Is LifeTeen a good idea?

[jfallaw]

I was a Youth Leader at Oneighty (the protestant version of LifeTeen) at my old church, and I really enjoyed it and found a passion for youth ministry. Now I have the opportunity to get involved in youth ministry at my parish, and am so thankful! I was thinking about maybe eventually trying start a LifeTeen program at the parish, but wanted to get some (name removed by moderator)ut.

I know some think of it as basically a protestant service dressed in Catholicism, but has anyone here been involved in LifeTeen? It seems like it would be a good way to get youth more fired up about God and the Mass, because honestly I don’t really see that like I saw at my old church. If you are familiar with it, what are your perceived pros and cons?

I really don’t know if it would be allowed here, though- Father Carlos, oddly enough, today in his homily said he couldn’t wait for the day the Church does away with CCD! He said it’s a shame that parents are relying on the Church to do what they should be doing.

 

[FrDavid96]

I was a Youth Leader at Oneighty (the protestant version of LifeTeen) at my old church, and I really enjoyed it and found a passion for youth ministry. Now I have the opportunity to get involved in youth ministry at my parish, and am so thankful! I was thinking about maybe eventually trying start a LifeTeen program at the parish, but wanted to get some (name removed by moderator)ut.

I know some think of it as basically a protestant service dressed in Catholicism, but has anyone here been involved in LifeTeen? It seems like it would be a good way to get youth more fired up about God and the Mass, because honestly I don’t really see that like I saw at my old church. If you are familiar with it, what are your perceived pros and cons?

I really don’t know if it would be allowed here, though- Father Carlos, oddly enough, today in his homily said he couldn’t wait for the day the Church does away with CCD! He said it’s a shame that parents are relying on the Church to do what they should be doing.

This is my personal perspective: I don’t like it and won’t participate in it. I have seen it, and I have inadvertently participated either out of ignorance of what was to come, or out of a necessity to be there for some other reason.

To quote your own words “I know some think of it as basically a protestant service dressed in Catholicism” I see even the dressing being peeled away more and more.

'It seems like it would be a good way to get youth more fired up about God and the Mass" Of course, it seems like that. But does it? Does it realy get the youth involved in their faith, or does it instead get them involved in external motions and merely provide entertainment for them while the Mass is happening? What happens when they grow up and become adults? What foundation will they have for that adult faith? Once they outgrow their participation in this program, will they continue to practice their Catholic faith, or will they instead look elsewhere for a new place which will fulfill their new need for entertainment. Will they seek to fill the void left by the absence of solid Catholicism if that solid faith and praxis is never instilled in them in the first place?

The people who run that program are constantly sending us advertistments for it (it is after all a commercial business as much as it is anything else). One thing I can’t help but notice in the ads is how they constantly defend it is a “Catholic” program. I ask myself “if it’s truly Catholic, why do they see such a great necessity in defending it as such?” Would that not be obvious if it were true? When Pope Benedict visited the US a few months ago, did he say “Yes, I am a Catholic. Believe me. It’s true. Honestly, I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true.”???

 

[jfallaw]

This is my personal perspective: I don’t like it and won’t participate in it. I have seen it, and I have inadvertently participated either out of ignorance of what was to come, or out of a necessity to be there for some other reason.

To quote your own words “I know some think of it as basically a protestant service dressed in Catholicism” I see even the dressing being peeled away more and more.

'It seems like it would be a good way to get youth more fired up about God and the Mass" Of course, it seems like that. But does it? Does it realy get the youth involved in their faith, or does it instead get them involved in external motions and merely provide entertainment for them while the Mass is happening? What happens when they grow up and become adults? What foundation will they have for that adult faith? Once they outgrow their participation in this program, will they continue to practice their Catholic faith, or will they instead look elsewhere for a new place which will fulfill their new need for entertainment. Will they seek to fill the void left by the absence of solid Catholicism if that solid faith and praxis is never instilled in them in the first place?

Those are very good questions. Well, I know that the Mass is not the only part of LT- there is a catechetical thing afterward that presents the faith, but also with games and skits, etc. What Father said that led to his statement about CCD was that he was reading in a magazine how many kids were leaving that kind of service at the protestant churches, because, despite the “foo foo”, as Father called it, they were still empty and didn’t feel like they were actually a part of something. So they went back to their gangs and such, because then they felt like they were part of a ‘family’.

