From January 24th to the 26th young people of the Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria of the schools of the Province of San Nicolás de Tolentino in Spain participated in a winter assembly organized by the Pastoral department in the hostel of the Fray Luis de León – owned by the Augustinian religious – in Guadarrama, Madrid.

The seventy students of Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria (ESO), belonging to the schools San Agustín  de Valladolid,  Romareda  de  Zaragoza  and San Agustín  de  Chiclana de la Frontera  (Cádiz), participated in the gathering organized by teachers and friars responsible for the Pastoral of the Colleges. The themes developed in the assembly were taken from the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation  Vive Cristo.

On Friday the 24th they left their places of origin to reach Guadarrama, in the Mountains of Madrid. The students arrived throughout the afternoon and, according to the time available, organized to visit Madrid or prepare already for the activities of the gathering.

At eight o’clock in the afternoon, all of them (students, monitors, teachers, and Augustinian religious gathered from each center’s Pastoral Area), began the activities with a presentation organized by the monitors of the Colegio San Agustín in Chiclana de la Frontera and, subsequently, the young people were encouraged with some Augustinian songs.

On Saturday, January 25, the first theme began: Dios es Amor, directed by two young Augustinian religious from the Casa de Formación San Agustín in Las Rozas, Madrid. A space for listening and dialogue was then opened from biblical quotations about the love of God the Father and a testimonial video about what love is.

Before the meal, despite the bad weather due to the constant rain, a rally was held, organized by FranciscoOyanguren, Augustinian Recollect, and  David, professors of the Colegio San Agustin in Valladolid.

After the meal another theme was also presented inspired by the Vive Cristo: Christ is our Savior. The topic consisted of a small explanation highlighting the bonds of sin. Then the youth were divided into teams to further explore the salvation of Jesus Christ. Later the assembly was energized with different games around the experience of the gathering to conclude the day with an hour of prayer and the opportunity to confess.

On the 27th, Sunday, it began with a youthful prayer followed by games to present the third theme:  The Holy Spirit gives us life. This session sought to encourage young people to know and pray to the Holy Spirit, who prepares and opens our hearts to welcome the great proclamation:  God loves us, and Christ is our Savior.

The  ended with a Eucharist presided over by the Augustinian Antonio Antón,  who in the homily invited the participants to live, show and participate in joy, letting the simple things fill the heart, and stressing the affection and love that makes people happier. To thank God and as a sign of the work He wants to do in us, a cross was given to each young man.

The participants said goodbye with the hope, for many of them, to see each other again in the next joint activity organized by the Pastoral teams: participation in the pilgrimage to Javier  (Navarra) together with the whole Church, which happens every year during Lent.