Accompanying Young People in their Faith Journey

All of this week a Symposium is taking place in Barcelona in preparation for next year's Synod on Young People. The theme is "Accompanying Young People to freely respond to Christ's call." It's organised by the Council of European Bishops Conferences. 

We were contacted by the Vice President the extraordinarily dynamic Dutch priest Michel Remery and author of a great book of apologetics for young people: Tweeting With God.

He wanted a 5 minute video of a family with children of various ages, talking about accompanying young people in faith and discovering their vocation. That seemed easy enough but if you're ever doing a video, leave at least five times as much time as you think you need!

We were on a tight deadline and finished the video after about 100 takes, at 2:30am talking about the joys of family life and wanting to strangle eachother!

We had so much more we would have wanted to say and say better but we think we managed to get something of value across... you decide!

'LIFE IS FROM CONCEPTION, NO EXCEPTION!' 2017 SPUC Youth Conference

Hi! I'm Ettore, eldest of the Finaldi clan, I'll be 17 soon and this year I was finally old enough to go to the youth conference of the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child. Here's a little report on a great weekend.

Day 1

It began as any other Friday, long and labour intensive biology lesson followed by an even longer Government and Politics lesson... a two-day conference was the last thing I wanted to do after the tedious week I'd just had, but I knew it would be worth it in the end so off I went (funny the tricks the devil plays on you!) Anyway after a train, an underground and another train I finally arrived in Stoke on Trent some 200 miles from home.

Outside it was dark, dreary and rainy, the complete opposite of the atmosphere I found inside the conference. After making immediate acquaintance with three friendly Mancunians I went to check in. The room was brilliant, but I'm not here to give a review of the venue (which was brilliant by the way.) 

I arrived at the point of a quiz, it was great fun that bonded us as fellow pro-lifers, it was a perfect start. From that moment friendships were made and it set a perfect tone for the days ahead, knowledge and fun.

Day 2
Now being as lazy and a late riser I missed breakfast, Mass and the workshop. Shame, but luckily I came to what I found to be the crown jewel of the talks, 'From Pro-Choice to Pro-Life' by Dr Tony Levatino an ex late term abortionist, and if you're as aquatinted with the Pro life movement as I am, he's kind of a celebrity, so I almost screamed when I saw him the way a fan would! But jokes aside he gave a harrowing talk about the reality of abortion and his joining of the pro-life movement. 

After that inspiring talk we got to ask questions, we asked for his conversion story and he gave us a shortened version. The part that stuck out most was when an old lady said to him in his pre-christian days "it's great to see what Jesus is doing in your life.' he responded with something along the lines of "I don't really believe in the whole thing." she replied saying 'Jesus knows your name, he'll get you sooner or later.' and now he's Christian. Funny how things turn out. 

This was followed by a quick tea break and then a very sad talk by Alexandria Tompson called 'The problem with screening for down's sydrome.' This highlighted the 'unintented' eugenics of abortion, how soon we will become a world without children with down syndrome due to abortion, and how we must be willing to lose things for our views, shown through Jérôme Lejeune, the French scientist who became famous for discovering that Down's syndrome was genetic, and once his discovery was used to abort the child before birth, he fought against it and fought for their right to life, this cost him his career and countless awards, but he knew they were meaningless compared to the mass genocide that was happening. 

The thing I learnt from this sadly truthful talk, was that we must be willing to take one for the team, our views are important but if we hide them and express them in the secrecy of our own homes they are useless and will never change anyone's mind, enough of being a closet pro lifer! You may lose your job but thousands are losing their lives every day and if he did it we should follow his example (especially since Jérôme Lejeune may become a saint).

Guys be prepared to take one for team life and in the words Congressmen Henry Hyde 'As a Pro lifer when you die and you come up in front of the Eternal Judgement,  before the throne of God there will be a crowd of children pleading on your behalf, saying "Please let this person in, he did so much for me". 

This was followed Dr Anthony McCarthy's thought provoking talk on gender theory and showing what a bad position the secular world has come to, as the 'I think therefore I am' mentality has lead to things as far as 'I identify as an attack helicopter.' 

