1.   Opening Prayer: This section can be lead by anyone in the group. There is a prayer provided, but it can be          changed or intentions and reflection time can be added as well.  At this point, a candle should be lit and kept lit           somewhere in the room with an open Bible. 

2.   Icebreaker (First off, have each person fill out a name tag.) This icebreaker is pretty much designed to let everyone have fun. There is a bit of teamwork that is involved. One thing you will need is a referee who will keep score. 

3.   The topic of the night:  The WYD cross has already been in our diocese for a few days. The topic of the night is the Cross. There is some information provided in the meeting package but take this time to share your experiences with the cross as it passed through our Diocese. 

4.   Prayer Journal Activity: There is a Bible reading and some reflective questions provided for each person to do individually in his or her prayer journal. Read the questions out loud and have everyone copy them down in their journal so you don't have to repeat them several times. The purpose of the prayer journal is to trace one's spiritual pilgrimage over the next year. 

      5.   Reflections on our Community and Social Service: During this time, the group members can discuss experiences they've had with the social justice project they have chosen to do together over the upcoming year. 

6.   Questions and Answers: This is the part of the evening where the people in your group can field questions and concerns that they may have about the coming year and the activities in Toronto. If you don't know an answer, you will have everyone's phone numbers and if need be, you can call people with answers. 

7.   Closing Prayer: This prayer remains constant throughout all 9 meetings. 

 

[ii]  Materials needed for this first meeting and things to remember:
      1.   Name Tags:  Each person will require a name tag. 

2.   Candle, Matches, and Bible: To be lit and left on a table for the duration of the meeting. These are to help keep the minds and hearts of each person focused during the meeting 

       3.    Avs: There is available a video on St. Therese of Lisieux from Loaves and Fishes Church Supplies in Kelowna, and may be at the library at the Chancery office in Nelson. A video, some pictures, or any other visual aids are a good idea. 

       4.    Announcement:  Make an announcement in the church bulletin and/or phone people to remind them to come. Include the time, location, and duration of the meeting. Remind everyone to bring their journals and pens. (Be sure to bring extras, just in case.) Invite others to come as well. 

      5.         Meeting Place:   Be sure to book a room in the church (or hall) in which the meeting will be held. Arrive         there early so that you can set chairs, tables, and such in the manner that you like. 

 

[iii]  Pilgrimage Preparation

Session Three 

Time:                   1.5-2.0 hours

 

[iv]  Opening Prayer:

Lord, I believe in you as truly God and truly human. Today i come in search of You so that you can speak to me. Increase my faith to discover and experience You. I hope in you because you are the Lord of life: You came that we might have life, and have it abundantly. I place my life before You each day, and remain steadfast in my hope that one day I will be forever united with You in eternity. I want to know You better each day.

Son of God, you became Son of Man in order to bring me to the Father. Although you created me out of nothing, you do not call me 'servant' but 'friend', and I want to return your love. 

Amen.

- Intentions and Personal Reflections 

 

[v]   Icebreaker:  Group Scavenger Hunt   ('Coleman, Lyman. Serendipity Youth Ministry Encyclopedia. Serendipity House, Littleton, CO, 1985. pg 34)

Equipment: Whatever is in your wallet, purse or pockets. 

This game is played like an "old fashioned" scavenger hunt, except this time the teams have to produce the items from things they have in their possession. 

One person acts as the referee in the center of the room. Each team sits in a cluster, equidistant from the referee in the center. The referee calls out an item, such as a shoestring... and the first team to bring this item to the referee in the center of the room is the winner. Points are awarded to the team based on the "difficulty factor" in obtaining the items. The referee keeps score and periodically announces the score. (If one team is ahead, the referee can equalize the score by awarding a few extra points for the next item.) 

Here is a list of items and suggested points. Call out one item at a time. For 1000 points, the first team to bring to the referee a:

·         Sock with a hole in it

·         Picture of the queen

·         Something that smells

·         Guy with lipstick on 

·         Love letter

·         Baby picture

·         comb

·         Used ticket (movie or concert)

·         l989 dime

 

For 2000 points, the first team to bring to the referee:

 

·         Six shoestrings tied end to end

·         89 cents in change

·         Four shoes that total 29 in shoe sizes... tied together

 

For 3000 points, the first team to bring to the referee:

·           The whole team surrounded by a rope made out of socks. 

