The swearing-in of Jesus Youth took place after nine days of novena prayer as a form of spiritual preparation.
Altogether, 62 youths took their oath: 30 from Dhaka and 32 from the Bandarban hill tract area.
Father Bikash Rebeiro, National Chaplain of Jesus Youth, CSC in Bangladesh, and Cardinal Patrick D'Rozario were with the Dhaka team during the oath.
On the other hand, the Bandarban team's chaplain, Father Suman Peter Costa, was present at the Eucharistic celebration during the oath time of the Bandarban Jesus Youth team.
Cardinal Patrick D’Rozario said, "Jesus Youth is an international Catholic movement that challenges young people to live a meaningful, creative, and fulfilling life."
"This life begins with a personal, loving encounter with Jesus and continues as they grow in a joyful spirituality within a community of like-minded friends," said Cardinal D’Rozario.
Father Bikash Rebeiro, National Chaplain of Jesus Youth in Bangladesh, said, "Every youth in the movement is called to live the faith every day by sharing the Good News in today’s diverse environments and by carrying the mission of the Church to the peripheries of our world."
"Jesus Youth is "a Missionary Movement at the Service of the Church’, and sharing the person, the message, and the love of Jesus is of prime importance at all times," said Father Bikash.
One of the participants, Maria Gomes, said, "Today we are committed to holding our youth's hands together, journeys begun and continued together, words of comfort and understanding, prayers lifted in unity—all these expressions of friendship have been the warp and weft of the movement."
"This team is made up of our simple friendships that often deepen into spiritual relationships within cell groups, sharing groups, prayer groups, and other meeting points while remaining rooted in an all-encompassing friendship with Jesus," said Gomes.
The spirituality of Jesus Youth always emerged within the Jesus Youth movement.
Drawn from the spirit of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and the rich traditions of the Church, this unique spirituality is rooted in six strong pillars.
It is structured around the needs of people as they live out their everyday lives in homes, offices, universities, schools, trains, playgrounds, and streets around the world.
In the mid-1970s, the flame of the charismatic revival spread to India and Kerala, the southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent.
The wave of the Holy Spirit gave rise to several youth groups where Catholic youth encountered Jesus and the Gospel renewed and refreshed.
Gradually, these groups began to connect, and in 1985, these youth groups came together for a large conference. The conference was called ‘Jesus Youth 85,’ and the young people who attended it began to call themselves ‘Jesus Youth.’
These young people shared their experiences with those around them. As they moved into universities, schools, workplaces, and cities, they continued spreading the exciting news of Jesus by forming prayer and cell groups.
As many traveled to different countries, they carried their Jesus Youth lifestyle, forming Jesus Youth groups worldwide. Today, Jesus Youth is present in over 25 countries around the world. - Nikhil Gomes
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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