From The Office of Youth Ministry

We know what you’re thinking, CYC means Catholic Youth Commission, right? Well, yes, it does, but for the month of December, the Office of Youth Ministry (OYM) has also brought it to mean Catholic Youth Christmas!

At the OYM, one of our core values is that of the Incarnation. Of course, Christmas is a time where we remember the historical incarnation, the Word being made flesh.

This Christmas, in order for us to make the Word flesh in our beautiful twin island nation, the OYM rallied members of the Catholic Youth Commission to bring two projects to life. These projects were Regalo, and the OYM Xmas Card Project.

You may have already seen Regalo, which can be found on our Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. It is a true embodiment of Christmas joy, in quality fashion.

Many young artists of our Archdiocese, some well-known and some up-and-coming, came together to gift you the musical production that you can watch for free on our social media platforms.

Videographers, vocalists, choreographers, conductors, instrumentalists of all sorts, and lots of support volunteers all worked in tandem to craft a production worthy of being considered a gift.
It can’t be overstated the amount of strategic planning, hours of practice, energy, and talent that went into Regalo’s production, but as the name translates, this is meant to be a gift from the young people of the Youth Commission, not only for the Archdiocese but for the world.

Regalo isn’t only a gift of the arts, but also a gift of the young people themselves, as they poured their hearts and souls into bringing it to life, ultimately embodying the Word in their flesh.
Regalo was organised and coordinated by OYM Outreach Officer, Matthew Hall, with support from the OYM team.

The OYM Xmas Card Project ministered with a specific group in mind: the elderly. Often alone, forgotten, and even discarded, according to Pope Francis, the elderly are still a fundamental and necessary part of our society.
After almost two years of the pandemic, we find ourselves in a situation where we cannot visit the elderly like we once could. While the elderly often felt alone before Covid, now, as we have probably all experienced, the pandemic brings with it an inexpressible experience of isolation. However, that doesn’t mean that we can’t still use our talents to make them feel the love God has for them.

With that in mind, members of the Youth Commission came together to create Christmas cards, both by hand and digitally, to be able to make cards for 75 elderly persons. The main goals of this project were to let the elderly know that they are loved by God, and to give young people the chance to be channels of that grace through their creativity.

By making the Word flesh through their artistic abilities, young people bridged the divide that Covid has been causing, and embraced the elderly to let them know that they are loved, especially at Christmas time when we commemorate our God’s birth into our world.

The OYM Xmas Card Project was organised and coordinated by OYM Content Creator, Angelo Kurbanali, with support from the OYM team.

Both projects, Regalo and the OYM Xmas Card Project, embody our core values of Incarnation. It also brings our other three core values of Discipleship, Community, and Solidarity into our ministry.
We called young people from across our Archdiocese to participate in these projects, and we thank God for their collective ‘yes’. The execution of the projects, while being ministry, also fostered a sense of community among our young people, helping them to immerse themselves even deeper in the waters of Christian community. The projects set out to express solidarity: solidarity with our Archdiocese and solidarity with the elderly.

The OYM couldn’t be prouder of the young people of the Catholic Youth Commission who all came together to make the Word flesh in their lives this Christmas. These two projects are two good testaments that show that the Church is in the good hands of our youth.
Like Pope Francis says, our young people are the “now of God”. This Christmas our young people have made God present in the now.

Merry Christmas!