Religious were a strong and vibrant presence at the Australian Catholic Youth Festival in Perth this month, with some giving keynote presentations to the 5,500 young people from across the country and many more sharing their charism and mission at the Encounter Expo.
Among those taking part were the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, who provided a lively social media feed of their time at the Festival.
The Sisters of the Holy Famly of Nazareth with young people at their ACYF stall in Perth. PHOTO: CSFN Sisters Facebook.
Among the highlights they listed were their personal encounters with the young people who visited their stall.
‘Wow. What a day! Our sisters had a very busy and very joyful day at ACYF,” they said after Day One.
“Talking to a pilgrim who said she felt the Spirit when talking to us,” was one of their highlights, along with, “feeling the youth simply want to be with us and talk with us about vocation and everyday life...and play games with us!
“Our time in Perth has been so blessed.”
The Franciscan Friars enlisted the help of a St Francis (Frank to friends) hand puppet who became one of the stars of the Festival.
St Francis (or Frank) the hand puppet was a big hit for the Franciscans at ACYF. PHOTO: Franciscan Friars of Australia Facebook.
“He made a lot of new young friends and shared the Joy of the Gospel with them,” the Friars said on their Facebook page.
“Preach the Gospel always sometimes use hand-puppet!”
Meanwhile, on the big stage, in front of the entire group of the 5,500 young people present, Fr Chris Ryan and Sr Bernadette Toohey from the Missionaries of God’s Love spoke about the ways in which people can listen – and be responsive – to the promptings of the Spirit.
Fr Ryan and Sr Bernadette spoke of four steps along that pathway: Silence, to listen to God; Being open to signs from God; Starting down a path of vocation; and Surrendering to God’s will.
Sr Bernadette spoke of the challenge of hearing the voice of the Spirit in what can be a noisy world.
“There might even be a little voice in your head saying ‘you can’t do that’, ‘you’re not good enough to do that’,” she explained.
“But I want to encourage you to ignore that voice, because that’s not the voice of the Holy Spirit. The voice of the Holy Spirit is the one that says ‘you can do this’, ‘you need to do this’.”
Fr Chris Ryan MGL and Sr Bernadette Toohey MGL giving a keynote presentation at one of the ACYF plenary sessions. PHOTO: MGL Sisters Facebook.
Fr Ryan, who has written several books, said he would never have become a priest if he hadn’t chosen to “surrender” to the will of God.
“Our plans and our agendas can sometimes get in the way of really saying ‘yes’ to what God wants for us. To be able to say ‘yes God, I want to do whatever you want’,” he said.
“What I came to, after a long time of wrestling, was simply this: I got to the point where, ‘Lord I don’t mind any more. And in fact, I don’t even care. I just want what you want.’
“That was a game-changer, that prayer of surrender, because I was finally at the point where I could say ‘I just want what God wants’.”
Fr Ryan encouraged the Festival delegates to also say “yes” to whatever God might be calling them to, inviting the three days to be a time of surrender.
Archbishop Timothy Costello SDB speaking during one of the plenary sessions. PHOTO: Iceberg Media.
At the closing Mass, Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB encouraged thousands of young Catholics to leave the 2019 Australian Catholic Youth Festival ready to open their hearts and lives to Jesus.
“Don’t walk away sad from the chance to make your life a wonderful gift to others,” in reference to the story of the Rich Young Man in the Bible. “Don’t walk away sad from the chance to live your life to the full just as God intended you to when he called you into existence.
“Don’t walk away sad from Jesus: he is our Way, he is our Truth, he is our Life. He is alive, he is here with us, he’s calling to each one of us. So tonight, take the chance, take your courage in both hands, and open your hearts and your lives to him.”
Bishop Columba Macbeth-Green OSPPE, the Delegate for Youth for the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said the Perth Festival had been a great advertisement for the vibrancy of the Catholic Church in Australia.
“It has been a privilege to be part of this remarkable experience, which has demonstrated the rich tapestry that is the Church in Australia,” he said.
“I have met hundreds and hundreds of young people who are enthusiastic about following Christ and our hope is that energy will be taken back to communities across the country and shared.”