Youth Speak News

{mosimage}WHITBY, Ont. - Two Grade 9 Catholic students from All Saints Secondary School in Whitby made their mark in a national poetry competition and will have their poems included in an anthology published by the National Library of Canada. Stephanie Irani, 14, and Daynia Price, 15, will see their work published in Voyages by Night.

For 2,000 years, Christians have been called to the table of the Eucharist in memory of Christ’s death and resurrection. There is no doubt that the Eucharist is central to our faith.

{mosimage}There’s a new youth evangelization training program springing up out of Manitoba. The organizers, who are still accepting applications for the fall, said it includes components that liken it to other evangelization ministries like Catholic Christian Outreach and National Evangelization Team (NET) Ministries, but with distinct elements.

“It’s a bit different in that the team will see what goes into the part of a youth minister,” said organizer Jude Gosselin. “People who’ve been on the team will have seen all the aspects of it and will be hireable as youth ministers.”

The ability to read is generally taken for granted among today’s youth. For many it is seen as a labourious, lengthy, unexciting task that, when rivalled with television, computers and movies, fails magnificently in terms of gratification. To some it is an archaic pastime.

{mosimage}TORONTO - When his godmother gave him a gift of $300 for his Confirmation last year, Andrew Chown, 14, had a mission: find a worthy cause and pay it forward.

Preparing for my upcoming trip to Sydney, Australia, for World Youth Day (WYD) this July has taken me a long time to plan.

But deciding what to wear during my 15-day trip hasn’t been the issue.

{mosimage}TORONTO - Nearly 60 teenagers in the Toronto region spent part of their weekend promoting peace and unity in the 2008 Run4Unity on May 10.

While the event, run by members of the Focolare Movement, took place around the world,  Toronto youth gathered at St. Jerome’s Catholic Elementary School to participate in games, sports and songs.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - Putting his personal and spiritual reflections to music once again, Joe Zambon successfully released his second CD, You Are I Am.

Are you stuck in a prayer rut and don’t know how to get out? When I was in high school my youth minister said that prayer ruts are the times when one is wandering — or stuck — in a spiritual valley.

{mosimage}OTTAWA - For many youth attending their first annual March for Life in Ottawa May 8-9, the experience of solidarity with other pro-life students was overwhelming.

Joining about 7,800 other youth, adults and religious, many teens invented chants such as “They ask us who we are? PRO-LIFE. They want to know what we know? PRO-LIFE,” which they repeated over and over through the streets of downtown Ottawa.