this fit in the big picture of evangelizing families? There is so much competing for family's time and attention. Some churches are getting caught up in trying to res...

Paul VI invited us to deepen the call to renewal and to make it clear that renewal does not only concern individuals but the entire Church. Let us return to a memorable text which continues to challenge us. "The Church must look with penetrating eyes within herself, ponder the mystery of her own being… This vivid and lively self-awareness inevitabl...

Few words are as misunderstood in the contemporary English language as is the word spirituality. Probably the biggest misconception is regarding spirituality as something "other-worldly" and separate from us. Our spirituality is not "out there" but rather it is the transcendent within us. Spirituality is not some paranormal activity, an unachievabl...

Note:In February 2018, the Center for Ministry Development will launch their annual workshop series entitled: "Accompanying Youth on Their Journey of Faith and Discernment." See the workshop outline, sites, and dates here: https://www.cmdnet.org/accompany (Excerpt from the journal article by the same title provided in Youth Ministry Access) In Octo...

"In this day and age, unless Christians are revolutionaries, they are not Christians. They must be revolutionaries through grace." – Pope Francis, The Church of Mercy   The events of this past year have shown why we need to be open to grace moving in our lives. There were times when it felt like the news was continuously looping deadly shootin...