Teaching piety to today’s youth

THIS may indeed sound like a pipe dream or an illusion,

given the way many young people nowadays are, but this simply has to

be done. We know that without piety, we would be like branches

detached from the vine. Death, spiritual more than physical, would

just be a matter of time. So, no matter how impossible things may

look, we just have to do whatever we can to teach piety to today’s

youth.

            We doubtless cannot underestimate the complexity of the

challenge. Today’s youth, at least a good number of them, are

dominated by all sorts of isms and anomalies—materialism,

technologism, agnosticism, atheism, plus pornography, drugs,

alcoholism, etc.

            These are some of the demons we have to contend with. They

certainly are formidable, but let’s remind ourselves that with God’s

grace, nothing is impossible, and if we do things with trust and love

for God, everything, including our mistakes, will work out for the

good. (cfr. Rom 8,28)

            We just have to make sure that we, as elders, lead a

genuine life of piety. That’s simply because we cannot give what we do

not have, nor teach what we do not know, nor show what we do not live

ourselves. Let’s hope that with our presence alone, many of today’s

youth can feel edified and get inspired and encouraged to be pious

themselves.

            If we really are pious, having a vibrant and intimate

relationship with God, we cannot help but also feel the urge to help

the others, especially the young ones, to know, love and serve God as

well as to do the same to the others. This urge is one clear proof

that we have genuine piety. Otherwise, we have reason to doubt about

our piety.

            Among the concerns that we have to tackle is the effort to

adapt things to the way the young ones are nowadays. We have to accept

and deal with them the way they are, much like what Christ did to

bring us to him.

            We have to learn how to speak their language to be able to

connect with them, and to present the doctrine of our faith and the

practices of piety in the way they can understand, appreciate and make

as their own.

            We should not ignore the very conspicuous fact that many

of the young people today find the doctrine of our faith quite

abstruse, way above their head. They seem unable to connect and

relate. Or their understanding of it is shallow and with a lot of

gaps.

            The same with the many practices of piety which they often

find to be anachronistic to their current lifestyle. Many young people

today have the bias that these practices of piety are only for some

‘special’ people.

            To grapple with this challenge, I believe that the older

generations have to take the initiative to adjust to the young ones.

We actually have more capacity to adapt to the younger ones, rather

than vice-versa.

            Let’s hope and pray that we the elders can have the

versatility and creativity that genuine piety can actually give. We

need to loosen up for this very exciting ‘game’ of teaching piety to

the youth. Let’s take advantage of the new technologies and growing

amount of literature that can help us adapt ourselves to the young

ones.

            We may have to organize games, camps, excursions. But give

special attention to winning their friendship and confidence and

entering into their private individual lives in order to help them.

Let’s be encouraging always, quick to give them hope and understanding

especially when they start opening up and showing their struggles,

faults and falls.

            As true friends, we should give and share with them the

greatest good we can have, and that is to bring them to God and to

make them see and feel all the goodness and love of God.