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Ġirja ma’ Salm 23

Ġirja ma’ Salm 23 huwa sett ta’ riżorsi, maqsum f’ħames sessjonijiet, intenzjonat għal żgħażagħ minn 14-il sena ’l fuq. Ħossok liberu li temenda d-diskors jew il-format tas-sessjonijiet. Fuq kollox, dan il-ktejjeb huwa gwida għalik bl-għan u bit-tama li l-parteċipanti jsiru iktar midħla tas-Salm u jidħlu f’iktar intimità ma’ Ġesù.

 

Hawn taħt, tista’ taċċessa l-immaġini u l-mużika meħtieġa għal kull sessjoni mniżżla fil-ktejjeb.

Sessjoni 1

Sessjoni 2

Sessjoni 3

Sessjoni 5

It-Triq tas-Salib

Maħsuba biex tkun ta’ gwida għall-pellegrini fil-Jum Dinji taż-Żgħażagħ tal-2023, biss tista’ tiġi wkoll tintuża fiż-żmien tar-Randan.

 

Hemm diversi modi t’espressjoni tul il-vjaġġ tas-salib. Dan il-ktejjeb hu sempliċiment gwida għalik biex timxi dan il-vjaġġ mhux biss b’mod estern, imma wkoll b’mod interjuri.

Għaldaqstant, l-istedina tagħna hija biex għal kull stazzjon:

  • nisimgħu l-Kelma t’Alla;
  • nirriflettu fuq dawn ir-rakkonti li ġraw verament;
  • nagħrfu li ħafna minn ħutna għadhom iġarrbu ħafna tbatija innoċentament;
  • nagħrfu li aħna parti integri minn dan il-vjaġġ ta’ Ġesù;
  • nitolbu lil Marija takkumpanjana.

 

Pentecost: Prayer Space

For the feast of Pentecost in which we celebrate who we are as Church, in collaboration with Spiritual Development in Schools, we are providing you with a prayer space to animate with your groups/communities. The ultimate aim of this project is to better our understanding of who we are in unity with each other as Church, and our dependency on the Holy Spirit who makes sense of our frailties.

On this feast of Pentecost, we express our gratitude for your work and tangible presence with adolescents and youths within our communities. Related artistic audio-visual content will be reaching you all in the coming week. Stay tuned!

Journeying Through Advent with Film

We have recently collaborated with ‘Lifelong Catechesis’ to come up with a resource pack to accompany young people aged 16+ throughout the four weeks of Advent. We encourage all leaders to make use of this resource which delves into the themes of hope, faith, joy and love through an exploration of 4 movies.



Session Content

If you’re looking for inspiration, here are a few websites which can help you out. 

 

Reflections & teachings 

 

Life Teen: https://lifeteen.com/blog/ https://www.youtube.com/user/LifeTeenInc 

Life Teen focuses on bringing Jesus to young people. Their website and YouTube chanel have plenty of insightful blogs and vlogs. They upload regularly and so you can always find content related to the times. 

 

Ascension Presents: https://media.ascensionpress.com/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVdGX3N-WIJ5nUvklBTNhAw 

Ascension Presents produce a wide range of formative videos, mostly short and concise, which explian different parts of Catholicism. There a various speakers – couples, priests, friars and nuns – and have very enaging content. 

 

Focus: https://focusoncampus.org/find-a-study https://www.youtube.com/user/FOCUSNational/videos 

Focus is an American mission with college students. Their website includes Bible studies, blog posts & testimonies. They also have an app which is packed with resources and a YouTube chanel with plenty of talks and reflections. 

 

Catholic Youth Work: http://catholicyouthwork.com/

This website is a pool of resources from different organisations in the UK. It includes resource packs, articles, presentations & videos. 

 

Word on Fire: https://www.youtube.com/user/wordonfirevideo https://www.wordonfire.org/

Word on Fire’s content is a little more advanced – they offer a series of videos, articles and lectures by Bishop Robert Barron. Worth checking out if you need personal inspiration or formation. 

 

Focusing on Scripture/Church Documents

 

The Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/ https://www.youtube.com/user/jointhebibleproject  

BibleProject is an animation studio that produces fully animated Bible videos, podcasts, and Bible resources to help people experience the story of the Bible. They are not a Catholic studio but they also no not take the stance of a specific tradition or denomination. 

 

Synod Fruits/Christus Vivit: https://www.synodfruits.org.uk/resources

Synod Fruits is project, headed by a group of young people, which hopes to unpack some of the richness of the Synod documents as well as Christus Vivit. Their website has some resources including study guides to Christus Vivit and the Final Synod Document and accomapiment booklets. 

 

Jesuit Refugee Service: https://www.jrschange.org/i-am-a-teacher/

CHANGE aims to encourage students to think critically on the subject of refugees and migration, to distinguish facts from opinions and to recognise prejudices and stereotypes.

