Youth pastoral care, Benedicite 2/2003

In the many mailings and letters of request, young people of this congregation openly signalled their life needs to me. Many described their problems with symptoms such as bed-wetting, fingernail biting, skin problems, thumb-sucking, loss of appetite, obesity, anorexia, problems falling and staying asleep, nightmares and even life-weariness.
At the age of 7-12 years, the vocabulary is often not sufficient to explain complex problems in an understandable way, so they explain their problem with symptoms, which allow the awake educator a plausible explanation.
All these symptoms are caused by conscious or unconscious fear. Unconscious fears, which are hidden deep in the soul, often have their causes in previous lives or are a consequence of traumatic experiences in early childhood.
These fears should not occupy us. We don't want to fathom them through returns to previous lives, because this could awaken even more incriminating conscious fears. We pray: Heavenly Father, I ask You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ to deliver me from all unhappy entanglements of this and past lives. You know the depths of my soul and can free it from all guilt and sin.
We want to openly confess our conscious fears that cloud our soul-spiritual powers and hinder us in our perfection.

1. Fear of failure/jitters
You have often experienced the destructive power of the fear of failure. It is the voice of the seducer who does not want you to succeed. Although you have prepared yourself well and conscientiously for a test, this paralyzing uncertainty arises at the last minute with the thought: «You won't make it again. It will be just like the last test where you failed out of fear and panic».
You can overcome this fear, known as stage fright, by trusting your guardian angels. They will gladly give you courage and self-confidence at your request.

Pray:
«Lord, my God. You have given me talents, that I may use these gifts of grace for your glory and for the joy of my fellow men. Give me confidence in the power of my guardian angels. With their help I can successfully pass all tests.»

If you are afraid of certain situations, then you must learn to face such situations without fear, even by seeking them out and practicing them for your strengthening. If you fail in the audition on your instrument, you should, whenever you can, audition to people. Every time you have worked on a piece of music, say to your parents or siblings, «Come and hear me play something for you».
We want to learn to recognize all our fears and look them in the eye without fear. In the moment when you feel your negative thoughts, you should speak aloud with all your energy: Get away from me, you murky shadows! I am a child of light.

2. Fear of the future
When in 1963 the danger of a world war was looming because of the Cuban crisis, I was 21 years old, stood in front of a class for the first time as a junior teacher, was in love and looked forward to a happy future. Great fear broke out among the people. Everyone asked themselves: What will the future bring? Will we survive this war?
Humanity is experiencing the same thing these days. A terrible act of terrorism has shocked and traumatized the world. More acts of terror are announced and every day the world must expect an even more terrible act of brutality.
Now, especially the youth, who had been well off for a long time, is gripped by fear of the future. (We are experiencing the longest time of peace in our country). In this feeling of fear and insecurity I see the main reason for the increasing aggressions and acts of vandalism, for the ever increasing dangers of addiction and for mental illness.
We are insiders and we know that the tribulations must come over this earth with violence to purify it. We are actually well prepared through all the many prophetic revelations and need not be afraid at all, as we believe to be guided and protected in all troubles.

Therefore we may pray:
«Lord, my God, I ask You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ to guide and protect me through all fears. Never let me despair as Your child. Let me always believe in Your love, which is always with me and keeps me healthy and strong».

3. Fear for the loss of a loved one
In some letters, young people signalled to me their fear of separation from their parents and siblings, be it through divorce or death. One boy told me that the mere thought of the death of his parents made him so sad that in this case he would not want to live anymore. A girl wrote to me that if she knew that she would be reunited with the whole family after dying, the short separation would not be so sad.
Even the strongest belief in eternal life and the strongest certainty of seeing each other again cannot and must not prevent the grief of losing a loved one. Jesus Christ said: Mourn with those who mourn. But we should also rejoice with the deceased, for they have laid down their cumbersome bodies and are in the light.
We may know as insiders that this expected life in light is more beautiful and more perfect than here on earth and that we may then belong to a larger, holy family in which in heavenly harmony and in blissful rapture all are truly one. We will recognize all our loved ones in a different dress with great joy.

We pray:
«Lord, my God! I thank You with all my heart for my parents and brothers and sisters. Let us be gathered together with You one day to praise and honour You with the whole universal Holy Family for all eternity.»

