Bishop Dr Peter Announces ‘Year of Youth’ during Annual Diocesan Eucharistic Procession
Mangaluru: To mark the feast of the manifestation of our Lord to the nations, a diocesan Eucharistic Procession was held from the Milagres church to the Rosario Cathedral here on January 6.
Prior to the Eucharistic Procession, a mass was celebrated by the Bishop of Mangaluru diocese Dr Peter Paul Saldanha at the Milagres Church and the Bishop led the Eucharistic procession which culminated at the Rosario Cathedral.
Fr Leo Lasrado from Jeppu Seminary in his homily said, “Today we have come in a procession from the Milagres Church to Rosario Cathedral. We see many youth staying away from the church and we need to question ourselves why our youth stay away from the church? Many youths have gone away from their families, We need to listen to them. We have to forgive those who have hurt us and strive hard to bring them back to Jesus. We have built borewell and open well Christian communities, which are very narrow. We do not give opportunities to others, we need to bring back those Christians. According to me, our Christian community should be like the river flowing freely. The river does not build walls but destroys them and gives water to everyone. We need churches which are like rivers to bring back the lost youth”.
Fr Leo further said, “We should be the missionaries in the parishes to bring back the Youth and listen to them. Those who are sad should be happy, Lazy Christians should be active, gossipers should shut their mouth, good Catholics should fight for justice and if possible sacrifice their lives for truth and be martyrs.”
The “Year of the Youth 2019” was announced by the Bishop of Mangaluru Dr Peter Paul Saldanha by releasing the balloons in the air. The parish priests and individual representatives who have done the highest collection from the parish for the diocese were honoured by the Bishop with mementos.
The following Churches collected the Highest amount on Mission Sundays:
1st place – Bejai Parish
2nd place – Derebail Parish
3rd place – Cordel Parish
4th place – Bondel Parish
5th place – Bendur Parish
Individual collection
1st place – Sampige Parish
2nd place – Derebail Parish
3rd place – Peruvai Parish
4th place – Panja Parish
5th place – Manjeshwar Parish
Addressing the gathering Bishop Dr Peter Paul Saldanha said, “Youth should lead a happy and joyful life. Youthfulness and age full of Vigour will last only for 10 to 15 years and during these years youth should be careful. During the youthful years give importance to prayers. Youthfulness means the mixture of Cement and water which will come out in the shape of the mold it is poured on, once shaped it cannot be changed. While Jesus was young he was spending his time in prayers and in helping people. He was close to God and people. People crucified him but he rose again from the dead. Our youth are tomorrow’s hope. Youth will make mistakes but they should be corrected immediately. Youth should not neglect the advice of the elders, let us all join hands with the youth and help them to lead their lives in the right part. The ICYM, YCM, Youth for Christ and many other youth organizations are already working in this direction. In the coming days, we will announce all the programmes related to the year of the youth. From next Sunday programmes related to the “Year of the Youth” should begin in all the parishes.
Bishop Thanked the gathering for their continuous support towards the mission. The Bishop also said that the collected amount will be sent to Rome for missionary work. Bishop later delivered the vote of thanks.
