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A Message from our Youth Directors February 2011
"I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst."
John 6:35
It is time again for another letter from your Youth Directors. We are so grateful to God, our parish family and all the teens for their prayers, support and generosity during this beautiful time in the life of the Cazzaniga family. We have been blessed with a new baby this year. Francesco Matteo Cazzaniga.
  
The past month I have been out on leave with the new baby and want to thank the countless friends and “stewards” of Santa Maria del Mar who kept our youth programs running during my absence. I sure some of you might have missed seeing our youth in the bulletin so we are dedicating these pages to keep you “in the loop”, of the past couple month’s youth activities and what is to come.
We started out the new year with a Core Retreat. It was intense but needed. We redefined our roles and commitment levels and came up with two separate leadership groups. We now have the Core who are committed on a weekly basis and have dedicated their time and talents to the youth. Then, there is the Life Support, those who come when there is a need or when they can. Overall, we have over 30 who have committed themselves to helping bring our teens to Christ.
We also have brought back the XLT. XLT stands for eXaLT and is an hour and a half of time dedicated to praising and exalting the Lord in Eucharistic Adoration. The night starts out with some gathering music, then we have a short skit and teaching. Father then processes in with the Eucharist. Then he leads us in prayer and meditation with music in front of the Blessed Sacrament. We invite the entire parish to join us for these evenings of prayer and meditation. They are incredibly peaceful and full of the Holy Spirit. Please come and join our teens and pray with us. You won’t regret it. Mark your calendars: Here are the dates for the upcoming XLT’s
- March 27
- April 17
- May 22
- June 26
- July 31
- August 28
We spent a few of the weeks teaching on Corporal Works of Mercy and the importance of Serving in our parish. The teens have many opportunities to get involved. We have the CD Café and serving at the various big dinner socials. This year was our 4th year to participate in the Souper Bowl Sunday where the teens raised around $2000.oo worth of Canned Food for the St. Vincent DePaul Society. A special thanks to Linda and Sean Liston for all their hard work in planning the event. We will begin the Super Service Saturdays starting with this past Saturday(March 5th ) where the teens went to St. Augustine and helped to put up the 1000 crosses reminding us how many die to abortion each day. They then came back and helped to clean up the Rummage Sale. Thanks teens! Next week we will be helping with the Scout Retreat and then we will be spending the next month preparing for the Passion Play on April 20th. It is the Wednesday of Holy Week at dusk starting outside by the hall and ending in the Church. Mark your calendar for this one too. This is another event you do not want to miss! We are excited by the energy and enthusiasm of our Youth to help those in need.
For the rest of the semester we will continue studying God’s Word, have a big Talent Show, prepare for the Passion Play, spend nights learning about issues we face as teens and have a retreat in April! We also will begin inviting certain teens to attend this year’s big Summer Steubenville Trip in July. Whew! All that and a new baby! Please keep us and all the teens of our parish in your prayers. I am convinced the most effective way to bring teens to Christ is your prayers. Please remember us in the Adoration chapel and offer up a prayer or two for our young people. They need your love and prayers and if there is one thing I have to thank our parish for it is the way they embrace the youth here. Thanks for all you do for our teen family and know that we keep you in our daily prayers. If any of you reading this feel a stirring in your heart to help with the youth, please contact me at kimcazzaniga@bellsouth.net.. I would like to start Parent Life Meetings on the nights of the XLT’s. If any of you parents out there would be interested in helping me organize this group, please let me know. Parent involvement is the next step in taking our youth program to the next level. Thanks again and God bless you Santa Maria del Mar.
"For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! Plans to give you a future full of hope."
Jeremiah 29:11
Kim and Vincenzo Cazzaniga
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