Happy St. Patrick's Day a little late and Happy St. Joseph's Day a little early! There's so much news to share, we'll get right to it...

1. Many thanks to the hundreds of young people that made the Nexus 2004 experience so much fun! Special thanks to the generosity of the adults who chaperoned, drove, prepared meals, manned the exhibits, and contributed their time, talent, and treasure. It was a great event and is covered extensively in this week's Dialog. Group leaders will receive evaluations and picture information soon.

2. The next session of the Youth Ministry Institute will be offered on Saturday, April 3, 2004. Dolores Ballintyn will be present Bringing the Christian Scriptures to Life for Young People, and Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, will present Discovering the Spirituality of Adolescents. If you have not already RSVPed, please do so by Thursday, 4/1. To register, please contact CYM.

3. Does your calendar include all the CYM Upcoming Events? Click the link to be in the know!

4. The Passion of the Christ, continues to be No. 1 at the box office. The Offices of Religious Education, Catholic Youth Ministry, and Communications have collaborated to provide a website replete with resources, movie reviews, discussion guides, and more. Please use this site as a means of preparing yourself and your young people for the powerful conversations we hope will take place in the coming days and weeks.

5. Theology on Tap is back in Wilmington! Have your young adults been yet? Click here for more information.

6. CYM is co-sponsoring a Lenten Young Adult Retreat, in conjunction with the Franciscan Spirituality Center, on Saturday, April 3, 2004. The retreat will take place from 10:00am-3:00pm at the Center (in Aston, PA, just north of Wilmington). The retreat will be directed by Fr. Paul Dressler, OFM Cap; of the Office of Youth and Young Adults of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Cost is $30.00 (including lunch), and a $10.00 deposit will reserve your space. To register, contact Anthony Albence.

7. Sign up now for the Effective Practices in Dynamic Youth Ministry Seminar on Thursday, April 22, 2004 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish. This seminar, presented by the Center for Ministry Development and hosted locally by CYM, will be facilitated by nationally-recognized experts and will present the results of three years of exhaustive research on what makes the most effective parish youth ministry programs “tick”. To register, visit the CMD website.

Prayer of St. Joseph: Blessed Joseph, husband of Mary, be with us this day. You protected and cherished the Virgin; loving the Child Jesus as your son, you rescued Him from danger of death. Defend the Church, the household of God, purchased by the blood of Christ.

Guardian of the Holy Family, be with us in our trials. May your prayers obtain for us the strength to flee from error and wrestle with the powers of corruption so that in life we may grow in holiness and in death rejoice in the crown of victory. Amen. (Note: for the full version, click here)