On the 26th, 27th and 28th of January 2024, the 2nd Meeting of the Experience of Young People in the Light-Community of Figueira was held with the theme “Sacred Service”. The Meeting was organized by the Youth Campaign for Peace, young residents of Light Communities and Casa Luz da Colina, and was attended by young people from various states in the country.

At the opening of the Meeting, everyone participated in a group activity and then were divided into three groups for the morning activities. One group helped prepare the fraternal lunch, which serves families in vulnerable situations, another participated in a musical workshop with young people from the city, and the third group followed monks from the Grace Mercy Order on visits to families to carry out prayer work.

In the afternoon, the young people attended a conversation with the  Apiary Group, from the Light-Community, deepening their knowledge about the world of bees. After that, the group participated in an attunement with mantras and songs, ending the day with communion among nature.

The second day of the Meeting was dedicated to the “Mutirão with Saint Joseph, for Love of the Kingdoms”. The group went to Parque Francisco de Assis, in Lavras, where they helped with cleaning, care and attention to the rescued animals and the areas that house them. The day also ended with attunement work at the Light-Community.

“It brings a lot of awareness when you see the situation of the animals, you see the service of the people who are there, we can put a small drop in a very big work that is happening... It was very strong that day, because we went to Lavras, and had this morning of service and donation, and as soon as we returned we had a very strong liturgical event” – says Jaan (32 years old – Sorocaba-SP), participant of the Meeting.

On the third day of the experience, the young people went to the Terras do Sol area to participate in the “Mutirão dos Reinos”, planting coffee and pupunha seedlings in an agroforestry system. The activity concluded with communion taught by monks from the Grace Mercy Order.

“The main motivation for holding youth meetings at the Light-Community of Figueira is the possibility for more young people to get to know this place, so that they can experience in each activity an encounter with the sacred in themselves and in their brothers and sisters. The meeting also allows young people not to feel alone on their spiritual path” – explains Sister Samaritana de Jesús, one of the organizers of the event.

About her experience at the Light-Community, participant Mariana Gonçalves Lefebvre (20 years old - Alfenas-MG) reports: “The meeting was very special and touching for me, it was a moment of sharing joy among friends and connecting with this greater force. I found the peace I was looking for, in these few days of experience, as well as great friendships that I will carry with me for life. All the tunes before communion marked me so deeply that now I always find myself chanting some mantras in my mind. I hope that experiences like this come next so that others can have the same experience I had.”

Young Maria Santana Alvim (19 years old - Florianópolis-SC) says: “I think that the youth is in very delicate times, all of us. The world is in very delicate times. And being here anchoring spirituality was a very important rescue for me, especially seeing that there are other young people who are also looking for this path.”

In her assessment of the Meeting, Sister Samaritana de Jesús concludes: “The impact that an experience like this can have on a person in short and long terms is immeasurable. These are internal impulses that arrive through participation in a meeting at a Spiritual Center. From what we noticed, we saw joy, fraternity, enthusiasm in the tasks, the construction of new memories for those involved, both the young participants and the group benefiting from the service actions”.