For our KAYM April Youth Gathering, we attended the ASAYO Young Pilgrims of Hope 2025 Youth Mass at Church of Jesus Caritas (JCC), Kepong on the 26th of April. It was a wonderful experience! 

We gathered at the Chapel of Kristus Aman at 8:30AM before carpooling to JCC. When we arrived, we were greeted by the staff and ushered to register as well as to collect the stamp on our pilgrim passports. Though not many youth from KA attended, we were surprised when we found out that we were the largest group attending. 

We were provided with a light breakfast before we started with a video presentation on the legacy of JCC. We were then taken on a church tour, we got to see the different Holy statues and church designs and hear about what they symbolise. At the end of the tour, we were taken inside the church where we saw the beautiful paintings displayed and the immersion baptisimal font. We also had the chance to see and venerate a first-class relic of St Maria Goretti. For the next activity, we could choose between the Immersion experience, Divine Mercy Devotions and Adoration. The Youths from KA all attended the Divine Mercy Devotion held at the JCC Youth Room, where we prayed the Divine Mercy Chaplet in song, and in 3 different languages! 

Finally we went back into the church to prepare for the Youth Mass. Fr Michel Dass celebrated the Mass, which was also said between 3 languages; Mandarin, Bahasa Melayu and English. In his Homily, he invited the young people to let God's Love fill the emptiness of our lives. To end the day, we all adjourned to the hall for lunch. Once again we had a chance to bond with youth from other parishes and enjoy the good food. 

Overall, I enjoyed the experience. Being my first time attending a Youth Mass and meeting such a large crowd of youth, it was a bit nerve wracking at first but once we shared our stories and laughter, I felt a sense of belonging even amidst the wider Catholic youth community. The Divine Mercy Devotion was very fitting for our program because that weekend the church celebrated Divine Mercy Sunday and the activity was conducted well  as they started with a short introduction to St Maria Faustina, who was given this beautiful devotion by Christ and is prayed by many today. The entire program was well organised and ran very smoothly. I am glad I got the opportunity to attend a Youth Mass and meet the youths from other parishes which gave me a broader perspective on how they conduct their gatherings.