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Introducing Catholic Youth Parramatta's
ELEMENTS

“Elements” is a new online initiative by Catholic Youth Parramatta which offers content for youth ministers to use in their respective parishes, schools and movements. It will be distributed monthly.
We look forward to seeing how Elements grows with you. If you wish to discuss the content of this initiative further, contact Qwayne on qwayne.guevara@parracatholic.org.

God sends us friends to be our firm support in the whirlpool of struggle. In the company of friends we will find strength to attain our sublime ideal - St Maximilian Kolbe

True Friendships

As we welcome the new year, we also welcome the on-going journey of life! Some may have set resolutions or have mapped out goals they wish to achieve. We know, however, that to reach these is not easy and in most cases, there's a need for accountability and encouragement from others along the way. We need to be surrounded by good company in order to pursue what is good, true and beautiful.

Just like the image above, it is Jesus who walks with us on our journey as we navigate with others. Jesus truly shows us the importance of accompanying each other. For

To begin the new year, we have collected resources based on the topic of Friendship. Friendship is an important area of our faith to explore as it encourages young people to enter into communion with others and teaches them to build relationships based on trust and love. Friendships are where young people find a place to belong, are able to grow in holiness and can share the joys and struggles of every day life.

We hope that you find the content useful and we look forward to working with you in the new year! Bring on 2018!

Videos:

Gotta Have Friends by Chris Stefanick: Chris reflecting on the gift of friendship.
Who Do You Spend Time With by Fr Mike: Fr Mike talking about why it is important to choose your friends wisely.
No Man is an Island by Jason Evert: a Steubenville Conference about how to be a good friend to others - inspired by St Francis de Sales.

Articles:

The Canons of Friendship by Alice von Hildebrand: This is a great article for ministers as it provides a sound summary of what it means to be a good friend.
Friends Forever: St. Augustine, Friendship, and Catholic Evangelism by Brother André Marie, M.I.C.M: A journal article which explores friendship based on the life and teachings of St Augustine. Great to draw specific teachings from.
Fight the Good Fight: The Importance of Affirmation by LifeTeen: an encouraging article that's easy to read and to share. It explores the importance of affirming one another in friendships.
Authentic Friendships Made Me a Better Person by LifeTeen: another encouraging article that can be shared with your youth group.

Guided Activity:

Friendship and Forgiveness: a guided reflection

Holy Role Models
He was a man born to a family who did not approve of his vocation. However, St Francis de Sales had a love for people and God that encouraged Him to put others first. He is known for saying "Love everyone with a strenuous love based on charity, but form friendships only with those who can share virtuous things with you."

LEARN MORE ABOUT ST FRANCIS DE SALES

Photographers Wanted
During the Year of Youth, we are working on a project to bring to life the stories of our young people. If you or you know someone who would be interested in sharing their talents in a volunteer role and be part of a team to spread-head the project, email us!

GET CONNECTED

Prayer
Prayer is an essential part of your meetings. In this section we suggest a prayer or a creative way to engage in prayer to encourage young people to deepen their prayer lives. This may include songs, guided prayers or meditations. This month we share with you a song by Matt Maher called What a Friend. Check out his songs which he performed at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in December last year.

WHAT A FRIEND - M. MAHER

Get Involved or Take Action!

Expressions of Interest and Registrations for WYD Panama 2019 is now open. We will have more information regarding applications for Group Leaders in the coming months, so do keep updated by following our social media platforms. Gather your youth early!

Get Your Game On: Little Preparation Games

This section will feature an ice breaker game or activity that you could use to help facilitate interaction between your youth. To kick off the new year, we've found some simple games that LifeTeen have put together. Check out the link for some quick and easy games that will get your youth up and going after the Christmas break we all just had.
Link here: https://lifeteen.com/cym/blog/5-awesome-little-preparation-games-for-teens/

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Catholic Youth Parramatta – 51-59 Allawah Street, Blacktown NSW 2148

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Catholic Youth Parramatta - Agency for Youth - Catholic Diocese of Parramatta · 51-59 Allawah Street · Blacktown, NSW 2148 · Australia

Introducing Catholic Youth Parramatta's ELEMENTS

True Friendships

Get Your Game On: Little Preparation Games

Introducing Catholic Youth Parramatta's
ELEMENTS