Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Saskatoon

Upcoming Events from the YMO

October 14th - DIG into Prayer @ St. Anne's Parish (7-11PM) - A night to learn and practice the different prayer types so we can better be attuned to God's voice and be in relationship with him. Followed by one crazy gym night! 

Oct 15th & November 7th: The Diocesan Youth Retreat Team is Looking for new members and you can join or renew your commitment by coming to one of these sessions!  Current team members are asked to attend one of these each year and new members are more than welcome!   Each session begins with a meal and social time followed by an interactive training module to assist you in preparing and updating your skill set for the upcoming retreat season.  DYRT is open to all youth and young adults aged 14+ this is a wonderful opportunity to use your gifts to serve others your age and get to know the great youth and young adults on the team.  If you are interested in applying for this volunteer commitment please contact Myron at 242-1500. Vocations@saskatoonrcdiocese.com,

Brittney Whyte is the pastoral associate at St. Albert Catholic Parish. Her passions lie in street level ministry and social justice. She has coordinated large scale projects in Guatemala and in the inner city in Edmonton. She also works part time counselling high risk youth. Her goal is to "Give people back to themselves while meeting Christ in the process.

Hey Everyone,

Below is just a link to some events happening out at St. Therese in the Spring. If you're done university and don't have any plans yet, why not consider attending one of these great opportunities? Peace.

You are cordially invited to: ‘Mercy within mercy within mercy… A reflection on the Spirituality of Madonna House.”

Mar. 7th 2011 @ St. Anne’s Church, 7:30 p.m

Helen Hodson, a personal friend of our very own Bishop Donald, has been invited by our Chief Shepherd to lead an evening of reflection on the spirituality of Madonna House at St. Anne’s parish on Monday March 7th at 7:30p.m. Madonna House Apostolate is a Catholic community of men, women, and priests, dedicated to loving and serving Jesus Christ in all aspects of everyday life. Helen, who lives a single life consecrated to our Lord, has been a member of Madonna House for over 30 years. As a member of Madonna House she has fulfilled various roles including being a diocesan pastoral center director in England for 7 years. She currently resides in Combermere Ontario where she lives out the Madonna House charism, which is to live the Gospel in the reality of everyday life.

The evening will consist of Helen reflecting on the rich spirituality of Madonna House within the context of her own faith journey. She will also take time to reflect on the ‘Easter icon’ (the descent into Hades) as an icon of mercy.

Please send RSVP to Myron @ vocations@saskatoonrcdiocese.com or 306-931-4700 (Daniel Yasinski) by Friday March 4th. For more information contact seminarian Daniel Yasinski @ 931-4700

See you there! Peace,

Colm

Holding Nothing Back, is a group of young men gathering at several times throughout the year who are open to the possibility of discerning the Priesthood.  The aim of the group is to build community, deepen discernment and learn more about what life is like as a seminarian and priest.  Often you may think that you are alone in Saskatoon in that you may be hearing a call toward the priesthood.  The good news is that there are others, and these times of gathering will be a chance for you to meet them!  The first evening gathering takes place on October 18^th beginning with supper at 6pm and ending at 8pm.  The evening takes place at Discernment House located at 851 University Drive in Saskatoon.  This time together will consist of pizza, watching a contemporary DVD on discernment followed by a discussion and evening prayer.   For more information please contact Father Marc Mireau at 664-6501, email: abbemarc@hotmail.com, Myron Rogal at 242-1500, vocations@saskatoonrcdiocese.com.

 Holding Nothing Back , will be hosting an event geared to all young men discerning the priesthood, married life, single life, or religious life.  The day long retreat is featuring Mark Matthews, who is most famously known for facilitating “Bibles and Brews” all across the U.S. and Canada.  Mark will be leading the day focussing on purity and chastity, and celibacy,   The day takes place October 30^th  at Discernment House located at 851 University Drive.  9am is the start time ending at 6pm with a meal.  There is no cost to this day and all meals are covered.  For more information please contact Father Marc Mireau at 664-6501, email: abbemarc@hotmail.com, Myron Rogal at 242-1500, vocations@saskatoonrcdiocese.com

So with the coming of may, comes the time for evaluating, planning, and budgeting... and dreaming? On monday our staff got to have our own personal retreat which was wonderful. Often times in life, in many ways, we all give of ourselves but take little time to receive and just keep going on empty. We focused on the fundamentals of our christian faith of contemplation, call to communion with one another, and mission. It truly was a great day to recharge, fill up the spiritual gas tank and be renewed in energy and passion.

One of the key messages from the last keynote was on dreams. The idea being that often the inspirations of the Holy Spirit given to us in the inner desires of our heart, is not meant for us alone. Often we squash a dream because we can't see ourselves achieving it, but what if it was for another - or for someone to help you complete? To give respect to God I think we need to be fair and share our dreams, speak up, and take courage knowing that the Lord says, "my ways higher than your ways" (Isaiah 55:9).

So I thought to myself, what do you want to see from the YMO office next year? What are your dreams for the Diocese? It is not that I have found millions of dollars but before I begin leading our team into praying and discerning our priorities in the coming years, I'm curious what you think the Diocesan youth and young adults NEED, and what are your DREAMS for them.

Going forth the desire is to have a Youth Ministry Office that is relevant, effective, and cutting edge in equipping others to help respond to the needs of the Church in the 3rd millennium. As it is not ministry if it is not needs based... after all, Jesus didn't die for us because we were saints...yet...

What do you see as concerning needs among yourselves and the youth in your family, community, school/college, parish? How can the YMO better serve the Body of Christ? We cannot do everything, but we can do something well.

So DARE to DREAM, and better yet, DARE TO SHARE! Dream BIG and share with us by messaging me on facebook, commenting below or email youthmin@saskatoonrcdiocese.com. There is always going for coffee, I especially love coffee with a newborn taking all his sleep! This only works when your voice is heard. So speak up!

Peace to you all,

-Colm