How are you going to spend the days before Lent, what many in the English and French speaking world call Mardi Gras and what the Portuguese speaking world calls Carnaval.
Where are you going to go? What are you going to do for fun? There are many roads, the choice is yours. How can we discern them?
These questions are part of the life of many youth in the hour that they go out to enjoy themselves with their friends. They are more attracted to and invited to participate in block parties and festivals of Carnaval and, many times, they do this because of lack of options and because no one invited them to a different program. To the youth who want to live a celebration that is more healthy without consuming alcohol and drugs and without appeal to the sexual, the Church offers various options, such as retreats as does Canção Nova.
In an interview with cancaonova.com, the missionary from the Canção Nova Community, Emanuel Stenio speaks specifically to the youth that desire to live holiness, but they find it difficult to life the PHN call to Say No to Sin. [PHN in Portuguese stands for Por Hoje Não-Today I will not sin.]cancaonova.com: How do one live Carnaval and where does he go when there are many invitations and dances and festivals in this time?
Emanuel Stênio: The youth should seek the true joy over all, for Carnaval is time of joy. Beyond this it is a moment of preparation for us Christians, for it is a period that precedes Lent, therefore, we have to prepare ourselves for living well this time of our Church. It is important to spend carnaval with joy; and where one finds this joy is the nub of the question.
The world offers us various ways, places and environments to encounter a passing “joy”. However, that is not what God has for us. This happiness that meets the desires of humanity, is found only in the joy that comes from God. And this only is possible upon us having an encounter with Jesus and having an experience with the Holy Spirit.
“Youth, the true joy is found in the Lord!”, reminds Emanuel
Photo: Wesley Almeida/Cancaonova.com
We need this joy that cures us and that dissipates from our heart a sadness at once for all! And this is not a passing joy, as occured when you are sad and seek a drink to make you happy, but in another day al this sadness returns. Therefore it is important that we may have the capacity of going to places that present Jesus Christ to us, the true joy, the places that are agreeable to the man and woman of God.
cancaonova.com: What should youth do with two paths and only one choice?
Emanuel Stênio: Life is made of choices, and we know that we reap what we sow; therfefore, if we frequent environments that are going to brings us joy, peace and gentleness, we will be happy, peaceful, gentle, kind, healed and lovable people.Otherwise, we go to environments that offer drugs, drinks, and promote prostitution and the violence we welcome. the pregnancy out of wedlock, the transportation accidents as well as the victims of drunk driving accidents. ,
We need to avoid these places and we need to choose. The Bible says to us, and it is God Himself speaking to His people in Deuteronomy 11:26-28 that the Lord puts before us daily life and death, blessing and curse, and that we should choose life. The invitation of God made for you is: choose life and joy of living a carnaval in God. Flee from the situations that don’t fit us and do not come from the Lord, for only then will we encounter true joy.
cancaonova.com: What are the challenges to avoiding drinking, drugs, lawless sex and all that these days of revelry offer to people?
cancaonova.com: What are the challenges to avoiding drinking, drugs, lawless sex and all that these days of revelry offer to people?
Emanuel Stênio: As Christians we should flee these environments! Perhaps you do are not practicing the biblical teachingsd, but you are Catholic and baptized, therefore enter in the site to desire to experience something new at carnaval. For not wanting more to live the only situations that you lived in sexuality and in drinking, for knowing that after spending four days in carnaval, on Ash Wednesday you will have a huge headache, a great revelry for perhaps you may have seen and lived things that you would not have wanted to live.
What do you do, then, to drop alcohol, drugs and disgraced sex? Flee! Flee situations of sin, do not give loopholes to the enemy, do not interact with temptation, do not dialog with the temptor. On the contrary, go to the feet of Jesus, go to the encounter of good friendship, there exist thousands of place where there are carnaval retreats, events and encounters that the new communities such as Canção Nova, Shalom, the Charismatic Renewal and so many parishes that for us give a special way to the youth. We have a place to life for days of carnaval to prepare us well for Lent.
Join in participating in the Carnaval retreat at Canção Nova in Brazil or by video at tv.cancaonova.com