This Year:
Sunday, October 25, 2009 // 9am-5pm
What is World
Youth Day?
Each year on Palm Sunday,
the Pope issues a message to the youth of the world, and every few
years, a special gathering is held somewhere on the globe to mark a
"World" Youth Day. Many years ago Pope John Paul II asked the
bishops of each country, however, to make sure they celebrated World
Youth day every year, and the bishops of the United States
chose late October. Therefore, when we gather, we do so with
Catholic Young people all over our country!
2009 Theme: "Army
of the One - Christ Wants You!"
In today’s readings we are confronted by
stories of “calling.” Israel was called by God
to gather and return to home. Aaron was called
by God to leadership despite protests that he
was inadequate for the task. The priest
Melchizedek was called by God to his service.
Jesus called the blind man, Bartimaeus, and
healed him. Scripture is the story of God
calling his people throughout history and us
today to be soldiers for Christ, dedicated to
the mission to bringing the Gospel to people
right here at home and to the ends of the earth.
Each of us is both an army of one, and part of
the larger spiritual army of “The One” who died
on the Cross. Christ Wants You! Will you serve?
2009 Presenters
Anna
Scally
is familiar to our area as a keynote speaker at
our World Youth Day Conferences in 1997 and
2004. She facilitated catechetical sessions at
the 1993 Denver, 2002 Toronto, and 2008 Sydney
Papal World Youth Days for the USCCB. She is a
regular presenter at the youth and adult
conferences sponsored by the National Federation
for Catholic Youth Ministry. She is president
of Cornerstone Media of Santa Rosa, California,
where she reviews popular music for Catholic
values content, and produces resources using
positive popular music to reach young people in
the youth ministry setting.
Paul
Florez
last keynoted
for World Youth Day New Orleans in 2001. He
is a graduate of
Texas Tech University, with a degree in
Social Work and Sociology and his Masters in
Theology from Incarnate Word College, San
Antonio, TX. Paul Florez has served as
Director of Youth Ministry for the Catholic
Diocese of Lubbock, TX for 17 years and has
contributed much of his time and talents to
the National Federation for Catholic Youth
Ministry Board of Directors and the National
Network for Hispanic Youth Ministers. Paul
has conducted workshops for national youth
organizations throughout the United States,
Europe and Mexico on topics of Christology,
Multi-Cultural Awareness, Youth Ministry
Development, and Leadership Development and
Formation. He has
worked extensively and collaboratively with
Father Tony Ricard of the Arch-Diocese of
New Orleans and KnightTime Publishing.
Most
Rev. Gregory Aymond