Part of the interview with Father Edimilson Lopes, where he speaks on the reality of youth today…

Do not be afraid of being healed! Being healed is being holy. To be holy is to be healed.”

In the popular language “jovem sarado” [healed youth] is the expression used by those  that attend a school, caring for physical healing and seeking to maintain always a good appearance and a sculptural body.

Fitness, gymnastics and bodybuilding are practices used more each time by our youth in search of a “buff” body. Isn’t it more when the issue is a healthy soul? Which is the appropriate exercise? Which academy do you attend that the soul does not remain “sedentary”?

Before this dilemma, the Holy Spirit inspires the raising of a different academy: “the Academy of Healed Youth”. Young men and women over the age of 17  in diverse cities of the country come together to pray, adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to ask the pouring out of the Holy Spirit over their lives.

The cancaonova.com team interviewed Padre Edimilson Lopes, priest from the Canção Nova Community, who invented this project of evangelization among the youth. In this chat, he tells how it all began, the challenges encountered, the reason for the name “Jovens Sarados” [Healed Youth] and the dream for this initiciative, from 11-13 February, will have his space among the events Canção Nova with the first Prayer Camp-out “Jovens Sarados”.

cancaonova.com: The Lord began the project of evangelization among the youth called ‘Jovens Sarados’ . What is this project and how is a youth who is beginning now his road with Christ able to participate in it?

Padre Edimilson: I was sent to the Canção Nova mission in São Paulo in 2008. Arriving there , I encountered a reality of the youth. And having drunk from the same fount of my founder, Monsignor Jonas Abib drank, the Salesian Charism, a charism completely about youth. (following the example of Monsignor Jonas, I also was a Salesian for five and a half years.), I saw myself before those youth needing a response. At the time, I spoke with those responsible for the mission and asked if he could initiate work with the youth in the mission house. They approved the initiative and I asked for some youth who participated in the Mass Thursdays if they wanted to begin a youth group with me. In the beginning we came together to sing, to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to read the word of God. The group was growing. The youth came each time in bigger numbers and the group did not have a name. It was when Canção Nova, in São Paulo, I acquired that house of evangelization dedicated to Father Leo. Then I proposed to change our meetings to there, having realized that the old space did not hold a large number of youth group members. Having access to the book “Jovens Sarados”, written by the late Fr. Leo and through being with those youth in a space dedicated to this great priest, I said to them: “Why don’t we call ourselves “Jovens Sarados” in homage to Father Leo?” They accepted this unanimously! The youth applauded, they liked the idea and the origin of the name “Jovens Sarados” So it was: treat it as homage that I wanted to make to Father Leo, proposing a style of life from the catechesis from this book written by him. We are, then a youth group. We are not simply an idea. We are “Jovens Sarados” that center ourselves in various places, thanks to God all all begins in São Paulo capital of the state of São Paulo. New groups of Jovens Sarados are born throughout the country with this desire to live the teachings that Father Leo brought in his book. And all this without putting aside what also in taught to us and is continuing to be taught to us by our Father Founder Monsignor Jonas Abib.

cancaonova.com: The expression “Jovems Sarados” in the popular language [of Brazil] is synonymous with physicial health, with maintaining a good appearance daily, but for us Christians what does this expression signify?

Father Edimilson: Father Leo said that for us, “jovem sarado” is to say “holy”. He made the reference to this world “sarado” [healed] with “holy”. The saint is a person healed. The healed is someone that welcomes the invitation to holiness. This is before that which is the major proposal of Canção Nova: “Holiness or Nothing!” . . .Therefore, the youth healed is that youth that is being called to be a saint. And holiness in a modern style, today, as is proposed by our brother of the community Adriano Gonçalves in his book “Santos de Calça Jeans” [Saints in Blue Jeans]. and as also is proposed to us by blessed Pope John Paul II. Then the healed youth wants to be the holy youth among all these actual realities. And this also includes proper physical care, because we cannot disregard this temple of the Holy Spirit that is our body. The Apostle Paul says to Timothy:  because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the savior of all, especially of those who believe.( 1Tim 4:7b-10 NAB) The healed youth is that one that enters this war of toil, this daily struggle, for arriving to holiness is not something that happens magically. It is necessary to fight. It is necesary to fight to live this radicality proposed by Fr. Leo, through Monsignor Jonas and over all through the Church, for our great vocation is to holiness. Joven Sarados want to be, for the world, a proposal to holiness.

cancaonova.com: What are the great challenges that a Christian youth encounters today to live authentically as a “Jovem Sarado”?

Padre Edimilson: For me the difficulties are innumerable. I see how difficult it is for my spiritual sons and daughters who live this proposed holiness. All today propose the contrary: if you watch television, it proposes to you the contrary to holiness. If you access the internet, it proposes the contrary. If you go out at night, the world proposes the contrary. Finally, society, the media, the world itself only proposes the contrary to this. It is in this is our fight is a daily one. Where we find ourselves we always face proposals of living that are exactly contrary to the call to holiness. There is in the world a counter-proposal. For this reason, the challenges are innumerable. This counter-proposal of the world ends being ten times greater than the Christian proposal. Then, we need to use a language that reaches the youth but without attacking him. At the same time, it is necessary to propose to youth this style of life without which this [style of life] is taken from the reality of the society in which we life. On the contrary, this youth will be “estranged” from this society. And this has our fight: to making sure these your are not “estranged” from society, but, at the same time, they live this style of life that is constantly a challenge. The challenges will be innumerable: inside the house, in school, in college. My God of Heaven! In college then it goes without saying! College today appears to make the question of offering a counter-proposal to holiness from an open form, without some scruples!

cancaonova.com: Father, which exercises do you recommend for the youth seeking to prioritize the health of his/her soul?

Padre Edimilson: To response to this question, you use a simple language, already utilized by my father-founder, Monsignor Jonas Abib. I cannot propose to the youth something “unreal”. Therefore, I propose something that my community Canção Nova has proposed. The appeal that I make to the youth is that, at least, I try to live the “five pebbles” (Fasting, Rosary, Sacrament of Reconciliation, Eucharist and the Word of God) For me, a Jovem Sarado applies himself in living the five stones already is a motive for my glorifying God. Because unhappily, the “five pebbles” are not being lived by the great majority. What then I propose to them is what Canção Nova already proposes. I do not bring anything “new”. And I say that the jovens sarados do not want to be a “novelty”, because the newness passes! We want to be a proposal of life beginning what Monsignor Jonas Abib taught us. Our objective is to give continual voice of our father founder that screams: “Save Souls!”

Translated from Portuguese