Christ’s love could be felt in the air this Valentine’s Day thanks to nearly 100 youth from Brooklyn and Queens who braved the cold winter conditions to attend the Annual Ambassador Youth Lock-in.
They spent 15 hours together from 6 p.m. on Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday at St. Benedict the Moor Church, Jamaica.
This year’s lock-in theme of “Love,” was a play on the title of a song by Tina Turner: “What’s love got to do with it?”
Father Alonzo Cox, the new coordinator of the African American Apostolate, led the Holy Hour that kicked off the retreat experience with a live band.
The opening talk by Kree Pena focused on Christ Who is love Himself. She spoke about looking for love in all the wrong places and finally finding it in Jesus Christ.
During the night, the youth had free time and played games such as Battle of the Sexes.
There was something sweet for everyone as the youth participated in a bake-off making cupcakes for the night which they enjoyed with ice cream and other goodies.
Seminarian Jose Henriquez’s presentation reminded the youth that their love must be focused on the things of God and not things of the world. “How can you love celebrities who mock our religion or encourage us to do the things that are not good for us?”
He encouraged the youth to refocus on the things that truly matters. Father Dwayne Davis, parochial vicar of St. Thomas Aquinas, Flatlands, celebrated the Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart of Jesus at midnight for the youth.
In his homily, he reminded the youth to return to the source for it is only in and through Jesus Christ that one can come to know what love is.
“The greatest love that we receive is the Love of God,” he said. “He loves us so much that He gave us His only Son to die for our salvation. It is only when we receive the love of Christ that we can truly give love.”
He also reminded the youth that it is in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that the faithful can find Christ’s love for us.
At about 3:30 a.m. the youth settled down as they watched “Facing the Giants,” a movie that focused on the importance of facing one’s problems and always having faith in God.
The youth woke up to praise and gospel music and the smell of bacon and pancakes, which were prepared by members of the Ambassadors Committee and the chaperone volunteers.
The Lock-in Retreat experience ended with morning praise led by one of the youth, Miles Petillo from St. Clement Pope, S. Ozone Park. The morning praise consisted of songs, youth reflections and closing prayer by the youth.
Participants hailed from the Queens parishes of Our Lady of Light, St. Albans; St. Bonaventure-St. Benedict the Moor, Jamaica; St. Joseph, Astoria, and St. Clement Pope. Brooklyn representatives came from St. Martin de Porres, Bedford-Stuyvesant; Holy Innocents, Flatbush; St. Matthew, Crown Heights; Our Lady of Presentation-Our Lady of Mercy, Bedford-Stuyvesant and St. Thomas Aquinas.
Ambassador Reflections from the Valentine’s Day Lock-in
“It was a night filled with both spiritual and fun activities. It takes energy to go into the morning hours, but with Jesus’ presence I was able to get through it.”
— Malik James, Our Lady of Light
“The youth had a great time and we pray that they grew a little closer to the Lord.”
— Marilyn Jones, Co-coordinator of the Ambassador Program
“The lock-in gave me the renewal of spirit that I needed. With the balance of fun activities as well as spiritual time it fed both my body and mind and I left feeling new and refreshed. It was my second time at the lock-in and this time it made a difference. I felt the presence of God among us in everything that was done, even eating pizza.”
— Kelly, St. Matthew, Crown Heights
“My favorite part of the night was when Jose told his life story. I saw myself in certain parts [of his story]… His growing up in Brownsville and coming out on the better side of things.”
— Jaseem McLeod, St. Matthew
“I went to the lock-in to have fun. But when we went to the Holy Hour, the music was playing and I started to think about my life. After I went to confession, I felt renewed. When I woke up the next morning, I felt like a new person.”
— Mentoria Mentor, St. Matthew
“When Kree talked about looking for love in all the wrong places instead of looking in God, who is love unconditional, it really hit home for me.”
— Catherine Haywood, St. Matthew
“One of my favorite parts of the lock-in was the guest speaker Kree. She was engaging and I found her story truly moving, inspiring and relevant to Valentine’s Day. What stuck the most with me was when she said in order to find love, you have to love God first.”
— Abigail Agbi, Our Lady of Light, St. Albans
“I had a lot of fun with my friends. It felt good to be together again.”
— Toni Huie
“When Cree spoke, it made me think. She said our description of love is misguided. We say the word ‘love’ so much, it loses its meaning. When she said ‘God is love,’ I never saw it that way.”
— Shequille Leandre, St. Matthew