I was recently on a pilgrimage to accompany few young people, on their 1ST Experience of Visiting Velankanni Shrine, Nagapattinam and also Chennai. And in Velankanni, we have had this tradition of Kneeling towards Mother Mary, maybe a long tradition to accept that we are all sinners and there is change of life that happens and also if any prayers unanswered, we kneel and we bring to Mother Mary and the prayers will get answered.
In the Heat of the Morning, 3 youth pilgrims (Raj,Matthew,Vishwajeet) decided that they will set along the journey to reflect God and also pray for the Catholic Church and also for the Youth Ministry. So since its going to be humid and children will be tired I set aside to accompany and pray along with them and we began our journey, it was 12.15pm afternoon, scorching like Heat coming along to u directly and we began, as the journey began I started reflecting on the Gift, experience on how important today’s role of an Animator for Young People.
When with Young People , the First Priority is to be with them, and accompany them wherever they are, as Young are always vulnerable just by our presence they feel great and accompanied and there is always a sense of belief in their journey that they can accomplish.
It was a journey that Underwent in Sand and the Piligrims started trembling and they needed an extra spiritual support then I started praying along with them just to keep away the pain and we continued our journey.
It was the Youth of the Catholic Church hence there were many intentions to seek prayers and we began to reflect ask pardon and also to invoke blessings and we prayed the Rosary for Strength and Forgiveness and lead us closer to Mother Mary.
When with Young People, the Second Priority is to give them Freedom, to Explore, many at times as an Guide and Animator we give them Advise and we do not allow them to explore, I was personally happy in the Journey, when we began I only shared about that there is this pilgirm experience that is life changing and may be we shall pray for motivation and then decide if we want to take up! And some motivation, brought the 3 Greatest People I journeyed with.
We continued our Journey praying for the Good Health of the People who journeyed with us in Life and one Youth Matthew decided that he will walk along accompanying the rest in the journey.It was here we see on the Unbound love of Mother Mary to protect us, in the beautiful experience and help to complete what was started.
When with Young People, the Third Priority is to be watchful and take care of them, any where anytime, Young do not need gadgets, but all they need was to care, protect and support them in their journey, amist our busy schedule it is very challenging to accept and see Young people Grow.
It is here that I observed on the Inspiration led by Raj, the Present ICYM President for the Youth of the Catholic Church, any leader calls for servanthood and the greatest servant was Jesus Christ, in the Journey I observed he was so calm, so thoughtful and so accompanying to pray for all the Youth and also for the Religious who support Youth Ministry. Maybe in recent times I never experienced this.
We were half way and tired and drenched and we still believed Mother Mary is there and she will protect us, I started to feel drained and drowsy and felt a migraine I was out, by then, just then a person came back and asked if we need water and I guided them to get back and come and seemed Mother Mary itself came, and then after coming closer, it was another Pilgrim Apurva ( there is also a personal testimony “Every Knee Shall Bow”) writte by her on her experience of journey to Mother Mary. Now that we are more stronger we continued to pray for the Catholic Church and for the Youth Ministry and also we prayed for the families of Raj,Viswajeet and Mathew and also for the participants who were with us.
We felt Great as we began our final journey of coming closure to Mother Mary, we felt happier since we prayed and personally I prayed after a while for the people who made significant impact in what shaped me to be me.We prayed for all who seeked our prayers and we felt maybe someday the prayers will be answered.
We kneeled in the final seeking the blessing of Mother Mary and there is life and we felt we are different, and there is an experience of LIFE that we have got it and we continue to carry it in our hearts to our Fellow Youth we meet in our Parish and wherever we are.
Why Being with Young People always is Life Changing is that everybody you ever meet knows something you don't and Young people always will have a different experience and when we journey with them we feel one among them.
I felt Great and Saw GOD IN REAL LIFE!
A really good reflection Sir.
ReplyDeleteKamal Anna, your blog really touched me. Even though I wasn’t part of the pilgrimage, I can see how much of an impact it had on you and the young people you accompanied. As a seminarian, I can relate to your role of guiding and being there for others. It reminds me of how important it is for us to walk with people in their journey of faith, just like you did with the youth.
ReplyDeleteThe way you gave them space to explore their own faith while still being a support for them is inspiring. It shows that sometimes just being there, praying with them, and trusting in God’s and Mother Mary’s protection can make all the difference. You’ve shown what it means to be a true leader—caring, present, and always lifting others up in prayer
Touching Experience with Jesus!
ReplyDeleteIn essence, this story is a beautiful reminder that faith is not merely a personal belief but a communal journey that can bring us closer to ourselves, to others, and to a higher power.
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