Religious Consumerism and World Youth Day 2005

Blog 6

http://articles.latimes.com/2005/aug/22/world/fg-pope22

World Youth Day 2005 and Religious Consumerism…

“They slept in a dew-soaked field, packed head to toe, and awoke Sunday under heavy gray skies to hear Pope Benedict XVI urge his youthful followers to live a life of faith and work to spread it.”

Lamenting a "strange forgetfulness of God" in modern society, Benedict cautioned Sunday that religion could not be a "consumer product…. Religion constructed on a 'do-it-yourself' basis cannot ultimately help us," he said. "Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself.". (Pope Benedict XVI)

This makes me think of a concept I learned in undergraduate classes called cafeteria-style Catholicism. I think I’ll take a heaping teaspoon of the Creed, but go light on the whole divinity of life “thingie” I may not be okay with the entire pro-life platform; I’ll take a scoop of the Holy Trinity, but go easy on the Sacraments… I only want to be Confirmed so I can get married in the Church; I’ll take three cups worth of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but don’t ask me to follow you, Lord, without guarantees and assurances”. In our consumer society it is to easy to purchase too much of something useless, or to think we can always “get it later”. By and large, the youth of today do not think of what it means to be a part of something bigger than themselves; they are consumed with what they can acquire for themselves. They are not concerned about standing in solidarity with the anawin in our midst; they are concerned with whether or not to engage in illicit behaviors with other youth… and how to feel “more”.

Freedom granted by God "is not simply about enjoying life in total autonomy, but rather about living by the measure of truth and goodness, so that we ourselves can become true and good," he told the crowd, offering the central moral prescription of his four-day appearance here. "This gesture is necessary even if initially our yearning for freedom makes us inclined to resist it." (Pope Benedict XVI)

It is therefore imperative that we, as catechists to the youth of today, continue to foster self-esteem, self-awareness, and to help the children to concentrate on the Divinity within themselves, and in others; and to realize that God speaks freely and frequently to each of them. To continue to teach the youth in our care that they are “Wonderfully and beautifully created in the image and likeness of God”, that God has a special role for each of them (and no two are alike), that they need the fullness of their faith and to live that faith in “full and active participation” to fulfill the primal and spiritual need to connect to the divine and others in the homocentric Church and to enhance the sacramentality of life for all.