Interparish Youth Session on Relationships

The Interparish Youth Session on Relationships was held at Satyagiri, the retreat and animation centre of the Dominicans, at Igatpuri, on Sunday, 10 January 2010. About 13 youth from our parish participated, along with Bro Johnson Bhuriya and me. There was a group of over 50 youth in all, from St Patrick's, St Ann's and Sacred Heart Igatpuri.

The young people of Igatpuri together with the Divyadaan brothers did a commendable job of organizing the day, which all found very pleasant and good fun. The weather was glorious, the journey good, and the company stimulating.

The Igatpuri youth, led by Biju, conducted a 45 min. Praise and Worship. This was followed by an hour of games and ice-breakers. After that Fr Edison gave a talk on Relationships; he was extremely lively and had a wonderful way of holding the attention of everyone. Some of the things he said were extremely provocative, and even disturbing to some of the youth; our youth group is going to have a discussion on these issues, and we intend studying the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which is perhaps one of the best summaries of Catholic teaching on just about anything, including the important issue of relationships, sexuality, marriage and family.

After lunch, Sr Sylvie gave a short session. During both the morning panel discussion and the afternoon session, some of the priests made themselves available for confessions, and it was heartening to see several of the youth taking advantage of the opportunity.

We returned to Nashik by the convenient - and cheap at only Rs 9! - shuttle that left at 1810 hrs.