The Scots then came up to show us the work they had been doing around their glorious land, a week of pro-life activism around different towns and cities in Scotland for young people, something I would highly recommend for youths looking for adventure and empowerment.  

It was time for another tea break and a highly fascinating talk by Dr Patricia Morgan on 'The Family Under Fire.' a once again depressingly realistic talk on how the family has and is deteriorating at an alarming rate... though to every action there is a reaction, we were told WE ARE THE FUTURE and we stand in defence of the family. 

The talks finished, we had dinner and free time to freshen up for the Ceilidh. After a pleasant meal and a shower I joined the community of like minded people (a strange feeling, I sometimes tried to start arguments on purpose to feel more at home!) ...we danced the night away full of fun conversation, embarrassing attempts of certain steps and great music. 

It was great to be in communion with these fellow pro-lifers during these hard times. As the night progressed and the music stopped, the softies went to bed and others stayed into the early hours of the night talking about whatever and whoever, I spoke with many different people and had great fun, until words turned to music once again when we were joined by a tipsy philosopher with a guitar who told us about how 'God was love, the liturgy was the source and summit of our faith' followed by Ed Sheeran sing-songs, it was great to be amongst like minded young people. 

Day 3
I woke up few minutes before Mass, chucked on my Sunday best and ran to the room where Latin Mass was held, the room was overflowing with young Christians. After Holy Mass we had breakfast and checked out.

Since debates are one of my favourite things, I attended a workshop by Dr Anthony McCarthy on how argue hard cases . Once again we drank tea and moved on to our last talk, by Dr Joseph Meaney a highly uplifting talk on the the effect of our work and the reality of abortion facts, the fact that the worst human rights abuse in the history of the earth came from the worst political system on earth, communism. 

The talk ended, received thunderous applause and was followed by a great inspiring March for Life presentation, we watched an amazing video that made us feel (and rightly so) awesome! This is a pro-life march taking place in Birmingham this year... If you are reading this post in the UK... this calling is for you too...you have no reason not to attend, babies need you to go too! Even if you do nothing else, the more people there are the louder the voice, 'LIFE IS FROM CONCEPTION, NO EXCEPTION!' 

I can confirm I did not regret attending the Youth SPUC Conference after my long and tiring week and I strongly advise any young Pro-lifer to go, you will not regret it. It's great fun, teaches you loads, you make friends and equips you to fight for life. I cannot recommend it enough.

                                                                    Ettore 

In Search of Quiet...

The sun rises and as morning starts, the sound of cups and cutlery resounds from the kitchen, water flows from the taps, stairs creak and doors slam, as the children go up and down the hallway to get ready for a new day. The house slowly awakes and a bright new beginning beckons.

I am a teaching assistant, working in a primary school which means that moments of quiet are few and far between. Voices of children are the background of my day and my full attention is constantly asked of me, usually by more than one child at a time.

With maternity leave approaching what I was most looking forward to was that moment of silence and order when the children were at school and the baby was fed and down. A moment of quiet I used to treasure in the years before I started working.

This time around, things haven’t quite worked out as I had planned…

Life is not static and new situations need to be addressed all the time whether we are ready for them or not.

With the children growing into young adults and babies joining the family the balance of the house has suddenly changed, changes I hadn’t really taken into consideration and wasn’t quite ready to embrace just yet.

As the clock would strike 9pm all the children used to be tucked up in bed, and we’d enjoy some well-earned quiet after a tiring day.

Well, no longer… The family has grown both in numbers and in age and daily life is now flowing differently.

Suddenly your older children are taller than you, you are still holding a baby in your arm and little people fill your rapidly shrinking house. Every evening the clock still striking 9pm, the younger children are tucked in bed as usual, but that quiet now remains elusive as the older children grow up and develop their own routines.

After prayers, a blessing and a goodnight kiss the younger ones happily lay down… but that silence of a household that is winding down is now a distant memory.

