Many Filipino youth are preparing to participate in the International Genfest which will be held in Budapest, Hungary, this coming August 31 to September 2, 2012 and they need help to fulfill their dream... Jose Arvin Miranda writes about the importance of this event for young people of today.
Growing up in this modern era of constant change takes its toll on all of us.
The world’s pursuit of misleading pleasures tends to influence what we buy, what we do, whom we are with, and where we go. Doing what we “want,” eventually leads us to the sensation that “our glasses are somehow half-empty,” and makes us ask ourselves, “and then what?” Try it yourself! Obtain a gadget you’ve always wanted to possess, join an event you’ve been “dying” to go to, an activity you’ve always wanted to get involved in, or work at that dream job you’ve always wanted... And you’ll be asking yourselves, “and now what?” Being part of the Gen (the youth branch of the Focolare Movement), however, I pose myself another question, “What THEN can I do for others?” We, Gen, cannot stop ourselves, but we would like to shout out from the rooftops and sing at the top of our lungs that WE WANT TO LOVE! In acknowledging this year’s theme, “Let’s bridge!” from GENFEST 2012, the most anticipated event of the Gen together with the Youth for a United World, to be held from August 31 to September 2, we want to go over what’s been accomplished through previous Genfests and from this perspective, bridge gaps, demolish barriers between people and build new foundations of love, thus paving the way and contributing to help fulfill Jesus’ dream: “That all may be one,” (John 17:21).
Let’s recall here Focolare Movement foundress Chiara Lubich’s words to the Gen in 1975, just a month before the first Genfest: “Focus on the supernatural!” she said, that supernatural element or love which she described as “naturally supernatural.” The Genfest, a celebration of Christ’s love, was realized through a remarkable intuition of Chiara Lubich’s to gather together young people all over the world, with diverse cultural and social backgrounds, and different positions in society, whether they be Christians of different denominations, faithful of other religions, or people with no religious convictions – to invite them to come together in one place, and with one goal: UNITY.
Genfest traces its beginnings to the year 1973, when 8,000 young people from all over Europe assembled together, “people with a global vision who overcame all barriers,” as they overran Loppiano (the little city of the Focolare in Italy) with a great burning desire to love. “Unity is possible!” exclaimed the 20, 000 youths in 1975, as they came from 5 different continents at the Palaeur Stadium of Rome, while Pope Paul VI acknowledged them, “A new world is born!” Then in 1980, even during the cold war, a surprising number of 40,000 young people met in Rome, underlining their ambition to work “for a united world.” Genfest 1985 was unique in the movement’s history, as it saw the birth of a new group, Youth for a United World, which happening broadened the Gen’s youthful horizons, and made them reach out to as many young people as possible. In 1990, the Gen were welcomed by Pope John Paul II, the man who had played a critical role in the fall of the Berlin wall the year before in 1989, which event finally allowed many youths from Eastern Europe to attend the Genfest in Rome.
The most unforgettable moment of that gathering in 1990 took place when a Buddhist Gen approached John Paul II and bowed down before him, while the Pope stood up to kiss him – bestowing hope on all as a sign of the times.
Thanks to modern technology, Genfest 1995 was widely followed all around the world through satellite link-ups and the internet, signaling a “time of fraternity” and the eagerness to “showcase a united world” to everyone. Integrated in the World Youth Day 2000 as a main event, Genfest 2000 accommodated more than 20,000 young people who were inspired by the lives of several Gen youths (like Chiara Luce Badano who was beatified on September 25, 2010) – young lives which were concrete models for the youth of today.
Although aware that everything in this world is vanity of vanities and will pass away one day (yes, even our sufferings and joys), we want to make of this year’s event another “moment of God,” as Chiara Lubich would have defined it, a moment that will never pass away.
Jose Arvin Miranda
http://www.newcityph.com/
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