Friday, January 6, 2012

Antipolo youth had vocation festival during diocesan youth day


The Ministry for Youth Affairs of the Diocese of Antipolo continue to gather the youth through its annual Diocesan Youth Day last Dec. 27-29, 2011 at the San Isidro Labrador Parish, Marikina City which was hosted by the Vicariate of Our Lady of Aranzazu.
AntipoloDYD4
More than 500 participants from 4 participating parochial schools, 3 youth organizations, and 49 parishes all over the diocese attended the event.
With the theme, “Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, Col. 2:7,” is the same theme of the 2011 World Youth Day in Madrid.
According to Dani Villanueva, youth coordinator of the diocese, this year’s theme aims to help the young people to establish a firm relationship with Christ and enter a personal dialogue with Him.
“This will enable the youth cultivate its faith, to know Him better by reading the Gospels and to discover more the Catechism of the Catholic Church that will lead to a mature and solid faith,” he said.

Villanueva shared that there was a required Preparatory Session (Pre-DYD) for all the participants that was held last November 27, 2011, Sunday, from seven in the morning up to five in the afternoon at St. Matthew College in San Mateo, Rizal.
He also said, ‘”the Pre-DYD will give spiritual and physical preparation for the participants such as basic catechism, workshops, orientation and important reminders.”

The opening mass was presided by Antipolo Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes and Bishop Francis De Leon, Auxiliary Bishop of Antipolo presided the Closing Mass at San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila School gymnasium where the closing of diocesan celebration of the CBCP Year of the Youth will happened.

The highlight for last year DYD was a vocation festival which is an adaptation of the World Youth Day festival on vocation held last August 2011 in Madrid.
Villanueva said that the festival aims to promote religious and priestly vocation among the youth and provide them opportunities to develop skills on discernment.

He added, “another uniqueness of the year’s DYD is the concurrent sessions with some 20 workshops designed to cater to the needs of the youth ministry spread throughout the entire youth days. These workshops are to be facilitated by the selected youth ministers of the diocese, region, FNYO and ECY.”

Sharing about the diocesan event for the celebration of the CBCP Year of the Youth, Villanueva said, Antipolo joins the 1M tree planting project of the Episcopal Commission on Youth that aims to concretize the youth's love for the God-given gift of the environment.
“A total 356 seedlings shall be added to the number of trees planted this year. Seedlings shall be planted along the Marikina River in Baranggay Nangka.,” he added.

The event culminated with the Diocesan Youth Ministers’ Meeting, December 29 to 30, 2011, where the 2-day live in meeting was consultative in nature, and has been a pre-planning workshop for the Annual MYA Planning and Evaluation which is going to be held this year, 2012.

“Ministry for Youth Affairs of the Diocese of Antipolo soars high in 2012 as we give much focus on the Formation Programs and assistance to youth ministries in newly created parishes. We anticipate the official declaration of the Year of the Pontifical Mission Society as our diocese host the National Mission Festival,” Villanueva lastly said.
The Diocesan Youth Day is held yearly, when youth representatives (15-39 years old) from all over the diocese, gather to interact, pray and reflect on a common theme as one community.
The previous diocesan youth day was the 13th celebration and its 14th celebration will be hosted by St. Rose of Lima Parish this December of 2012. (Jandel Posion)

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