AYD7 - Local Celebration

Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences
Office of the Laity and Family – Youth Desk
PRE-EVENT
Prepared by the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia
Commission for Youth
and the
Archdiocese of Semarang
Philippine Edition - Prepared by the

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines -
Episcopal Commission on Youth
GREETING
My dearest friends,
Asian Catholic youth
The Joy of the Gospel

Greetings to you all!
You are the fresh face of Asian Catholic Church
YOUTH enthusiasm is an inspiring enthusiasm. You, Asian youth, are the present
inspiration and the future of the Church. The Asian youth are being called to bring
the real trace of involvement in the joys and sorrows of the people. I believe that
wherever you are now, you are and have been 'acting' as disciples of Jesus.
Everything that you do with all your talent, potential and creativity breathes the
freshness and shapes the new face of the Church in Asia that is living in the
diversity of language, culture, religion, life and the environment.
You know that the 7th Asian Youth Day (AYD7) will take place on 2017 July 30 to
August 06. It will be divided into two events, which are: (1) Days in the Diocese
(live-in) in the 11 Arch/Dioceses on July 30 to August 02, and (2) the main event in
Yogyakarta on August 03-06.
The AYD is for all the young people of Asia. You are all invited to echo and
enliven the AYD7 through activities before (Pre-Event) AYD7. I invite you to join
these various AYD7 pre-events, both as delegates and non-delegates, by
contacting your respective diocese’s youth commission.
The AYD7 theme is: Joyful Asian Youth! Living the Gospel in Multicultural Asia
("Sukacita Orang Muda! Menghidupi Injil dalam Konteks Asia yang Multikultur").
With this theme we can reflect, engage and build the fresh face of the Church.
There are three basic ideas of the theme.
First, young people are the receivers and creators of the good news of the
Gospel. In your daily activity, relentless original stories are being created on how
the Gospel is lived with joy. Through your inspiring stories, life becomes more
vivid. Living together is becoming more hopeful and it offers freshness.
Second, young people can take inspiration from the Pentecost event (cf. Acts 2).
Peter and his friends as the early Church built a life together with a wide range of
people to prosperity for all without exception (cf. Acts 4: 32-35). Peter and his
friends’ acts that lived the Church: (1) Compassion (being compassionate), (2)
Commitment (being committed), and (3) Friendship Connection (being connected).
7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 2

Third, young people are called to be the builders of the "living church". Through
St. John Paul II, you have been appointed as the new apostles of evangelization.
You are the forefront messengers to the rapidly changing world. Young people
will never run out of ideas. Your initiatives, both within the community of faith and
all scopes of everyone in the community can give fresh soul and blood for the life
of the Church.
Therefore, open your eyes, open your ears and lend your hand. When you (1)
see the actual situation, (2) speak your opinions on the situation, and then (3) take
action in the situation, then you are changing yourself and renewing the world.
You are agents of change. You spread the freshness and new life for the Church.
My friends, your fellow friends in AYD7 Committee provide the facility to echo and
enliven the pre-event with materials listed in this book. The committee also
provides facility to communicate with everyone across Asia, which includes email
address hello@asianyouthday.org and website http://asianyouthday.org/ that
comes with Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube account. Turn on the lamps of your
creativity and put it on a lampstand so as to give the light of love to anyone (cf.
Matthew 5:15).
Hopefully, while sharing life stories there will be a new Pentecost, the birth of the
present Catholic Church with young people as the spearhead—compassionate,
committed, and connected builders, who also continue seeing, speaking and
acting. May our prayers and work as young people who are connected with the
Pentecost Spirit refresh our life more.
Have a great reflection and sharing of stories. Together with all people of
goodwill, we believe that God who began the good work in us will finish it (cf.
Philippians 1: 6).
Greetings, Blessing and Praying as always,
Most Rev. PIUS RIANA PRAPDI, DD

Chairman, Commission for Youth
Catholic Bishops' Conference of Indonesia
This Handbook was prepared by the AYD7 Organizers.
Additional editing work and content for the Philippine context by the Secretariat
of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth.

PREFACE
In 1984, St. John Paul II held the World Youth Day (WYD) for the first time with “A
Festival of Hope” as its theme in Rome. The big gathering of the world’s Catholic
youth became a significant step for the Church in strengthening the youth’s faith
as they live in a world full of challenges.
Bit by bit, it became a new foundation that awakened the Catholic youth to spread
the “faith viruses”. The faith viruses then spread everywhere, as the WYD journey
continued in Buenos Aires (Argentina) in 1987), Santiago de Compostela (Spain) in
1989, Czestochowa (Poland) in 1991, Denver (USA) in 1993), Manila (Philippines) in
1995, Paris (France) in 1997, Rome (Italy) in 2000, Toronto (Canada) in 2002,
Cologne (Germany) in 2005, Sydney (Australia) in 2008, Madrid (Spain) in 2011, Rio
de Janeiro (Brazil) in 2013, and Krakow (Poland) in 2016. The next international
WYD will be in Panama City (Panama) in 2019.
The WYD explicitly shows that the Catholic Church and its youth keep on living.
During the WYD, there are a lot of Catholic youth coming from various countries,
languages, races, who are all joyful and united in Christ. This spirit inspires young
people to create and hold similar events like the WYD. In the Asian context, this
event is the Asian Youth Day (AYD).
THE ASIAN YOUTH DAY

The AYD is a regional meeting held every 3 to 5 years for young people from all
members of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC). This meeting
is meant to promote a culture of solidarity among Asian Catholic youth and to
build their total awareness about their role in the Church as well as in society.
Experiences in the AYD can give a chance to Asian Catholic youth to identify a
program of creating and planning their spiritual life in the Asian context.
Through the years, the AYD has become an ideal program that enables the
Catholic youth from Asian countries to gather for one purpose: Christ. Through
various programs, experiences, and even difficulties that they face, Asian Catholic
youth are able to deepen their rootedness in the Catholic faith and even
rejuvenate it. Hopefully, the Catholic youth will be able to share their faith
experiences from the AYD back in their own communities.
The past AYD celebrations were held in

1st AYD – Hua Hin (Thailand) in 1999;
2nd AYD – Taipei (Taiwan) in 2001;
3rd AYD – Bangalore (India) in 2003;
4th AYD – Hong Kong (SAR China) in 2006;
5th AYD – Imus (Philippines) in 2009; and the last was in

6th AYD – Daejeon (Korea) in 2014.
The 7th AYD will be in 2017, in the Archdiocese of Semarang (Indonesia) on

August 02-06. This will be preceded by the Days in the Diocese in selected
Indonesian arch/dioceses.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ASIA

The Catholic Church in Asia is in the midst of a multicultural society. Indonesia
was originally conceived and born from a multicultural gene that was created
through socio-cultural and geographical conditions that are very diverse and
wide.
With this reality, the Bishops in Asia put a commitment to unite themselves as
Asians with the struggle of Asian countries. It began with the 1st FABC (1974) that
took Evangelization in Modern Day Asia as its theme. The Bishops of Asia
concentrated on their main concern, i.e. the evangelization for Asian Church –
building of the local church which holds dialogue with culture, religion, and the
poor. This dialogue ends with the attempt to proclaim the Kingdom of God.
“…discussion and dialogue, with a courageous and innovative

fidelity that might lead to an encounter between Catholic
identity and the diverse 'souls' of multicultural society.”
Pope Francis, at a plenary session of the Congregation for Catholic Education,
2014 February 13
The Second Vatican Council also promulgated that Jesus Christ’s words (Gospel)
is to be proclaimed to all nations through the approach of local culture. In this
case, the process of inculturation does not mean to manipulate the local culture
to insert the Gospel message, but through it, the Church is more open minded in
understanding the Gospel and presenting it in a new form. This is where the
Church, including the Catholic youth, should use culture not only as its media of
communication, but also as a media to develop the culture itself. It refers to the
fact that people can only have self-fulfillment though culture. The Church is also
open to dialogue with other religions and faiths. The Church no longer puts a
separating line between the Catholic faithful and people of other faiths. However,
if there exists a separation line, it will only be between those who are for the
Kingdom of God and those who are against it. The Church cooperates with
people of other religions in presenting the value of the Kingdom of God within
society.
Therefore, people with religion, including Catholic youth, are called to always be
for the Kingdom of Heaven. In reality, however, there are some who claim to have

religion or faith but are against this Kingdom. In this regard, it may never be
enough for people to merely have religion; they have to be religious. People with
religion should become religious, but also faithful, pious, hopeful, wonderful,
helpful, keeping peace when conflict arises, striving to complete one another and
encourage one another towards a better world, more friendly and more
conserving towards both nature and human race, and have more attempt in
humanizing the people. This is the value of the Kingdom of Heaven.
THE PRE-EVENT
The AYD7 will be held in Yogyakarta City, and will be attended by Catholic youth
from bishops’ conferences under the FABC. Not less than two thousand young
people are expected to participate in this event.
The AYD is an event for all Asian Catholic youth, not only for those who will be
physically present in Indonesia for this event. Therefore, the Catholic youth in
Asia are invited to get involved in the AYD in a special way through the pre-
event activities. We become part of the AYD7 as we share our experiences,
stories, selfies, vlogs, etc. which reveal our ideas, opinion, spirit and love as Christ’s
disciples.
In this series of pre-event activities, there are nine (9) themes which Asian Catholic
youths can participate in. Through these themes, everyone is invited to become
joyful youths, living the Good News in our multicultural societies.
Thus, for these pre-event activities, we highly encourage you to gather as groups
of young people in your respective origins (parish, or BEC, or school, or youth
group, or other settings, or even in your diocese!), where you will commit to
journey together as you undertake each of the pre-event modules.
Reflecting on the themes of the pre-event activities with your fellow youth
becomes a concrete way to experience and celebrate with them the spirit of the
AYD7 celebration, even though they will not be physically present in the event
itself.
At the end of every pre-event activity, you are tasked and challenged to create an
output which you and your group have created. Please share the fruits of your
pre-event experiences in the links provided below. Share your thoughts, stories,
photos, videos, songs, etc., so that these can be our legacy.
Email hello@asianyouthday.org
Facebook asianyouthday https://www.facebook.com/asianyouthday
Instagram asianyouthday2017 https://www.instagram.com/asianyouthday2017
Twitter @ayd2017 https://twitter.com/ayd2017
YouTube Asian Youth Day 2017
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5MGIXATaDQAghHp97R1qiw

