Missionary Formation in JY and the Synodal Path 2022 (BJMM029)

 

Missionary Formation in Jesus Youth and the Synodal Path 

(By Dr. Edward Edezhath- published in Jesus Youth International Newsletter, 2022)

Some memories linger. I was at a Catholic college for a talk for teachers. A religious sister asked me, “What do you do in your campus gatherings?” Wow, what is the problem now? I thought to myself. I started telling her about the various sessions on a typical weekend for leaders. But she interrupted me, “One quiet girl in my class went for a Jesus Youth weekend and returned completely changed. She addressed the class, and it touched the students so much that several initiatives have been happening ever since. How do you motivate youngsters in this way?” Oh, that’s all; I was relieved. She was amazed about the newfound missionary fervor in her student. 

This question has come up repeatedly: “How do these youngsters get motivated to make a new commitment? And we don’t find this happening in many other trainings!” Recently, a chaplain of a large university with many movements found JY's work very special and wanted to get the recipe. Many bishops and youth office heads want their leaders formed in the Jesus Youth way.  But very often, the leaders in the movement would find it difficult to articulate the core dynamic of this mission-motivation that the movement produces.

There is a pattern in the JY missionary journey.

Looking reflectively at the troubled world around is often its first big step. For instance, Jesus Youth 85, the namesake conference of the movement, had the theme for its first day, ‘Youth-World-85’, discussing the situation of the contemporary world. When the Lord touches a young person, he or she is challenged by these realities and feels a call to do something about it. A loving community setting is the ordinary life context of every Jesus Youth. So, one can share and reflect on the above concerns in such a community.  This often becomes the seed for a future mission. 

Early in our group, I remember how one youngster came and shared what he saw in a poor locality. The prayer for and discussion about that experience led the group to our weekly visits to that colony. Such prayer and discussions in an informal, friendly setting, where rigid rules and overseeing ‘experts’ are missing, sprouts initiatives.  I have heard different groups share, “We were faced with a big challenge, and there was no one to help and guide us. With all our hearts, we turned to the Lord. Gradually, a beautiful path emerged in front of us. And with one heart, we went ahead.”

This path to mission involves different steps like facing a challenge, gathering with one heart, seeking the Lord’s guidance, listening to one another for clarity, participative planning, and going forth together. These are simple ways an enthusiastic youth group responds to a challenge. But what are its results? Firstly, some kind of relevant response to the challenge emerges. Secondly, every active participant in the process is formed in missionary spirit and comes out with some part in the missionary step.

Every active Jesus Youth will have a story to share, a story of participating in a community response to a challenge that resulted in a missionary initiative. And what is more? Every Jesus Youth group or ministry results from such a group dynamic. 

This Jesus Youth journey is synodal. 

Missionary awakening and formative process in the movement can be better understood in terms of the synodal journey that the Mother Church has delineated before us in recent years. “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” said Pope Francis at the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops. He stressed that synodality “is an essential dimension of the Church” in that “what the Lord is asking of us is already in some sense present in the very word 'synod.’”

Synodality or “journeying together” has three essential concerns quite relevant to the movement: 

1. Communion: Our God, the Father, Son, and Spirit is a loving community, and we are also called to live that fundamental reality.  

2. Participation: We love and respect everyone, especially in our attentive listening to each person.  

3. Mission: Faced with any challenge, the dynamic of Spirit-led community results in going forth to build the Lord’s Kingdom in love.  

From early on in its journey, the Jesus Youth movement has found that when faced with any task, following such a pattern of coming together, going through a participative process of discerning, and journeying together has been a highly rewarding experience. Today, when Pope Francis exhorts the whole Church to reawaken that approach, it resonates well with what the Holy Spirit has been teaching us all along.

A call to deepen the charism.

In October 2021, Pope Francis announced a two-year process of listening and dialogue in the Catholic Church, known as the “Synod on Synodality,” asking everyone to grow deeper in this journey. Given this background, it is pertinent to reflect on some of Jesus Youth's distinctive characteristics concerning synodality.

