Youth Lenten Vigil Retreat
By Soccom Korea
Communication & Culture Centre, Seoul, 10 March 2024 -- Today marks the Fourth Sunday of Lent, and we are already halfway through the Lenten season, a time of contemplating the Passion of Jesus and joining him on his way to the cross with sacrifice and charity. Many people make special resolutions and commitments during this gracious time, making sacrifices and prayers that they might not normally make and trying to respond in some small way to the Lord's love.
A group of young people gathered together to make Lent more meaningful. Fifty-three young people (22 males and 33 females) from different parts of the country at the Salesian Provincial House for an all-night Lenten vigil with the theme, "Stay awake with me!" The retreat was the result of a request from a group in the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM), and was prepared over a long period of time by the Salesian Youth Ministry Commission, which, in collaboration with the Salesian Sisters, designed a specific program.
The retreat began with a brief orientation on Saturday evening at 9:00 p.m. in the grand chapel on the seventh floor of the provincial house, and then the program began in earnest with a lecture on "What Does Suffering Mean to Us?" by Fr Lee Bosco Jeongun. Then, for a deeper moment of contemplation, everyone's cell phones were collected by Sr Jisun Yoon, and while some participants had a general idea of what was to be requested, most were initially embarrassed by the unexpectedness of that request. However, everyone was happy to cooperate, resolving to "disconnect" from SNS and focus on the Word, at least for this night. They moved right into Lectio Divina. Participants listened to the Word and a short commentary that followed and then had time to reflect individually in deep silence. This is a program that we would recommend to young people, even though they are used to all kinds of noise, it doesn't seem out of place for them to stay in silence, meditate on the Word, and look deep within themselves. Afterwards, they moved to the opposite hall for an hour-long prayer of the Way of the Cross, based on Pope Francis' encyclical 'Laudato Si', prepared and led by Fr Seong Dominic Hayoon. The night was already late, midnight, but none of the young people showed signs of fatigue or exhaustion.
When the time came for a rich late-night snack (Fish cake soup, kimbap, and ramen), the young people's faces were filled with happiness and liveliness as the painful emotions of contemplating the Passion of Jesus disappeared. There was no sign of the nervousness that was present at the beginning, since many of them were meeting each other for the first time, only the liveliness of youth.
A time of prayer followed in the form of a Taizé prayer. The young people had a special time of prayer and reflection, singing together in harmony in a well-prepared atmosphere. The young people who participated in the retreat were a mix of working professionals, students, and those preparing to enter the workforce. All of them, in their own way, are passing through the painful life of a young person in this age, feeling the hardships and the loneliness of being alone. The well-organized prayer time together enriched their hearts as they contemplate deeply within themselves and discover the presence of God, who is always there with a loving hand. The young people listened, sang, prayed, and reflected together until 4 a.m., and spent time in deep unity with God in confession. At the end of the long prayer time, the participants made a a beautiful moment of blessing in sharing with each other the blessings of their hearts, the gifts of grace they had received from the retreat, and prayed for each other. Each participant greeted each person individually, touching hands and hugging each other.
"I'm in public service, and I'm involved in a youth group at my parish. I was looking for something that would help me grow in my faith, and this vigil was announced in the Dantok room(a kind of whatsapp), so I joined. One of the other women in my youth group was going to join me, but she was on duty in the workforce, so she couldn't come with me. I'm tired now, but I had a really good time, and I would definitely join again whenever I have the chance," said Kim Bosco from Incheon. One young man, who introduced himself as a catechist, said he was glad to have such a countrywide retreat, as he had never had the opportunity to meet young people his age in faith from other parts of the country, and hoped it would happen more often.
Among the participants was a young man who will be enlisting in the army tomorrow. He belonged to Eden SYM (Don Bosco Youth Center) and had already lived in the Salesian atmosphere for several years, and he said that he came to the retreat to set up his mind and to rely more deeply on God for his future 20 months of military service.
The Lenten vigil retreat, which ended with a Mass presided over by Fr Baek Marcelo Kwanghyun at 7 o'clock on Sunday morning, was enough to confirm that young people have a great spiritual thirst. There is a big worry that young people are moving away from the Church, but it was an opportunity to confirm once again that the Church needs to start with self-reflection that it is not accepting young people properly.
We applaud the hard work and dedication of the Salesians, both SDB and FMA, who accompanied the young people during the long hours of preparation and all-nighters, and we look forward to the development of a new area of youth ministry that responds to the reality of our country, as confirmed by these initiatives.
