Gathered as a family, with the Lord and his people: the JY Household (BJMM050)

Gathered as a family: the JY Household

Today, in the Jesus Youth movement, the buzzword is ‘JY Households.’ In different parts of the world where Jesus Youth is active, there is an effort to gather the active members of the movement scattered in a locality into a single group. This is redrawing the image and even the very life of the movement.

Jesus Youth have an active presence in and around this European city. The active Jesus Youth families and youngsters meet on the third Saturday of the month at the parish hall of the Divine Mercy Church. About 35 of them regularly gather for this two-and-a-half-hour JY Household meeting. “Household meetings have brought the Jesus Youth movement in this city to greater intimacy and a newfound enthusiasm,” says Thomas, one of the leaders of the movement. “We follow the general meeting plan given by the international team. Kids meet separately, often more in number than the elders. The activity plan specially prepared for kids makes these gatherings extremely interesting and useful for them.”

In the Jesus Youth movement, there are prayer groups where newcomers as well as those already active meet for praise, worship, and instruction. On another level, those who actively grow in the movement meet separately for fellowship and faith guidance. For the past many years, there have been discussions at all levels of the movement on reorganizing these groups. At the International Jesus Youth Leaders Conference held in Rome in 2012, various proposals were presented, and a clear plan for JY Households emerged. Very soon, active Jesus Youth in different areas began to have monthly gatherings with a renewed plan and enthusiasm, even when they continued to have prayer groups or small groups.

What is the Vision behind JY Households?

For every earnest disciple of Christ, building a true community is an ever-renewing challenge. The first model of community is the eternal fellowship of the Holy Trinity. Jesus’s words, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35), are a constant reminder of the call to community life. Again, the striking fruit of Pentecost was surely the beautiful community life of the early Christians: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).

An active Christian life is possible only with the support of a lively community. A loving fellowship with guidance for a vibrant Christian life is what the movement envisages as the vision for the Household. Only in the context of such a fertile spiritual nursery will joyful persons, committed families, and missionary leaders emerge. “JY Households should become forums of the Committed and Confirmed in the movement to ‘come together for prayer, Scripture reading, catechesis, and discussion on human and ecclesial problems with a view to a common commitment’” (Jesus Youth Formation Plan Document).

As I Look Back

My thoughts go back to some of my formative experiences in the early days of the movement. I was part of an active Charismatic prayer group, and I thank God that listening to the Lord and sharing messages was a cherished habit in the group. One of the series of messages we received in those early days was that “God has a special plan for us as individuals and as a living Body of Christ,” “He wants to prepare us and send us as His instruments to others in need,” and “today we are to be His hands and feet, ears and mouth.” The Core Group’s reflection on these messages first led to a regular committed group, and as an outflow came a good formation plan for our members and some ministry initiatives. These were the small steps through which our prayer group grew under the guidance of the Spirit. I am sure many of my friends in the movement would recall their own similar initial steps in their groups.

As the years passed and the movement grew into a wide network of large prayer groups coordinated under zonal structures, there arose again a renewed challenge to experience some form of community life. In many zones, ‘sharing groups’ were formed to meet monthly. Their members were divided into smaller cells where deeper personal interaction was possible.

The Jesus Youth movement has traveled forward through many fruitful years, reaching out to different lands and cultures. Its missionary spirit has borne a rich harvest of evangelistic ministries and inspiring leadership. For the movement, maintaining a healthy tension between “being” and “doing” — or, in other words, balancing the paths of Mary and Martha — is an ever-renewing challenge. In the earlier days, committed groups, and today JY Households, have been pathways to rest at the feet of the Lord, to enjoy the joyful company of His children, and to receive encouragement to walk clearly in His paths (Heb. 10:24–25).

Tharavaadu: the Grand Old Family Home

The Jesus Youth Household is our little Tharavaadu – the warm, welcoming home where the Lord and His friends gather. It is the place where the life of the movement becomes flesh, where prayer and laughter mingle, where faith is not just spoken of but shared and lived.

Like a family, the household gives you faces you know and voices you trust. Here you learn the beauty of belonging – sitting together, sharing stories, carrying one another’s burdens, and rejoicing in each other’s victories.

Every meeting becomes a memory, every prayer a thread in the heritage we are weaving together. A household has its own rhythm and culture, a beautiful way of doing small things with great love – whether it is praying, singing, or simply being present for one another.

Step by step, this little family teaches you to walk in faith, to grow in maturity, to journey as one body. It becomes a gentle school of love, preparing you to embrace the wider mission, the larger family of the Church, and the endless adventure of following Christ. Let us pray together, grow together, go together!

Hear the words of Pope St. John Paul II:

“A rapidly growing phenomenon in the young churches – once sometimes fostered by the Bishops and their conferences as a pastoral priority – is that of ‘ecclesial basic communities,’ which are proving to be good centers for Christian formation and missionary outreach. These are groups of Christians who, at the level of the family or in a similarly restricted setting, come together for prayer, Scripture reading, catechesis, and discussion on human and ecclesial problems with a view to a common commitment. These communities are a sign of vitality within the Church, an instrument of formation and evangelization, and a solid starting point for a new society based on a ‘civilization of love.’” (St. John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio, #51)