Tamil-Speaking Youth Rock PDYD 2

The Church of the Risen Christ in Air Itam, Penang burst with joy and activity when 214 Tamil-speaking youth arrived in the evening of 16^th November after a much-attended and well-celebrated Opening Mass and Launching of PDYD 2 at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. 

           


 The activities that followed gave the participants an opportunity to deepen on their understanding of the faith and their roles as members of the Church, to reflect on the different issues the young people are facing today as well as to visit the significant and historical places in the island.
 

           
         On Saturday, 16^th November 2012, Fr. Arulnathan Joseph gave a session on “Come and See” in relation to the year of faith.  In his talk, he emphasized the importance of the involvement of the youth in the Church as they are the Church of tomorrow.  The Church needs them, with the aid of the new technology, to make the Church a modern and vibrant community. He concluded by explaining the six disciplines of solitude, silence, prayer, reading the scriptures, sacraments and community which are the basis of a deep spiritual life with Jesus.  A mass was celebrated to close the morning session.

This was followed by two very relevant sessions on “Reaching Out to the Needy” and issues on youth suicide and addiction given by Mr. Selastin and Mr. Adaikalaraja, SSVP-Penang members, and Dr. Uma Sunthari Manickam, respectively. The sessions were aimed at helping the participants to recognize the issues that may affect them and how to handle these issues effectively.

Mr. Selastin talked about reaching out to the needy based on the two Commandments, love God above all and love your neighbor as you love yourself.  He also reminded them that “the harvest is great but the laborers are few” (Lk 10:2).  He encouraged them to be more conscious of the needs of others and added that “the inspiration to reach out to the needy does not come in forth night.  However, it is developed through the experience and the spiritual life of each individual.”  Mr. Adaikalaraja, on the other hand, shared about the nature and mission of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Malaysia and in society in general. 

Dr. Uma, in her talk, gave the participants the complete information on suicide including the statistics of cases according to gender, ethnicity and employment status.  Her talk gave the participants the knowledge on the possible causes of suicide and the signs and symptoms that could help them help persons with suicidal tendencies.  Most importantly, she advised the youth to go on healthy diet, allot time for exercise and recreation as well as to seek professional help if needed. 

The sessions were interlaced with praise and worship which was conducted by the volunteers themselves.  After the afternoon sessions, the participants went for a tour of the Churches in Penang as well as the heritage sites in the town area.  In groups of six persons, they visited Churches in the island where a parishioner assigned to welcome them also shared to them the history of the Church as well as its significance in the faith life of the community.  The day ended with a Night of Praise which was facilitated by Vincent Amalaraj and his team.  It began with an opening dance and a prayer led by Simon Joseph.  The one-hour praise gave the participants the opportunity to express their gratitude and to worship God as a community of young people.

On the third day, participants welcomed Fr. Victor Louis who shared to them his reflections on the topic “Go and Tell”. He started with a prayer and Gospel reading, moving on to Q and A session with the participants. He also provided suggestions on how to execute the “Go and Tell” part, hoping the youths will live their lives according to the Bible and be the instrument to repent and return to God.

              After the sessions, participants attended mass and then were brought to Assumption Church to join the other language participants for the pilgrimage to the Church of St. Anne.

By Rebecca Santhanasamy