Do you think it would be OK to just have the Life Nights, where catechetics are taught in a fun manner, and maybe even some contemporary music, and not do the youth Mass? Perhaps if the kids are educated about the faiths in a fun setting, but reminded of how serious the Mass is, then they would be better prepared to participate in the Mass they are used to, but don’t really seem to understand.

 

[benedictgal]

I feel as though I am about to step into a landmine, but, here it goes.

There can be some good regarding LifeTeen, but, where it concerns the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I would suggest that you offer your charges Tradition, the Sacred and Substance. Give them something substantial that they will not grow out of and something that will stay. It’s like the old addage of giving them desert before the real food. Give a person too much sugar and diabetes steps into the picture.

Be Traditional in your approach with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Adoration. Follow the rubrics and norms of the Church and don’t deviate. All too often, the Achilles heel of many movements is the fact that they start getting too creative with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in order to make it “interesting”. If you don’t find the fact that the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, that you are in the presence of the Divine Majesty of God, that the entire Church (Triumphant, Millitant and Suffering) is present at the Mass (seen and unseen) and that we are just as present at the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus as were the Blessed Mother and Sts. John and Mary Magdalene, then, you’ve missed the point entirely.

Contrary to what other might think, kids crave something with substance and stability. Teach them the traditional music of the Church, especially this time of year, O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Creator of the Stars of Night come to mind. Teach them the songs that our ancestors in the Faith sang. These are not boring and are very rich in the Sacred Traditions of the Church. They accurately explain and reflect what the Church teaches.

Have outings for them, like movie night, basketball tournaments against other LifeTeen movements in your diocese, dances, lock-ins and maybe field trips. You can let them enjoy themselves, but, in moderation.

 

[jfallaw]

I feel as though I am about to step into a landmine, but, here it goes.

There can be some good regarding LifeTeen, but, where it concerns the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, I would suggest that you offer your charges Tradition, the Sacred and Substance. Give them something substantial that they will not grow out of and something that will stay. It’s like the old addage of giving them desert before the real food. Give a person too much sugar and diabetes steps into the picture.

Be Traditional in your approach with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Adoration. Follow the rubrics and norms of the Church and don’t deviate. All too often, the Achilles heel of many movements is the fact that they start getting too creative with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in order to make it “interesting”. If you don’t find the fact that the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, that you are in the presence of the Divine Majesty of God, that the entire Church (Triumphant, Millitant and Suffering) is present at the Mass (seen and unseen) and that we are just as present at the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus as were the Blessed Mother and Sts. John and Mary Magdalene, then, you’ve missed the point entirely.

Contrary to what other might think, kids crave something with substance and stability. Teach them the traditional music of the Church, especially this time of year, O Come, O Come Emmanuel and Creator of the Stars of Night come to mind. Teach them the songs that our ancestors in the Faith sang. These are not boring and are very rich in the Sacred Traditions of the Church. They accurately explain and reflect what the Church teaches.

Have outings for them, like movie night, basketball tournaments against other LifeTeen movements in your diocese, dances, lock-ins and maybe field trips. You can let them enjoy themselves, but, in moderation.

That’s where I’m struggling- I am verry Traditional when it comes to the Faith, however, I know that teens don’t like to feel like they are always being preached to or are in school all the time. I want to present the Faith fully, and fully grounded in Tradition, but I also want to do it in a way that will grab their attention and keep them interested. I really never planned on doing a Youth Mass, because I feel Mass should be celebrated with the community and not just with a particular group of people, and I honestly don’t even like the fact that the guitar is played at every mass at my parish. It just doesn’t fit.

But I think the kids should be able to have their own group or gathering at least once a week where they can hear good praise music, play games, and, yes, learn, too.

 

[FrDavid96]

Those are very good questions. Well, I know that the Mass is not the only part of LT- there is a catechetical thing afterward that presents the faith, but also with games and skits, etc. What Father said that led to his statement about CCD was that he was reading in a magazine how many kids were leaving that kind of service at the protestant churches, because, despite the “foo foo”, as Father called it, they were still empty and didn’t feel like they were actually a part of something. So they went back to their gangs and such, because then they felt like they were part of a ‘family’.

