(Taleigão, India) The RYVM team of the Vice-Province of Majella conducted a youth mission themed ‘Live Jesus, Live Young’ at St. Michael’s Church, Taleigão, Goa in India in October 2019. The Youth Mission was a unique collaboration in many ways: we had Redemptorists from Majella and Bangalore Province working together during the Mission, we had a youth choreographer from Mumbai who collaborated with us, we also had ideas shared to us from other units abroad which we used during the Mission.
The groundwork was laid down much before the Mission began through a series of brainstorming’s by the RYVM team, and an online survey that we conducted of the youth in the Parish, giving us a pulse of the youth and their challenges. We also visited the youth families of the Parish, and it helped us in building our talks for the Mission.
The themes for all the seven days were based on the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit of Pope Francis. Every day, the Mission began with a time of praise and worship, led by one of the Redemptorists along with a band made up of the local youth. A short mission talk followed, and then there were youth-centered activities based on the talk. It was followed by youth catechesis where we would answer questions which the youth raised on different topics of faith and morals, and we concluded with adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction.
On the penultimate day of the Mission, also being the last day of the month of the Rosary, we had a Eucharistic Procession led by the Blessed Sacrament and followed by the parishioners. The Youth Mission ended with a prayer of consecrating oneself to the Immaculate Conception.
Fr. Derreck Da Cruz, C.Ss.R.
