Week Twenty-Eight
Do not lag in zeal... (Romans 12:11)
"I am told that there was much excitement in St. Louis during the recent baseball season, when two great players (Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa) were competing to break the home run record. You can feel the same great enthusiasm as you train for a different goal: the goal of following Christ, the goal of bringing his message to the world." --Pope John Paul II, St. Louis, Missouri
Think About That
Think about how much time we spend practicing and preparing for our sporting teams or musical programs or other activities we enjoy. What would happen if we spent just as much time preparing to "follow Christ" and "bring Christ's message to the world?"
Take Action
This week all your energy is going to be devoted to a spiritual training session. Write out a training plan. What will you do in the mornings, in the afternoons, and in the evenings to practice "following Christ"? At the end of the week, look back over your training plan and give yourself a score for how well you did.
Say A Prayer
Lord, help me to dedicate myself to following you with the same amount of time and energy I spend practicing sports, music, or other activities I enjoy.
Did You Know?
On 13 April 1929, Pope John Paul II's mother passed away at the age of 45.
Taken from...
My Dear Young Friends: Pope John Paul II Speaks to Youth on Life, Love, and Courage
Copyright © 2002 -- Reprinted with permission of the editor, John M. Vitek.
My Dear Young Friends, a collection of fifty-two weekly reflections on living in the Spirit, invites young people to read and act on Pope John Paul II's inspiring addresses to young people gathered at annual World Youth Day celebrations. Please visit www.smp.org for more information from the publisher, Saint Mary's Press.
