KOREA: 16
January 2012 -- "… They are open; they are the holy land for every FMA, where each of us is called to encounter
God.
For me, having confidence in young people also means
believing in the efficacy of Don Bosco the educator and his
spirituality, professing the goodness of God who created the human
being.
Young people have taught me many things, and
sharing life with them has shown me the importance of practising the
Preventive System. The new generations need reasons to live, they need
educators and teachers who are real, authentic.
I had some interesting experiences in summer camps where I was able to
meet up with teenagers, some of whom were non-believers but wanted to
be part of the proposed initiatives for young Catholics to deepen their
faith. Young people enjoy being with their friends, even if sometimes
they are not fully aware of our proposals. It happened, therefore, that
those boys who just wanted to have fun, came camping with us.
It is clear that any implementation of a formative proposal is
difficult in these cases. Several times I had to talk with them and
design a real 'contract' in order to move forward and carry out the
program of studying the faith. Often, by clarifying the experience that
I was offering, I had to ask some youngsters who were non-believers or
not correctly motivated, to return home. Conversation, calmly, lovingly
explained reasons...I must say that this almost always produced a decision to remain and to try to submit to the rules of the formative experience in a number of the uncertain and apparently resistant participants.
I also found myself faced with young non-believers who, after having
committed themselves and followed the program for a whole day,
told me clearly, late at
night
that the proposals were not according to their expectations and not at
all interesting. Challenged then to show the reasons for Christian
faith and hope, with my only weapons being dialogue and patience, I
offered them new reasons to reflect and stay. As they said goodbye at
the end of the camp, the young non- believers or those who had not been
correctly motivated, told me that they had a different, more practical
idea of the Christian vision of life, and at other times they showed
their content at having faced the struggle of an experience that was
far different from what they had experienced up till then. These are
testimonies that undoubtedly instill courage and trust in the capacity
of young people to accept proposals that are far from their normal
experiences and ways of thinking.
I believe in young people because …
…. They know how to recognize the value of people who love them in a
gratuitous way... In my educational work I have experienced that the
young people of these, our times of “media connections” are insecure
and always seeking approval. In Korea, schools send their own students
to our educational centers so that they may be able to take part in
personality formation programs. The boys and girls who arrive are
usually very difficult, disoriented, indeed shattered, andare therefore
used to feeling that they are out of place and are only scolded. They
then retaliate with deviant behaviour.
I frequently find myself faced with extreme situations: young people
who try to get out of formative situations by drinking on the side to
get sick so they are unwell and have to stay in bed. In these cases it
is loving kindness that wins them over. The Sisters do not scold them,
do not react strictly, but give them suitable nourishment, and then by
their closeness to them have them understand that in this environment
adults are not enemies, but friends. The effect of kindness as a system
is one of committed and conscious participation. Certainly, at
times the challenges and provocations I would say are
terrible...However, if we succeed in being strong in patience and
kindness, loving kindness wins them over by using the weapons of
persuasion and reason.
I believe in young people because ….
…. They are capable of God, of allowing themselves to question the
lifestyle of Christians and of us as Christian educators. In recent
years I have become convinced of the importance of the explicit
proclamation of the Christian faith and I have experienced that
confidence in young people is in proportion to my confidence in God's
work. If I have encountered God in my daily life, I am able to see His
presence working in young people, and it becomes natural that I
have confidence in them! Young people today, especially the
poorest of them, are the greatest treasure God entrusts to us. They are
a theological place, the holy land where He speaks to us, inviting us
to conversion to live the charism of prevention as a renewed covenant
with Him and with all people who share responsibility for the
educational mission. Like it is in a family, young people offer their
original and creative contribution, according to age and level of
maturity, becoming protagonists in their own growth and in that of the
entire educating community.