Sibenik (IKA) – Over 20,000 young people from all parts of Croatia, neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other countries participated in the National Meeting of Catholic Youth, held on April 24 and 25 in the city of Sibenik and the parishes of the Sibenik Diocese, with the motto “Row on the Open Sea.” At the beginning of the program, the participants were welcomed by the their host, Bishop Ante Ivas of Sibenik, who greeted them in a city that was born on Christmas Day 1066, during the reign of the Croatian King Petar Kresimir IV, and is therefore still popularly known as Kresimir’s city. During the cultural part of the program, the Sibenik Diocese was presented to the young people, together with all the significant events in its history. The central part of the program on the fist day was a Solemn Mass that was concelebrated by the president of the Croatian Conference of Bishops, Archbishop Cardinal Josip Bozanic of Zagreb, with the apostolic nuncio in Croatia, Archbishop Francisco-Javier Lozano and nearly all the Croatian bishops, diocesan officials for pastoral activity with the young, and numerous priests.

The homily delivered by Cardinal Josip Bozanic at the Mass in Sibenik was unusual, with the content completely focused on young people. During the sermon, young people read texts aloud that had been written by other anonymous young people, expressing reflections about the Church and the young. Addressing the encounter participants, the cardinal asked whether they had noticed that among many people of today, particularly among young men and women, there seems to be an emptiness in their souls that yearns to be filled. This thirst for meaning, this search for answers that they can carry with them for their whole lives, this restlessness in their souls: their soothing, their goal, their peace can only be found in an encounter with God, who is the source of meaning and the goal of every human life, said the cardinal. “A person is a being who expects and hopes. He who would not hope and not expect anything, would hardly have lived. If any generation has a reason to expect and hope, then it is you, dear young people. You are people of hope, you are people of expectation and you are people of the future. Before you is a life that you must paint with the colors of meaning, the colors of hope, the colors of trust and the colors of love,” pointed out Cardinal Bozanić.

The cardinal wanted his reflections to be supplemented by the reflections of young people, and therefore invited young people from the Zagreb Archdiocese to assist him who had met at preparatory meetings for the Second Synod of their archdiocese during the past months. They anonymously expressed their hopes and expectations from the Church and society, as well as their readiness to work to achieve them. Several young people read these reflections aloud.

“The entire society has passed through and continues to pass through severe trials and changes that have occurred in recent times. We young people have adjusted to them and will continue to adjust to them but we expect greater understanding from the society and the Church, the overcoming of inequalities among the generations,” was the opinion of the young people, who also wrote: “If you ask us how much can the Church rely on young people, the answer is very simple: “As much as we young people can rely on the Church! We are young. We have strength and energy to right injustices and change the world for the better!” Commenting on the thoughts of the young people, Cardinal Bozanić pointed out that unfortunately we often feel that despite our hard work, we do not get very far. Despite our invested efforts, we cannot achieve everything. The young notice that there are many things that bother them, that prevent them from growing and developing, that are standing in their way as seemingly insurmountable obstacles.

The young people also pointed out that they need models, of which there are unfortunately not many, even within the Church. “Dear friends, in all our wanderings and needs, we are not left alone. Jesus enters into our problems, comes to the discouraged and disheartened, and counts on them. Jesus needs them. Jesus needs them the way they are, in order for him to change them. It is necessary, despite all possible disappointments and frustrations, to listen to the words of Jesus and turn ourselves around, to be ready to do something that we would not do spontaneously. It is necessary to step out of our daily concerns and, inspired by Jesus’ words, do something beautiful every day for God,” pointed out Cardinal Bozanic, mentioning to the young people that they surely feel that they could do a lot.

“We can carry the world on our wings, we can contribute much to the society in which we live with our education, professional training and employment, especially if it is a profession, because for a young person this is additional motivation, by volunteering in humanitarian activities, founding families etc. We want to live according to our Christian convictions with dignity, to become educated and join in the mission of the Church,” was the position of the young people whose reflections supplemented the cardinal’s sermon.

The young people pointed out that they can become involved in various activities, assist the pastor, sing in the church, join various prayer groups, noting that for this it is necessary to work on communication. This particularly pleased the cardinal. “The question of communication is an important question of our Church. Here we can still grow and develop considerably. Team work, cooperation, communication, all of these are words that must gain meaning,” emphasized Cardinal Bozanic during the Mass. At the end of the Mass, Cardinal Bozanic presented the diocese representatives with an oar as a memento.

On Sunday, April 25, a program took place in the parishes of the Sibenik Diocese, where the young people, hosts and guests, participated in Masses and prepared programs entitled “Young for the Young,” at which they introduced themselves to each other.