Do you think it would be OK to just have the Life Nights, where catechetics are taught in a fun manner, and maybe even some contemporary music, and not do the youth Mass? Perhaps if the kids are educated about the faiths in a fun setting, but reminded of how serious the Mass is, then they would be better prepared to participate in the Mass they are used to, but don’t really seem to understand.

Again, my personal opinion. I don’t see any value in the “fun” part. I believe there’s a time and place for everything. I believe in providing fun and entertainment and peer fellowship for parish youth groups. I believe very strongly in that. But again, I don’t see that the faith itself is what is being truly taught with this and similar approaches. The youths certainly learn how to play the “games” they learn how to do all the “fun” stuff like holding hands and screaming and crying and waving, and standing in a circle, and singing secular music with religious-sounding verses, but in the end, they never actually learn the faith that is the supposed purpose of these programs. Try asking a teenager who participates in these programs questions about basic truths of the Catholic faith, and see how far you get.

Our school systems provide athletics as a form of entertainment (and fitness, sportsmanship, etc) as a supplement to the educational process, but never in place of academics. When that does happen, we say that the system has failed the person. Why do we not apply the same principle to how the Church educates Her youth? Is there any difference in principle between the star football player who can barely read the words printed on his diploma, and a Catholic teenager who knows all about the fun stuff of a program, but has never learned the basic tenets of the faith? I wonder sometimes.

As for the question you posed by your last paragraph, again my opinion is this: we cannot seperate the two (the program within the Mass and the program outside the Mass).

 

[vocatio]

Fr. David, I certainly understand your concern. However, I had an opportunity to attend a youth conference in Steubenville, Ohio, each summer over a 4 or 5 year period. It was the spark in my life that fired me up and brought me close to Christ. From there I learned many of the Traditions of the Church and came to a deeper love and understanding about God, the Saints, the Sacraments, etc. Sure, I made many mistakes on my journey. But ultimately it helped me find my way back home after I left. It was the confusion that caused me to fall. But the love for God always remained in my heart. That kept me searching…ultimately led me back home.

Last summer I attended Steubenville on the Bayou in the Houma-Thibadoux Diocese. Bishop Jacobs was awesome. It looked just like a mega non-denominationaly praise worship with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the center of it. My friend is the vocations director there and they have a remarkable ratio of new seminarians as a result of it. I told him, with concern over the style, that it looked just like a Protestant praise service. He responded with if it works, is good and does not go against Church teaching, then the Church can bless it and bring it in. Look at programs like VBS. Look at “The Donut Man”. I remember him coming to our Protestant church and as we converted to Catholicism we noticed that he had converted too. God works in mysterious ways.

I believe that a program that ties the youth into ancient Christianity, the lives of the Saints and a new found love for Christ is a wonderful way to bring our children closer to Christ in the Eucharist. We must however, catechise children and keep it orthodox…pulling no punches…that includes a better understanding of Mary’s role as the New Eve, which I didn’t understand until my reversion.

Just my thoughts. I say we, the laity, have a responsibilty to provide our Catholic children with alternative solutions to the other majorly influential Protestant organizations fighting for our children’s souls. I am directly and indirectly involved with a previous church in my area that is trying really hard, and succeeding with way too much success, to proselytize…“save” our Catholic children along with the other Protestant faiths in the area. Parenting is the laity’s responsibilty so I’ve been told. Priests administer sacraments. Programs that reach out to the Catholic youth should, ought, to be stamped with the approval of the bishops. I just hope that the bishops and priests recognize years of succeful practices that our Protestant brothers and sisters have been so successful at recruiting our children and young adults…not to mention adults. I run into them all the time in my neighborhood. We need genuine enthusiasm for the Catholic faith. This is a great opportunity to get them active in the Church and eventually we grow up and need big boy chairs as one of our pastors said in a homily. That’s my spill on it. I know my oldest son is not interested in the Protestant groups now that he knows the difference. But it was our determined Protestant teaching him that kept him on track. But he loves to be around youth and share his faith. His CCD teachers and youth minister love to use his example all the time…kind of over do it… He is a very Catholic boy now and discerning the priesthood. Youth programs are in much need of repair in the Catholic Church. The parents and children of my wife’s CCD class last year are begging her to come back and teach because they see the difference. My wife grew up Protestant.

