Category: Apostolate

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Act to end the great scandal

Concerning the role of the YCW in the world, Fr Joseph Cardijn stated in 1945: “Our task is to put an end to the great scandal of the nineteenth century – the loss of the masses by the Church.” Why did the Church lose  “the masses”? The Industrial Revolution brought with it the introduction of the factory system. The guild system collapsed and people moved from the countryside to the cities. All the masses had to sell was their labour; they became easy victims of exploitation, which Pope Leo XIII described as “a yoke little better than that of slavery itself.” in his encyclical Rerum Novarum (1891, n.3).

The Industrial Revolution was accompanied by developments in philosophy and science, most with little acknowledgement of debt to religion, particularly Catholicism. In 1950, Fr Joseph Cardijn made the following observations in his explanation of the truth of experience:

– the powerlessness of the young worker in the face of the system which rules the economic life and even the thought of the modem world: capitalism, “liberal economics”.

– the irresistible influence of the great ideological talents which are at present moving the masses; materialism, naturalism, existentialism, nationalism, communism, etc.

Standing against the truth of experience is the truth of faith, which Cardijn had described in 1945 in the following way: “Young workers must always be faced with the great truth of the eternal destiny of the mass of young workers.” He presented the YCW with a vision of its members as apostles and missionaries who modelled their lives on Jesus. In his talk in 1950, he stated: “It gives to each young worker a vocation, a personal mission, which transforms his life into a collaboration with God, with all men, for the achievement of the divine plan in the work of creation and redemption.”

Cardijn’s theology finds a reference in the Gospel reading for today’s Mass,  Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent (John 4:43-54). The Gospel story presents a man (a royal official) who is powerless to prevent his son from dying. He appeals to Jesus to come and save him. Jesus tells him his son will live and the man believes him. In teaching the leaders in the YCW about the truth of faith, Cardijn was urging them to have faith in Christ, just as the royal official in the Gospel story. Their faith in Jesus will contribute to the transformation

Mahatma Gandhi has been credited with saying that if we want to change the world, we first must change ourselves. So acknowledging the Word of God in the way St John does in the beginning of his Gospel, must start with ourselves. What are some ways of doing this, of being a disciple of Jesus who promotes the place of the Master in people’s daily lives? 

The starting point has to be with ourselves. A simple action would be reading from the Gospels each day. To read the scriptures prayerfully is an act of worship. Pope Francis has stated that worship of God is the first action of every apostle and we are called to be apostles. The action that follows from this is an act of love for those who form the community to which we belong. How might social media be used to share the fruits of our worship of God? How might we place ourselves in the service of others because of our love for God?

Author 

Pat Branson

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Pope Leo XIII (1891), Rerum Novarum.

A YCW of the masses to the scale of the world September, 1945 

The YCW: its doctrinal foundation and essential characteristics – a talk given by Fr Joseph Cardijn at the JOC International Congress in 1950

Readings for Monday of the Fourth Week of Lent 

What does it mean to be an apostle? Pope Francis: General Audience, St Peter’s Square, Wednesday, 15 March, 2023: 

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Transforming the Australian milieu – a culturally diverse and ageing population

In the “Three touchstones of the genuine YCW,” Fr. Joseph Cardijn stated that:

The real YCW (Young Christian Workers) can be recognised by three inseparable objectives or three touchstones, which allow it to be distinguished from any fake or caricature.

  1. 1. The YCW aims to transform the mass of working youth.
  2. 2. The YCW aims to re-Christianise the real life of working-class youth.
  3. 3. The YCW aims to reclaim the milieu or environment in which the mass of young workers work and live.

SEE

What does the Australian milieu look like today?

How do we engage it? Is it in need of transformation?

If it is, how would we do it?

