The formative path of Six Pillars in Jesus Youth. (BJRE010)
The formative path of Six Pillars in Jesus Youth
(By Dr. Edward Edezhath - Published in Kairos Magazine in 2018)
“What I like about the Jesus Youth movement is its insistence on the six pillars in the life of all its members. I am eager for everyone in my diocese to have this lifestyle.” Bishop Robert Muhiirwa of Uganda heard about the movement at a conference in Rome, and he was especially attracted to it by its emphasis on a lifestyle of active life and mission. Jesus Youth is called a lifestyle for a committed Christian, and at the heart of this proposed daily plan for life are its six elements: prayer, word of God, sacraments, fellowship, evangelization, and option for the poor.
Why does this focus on a lifestyle? To talk a little bit about the background, the Charismatic Renewal emphasized an encounter experience and the use of certain gifts of the Holy Spirit called Charisms. People who attended a retreat or renewal seminar often had a life-changing experience. One very positive result of the renewal wave was that many people came to experience such a radical change, and more and more people were attracted to such seminars and retreats. But there is a not-so-desirable side to it. People get focused on flashy gifts, answered prayers, and healings, and as a result, sometimes, spirituality is seen as a magical affair and a quick fix to get material benefits.
A mature Christian attitude should not focus on receiving all I want but on taking my cross and following Jesus. Of course, many people begin their walk with Jesus experiencing a ‘real’ God who answers their prayers. But that is only the beginning. A person who wants to grow as a disciple of Jesus must learn after the example of the Lord to lay down one’s life and be committed to the path of the Lord. In other words, growing as a Christian is learning to walk a path. The early Christians called it “the way” (Acts 9:2). Of course, Jesus himself is the Way (John 14:6), and He wanted his followers to embrace his ‘narrow way’ (Mt 7:14). Hence in Jesus Youth we challenge people to live the narrow way and follow the path of Christian perfection.
Was it always six pillars?
People often ask, “When and how was the idea of Six Pillars formed?” “Was the number always six?” Historically, there was a process of evolution of this in the movement. Early in our path, we didn’t have this list of six.
In the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, we have what is called the Life in the Spirit Seminar (LSS), which allows us to enter a new life of personal renewal. The 7-week seminar usually has a day of presentation each week, followed by days of personal reflection and assimilation. On the fifth week, the participants are prayed over for infilling, and on the 6th week, the presentation is on “growing in Spirit”. Based on the pattern of life of the early Christians that we see in Acts of the Apostles (2:42), the 6th seminar puts forward four essential elements of Christian living: prayer, study, service, and community. For easy understanding and memorization, it is often represented as a Wheel Diagram (to take a look, search for “Life in the Spirit Seminar Wheel Diagram”). So early in our walk on the renewal path, we all learned about a path for Christian growth with the above-mentioned 4 elements.
The early 1980s brought in another wave of deepening in the renewal and we started talking of a set of ingredients of daily living called the ‘Constants’. Fr Gino Henriques became the Chairman of the Charismatic Renewal Services in India, bringing in a youth-friendly approach and a series of teachings well suited for them. The constants in the life of an active Catholic that we discussed in those days included: 1. Ongoing repentance, 2. Daily personal prayer, 3. Regular Sacramental life, 4. Daily time for word, 5. Prayer meeting, 6. Personal pastoring, 7. Regular Inner-healing, 8. Ongoing infilling, and 9. Commitment to Evangelization. This longer list helped people to have a detailed plan for developing well-founded Christian habits in life.
A few years passed, and we were then talking about five essential elements in our Christian Walk. Taking the cue again from Acts 4:42, the list included Prayer, Word, and Fellowship. However, under the breaking of bread, we started mentioning Sacraments and sharing the word or evangelization. Thus, by the 1990s, Jesus Youth had these five ingredients for regular Christian life.
In early 2000, we asked how we missed the emphasis on ‘service’. Finally, it was in 2004 that Jesus Youth leaders decided that a sixth element had to be added, and Option for the Poor was included in the list. A few significant thoughts led to this step. For Jesus, the poor and suffering were very close to his heart, and His heart moved with compassion when he saw them. He taught that when we do something for the poor, we truly do that to the Lord (Mt 25:40). The Church also continually challenges us to be closer to the poor. As a result of all these reflections, a sixth part was added to essential elements of Jesus Youth living.
Faithfulness to the Pillars
If in the late 1970s, we were using the image of a wheel and talking of the need for 4 spokes for a balanced Spirit-filled life, now in Jesus Youth, we talk of strong 6 pillars that should hold up this building of our life with the Lord. Then we used to speak of 4 spokes, but now we talk about 6 pillars. These simple images are beautiful ways of committing to our memory and daily living, which are essential to walking with Jesus and growing into the Lord’s image and stature.
Here, maybe, one thing we shouldn’t forget is that we are talking about forming essential habits in our lives. We have often heard, ‘Habits make the man.’ With many unhealthy habits, people become weak and sickly; by cultivating Gospel-based habits, we grow in holiness and maturity. This set of six pillars we are discussing forms an essential plan to build a life of holiness in every Jesus Youth. An encouraging community, supportive friends, and some guidance systems are foolproof methods to ensure faithfulness to these habits in one’s life.
Then again, focusing on a couple of these and forgetting the rest of the six is dangerous. Some of the broken pillars may threaten the stability of the building, and, in the same way, forgetting some of these elements may give a life without sufficient balance. And finally, our personal growth is linked to a deepening in relation to these pillars. The movement offers several support systems that are committed not only to the six pillars but also to growing deeper in them. Of course, each of these is mutually supportive, and the faithful exercise of one pillar will help deepen the other.
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