I’ve heard it said by several Catholics now that it may be the Protestants that end up saving the Catholic Church from it’s misdirected members. Just something for us to think about. We, Catholics, need to get in the race again as the leader by putting ourselves out there for Christ. Pope John Paul II, the Great began with “Be Not Afraid”. This sounds very wise to me. Certainly, I have a little reservations but believe that getting youth more involved is actually positive.

 

[trokll]

If i may state my opion I persoanlly like life teen

This may be beacuse i am in fact a teen. In fact I would not even have become a strong cathloic without it . I was born a catholic but until I came to life teen I had no passion for God. Life teen really made me passionte for god. This said now that i have a strong faith I would not be opposed to a more tradtional mass. Even though I preatty much never go to more tradtional mass. I would be perfectly okay with a more tradtional mass. :yup:

:heaven:

 

[benedictgal]

That’s where I’m struggling- I am verry Traditional when it comes to the Faith, however, I know that teens don’t like to feel like they are always being preached to or are in school all the time. I want to present the Faith fully, and fully grounded in Tradition, but I also want to do it in a way that will grab their attention and keep them interested. I really never planned on doing a Youth Mass, because I feel Mass should be celebrated with the community and not just with a particular group of people, and I honestly don’t even like the fact that the guitar is played at every mass at my parish. It just doesn’t fit.

But I think the kids should be able to have their own group or gathering at least once a week where they can hear good praise music, play games, and, yes, learn, too.

My dad ran the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) program in our deanery (way before we became our own diocese) back in the 1970s. The kids learned the faith, but, at the same time, they also engaged in sporting activities, acts of mercy (collecting food for the needy and children’s toy drives) and assisting at Mass (no strange things happened–my dad is too Traditional for that). They even hosted their own convention for the South Texas region and were recognized by now-Bishop Raymond Pena from Brownsville, who served as a priest in our city.

They never deviated from the tenents of the Faith. In fact, my mother would have them pray a rosary when they would go out of town onboard the “yellow hound” (school bus).

Kids are social creatures. They do need some social activity; however, this kind should be grounded in the context of the Faith. A lot of kids wound up marrying each other (later in life) after having met at CYO. In fact, to my knowledge, these marriages have lasted. And, on occasion, many of them come back and thank my Dad. They are now involved in their parishes, either in some liturgical ministry or in a social one.

Maybe have the LifeNight, but, I would even skip the praise music, as a lot of it is not consistent with Church teaching. Engage the kids in seasonal practices like Stations of the Cross during Lent or something Advent-centered. Go over the lectionary readings for the next week. Get them involved in the corporal works of mercy so that they can put their faith in action, as well as having them practice the spiritual works of mercy, as well.

Take a page out of St. John Bosco’s gamebook. He never corrupted the Mass with anything strange (granted, back in th e1860s, it was hard to do); he would celebrate the Holy Sacrifice with the boys and then lead them onto recreation. However, he was able to find teaching moments even as they played games. I hear his group turned out pretty well: one saint (Dominic Savio); a few cardinals and archbishops (Michael Rua) and some blesseds. Incidentally, the founder of WYD, Pope John Paul II, didn’t treat the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass very lightly. When he was leading the youth in his parish, he was a stickler for fidelity to the norms. But, it didn’t stop him from getting creative in presenting the faith through hikes, games and canoe trips.

 

[vocatio]

Again, my personal opinion. I don’t see any value in the “fun” part. I believe there’s a time and place for everything. I believe in providing fun and entertainment and peer fellowship for parish youth groups. I believe very strongly in that. But again, I don’t see that the faith itself is what is being truly taught with this and similar approaches. The youths certainly learn how to play the “games” they learn how to do all the “fun” stuff like holding hands and screaming and crying and waving, and standing in a circle, and singing secular music with religious-sounding verses, but in the end, they never actually learn the faith that is the supposed purpose of these programs. Try asking a teenager who participates in these programs questions about basic truths of the Catholic faith, and see how far you get.

Our school systems provide athletics as a form of entertainment (and fitness, sportsmanship, etc) as a supplement to the educational process, but never in place of academics. When that does happen, we say that the system has failed the person. Why do we not apply the same principle to how the Church educates Her youth? Is there any difference in principle between the star football player who can barely read the words printed on his diploma, and a Catholic teenager who knows all about the fun stuff of a program, but has never learned the basic tenets of the faith? I wonder sometimes.

