Young People, Church, Spirituality & becoming Leaders

January 14, 2022

Contributed by: Dr Ann Marie Mealey, Commission member

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Laudato Si’ talks about the ‘cult of celebrity’ which dominates much of the lives of our young people today. The journey into faith and Christian spirituality, however, is much more engaged and involved than all of this.

Dr Mealey is currently Associate Dean (Teaching Enhancement) at Global Banking School

This is an extended paper about this topic. Here is a short extract:

In my view, to bring young people back into the Church more fully, we need to remember the riches of the spiritual life. Most young people that I meet tell me with great pride that they are ‘spiritual but not religious’. In most cases, I think this is their way of saying that they wish to stay connected with the more poetic side of the search for wholeness and fulfilment without having to deal with the perhaps heavier questions of dogma, morality or the study of the scriptures for instance. We are often happy to leave that task to the few theologians who are left in the country today as ‘that is for them to sort out’, not me!’

However, within this perspective, I feel there is nevertheless still a profound paradox. How can we ever know that our spirituality is healthy and truly life-giving if it is not tried and tested in relation to moral expectations, how we treat other people and the virtues we hold? Is it not rather selfish to focus merely on what we want to take as nourishment for our own well-being alone without any consideration of the impact that might have on others? How can we really say we are happy if we ignore that cry of the poor, or the call from a friend who is in need, or a colleague who is feeling worthless, or a loved one who has just had a breakdown?

Is having our candles lighting for ourselves and engaging in holistic spiritual practices that aim at healing oneself and transforming how we see ourselves enough when others also need our help? This is where morality meets spirituality and the conversation begins in my view. Being a friend of God does mean that we are ‘gold’ and that when we pray we are receiving comfort and healing but this affair is not just private because God has other friends too. And why would we want to take from them when what God has given us is unique to us?