Reflections on Jesus Youth (BJRE***)

  The Archbishop Expands on His Description of Jesus Youth (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2024)   Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil has closely known Jesus Youth since its early days. His two famous descriptive comments on JY are well known. Recently, he added two more phrases, making them four descriptions of the Jesus Youth movement.  My thoughts drift back to 1986. The National Charismatic Convention that year took place in Mumbai. A large group from Kerala participated in it. I was in charge of the Malayalam youth stream. While I was speaking to this large youth group in a hall in Bandra, I noticed a priest sitting at the back of the hall, eagerly listening to my talk. After sending the youth into small groups for discussion, I approached the priest. He introduced himself, saying, “I am Bishop Thomas from Dibrugarh.” That marked the beginning of a warm and lasting friendship. When he learned about our youth work in Kerala, he expressed a desire...

If a Jesus Youth were to lose that distinct flavor! (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2024)   We were discussing leadership. “Our parish has two dozen family groups. Years ago, when we started, there was much excitement, and many things were happening. But now it is different. Most of the leaders seem disengaged. When a common meeting is held, most of them are absent.” A priest spoke up next. “You are referring to parish leaders, but our Bishop often discusses his struggle to get the priests to cooperate with the Diocesan plans.”  The Jesus Youth coordinator shared a similar story: “We make plans together, but the execution rests on my shoulders. Another significant challenge is getting responses to my emails. Additionally, it has become increasingly difficult to recruit people for coordinating teams these days.” The grumbling about today’s Christian leadership persisted. Sitting among them, my thoughts wandered to the Biblical account of Moses complaini...

  Preparing young people for family life (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2024)   Sometimes, imaginative stories vividly bring to life the times of Jesus and his experiences.  Many years ago, after watching the film Ben-Hur, I became fascinated with fictional narratives set in Biblical times. I acquired some Bible-themed historical novels and began reading them. One interesting scene still lingers in my mind. St. Peter was part of a growing Christian community in Rome, where he closely interacted with the romantic lives of various individuals. Among them were a young man and woman who developed a strong connection with Peter and with each other. He gently arranged opportunities for them to meet alone, nurturing their budding romance. Finally, one day, after a long walk, they returned to share with him that they were committing to each other for life and planning to get married. Upon hearing this, the old apostle was ecstatic and praised God for His...

Listening to young people is both an art and a mission (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2023)   “But you aren’t listening to me!” my daughter protested loudly. Her exam results had arrived, and she had performed poorly in one subject. At home, we were reviewing her progress report when I asked for details. My wife then began discussing the complaints from the class teacher. The entire scene was quite tumultuous. As my daughter exclaimed, I realized we were heading in the wrong direction. I told myself, “This will not lead us anywhere. We need to slow down.” We calmed down and started truly listening. We often hear, “Listen to your elders.” This creates a fixed idea of who should speak and who should listen. Parents and teachers talk while children pay attention and follow instructions. Priests and leaders speak, and the faithful listen. But should it always be this way? What if we reversed the roles and parents listened to their children, teachers to their s...

Mothers, not managers, build community, and not in classrooms (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2023)   My forty-odd years of teaching have taught me some important lessons. One of them is that the classroom is the biggest hurdle to learning. In the classroom, students freeze. They are not only dull, but this is where kids learn to wear masks and pretend to be someone else. However, unfortunately, we have classrooms everywhere where a teacher stands at the front while students sit facing them. I gradually learned that these environments do not benefit children. Over time, I worked to dismantle these barriers and transform the setting and tone of my teaching sessions. But what is that meant for JY? When we first began developing our youth groups, a question arose: What title should we use for those in leadership? Previously, I was involved in another youth group where we referred to our key leaders as President or Leader. In 1978, when I took on the responsibi...

  What is Jesus Youth Mission? Building witnessing communities (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2023)   These days, I regularly attend two weekly prayer groups. The Wednesday group is my old one, which now meets online. It goes very well.  The local group gathers on Sunday afternoons, but its attendance is not very consistent. Occasionally, they cancel the meeting because other commitments arise, and they often choose to skip it for study sessions or outside events. Participation in a community is a habit, and a good habit must be carefully nurtured. However, many people gradually disconnect from Jesus Youth as the group becomes inconsistent. Perhaps this was what the writer of the book of Hebrews observed: “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (10:24,25) Even in the early Church...

For Jesus Youth, the Eucharist is very special.   Eucharist is the heart of Jesus Youth life, community, and mission. (By Dr. Edward Edezhath. Published in Kairos Magazine in 2023)   Our youth outreach begins like this: Someone from a parish might call, saying, “We want to organize a one-day gathering for youth. This will be a mixed group.” The main challenge with youth such programs is that each group is different, which makes the program unique. In advance, I would gather a handful of active Jesus Youth to plan the day together. However, I know these events will have an underlying dynamic and progression, regardless of all our plans.  What are the essential elements? First, we connect with youth; then, we build friendships, help them reflect on life, guide them to Jesus in the Eucharist, and challenge them toward fruitfulness. The key to all this is the Eucharistic moments, with everything else leading to and flowing from them. In evaluations of these programs, I o...