2019 is Philippine Catholic Church’s Year of the Youth
The Philippine Catholic Church will celebrate 2019 as the ‘Year of the Youth’, in the wake of the World Synod of Bishops on young people that conclude last October 28. The October 3 to 28 Synod of Bishops has as its theme, ‘Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.’ The year-long celebration, which will start on the first Sunday of Advent on Dec. 2, will carry the theme ‘Filipino Youth in Mission: Beloved, Gifted, Empowered.’ This follows the past 12 months celebration of the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons. The Episcopal Commission on Youth of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, or CBCP, said that the ‘Year of Youth 2019 will officially kick off with the feast of Christ the King, November 25, 2018, but the solemn opening ceremony will be held on December 2. The Diocese of Cubao launched the Year of the Youth at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral with a celebration of Diocesan Youth Day last December 1, starting with a Holy Mass at 7 am followed by a parade at the Cathedral School grounds.
Its observance, which the CBCP described as part of the ‘nine-year journey for New Evangelization’, will end on Nov. 24, 2019, the 2019 Feast of Christ the King. It will be recalled that in 2013, the bishops’ conference launched a ‘nine-year journey’ to 2021, the fifth centenary of the arrival of Christianity in the Philippines, with a different theme each year. According to the bishops, the first Mass on Filipino soil was celebrated in Limasawa Island on Easter Sunday on March 31, 1521, and the first Filipino Christians were Humabon and Hara Amihan, who were baptized Carlos and Juana, respectively. The Spanish missionaries brought the Christian faith to the Philippines 500 years ago and today the nation is home to Asia’s largest Catholic population. Out of 110 million inhabitants, 80% are Catholics.
‘We look forward with gratitude and joy to March 16, 2021, the fifth centenary of
the coming of Christianity to our beloved land,’ the Philippine bishops had written in a 2012 pastoral letter, ahead of the 9- year preparation. The first five years were dedicated to ‘integral faith formation’ (2013), the laity (2014), the poor (2015), the Eucharist and Family (2016), and the ‘parish as a communion of communities’ (2017). The year 2018 was dedicated to the clergy and consecrated persons, while the remaining two years of the preparation will be dedicated to ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue in 2020 and ‘bringing the Gospel to all people’, in 2021.
Activities next year are aimed at ‘youth in formation, youth in communities, church and society, youth in mission, and youth ministry and youth ministers.’ The ‘Year of the Youth’ observance comes after the Synod of Bishops on young people last month. The final document of the meeting stressed the concrete aspects of the lives of the youth, the role of schools and parishes and the need for the laity to be trained to accompany young people.
The CBCP stated, ‘As with the two disciples of Emmaus [cf. Lk 24:13-35], Jesus constantly and faithfully accompanies young people in the journey of life. We as Church in the Philippines are called to take the same stance with our youth: journeying with them, listening to their doubts and dreams, inviting them to conversion and communion, and raising them up in mission to enlighten and inflame the country with the Spirit of Christ and to tell the world of His love.
The Logo of the 2019 Year of the Youth features four primary figures: a young person and a cross (both in yellow), a dove (in red), and a big hand, which also appears as a footprint (in blue). The human figure in yellow stands for young people conformed to Christ, the Light of the world [cf. Mt 5:14; Jn 8:12], who is represented by the cross. The dove in red, being received by and hovering over the human figure, signifies the Holy Spirit, offered as a gift [cf. Jn 20:22; Acts ’ 2:38; Rom 5:5] to each of the baptized. The blue hand, carrying the human figure in a supporting and presenting gesture, symbolizes how young people are loved by the Father; this same love is mirrored by the Church. This blue image can also be seen as a footprint, signifying movement for a purpose and making a mark.
Young people are in mission: proclaiming the Good News who is Christ, especially to their fellow youth in the peripheries. Filipino youth are beloved by God and His Church, especially through her youth ministry, who raise them up and carry them lovingly through life, with all its trials and tribulations. They are gifted with the Holy Spirit, who inflames them with faith, passion and courage. Rooted in Christ, they are empowered to shine on a world of darkness and confusion, taking part in His Body, the Church, for building God’s Reign.
