On the youth cross pilgrimage: A Reflection

On December 6, 2019 the Holy Cross of Malita, Inc. warmly welcomed the parish Pilgrim Youth Cross for the school pilgrimages conducted by the Parish Youth Coordinating Council in celebration of the year of the youth.

The event evidently explained the concept of the Youth Cross Pilgrimage theme: Beloved, Gifted and Empowered. In the first reading, the Prophet Isaiah gave emphasis on the first word of the theme: Beloved. He taught us that even us, sinners, can find joy in God, that we are loved and will always be loved by God regardless of who we are. We are his beloved children.

In the Gospel, the reading tackled about the two blind men who believed in Christ. In line with real life situations, there are two types of blindness: Spiritual Blindness and Physical Blindness. Spiritual Blindness is defined as the grievous condition experienced by people who do not believe in God. Where as Physical Blindness is the state or condition of an individual who cannot perceive through his eyes. Spiritual Blindness is actually much worse than physical blindness because it simply means that if a person is spiritually blind then that person lacks faith in God. Everyone is gifted with sight. This is the Lord’s blessing to his people but most only know how to see physically, only a few can see beyond the physical appearance. However, this does not mean that we are not gifted. And this is where the third word of the theme appears. Empowered.

We are given by God the power to choose how we perceive things, how we understand objects and how we show our love to one another. God lets us choose how to see beyond physical appearance or how to only see the object itself. This puts into word how God loves His children that He even gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. The Holy Cross is the greatest symbol of love because it represents the suffering of Christ for the salvation of the human kind. The theme is not only limited for the youth of the world because the youth represents God’s children and we are all His children. We are beloved, gifted and empowered through Jesus. (Lady Jade Tanaid and Jamaica Aman | SUGID SoCCom)