three for the evening

1. Check out I Will Lower My Net, a vocations blog by a priest from the Diocese of Erie, PA who was still in school here when I started.

2. A fairly good piece on the place of exorcism in the Church.

3. Some good points on evangelizing teens.

Lesnefsky said, "We show up at a park with a grill and start grilling hot dogs and feeding people. The first time, we just see them and get to know their name. Over weeks or years, it eventually builds relationships and develops into a friendship. It's much more effective for me to share Christ with someone who considers me their friend than someone who I knock on their door and try to give them a five-minute plug. These are people we have an authentic relationship with. There's an element of trust that happens before we even tell them about God. They begin to see we care for them outside of whether or not they ever come to the Church."

One of Dirty Vagabond Ministries' core principles is that "the greatest intimacy with Christ is found in the sacramental life of the Church." Lesnefsky admits that many inner-city youth don't have a foundation of faith, so exposure to Church and the sacraments can be "a little jarring" for them. But by sharing family-style meals and attending Mass together, these young people undergo "a beautiful awakening."