(Fr Luc Van Looy is the Vicar of the Rector Major of the Salesians
of Don Bosco. Before being elected to the Superior Council in
Rome, Fr Luc was a missionary in Korea for several years. A linguist,
he has mastered Korean. Earlier, as Councillor for Youth Pastoral
and at present as Vicar, he has travelled extensively in Asia).
It is an impossible task to speak for "Asia", as the
differences between the countries are of such a dimension and
variety that there is hardly any way to speak of Asia as a unity,
in any field. In a certain way, this makes it easier, as it allows
me to choose the arguments I prefer, while it permits me to present
from my own experience and insight some ideas to the people in
charge of youth ministry in the various countries of Asia. The
reader may ask what the difference would be with youth ministry
in other continents. The choice of arguments would be different,
as each context would need to be approached in a different way
and each one needs to prioritise according to the situation. I
feel the seven following guidelines would be the ones to be given
preference in an Asian context.
There is one basic aspect which we will always have to bear in
mind while involved in youth ministry: our ultimate concern ought
to be to make known the person of Jesus, as he has come to speak
about the works of the Father. This leads me to the first among
the seven guidelines:
For two reasons this is the central point on which one needs to
focus. First, because the communication of the faith goes through
the recounting of the history of it. God came into the life of
humankind in concrete ways in the history of his people. It is
important to state this all the time, and to introduce young people
into the world of religion through this. It may be that people
are looking for some answer to their psychological problems or
a solution for their social needs through their adherence to religion.
This, however, is not what they will get in the Christian religion.
It is something like what we see in the confrontation Jesus
had with the seducer after 40 days in the desert. The seducer
wanted to give an answer to the hunger of Jesus by suggesting
that he make bread out of stones. That is not God's way. Instead,
when people came to listen to his words, and evening fell and
the people were many, their disposition to hear his word was such
that Jesus offered them bread and fish to eat.
Some people may think that their closeness to the Church and their
adherence to the Catholic religion will give them a sense of belonging
which, in its turn, will bring them some material advantage. It
is true that religion has a social aspect, that it seeks to solve
social problems. But the fact of belonging to the Christian religion
does not provide such a right as to put oneself at ease and wait.
The psychological and the sociological aspects of religion are
not the purpose, nor do they define what the Christian religion
is. If at all anything, they may be a result of the fact that
one has been looking for the "precious pearl" and has
been concentrating everything on it, in such a way that everything
else, too, may come one's way.
The second reason why narrative ministry is so important is that
young Asians are good listeners. The way of communicating the
faith goes not so much through the efficacious way of proofs and
theological debate, but through the way of contact and lifecommunication.
It is more important for the Asian youth to be able to visualise
the person of Christ in his surroundings and to experience how
the relationships of the people around him grew. Asian young people
enjoy roleplaying biblical scenes, and this brings them
into a life contact with the content which they want to draw from
the Gospel. As a matter of fact, this renders the reality of the
Gospel very much alive and realistic.
The social and economic situations of so many young people in
Asia make service ministry necess-ary. Young people in Asia do
not approach the faith in a theoretical way. Neither would they
profit much from that. Ministry needs to work on credibility,
on the part of the message proclaimed and on that of the messenger.
It is true that the teachermaster will receive initially
unconditioned credibility, but it is also true that the mentality
of docility has changed a lot in recent years. Faith needs to
make its way into life, and share in the real situations of the
young. A Church which is committed to the people in its environment,
a Church which puts its strengths at the disposition of the poor
and the needy will be recognised easily as the true Church. Real
signs are necessary to speak to the young. It is significant that
many groups of young people are organising activities in favour
of the suffering part of society.
The young are attentive to the attitude of service they encounter
in the people who represent the Church. They themselves gladly
take part in this service through volunteer movements and the
like. It is important that the work of the Church is shared by
many. Therefore a systematic training to service is extremely
useful. In order to avoid the danger of voluntarism - that is,
a service rendered without taking into account the whole context
or the consequences of it - Christians need a good preparation
and training in order to be able to serve well. Not everything
that is good has to be done, not everything one can think of "for
the good of the people" is indeed for their good. Therefore,
not only do we have to develop a vision on the totality and the
complexity of service that can be rendered, opening a good vision
on reality, but, one needs to know to what framework his or her
service belongs and what the motivations are for rendering service.
Service can easily be taken as a mere "occupational therapy"
for the young. Instead, by giving them an adequate formation to
the motivation behind service, they will learn what it really
means to serve the common good of the people and to be of service
not only for an instant, but for life.
Asia is going through rapid changes, not at the same pace in every
country. And it is amazing how certain ideas or currents penetrate.
Mass communications render everything public and everybody has
easy access to everything. This calls for an urgent response on
the part of religions. As far as Christian ministry is concerned,
the situation demands an accurate assistance of the young, so
that they may learn to read and interpret the reality in which
they find themselves. In this connection, inculturation has to
be understood as presence among the young in the culture of
today following the pace of history. Often it is said that
religions linger behind. This should not be the case with
Christian youth ministry. A well thought through youth ministry
will be capable of reading reality together, as a group of ministers,
together with the young, remaining deeply present in the culture
of the young. Knowledge of the youth context is a must for the
youth ministry team, as this allows it to have a general picture
so as to put the religious reality on solid grounds.
