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Category: Reflection

  • Loud Faith in our Small Voices

    Loud Faith in our Small Voices

    A Reflection by Robert Agustin, a Youth Minister

    As I have stepped on the ground of NYD Caceres 2025, I was overwhelmed with the vibrant faces and voices of the different people from all over the country. I was fascinated with their energy and their excitement. What made it more impressive was the great number of their delegates. There were many of them some have even reached hundreds. They were loud, energetic and lively as groups. From there, I began to question myself, what could we contribute? We were only six, negligible, minute and small. We even don’t have big banners, no loud cheers, booms and massive grand entrance. This was in this time where I started feeling the least amidst a well-represented groups of delegates.

    At the beginning of our sessions and activities, I witnessed how animated other delegates were. Each of them showed and gave their extraordinary best in their cheers, claps and performances. At first, I couldn’t help but to feel left out- maybe because of the reason that there were only few of us, with weaker and quieter voice compared to others. There were also moments where we became silent and simply observing while we were also participating in the different group activities. We didn’t talk that much because we were so shy. However, in our stillness we were able to realize something good. Being not the loudest is also sacred because in our quiet moments, we listen, we pray, we understand and we feel God’s presence. 

    Being a minority is no longer new to us. As Youth participants from a Muslim dominated area, we have been taught how to jive, mingle, adapt and respect our surroundings. Handling this kind of situation during NYD was a lot easier since the people around us were no different, they were our companions in the mission.

    One bright side of being few is that, we fully see and feel each other’s importance. Our small number allowed us to stay closer from each other. We got to know each other’s stories, backgrounds and even our good and bad personalities. It also allowed us to lean on each other’s comfort and support whenever things may go wrong. I felt that I’m not alone in the ministry. It seems like I have found new brothers and sisters who are willing to share their strength with me and help me in times of my weaknesses. Indeed, our small number gave us way to be more present in each other’s life. 

    We may be few in number but the love of God is huge. We feel so much love from our “katoods” or friends from the other dioceses. They had never overlooked us but instead they lifted us up, cheer for us, and accompanied us. Things had changed along the way, I began to understand that we were their neither to see the difference in number nor just to impress everyone. We were there to appreciate our similarities, to share our common hope and to live in faith in Christ. We were there to help carry each other’s cross, celebrate each other’s life and to be the living testament of God’s Love, mercy and compassion. 

    As I left NYD 2025, I carried more than just photos, smiles and snapshots . I carried a deep sense of peace and hope towards the Filipino Youth. I was reminded that we don’t have to be many in order to see our strength. The strength is within us, within our hearts and mind. No matter how small we are, we can still do great things because God is with us. We don’t need to be at the center to shine. There is  beauty in being the least – a beauty rooted in humility like a child, in simplicity like our Lord Jesus Christ, and in the quiet confidence that we are exactly where we are meant to be.

  • NYD 2025 Reflection: OUR FOSTER HOMES

    NYD 2025 Reflection: OUR FOSTER HOMES

    A Reflection by Diovelene Francisco, Youth Coordinator

    MAOGMANG PAG-ABOT SA AMONG HARONG!—the very phrase that welcomed me in my foster family’s home in Brgy. Carolina during the NYD 2025 at Caceres, Naga city. The smiles were wide, the hugs, warm; the foods, masiram asin nakakainit nin puso (delicious and heart-warming); and the people, made me feel at home.

    Participating in this nation-wide activity for the Catholic Youth made me feel excited—looking forward for a fruitful and worthwhile experience; and at the same time anxious. I was anxious that I may find it hard to get along with other people because of my personality. I was anxious because of prior events (PAR- Personal Area of Responsibility) that left my heart heavier than the baggage I paid for. And I was anxious that I might create an awkward atmosphere between me and my foster family or my safety might be compromised. This anxiety and all its “what ifs” weighed heavy on me, until I got the chance to spend a silent hour with our Mother on our little stop over at the National Shrine of Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Baclaran. I prayed. I believed. And I walked forward though scared.

    Pilgrims were fostered. The place is new to most of us. There’s also the health risk of Mpox in some areas where the pilgrims came from. At some point, this gathering was a bit scary.  Our harong (host parish) the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, was quite far from the centro in which the major activities were held. There were only six of us pilgrims from the Prelature, yet, I felt uncertain for what would come for us in the next four days of the event. What more for those who were with a larger number of pilgrims?

