May the peace of Christ be with you.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Saint Francis Xavier and aspire to emulate his example of ministering towards the peripheries.  On the Second Sunday of Advent we will remember that God is leading Israel in joy by the light of his glory, with his mercy and justice for company. On our life journey, we are called to “Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths. Every valley shall be filled  and every mountain and hill shall be made low.

The GPS of our faith and intentions must be informed with the latest traffic updates impacting our journey. This weekly series of Catholic youth ministry hyperlinks for you  is provided just In Case You Missed It.

• This picture of Pope Francis has been around the interwebs since his recent visit to Africa.  It seems as if the Holy Pops is dropping a rhyme.
• “The question is not whether youth are able but whether we will empower them to change the world.” Do you ever wonder if perhaps we have unwittingly underestimated the abilities of some of our young people by treating them as objects of ministry rather than empowering them to be agents of ministry. Chanon Ross does.
• The Year of Mercy is soon upon us.  Joe Paprocki offers many prayers and activities for your use.
• This came a little bit late in Thanksgiving postings to make our previous edition, but Michael Hyatt’s piece on what a spirit of gratitude gives you an edge in life is a good read!

• A recent study indicates that US high school students are tired, stressed, and bored. Are we helping young people to address their goals or are we only offering standardized materials?
• Are kids being set up for endless dissatisfaction by the overwhelming materialism of Christmas?  Walt Mueller thinks so and provides some thoughts and an infographic.

• What kind of mistakes have you been making and how are you learning from them?  MindShift has some notes to help you answer that question. 
• Sadly, along the same lines… DownloadYM looks at How do you deal with failure?
• and more…  Christ Wesley wants to know why no one is showing up to your events.

• The Youth Ministry Hotseat premiered on Blab on Tuesday featuring Chris Wesley. Join in weekly with Michael and Tony each Tuesday at 2:30pm CST
• Scott continued his series of NCYC follow-up messages to sent to young participants after the conference with NCYC –  Here YOU Are.
• The ProjectYM Store opened recently. Tshirts, beard balm, and other goodies can be found here.  Help support ProjectYM,

As we light the second candle on our Advent Wreath,  Paul reminds us I  am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you, will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.  Keep on keeping on with those good works!