Loilem, Myanmar
Treasuring the message of pope Francis to the youth: ‘«you are the energy and heartbeat of the Church!» and the call of our charism «the natural disposition of every sister of charity to love young people», we thought of organising more focused encounters for the young people we deal with in our apostolic services. Therefore, in our parish, we have gathered over 136 young people coming from five different villages. Before this gathering, a meeting was held in our community «Sacred Heart Convent». The participants were: the youth representatives, four sisters and three priests who drew up the three-day-programme. The topics proposed were: leadership qualities, matrimony, catechism, social media and family formation.
During the morning hours, the resource persons presented their inputs on the chosen topics, while in the afternoon the programme included group work and the sharing of their reflections. To keep all the procedures connected ‘ice-breakers’ with games and action songs regarding the topics were conducted in between busy moments.
The resource persons were Fr Pious Oh Ri, parish priest of Loilem, Fr Bosco, assistant parish priest, Fr Kyaw Aye, parish priest of Colony, Sr. Martina Petru and Sr. Rosa Phyu Phyu Aye who tried to effectively instil values and faith in the hearts of the young from different aspects, while Miss Thida Aye carried out an awareness programme on drug addictions and its consequent harmful impacts on the life of young people and society at large.
The participants received benefits from the various experiences and they expressed their gratitude to God and implored His blessing upon all the persons who organized this programme and the needed graces for their future. The young people understood that the experience of being touched by Jesus compels them to witness God’s goodness and mercy throughout their lives. The three-day journey was concluded with a solemn Eucharistic Celebration to thank God and all the persons who have supported and rendered possible this programme.