A Season of Hope in a dark and suffering world
November 24, 2021
To become your best self, work with God
November 24, 2021
The Kingdom of God is in the consciousness, heart and around, but to experience it, Catholics must let go of “me” and give in to God’s will. Archbishop Jason Gordon challenged young people to begin for just one hour a day.
Presiding at World Youth Day (WYD) Mass 2021, November 21 at Our Lady of Perpetual Help, San Fernando, he quoted the ‘Our Father’ prayer in which Jesus said, “thy Kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in Heaven”. “That prayer is a saying that the Kingdom of God is wherever people are doing the will of God,” he said.
Archbishop Gordon said the greatest ailment of today is people want to do “we” and “me”. This led to stress, depression, resentment, alienation, feeling unloved but when they put the will of God first, they can experience the greatest happiness they have ever known.
“The Letter of St John says, ‘God is love’ and when we do what God is asking of us, it’s then we come to the greatest love we will experience in our entire life”.
He asked the congregation to imagine receiving an extra special grace to do His will completely for an entire day. “What kind of day will that be?” Archbishop Gordon answered saying: “That will be an awesome day.”
By connecting with God, people reflect joy, a willingness to bless people “and a love that is beyond all love”.
“A lot of what we lament in our world today will stop being so and a new springtime will come a new joy will come, a new love… Let us open wide our hearts and not be afraid because God and His Kingdom are coming”.
After the Mass, tokens of appreciation were presented to OLPH Parish Priest Fr David Khan, Deacon Harold Woodroffe, and the Archbishop.
Episcopal Delegate for Youth Taresa Best Downes gave the thanks after Mass. She said WYD is associated with one major thing, the “pilgrimage” at the international celebration. There is a missionary spirit and participants learn more about evanglisation in a different part of the world.
November last year, Pope Francis announced the diocesan celebration of WYD will shift from Palm Sunday to the Solemnity of Christ the King. New pastoral guidelines were issued for the observance.
She said moving forward, every diocese across the globe was being asked to celebrate WYD. She said it was not only targeting young people but also their parents and grandparents. It is an opportunity to understand what it means to be “young in spirit”.
Best Downes said for the next observance, the hope was at the beginning of the year, no matter what was going on, persons would be able to enter into an experience of what it means to be young in faith and to have an encounter that brings newness, renewal, and excitement. “It is an opportunity for young people of the diocese to show up and to show off.”—LPG
