Our Parish has transitioned from the typical classroom model for faith formation to a dynamic way of reaching teens where they are at. Life Teen is a nationally known Catholic program designed for High School students. Which is made and distributed by Life Teen Inc. Life Teen has been proven time and time again to be very effective. 

Hopefully not to confuse anyone, Life Teen is the High School youth ministry program and Edge is the Middle School youth ministry program. 

When I interviewed for this position  I am thrilled that we will be introducing Life Teen this year. I am very aware of how the program operates and to make it impactful, not just for the teens but hopefully to bring the energy that the teens get from a Life night and to bring that energy home to their families. 

  A typical Life Teen night looks something like this:  

Large Group

• The teens arrive, the Core Team (a group of adults who are involved with helping plan each night, lead prayer, lead games, lead the teaching and lead small groups. Without the Core team, this program would not be able to work) welcomes the teens in our gathering space. We start as a large group.
• Get everyone settled
• Check-in with the week challenge, welcome any newcomers and introduce the night. (5 minutes)

Large Group

• Game-that is related to the theme of the night (10 minutes)
• Opening prayer (5 minutes)
• Teaching (10-15 minutes)
• Movie clip (5 minutes)

Small groups 

• Break out into our small groups. Ideally, there will be about 10 teens in each small group. During small groups is when we are able to dive into the material and is where the teens are able to take ownership of the material that was taught in the large group. (25 minutes)

Large Group

• Transition to the Church
• Send (this where we ask the whole group some of the questions that were asked during small group and have some brave souls share what they talked about during small group) 
• Give the weekly challenge and any announcements
• Closing prayer 

We typically meet every other Sunday of the month in the New Hall at Holy Rosary from 6:30-8:00 pm.

For those who wish to have their child Confirmed in 9th grade, it is required that they attend Life Teen in 9th grade.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me! 

CONTENT OVERVIEW
As humans, we are created to experience emotions. We experience happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise. Even the Church recognizes humans as emotive and teaches that Jesus also experienced these same emotions (CCC 464, 1767). Emotionally healthy human beings are in a constant pursuit of happiness. We know there are many things in life that make us happy: coffee in the morning, getting to work on time, checking off tasks on our to-do lists, spending time with our loved ones, being caught up on laundry, petting the dog, and having a glass of wine at the end of the day. On a larger scale, we also believe that many other things can and would make us happy: buying a new car, landing our dream job, taking a long overdue vacation, receiving lots of likes on a post on social media, getting a bonus at work, and paying off our credit card debt. When we do not receive these things, no matter how little or big, we tend to experience different emotions like sadness, frustration, and impatience.

Our happiness relies on specific people, places, things, and events. While we spend a great deal of time pursuing happiness, we may not realize that a relationship with Jesus is the key to true, fulfilling, and lasting happiness, as well as lasting peace and joy. Joy, unlike happiness, is internal and is not dependent on external situations, people, places, or things. Joy is an internal feeling that is rooted in Jesus. We can be people of joy, even during times we may not be experiencing happiness and even when things in life turn out differently than how we may have planned or expected.

Throughout this Life Night series, we will be talking about emotions. Our emotions are a part of who we are. It is our challenge and task to become aware of these emotions and use our emotions for good. When we realize that Jesus is the source of joy and peace, we can develop a deeper relationship with Christ. This is the key to fulfilling and lasting joy and peace, regardless of what emotions we experience throughout our lives.

CONVERSATION STARTERS (aka: Car Questions)

1. Are you happy? What makes you happy? What keeps you from being happy?
2. Do you look to Jesus as a source of joy and peace? Why or why not?
3. Can someone be joyful even when they are not happy? How?

Content Overview
Sadness is a common human emotion that is typically caused by something that is unexpected or the opposite of what we desire. We experience sadness from a very young age and continue to experience it throughout our lives to various degrees, depending on the situation that evokes sadness. Sadness can be caused by not getting our way or something we expected, such as not getting a job we wanted. Sadness can also be caused by someone else, like when someone shares hurtful and damaging words. On a deeper level, sadness can be caused by difficult experiences, such as dealing with a serious medical condition, divorce, or addiction. Our sadness can also turn to grief especially if dealing with the loss of a loved one. Sometimes, even though we experience these degrees of sadness, we run and hide from them, pretending they do not exist.

As people of faith, we must understand that even Jesus experienced the emotion of sadness in His life when confronted with the sins of others and witnessing injustice. Jesus also experienced grief due to the death of His friend, Lazarus (John 11:1-44). While Jesus knew He would eventually raise Lazarus from the dead, He was not exempt from seeing the effects of Lazarus’ death on other people or from experiencing grief Himself. Jesus, in His humanity, acknowledged the emotion of sadness and used it to glorify God.

We are called to acknowledge the emotion of sadness and understand that, while it may be difficult at times, we will eventually experience happiness, as well. We are challenged to be honest with our sadness, open to understanding what exactly it is that causes our sadness, and courageous enough to embrace it, as it does not last forever. Through all of the sadness, we experience in life, we continue to find joy and hope through the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is our hope!

We will be watching a movie clip from Inside Out if you have not seen it please click the link to watch this trailer to understand the plot: https://youtu.be/seMwpP0yeu4

Car Questions:

1. Has there been a time in your life when you experienced a great amount of sadness? What events or experiences caused this sadness?
2. How do you typically deal with sadness? Do you embrace it, knowing you will also experience happiness, or do you run from it and hide it?
3. Read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-44). What emotions are present in this story from all those, including Jesus, who are involved? What does it mean to you that “Jesus wept”?

CONTENT OVERVIEW
Have you ever lost your temper and reacted in a way that was hurtful to a situation or, more specifically, another person? We have all had situations play out differently than we originally expected, and there are times when we responded in anger and rage. Maybe this happens to you while driving down the street, when someone cuts you off and forces you to slam on your breaks. It might happen at work when someone in the office, or perhaps a customer, says something that was uncalled for, unexpected, or rude. Perhaps this happens when you receive less than expected service at a restaurant or any other place of business. Whatever the cause, an angry response is often automatic when we perceive an injustice or potential harm.

Like happiness and sadness, we all experience anger. Anger itself is not a negative emotion; however, out of control anger can lead to behavior with negative and even sinful effects. When anger is not managed properly, it causes harm to ourselves, others, or both.

Jesus experienced anger, but He used His anger for good (John 2:13-17). Jesus was able to experience anger and respond with righteous behavior to an injustice. Jesus geared His anger towards love, and we are called to do the same.

We must be willing to share and talk about our anger. The more we are open and honest about our anger, identifying the triggers that make us angry, the more we can have the ability to control our anger in certain situations. Through our baptism, we are given a universal call to love as Jesus loved. Ultimately, in any emotional situation, this is the goal. Jesus, out of love, was able to express anger. We are called, out of love, to recognize that which makes us angry and respond with love, not rage and hate.

Car Questions:

1. Have you ever lost your temper or experienced an emotional hijack? What was the effect or outcome of the expression of your anger?
2. Have you ever expressed your anger for good, speaking out against injustice or potential harm?
3. Why is it important for us to recognize the things that make us angry? How can discussing our anger help us make better decisions in the future?