Have you ever thought of the name of your parish as giving you inspiration to create a vibrant group or ministry? Using your imagination, try to find meaning behind the name that represents your Church. Before we began our first course, leaders from your groups had chosen a name, which represents the Church you belong – it’s in this name that we will find new insights to strengthen your existing group or ministry. It can also help you to create a youth group or a youth ministry in your parish.
We want to offer you an idea that can:
- Strengthen your relationship with your Pastor.
- Strengthen your commitment and dedication to your Church and surrounding
Community
- Strengthen your commitment to fellowship and Evangelization
- Strengthen your leadership and membership within the group
- Strengthen the characteristics and mission of the group or ministry – and
if you don’t have a ministry, this may encourage you to create one.
- Overall, it will draw you to Christ – but you must give yourself to Him,
have His attitude, and the desire to become Him for your youth to see Him.
What is it about the name?
1. The name Jesus is translated from the name “Joshua”. In the Hebrew language, Joshua is translated to “Yeshua”. This name comes from a longer name “Yehoshua”. The name means in Hebrew, “Yahweh (I Am Who Am) Saves”.
2. The Name Jesus truly identifies Him as not only a Man who existed in our
time, but as God Himself. Jesus truly is your Savior, and every time you cry
out His Name, you say it in prayer to the Father, and believe in His Name, He
will answer your prayer when the time is necessary.
a. When God gives you a name, He calls you His most precious child. He gives to you a purpose, and a mission to fulfill. Take for example Abram and Simon.
i. God changes Abram’s name to Abraham, which means “the father of a host of nations.” See Genesis 17:1-19
ii. Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter, which means “Rock”. See Matthew16:18-20
iii. Keep this in mind – God/Jesus is the one who calls the person to a new life. The new name they received signifies the new life they will have with God/Jesus.
iv. It is very important to think about the name that was given to you. God, through your parents, has given you this name. It describes who you are and what you will become.
Remember, Christ blesses you with Angels and Saints – What your Patron Saint can do for you.
1. What is a patron saint?
a. First, a patron is someone you trust, and gives you aid in times of need. They can be your advisor, supporter, and more. A saint, coming from the word “Sanctus”, means “Holy One” – someone set apart by God for His Glory.
2. Saints can be found all over the
Bible. They were prophets who raised kings to fame and humbled kings to the
ground. They were great healers, raising many from the dead, healing the sick,
the dying and more. They were even teachers of great wisdom, giving spiritual
guidance to the souls lost in darkness and more. They were even your ordinary
guys and gals trying to live for God. One thing is for certain, when we speak
of the saints we can say they were Christ in our midst; a promise of Christ
made to His Apostles that extends to their successors, and to us. He said to
all who believed and kept His commandments that “the one who believes in me
will do the same works that I do; and he will even do greater than these…” (John 14:12)
3. There are images of saints in our Churches. Their names are dedicated to churches to give them praise and honor for their example of Christian living. The saints are with us even in the news when we least expect it, like Pope John Paul II, Padre Pio, or Mother Teresa. They are holy men and women in love with Jesus.
4. Saints are close to us like a family
member. They are our spiritual family members, leading us to Jesus. That is why
the Church invites us to have a close and spiritual relationship with the saints,
because with them we can reach Heaven. We need all the help we can get.
Blessed Fr. Alberione was inspired by the works and writing of St. Paul. He was also devoted to St. Mary, Queen of Apostles. Blessed Alberione did amazing work, just by taking the Patron Saints Name, and using creating a Mission.
What if my Parish is named after a devotion?
a. The devotion still can draw you to Christ and to the saints who were inspired to bring it forth to God’s people.
b. The devotion can also be applied to the youth group’s spiritual development.
How to go about using the name of your Parish to help you in strengthening your group or ministry
1. Gather resources on the Patron Saint or Devotional name of your parish.
a. Find documents online or books.
i. For saints and devotions, try these sites:
https://ec.aciprensa.com/ THIS IS IN SPANISH
b. Find videos and audio talks online or at your local Catholic Bookstores
i. See LISTING OF STORES IN NEW YORK
c. Find Religious Orders or Groups dedicated to the Saint or the Devotion.
i. You can ask them to support you with resources and more, like:
1. Getting religious items in connection to your devotion
2. Praying for the members of your group
2. Call a meeting with your team of
leaders. If you have no leaders, call a meeting with friends who are serious
about starting a youth group. Share with each other ideas for building or
strengthening your youth group.
a. Together, sort through the materials.
b. Pray about the material you looked at and let your imagination run wild.
i. With the Saint or the Devotional Name you studied and discussed about, ideas will come to mind that may be an answer to how you build your group or ministry.
ii. The Saint or the Devotion may even encourage you to strengthen or change the name of the group. It may also give you ideas for a mission and structure.
iii. What you may be looking at is a totally new group, built from the holy grounds of your parish, able to sustain itself for future generations to come.
