Young Catholics

Why should Christians fast? In this video, Fr. Mike Schmitz explains what some good reasons for fasting.

Some of us have such an abundance of food while others in this world have so little. This Lent, try fasting from a second helping. Start with a moderate first helping and then stop.

YOUCAT is a catechism for young Catholics. It transforms the teachings found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church into an easy to understand format. It is a wonderful resource for young people who want to learn more about the Catholic faith.

This reflection will help youth consider what it means to repent. "What do I need to change to become closer to Jesus?"

Fasting is one of the traditional Catholic Lenten practices. All Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent as a form of fasting. For personal fasting, you can choose to voluntarily abstain from meat one more day during the week.

In the Ad Altare Dei religious emblem program for Boy Scouts, one of the exercises is to compare the Ten Commandments to the Boy Scout Law.

In this video, Fr Mike Schmitz talks about how to prepare for Lent. The point of Lent is get rid of something which is keeping us from Jesus and to take steps which will bring us closer to Jesus.

Lent dice is a way to choose what activity to do each day for Lent. You roll two dice. One die will indicate what you will do that day and the other will indicate your intention, whom you are doing it for.

Getting to Know You Bingo works well as a VBS game or a youth group game. This set of 20 bingo cards can be used with youth group or Vacation Bible School.

Fasting is one of the pillars of Lent. This is a family activity to determine what to fast from each day.

Water Transfer is a wet silly game for VBS or youth ministry. It also builds team spirit because group members need to work together to determine the best strategy to move their water. It would work well for middle school Vacation Bible School, as a camp game, or as a youth group icebreaker.

You might know that Pope Francis has promoted devotion to Mary "Our Lady Untier of Knots". The Human Knot game is a fun activity to add into a teaching about this devotion. Since it is a cooperative game also makes a fun team building activity.

This is a prayer inspired by Psalm 139. Use it for your youth ministry meeting or youth group activity focused on authenticity and being your true self. This is a good lesson for teens who are feeling overwhelmed by the need to be popular.

This is an easy game for your youth group or Vacation Bible School. It is fun but also provides a lesson about the Holy Spirit. See the reflection questions and scripture passage at the end of the game for how to turn this game into a teaching experience.

The traditional guardian angel prayer is something we teach young children, but it is a wonderful prayer for Christians of all ages. Praying it connects us with our guardian angel who is always with us, watching over us. October 2 is the Memorial of the Holy Guardian Angels.

Are you studying the Beatitudes in youth ministry, Vacation Bible School, or Children's Liturgy of the Word? This printable cryptogram gives the eight beatitudes in random order. Children can figure out the key and substitute the letters to solve the puzzle and complete the beatitudes.

April 26 is the birthday of John James Audubon. He is famous for his drawings of birds. In honor of his birthday, make your own bird art. This paper plate dove craft is simple enough for your Vacation Bible School or Children's Liturgy of the Word.

Walk the Plank is a game for Vacation Bible School or a youth ministry meeting. This will be difficult for younger children but it would be appropriate for middle school VBS or youth group. It has a problem solving and team building aspect to it which tweens and teens will enjoy.

Shoe Sort is a fun youth group game where people try to match shoes with their owners. It makes a great icebreaker or team building game.

Christ has no body but yours. No hands, no feet on earth but yours. Yours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion on this world

This simple lesson plan is for a youth ministry meeting focused on the problem of hiding yourself to seek popularity. Letting our true selves shine will allow us to be the people God created us to be and will lead us to true joy in Christ.

The sin of racism has been on my mind lately. Our communities are so divided. We don't understand or listen to each other. We seem unable to make the sacrifices necessary to even the playing field for all of God's children.

Ship Wreck is a running game. The game requires a combination of speed, teamwork, and listening skills. So this is one of those games that is not necessarily won by the most athletic team. Some teamwork strategy can really even the odds.

Do you need a quick and easy activity for your Shipwrecked VBS? This word search puzzle is a good way to keep everyone busy while gathering or to fill some unexpected free time.

Water Balloon Relay is a fun wet game for your Vacation Bible School or church camp. Have plenty of water balloons on hand! Your VBS kids will want to play this over and over again.

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