Dablo, 26 June, 2023 / 9:19 pm (ACI Africa).
Burkina Faso needs fearless Christians, those who are ready to bear witness to their faith without fear of intimidation, young Burkinabe who are to participate in the 2023 World Youth Day (WYD) in person in Lisbon, Portugal, have been told.
In his Homily on Sunday, June 25 at St. Joseph Catholic Parish Pabré of the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Fr. Valéry Sakougri, Burkina Faso’s National Youth Chaplain, said that the young people’s experience in Lisbon, Portugal, should make way for “fighting Christians”, for young people ready to commit themselves to the service of the Church.
“It's time for each and every one of you, dear young people, to get out of your torpor, out of your current situation, and into an unknown future of certain achievements, towards which God himself is accompanying you. The time of the Christians who like the easy way out, of young Christians tired before their time, of young retirees at the age of 22, 25, 30… must come to an end with the WYD that you are going to experience, in our Church, in our country,” Fr. Sakougri said.
He added, “These types of young people, of Christians, must disappear to make way for fighting Christians, for young people who commit themselves, who give themselves to the service of the Church and their brother, for young people who know how to undertake, who dare, who risk. That's what's expected of you after the WYD.”
The June 25 Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Parish Pabré was organized for the 47 young people preparing to be part of the August 1-6 WYD in Lisbon. From the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou alone, 30 youth are attending the global event.