Now as the light in the nursery goes off… lights around the house are still on. Noises of showers, doors slam, stair creaks, one last tea for one, one last green tea for the other, seem to go on forever and that longed for quiet is never achieved. The weekends are filled with more noise, more people, more cousins, more friends… there is nowhere to hide.

They are growing up and I have to remind myself that this is their house too…

I guess I have reached yet another new stage of my life as a mother and the whole having a big family thing has just hit me… again… and being in the smallest house we’ve lived in so far with the greatest number of children can at times be very challenging. This is the life we chose, the life God has allowed us to have and we’re learning to go with it.

The children are growing up and though I am struggling with the noise, the mess and the constant encouragement to keep rooms tidy… I need to remember that even this is a stage that will pass very quickly, a stage we will look back on, in our old age when there will be silence and quiet to spare and wish we could relive it.

Noise is a bi-product of life and when it all seems too much we should remember that silence belongs to the grave.

This post features in The Zelie Group blog. 

Three Chastity Tips from the Teen Trenches

My name is Ettore, I'm 16 and the first of six children. I'm blogging on our family blog about a subject that's close to my heart and often at the forefront of my mind.

Chastity is, I think, the single most difficult struggle for a Catholic young man. Giving in to our temptations promises pleasure and is deeply entangled in our nature as human beings. Sexual sins are dangerous and seductive. At base I suppose it comes from an evolutionary drive that motivates us to procreate and this is a good thing, but when we are not married the struggle is constantly gnawing at us. Sometimes when temptation comes you feel alone and overpowered. 

How is it possible to master something written into your very nature? We have the help of the saints for this and especially the most chaste Virgin Mary and her husband Joseph. 

1. Firstly devote this struggle to either, ask for their help, pray to them and devote yourself to them. The blessed Mother Mary is my help and has taken more steps to help me in this since I started wearing the brown scapular. (I previously wrote a post about the Scapular : I have chosen Mary and Joseph because they are my help, but there are many other saints that will aid your cause.  But most of all Pray the Rosary! 

Is it worth it? We are all called to be saints, and this is no easy thing. We are called to heroic virtue. We can test our mental strength and master our urge. That is true strength. The strength of mind over body. As Catholic men we must take this excess energy and use it for the good and protection of the people around us. It is one of the most difficult and constant temptations put before us but we must take up this cross and follow Christ. "For there are eunuchs who were born that way, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others--and there are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it." Matthew 19:12. We are called to live like eunuchs for the Kingdom of God. No sin is worth going to hell for. Live Chastely for you will be happy and closer to Jesus and his Kingdom.   

2. There are two things that in my experience help greatly with chastity, fasting and service. To tell the truth I stumbled upon the first one and that was because I decided to go on a diet (I know this isn't exactly the same as fasting since a diet is done for the bettering of your physical self rather than the spirit)  but what is the same during a diet and fasting is that you learn self control, something that is essential when it comes to chastity. For example I would come home from college and feel very hungry and ordinarily I'd walk into the kitchen to find the temptation of a doughnut or a chocolate cake, and I would have to fight the physical desire to eat that cake. Although the consequences of eating the cake are only a few extra calories, it really does help and this is why, imagine you decide to start lifting weights (and let's say chastity is a 100 kg weight) would you start straight away with the 100kg weight? No you carefully ease yourself into it, and fasting is like doing 10 kg weights, and slowly slowly it builds your muscles and helps you greatly to lift the 100kg weight of chastity. Saying no to food will help you say no to sexual urges because they are both desires of the flesh and if you master the easier one, it not only helps build your chastity muscles but brings you closer to God. 'Fasting cleanses the soul, raises the mind, subjects one’s flesh to the spirit, renders the heart contrite and humble, scatters the clouds of concupiscence, quenches the fire of lust, and kindles the true light of chastity. Enter again into yourself.'

