With A Young Girl

It was Saturday, 28 February 2015. There was a catechism lesson for children who are preparing

for their first communion. When the lesson was over, my fellow catechist asked me, “Pandri, do you read the gospel every day?” “Yes, of course, I do,” I replied telling her about our daily life as seminarians, who train themselves to live according to the life of Jesus Christ found in his gospel. I told her that our life has to be formed by the gospel of Jesus Christ and because of that there are times, personal and common, we dedicate to read and meditate the gospel every day.

 

Listening to my explanation, she asked me to read the gospel. “Are you sure?” I asked her with amazement. “Yes, I’m sure. I’m serious,” she answered me and then she took out her bible from her bag with the liturgical calendar which she had prepared before.

I was surprised by her question and invitation because it was the first time, since my coming to Italy in September 2012, I had to face a young girl who asked me courageously like this. I was surprised thinking that she asked me just to know how I spend my life as a consecrated man who wants to live according to the need of the gospel and how we live in a religious community. After all she caught me by surprise ass I realized that she was asking me to read the gospel at that very moment. 

Truly, I found myself in the middle of mixed feelings: between sure or not sure; amazement and upset; believing or not believing. I accepted her invitation with these feelings because there was no other reason to avoid it.

We stayed there for reading the gospel reading of that day and also for the day after and making some important notes for our life. She brought some words or phrases she liked commenting it; I brought some and made some of notes. We spent almost twenty-five minutes and at the end of this moment, she told me that every day she tries to read the gospel.

Doing this surely I was surprised because I usually think in my own way on what they might to be.  I suppose that the youth is the moment for studying for their future, working, creating the friendship and falling in love, expressing their liberty. They are so concentrated in doing these things, I suppose that there is no sufficient time for establishing the intensive spiritual life. My amazement was influenced also by my old prejudice: I used to think that the youth in the west was not interesting to know the gospel. I used to hear some stories telling me that in Europe there were no youth who entered in church. Listening to this story I asked myself, “What will happen with the Catholicism If there are no young girls and men in the church? Who will be the future of the church? ”

Reading gospel and sharing the experience of faith with this young girl offers and convinces me one thing that what I have thought was not wholly true. I have not only to change my way of thinking them or to eliminate my old prejudice but also I have to see the continuation or the future of the church in their eyes and on their shoulders. Indeed, there were and there are also young man and girls who dedicate themselves for the sake of Christ dedicating their life for others. This young girl dedicates some of her times to help children in their way for the first communion. Some others dedicate themselves  and their time for doing other things.

There are many examples to justify their presence in continuing to realize the will of God where they are. I remember the experience I have had when I went in Lourdes, France, two years ago. There were many young girls and man who came there to assist the sick people. In every summer time in Italy, for example, there are many youth camp prepared /organized by every diocese or by some religious congregation for establishing and providing them the opportunity to know and to profound the  Christian faith and life where there are many young girls and man who participate and some among them are the animators for their fellow youth. In the diocese of Parma in particular during the advent and the lent, there is a weekly meeting usually called “martedi del vescovo“ (the thursday of bishop). It is a moment in which the bishop prepares his believers (the youth) for the next celebrating of Christmas and the paschal mystery of Christ doing the catechism or profounding some decisive themes. There are numerous participants in this event. It is an interesting thing to valuate positively their participation.

With this situation there is no need to be pessimistic for the future of the church. There are them now and then. For their future and especially for their faith beside the work of the Holy Spirit in fulfilling and increasing their faith, they need to be accompanied by the right example and testimony of the elders in faith. I think that they need our trust. This trust we can provide by living the Christian faith and life appropriately. It means that we have to show that following Jesus Christ is livable, that that way makes our life fully and meaningful. I mean that the way of Jesus Christ has chosen is the way that permits them to know God who loves them unconditionally and to love themselves, to live their life responsibly, joyfully and fully. They need to know and to embrace that their of self-realization (spiritually, relationally, socially, psychologically, ect) finds its source and its final end in Jesus Christ. They are searching for this conviction for their faith. It is true that this conviction is in Jesus Christ found in his gospel. But it is also true that our way of life of faith influences their conviction or their decision. It is our responsibility to make this comes true.

Finally I’m so grateful having this opportunity or possibility to know the reality of the church outside of my own reality in Indonesia. I mean that the way in which the Italians express their faith, in some ways, is different from ours in Indonesia. This positive diversity gives some kind of example on how we would follow each other or on how we establish our church. One example is the way the bishop relates himself with his young faithful accompanying them to Jesus’s way. In participating the ‘martedi del vescovo’, there is a dream I usually think and hope for that some day the Indonesian church specially our bishops follow this steps in forming well his youth for the future of the church. This need is urgently important because so far, in Indonesia, it seems that there is a lack of catechism for the youth.  It seems that the accompaniment after the receiving the sacraments of the initiation is so little. I think that it is not enough listening to the homilies every Sunday mass for nourishing the faith. It is not to be easily satisfied seeing so many people in church or seeing a great need to receive the sacraments or seeing that there are many young men/girls in every church. It is not enough. Therefore there has a need to do more to correspond our life according to life of Jesus Christ.