Posts Tagged ‘Young People’

Thanks for your support – CTS YouCat Appeal sends out 2400 free copies to university students

Fergal Martin, General Secretary of the Catholic Truth Society (far left) presents Fr Peter Wilson and students at Newman House Catholic Chaplaincy in central London with copies of YouCat

The Catholic Truth Society has been delighted by a strong response to its latest appeal: generous sponsorship was received from many CTS supporters to send over 2400 free copies of the official Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (“YouCat”) to university students in the UK.

An international publication, YouCat was launched at World Youth Day in Madrid in 2011, with the approval and endorsement of Pope Benedict. The Pope himself wrote the foreword to the volume, in which he says:

“Study this Catechism! That is my heartfelt desire… Study this Catechism with passion and perseverance.”

One of the students who received the book told us:

“This is a fantastic reference for young Catholics like myself and anyone who would like a contemporary introduction to the Catholic faith. The central text provides a readable and engaging explanation of what the Church believes and teaches and how it prays, and the many pictures and illustrations included make learning about my religion enjoyable and even fun. The quotes and extra information provided on the side of each page allow a wide range of sources to contribute to the catechism’s teachings. In short, the YouCat is a wonderful gift to teenagers and young adults, the next generation of the Church.”

Wednesday, 25 April 2012 09:25

CTS Christmas appeal 2011 – You can help spread the faith among students

YouCat

You may think it is a little early to talk about a Christmas Appeal, but the more people know about it the more we can achieve together.

Our appeals at CTS have been very successful in the past thanks to support from people like you. We have managed to give away bibles to prison chaplains and we know, from the constant requests for more, that these have been appreciated and used.

This time, we are hoping to help spread the faith among young people. 2012 sees the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

To celebrate this, CTS intends to give away large quantities of the new Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church (“YouCat”) to university students in the UK.

YouCat has been a big hit with young people in 2011 – thousands were given away to pilgrims at World Youth Day 2011 in Madrid. It has also been endorsed by the Holy Father who is encouraging everyone to read it.

We have already been talking with Catholic university chaplains, who are very keen to receive copies of YouCat; all that is needed is your sponsorship to make this happen. The response to our Christmas appeals in recent years has been so generous that we have been able to help many people.

We do hope that you will consider giving generously to help our young people grow in faith.

Youth is a challenging time when young people have many questions and the voice of the world around us, which is now often hostile to Christ and his teaching, can become louder and harder to resist. YouCat is one tool we can put into the hands of young people to aid them in their fight to discover, safeguard or deepen faith.

Please visit the CTS Appeal Page and follow the instructions, any donation towards this vital goal would be most gratefully received.

Of related interest:

Love and purity True Love – Passion & Purity - This booklet helps the reader gain an insightful understanding of our deepest need to love and be loved, and what place our sexuality has in this important aspect of our lives.
Way A Way of Life for Young Catholics – Written for young Catholics who want to live their faith more deeply but are not sure what steps to take, this booklet contains practical, down-to-earth advice on many aspects of daily life.
How to Discover Vocation How to Discover your Vocation - This booklet will help you to think and pray about your vocation and become clearer about where God is leading you. It answers many of the practical questions you may be asking: What are the different Christian vocations? How does God guide us and speak to us? How can I be more open to my vocation, and come to a decision?
Friday, 14 October 2011 10:40

World Youth Day pilgrims: Get your photos in a CTS booklet!

YouCat

World Youth Day is just days away now, and if you are lucky your photos could feature in the CTS booklet that will be published after the event.

Here at CTS we have published booklets of the addresses given by both Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul, at World Youth Days, showing that the purpose of these meetings is to draw closer to Jesus with Peter’s help and we need your help illustrating the one for Madrid.

If you are going, join us on Facebook and upload your photos, and you will get a free copy of it too! Then the best ones will be selected to go into the booklet.

Meanwhile, the executive director of World Youth Day Madrid 2011, Yago de la Cierva, is reported by the CNA as having said that they are still receiving nearly 5,000 new registration forms a day. He was also asked about protests against the event and the arrival of the Holy Father, which look like taking place in Madrid.

“Spain is a free and democratic country and freedom of speech is allowed. It shouldn’t bother anybody that a group of young people use their own money to organize a festival in which they aren’t going to be disparaging anyone.”

World Youth Days are not, as has been said before, the Christian equivalent of today’s festivals. Creative Minority Report today published a humorous if telling comparison between World Youth Day and perhaps the most famous of all festivals, Woodstock.

In 1995, Pope John Paul II, who had instituted the event 10 years before, held World Youth Day in Manila, with an estimated 5 million people, quite possibly the largest single gathering in human history. It is unlikely that that number will be topped, however there is certainly likely to be over a million people, with some estimates putting the number at twice that, which would be a similar total to the one registered at the Roman World Youth Day 11 years ago.

To get inspired, pick up Don’t be afraid to be saints, a collection of quotes and reflections for young people taken from past World Youth Days on vocations, service, the Church and much more.

YouCat – the youth catechism of the Catholic Church is also published by the CTS in the UK & Ireland and priced £9.95

And don’t forget to send us your pics!

