Reflexión del Tema

God has given each and every one of us the gift of life, so we should strive to live it the best we can. That is why our 2023 Youth Day theme is “Strive 4 Life”! In our daily lives, sometimes we do not realize what it takes to Strive for Life. What actions do you make that affect your life? What sacrifices do you make that affect your life? What decisions do you make to affect your
life? These are all questions that affect you without you even knowing it.

In the first reading, we hear about Moses explaining to the Israelite people on why obeying God's commandments are crucial for our salvation. Moses says to “Choose life”, which means to disregard sin and death and to follow God for everlasting life. Believing that God is ultimately the one true life and following his commandments to truly capture life. In the Responsorial Psalm, “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord”, give us a clear message for all those who follow God. “Blessed” can mean many things, but we discovered that it ultimately means to be favored upon or given happiness. To live a good life means to be happy, if we believe in God and his word, he will bless us to be happy and filled with life.

Finally in the Gospel, we hear one of the most known readings and more importantly a verse that many of us, catholic or not, have heard before, “take up his cross daily”. What does it mean to take up your cross? Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us, we know that it wasn’t easy and most of us wouldn’t want to be killed on a cross, yet Jesus tells us to take up our own struggles in our daily lives. Our lives aren’t perfect; we face obstacles and sin along the way to lead us away from the beauty of life.

For example, in our lives we have to make certain sacrifices, although it may hurt us, it can bring us closer to God. That's exactly what Jesus did, he carried our sins on the cross to make sure we lived a life without sin. To take up our cross daily we have to follow Jesus. Another example can be shown through our decisions. Those decisions can be good or bad, the good decisions lead us into a life closer to God, a life that improves daily. Those bad decisions can lead us to a more disconnected life with God, being utilitarian and selfish.

The theme for youth day “Strive 4 life”, is a motto we can use everyday to help us live everyday to the max. Of course we can’t live a perfect life, but if we try our best each and every day, we will “Strive 4 life.” Our theme “Strive 4 life” leads us to seize the time and breathe, listen, believe, and live!

Aiden Silva Incarnation Parish
Andrew Salas St. Vincent de Paul Parish