Fr. Blasius Tete –
Dibrugarh (Assam): A three-day-long youth convention was held at St. Martin De Porres parish, Dhuria, under Dibrugarh diocese, Assam. A total of 53 youths took part in the convention. The animators of the youth convention were Fr. Sunny Minj, Director of Don Bosco Youth Centre Itanagar, West Arunachal, Fr. Blasius Tete, Delegate for YaR and Migrant Desk, Dimapur Province and DBYC team Itanagar.
This Youth convention was conducted in order to bring together all the young people from various village communities (mandlis) of Dhuria parish to deepen their faith, foster spiritual growth, and strengthen their sense and understanding of what real education is and what it takes to live a dignified social life. The convention aimed at providing a platform for the youth to engage in meaningful discussions, participate in workshops, and celebrate their shared faith.
After a brief introduction to the event by Fr. Sunny Minj, the Convention kicked off with a well thought-out inaugural function that comprised of lighting of candles, a short Bible reading taken from 1 Tim 4:12-16, a spontaneous prayer raised to God by Fr. Blasius Tete, a hymn to the Holy Spirit and finally a short inaugural keynote address by Fr. Paul Tethel the Parish Priest of St. Martin De Porres Parish Dhuria wherein he encouraged the parish youth to become active and vibrant in their faith life.
The sub-topics that were covered during the sessions were mainly pertaining to three areas: How to grow in their Faith (Spiritual growth), how to improve in education (Intellection life), how to live a dignified life in the society (Social Life). Accordingly the sub-themes were like: “Know your Church”, “7 Sacraments” “Study Tips”, “Career Guidance”, and “financial administration.”
All the 53 youths were divided into three groups and were asked to discuss and present reports on the areas of faith life in the local communities, educational scenario of their villages and social life of their neighborhood. Each group was given one area each to discuss about the strengths and weaknesses in that area (e.g.; faith, education, and socio-cultural life), what is to be eliminated and which are the things that are to be promoted and enhanced, what is the way forward etc.
Apart from the lively sessions mingled with active action songs, on the second day all the three groups put up exhibitions on those three areas of faith, education and socio-cultural life and explained to the entire group and answered all the questions that were raised to those who were presenting the spiritual, intellection and socio-cultural exhibition.
On the second day the sacrament of Reconciliation was explained to the youth in an elaborate manner and all the three fathers sat for confessions. All the 53 youth made good confession and were ready to celebrate Holy Eucharist on the following day (Sunday).
Being the Lord’s Day, on the third day there was a solemn Eucharistic celebration. The liturgy was well taken care off. The sessions of the day mainly focused on how to raise funds, and how to tap local and government funds, how to make budgets, how to keep and present accounts to the groups on time and how to go about savings for future, for emergency situations and to tackle unforeseen circumstances that comes on their way.
The last part of the last day of the convention focused on different competitions and prize distributions. There was a worthy and fitting concluding ceremony to the mega youth convention.
The three-day Convention for Youth proved to be a transformative and enriching experience for all participants. It provided a platform for the young Catholics to strengthen their faith, deepen their understanding of Catholic teachings, education, and socio-cultural life and foster a sense of unity among them. Through engaging sessions, interactive workshops, and meaningful activities, the convention empowered the youth to become active witnesses of their faith in the parish, inspiring positive changes in their lives and the lives of others. The convention’s success can be attributed to the dedicated organizers, enthusiastic participants, and the grace of God, which permeated every aspect of the event.