Together, let us—joyful Asian youth—build the Asian Church by living the Gospel
in multicultural Asia!
Have a wonderful journey together!
FROM THE CBCP-EPISCOPAL COMMISSION ON YOUTH

The Episcopal Commission on Youth is delighted to have you with us in this
preparatory journey towards the AYD7 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia! Whether you are
going to Indonesia or not, whether your diocese/ organization have delegates to
the AYD7 or not, the AYD7 is for you—because you are a young Asian Catholic!
This is the spirit and goal of this pre-event program, prepared for us by the
Commission for Youth of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference and the
Archdiocese of Semarang.
For members of our AYD7 Philippine Delegation: As we pray for and look
forward to our participation in the AYD7, it is our hope that you will be fully
prepared by doing faithfully this pre-event formation prepared by the AYD7
organizers.
For everyone: May we propose this ACTIVITY GUIDE for each of the nine (9) pre-
event modules…
Decide on how you will do this, i.e. which group to do this (ideally for a group not
bigger than 30), and in what setting; for example:
+ As a weekly youth group meeting in your parish

+ As a Sunday afternoon youth meeting of your parish youth ministry
+ If you are a member of the AYD7 Philippine Delegation, you may choose to do
this with your fellow delegates from the same diocese, or you may choose to do
this separately in your own parishes/ BECs
+ As a weekly module for Christian living education (in a school or in campus
ministry)
Once decided, be consistent in doing all nine (9) pre-events with the same group:
this provides continuity and allows for progress and accompaniment that is
shared by everyone.
For each pre-event theme, may we propose this simple guide:
1. Begin your gathering by PRAYING TOGETHER, asking the Holy Spirit to open
your hearts to receive His grace in this encounter. The prayer can be the AYD7

Prayer, or a song known by everyone, or a short prayer led by a member of
the group, or any other meaningful prayer.
2. As introduction to the theme, WATCH THE VIDEO CLIP, which you can view in
the AYD7 website--http://asianyouthday.org/en/category/pre-event/ or in
the AYD7 YouTube channel.
3. Take turns in READING ALOUD, PRAYERFULLY AND FROM THE HEART each
paragraph of sections 2 and 3 provided for each theme of the pre-event
activity.
4. Afterwards, PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE to reflect on what was read.

Decide beforehand how long this silent moment will be; for beginners, 2-3
minutes of silence may be good enough. As needed, offer a simple guide
question to lend focus to this moment of silent reflection, e.g. “What moment/
word/ phrase struck you most from the video and/or the reading? Dwell on it
within this moment of silence.”
5. Following the moment of silence, spend ample time to SHARE THE FRUIT OF
YOUR REFLECTION. You may divide the big group into smaller groups. It will
also be good if someone from the group will act as a secretary to take note of
the insights shared by each one.
6. As your GROUP OUTPUT, follow the instructions given on the activity provided
on the final part. Send your group output to the email and social media
accounts given by the AYD7 Organizers, as well as to the ECY Facebook
fanpage. Also, remember to post this group output on your Facebook wall,
using the following hashtags:
#AYD7
#AYD7Indonesia
#PhilippinesInAYD7
#JoyfulAsianYouth
#JoyfulFilipinoYouth
7. To culminate the pre-event activity, CELEBRATE TOGETHER IN PRAYER,

thanking Jesus for the thoughts and inspirations you have shared with one
another. This can be through a recited prayer, or a song, or even an animation
prayer-dance (like the AYD7 theme song)!

The table below shows the interconnection of the AYD7 theme and the pre-event themes, as well as the
proposed timetable for the group meetings in one’s origin. Agree as a group when will the group meetings be
within the time frame allotted, so as to be able to do everything before the AYD7.
AYD7 Pre-Event Theme Being Being Being Proposed Date
Theme Compassionate Committed Connected of Group
(to the (to build a home (as sisters and Meeting
neighborhood for all creatures) brothers in a
and local issues) changing world)
Joyful Youth and Joy Learning to be Between
Asian Asian Catholic youth as sensible May 08 and
Youth! themselves June 04
Connected Utilizing
Asian Catholic youth and modern
instruments to
information technology build fruitful
communication
Inspire Initiating works
Asian Catholic youth and which
enhance/
the institutional Church improve life
Living Act to Care Connecting Between
the Asian Catholic youth and deep emotions June 05 and
to current
Gospel socio-political life socio-political
July 02
movements
Act to Love Participating
Asian Catholic youth and actively in
worldwide
the movement for caring initiatives in
for creation preserving the
earth
Raise Your Voice Learning to
Asian Catholic youth and choose a way
of acting/
the Church participating
In Good News Linking Between
Multi- Asian Catholic youth and Christian July 03 and
concern to
cultural the Gospel current critical
27
Asia problems
Sharing Learning to
Asian Catholic youth share
meaningful
deliver the joy of the experiences
Gospel
Celebrating Diversity Involving in
Asian Catholic youth and various
endeavors for
multicultural Asia the common
good
NOTE: The 9 pre-event themes are clustered into three, and connected to the AYD7 theme. Thus, the group
may decide to have only 3 group meetings, where in each meeting they undertake all 3 pre-events clustered
under one of the 3 sections of the AYD7 theme. It is still the ideal set-up to have nine (9) group meetings, to
allow for spacing of one’s experiences, learning and assimilation.

1 – YOUTH AND JOY
1. Video Illustration
In the short video entitled, “Youth and Joy”, there are some youth going on a
trip. They go in an open car carrying their hobby items: bicycles, skateboards,
and paint. After the car passes by, we will see the phrase "youth and joy" in the
tracks.
The video shows being youth as a journey. The trip is exciting and fun, and it
leaves a mark. A great journey is always with a companion or a friend. All
interests, talents and hobbies, as well as love and joy—these we can take in
the course of our youth. Let us set our path by having new experiences with
joy.
2. Introduction: Leaving a mark as Asian youth

During the last World Youth Day in Poland, Pope Francis warmly invited the
youth to go out from any comfort zone and to come into the world of life,
leaving a mark of the Good News by following Jesus, “the Lord of risk”. He
asked us, young people, to leave our mark on life, to leave a mark on history,
our own, and that of many others as well, by being Jesus’ fearless
contemporary disciples who transform every heart to respond to God’s dream
for others.
The Pope said, “Some situations seem distant until in some way we touch
them… When we are paralyzed [because of being trapped in
our comfort zones], we miss the magic of encountering
others, making friends, sharing dreams, walking at the side
of others.”
During this time, we are heading to the 7th Asian Youth Day which will be on
July 30 to August 06, 2017, in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. During these months of
the AYD pre-event, can we make Pope Francis’ message at the WYD in Poland
more alive in the AYD7 theme, “Joyful Asian Youth! Living the Gospel in
Multicultural Asia”? Can we make it resonate in each of our hearts?
As Asian youth, we believe that our diversities in culture, religion, ethnicity,

language and other things are not separating barriers which enclose us in our
own self-centered circles, but are arenas in which every person can vividly
labor to uncover God’s love.

Therefore, following “the Lord of risk” within Asia’s context means first of all to
be caring and critical about what kind of particular setting in life are we going
through, as well as the kind of potentials God has given us.
Jesus invites us to take the path of the “craziness” of God, who teaches us to
encounter Him in the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, the sick, the friend in
trouble, the prisoner, the refugee, the migrant, as well as our neighbor who
feels abandoned, starting with the one closest to us.
Along such journey, we are optimistic that the new Pentecost within the
current world, when all are “one in heart and mind” (Acts 4:32), is going to be
sown and grown in the context of Asia, with the ever abiding presence of
Divine Providence and with us as the frontier apostles.
Hence, our way of leaving marks are our personal stories of being
compassionate to what happens in our community, being committed to build a
home for all creatures, and being connected as sisters and brothers. Through
such stories, we share our experiences in seeing the surrounding realities,
speaking critical opinions, and starting to make deeds as present-day and up-
to-date messengers of the Good News.
3. Inspiring Leader: St. Matthew

One of the apostles and evangelists, Matthew was
a tax collector in Capernaum, where Jesus lived.
He was a Jew, but he worked for the Romans who
colonized the Jews. Therefore, his fellow Jews did
not like Matthew. They did not want to deal with
"sinners" like Matthew, the tax collector.
However, Jesus did not feel that way about

Matthew. One day, Jesus saw Matthew sitting in
his office and He told him, "Follow Me." At once,
Matthew left his wealth and position to follow
Jesus. Matthew held a great banquet for Jesus,
where he invited other friends like him to meet Jesus and listen to His
teaching. Some people condemned Jesus for eating with people they
considered sinners. However, Jesus challenged them: “It is not the healthy
who need a physician, but the sick. I came not to call the righteous, but
sinners” (see Matthew 9:9-13).
When Jesus ascended to heaven, Matthew lived in Palestine. He remained

there for some time to proclaim Christ. We know about the Gospel according
to Matthew, which Matthew wrote particularly for his fellow Jews, in order to
proclaim Jesus to them as the Christ, the Messiah foretold by the prophets

who will come to our rescue. After preaching the Gospel to many people,
Matthew’s life ended in martyrdom for the victory of the faith.
From the life of Matthew, we can learn about how

to leave our
comfort zones, following “The Lord of risk”, experiencing
with and encountering the poor and marginalized, as well
as sharing the Gospel of Jesus through the gospel he wrote.
4. Activity
So, dear friends, let’s welcome the upcoming AYD7 with prayer and joy. We
are young and happy, called to go out into the world of life, and journeying
with God’s grace to leave marks in our journey of how God loves us, of how
we love God, and of how we love each other.
Let’s share the stories of our journeys in leaving a mark. Feel free to share, and
let’s make those stories seen by many others! Send your video or writing to:
hello@asianyouthday.org
P.S. You can find samples in the AYD7 website and Facebook page. Feel free
to write your stories as creatively and as inspiring as you can.

