Sunday, August 9, 2015

By Rose Basada, Columban Lay Missionary, Britain
Rose Basada (left) with other participants 
Once again I attended the Flame National Catholic Youth event in the UK which took place in the Wembley Arena, London, last Saturday 7th March. It was a very moving event where thousands of young people, like me, from around the country gathered to share our faith.
The theme was ‘To rediscover our joy – The Joy of the Gospel’. It was very well explained by David Wells, when he said, “Pope Francis has called us to be a people of Easter, to rediscover our joy, to remember that we are joy-filled church” .
Philippine Cardinal Tagle shared the Mercy of God in the joy of the gospel. He inspired the young people to marvel on the many signs of mercy. At the same time he encouraged the youth to be aware as well of the many signs of lack of mercy: human trafficking, abuse, hunger, poverty and many more examples. He said that only mercy can save humanity, that God is known as the God of Mercy, of tenderness of compassion, of justice. And the mercy of God is related to the covenant relationship; when God said: ‘I am your God, you are my people’ (Exodus 6:7). I think Cardinal Tagle hit the core of his topic. He explained it clearly and shared some examples so that it will be well understood.
I was also moved when Baroness Hollins talked about Mental Health problems as there are so many young people these days experiencing these problems. She encouraged us to keep our minds well and to help others as well, being everyday a face of Jesus to others.
There was also live worship music by Matt Redman and he was great on stage. His songs were really inspirational and made the young and old sing and dance with his music.

Indeed, it was a very heart-warming event. I’m glad I participated as I also felt like I was able to rediscover joy and able to share my joy as a Columban lay missionary during lunch time activities. I was involved in a Columban workshop with ordained Columbans and co-workers. We went as a team and it was a very good experience for me. It was a great way to share joy and to be filled with joy.
The author in Britain

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