    Yet, God works wonders when we persevere in prayer. I was scared, but I was hopeful. This was enough. As we arrived in Caceres and right then and there, our patience was tested. But the warm welcome from our Pueblo and foster family offered comfort and security. Since then, I felt at peace and relieved, knowing that our foster families were ready to accompany us in this youth gathering. I felt reassured from the very first day.

    My foster nanay, Mama Gina Bobis, gave us her social media account and assured us that whenever the activities are unbearable for us (me and my foster sibling, Ate Rassel), we can message her. They were reading to pick us up and drive us to their house so we can rest. If the food during the activities would not be enough or not to our liking, a message from us would make her pack home cooked food for us (but the food offered by the pueblo and harong, the organizers during the activities were more than enough. Dios mabalos!).

    This short conversation around the dinner table on our first night in our foster family ate up all the anxiety I had before coming to Naga. I was assured. I have a safe place to go when outside becomes unbearable. I have a home.

    And so, my NYD days have updates like “Na sa venue na po kami, Nanay”, “We had snacks/ lunch/ dinner po given by our Harong po.”, “Pauwi na po kami, Nanay.” And then, it wasn’t very scary anymore. I wasn’t that anxious anymore. I was happy and at peace. The kindness this family have shown us from the day we arrived was inclusive, light in atmosphere, and genuine; so does the other foster homes that catered the other participants. Our foster families made sure we never felt unwelcomed.

    In return, we made sure they know how grateful we are in everyday that we’ve lived with them. The mutual respect, care, and trust were shown and felt. God blessed us with these households that opened their home for us young pilgrims.

    The thought of an unfamiliar place and people could be scary, threatening our sense of security in almost all aspects. But people, like our foster families in NYD 2025 Caceres, whose hearts and hands were open to welcome us even before we’ve arrived in their doorsteps, made us felt home.

    Despite their own busy daily schedules, they accommodated us and treated us like we are family; full of consideration, understanding, prayers of safety, and genuinely happy with what we are doing. The four days we’ve spent under the roof of their home was enough to cherish the family we had in Naga for a lifetime. 

    And before we knew it, we’re already exchanging goodbyes and promises of keeping in touch and praying for each other, a bit of tearful “We’ll visit again po, Nanay. Puhon.” And a long tight hug. And that, this NYD experience was a core memory because God, once again made His presence known, through the families who opened their home for us, assured and created a safe space for us, and made our NYD 2025 Caceres experience memorable and worthwhile. Dios mabalos!

  • OUR IDOLS

    OUR IDOLS

    May 28, 2025 – Wednesday of the Sixth week of Easter

    Click here for the readings (https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/052825.cfm)

    To idolize someone because of their good qualities and characteristics as a person expresses our admiration. We admire a person as an affirmation. In today’s popular culture, such form of admiration would manifest in our efforts in following the person, copying how the person acts, talks and presents himself or herself in public. We too go on in becoming an avid fan.

    In fact, one of my nieces who is an avid fan of BTS, a South Korean Boy Band, collects posters, pictures, albums and music. She would spend a significant amount of her allowance to acquire some materials.

    Yet, such form of idolizing and admiring may also develop into a kind of blind loyalty and obedience. Our interest would start to negatively impact our life and relationships with others. We become aggressive and violent even in our words when we find other people not sharing the same opinion, belief or interest like ours. More so, such aggression would also manifest when we encounter people who express criticism to the person we idolize. This is a form of obsession in which we as people who idolize someone become close-minded and out of touch of our reality and the bigger picture of life.

    The readings today have something to teach us. They also challenge us in the way we live our lives today as Christians.

    In the first reading, we were told that Paul was in Athens and saw the many idols the Athenians had. The Greeks were known to have many gods and goddesses. Yet, Paul also realized how deeply religious the people were because of that expression. What touched Paul most was the shrine dedicated to the “Unknown god.” With this, Paul being a witness and apostle of the Risen Jesus had the responsibility to introduce to the Athenians the one True God.

    Paul preached to them the person of Jesus, the Son of God, who became like us, and who lived among us. For it is through Jesus that we are saved by dying on the cross and by rising from the dead. However, this is the very reason as well why many of the Athenians did not believe him, only few of them.

    Many could not accept that kind of God who died for us and was being resurrected. This was something beyond the imagination and any human explanation. What hindered them to believe was their own obsession towards their many idols, of their many gods. This was something they couldn’t give up.