Emphasis on walking in the Spirit. One’s walk in the movement begins with a personal and transforming encounter with the Lord that leads to an active Catholic life. As a result, the person becomes more sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Joyous community participation. ‘Partying’ has a special place in contemporary culture. In the true spirit of the Master, building loving locations and regular meetings with friends are high on Jesus Youth's agenda. The movement has enough avenues to further this culture of communion. 

Informality with a personal focus. Formalized rigid paths keep many people out. Informality with personal attention is the path to welcoming and respecting all different kinds and cultures. Thus, joyful informality has always been the hallmark of Jesus Youth ways.

The Kingdom urgency. An evangelical eagerness to connect with the world, to court changes, respond to challenges with love and prayer, and seek ways to make a Christ-centered difference are all characteristics of the movement. 

Alive in the Church. An active Catholic approach involves thinking globally and connecting locally. Jesus Youth has always prioritized being active in the forward journey of the Mother Church and being a leaven wherever each one is present.

In these times, the Church is urging the faithful to be alive and active in the evangelizing mission: "An ecclesial mentality shaped by synodal thinking joyfully welcomes and promotes the grace in virtue of which all the baptized are qualified and called to be missionary disciples. The great challenge … is to intensify the mutual collaboration of all in evangelizing witness based on everyone’s gifts and roles, without clericalizing lay people . . . avoiding the temptation of "an excessive clericalism which keeps them away from decision-making." (Synodality in the life and mission of the Church, International Theological Commission, 2018.  104)

What can kill Synodality? 

One big challenge in Jesus Youth is a lack of confidence in its informal and simple ways. A humble recognition and joyful acceptance of the ordinary gifts of the movement become so much more necessary. The temptation becomes more persistent when other successful models seem to reap the harvest much faster. As a result, it becomes essential to remember some attitudes and approaches that would hamper the synodal journey of Jesus Youth, which would seriously weaken its missionary efficacy.

Intolerance to varied voices. The warmth of welcome and apparent lack of a hierarchy of authority make Jesus Youth groups highly inclusive for everyone. There, everyone is heard and counted on. But if, due to prejudices or personal rigidity, only the “right ones” are heard, the foundations of synodality get fractured.

Expert syndrome. Clergy, religious, and animating adults have always found a lively accompanying role in the JY groups without stifling their participative nature. Yet, an authoritarian approach can subvert synodal culture. This can come not only from the clergy but anyone with the mentality of the so-called ‘experienced experts’. 

Preacher bias. With an eagerness to grow in faith, most Jesus Youth groups are thirsty for input. However, a misplaced emphasis on teaching and content input can stifle community growth and the dynamism of a simple mission.

Self-obsessed spirituality. The movement has charismatic roots, and prayer has a very special place in it. However, an overload of pious practices and excessive focus on gaining personal favors can turn the group into a prosperity cult devoid of any sense of mission.

Project mentality. The heart of the synodal approach is a loving community moving into the mission. Still, an attitude of worldly-wise projects approach focused on external goals can stealthily replace missionary fervor. 

One eminent modern fallacy is that motivational input or efficient training can engender mission or apostolic zeal. But the mission, no doubt, is the work of the Holy Spirit that bears rich fruits through a synodal journey. Like a sapling, it flourishes and blooms in the right soil and temperature. 

Toward greater social presence and neighborliness

A person’s journey in Jesus Youth begins with the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, which leads to a lively community. One is challenged to a closer walk in the Spirit, building a lifestyle of the Six Pillars. This journey helps one to be alive in the Church and society, bearing fruits of service and mission. It is a recurrent experience in the movement that if one finds oneself in a mutually motivating ministry setting or fellowship group, one goes forth with a sense of mission, bearing the rich fruits of the Kingdom. 

The Holy Father reminds us, "A synodal Church is like a standard lifted up among the nations.” The world looks for solidarity and participation, but all our social systems are in the grasp of a small but powerful few. The synodal formation that we receive should equip us to be witnesses of a new culture in the broader society, forming leaders that can build a new world patterned after the vision of the Kingdom of the Lord. May the Spirit of the Lord guide Jesus Youth in the path of synodality, bearing greater fruits of mission and Kingdom leadership.