Bible Study?

Justin Wilga

Hey Teens!
Long time CORE member, amateur biblical scholar, and theology grad student, Justin Wilga is getting ready to launch a mid week bible study for you and we need your help.  We really want to do this on a night that works for you.  Help us by clicking the link below and filling out the form.  Press submit and you are done.  As soon as we get some feed back we will set the night and time.  Can't wait to get started.

Click here to get started: bible study survey!

Surviving High School: Senior Year!

From Katie Heller at LifeTeen.com - I distinctly remember my first day of senior year. I pulled into the school parking lot in my red 1994 Nissan Sentra (thanks Dad!) and walked into my homeroom like I had done everyday the three years before. Nothing around me was dramatically different. The people, the classrooms, and the schedule were all relatively familiar. However, there was one thing that was a little different - me. I held my head a little higher and my confidence was stronger. Why? Because I was a senior. Finally!

I anticipated my senior year to be full of memories and growth. It was the year I would take my first steps into adulthood, and the year that I would have to make big decisions about what I wanted to do next. Like many of you, I was excited and overwhelmed all at the same time. more at www.lifeteen.com

Life Night Returns Sept 12th!

We are cooking up a fantastic semester for Life Night this year and we can't wait to get started. This semester we will be focusing on the scripture.  What is it?  What role does it play in our life? How can you start to get into it?  This is really going to be an awesome, challenging semester.  Because we are so excited about this semester, we would like to start texting a little scripture a couple times a week.  you can sign up for these texts here at SaintMarthaYouth.com!

“Finding the True Presence”

Today you have a hard time finding Jesus. But if you can find that lit lamp in the church, then you know where the Lord is. That light indicates that in the tabernacle is the Love of All Love- Infinite Love. You can’t love unless you get close to love. You can’t have a fire unless you get close to a fire. You can’t be warm unless you’re near the heat. We have to know that we are loved by a God who is real and present.” - Mother Angelica”

"Choose this day whom you will serve" Joshua 24:15

"Choose this day whom you will serve"

-Joshua 24:15

It is that time of year again. Across the nation you can hear the sounds of hundreds of thousands of teenagers moaning against another dreaded year of high school. It's back to school season!

Sure, we whine and complain about having to go back to school, but if we are really honest, we'd admit that something inside of us is bursting with hope.

Maybe this year will be different. Maybe this will be the year where I get the grades, make the team, meet "the one", etc. The list goes on. At this start of a new year, the slate is, in a sense, washed clean. We have a fresh start with which we can do whatever we want. We can become whoever we want to be.

That is exciting, of course. But it's also a bit scary. There can be a lot of pressure with a clean slate. And sometimes, like the artist who is faced with a blank canvas, we just don't know what to do with so much empty space. In our panic to just get something on the page, we can be tempted to fall back into old habits and just reproduce the same less-than-perfect picture as last year.

So how is this year going to be different? How are we going to create the masterpiece? It's simple really. Stop whining. Stop panicking. Stop trying on your own. Give the brush to the true Creator, and He will paint in you the most beautiful work of art you have ever seen.

And of course, as Catholics, we recognize that if we fall short and miss the mark of the masterpiece, we don't need to wait for a new school year to start over. All we need to do is turn back to Him, especially in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

So as this new year starts, we turn to the Creator of all things, recognizing that it is He alone who sustains us in all that we do. It is not by our own power, smarts, or popularity that we will successfully make it through this school year, but only the grace and the Spirit that comes from Him.

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Fill me with joy & gladness; let the bones which thou hast broken rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me"

-Psalm 51

EDGE Leadership Team

Hey guys! This year Andrea Epling, Kathleen Benner, Beverly Owens and I are going to be running the EDGE program. We are looking for teens who want to serve the 6th-8th graders. The program will be Wednesdays 6:30-8. Pray about it and see if God wants you to make that commitment.

If you are interested contact me at lisa@saintmarthayouth.com.

**You do get community service for helping.**

Sign Up For TXT Alerts

We are pretty excited about the new text alert system we have set up for this year.  For the first time you can sign up for exactly what you are looking for.  Sign up for the Journey txt list if you just want info on confirmation or sign up for the HSM list if you want to receive updates on what is going on, plus inspiration and scripture from the CORE. Check it out on the contacts page of SaintMarthaYouth.com

Are you ready for another awesome year of LIFE NIGHT.  We are kicking it off on September 12th after the 5:00PM Mass.  Remember all high school youth are invited to attend, and no one has to come.  Yes, of course you can bring a friend, you can bring fifteen if you want.  I know you wish it could be September 5th today, but while you are waiting remember to be praying for the CORE, for this year and for our parish.  Christ's Peace!