St Augustine

Secondly service is a very important aspect, the reason men need to be of service is that we need to take the extra energy we are given in our sexuality and direct it towards the more creative task of service, and follow the example given by Christ to use our strength towards service and really be happy. It lowers our selfishness level and I've found that selfishness and lust are intimately intertwined, if you are selfish you are more likely to suffer sins of a sexual nature and vice versa, and this is because you are satisfying your own lust, you are not selflessly giving your love and body to your wife or husband. If you become selfless the selfish acts of sexual immorality will not be a problem.

3.

Be a man - a real man! True strength comes from chastity not from 'going to the gym.' Men need to practice this virtue! It's not easy! it's one of the most difficult journeys for a man to embark on, but it's the most worthwhile! We are called to be heroes, we must have heroic virtue, for our salvation, and for the survival of our faith. The church is often filled with beautiful women, but there are few virtuous men to sweep them off their feet and uphold the Catholic family. The chastity of our men has a profound effect not only on the destination of your soul but on the future of the Catholic family. Ask the Virgin Mary for help, she will not let you down. Be a man, be chaste and pray the rosary.

A Profile of the Pro-Life Generation

By Ettore (aged 16)
It was year 10 (I was 14) and with the start of my RE GCSE course, debate consequently followed. Complex issues like abortion, euthanasia and the death penalty were brought forward with arguments for and against and our opinion was sought. Even in a Catholic school I often found myself in a minority, defending not only Catholic teaching but the right side of the argument. What I failed to take into account was that I was not in a room full of rookie debate partners with vague ideas of their opinion, I was in a room full of pro-choicers using classic pro-choice talking points like: 'what about the woman's choice?'  'what if a twelve year old was raped and became pregnant?'  and 'what if the mother's life was in danger?' All simple questions to respond to; if you are well informed, but at the time, I wasn't... I was stopped dead in my tracks and destroyed in debate, and made to look and sound like the crazy person in the room. What I did not realise was that education and the media was a highly effective pro-choice brainwashing centre, which luckily had not affected me as my family and belief in God had created strong defences. Sad about my defeat I left questioning my opinions, and once I came to the conclusion that I was on the right side I decided to do something about it. 

I knew abortion was wrong but I could not express it in a way that was scientific and well thought out and backed up by solid arguments. So I hit the books, the only way to get well informed was to find a book that taught me how to debate, and I was fortunate enough to be listening to Catholic Answers when the book 'Persuasive pro life' was advertised, a book which I will also advertise for any people aspiring to defend life. It was the answer to my prayers. I sat down to read and learn from the book, and can safely say I spent more time studying that book than for my RE GCSE! The book was truly a blessing as it went clearly through the arguments, talking points and examples of what a debate could and should look like from an experienced pro lifer, Trent Horn. I learnt it cover to cover and came back to the school debates as a force to be reckoned with. 

However I only realised later that debates which contain such emotion should not be approached in the same way as other debates where you make a fool out of your opponent by hitting them with great points and facts (not to say you don't use facts and talking points) but these debates are not won by a single argument in which you intellectually outdo your opponent, but the aim is to plant seeds. Usually just the fact that someone dares to question the Status Quo  is a start, and then when you show them you are not just a religious nut with even nuttier opinions, but that you use science and facts then you really have something going. You won't change views over night, or you might never, but you must not feel like you've ever won an argument, because that is not what these debates are about. You must slowly show someone your view, gently and calmly as your opponent will almost never be, wiping the floor with a pro-choicer who had previously had an abortion is not the best tactic or the most loving Christian thing to do. 

This was hard for a head strong (or arrogant as I have been called by a great many people!) person like myself to just go easy on someone who was making excuses for murder, but the book taught me to practise what I preach, and be compassionate to the pro-choicer and let your loving view be expressed also in how you treat the pro-choicer. But this was just the beginning...

I decided to start a pro-life group in my parish, which was advertised in the church's newsletter as a Profile group (AUTO CORRECT IS SO ANNOYING!) And I was given a helping hand by SPUC's own Rhoslyn Thomas, she started off the group with a brilliant  presentation on the gravity of the situation and the necessity of us as citizens to get involved and fight the greatest evil of the 20th and 21th century. The presentation was followed by questions and then food as things usually do when hosted in an italian-Catholic household. We continued to meet for debate practice using the Persuasive Pro life book to structure these and fought the assisted suicide bill in the UK by leafleting around my area and speaking to neighbours to write to our MP. 

