Si has perdido el vigor interior, los sueños, el entusiasmo, la esperanza y la generosidad, ante ti se presenta Jesús como se presentó ante el hijo muerto de la viuda, y con toda su potencia de Resucitado el Señor te exhorta: «Joven, a ti te digo, ¡levántate! (Lc 7,14).
(Tarija, Bolivia) From 14 to 18 January this year in the department of Tarija, the Redemptorist Youth Vocation Camp of the Province of Bolivia took place with the theme YOUNG MAN: STAND UP, WALK UP AND ANNOUNCE. This meeting was attended by more than 200 young people from the different parishes where the Redemptorists are present in Bolivia, in the east, west and the valleys.
The objective of this meeting was to form young leaders capable of taking the risk of being participants in the Good News of Jesus, with a more experiential commitment of faith and commitment in the Church in their parishes, making them feel and discover the call of God with a heart that is always in solidarity for the mission.
They were days of joy, sharing, formation, service and above all, prayer and adoration. Sharing our spirituality with all the young people and feeling like a family and a Redemptorist, led us to strengthen our missionary commitment, just as it expresses our charism: “To follow the example of Jesus Christ by announcing the Good News to those most in need”. Each young person is one more Redemptorist, announcing the Redeemer from his or her condition in life and making present our Constitution 20 “Redemptorists are apostles of strong faith, of joyful hope, of ardent charity and burning zeal”.
We continue to work on the Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit in the sense that Christ lives and as young people he wants us to live, to discover the greatness of God for young people and to be the protagonists of our life and not to be satisfied with being a simple photocopy, and as Pope Francis told us at the World Youth Day in Panama: we young people are God’s now. Another important aspect of these days was the vocational testimonies of Redemptorist priests and seminarians, as well as of some religious who share our mission. The renewal of vows of the professed brothers from Ecuador who are studying in Bolivia: Brother Carlos Segovia, Brother Abel Salao. It was an experiential testimony for the young people, to follow Christ Chaste, Poor and Obedient. Fr. Boris Calzadilla C.Ss.R. Provincial of Bolivia in his homily said: “that in religious life love is a gift, a total gift because the profession is a response of love, of the love of the Lord who called you first”. Fr. Rider Macas from Ecuador was also present to accompany our professed brothers. Leaving the comforts of home and being in nature helped the young people to be aware of their own lives and to ask themselves what God wants for them and to give a responsible response with a serious commitment to the Church, to the family, to studies and to society itself by giving witness to Christ. The centrality of our mission is that every human being should encounter the God of Life, of love and mercy, who transforms his life and gives meaning to his existence.
May the God of life raise vocations to the service of God in the Church with the perpetual help of Mary Most Holy…
Fr. Juan Carlos Urzagaste, C.Ss.R. – Province of Bolivia
