The Office of Youth Ministry - Where Are They Now?

Cardinal Rigali on YouTube

stlyouth — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 11:41:23 -0500

St. Louis's last Archbishop, the current Archbishop of Philadelphia, Justin Cardinal Rigali, has taken his ministry to new realms with his recent foray into YouTube, the popular online video hosting site. He has posted two videos so far, both with the intent of providing focus for Lent.

Living Lent: The First Sunday
"How do you Live Lent faithfully? Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia, gives a brief reflection on the Temptation of Jesus."

Living Lent: The Second Sunday
"How do you Live Lent faithfully? Cardinal Justin Rigali, the Archbishop of Philadelphia, gives a brief reflection on the Transfiguration of Jesus."

Brian Altenhofen

Liz Buncher — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 15:56:32 -0500

As part of my training to take vows as a member of the Society of Jesus, a.k.a. the Jesuits, I was missioned to Belize, Central America last December 3rd, the feast of St. Francis Xavier, and arrived in the country on January 2nd. I was sent here to learn about and live in a new culture. My superiors wanted me to work with the poor and gain some perspective of the circumstances of a third world country.
Within a week I found work to do at a primary school. St. Martin de Porres School in Belize City has 700 children and nearly 50% of the students are failing reading. I was given the daunting task of taking the five classes that struggle the most and do my best to catch them up with government standards. I am now three months into the job and am happy to say that I have seen improvement in nearly every student and have graduated four to resume English studies with their normal class. Now, four kids might not sound like a lot but I am not only teaching reading and comprehension to these students, I’m teaching them about life. There is a direct correlation with most of my kids between their struggles in school and the struggles they face at home everyday. Visit www.catholicchurch.bz I will share with you the story of Jermaine. He is an 11 year-old boy who has been forced to repeat two grades. As I taught Jermaine there were clear signs that he was being abused at home. I asked him to stay behind after class one day. He gladly agreed and we began to chat and before I knew it he was opening up to me about how he is beaten nearly every single day with a large stick all over his body; about how he is often sent to school without breakfast or money to buy anything throughout the day; how his mother, father, and older brother all use drugs in the house; about his mother and father making him go buy their drugs for them; and about how he has been smoking weed and crack since the age of 5. This is one story of many I have encountered during my stay. And there is no where for these kids to go. The social services of this country are seriously neglected and because of this, the children and ultimately the country suffers as a result. Nearly everyday, I walk away from St. Martin de Porres heartbroken by the stories that are shared with me. But not all tales are so grim. My favorite experience thus far was my stay in the Mayan villages. My weekend living with the Pop family was an experience that can only be pictured in a National Geographic. I was completely out of my element. As I trekked up and down the Mayan Mountains, wading through rushing rivers and struggling up mud-slick trails it dawned upon me that this was the perspective I was looking for. I stayed in a simple thatched hut. I slept in a hammock with chickens, pigs, and a horse roaming beside me. The married women went about their day topless. There was no electricity in the village so when the sun went down at seven o’clock there was nothing more we could do for the day accept go to sleep. Getting my eight hours of sleep I woke up promptly at three o’clock in the morning and stared into the pitch black for 2 hours waiting for the sun came up. Once it did come up I was lead back down the muddy trail to the river. And there, four Mayan men and I bathed in the chilly mountain river. For food I ate very well. Being the guest, I was always given the largest portion and a seat at the head of the table. I ate typical Mayan dishes of beans, tortillas, rice, and a rare portion of beef liver. The oddest meal I had was a dish called “Chicken Caldo.” Again, it is a simple dish, of an oily broth with chicken parts in the soup. Looking down into my bowl I was astonished to see three chicken feet floating in my dish. I didn’t say anything, only politely thanked my gracious host and waited for them to demonstrate how to locate and eat the meat off of a chicken foot. Allow me to explain, you take the chicken foot into your hand and then one by one you bite off the chicken’s toes, suck off the little meat that is on the bone, and then spit the bone onto the floor of the hut where the dogs happily share in the meal. This was an amazing experience, this family, like most Mayan farming families can not afford the hearty meat of a chicken and resort to the leftover chicken parts that most wealthy families do not eat. This was a microcosm of my entire experience. I gain a perspective I was sent to retrieve. We, as humans, can live a very simple existence. The family I lived with farmed for their food and only made about $200 a year. Yes, they were poor and very happy at the same time. I was struck by all the stuff that consumes our world and how many “luxuries” we have in our lives; the simplest things that are taken for granted, like carpeting, windows on a house, a stove, and of course the obvious, electricity, indoor plumbing, or common everyday appliances. My view of the world changed. I saw for the first time existence so foreign to the U.S. culture that it shook my core to work and feed these people with the Spiritual Foods of our Lord.
These stories are just a couple that have highlighted my stay in Belize as a Jesuit novice. Please, remember how blessed we truly are and I hope one day you will be given the perspective to recognize all we have as gift. A person doesn’t need to travel to a third world country to gain that. Thanks be to God.
Your fellow pilgrim, Brian Altenhofen.

Mary Roach

stlyouth — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 23:00:00 -0500

Hi, my name is Mary Roach and I was the receptionist and “all around” person at the Office of Youth Ministry for five years.

I have since moved on and now I am working for Catholic Services for Children and Youth in the Expectant Parent Unit. Our office is in the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury. Our unit works with expectant women and their families during their pregnancy and through a year after the baby is born.

I very much miss working at the OYM and being around all the teens at all the events, but now I get to see all the babies and that is a good thing too.

Jen Sallwasser

stlyouth — Mon, 01 Mar 2004 00:00:00 -0500

As an eighth grader, I didn’t believe in God. At least, I didn’t believe he had anything to do with my life… until the REAP Team came. I went on a REAP retreat, and the testimony and witness of one of the team members struck me as being real and awesome. I invited God into my life and everything changed. I had a new best friend who would listen to me all the time, who was always there, who lived in my heart.

I joined the REAP Team the following year and found it completely nerve-wracking, but exciting and fun to give retreats and talk about my faith to my peers. I gave up weekends and days off school to help out whenever my parents would let me. I had given my life to God because of one person’s testimony—I hoped that God would use me to do the same for someone else. After jumping around at colleges and doing a semester internship with the REAP Team, I ended up at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where I completed a bachelor’s degree in theology and history. Now I’m back in St. Louis, working as a religion teacher at St. Dominic High School in O’Fallon, Missouri. I recently took nineteen students on Life Matters with the OYM, something I couldn’t have done on my own! It’s my first year, and it’s tough! I have a lot to learn, but I want to learn to be excellent, because the person I’m teaching about, God!, is the most important thing they will ever hear.

I’m glad to be a witness to the power of God working through the OYM. Through their ministry, God touched me in eighth grade, then I was able to assist in ministry in high school and college, and now, as a high school religion teacher, I can take part in their ministry again.