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Fruits of the Youth Assembly 2024 - Re-living The Experience

We entered the gates of St. Francis Xavier’s Kutama College right before the Youth Mass began. Not wanting to miss a beat, we abandoned our luggage and hurried our old and laggard selves to the Church, more on that later. We nestled on the pews just in time to witness the energetic and passionate entrance procession. Students from different schools dancing in well-choreographed synchrony, a testament to how well they had bonded in the days prior. They were on fire. I don’t know where they stole the time to practice all of that, but it was beautiful, it was poetry, it was, for me, a sermon. One body, with many parts, all working together for the His greater glory. Fr. Tendai Matare S.J spoke of a devotion for Christ as intense as that of a lover. I’m not sure if the youth understood the gravity of that message, but I know I did. When the mass was ended, we were shepherded to the hall, where they had prepared a table before us in the presence of musical harmonies, from the public address system. A bottle of coke to top it off, had my cup running over. Did I mention we had a fruits? The fruits of the Assembly. They were delicious. Look, I was hungry, It had been a long day. Anyway, the care and attention given to the food was heart-warming, it was poetry, it was, for me, a sermon. The unity, the calm trust, and the sense of community in the preparations could be tasted. Enough about food. This whole experience though, was just an appetizer. Okay, I’m going to stop now. After partaking of the scrumptious satiety, and listening to welcoming remarks from the leader of our sect, Mr Edmond Mupfapairi, the youth proceeded with their program for their vintage themed night, which included music, performance, and an election of the Youth Committee. It was the last night, it was going to be a memorable one. The Youth soon filled the hall, adorned in fashion of the hey days, an assortment of bell bottoms and suspenders, palazzos and viscose, and the all-time favourite, check-check. They were on fire. The vintage theme, as we were to learn, was in our honour. Us, the Adult CLCiers, or the CLC Ancestors as one of them put it, the Classics. I have never felt more attacked and very much loved at the same time. After quickly running out of fingers and toes to count my age, I begrudgingly settled into the labels. If you know the items of clothing I named above, please, sit down, put your hand down. Come sit next to me here in the ancestral plain. Amidst high spirits and happy cheers, boys and girls looking like they were just about to jit-jive were paraded, then a free and fair, peaceful and harmonious election was held. It was so harmonies by the time they were done, I did not know who was who in their cabinet. I leaned my rickety self over to ask, and I was told of what had transpired: The youth select representatives from each school and it is up to the representatives to sort themselves into the various roles as per the constitution. I marvelled at this idea, it was brilliant, it was poetry, it was, for me, a sermon. Letting go and letting God. Being detached. The best, however, was yet to come. With the new dispensation in place, the program continued. The organisers had prepared awards, trophies and certificates to commemorate notable wins in the various school communities. It was a nice touch, taking a moment to acknowledge the good things happening, and offer gratitude to the members labouring behind the curtains. I was planning to ‘party hard’ with the young ones but old age had other plans for me as I found myself checking out before the ceremony was over. The next morning, on my way to mass, I noticed a tree, a baren tree at the centre of they yard. Well, I did not notice anything of the sort but, let us pretend I did, It will make sense later, I promise. It was, as can be expected, a spirited celebration of Mass, led by Fr. Tendai Matare S.J and Fr. Peter Paul S.J, our newly appointed Ecclesiastical Assistant. As I watched the young ones sway to the drums and song, I could see myself in them, I used to be one of them. Singing on top of my voice in my blue and grey unform. I could imagine how transformative this experience was for them, for I knew how it had been for me. For some, it would be the only assembly they would ever attend, but one that would mark their lives for ever. I was shaken back to my senses as the priest marched us out of the church before the final blessing. What was going on? Is this allowed? Does the Bishop know about this? I had so many questions. The students had been asked to write on pieces of paper, the outcome of the assembly. The priest whose name is Fr Tendai Matare S.J, in case the Bishop wants to know, led us outside the church into the yard where he would have us in a circle around a bush. It was not burning, so we didn’t have to remove our shoes. This bush, was that baren tree from earlier. It did not have any fruits, but now, the youth had written down on pieces of paper the fruits of the assembly, and were going to symbolically hang these fruits on this tree. The youth proceeded to tie the symbolic fruit onto the tree as we all sang The Suscipe: Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my entire will, All I have and call my own. You have given all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours; do with it what you will. Give me only your love and your grace, that is enough for me. When all the fruits were on the tree, the singing turned to humming, the perfect backdrop for the fiery poetic chants that followed. One that stayed with me went as follows… Go and set the world on fire! Walk on that path, Discern and you will find your horizon. Go and set the world on fire! Let not the world consume you. Set the world on fire, And find your flame It was a transcendent experience, it was poetry, it was, for me, a sermon. Even a baren tree shall bear fruit which shall multiply like the sands of the sea, like the stars of the sky, if the Lord wills it. Considering all the sermons that I witnessed since arriving at the youth assembly I would simmer it down to the spirit of love, friendship and community. The multiplied results which were made possible only through the love and trust that is found in community, as one flesh and one blood. For me personally, the juiciest fruit was seeing young students that I used to cater to as an organiser or facilitator at assemblies, grow up to become young adults, now facilitating and organising for another generation of students. I felt that, as a National Community, a baton stick had been passed, a threshold had been crossed, a frontier conquered; the tree that we planted has borne some fruit. With the symbolic fruits on our tree dancing in the August wind, Fr. Tendai ended the mass by praying: “May almighty God bless you, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit….The Mass is ended, go and SET THE WORLD ON FIRE.”