Backdrop to my musings

One day last week I was involved in a conversation with my two oldest sons which forms a backdrop for my thinking this morning. #85 returned home from a Youth Ministry retreat he had worked on for a neighboring parish.  He has been assisting there, off and on, for about 4 years.  He brings a deep understanding of his relationship with God to his work there.  He also brings his whole person - which (imho) is a reasonably well developed and rounded person. He has interests outside of church which he brings to bear in his relationships with the YM.  Music, trends in fashion, urban planning, sports, etc.  He is embarrassed and intrigued by the frequent adulation he encounters from both the kids and the parents there.  He and #83 were talking about how frequently the life of faith (as presented to kids anyway) seems to preclude interests outside of church, that "that" is the impression many young people have and they instinctively and/or eventually reject.  The point of their exchange was a rejection of that approach, an embrace of "incarnational" life and the pursuit of INTERESTS - which make one a more interesting person and are actually a fulfillment of what God has planted in us.  #83 remarked that anything else is a form of dualism - and inadequate. His experience reading Giussani and Caron, his conversations with Communion and Liberation SOC support the approach of looking for Christ in what fascinates, attracts, interests him.  So often what we are caught up in is a critique of the culture we live in - and there is certainly plenty to critique.  But what we really need to OFFER the culture is a positive alternative - not just a challenge - maybe not even a challenge in many cases - but an invitation to pursue the deepest longings of the human heart and find a life that is more than we ever imagined - through Christ.