Young People Seeking
Young people are always seeking, because they wonder about the meaning of their lives. Many young people have explored and discovered their sense of life; seeking and working for a better world, seeking a mission, seeking fraternity or seeking God and Mary.
Seeking Meaning
When we speak of a meaning to life, we speak of so many things. Even though it seems that it is something that comes from human nature and its development, it is clear that it is a topic of reflex ion when we are finding it or losing it.
In this section we will put on the table of dialogue small articles about different pieces of the great jigsaw puzzle: our origins’; history; and the way of processing and living them; l the experiences of love or the absence of it; the strokes and the wounds; the quality of relationships; ideals, struggles, beliefs; our duties and the way we live day by day, etc.
We should ask ourselves many times in our lives the question that Victor Frankl recounts to his patients in his famous book “ Man in search of meaning”: “ If you have so many problems why not commit suicide?... because this would lead us to find a reason for which we would be disposed to give up our life, and only then would we begin to live.
We are sure that the sharing of opinions provokes by the reading will be for all a good opportunity to strengthen ones meaning of life without which life begins to lose its meaning.
Seeking a Better World
In the last few years the world has been witness to a new awakening of youth demanding that their governments and many other social agents revise the model of a world that excludes so many. It does not matter where or what language, the cry of youth suggest that: another world is possible;! A more just and peaceful world where there is a lot more solidarity.
Eduardo Galeano, Uruguayan Philosopher, speaking in Barcelona of the 15-M movement in Spain said” This world of excrement(shit)t is pregnant with another possible world different and difficult to birth, but it is beating pulsating” One of the forces that push this birth without a doubt is are the young people, you are those who push, you are those who have the mind of light of Utopia in your hearts the fire of search and the struggle.
Seeking God
“And only where God is seen does life really begin. Only when we find in Christ the living God, do we know what life is. We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each one of us is the result of a thought of God. Each one of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary. There is nothing more beautiful than being touched and surprised by the Gospel and by Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and pass on to other his love.”
A human being in his depths is a being for God, to search for God is his deepest task and vocation.
Seeking Their Vocation
Have you seen little children playing football or some other team sport? All run behind the ball without worrying about their original position. It is not rare to see the goal keeper abandon his position and go for the opposite goal post.
This change radically with time arriving at professional teams with their games rules clearly observable. This is what happens in our development and the place we occupy in t our families, at school, work, in the church and world. This process takes its time, and with all development supposes search, trial and error etc.
Accompanied by a Marist father we will have the opportunity to converse together about this very important topic that is related very closely to the other sections of “Young People Seeking”: seeking meaning, seeking a better world and seeking God.
To discover ones vocation perhaps is one of the more important elements that generate meaning and make it possible at the same time to place ourselves well to make our little contribution to the construction of a new civilization. And this is the fruit of a personal and profound meeting with God.
Seeking Mary
Every Christian is invited to follow Jesus who teaches us to live the Good New, the wonderful news that we have a God who loves us madly, speaking to us with His Word, a word we can understand because It has made flesh and has dwelt among mankind. He, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of human being". (Phil. 2 , 6-7) We can follow the Gospel of Jesus in many different ways: the way that our parents taught us, the way our catechists transmitted to us, or in a Franciscan style, a Carmelite style, and so on. We have been chosen to share the Good News as Mary did. We are invited to go deeper and learn what her style is. The Scriptures speak very little of this woman, but there is enough for us to know her. The first thing we know about her is that she lived in a small town of Nazareth in Galilee in King Herod's times; that she was a virgin; that she was betrothed to Joseph; that her name was Mary; and that God sent to her an angel named Gabriel. Who is this woman that God should chose to send an angel to her?
Seeking a Mision
There is an army of people "breathing life" throughout the world. They breathe life in hospitals and orphanages, schools and nursing homes. There are many of them. They bring bread, education, justice to the world's hidden places. Others are leaders of churches and communities. There are many ways to breathe life. Jesus Adrian Romero, with words like these, introduces one of his songs. It takes its name and its theme from the story of the valley of dry bones in the prophet Ezekiel. It's a metaphor for the important work many people are doing throughout the world: breathing life where there is death and where people are in need. And you, my dear young person - where are you breathing life?
Seeking fraternity
Marcellin Champagnat, aware of the needs of youth, and beleaguered by many requests from all over the map, used to plead, "We need brothers!". Given the social and ecclesiastical context in today's world, Marcellin would surely repeat his wish, and add to it -"We need brothers and sisters, lay people, teachers, group leaders and aides... who want to live in fraternal solidarity". This urgent message of Marcellin is summed up in the words of Jesus, "The harvest is abundant, but there aren't enough workers. Tell the Owner to send us more!" www.champagnat.org .
Seeking Other Youth
One of the favorite themes of Pope Francisco is definitely the "Culture of encounters" against what he calls the "culture of clash" divisive, injustice, segregation and many evils. What Jesus teaches us is first to find, and the encounters, help. We need to know to find. We need to build, build, build a culture of encounter. So many disagreements, trouble in the family, always! Trouble in the neighborhood, trouble at work, trouble everywhere. And the disagreements do not help. The culture of the game. Exit to find. Especially Francisco advocates and promotes the encounter with and among youth.
