Pesan Bapa Suci Tentang AYD 2017

Proficiat Asian Youth Day 2017,
Bersama membangun Asia lebih baik !

NB:
POPE ABOUT ASIAN YOUTH
Pesan Bapa Suci Paus Fransiskus untuk Orang Muda Katolik Asia:

Melalui Sekretaris Vatikan, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Bapa Suci Paus Fransiskus menyampaikan salam hangat dan doanya kepada semua umat yang berkumpul di Yogyakarta dalam rangka Asian Youth Day ketujuh.

Bapa Suci Paus Fransiskus menyampaikan salam hangat dan doanya kepada semua umat yang berkumpul di Yogyakarta dalam rangka Asian Youth Day VII. Bapa Paus berdoa semoga seluruh kaum muda dari segala penjuru Asia mendengarkan panggilan Tuhan dengan saksama dan menanggapi panggilan masing-masing dengan iman dan keteguhan hati.

Dalam rangka mempersiapkan Hari Orang Muda Sedunia yang akan datang, Bapa Suci mengundang orang muda Katolik supaya mengikuti teladan Bunda Perawan Maria sebagai pewarta, berbicara kepadanya seperti layaknya berbicara kepada seorang ibu, dan selalu percaya terhadap perantaraannya.

Dengan demikian, orang muda mengikuti Yesus dengan lebih dekat seperti halnya wanita muda dari Nazaret, sekaligus orang muda juga “memperbarui dunia dan meninggalkan jejak dalam sejarah” (Pesan kepada Kaum Muda, 21 Maret 2017).

Dengan menyerahkan orang muda dan keluarga mereka kepada Bunda Maria, Paus Fransiskus dengan senang hati memberikan berkat apostoliknya sebagai tanda perdamaian dan kegembiraan dalam Tuhan.

Cardinal Pietro Parolin
Sekretaris

(Cardinal Pietro Parolina menjabat sebagai Sekretaris Negara Vatican sejak 15 Oktober 2013. Ia diangkat menjadi Kardinal pada 22 Februari 2014)

Asian Youth! Wake Up!
Orang muda Asia! Bangkitlah!
And the next host of the 8th Asian Youth Day is... INDIA

Salam HIKers,
Tuhan memberkati & Bunda merestui
Fiat Lux - Be the Light -
Jadilah Terang!
(Gen 1:3)
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Proficiat Keuskupan Agung Semarang for AYD 2017 !
See u all again in India for the next AYD 2020.
Until then, may we remain joyful living the Gospel in multicultural Asia !

NB:
A.
Closing Mass of AYD, August 6, 2017

Eminences,
Excellencies,
Brother Priests, Religious Brothers and Sisters,
And all of you here, especially the 7th AYD participants

Today, we will close the 7th Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord. I do not know whether it is a coincidence or the committee has planned this.
Whatever it is, I do believe that this is divine providence.

We are then invited to reflect on the connection between Asian youth and the transfiguration of the Lord. The connection is clearly showed in the theme of today’s closing mass: “Living and Sharing the Joy of the Gospel.”

If we really live the Gospel in our day-to-day life and experience the joy of the Gospel, our life will reflect the glory of the Lord.

How can I say that?
When I was reading the Gospel which tells about the transfiguration of Jesus in order to prepare this Eucharist, the story about St. Teresia Benedicta of the Cross, also known as Edith Stein (1891-1942), came into my mind. Edith Stein experienced God’s glory in her encounter with her friend. It is an interesting story.

Edith, who was talented with excellent intelligence, came from a devout family. However, when she was 14 years old, she was convinced that God did not exist. She had no reason to believe in God. Later, she wrote, “deliberately and of my own free-will, I turned away from prayer”.

Edith then became a nurse who helped the victims of World War 1. After that, she learned philosophy because her dream was to be a philosopher. One day, she met her friend who just lost her husband. Edith, who was in search of the truth, was surprised at the strong faith she experienced and the glory of God reflected in her friend.

She wrote “this was my first encounter with the cross and the divine power it imparts to those who bear it – it was the moment when my unbelief collapsed and Christ began to shine His light on me.”

Edith was then baptized in 1922, which is commemorated as the moment when her soul searching for the truth finally found Christ. Then, she entered the Carmelite monastery, and took the name “Sister Theresa Benedicta of the Cross.”

As a Jewish Christian, she was deported to a concentration camp in Auschwits, Germany, and gassed in a room. She united her suffering with Christ’s. On May 1, 1987, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II. Then, on October 11, 1998, the Pope canonized her as a Saint.

