YU4C IN DELHI

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CONCLUDING SESSION

YOUTH UNITED
FOR CHRIST:
THE NEW YOUTH MINISTRY OF THE CCR IN INDIA

For its Plenary Session in May 2006, the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences had chosen the theme: “Vanishing Youth?”. Looking at the threat of extinction being faced by the youth from various angles, the Academy finally arrived at the conclusion that “No society, no culture, can afford to suffer a “Vanishing Youth” for with them would also vanish the real hope and noble ideals of every nation.”

The recent decades have witnessed this realization dawning on the Church more than ever before. Pope John Paul II always went out of the way to reach out to the youth and win them over for Jesus. During his audience with the Roman clergy in February, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI told the priests: “young people must truly be the priority of our pastoral work”.

As early as 1983, while the entire Catholic Church was celebrating the mighty work of Redemption by Christ, the seed of a wonderful idea was born in the mind of Pope John Paul II concerning the “Youth in the Church”. Noticing a large crowd of young people who joined him for the Palm Sunday celebrations in Rome, Pope John Paul II perceived the growing importance of young people in the Church. So, when in 1985, United Nations declared the year as the International Year of the Youth, Pope John Paul II took up the initiative and began what is now considered as one of the most popular initiatives by the Church for youth – the celebration of World Youth Days. Addressing the youth, Pope John Paul II told them once: “Christ needs your youth and your generous enthusiasm to make His proclamation of joy resound in the New Millennium. Answer His call by placing your lives at His service in your brothers and sisters. Trust Christ, because He trusts you!”

The youth are cautioned “Remember your creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come” (Eccl 12:1). The adolescents of today are exposed to a bewildering multitude of negative influences. It is extremely difficult to live a life based on Gospel values in a climate of hostility and intense peer-pressure. Therefore, they need a decisive encounter with Christ in order to be bold enough to be different in their own life situations. St. Paul asked Timothy to “turn away from the passions of youth, concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with a pure heart” (2 Tim 2:22).

In March 2006, Pope Benedict XVI exhorted the youth: “There is an urgent need for the emergence of a new generation of apostles ANCHORED firmly in the WORD OF CHRIST, capable of responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel far and wide… It is this that the Lord asks you, it is to this that the Church invites you, and it is this that the world – even though it may not be aware of it – expects of you!” Many of us are inclined to accept youth as the Church of tomorrow. But the fact is that in many countries the youth represent half the entire population and are already in the mainstream of life and activities. So the youth are not the Church tomorrow, but THE YOUTH ARE THE CHURCH TODAY.

During the first meeting of the newly constituted National Service Team held in Mumbai in June, 2007, while sharing on the strengths and weaknesses of the Renewal in the country, it emerged that the average age of members in some of the prayer groups in the country, ranges between 50 to 60. One of the major concerns expressed was the low turn out of youth at prayer meetings. It goes without saying that without the involvement of youth, there is no future for such prayer groups.

During the First Conference of Charismatic Leaders of Asia-Oceania held in Jakarta in September, 2008, 525 participants from 21 countries were split into 50 groups to share about the strengths and weaknesses of the Renewal in their respective countries. In the report submitted after their sharing, 10 out of 50 groups reported about the absence of young people in the Renewal. One group went to the extent of reporting: “There are too many old people around in the Renewal”. The observation is perhaps an indication of the sense of frustration in certain countries and regions about the absence of youth in the Renewal. Instead of merely lamenting the absence of young people in our groups, we need to see why the youth are not there. Has the Renewal done anything to create an environment in our groups and regions to attract young people to the Renewal? Has the Renewal in our region got a youth ministry that offers outreaches, fellowships and training camps for the youth? Are the young ones being welcomed, accepted and encouraged in our groups, ministries and regions?

