Announcing:
Saint Mary's Press winner for the week of January 23, 2009!
Congratulations to Cindy Barker!

Cindy Barker will receive a copy of Stations for Teens: Meditations on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, a $4.95 value.

The death and Resurrection of Jesus are solemn and weighty issues for teens to explore. Stations for Teens is an invitation to reflect on and examine prayerfully the meaning of those events for life in the twenty-first century. Meditations on the 14 stations of the cross connect the traditional devotion of the Catholic Church to the memory and meaning of Christ's Passion. In addition, 12 Scripture stories are introduced as stations of the Resurrection--meditations on Jesus' Resurrection appearances to his disciples as recorded in the Scriptures. Together these meditations shed light on the mystery of the Resurrection.

Look Inside: You can view an online demonstration of the Stations for Teens on the SMP Web catalog. Search for "stations for teens," or use this link to go to the product description, http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3388. Then use the "look inside" button next to the cover image to see the introduction to the Stations of the Resurrection and the First Station of the Resurrection and

Stations for Teens: Meditations on the Death and Resurrection of Jesus,
by Gary Egeberg, ISBN 978-0-88489-512-1, paper, 64 pages, $4.95
http://www.smp.org/ItemDetail.cfm?ItemNum=3388

Lenten Movie Clip Reflections
by Brian Singer-Towns

This Lent, how about offering a youth meeting, or evening of reflection, or family night on Lenten practices using some popular movie clips as discussion starters? I'm talking about exploring the practices of prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. To get you started, here are some movie suggestions that I would use:

• Prayer: I'm thinking of using the scene from Bruce Almighty, where Bruce has to answer people's prayers. A great intro to discussing why we pray and what we pray for.
• Almsgiving: Pay It Forward jumps immediately to mind. I'm thinking of the scene in which Trevor first explains his "pay it forward" theory. Use this to discuss how almsgiving is more than just giving money; it can be service to others in many different ways.
• Fasting: This topic is a little harder to come up with examples of--I think it's because we are so immersed in a consumerist society. You might want to use a clip of Jesus' fasting in the dessert from one of the movies on Jesus' life. Or search YouTube for clips on consumerism, (check out "Consumerism! The Musical"). Talk about how fasting can take many forms and helps us keep our focus on God instead of things.

More Resources for Lent

Saint Mary's Press has many resources for Lent, both online and in print. For books including the new Keeping Time: Praying Lent Throughout the School Day and Ministry Ideas for Celebrating Lent and Easter with Teens, Families, and Parishes, check out http://www.smp.org/CategoryDetail.cfm?CatId=68.

You can find many free resources for Lent on the Saint Mary's Press Web site at http://www.smp.org/resourcelist.cfm?category=30, including a prayer calendar for The Catholic Youth Prayer Book as well as many ideas for more prayers, activities, and articles.

Super Bowl Halftime Bible Study
by Steven McGlaun

February 1st Super Bowl XLIII will be played in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Super Bowl presents you with an opportunity to build fellowship among your young people and provide them an opportunity for a little faith formation. At one parish where I worked, we held an annual youth group Super Bowl party. There were a few things we did differently than your run of the mill party. First, we invited the young people to bring food or money to donate to a local food shelf. Second, the television was not the focus of the gathering. We did have the game on for those wanting to watch, but we also had numerous games for those attending to play. Board games, card games, and party games such as Pictionary were available.

The biggest difference though was that we held a "Halftime Bible Study" on Christianity and competition. If you would like to lead a "Halftime Bible Study" on Christianity and competition, here are a few key Scripture verses and reflection questions:

Scripture

• Luke 22: 24-27
• Romans 12: 17-21
• 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

Questions for discussion:

• What is competition?
• What does healthy competition look like?
• What does unhealthy competition look like?
• What benefits can come from healthy competition?
• What harm can come from unhealthy competition?

For more Super Bowl activity ideas check out http://www.souperbowl.org. This site provides resources that uses Super Bowl Sunday as a means to mobilize youth toward social justice issues.