2 – CONNECTED
The video entitled “Connected” wants to describe some of the youth gathered.
They look very happy and pleased as they are gathered in a place. They
express their excitement with photos.
You will notice the words “Share the Love” in the video. The words are an
invitation for us all to share everything about happiness, care, love, etc. At the
end of the video, some of the young people share the photos in their social
media. They share their excitement to one another and to others.
2. Introduction: Connecting hearts, not only simply connected

We live in today’s world with the internet, gadgets and social media which alter
the way we connect with each other. Despite the fact that such information
technologies create emerging conveniences, we experience new challenges
in terms of conducting human relationships.
An increasingly deteriorating effect of internet use, for instance, was reported

by TIME Magazine (2016 August 29 issue) which raised a vexed statement,
“Why we’re losing the Internet to create the culture of hate”.
To these ambivalent characteristics of the new environment created by digital

technology, Pope Francis, on the 50th World Communications Day in 2016,
stated clearly, “Social networks can facilitate relationships and
promote the good of society, but they can also lead to further
polarization and division between individuals and groups.”
Elsewhere the Pope alerted, “It is not enough to be the passersby on the digital
highways, simply ‘connected’; connections need to grow into true encounters.”
Keeping in mind the progress of digital life and the inspiring message of the
Holy Father, during these pre-event months to the AYD7, we want to reflect on
our experiences in using the many forms of information technology for our
communication, and to be willing to go further in deepening our encounters.
In a practical way, we are going to apply information technology platforms as

more meaningful instruments, “gifts from God”, through which we can share
among us the richness of our various experiences in making faith, hope, and
love more alive within our multicultural Asian contexts.

From this, we can learn from each other’s various efforts of being Jesus’
contemporary disciples, from our sound practices as well as the struggles: in
seeing the condition of humanity within our particular contexts, in speaking our
opinions linked to existing problems, and starting deeds of participating in
restoring the human family as “a network not of wires but of people”.
Within a network of compassionate and committed people who live the

Gospel and share their heartfelt stories of engagement, we can cultivate
sensibility and tenderness as people who seek first to understand rather than
to be understood. We are aware of the fact that what determines authenticity
of people’s connections is not simply technology, but the human heart—our
capability to be “neighborly” in the midst of new digitalized settings.
Pope Francis once asked, “How can communication be at the service of an

authentic culture of encounter?... I find an answer in the parable of the
Good Samaritan, which is also a parable about
communication. Those who communicate, in effect,
become neighbours. The Good Samaritan not only draws
nearer to the man he finds half dead on the side of the
road; he takes responsibility for him… It is not just about
seeing the other as someone like me, but of the ability to
make myself like the other.”
3. Inspiring Leader: St. Luke

According to tradition, Luke was a
Greek physician, who was a gentle,
kind man. He knew Christ through the
preaching of the Apostle Paul. After
becoming a Christian, he went with
Paul to various places. Luke is a
helper, who assisted Paul in spreading
the faith. The Bible calls him as “Luke
the beloved physician” [cf. Col 4:14].
Luke is the author of two books in the

New Testament: the Gospel according
to Luke and the Acts of Apostles. Although he never met Jesus personally, he
wanted to write about Him for new converts. So he talked with earlier
witnesses who knew Jesus personally. He wrote down all that they had seen
and heard from the Lord. According to tradition, Luke obtained some
important information from the Blessed Virgin Mary herself. Our Lady is the

right person who can clearly illustrate the visit of Gabriel the Archangel to
convey the good news to her. Our Blessed Mother was the most able figure to
recount in detail the story of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem as well as the flight of
the Holy Family to Egypt.
Luke also wrote about how the apostles began to proclaim Jesus after He
ascended to heaven. In writing his Gospel and the Book of Acts, we find out
how the early Church began to grow and develop.
Although he did not declare himself as an eyewitness of Jesus' ministry, he

repeatedly uses the word "we" in telling the missions of St. Paul in Acts. This is
an indication that he was there all the time. He writes in the Acts of the
Apostles in the third person, when he and St. Paul journeyed until Troas, where
he later changed his writing to the first person plural. The "we" sections of Acts
continue until the group returned to Troas, where he went back to writing in
the third person. These changes occur a second time when the group arrived
once more in Troas.
Luke went to Rome to help Paul in the period leading up to the latter’s
martyrdom. This is seen in 2 Timothy 4:11, where Paul wrote, "Only Luke is with
me.”
According to tradition, Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia. His tomb is situated in

Thebes (Greece), from which a portion of his relics were transferred to
Constantinople in 357. After Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, his relic
was purchased by King George of Serbia. When Serbia was then also
conquered by the Ottoman Turks, his relic was saved to Venetia Republic in
Italy (now part of the Archdiocese of Padova).
In 1992, the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church and the entire region of
Athens, Greece, on behalf of the Greek Orthodox Catholic Church, asked the
Archbishop of Padova, Antonio Mattiazzo, DD, that the relics of St. Luke be
discharged and placed back in the tomb of the Holy Evangelist. This request
was granted by the Roman Catholic Church. The Archbishop of Padova then
sent most the relic of St. Luke to Hieronymus Metropolitan Athens, to be
stored back in his tomb in Thebes, Greece.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan is the in the writings of St. Luke. Through
his works—the Gospel according to Luke and the Acts of the Apostles—St.
Luke shared the journey and gave effort to building relationships
from a variety of people with all sorts of circumstances: the rich and
the poor, the healthy and the sick, those who were marginalized to
rejoin the community, and so on, so that everyone as a human
family experiences “the year of favor from the Lord” [cf. Lk 4:19; Isa 58:
6].

4. Activity
Let us follow the path of St. Luke in delivering stories of interpersonal
encounter. As part of the present generation on a pilgrimage in the digital
world, we are moved by the various struggles of humanity in front of our eyes
and are called to be more responsive and reach out for the needs of others in
building a network of the human family. Submit your video or article about
such experiences to hello@asianyouthday.org.
4.1. Passage: Magnificat [Luke 1: 39-56]
“In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill
country, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry,
“Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to
me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my
womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be
a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
4.2. Objectives:
4.2.1. To feel and experience the love of the Virgin Mary to Elisabeth,
which is a necessity in our situations today
4.2.2. To encourage each other to convey the joy of the gospel in the
relationship
4.2.3. To acknowledge the grace of God and share it with others
4.3. Activity: Spend a day with your mother, or some who is mother to you.
Then, share your experience with your fellow youth in your community.
Inspired by your shared experiences, share the joy with mothers in need.
4.4. Practical Guide:
4.4.1. Spend a day with your mother, or someone who is “mother” to you;
find a day just for you and your mom. Share and discuss with her
some of the questions below:
+ What are the ups and downs in your relationship with your mother?
Why are there ups and downs in your relation with her?
+ How do you and your mother see the Blessed Mother as your role
model?

4.4.2. Take a picture or a video with her, and share it to your social media
(Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) with hashtag #ADayWithMom
(along with the other AYD7 hashtags).
4.4.3. Share your beautiful experience with your parish community—

especially as we are in the Year of the Parish!—aside from sharing
this with your AYD7 group.
4.4.4. With your AYD7 group, pray the Rosary together for your “mothers”.
Then, take a picture or a video of your activity, and upload it on your
social media accounts with hashtag #ActRosaryforMom (along with
the other AYD7 hashtags).
4.4.5. Inspired by that wonderful experience, share the stories! Make a

plan to encounter and serve other mother figures in need in your
community, such as visiting a nursing home, holding a tribute to
kasambahays, etc. Take a picture or a video of your activity and
upload it on your social media accounts with hashtag #LoveForMom
(along with the other AYD7 hashtags).

3 – INSPIRE
The video entitled “Inspire” describes activities of young people, ranging from
the spiritual to those of their interests and talents. There, we can clearly see
that the youth are doing these activities with passion and interest. They are
joyful, excited and happy with what they are doing: dancing, singing, teaching,
telling stories, etc. They do not remain in their interest and passion, but share
what they have. At the end of the video, you will see the word “Inspire”. This
word invites us to be an inspiration to others, always.
2. Introduction: Without “U”, Church is Nothing!

Let’s begin with a story.
Tinus and Tina have been best friends since they were young. They met for
the first time in kindergarten. They always participate in Church activities since
their childhood, from Church Sunday School to Teenage Church Development
Program. However, after both of them grew up, Tina became more active in
Church activities than Tinus, who came to mock Tina as a “Church addict”.
Tinus went on to actively involve himself more on social and environmental
activities, for which Tina teased Tinus as a “boastful activist”.
Eventually, they met again to set up a huge event at their church. This
encounter between the two childhood friends seemed to bring back the
closeness that had strained because of their different interests.
“It seems like I saw you walking past my house yesterday, didn’t you?” asked
Tina to Tinus.
“Really?” Tinus replied.
“Yes I did, and you looked you were in a rush.”
“Oh, yes! I remember now! Yesterday, I was in a rush because I heard one of
your neighbors is sick and needs help.” Tinus continued, “May I ask you
something, Tina? At the time when I helped your neighbor, he said to me that
he wanted to be baptized. Now, if he wants to be baptized, how is the
procedure?”
“OMG! It’s simple! You just have to come to the parish office or directly to the
parish priest. That is an easy thing… and you didn’t know?! Or perhaps, you are
not a Catholic?” answered Tina with a tinge of mocking towards Tinus.

“What did you say? Even though I do not participate in church activities, I’m
100% Catholic! I practice the Gospel by helping your neighbor and as many
other people I can help! I am not like you: you always come to church,
memorize the liturgy so well, but don’t know that one of your neighbors was
sick and needs your help!” retorted Tinus.
Realizing they had their own inadequacies in their faith, they laughed together.
Tina and Tinus practiced their Catholic faith in their respective ways. Tina is
good in memorizing verses from the Bible, but then she is reminded that
praying and involvement in church activities are not enough. Tinus is in a
similar situation: he is reminded as well that his service will become more
meaningful if he learns and understands the teachings of the Church and
becomes actively present in Church activities.
How did their encounter end? Tina and Tinus both promised to work on what
they lack without judging each other.
The Church that Lives in the midst of Society

Serving within or outside of the Church—this can sometimes be an argument.
Which of it is better? Which one should be the first priority? This argument
can become a reason for people to judge each other. People tend to be
divided, claiming that what they do is right while the others are wrong.
But what is the right thing to do? Perhaps it is to laugh together, like Tinus and
Tina, who realized their own flaws! After all, serving both within and outside
the Church are two important things.
Currently, the Church faces a challenge that is not easy to conquer. First, an
internal challenge that is faced today by the churches in Europe: how can we
attract people to go back to the Church again? How can we fill the empty
seats that now are occupied only by a few old people? What makes the Asian
Church grow, with the number of believers always multiplying each year? In
fact, the Pope once said that the future of the Church is in Asia!
Also, many of our churches get filled with Mass goers only for Easter and
Christmas. What makes the Catholic faithful miss attending the Eucharist in
ordinary days?
Second, the external challenge, such as how the Church can respond to critical
questions that come from the rapid and seemingly unstoppable technology
advancement, e.g. Who is God in this infinite universe or in the cells that we
can multiply? What will be the Church’s response in these realities?