Of related interest:

Love and purity True Love – Passion & Purity - This booklet helps the reader gain an insightful understanding of our deepest need to love and be loved, and what place our sexuality has in this important aspect of our lives.
Way A Way of Life for Young Catholics – Written for young Catholics who want to live their faith more deeply but are not sure what steps to take, this booklet contains practical, down-to-earth advice on many aspects of daily life.
How to Discover Vocation How to Discover your Vocation - This booklet will help you to think and pray about your vocation and become clearer about where God is leading you. It answers many of the practical questions you may be asking: What are the different Christian vocations? How does God guide us and speak to us? How can I be more open to my vocation, and come to a decision?
Wednesday, 03 August 2011 12:02

Pray for the success of World Youth Day

YouCat

With World Youth Day coming up, the Holy Father has invited the whole Church to pray that it may be, for young people, a meeting with Jesus.

His general prayer intention for this August is that:

“That World Youth Day in Madrid may encourage young people throughout the world to have their lives rooted and built up in Christ.”

Fr Eric Jacquinet – who heads up the Youth Office at the Vatican’s Council for the Laity, in giving his ideas on meeting the Lord and how the Church can spread the message of Jesus, points out that some of the best missionaries now come from young converts and here, the Vatican Insider offers a breakdown of what the Pope will be doing during the five-day event, including using a 3-metre-high gold and silver monstrance, a 16th-century piece from Toledo, for the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament during the Saturday night’s customary prayer vigil.

Some have decried World Youth Day as a Catholic festival that John Paul II made successful simply because he was a megastar, but this is an over-simplification based on a skewed view of what the Polish pontiff wanted to achieve. Certainly, I can remember a moment at World Youth Day in Canada in 2003 which involved monks playing electric guitars at unearthly hours, but these episodes have been, in my experience, rare. What Benedict is inviting people to do – and YouCat mentioned in the Vatican radio’s report can certainly lend a helping hand – is to come and meet him; and he, who is himself “Rooted in Christ and firm in the faith” – the World Youth Day motto – will present Christ as the answer to all the questions and desires young people, and the not-so-young, have.

YouCat is published by the CTS in the UK & Ireland and priced £9.95

Of related interest:

Love and purity True Love – Passion & Purity - This booklet helps the reader gain an insightful understanding of our deepest need to love and be loved, and what place our sexuality has in this important aspect of our lives.
Way A Way of Life for Young Catholics – Written for young Catholics who want to live their faith more deeply but are not sure what steps to take, this booklet contains practical, down-to-earth advice on many aspects of daily life.
How to Discover Vocation How to Discover your Vocation - This booklet will help you to think and pray about your vocation and become clearer about where God is leading you. It answers many of the practical questions you may be asking: What are the different Christian vocations? How does God guide us and speak to us? How can I be more open to my vocation, and come to a decision?
Thursday, 28 July 2011 14:45

The universal call to holiness – a talk by Paschal Uche

The Youth

When the Pope came to Britain in September 2010, he met young people on two major occasions, once at “The Big Assembly” in Twickenham, and once briefly, outside Westminster Cathedral.

There, he was greeted by Paschal Uche, who spoke movingly on behalf of Britain’s young Catholics. Paschal will speak again at Westminster Cathedral on June 29th, reflecting on the Papal visit and the Holy Father’s message to young people.

The address, entitled, “The universal call to holiness”, is being organised by the Young Friends of Westminster Cathedral. You can find out more by visiting their website here, or sending an e-mail to young.friends@mail.com.

In his speech to Benedict XVI, at midday on September 18th 2010, Paschal remembered John Paul II’s description of Christianity as a “Noble and authentic adventure” and continued:

“We want other young people to experience this. It is our prayer that your visit inspires us to be ‘saints of the third millennium’. For many of us before today you were a face on the television or a picture in a Church but today we behold you face to face and on behalf of the Catholic youth of this great nation I would like to express my profound and heartfelt gratitude for your visit.”

Many other things were said and images captured, all brought together in, Benedict XVI and Blessed John Henry Newman the State Visit – September 2010 – the Official Record, and the mainstream media were surprised by the warmth and affection evident in the exchange.

This new talk is a great opportunity, now that the emotion has become a cherished memory, to remind ourselves what the Pope asked not just of young people, but of all Catholics and men of goodwill in the UK.

You can also view the event on Facebook here.

Here is a reminder of the unforgettable day – do please come and listen to the talk.

Of related interest:

DO845 YouCat – YouCat is an accessible, contemporary expression of the Catholic Faith. The appealing graphic format includes questions and answers, highly-readable commentary and summary definitions of key terms.
Way A Way of Life for Young Catholics – Written for young Catholics who want to live their faith more deeply but are not sure what steps to take, this booklet contains practical, down-to-earth advice on many aspects of daily life.
How to Discover Vocation How to Discover your Vocation - This booklet will help you to think and pray about your vocation and become clearer about where God is leading you. It answers many of the practical questions you may be asking: What are the different Christian vocations? How does God guide us and speak to us? How can I be more open to my vocation, and come to a decision?
Thursday, 26 May 2011 15:30
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