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FROM FR. OAKLAND

In college a few of us helped with an ad hoc youth group at a local parish. One night one of the girls shared that she had received a scholarship to go to World Youth Day in Toronto. Her mom had seen an ad in a national Catholic magazine. And best of all, there were ten scholarships, and only five people applied. My brother and I both went home and quickly filled out applications, and the next day received phone calls telling us that we were going to see Pope (now Saint) John Paul II!

It was a grace filled two weeks, culminating at Sunday Mass in a large field with 800,000 new friends. That homily is one that sticks with me today – and so as we celebrated his feast day this last week, I thought I would share a portion of it:

The Lord is calling you to choose between these two voices competing for your souls. That decision is the substance and challenge of World Youth Day. Why have you come together from all parts of the world? To say in your hearts: "Lord, to whom shall we go?" Who has the words of eternal life? "You have the words of eternal life" (Jn 6,68). Jesus - the intimate friend of every young person - has the words of life.

Partners in the Gospel Listening Sessions

First Session: Tuesday, October 27 | 7PM | Fr. McGirl Hall, SJ

We are now starting Phase 3 of our Partners in the Gospel journey. During this time, we will be asking "Who does God want us to become?" This is our opportunity to envision what our new one parish could look like. This is more than just some tweaks or adjustments, or looking at the opportunities that were identified in Phase 2, but to really envision what the parish could look like in ten years, for example, striving towards an ideal and our bigger purpose. We will also be brainstorming some possible key initiatives necessary as a part of this. The PFAC will take this information to write a parish Vision Statement and identify 4-6 key initiatives. Please see the Listening Session schedule and invite those you know to participate.