These questions matter to the Church as she declares that she lives in—
although not of—the world. Certainly, to the pressing questions of every era,
the Church will have an answer.
3. Inspiring Leader: St. Cecilia

Cecilia (whose memory is celebrated in
the liturgical year every November 22)
fought for her faith against a cruel
government. She built a “little church”
with joy, and from there she shared joy to
others. With her husband Valerian, she
went out to take care of the bodies of
victims of the cruel government. Because
of this, both of them were arrested and
condemned to death.
The story of St. Cecilia can help us reflect:

How far have we loved God with all our
abilities as well as our flaws? Is it merely
a sentence, or have we truly loved Him with joy in our own situation? Let’s
take a look at the realities surrounding us. Do we claim to be disciples and
defenders of the Lord, but in fact hurt Him with our actions? Or do we suffer
because of our love of God, like St. Cecilia and her husband who offered their
lives for their faith?
Will we dare, like St. Cecilia, to build the house of God by sharing joy in our
own little family, to build a "kingdom of joy" in our community?
St. Cecilia is also the patroness of choirs. A choir becomes more melodious
with diverse sounds joined in one harmony, instead of just one melody. So, are
we still grappling with "all I-ness", and make friends only with the same type of
“sound”? Or do we dare to establish relationships with other people from
different backgrounds? Let us also learn to integrate the diversities around us
into a beautiful harmony that can be felt and appreciated by everyone.
St. Cecilia has given us an example to dare to have faith, and also to be in
communion with other people. Let us also take her example in becoming
bolder in proclaiming the joy of love, whether in small or wide spaces!
4. Activity: Without “U”, C H __ R C H is Nothing!

Friends, do you know that currently many churches in Europe and America are
empty? Because of this, many of them have been sold and changed into

cafes, bars and tourist place. Where are the Christians? Is coming to church
not part of their way of life anymore?
What’s going on in the Church in Asia? Do we have the same condition like in
Europe and America? Easy, easy… the Church in Asia is still full today. Just
look: churches are still occupied with people in every Sunday Mass, let alone
at Christmas and Easter Days! The churches are so full that sometimes it is
difficult to contain everyone; there is need for an extra tent or a bigger space!
Is it possible in the future that the Asian Church will have the same experience
as what is happening now in Europe? Sadly, it is possible.
From simple observation: For the rest of the year, where are those who come
to church only during Christmas Eve and Easter Vigil? Perhaps many of our
youth attend the Mass only during Christmas and Easter. This should be a
concern for us in Asia, right?
Let us not allow our churches to become quiet and empty, like the fate of
many churches in Europe and America. Let us allow ourselves to be living
stones—active and committed participants—in the building up of the Church!
Don’t we express this well in the song:
We come from the hills of the rising sun!

We want to reach out so the world may be one!
We are the Church and we are young!
That’s why with Him, we know it can be done!
(Asian Jam, theme song of the 1st Asian Youth Gathering)
Remember: We are the Church—not only her future, but her present too!
Without us, the Church is nothing! Let us then make some actions:
4.1. Invite your friends to know your (parish) church (so timely because we are
in the Year of the Parish!)
4.2. Discuss together about your church situation. Is it possible that your church
is getting fewer and fewer people? Do you know your parish priest/s?
How do you feel about “going to church”? Excited? Bored? Restless?
Hopeful? Do you have any ideas for the church to become a more
cheerful place?
4.3. Summarize your discussion. Write the final fruits/ outputs on a large sheet
of paper or on whiteboard (if you are using your own language, be sure to
translate your answer to English).

4.4. Take a selfie/ groufie with your written ideas. Make it cool and creative!
4.5. Upload and share your photo to Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter or
send it to hello@asianyouthday.org (refer to list of our social media).
HEAR YE! HEAR YE!

The most creative ideas will be posted at the “Inspiration Tree” in the AYD7;
we’ll make sure that a lot of people read that.
Friends, from small things we can make a difference. Remember how Jesus
described the Reign of God like a mustard seed…
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed

that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
[Matthew 13:31-32]

4 – ACT TO CARE
In this video, you can see a young man who appears concerned about the
traditional market. The market looked full of rubbish, unkempt, and did not
look orderly. Moved by his concern, he constructed a “tree of hope”. He
invited the market occupants—vendors, buyers, and others—to write down
their hopes and dreams about the market. The occupants could now finally
voice out their dreams for the market, which then led to positive changes: the
market became clean, peaceful, and free from corruption. Even the occupants
started to have good habits in cleaning up the waste and in better relations
with everyone.
2. Introduction: Young People—Spectator or Actor?

“No man is an island.” Humans cannot live alone. This statement has become
our subject back in primary school, in our social science subject. It is not
without basis. Humans cannot live alone; thus, the Lord gave Eve to Adam and
Adam to Eve to complement each other. Nowadays, humankind is more than
just two people; everyone in humankind has a role that will benefit each other.
Each of us, then, need to ask: Is my life really for the benefit of other human
beings?
The question brings us to the Word of God. We recall a particular story in the
Gospels, on the demand of the mother of the apostles James and John [cf.
Matthew 20: 20-28]. Jesus instructs His followers: we are to serve in love,
without expecting anything in return. Though authority and leadership figures
ruled people arbitrarily, Jesus shows a different example of leadership, which
is service.
The Gospel challenges us to become humble persons, striving to help one

another. Everything in this world is imperfect—only God Almighty is—so our
presence is meant to enhance each other mutually, to fill in the gaps and
shortcomings of one another.
Let us listen to another story…
Tia and Nia—two friends who have different characters. While Tia has a
grumpy character, Nia has a quiet personality. One time, Tia and Nia were
accused of cheating because they sat on the same bench in a Biology test.
“I’ve been studying hard! But they insist we cheated. Worse, the principal
wants to see us tomorrow,” cried Tia.

“It’s okay, Tia. We just need to prove to the principal that we did the Biology
test by ourselves.”
“I can’t accept it!”
“Neither can I,” replied Nia. “Though, we didn’t have the same answers.”
“Ugh! I’m all lazy to get there!”
“Don’t be like that, Tia. Let’s buy ice cream. Then, we’ll think about it again,
tomorrow.”
The figures of Tia and Nia make a simple description of how to meet
advantages and disadvantages in life. Nia patiently tried to make Tia manage
her emotions. She didn’t make the same response to the charge of cheating.
She even tried to keep Tia calm, and invited her to eat ice cream as a way to
momentarily get distracted from the problem.
For us, there are days when we are able to enjoy the internet, sleep tight in
bed, eat hygienic food, have friends, or earn an income, and so on. However,
there are still many people who live without certainty in life. They cannot even
get hygienic and healthy food and drinks. Moreover, they cannot go to school
because they don’t have money for the books and uniforms; worse, because
the school is seven mountains and three rivers away!
Therefore, should we, who seem “luckier” than them, remain silent? Surely no!
The story from Matthew, chapter 20, verses 20-28 reminds us that we must
serve people around us. The story of Nia and Tia is only a small example; the
people we ought to serve should not only be our friends, as there are still so
many people who need our helping hands.
There are still other examples, like the Muslim youth in Mojokerto, Indonesia
named Riyanto: on Christmas Eve of the year 2000, he discovered an
unattended bag in a Christian church and realized that it contained a bomb.
He took swift action to warn the others and then went to clutch the explosive
tightly to his chest, in an effort to prevent mass casualties. He died instantly.
See his story here—
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10244/indonesia-saving-christians
Another is a volunteer named Rosa Dahlia, who was willing to go to

Indonesian Papua in order to teach children in those remote areas. She
maintains a blog, https://greatrose.wordpress.com/ Know more about her
choice here—
http://asianyouthday.org/en/rosa-dahlia/

Another is Malala Yousafzai of Pakistan, the young woman who fought for 57
million children out of school, who tried knocking on the UN’s door to ask for
help in providing books and learning tools. You can read about her in the
Nobel Peace Prize website—
https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2014/yousafzai-
bio.html
From Hong Kong, there is the teenager Joshua Wong, a student activist who is
active in the “umbrella revolution”, a democratic rights movement. Get to know
him more here—
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_Wong_(activist)
[Your group may want to search for other contemporary young people—
Filipinos and other Asians—who exemplify the service taught and shown by
Jesus.]
From the examples mentioned, we surely can ask ourselves: If they can do it,
we too can! Let us serve! We can start with the communities around us. We
can share our strengths to fill the lack and shortcoming of others, without
expecting any return. In life, nobody is perfect, but we can share and fill one
another towards perfection in goodness, in Christ.
3. Inspiring Leader: St. John,

Apostle and Evangelist
St. John, apostle and evangelist
(whose feast we celebrate every
December 27), was one of the
disciples of Jesus. He was among
those who witnessed important
events such as the raising of the
daughter of Jairus [cf. Mark 5:37], the
Transfiguration [cf. Mark 9: 2], and
the sacred moment of Agony in the
Garden: the prayer of Jesus in
Gethsemane [cf. Mark 14:33].
He was Bishop of Ephesus. In the book of Revelation, it was explained that he

was banished in Patmos because of his faith and his teachings. Returning to
Ephesus, St. John wrote his gospel, which is the fruit of reflection on the
profound theological teachings of Jesus and His works of mission. In the late
period of his life, John was said to have often repeated, “My children,
love one another." This simple advice echoes the greatest

commandment [cf. Matthew 22: 34-40] and the new commandment left by
Jesus to His followers on the eve of His death [John 13:34-35].
The story of St. John can help us reflect: to what extent are we to love and
care for others? To what extent are we willing to be a servant to others, as
John was willing to serve the Lord Jesus, His mother Mary, and the Church in
her beginnings? Can we build a good relationship with the world around us,
and thus leave a trail of goodness as St. John has done?
St. John has given us an example in daring to know and love one another, in
building good relationships in our ministry. Let us live by the Gospel of Jesus
Christ in our service in the community.
Do you have experiences of how faith and community lead to joy, please send
these stories in writing, photos or video to hello@asianyouthday.org (or through
our other social media).
4. Activity
4.1. From the Gospel according to Matthew:
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached him with her sons
and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her,
“What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of
mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom.”
Jesus said in reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink
the cup that I am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied,
“My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left [, this] is
not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my
Father.”
When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But
Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt.
But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great
among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you
shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but
to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” [20:20-28]
4.2. Objectives:
4.2.1. To experience and feel the love of Christ for humankind.