 

Resources for Children:

Here are 2 websites worth mentioning if you work with children or you know anyone who might find them useful:
https://www.bekidsmalta.com/

https://www.youversion.com/the-bible-app-for-kids/

Live Streaming & Online Group Meetings

  • Live Streaming

 

If you’re looking for ways to live stream a meeting, there a few options the most popular being YouTube, Facebook Live & Instagram Live. 

Tips: 

    • Consider which platform would be most effective for your audience.

 

  • Post about when the live-stream will take place beforehand. 

https://www.youtube.com/live_dashboard_splash

https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/solutions/facebook-live

– live videos remain on the account’s wall after the Facebook live streaming event has finished.

 

https://help.instagram.com/292478487812558

 

Group meetings: Video Calls

There are plenty of apps which enable you to have group conversations. Here is a list of the most popular ones & the maximum of members per call. 

 

 

https://youtu.be/RyJ-3vWmHTA 

 

Google Hangouts (max 25 participants)

Skype (max 50 participants)

Zoom (max 100 participants with a 40 min timer)

Whatsapp groups (max 4 participants)

Messenger (Up to 50 can join but a max of 6 can be seen on screen. After that, only the main speaker appears.).

Universe Of Faith

Did you ever ask a really big question? Did your mind ever wonder after seeing some tiny event in nature? Was your heart ever restless even though you were ok? Did you ever feel that love is infinite? If these are true, then maybe Universe of Faith is for you. Think of yourself as part of this vast universe. You do feel very very small when you do this!

Then, think again, you can ask questions about the whole universe: Where does it come from? How come it is so beautiful? How come the laws of nature allow me to understand its workings? Maybe you can even come to see that the ‘universe’ points ‘outside’ itself! That’s what the very word means: ‘towards One’.

You can think of the entire universe as a vast, beautiful Cathedral that soars above you and encircles you. Despite its vastness, you somehow feel safe… you do not feel alone. Looking at it and sensing it leads you to look both upwards till you are somehow beyond it, and inwards till you are in the depths of yourself. It is then that you could realise that you are in the presence of the mystery who is the source of all; the mystery who speaks and whose words are the very universe; the mystery who takes delight and whose pleasure is the beauty around you; the mystery who loves and whose love is both within you and around you.

If you have such a living sense of wonder; if you are not too afraid of a long but beautiful journey; if you do not mind feeling completely loved; if you want some companionship on the way … the Universe of Faith is for you. It is for you even if you consider yourself as a believer but not as belonging to the Church; even if you see yourself as somehow ‘Christian’ but do not see yourself as quite believing what the Church believes.

In this site, we see ourselves as fellow travellers who strive to share simply yet profoundly what we have discovered with all those seeking inspiration as they seek to enter their inner life; as they seek to reach out to others. We try to make more tangible the idea of finding God in all people, all things, and all events. We want to be present to one another on this journey of life that involves us all. We firmly believe that no one is really alone!

On this quest, we never want to stop searching because we know that God is so grand, so beautiful. So we are very much aware that we are never ‘there’! We know that God speaks through light and darkness, through pleasure and pain, through health and sickness. We are also very aware that we do not know God or love God enough. We are on the way. We know our fragility; we know our moods, our conflicts. We do pray that even if only once in our lives we may love God completely. And we believe that God really wants to reach out to us and labours at this continuously in our lives.

 

Universe of Faith is the work of people of all ages: both those who are in peaceful possession of faith and those who have left the faith or the Church. The content of this website is faithful to the Catholic faith with space for journeying, questioning, doubting, and searching. We are continuously looking for personal stories, reflections from life on Bible verses, art work, videos and more. We are interested in what’s original, new, meaningful, timely, speaks faith. If you wish to send us an item or give feedback, you are most welcome. And please do get in touch with us even if you think that you’re too young or that the story is too simple or what you say is too ordinary. We rejoice to see God in action. And we believe that God is present and acts and loves everywhere … whether we know it or not! We’ll be glad if you get in touch with us.

If you wish to contact the author of a particular writing/picture feel free to contact us on [email protected]. We are people on the move, journeying in our relationships, in our aloneness, in our communities, exploring and investing in the life-giving encounter with God who speaks personally and intimately. We want to share this with others and listen to others.

Unless noted otherwise, the material of the website is copyright free. Material uploaded is re-usable.

Universe of Faith is an initiative of the Pastoral Formation Institute, Malta.

Healthy Tension

Tension and stress are rarely associated with something positive. And yet the Gospel invites us to live in healthy tension. Tension is when one is stretched between two contradictory points. And the Gospel has many of these contradictory invitations. John portrays Jesus as calling his disciples to be in the world but not of this world (Jn 17:14-15). Matthew and Luke both write of the contradiction ‘For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.’ (Mt 16:25; Lk 9:24). But perhaps the greatest sign of contradiction of all is Christ’s death on the cross, in order to bring life to the full. This is the ultimate tension. Christ here is literally stretched on the cross to bring heaven and earth together, to redeem all the human race in the loving embrace of God the Father.   