  • Australia and Australian Christians are ageing.  
  • Australia is undergoing a significant generational shift.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics
  • 1 in 6 Australians are aged 65 and over (16%)
  • Around half (53%) of Australians over 65 are women
Source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
  • Australia continues to be culturally and linguistically diverse
Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

NOTE: The image includes a map of the world with the top five countries of birth with the growth of >20,000 persons and growth of >16 per cent between 2016 and 2021. Nepal 124 per cent, India 48 per cent, Pakistan 45 per cent, Iraq 38 per cent, Philippines 26 per cent.  

JUDGE

Applying the three touchstones of the YCW, what should I (or together with my friends) do today to engage and, if needed, transform the milieu?

ACT

What must my friends and I do to engage older Australians, both Christians and non-Christians? 

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Declining members in Christian organisations in Australia

If Christianity was a football club (say the Australian Christian Football Club – ACFC), and membership was the most critical indicator of the club’s viability, how would the ACFC fare?

Who is responsible for ensuring that the club continues to attract members?

Religious Affiliation in Australia, 1971 – 2021

Waves of migration have shaped Australia’s religious profile. Over the years, the growth of Christianity in Australia was a function of migration. One can conclude that domestic evangelisation in Australia was never a strong suit. The ability of the ACFC to retain existing members, and attract new ones domestically, has never been strong.

Christian affiliation by generation, 2021

As the number of Christians declined in the newer waves of migration, the inability to retain existing Christians, and attract new ones in Australia, has resulted in millennials having the highest proportion of No religion (46.5%) and Other religions (14.9 %).

Decline in Christian affiliation

The number of people affiliated with Christianity in Australia decreased from 12.2 million (52.1%) in 2016 to 11.1 million (43.9%) in 2021. This decrease occurred across most ages, with the most significant reduction for young adults (18 -25 years).

SEE

We ask ourselves, as Catholics in Australia, how is it that:

  • A club with over 3,000 organisations employing more than 220 000 people (in 2016) throughout Australia?
  • A club with over 1,759 Catholic schools reaching 793,897 young people throughout Australia?
  • A club with over 11,400 branches (local parishes) throughout Australia?
  • A club with an estimated national wealth of $30 billion (in 2018)?

is struggling to retain existing members, let alone find new ones?

JUDGE

Why is this club struggling?

  • Is it the brand?
  • Is it the strategy?
  • Is it the leaders?
  • Is it the existing members themselves?
  • Is it something else?

ACT

What can we, the members, do to stop and reverse this decline?

Author: Greg Lopez

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

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The sort of fast that pleases me

Feed the poor. Image created by DALL.E

Today’s First Reading (Isaiah 58:1-9) calls for true repentance. It talks about the uselessness of repentance while maintaining social injustice and oppression.

This is harsh. I believe our Heavenly Father will accept all our efforts to do penance.

Nevertheless, I agree with the First Reading for today that if I contribute to social injustice and oppression through commission or omission, my penance is perhaps ultimately meaningless.

My penance must go beyond the personal to the external, beyond the family and kin, to the stranger.

SEE

Yesterday we reflected on the decline of volunteerism in Australia over the past decade.

Volunteering is time willingly given for the common good and without financial gain.

[Volunteering Australia Project: The Review of the Definition of Volunteering]

There are also Carers. Carers are people who provide unpaid care and support to family members and friends who have a disability, mental illness, chronic condition, terminal illness, and alcohol or other drug issues or who are frail aged.

There is an increasing number of people in Australia who need care. They could be family members, kin or strangers. They all need our care.

Volunteers and carers are people who give selflessly. Carers give to family, kin and friends, and volunteers give to strangers.

Both are equally important.  

JUDGE

Today’s First Reading lists activities we can volunteer and care for:

  • Stop oppressing my fellow workers.
  • Break unjust fetters.
  • Undo the thongs of the yoke.
  • Break every yoke.
  • Share my bread with the hungry.
  • Shelter the homeless and poor.
  • Cloth the man I see naked.
  • Not turn from my kin.

ACT

What can I volunteer or care for today?

Image source: Created by DALL.E

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Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it!

Christ is washing the feet of a migrant. Image generated by DALL.E

Today’s Gospel is a big ask, especially if one does not have community spirit and/or a preferential option for the poor.  

