The youth and spiritual warfare

THIS is an urgent necessity. We need to equip the youth to

do spiritual battle with the many temptations literally proliferating

and crawling like worms in the world today.

  

            Though we should not be alarmed because of some hopeless

perception of the situation, we just the same should somehow be very

concerned because the rotten reality is all too obvious to be ignored.

It’s challenging us to do something about it.

  

            The young ones are practically the helpless and

defenceless prey of these temptations that come usually in the forms

of pornography and sexual perversions. From there all the other

anomalies sprout like weeds, such as addictions, deception,

corruption, etc. until things reach to the loss of faith and hope.

  

            In fact, suicide rate among the young has risen globally.

From an American health agency, the following finding is made: “In the

90 countries studied, suicide was the fourth leading cause of death

among young males and the third for young females. Of the 132,423

deaths of young people in the 90 countries, suicide accounted for

9.1%.”

  

            Ideally, this concern of teaching the young the art of

spiritual warfare should be tackled first in the family, then in the

school with the constant guidance of the Church. But we can wonder how

prepared these institutions are to handle this task. I have my doubts,

sad to say.

  

            There are many families that are dysfunctional. Many

parents are themselves immature. And the schools often focus

themselves solely on the academic side while practically ignoring the

spiritual and moral aspects of education. And in the Church, we can

wonder how capable the priests, nuns and other Church workers are in

carrying out this delicate responsibility of taking care of souls.

   

            We need to teach the youth how to handle their weaknesses

and temptations and the sins already committed. The art of offense and

defence, of how to turn around and rise after any fall, should be

explained very well. More importantly, they have to learn how to aim

at real sanctity in the middle of the world, in the concrete

environment in which they live.

  

            Both theory and praxis should be pursued, the principles

and tools should be shown., explained and made available. The youth’s

formation should be ongoing. They should be taught how to be

well-grounded in their knowledge and love of God, and also in their

own self-knowledge, taking stock of their strengths and weaknesses, so

they would know how to maneuver in life’s rough seas. They should know

how to assess the moral temper of the specific environment they are

in.

             Obviously the art of prayer and sacrifice is a must. They

have to be taught to appreciate the value of the sacraments. But

before anything else, they should be guided to acquire the basic human

qualities and virtues that would serve as the foundation for all the

spiritual and supernatural requirements of the spiritual warfare.

Their self-esteem and self-confidence, their toughness and

adaptability should be strengthened.

  

            I imagine that more than just giving classes and talks,

what is more effective is to undertake a personal spiritual direction

or mentoring. A certain pastoral accompaniment should be undertaken.

             It’s crucial that the youth know how to make a daily plan

of spiritual struggle, specifying the goals and targets to reach, the

tools and other resources to use. Precisely through mentoring, they

should be constantly encouraged and motivated to wage this struggle

tirelessly.

  

            Let’s take advantage of their natural strengths and help

them in their weaknesses.