DLS Basildon take part in memorable Flame event
A selection of staff and students from De La Salle School Basildon were had the good fortune to attend the recent Flame 2023 event in Wembley and School Chaplain Doug Mongan reflects on a memorable day.
Flame 2023
Saturday 4th March was the amazing national event for young people – Flame 2023, where 8,000 Young people across 22 Dioceses from England and Wales which took place at the OVO Arena, Wembley.
From Brentwood Diocese alone we had over 1,000 young people – De La Salle School took a group of 21 young people including staff.
What a day we had - The theme of Flame 2023 takes the World youth Day Scripture; “Mary arose with haste” and crystallises it into the theme “Rise Up”; The theme for World Youth Day in Portugal.
We began with an opening liturgy where eminent Catholic Speaker David Wells led the prayer with St Bonaventure’s and St Angela’s Forest Gate leading an improvisation/reflection on the theme Rise Up.
During the liturgy we had some inspirational words from Ant and Dec, where they and we paid tribute to Declan’s brother Fr Dermot Donnelly who was a priest in the Hexham and Newcastle Diocese, who was also Chair of CYMFed for many years; the inspiration behind Flame whom I had met on many occasions within youth ministry who died last year. His words resonated the whole room.
“Each and every one of you is significant – Live a life of significance.”
The Holy Father Pope Francis sent his fraternal greetings to us. He also said to our young people ...’Grow strong in faith and love and bear witness courageously to the Gospel that sets us free.’ Robert Bilott, a lawyer from Cincinnati, spoke with David Wells about the work that he does in Environmental law. He's most famous for taking on DuPont, one of the largest chemical countries, for their pollution into a landfill in Parkersburg, West Virginia, causing cattle to die in local farms downstream. The film 'Dark Waters' is about the work that Robert did as it exposed the fact that PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), which is used in the manufacture of Teflon has also been polluting the residents of Parkersburg.
Among the other speakers came Salesian Archbishop of Melbourne, Tim Costelloe, SDB. His Order work with young people around the world. He remarked on the words of Pope Francis when speaking to a group of young people in Poland said:
“The times we live in do not call for young 'couch potatoes,' but for young people with shoes, or better, boots laced."
He challenged everyone to lace up their boots, get out, get going and take risks, just as Mary did when she rose up and made haste to meet up with her cousin Elizabeth. Also build bridges with each other and not walls, and challenged them to think "On the way home from Flame, ask yourself...
What do I need to do?
To end the morning we listened to Cardinal Tagle, (formerly Archbishop of Manila and now based at the Vatican) who reminded that "rising up" has many aspects. He mentioned some of the "angels" that had inspired him during his life to "rise up" and serve God and his neighbour. He spoke of his grandmother, who supported her five children in widowhood after her husband had been killed in WWII. He suggested that God sends angels to all of us, in the form of key people we meet in the course of our lives. He urged us to be ready to recognise and respond to them, "rising up" in a spirit of service.
In the afternoon, we got the opportunity to hear about the work that CAFOD was doing in Colombia, when Jenny Garzón Saavedra, a worker with CAFOD partner FUNVIPAS, spoke about the work that they do and told her story and dream that the deforestation of the Amazon will not be enough to cause the Amazon to disappear.
Ending the day Brenden Thompson and Georgia Clarke from Catholic Voices introduced Adoration, led by Cardinal Vincent Nichols. They quoted Blessed Carlo Acutis who is on the road to sainthood who said;
“...To gaze at the sun we can become sunburnt, to gaze at the Blessed Eucharist, we become Saints.”
Amongst the musicians were MOBO and Urban Music Award winner Guvna B, rising star Faith Child, Catholic band One Hope Project and soloist Adenike – Adenike was herself a 17 year old at a previous Flame, and since then has been a finalist on The Voice.
Due to the generosity of the Knights of St. Columba, The Catenian Association and a generous benefactor this trip was paid for our young people to attend.
To summarise we asked our young people to sum up in three words how would you describe Flame 2023.
Fun, Good, Amazing!