"I admit I was a little skeptical some years ago about whether it was a flash in the pan, and how do you carry it forth with some energy," Archbishop Joseph W. Tobin said. But studies have shown that a significant portion of young men and women entering religious life cite the international event as an experience that contributed to their vocations.
The key thing, he said, is that there is follow-up and support after World Youth Day is over.
[. . .]
In the Gospel of St. John, "Jesus doesn't try to make a hard sell. He appeals to what motivates people: 'What are you looking for?' And then: 'If you think you can find it with me, come and have a look.' So the hook comes at the end," when Jesus says, "Follow me."
When a young person asks a religious community what it's about, "it's a mistake to say, 'I don't know, what do you want to be about?' Any young person with any sense will say, 'Sayonara, I don't have to associate myself with you to be what I want to be about. I want to see if the gift you claim to be to the church speaks to my heart,'" he said.
Young people don't want the religious "to lower the bar, to soft-pedal the demands of the Gospel," Archbishop Tobin said.
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| Photo: Tom Tracy/Catholic News Agency; World Youth Day pilgrims begin gathering in Madrid's Plaza del Sol, Aug. 12, 2011 |
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