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5059(II)_Salute to youth, the torchbearers of our hope

Contribution to the year of the youth 2019

April 10, 2019

Manila, the Philippines, 8 April 2019 -- As we proceed in the nine-year preparation for the celebration of the 500th Anniversary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines (1521-2021), we are now in the seventh stage of our challenging journey – the YEAR OF THE YOUTH. This yearlong observance, providentially, begins shortly after the “Synod on the Youth” with its trail of most enriching insights, guidance and challenges. To make the Year of the Youth fruitful, our bishops have crafted a theme that is both very meaningful and challenging: “The Filipino Youth on Mission: Beloved, Gifted and Empowered.”

The opening statement clearly identifies the focus of the observance: THE FILIPINO YOUTH, and it does so in a dynamic manner by describing our young people as being “ON MISSION.” The young are viewed as people who have something important to do and are determined to do it.

This dynamic introduction is followed by three qualifiers that describe both the way the “non-young” (the adults) view them, and also the way the young see themselves.

The young are “beloved” because all Filipino parents, and adults in general, love them not only because they are their children, but also because they see them as the springtime of hope for a better future. The adults see the youth as a pool of potentials – gifts – which are the source and guarantee of their hope that the young of today are capable of making a remarkable contribution to a better society and a better world.

But for this to happen, the young need to be “empowered” – they need to be trusted and be given the opportunity and the means to use their physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual qualities for a sound purpose and with a sense of responsibility.

These are basic conditions for the young to feel that they are not individuals on the waiting list for some future assignment, but are “on mission already NOW.” Only then will they be and feel “empowered” to accomplish what they intend and we expect them to do.

On the other hand, for their mission to be fully accomplished, the young must have and exhibit three qualities that correspond to their being beloved, gifted, and empowered. This means that they, too, must be loving, generous, and empowering. In other words, they are expected to reciprocate the love they have received from their parents and other adults; they must be determined to use their “giftedness” not in a selfish or irresponsible manner, but in a spirit of generous service to others, especially the weaker and needier members of the community. To the extent that they do so, they will also be/become empowering and even inspiring. This means that, by giving and doing their best, the young of today will also lead others (both their contemporaries and even the no-longer young) to give the best of themselves. They will, thereby, work in synergy not in a disruptive competition but with the adults for the attainment of the shared purpose of building a better civil society and a better Church.

This having been envisioned, we greet our young people and welcome them with open arms and with joy-filled expectation. We know that they have much to offer. We know that they also expect much from their mature Filipino brothers and sisters who have been made wiser by the experiences of the past.

The year 2019 will, then, be for all of us – young and no-longer young – a time to give generously and a time to receive gratefully, all for the greater glory of God and for the greater good of our homeland and the Church.