The history of the recent past shows that young people are not
much introduced into the world of religion by their parents in
the first years of their existence. This creates a need to explain
the essential elements, often at a later stage. Of course, in
several places a good number of youngsters are brought to the
faith only as young people since their families have other religious
roots. The communication of religious concepts and religious terminology
is necessary in order to allow the young to encounter themselves
in a context which is common to all and to be at home in a world
which is not just measurable by efficiency or a human yardstick.
The inculturated minister is the guide who has his own point of
reference in God, in the Word spoken by the Father and the works
done by his incarnated Son, and who stays present in the life
of the young in order to assist and accompany them on their way.
This attitude of sharing and staying with the young allows the
adult to remain updated with regard to the world of the young,
and also gives him the possibility to read together with them
the interpretation of facts and events in the light of the faith.
If any one wants to be a good interpreter, he needs to know both
sides well, and bring about a blend of the two realities. This
is something like the job of a technician who introduces a programme
in the computer, in such a way that the keys on the keyboard correspond
with the screen and express what the writer intends to say in
a coherent way.
Faith needs not only to be presented and explained, or lived together
and witnessed through service. It needs also to be celebrated.
Studies reveal that the young do not show great interest in the
liturgy of the Church. This is largely due to the fact that the
communication between minister and youngsters is poor, and that
the message does not really find a place in the daily world of
the young. Young people say that Sunday services repeat the same
thing, that there is nothing new or exciting about them.
For the religious faith of young people it is of the utmost importance
that they feel at home where the faith is celebrated. It has to
be "their" expression of faith and "their"
relationship with God. This calls for an attentive consideration
of all we propose to them as liturgy and celebration. A careful
introduction into what it means to enter into relationship, as
a community, with God and how one addresses him is necessary.
It is also indispensable to distinguish a religious celebration
from other social or festive gatherings. As a principle, we have
to create together with them the conditions for a liturgy they
enjoy. If they participate only on the basis of the obligation
imposed by the Church, then there is little chance that their
life will be influenced by this. Young people need to move from
the sense of duty to the sense of enjoyment when it comes to liturgical
celebrations. This is possible if they are part of it, of the
preparation, of the realisation, of the conclusion, and if the
whole celebration has a link with important aspects of their life.
Once they can "do something" in order to make the liturgy
more alive, they will start to enjoy it.
This has to be emphasised especially in Asia, where the young
tend to remain passive, and the liturgical leaders, in their turn,
tend to perpetuate this passive attitude. Here we need to reflect
upon the evangelisation of Asian cultures. The Bible shows God's
vivid interest in what happens in the life of the people. The
climax of this interest in the people is the incarnation of his
only Son. Jesus, in his turn, spent his life going about with
the Disciples, attending to people's needs, confronting them with
their own interpretation of the law and trying to explain to them
that God has been present in their life, all the time, through
signs of love. This closely relates God with what is human and
with the things people do and love. Liturgical celebrations must
be an expression of young people's approach to God as a community.
Liturgy and prayer lead us to community. Youth and faith pass
through community. It is significant that Jesus, at the very outset
of his ministry, creates a community of Disciples. When he works
his first miracle in Cana of Galilee, his Mother and Disciples
are there, and then immediately he "goes to Capernaum and
remains with them for a few days" (cf. Jn 2:12). Here the
first communitarian nucleus of Christianity began.
Youth ministry needs groups and movements. It is in this way that
they develop their capacity of creativity and take upon themselves
the organisation and expression of their faith. In groups they
reflect on the content of their faith, they organise the services
to be rendered, and they confront themselves with the problem
of expressing their faith in daily life. The presence of an educator
in the group is a precious way of assisting them in their search
for relevance. It will offer opportunities to clear concepts and
to share with the group the story of one's faith experience.
The groups are composed of young people of all classes and races,
creating an image of the Church as one fraternal community. At
the moment of the appearance of the Apostles after the Resurrection
of Jesus, it was clear that the Church did not want to create
any racial barriers among believers. It has also been the great
concern of St Paul to create this union between people of different
origins. Groups and movements allow this. They bring together
young people of different backgrounds. Rich and poor, weak and
strong, White and Coloured - all find themselves at home in the
one community with Christ as their Centre.
At this point it may be useful to distinguish between movements
and groups. Movements do not necessarily have a strictly defined
structure. Instead, groups are more structured. Today a number
of movements purposely try to avoid structuring themselves in
order to remain flexible and not to exclude anyone. They would
refer to a common spirituality and to a system of networking.
No presidents or elections are considered. This has the great
advantage of avoiding elitism in movements. The important aspect
is that the process through which young people can come into contact
with the other members of the movement, even though one may find
oneself at a totally different level of faith expression and in
totally different cultures. These movements allow the young to
meet on their own level, between individuals and groups, in order
to dialogue, to confront different issues, to exchange educational
and formative experiences and to enjoy being together in their
own way. Often, these movements will open the perspective of joyful
celebrations and they will spread their spirit and message through
leaflets, newsletters and other kinds of communication, getting
other young people involved.
