5&2 Youth Blog

The Freedom of Lent

27/2/2017

This is my second Lent as a Catholic, at the beginning of my conversion, I don't really understand why Catholics are “looking for” sufferings. But in the past few days, I have just come to realise a new meaning of Lent.

The True Meaning of Freedom

When I was under 16, I was really keen to turn 18 and be an adult. I thought of adulthood as total freedom: You can drink, drive and travel as far as you want.

However, I was disappointed pretty much as soon as my 18th birthday was over. Nothing special was happening. Except that there were more and more responsibilities. And what was worse: I moved away from home for my college studies!

Ash Wednesday Mass at St Mary's, Helsinki.

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My vocation is love!

20/2/2017

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In my notes, these famous words from Saint Therese of Lisieux summarize the January One Body in Christ Youth Weekend outcome. The whole purpose of life is to find out how God can live in you and through you in the way that He planned from the beginning, from the time before you were even a twinkle in your earthy father’s eyes. God is love (1 John 4) and we all are made in the image of God. We praise God to be more like Him. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me (Gal. 2:20). This is how we are to inherit eternal life.

Each of us is an instrument and only God can play that instrument the most beautiful way, as Fr. Gianni taught us. Or with St Irenaeus we can trustfully believe that the glory of God is the human person fully alive. By all means we should fight against the modern atheist idea that God would be in competition with humanity and praising God would somehow decrease the freedom of humanity.

The beauty of Christian anthropology goes far beyond my comprehension. However, one practical thing that I have learned from St Therese of Lisieux is that in the end of the days, we will be judged according to love. It helps me to not get carried away by doing, by the compulsion “to urge to do great things” and to stop writing up my spiritual CV in my head based on prideful accomplishment. No, no, no… every day we have infinite opportunities to love in small things – done with great love for God. I pray that God would open my eyes to these opportunities and give me the courage to follow up the promptings.

St Therese of Lisieux

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The idea behind the “One Body in Christ” posters

5/2/2017

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By now we have had 4 Youth Weekends at Stella Maris. If you have taken part in more than one of those weekends, you will have noticed that we changed the poster after the November weekend.

Since last summer, I've been involved in the Youth Weekend organisation, and I offered to be design the posters and flyers.

It has been such a joy for me to finally be able take use my tiny abilities for the Church!

At first we had no idea about what the name or the theme for the weekends we were going to have together. Then one day in October Andi wrote to us about this inspiration: One Body in Christ. That’s why later on in November, that name started appearing on the posters for that month's weekend gathering.

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"One Body in Christ" Youth Weekend - Anna's experience

2/2/2017

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Last weekend for the first time, I attended a “One Body in Christ” Youth Weekend at Stella Maris and, if God wills, it will not be my last.

I enjoyed it because there was a friendly atmosphere and a strong faith present in the youth. Often, it is discouraging in my everyday life living in a country, where almost everyone is non-Catholic. However, the weekend gave me a new boost for my faith as a young Catholic living in a country with a Protestant and Atheist majority. Therefore, it was refreshing to get to know like-minded Catholic youth and to meet familiar faces.

The poster for the One Body in Christ weekend.

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The Freedom of Lent

The True Meaning of Freedom

My vocation is love!

The idea behind the “One Body in Christ” posters

"One Body in Christ" Youth Weekend - Anna's experience

5&2

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Yiran Chen

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The Freedom of Lent

The True Meaning of Freedom

My vocation is love!

The idea behind the “One Body in Christ” posters

﻿"One Body in Christ" Youth Weekend - Anna's experience

5&2

Bloggers

Yiran Chen

Archives

Categories

"One Body in Christ" Youth Weekend - Anna's experience