Anna Arco of the Catholic Herald draws out attention to National Youth Sunday 2009: Witness to Hope.
Noting the failure of last year's event--a patronizing "Let's Go Green for Jesus" fest--, Arco contrasts the descriptions of two events:
The blurb on the site, introducing Christ the King (and National Youth Sunday), reads:
“The feast of Christ the King invites us to reflect on the nature of the Kingdom of God, and challenges us to live as citizens of a kingdom “not of this world” (John 18:36). What is distinctive about Christ’s kingship? Jesus says that “all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice” (John 18:37). What does it mean to listen to this voice today? How do we act on its promptings to bring about the Kingdom of God here and now? “
Compare and contrast with:
"This year’s [2008] National Youth Sunday takes the theme Reclaim the future! It continues the live simply message of recent years by inviting us to think about how we can live sustainably in our communities. Green issues and environmental concerns remain constantly in the news: we continue to hear about the effects of global warming; we’re encouraged to consider how we use the world’s resources; we are told to recycle more and more, and so on. Living simply and sustainably reminds us that these aren’t just trendy, eco-friendly actions but God-given responsibilities."
Arco asks if we can spot the difference between the two events. Yes, this year's event is Christian.
progress!
ReplyDeleteI am quite confident that the theme for last year's event must have somehow originated with LCWR-type Sisters, who, having left Catholic sensibilities behind years ago, have moved (as an unthinking group of sheep) from one popular cause to the next. It looks like a priest or a CMSWR-type of Sister proposed this year's theme. I hope they retain whatever change was put into place on a permanent basis.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see that Christ and Gaia are on a rotating schedule of worship for this weekend. It's only fair.
ReplyDeleteNext year's theme: "Have you worshipped a shrove lately?"