Be strong and courageous.
Do not be afraid;
do not be discouraged,
For the Lord you God
will be with you wherever you go.
Joshua 1:9
Nearly 400 youth from India, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, Samoa, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, and of course Indonesia, gathered for the First ASIOC Alphonsian Youth Gathering in Weetebula, Indonesia held from 30th June to 6th July 2024.
One Encounter
Courage, God guides everything. These words of St. Clement capture the essence of our call as Redemptorists to be missionaries of hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer. The young participants showed courage as the first three days of the gathering involved a mission immersion of the participants with the local people in the villages of Sumba. This was a particularly rich experience for the youth – to encounter the rich indigenous culture of Sumba. Despite differences in language and lifestyle, both the hosts and delegates found creative ways to build bridges of communication and relationship.
Returning from the mission immersion in the villages, all the participants took part in a parade through the streets of Weetebula, greeting the enthusiastic and hospitable locals along the way. The experience of the cultural and missionary immersion was deepened through group sharing among the participants and presentations, while celebratory evenings brought the group together as a family. Dancing to the music of Sumba and to that of every culture present, moved the participants to realise that they share the same spirit and dreams.
One Family
The encounter of the live-in experience helped to deepen the understanding that family goes far beyond biological relations. As Pope Francis says in Fratelli Tutti, all people are our brothers and sisters in the one family of God, as they say in Bahasa Indonesia, kita saudara sekalian.
Many participants expressed deep gratitude for the hospitality and generosity of the Sumbanese people as well as admiration for their faith. Through the encounter with their host families, both hosts and delegates discovered that they were no longer strangers but through the language of love, they had become a family. This for the participants was truly an encounter with God.
Const. 12 reminds Redemptorists that the object of their missionary activity is to raise up and develop communities who will walk worthily in the vocation to which they are called. This inspired everyone to see all people, especially the poor and the abandoned, as their brothers and sisters.
One Mission
We cannot grow as missionaries unless we have the courage to come out of our culture with an attitude of openness and trust to experience another culture. In this way, we see that mission grows from an encounter with people and in community.
St. Clement provides a great example of this in his own life. He left his own homeland of Czechia to become a missionary of hope. At St. Benno’s Church in Poland, he included people of every culture and language in the community. In Vienna, he opened his house to welcome young people, encouraging them to share their faith and lives.
Fr. Rogerio Gomes reminded us that young people have a unique energy to explore the world, a curiosity to be open to new perspectives and a capacity to dream. Young people have the desire to transform society with their hope and enthusiasm. This means that they are not passive observers or recipients of the mission. Youth are active participants in breaking the Word of God, serving the community and prophetic witnessing.
A missionary is one who responds to the call of God that comes to us through an encounter with people in their ordinary life and who brings hope to others. Every young person is a missionary and the mission of young people is not just for the future but for now. As we, the participants, go from this AYG, and in solidarity with all young people in the continents of Asia and Oceania we are inspired to live out our missionary calling. This might be in any state of life – consecrated or lay – in whatever service we offer the church, we are called to be missionaries of hope, to share Good News with people who are wounded. That all may experience the plentiful redemption of God.
So we hope, so may it be!