4. Mental illness of young people
Young people among us speak of self-hatred because of their figure, because of their failures and hardships. In addition, like the children of the world, they suffer from addictions just as if they were ignorant.
Have we priests and parents failed? Did we realize too late that generational and developmental problems, which naturally always existed and will continue to exist, which can hit insiders twice, who merely heard the message and did not live it?
Were we mistaken in the opinion that we did not have to do anything, that the angels of God were to protect us? God can send His angels only where the good news is lived and sincere conversation is conducted. Young people need attention in their time of development, i.e. an open ear for their problems, understanding, happy and playful pastime, but also orderly daily routines, as well as strict rules, which are observed with loving severity.
Jesus Christ said: «The sick need a doctor». This is to tell the parents and us as God's instruments that the young people who are ill for any reason need our special attention.

Reasons for the mental illness of our youth:

A) An unprecedented breakdown of values in our society
The gaping gulf between the state of the zeitgeist and the message heard is growing ever wider. A young person educated in a Christian community will find it very difficult to truly believe in basic Christian truths while living in an environment without faith.
Admittedly, if this is true for us adults, how hard can this contrast between faith and everyday reality be for young people? (Doubts create diseases.)

We pray:
«Lord, my God, I ask You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ, give me words of wisdom and love that I may illuminate the dark world with my light. In Your goodness, give me the strength every day anew that I may not be broken by the contrasts of this time, but that I may dissolve them in the blessing of God and that Your kingdom on earth may come to all souls.»

B) Secularization of the schools
Our youth educated in Dozwil are particularly affected, because their differences challenge weak teachers and classmates to provocations in various ways. We know that, according to Scripture, the world must hate us because we are not from this world.
Joh. 15/19: «As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.»
Therefore we should be able to respond to challenges in a calm manner, in love and decency. (See "Answers to provocative questions")

We pray:
«Lord, my God, I beseech You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ. Grant me the power of love and mercy, that I may offer the cold, anger and hatred of men as a sacrifice to You until all souls feel Your almighty love and bow to Your rule.»

C) Lack of conversation about terrible events
We are often given revelations of apocalyptic content, which can arouse fears if there are no follow-up discussions in the family. If even adults do not always understand the mystical language from heaven, how hard do children and young people find it to understand the true meaning?
One boy described to me his fear of another terrorist act. He has not yet digested this terrible event and suffers from anxiety attacks. This should make us understand that the collapses of the skyscrapers of the World Trade Center, which were shown 100 times on television, caused permanent damage in many children's souls.
Following the revelations that followed, I urged parents to talk to their children about these acts of terrorism. Did this happen everywhere? If not, such parents would have to make up for it.

We pray:
«Lord, my God, I ask You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ. Protect me in the horrors of this time. Let me see them as signs of repentance. Let the victims of crime be a blessing to us through our repentance and give them Your love.»

D) The missing conversation about strict revelations
I expect difficult sentences from revelations to be calmly explained by the parents. I recall the sermon in which I brought the biblical event of the collapsed tower into the present and said: The people of the World Trade Center were not buried under the rubble because they sinned in a special way. They died because of us, that we repent and do penance, otherwise we would have to wait for even worse. I am not allowed to not read certain passages  from the revelations because of the children, since I can expect the necessary follow-up talks in the family.

We pray:
«Lord, my God, I ask You in the name of Your Son Jesus Christ. Give us the grace of a strong and enduring soul that it may stand in the turmoil of this time. Give the families strength and wisdom to understand in Your Spirit Your words given to us out of love.»

E) Fear of possible exclusion and exposure
As convinced Christians, we may allow ourselves to be mocked and excluded for our Saviour, because He did it for us too. (See "Answers to provocative questions")
If there is a blemish on your body, if you think you are too fat or too thin, too small or too big, too stiff or not clever enough, then you should speak daily:
My soul is healthy and strong, for I know that I am a child of God. He has created me in His image and likeness and that makes me happy and content. I can always bless and pray for all my well-formed fellow men, because they are exposed to greater mental dangers in their beautiful bodies, through their pride in being more valuable.

