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July 23, 2021Youth Revive! by Mariana Woosley
June 19th of 2021 was a day full of revival for the youth of our church. We were honored to host Youth Revived, a one-day rally that allowed youth ages 12-18 to come together in community. With three vicariates gathering together at St. Jude Parish in Alamogordo, we had participants attend from Artesia, Las Cruces, and the Tularosa Basin area. The day long rally was filled with joy, laughter, and revival among the 45 youth that attended. To further involve our community, our beloved parish priests and deacons dedicated their time to provide talks, confessions, Adoration, and Mass for our youth. Together with our parish priests, we were blessed to have Bishop Peter Baldacchino spend the entire day with us. We are incredibly grateful for all of the young adults from Santa Rosa de Lima and St. Anthony who were dedicated in helping the rally run smoothly by leading the music, sessions, and games. To minds attentive and well fed, our young adults also ran the technology and food preparation for the day.
Youth Revived focused on what truly matters and pertains to our youth. The theme revival allowed our youth to dive into their individual lives and mentality and seek a lasting change in their faith. Through the sessions, we learned about reviving our lives as individuals and as a community. Fr. Mark McKenzie S.J., the interim priest for St. Jude, taught our youth about discernment and how to look at the important decisions of our lives. Additionally, we focused on the aspects of mental health, friendships, peer pressure, and healthy competition in the lives of our young people through small sessions that included games and activities that they greatly enjoyed. Fr. Emmanuel Stephen of Immaculate Conception Church led the youth in activities to revive their hearts through loving themselves and each other. Our youth were able to worship and adore Christ through the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Adoration led by Deacon Mariano Melendrez of St Francis de Paula. Beside joining in on a game of volleyball with Fr. Marcel Okonkwo and our youth, Bishop Peter Baldacchino hosted the youth in 8 rounds of Family Feud and further gave a powerful address on Christianity.
Youth participating in a discussion with Fr. Emmanuel Stephen
Together with their peers and families, our youth celebrated Mass with Bishop Peter Baldacchino, Fr. Mark McKenzie, Fr. Martin Cornejo, and Deacon Bobby Garcia. Though Youth Revived lasted through a single day, our youth have ignited a flame not only within themselves and their long-awaited peers but in our priests and parishes as well. After a year of hardships and challenges, our youth have longed for such an experience as this; we are so thankful for the prayers, thoughts, and generosity that we have received in abundance from you all. We hope to continue to revive the hearts of our youth within these vicariates and across the Diocese of Las Cruces soon.
“Will you not revive us again, that you people may rejoice in you?”
Psalm 85:6 RSV
