Manila, The Philippines, 31 March 2021 -- Have you ever wondered how many “yeses” we give in our entire life? Do people really value this word? In Kinaya, Kinakaya, Kakayanin (KKK) (roughly translated as We endure, We are enduring, We will endure) Lenten retreat it has been highlighted that saying ”yes” goes beyond words for it entails being committed. When someone commits, you don’t just make it work but you exhaust all your means to give your best shot.

KKK was a month-long retreat headed by the Parish Youth Councils of the Salesian Parishes. From all the Saturdays of February 20 to March 20 the youth gathered as one through arrays of social platforms. The first and last weeks are done live via zoom. In between, each group with various participants joined together thru FB Messenger, Google Meet or Zoom for sharing.

KKK has truly maximized the available resources in the new normal. To ensure the engagement of the participants, we have created an FB group with all our participants. As of now, there are 202 members. This became our common space in which we post our activity of the week. There are designated activities planned to provide interactions for the participants. This allows us to know each other more and to express active participation with the group as well.

We chose the title “Kinaya, Kinakaya, Kakayanin” for we believe that these three words sum-up most of the life of the youth when we speak about commitment. Its continuity and connection express hope as we brave our commitment in life, family, politics, and society, and lastly, in church. Fr. Joebeth Vivo, SDB once said, “Ang taong committed ay may kwento at kwenta ang buhay” (A committed person has value and has a valuable story to share).

These lines marked the beginning of our eye-opening and fruitful journey in KKK. Our first day was completely moving, tons of thoughts already arose which led us to move forward. When we had the Talk on Commitment to Family, it caught my attention how the youth see their families as the main source of strength. We may have our different structures of families but what unites this group of people will always be the same and that is nothing but love.

In Fratelli tutti, it explicitly stated that families are the first place where the values of love and fraternity, togetherness and sharing, concern and care for others are lived out and handed on. From all the activities we had the entire retreat this topic had the greatest number of posts. It’s really overwhelming to witness light amidst these trying times. It is totally rare nowadays to scroll the Facebook feed and constantly see joyful memories rather than negativities that’s why I admire these youth whose hearts are anchored with their families.

When dealing with politics, many chose to step back to get out of the picture and not involve themselves totally. But nowadays, especially this time of retreat instead of neglecting this vital aspect, we dealt with it, we faced it and we talked about it. We have been reminded that our pope invites us to transform our view with politics. Instead of consistently ignoring this aspect, he appeals for a renewed appreciation of politics as a lofty vocation and of the highest forms of charity and as much as it seeks its common good.

I can vividly recall that during the small group sharing, our biggest catch was “bokasyon pala ang pulitika” (politics is also part of our vocation) Now, I hope that in some ways, through this retreat, we have given an avenue to see politics the other way around. May it be directed in the path guided by the word of God and may more youth leaders lead by example.

Speaking of vocation, our talk about commitment to church manifests our gratefulness with the Salesians’ presence. Seeing St. John Bosco with the Salesian Community inspires us to serve and discover more of ourselves. It’s overwhelming to recall wonderful days during pre-covid life.

Those weekend routines in the parish, the much-awaiting activities that we worked day-in and out. The loud and dynamic energy during the mass. The angelic voice of the choir singing blissfully and all the different involvements of everyone in accomplishing tons of events successfully. Heartbreaking that it’s far from what we have right now but we remain faithful that one day, everything will get better. As we embrace the new chapter of our life in service, may we still hold on to the “yes” we had at the beginning and recall all the firsts enthusiasm that life in the church brought us.

This KKK Lenten Retreat on Commitment wouldn't be possible without the initiatives of Fr. Armand Robleza, SDB and Fr. Antonio Molavin, SDB.

The planning and conceptualizing were a huge thanks for the supervision of the Salesian Youth Movement together with Fr. Juvelan Paul Samia, SDB. And of course, all the plans won’t materialize without these people who immensely gave their “yes”. Our guest speakers: Fr. Joebeth Vivo, SDB, Fr. Bobby Roxas, SDB, Fr. Juvelan Paul Samia, SDB, Fr. Lonx Eleosida, SDB, and Fr. Ting Miciano, SDB, we truly appreciate your effort to take part in this Lenten Retreat, we know how busy your schedules are, but you still made it, such a genuine living testimony of commitment. To the committees and facilitators who didn’t hesitate to work together, to attend meetings, and to juggle their tasks for the retreat and their designated parishes, please know that you are absolutely amazing for making your “yes” made this far! To our participants from Mary Help of Christians Parish – Mayapa, Calamba City, Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish – Carolina, Naga City, National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians – Parañaque City, St. John Bosco Parish – Makati City, San Ildefonso Parish – Makati City, St. Dominic Savio Parish – Mandaluyong City and Don Bosco Youth Center – Tondo, Manila who expressed their active involvement from week 1 to 5, thank you so much! Your response made an impact on the craft of all the people who tirelessly work for the retreat. Finally, we sincerely thank God for gracing us with the wisdom, time, and resources needed to make KKK come to reality.

Last March 20, we concluded the month-long retreat but not the spirit of commitment. Because as Fr. Armand said, “Ito pa lang ang simula. (this is just the beginning) Let’s give our yes in this 500th year of Christianity.” Indeed, we cannot count the “yeses” we could give our entire life, but we can make each yes at its best!