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First Segment: 3 Ways to Encourage Youth to Come to Mass:

As Catholics, we have an obligation to attend Mass every week. However, it can sometimes be hard to convince teenagers that Mass is important, and worth their time. You get different answers when you talk about Mass, “It’s boring,” “It’s not interesting enough,” “There’s nothing for me to do.” First of all, before you even start talking, don’t ever use or accept the word “boring.”  As we’ve talked about before, Mass is anything but boring. Kent, I think that boring is a word that really makes things difficult because it doesn’t tell you how or why? It’s kind of like a way to have all of your bases covered. Why isn’t Mass boring? Because it’s the Ultimate Sacrifice; Jesus giving His life for love of you. As for, “It’s not interesting enough,” if you actually pay attention, it is really interesting. You have to pay attention to the readings which change every week, the priest’s homily, and most especially for the bells to announce the Consecration and Transubstantiation, which is when Jesus becomes truly present.  Tonight we’re really going to focus on how involve youth in the Mass, and how to make them want to come – since you dragging them by the ear just isn’t the effect we’re going for here.
The first way to encourage youth to come to is Mass is to offer special “youth” opportunities. You know, like a special youth Mass. Some parishes offer it once a month, but we don’t want the youth to only come once a month if we can help it. Perhaps your youth group is small and you think that it might not be worth it; it is. You can consider perhaps holding a weekly Mass just for youth on a different night of the week, like a Friday. Teens love to do something on a Friday night.
A second way to encourage youth to come to Mass is to involve them in it somehow – and I don’t just mean join the choir, because that just doesn’t appeal to everyone. It’s great to be part of the choir and help provide music for Mass, but there are many other ways to involve your youth in the Mass; Kent, how can we involve youth in the Mass? They can be lectors, altar servers, greeters, ushers, etc. By making them feel like they are an important, needed person, they will be more apt to come.
Finally, to help your youth to want to come to Mass, you need to help explain why the Mass is important to them. It’s more than a nice gesture that we have to do every week. <Image#5> In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church lists what we call the matter, form, and effect of every one of the Seven Sacraments. In essence, “matter” means the tangible part, “form” is what makes it happens (words, motions, etc) and effects means what we get out of it. So, the matter or tangible part of Holy Communion is the bread and wine, the form is when the priest says “This is my body” and “This is my blood,” and the effects are that we get to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, and all the graces that come with it. It is so important to make sure that teens know that they are truly receiving the Body of Christ, not just a symbol, not just a representation but Jesus Himself. If you want them to come to Mass, you have to give them a better reason than “because I said so.” Make a case – explain that they are coming to visit and receive Jesus! As holy as we are all, sometimes the human part of us prevails, and we want to know what we are going to get out something.
Kent, you’ve been in youth ministry, right? What do you think is a good way to encourage teens to come to church?

Second Segment: Reasons why the Faith Really Is Relevant to You As a Teenager:

Yes, the Faith really is relevant to you – it is not just for old people and nuns. Wanna know why? Okay, let me tell you. <Image#7>
First of all, the Faith is relevant to you because it is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – its better than coffee. There’s no waiting for someone to be “online” or to reply back to your email. Jesus is always accessible to you in prayer, and if you’re lucky enough to live near a parish with perpetual adoration, you can go visit Jesus in Adoration any time you want, day or night.
Still not convinced? The Church provides role models, guidance and counselling. All for free! Priests are our best friends, and as someone once said, the Sacrament of Confession is like free counselling. You can go to a priest any time and ask them for help – they are there for you. Some of my best friends and best role models are priests.
Jesus is the best friend you could ask for – He doesn’t judge you and always loves you, no matter what. You don’t have to impress Him, or have the latest phone before you can talk to Him. Many times we have trouble with friends trying to find the perfect fit, or we feel the need to impress them. Jesus accepts you as you are – no strings attached, no deposits, or monthly fees.
Kent, you were a young person when you were coming back to the Church. What drew you to come back?

Third Segment: Are You Looking Up, Or Looking Down?:

This past weekend, we were celebrating the Feast of the Ascension. My pastor had a very interesting take on this event; he noted that the Apostles were looking up into Heave sad because Jesus had left them, and then angels appeared to tell them to stop looking up into the sky, and start spreading the Goods News. So my pastor pointed out that everything in life can be seen in two views, looking upwards full of positivity, or looking down and full of negativity. It’s the whole is the glass half empty or half full thing. Kent, can you answer the age old question for us – is the glass half full or half empty? There are so many situations in life which we only see as negative, but also be positive at the same time.
Example #1: You’re going to potluck party, but as you stopped at the store to buy some chips, cause that’s what you volunteered for, and you get stuck in a really long line at the grocery store. Now you’re going to be late. Positive or negative? The negative side of this is that you are going to be late, but the positive side is that next time you will learn time management and start earlier, and you get to take advantage of the extra time to take a moment and maybe pray. We are all so busy that sometimes prayer is the first thing to go by the wayside.
Example #2: You’ve been studying really hard for this final exam, and then you don’t do as well as you would have liked. Positive or negative? Well, the negative side is that you didn’t do as well as you would have liked, but the positive thing is that you get to learn humility in a safe controlled way.
Example #3: You’ve been waiting forever, and I mean forever, for the cute guy in Chemistry to ask you out. You’re doodling your initials together, the whole deal. (Mr and Mrs John Doe, oh so romantic) He finally does, and the date isn’t what you thought it would be; you two don’t really click after all. Positive or negative? The negative thing is that you really had your hopes up, but the positive thing is that you only went on one date – you didn’t get married. God told you in a very clear way that this isn’t who He chose to be your future spouse, but at the same time you won’t be stuck wondering “what if?”