Faith Formation for Youth

The vocation to teach the faith to youth can be daunting. With rising concern about youth leaving the Church, it is imperative that we re-consider how to form youth in the faith so that they cultivate the desire, understanding, and practices that allow them to remain close to Christ and the Church as they grow into adulthood.

Parishes and missions have the mission to form youth in the faith. The Office of Pastoral Formation seeks to support them by providing instructional resources and support, connecting faith formation ministers across the Diocese with each other to encourage communion for this mission, and offering training and formation for those who teach the faith.

In his Apostolic Exhortation, Christus Vivit, Pope Francis encourages the youth of the Church to evangelize and form disciples. But he does not only write to the young; he addresses the entire Church:
 

After this brief look at the word of God, we cannot just say that young people are the future of our world. They are its present; even now, they are helping to enrich it. Young people are no longer children. They are at a time of life when they begin to assume a number of responsibilities, sharing alongside adults in the growth of the family, society and the Church.

CV, n. 64

Those who teach the faith to youth have the responsibility to ensure that the youth in their care understand the mercy, love, and companionship of our God. In so doing, it remains essential that youth have the opportunity to ask questions and seek answers within the community of faith because they have much to contribute to the Church. Faith formation is not merely a transmission of content. When youth receive the content of faith, they participate actively in their learning and transform the Church and world around them. A helpful model of faith formation, then, is one of empathetic accompaniment in faith. Explaining the Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment, Pope Francis challenges and encourages the entire Church to listen to the youth in our midst:
 

The Synod recognized that the members of the Church do not always take the approach of Jesus. Rather than listening to young people attentively, “all too often, there is a tendency to provide prepackaged answers and ready-made solutions, without allowing their real questions to emerge and facing the challenges they pose”. Yet once the Church sets aside narrow preconceptions and listens carefully to the young, this empathy enriches her, for “it allows young people to make their own contribution to the community, helping it to appreciate new sensitivities and to consider new questions.”

CV, n. 65

The temptation to seek pre-packaged answers and ready-made solutions is strong, especially when ministers face a shortage of time, resources, and volunteers. This office, then, sets priority within the support it offers to help pastorates listen to the youth in their care and develop resources that will best serve them.

 

Read "Christus Vivit"