Catholic Diocese of Arlington
Encourage and teach with patience

FIRST YEAR CERTIFICATION CLASSES

• A Vision for Effective Youth Ministry

  Every ministry to young people needs to have a clear mission and purpose, rooted in the larger mission of the Church, and needs to be able to identify clear values in the way that ministry is carried out.  The US Bishops have provided a guiding vision to Catholic Youth Ministry in their Renewing the Vision Document.  In this session we will be unpacking that document, and looking specifically at the essential components to a vibrant, effective approach to parish ministry for young people

• Mary, Model of Prayer

  “Mary is the perfect Orans (pray-er), a figure of the Church.” (CCC 2679)  In Novo Millenio Ineunte, John Paul II writes that “our Christian communities must become genuine "schools" of prayer, where the meeting with Christ is expressed not just in imploring help but also in thanksgiving, praise, adoration, contemplation, listening and ardent devotion, until the heart truly ‘falls in love’.”  (33)  
  This session looks at what Jesus teaches us about prayer, how Mary embodies it, and how we can pass it on to teens.

• The Church, the Body of Christ

  “Just as each of us has various parts in one body, and the parts do not all have the same function: in the same way, all of us, though there are many of us, make up one body in Christ, and as different parts we are all joined to one another.”  (Romans 12: 5)  We are not lone rangers, nor are we the Savior- we are one part of the Body.  Whereas the last session looked at people who might work with us in ministry, this session looks at the people we are working for: the Bishop, the pastor, and especially the parents.

• The Father's Plan for Salvation

  “(The Father) has let us know the mystery of his purpose… that he would bring everything together under Christ, as head, and everything in the heavens and everything on earth.  And it is in him that we have received our heritage…”  (Ephesians 1:9-11)  Salvation history is not just a story, it is our story.  It tells us who we are, where we came from, and what our destiny is.  It is our common story that unites us as the family of Christ and gives us our identity.  This session looks at the major moments of salvation history and how to impart them to teenagers.

• Jesus, Master of Disciples

  “So they came to him and he appointed twelve; they were to be his companions and to be sent out to proclaim the message, with power to drive out devils.”  (Mark 3: 13-14)  The theme of discipleship is strong in Renewing the Vision, and this session looks at the difference between a follower of Christ and a disciple of Christ.  What can we do to make teen disciples?  It starts by forming adult disciples that can model holiness for youth.

• Jesus and the Apostles

  Christ our Lord had wonderful times with his Apostles (“You are my friends,” – John 15:13) and some tough times as well (“How much longer must I be among you and put up with you!” – Luke 9:41).  But training and equipping volunteers is essential for a successful ministry to youth.  This session talks about the importance of team ministry, and effective strategies to reach out and train volunteers.

• Jesus, Model of Evangelization

   “At many moments in the past and by many means, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets; but in our time, the final days, he has spoken to us in the person of his Son…”  (Hebrews 1:1-2)  When the Second Person of the Trinity became flesh and dwelt among us, everything changed.  He used to speak through others, now he comes to us personally.  This model of “incarnational ministry” should be at the foundation of our efforts to reach teens.  For ministry to be effective, it has to be relational.  As St. John Bosco once wrote that it was important “not only that the (youth) be loved, but that they know they are loved.”  We will talk about how to do that safely and effectively in the current culture.

• The Holy Spirit, Converter of Hearts

  Paul VI wrote that “techniques of evangelization are good, but even the most advanced ones could not replace the gentle action of the Spirit.” (Evangeli Nuntandi 75)  And John Paul II wrote, “There is a temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan… it is fatal to forget that ‘without Christ we can do nothing’ (John15:5).”  When we forget that this ministry is a work of God and think it is all up to us, we burn-out.  How do we keep the focus on the Spirit?  That’s what this session is about.

• Jesus, In the World but not of the World

  “Go, therefore, to all nations…”  (Matthew 28:18)  With the Great Commission, Jesus told a bunch of Jewish men to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.  The Apostles had to learn how to preach the message to different cultures to make it effective, and we must do the same to the culture of youth.  “What matters is to evangelize man's culture and cultures (not in a purely decorative way, as it were, by applying a thin veneer, but in a vital way, in depth and right to their very roots).”  (Evangeli Nuntiandi 20)  This session focuses on youth culture and effective ways of ministering to it.

• Methods and Practical Skills

  Many elements of methodology were covered in the start-up kit.  This session provides an opportunity to answer questions about the ecclesial method, retreat and semester planning, and effective ways to give a talk.

• Jesus, Fullness of Revelation

  “The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ…” (CT 5)  The work of catechesis is not just “education”, but “intimacy with Christ”.  This session looks at ways to insert teens into the Deposit of Faith through Scripture and the Catechism.  “The whole concern of doctrine and its teaching must be directed to the love that never ends.”  (CCC 25)
  

• Jesus, Incarnate Love

  “Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us.”  (CCC 2560)  Jesus not only desires to have a relationship with youth, but with youth ministers as well.  In fact, God cares more about doing ministry to people than he cares about people doing ministry for others.  This opening session focuses on God’s intense love for us, and places that personal relationship as the center for all our ministry.

• The Mission of the Church

  “Evangelization is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity.  She exists in order to evangelize.”  (Evangeli Nuntiandi 14)  This session gives into the richness of the Great Commission, and identifies the key components of the missionary activity that is the Church.  We give detailed definition to the Church’s mission and looking at the essential characteristics and tasks of evangelization and catechesis, with a particular focus on the Catechumenate as the ideal model for all catechesis.