LISTEN and OBEY: Lent for Youth

Our parents would always expect it of us to listen and obey what they tell us. However, young people nowadays especially the teenagers would, in most times, find it difficult to do so especially with the advent of social media. That is why the Sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, a religious order founded by St. Teresa of Calcutta, decided to hold the annual Lenten Recollection for the youth of Agdao with this topic: Listen and Obey.

Close to a hundred young students aged 9 to 16 years old from the poor areas of Agdao came to the MC Home for the Aged to attend the whole-day recollection last March 23, 2019. The recollection was facilitated by the Archdiocesan Commission on Prison Welfare (ACPW) upon the request of the MC Sisters.

ACPW Chaplain Rev. Fr. Orlando Borres of the Salesians of Don Bosco gave the morning reflections on the story of the Prodigal Son. He assured the young people that nobody on earth is loveless, that no one should despair about not being loved because God loves us more than we can ever imagine or fathom. He said that the parable may have been called “The Prodigal Son” because of the wanton, extravagant and excessive spending by the son of his inheritance yet the parable also tells us of the lavish, extravagant and unsparing love of God, our Prodigal Father who is happiest when a sinner returns to Him.

After his talk, Fr. Borres heard confessions and celebrated the Holy Mass. The afternoon session was opened by the Way of the Cross around the compound of the MC Home.

The topic “Listen and Obey” was then discussed by ACPW Chairman Manny Escuadro. He read to them portions of Deuteronomy Chapters 6, 7, 11, 27 and 28 where God repeatedly asks the people to listen and to obey His commandments, the blessings of obedience and the curses for disobedience.

In order for the youth to concretely understand his point, Bro. Manny then introduced his companion Awang, a youthful looking band member, to talk about his childhood of disobedience to his parents. In his own words, Awang said he was a prodigal son. He then proceeded to narrate about his previous life of not caring about his future, deceiving his own parents just to get the money he needed for his vices, neglecting his studies in favor of his barkada until such time that he was caught and put to the difficult and lonely life in prison. He told the youth not to follow his bad example but to instead listen to their parents’ advises and guidance. Awang then sang the song “Anak” to the delight of the attendees who eventually felt the song’s message and sang with him.

As a finale, a short film was shown: “The Crossing’, a movie about young students and about Jesus’ love for us as shown by a soul who visits his friend in a dream to tell him about the meaning of his dying words “Huwag mong kalimutan ang pag-ibig ng Kaibigan ko”. In closing the recollection, Brod Manny Escuadro told the young people that they are the hope of of the Church’s future, that they should listen and obey the words of God as given through the Church. (Marian CarmelaRaquel | ACPW)