Pope Francis’ call to seize with enthusiasm “a new phase in the journey of evangelization” by offering this new document, called Evangelii Gaudium or The Joy of the Gospel, to the Church as a map and guide to her pastoral mission in the near future”. It is an invitation to recover a prophetic and positive vision of reality without ignoring the current challenges.”

This is a continuation from last issue and is the final part of the Synthesis of the Joy of the Gospel:

If life is a journey from here to there, then would it make sense to know where we are going? Would it not be essential to have a map in this journey that gives us an idea of where we are and where we are heading?

I believe that we can discover our destiny in life if we look for it, in the right places and ask good questions. Our Lord Jesus is a God of revelation. He reveals and does not hide our destiny from us. In the next few paragraphs, we will see how we can know this. Hopefully, we will learn to ask better questions that will bring us much closer to knowing where our lives are heading to.

It is essential to know where we are going when we set out for a journey. Life is a journey. It is first of all a journey of discovery.

My journey of faith begins with my first encounter with Christ which subsequently led to my conversion to become a Catholic. I was baptised in Easter 2005. Before then I was a pagan worshipping idols, seeking feng sui masters when things were not right and keeping talismans for protection and luck. I was a worldly person in every sense, seeking status and power which turned me into an arrogant and self-centred person.

ROME(VATICAN RADIO).- Nov 26 – The Joy of the Gospel is the title Pope Francis has chosen for this first major document of his pontificate, putting down in print the joyous spirit of encounter with Christ that characterizes every public appearance he has made so far. The man who has constantly kept the media’s attention with his desire to embrace and share his faith with everyone he meets, now urges us to do exactly the same. To “recover the original freshness of the Gospel”, as he puts it, through a thorough renewal of the Church’s structures and vision. Including what he calls “a conversion of the papacy” to make it better able to serve the mission of evangelization in the modern world. The Church, he says, should not be afraid to re-examine “customs not directly connected to the heart of the Gospel” even if they may have deep historical roots.

KOTA KINABALU –  Arthur John, IY seminarian, writes on the closing of the academic year for archdiocesan formands:

Dec 11, 2014 marks the closing of our academic calendar year 2013 for the CAC Aspirants and the IY Seminarians.

It is by God’s Grace that we are able to complete our formation for the year. It seems like it was only yesterday that we began our journey in the CAC and IY Formation Houses. The period seems short but it is made up of many moments that filled our journey.

Evelyn Doikin, 25, hails from Tamparuli, Sabah, and works as a youth coordinator at YouthPREP Centre prior to joining IFFAsia. After completing a year’s formation at IFFAsia, she will take on a leadership role at the Centre and will be directly involved in the training and development of peers as well as coordinating programs.

Below she shares her IFFAsia journey:

IFFAsia has helped me to increase my self-confidence and to take on a more proactive role in giving service. My spiritual life has improved and I discovered more of myself. IFFAsia has also helped me to understand more about the roles of the young people in the Church and society at large.

The formation program offers four modules: Human, Social, Spiritual, and Pastoral.