A Reflection by Bam Francisco, Youth Coordinator, Prelature of St. Mary’s in Marawi
For the past years, seven, to be exact, the Mindanao-an youth was not able to held a huge gathering (face to face) due to factors and some reasons unknown to me. What was clear to me was that, the MSPC had her own fair share of troubles. The stories of growth, friendship, fun, and journeying together of the Mindanao Youth despite the geographical barriers were shared by my Ates and Kuyas, and for a very inspiring tale, inspired and lived with us in the community; and we were able to witness a lifelong friendship due to the doors that opened for them during their active times as they were once upon a time, youth of Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference. Now, our time has come, to experience and once again, live for the Church through prevailing over the geographical, cultural, and personal differences.
The first ever Youth congress after the Pandemic was held on September 13- 16, 2023, at Sto. Niño de Bula Parish, Diocese of Marbel, in General Santos City. It was attended by youth and youth-at-heart from the MSPC five sub-regions that is composed of 21 ecclesiastical territories namely: CABUSTAM[1], DOPIM[2], KIDMACO[3], ZAMBASULI[4], and DADITAMA[5].
This opportunity was presented to me and to other youth of the Prelature of Marawi early this year, around the month of May. It was a bit of a hanging invitation since I, myself, is not certain on how it will fit my schedule. At first, I thought, this will be a mere attending of a 3-day activity, so, I just have to be present, interact, learn, and re-echo; but God works and plans in ways you’ll never realize until you look back and see how everything makes sense.
Prior to the Youth Congress, our Prelature had to change the Youth Director, and the Youth Ministry was in crumbles. We do not have an established ministry structure and the parishes of the Prelature are, at the very least, an hour away from each other, thus the youth from the different parishes rarely know any active youth other than those of the same locality. Then we were given the chance to gather in a small group, and slowly making small steps to re-organize the Youth Ministry of the Prelature.
Everything for the youth ministry seems to fall into place since then, struggles are part of the journey, and knowing my co-youth ministers as we journey together makes this re-living, re-igniting, and renewing the youth ministry worth it. And on the same year, the Prelature of St. Mary in Marawi were able to send eight delegates to the MSPC Youth Congress.
The 12th MSPC Youth Congress started by pointing out the struggles of the present generation in terms of maintaining a healthy state of mind. Mental health is one of the issues that surfaced during the pandemic; the mental problems faced by the youth was exposed as we faced the limits of connection and relationship. This has been a battle of understanding, opening up, acceptance, and courage since then.
The plenary talk given by Sister Angie Vergra revolved on determining what is real and not real in social media as a platform, since this is the most accessible and one of the main sources of negativity that greatly affects the mental state of a person nowadays; from believing the things that they see, to viewing one’s worth based on how the virtual world perceives what is acceptable, normal, and beautiful. This talk made me understand more the value of being open, the courage to reach out to friends and family, and to God, who understands and accepts the real me, despite the flaws that, I believed, made me unlovable, unworthy, and unacceptable.
The opening topic reminded me, and hopefully everyone who listened, to be critical in what we see and hear on social media, to check and verify the information we get, and to avoid the negativity brought by the skewed unrealistic standard of the virtual world. This plenary talk then relates to the following topics given by Fr. Marbendear Morallas, and Fr. Mark Ivan I. Monjardin; as these respected speakers gave me another perspective and understanding of freedom and commitment. The freedom that finds comfort in knowing the truth and leans on justice; and the commitment that is defined by love and gratitude, not by obligation and reward.
As the whole congress moves around the theme “Open the door of the cage, go out and fly” from Cristus Vivit #143, the Eucharistic celebrations and homilies also gave emphasis on the problems we experience today, the poverty in spiritual, in socio-economical, and in evangelical that symbolically become our “cages” in our lives. Yet, upon realizing the blessings of God, and how He guides and carries us in times of troubles, the doors that are unlocked by Jesus’ love, awaits us to give a little push, to be fully open in front of us, to let us know that we can fly unapologetically in this society where the present of the Church is drowning in the disadvantageous side of technology.
The whole MSPC Youth Congress journey taught me a lot of things that would surely be shared to our growing ministry.
My favorite take-away from this four-day experience are the words from Rev. Fr. Romeo Q. Catedral’s homily, he said “ You become so dependent on your wealth, you’re so full of your wealth that you become blinded of the needs of your brothers and sisters;……… we need people who would really decide to live a simple life, decide how much is enough, so that we can have enough for ourselves and enough to share to others.”, that deciding how much is enough so to have enough for others takes humility, and we are all called to be humble like Mama Mary, for humility breeds patience, understanding, and love.
The doors that opened in this event, the friends we have met from different parts of Mindanao, our co-ministers, and the unity that was shown despite the diversity of people present in one venue lighted the torch of hope as we grow together in the Church, and reaching out to take care of our community, the most in need brothers and sisters, and to our common home.
The stairs of growth and mission is far ahead of us and our ministry, but, sure enough, that the MSPC Youth Congress 12 was one of the steps we took hand in hand and offered a strong foothold for us to continue the journey with enthusiasm, for through this event, we know that we will not be walking in this path alone and lonely.
[1] Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, Diocese of Butuan, Diocese Of Tandag, and the Diocese of Malaybalay.
[2] Diocese of Dipolog, Diocese of Ozamis, Diocese of Pagadian, Diocese of Iligan, and the Prelature of Marawi.
[3] Diocese of Kidapawan, Dioceses of Marbel, and the Archdiocese of Cotabato.
[4] Archdiocese of Zamboanga, Prelature of Basilan, Vicariate of Jolo, and the Diocese of Ipil.
[5] Archdiocese of Davao, Diocese of Digos, Diocese of Tagum, and the Diocese of Mati.
A DOSE OF GOD TODAY 
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