ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL YOUTH SING PRAISE

Youth Sing Praise, the annual program of music and spiritual growth for high school students, had another successful run at the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Snows, Belleville, IL, from June 18-25, 2005.  This year’s program included 89 youth, mostly from the Midwest, but including participants from as far away as California.  At the end of their week together, the youth presented the musical, Children of Eden, by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of Godspell and Pippin. 

It was Fr. Allen Maes, OMI, at that time a member of the shrine staff, who had the idea, back in 1982, to invite musically talented high school students for a type of music camp and religious retreat that would culminate in the performance of a musical with a spiritual theme.  The hope has always been that these youth would grow in their faith after this experience and share their musical talents with their schools and home parishes.  Past performances have included such favorites as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell, and Jesus Christ Superstar.

Since the original YSP, held in 1983, hundreds of  teens have lived and experienced what many of them state to have been life-changing.  As one participant wrote on the YSP web site: That experience has given me the strength to get through many difficult times in my life since. I have weathered the death of grandparents, loss of close friends to violence and disease, and most recently the daily exposure to the violence of our world. If it were not for YSP I would not have had the strength to answer my call to serve other people. I was guided to the profession of Social Work and have made that my career for the last 9 years. It is through that work that I am able to assist children and families on their journey through life. YSP showed me the power of faith and prayer. Without that faith and prayer I could not do the work he has called me to do.

In 1993, when Pope John Paul II came to World Youth Day in Denver, alumni of YSP were invited to be one of the principal choral groups to perform at the event that drew several hundred thousands of youth from all over the world.

This year’s youth ministry team and staff included two Oblate priests, Frs. Raul Salas and Jonathan Closner; two Oblate scholastics, Brothers Fernando Velazquez and Porfirio Garcia; and two Oblate pre-novices, Ray Cook and Lucio Cruz.

For more information about YSP, you may look at the Shrine’s Youth Ministry web site at http://www.snowsyouthministry.org/ or write an e-mail to youthministry@snows.org.