Today almost in all the fields, vast majority of youngsters are involved and given the greatest responsibilities in the political, social, technological, industrial fields etc., All the more many private companies look only for young people for the better production of their commodities both in the quality and in quantitative way. Even though, the church tries to do something for the youth, but many ordained ministers keep them away and not ready to give much of encouragement, recognition and to share some of the responsibilities with them. We, the church have to take steps to keep the young people with lots of care and concern inside the church with responsibility because they are the biggest and special treasure to the present and to the future church. However, an individual person experiences at this particular period of his or her life which is to be distinguished from the period of full maturity and the time of intense discovery of the human potentialities and capacities connected with it. Before the inner gaze of the developing personality of the young man or woman, there are gradually and successively specific unrepeatable potentialities to be noted in them. The potentialities of youth are to be utilized and channelized for the betterment of the mission and for the ministry of the church. Some of our parishes or dioceses very few youngsters are given responsibilities and their talents are utilized properly; whereas vast majority of youth and their potentialities are yet to be recognized both in the church as well as in the society.
Church and the Youth
No one can ignore the fact that in some way or other religion plays an important role in the life of every individual human being. It is one of the areas where youth faces lots of problems. Unfortunately, in most of our dioceses and in our parishes the young people are understood and classified as “problematic and they have the tendency to behave in wrong ways”[1]. At times they are rebellious because they are passionate about their practicing of religion and want to be part of a religion which is rooted in their personal conviction and personal involvement. Catholic youth in particular have different images as to what the church and church leaders should be. Their expectations are at times quite demanding and sometimes quite mature. “They search for models among the church leaders and elders and so they seek an environment of real happiness, friendly and loving relationship, self-fulfillment etc., in their own families, especially in their parishes and in their dioceses. When they do not find these, sometimes they develop negative feelings towards the church and the church related ministers and activities”[2]. Unfortunately, “many priests and religious seem to be uncomfortable with youth, even afraid of them and others tend to think of this generation as critical, demanding, questioning, indifferent, trouble makers, anxious for truth and to be kept out of the church compound”[3]. Thus the abuse of religion at times can become one of the factors which leads the youth to find meaning and happiness elsewhere, like in bad company, politics with misleading ideologies and inhuman values etc., Today more than ever youth are also influenced by the media and communication technologies which lead them to lose sight of the worth of being themselves due to hero worship and misuse of communication technologies like internet, mobiles etc., Therefore the church has to play a vital role in approaching them, getting to know them, love them and enlighten them. It is along with them, the church needs to continue and find new ways and means of search for truth and justice which will be possible and practiced in the church and in the society.
Wounded Youth
The time of “youth” is a period of experiencing lots of personal wounds in different levels. Youth is a stage of insecurity and discouragement. They are at a unique time of human development. They will be undergoing through a very crucial stage in their life in this age. Therefore, our dealings with the young, we must constantly fulfill two most prominent elements of our service to them, i.e. affirmation and encouragement. Elders are quite often very pessimistic about young people. Today we are bombarded by information on the problems and difficulties of the young especially in India. The socio-economic situation of the young is very diverse. The vast majority find themselves in the clutches of poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and oppression. They encounter brutal competition and corruption and this leads them to a crisis of values. Along with their strength and potentialities their fears and anxieties, depression, guilt, shame, envy, unhealthy jealously and anger which is the attitudes of mind of the young people would result in feeling bad about oneself. These defects and failures, irresponsibility and childishness have to be understood and accepted by the church and the society. However, “the contemporary youth have the spirit of generosity and creativity; but their complacency is their stumbling block”[4].
In addition, the time of youth is generally known as a period of stress and strain, storm and strife. Added to the natural problems connected with their growth the youth are going through an “identity crisis” as rapid changes are taking place in the total way of life – in the social, religious, political and economical aspects of life. “The life in their family has become a boredom and botheration for them. The educational institutions have turned to be centers of frustration and religion appears to be a big burden imposed on them. Society has become a great threat to them as there exist widespread poverty, hunger, discriminations, fanaticism, inequality, injustice, corruption, violence, pornography and other exploitations”[5]. Therefore they become confused and distressed or even rebellious and aggressive.
