A couple of months ago a friend of mine was telling me that her youth minister (she's the DRE) organized the most terrible Holy Hour. Now, I know - Jesus was there, fully present so it was at least a partial success. However, the purpose of a Holy Hour is to draw teens closer to Christ through silence, music, reflections, etc... When Pandora commercials come up in the music, I think we can say it was kind of a terrible hour! I mean, Pandora? seriously - you can sing accapella better than commercials in a Holy Hour!!!
So, I decided I would provide some tips on this - not that I'm an expert in any way, but I have done this before. Hopefully others will provide their insights as well so there can be a better 'google search' for this than what I just found. A lot of ways to attract teens to a Holy Hour, some info on music to pick, but no real tool...so I hope to provide at least one (that probably won't come up in a google search anyway, but I digress).
Last year we began these montly Holy Hours in collaboration with our College Campus Ministry across the street. We would plan reflections, songs, prayers for every 10 minutes (that way there would be silence - definitely needed, but also some fodder for the brain to meditate on). We concluded each month with the singing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then Benediction. Here are a few examples of the types of reflections we had:
A Letter From Your Almighty Father ... A very interesting format where verses from Scripture are taken to form a love letter to us all. When read slowly (without the references, of course) it provides such an interested reflection about the beauty of God's love for us. Another example of this is the Priorities Prayer Letter.
We also chose many different verses from Scripture. (Some examples for references, click for texts.)
There are a lot of options for the Holy Hour and it depends on the journey of your teens. Keep their faith in the forefront of your mind and all will go smoothly!
Many Blessings on your ministry in the future.
So, I decided I would provide some tips on this - not that I'm an expert in any way, but I have done this before. Hopefully others will provide their insights as well so there can be a better 'google search' for this than what I just found. A lot of ways to attract teens to a Holy Hour, some info on music to pick, but no real tool...so I hope to provide at least one (that probably won't come up in a google search anyway, but I digress).
Last year we began these montly Holy Hours in collaboration with our College Campus Ministry across the street. We would plan reflections, songs, prayers for every 10 minutes (that way there would be silence - definitely needed, but also some fodder for the brain to meditate on). We concluded each month with the singing of the Divine Mercy Chaplet and then Benediction. Here are a few examples of the types of reflections we had:
A Letter From Your Almighty Father ... A very interesting format where verses from Scripture are taken to form a love letter to us all. When read slowly (without the references, of course) it provides such an interested reflection about the beauty of God's love for us. Another example of this is the Priorities Prayer Letter.
We also chose many different verses from Scripture. (Some examples for references, click for texts.)
- October Readings: Psalm 100, Phillipians 4:4-9, Matthew 22:34-40, More than a Trophy (Mark Hart), Therese of Lisieux
- January Readings:
There are a lot of options for the Holy Hour and it depends on the journey of your teens. Keep their faith in the forefront of your mind and all will go smoothly!
Many Blessings on your ministry in the future.
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