This first contact with SPUC led to me doing work experience with them for two weeks in June 2015. There I saw truly good people who gave up careers that would offer wealth on earth and followed one that offered immense wealth in heaven. I wrote blog posts for them did some side walk counseling training to prepare me for going outside of a Marie Stopes abortion clinic in central London, by far one of the most depressing things I've ever done. Im not going to sugar coat it. This is the perfect place for the devil to get at you and convince you it's hopeless and that you're fighting a losing battle, as you see woman after woman walk into the clinic and ignore the aid of the sidewalk counsellor. You must be strong. Now I don't want to dissuade you from doing it as we need all the help we can get, but don't go there unprepared. Pray the rosary, don't let the devil get to you. 

After my experience at SPUC my desire to defend life was greatly increased. Now my views have only grown stronger and although due to school work I cannot currently participate in pro-life work as much as I would like to, I do what I can, and if it involves challenging the teacher, student or friends who make outrageous anti-life statements I dont let them get away with it and think that their opinion is the accepted truth. My government and politics class will be very interesting when it comes to the debate stages as students have already affirmed their pro-choice views with no contestation and said how being pro-life is, in the words of one of my peers 'like so old fashioned.' (I didn't know scientific fact went out of fashion, but what would I know about science, i'm just a bigoted catholic!) So I would like to end by saying this: even if you don't have a lot of time to commit to the pro-life cause, buy Persuasive Pro Life, learn the arguments and challenge people, the best thing you can do is to be informed. And in the words of Trent Horn... plant seeds.

Our Priests: Shepherds of the Lost Sheep

Hi there my name is Mattia, 

I am the second eldest son you probably haven't heard much from me as I haven't really had any special religious experiences that really struck me yet (considering I'm only 14). However today was different. 

This morning I woke up and went to mass to serve and I felt that I wasn't in a worthy state to take communion, so I went up and lined up with the rest of the servers to take communion however when I reached the priest I crossed my arms for a blessing and the priest looked at me strangely and then blessed me. 

After mass I approached him to ask for confession and as we walked into the confessional Father said to me:"Listen we have to have a chat, you cannot just not take communion as it is not good for the body not for the soul, so in future please try and see me before mass and we can quickly do confession, as i don't want you to go on through the week without having taken communion. After you make your confession and say your penance come and see me and i will give you communion".

After he said this I couldn't stop smiling as I could really tell that beyond his job as a priest he really cared for me and my soul which was a first time for me as i had never really felt a priest care for me so much. This really struck me as he really was a shepherd who cared for his flock, and he literally went out of his way to help a lost sheep (me) by doing something that he usually does for hundreds of people just for one person.     

8 Ideas for dealing with mobile phones in a Catholic family

The first mobile phone I remember was when I was about 7. 
They were incredibly big and super bulky. Only people who had serious money would have them.
Now every child has one... how things have changed! 

Although it is a big relief to be able to contact your children at any point at any time, it presents new challenges which our parents didn't have to deal with so we're on the front line!

The list of the amazing things that phones can do is endless. Great! But also not so great!

As parents we sometimes struggle to control our own phone use, that ever-present urge to reach for your phone is strong! The 'need' to be on top of the latest news respond to every email and of generally being 'connected' is incredible.

To help us as a family we decided to adopt some simple rules.

1. No phone use out of hours: I learnt the rule that you shouldn't call anybody's house after 10pm. Mobiles need to follow the same rules. The night is for sleeping and many bad things are done under the cover of darkness, whether by message or voice call. 