Our life experience shows that friendship is supposed to be a support in the life of youth, often paves the way for degradation and haunting worries. Bad company tries to extinguish the little spark of enthusiasm, zeal and good character in the youth. Next to parents, friends are the most important people in the life of a youngster. In fact, many perplexed parents find that their child’s friends seem more important to him/her than their parents. Because of the intensity of peer relationships, a youth’s friends can work good or bad in his or her life. Many teenagers have been misleading into smoking, drinking, drugs or sex because of the influence of their friends.
However, in the relationship between education and work there emerge very serious problems of a practical nature such as unemployment and more generally lack of jobs that in various ways causing difficulties to young people. This raises lots of questions in the mind of the youngsters: do this society / the church need me? Do the church / society expect my contribution? Moreover, it is through work man not only transforms nature but also achieves fulfillment as a human being.
International Level
Knowing the real nature of youth the Pope, the head of the Universal Church, has shown lots of interest in forming and transforming them all over the world. Several Popes have contributed for their growth; notable one was Pope John Paul II, who had inspired millions of young people by the intensity of his faith. He also had a special relationship with youth and is known by many as ‘The Pope for Youth’. He had the charisma to inspire the people all over the world and touch the heart of every young one. For this purpose on March 1985 Pope John Paul II addressed an Apostolic Letter ‘to the youth of the world’. Never before had a Pope addressed the young people with a personal letter and detailed as this. The letter is based on the “conviction that the church needs to enter into dialogue with the young in order to manifest Christ to the world. Hence, in this regard, the church cannot remain mute and silent. Indeed the present church has an important attitudes and experiences which she must pass on for the greater good of the young themselves”[6].
Another greatest shift of Pope John Paul II was “World Youth Day, a youth-oriented Catholic Church event initiated in 1985. It is celebrated at a week-long international level every two to three years at different locations. The international level events attract hundreds of thousands of youth from almost every country on the earth”[7]. The Patron Saint of World Youth Day is Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta. While the event itself celebrates the Catholic faith, the invitation to attend extends to all youth, regardless of religious convictions. It is a major part of the upsurge in Catholic Youth Work in some countries over recent years.
In addition, the Pope had instilled that “Youth is growth”. Here growth would mean that all the levels of an individual such as physical, mental, emotional, social and religious levels of growth. It is at this time the energies that are acquired and gained by individual would be of great strength until the end of his/ her life. So also one’s future would rely upon that same energy in matters related to relationship, friendship and psycho-sexual as well as psycho-spiritual levels. It is the time of psychophysical development, the growth of all the energies through which normal human individuality is built up. But “this process of growth has to be accompanied by wisdom and in grace”[8]. Youth should be a process of growth bringing with the gradual accumulation of all that is true, good and beautiful.
Moreover, the Pope in the document Apostolicam Actuositatem number 12 reminds us that "young people exert a very important influence on modern society: the circumstances of their life, their habits of thought, and their relation with their families have been completely transformed. They need a special apostolic activity which will enable them to achieve an integral development so that when awareness of their own personality ripens in them they shoulder responsibilities that are theirs, and are eager to take place in social and cultural life"[9].
