By Matters India Reporter
New Delhi: The Youth Commission of the Conference of Catholic Bishops’ of India (CCBI – Latin Rite) has decided to celebrate the first Sunday of August 5 as a day dedicated by the Bishops to the young people especially in India.
The day is to be marked by youth in their parishes, zones, dioceses or institutions. Youth must gather on the day or any other day as per local convenience and celebrate youthfulness and Christian faith by organizing some community programmes, recreation, outreach, games, competitions, and fetes, said Father Chetan Machado, CCBI Youth Commission secretary.
The nationwide celebration is also on the plan by gathering all young people around in the parishes and institutions and celebrating the Holy Mass (youth Mass), he added.
CCBI Youth Commission is the chief organ of the CCBI that animates the youth apostolate towards a deeper Christian awareness and commitment through faith formation. It aims to achieve its objective by working in close collaboration with the Regional Youth Commissions, Indian Catholic Youth Movement (ICYM) and other various Catholic Youth Movements in India.
The scope and the key areas of the work of the Commission for Youth (CCBI) are to promote and encourage Catholic youth in their understanding of Christian faith and vocation, and their personal commitment to Catholic values. In particular, The Commission focuses on the holistic growth of the Catholic youth and on their ensuing commitment towards the Church and the larger society in India.
The Commission helps the youth to discover that Jesus is their Way, their Truth and their Life. It enables the youth to discover their faith and thus secularize the world (transform the world by being the agents of change). The various programmes enable the youth to discover their true Catholic identity, thus become the best humans like Jesus.