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152 Divine Word Youth Experience Three Days of Faith, Fellowship and Mission
When God Calls, the Heart Responds
Pascual Semaun, SVD,
PAR Communications Coordinator
Under the theme “When God Calls, the Heart Responds,” the 11th National Congress of Divine Word Youth of Paraguay invited participants to reflect on their own lives, share their experiences, and discover how to live their faith amid the realities of today’s world.
More than simply a formation programme, the Congress was an opportunity to meet other young people who have dreams, questions, struggles, and hopes, but who share the same faith and desire to continue growing as disciples and missionaries.
During these days, the participants reflected on vocation, holiness, commitment, and mission, as well as the concrete realities facing young people today. Family problems, loneliness, insecurity, social pressure, economic difficulties, uncertainty about the future, lack of opportunities, and the impact of social media are all part of a reality that cannot be ignored.
The Congress invited the young people to look at these situations with hope. Wounds do not have the final word. When they can be acknowledged, shared, and accompanied, they can also become opportunities for growth, healing, and transformation.
A Shared Experience
The Congress was organized by Fr. Sebastián Figueredo, SVD, with the formation accompaniment of Fr. Aloisio Pili, SVD, Formator, together with the Divine Word seminarians, who remained close to the young people throughout the gathering.
Through prayer, group activities, formation sessions, conversations, and moments of fellowship, an atmosphere of fraternity gradually developed. Many arrived without knowing one another and ended the gathering with new friendships and a deeper sense of belonging to one family.
The experience also strengthened the young people’s Divine Word identity and reminded them that faith is not lived only inside the church. It is carried into the family, school, workplace, friendships, and every place where life unfolds.
Learning to Listen
During the closing celebration, Fr. Cornelio Boli, SVD, Provincial Superior of SVD Paraguay, invited the young people to pause, become silent, and open their hearts to God.
This is not easy in a world filled with voices. Family, friends, school, university, work, social media, and society constantly send messages about how to think, how to act, and how to achieve success.
Amid all these voices, Fr. Cornelio presented the experience of the young Samuel as an invitation to learn how to listen. From this comes a simple yet profound response:
“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
The invitation was concrete: to set aside a few minutes each day for silence and prayer. Turn off the cellphone, open the Bible, and sincerely ask: “What do you want to say to me today?”
A Life with Purpose
The Congress also encouraged the young people to ask themselves what direction they want to give their lives.
“Lord, what are you calling me to?” was a question addressed to each participant—not as an answer that must be found immediately, but as a path of discernment.
Vocation can take many different paths: forming a family, pursuing a profession, serving society, undertaking a mission, choosing consecrated life, or responding to the call to priesthood. Each path requires freedom, responsibility, and openness to discovering where one’s life can best be placed at the service of others.
Holiness in Everyday Life
Another central theme was holiness. The Congress reminded the young people that being holy does not mean being perfect.
It means learning to rise again after a fall, acknowledging one’s mistakes, asking for forgiveness, forgiving others, loving, and serving. It also means working through one’s wounds so as not to remain trapped in resentment or painful experiences of the past.
Forgiveness was presented as a path to freedom. It does not mean denying the pain, but allowing it to be healed so that life can move forward.
Young People as Protagonists
The gathering also invited the young people to move from being spectators to becoming young people who participate, propose, and transform.
Being faithful and creative means remaining rooted in the Gospel while at the same time seeking new ways to live and communicate the faith.
This can be expressed through serving those in need, accompanying a friend who is going through difficulties, caring for our common home, building more fraternal communities, or using social media responsibly.
Transformation often begins with simple gestures and with the willingness to be close to someone who needs to be heard.
Returning Home with a Mission
After three days, the time came to return home. The 152 young people went back to their families, communities, and groups carrying memories, new friendships, questions, and shared experiences.
But what they experienced in Pikyry should not remain merely a memory. The challenge is to bring it into everyday life and transform what they have learned into commitment, service, and active participation.
Now it is time to return home and put into practice what each person discovered during these days. The experience will have its true meaning if it helps renew the life of the communities and strengthens the desire to serve others.
At the end, there remains a simple prayer that can accompany this journey:
“Speak, Lord, your servant is listening.”
The 11th National Congress of Divine Word Youth has come to an end. What remains are the experience, the friendships, the questions, and the commitment to continue walking together.
When God calls, the heart responds.
152 young people, one faith, one hope, and one desire to follow Jesus, serve, and proclaim his Word.