A Year of Youth
When we look the life of the young people, it needs to have a balance that puts them in touch with others. They need to be nurtured, accompanied, given a sense of focus and vision, guided towards their destiny by exemplary life and to be helped to be human in their dealing and relationship with others. In order to help the youngsters in various ways, a year has been dedicated to youth from June 2010 - June 2011, with the motto of “Arise, Shine to be friend of Jesus”. Youth are physically strong and mentally they need to be strengthened to win over the worldly evil powers and wrong ways of performance in their lives. Therefore, the church wanted to reflect upon how the youth could be helped out and be guided towards transformative way in their personal and in relational levels a year has been allotted and in all the dioceses and almost all the parishes the youth are to be brought forward and to be encouraged to come up in their personal life. Generally looking at the youth most of them are open-hearted, service minded, powerful and creative in their thinking and doing. But few of them are following the evil paths of crime, violence and atrocities and inhuman ways of behaviors. As well today’s youth are prone to be of having a very low self image, inferiority complex, suicidal tendency, isolation, confused mind, not able to choose and decide what is good for oneself and others. For all these they need to be checked in their thinking, dealing, behaviors and in relationship which also would help them to become responsible youth. If they are helped in this regard they would be of a great resource to the church and to the society at large. It is because of this, the church also took an effort to help and guide them to transform the young people a year has been allotted to keep focus on them through several levels of meetings and gatherings were organized in the diocesan / parish levels to identify them and to animate them in their life struggles.
What is Needed?
The biggest strength and resource of our country is its 540 million youth. No other country has as many youth as we have. It is a response from the church that shows we are aware of the serious nature and extent of the problems of youth and that we realize the pain that so many young people suffer. But at the same time we cannot assume that all the negative data applies to all young people and their context. However, to confront these evil elements youth must be given attention to the forces that promote positive and healthy adolescent development. As well youngsters must learn to say no to several things such as egoism, injustice, despair, hatred, violence, irresponsibility, pleasure without moral rules. And they need to learn to tell yes to God, faith, freedom, justice, love, peace, solidarity to build a better church and a better society at large.
In our approach towards youth also to be modified that they are to be understood as the greatest resource to the local and the universal church than as problems. We need to learn from their experiences than to give ready made answers. Youth are to be involved in decision making process than just to implement the decision taken by others. We need to accept and understand their status, feelings and behaviors. In a very special way the spiritual and the liturgical celebrations can have the creative ways of praying or participating in the holy mass must emerge from them by way of using rich ways of music with dance. In this regard, the church has lots of restrictions which do not help them to cop up with real enthusiasm.
All the more, one of the strongest desires that the young people have is the desire to participate. They do not simply want the elders to do things for them; rather they want them to do things with them. Most of our young people over the age of 17 have a desperate need to be listened to. The elders need to trust them and take them into confidence and not merely dismiss them as inexperienced, impetuous and impractical. “We need to use constructively their spirit of adventure, enthusiasm, optimism, hope, desire for change, sensitivity to all forms of injustice and inequality and discomfort”[10]. Participation promotes loyalty and eliminates frustration, uncertainty, feeling ignored and unimportant. If the church and society expect to have a bright future, and then a high premium has to be laid on the youth. “Every youth in our country is very aware and they expect a new India without corruption, which spreads like a contagious disease to all fields of human endeavor”[11].
However, the wounded side of youth must be taken into our real consideration of the mission and ministry of the church. As St. Paul exhorts us, “if one member suffers, all suffer together with it…”( 1 Cor 12.26) therefore, our relationship and approach towards youth could be an easy, approachable, encouraging and appreciating one. This may really strengthen them to open up their emotional hurts, feelings and wounds and to help them to have a healthy ways of approach towards others. Hence the need of the today’s church, especially in the field of youth ministry, is that the church leaders should have a docile heart to know and to understand the wounds of the young people which would naturally pave the ways to heal and help them in their personal emotional life struggles. Then they would be able to render their service to the society and to the church and to promote healthy and adult ways of behaviors and relationship with one another.
Every human being passes through different stages of life and each stage is marked by certain peculiar characteristics. Human aspirations are very strong during the period of youth. Such aspirations are all the more intense with some young people resent and constraints imposed on them by the society. As the life progresses the youth acquire a sense of identity and self affirmation and become proud of themselves and lay claim to certain rights, duties and responsibilities. They want to be give chance to make their own decisions and do things in their own way. In fact, behind their silent protests and awkward struggle for more independence, there is a deep desire for authentic freedom. They see a whole life opening up before them and feel that life is meaningful and worth living. Hence it is a time to search for meaning in their life.
