HOW CAN THE YOUNG REMAIN SINLESS? FIRST WORDS: WHAT WE MUST HEAR Holiness! Sanctity! Perfection! Saintliness! Spiritual Health! These and other kindred words in the parlance of the Christian spiritual life, almost always, do tend to be problematic to many! To many persons, the idea of a saint, according to Murray Watts, is a problem. This, as he believes, springs from the fact that we look at sainthood with a biased mind; it suggests remoteness. And our artists make it more confusing when they make people believe, in their drawing artistry, that the saints had it all very easy: kneeling down to pray, or rising to hail God, etc. And we believe too that they had extraordinary ability to do all for God s glory, in the spiritual realm. Thus, not a few have come to hold that sainthood is meant for only those uncommon heroes ; men and women who have been endowed with some kind of personality more susceptible to sanctity than others. Only those, many too hold, with a special type of personality can become saints. We may even ask whether there are no genes specifically made for the saints-to-be. What a myth! In this case, many a time, when we look at the young, that is, the youths of our age, with the problems and weaknesses that characterize them in the contemporary society, even as observed by Pope John Paul II (See, Apostolic Letter, Novo Millenio Ineunte, 2001, no.9), we tend to be pessimistic, thereby thinking that the young make up a group of corrupt people. The simple implication is therefore that the holiness of life which God demands of every Christian may not be makeable by this group of persons the young. In this piece, we want to ask: can holiness of life be planned by the young people of our age, or, in other words, can the young man remain holy/sinless at all? Why must the young remain holy? Also, we will ask; how can the young remain holy? When and where ought young men/women to be holy? Here, it is good to observe that by holiness we want to mean the Christian holiness; the fullness Christian of life' perfection, being a precious gift from God to man, and a task which all Christians are encouraged to work out for themselves with fear and trembling, by the constant and irreplaceable help of God s grace. We have submitted that men are men and not God, and thus are only capable of being saintly as men aided by God, therefore not one man is sinless, all having fallen short of God s glory (Cf. Pss. 14; 53, Rom. 3: 23).
Yet, the call for all to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is (Mtt. 5:48), is a command that must be obeyed. It means that men, and in this case, youths too, are called to be relatively perfect, and not absolutely so, since only God is absolutely perfect. Why must we not hope then, that the youths can strive to be holy, remembering that His grace is sufficient for ALL? CAN THEY? Can the young be holy? The Church has stated wisely that holiness is for all. Christians of whatever state or rank, are called to the perfection of charity (Dogmatic Constitution on The Church, Lumen Gentium, no. 40). If we ask the spiritual Fathers who have made marks in the sands of time, like St Francis de Sales, we would hear that wherever our lot is cast we must (all) aim at the perfect life. Thus, the young are not excluded. If this is truly so, then they can be holy. There is what is implied here; one called to do a thing he/she can naturally not do, is not blamed if he/she is unable to do it, and it should not be demanded that the hen swims, neither is one just who asks the fish to fly. Thus, God the creator of all and the bestower of all capabilities being too the King of justice, cannot demand anyone to do that which He has not given him/her the capability (for such task). God asking the young too, to be perfect in the two testaments of the Holy Scripture (Lv. 19:44, Dt. 18:13, Jas.1:4, 1Pet. 1:16, 1Jn.3:3) implies that He knows that they can make it; He Has over the years, granted the help to more than one young person to achieve sanctity at very tender ages. Mention can be made of St Maria Goretti, or Dominic Savio. Therefore, to the question can the young be holy? we must say YES: the young can by God s grace be holy, and some youths among us today have been made to be actually holy. Even in our days, God still works in many youths, making them emerge as holy persons; and we trust that His power is not in vain in the world. What is impossible for God (Gen. 18:14, Mtt.19:26, Lk.1:37)? Nothing, absolutely nothing! The holiness of the young is not to be doubted everywhere in the world, otherwise the cross of Christ would be emptied of its power. WHY? Why must the young (Christians) be (asked to be) holy? Christian youths must first of all remember that the holy God (Is.6:1-8) created all of us to know, love and serve Him, to reign
with Him in eternity. And as shown above in the Scripture, God has commanded all to be holy (Mtt.5: 48). Therefore, the first reason why they must be holy is because God has commanded. Holiness of the young then, becomes a sure way of offering obedience to God amidst many young persons who have been confused today, there is a serious need for the young to become saints, in order to in order to serve as models. Also, another reason why we must be holy is that the world needs saints, according to the Nigerian priest and Founder of the Congregation of Christ the Emmanuel, Rev. Fr. John Egbulefu. For this priest, being holy when one is young is the best, because it is more difficult to make it at old age. Thus he desires that the young must be holy, just in accord with the wise words of Qoheleth; remember the Lord while you are still young... (Eccl. 12: 1). The world needs young saints! Also, Simone Weil believes that the world needs saints just as a plague stricken city needs doctors. So, our world, our nation, our states, our tribes, need young saints, let us not doubt! Where holiness of the young is not lacking, there would progress be noticed among our youths. In fact where the youths are at home with God, there is progress. Some of the things we suffer from today come from inordinate pursuits which do not make us better persons. We suffer more due to unholy lives today, and lack of readiness to be truly converted to God. And many