Reflections on Jesus Youth (BJRE***)

In JY, the world becomes so small. It is the power of networking! (By Dr. Edward Edezhath - Published in Kairos Magazine in 2025) My colleague from the chemistry department was traveling to a city in Australia for a paper presentation. He had a few stops along the way and was eager to visit some places with his wife and kids. Hesitantly, he approached me, asking if I knew anyone in those countries. “Of course I have Jesus Youth friends there,” I replied. I connected him with my JY friends in Singapore, Australia, and other locations. When he arrived, he was warmly welcomed and shown around. My friend was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception and the close bond among these Jesus Youth friends. After he returned, he told everyone about this wonderful network called Jesus Youth. For those of us in Jesus Youth, this close connectedness and family-like bond is something we often take for granted. By now, this movement that started in a small way in South India has spread to almost all ...

With a mission focus, everything becomes different in Jesus Youth (By Dr. Edward Edezhath - Published in Kairos Magazine in 2025) I grew up hearing many fascinating stories about our legendary village school headmaster. “I pity the family where the children are all obedient. Its future is so bleak,” he once told a high school class. The students were stunned by this unconventional observation. One confident kid broke the silence, “But sir, if we don’t obey our elders...” “No,” he responded, “Don’t just obey, but do what you should do!”   What is the calling and responsibility of a Catholic? Before Vatican II, as someone humorously said, the duty of the ordinary Catholic was to "pay, pray, and obey.” Then came the Council with a strong call for mission, and recent popes have emphasized this call: every baptized person is urged to be a missionary. The emphasis isn't on just following rules, but on being moved by the Lord’s Spirit, who sends us out to fulfill our unique calling. ...