Ignite! Sharing and Blessing From Fr. Bob Buenconsejo

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YFC-A invited Fr. Bob Buenconsejo, director of the Campus Ministry Office in the Ateneo Loyola Schools to give blessing to the members in the Ignite Prayer Meeting. Below is his sharing on what the impact of the YFC-Ateneo Prayer Event and his prayer for the community this year.

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FR. BOB'S THOUGHTS AND SHARING:

Look at Jesus

I was asking Cash earlier if you in fact knew the theme for the Jesuit General Congregation. One of the most important decrees there is the "Fire that kindles the Fire", and so I was quite pleasantly surprised that your theme is Ignite…That is precisely the theme of the General Congregation. It's asking the Jesuits to look at Jesus. Because it is only in looking at Jesus that you will find out who you are…today I think what you are doing is to look at Jesus so that your hearts will be aflame and that is my prayer to you.

Surprised at YFC-A

...I was so wonderfully surprised to see you here. Because I thought Ateneans are already losing their faith. And one of my greatest, greatest pains is that in a Christian University, a lot of our students are dying the light of Faith. A lot of our students become agnostic, some have [even] openly expressed their atheism. And it's so sad. This is a Christian University with the opportunity of learning the Word of God and yet many of our companions, many of your batch mates [and] we're not making a judgment here, but there is so much hostility towards God and it saddens me. But the fact that you are here gives me a bright light. You are a beacon of light here in the University.

Prayer:

Close your eyes and focus them on Jesus. Look at Jesus. Look into His eyes. If you can, imagine Him embracing you, imagine Him right there beside you, in all of your tiredness, in all of your feeling of unworthiness.

Loving Father, I want to thank You for calling this Ateneo Youth For Christ.

For Gathering Them in their youth, in their struggle against a very secularist world

I praise you Lord because You have gathered these children of yours

Lord Jesus, your Son, said in the Gospel of John, "I consecrate them to You Father" and I consecrate these young people, these young minds, these young hearts to you.

Loving Father, I beseech you to enkindle in them a fire of great love for You

In the midst of their lives where their spirits have dampened

Where their spirits have drooped

Where their spirits have fallen apart

I ask You Lord to heal them

I ask You Lord to mend their hearts

And I ask You Lord to give them a vibrant sense of Faith

A Dynamic Sense of Service

A Desire to Love, Worship and Serve You

Loving Father enlighten them and keep them ablaze with your love

And loving Father

Keep them from harm

Lord they're young but their hearts are full of enthusiasm

They're enthused with joy to love and serve you

They have such wonderful gifts...

Grant them the deepest desire of their hearts, Lord

As we Journey here in Ateneo

Keep them always faithful

Especially from that which harms their spirits

Lord, make their journey here in Ateneo bleed the very heart of Your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord

And may they always find you in the poor and in the needy so that in the end, their deepest desires, will find fulfillment in the very hearts of your Son whose heart burns for us.

And with the Almighty Father, I bless you in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen

As what Ignatius said to Francis Xavier

Inflamate et docete

"Inflame the world with love and teach the good news"

God bless you all!

Ignite!: Prayer Meeting 1

This Prayer Meeting is about excitement. It’s about thrill. Where is the thrill coming from? It comes from the great circumstance that we are in—the fact that we are facing a blank page. The fact that we have, once again, great power in our hands to make choices and start anew to get us to where we want to be.

We all have goals in our hearts right now. Getting to that Dean’s List, beefing up the resume, finishing our thesis, passing this Prof, trying out in this org, finally telling her how you really feel, so on and so forth. It’s great to approach the start of a new semester with a burst of excitement burning in us. With a fist of passion ready to ignite and consume what we are to do.

It is a question that we can ask ourselves too. Is there something burning inside us? What is it? Why?

In YFC-Ateneo itself, there is also a fire that is bound to become great! We have started the year looking forward with great promise. We dreamed big for this community this year, and we are confident and hopeful for the dreams to be realized. Guys and girls, brothers and sisters, the vision of YFC this year is to live as a community that will inspire people in sharing God’s love throughout Ateneo. Because you guys are here marks the fact that you recognize the importance of God and that you are personal witnesses of His love. You felt it, you experienced it. In your lives, among this group of people, in your families perhaps, in this school. Receiving something so great deserves to be shared, and guys, as Youth for Christ, we have the role of sharing the fire in us. More than letting the passion help us blaze towards where we have to go, it must also blaze to be a light for others in our world.

At this point, you may be thinking “Oh no all of these seem to be idealistic talk again. Why am I hearing it once more?”

Well because we do have to hear it again. We do have to be reminded that after all is said and done, if we ask ourselves, what makes our heart burn, at the very core, there needs to be only one answer—Our Lord God.

God must always be the center. God must always be at our core.

We have made it a point this year to gear all our endeavors and our actions so that we as Youth for Christ will effectively be that “idealistic light”. We have our service areas. Nothing sparks more inspiration than using our time for service to our little kids in the area. Our upcoming Youth Camp in July—you guys remember the youth camp right? That’s really our spiritual reflection in YFC, where we really assess our relationship with Him. Of course, our monthly prayer meetings and your household families. Take your time to know your household family because they are in essence that—your family here in Ateneo. Be that light for them. Be that light for everyone.

In final words, we are called to be simply one thing:

To be a youth for Christ.

Not an org member. But God’s young disciple and follower.

To be for Him and with Him in everything.

Eph 5:8 For you were once in darkness, now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light, for light produces every kind of goodness, righteousness and truth.

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Speaker:Noreen Bautista (VP for Evangelization)
Sharers:Krz Lopez (YFC-A Junior Sister), Marco Ordoñez (Executive Vice President, YFC-A), Cash Maghirang (President, YFC-A)
with Fr. Bob Buenconsejo (Director, LS Campus Ministry Office)
Worship led by: James Pareja (AVP for Special Projects)

What is Team Evange?