have forgotten about the commandments of God just to feel like their fellow big boys and girls. How sad! Some of the things which God would not ask us are the type of car we drove on earth, the type of friends, jobs and games we did, our favourite foods, clothing, etc. I think He would be more interested to know how we lived, performed works of charity: visited the sick, the prisoners, fed the hungriest. (cf. Mtt. 5). On another note, the saints will be remembered for ever. This eternalization of the name before God and man should equally inspire us to be holy, for it is wiser to be remembered for the course right than otherwise. Also, the young need to be holy for the prayer of the just is still very powerful (Jas.5:16). How attentive is God waiting to hear and respond to the prayer of young saints! Who is wise who would want to pray in vain among the young? There are many more reasons why youths should be holy. HOW? How can the young remain sinless? asks the psalmist in the ninth verse of the longest
psalm, Ps.119: 9. The immediate response comes: by obeying the word of God. Here, the lesson is that God s will revealed in His Word is done if the young keeps the law of God, as something to purify and strengthen Him in the path of holiness. Thus, the psalmist also prays, teach me your law, (O Lord), (Ps. 119: 12). The word of God, being alive and active (Heb. 12: 1-2), can work in the young to make him/her be holy if she/he studies and pray with it constantly. Studying the word of God, the young will meet Christ, and be taught by Him to be holy as God wants. Therefore, let the youths who wish to make entrance through the gate of holiness to heaven not cease to make a serious return to the word of God, for holiness awaits them! St Augustine became converted as the light of God shone on his mind while he read the letter of St Paul to the Romans, chapter 13: 13-14. He tells us in his The Confessions that God s light filled his mind, removing doubts by the powerful effect of the Word of God. Wonderful! Jesus really touched and called him to His Father, through peaking like a little child as he heard, "tolle legge" ('pick up and read'), and since it came from God, He could not refuse - JESUS CHRIST CALLS US ALL FROM TODAY, DEAR YOUNG PERSONS, TO PICK UP OUR BIBLES AND READ THE PRECIOUS WORD OF GOD CONSTANTLY. THE EFFECT OF GOD'S WORD ON US CANNOT RUN OUT! Let us then read and pray the scriptures, let s pick up and read daily. The word of God is making us alive in the God of the word. So, we can make it; and, how can the young, remain holy/sinless without the word of God? Another great task implied here is making sincere efforts to keep all the commandments of God, not being only hearers and readers of the Word. The young must pray to God for assistant, and make sincere efforts to keep the Ten Commandments. God will be happy to grant us the race to keep His commandments which are for are good; He may not desire to reduce the number. Indeed, H e has not dispensed the young from keeping some of them, and how dare we imagine He will do so tomorrow? So, it is by obeying His law sincerely that He aids us to become better each day! Also, reading holy literatures, and reflecting on the Lives of the Saints can help the youths to become inspired for holy lives. For instance, let us look at the Mother of our Saviour, remaining a perfect model for us! She was a youth, and was able to be holy as a young lady, and then God desired her for the unforgettable post of being the Mother of the Lord. Other young saints abound whose lives can inspire many a youth to become holy in reality. St Ignatius of Loyola, we are told, read the Lives of the Saints given to him as he lay sick, and what resulted was a decided
conversion, and then a splendid holiness of life. How many times do we seek to read the lives of these holy persons whom God assisted to make it earlier? Models are around us in the Saints, let s also go to learn from them; their perseverance can serve us young men/women to make it to the path of holiness. Another serious way of becoming holy, and more easily at that, for the young, is establishing a living relationship with the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of Christ with the firm resolution to do what he likes, and avoids what he hates. If we make friends with the Holy Spirit, we would not always dance to the tune of the devil who is not tired walking around to insinuate us to shun God, leave the Sacraments and die in sins. The talk about God and holiness of life is not an outdated issue! It is not for the naive, no! It is the most wanted issue of our age. Another serious ingredient in this path is PRAYER. Jesus prescribed, 'pray always and do not lose hearts'! He taught his disciples to pray, and he is happy when we ask, for he has asked us to ask, seek and knock (Mtt7:7); His Father is very happy to grant the Holy Spirit (the agent of holiness) to the young when they ask for such (Lk.11:13). The young will make it easier to sainthood if their prayer lives improve with more genuineness! Yes, this is true! It is not enough to be a Sunday worshipper, we must pray daily, and communicate with God constantly if we wish to be perfected unto holiness. For, how can the young remain saintly without constant and true prayer to the All Holy Father? Let the young return to the school of prayer, to pray in season and out of season, thus, holiness will be easier for them. Another necessary item in the list of the facilitating facts in the spirituality of the young must include spiritual direction. St Francis says that whoever is sincere in the path of holiness must look for some holy person as director. Imagine how many spiritual heavyhitters we would have recorded today, had our youths rediscovered the use of spiritual direction? Yes, this is important, for, it is not enough to become the lame at The Beautiful Gate (Acts 3.), asking for only material things from our priests, we should visit them for the good of our souls/lives. We should realize that we need priests most primarily, for spiritual affairs, and not principally for bettering our economic states. This can come, but is not the reason why God grants us pastors, priests and bishops. They are mainly our spiritual directors!