    This form of “idolizing” was not a mere admiration. It was an obsession. Though this happened long time ago, yet, at present this reality is still happening. Idolatry still creeps in our culture today. We are still somehow captivated by some idols in one way or another that make God a lesser priority. This makes our Christian life and faith less significant. How does this happen?

    When a thing or a person is being loved, wanted, desired and even treasured and enjoyed “more” than God to the point that we have become obsessed, then this could be the “idol” that we worship. That could be your boyfriend or girlfriend or even your good looks. It could be the approval of other people, your attractiveness that tend to seek recognition from others. It could also be your successful career or business or work. Or could be your own passion in sports or any hobbies.

    Nonetheless, reflecting on these, they are actually not evil or bad in themselves. These things are good but they become bad when they do not serve the purpose – which is to be closer to God, by knowing him better, by being grateful to him and by being generous to others.

    In one way or another, these forms of idolatry are also forms of addictions in us. It means that we may tend to be selfish, prioritizing only our own satisfaction – as a result, we will become insecure and not free at all because we are imprisoned by our own obsessions.

    This is not what God wants us to be. God wants us to be free by knowing and loving him more and more. And so, let us remember what Jesus told us in the Gospel. “The spirit of truth will lead us; the spirit will guide us to discover God and know him better.”

    Jesus wants us to pray, to converse with God truly and that is not just to tell God what we “want.” Let us also ask God what God “wants” for us; not my own “selfish desires”, but to ask what is “God’s desire for me.”

    Let us invite the spirit of truth to enlighten us, and that is, to help us identify our actions, attitudes, belief or things that preoccupy us. This may hopefully lead us to recognize our “idols” that hinder us to know God better, to be closer to Him and that continually prevent us to be generous to others. Hinaut pa.

  • Weaving Hearts: Towards becoming a reconciling presence

    Weaving Hearts: Towards becoming a reconciling presence

    by Mark Gil I. Saverola, a seminarian of the Prelature of St.Mary in Marawi.

    Weaving is defined in the dictionary as the act or process of forming (cloth) by interlacing strands (as of yarn). In weaving, there has to be lots of threads, because obviously we cannot weave with just one thread at hand. This has been the image which dominates my consciousness as I recall the wonderful encounter I had with our young people of Marawi during the Kasing-Panaw. Weaving hearts; connecting hearts in its deepest sense; interlacing each other’s experiences of pain and happiness, failures and success, moments of brokenness and strength, and allowing the Spirit to form our hearts, making us into a wonderful creation – a reconciling presence ourselves.

    Weaving is a delicate process which requires the ability to choose the right thread. As evident in the Kasing-Panaw, weaving hearts, as wonderful as it is, also needs certain values and abilities for it to be genuine. This leads me to reflect on three characteristics of a heart that ushers genuine encounter, a kasing-kasing nga tinuod nga nagpanaw.

    An open heart. In our world enveloped with mistrust and suspicions, where identifying the truth from what is not is a laborious task, where passing on judgement is easier than knowing the whole truth, an open heart is an imperative. To open the heart is to be vulnerable before others. It is taking the risk of being hurt and broken. But only hearts that are open can usher genuine encounter. Our young people who were gathered in the Kasing-Panaw came from different contexts.

    They brought with them their hopes and visions, but they have also carried their burdens with them. The journey was long. The place was unfamiliar. But their hearts were open. They shared what they have deep within. They have allowed the other young people, the activities, and the environment to be part of their hearts. In the Kasing-Panaw, their struggles and burdens did not vanish, their fears were not gone, but their encounters made them face their challenges and accept their burdens with new enthusiasm.

    Their hearts became bigger, their soul enriched. Their vision is that of hope. A hope which springs out from their common experience of being loved. A hope ushered by an open heart.

    A listening heart. The world is filled with different noises. Some tends to define us; some makes us confused and discouraged. This context calls for a listening heart – a heart who listens not just to those that are spoken but most importantly to those that are kept deep within.

    The encounters of our young people in the Kasing-Panaw allowed them to listen not just to what they wanted to hear but also to the realities that young people are facing – challenges in the family, their mental health, their studies, and even challenges in terms of dialogue. These are not so pleasant to hear but they listened. Their hearts listened, with patience, with sincerity, with deep love. And in that listening heart, creativity was born. Evident in their enthusiasm, our young people found creative ways to face the challenges around them.

