DAEJONG: 23 February 2103 -- Korea'sSecond
Salesian Youth Day (SYDK) was held at the Daejong Salesian
Youth Centre from 15-17 February 2013.
The theme was: “My Lord and my God!” The SYDK, thought
up jointly by
the Korean SDBs and FMAs,after the World Youth Day in Spain in
2012,
will be held until 2015, the year in which we celebrate the
bicentennial of Don Bosco’s birth.
SYDK was planned and led by the TF Team, Testimonies of the
Faith, as
we call it, made up of representatives from the SDB, FMA,
Sisters of
Charity of Jesus, youth groups, and Vides volunteers. The
principle aim
was to offer the young people an occasion to renew their faith
and
re-enforce their sense of belonging to the Church.
There were about 340 participants, coming from the various
regions of
South Korea. In addition, there were diocesan priests, and
sisters of
other religious institutes who followed the three days,
sharing what
the young participants did.
At the conclusion of the experience, the young people
expressed the following:
“I am content and happy just at being here”.
“It was beautiful because I was able meet people who think
like me and
are happy and I am happy because I experienced God very close
to me”.
“These three days were filled with meaning, and now I return
home with my heart touched and modelled on that of the Lord”.
“I would like to live here forever, without returning home!”.
Under the banner of, “My Lord and my God!” the young people
were able
to read their own life, and reinforce
and profess their faith in Jesus
Christ. The three days offered them an opportunity for
discovering
various ways of encountering the living God.
The topics studied were the following: memory, confession, and
mission.
The day of memory favoured remembering experiences of God’s
love in
their life and sharing with others on this. The second day,
dedicated
to Confession, was developed with an interpretative talk show
entitled,
‘I believe’. The presence of the Archbishop of DaeJong, Yoo
Hong-Sik,
was fundamental insofar as he used a variety of expressions to
explain
evil, suffering, God’s existence, the meaning of the
sacraments, and
the importance of the Church.
The mission was presented by Fr. Marcello
Baek, who helped the young people to consolidate their
Christian and
Salesian identity, and choose to lead a new life in the love
of Christ,
with a Salesian spirituality.
The gathering concluded with Mass celebrated by the SDB
Provincial, Fr. Stefano Nam,
who invited the young to encounter the Risen Christ and thus
become in
turn passionate apostles of Christ. During the celebration,
seven young
people publicly made a commitment o
live according to Salesian
spirituality. All the young participants received a medal of
Mary Help
of Christians and Don Bosco as a reminder of their commitment
to be
apostles of love.
