What Would You Say?

The Amigos de Jesus youth group met on a steamy Friday evening in Denver at Annunciation Catholic Church. The five fans whirring in the Hope Room room made the heat bearable, but it was also difficult to be heard. The group began as usual with the recitation of the Rosary. Specials prayers were offered for Kim, Iliana, and Robert - members of the youth group - who are on a Kairos retreat this weekend.

Following the Rosary, the youth went outside for some opening activities. As the decision not to play "The Human Pinata" was unanimous, Br. Joseph opted for the encircled fire drill. Youth group members stood in a circle, at arms length, while one member of the youth group put his head down on a wiffle ball bat and spun around twenty times. The goal was to then drop the bat and try to step over it. Antonio was the first one to try. After about nine turns around the bat, he stood up, took two halting steps and crashed into a wall of youth. Br. Joseph decided to show him how it was supposed to look. Insisting that it wasn't really that difficult, Brother spun around the wiffle battle bat fourteen times before standing up and, lurching drunkely to his right, crashed through a wall of diving youth, somersaulting forward near the fire pit - where he landed flat on his face. In all likelihood Brother was pushed by some mischevious youth, though the guilty party has not yet been identified.

Following this activity, the youth played the classical trust game. Breaking up into partners the youth practiced falling backward into the waiting arms of their companion. The goal was to not look back and to "trust" that the other person would catch them. Brother asked the youth, "Do you trust the person behind you?" Some did, others did not. Why did they trust or not trust  their partners. It seemed that the youth trusted the partners more whom they knew. They were more reluctant to trust that a stranger would catch them. The same is true, Brother noted, in our relationship with God. How can we trust God unless we know Him? If our journey in this life is a pilgrimage of faith, how can we really be joyful and at peace unless we know the God who is accompanying us on our journey.

The youth returned to the Hope Room where Brother Joseph explained the next part of the session. The youth broke up  into six small groups and were given questions taken from a Catholic blog which teens had posted seeking an answer. Brother Joseph told the small groups to come up with answers to the teens' questions. After about twenty minutes the small groups returned and a large group discussion ensued. The youth talked about their ideas, their confusions, and their own understanding of right and wrong in these situations. It was a very good discussion.

After some brief reminders about the Bible Camp and the upcoming Amigos de Jesus retreat, the group ended around 8:00 pm with cookies. Below is a slide show presentation of images from the session.

Br. Joseph