Few Suggestions
1. The aspect of formation is very important in the youth movements. They need to be encouraged and guided personally in their daily emotional life struggles. For that the youth animators are to be a well qualified or trained one to help and guide them.
2. The role of the church leaders should not dominate them in planning and decision making rather the youth are to be respected individually and to be involved in planning and deciding matters related to the community actions.
3. Matters related to prayer and spiritual activities, lots of creativities and initiatives of youth must be encouraged by way of songs and dances which they could participate well with interest in liturgical celebrations
4. Very often youth movements are recognized for their work and voluntary services; but the wounded side of the youth is neither touched nor given assistance.
5. Often at the church level youth meetings and gatherings are organized just for the record purpose; rather they are to be a means to guide and to assist the young people in certain matters related to education, job etc.,
6. The church has to encourage them in different ministries both in the diocesan and in the parish levels of evangelization work or prayer meetings etc., by which the potentialities of our youth are really used for the ministry and for the well being.
7. Our approach towards the young people must be of as resources and not as problems.
8. Youth are to be empowered by the church through education, skills, job opportunities etc., by which they also can stand for values of human life.
9. Youth need means to overcome existential agonies and struggles to give meaning to their lives.
1 In the normal life struggles they search for something or somebody who can guide them or to imitate them. They need real answers and solutions to their daily problems and worries than to spiritualize them.
Hence, we have to put words into action and implement a new vision for youth. The church has organized various training programs for priests to emphasize that youth are the future of the church. But it is up to the ministers, “to allocate a lot of time towards youth, otherwise they will continue to search for what they are missing in the Catholic Church”[12]. The youth are the reality of today and not only the hope of the tomorrow’s church. They are the source of energy and vitality in the church. If the church journeys with the youth many new horizons of love and service will evolve. The new way of journey should be to help them to grow spiritually, to develop commitment and understanding, to see the youth a resource and not as problems; to facilitate their learning form their experiences and not from readymade answers, to involve them more in the decision making process than to implement the decision taken by others. Only when the youth are recognized as agents and co-workers of the mission of the church then only the full potential of them will be utilized for the greater glory of God and for the good of the church.
[1] Jerome.Vallabaraj, “Youth Ministry: Beyond the “Inside –Out” and “Outside-In”, Vidyajyothi 66 (July 2002) 487.
[2] Alphonse Arockiaswamy, A New Paradigm for Youth Ministry Today, SFS Publications, Bangalore 2011, p.13.
[3] Joe Mannath, “Liturgical Celebrations: Do They Touch the Young?”, Kristu Jyoti 18 (June 1992), p.28.
[4] S. Arul Gnanapragasam, “My Vision for the Youth”, The New Leader, Vol. 124, No. 4, February 16-28, 2011, p. 29.
[5] Alphonse Arockiaswamy, A New Paradigm for Youth Ministry Today, p.37.
[6] Pope John Paul II, “Apostolic Letter to the Youth of the World”, L’Osservatore Romano, No.13 (879) April 1985,p.4
[7] Pope John Paul II, “Apostolic Letter to the Youth of the World”, p.5.
[8] Pope John Paul II, “Apostolic Letter to the Youth of the World”, p. 7
[9] Vatican II, Apostolicam Actuositatem, Austin Flannery. Ed., Vatican II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar
Documents. Bombay, St. Pauls, 1975. No.12.
Documents. Bombay, St. Pauls, 1975. No.12.
[10] Alphonse Arockiaswamy, A New Paradigm for Youth Ministry Today, 38.
[11] S. Arul Gnanapragasam, p. 29.
[12] Alphonse Arockiaswamy, A New Paradigm for Youth Ministry Today, 42.
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