We pray:
«Lord, my God, I ask You in the name of Your Son. Give me of Your strength that I let myself be mocked. Give me of Your love that I may forgive the mockers. Give me of Thy patience to endure the mockery and hatred of my adversaries and to show them my love until they too praise and honour Thee and their soul has received the beauty of the heavenly splendour.»

Sexual abuse of young people
Every day we hear about heinous attacks on children of all ages. These are the most horrible crimes, to which people are incited by the darkest beings. They are lust killers in the true sense of the word, for they kill children's souls in the most horrible greed, burdening them throughout their lives and suffocating the divine spark in them. They are abusers and plunderers of God's creation and deserve the strictest judgment, in which all their victims will be present as accusers.
In the last weeks we learned about the high number of Swiss men who regularly consumed child pornography over the Internet, getting horny by doing so and often became abusers, fuelled by the images. We ask ourselves: Why could it come to this? Who in this society failed so that this greatest Holocaust ever of this kind could break out against the weakest and most defenceless creatures? This was possible because a large part of humanity today has separated from God. His commandments have been replaced by the commandments of Lucifer, who allowed all those to have his right to lust at any time, with all people and in any way they wished. Do it! Do it! He proclaimed to them through his instruments and offered them boundless freedom, because they paid homage to him.
In this new chapter of youth pastoral care, I would like to inform all young people about these vicious attacks and give them important rules of conduct so that they do not become victims of such misdeeds.

What is sexual abuse?
Sexual abuse occurs when an adult (or adolescent) uses his or her position of power as a father, uncle, grandfather, teacher, priest, etc. to abuse the trust of children in his or her physical and mental superiority to satisfy his or her sexual needs.

A woman or a man might try to:

• touch or kiss you for sexual arousal (for girls, on the vagina, bottom or breast; for boys, on the bottom or penis),
• be touched by you on the genitals,
• force or persuade you to look at him or her naked or to watch sexual acts

I should also urge all girls not to wear provocative dresses (necklines too low, belly button free dresses, pants too tight, skirts too short). By dressing decently, they reduce the risk of sexual assault.
Research has shown that sexual abuse takes place mainly in the family. Children of all ages are affected, including infants and toddlers.

What can young Christians do for prevention?
They say full of faith and conviction:

• I am under the protection of God and am able to stand up to my seducers everywhere and at all times as a courageous and confident Christian.
• Whoever wants to assault me sexually, let him hear: As a child of God I am obliged to keep my body pure. If you already intend to dishonour me, it will be credited to you as a sin. No one is entitled to touch me to his satisfaction. My soul shall remain the temple of God.
• I will quickly sue anyone who dares to hurt my personality through his sexual lust, even if he should threaten me.
• Nobody has the right to touch me in an indecent way.
• There are good and bad secrets, those that are fun and those that cause stomach ache. The bad secrets I want to pass on, even though I have promised not to tell anyone.
• Some touches don't fit me and are strange, without me being able to tell the reason. Hugs that are too long and too tight make me suspect that this person wants to exploit me sexually.
• It can be an older confidant or even a relative who touches me in a way that is not

What can parents do when they learn about sexual abuse of their children?

• Strengthen the child's courage and self-confidence through prayer, attention and compassion that he or she will say everything that moves their soul. After an assault, the child is full of fear and insecurity. Often, he or she speaks only in code about their experiences.
• Take away all remorse and self-reproach. Open his heart and you will loosen his tongue. What it utters can be processed more easily.
• Discuss all further steps with the child (consultation hours, behaviour towards the offender, possibly file a complaint). Avoid, however, that the perpetrator learns about it before the child's protection is guaranteed.
• If the perpetrator is a close relative, it should be noted that such a person expects not to be sued, otherwise the whole family will be affected. This would be blackmailing and must not be allowed to happen, as such offences are particularly serious. He has the duty to atone for this great guilt before the earthly and heavenly judge.
• Seek advice directly from a person of trust.

Admonitions to the perpetrators
In respect of the commandment of love, I may never force my entrusted neighbour to fornicate in any form. If I sexually abuse children entrusted to me, I kill their souls.
If I have ever harmed a person in such a way, I voluntarily surrender to the earthly judge and declare myself ready to atone for this offence according to the law. Afterwards I can confess my guilt before the heavenly judge in a thorough and honest confession. In a resolution that I make daily, I intend to atone for this sin with much sacrifice and love.

Matthew

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