Still today, the celebration of the “Mini World Youth Day” in Durban remains in our hearts. For those of us who only participated without being part of the organisation, it was a wonderful and very well prepared event. Those behind the scenes might be able to pick up weaknesses here and there.
The main challenge, though, is not to forget that these events are “tools” in our journey of faith and not the end of the journey!
That is why we asked our delegates to share with us what it all meant to them.
“The mini world youth day gave me an opportunity to get knowledge on the way of life in the Catholic faith and that I should not be ashamed of my religion. I also got a chance of getting a peace of mind with the prayers that were given to us. Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity as young people.” (Samkelisiwe Nelisiwe Matsebula)
“My MWYD Experience. For the the first time I got to experience and be part of the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament with other young people. Being in the presence of Christ alive in the Blessed Sacrament has given me a much deeper connection with the Catholic faith. The spiritual connection with God and humanity, learning to listen to Him and walking with Christ in this journey of life was made clearer. The importance of prayer and having conversations with God. The Lord is calling us to listen in order to find our true Vocation and to offer ourselves to serving the Church and the community at large. The beauty of fellowship is something that I have rediscovered as a young person and that is something to share with my Parish and Diocese. The mighty one has truly done great things for me, and Holy is his name!!!” (Thami Shongwe)
“The MiniWorldYouthDay helped me in my spiritual journey in many ways for instance during the Catechetical sessions young people, Priest’s and Bishops bore their testimonies and through this I realised how the Gospel make remarkable changes in people’s lives. Through those sessions and testimonials I learnt that God is truly present to us each day and his presence is discovered in the fabric of our lives , our experiences etc. I realised that we can discover the spirituality in our daily lives and recognise, understand and respond to God’s presence in each day.That really promoted my spiritual well being.” (Samu Ginindza)
These are just three comments from a delegation of 60 young people from our diocese who participated at the MWYD.
Could something similar be organised at diocesan level? Some of us believe we should start talking about it.
Click below for photos of the event (Flickr)
