All those experiences surely contribute a lot in one's growth either in personal and family life or neither in larger communities with others. I believe that everything happens for a reason and in every situation(good or bad), it teaches us to be more faithful and grateful. As we embark on this new apostolate year 2024, it is my hope that we share our God-given gifts, we follow Jesus' example faithfully and we open our hearts to the promptings of the Holy Spirit to walk together in the spirit of Synodality.

Nowadays, media and internet portray youth in different pictures and status. Of course, whatever we see and hear in the news and social media is not a general presentation of youth’s condition. Every day, the youth are confronted with different kinds of issues and concerns – personal, economic, political, cultural, and even ecclesial. Sometimes youth are overwhelmed with fears and hopelessness that they thought their life was useless and meaningless. Some youth have the capacity to transcend their experiences while others are on their way of processing it. Some others are not aware or confuse of how to cope up with the realities of life.

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Readiness is something that we need to possess. It is defined as the quality or state of being ready (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). Being ready always is a manifestation that a person is committed, disciplined, diligent and with exemplar behavior. In the season of advent, we are invited to keep alert, vigilant and more so to be ready to welcome Jesus in our hearts. In the scriptures, Matthew stated, “for this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will (cf. Matthew 24:44).”  We have an unknown future. We do not know what will happen to us tomorrow. The story of yesterday is past and can’t be repeated. We have the present now to live in, and it is for us to make the best of our lives.  On the word of Saint John Paul II, “Jesus does not ask us to give up living, but to accept a newness and a fullness of life that only He can give.”

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Life has a lot to offer to us only when we are ready to accept its consequences.  Pope Francis has a good advice and I quote, “we must learn from Mary, and we must imitate her unconditional readiness to receive Christ in her life.” On World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon-Portugal, Pope Francis have given his message to the youth inspired by the Visitation narrative - “Mary arose and went with haste (cf. Lk 1:39).”  Pope Francis spoke to the youth and said, “now is the time to set out in haste towards concrete encounters, towards genuine acceptance of those different from us. This was the case with the young Mary and the elderly Elizabeth.  Only thus will we bridge distances – between generations, social classes, ethnic and other groups – and even put an end to wars.”

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Young people always represent the hope for new unity within our fragmented and divided human family. The disposition of Mary portrays different models of faith that we can follow.  Pope Francis added, “Mary is our model; she shows us how to welcome this immense gift into our lives, to share it with others, and thus to bring Christ, his compassionate love and his generous service to our deeply wounded humanity.”

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As the youth of today, having a sense of readiness to take the challenges of time is essential. Have the courage to leave your comfort zones and reach out to others. Use your gifts and competencies to share in the mission of the Church. Make yourself available for service and volunteerism. When facing difficulty, always turn to Jesus with hope. Mary is the woman of hope, the Mother of hope. On Calvary, “hoping against hope” (cf. Rom 4:18), she never wavered in her certainty of the resurrection that her Son had proclaimed. Have that hopeful disposition like Mary who believes and hope in Jesus.

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Youth, are you ready?