Transmitting the Message of the Gospel to Youth

Abstract

AbstractThe question of transmitting the message of the gospel to youth has no easy answer, and in Taizé we have no simple solution. We do, however, have a lot of experience with welcoming the young. The Taizé community did not welcome young people from the beginning, but starting in the late 1960s, large numbers of young people came both to Taizé and to its meetings organized with local churches in cities around the world. The two vocations of the community, working for Christian unity and welcoming youth, go well together. For it is only when we are reconciled that our missionary message is credible. Transmitting the hope of the gospel is present in all the different moments of life in Taizé, albeit not always explicitly. We invite young people to a life of prayer and service to others. During the simple common prayers, and especially during the time of silence, young people enter almost automatically into a deeper relationship with God; Bible study and sharing helps them to discover scripture and to learn how someone from another culture understands the text. The life shared with others during a week in Taizé helps them to better understand what the church is. We have always taken seriously what young people say; we want to be people who listen rather than spiritual masters. Transmitting faith always starts with listening, for it is in listening rather than in speaking to them that young people discover and start trusting God and his gospel.