4.2.2. To encourage action of the same love for those in need
4.2.3. To build the spirit of serving those who never get attention

4.3. Activity:
4.3.1. Start an initiative which aims to pay attention to those in need

4.3.2. Share this initiative with your (parish) community, especially the
youth, in order to become better disciples of Christ who dare to
serve others who are small, weak, poor, marginalized and disabled
4.4. Practical Guide
4.4.1. Think of and agree on an objective for doing this initiative. This
objective should be rooted in love, and should reach others.
4.4.2. Choose the target/s of this initiative, e.g. people or a sector already
around you, whom you think need a helping hand, greeting, or help
(e.g. hospital patients, whom you can spend time with; prisoners,
whom you can visit; children in the marketplace, who can receive
some basic tutoring; etc.)
4.4.3. Decide on the appropriate time to do this work of charity.

Remember to take time and pay attention to those you visit (do not
hurry; do not do this for the sake simply of getting it done with)
4.4.4. Give your full attention and committed action to those you help:
+ Give them a wonderful greeting! Something that can cheer them

up and raise their spirits.
+ Take pictures with them; weave a shared story with them.
+ Ask them to pray together before saying goodbye. In the prayer,
intercede for the graces that they need.
4.4.5. Share your experience with your community. Ask your groupmates
to share this experience with others. Share your experience with us:
upload your inspiring photos to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
You can also send it to us: hello@asianyouthday.org.

5 – ACT TO LOVE
In this video, you can see that some young people are putting in place some
colorful garbage bins. These youths invite everyone in the surroundings to
care for the environment, starting with waste segregation: a small but concrete
action for love of mother earth.
2. Introduction: Be Joyful Youth and Love Our Mother Earth

Speaking of young people, there seems to be no limit! Fighting spirit, self-
discovery, creativity, energy—obviously there is a lot of interesting things about
young people. In particular, joy, especially when there are many young people
who claim to be happy. Ironically, there are young people who claim to be
happy and yet are individualistic, indifferent to others, or merely get their
happiness from following trends, such as gadgets, places to go, dress and
social media. Many of them use social networks to transmit insecurities rather
than share authentic joy. Describing themselves as “happy” or “joyful” is merely
a mask to hide something.
Despite this, there are still other young people who really live the true meaning
of joy in earnest. They are young women and men who proclaim joy by
serving: around the altar, in the community, among their friends and even in
the global family.
Love and service can be among the embodiments of joy in young people.
Therefore, young people who rejoice are also young people who love. It is
easy to say the word “love”, but we need to know that the joy of youth does
not stop merely at the word, but goes on to the act of proving it, of living it, of
sharing it. And to prove, live and share love, we need not be limited to only our
parents, brothers, sisters, family, or boyfriend/ girlfriend, etc. but also to our
earth. By loving the earth, we keep ourselves and others alive and show our
devotion to God, for “the earth and everything in it belongs to God” [1
Corinthians 10:26].
Laudato Si
On 2015 May 24, Pope Francis issued his encyclical Laudato Si, which showed
his concern for the environment. The encyclical begins—
“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of

this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common

home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother
who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through
our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces
various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs”.
This sister now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her
by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has
endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters,
entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in our hearts, wounded
by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of sickness evident in the soil, in
the water, in the air and in all forms of life. This is why the earth herself,
burdened and laid waste, is among the most abandoned and maltreated of
our poor…
Access the whole encyclical here—

http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa
-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
It is not only St. Francis who reminds us to love the earth like our sister, but also
Pope Francis, inviting us to be concerned and take part in maintaining the
earth. When we look around our environment, we observe how pollution has
gone from bad to worse. Surely this environmental pollution does not happen
by itself; forms of pollution occurring everyday contribute to it, such as air
pollution from transportation, industrial fumes, substances that contribute to
the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides
and agro toxins in general. This results not only in damage to the environment
and the ecosystem, but also to health.
Pollution is also caused by waste, including hazardous wastes. “Each year

hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it non-
biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and businesses, from
construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial
sources. The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an
immense pile of filth” (Laudato Si, 21).
There are many causes of this destruction. One, often mentioned by Pope
Francis, is the “throwaway” culture, manifested in littering, in the irresponsible
use of disposables, in wasting water, electrical energy and food, among others.
Every year, about one-third of the world’s food is lost or wasted, according to
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States. They also explain
that the food which is wasted, worth almost US$ 1 trillion, can actually feed
about 2 billion people (the number of which is quite surprising)—which we can
link with another report that there are about 800 million undernourished
people in the world.

In addition, wasting food also shortens the life of the earth as it piles up organic
waste. In relation to this, Pope Francis has challenging words in his general
audience on World Environment Day last 2013 June 05.
“This ‘culture of waste’ tends to become a common mentality that infects

everyone. Human life, the person, are no longer seen as a primary value to
be respected and safeguarded, especially if they are poor or disabled, if
they are not yet useful — like the unborn child — or are no longer of any
use — like the elderly person.
This culture of waste has also made us insensitive to wasting and throwing
out excess foodstuffs, which is especially condemnable when, in every part
of the world, unfortunately, many people and families suffer hunger and
malnutrition.
There was a time when our grandparents were very careful not to throw
away any leftover food. Consumerism has induced us to be accustomed
to excess and to the daily waste of food, whose value, which goes far
beyond mere financial parameters, we are no longer able to judge
correctly.
Let us remember well, however, that whenever

food is thrown
out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor,
from the hungry!”
3. Inspiring Leader: St. Paul

He was also named Saul, a Jewish
Pharisee who also had Roman
citizenship. Due to the fanatical
Judaism in his time, Saul was
persecuting the followers of Christ
who are considered blaspheming
against God.
One day, Saul was on his way to

Damascus to arrest the followers of
Christ. Suddenly, a great light shone
all around him. While he fell to the
ground and became blind, he heard
a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are
you persecuting me?" Saul answered, "Who are you, Lord?" And the voice
said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting." Saul was shocked and confused.

A moment later, he asked, "What do you want me to do?" The Voice asked
him to continue his journey to Damascus and there he would be told what to
do.
At that moment, through the power of God, Saul received the gift of believing
in Jesus. Weak and trembling, Saul extended his hand to ask for help. It was
friends and companions who led him into the city of Damascus. Along the
way, a great light shone on him, which blinded him temporarily. Now that he
was blind, he can actually "see" the Truth: Jesus came personally to him, to
encounter him, and to invite him to repent. After that, Saul became a great
lover of Jesus. After his baptism, Paul sought to think only of helping others to
know and love Jesus, the Savior [cf. Acts 9:1-22].
He used His Greek name to Paul in order to reach the Gentiles. Until the end
of his life, he proclaimed Christ. Along the rest of his life journey, he went and
met with a wide variety of nations and cultures. Through his mission, Christ
was being introduced to the whole world! We can read more of this amazing
adventure for the sake of Christ in the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
Paul died a martyr for Christ around the year 67, during the terrible persecution
against Christians in the reign of Emperor Nero.
4. Activity: “Offline” Event

Did you, young friends, know that our planet is getting increasingly hot? The
average temperature increase in this century is 1.5°C. A small change in the
earth's temperature could mean danger for the earth, because temperature
changes is followed by changes in climate and weather. Many places have
experienced this change. In some places, they experienced heavy rainfall,
which caused floods and landslides, while in other places these changes led to
crop failure, lack of water resources and forest fires. In addition, this
temperature change is causing ice in both the North and South Poles to melt,
and sea levels to rise. This leads to endangerment of human life as islands
and coastlines may possibly sink (cf. www.climate.nasa.gov/evidence/).
Young people, each of us is an agent of change! As a concrete manifestation

of our conversion and faith, let us love nature by building a new lifestyle.
Showing one’s love for the earth does not have to be something complicated.
Love for the earth can also be proven by simple, doable things such as
consuming all of the food served to you, shutting off the electricity when not in
use, and turning off the water faucet when not needed. Share what you do to
everyone by sending a written sharing or a video about inspiring experiences
to hello@asianyouthday.org (or through our other social media). Together let
us care for the earth.

Remember: What we do today leads to the survival of our planet. If not now,
when? If not us, who else? Let's take action! Here are some suggestions:
+ Share environmental awareness to your friends, then ask them to join you
in caring for mother earth.
+ For one day each week, avoid using plastic (e.g. in the grocery, bring your
own reusable bag; refuse the plastic bag from the payment counter). From
one day each week, increase it to 2 days, then 3 days, until each week is
plastic-free week!
+ Same with electricity: challenge yourself, “Is there a gadget or electric
appliance which I can use less this week?”
+ You can think of other activities!
Whatever you do, remember to take a groufie with your friends in a creative
way to show your actions! Upload and share your inspiring photo/video to
Facebook, Instagram, twitter, or send it to hello@asianyouthday.org
TAKE NOTE! The best creative ideas and activities will be put into the
“Creative Tree” during the AYD7, where many of your fellow Asian youth can
see.
Young friends, even in small things, even by little deeds,

we can make a difference.

