Contrary to Popular Belief: (Mis)perceptions in Youth Ministry
I’ve always liked the phrase “contrary to popular belief”. It gets your attention. It challenges your knowledge. What follows it can leave you feeling sheepish at your own ignorance or quite edified in your own intelligence. For instance, contrary to popular belief…

Making the Best of Your Time at the Desk
I’d like to take a guess and say that administrative work is NOT topping the “My Favorite Things” list for most youth pastors. We do the paper-pushing because it seems like we have to; like it’s a “necessary evil” of our job description. When I started out in ministry, I was anything BUT organized. Because of that, I often found myself less than prepared for stuff I “coulda, shoulda, woulda” seen coming. Years ago, I created a skeleton that I hang every workday on...

New iPhone app aims to help Catholics go to Confession
Developers of a new “confession helper” iPhone application say they found inspiration in Pope Benedict XVI’s call for more youth involvement in social communication. “Confession: A Roman Catholic App” is the first iPhone, iPad and iPod touch application from the South Bend, Indiana-based publisher Little iApps, LLC...

KC Star on KCK's St. John Catholic Church's Social Club
The Strawberry Hill area of downtown Kansas City (KS) is home to Saint John's Catholic Church, an "ethnic" parish set up for Croatian immigrants in 1900.Saint John's obviously retains its Croatian character, as shown by a Kansas City Star article today about the church's social club, which has an active bowling league...

Vocations and Bathrooms
I’ll be honest with you. I never was much into bathroom humor. I remember in high school watching many of my friends relish in the odors that they could create, either by sweat or gastro-intestinal issues. This is how it usually happened: 1)Someone would emit a fowl odor. 2)They invite their friends to smell it. 3)For some reason, their friends would acquiesce to that request...

The Spiritual Gift of Bilocation
“The Onion” has always been a great source of fake news. Someone recently started Catholic Onion blog, of which one Catholic itinerant minister commented “I wish them luck… on-going satire is difficult” Nonetheless, their third posting took on the “news” about youth ministers: 93% of Youth Ministers Can Bilocate, New Study Finds...

Truth Is Stranger #118: Examination of Conscience?--got an app for that
Can modern technology help strengthen our faith? Some techno-savvy Catholics from South Bend think so. In his message for the 2011 World Communications Day, Pope Benedict XVI said it's not enough to just "proclaim the Gospel through the new media," but one must also "witness consistently." The developers of "Confession: A Roman Catholic App" for Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch think their product helps people do both...

A New Arrival at CPYU!
Those of you who know us know that we love books. We also like to write books. . . it's not always a fun process, but we do it! We've got a new one that arrived here at CPYU this week that I'm very excited about. Derek Melleby - Director of our College Transition Initiative - has just released a new book with Baker Books, Make College Count: A Faithful Guide to Life + Learning...

Ordinary Time: A Revelation
I’m still sweeping up pine needles from the Christmas tree. I don’t mind, because unlike every other mess, this one has a definitive end. Some day soon, I will find and remove the final pine needle, and then the house will be back to normal — back to Ordinary Time.

Caught on Tape: Planned Parenthood Aids Pimp’s Underage Sex Ring