Groups are in a special way the trampoline towards the formation
of animators, as they need leaders and they have the possibility
to organise adequate training for their own members and for others.
The heart of faith experience is the encounter between God and
the person. This will be greatly facilitated by the ambience created
and by the personal links which become possible through this.
Young people of today need very much to express their anxieties
and their uncertainties. The most precious thing they receive
in groups and movements is the presence of some credible adults,
who are there because of their faith, and who accompany the young
through often dark tunnels of fear and insecurity. It is here
that the touch of grace is mediated by the adult who listens and
encourages. The important task is to draw from within the young
person his sense of religion and faith, make him or her aware
of it and activate it in such a way that it becomes significant
in the realisation of the task foreseen in life. In this way,
many young people discover the active presence of the Spirit in
them and, what makes it more appealing, is the fact that they
recognise this same spirit present in other persons. They soon
find out that the practice of faith does not carry them away from
life, that the growth of a spirituality allows them to live an
intense inner peace and does not allow secondary things to take
the lead. Today we speak of a youth spirituality, which is an
expression of this joy of living the faith and of living it in
communication with others, as a way of making the kingdom of God
present in daily life.
While being very communicative, this way of living the faith is
felt as being strongly personal. Meeting with others, especially
with someone who invites one to share on a deeper level, leads
to the capacity of a personal meeting with Christ.
Prayer and contemplation are the immediate result of this PERSONALISED
approach to religion. The activities of the group, the service
rendered, the celebration enjoyed - all remain valid and precious,
but at this point everything concentrates itself on the love relationship
between the individual and Christ. This rich moment of sharing
with Jesus will ultimately find its consolidation in certain moments
of narrating the experience, and, in this way communicating it
to persons who take part in the process of walking with the Spirit.
Youth ministry builds strongly on the Bible. This is a very good
way to avoid approaches to the faith which may mislead and cause
confusion. In an en-vironment where many religions coexist,
it is of the utmost importance to refer to sure texts and references.
Once again, it is good to remember that God has been the One to
create heaven and earth, as stated in Genesis 1:1, and that he
has constantly followed up on the course of history. The "order"
given to creation is his. Young people need models, and in the
biblical stories and teachings there are many examples of the
struggle people go through and of the way how people return to
God. Persons like Moses and David, or John the Baptist and Paul
of Tarsus have strong messages for young people. There are a few
principles to observe when reading the Bible with young people.
First, there are different ways of reading the Bible. One can
approach the texts from a historical, dogmatic or literary point
of view, or one can make a pastoral reading. Second, when it comes
to the pastoral reading, there is the charismatic reading, and
there is also the educativepastoral reading, or the way
to look for lifemodels rather than for theories, to search
for the turning point in the stories, such as in the dialogue
Jesus has with the people he meets, looking for the decisive moment
in which the person turns to Jesus and to discover the pedagogy
the Bible uses in approaching people.
This educative and pastoral reading of the Bible will start from
experience, and go through a process of confrontation and evaluation
of one's own life in comparison with the figures and the processes
one encounters in the Bible. All this becomes a very rich experience.
As a result, the Word of God remains no longer something outside
of one's own being, but it becomes part of oneself. Together with
others, it becomes a point of confrontation and it provides ways
of narrating one's own life to others.
It will not be difficult to recognise ourselves in persons of
the Bible, like in Jonah who runs away from his calling, or in
the brothers of Joseph when they try to eliminate their uncomfortable
brotherdreamer, or the story told by Jesus of the publican
and the Pharisee praying in the temple.
The Bible in youth ministry soon becomes an inviting mirror, through
which we meet ourselves in the depth of our being and put ourselves
on the road to Jerusalem, together with Jesus and the Disciples.
The most important thing in youth ministry in the last few years
is the fact that a community of youth ministers are together involved
in the planning and actualisation of the whole process rather
than a single individual doing what he or she likes. Young people,
as well as adults, are together undertaking the road to God, following
an itinerary which is based on the careful study of the youth
context, confronting them with the content of the faith and creating
a community of people who witness the joy of being called into
the discipleship of the Lord in order to build the kingdom.
At the conclusion of these reflections, it would be appropriate
to emphasise that the process of faith formation should help to
transform society. The Lord calls young Christians to enter responsibly
and freely into the world, conscious of their task of bringing
to life the values of the Gospel and to present them to the whole
of humankind.
The task of Asian Christian youth is particularly arduous when
it comes to bringing the values of Christ and Christianity into
the area of ethics, politics and education. This does not allow
improvisation. It needs careful planning by the whole community
if it wants to be effective by "bringing the Good News into
all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming
humanity from within and making it new" (Evangelii Nuntiandi,
n. 18).
Ref.: INDIAN MISSIOLOGICAL REVIEW,
Vol. 20, n. 1, March 1998.