The joint Mission of the Social Communication Commission & Youth Ministry Commission

By A. Maung Maung, SDB

Anisakan, Myanmar, 9 September 2024 -- If you were to ask me, “What is the SYM best practice in Myanmar during the Covid-19 pandemic and political crisis?”, I would surely say it is “Online Faith Formation for Myanmar youth”. It was firstly organized and originated by Roman Catholic Youth (RCY) during the Covid-19 pandemic, and later joined by the Magis Jesuit youth and the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM).

About 100 local youth and migrant youth workers in different countries participated in the programs on a regular basis. Originally, it was initiated by a small group of Catholic youth themselves who came together at the regular Zoom meeting once a week, i.e., on every Sunday evening, to pray and discuss their difficulties. As time passed, they invited different priests and religious as resource persons on different topics or themes for their human, spiritual, intellectual, psychological, socio-political formation, etc. Of course, its main focus is faith formation.

When they invited the Salesians as their resource persons, the youth delegate Fr. Camillus Suan, SDB thought about it as one of the SYM activities, and after joining them, Salesians also took turns once a month to lead the programs and provided the resource persons. It is a joint mission of the Salesian Social Communication Commission and the Youth Ministry Commission of the vice-province. The SYM has been leading this program on every Fourth Sunday of the month for about 3 years already. The new delegate for Salesian Youth Ministry, Fr. Mariano Soe Naing, SDB also continues this best practice.

Since it is well organized and very helpful to the youth, even some priests, nuns, religious formation houses, convents, boarding houses, and different groups gradually came to join it as well. The Zoom Meeting procedures are as follows:

1. A youth leader announces the programs

2. An appointed group of youngsters or a youngster sing/s the Opening Hymn

3. An appointed person begins with a spontaneous or traditional prayer

4. One of the leaders introduces the resource person or the speaker and invites him or her to take the floor

5. After the talk or input of the resource person, the participants are invited to react, to give feedback and raise questions on the theme presented

6. Then, one of the leaders gives the word of thanks to the resource person, to the youngsters who take responsibility for the program and to all the participants.

7. It is concluded by a final blessing of the priests who take part in it.

It is a very good youth catechesis platform that helps youngsters to grow in their faith and awareness of their social responsibilities. It creates familiarity among the youth to encounter and share with each other. It also becomes a kind of youth-to-youth evangelization in this digital age, somehow making them to become digital missionaries. Let us thank the Lord for the gift of the internet.

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