The Catholic Youth Days: a Party with God

“Here, you can feel an incredible warmth inside your soul, you can find answers to the questions that have troubled you for a long time” – the participants of the Catholic Youth Days say. The CYD took place in Šumskas, started on last Friday and ended on Sunday. This year, about 200 people took part in the meeting. The motto of the CYD was “God counts on YOU”.

 “We chose our motto from the speech of Papa Francesco, which he gave during the World Youth Days in Cracow. The Holy Father said that God counts on every one of us. It does not matter what kind of mobile phone we have or what kind of clothes we wear. We are all equal in the eyes of God” – explains Mirosław Bieraza, the organizer of the Catholic Youth Days in Šumskas.

Everybody will find something that suits them.

“We are in Šumskas since Friday evening. We had various conferences at that time. From sitting and listening to singing and dancing together. On Saturday, we had a lot of activities going on, for example, Archery Tag, Powerball, biking, we played volleyball, we prepared our hand-made rosaries and toys for the children who stay in hospitals. In the evening we had the way of the cross through the town, with torches and a cross. On Sunday there was more of listening, a conference, testimonies, the Rosary. At the end a concert took place” – enumerates the organizer.

“Young people come here, primarily, to find themselves, to find answers to the questions that appear in their lives throughout the year. Through these conferences, prayers, discussions in groups, we are trying to find the answers to the questions which trouble them. We are trying to have something for everyone who comes for the Catholic Youth Days” – Mirosław Bieraza assures.

“For many years the CYD had an international format. Unfortunately, this year, we could not invite the young people from Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia as it used to be in the previous years. So we decided to focus on integrating with the youth from Lithuania. There are people from Kupiškis and from Lithuanian parishes of Vilnius with us. We are trying to conduct the meetings in a way so that the Polish as well as the Lithuanian speakers can sink in each of the subjects” – Mirosław says.

Everybody will listen, nobody will condemn.

“I came for the CYD fourth time already and each time I feel a closer bond with the Church. For me, the best part is the friendly atmosphere which is here all the time. We meet like-minded young people here. I feel very free here. What does the this year’s motto mean to me? Despite the fact that sometimes we wander off the good way, the God is with us and I feel the confidence on his part that he will accept us as we are” stresses Marzena Palewicz, a youth leader.

“I came for the CYD the second time. In this place you can feel an incredible warmth in your soul, you can find the answers to the questions which bothered you for a very long time. Last week, with the ZW FUN crew, I was in Augustów on “Lato z Radiem”. It was a music party, dancing together, singing. And here is a kind of party…a party with a priest. You can talk, pray together, tell a story which happened to you and you are sure that everybody will listen and nobody will condemn you. Here are the people who pursue one goal – reestablishing the bonds with God, sinking in the Faith” – Aneta from the ZW FUN crew said.

“I came for the Catholic Youth Days for the first time. I was wondering whether to come, but now, I do not regret. I came here to learn how to be closer to God, to learn to love as Jesus loves us. He suffered and he was crucified for us. My stay here is very important to me. I want to learn how to listen to God. Listen to the things which he says to us. God loves us and wants us to be with him. He wants us to go to churches, to learn to trust Jesus more, to do everything with the help of God and in obedience with Him” – a participant of the Catholic Youth Days, Tomasz reasons.