Believe,Live and Love

Believe. Live. Love.
by: May Solano



“Stand firm in faith…Do all your work in love.” 1 Cor. 16:13-14.

Less than a year ago, the Silver Jubilee of MSPC-Youth was celebrated with full of enthusiasm, joy and hope. True to their nature, the energy of the young believers had been so relentless during the occasion that any foreseen and unforeseen challenges were taken with optimism. The great celebration of MSPC-Youth was over, yet the journey never ceases. Voyaging with the Church, it continues to sail bringing along its mission to shepherd the youth with Jesus Christ as the assuring Captain of the Ship.

Fortifying its journey, this year a remarkable event took place in the annals of the MSPC-Youth. The RYCC Conference took its course last February 2011, yielding a 3 Year MSPC-Youth Pastoral Plan. It was indeed a noble endeavor from among the Mindanao-Sulu youth leaders and ministers, sharing their experiences and ideas by unselfishly forging Catholic Youth Ministry Guidelines for all the ecclesiastical territories. God’s instrumentality for the youth converged for 3 days and went out of their way by passing through a process-oriented planning by “looking back, looking inside and looking forward”.

The 3 Year MSPC-Youth Pastoral Plan brings in a sense of direction to the young faithful as they continue to journey, facing various influences from their families, communities, societies and the world in general. The Facebook phenomenon has been narrowing the borders of the world keeping the humanity closer to one another. The series of mass uprising staged by Arab countries from Egypt, Libya and the recent Bahrain crisis badly affected the OFWs, confronting the issues of joblessness and eventually hopelessness. The affluent and peaceful Japan had become a woeful one as devastated by the mighty earthquake and the giant tsunami which cost thousand lives. Panic and anxiety, as the outcome of all these disconcerting situations, aggravated by rampant MMS hoax, have been inevitably threatening the faith of the youth.

This is basically the goal of the 3 Year MSPC-Youth Pastoral Plan which seeks to address the needs of the youth down to the grassroots level. It does not only provide proper information, but it also safeguards the faith of the youth from all forms of social, political and spiritual hazards coming from various sources. Part of the plan is keeping the youth leaders and ministers aware of the social and political issues which have bearing on their decisions as shepherds of the youth. As anyone can see, the MSPC-Youth is keeping in touch with the realities of the world. More importantly, it has prepared itself from all types of situation thru its so-called Plan as a way of pro-actively confronting the different challenges along the journey.

Gazing at the events of the world, one may say that life is difficult and uncertain. But, the Book of Inspiration tells us to stand firm in faith. Believe. It simply encourages us. Plans are valueless if remained undone. Thus, the call to act out the plans is the marching order for all the shepherds of the youth. Live. That is the way to carry on the works of Jesus for the youth even in the midst of the trying times. The Bible clearly directs all believers that faith without action is dead (James 2:17). Finally, that which transcends from all fears while doing the service of God for the youth is the important element that fires up the youth ministry. Love. Without it, every act of youth service will be meaningless and come to nothing.

Believe. Live. Love. It is the call of the times. It is the only way to sustain the ministry. And it is what the Captain of the voyage wants to embrace while sailing the waves of the wild seas and the turbulent oceans. Afraid of earthquake, tsunami and 2012? Then, believe, live and love!