Franciscan at Home

“If youth can lead one another to sin, why not to sanctity?” So wondered St. John Bosco as he undertook his life’s work with poor boys in Turin in the 1850s. And youth ministers have asked themselves the same question ever since.

In the last issue of The Sower Jose Varickasseril highlighted Paul’s methods for catechesis. Here is a practical application of his lessons in the area of youth evangelization and catechesis. Reprinted here with permission from Celia Siriois.

Peer ministry is built on the premise that young people can indeed influence one another to the good, that they can be light and leaven in the world in which they find themselves. In many ways peer ministry is the goal toward which all youth ministry tends. It takes with radical seriousness the words of the prophet Joel echoed by Peter in his first sermon: “’And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams’” (Acts 2:17; cf. Joel 2:28). Peter announces the good news that the saving work of Jesus has inaugurated the last days. The Spirit has been poured out on all God’s people without distinction. Now young and old alike are sent to bear witness to the gospel.

Peer ministry seeks to awaken the baptismal imagination of the young, to make them mindful of the gift and call of their Baptism. It encourages them to begin even now to participate actively and responsibly in the work of evangelization. In many ways it is a school, educating the hearts, minds and wills of young people, equipping them to make an intelligent and imaginative contribution to the Church and the world.

Estaba sentado en mi oficina, su cuerpo tenso con ansiedad. Tenía años de formación en teología, pero nada le había preparado para esto. Al hablar conmigo, lanzaba miradas alrededor de la habitación, como si esperara encontrar alguna respuesta escrita en las paredes.

“¿Cómo hago para llegarles?” preguntó con tal sinceridad que sus ojos prácticamente se llenaron de lágrimas. “Sé que les estoy hablando de la fe. Sé que lo que están escuchando es verdad. Sin embargo, es como si estuviera hablando una lengua extranjera.” Luego alzó los ojos hacia mí, en la esperanza que yo pudiera contestar su pregunta importante:

“¿En qué forma debo de hablarles a los adolescentes acerca de la fe para que me escuchen?”

Su experiencia (y frustración) es lejos de ser única. Muchos adultos quienes intentan transmitir la fe a los jóvenes tienen la impresión de que están hablando con personas de otro planeta. El Directorio General para la Catequesis nos dice que para transmitir la fe a los jóvenes, debemos de “adoptar…un carácter misionero más que el estrictamente catecumenal” (DGC 185). Como catequistas de jóvenes, no podemos visualizarnos como maestros de un grupo de “pequeños adultos”. En lugar de eso, debemos de vernos como misioneros de una cultura extranjera.

Dios no es equitativo.

¿Te llamó eso la atención?

De niños, a menudo nos enseñan que la ‘equidad’ es el meollo de la moralidad. ‘Haz a los demás lo que quisieras que te hagan a ti’ se diluye a ‘sean equitativos los unos con los otros’. Si a una persona le toca hacer algo, entonces los demás también deben de tener el derecho de hacerlo también. El argumento acerca del matrimonio entre homosexuales, ¿no tiene sus raíces en la cuestión de este principio de equidad?

Confundimos la virtud de la justicia que es, ‘la virtud moral que consiste en la voluntad constante y firme de dar a Dios y al prójimo lo que les es debido’[i] con la equidad, que significa ‘libre de favoritismo hacia un lado u otro’[ii].

La justicia es un acto moral basado en la verdad; la equidad es una noción seglar que se basa en igualdad e imparcialidad. Ya que vivimos en una cultura pos-moderna que niega la ‘verdad’, nos enseñan que tenemos que agarrar el denominador común más bajo que es ‘ser parejos’.

On May 9, 2001, the Congregation for Bishops granted recognitio to the action of the United States bishops regarding the Sacrament of Confirmation. This action was that the sacrament ‘shall be conferred between the age of discretion and about sixteen years of age, within the limits determined by the diocesan bishop and with regard for the legitimate exceptions given in canon 891.’[i] As a result, there is a diverse practice for the Sacrament of Confirmation in the United States, differing from diocese to diocese and, in some cases, parish to parish.[ii] Because of this diversity, the guidelines for catechesis for confirmation in the National Directory for Catechesis are not as thorough as that for the other sacraments. Many dioceses confer Confirmation during middle school, some have mandated Confirmation at the age of discretion for the whole diocese, and many leave the decision up to the pastor of the specific parish.[iii]

In this article, I would like to address sacramental preparation/catechesis for Confirmation when conferred on adolescents. I will first look at the basic relevant Scriptural and theological principles of Confirmation. Then I would like to discuss some catechetical difficulties and abuses that are present in contemporary Confirmation preparation/catechesis and offer some possible solutions. Finally, I will offer several pastoral considerations in preparing adolescents for Confirmation.

"Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"

Jesus’ response was very educational: ‘You know the commandments: You shall not kill; You shall not commit adultery…’ and so forth. It was a basic catechesis, echoed down for generations since the time of Moses. But the young man wasn’t satisfied.

The General Directory for Catechesis tells us that this story is central in understanding how to pass on the faith to young people. ‘The heart of catechesis is the explicit proposal of Christ to the young man in the Gospel; it is a direct proposal to all young people in terms appropriate to young people, and with considered understanding of their problems.’ (GDC 183)

The rich young man was given an opportunity that the rest of humanity could only dream about: to be a disciple in the time of Christ! He had an opportunity to become one of the Church’s first saints, but his riches held him back. And though we know the story, we do not know his name.

