It finally has happened! After weeks of planning for this event, the Lifeteen Mass was finally launched on Sunday, May 2^nd at the 7:30PM Mass. The funny thing?? We have been doing Lifeteen Mass all along! The difference was that we were not officially recognized as a Lifeteen Parish until February of this year. We launched the Lifeteen Program with the Lifenights on Wednesdays back on August 10^th but it wasn’t until May 2^nd that we were able to launch the important component of the Lifeteen phenomenon: the Lifeteen Mass!

It was a spectacular event. Just a few minutes before the Mass began, Alberto, one of the singers of Shalom Music Ministry, animated the community with the Music, Fr. Wilfredo joined Shalom in leading the community in song. Many of the church-goers had such long faces but the Holy Spirit changed things as Shalom and Father Wilfredo lifted up everyone’s spirit engaging the community in clapping and singing!

The entrance song began,”Estamos de Fiesta con Jesus”, the rear entrance door opened and the flag bearers marched out waving our red and yellow flags. The colors are the official color of our Lifeteen Program. Each flag bearer stationed themselves in their spots and the group banner marched in next. The next group of teens to march in was our Lifeteen vinyl banner. Amidst the waving flags, the next group to appear at the door was our teens dressed in our yellow group T-shirt. There were more than 45 teens and it was an impressive site as they marched in smiling and clapping to the beat. In the entrance procession, were the teen servers, the Eucharistic Ministers, Father Jorge Saenz from Corpus Christi Catholic Church, and our Lifeteen Spiritual Director, Fr. Wilfredo Contreras. They were smiling, singing and clapping away!

The teens roared with excitement as the entrance song ended and Shalom helped animate the moment. The Mass proceeded as usual with our teen Lectors Nidia Caldera and Oscar Correa reading the Word of God. Alberto Abarca proclaimed beautifully the psalm and Fr. Jorge Saenz proclaimed the Gospel. In the homily, Fr. Wilfredo encouraged the teens to listen to God’s voice through prayer on this Good Shepherd Sunday. “Often times, teens prefer to listen to music, watch TV, chat on the computer, talk on the phone, often for hours and ignore the voice of the Shepherd who calls beckoning to listen to his Will. When are we going to stop and listen?” Fr. Wilfredo Said. “Prayer is the key to listening. Build a little altar in your room and allow no one to distract you from your time with the Shepherd. In the quiet of your room and in the quiet of your heart…there, you will hear his voice!”

After the homily, the Lifeteen Youth Minister Victor Reyes called upon Father Wilfredo and the community to accept a new core member. At this point, Fr. Wilfredo initiated the 7^th new Core Member, Yamil Miranda to the Lifeteen Program Core Team. He was given his official Core Team yellow shirt amidst thunderous applause. He will be coordinating the Fundraising efforts of our Lifeteen program.

During the Preface, the teens were called up to the altar and the lights of the Church were dimmed. At that moment, the teens encountered the Risen Jesus as Fr. Wilfredo and Fr. Jorge sang the prayer of Consecration. During this powerful moment, many teens were in tears. One of the most memorable moments of the event occurred after Communion. Shalom began the introduction to “Delante de tu Trono”, a song all our teens know. Fr. Wilfredo moved to the front of the altar, grabbed a mike and began a beautiful prayer of meditation. Shalom began the song, Father accompanied them, and all of a sudden the teens, one by one, began getting up and lifted up their hands in praise and worship and began singing! It was a powerful moment! “I saw everyone getting up and lifting up their hands in praise. I felt weird at first but afterwards it felt great. The Holy Spirit was there at the moment. I couldn’t help but lift my hands!” said Katherine Arbizu, 15. The Music Ministry was moved to see the kids praise in this manner. Rebecca from the Music Ministry was in tears. “I cried so much! It was just so beautiful to see the kids like that. All that effort in the Lifenights paid off so beautifully.” She refers to the once monthly Praise and Worship Nights offered in the Lifenights. In these nights the teens learn praise and worship.

After the Mass, there was a video presentation of the Lifeteen Program from St. John Bosco at the lobby of the Church. Many of the parishioners brought their children over to watch the video presentation while Core and teen members gave out information at our Lifeteen display table. Many parents promised to bring their teens to the Lifenights. Alberto Abarca was especially moved by the whole Lifeteen Mass event. It was the first time in three years that Shalom was able to minister down with the faithful instead of up in the church choir loft. “I felt like we (Shalom) were truly a ministry. I was moved to see that the teens responded so well.” Shalom’s Gloria was taken aback by the sheer joy of the teens. “The teens displayed so much joy to be in Church. I’ve never seen them this way before!” We’ll see the fruits of our labor! Please remember our Lifeteen program in your prayers!