Edith Stein’s encounter with her friend who just lost her husband was her encounter with Christ. It happened in an unexpected time. It was a simple experience, which was not special at all. The encounter proves St. Ireneus’ words, Gloria Dei, viviens homo, which means that the glory of God is a living person; the person who lives a meaningful life.

The experience of encountering with her friend changed the direction of her life. She initially dreamed of being a philosopher but God had guided her to the fullness of Christian life and love through the cross road that she wholeheartedly embraced.

My beloved brothers and sisters, especially joyful Asian youth,

Perhaps we think Saint Theresa Benedicta of the Cross is too far from us. I have a simpler and closer experience, which delivers the same message.

One day, I visited a parish. At that time, the priest of the parish was testing a catechumen. After the test, the priest told me about the test. He told me that the catechumen was an elderly man.

The priest asked him; “Why do you want to be baptized as a Catholic?” The priest expected that the answer would be “because I believe that Jesus Christ is the savior of the world.”
However, the catechumen unexpectedly answered, “I want to be baptized because I am so happy when seeing Catholics going home from Church.” The priest was surprised with the answer because such an answer will never be found in the catechism of the Catholic Church.

Then, the priest asked him, “Why do those Catholics make you feel so happy?” The catechumen answered, “They look happy and live a harmonious life. The family members go home together.” It seems that the catechumen comes from a family, whose members never went to the house of worship together. The harmony of the family made the catechumen interested in becoming a Catholic.

I believe that the catechumen saw the glory of Jesus in the family returning together from the Church. It is a piece of cake but God uses it to show His glory, which changes the life of many people. God’s glory is powerful to renew the life. It shines from individuals who are united by love.

In this Asian Youth Day, we do realize our differences: we are of different nationalities, different languages, different cultures, and so on. However, in this event, we do realize and experience that those differences cannot separate us, but the differences show the richness of the united humanity instead. It proves that the power of faith, hope and love unites us.

I hope this event encourages all of us to diligently and faithfully live out Gospel so that we may be filled with the joy of the Gospel. Thus, our life could mirror the glory of the Lord, which changes our lives. God bless us.

B.
"OMG" - "Online Missionaries of God"
Mgr Joel Z. Baylon - Ketua Komisi Kepemudaan FABC

Poin utamanya adalah bagaimana orang muda Asia mampu menjadikan iman sebagai pijakan mereka dalam membangung persekutuan hidup bersama pada konteks Asia, terutama dalam situasi yang tidak pasti.

Uskup Joel menghubungkan peran orang muda Asia dengan pesatnya perkembangan media sosial akhir-akhir ini seraya mengajak mereka untuk mampu memanfaatkan keberadaan media sosial bagi pewartaan Kristiani.

“You have to be Online Missionaries of God,” kata Uskup Joel, seraya menyebut singkatan dari Online Missionaries of God dengan “OMG”.

Menurutnya, saat ini kaum muda telah menjadi bagian penuh dari generasi millennial. Orang-orang muda ini memiliki kekuatan (empower) untuk menciptakan kesempatan bagi perjalanan hidup mereka.

Karenanya, ia mengingatkan kaum muda supaya mampu menggunakan media sosial secara baik dan benar. Di antaranya adalah untuk membangun relasi cinta yang benar bukan hanya dengan menerima saja tapi juga mampu memberi, menggunakan bahasa yang bersahabat bukan bahasa permusuhan (unfriended). “Apabila terdapat bahasa permusuhan, mereka harus bisa memformat itu kembali, dan lebih baik dihapus saja”.

Mengingatkan orang muda Asia akan dampak dari perkembangan teknologi media, Uskup Joel mengutip kembali kata-kata Paus Fransiskus bahwa pesatnya perkembangan tekonologi media saat belum diikuti pula dengan perkembangan tanggung jawab, nilai dan kesadaran akan hati nurani manusia.

“Our immense techonolgy development has not been accompanied by development in human responsibility, values and conscience,” katanya.

C.

"We're coming from different background to glorify and rejoice. The most important reason why you must rejoice is Jesus loves you"
- Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario, FABC Comission of Laity and Family

"Lets work to spread seeds of goodness in each place, lets be a witness sower of God's love in diversity"
Bapak Lukman Hakim Saifuddin
Indonesia Minister of Religious Affairs

"The encounter of Catholic Youth is expected to be a moment bringing peace"
Sri Sultan HB X
Governor of DIY

"Asian Youth Day is a moment to gather, reflect, and pray together so the youth can find a new way to present among the people"
Mgr Robertus Rubiyatmoko
Archbishop of Semarang Archdiocese

“Milikilah keberanian untuk mengajar kita bahwa lebih mudah untuk membangun jembatan daripada dinding pemisah!”
Paus Fransiskus - Krakow, WYD 2016
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