Advent Opportunities

Check out the upcoming Advent opportunities for young adults this year...

Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Special Advent Mass with Bishop Siegel
7:00 p.m. at St. Bernard Parish
Homer Glen, Illinois

Saturday & Sunday, December 3 & 4, 2011
Toy Drive for Walk-In Ministry of Hope
All Weekend Masses at St. Scholastica Parish
Woodridge, Illinois

Monday, December 19, 2011
Advent Candlelight Vespers & Potluck
7:00 p.m. at St. Procopius Abbey
Lisle, Illinois

Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Faith & Film Night: "It's a Wonderful Life"
6:30 p.m. at Another Round Bar & Grill
Downers Grill, Illinois

For more information, go to www.dioceseofjoliet.org/yam/ or connect with the activities at the diocesan young adult commission website, www.catholicyac.net.

Hauntings, Hollywood, and Holiness

All Hallow's Eve Celebration: Mass, Potluck, and Bonfire

This Saturday, October 29th, young adults from across the Chicagoland area are invited to a special event connected to the Halloween season: the annual All Hallow's Eve Celebration, being held at St. Jude Catholic Church in New Lenox, Illinois.

Mass begins at 7 p.m., followed by a potluck dinner at 8 p.m., and continuing with a bonfire and presentation on "Hauntings, Hollywood, and Holiness: A Spiritual Look @ Halloween."

So bring a dish, dress in a costume, and stop by for a great time. We'll talk about the sacred and secular origins of Halloween - and what this time of year can teach us today about our lives and our journeys of faith. See you there!

The World of QR Codes

Today we want information fast. Perhaps too fast?!... Since typing in web addresses, especially long ones, can be tiresome for people - and may result in people not finding our websites. In an age of mobile devices, it can be difficult to type in all the characters in a long URL. So now we enter a world of QR codes - those bar-code-looking boxes that link people directly to a website.

Wanting to make sure that young adults don't forget about the diocesan young adult ministry opportunities awaiting them, we have developed the following.

Click the link below now (and anytime you want) and you'll immediately access the diocesan website for young adult ministry - and then from there, you can link to our calendar, upcoming events, list of opportunities for collegians, singles, and couples, parish workshops options, and more.

Joliet Young Adults Travel to Madrid

21 pilgrims from the Diocese of Joliet travel to Madrid, Spain, for the celebration of World Youth Day with the Holy Father. There are also quite a number of young adults traveling with the various youth groups from the diocese. the week ahead looks to be a promising experience for all of them.

We are praying for all of you back home. Please pray for them as well. We will all be united in our prayers.

World Youth Day Madrid 2011

Follow the Joliet Young Adult Pilgrim Delegation!

Hundreds of thousands of young adults will descend on Madrid, Spain, for the international celebration of World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain, this coming week. His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI will take part in the festivities as well - and will encourage the young people present (and those connecting virtually) to be witnesses of their faith to their generation.

If you would like to follow the pilgrims... check out the following:

The International World Youth Day Website:
http://www.madrid11.com/en

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops WYD Website:
http://new.usccb.org/about/world-youth-day/index.cfm

The Virtual World Youth Day Pilgrimage Journey:
http://www.virtualworldyouthday.org/
(and on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VirtualWorldYouthDay)

The Diocese of Joliet Young Adult Ministry Social Media Pages:
(on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/yamjoliet)
(on twitter: http://www.twitter.com/yamjoliet)

We hope you will be able to follow along with us on our journey with the Holy Father in Madrid. Remember that the Pope speaks to you as much as he speaks to those making the physical journey overseas. Let us all pray for the rejuvenation of the Catholic Church among those in their 20s and 30s, in the United States and across the globe. See you around... online!

Ash Wednesday: Why Do We Go?

Each year on Ash Wednesday, our pews are more full than any given Sunday. Studies show that while 15% of adults under 45 attend Mass weekly, a whopping 50% of that same group will receive ashes on the first day of Lent. That leads me to wonder: why?!

What's so special about Ash Wednesday that it commands our attention? Adults who are religiously inactive the rest of the year seem to make it a point to receive ashes. Because of this, our churches swell in attendance all day long. We cannot keep people away if we tried.

Some have speculated that people return out of a sense of subconscious Catholic identity: it was ingrained in them as children, so they reenact that spiritual experience as adults. Others believe it is a form of peer pressure brought on by co-workers, neighbors, friends, media personalities, and strangers on the street - they are reminded of this special day by others' already-received ashes on their foreheads (not to mention the day appears on most secular calendars too). Or perhaps it is because Lent gives people a second chance at a New Year's resolution - and the ashes signify a public admission that they need to try harder this time around.

But why do YOU go? Whether you're inactive or a frequent churchgoer, why will you receive ashes this year? What's so special about this day to you?

Feel free to respond, reply, or comment. We would love to hear from you.