As for the question you posed by your last paragraph, again my opinion is this: we cannot seperate the two (the program within the Mass and the program outside the Mass).

If I edit names out of an email, I would love to post it to show you first handed what our teens are dealing with. I can’t scandalize anyone specifically. But we need to wake up as Catholics and hit head on the proselytizing of our youth. This stuff gets planted in their heads early on because people don’t believe it works. And then voila…it works and our children join some other feel good church. I agree, that it needs to be tied into authentic Catholicism. I agree. But if we don’t wake up to fill a huge demand for giving our teens an alternative to the competition the competition will succeed…I see it everyweek…I’m on the local non-denom groups WyldLife email. We used to be part of that group prior to conversion. It was recognizing some of the youth minister’s methods that caused me to search my heart even deeper than what I had already begun that led me back home to the Catholic Church.

Caution, always. but we do need to provide youth with a viable option encased in authentic Catholic teaching, culture, etc. That I agree with. I am concerned for our youth and have voiced this with my pastor several times over the past 2 years by forwarding him the circular emails I receive every week for the youth “bible class” and the WyldLife or what ever it’s called. I have to check the email. It’s definitly “feel good” though and I see the risks. But I see more risk at not doing sometihng because statistics don’t lie. Protestant churches are full of fallen away Catholics. Some of them because of the proselytizing that I’ve done in my past. I am trying to undo what I’ve done in my past and hope to find a way to improve, support the bishop’s efforts of bringing in the youth. Utilize some of my Protestant skills at evangelizing without proselytizing. I’m all ears at your suggestions.

 

[FrDavid96]

My dad ran the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) program in our deanery (way before we became our own diocese) back in the 1970s. The kids learned the faith, but, at the same time, they also engaged in sporting activities, acts of mercy (collecting food for the needy and children’s toy drives) and assisting at Mass (no strange things happened–my dad is too Traditional for that). They even hosted their own convention for the South Texas region and were recognized by now-Bishop Raymond Pena from Brownsville, who served as a priest in our city.

They never deviated from the tenents of the Faith. In fact, my mother would have them pray a rosary when they would go out of town onboard the “yellow hound” (school bus).

Kids are social creatures. They do need some social activity; however, this kind should be grounded in the context of the Faith. A lot of kids wound up marrying each other (later in life) after having met at CYO. In fact, to my knowledge, these marriages have lasted. And, on occasion, many of them come back and thank my Dad. They are now involved in their parishes, either in some liturgical ministry or in a social one.

Maybe have the LifeNight, but, I would even skip the praise music, as a lot of it is not consistent with Church teaching. Engage the kids in seasonal practices like Stations of the Cross during Lent or something Advent-centered. Go over the lectionary readings for the next week. Get them involved in the corporal works of mercy so that they can put their faith in action, as well as having them practice the spiritual works of mercy, as well.

Sure, there’s a proper time for the entertainment. I support that wholeheartedly. What I oppose is replacing the faith part with entertainment (even if that entertainment seems to be on-the-surface faith centered).

I can’t help but notice that before movements like the one we’re discussing became popular, the Church never had a widespread problem of losing people to the Protestants. One of the ways protestants proselytize is to tell immigrant families who arrive in the US that what they see here is the US version of Catholicism. By the time they realize that they’ve become protestant, it’s too late. If it were not for the fact that what they experience as “Catholicism” in their country of birth has become so protestantized (as it has in many places in the US), they would never fall for such deception. I fear that the same sort of proselytizing is being done to our youth, and when they become adults and are able to make their own decisions in life, the same thing will happen to them.

 

[vocatio]

If i may state my opion I persoanlly like life teen

This may be beacuse i am in fact a teen. In fact I would not even have become a strong cathloic without it . I was born a catholic but until I came to life teen I had no passion for God. Life teen really made me passionte for god. This said now that i have a strong faith I would not be opposed to a more tradtional mass. Even though I preatty much never go to more tradtional mass. I would be perfectly okay with a more tradtional mass. :yup:

:heaven:

If I may…we are all born pagan, not Catholic or whatever. Because it is by the promise that our parents make at our baptism that makes us Catholic. Padre can clarify that. I just thought I tease you since I’ve heard this in a homily recently. I too was inspired to consider a vocation to the priesthood because of a similar youth group a long time ago. But there are true concerns for adults to consider. A beautiful girl may be a wonderful thing to see, but depending on how she’s dressed and how long you look at her depends on whether it’s prudent to look at her. In the same manner, jumping for joy at a mass seems very inappropriate since we are their for God, not the converse. Though there is a significant amount of the senses that are fed while worshiping God in the mass.

