This year’s 35th Youth Festival reached its fourth day. There is already a bit of sadness on the faces of those who participate in it because they are aware that the end is near, but in fact the Youth Festival does not end with the end of it, but continues around the world where the young people who participated in this encounter will continue to spread the messages they gained here, the messages of peace from Medjugorje to which they were invited by all those who were at the White Dome of the church of St. James in Medjugorje, especially numerous priests, bishops, archbishops who addressed them, as well as Pope Francis himself, who invited them to convey His Word to others.
“An authentic disciple, moreover, becoming wise and strong in the Spirit, necessarily transmits the Kingdom of God to others, because announcing His Word is not an obligation only for priests and religious, but also for you, dear young people. You must have the courage to speak of Christ in your families, in your educational and working environment, in your free time. Announce Him above all with your life, manifesting the visible presence of Christ in your existence, in your daily commitment and in coherence with the Gospel in every concrete decision. The Lord wants you to be fearless apostles of the Good News and builders of a new humanity” is part of the message that the Holy Father sent to the young people who listened to His Word these days in Medjugorje, and neither the heat, nor the rain, nor the late night prevented them from doing so for many hours, not early mornings, really not a single thing… Nothing.
The fourth day of the Youth Festival began with testimonies from members of the Cenacolo community. A large number of people from this community told young people in Medjugorje about their journey and how they found God’s mercy, love, forgiveness… and in the end they chose the “better part”. Along with the testimonies, the Youth Festival participants who came from eighty countries sang and danced. After the testimonies of the members of the Cenacolo community from all over the world, there followed the prayer of the Rosary, and then the Holy Mass was celebrated by the priest of Međugorje, Br. Zvonimir Pavičić, with the concelebration of 498 priests.
At the beginning of his homily, Br. Zvonimir spoke about how the gospels often tell us about the multitudes who followed Jesus, who came to listen to him and simply be with him.
“Dear young people, we are also a crowd here. We are not a mass, because a mass is something indefinite, a group of people gathered from different interests. We are a multitude gathered with one interest: we want the Lord, we want His bread, we want to feed on his Most Holy Body”, said Friar Zvonimir Pavičić, noting that “in every Eucharist, the Lord also feeds us with his word”.
“Christians should be people of faith, not those who murmur against God. Blindly trusting God even when it seems that everything is against us and against Him, when it seems that the forces of this world are stronger than the Lord. And then you have to persevere in faith. What does one disappointment in my life mean, one fall, before the abundance to which the Lord leads me? We should always repeat to ourselves: I will not cry, I will not murmur, nothing is difficult for me, I will walk with God through this life!
Our God is magnificent. There are no words to describe it. Everything we try to say about Him is little because He transcends our words and our logic. He loves us so much that He does not leave us even when we murmur, nor when we forget Him, when we forget about His promises, about the covenant we made with Him. He is by our side even then. He is by our side even when we make mistakes. Even then, he showers us with His grace, so that we don’t get rid of sin and realize that He is the only one who gives us life, and then when we ask for miracles from Him, He performs them before our eyes, constantly showing us His mercy”, said Br. Zvonimir Pavičić and said that if we have a problem, we should go to Jesus, seek Jesus….
“This is actually what Jesus himself invites us to do when He says: “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will not go hungry; whoever believes in me will never thirst.” So what is needed? Come to Jesus,” Br. Zvonimir said, then explained what is the safest way to come to Jesus? According to the Church.
“By the sacraments in which he meets us. Look how many of us are here. And we all came to Jesus. And that is the first step. Come to him. And then what? Jesus says: “he who believes in me will never thirst.” It is necessary to trust Jesus. How do you believe? Just like a child trusts mom or dad when they extend their hand and call him to take his first step. The child sees that the parents are a little further away from him than usual. But in his heart, the child feels that they do not leave him, and despite the distance he feels the warmth of love that encourages him to take a step knowing that his parents’ arms will welcome him. That is faith, brothers and sisters. To throw ourselves into God’s hands, into God’s embrace”, said Medjugorje parish priest Br. Zvonimir Pavičić, and at the end urged that “in the multitude of threats, fears and disappointments, we should not panic and perish, but always go after that heavenly bread, to we always strive for heavenly things, for that Heart that also lifts our hearts and leads us to heaven”.
“If you are afraid, go to Holy Mass, for there you will meet the Lord. He will explain everything to you. He will encourage you. It will open new horizons for you. He will feed you. He will preserve your life and bring you to heaven,” concluded Br. Zvonimir Pavičić, and after the Holy Mass, a performance by the Cenacolo community was given.
