Hi Father, I have a question
From Dian:
“My name is Dian. I have a question about a Catholic youth community. What are the best topics to bring for them? I am a little bit not sure which topic would fit the best for them. Do you have any input? Thanks in advance.”
Hello Dian:
You can never go wrong with the topic of relationships at home and school, and how there are warning signs before they start to go wrong.
For this topic, I would go through the gospels and pick out some of the verses between the fights and confrontations between the Lord Jesus and the Pharisees. As young people fight at home with parents and siblings, as they fight with close friends and even strangers, so Our Lord also had to deal with clashes and disagreements between him and the Pharisees.
It helps young people to know that although Jesus was perfect, His life was not perfect. He also dealt with being unpopular, misunderstood, judged, and rejected. So the thing they hate (getting in fights and being rejected) is very Scriptural and there is Scriptural advice for dealing with this. The Scriptural advice should help them look at their self-esteem, at the need to talk to people in person and learn to “read them,” the need to pick up signs when they should be up front and honest and the need to know when to put off a confrontation.
Finally, see what Our Lord and Scripture says about the process of getting over a hurt, the temptation to brood and hold grudges, to be hyper-sensitive, the need to turn the page and distract themselves in constructive and enjoyable pastimes, including their chores and work. When they are dealing with the falling out of a friendship, especially, they need to give themselves time and patience and know that healing and recovery comes from almost every fight or conflict.
There is no instant magical way for quickly forgiving others or quickly seeking their forgiveness. Scripture’s teachings are lofty, but putting them into practice is hard for young people, so it’s all right to tell them, “none of this comes easily, even for adults.” These are just some ideas, and I would suggest to google the references you need from the Bible or the lives of the saints. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel
