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NEW ORLEANS - For eight days at Loyola University New Orleans, three priests and five deacons absorbed the cool mathematics and internal symmetry of good preaching.

Just as Moses descended from Mount Sinai with Ten Commandments chiseled on two stone tablets, the rules laid out by Fr. Roy Shelly and Deborah Wilhelm of the diocese of Monterey, Calif., while not etched in permanent marker, are boundaries worthy of respect: six to eight minutes for a Sunday homily, three to five minutes for a weekday sermon.

“The idea is not so much ‘brevity’ as it is not taking longer than you need,” said Wilhelm, a doctoral student with a focus on preaching at the Aquinas Institute of Theology.

TORONTO - All too often, people don’t understand how they operate or what their core values are, said Jesuit Father Monty Williams, creator of the fall film series at Toronto������Ƶapp Regis College.

Exploring the theme “Discernment: Finding God in the World,” the series at the Jesuit college at the University of Toronto will help participants better understand their own value system through looking at how they deal with ethical situations.

“It������Ƶapp significant today because the value systems that are given to us come from a whole range of ideological standpoints — even within the Church,” said Williams. “So it������Ƶapp very important for a young person on their spiritual journey to at least have some understanding of what values are becoming incarnate in them.”

TORONTO - Andrew Santos recently landed a full-time position at Salt + Light Television as an associate producer. A former member of the Youth Speak News team, Santos says YSN played a huge role in forming his vocation as a journalist.

Santos, now 21, says his YSN editors always challenged him to think outside the box and to be as creative as possible.

“And to this day, I still find myself exercising great care when it comes to my work.”

And with a new year of Youth Speak News kicking off, another team of young writers will have the same opportunity to jump headfirst into Catholic journalism.

Who am I? This ultimate question of self-identity will cross everyone������Ƶapp mind at some point in their lives. The answer, for Catholics, is quite simple: we are all God������Ƶapp children regardless of race, colour, age, socio-economic status or disability. We are all equally welcome in the house of God.

But in our world today, living out God������Ƶapp message and recognizing the presence of God in all of creation is often undermined. Racism and other forms of discrimination develop and begin to fester in society. As a result, God������Ƶapp message cannot be recognized and some individuals fail to hear God������Ƶapp voice amidst all of the prejudice.   

In Joan Steinau Lester������Ƶapp young adult fiction novel, Black, White, Other: In Search of Nina Armstrong, the 15-year-old protagonist, Nina, has an identity crisis of her own. Her world is in a muddle. In the midst of coping with the pressures of her first year of high school, Nina begins to question who she is and where she truly belongs. Nina is bi-racial, or, as she prefers to call it, “scrambled.” She is feeling torn between two worlds and feels that she has to choose between the African-American descent on her paternal side or her mother������Ƶapp Irish heritage.

Alan Law wanted to know why the gates were closed so early at Cuatro Vientos air base on the eve of the papal vigil at World Youth Day. So he posed this question on the wall for the official World Youth Day Facebook group, run by event organizers.

“Why were the gates closed so early? A lot of people were locked out,” wrote Law, who is a product development manager with Tour Design, a travel company that brought many Canadian pilgrims to Madrid.

He waited for a response but heard nothing. So the next day, he checked again. To his shock, he couldn’t find his comment. It had been erased.

As group leaders and pilgrims settle back home after World Youth Day, discontent at the fact that an estimated 250,000 pilgrims were locked out of Cuatro Vientos airbase for the overnight vigil and closing Mass is starting to be vocalized. Some 1.4 million pilgrims showed up for the overnight vigil and World Youth Day organizers were only equipped to handle about a million, turning away registered pilgrims from around the world.

VATICAN CITY - The gathering of more than 1.5 million young Catholics at World Youth Day in Madrid was an event that left the 800 bishops present feeling encouraged, said Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.

"In a world shaken by wars, economic crises and social discouragement, the youths who gathered with the pope had only one message to spread: Christ lives," the cardinal told L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper.

"That is extraordinary because it encouraged the bishops, as well, in their mission as teachers of the faith," he said in the interview published Aug. 26.

������Ƶapp of bishops led the formal catechesis sessions at World Youth Day Aug. 16-21.

MIDLAND, Ont. - Madrid wasn’t the only place where Catholic youth were gathered in force on a rainy, hot August weekend.

At Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont., another group of young Catholics made its own pilgrimage. And while it didn’t boast World Youth Day������Ƶapp attendance of nearly a million and a half pilgrims, the Office of Catholic (OCY) Rally was still alive with the faith of the young. The annual rally, which ran from Aug. 19-21 this year, brought together about 600 Catholic youth ages 14-35 for a high-energy weekend of prayer, music, celebration and fun.

“It gives them a chance to feel like they’re connected to the universal Church,” said John Dawson, program co-ordinator and music director of the OCY. “Young people all over the world are celebrating at the same time.”

In fact, as pilgrims in Spain were walking the Stations of the Cross on the evening of Aug. 19, so were the young people in Midland — separated only by the six-hour time difference. Masses were celebrated at the same time of day, by Pope Benedict XVI in Madrid and Toronto Archbishop Thomas Collins in Midland. The two events also shared the same theme, “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith.” The rally truly had WYD pegged down to a tee, even right down to the thunderstorms on the Saturday. But the Midland pilgrims — like those in Spain — didn’t let harsh weather dampen their spirits.

MADRID, SPAIN - The papal welcome ceremony at Plaza de Cibeles Aug. 19 was easily one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I ended up being only a few feet away from Pope Benedict XVI as he passed through the streets of Madrid in the Popemobile. Although it all feels like one big blur, here is a breakdown of what led up to the day������Ƶapp grand finale.

1:27 p.m.: After meeting with the Office of Catholic Youth group, the leaders told us we needed to get to Cibeles as soon as possible in order to secure good seats. With a big Canadian flag being held up high to lead the way, we started walking very briskly. This soon turned into running through the streets. When we got to the front entrance, half our group made it in but the other half (my half) was stopped by police and told we had to enter the square via a different route. We changed our route and kept on running.

2:25 p.m.: We made it in. After changing our location three or four times, we re-locate to a spot near the papal route (where Pope Benedict would pass — so we were told — in the Popemobile before the ceremony).

3:05 p.m.: Reality kicks in. We realize we have about five hours to wait before the Pope arrives. We are directly in the sun and sitting down on the ground is not a good option — without a towel or mat the ground is extremely hot. I lather on SPF 60 sunscreen and begin the countdown.

St Barnabas Church in Scarborough helped represent Canada at WYD in Madrid.

We couldn't walk a meter without being stopped by other pilgrims for photos and memories.

Young Catholics from all over the world gathered to encounter Christ and His Church.

I told a pilgrim from Hong Kong that they should host WYD one time for the intentions of the Church in China, and she replied that one day WYD will be in Beijing! What great faith!

Please, as we are called, go to a World Youth Day/s, if you are able to!  Thank you Jesus, God, and Pope Benedict, for a safe trip for all and myself.  I have become closer and more knowledgeable of my faith and God because of many opportunities.  I also enjoyed the unique aspects of Italy, my host in Cintruenigo, during Days of the Diocese, as well as Madrid, the World Youth Day host.  "Joy" was referenced by the Archbishop during a Catechesis session.  Jesus.  Others.  Yourself.  World Youth Day in Madrid, has provided wonderful memories, you and I need to now daily keep active and apply to others, for the next 20 years and the rest of our lives!  Daily, we are tested and with the help of God, we are able to make positive decisions.      

With Jesus, we experienced the most precious Madrid Memories.  My most memorable, the second day of Catechesis, on the Thursday, as I cried and saw my Father very clearly, who passed away many years ago, after as he always said, carried his Cross.  The music before, during, and after Communion moved me greatly as I prayed.  Also, I am very happy to have been chosen last year with my Sister to be Godparents.  What happiness, to have seen the Vatican, the Sistene Chapel, Cintruenigo, and the events of World Youth Day, in Madrid, as well as daily morning and evening prayer.