Newsletter August 2015 - Catholic Diocese of Mendi

Catholic Youth Mendi Diocese - Newsletter
August 2015
Volume 4
Issue 1
Youth Office Mendi Diocese. P O Box 69 Mendi SHP. Phone: 549 1102. Mobile: 72061749 or 73741073. Email: nlsnmatthew@gmail.com
Youth serving Youth
Mendi Youths top performance at Regional level
FR. NELSON MATTHEW
S
Inside this issue:
First visit to Williame
By JANET JOEL
2
Ignatius Wetena’s Story
2
Tentative Youth Statistics
3
Bishop’s message to the
youth
3
Diocesan Youth Coordi- 3
nator’s Calender
Saint Maira Goretti
biography
4
Petronilla’s Story ‘Tanim bel!’
4
Highlights:
 Mendi Diocese will
host the Highlands
Regional Youth Rally
in 2017.
 Mr. & Miss. Mendi
Diocese became winners at the Regional
Level Contest.
 More than 2,000
youths are already
registered to the
youth office.
 Bishop: The Church is
young in SHP and HP.
ome of our youths of
Mendi Diocese who have
attended the Highlands Regional Youth Rally in Wanepap parish, Wabag Diocese,
have performed well in most
of the areas of competition.
For the speech contest, the
judges gave the highest score
to Miss Tina Pasuma of Kagua Parish, for the top female
contestant. For the male contestants, the highest score was
given to Mr. Jorham Yakumbu of St. Clare Ialibu
parish. For the Bible and general knowledge questions, ten
participants were selected
from each of the 5 dioceses of
the Highlands Region - 5
males and 5 females. Total of
50 youths sat for the 2 hour
exam and Mendi Diocese
scored the highest. For individual performance, Mary
Anne James of Cathedral Parish scored the highest for
females and Jonathan Yandi
of Muli/Kewabi Parish scored
the highest for the male
group. For music and gospel
song presentation, Mendi
diocese came second, and in
the final competition, they did
poorly in sports.
Those who attended the rally
were 154 youths, 8 religious
sisters, 2 seminarians, 1 priest,
and two parents as guardians.
It was a week long rally with
lots of spiritual and formational inputs from priests,
religious and lay people, who
spoke on different issues affecting the lives of the young
Mendi youths getting ready for the
opening mass, 6 July 2015.
of our society, and how
changes taking place in our
modern world is affecting the
youths in their growth and
development. Generally, the
youths of Mendi, together
with all the other youths of
the Highlands region enjoyed
the rally in Wabag. At the
presentation night, the youths
of Mendi Diocese were honored with the privilege of
hosting the next Highlands
Regional Youth Rally in 2017
in their diocese.
First Pentecost Retreat at Ialibu
JORHAM YAKUMBU
T
wo days before the Pentecost Sunday, 70 youths
of 3 parishes in the Eastern
Deanery gathered at St. Clare
Ialibu Parish for a weekend
retreat in preparation for the
feast of Pentecost. The 3 parishes were Ialibu, Imbongu
and Kewabi. Most of the
youths of these parishes were
students from Ialibu Secondary School. It was a great experience for us during that
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first Pentecost weekend retreat held on the 22 - 24 May
2015. It ended with the Eucharistic celebration on Pentecost Sunday. The youths understood the role of the Holy
Spirit as third person of the
Trinity, and its 7 gifts and 9
fruits which St. Paul talks
about in his letter to the Galatians. In their prayer and meditation, they identified how
these gifts and fruits of the
Holy Spirit are present and
working in their personal
lives. The retreat was fully
supported by our parish
priest, Fr. Stan, and our faithful mother, Francisca. The
retreat was seen as the experience of the first receiving of
the Holy Spirit, in which most
of the youths were inspired by
the talks given by our diocesan youth coordinator Fr.
Nelson Matthew.
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Volume 4
First visit of Youth Coordinator to Williame
JANET JOEL
Janet Joel (second from left)
with some youths in Williame
One Friday, on the 29 of May
2015, Fr. Nelson Matthew,
the youth coordinator and the
vocation director of Mendi
Diocese visited us, the youths
of Williame Parish, South
Wiru. For some years youths
of Williame were not organized as a youth group, but
things slowly begun to change
after the diocesan youth rally
held in Mendi in June 2014.
Some prizes were awarded
during the rally to the best
performers and this was an
eye opener for the youths in
Willame. As they went back to
their respective outstations,
they draw up programs for
activities and prayer gatherings. Our parish priest Fr.
France has been very supportive in our youth programs and
youths are now active in all
our 16 outstations. I am attached to the youth work as a
mother to guide them and
assist them in whatever ways I
can. I kindly ask the youth
office to provide me with
Bibles and prayer books. And
also if it is possible, the litera-
cy schools in our parishes can
be revived again because
many of our youths out in the
remote parts of our diocese,
especially Williame, are still
illiterate. My wish is that the
youths in my parish can have
the basic education just to
read the Bible and the prayer
books for better understanding of their faith. On behalf of
the youths I would like to
thank Fr. France for inviting
Fr. Nelson to visit us for the
first time. Fr. Nelson will visit
us again in September.
Ignatius Wetena’s Story - from street to Home
H
Ignatius Wetena - first day he came
to Church. 19 April 2015
Health Tips
To keep Healthy:

