MARY, THE YOUTH, AND THE CHURCH TODAY

I love to sing even if singing doesn’t seem to be a gift given to me by the Lord. During sprees and parties, when the karaoke machine has been set, you cannot take the microphone away from me anymore. And listening to me throughout the party becomes my brothers’ penance. My desire to sing, probably, resonates from man's universal desire to be heard. All of us want to be heard; to air out our opinion. The social media, for example, is not wanting of comments from all kinds of people. Everyone has a take on a particular issue, and they make sure it is heard through their comments or by simply liking or sharing some posts. 

In the Colegio where I am administering to, we also believe in the significance of each person’s voice and opinion, particularly that of the students. On the drawing board of the facilities management office, we are planning to renovate traditional classrooms into smart classrooms. More than the smart gadgets to be placed in these rooms, we are removing the teacher's table and replacing them with students' discussion tables. The teachers will not have a monopoly on discussions anymore. Everyone gets a voice. Everyone is encouraged to speak, more so, to listen too from others.  

But just a reality check, beyond the four corners of a smart classroom, not all voices are heard, not all questions are sought and answered, especially those of the youth. 

As we celebrate this novena in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary of La Naval, coinciding with the Year of the Youth in our local Church here in the Philippines, let us think about the young people today. They have voices, but have they been allowed to speak? How many of us listen to them? Some may easily dismiss the voices of the young as useless and immature and consequently, have no place in serious discourses. And that is the perfect recipe to distance the young from the old; to mute their eager voices.  

The youth has voices. They ask valid questions. They too have stories to tell, and thoughts to share. They are beloved, gifted and empowered by the Lord. Thus, we are not to sideline them to silence. We are to listen to them.

Pope Francis teaches us that the Church today has to be a listening Church (Christus Vivit). "A Church always on the defensive, which loses her humility and stops listening to others, which leaves no room for questions, loses her youth and turns into a museum." To be a relevant institution today, we have to learn to listen.

We wonder and ask, today "Where are the young people?" Where are the young people in the Church?" We can only see a handful of them actively involved in parish and community activity. Where are the majority of them? They are in computer shops. They are on social media. They are outside the Church; fulfilling their worldly ambitions. They are in places they are not meant to be, engaged in activities they are not yet supposed to be engaging with. Why is that so? For they never see the Church as a place where their voices can be heard, where they can express themselves, to be themselves freely. We ask, "Where are the young people?" But we have to ask ourselves too if we as a Church provide a welcoming community to them; a place where they can see and experience a certain degree of belongingness, where their voices, concerns, and opinions can be heard.

How can we draw the young closer to the Church? We can draw them to the Church and to the Good news She preaches by being a community; a communion that can unite their intentions and sentiments with that of Jesus. And we can only be a communion if we learn to listen more than to speak and preach to them.

I remember a student who once approached me and asked if I had time to spare for him and to counsel him about his life. And so we sat together, and he told me about his current life struggles in the Colegio. Throughout our almost an hour of conversation, I said nothing. But at the end of that encounter, he thanked me profusely. He felt relieved of his problems. Truth be told, I did and said nothing, except to lend him my ears. I simply listened to him.

More than our preachy sermons and litanies, young people need our ears. Sometimes we keep on talking and talking because we are afraid to be passive. We are afraid to do nothing. But we would be surprised that as we listen to the youth, we are drawn closer and closer to them and come to know their various predicaments in life. When we learn to listen intently, we learn as well to move closer and closer to them whom we listen to. Napapalapit tayo sa taong pinakikingang natin ng maigi. And by knowing them and their situations, we can rightfully respond to their needs; we can rightfully assist them in their search for meaning in life (instead of imposing meaning to them that may not necessarily be relevant to them). For it might be the case that we are with them, that we hear and answer their questions, but our answers and the solutions we offer are not relevant to their concerns for we failed to listen intently to them, and consequently failed to respond appropriately to their needs.

Who can be our model of a Church; a communion that listens? Mary is our foremost model of a listener; a model of the Church. Mary, when confronted by the realities of her Son's life learned to listen. She was able to listen for she never thought herself as the one who had the monopoly of truth. Throughout her life, humility animated her; the humility that enabled her to listen to God. Mary listened to the Archangel Gabriel as it announced God's plan of making her the Mother of God. Mary listened to the praises of her cousin Elizabeth as she visited her. Mary listened to young Jesus as she found her in the Temple. As a mother, most probably, Mary was in the crowd silently listening while her Son was preaching the Good News. At the foot of the cross, Mary was able to stand in front of the suffering and death of her son because she prayerfully listened to the last words of her Son crucified. She may not understand all that she had heard from her Son, but Mary kept all these things in her heart, believing, that in time, all things will make sense.

Si Maria ay isang inang marunong makinig, inang nakikinig; nakikinig sa Dios, nakikinig sa ating mga panalangin; nakikinig sa paghingi natin ng tulong sa kanyang pananalangin sa kanyang Anak; kaya nagagawang makaagapay ni Maria sa atin, lalo’t higit sa mga kabataan.  

By listening Mary remained close to Jesus, and formed a communion with her Son; she was united with Jesus. Her willingness to listen to the promptings of God led her to obey Him. Indeed, listening leads to obedience; to properly respond to the one whom we listened to. Siyang nakikinig, ay siyang nakasusunod at nakatutugon nang wasto. If our Mother Mary listened, and so should we her children, that we too may become obedient like her.

And so, in the gospel today, Mary, through her last words recorded in the gospel, admonishes us: Do whatever he tells you to do. Obey Jesus! But the prerequisite of obedience is listening. Thus, like her, we have to learn to listen. The world today is not wanting of voices and opinions. But surely, listening ears are very much welcomed, especially in our relationship with the young people; the youth who want to be heard. As Mary listened to the needs of those people in that wedding in Cana, and as the servants listened and obeyed Jesus’ command, the first miracle in the public ministry of Jesus took place. By listening and appropriately responding to Him whom we listen to, miracles can happen in our midst. Should we proceed into becoming a listening Church today, who knows what miracles beyond our telling may come in our midst. As we listen to the beloved, gifted, and empowered youth of today, who knows if years from now millennials and zellenials will gather themselves around the table of the Eucharist with us; the youth will flock to the Church, for in Her they will find a welcoming community where they experience a sense of belongingness. 

When did you give the microphone to the young people in our community, or invited them to join us in our discussion tables, or led them to the table of the Holy Eucharist to give thanks? When did you listen to them? For through the youth, God may also be speaking to you!  

To my fellow youth, should you look for someone to listen to your story, and find no one among us in the church willing to lend their ears, I dare say, here is our Mother, look at her. Here is Mary ready to listen to us! Narito ang Inang Maria handang makinig at umagapay sa ating paglalakbay.