In Placetas, young people live out their faith with Contracorriente
In Placetas, the young people of Contracorriente meet at the parish three Fridays a month. University and young professionals from 18 to 30 years old share a desire to learn, deepen their faith and build friendships through fellowship. In September, the group’s council met with Don Stéphane and Don Paul-Alexandre, who will accompany the young people throughout the year, to set the direction for the coming months. The start of this new year also brings change: some members are preparing to move on to new projects, while others are stepping up to keep the group going.
Contracorriente’s gatherings combine formation, service and more informal moments. Formation sessions give the young people an opportunity to ask questions and deepen their understanding of the Church’s teachings. Topics include consecrated life, life after death, the saints and the sacraments. These discussions help each person better understand their faith and reflect on how to live it out in everyday life.
The group also places great importance on serving others. Last year, the young people dedicated a day to the asilo, a day centre for older people run by the Sisters of the Servants of Jesus (Siervas de Jesús). They prepared and shared lunch with the residents, sang together and organised activities to make the day enjoyable. It was a practical way to give their time, spend time with older people and show them care and attention. The gatherings also include more relaxed evenings spent playing board games.
A Place to Grow Together
“My name is Eliecer, I’m 22 years old, i am an acolyte in the parish of Placetas and I’ve been part of the group for about three years.
Contracorriente is a dynamic group. That energy is put to good use in our gatherings and in parish life. Here, we can talk openly and build genuine friendships during our meetings. We also take part in in-depth formation sessions that nurture my spiritual life. But above all, it is a place where we can share in prayer and grow together in faith.
The group also has a quality that can sometimes be hard to find in the context in which we live: a genuine spirit of unity, where the common good comes before individual interests.”
“My name is Denisa, I am 22 years old, and I am the leader of the Contracorriente youth group.
When I was invited to join the youth group meetings, I felt intimidated. There were so many of us, and remembering so many names seemed impossible. Despite this, I accepted, and I remember asking myself: What is so special about this group that several people are inviting me to join?
As I began attending the meetings, I started to find some answers. What first caught my attention was the sense of unity within the group. It was hard for me to believe that, despite being such a large group of people with very different, and sometimes even opposing, characters and personalities, we could share something so meaningful together. And yet, we could! I decided to change my perspective and discovered what lay at the centre, what united us all: faith.
Today, I thank God for allowing me to be part of this group and its council, and for giving us the opportunity to share so many moments of formation, prayer and service. I also ask everyone who reads this humble testimony to keep us in their prayers, so that the young people of Contracorriente may grow stronger in their faith.