There are lots of important people present, bishops, priests, religious and other key people from diocese around Australia, as well as Catholic youth ministry people from the US.
We acknowledged our original inhabitants and the land on which we gather. When the first Europeans settled in Port Phillip, there were already five indigenous language groups living in that area.
The place where we gather for our convention is not far from where Bl Mary MacKillop was born, where she entered the Church through Baptism, and where she grew up.
In his address at the opening of WYD in Sydney, Pope Benedict XVI stated, "Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are. It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy." Here is a link to the full text of his message: http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=2220077405&topic=4690
Archbishop Philip Wilson gave the opening address. He has a great sense of humor and speaks well. He spoke of the power of the presence of Jesus in the community as it's members focus on him in prayer and contemplation.
He addressed briefly the impact of rapid change on the lives of young people and urged the delegates to listen to them to youth to learn about their struggles.
He spoke about the goals of Catholic youth ministry and urged us to see these goals in an inclusive sense, to engage all youth in reflecting on what God offers to them through the Church. The goals are:
1. To foster the total personal and spiritual growth of each young person.
2. To draw young people into responsible participation in the life, mission and work of the Catholic faith community.
3. To empower young people to live as disciples of Jesus Christ in our world today.
These aims were formulated in the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference vision statement for Catholic youth ministry, titled "Anointed and Sent" (2009).
As I think about them, these goals are similar to those formulated for Kolbe Catholic College. We are concerned about the total development of each student in every dimension, including their spiritual development. We also are keen to draw our students into the life of the Church, particularly in their parishes. And we would concur that we should be working to empower our students to be disciples of Jesus. However, this does not mean that we are succeeding in achieving these goals.
The Convention will fly past me because it is jam-packed with events designed to draw us into dialogue about aspects of Catholic Youth Ministry. I must keep in mind that my main purpose for being here is to learn as much as I can about how to bring youth together across school and parish.
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Location:ACU, Melbourne
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