AYM 2025 – Day Three: Youth Offer Their “Little Basket” with Confidence and Love
Ankawa – Friday, July 11, 2025
The third and final day of Ankawa Youth Meeting 2025 marked a rich culmination of reflection, joy, and deep spiritual encounter — the peak of a journey that began just days earlier. It concluded with a sincere youth offering to God: “Here I am.”
The day began with catechetical sessions that described both the personal and communal dimensions of vocation. Fr. Savio Handola reflected on “The Journey of a Heart Seeking God,” focusing on the life of Blessed Carlo Acutis, the young Italian who will be canonized this coming September. He invited the youth to discover God’s presence in the simplicity of daily life and their unique realities — just as Carlo did.
Next, Fr. Shaker Zeitouna led a session titled “Called to Serve Together”, encouraging the youth to live their vocation not only as an individual responsibility but as a shared gift rooted in love, humility, and mutual witness. He emphasized that every vocation leads into a community that evangelizes and serves together.
After lunch, group discussions continued around the theme “A Dialogue with Simon Peter: How and Why Did You Follow Jesus?” This was followed by recreational and sports activities that helped strengthen the bonds of friendship among participants.
In the evening, a solemn candlelight procession began in the church courtyard, led by the Holy Cross — a powerful moment of faith symbolizing the light of vocation an the mystery of discipleship. The procession led into the final festive Mass, presided over by Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, with the participation of Bishop Nathanael Nizar Agam of the Syriac Catholic Eparchy of Hadayab, along with several priests and a large assembly of youth.
In his concluding homily, titled “My Little Basket… All for Our Lord Jesus” (John 6:1–15), Archbishop Warda invited the youth to reflect on the story of the boy who offered five barley loaves and two fish to Jesus — a modest gift that became the gateway to the miracle of feeding the multitude.
He said, “The Lord did not ask the child about the quantity. He gave thanks, blessed the little he had, broke it, and distributed it. The miracle didn’t begin with the multiplication — it began with the transformation of the child himself… from a spectator to a participant, from the owner of a small basket to a witness of a gift that nourished thousands.”
He reminded the youth that whatever they hold — even if it seems small or insignificant — can become a blessing when offered with an open heart. “You entered these days with just a few loaves in your hands: a talent, a hope, a struggle, or even just a question… and you are leaving with more: confidence, community, a Word, and the experience of a Church walking with you.”
He concluded: “Don’t be afraid to give your little basket… because what is given in love is not measured by its price, but by its fruit.”
At the close of the gathering, Archbishop Warda offered heartfelt thanks to all who made the event possible: the spiritual guides who served with love, the organizing committee who worked tirelessly, the youth of Ankawa who served silently and joyfully, and especially the Aid to the Church in Need organization, whose support helped make this gathering a living testimony that the Church still believes in its youth. He added, “You didn’t just organize an event… you planted seeds for the future. What we see today is not just the result of our efforts, but the fruit of the Lord’s presence among us.”
Thus, AYM 2025 came to an end with new beginnings for its participants. Each young man and woman now knows they carry a “little basket,” one they know the value of — and one they are ready to offer to Jesus with trust: to be blessed, broken, shared… and to satisfy many.
