The Youth Symposium for the 3rd novena devoted to the Feast of Aranzazu held on Saturday, September 2, 2017 inside the Parish church; welcomed many students, lecturers and professionals to discuss regarding the practice of self love as a Catholic and sacramental understanding of marriage and relationship.
The event organized by the Parish Youth Ministry with speaker Jayjay Tropicales from Program Coordinator of school based program CFC YFL and speaker Bro. Jomar with Sis. Frances De guzman of Focolare Movement.
You matter to God
In reality of conformity in the world, people are drawn to the idea that we are set on our own norms. Thus, it can be easy to compare our own abilities and accomplishments with the person next to us. But we must not forget that we are precious and created by likeness of God. Just as same as the situation with Peter and John, we have been given unique abilities, voices and styles to showcase to our brothers and sisters who need to see that God’s scriptures is true and valuable in their own lives.
Moreover, Kuya Jayjay reminded everyone if whenever we feel unloved or insecure, we must remember whom we belong to. We belong to God and we are important because of the following gifts He showered upon us:
- INTELLECT – Only God gave this power to humankind as a reason to obey God and address His revelation to achieve a complete faith and much fuller understanding.
- FREE WILL – In our Gospel values underlie our freedom, conscience and moral choice, as a Catholic citizens we must follow our consciences guided by reason and the grace of God.
- SELF CONTROL – The call to self control Christ wishes to grow in each of us. So, we can choose in freedom to accept the responsibility and to live good and holy with God’s grace.
God at the center
Any attraction comes with temptation, and their journey was no different. However, God is there to help them channel through the confusion to eventually create a strong foundation of their relationship as friends.
Here are some shared points of experiences by Bro. Jomar and Sis Frances that tackles about their storybook of romance.
- RESIST TEMPTATION – God wants us to be holy, so we should keep clear of all sexual sin and control our body.
- PURITY – God means for human sexual life to be a pointer and foretaste of the purity and pleasure of knowing him.
Today’s teens are going through perspective on and off circumstances onto God’s belief. However, teenagers must take courage and not get caught up in what others are doing, instead focus on the message of the cross of Christ going forth. (Michaela Acilo)
