As I write today, it is pouring rain and once again my neighborhood is under a flash flood watch. While this might be normal for some parts of the world, I live in a place that proudly boasts 300 days of sunshine per year. The Colorado Mountains are known for clean air, blue skies and plenty of sunshine and those of us who live here love to get outside and hike, bike, and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.
Celebrating the Equinox, the Moon, and Their Relationship with Easter
"Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars, In the heavens you have made them bright, precious and fair." St Francis of Assisi The moon has inspired artists, poets, and romantics for centuries. It divides the day into night and affec...
12 Ways to Support Young People in Living their Faith in College
A guest blog post by James R. Walter Ed.D., the Director of the Catholic Scholars program at St. John's University. As campus ministers, we are very familiar with tried and true experiences that are central to our campus faith life, such ...
The Parish is Responsible for Forming Youth as Disciples
The community has an important role in the accompaniment of young people; it should feel collectively responsible for accepting, motivating, encouraging and challenging them. All should regard young people with understanding, appreciation and affecti...
I Just Discovered That the “J” in January Stands for Joy!
January has always been my least favorite month, partly because the weather is so cold, the Christmas celebrations and family gatherings are behind us, and our churches and homes go back to their "ordinary" appearances. I always feel a bit blue in Ja...
Waiting with Hope!
In a holiday appeal from a Soup Kitchen here in Seattle, a homeless man described his conversion in this way: "I used to be a hopeless drug addict, now I am a drugless hope addict." What would it mean to be a hope addict? It doesn't mean hoping when ...
Real Presence: Jesus Is Really Present in the Eucharist. Am I?
The following is an excerpt of a journal article by the same title authored by Sr. Kieran Sawyer SSND for Youth Ministry Access. Subscribers can access the entire article here. The headlines were alarming: "Only 30% of Catholics beli...
The Challenge and the Grace in Being Grateful
At the age of 14, my niece Katie lost her mother (my little sister) to pancreatic cancer. That was two years ago. Last year her father died of a massive heart attack. I became her legal guardian and moved in with her. I, a life-long single woman, was...
Impacting Ministry: How CMD Helps Transform Ministries
Listen to Stories from Leaders about the Ways that CMD Impacts their Ministry We recently asked some diocesan leaders to share about how CMD has impacted this ministry. Below is a playlist with seven brief testimonies. Join Us in Su...
Empowering Courageous Missionaries [Free Online Event]
"Filled with the love of Christ, young people are called to be witnesses of the Gospel wherever they find themselves, by the way they live." Pope Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit, #175In Christus Vivit, Pope Francis challenges us to res...
Unlikely Prophets
How easily we can ignore Jesus teaching "those of you without sin may throw the first stone." As a society, we are quick to judge others. In his song "Hands On", Kanye West says that Christians will be the first ones to judge him. Arguably one of the...
Join us and thousands of people from around the world starting April 12, 2015 for a five-week free online learning experience on helping young people encounter Christ and the Church! Each week will have a Master Teacher(s) focusing the topic around a chapter from the apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium or The Joy of the Gospel. Surrounding that topic will be other experts and practitioners helping you put that theme into context in a variety of NetSourcing Learning Communities, such as clergy, parents, faith formation, and ministry with high school youth, middle school youth, or young adults.
I have always believed in Catholic Relief Services, its mission, and its work. So when CRS invited the Center for Ministry Development to partner in developing FoodFast for 2015, we said YES without hesitation. FoodFast is CRS' 24-hour interactive experience for youth which engages them in exploring issues of hunger while fasting and raising money to feed those who go to bed hungry every night.
I am excited to announce an addition to our ministry staff. Angel Barrera will join the Center for Ministry Development as a Project Coordinator for Youth Ministry Services on January 5, 2015. Angel has over 10 years of experience in ministry with youth and families in parish, campus ministry and diocesan settings. He holds a Masters of Arts degree in Religious Studies from University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio. He has been serving as the Director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Brownsville.
My wife and I were visiting our daughter's at their college football game this month. It was a great 59 minutes of football for the home team, until a Hail Mary pass in the last ten seconds gave victory to the other side. This was a surprising and disappointing experience, but it made me think about why we call it a "Hail Mary" pass.
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