The young too need an encouraging environment to be holy. Those who pilot the affairs of the nation will also, in some cases answer for the ungodliness of some young ones. Yet, we must do all that is possible as young persons to achieve this noble quality - holiness. Sanctity is not got through bribes - neither in the giving nor in the taking - otherwise would the rich around us have decorated all their young ones with it. WHEN AND WHERE? To this, we must answer, "everywhere and always". God may surprise us to say that He is more interested in what we do in our communities. So, it is not enough to go to the Church, tarry in the nights; sainthood is achieved by, or rather, granted by God to, those who make use of their gifts generously wherever they may be. We are bound to proclaim God, and be true lights of the world, like God's true children, in the societies where we live. We are better if we know and make use of our gifts, always and everywhere. Now is the time to make efforts at holiness. The Lord is ready, already, to open for us the gates of holiness. Ours is the sure task of walking in fear and trembling into the path. Avoiding all the occasions of sins which as enemies, cling to us and block us from God s presence in holiness is a sure necessity. Cultivating the motives for holiness now that we are still young is for our benefits. Love for God is more proven by holy deeds than by merely saying I am a born again. So, the young have to re-reason and rethink about this project to be holy. For they can be holy by God s grace, always and everywhere: in the schools, while they play, in the market, in the cyber cafés, in the Church, in their own private homes, etc. We mean that God wants the youths to be holy always: from when the sun rises till the dusk, and everywhere. LAST WORDS: WHAT WE MUST DO
Christian holiness of life is simply the conformity of life to and with Jesus Christ the only holy son of God. Thus, the youths of today will do the best if they conform their lives to Christ. Thus, popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI knowing that they can accept this gift, (for holiness is from the start to the finish, a gift from Him) could not be tired in inviting the young to open up their lives to Christ, and not to be afraid in doing so. More recently, addressing the youths of Italy, on the Plains of Montorso, at Loreto, on the 2nd of September 2007, the Holy Father (Pope Benedict XVI) said in a touching homily, "God also seeks young people today. He seeks young people with great hearts who can make room for Him in their lives to be protagonists of the New Covenant". He added that the young should be involved in the project of the new life that flows from the encounter with Christ, so that they may achieve become too the apostles of peace in the world. Therefore, it is the best option for the youths of today - Holiness of life. We cannot find it in the best of supermarkets, no! It is not bought! No! It is granted to the young by God, and He wants all to want it today and shun all sins, no matter what they are. He knows and waits for us to RETURN TO HIM AND SEEK PERFECTION OF LIFE FIRST, ALL OTHER THINGS, HE WILL ADD FOR US. May we then proceed without looking back, O young people, for He is enabling us to be holy as He knows we can be! Let us end by reading from Pope Benedict XVI, in the very words he addressed young people on next year's World Youth Day, 2008, to be held at Sydney: "Today too there is a need for disciples of Christ who give unstintingly of their time and energy to serve the Gospel. There is a need for young people who will allow God s love to burn within them and who will respond generously to his urgent call, just as many young saints did in the past and also in more recent times. In particular, I assure you that the Spirit of Jesus today is inviting you young people to be bearers of the good news of Jesus to your contemporaries...(the) Spirit is urging you young people to take this task upon yourselves...each one of you must have the courage to promise the Holy Spirit that you will bring one young person to Jesus Christ in the way you consider best, knowing how to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but [to] do it with gentleness and reverence (cf.1pet.3:15). In order to achieve this goal, my dear friends, you must be holy and you must be missionaries since we can never separate holiness from mission (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 90). Do not be afraid to become holy missionaries like Saint Francis Xavier who travelled through the Far East proclaiming the Good News until every ounce of his strength was used up, or like Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus who was a
missionary even though she never left the Carmelite convent. Both of these are Patrons of the Missions. Be prepared to put your life on the line in order to enlighten the world with the truth of Christ; to respond with love to hatred and disregard for life; to proclaim the hope of the risen Christ in every corner of the earth." What then are we waiting for? Holiness of life is knocking at our doors today and God still searches for holy young persons whom He is to send for the apostolate of drawing other souls to Him. O young persons, are we missing this noble opportunity? God be with us not to! So be it.