This is my take and personal reflection on the Local World Youth Day (LWYD) celebration held last July 27-28,2013 at the Don Bosco Technical Institute-Makati. I’m making this note public in response to Pope Francis’ challenge to use social media as a form of new evangelization. And hopefully, I’ll be able to inspire other youth as well to be of service to Him.
It was such a humbling experience to have become one of the delegates of the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help at the the LWYD. As a twenty-two year old, I could say that of all the “first time”, this is the one of the most “worth-it”, if not the best, experience.
I have been a volunteer at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Baclaran for twelve years. I started at the age of ten by joining the Our Mother of Perpetual Help Altar Servers (OMPHAS). And soon after, I also became part of the Redemptorist Commission on Youth (RCOY). And being part of this commission has opened a lot of doors of opportunity for me like this LWYD celebration.
“The Lord tells us 3 things. Go, Don't be afraid, and Serve”.
This was the three important ideas about mission that Pope Francis himself stated at the World Youth Day 2013 (WYD) celebration at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1. Go!
“Go! Faith should be shared and passed on. It should not be locked. Sharing the experience of faith is a command by the church. It is a command that not came from the desire of power but from the force of Love.Jesus gave his life in order to save us. Jesus does not treat us as slaves but as free men, He not only sends us but accompanies us in our mission of love.”
When we first entered the venue, I honestly didn’t believe what I was seeing. For the lack of better terms, I’d like to say that that venue was “overflowing” with youth. This being my first time, I didn’t expect the attendees to be THAT much. Who would’ve thought that despite the changing times, despite the different forms of distractions in the form of the different advancement and development in technology, there were still a lot of young people willing to sacrifice their weekend to attend this type of event. There may be some that were “just required”, or “just curious”, or “I-want-to-spend-weekend-with-my-friends”when they signed up for this. But I believe that somewhere in a little space in their hearts, they signed up for this because they wanted to know more about Him, that they wanted to renew their zeal for service towards Him.
2. Do not be afraid!
“Do not be afraid. For God is with us. When we go to proclaim Christ, it is He himself who goes before us and guides us. When he sends his disciples on mission, he promises to be with us always. Jesus will never leave you alone. Jesus also said, all of you, we are sent together. Be aware of the companionship of the whole church and the whole saints. Jesus did not call the apostles to leave in isolation, he called them to build communities.”
One of the activity that surprisingly left a mark in me was the game during the youth festival. We had no choice of which festival to attend. Honestly, if I had the choice to, I would have chosen the taize or acoustic/worship activity. I was much, much more comfortable with activities that only involved me and Him. But then I had to attend the activity titled “All For You, All For Us”. The activity was totally of out of my comfort zone. The activity required of us to relate to and talk with people that we just have met. It was hard for me because I was the type of person that hardly talks to another unless I know or have spent some time with him already. But as the activity progressed, it made me realize things. This was another wake-up call from Him to me. He was telling me that He is thankful of what I have been doing for the past years. He was thankful that I was sharing what I know about Him and faith with the people around me. But sometimes, I need to get out of my comfort zone. I have to expand my horizons through meeting other new people,other youth, who share the same enthusiasm of being of service to Him.
Another activity that struck me was the vigil for the Blessed Sacrament. I honestly thought that this was going to be an ordinary vigil for me. I have been attending vigils for as long as I could remember, year after year, one liturgical season to another. But then this time was different. The short sermon reminded me of desiring to have peace within oneself. During the silent reflection, I felt tears slowly trickling down my cheeks. Maybe this was because it was the first time that I completely told Him about everything. It was the first time that I confided in him all the happy things, the most frustrating things, my doubts and reluctances, my worries and regrets that I have been holding on for as long as I could remember. It was one of those very few times that tears felt good. And that feeling left in my mind the idea that I should not be afraid of talking to Him. I should not be afraid of confiding things that I can’t share to anybody else but Him. And most importantly, I should not be afraid of doing everything and anything for Him,not minding how deviant or how “weird” it may seem for other people.
3. Serve!
“SERVE. Sing to the Lord a new song, what is this song? It is the song of your life. It is allowing your life to be a life of Jesus. and the life of Jesus is a life of service. St. Paul made himself a slave of all in order to serve Jesus. It is overcoming our selfishness, it is by bending down and serving others like Jesus said. Go, Do not be afraid and serve. If you follow these three ideas, you will experience that the one who evangelizes is evangelized. The one who gives word, receives the word.”
Saturday left me in awe and speechless. And I never thought that Sunday had more in store for me. On Sunday, we watched the live streaming of the Pope’s message. But the best part for me was the closing mass presided by His Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila. It was not the first time that I attended a mass presided by him, but he just never fails to find the correct words to make me realize things.
“Prayer is a relationship with God that changes the desires of the human heart to the desires of God”.
This was one of the most striking line of his homily for me. Being a volunteer of the National Shrine, I have been reared to a life of prayer. I can confidently utter the basic prayers as well as the rosary and not stutter nor miss a single word. But then as a famous saying goes, familiarity breeds contempt. Honestly speaking, I sometimes say these prayers smoothly without truly reflecting on them. Also, I sometimes forget that praying should be two-way. Sometimes I speak and speak without listening to, or ignoring what He wants to tell me. I know He meant for me to hear this line. It was a little tap on the back for me. It was His way of making me realize that I should not only speak but I should learn to listen. I should not listen only to the desires of my heart, but I should listen to His desires as well. And I know deep in my heart, He wants me to continue to serve Him. He wants me to continue living my life for Him. He wants me to continue to guide the younger ones to a life directed to Him.
“Salamat sa (panahon ng) pagkabata na nahumaling sa Diyos.”
Papa God, thank You for this opportunity to experience LWYD. If it is Your will, I would gladly accept the opportunity to attend the international WYD in 2016. But even now, I am but thankful to You. Thank You for never failing to make me fall in love with You each and every single day. Thank You for making me fall in love with You more than ever. Thank You that despite my young age, You made me crazy about You. I am but thankful that I have been hopelessly inlove with You for the past 12 years. And I know that I will forever be hopelessly, madly, truly, crazy in love with You.
And with these reflections that the LWYD celebration left not only in mind, but also in my heart, I am but grateful. I am blessed beyond words. I am humbled. I am loved. I am renewed. I am strong. I am inspired. I am at peace. But most of all, I am His…forever and always.
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