It was St. Paul’s hope while addressing Timothy: “Let no one despise your youth” (1 Tim 4:12). An open-minded approach towards the youth of today, their genuine problems, peer pressure, changing social environments and influences upon them must be considered with a non-prejudiced and open mind. The elders should be willing to accept, love, understand and listen to them. At the European Leaders’ Conference held in Warsaw, Poland in September 2007, one of the sessions offered was on “Passing on Leadership to the Young Generation”. The participants were reminded about the Joshua-principle. Joshua was able to enter the Promised Land, fight and win the victory and lead the whole tribe of Israel not only because he was a gifted person, but because Moses took with him, shared life with him, taught him everything he knew himself, delegated responsibilities to him and helped him to face real life situations. These experiences and the times shared with Moses enabled Joshua to become a gifted leader of the people, a good listener to the Lord’s voice and a faithful servant of the Lord. At the end of the session, the leaders participating in the Conference in Warsaw were challenged: Are you giving space in your group / community / region to the young people? Are young people allowed to learn and to make mistakes on your team / group? Are you taking on responsibility for a young person as mentor? Is it really a heart’s desire for you to have young people “on board”?

One of the most exciting things in the Charismatic Renewal has been the way the Lord is working in the lives of many young people and leading them to greater depths of spirituality, commitment and mission. The Lord is baptizing youth in His Holy Spirit and sending them forth in large numbers. What is even more encouraging is the new sense of mission that is emerging in the lives of youth through their experience of Baptism in the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, what seems to be missing in the Renewal is the openness on the part of the elders to welcome, accept and encourage the youth.

The National Catholic Charismatic Youth Council (NCCYC) was the youth wing of the National Catholic Charismatic Renewal Services (NCCRS). The NCCYC was formed after the National Youth Consultation held from 14 to 16 May, 1998 at Emmaus, Kerala with the objective of fostering a common national vision by increasing fellowship and communication between charismatic youth groups in different regions.

Although there are youth ministries in some of the prominent regions in India like The Torchbearers for Christ in Mumbai, Hosanna Youth in Bangalore, Youth for Christ in Delhi, Young Christian Shepherds in Goa, etc., the National Service Team has been sensing for quite some time the need for a national level youth ministry that is networked throughout the country. The National Catholic Charismatic Youth Council (NCCYC) was not actually intended to establish itself as a ministry or to set up its branches in the regions.

Almost at the same time the NCCYC, after consultations with the youth representatives from the regions, came up with a proposal for starting a national youth ministry with a common name being used in the regions also. After prayer and discernment at a joint meeting of the NST and NCCYC held at the Pallottine Animation Centre, Nagpur on 30th November 2008, it was unanimously decided to start a youth ministry for the CCR in India. Out of about 100 names suggested, the name chosen through prayer and discernment jointly by NST and NCCYC is YOUTH UNITED. The new youth ministry will be officially launched during KAIROS 2008, the National Youth Convention in Mumbai from 27 to 29 December, 2008. With this, NCCYC will cease to exist and all youth initiatives of NCCRS will be carried on by ‘Youth United’.

The youth of today are searching for a noble adventure, a challenging vision of life and a cause worth their commitment. At the World Youth Day 1995, held in Philippines, Pope John Paul II had pointed out: “What is needed today is a Church which knows how to respond to the expectations of young people. Jesus wants to enter into dialogue with them and, through His body, which is the Church, to propose the possibility of a choice, which will require a commitment of their lives. As Jesus with the disciples of Emmaus, so the Church must become the traveling companion of young people.” It is high time that the Renewal becomes a traveling companion of young people, able to respond to the personal and spiritual needs and aspirations of today’s adolescents. YOUTH UNITED IS THE RENEWAL’S RESPONSE TO MEET THIS NEED.

This move is also in keeping with the priority accorded to youth apostolate by the ICCRS Council in Rome under the leadership of Michelle Moran. At the meeting of the ICCRS Council held in Rome in April, 2008, a three-member Committee was set up to encourage youth initiatives in the Renewal, throughout the world. With Jesus Youth having been recognized as a totally separate movement in the Church by the CBCI, the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is in dire need of a youth ministry to empower and equip young people to live their lives as true disciples of Jesus in today’s challenging world.