6 – RAISE YOUR VOICE
In this video, a group of youth is writing a letter. To whom? Is it a “love letter”,
addressed to their katipan? Is it to their parents? Turns out, the letter is
addressed to their Parish Priest!
These young people, since they recognized themselves as part of the Church
and called to do something, they now encourage one another to “think
Church”—“We want the church to be the place to discover
richness in diversity” thus became the Parish Priest's inspiration in
delivering his homily.
2. Introduction
As youth, we have freedom in creativity and innovation. We are open to
accepting change. Nowadays, we young people are fortunate because we
live in the technology era, where we can easily find a lot of information. This
provides an opportunity for us to claim an important role in society and start
change. Unlike previous generations, we are less bound by distance and time
which were obstacles for them. We can say that today, the world is in our
hands. Therefore, whether we like it or not, there is a great demand for us to
be open minded and to accept the challenge to become persons able to
contribute actively in positively changing things in our environment.
It is incomplete, though, if the Church is excluded in this journey of young

people. The Church can be the best place for the youth to raise their voices
regarding their hopes and worries. These voices raised by youths do not
convey hatred, but are expressions of love for the Church that we all are part
of.
Pope Francis once said to young people, "You are the future of the Church!"
These words are a trigger for the youth to speak up and for the
Church to listen. As youth in the Church: let us speak, let
us listen!

3. Inspiring leader: St. Peter
Peter was the leader of the apostles; he
is the first Pope. His name used to be
Simon, but Jesus changed it into Peter,
which means “rock”. This naming
showed that Jesus laid the foundation of
His Church on Peter: “you are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church”
[Matthew 16:18].
Peter was a simple and hard-working

person. He was generous, honest,
innocent, and very close to Jesus.
When Jesus was arrested, Peter was scared. This became the moment when
he sinned against the Lord by denying Him three times. Peter later regretted it
wholeheartedly. He wept for his denial, and received forgiveness [cf. Luke
22:54-62].
After the Resurrection, Jesus asked Peter three times, "Do you love me?", to
which at each time Peter answered, "Lord, You know everything; You know
that I love you." Indeed, Jesus did know! Peter was right. Jesus instructed
him, “Shepherd My sheep.” Jesus told Peter to take care of His church; He
appointed Peter as the leader of His followers [cf. John 21:15-19].
On the Pentecost Day after the Resurrection and Ascension, Peter and the
other believers gathered in the Upper Room were filled with the Holy Spirit.
They were able to speak in tongues and go out to the city, which confused
people who heard them. Peter stood before the crowd and delivered his first
sermon after Jesus’ Resurrection. The crowd was so impressed by the words
of this Galilean fisherman—full of wisdom and power! On that same day, some
three thousand gave themselves to be baptized [cf. Acts 2:1-41].
Later in his life, Peter went to preaching the Good News until Rome, the largest
city of his time, and is also the capital of the Roman Empire. Peter stayed there
and converted many people. When the vicious persecution against Christians
began, people begged Peter and his followers to leave Rome and save
themselves. Once again, Peter was scared.
According to tradition, as he was on his way to leave Rome, he met Jesus on

the road, carrying a cross. Peter asked Him, “Domine, Quo vadis?” (Lord, where
are You going?) Jesus looked at him and replied, “Romam eo iterum crucifigi.”
(“I am going to Rome to be crucified again.”) And the humbled Peter fell at
Jesus feet and sobbed. Just as he wept for his denial in Jerusalem many

years ago, Peter was sorry for acting out of fear. With tears, he turned around
and went back to Rome, where he was immediately arrested and sentenced
to death.
Because he was a Jew and not a Roman citizen, Peter will be killed by
crucifixion, just like Jesus. But now, Peter conquered his fear and was full of
courage. He no longer denied Christ this time. He did not flee anymore; he
was ready to die as a witness of Christ. Peter even asked to be crucified with
his head down, because he felt unworthy to die like his Lord. The Roman
soldiers didn't find anything unusual to this, because slaves were also crucified
this way. To the bitter yet glorious end, Peter submitted himself to his Lord.
Peter was martyred on Vatican Hill around the year 60. In the fourth century,
Emperor Constantine built a large church over the sacred place.
To be with St. Peter as the leader of the Apostles and the

Church—this means for us, Catholic youth, to be involved
in building up the Church by sharing our inspirations, our
ideas and our concerns for her welfare.
4. Activity
As youth who are aware and critical about our surroundings, including the
Church (our BEC, our parish, our diocese), let's write a “love letter” to our Parish
Priest, to our Bishop, or even to our Pope! Let this letter express our hopes for
and worries about our life with and in the Church.
The letter can be written personally, or as a group of youth (like a

representative statement or message). Send your letter/s directly to the
addressee (Parish Priest, Bishop or Pope).
In order that other Asian youth can get involved, please upload a picture of
your “love letter” to social media with the primary hashtag #RaiseYourVoice
(along with the other hashtags). Share it too to the AYD7 email address so that
anything that you shared can be spread more widely.
Challenge yourself and your group to use this “love letter” as a topic in a
homily in your parish church. Make your hopes and worries heard by other
believers and other people, showing that young people indeed care in building
a better Church.

7 – GOOD NEWS
A group of friends are on a road trip. Along the way, they met an old couple
who were pushing a bike filled with goods. The group stopped their car and
helped the couple: loading the goods into their car and offering the couple a
ride.
They continued the trip happily. They became “joy” for others.
2. Introduction: I am “Good News”

“But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who,
when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and
good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” [Luke 8:15]
The Parable of the Sower in the Gospel according to Luke [8:4-15] explains that
God’s Word is planted in everyone, but it does not exactly grow and yield a
harvest in everyone. There were seed which fell along the path and was
trampled underfoot, or devoured by birds. There were some which grew, but
were sown on rocky soil and did not have roots, or among thorns which
choked whatever grew. Only those which fell on good soil grew and yielded
fruits. This parable shows us that the problem does not rest on who is the
sower, but on the soil itself. What kind of soil is able to make the seeds grow?
The good soil, of course! The crops sown there will grow well, and produce a
fruitful harvest. To be fertile as soil and fruitful as seeds is necessary.
2.1. Living to become “a hundredfold”, be “good news”
“Yet just as from the heavens

the rain and snow come down
And do not return there
till they have watered the earth,
making it fertile and fruitful,
Giving seed to the one who sows
and bread to the one who eats,
So shall my word be
that goes forth from my mouth;
It shall not return to me empty,
but shall do what pleases me,
achieving the end for which I sent it.” [Isaiah 55:10-11]

In these verses, the Word is described as water which descends from the
sky and does not return above until it has watered the earth, made it fertile
and fruitful, given seed for the sower and bread for partaking. God’s Word
then brings life, not only as ‘holy words”, but as a Person, an Encounter, a
Message that changes our lives and becomes Good News for us all. So, to
be “good news”, young people are invited to:
+ Be the good soil able to grow “crops” and yield a hundredfold. Take
care of the Good News you receive as seed, so that it does not die or
degenerate.
+ Be alert in order to realize that the Good News sown to you is in

danger from evil, so that it will not be taken away from you! Be brave in
your faith, so that the Good News may also find other soil like you which
are open and ready to receive it (unlike rocky soil or thorny ground).
Don’t stop the growth of the Good News in you.
+ Be proactive in preventing “dry soil” situations, such as the closing in of

the faithful or the privatization of the faith as a fruit of tyranny and
intimidation towards believers. What can we do? Catholic youth are
challenged to participate actively in building the life of society not
merely as citizens but as Christians, as a fruit of their faith, who have
love and respect for others and desiring to have everyone included.
These three points are the purposes of the “good soil”. They are not easy
to do, but that is why Jesus used this parable to invite us to strive to be
“good soil”, able to keep the seed of the Good News diligently in a good
heart. We must strive to nurture our diligence; there is no instant result.
2.2. Be grateful as we fully embrace our being “good news”
In the video of this pre-event no. 7, we saw some youth like us who were
happy, enjoying their trip in an open car. When they saw an old couple
who needed help, they invited them to join. With the inclusion of the elders
in their youth group, their happiness did not fade or change; the expanded
group even became more joyful! The encounter and conversation with the
“strangers” they met added to their happiness.
From the short video, we see that we, the youth, are “good news”. Our
being “good news” develops as we go through life, as we make
conversations with God, as we go through our daily experiences. These
situations are part of our “becoming”, and this “becoming” will continue.
The point where we are as youth right now opens us to a continuing life-
story ahead. It is then beautiful if we can be grateful as we realize that “I
am ‘good news’.”

3. Inspiring Character: St. Joseph
and the Craftsman’s tool
There was a man on earth who had the
singular privilege to be called “father” by
our Lord Jesus—Joseph of Nazareth.
Joseph’s symbol is often a craftsman’s

tool—sometimes a saw, board, hammer,
or wood-ruler. These are related to his
job as a craftsman. But this symbol, the
craftsman’s tool, also shows St. Joseph’s
excellence in deeds. He has no recorded
spoken words in Scripture. He seems to be a quiet person. But in his
quietness, he listens: not only to his own voice, but also to those voices around
him: to his wife Mary, to the voice of God through the angel, to the voices of
the shepherds and magi, and to the voice of his son Jesus. By listening and
then acting on what he listened to, Joseph participated in making happen
God’s plan of salvation for humanity. He shows us the relationship between
listening and doing for our salvation.
From this, we recognize how St. Joseph became “good news” not by speaking
and definitely not by being talkative, but by his open heart ready to listen to
God’s voice, and by his full consent shown by his actions.
4. Activity
Youth is a time of maturation. Our experiences as young people help us
become fully human, to be whole as persons. There is no harm in trying;
success is a yield from trying. By trying, we gather experiences and meet
people who can enrich us.
Young people are “good news”, and every experience in

life offers us a chance to be formed. From our being young, we
get plenty of energy. When we find what we love to do, we strive to do it with
passion and spirit. Many youth can bring blessings to other people when they
do what they like passionately and wholeheartedly. When we do so, we will
yield fruits of the Good News for the world.
For example, there are many youths who love to travel and take photographs.
When they passionately explore new or undiscovered places which may be
potential tourist destinations, and then take pictures and share through social
media, then other people get to know about the place, “blessing” them with a

new place to visit and thank God for. When something is done wholeheartedly
and consistently, this can be helpful useful for everyone: to oneself, to the
people who receive one’s actions, even to structures such as a town or local
economy or group of people.
A simple hobby done from and with the heart does not only make one feel
fortunate; it also brings happiness to other people. Our works can be a source
of blessing and inspiration for others.
4.1. Choose one (or two) hobby that you love; it can be something you are
already doing or something you haven’t done yet but earnestly wish to, e.g.
writing your reflections, drawing on canvas, playing a musical instrument,
collecting antique things, or maybe an alternative (not mainstream) hobby
that people rarely do nowadays. Let this hobby be something that honors
your being a child of God.
4.2. Do that hobby consistently for 21 days.
4.3. Put value into your hobby by recognizing that, doing this hobby regularly is
a way of contributing to your journey to be a “whole person”, something
that can help you discover or strengthen your identity.
4.4. Take a picture or write about your activity, upload this to social media using
the hashtag #30DaysofHappiness. In this picture or write-up, show your
commitment and passion in doing this hobby; show how you are “good
news” through this hobby.
4.5. Share your activity to the AYD7 social media so that your
#30DaysofHappiness can also be shared to the world.
NOTE: This Pre-event 7 activity will also be used in the next Pre-event.

