Advent is Here!

We made it through our youth rallies (over 1500 in attendance) and are now in the midst of Advent.  I pray that all of you are able to find quiet time each day to prepare for the coming of Christ.  If you want a daily dose for Advent, you should check out some cool online Catholic Advent Calendars.

As far as upcoming events, we have a lot going on.

Winter D-Camp - There are still spots open for our first ever Winter D-Camp.  You can get a registration form here.  We are praying for LOTS of snow so that we can use some of snow game ideas.  The counselor line-up we have is incredible.  Many of the counselors from past D-Camp's and Totus Tuus teams will be there to help out!

March For Life Pilgrimage - We are very close to full, but can probably get you in if you register soon.  We will be taking a full bus to Washington D.C. to participate in a march with hundreds of thousands of other pro-life advocates.

Pilgrimage to Italy - There is still room on this trip.  In fact, if you are an adult reading this, know that you are invited to come even if youth in your parish are not able to come.  Just give Mary Andersen a call at 988-3766.

Lastly, we have been trying to use our Facebook page more and more.  If you do not "like" us on there yet, please do so now!  You can find our page here.

You will not hear from me again until after Christmas, so I pray that you and families have a blessed Christmas with safe travel. Most importantly, remember to remind yourself daily what this season is all about.  Prepare yourself in hopeful anticipation for the coming of our Lord, not just at Christmastime but at the end of time as well.

In Christ,

Eric Gallagher

Winter is Approaching Quickly

I pray that your fall semester is going well and that your teachers are taking good care of you.  Please pray for them as the days get darker and darker.  I know for me it is always difficult to stay focused when the weather is not so nice.

Our rallies finished up this past weekend and they were a huge success.  There were over 1300 people attend the rallies.   It is always a blessing to see so many from the Diocese come together.

Now we are gearing up for two new events that have never been done in our Diocese before.

Winter D-Camp

Our first ever Winter D-Camp will be December 28-30.   There are still a few spots left and applications can be found online.  I have started making plans for camp and am getting the counselors lined up.  We have tons of great young adults ready to help, many of them are past D-Camp counselors and Totus Tuus team members.  

March For Life Pilgrimage

We will be heading the Washington D.C. to the annual March for Life in January.  With this trip we join hundreds of thousands of people as they march the streets of our nations capital to send a message of the passion we have for life.  The trip is geared towards high school youth but anyone can go. There are still some spots left for this as well.  Please call our office if you have any questions.  Many youth are being sponsored by their parish or local Knights of Columbus chapter as a representative for their parish.

Lastly, I wanted to invite you to sign up for the Pilgrimage to Italy.  We have posted the Itinerary on the website for this trip.  If you are a youth and wanting to go, please give me a call if you need some ideas on how you can fundraise for the trip.  It will take some work, but I guarantee it is well worth it.  We have a great crew signed up so far.

In the next week or two, we do hope to open up the trip to more than just high school youth.  Please contact Eric if you are interested as an adult or junior high youth and he can give you more information.

Have a great November!

Eric Gallagher

Director 

The Year of Faith Begins in ONE WEEK!

If you did not know, Pope Benedict has declared a "Year of Faith" beginning on October 11th of this year.  For youth, this year is an incredible opportunity to work on the depth of your faith.  I would encourage you to do three things to help you do this in the upcoming year:

• Commit to a deeper prayer life - look to commit at least 15-30 minutes of prayer each day.  Let this be through recitation of the rosary, praying lectio divina, or spending time in silence in front of the Holy Eucharist.
• Read & Study the YouCat - Pope Benedict has called the Church to study the documents of Vatican II and the Catechism to help deepen our faith this upcoming year.  If you do not have a YouCat, get one!  If you want a great study resource, check out the Newman Connection YouCat Study Course.
• Frequent the Sacraments - The more time you spend being loved on by our Lord, the more you will fall in love with Him. Commit to regular confession and when you are able, make it a priority to go to daily Mass.

All of our youth events this year will have a theme that will also help aid you in this journey through the Year of Faith.  Look forward to more resources coming every month!

Lastly, if you have not signed up for the youth rally yet (Junior High is October 14th, High School is November 4th), be sure to talk to your parish and get signed up!

Winter D-Camp Registration is Open!

You can register Here!