Lineamenta on the Youth

Lineamenta on the Youth

THE YOUTH:
GROWING IN INTIMACY WITH THE LORD


All are called to one and the same goal: To live in union with God (GS, 24). This call to the fullness of life in union with God is addressed to all, not merely as individuals, but as a people of God (LG, 9). At a definitive time God sent his son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, to make us all one in the Kingdom of God, not according to the flesh but in the spirit (LG, 9), and formed the new People of God, the Church (LG, 13), which consists of the laity, clergy and religious (LG, 30). The Lord calls the lay people, of which the youth are a part, to spread His Kingdom (LG, 36). The youth in their different stages of growth have an essential role in the building of God’s Kingdom. They have a special role in evangelization, for, having been evangelized and strengthen in the faith by the sacrament of confirmation they become the youngest evangelizers in the Church (GS, 48; AA, 30).
Man is the fundamental and at the same time the daily way of the Church (RH, 14) and in this light the Church attributes a special importance to the period of youth as a key stage in the life of every human being (John Paul II, Apostolic Letter to the Youth of the World, p.3). The period of youth is the time of discovering, choosing and making the first personal decisions in the individual and social life which will be important in the future (John Paul II, Op.cit., pp.8-9). It is the time of establishing self-identity, amidst deeper questioning and frustrations and first experiences of disappointments in life, which enables young ones to make mature decisions and to be open to the consequences of these.
The family is the primary social body and the “domestic church” where young people are born, raised and learn the first lessons in catechesis taught by the living witness of their parents (LG, 11; AA, 11). So decisive, indeed, is the role of the parents in the Christian formation of youth to grow in intimacy with the Lord that there is scarcely anything to compensate for their failure in doing it (Familiaris Consortio, 36). In response to their parents’ efforts, the youth “contribute in their own way to making their parents holy. For they will respond to the kindness of their parents with sentiments of gratitude, with love and trust” (GS, 48).
The Church looks to the youth with confidence and with love, for it is with them that the Church sees herself as called to constant self-rejuvenation. The Church calls upon young people to become the prime evangelizers among themselves and through themselves and to be greatly aware of the social environment in which they live.
The Youth share in the development of the Church where they are and their doctrinal and spiritual formation is affected to a great extent by the ecclesiological model their local Church adopts. The model of Basic Ecclesial Communities, a new way of being Church, has greatly contributed to the development of the youth, where they have an active part in Church renewal. Here, too, the youth developed their spiritual life where they will respond to Christ in their given historical and cultural development with love and Christian virtues as they search constantly for the meaning of life as young people (National Catechetical Directory, 84, 85 & 86).

Questions for Small Group Discussion:
1. How shall we ensure a well-rounded Christian formation for the youth?
2. How to involve more young people in the activities of the Church?
3. How can we encourage the young people to be more involve in the mission of the Church?