We print here the inspirational homily given by the Bishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, O.P., at the year beginning preparations for World Youth Day, a marvellous meditation on the Cross and its meaning.

Behold the Cross. What does it mean? A gibbet on which a young man was tortured and executed for his beliefs? A totem at the end of beads hanging from the rear-vision mirror in a car? A symbol used by vampire-slayers to ward off evil spirits? A sign outside hospitals, ambulances, the Red Cross Blood Bank, indicating care and healing? A memorial along the side of the road to some young person who crashed or in a graveyard to some young solider who was killed? A tattoo on the arm of a bikie or jewellery around the neck of a cool girl? An invitation on the top of churches to come inside? The ‘halt and the lame creeping to the cross’ on Good Friday hoping for something?

Behold the Cross on which ‘the Son of man must be lifted up’. The first Christians saw this instrument of execution very much as a countersign to the world and as a source of a new kind of power and wisdom. Soon it was the code signal for Christians. Generations of theologians and bishops, mystics and saints, artists and ordinary people revered the cross. They bowed or genuflected before it in their churches or homes. They scratched it on the tombs of their loved ones. They brought to it their fears and sufferings, hopes and dreams. They made the sign of the cross, especially to pray for things or against evil. For as we just heard in our Gospel passage ‘God so loved the world he gave his only Son, that those who believe in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.’ (Jn 3:13-17) If you feel lost, right now, this day, or any day in the future, turn to him and find in his cross life, not death.

He sat in my office, his body tense with anxiety. He had years of training in theology, but nothing had prepared him for this. As he spoke to me, his eyes darted around the room, as if he was hoping to find some kind of answer written on the walls.

“How do I reach them?” He asked with such sincerity that tears were almost welling up in his eyes. “I know I’m telling them about the faith. I know what they are hearing is true. But it’s like I’m speaking a foreign language.” And then he looked up at me, hopeful that I could answer his important question:

“How can I talk to teens about the faith in a way that they will listen to?”

His experience (and frustration) is hardly unique. Many adults who try to pass the faith on to youth feel like they are speaking to people from a different planet. The General Directory for Catechesis tells us that to pass the faith on to young people, we “must adopt a missionary dimension rather than a strictly catechumenal dimension.” (GDC 185) As catechists to youth, we cannot envision ourselves as people who are teaching a group of “little adults”. Instead, we must view ourselves as missionaries to a foreign culture.

Working with teenagers is a challenge. Many adults ‘don’t get’ them. Part of the difficulty is a misunderstanding of what is going on in the period of adolescence. Catechists often wonder if they should approach them as big children or little adults. Clark, in Hurt: Inside the World of Today’s Teenagers, gives us a different perspective: ‘Developmental theorists have acknowledged for decades what the general populace has yet to comprehend, much less embrace: adolescence is not a blend of both child and adult, nor is it an expanded phase of either. Adolescence is a unique phase of life that must be understood and dealt with on its own merits.’ (p.27)

As catechists, we need to understand the specific developmental needs of teenagers. Behavioural psychologist John Santrock writes: ‘[Adolescence is]the period of life between childhood and adulthood… [The process] lasts roughly from 10-13 years of age and ends at 18-22 years of age. [However,] defining when adolescence ends is not an easy task. It has been said that adolescence begins in biology and ends in culture.’ (see Clark p.28)

As they gathered together in the upper room, the Apostles knew the Truth. They knew Jesus was the Son of God, the Word who became flesh. They knew that He had suffered, died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven. Jesus had explained to the disciples what the Scriptures meant and how He fulfilled them. He had been recognized in the breaking of the bread. And He commanded them to ‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…’

But their next course of action, as chronicled in the Book of Acts, is one that should give us pause. We do not see them huddled around a table with a large map, sectioning out areas for each one of them to reach. Nor do we see them break into different committees to discuss which course of action would be most effective to impact their audience. And we certainly don’t read about the apostle who suggested that maybe the best way to start is to put an announcement in the bulletin to see if anybody would be interested in helping them.

No. They were praying and waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit.

What is a ‘young adult?’

This is the question that plagues many people in young adult ministry in the United States. Young adults are often described by their age range: 18 to 30 years old. But Christian Smith, author of Souls in Transition: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of Emerging Adults, suggests the term young adult is a misnomer. He proposes we call this age group emerging adults. ‘Rather than viewing these years as simply the last hurrah of adolescence or an early stage of real adulthood, (this title) recognizes the very unique characteristics of this new and particular phase of life.’[i]

Previously, he and Melissa Lundquist Denton wrote a book called Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Published in 2005, Soul Searching became one of the most influential books in American Catholic Youth Ministry since the USCCB published Renewing the Vision in 1997.

Soul Searching studied the religiosity of American teenagers. Souls in Transition continues that study by looking at the lives of 18 to 24 year olds. ‘The features marking this stage are intense identity exploration, instability, a focus on self, feeling in limbo or in transition or in-between, and a sense of possibilities, opportunities, and unparalleled hope. These, of course, are also accompanied… by large doses of transience, confusion, anxiety, self-obsession, melodrama, conflict, disappointment, and sometimes emotional devastation.’