Erica Ng
Diocesan Youth Day [DYD] 2021 held its concluding celebrations on October 10 at St. Benedict Parish, Shatin Wai. It was not easy for the Diocesan Youth Commission [DYC] to organise the event in a face-to-face setting after two years. The unexpected tropical cyclone disrupted the original plan, causing the cancellation of “the city hunt” in the morning session. Fortunately, the afternoon session could at St. Benedict’s Church.
The theme of DYD this year was, “Rise up, that I may make thee a witness of those things which thou hast seen” (Acts 26:16). The theme was further developed into a slogan: “WOW”. “W” refers to “wake up,” “O” refers to “observe,” and the last “W” refers to “Witness.” The aim of the DYD was to encourage young people to act according to what they have observed.
Performances and sharing are precious experiencse for learning how different people react to their call by using their talents like dancing, singing, or volunteering. The message was clear that, no matter what we do, it can be our way to respond to God’s call.
I was very touched by the sharing of Paul, a representative from the Good Shepherd Renewal Ministry. The organisation aims to assist rehabilitated offenders to reintegrate into the community. He recounted that, when he visited the homeless, one of them said suffered from in-grown toenails because he could not trim his own nails. One of the volunteers from the team immediately got a trimmer and knelt down to help. Despite how grimy those feet were, the volunteer acted without hesitation.
Paul later discovered that the volunteer was actually one of the rehabilitated offenders who had joined their team after receiving their assistance. That was just a very simple thing to do, but the insight was meaningful: “Will you respond to your call without any reservations?”
The message was reinforced during the Mass with the Gospel reading from Mark [10;21] saying: “Sell all what you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
This vocation might not be as difficult for people who do not own much, but the meaning was, “would you give up what you treasure to do God’s will?” as Bishop Joseph Ha Chi-shing shared in his homily.
