The St. Michael Center for Blessed Virgin Mary - Sept. 2000 Volume 2, Number 1

ARTICLES

Since the beginning of this year, we have been thinking about the ongoing work St. Michael Center is doing to help strengthen your Catholic Faith. It wasn't difficult to recognize that the youth need our help! We have evangelized to the Catholic community for the last 7 years...the time is here now for us to help our youth.

Young people are struggling with the basic beliefs of our Catholic faith because there are such strong, deceptive forces luring them into obsene fashions, MTV music (which, in our opinion, is a ‘sex’ channel), the Internet and Hollywood lifestyles. Where does that leave God? I don’t think Jesus wants us to neglect our youth. It is not the youth’s fault. It is ours. We have not done enough for them. Why? We have not provided enough opportunities and spent enough time with them to teach and guide them away from many of society's evils. That is why we must change.

A friend of mine remarked that if he was young today, he wouldn't be able to survive. He would have been smoking, drinking, having sex, playing violent computer games and a bunch of other pretty weird stuff. That is exactly what all these entertainment companies want our young people to do...to spend money and make them rich. These companies have an overall objective: not just to make money and control the lives of young people, but to finally destroy their family values and God.

So it is time for you and for us to help the youth. If you believe in the work of St. Michael Center, you will believe in our mission to help young people. We follow the Salesian way, the way that St. John Bosco has used to help millions of youth in every corner of the world, through education, activities and prayer. For this reason, we have built a little Oratory of St. John Bosco. Read all about in this newspaper. Thank you for supporting our fundraiser and sending us your tax-deductible donations.

God Bless you for supporting our work!

St. Michael Center's Youth Oratory

"The call to conversion becomes more insistent during this time of preparation for the Great Jubilee in which we will commemorate the mystery of the Incarnation of God’s Son 2,000 years ago....

....the period of the Jubilee introduces us to the vigorous language which the divine pedagogy of salvation uses to lead man to conversion and repentance. These are the beginning and the path of man’s healing" (n. 2). This is why the Pope urges you to turn your hearts to Christ. The whole Church must begin the new millennium by helping her children to purify themselves from sin and evil; she must extend her horizons of holiness and fidelity to participate in the grace of Christ, who has called us to be children of the light and to share in eternal glory" (cf. Col 1: 13).

"...I extend to everyone, especially to the young, the same invitation to follow Christ. Dear young people, one day Jesus called Simon Peter and Andrew. They were fishermen and left their nets to follow him. Christ is certainly calling some of you to follow him and to commit yourselves totally to the cause of the Gospel. Do not be afraid to accept the Lord’s invitation! Do not let your nets prevent you from following in Jesus’ footsteps! Be generous; do not fail to respond to the Master who calls. Follow him, so that you may be fishers of men like the Apostles."

This special issue is dedicated to the following saints for their honor, sacrifice and exemplary lives in the Catholic Faith!