Prior to proceeding to Lisbon for the official YOUTH DAY celebrations with Pope Francis, some young OCD Associates gathered in Fatima under Our Blessed Lady’s mantle on 31 July. We were about 200, coming from different countries and three continents.
That morning in the Paul VI Pastoral Centre, these young people with OCD connections had an animated dialogue with our General, Fr. Miguel Maria Marquez. He challenged them to focus their lives on the essential – friendship with Jesus – at the service of the Church like Sts. Teresa of Jesus and John of the Cross and to pay attention to the little events that life presents to us.
The afternoon was spent in visiting the surroundings of the Fatima Shrine, sharing in two workshops and attending a concluding Mass in the Rosary Basilica. One couple conducted a period of reflection on the history and charism of the Discalced Carmelites and then Sister Angela Coelho organized a presentation about the Venerable Sister Lucia, one of the Fatima seers.
During the concluding Eucharist, Fr. General thanked God for all the good that the smallest ones do for the Church and for society. He placed a fragment of a bomb that had damaged a part of Ukraine on the tomb of Sr. Lucia. This fragment had been given to him by a Ukrainian mother so that he could bring it to Fatima and we would all pray for peace.
