2016-07-29 11:00:00

WYD: Profound opportunity for the formation of faith


(Vatican Radio) Thousands of young people from all over the world are in Krakow, Poland this week taking part in the World Youth Day (WYD) celebrations.

The 6-day WYD gathering offers the opportunity for young people to deepen their own Catholic faith and to grow in confidence about witnessing faith in contemporary society.

Vatican Radio’s Lydia O’Kane spoke to Bishop Mark O’Toole from the Diocese of Plymouth, to discuss the importance of WYD in terms of evangelization and catechesis and what he hopes young people will gain from the experience.

Listen:

Bishop O’Toole says “World Youth Day is at the heart of evangelization”. Millions of people who have experienced World Youth Day have grown in confidence in their faith, no matter what their cultural context, with many discovering a “new sense of purpose and vocation in reaching out to others”.

Talking about the significance of WYD in this Year of Mercy, Bishop O’Toole said that it is “the providence of God that these things have come together”, particularly alongside the recent canonization of Pope John Paul II. He says “it is a wonderful thing for us all to have this rich experience of the tenderness of God” and to witness that sharing of faith in a very public way. WYD allows us to become “instruments of mercy to those who we encounter”.

In today’s society, young people are facing new struggles “to commit to something permanent” and discover “a deep sense of purpose and meaning in life”. WYD presents an “unparalleled opportunity” for people to step back from the milieu of social media, and allow themselves time to thing and pray, and gain the “strong sense of the Church as a universal family”.   

Bishop O’Toole stresses the importance of Catechesis at WYD, saying that these sessions present a vital opportunity for young people to enter into a dialogue with Church leaders and understand the “magisterial teaching of the Church in a very accessible way”. It provides a profound impact and opportunity for the formation of faith.

Bishop O’Toole expressed his hopes that young people who attend WYD have a “real sense that they have encountered the person of Jesus Christ in their own lives”, and that they will leave with the confidence to share their own experience with their peers. He concluded that faith is most of all communicated through witness, and it is the “witness of the individual young people which will spread the Gospel”.








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