1. But like a Sword, your group must be tested by fire – trials and tribulations will show you that Christ is blessing and guiding you through His Holy Spirit to be a dedicated youth leaders of your parish community.
Learn By Example – The Formation of the Defenders of the Holy Trinity
When I was a teenager, I felt God was calling me to defend my faith in Christ and the Catholic Church. A group of us had the same feeling of standing up for the Lord. We decided to be adventurous and we created DHT – Defenders of the Holy Trinity.
Why did we need to defend our faith?
Many of our friends who were Catholic were subscribing to new ideas,
philosophies and new religions. We saw that people from our churches were
easily convinced by those teachings that attacked our Catholic beliefs. Slowly,
they converted into Anti-Catholics, sharing ideas or teachings that slowly
entered into our parish groups - Leaders preached like Jehovah’s Witness or
Protestants, while others believed themselves to be God and much more.
We believed that God was calling us through
our Sacraments to respond – hence DHT was born.
We knew we would face hardship,
ridicule, even public embarrassment, so we needed the spiritual help of someone
who can look out for us, pray for us, and lead us to Jesus. One who would teach
us by his example about defending our faith in Christ and the Catholic
Church. We chose St. Athanasius as our
Patron Saint (May 2nd); a bishop who dedicated his life in defending the
Catholic Church. He was born in Egypt around the third century. Wise and learned
in the studies of the sacred scripture and philosophies of the time, he was
chosen at a young age (about 18 or 22) to face a priest named Arius, who taught
that Jesus was not God, but a perfect human being. Just a Deacon, Athanasius
faced Arius in a public debate before the Council of Bishops at the Council of
Nicaea in 325. Athanasius took control of the debate and expressed that Arius’
teachings were dangerous. With that, Athanasius shared with the council some of
his experience and wisdom that Jesus is not just a perfect human being, but God
Himself, and that if we are followers of the Lord, we must hold fast to this
truth. The Patriarch of Alexandria, his bishops and many priests were amazed at
his teachings and how the Holy Spirit was guiding Athanasius to speak of
Christ’s equality to God. With that, Arius and his teachings were condemned and
eventually, Athanasius was chosen to be the new Patriarch of Alexandria.
Humble Athanasius faced great trials
during his time as Bishop of Alexandria. Catholics, confused by Arius teachings
would curse Athanasius; they even tried killing him for his belief in Christ as
being God and Man. Exiled at least 5 times from Alexandria, Athanasius
continued to write letters to his people to hold fast to the truth of Jesus. He
prayed, and sacrificed much for his spiritual children to stay firm to Jesus
and His Church. Till this day Our Church remembers Athanasius for defending
this ancient truth by proclaiming the “Nicene Creed” together at Holy Mass as
we pray that Christ is “God From God, Light From Light, True God From True God.
Begotten, not made, consubstantial
with the Father….”
We learn that in choosing a saint as
our patron, we can find meaning and purpose in our mission. DHT takes St.
Athanasius as our patron, not because he defended the Church, but because his
life told us a story of love for Jesus. St. Athanasius was a spiritual father, a
brother, and a Christian to all his people. He was Jesus for Alexandria when
there was no hope. It is said that his name comes from the Greek word
“Thanatos”, which means “Death”. But his name actually means “One Who Rises
From Death (Athanatos)”. Isn’t that what every Christian believes, that we are
raised in Jesus Christ through our baptism? Isn’t this our faith?
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TASK FOR SUNDAY: You have been working on building the Team. The Pastor has welcomed your efforts in the Parish Mission. As a Team, you must find a way to share your findings - that takes making time to speak, to read emails and texts.
It is important to pay attention to every detail, through the notes, emails, and texts. If you have questions, need resources, or connect with Staff, or Leadership in the Parish, send me an email or text.
I leave you this video which focuses on Team Work - Imagine this Car is like a Church that is dying. See how this Team brings the Car back to life. We must do the same for our Church.
