Youth Apostles Online
Newsletter for Catholic Teens : January 2002
Contents:
Using Your Gifts
Be Missionaries, by Pope John Paul II
Prayer of Abandonment
Using Your Gifts
Dear Friends,
What is it that you are good at? What are you passionate about? Is it music? Is it writing? Is it expressing your opinion verbally? Is it art? Is it web design? Is it hosting parties?
Have you given it to Jesus yet? He knows you better than anyone on this earth. He made you, with all of your talents and passions, for a specific purpose! He wants to delight you and bring more people to His kingdom through YOU! Have you let Him, the giver of this passion you have, tell you how He wants to use it? Or have you been selfishly clinging to it up to this point - just using it for your own pleasure?
What do I mean? Let me give you an example. I just had a conversation with a really cool High School junior who wanted to talk about how much she loved music. I had just finished challenging her youth group to be careful about what kind of music they listened to, TV they watched, magazines they read, and websites they surfed, so they could keep their minds and hearts clear of any sewage that might pull them away from Jesus. She explained that she loved quite a variety of music, from punk to country to rock. She admitted that there might be some "bad" lyrics in the music she loved, but that didn't mean she was going to go do these "bad" things.
Had she totally given this passion to Jesus? What do you think? I challenged her to try getting into more Christian music. She said she listens to the local Christian radio station occasionally, but she doesn't seem totally impressed. I tried to explain that not all Christian radio stations are totally cool... but there's a ton of awesome Christian music out there - all different types of music - just waiting to be discovered and shared. I suggested that God gave her this passion for music. Maybe He wants her to become a sort of youth music apostle; to become really versed in what's out there and share it with her friends and peers.
Do you have something like this in your life too? Something that you can give over to Him that could be used to bring souls to Him? Maybe you'd be a great speaker for retreats or outreach groups. Maybe you could design a cool Catholic/Christian website that could inspire people to find out more about the Faith. Maybe you could offer an alternative to the drinking/party scene by hosting a prayer jam session at your house followed by a cool, clean party with good music, food and fun. Ask yourself: What can I give to build the Kingdom? THEN GO OUT AND DO IT!
Until next month, I remain...
Your Eucharist loving, Blessed Mother petitioning, rockin' Catholic Church obeying, Pope John Paul II devotee and fellow sinner in need of God's grace and mercy,
Michele TePas
Youth Apostles Online
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Be Missionaries
Be attentive and vigilant sentinels, who keep alive the expectation of Christ. Be missionaries to your contemporaries, without being discouraged in the face of difficulties, seeking ways of evangelization adapted to the world of youth.
- Pope John Paul II to Catholic youth
Prayer of Abandonment
Father, I abandon myself into your hands.
Do with me what you will.
Whatever you may do, I thank you.
I am ready for all, I accept all.
Let only your will be done in me,
and in all your creatures.
I wish no more than this, O Lord.
I offer it to you
with all the love of my heart,
for I love you, Lord,
and so need to give myself,
to surrender myself into your hands,
without reserve,
and with boundless confidence,
for you are my Father.
- by Charles de Foucauld