Then to all he said:

If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?

(Luke 9:22-25)

Cardijn said the same.

Religion should not be outside of ordinary, daily life, but rather it should animate and transform it into a truly divine life.

(Joseph Cardijn, – La Croix, 13/06/1938)

It is important to note that Cardijn meant that a ‘truly divine life‘ integrates the interior and exterior.

This Lent, an important area where we can “lose our life for Jesus’ sake” and where religion can “animate and transform our daily life into a truly divine life” is in the area of volunteerism, if this is something we are not doing or not doing enough.

SEE

Volunteering contributes fundamentally to the functioning of society. Families, communities, and not-for-profit organisations rely on unpaid labour for essential and productive resources. However, volunteers are declining. A research paper by Rong Zhu (2022), “The Decline of Formal Volunteering in Australia (2001 – 2020): Insights from HILDA Survey“, highlights the following:

  • Volunteering participation in Australia generally declined from 2001 to 2020, corroborating analysis of data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics General Social Survey by Volunteering Australia.
  • These declines in participation were most noticeable among Australians aged 45–60, women, and those without a university degree.
  • However, volunteer hours of unpaid work per week were either stable or increasing, with some fluctuations across the sample or sub-samples.
  • Quantitative evidence also suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the provision of volunteer work in Australia.

Are the highlights above similar to my/our experience?

Do I/we volunteer?

Can I/we volunteer?

How can I/we volunteer?

Where can I/we volunteer?

JUDGE

Based on Jesus call today “to lose our lives for His sake” and Cardijn’s call that our faith “should not be outside our lives, but rather that it should animate and transform it“, what can I/we do about volunteerism in my/our life/lives?

ACT

Will I/we do something concrete about volunteering today?

NOTE: DALL.E is a new AI system than can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.

Greg Lopez

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“Bear much fruit and … be my disciples.”

I was sitting on the train, waiting to leave the station on the journey home. I noticed an advertising panel on the other side of the carriage. The poster highlighted the service to people with disabilities who travelled on the trains. The image spoke to me of kindness, generosity and encouragement. And I remembered an incident on the train in the recent past, when a passenger alerted the train guards of a medical incident in the carriage. We hadn’t yet left the station. Three guards came and cleaned up the mess. They spent time with the man who had been sick. They accompanied him for the next two stations and were replaced by other guards. And the man who reported his medical incident stayed with him, too, until he had to leave the train. 

There are so many stories about Good Samaritans in our society and of groups and organisations committed to help the needy, so why do our governments pass laws to allow for abortion and euthanasia? Which narratives do they use and which values do they promote to shape our culture? What sort of mind does it take to seek to help the needy and then support people to deny the unborn the right to live and the terminally ill to end their lives at a time of their choosing?

The Christian ethic is pro-life and is founded on the belief that all people are created in God’s image. Fr Joseph Cardijn delivered the 1949 Godinne lecture series. In his third lecture, titled “The Mystery of Vocation,” he said: “We must bear witness to Christ, not by words only, not by some deeds only, but by the whole of our life. by our generosity and charity in all the acts of our life. As was said above, all the acts of our daily life are completely changed once they have become apostolic acts. We bear witness to Christ in all the actions of the day, witness to His charity and generosity, to His desire to save people.” Cardijn emphasises the totality of the Christian’s commitment to Christ. 

Today is the feast of St Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, who lived in the eleventh century. A humble man, he shared what he had with the poor. He lived a life of penance and prayer. Like Cardijn, he believed that God gifts people with their vocation to live apostolic lives, bearing witness to the love of Christ for all people. In the Gospel reading for Mass in St Peter Damian’s memory, Jesus tells us, “I am the vine, you are the branches” (John 15:1-8). Those who seek to be in union with him will bear fruit. 