2. Open access to all phones: No passwords, pass codes or any other barrier to prevent other members of the family from accessing the phone, Facebook, Instagram or other programs or devices is permitted. We are a family, we are open, technology is good and to ensure that it stays that way we look out for each other. 'For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed'. ( John 3:20)

3. Leave your phones at home during family outings: Outings and visits take us a way from our normal surroundings and put us in contact with new places and new people. Mobiles do the opposite, we are in contact with the same sites and the same people wherever we are so we have established an occasional 'leave your phone at home' policy to help us enjoy our surroundings and each other's company more. We carry one phone for incoming or emergency calls only.

4. No phones when guests, friends or family are around: The main problem with telephones is that it privileges those who are absent over those who are present. What's the point of having someone over for a visit if you then ignore them to speak with someone who is not there? An occasional check is acceptable, but no more. It teaches the children to communicate face to face and not with the protection of a screen.

5. No phones during Movie Night: Young people seem to find the concept of living in the moment very challenging. They feel like they will miss out on something amazing if they detach from their phone for a second, but the banal whatsapp conversations made up of LOLs and ROFLs simply lead them to miss out on what really is happening. To help us live and value the moment when say...  watching a film together as a family, we try to ensure that we are all doing the same thing at the same time... 

6. No phones at table: Pierpaolo's grandmother used to say 'at table as in Church' the table is a place of communion of sharing and passing on the faith. It is a sacred place and moment for the family and guests. Phones have no place at the dinner table. 'Rule number 6' (as it is known in our house) is definitely the most useful and is the one that is respected without fuss. No phone are to be brought to table during any meal whether a weekly meal or a big Sunday meal.
If any of us, as can happen, is caught looking at his phone there will be always be someone shouting 'RULE NUMBER 6' and the transgressor will quietly put the phone away.

7. No social youtubing: Whatever happened to the art of telling a joke or a funny story? Too often you'll see a group of kids and even adults at a pub staring at a small screen and laughing. Public speakers, raconteurs and comedians will always be appreciated. If you want to show someone at a social gathering a funny video send them a link afterwards but while we're all together you'll have to tell us about it! 

8. Multimedia coherence: This issue goes way beyond phone use but is important even there. We are a Christian family and each member of the family must behave as such in every facet of life. If a young person takes an immodest picture or likes an inappropriate photo on instagram, the problem is not the cameraphone or the social media platform but something deeper. Perhaps a shaky sense of right and wrong, an uncertain grasp of what sin does to us, or the need for validation from the world no matter the cost. That is where we as parents really need to get to work.

Christian Children Grow Up, and so do their Parents!

Seeing your children grow up is a blessing. I can still remember my oldest boys playing about like two little cubs and today they are taller than me ...which is not saying much... but still, for me it's very moving.

There is an Italian saying 'Figli piccoli guai piccoli, figli grandi guai grandi'... meaning the worries that we have when our children are little are nothing in comparison to the worries and problems that we come across when they get older.
And that is certainly proving to be true!

Till the age of 10 things tend to be more or less under control. All our children go to a lovely Catholic  primary school very close to where we live. 
We are surrounded by family and a strong Christian community as the school is part of the Parish. So things run quite smoothly till then, Catholic friends, lovely Catholic parents, a holy headmistress and devoted teachers. Couldn't wish for a better environment where a little Christian can flourish. 

Then comes secondary school and things become a little shaky... new, (maybe not so Catholic) friends, parents that you won't ever meet and confused Catholic teachers. So as a parent our great responsibility is to equip them well enough that our children can always choose the Truth and sense and maybe even challenge any unorthodox teaching. 

So the struggle begins... the dependence on their phones, the parties that can't be missed, the thousands of outings with their friends, the online computer gaming, the constant need to be connected with their mates 24/7, the silly slang and the NEED to wear the latest fashion and coolest brand.

The world appears to be very attractive and deceives us constantly, making the right path foggy and difficult to walk upon, especially when going against the crowd.

I don't blame them, it's hard to be a Christian in the world of today and for us parents it's easy to feel discouraged and become scared of losing our children along this journey of faith. St Monica is a great example that sincere prayers for our children can bear amazing fruits.

