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OTTAWA - Unplug from the Internet, take out those ear buds, take some time to be still, rediscover the love of God — and make prayer time and stillness a habit if you want to effectively share the Good News with young people.

That was the message delivered to 300 Catholic youth ministry leaders from across Canada recently at the Canadian Catholic Youth Ministry Network conference on the theme: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI called on young people to not pursue power, money and prestige, but to find true joy in Christ and live a life of generous service to others.

In his message for World Youth Day 2012, he told the world's young Catholics to start making the world a better, more just and humane place right now, even while they continue to pursue their studies, talents and interests.

Do not be content in giving the minimum, he said.

Amanda Foster, 21, wants to go to World Youth Day Rio in 2013. But after hearing the cost estimates for the trip, she������Ƶapp reconsidering.  

“I can’t believe the prices are so high,” said Foster, who was a part of the Archdiocese of Toronto������Ƶapp Office of Catholic Youth (OCY) trip to Madrid last August, organized through Tour Design.  

For the first time, several pro-life groups on university campuses in British Columbia held Life Week simultaneously to bring the abortion debate to their peers.

“They debated the morality of abortion and whether abortion should remain legal,” said Anastasia Pearse, western campus co-ordinator for the National Campus Life Network. Jojo Ruba from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform debated the pro-life side while various philosophy professors took the pro-choice side.

TORONTO - Students from Toronto������Ƶapp Loretto College School and surrounding high schools joined together to Give Peace a Dance.

������Ƶapp 300 people filled Loretto College������Ƶapp auditorium on March 7 to promote awareness about violence against youth, bask in the talents of students and raise funds for the Plan Canada Because I am a Girl initiative.

“It������Ƶapp a safe-school campaign against youth violence in and around school communities,” said Paulina Onilla, a youth worker at Loretto College who first organized the event seven years ago. “We invite our fellow schools from different parts of the city to come and join us on the campaign and create awareness that they are their schools and they need to take them back in terms of safety.”

There are many graces a young Catholic pilgrim might expect to receive from visiting the Holy Land.

In his Jubilee letter, Pope John Paul II stressed that walking in our “travelling companion” Jesus’ footsteps could transform our own spiritual journeys immeasurably. So a pilgrim might hope that Scripture would come alive in the streets or that faith might be affirmed by experiencing the enormous history of the sights.

In the early 20th century, Gilbert Keith Chesterton was writing books and articles on subjects as diverse as literary criticism and morality. Today, the Catholic community continues to hold his works in high regard, with his books Orthodoxy and The Everlasting Man, among others, credited with the successful conversion of many new Catholics.

In The Young Chesterton Chronicles, author John McNichol provides a fictional account of Chesterton������Ƶapp teenage life. Written for young readers, the series re-imagines Chesterton������Ƶapp teenage years and personal struggles as he developed in the Catholic faith. While the first book, When Tripods Attack! dealt with Chesterton������Ƶapp discovery and subsequent conversion into Catholicism, its sequel, The Emperor of North America, deals with an issue that affects all Catholic youth: the faith crisis. Along the way, McNichol takes readers on an action-packed ride that includes flying assassins, priests who know martial arts and an arena battle with a steam-powered robot crab.

Jerome is a young man with post-traumatic stress disorder who attempts to cope by self-medicating with marijuana. Diana is suffering from depression and has low self-esteem. And Melanie is a youth caregiver whose mother has schizophrenia.

These are a few of the characters in performances by Elevated Grounds, an organization that uses song, dance, drama, music and spoken word to educate and bust the stigma surrounding mental health.

“We are hoping to show the stresses and issues that affect mental health are present in the everyday life of young people and the important thing is to become aware of these stresses and seek help,” said Leyland Gudge, Elevated Grounds’ program manager, mentor and elder.

TORONTO - For the 15th year in a row Canadian and American youths joined together for a day of love, laughter and lifting the Lord higher in their hearts.

Held on March 3 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, this year������Ƶapp Lift Jesus Higher Youth Rally combined loud music, modern technology and religious testimony, all in an attempt to engage the 1,300 in attendance.

The youth rally was just one aspect of the annual Lift Jesus Higher Rally. It also caters to adults, and this year had to turn people away at the door because it was at capacity.

God had a different plan in store for the Faith Connections’ Snowshoe & Prayer event and its 18 young adult participants held on Feb. 25 at the Ignatius Jesuit Centre in Guelph, Ont. Due to the warm weather, and the lack of snow, the event was changed to Hike & Prayer.

The event is a unique way for participants to continue along their Catholic journey, said Vanessa Nicholas-Schmidt, Faith Connections’ program director.