Bishop Olmstead and LifeTeen

Just back from Mesa and the three-day LifeTeen conference. In a word: awesome!

Had the pleasure of concelebrating with Bishop Olmstead on Tuesday morning. Interesting fellow. Personable, friendly, intelligent while quiet, gentle and (I think) introverted. Doctrinally correct but not forceful in his presentation. His homily was primarily about the need for holy silence -- in the liturgy and in our lives. All in all, not a bad job. Not Abp. Chaput, but not many are.

Wonderful experience on Tuesday evening, when some 300 high school teens, along with 450 conference attendees, gathered for "XLT," which stands for "exalt." [NB: There is a group of LifeTeen parishes in southeastern Massachusetts that does the same thing on a monthly basis.] The general plan of this weekly event is as follows: about 20 minutes of uplifting (live) music, about 10-15 minutes of a witness talk (one speaker), and about 45 minutes of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, climaxed by Benediction and the singing of the Divine Praises. After reposition, there's usually about another 15 minutes of praise music.

And three hundred teens in the suburbs of Phoenix gather for it weekly!!! It was a nice renewal for me personally, and a chance to catch up with other priests and people in youth ministry from around the country.

I think that we need to invest in the teens; I want this Church's traditions to continue. I know that I'll need the prayers of the Church militant after I leave this world, assuming I make it to Purgatory. I'd hate to think that I and so many others would be deprived of this great benefit (the communion of saints) because of a simple lack of effort.

It's hard work reaching out to teens -- they're fickle, they're unsure of themselves, the hormones raging around inside of their bodies make them unpredictable -- but it is so worth it! To see teens coming to daily Mass is a visible reward for the work, but so much of what we do we'll never see (which makes it even more difficult to stick with). I hope that, when all is said and done, I'll be blessed enough to lead one teen closer to the Lord.