    In our world so much influenced with individualism and division they build friendships. In the different challenges they are facing they find inspiration in other peoples sacred stories. In the face of liminality, they were empowered by the creativity of love.

    A discerning heart. As good choice is important in weaving cloth, so as to in weaving hearts. Our choice of words, our way of relating, our perspective – these matter in our encounters with others. The energy of the young people to take on different challenges and their ability to adapt to certain situations exhibit a wonderful characteristic of a discerning heart, that is maturity.

    In the duration of the Kasing-Panaw, our young people joyfully participated in all our activities. They accepted without hesitations their foster family assignments even if they will be separated from their friends. Truly, as their hearts are discerning, there’s depth in their thoughts and actions.

    The entire Kasing-Panaw is a wonderful experience of weaving of hearts. Our experiences, hopes, visions, and even our struggles and pains are threads which were carefully and contentiously interwoven by the Spirit to form this wonderful masterpiece – The Young People of Marawi, pilgrims of hope, reconciling presence in our time.

    The Kasing-Panaw has indeed inspired us to be agents of dialogue but it also challenges us to touch the hearts that still need to be opened, the hearts that still need to learn how to truly listen, the hearts that still need to appreciate and practice discernment. This is not a light burden to bear. But it is noble task to fulfill. As what Bishop Tudtud said, it is “a plan of hundred years”[1]. And so the weaving of hearts continues… until all hearts are formed into becoming a reconciling presence.

    [1] Fr. Sebastiano D’Ambra, PIME, “Message of Silsilah Dialogue Movement”, Tatay Bido @ 25 in memoriam (2012): 76.

  • The Youth as Reconciling Presence

    The Youth as Reconciling Presence

    An article by Richly Allin King B. Vildosola, a Grade 12 student, and Youth Leader

    As I reflect on “The Youth as Reconciling Presence,” as this was highlighted in the recent Kasing-Panaw,[1] I realized that in every situation we have to look deeply for us to understand clearly, because it is easy for us to judge a person, a thing, and even a group or organization without looking on its purpose and goals. As a young person, I realized that I am called to be a bearer of hope and reconciliation, so that in all trials, difficulties, pains, and struggles, then I can be the one who would always seek for guidance, hope, healing and peace.

    Another thing, as a young person, I also realized that I need guidance, just like my co-youth as well. This will help me to good and healthy relationships with others despite the differences in cultures and traditions. Through the guidance from other people, then, this will certainly help me in making good and right decisions in the way I relate with people around me.

    Thus, there are at least two important points that I want to highlight in our role as young people in the Prelature of Marawi in promoting and becoming a reconciling presence.

    First, “as young people, we are the emergent leaders of tomorrow and crucial actors in our church as well as in the society today.” This gives the importance of the youth who are also called as a leader and  vital actors of society and church in promoting peace and reconciliation. This also means that we, as young people, should be responsible in everything that we do because this will reflect on the things that we are capable enough.

    Hence, I have indeed realized, that I am an emergent leader of tomorrow because of the skills, talents, as well as the potentials that I have. It is my call to use my voice and presence to empower my co-youth to also become more realistic and grounded.

    Second, “as young people, we are Agents of Reconciliation, with unique qualities and perspectives.” We as the Youth of today, are often perceived as the future generation, possess unique qualities that can actually serve as the catalysts for Reconciliation. We as young people, with our empathy, fresh perspectives and adaptability hold immense potential to bridge the gap caused by conflicts and biases between cultures and faith traditions. We this, we can contribute to create a kinder, just and more unbiassed world. By addressing the present challenges and embracing the opportunities for empowering Youth, our community can harness the unique qualities of our youth so that we can build and create a future where reconciliation is not just a dream but also a hope and a reality.      

    In conclusion, this moves me to always remember that we are indeed the future leaders of our nation, society, and even church. This begins now by applying all the good behaviors that can lead us achieve a peaceful and face society for all.

    However, we are just humans too, we commit mistakes but the most important is to learn from our past mistakes so that reconciliation will still be possible for us. By learning from our past experiences, this will hopefully make us more active bearer of hope and reconciliation in our small communities. Indeed,  I believe that “We, The Youth, as Future Leaders of Tomorrow” can also be “The Bearers of Hope for Reconciliation and Peace.”

    [1]The Kasing-Panaw was a Youth Gathering of the Prelature of Marawi held on August 24-26, 2024 at San Isidro Labrador Parish, Balabagan, Lanao del Sur.