 

[harrisunt]

I was a teacher in our LifeTeen program at my old parish. I loved the concept of the LifeNight’s but was often at a loss for words at how poorly they were written. This program is advertised to be an engaging to 14-18 year old kids. It misses the point about 75% of the time. The lessons are watered down theology and most kids (even the ones with a very strong faith) were bored and longed for something “real”. That something real is traditionalism. They outgrow the LifeTeen program by 16 and sadly, I would tend to think that most will outgrow their faith if we continue to present it in such a watered down format.

We did a class on prayer and Benediction once because the lesson plan we had was garbage. All I heard as the kids left was “why don’t we do those more often?”, “that was cool”… etc.

My opinion is this… LifeTeen is more about socializing and allowing the teens to “participate in the Mass” that its easy to forget what really matters. It is Catholicism at the lowest common denominator.

 

[benedictgal]

If I edit names out of an email, I would love to post it to show you first handed what our teens are dealing with. I can’t scandalize anyone specifically. But we need to wake up as Catholics and hit head on the proselytizing of our youth. This stuff gets planted in their heads early on because people don’t believe it works. And then voila…it works and our children join some other feel good church. I agree, that it needs to be tied into authentic Catholicism. I agree. But if we don’t wake up to fill a huge demand for giving our teens an alternative to the competition the competition will succeed…I see it everyweek…I’m on the local non-denom groups WyldLife email. We used to be part of that group prior to conversion. It was recognizing some of the youth minister’s methods that caused me to search my heart even deeper than what I had already begun that led me back home to the Catholic Church.

Caution, always. but we do need to provide youth with a viable option encased in authentic Catholic teaching, culture, etc. That I agree with. I am concerned for our youth and have voiced this with my pastor several times over the past 2 years by forwarding him the circular emails I receive every week for the youth “bible class” and the WyldLife or what ever it’s called. I have to check the email. It’s definitly “feel good” though and I see the risks. But I see more risk at not doing sometihng because statistics don’t lie. Protestant churches are full of fallen away Catholics. Some of them because of the proselytizing that I’ve done in my past. I am trying to undo what I’ve done in my past and hope to find a way to improve, support the bishop’s efforts of bringing in the youth. Utilize some of my Protestant skills at evangelizing without proselytizing. I’m all ears at your suggestions.

I can understand your ponit; however, inasmuch as I would certainly support getting the kids to more fully live out their baptismal promises, I don’t believe that we should be doing so at the expense of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

For all of the good intentions of LifeTeen, the movement, unfortunately, does carry around some big baggage, mainly liturgical abuse and lack of genuinely sacred music for the Mass. It reminds of me of an old Star Trek (original series) episode that borrowed its title “Bread and Circuses” from the practice of the ancient Roman rulers. In order to keep the masses happy and loyal, they would offer them bread (food) and circuses (entertainment). Obviously, it wasn’t enough for the culture that Kirk, Spock and McCoy encountered, much .like, eventually, it wasn’t enough for ancient Rome, which would, in the long run, wind up imploding.

You need to give kids the meat and potatoes of the faith. Teaqch them the doctrines and the dogmas. Teach them about Marian doctrine and devotion. Teach them about the Communion of Saints, reminding them that they aren’t the only ones present at Mass. At every Mass, they are joined by the Universal Church which includes the saints (the Church Triumphant) and the souls in purgatory (the Church Suffering), as well as the angels.

And, you also need to get the parents involved. Our parish is now having mandatory faith formation classes for the parents to teach them the Catechism. It’s funny, when it comes to Financial Aid night (or report card night), parents will come in droves to the school to see how junior is doing. Why? They want to make sure that junior is going to get the best grades and the best financial aid package so that he can go to UT or Brown or some other college. But, when it comes to junior’s eternal life, it’s almost as though that is not important since it’s not tangible. You can’t touch it nor see it. You don’t know what it’s earning potential will be, altlhough, in the final analysis, eternal life is worth more than a degree from Harvard.