8 – SHARING
Outdoors, we find some young people who are playing. They color a big wall
with spray paint, and we read: “The Real Happiness is inside us.”
They want to tell us that inside our young soul, there is happiness. They want
to share this good news about happiness to other people.
They look happy, dancing together while they throw colorful powder. This
scene describes the life of young people: vibrant, colorful, full of hope. When
the colors meet, they become a beautiful combination. From this giving and
mixing of colors, we find the word “sharing” as something wonderful—a
blending that becomes “good news”.
2. Introduction: Your Life is a Light
“No one who lights a lamp hides it away or places it [under

a bushel basket], but on a lampstand so that those who
enter might see the light.” [Luke 11:33]
Perhaps, the word “light” may not be easily “familiar” to you. So let’s imagine a
lamp. Inside the house, where would we put a lamp? Do you place it in a
hidden place where no one can see it? Or do you place the lamp in a high
place inside the house, where it can brighten the whole area?
The Good News who is Jesus Christ, along with His life and message, is the
light that we need. This Good News takes us who believe and trust in Him out
of the darkness. Being free from the darkness means that the Good News is
giving us not only salvation, but also love, hope and strength to continue
changing and growing as Catholic youth.
2.1. The good news cannot be kept and owned by yourself
We, as Catholic youth, spread our light by loving the people around us and
sharing the Good News with them too. The light given by God is not only
for ourselves; God calls us to share this light with other people. The light is
at the top tip of a candlestick, so that everyone can see and become
enlightened. God hopes that by placing His light in each of us, we do not
chase goodness and perfection only for ourselves, but to share this to
brighten society, to become true witnesses of the goodness of God

through our good deeds that can be seen by others. We do this so that
people who see can feel and experience the same goodness.
Light shines not for itself but for others. We cannot live just inside our own
groups. Whether we like it or not, our existence affects others in other
groups, in other levels. Moreover, in this era of globalization, the need for
the light is greater. And when we do not do our part, the world will be
darker because of our inaction, and what we have, we lose. “To the one
who has, more will be given; from the one who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.” [Mark 4:25]
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells us, “You are the light of the world”
[Matthew 5:14]. This statement reveals there is light inside our lives, Catholic
youth; so don’t let it go out, don’t let it dim, don’t hide it!
Being light means we have to face our darkness too. In life, light and
darkness are two realities. Fear, worry, lack of confidence, envy, arrogance
and all our weaknesses and sins are forms of darkness which put us in the
losing end. However, we have a chance to change and grow in the midst
of these forms of darkness.
It’s time for Catholic youth to claim our freedom

as Christ’s disciples! Let’s use all of our youth energy!
In our modern society, so many values turn around: what used to be
despised is now admired, and what was once praised is now ridiculed.
There are so many ideas and beliefs being marketed. With these things,
people tend to follow the flow and get drowned. We observe how,
frequently, so many people tend to choose the easiest way by simply
following trends circulating around the world. Is there something here to
be learned by a disciple of Christ? The light will never be overcome by the
darkness [cf. John 1:5]. It is only with the light that we can see every shape,
every color, every dimension of this world. Our main role as light is to make
the world more beautiful to our vision, not to make it worse.
Usually, we become rejecting and hostile towards the world when we are
not aware of what is happening. Thus, the wise attitude is to be familiar
with the world around you. Then, share what you observe. Don’t be in a
hurry to judge what is not familiar, what you find unusual. We have to be
true to our mission and potential in life, and to be open to the presence of
other people. Without truthfulness and openness, we shall foster distrust,
fake-ness, and falsehood—all assaults against the goodness of each
person. This world, with its challenges, can lead to apathy, conflict and

corruption, but with the light, we can lead it to compassion, fellowship and
goodness.
So, young people, let’s use our own light, let’s be light to share goodness
with others! Let’s share in order to love, out of love!
Find your own ways to share the good news! Ask yourself, “As a
Catholic youth who is a ‘light’, how bright am I?”
3. Inspiring Leader: St. Mark

We know St. Mark as the first one among
the four evangelists to have written the
Gospel, which was around 60 AD. Mark
belonged to the Christian community in
Jerusalem; he was a cousin of St.
Barnabas.
We can find his story in the book of Acts.

If we read his life story carefully, perhaps
a point of interest is his accompaniment in
the missionary journey of Paul and
Barnabas. However, this journey may not
have been positively memorable for Mark.
No one knows for sure what the problem
was, but we learn that Mark left them and
went back home [cf. Acts 13:13]. This return of Mark to his home made Paul
angry, prompting the latter to refused him in the next mission journey [cf. Acts
15:35-40]. Mark instead went with Barnabas to share the Gospel in Cyprus. In
Rome, after Mark’s visit to Paul who got imprisoned, their relationship finally
got better [cf. 2 Timothy 4:11].
From what we learned from above about Mark, we see how at some point he
seemed to be an unsuccessful missionary because of giving up and going
home and losing favor with Paul. But we can also see that God gave Mark a
second chance. Mark was able to share the Good News who is Jesus through
his writing of the second gospel. This same gospel includes content which
describe the weaknesses of the apostles. Why would Mark write about those?
Because becoming a Christian entails commitment, even though it hurts and
even if sometimes it is disappointing.
4. Activity
Please refer to the activity in Pre-event 7 (continuation).

9 – CELEBRATING THE DIVERSITY
There are many scenes in this video which display various beautiful and
meaningful expressions of Indonesian culture: the “Wayang Wahyu” (wayang—
theatrical performance; wahyu—revelation), the traditional and modern dances
and music, the interaction between old and young, etc. All of these show us
the delight and joy found in cultural diversity.
Multiculturalism in Asia is a very valuable treasure for everyone. Instead of

being a reason to divide and separate us, diversity becomes a significant part
of what brings us together through tolerance and respect.
2. Introduction: I am here, you are here, we are all here,

let’s celebrate!
2.1. The circle of young people is unique: this uniqueness in each person’s
world is a blessing and an opportunity.
In this Pre-event 9, let us take a look back on our journey with the themes
of the previous Pre-events.
Do you still remember Pre-event 3? The “youth circle” expanded from the
stories of serving inside the church to those of serving outside, in the
market, of those working in IT to those doing farm work, of those residing in
urban areas to those dwelling in rural places. Here in this widening circle is
our youth, the face of our young Church!
We cherish and celebrate everything that we young people are! We are

the seeds sown on fertile soil and the light on a lampstand. Each person
celebrates his/ her life by dedicating one’s talents. Each region in Asia has
its own stories of youth and their own gifts and uniqueness.
In the midst of this diversity, what connects us together? That we all are
messengers of the Good News! What encourages us in committing to this
mission is our own experience of the love of God in lives. This is what
brings us together. This is what inspires us to contribute to the Church and
to the world.
2.2. Culture is as broad as human lives, which is our life. We even have our
own “youth culture”.

In our uniqueness, we Catholic youth live in society, in a network of
relations connecting individuals, families and other groups through daily
encounters, with the knowledge and instruments each one possesses, and
through communities and exchanges where we strive to help out others.
This is our life as young people: standing in a world that seems to have no
boundaries, very broad and open, offering us possibilities for action
whether individually or together with others, leading to various paths
without limitations. Many things have already been and are being done by
Catholic youth, and there still can be many more. In this vast expanse, the
Church offers herself among the youth to encounter us, to listen to our
hopes and concerns, as we have discussed in the Pre-event 5.
For those who do not know or are unfamiliar with the youth, it is not easy to
listen to youths’ voices. We young people tend to have our own ways,
mindsets and codes of behavior, which are different or unusual to others,
and this difference could lead to misunderstanding (e.g. going to cafés for
school work, hanging out late at night, using gadgets for games, messaging
and interaction, and the like). This is our culture, the “youth culture”. We
take it as a challenge to find ways to make others understand us, so that
we can link ourselves more and more with the people around us.
2.3. Learn from the Ephesians: There is no need to be skeptical of the

“other”
“This continued for two years with the result that all
the inhabitants of
the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord, Jews and
Greeks alike.” [Acts 19:10]
This quote from the Bible is from a passage in the book of Acts about
Paul’s visit to Ephesus. What is interesting in this passage is that the
preaching of the Good News is not limited only to Jerusalem and its
surroundings, whether to Jews or non-Jews, but all throughout Asia with all
its inhabitants, who have cultural backgrounds different from Paul’s. What
does this indicate? It indicates that the Good News is for everyone. It is
suitable to every ear, every tongue, every heart.
From Paul and the Ephesians, we can learn that young people can build
their selves and shape their identity not by disclaiming others (“I am not his,
I am not hers, I am not theirs!) or being suspicious of the presence of others,
including those living around us, afraid that they could “drown” us. The life
of young people is joyful, open minded, generous, and filled with dreams.
This can be fostered and supported by being welcoming to others, by
implementing mutualism, by striving to show openness, by respecting
diversity, and by seeking depth in constructing our shared lives together. In
short, youth are here for everyone!

