PILGRIMAGE OF THE CROSS

2006 Pilgrimage of the Cross click <<here>>

CrossAt SONfest ’04 Bishop De Angelis blessed and dedicated an 8 foot wooden cross, which has become the symbol of the faith of our young people in the Diocese and a reminder to us all of their importance in the life of the Church as bearers of the Good News and builders of a new civilization of life and love. Since SONfest ’04 in August of 2004 the Youth Cross has become a central feature of many diocesan events and will continue to be a very visible sign to all of the call of the late Pope John Paul II to our youth to be messengers of faith in the 3rd Christian millennium.

Over the last two decades Pope John Paul II had repeatedly entrusted to the young people of this world the mission of bringing the Christian faith to future generations. The World Youth Day Cross, which has travelled through many countries and communities, has become a powerful symbol of this mission.

In a similar fashion, Bishop De Angelis entrusted the new Youth Cross of the Diocese of Peterborough to the young people present at our first SONfest celebrations and asked them to bring it to the people, especially to their peers, in our parishes and communities the power of the cross of Christ and message of our faith.   

“Dear young people, to you I entrust our greatest treasure and our only hope: the Cross of Jesus Christ. Contemplate its mystery and give it fitting adoration and praise. Treat it with the greatest of care, for he who died on the Cross, will care for you. Bring its power and message to your peers and to all you meet along the way, so that Christ may be proclaimed everywhere in our Diocese, in our parishes and schools, in our cities and communities, in our families and homes. May this cross guide and direct you every day of your lives and lead you through the joys and sorrows of this world into the world which will never end.” (Bishop De Angelis at SONfest ’04) 

pilgrimageWith SONfest ’04 the Youth Cross has begun its pilgrimage and will hopefully travel to all parishes and schools in the Diocese in order to draw young people closer to Christ, who has loved us to the end, and allow them to experience ever more deeply his presence in their lives.

During the time in each parish, anywhere from one to a few weeks, pastors, parishioners and youth are invited to celebrate “Youth Week”, a time to reach out to our young people and bring them together as much as possible before the Cross and allow them to experience the presence and the grace of the One who died on it. There are many things which could be done during “Youth Week”:

  • organize formal and/or informal prayer sessions before the Cross;
  • introduce Christian music that is appealing to young people; 
  • pray for them in the general intercessions at Mass, especially on Sunday;
  • make mention in homilies and other talks how important young people are for the life and future of the Church;
  • pray for them on other occasions such as in prayer groups, adoration etc.; 
  • have presentations and talks for young people on the Catholic faith and related matters;
  • invite them be part of liturgies, ministries, groups and social functions;
  • allow them to plan and lead a service or devotion for the parish such as Stations of the Cross;  
  • provide some service initiatives such as visiting shut-ins, the elderly or the sick;
  • bring them together for social functions by themselves or with the rest of the parish;  
  • have presentations for the whole parish on youth-related issues;
  • have young people realize how much God trusts them to be the bearers of the Good News.

The Youth Cross of the Diocese, made by students at St. Thomas Aquinas Secondary School in Lindsay in cooperation with volunteers from the Youth Office, has an opening on the back side. Young people can place their prayer intentions in the hollow of the Cross, which would be prayerfully carried by their peers as the Cross travels on its pilgrimage through the Diocese. To carry each other’s burdens and shoulder each other’s crosses is at the heart of our faith and will help make this world new through the One who made the cross a sign of victory and triumph.

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