Have enough sleep &
rest well.

Have regular exercises
& work.

Eat well - plenty of
vegetables & garden
food 3 times a day.

Drink plenty of water.

Avoid taking plenty of
sugar & oil.

Avoid alcohol, smoking and chewing bettelnut.

Maintaining your
hygiene is important.
By Sister Gaudentia
i, all the youths of Mendi Diocese. I am Ignatius Wetena from Meis village near Kumin
Cathedral parish, and I am privileged to be asked to share my life story with you to help
us all see how God interacts with us and calls us at every turn of our lives. My previous name
was Baka Wetena, but now I have changed by name to Ignatius Wetena after receiving the sacrament of Baptism on the day of Pentecost this year (24 May 2015). I am 27 years of age, and before being baptized, I was living a reckless life, drinking, gambling, stealing, and never going to
church. My life was like on the street, so to speak. As you can see, getting baptized at age 27 is
very late. Some unfortunate things happened in my life. My father got married to another woman
when I was just a kid doing my primary education. Mom left to stay in her own village and I had
to follow my mom since I was small. Without having received much guidance and affection from
my parents, I was bigheaded and left school at grade 4. My father was involving in criminal activities, robbing banks and other businesses in town. He went to Port Moresby in 2002 and has
never returned to Mendi since then. I was in the village wasting my life away doing nothing, sort
of roaming. My sisters do go to church and every time they kept on asking me to go to church
with them. I said I would but kept on prolonging, until one night as I was lying on my bed, about
to sleep, and I got into a deep meditation. I thought to myself, I must change now. My life is
reckless and all these things that I am involved in do not give me happiness. That night was a
Saturday evening. In the morning I followed my sisters to the Church, and right away I joined
the youth group. I see great difference from my previous lifestyle and the life I am living now. I
feel great peace, joy and happiness. I feel like I am home at last. I would like to ask my friends
whom I have left behind, involving in such bad activities, to change their ways and come to
church. At first I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I realize that I was stupid and
ignorant. I was led astray by thinking that I was enjoying my life. The real life is hidden in Christ,
and those who find it are blessed. Now I am one of the active youth members of Cathedral parish and I feel called to help all my brothers and sisters, and other boys and girls from my village
to convert and come to Jesus. To begin to live this calling, my sisters, the youth boys and girls
from Waa and Meis, we have a house to house prayer program every Wednesday, to pray with
the youths who are not going to church. We ask for your prayers so that we as young will have
the necessary strength to bring other youths like us to the church so that they also can experience
the life we are living as Christians. Thank you and God bless you all.
History
The first mass ever to be celebrated on the soil of PNG was on the 28th of April 1605,
by a Franciscan Chaplain on Torres’ Ship, on Sideia, an island in Milne Bay Province.
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Volume 4
Bishop: The Church is young just like you
Tentative Statistics for youths in each parish and pastoral Area
No. Parish or Pastoral Area
Female
Male
Total
117
44
161
2 Tente Pastoral Area
24
26
50
3 Upper Mendi Pastoral Area
95
75
170
4 Karinz Pastoral Area
45
49
94
3
1
4
6 Lower Mendi Pastoral Area
57
60
117
7 Det Parish
47
37
84
8 Kutubu Parish
33
23
56
10 Nipa Parish
65
71
136
11 Imbongu/Komakul Parish
54
49
103
12 Ialibu Parish
32
10
42
13 Pangia Parish
87
105
192
14 Williame Parish
50
57
107
185
156
341
20
42
62
20 Sumi Pastoral Area
44
51
95
21 Margarima Parish
61
29
90
22 Hulia Pastoral Area
75
42
117
23 Kupari Parish
14
16
30
1 Cathedral Parish
5 Wara Lai Pastoral Area
9 Pomberel Parish
15 Kewabi/Muli Parish
16 Kuare Parish
17 Kagua/Karia Parish
18 Wara Sugu/Rotianda Parish
19 Erave Parish
24 Habiako Payaka Pastoral Area
25 Hungi Kambe Pastoral Area
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M
y dear young people,
I am happy to greet you in
this first Youth Newsletter
and I thank Fr Nelson for
asking me to say a few words.
This is an exciting time to be alive in