If Jesus’ image of the vine and branches was the dominant narrative of our culture, then our focus as a nation would be the good of all not only now but also in the future. Cardijn emphasises actions that are generous and charitable, that is, actions that reflect the love of God for all of creation. These are actions that unite rather than divide, such as the actions of that Good Samaritan on the train, who, like his model in Jesus’ parable, stayed with the sick man until it was time to move on. And St Peter Damian reminds us that such charitable deeds need to come from a life lived in God’s presence, that is, a life of prayer. As Jesus tells us, “It is to the glory of my Father that you should bear much fruit, and then you will be my disciples” (John 15:8).  

Author 

Pat Branson

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The young person faces life – the 1949 Godinne lecture series delivered by Fr Joseph Cardijn 

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Léon Ollé-Laprune: Philosopher of the see-judge-act

In a note dated 1955, Cardijn made a list of the key reading he had done at various stages of his life.

Among the authors he read between 1902 and 1904 when he was aged 18-20 studying philosophy and theology at the Malines major seminary, he cites the French philosopher, Léon Ollé-Laprune (1839-1898), a promoter of the lay apostolate and disciple of Society of St Vincent de Paul founder, Frédéric Ozanam.

And today marks the 125th anniversary of Ollé-Laprune’s premature death at the age of 58 on 13 February 1898.

But why was Cardijn interested in his writings and what did he learn?

One answer, perhaps, lies in Ollé-Laprune’s deep influence on the development of Marc Sangnier’s democratic lay movement, Le Sillon (The Furrow), which also had such a great influence on Cardijn.

“He understood our plans almost as soon as we did, and approved them from the beginning,” wrote the Sillon leader and seminarian, Albert Lamy in an obituary for Ollé-Laprune. “One of his books provided us with our motto, his friendship stayed with us constantly.”

That motto, borrowed by Ollé-Laprune from Plato, was “il faut aller au vrai avec toute son âme” – “we have to seek the truth with our whole soul.”

Lamy explained this with a quote from Ollé-Laprune’s most famous book, Le Prix de la vie, which translates into English as either “The price or the prize of life,” a double meaning that expresses both the cost and value of a fully-lived life:

I will philosophise with my whole self, in an atmosphere completely impregnated with Christianity. I philosophise as a thinking man, a living man, a complete man, and a Christian.

In other words, no division between faith and life, a fully lived Christianity that closely resembles Cardijn’s understanding and even foreshadows Pope Francis’ key concept of “integral human development.” (Laudato Si’)

But how to achieve this integral human and Christian development?

Ollé-Laprune also provided an answer to this in a talk entitled La virilité intellectuelle that he presented to students in Lyon in 1896:

Gentlemen, it remains for us to consider what our era demands of us in particular, and what a young man who thinks like a man needs to do at the present time.

In order to think in a virile manner, I believe we need to possess three qualities: we must be able to see clearly, we must be able to judge, and we must be able to decide.

As Ollé-Laprune also recognised, this was a challenge:

To see clearly is not easy; to judge, that is to say, as Bossuet said, “to pronounce within oneself with respect to what is true and what is false,” is perhaps even more difficult; to decide, it seems, is the most difficult thing in the world for some people: even when the premises are there, which call, which claim, which impose a conclusion, they cannot decide or conclude.

But, Gentlemen, one must know how to dare what so many men do not have the courage to do: to see clearly, to judge and to conclude.

And by conclude or decide he meant taking action. To quote Albert Lamy again:

His latest books never end without immediately practical considerations and advice as well as encouragement to continual, daily action.

As we can see then, Ollé-Laprune was foreshadowing the see-judge-act that Cardijn himself would soon make famous and that Pope Francis would also adopt as a way of achieving integral human and Christian development.

It’s also why I believe that Léon Ollé-Laprune can also be justly called “the philosopher of the see-judge-act.”

Author

Stefan Gigacz

References

Léon Ollé-Laprune (www.olle-laprune.net /Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Stefan Gigacz, Léon Ollé-Laprune, Philosopher and Lay Apostle

Joseph Cardijn, My reading (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)

Le Sillon (Joseph Cardijn Digital Library)