On our recent vacation, my brother and I stayed at the New Yorker Hotel on 8th Avenue W. 34th Street. As we returned from concelebrating morning Mass at the nearby Franciscan Church, we were greeted with a bright 'Good morning, Fathers' by a young man with an i.d. badge round his neck identifying himself as Paul from CatholicThrive.com. (The picture above shows how the website looks as I write.) A large number of young people were attending a conference in the hotel over the weekend. What the tourists thought about the banners in the hotel foyer is anybody's guess:
Here's the published program (I think you'll agree it is everything you would want a program for young Catholics to consist of):
Saturday, September 5 - New Yorker Hotel
8:00 am Registration Opens
9:00 am Mass - Homily: Fr. Luke Sweeney
10:00 am Fr Stan Fortuna CFR - Keynote, icebreaker
11:30 am Lunch
1:00 pm
Breakout Sessions:
1. Dave Sloan - Dating & Courtship Principles
2. Fr. Luke Sweeney & Sr. Anne Elizabeth Fiore- Called to be a Priest or a Sister?
2:30 pm Mary Beth Bonacci - Keynote, icebreaker
4:00 pm Lino Rulli -- Catholic Dating Game
5:30 pm Dinner Break
8:00 pm
Dance & Benefit for SinglesServingOrphans.org
plus a presentation by Catholic Ballroom NYC
11:00 pm Night prayer
Sunday September 6 - New Yorker Hotel
8:00 am Registration
9:00 am Rosary
10:00 am Dr Phillip Mango - Keynote, icebreaker
11:00 am
Breakout Sessions:
3. Jessica Rey - Fashionable virtue (Women Only)
4. Dr. Phil Mango - Calling all Warrior Brothers (Men Only)
12:00 pm Lunch / adoration / confessions
2:30 pm
Breakout Sessions:
5. Fr Agustino Torres CFR: The Catholic Underground - Building better communities.
6. Michele and Dan Fleming – Thriving Catholic Couples - (For couples and those discerning marriage)
3:30 pm Matthew Kelly - Keynote
5:00 pm Closing Mass - Homily: Fr. Agustino Torres CFR
6:15 pm Closing remarks
6:30 pm Dinner Break
8:30 pm
(2-3 hours)
Concert - scheduled to appear: Gentlmen at Arms, Dan Schreck & L'Angelus - emceed by Lino Rulli
*schedule subject to change
Monday September 7 - St Patrick's Cathedral
12:00 noon Thrive NYC Mass at St Patrick's Cathedral (Archbishop Timothy Dolan)
2:00 pm Picnic in the Park (details TBA)
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Confession: Saturday 11:45 AM-1:30 PM, 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM. Sunday 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM.
Adoration: Throughout each day.
Service: Option to prepare care packages for the homeless Saturday 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (box meals available).
Activities: Check back for any additional pre and post conference activity announcements.
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I know my friend Fr Ben thinks I see the USA through rose tinted glasses, but I am once again impressed by the confident and in-your-face style of catholicism that is lived by the young people of America, and how the movements address the important issues of the day that matter to young people: prayer (with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and recitation of the Holy Rosary), the Mass, vocation, chastity in relationships, finding a good husband/wife, etc. It was nice to see groups of them walking through the streets of New York happy in each other's company, many visibly wearing miraculous medals, etc.
There are many excellent movements in this country too, such as Faith, Youth 2000.
Try www.masstimes.org
ReplyDeleteWhen you travel. Their goal is to get every parish in the world on line. You actually have an entry too for St. Simon, but you need to update the times.
I've found this website invaluable for finding various "home away from homes" when I travel. I'd recommend always checking the actual times when you get there. The contact information gives Maps and phone numbers too. For some inexplicable reason they list the UK not as "UK" but "Great Britain/England" with a separate section for Wales. Whatever. It's still a great aid.