L ast week in this column we discussed the Synod of Bishops currently meeting in Rome. That gathering has been asked to reflect on the relation of the Church to our youth and their faith. 

 

The official topic of the Synod is “Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.”

 

We noted that the synod has placed a great emphasis on listening to our Catholic young people. The desire is to hear why so many of our young people struggle to keep their Catholic faith or to understand that faith is even relevant in their lives.

 

The insights that come from such listening are important. In any human interaction, listening is a vital component of dialogue and communication. However, we must not fall into the error of thinking that listening alone can solve this or any problem.

 

For all of us, listening must be a part of a search for the truth. Everything that is true comes from God and is given to us because God Himself is the source of truth. Unfortunately, all of us can be tempted or otherwise distracted from God and the truth. 

 

Consequently, we can make the sinful error of trying to create our own truth and reality, thereby either deforming or excluding God from our thoughts and actions. 

 

In that case, those listening to us will need, in charity, to offer encouragement in the form of reminders or even corrections so that we might find the truth.

 

For our young people, there are numerous challenges and distractions that inform their lives. Last week we noted that our media and culture bombard them with thoughts and images of sexuality and immorality that undermine the understanding of family and relationships.

 

Another persistent influence is the postmodern philosophy and attitude of our era. In a nutshell, the postmodern mindset has a presumption of suspicion and even rejection of the past and its wisdom. Instead it presumes that every age and person remakes themselves. And individually, each one of us is understood to be free to choose our own way of existing, not necessarily tied to any wisdom or commitment or created reality that has come before us.

 

For a young person to grow up in this newly developing mindset, we can recognize the pressures they feel. The wisdom and basis for the present is grounded in our past, especially our family ties. 

 

Along with the family, faith and the Church convey to us the true meaning of our human existence, summed up in Jesus Christ. As society discredits family and faith, young people are left adrift, seeking points of stability in their lives.

 

A model of listening and accompaniment of our youth that has been proposed is found in the Gospels. It is the story of Jesus walking with His dejected followers on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. (Lk 24:13-35).

 

In that recounting, Jesus walks with them but they do not recognize Him. In response to His question, they lay out their deepest hopes and longings. But they say all was shattered by the death of Jesus.

 

Having heard their hopes and their disappointments, Jesus challenges them anew. He cites to them the words of Scripture that spoke about Him. The two disciples find their hearts burning within them as they listen. Jesus then leads them to recognize Him in the Eucharist. 

 

What is important is that Jesus did listen. But then He presented to His followers the truth about themselves and about Himself. Ultimately, the disciples who had been going away from Jerusalem turned and went back once more to seek and live their faith.

 

The Gospel story and the Synod, as well as the contemporary life of the Church, have this in common: we need to listen and then be informed by Jesus and our Catholic faith as we seek the truth that will set us free.