 

[vi]  Topic of the night:  The Cross 

Toronto, April 8, 2001 - In a ceremony in St. Peter's Square today, Pope John Paul II entrusted the World Youth Day (WYD) Cross to 47 Canadian youth. The Canadians accepted the simple wooden Cross, which is four metres high, two metres wide and weighs 30 kg, and carried it before a crowd of several hundred thousand people in St. Peter's Square, led by five Inuit drummers from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories.

The WYD Cross has now come to Canada where it has been received at an 18,000 person ceremony at Ottawa's Corel Centre. After five days in Ottawa, the Cross will undertake its trip to every region of Canada over the coming 16 months leading up to WYD 2002. While in Canada, the Cross will travel by airplane, truck, boat as well as by snowmobile in the far north.

Before departing for Rome, one of the Inuit drummers, 24-year old Clayton Morrell from Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, commented: "The Holy Father has always been my personal inspiration, ever since I was a boy. Even when I left the church for a few years, I still believed he was someone special. Now that I have returned and am volunteering with the church, his presence will give me an even stronger foundation, just like he and Peter are 'the rock' upon which the church is built."

As the host country, Canada received the Cross during the year prior to the July 18-28, 2002 event. This allows young Canadians to prepare for WYD, as was the case with the seven previous WYD host countries since 1984.

His Eminence Aloysius Cardinal Ambrozic, Archbishop of Toronto, who was in Rome with the Canadian delegation, said: "For the youth of Canada, the first part of the journey begins. At the dawn of a new millennium, we carry the Cross of Christ which has been handed on to us. The youth of Canada will take

up this particular cross on Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. The Cross speaks of the total self-gift of the Son of God which raises him and us with him into the joy of the Resurrection."

Part of the special role of the Cross is that young Canadians will carry it to places where their peers usually do not feel the presence of God. This includes the streets where some young people live as well as youth detention centers, shopping malls, ski hills and night clubs. It will go to Sheshatshiu to let the young lnnu there know that they are not alone as some of them struggle with substance abuse.

The simplicity of the Cross contains the WYD message, which is a call to young people to find Christ in new and deeper ways. We learn that we are not alone because like many others from around the world, including some in circumstances of persecution or war-tom societies, we are struggling to live their faith. Most of all, it shows that the Catholic Church is young and that we, as youth, have our place in it.

WYD will bring over 500,000 people from around the world to all parts of Canada, culminating in a week of activities in Toronto. WYD will end with a papal Mass at Downsview Park on July 28, 2002.

Most Rev. Gerald Wiesner, OMI, Bishop of Prince George and President of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, commented on the Roman ceremony: "By handing this cross to us, the Holy Father is inviting us to focus our lives on Christ and to prepare for WYD. The cross is similar to the Olympic torch that raises both the passion and pride of a host country. It will inspire us to become more committed to WYD and to the welcome we will give to young people from all continents in response to the Holy Father's invitation." 

 

 [vii]  Activity: Prayer Journal

1)   Read the passage Matthew 16:24 and Matthew 10:38.

       2)         "The Lord announces an ultimatum; there can be no compromise. He must take first place in His disciples'         hearts; obedience to Him must take priority over everything else.... Discipleship means following Jesus into the glory         of the Kingdom, but this cannot be, except by way of great suffering. Peter and the apostles must lead by accepting         the cross and holding it ever before the minds of the disciples. (John M. Sherlock, Bishop of London (Editor). Journey: The way            of the Church and Her Leaders #²⁹. London Ontario, I 980. Page 8 and 19.)

3)   Reread the two passages and reflect on them in your prayer journal. What in my life would be a cross in my discipleship? How am I managing? Do I need help? To whom should I turn for help?

4)   Invite the group to share. 

 

[viii]  Reflections on our Community and Social Service Project

This is a time for the discussion and sharing of experiences from the social justice project.

 

[ix]   Question and Answer Period

At this time, questions, comments, and concerns can be addressed

 

[x]   .Closing Prayer:

Prayer for World Youth Day 2002

Heavenly Father, bless us as we patiently await World Youth Day 2002. Help us make our hearts and minds open to your love as we prepare. Lord, give us strength and ingenuity to serve and make way for the visit of the Holy Father.

Make us ready for the challenges and sacrifices of this pilgrimage over these next months. 

Allow us to grow in our love for you and as a community journeying together in hope. 

Guide us, Lord, so that by your teachings we may be ready to prepare worthily. Bestow upon us your light so that we may follow your path and receive all your blessings. 

Let us be filled with the Holy Spirit as we share our faith and love with our friends, families, communities, and all the people of the world. 

Grant us the grace that we will forever be dedicated to you and follow you always.  

Amen.

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