These youth service teams and ministries have been instrumental in fostering spiritual growth of the youth in their respective regions through outreaches, rallies, retreats, discipleship retreats, leadership seminars, etc. It is also being ensured that the youth groups in every region form part of the parish prayer groups. As a result, the youth groups have become a source of strength to the prayer groups and future hope to the Renewal in the region.

The young people are the sign of hope who bring enthusiasm, energy, commitment, creativity and dynamism to a prayer group. On the other hand the elders have the practical experience, wisdom and financial resources to support them. One cannot be separated from the other. In the Church and the Renewal, the youth and the elders have to work together in close partnership for building up the Body of Christ. It is a fallacious argument that elders and youth should be separate entities and cannot co-exist. This can have serious adverse effects – the ‘gap’ created resulting in attitudes contrary to Gospel values while causing lasting damage. Just look around – Congregations, institutions, secular offices and some Regions (CCR) are encountering problems where such a view was allowed to take root. Seeing that Youth cannot remain as youth forever, there has to be an age limit for involvement in youth ministry so that once they are above the cut-off age, they would automatically get involved in the mainstream of the Church and the Renewal.

To the youth in the country, I would like to reiterate the same words St. Paul told young Timothy: “turn away from the passion of youth, concentrate on uprightness, faith, love and peace, in union with all those who call on the Lord with a pure heart” (2 Tim 2:22). “Christ needs your youth and your generous enthusiasm to make His proclamation of joy resound in the new millennium. Answer His call by placing your lives at His service in your brothers and sisters. Trust Christ, because He trusts you!”, said Pope John Paul II.

Instead of lamenting the absence of young people in our prayer groups, the elders should introspect and find the reasons why they are not there. Have you done anything to renew the youth in your parish and region – taken steps to organise renewal programmes for them? What have you done to form youth group in your parish and youth ministry in your region? Start praying for the youth in your parish, welcome and encourage them. Commit your time, resources and support to help the youth to have an encounter with Christ, invite them to the prayer group and give them sufficient freedom to grow and utilize their talents for the common good. Let our outlook be the same as that of St. John Bosco, “that you are young is enough for me to love you”. That should be our attitude towards youth ministry in the Church. The elders should take note that they need to adopt an understanding attitude towards the youth. Acceptance, compassion, love and understanding are the hallmarks for dealing with the youth. Listen to their views. Try to empathise with them and put yourself in their shoes. When they fail don’t discourage them or run them down. Demonstrate understanding. Involve them and share responsibilities. Encourage and inspire them. Let us not forget the reality that youth and elders are partners in mission working together for a common cause – for establishing the Kingdom of God on earth.

Through this column I would like to encourage more and more regions to start youth groups that will form part of the Renewal. For this it has to be ensured that the youth, while being members of the main parish based prayer group, enjoy sufficient freedom to meet separately, plan youth events, retreats, etc. They should also function in close liaison with the Parish and Diocesan Youth so that there is no confrontation or division of any kind. The Renewal is meant to renew the Church and not to create ministries and groups that are cut of from the life of the Church.

The question is: What should we do to attract more youth to the prayer groups? What is the experience of other regions in the country, in this regard? What is to be done to raise up youth groups and ministries in the regions?

All the Regions in the country are hereby exhorted to start youth ministry in the Renewal with the name, Youth United and encourage young people to get actively involved in it. The regions are also advised to give adequate representation to the youth ministry in the core groups of prayer groups and also on the Diocesan and Regional Service Teams. It is KAIROS for youth. Let us cooperate with the plan of God so that YOUTH UNITED may grow in strength and fervour and bear witness to the Gospel in these challenging times of trial and persecution of Christians in India!

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