Perhaps our contemporary culture is more open to living in tension after all. Our culture no longer thinks in black and white. Our culture stretches our potential to all limits. So too our youth ministry can invite and challenge young people to live these healthy gospel tensions, as challenging as they may be. Can we invite them to be more of Christian witnesses in their daily lives? In the world but not of this world? To speak in a counter-cultural manner? To write blogs, facebook posts, newspaper articles in favour of life, truth and more Christian values?

Can we invite them to live out of their comfort zone? Without their gadgets? To live a period intensely for others, perhaps through voluntary work? To make radical choices in their lives? Isn’t this the way we invite them to lose their life in order to gain it?

Any youth minister who has challenged a youth group, be it daring them to an abseiling adventure or to a mission, know that they rise up to the occasion. And when they live in tension, it acts like a catapult. It helps them grow in spiritual maturity, it helps them be of witness to others and mobilise others to taste what they have experienced.

As youth leaders and ministers, we too are called to live in a tension that is life-giving and creative. We are called to be lamps to others and recognise the mission which we have been given for “Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” At the same time, it is important we acknowledge that we bear ‘this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” So, in our journey as youth leaders, we need to continuously strive between doing all to polish and train ourselves so that we shine God’s light brightly, whilst at the same time trusting that it is God who will work through us, if we only step out of his way!

Christine Rossi

Ms Rossi together with Profs Adrian-Mario Gellel will be presenting their research entitled: ‘Of Lamps & Clay vessels – Towards the validation of non-formal and informal learning of youth leaders in Church youth groups.’ on the 23rd September 2017 at Sala San Gorg Preca – Catholic Institute in Floriana at 9am. For more info please send an email on: [email protected]

Fr. Fabio’s Reflections on Preparatory Document: Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment – Part 4

During the conference from ‘Krakow 2 Panama’ held in Rome in April 2017, Fr Fabio Attard SDB was asked to share his thoughts on the third part of the Preparatory Document For The 15th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops “Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment”. We seriously encourage those involved in youth ministry to read his sharing as it is full of insight. The article will be split into 4 parts and we will upload two parts a week. For those who have not yet had the chance to read the preparatory document please click the following links: MalteseEnglish

Here’s Part 4 of Fr Fabio reflections on the Preparatory Document: Youth, Faith and Vocational Discernment. If you haven’t read part 1, 2 & 3, please click here.

4. Courage

Taking up this last point – the means of expression in pastoral work, educative care and the path of evangelization, silence, contemplation and prayer – here we have a challenge that Pope Francis deals with in EG:

Youth ministry, as traditionally organized, has also suffered the impact of social changes. Young people often fail to find responses to their concerns, needs, problems and hurts in the usual structures. As adults, we find it hard to listen patiently to them, to appreciate their concerns and demands, and to speak to them in a language they can understand. For the same reason, our efforts in the field of education do not produce the results expected (EG 105).

With this reflection, we close the circle that we started commenting on the first point: walking with young people. Being part of the journey of the young means understanding their language which is much more than pure vocabulary. The language of ministry on the one hand demands from us to inhabit and get in tune with the world of young people, but even more so it asks us also to tune with their searching hearts. If we are called to understand the language of young people, we must first be able to understand and decipher their silence, their loneliness, the sense of their research. To live with the humility of the pilgrim and the patience of being a true companion is the greatest and the most appreciated gift young people are looking for.

From this humble incarnation in their world that we propose paths of evangelization that can educate towards the sense of the sacred, an evangelization which offers a pedagogy that leads to the discovery of the divine. The sacred and the transcendent are rooted in the hearts of young people. It is up to us educators to promote the right conditions for this desire not to be overtaken by shallowness, suffocated by banality or betrayed by proposals that are only seemingly spiritual.
In a dialogue with young people during his apostolic visit to the United Kingdom, in 2010, Pope Benedetto XVI comments how the hearts of young people are already predisposed towards the goodness and beauty:
Not only does God love us with a depth and an intensity that we can scarcely begin to comprehend, but he invites us to respond to that love. You all know what it is like when you meet someone interesting and attractive, and you want to be that person’s friend. You always hope they will find you interesting and attractive, and want to be your friend. God wants your friendship. And once you enter into friendship with God, everything in your life begins to change. As you come to know him better, you find you want to reflect something of his infinite goodness in your own life. You are attracted to the practice of virtue (17th September 2010).

In this sense, and with this in mind, we must reflect on the following challenge: how to propose to young people, gradually and with respect to their rhythms, experiences of silence and contemplation, prayer and adoration? It would be helpful for us to ask ourselves where do fear and resistance, that sometimes we encounter at this stage, originate from?

Conclusion
I conclude with the same invitation that leaves us the Blessed Paul VI at the end of EN with a very simple and direct language:
May the world of our time, trying, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received in the joy of Christ, and who are willing to stake their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the heart of the world
May the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the Good News not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervour, who have first received the joy of Christ, and who are willing to risk their lives so that the kingdom may be proclaimed and the Church established in the midst of the world (EN n.80).

Fr Fabio Attard SDB

If you haven’t read part 1, 2 & 3, please click here.