Catholic Youth Association (CYA) of Longleng celebrated its silver jubilee under the theme, “Launch out Deeper” (Luke5:4) on December 21 at St Joseph’s Church with Vicar General Diocese of Kohima and Parish Priest Mary Help of Christians Cathedral Kohima, Rev. Fr Neisalhou Carolus Kuotsu as the main celebrant.
A press release by CYA stated that at the Holy Mass, Rev Fr Neisalhou extended jubilee greetings to everyone present and said that the original meaning and purpose of jubilee was found in Old Testament.
“God chose the Israelites to know Him and worship Him and they lived in harmony with one another, and they prepared for the coming of the Messiah”, said Rev Fr Neisalhou. He added that jubilee was also the time of reconciliation and forgiveness.
In the New Testament, Rev Fr Neisalhou said Christians are the new Israelites and that they are called to live and worship Him alone, making Him known to others through the witness of life, and to live and help one another.
He said that if there was no change in one’s daily life then the celebrations are meaningless. Rev Fr Neisalhou then appealed to the congregation to be courageous and take challenges to transform within and dig deeper and live an exemplary Christian life.
“Let us not be a sea shore Christian who does all the activities on the edge without going deeper,” said Rev Fr Neisalhou.
Fr Neisalhou also called upon everyone to put Christ at the center of their lives or else it would be meaningless to call Nagaland for Christ. He said a Christian state should continuously fight against discrimination, corruption, inequality and anything that is evil and against Christian ethics.
Earlier, CYA flag was unfurled and the monolith was blessed and dedicated by Rev Fr Neisalhou Carolus. The jubilee celebration started with a Rosary procession from NST Junction.