We have been parents of toddlers 5 times and have had to deal with all sorts of difficulties, now we find ourselves at a new stage which at times is very unpleasant... a new experience that requires constant revision.

Our children have been entrusted to us and although the fear of getting it completely wrong is, at times, very present on the other hand it drives us to put our trust in God and to beg for His help and enlightenment!

I know God wants us and all our children to know Him and to reach His Kingdom more than we do, so we must have faith that He will show Himself to them at some point in their life and that they will have a beautiful encounter with Him. 

“Thus the little domestic Church, like the greater Church, needs to be constantly and intensely evangelized: hence its duty regarding permanent education in the faith…the family, like the Church, ought to be a place where the Gospel is transmitted and from which the Gospel radiates…the future of evangelization depends in great part on the Church of the home”

Pope St John Paul II

The Challenge of Catholic Parenting

“It is Jesus that you seek when you dream of happiness; He is waiting for you when nothing else you find satisfies you; He is the beauty to which you are so attracted; it is He who provoked you with that thirst for fullness that will not let you settle for compromise; it is He who urges you to shed the masks of a false life; it is He who reads in your heart your most genuine choices, the choices that others try to stifle.

It is Jesus who stirs in you the desire to do something great with your lives, the will to follow an ideal, the refusal to allow yourselves to be ground down by mediocrity, the courage to commit yourselves humbly and patiently to improving yourselves and society, making the world more human and more fraternal.” 

― Pope St John Paul II

The other day we listened to a very interesting pod cast entitled Raising Rebels in a Pagan World  by Steve Ray that really got me thinking. The podcast is full of earthy wisdom and good advice. He addresses the fundamental task for every parent which is not to teach our children what to think but to teach them how to think. This will become more and more important in a world which is openly hostile to the Christian way of thinking.

The challenges the John Paul II generation encountered as we were growing up as were nothing compared to the greater tests that our children will have to face. 

I grew up in Sicily, I went to a convent school and although my friends were not all practising Catholics they had a pretty clear if somewhat theoretical grip of what was and wasn't morally acceptable, moreover Italy was a Catholic country and Italians were very proud that the Vatican was in their Capital City. 

As for Pierpaolo, he grew up in London, went to a Catholic School up to the age of 16 and although most of his friends shared the same faith, the few who did not, and society at large, respected his beliefs. 

Things are very different now, not only does our society despise anything to do with Christianity but our Christian community seems increasingly confused.

The challenge for us Catholic parents of the new millennium is 'to raise rebels' not indoctrinated children who have been forced to go along with the practice of Christianity without fully understanding it, or who look at their faith as a series of rules and limitations but children who have experienced the truth and are able to recognise it and therefore choose it for themselves!

Moreover, children, that are able to think with their own heads and with their hearts in the right place, without being influenced by this society that tries hard to please everybody and is failing humanity miserably.  

I like this challenge, I was always a bit of a rebel myself... (just ask my parents...). 

As G.K. Chesterton says:

We are People of the resurrection, we are alive! I want our children to have this! I want our children to have the fulness of life! I want them to have what we have received! To have the freedom that we have experienced, freedom that only comes from Christ.

But how to succeed in this challenge? Only with the help of One that wants us to succeed... here is a message that was once for us!  

Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of life, continue to listen to His Word, draw strength from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity. In fact, how could you say you believe in God made man without taking a firm position against all that destroys the human person and the family? If you believe that Christ has revealed the Father’s love for every person, you cannot fail to strive to contribute to the building of a new world, founded on the power of love and forgiveness, on the struggle against injustice and all physical, moral and spiritual distress, on the orientation of politics, economy, culture and technology to the service of man and his integral development.

  

This is the message that Saint John Paul II addressed to us during the World Youth Day in Rome in the year 2000... We were the young people then, we were the ones he called to be 'builders of the new humanity'. An old message still alive in us.

Pope Saint John Paul II, Pray for us that we may be always fit for our vocation and the work that has been entrusted to us. We are the young people you loved so much, we have responded to your love and that has brought us to the Father.