The fifth day of the 35th Youth Festival also began with the morning prayer, and this spiritual retreat for tens of thousands of young people who arrived from as many as 80 countries continued with the catechesis of Br. Pavicic, who said that it was most difficult to be a friend of Jesus in your own native town.
“It is easy to be a friend of Jesus in Medjugorje, where we all dance, sing, pray, are joyful around the Lord… It is very simple. It is so easy that we are delighted with it, but it is necessary to come to your place, to your town, to your parish… It is not an easy task. It is the most difficult thing to witness in your family, but it is necessary and we must never forget it. In the Church, we have wonderful examples of how people witnessed Jesus in their own town,” said Br. Zvonimir, giving them the example of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose name bears the name of his city – Assisi.
“Today, whoever you say Assisi to, they will think of St. Francis and St. Clare. They received Jesus and they made their place to be recognized as Christ’s, as Jesus’, and that is what each of us should do: Accept Jesus. Jesus is always on the way, Jesus is always going. Jesus still “walks” this earth today. He “walks” among the priests, among the people who preach His word, he “walks” through this earth, he is always on the road, he is always working, he is always busy with salvation, he is always visiting places and villages… He is looking for who will receive him, who will host him, who will be his friend”, said Br. Zvonimir Pavičić and emphasized that whoever hosts him and becomes his friend will be glorified by the Lord, explaining to young people that friendship with Jesus has beautiful moments, but also that it is often difficult…
John Pridemore from England, who lives in Ireland, then gave his testimony in which he told the young people about his involvement in crime, his debauched life, his conversion…
After the divorce of his parents, he did not want to decide with whom he would live. He decided, as he says, that he would like neither. He started dealing with all kinds of organized crime – he was involved in drug sales, racketeering and all kinds of evil activities.
After his testimony, a married couple from Italy Luigi Lo Mele and Marcela Caricato addressed the young people, who told their love story that happened in “this magical place”, as Luigi called Medjugorje. They told everyone to find peace and to be happy people. The first part of the program ended at noon with the prayer of Angelus.
The afternoon part of the program continued with the presentation of the Association of Guides for Pilgrims in the parish of Medjugorje, and the work of this Association was presented by its president, Vesna Šimić, and Miljenko Miki Musa spoke about the practical part of calling a guide for pilgrims in Medjugorje.
Carmelite sister Dijana Mlinarić also shared her testimony with the young people, who presented her community and her religious vocation and journey. The program then followed by the prayer of the Rosary, and then the Holy Mass, which was celebrated by the bishop of Mostar-Duvanj and the apostolic administrator of Trebinje-Mrka diocese Msgr. Petar Palić with the concelebration of 684 priests.
“In these days, reflecting in catechesis and homilies, you have tried to understand which is the better part that Jesus gives you, which is in you, to discover and develop it. Today’s Word of God is offered to us as a summary and guidance on how to get to that better part and how to make the right choice in life.
In the first reading, we heard a passage from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. We know from biblical history that Jeremiah became a prophet very young, at only 24 years of age. Although he was afraid at the beginning, he realized that the Lord God is with him and that He is his strength and security on his way. From the same history we know that his service will not be easy and promising. Today’s passage from the Holy Scriptures is just one sign of the weight of the prophetic office.
It is about true and false prophets, about Jeremiah and Hananiah. As an optimistic prophet of salvation, Hananiah publicly predicts the fall of Babel and the salvation of Judea in the next two years. He stages the breaking of the yoke (Jeremiah 28:10), which Jeremiah had to wear as part of a symbolic act (Jeremiah 27:2). Jeremiah accuses him of false prophecy and announces that he will soon die (Jeremiah 28:15). The fact that Hananiah dies two months later is interpreted as a confirmation of Jeremiah’s prophecy about judgment, said Bishop Palić.
Referring to the Gospel passage that speaks of the multiplication of five loaves and two fishes, he said that “we give the little we have, and He gives Himself completely”.
“Where we reach our limits, God’s possibilities are just beginning. Yet they all ate and were filled, and at the end there were twelve full baskets left. They are a sign that God is not stingy with his blessings,” Palić said, asking the young people how many baskets they collected at this meeting, and then asked them not to leave them here.
“Take them with you and carry them wherever you go. Carry the miracle of Jesus’ love, which happens with us and in us in every Eucharist. Instead of false and “sinister” prophets of hopelessness and immobility, be zealous apostles, true and joyful, who preach and bear witness to the Risen Christ more with life and less with words.
Because one day the peoples of this world will be invited to the banquet table of the Kingdom of God. There, we will discover with surprise: God’s goodness is more than enough, and we already live from it today,” Bishop Petar Palić concluded.
During the Youth Festival, the participants wrote their prayers on a large, hundred-meter-long canvas, which during the Holy Mass were brought to the altar and thus directed to the Lord, and after the Holy Mass there was the Adoration of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar, and then the mission, where the young representatives from all countries participating in the Youth Festival received a rosary as a gift, which was distributed to them by Bishop Petar Palić and the Apostolic Visitor with a special role for the parish of Medjugorje, Archbishop Aldo Cavalli. At the end, there was a solemn blessing of Msgr. Palic.
