Build bridges for a closer encounter with Christ

Dec 06, 2019

By Vincent D’Silva
In his homily, Fr Edward Rayappan, CIC parish priest, spoke on the 4E – the diocesan thrust. He said we must learn to build a bridge of friendship so that there will be a close encounter with the Risen Lord.

Fr Eddie said, “Through this friendship, we empower each other with the faith we have in the risen Lord.”

Through enlightenment, we build a relationship of trust and hope in our risen lord.

He went on to say that through the Enlightenment and Empowerment, we move to partnership in building the kingdom of God, which means working closely in building the family as a communion of communities.

Turning to the youths, he said, “Many of us (youths) know Jesus. The question is: how much do you know about this Jesus?”

He challenged them to think deeply on why they want to follow Jesus.

He made it clear that we need to build the bridge of communication as a tool to build up  our friendship and relationship.

“And through this bridge of communication, we can strengthen our friendship which will eventually lead us together to worship God in spirit and in truth,” he explained.

For us Catholics, he said, the Eucharist is the bridge that communicates us with the divine and this bridge is called Jesus Christ.

Without this bridge we can’t reach God and hence it is important to build a bridge and to maintain the bridge (Jesus Christ) and prevent it from breaking.

He also stressed that parents have removed Jesus from their hearts, which does not strengthen them spiritually.

“We have replaced the faith of our children with worldly values,” he opined.

He stated that in baptism, we get new life and this new life should always be kept alive.

“And this is only possible when we learn to build friendship that leads us to companionship,” he said.

He went on to say that this companionship will build our relationship into a partnership with Jesus, thus building the kingdom of God.

He called on all during this Holy Eucharist to surrender our weakness with God so that he can strengthen us.

He urged all parents to always be available to attend to their children’s needs and to be always hospitable to everyone that they meet.

In his closing address, Donald Culas, the organiser of the Youth Rally said, “The threeday Youth Rally has brought out their dreams and aspirations through the group discussions and presentations.”

He pointed out that given the support from parish and from their parents, the youths want to be part of active parish life.

“It’s about time to refer to them not as the Church of tomorrow but they are the Church of now and today,” he added.