Dear All,
I am sorry for the tardiness of this newsletter, as I happened to leave behind my camera at the YCS camp! Please find below a report from the camp and photos, as well as photos from the FAITH feed FUN event at the new Loxton playground. There is also a song competition, a message from the Pope for this year’s World Youth Day and a social media book called Tweet others as you would wish to be tweeted.
In Peace,
Sr Elizabeth Young
youthministry@pp.catholic.org.au
0448 809 134
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“‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” John 3:16
It's the essence of our belief: God loves us so immensely that he sent his one and ONLY Son to Earth to pay for our human sin. If we have faith in him we will have eternal life… That is a promise that we can't pass up!
Kimberley, 17, Port Pirie and Adelaide
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Report on the Statewide YCS Camp- Felicia Halfacre
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The SA April Review YCS Camp was nothing short of engaging. Held at Cardijn College in Noarlunga, students were welcomed into a warm and inviting atmosphere by one another. The joining of the Adelaide and Port Pirie dioceses resulted in the creation of many friendships, with the group having consisted of students with varying interests and character. With this year’s YCS campaign revolving around the mental health and wellbeing of youth in Australia, we focused on issues that are a reality for many students across Australia, allowing for captivating Reviews of Life, and relatable discussions and reflections. The revival of the Breakfree campaign through the inclusion of the mental health of refugees and asylum seekers also brought back familiar topics and ideas which assisted in the formulation of effective and achievable active responses to the issues discussed. By successfully analysing and brainstorming long-term and permanent solutions to the problems affecting people of our age while using our faith as a guide, we realised the potential within each and every one of us which is at its strongest when united as one body of students. While hard and focused campaign training was undertaken throughout the camp’s extent, it was broken up by the inclusion of enjoyable games and group activities in which we had fun while strengthening us as a group such as through hilarious sessions of the strategic game ‘Mafia’ in which our trust for one another was put to the test. Overall, April’s YCS camp was an excellent experience for everyone involved, engaging students through training sessions and discussions of both a serious and entertaining nature, and allowing lasting friendships between one another to bud
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Australian Catholic Youth Festival-Official Song Competition
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Are you musically talented? Do you think you have what it takes to create a song for the Australian Catholic Youth Festival?
Official Song Competition
http://www.youthfestival.catholic.org.au/index.php/involvement/official-song-submissions
Prize:
The composer of the selected song will receive:
- Professional recording of the song. The arrangement, instrumentalists and vocalists will be at the discretion of the selection committee.
- Single return flights from the nearest capital city to Adelaide, single accommodation and admission to the Youth Festival in 2015.
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Blessed are the pure in heart…
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Some words from Pope Francis for the 2015 World Youth Day on the theme: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. Mt 5:8
“Let us now try to understand more fully how this blessedness comes about through purity of heart. First of all, we need to appreciate the biblical meaning of the word heart. In Hebrew thought, the heart is the centre of the emotions, thoughts and intentions of the human person. Since the Bible teaches us that God does not look to appearances, but to the heart (cf. 1 Sam 16:7), we can also say that it is from the heart that we see God. This is because the heart is really the human being in his or her totality as a unity of body and soul, in his or her ability to love and to be loved…In the Gospel we see Jesus reject a certain conception of ritual purity bound to exterior practices, one which forbade all contact with things and people (including lepers and strangers) considered impure…In what, then, does the happiness born of a pure heart consist?... From Jesus’ list of the evils which make someone impure, we see that the question has to do above all with the area of our relationships. Each one of us must learn to discern what can “defile” his or her heart and to form his or her conscience rightly and sensibly, so as to be capable of “discerning the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Rom 12:2). We need to show a healthy concern for creation, for the purity of our air, water and food, but how much more do we need to protect the purity of what is most precious of all: our heart and our relationships. This “human ecology” will help us to breathe the pure air that comes from beauty, from true love, and from holiness.”
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Tweet others as you would wish to be tweeted
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Social Media book to be launched at Communications Congress
A book on social media, entitled Tweet others as you would wish to be tweeted: a Scripture-based guide to social media for the Church will be launched by Archbishop Celli, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, at the Australian Catholic Communications Congress on 5 May 2015.
The book, written by Catholic journalist Beth Doherty, was commissioned by the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, and was written as a guide for those beginning to use social media.
Australian Bishops’ Delegate for the Media, Bishop Peter Ingham said that the book is a welcome contribution to help people to understand how to use digital media.
“The book was written as a result of the author’s experience of working with people in parishes, religious, priests and bishops. Beth saw that there was concern about the misuse of social media, which we know can be used for good. The aim of the book was to find some inspiration for social media through the Scriptures.”
“Each chapter uses a verse from Scripture, for example ‘be not afraid’, or ‘go out to all the world and tell the good news’. The book is a guide, as well as a source of ideas for how we can use social media at the service of the Word of God”, said Bishop Ingham.
Tweet others as you would wish to be tweeted, published by David Lovell publishing will be available to purchase as a hardcopy at the Congress and in Christian bookshops from next week. It is also available to download as an eBook.
To inquire about purchasing a copy of the book, please phone the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference on (02) 6201 9859.
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Caritas-Nepal Earthquake Appeal
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Excerpts from the letter sent by Mr Paul O’Callaghan Chief Executive Officer of Caritas Australia on 28th April 2015
I am writing to seek your support for Caritas Australia’s humanitarian response to the distress and devastation caused by the recent earthquake centred in Nepal.
On 25 April, a 7.9 magnitude earthquake struck Nepal between Kathmandu and Pokhara. The devastation in Kathmandu is immense, and communities across India and Bangladesh as well as on Mount Everest have also been affected. The death toll is increasing by the hour, but more than 2,500 deaths have already been reported. With extensive damage to buildings and continuing aftershocks in the region, many people are sleeping outside and require shelter and protection from the cold and rain.
Caritas Australia has three staff members on the ground in Kathmandu who were working there when the earthquake struck. We were relieved to hear they are all fine, and we are very grateful for their commitment to supporting Caritas Nepal and our Caritas network with the immediate response. Caritas Nepal Director, Fr Pius Perumana SJ, has reported that his team are all safe and prioritising rescue and immediate assistance.
Emergency assistance is urgently needed throughout the affected communities. At the moment, our priority is to ensure the provision of water, shelter and food to prevent further loss of life due to exposure or disease. Significant assistance will then be needed to rebuild communities and livelihoods in the long term.
We have prepared a PowerPoint resource for school communities to use in their prayer for those affected by the earthquake in Nepal. It can be downloaded at www.caritas.org.au/nepalearthquake
Donations to this appeal may also be made at the same web address, or by calling our hotline 1800 024 413 or by posting a cheque/money order to our office in the contact details below.
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Elise & Maddie Fight for Trafficked Sex Slaves
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Adelaide Catholic youth Maddie Kelly and Elise Ganley walked through the red light district of an Indian slum praying for the hundreds of sex slaves trafficked there on the promise of a better life, reports The Southern Cross.
Read the full article here
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