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.

Be light on the lampstand

THAT’S what Christ tells us very clearly. “No one after

lighting a lamp covers it with a vessel, or puts it under a bed, but

puts it on a stand, that those who enter may see the light.” (Lk 8,16)

It’s a call for us to be good examples to others and models of

goodness for others to follow.

  

            While it’s true that we should try to pass unnoticed and

refrain from flaunting our qualities—strutting our stuff, as the young

people of today would put it, coining such trendy words as “petmalu,

lodi, werpa”—neither should we shy away from the grave responsibility

to help create a good environment around by giving good example to

others.

  

            A child of God can never refuse to be a guide to others.

Christ himself commanded us to be so: “You are the light of the

world…Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good

deeds. (Mt 5, 15-16) It’s not a call to arrogance, but a call to

selfless service.

   

            Since we are not only individual persons but also social

beings, always having some relation with others, we cannot avoid

having this duty. We are not meant to be alone, indifferent and

detached from others, and especially from God. We are meant to live in

communion with others and pumping goodness always to the system, so to

speak.

  

            We therefore should not be afraid to be in the limelight.

In fact, we have to foster a holy desire to be there. Our

understanding of humility and that delicadeza of passing unnoticed

should not exclude this need for us to give good example and be models

of virtues for everyone to see and to hopefully be edified, especially

in a world that is increasingly sinking in darkness and confusion.

  

            Obviously we have to do it properly and with the right

intention. And that’s because we also know very well of our warped

desire to be in the limelight for the wrong reasons. We have the

tendency to show off our vanity and frivolity, and to act out our

pride, greed, envy, etc. Instead of sowing good things, we can be

spreading our unfortunate motives to others.

  

            Perhaps what can be helpful here is for us to regularly

bring this topic to our prayer so we can come up with relevant daily

strategies in the presence of God and with the right intention. We can

also make a regular review of how we are faring in this aspect by

considering it in our daily examination of conscience. That way we can

hopefully keep the right intention as we give ourselves an example to

the others.

   

            We should aim at nothing less than fulfilling what Christ

himself once said: “Whoever listens to you listens to Me. Whoever

rejects you rejects Me.” (Lk 10,16) This is what is proper to us,

since our perfection is when we identify ourselves with Christ as

fully as possible.

  

            In this way, we can make as our own these words of Christ:

“Whoever believes in Me does not believe in Me alone, but in the One

who sent me. And whoever sees Me sees the One who sent Me. I have come

into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in Me should

remain in darkness.” (Jn 12,44-46)

  

            Are we at least aware that we have to be a light on the

lampstand daily?

The pattern of Christ’s death

A PASSAGE in the Letter of St. Paul to the Philippians

should enlighten us about how our attitude should be toward death.

It’s when he said: “All I want is to know Christ and the power of his

resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of

his death.” (3,10)

            What is this “pattern of his death” that St. Paul talked

about? It is nothing other than freely assuming the attitude of Christ

toward death. He came to assume all the sins of men that have brought

death to us, from Adam to the last man and woman.

            It is nothing other than wanting to die with Christ with

the same intention of bearing all the sins of men, so that the death

of Christ, who is the Son of God made man, can fully repay the debt

that man cannot repay due to his sin against God.

            That is why Christ freely accepted death. He did not avoid

it. He went to it when it was the time to die. “I lay down my life,

that I may take it again,” he said. “No one takes it from me, but I

lay it down of my own accord, I have power to lay it down, and I have

power to take it again.” (Jn 10,17-18)

            With Christ’s death, the sting of death as a consequence

of our sin has been removed. The eternal death that was due to us

because of our sin has been conquered with Christ’s resurrection to

the eternal life.

            St. Paul describes this truth of our faith very vividly.

“When the perishable put on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on

immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

‘Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy victory” O

death, where is thy sting.” (1 Cor 15,54-55)

            We need to follow St. Paul’s attitude toward death. Like

him, we need to reproduce the pattern of Christ’s death. Death to us

should not just be a natural occurrence, a mere consequence of

sickness, old age, accident, calamity, etc.

            Our death has tremendous theological significance which

should shape our attitude toward it. It therefore should not be

considered simply as an unavoidable curse or misfortune. In a way, it

is something that we look forward to, just as Christ looked forward to

his own death. St. Paul echoed the same sentiment when he said, “For

me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Phil 1,21)

            It’s important that we slowly but steadily acquire this

Christian attitude toward death. Everyday, we should be ready to face

it since it can come to us anytime. The day of the Lord, St. Paul

tells us, the day when we would be asked for an accounting by God can

come like a thief in the night. (cfr 1 Thes  5,2)

            Therefore, let us assume the attitude of Christ towards

death—that of dying with him as a repayment of all the sins of men,

ours and those of everybody else, and that of looking forward to it

unafraid of what pain and suffering may be involved.

            This Christian attitude toward death should not in any way

undermine our proper love for life. For as St. Paul said: “If we live,

we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then,

whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.” (Rom 14,8)