PNG! There are so many things hapConfirmation in Kutubu
pening in our world and in our country.
PNG is a young country, gaining it’s independence, as we all
know, in 1975. The majority of the population too, is young, according to census statistics. As you grow, the country is growing
with you; and the country needs you to make sure that it grows in
good ways.
This is also an exciting time to be a Catholic in the Diocese of
Mendi. There are many good things happening in the Church in
the SHP and HP (Hela Province). We believe that the Catholic
Church was founded by Jesus himself over 2000 years ago. But
the Church here in the SHP and HP is young, just like you. Next
year, in November, the Diocese will be celebrating it’s 50 th anniversary. Fifty years may seem old to you, but when compared to
2000 years of church history, it is still very young.
I am very happy that so many young people are active and participating in the life of the Church in the SHP and HP. I am happy
for two reasons: 1) Because we need you! We need your energy,
your enthusiasm, your ideas, your faith, your imagination and your
creativity. Together, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish
for the good of the Church, for the good of our people; and 2)
Because, I know from my experience that Jesus is the only way to
find happiness. I want you to be truly happy, and I know that the
way to that true happiness is by accepting Jesus as your ‘besty’.
I hope you enjoy the Newsletter! Show it to your friends and invite them to come with you to the Youth Ministry of your parish
or pastoral area. That way, we can achieve even more together;
and, as they say, “the more, the merrier!”
Stap Wanbel Wantaim Sios.
You are always in my thoughts and prayers,
Bishop Don
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1
2
85
67
152
40
24
64
1234
1035
2269
26 Kopiago Parish
27 Koroba Parish
28 Hedemari Pastoral Area
29 Pureni Parish
30 Irawi Parish
31 Komo Parish
TENTATIVE TOTAL
Youths and others after receiving the sacrament of confirmation from Bishop
Don - Tuqiri, Kutubu Parish - 17 May 2015
Youth Coordinator’s Calender
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Catechism of the Catholic Church on Abortion
11– 13 August 2015 - Mendi Diocese Priests Senate Meeting
“Human life must be respected and protected
absolutely from the moment of conception.
14 - 16 August 2015 - Visit to Det Parish
From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the
17 - 27 September 2015 - Visit to Williame Parish
rights of a person - among which is the inviola29 - 30 September 2015 - Highlands Youth Coordinators meeting, Goroka.
ble right of every innocent being to life.” (CCC
22 - 28 November 2015 - Diocesan Youth Coordinators Meeting, Port Moresby. 2270)
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Brief Biography of the Patron Saint of the Youths of PNG and Solomon Islands - Saint Maria Goretti
As we all know, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands
has appointed Saint Maria Goretti has the patron saint of youths of PNG & SI. Below is a brief
biography of Saint Maria Goretti to remind us of her heroic deeds of defending chastity at all
costs. She is a great example to the youths to maintain and hold on to what is morally good in
their lives.
M
aria Teresa Goretti was born on October 16, 1890 in the Province of Ancona, in
Italy, to Luigi Goretti and Assunta Carlini. She was the third of seven children. By
the time she was six, Maria's family had become so poor that they were forced to
give up their farm, move, and work for other farmers. In 1896, they moved to
Colle Gianturco about fifty miles outside Rome; and then in 1899 to Le Ferriere, near modern
Latina and Nettuno in Lazio, where they lived in a building they shared with another family
which included Giovanni Serenelli and his son, Alessandro. Soon, her father became very sick
with malaria, and died when she was just nine. While her brothers, mother, and sister worked in
the fields, she would cook, sew, watch Teresa her little sister, and keep the house clean. It was a
hard life, but the family was very close. They shared a deep love for and faith in God.
On July 5, 1902, eleven-year-old Maria was sitting on the outside steps of her home, sewing one of Alessandro's shirts and watching
Teresa, while Alessandro was threshing beans in the barnyard. Knowing she would be alone, he returned to the house and threatened
