Good master, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Young people, believing in Jesus and the challenge of discipleship today

Transcription

1 Young people, believing in Jesus and the challenge of discipleship today

2 Young people identify both with the young man who fell at the feet of Jesus... and the young man who walked away sad

3 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: We are concerned for our young people today

4 We are concerned for our young people today Is the situation of young people in the UK similar in any way to the situation of young people in New Zealand?

5 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: We regard the faith formation of young people as most important but faith formation of a particular type

6 We regard the faith formation of young people as most important Open wide the doors to Christ...Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is...there is nothing more beautiful than to know him, than to speak to others of our friendship with him. The task of the shepherd, the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God s joy which longs to break into the world.

7 We regard the faith formation of young people as most important In Christ, all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart find fulfilment. The joy of love, the answer to the drama of suffering and pain, the power of forgiveness in the face of an offence received and the victory of life over the emptiness of death: all this finds fulfilment in the mystery of his Incarnation, in his becoming man, in his sharing our human weakness so as to transform it by the power of his resurrection.

8 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: We find this work of faith formation complex

9 We find this work of faith formation really quite complex You have heard what makes the work of faith formation complex in Britain is it complex for you, and if so why?

10 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: The young people with whom we work find faith challenging

11 The young people with whom we work find faith challenging A greater challenge to the faith of young people than arguments against religion is the all-pervasive consumerism Do you agree?

12 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: This is also a time of opportunity

13 This is also a time of opportunity Very many people, while not claiming to have the gift of faith, are nevertheless sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world. This search is an authentic preamble to the faith, because it guides people on to the path that leads to the mystery of God.

14 This is also a time of opportunity Do you detect similar signs of opportunity in your work with young people?

15 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: Three things matter: meaning, a habit of reflection and witness

16 Meaning, a habit of reflection and witness Fr Arrupe, who is Jesus Christ for you? Taken aback by the question, he was equally surprised by the spontaneity of the answer he gave. For me, Jesus Christ is everything. Take Jesus from my life and it would be like taking away my head, my heart, and my whole skeleton. Yes, for me, Jesus Christ is everything!

17 Your colleagues in Britain want to tell you: Three things matter: meaning, a habit of reflection and witness

18 Meaning, a habit of reflection and witness It s our talk of faith in personal terms, in attractive terms, in terms of friendship, companionship, relationship, encounter, credibility, meaning, life, all centred on the man Jesus and the Church which is our privileged place of encounter with Jesus, which will give our talk authority. Do you agree?

19 Do you ever pray that you might see these young people, their teachers and their school as the Lord sees them and act accordingly?

20 Young people, believing in Jesus and the challenge of discipleship today