 

[FrDavid96]

I was a teacher in our LifeTeen program at my old parish. I loved the concept of the LifeNight’s but was often at a loss for words at how poorly they were written. This program is advertised to be an engaging to 14-18 year old kids. It misses the point about 75% of the time. The lessons are watered down theology and most kids (even the ones with a very strong faith) were bored and longed for something “real”. That something real is traditionalism. They outgrow the LifeTeen program by 16 and sadly, I would tend to think that most will outgrow their faith if we continue to present it in such a watered down format.

We did a class on prayer and Benediction once because the lesson plan we had was garbage. All I heard as the kids left was “why don’t we do those more often?”, “that was cool”… etc.

My opinion is this… LifeTeen is more about socializing and allowing the teens to “participate in the Mass” that its easy to forget what really matters. It is Catholicism at the lowest common denominator.

I’ve had the same experience.

It is amazing just how much teenagers embrace a Mass celebrated with solemnity and dignity, and how much they embrace the truths of the faith if given the opportunity to learn them.

I don’t think these programs are so muchh about making the teens themselves happy and content as they are about making the adults who put them on happy about it.

When I was growing up, when our parish started doing “folk Masses” we were all told that it was “for the youth” We, the youth, hated it. In fact, everyone in our parish hated it–except for the new pastor. The people who put on the folk Masses came from another parish altogether. We (of all ages) longed for a return to the traditional Masses we had always known. We didn’t like the new songs, we didn’t like the guitar at Mass, we didn’t like all the stuff that we were being told was “for us.” We were told that we did like it, but we just didn’t know that we liked it. We were told that over and over again. The day the folk Masses started was the day that our parish went from standing room only to eventually being closed down. That, I see, is the final result of these programs. Can you tell that I don’t like them?

 

[harrisunt]

I’ve had the same experience.

It is amazing just how much teenagers embrace a Mass celebrated with solemnity and dignity, and how much they embrace the truths of the faith if given the opportunity to learn them.

I don’t think these programs are so muchh about making the teens themselves happy and content as they are about making the adults who put them on happy about it.

When I was growing up, when our parish started doing “folk Masses” we were all told that it was “for the youth” We, the youth, hated it. In fact, everyone in our parish hated it–except for the new pastor. The people who put on the folk Masses came from another parish altogether. We (of all ages) longed for a return to the traditional Masses we had always known. We didn’t like the new songs, we didn’t like the guitar at Mass, we didn’t like all the stuff that we were being told was “for us.” We were told that we did like it, but we just didn’t know that we liked it. We were told that over and over again. The day the folk Masses started was the day that our parish went from standing room only to eventually being closed down. That, I see, is the final result of these programs. Can you tell that I don’t like them?

What, you don’t like them? I became highly involved with the Church with LifeTeen and believe that the program did help me become more serious about my conversion but at the end of the day, even this “baby Catholic” yearns for the Latin Mass and thinks bass guitars, drum sets and rock music should be reserved for Guitar Hero and Rock Band 2.

 

[Cat]

I can understand your ponit; however, inasmuch as I would certainly support getting the kids to more fully live out their baptismal promises, I don’t believe that we should be doing so at the expense of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

For all of the good intentions of LifeTeen, the movement, unfortunately, does carry around some big baggage, mainly liturgical abuse and lack of genuinely sacred music for the Mass. It reminds of me of an old Star Trek (original series) episode that borrowed its title “Bread and Circuses” from the practice of the ancient Roman rulers. In order to keep the masses happy and loyal, they would offer them bread (food) and circuses (entertainment). Obviously, it wasn’t enough for the culture that Kirk, Spock and McCoy encountered, much .like, eventually, it wasn’t enough for ancient Rome, which would, in the long run, wind up imploding.

You need to give kids the meat and potatoes of the faith. Teaqch them the doctrines and the dogmas. Teach them about Marian doctrine and devotion. Teach them about the Communion of Saints, reminding them that they aren’t the only ones present at Mass. At every Mass, they are joined by the Universal Church which includes the saints (the Church Triumphant) and the souls in purgatory (the Church Suffering), as well as the angels.

