Adoration & youth

This past Sunday night's youth group was amazing. The high school teens played a game involving fun facts about saints and really got into it. The leaders and I were pleasantly surprised! We thought it might be fun and fruitful, but we didn't expect all of the enthusiasm and theatrics that the teens brought. They are very gifted!

After the game, we did a brief time of Eucharistic Adoration. The teens who did this last year and this past Sunday night have said it's their favorite activity in Youth Group. After exposing the Eucharist, I gave a brief talk about how the Eucharist is the way people become saints. As different as all the saints are with their backgrounds and personalities, they all share a deep love for Jesus in the Eucharist. He promises much fruitfulness for those who feed on Him (John 6 and John 15), and the lives of the saints bear this out.

Then, I brought the Lord in the monstrance around to each teen for an individual Benediction (solemn blessing). It's an awesome thing to see young people showing reverence on their knees in front of Jesus! They each received the Lord's blessing beautifully and expressed an appreciation for the whole night as they were leaving. Some of them have asked for longer time with the Lord in Adoration and in silence or with quiet, meditative music. These are good signs of already deep spirituality and desire for closeness to Jesus.