by Matthew Perez , Formation Candidate
During September 2016 , many guests came to stay at the Formation House in Chicago . One frequent topic of discussion was how should the Missionaries of the Precious Blood reach out to the youth , the Church ? During these casual discussions , we talked about what speaks to young people today .
First , I think what speaks to youth is the constant outreach by religious communities and diocesan seminaries across the world , who strive to embrace them with patience and understanding . Youth of today are faced with busy scholastic and extracurricular activities . This can cause distractions in their lives , keeping them from embracing a life of faith . Distractions can be modern technology , perceptions based on books and movies , the influence of nonbelievers , and a society that idolizes sporting events and makes this a priority in their lives .
In my experience in youth ministry , I recognize young people ’ s desire to belong to something meaningful , something that inspires each of them to be a whole person . As a faith community , we must take an active role in the lives of our youth . One of the many ways that we can do this was summed up best by Fr . Keith Branson , c . pp . s ., during the 2016 provincial assembly of the Kansas City Province . Fr . Branson said that as a religious community , we need to be who we say we are . I took this to mean that we need to be a community of brotherhood in the bond of charity . One of the things that attracted me to the Precious Blood Community was a sense of belonging to a brotherhood , a family of believers .
Secondly , we must strive to live out the charisms of our Community by being people whose lives renew the Gospel message . By being good preachers of the Word , we can constantly reach out to the faithful , reconciling their lives with God and others . We do this also by being healers of the broken-hearted , a light for the hopeless , and a means of support for the marginalized .
We need to ask ourselves , how will youth identify us as Missionaries of the Precious Blood ? Most importantly , it will be through our actions in social justice issues , the way we live our lives , and through the depth of our spirituality . However , we must also look at how we are identified as a community in the way that we dress or what we wear . In my experience , youth are looking to belong to something that they can identify with , something that represents a
6 • The New Wine Press • February 2017
Formation
Opening Doors to Our Youth
spiritual wholeness . Though the cassock and the mission cross may do that , we must take into consideration that others may have a different view . To accommodate all the Community members , we should consider having
Candidate Matt Perez
polo shirts , sweaters and dress shirts that can be easily identify us as c . pp . s . members or candidates . We have done a wonderful job in this area with the Companions ; however , when it comes to candidates and professed members , we don ’ t have anything uniform that can easily identify us as Missionaries of the Precious Blood . Through my experience in youth ministry , I have seen how important this is for our young people .
It was also mentioned during these conversations that there may be a separation from community members and current candidates in formation , as well as the youth . There may be a difference of opinion in regards to past and present expectations of formation , but we must not be afraid to embrace the young people of today . Fear can keep us from expressing the beauty of living the missionary life .
Young people of today need to have a voice in the Church . Fr . Timothy Radcliffe , o . p ., said it best at an assembly I attended at ctu . He said that the religious communities that are thriving with vocations are those that are allowing the youth to do it their way . That may sound alarming for our men of honor who have served the Church for many years ; however , we must not be alarmed , we can challenge ourselves to be a solution to embracing the youth . We can open our minds to change , we can embrace it . Can we open ourselves up and welcome their thoughts , release our fears , and embrace our prayerful , spiritual life that allows the light of Christ to shine through us ? We can begin by taking the step to show an active