her with a knife if she did not do what he said; he was intending to rape her. She would not submit, however, protesting that what he
wanted to do was a mortal sin and warning him that he would go to hell. She desperately fought to stop him from raping her. She
kept screaming, "No! It is a sin! God does not want it!" He first choked her, but when she insisted she would rather die than submit
to him, he stabbed her eleven times. The injured Maria tried to reach the door, but he stopped her by stabbing her three more times
before running away.
Teresa awoke with the noise and started crying, and when her mother and Alessandro's father came to check on her, they found Maria on the floor bleeding and took her to the nearest hospital in Nettuno. She underwent surgery without anesthesia, but her injuries
were beyond the doctors' help. Halfway through the surgery, she woke up. She insisted that it stay that way. The pharmacist said to
her, "Maria, think of me in Paradise." She looked at him and said, "Well, who knows, which of us is going to be there first?" "You,
Maria," he replied. "Then I will gladly think of you," she said. She also expressed concern for her mother's welfare. The following
day, 24 hours after the attack, having expressed forgiveness for Alessandro and stating that she wanted to have him in Heaven with
her, she died of her injuries, while looking at a picture of the Virgin Mary and clutching a cross to her chest.
Maria's feast day, celebrated on July 6, was inserted in the General Roman Calendar when it was revised in 1969. She is the patron
saint of chastity, rape victims, girls, youth, teenage girls, poverty, purity and forgiveness.
Petronilla Martin’s Story - “Tanim Bel!”
H
ello everyone. I am Petronilla Martin, aged 19, the female youth leader of St. Michael’s Tente
Pastoral Area. I just like to share with all the youths, of an experience I had 5 years ago, while
during grade 8 in 2010. It was around 4pm after school, my sister Anita and I were reading
books in our room, lying on our beds. As I was reading aloud, I dozed off, but then saw myself falling down on the floor from my bed. I managed to stand up to and get on to my bed again, but I was
stunned by what I saw. I saw myself lying in the bed. My body was lying there in bed, and I was standing
there. Was I dreaming? I wouldn’t know. I called to my sister who was still lying on her bed reading. She
didn’t respond, perhaps because she couldn't see me or hear me. I grabbed her book, but the book was still in her hands. I felt I took
hold of something in my hands but couldn’t recognize what it was. Then a sudden thought came to me which compelled me to move
out of the room. But another thought came that resisted me from doing so. So I somehow went back to my bed where my body was
lying and how I became one with my body, I wouldn’t figure it out. All of a sudden, I was in a dark space. Then I heard a voice saying: “Tanim bel, tanim bel, tanim bel!”. It began with a higher volume, then faded away slowly. Then a thought came to me again. “How
can I die soon, while my parents are still alive?” Then I realized that I was fully awake. After this experience, I made a resolution that
I will try to be a good obedient child in the family, and be a good youth in the parish. I want to continue to be a good youth, and
when I become an adult, I will still serve in the youth ministry. My wish is that I will get a job for a while to give something back to
my parents for the much care and love they have given me. Then afterwards, I might consider becoming a nun. I am full of joy that
God did not take away my life. The Lord has given me another chance in life to change my ways. I will praise the Lord at all times,
and be a ‘youth for Christ’ always. I experience real joy in being a youth. I appeal to all the youths to be faithful youth members in
their parishes and communities. When you are young, join the youth group and take part in the youth ministry programs. When you
get married or become an adult and come to an old age, it might be too late. We the youths must pray constantly to ask the Lord to
strengthen our faith as we journey, because there are so many trials and temptations on the way. These are my few encouragement to
you, and I am thankful for being given the privilege to share my experience and thoughts with you. God bless you all.
Next Issue - February 2016
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