JDE(Les Journees Diocesaines des Etudiants) is a programme where University Students from the Diocese come together to discuss,share and interact with the help of Religious Leaders.This special event happens twice a year;In October and during the Spring break.This year was a little different from the previous ones because the venue is always in Constantine but the organizing committee decided that Annaba would be the meeting place.Annaba is known for the Holy Basilica of Saint Augustin where the church is considered as a Holy Pilgrimage.The event would take place between 30 March to April 1,2023.The Theme selected for the JDE was DEPRESSION AND SPIRITUAL HEALING. The Guest Speaker was FR. Henry from Sidi Bel Abbes.The programme included activities from group discussions to outdoor activities without forgetting the Mass celebrations of the Palm Sunday-Commemorating the Passion and Suffering of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. On the first evening,as our norm,we welcome the students to the event and the Introduction takes place.Members get to introduce themselves by their count
ry of origin and Wilayas plus their field of Study.The conference was represented by students from Annaba(Hosts),Batna,Bejaia,Constantine,Skikda,Setif-Only to mention a few.Bejaia had the highest turn up,Nigeria was highly represented in terms of Nationalities.This would then follow by a tour around the church for the first timers in this Beautiful Architectural detailed sanctuary.The participants were then divided into five groups which they would associate themselves with throughout the event.
Friday,31 st would be the highlight of the JDE.The day kicked off with some sportive exercises and the Morning Prayer.The Guest Speaker would then follow and take over the session.Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects hoe you think,feel or even act.It is a common situation that the entire population of Algeria experiences.We dug profoundly on the Signs and Symptoms of a depressed person,The causes of depression,How we can prevent or combat it and the relation between the theme in question and the Scripture.Father Henry is an active,engaging and a Jovial priest.He drew examples from daily experiences and letting the audience engage the subject. Citing examples from the holy book,we find that there were several people in the Bible who underwent a depressive state.Moses went through depression from his siblings(Numbers 12;1-16).Aaron and Miriam would condemn him for marrying a Cushite Woman.Miriam would later suffer from a dreaded disease as a result of angering the Lord.Elijah with th
e prophets of baal,Jonah and his journey to Nineveh without forgetting Jesus Christ who faced rejection and suffering.We also looked into the incident where Jesus Heals a paralyzed man on Luke 5;17-26.Jesus healed the man and he became free of Paralysis.We learn on the importance of having Faith and having friends who breed positive energy into us.Friends bring us the missing piece in us and lift us whenever we feel rock bottom. His Highness Mgr Nicolas LHERNOULD was our next Speaker.He discussed with the students on the aspects of Sharing and Service to one another.He also emphasized on being the light of the World.It was a moment of exchange as well as testimonies to vocation from FR. Dominic(South Sudan) and SR.Rosalie(Burkina Faso).Their calls to vocation were indeed inspirations to draw from. The cultural evening was a successful one.Different groups were able to present their activies to the rest of the members and all the presentations revolved around the theme of the JDE.To sum up all this,The JDE was interesting and enriching from a social,spiritual and even intellectual perspective.In the end the goal was accomplished.Our sincere gratitude to the event organisers,Religious leaders,Animators,Technicians and Students for making it a perfect JDE.See you in October!
Joseph