And, you also need to get the parents involved. Our parish is now having mandatory faith formation classes for the parents to teach them the Catechism. It’s funny, when it comes to Financial Aid night (or report card night), parents will come in droves to the school to see how junior is doing. Why? They want to make sure that junior is going to get the best grades and the best financial aid package so that he can go to UT or Brown or some other college. But, when it comes to junior’s eternal life, it’s almost as though that is not important since it’s not tangible. You can’t touch it nor see it. You don’t know what it’s earning potential will be, altlhough, in the final analysis, eternal life is worth more than a degree from Harvard.

Don’t you understand? What good is meat and potatoes if the kids don’t eat it, or if they won’t even come to the table to look at it?

While you’re offering meat and potatoes to a few Catholic teenagers, the Protestant megachurches are offering coffee house and asiago bread to thousands of teenagers down the street from you.

Doesn’t that bother you?

I asked this question once before and I ended up asking the moderators to delete the thread because people got too hostile. What is more important–the “traditions” (small t) of the Church, or saving the souls of thousands of teenagers?

Would you truly sacrifice the souls of teenagers because you are unwilling to include “teenaged” hymns in the Mass?

And let’s not have this stuff about “teens don’t really like Life Teen hymns.” Oh, yes, they do. Some don’t, but the hundreds of kids that attend our Life Teen Mass like the hymns.

To those who say that Life Teen is too watered down–well, get busy and BEEF IT UP! You don’t have to read the teaching straight out of the book, do you?! Think. The book is meant to be a guideline, not a dogma. Add to it, do a different activity, bring out different points, ask harder questions–be a TEACHER. Do what is necessary to reach the teenagers in YOUR part of the world.

 

[Cat]

Life Teen is a stepping stone.

The Bible talks about “precept upon precept and line upon line.”

Some people aren’t ready for the “CATHOLIC CHURCH!!!” :harp: :knight1: :knight1:

They don’t understand it all like you do as adults.

They NEED a stepping stone to ease them into it.

Don’t criticize them or denigrate them because they don’t comprehend the mysteries of the Mass. Help them “precept upon precept” to get to a place where they can comprehend.

 

[harrisunt]

Don’t you understand? What good is meat and potatoes if the kids don’t eat it, or if they won’t even come to the table to look at it?

While you’re offering meat and potatoes to a few Catholic teenagers, the Protestant megachurches are offering coffee house and asiago bread to thousands of teenagers down the street from you.

Doesn’t that bother you?

I asked this question once before and I ended up asking the moderators to delete the thread because people got too hostile. What is more important–the “traditions” (small t) of the Church, or saving the souls of thousands of teenagers?

Would you truly sacrifice the souls of teenagers because you are unwilling to include “teenaged” hymns in the Mass?

And let’s not have this stuff about “teens don’t really like Life Teen hymns.” Oh, yes, they do. Some don’t, but the hundreds of kids that attend our Life Teen Mass like the hymns.

To those who say that Life Teen is too watered down–well, get busy and BEEF IT UP! You don’t have to read the teaching straight out of the book, do you?! Think. The book is meant to be a guideline, not a dogma. Add to it, do a different activity, bring out different points, ask harder questions–be a TEACHER. Do what is necessary to reach the teenagers in YOUR part of the world.

Does it bother me? A little but all of that asagio bread and coffee will eventually make our youth fat on empty calories. They’ll come look for the TRUTH of a healthy alternative. We shouldn’t change the menu to keep up with the Jones’ down the street. I’ll continue the metaphors and say this about the watered down LifeTeen program. If you have to add chicken to chicken noodle soup, why not spend your money on better soup? Isn’t it a waste to throw money at a program that has to be rewritten each week? Doesn’t that mean its a poor program? I never did the lesson that was put in front on me when it was my lesson to teach. I would take the scripture, read it and stitch a lesson together.

I’ve never said that you have to remove the teen music. My problem is with electric guitars, bass guitars, drum sets, loud over done production etc…

 

[kage_ar]

Our Parish never did the LifeTeen Mass.

We used the Life Night program for 2 or 3 years, it almost killed our youth ministry. In this area, high school teens found it childish and they stopped coming to Youth Group. By the time we decided to try something else, were down to 3 teens.

Now, we have 20/30 high schoolers, they are involved and excited - what did we move to??? Apologetics. Tonight we begin a 5 week study of the ECFs using Steve Ray’s “Footprints of God”.

The Jr High have stuck with “the Edge”, it works for them - but, we have beefed up the Catechetics that are presented each week.