CoSP Youth Blog

Tonight’s lesson is going to be all about learning more about the Creed. The goal of the night is to teach the teens more about the Creed, learn the difference between the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, their history and how both of these are beautiful statements of our beliefs as Catholics. We will talk about how our faith and the truths of God’s revelation to us are summarized in the Creeds. The students will also be offered an opportunity to embrace the truth of the Creed in their own lives as they are encouraged to reflect on how they can apply their faith and beliefs to what they will be doing this summer.

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: Pray through one of the Creeds together. Discuss with one another the different statements in the Creed and which statements of faith you truly believe and which ones (if any) you find it harder to believe or don’t fully understand.

*Be sure to remind your child to memorize their saint’s quote and memory verse before next week*

Tonight’s Jr High lesson is going to be all about learning more about the sacraments. The goal of the night is to show how more than meaningless repetition, sacraments are unique experiences that guarantee a personal encounter with Jesus. We will talk about how we must live a sacramental life in order to truly imitate and obey Jesus. The students will learn that each of the 7 sacraments mark stages of growth in our spiritual lives and Jesus intimately gives Himself to us through them.  We will discuss the 3 sacraments of initiation, the 2 healing sacraments and the 2 sacraments of vocation and learn that the purpose of each sacrament is to sanctify those who celebrate them, to build up the Body of Christ and to give worship to God. Furthermore, we will talk about how as an outward sign of inward grace, each sacrament also instructs us, and by words and objects nourishes, strengthens, and expresses our faith. We will discuss sacramentals as well and the role they play in our spiritual lives. The students will learn about how they can remind us to pray, to focus on what is holy, and to grow in faith.  

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: Which of the seven sacraments do you feel most affected by?  Describe. Which of the sacraments do you still not really understand?

Tonight the teens will be spending some time thinking about that – our lesson is all about salvation. The teens will be presented with the gospel message and then given the opportunity to respond to it. They will talk about how God loves us and desires us to live full happy lives in relationship with Him but how we are separated from Him because of sin. We will talk about how Jesus Christ is the only one who can restore this relationship, bridge this separation, and that it is only through Him that we can know God’s love and share in God’s life with others. Finally, tonight the teens will hear about how accepting Christ into your life is more than just believing that He was God and died for us and more than just doing good works and following His moral teaching. They will learn that it means entering into a personal relationship with Christ in which we receive His love and give our life to Him.

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: Read together John 3:1-21. Discuss what Jesus was trying to communicate to Nicodemus. What do you think about this message of salvation? To accept Jesus Christ into our lives and accept the salvation he offers us means we are allowing Jesus to be the center of our lives – what are some things that could get in the way of this? What can you do to keep Christ at the center of your life?

*Be sure to remind your child to memorize their saint’s quote and memory verse before next week*

Tonight the Junior High students will be taking part in the parish penance service. They will be meeting in their small groups to begin with where they will be going through a guided examination of conscience. By partaking in the Sacrament of Reconciliation tonight, the teens will be preparing themselves for Christ’s coming this Christmas and experiencing firsthand the forgiveness He won for us on the cross. This would be a great night for the whole family to attend – teens will spend a short time in small group to begin with but could then join their families for the remainder of the evening. Hope to see you all at 7pm!

“In failing to confess, Lord, I would only hide You from myself, not myself from You.” – St Augustine of Hippo

Lst night the Junior High students learned more about prayer. The goal of the night was to introduce the students to the idea that prayer serves as a starting point for an introduction to a Person, the person of Jesus Christ. We talked about how prayer is a gift and it is the gate leading to faith. We discussed different types of prayer and took a look at what Jesus and Mary can teach us about prayer. We ended by taking some time to reflect on the 20 mysteries of the Rosary and the Scripture references that go along with each of them.

Questions for parents and teens to ponder together: What is the purpose of prayer? How does prayer draw you closer to God? Saint Ignatius says that “just the desire to get closer to God draws us closer to God.” Describe what this desire is like for you. 

 *Be sure to remind your child to memorize their saint’s quote and memory verse before we meet on December 12th – there will be a drawing for prizes!*