2.4. The Meaning of Pentecost
Those who believe in Jesus and were baptized in His name live in the
protection of the Power from above, where Jesus dwells. This Power is the
Person of the Holy Spirit. He grants us wisdom, clears our minds, and leads
us to the right path. He stimulates our sensitivity to adjust ourselves to
different “worlds”. The Holy Spirit guided the apostles in their
mission to all the world. The same Spirit now mingles
with believers today. God’s people don’t have to feel threatened by
evil forces—these are passing.
During Pentecost Sunday, a new Power, never been experienced fully

before, has come. This Power changed the way of thinking of people in
that era. A new world was revealed. People filled with that Power felt free
and capable of doing many things. They became people who were open
to the larger society, leaving their individualistic way of life. They were
joyful in living.
3. Activity
We come from different cultures, speak different languages, identify with
different nations, yet we are one family, unified by our faith in Christ. For this
same faith, we also dare to celebrate our diversity for the good. As a closing to
this Pre-Event on our way to AYD7, let us pray for the success of AYD7 in
Indonesia.
Make a prayer for the AYD, or a prayer for Asian youth, in your own tongue
(native language). If possible, you can also try to sing the AYD7 theme song
(whether whole song, or just the refrain) in your own language. Then, share in
the AYD7 social media the prayer and/or song, along with the additional
hashtag #SoundOfAsia.
We will collect all the prayers and songs as a support for all the delegations
from all over Asia attending the AYD7.

PRAYERS
A Prayer Liturgy for the AYD7
(especially for groups)
1. Opening Prayer
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Our Merciful Lord,

we are so grateful to be reborn in the Baptism you have granted to us
and to be united in Your One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
You have planted the seed of eternal salvation within us
so that we can grow according to Your will.
Bless us so that we can open our soul and mind
to Your guidance in Your Holy Church.
Our Almighty Father, You have settled us in Asia,

the continent which has rich cultures and great faith in You.
We are so grateful for the week of Asian Catholic Youth, the 7th Asian Youth Day,
in which all of our friends, Catholic youth from all around Asia
will gather in Indonesia.
Open our hearts and minds to reflect on the meaning of this 7th Asian Youth Day
so that we can grow our faith and strengthen our fraternity
with our fellow Catholic youths.
We pray through our Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever.

Amen.
2. Litany of Catholic Youth
[We are thankful to You]

Because You have created us, Thanks be to God!
Because You have taken care of us,
Because You have called us to faith,
Because You have saved us,
For God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
For faith, hope and love,
For Baptism,
For the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church,
For the Sacrament of Confirmation,
For the Eucharist that we celebrate,
For redemption through the Sacraments of Penance and Reconciliation,
For the teaching and proclamation,

For our parents,
For our brothers and sisters,
For our teachers,
For our mentors,
For our friends,
For our freedom,
For our happiness,
For our fraternity,
For our joyfulness,
For our success,
For our good health,
For the spirit and fire of life,
For creativity,
For the chance to learn,
For the grace of intelligence,
For the grace of talents,
For the bright future,
For being born in Asia,
For living in diversity of races, religions and cultures,
For living in tolerance,
[O Lord, have mercy upon us]

When we are lazy to pray, Lord, have mercy.
When we are lazy to work,
When we don’t want to get involved,
When we are arrogant,
When we are envious,
When we are ungrateful,
When we easily blame others,
When we easily judge others,
When we aren’t honest,
When we just pursue our pleasure,
When we fall into sin,
[Guide us O Lord]
When we are in confusion, Be with us, Lord.
When we are in hesitation,
When we are in uncertainty,
When we are in hatred,
When we are in discomfort,
When we are in a disappointing situation,
When we are in failure,
When we are in loneliness,
When we are burdened,
When we are pressured,

When we are tired, disappointed, and all our effort feel like in vain,
When we are away from You,
[We are never alone; we are supported]

O Virgin Mary, Mother of God, Pray for us.
Saint Sebastian,
Saint Anthony of Santana Galvao,
Saint Therese of Lisieux,
Saint John Paull II,
Saint Rose of Lima,
Blessed Chiara Luce Badano,
Blessed Frederic Ozanam,
Blessed Adilio Daronch,
Saint Theresa of the Andes,
Blessed Jose Anchieta,
Blessed Isidorus Bakanja,
Blessed Maria Rita de Souza Pontes,
Saint George,
Blessed Laura Vicuña,
Saint Andrew Kim Taegon,
Blessed Albertina Berkenbrock,
Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati,
Blessed Carlo Acutis,
Saint Bruno,
Saint Tarcisius,
Saint Aloysius Gonzaga,
Saint Stanislaus Kostka,
Saint Faustina,
Saint John Bosco,
Saint Francis Xavier,
Saint Isidore,
Saint Ignatius of Loyola,
Saint Rafael Arnaiz,
Saint Teresa of Avila,
Saint Thomas Aquinas,
Saint Francis of Assisi,
Blessed Dionysius and Blessed Redemptus,
Saint Teresa of Calcutta,
Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungsod,
All you saints and martyrs of Asia,
Leader: Now we admit and realize that we are not the one who lives but You are
the One who lives within our soul, and now we give all of our life to Your guidance
of love. Now we reaffirm our will and determination to serve You by becoming
Your obedient children, for now and forever, O Lord, for we are Your children.

Help us to be faithful to You until the end of our life. Make us Your tools in
spreading the Gospel and represent the Kingdom of Heaven in this world.
All: Amen.
AYD7 Prayer
Prayer on the occasion of the 7th ASIAN YOUTH DAY 2017
Our Merciful Lord Father,

Hallowed be Thy name in all around the world!
We, the community of Asian Catholic Church,
want to give thanks for all of Your beautiful plans.
We are joyful to live in Asia with its richness of nature
and the diversity of its people.
We are proud to live in Asia,
the place where the great prophets are born
and major religions have risen and grown up.
Especially, we are so grateful for our faith in Your Son,
Jesus Christ, as our Savior.
O Almighty Father,
Asian Catholic Church is being called and sent
to spread the Gospel in the middle of diversity.
You have called and sent the Catholic youth
to become the signs of the joy of the Gospel.
We ask for Your blessing so that the 7th Asian Youth Day in Indonesia
can be held without any major obstacle,
and we can have the joy of faith for all of Your people.
May Asian Catholic youth resemble Christ,
rising up and moving to realize Your grace and vocation.
Send us Your Holy Spirit so that, in the middle of this diversity,
we can become the sender of good news who unites all of Your people.
We pray through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.
3. Closing Prayer
O, Father of Almighty Love, we give thanks for Your guidance in our prayer to
welcome the 7th Asian Youth Day. Our heart feels joyful to welcome the event.
Fill us with Your Holy Spirit so that we become the agent of Your Word in the
diversity of our culture. We pray through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

HELPFUL NOTES
AYD7 theme song
Video with animation steps—
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SixejIX2ntI
Videos for the Pre-event

Available in the AYD7 website—
http://asianyouthday.org/en/category/pre-event/
And in the AYD7 YouTube channel—
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5MGIXATaDQAghHp97R1qiw
Especially for the AYD7 Philippine Delegation

Members of the AYD7 Philippine Delegation will receive additional information
about participation in the AYD7, e.g. practical information, a set of basic Indonesian
words and phrases, helpful tips, do’s and don’ts, what to bring, and the like. For
this, delegates are advised to regularly check their email.
See you for our Delegation Preparatory Session on July 28-29!
Inquiries
For inquiries about this edition of the AYD7 Pre-Event modules, please contact the
ECY Secretariat Email ayd@cbcp-ecy.ph
Facebook CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth
Mobile +639178536792
P.S. If you wish, you are welcome to visit us in our office in the CBCP Building in
Intramuros, Manila!
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Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences

Office of the Laity and Family – Youth Desk

Philippine Edition - Prepared by the

The Joy of the Gospel

You are the fresh face of Asian Catholic Church

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 2

Greetings, Blessing and Praying as always,

Most Rev. PIUS RIANA PRAPDI, DD

This Handbook was prepared by the AYD7 Organizers.

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 3

THE ASIAN YOUTH DAY

The past AYD celebrations were held in

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 4

The 7th AYD will be in 2017, in the Archdiocese of Semarang (Indonesia) on

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ASIA

“…discussion and dialogue, with a courageous and innovative

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 5

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 6

Have a wonderful journey together!

FROM THE CBCP-EPISCOPAL COMMISSION ON YOUTH

+ As a weekly youth group meeting in your parish

For each pre-event theme, may we propose this simple guide:

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 7

4. Afterwards, PAUSE FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE to reflect on what was read.

7. To culminate the pre-event activity, CELEBRATE TOGETHER IN PRAYER,

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 8

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 9

2. Introduction: Leaving a mark as Asian youth

As Asian youth, we believe that our diversities in culture, religion, ethnicity,

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 10

3. Inspiring Leader: St. Matthew

However, Jesus did not feel that way about

When Jesus ascended to heaven, Matthew lived in Palestine. He remained

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 11

From the life of Matthew, we can learn about how

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 12

2. Introduction: Connecting hearts, not only simply connected

An increasingly deteriorating effect of internet use, for instance, was reported

To these ambivalent characteristics of the new environment created by digital

In a practical way, we are going to apply information technology platforms as

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 13

Within a network of compassionate and committed people who live the

Pope Francis once asked, “How can communication be at the service of an

3. Inspiring Leader: St. Luke

Luke is the author of two books in the

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 14

Although he did not declare himself as an eyewitness of Jesus' ministry, he

According to tradition, Luke died at age 84 in Boeotia. His tomb is situated in

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 15

4.1. Passage: Magnificat [Luke 1: 39-56]

4.4. Practical Guide:

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 16

4.4.3. Share your beautiful experience with your parish community—

4.4.5. Inspired by that wonderful experience, share the stories! Make a

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 17

2. Introduction: Without “U”, Church is Nothing!

“Really?” Tinus replied.

“Yes I did, and you looked you were in a rush.”

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 18

The Church that Lives in the midst of Society

7th Asian Youth Day – PRE-EVENT – Page 19

3. Inspiring Leader: St. Cecilia

The story of St. Cecilia can help us reflect:

4. Activity: Without “U”, C H __ R C H is Nothing!