2nd VMY General Assembly
Encounter with Advisors
Fr. G. Gregory Gay, C. M.
1. Word of God
“John was also baptizing at Aenon near Salim, where there was plenty of water, and people were going there and were being baptized. For John had not yet been put in prison. Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew about purification, so they went to John and said, “Rabbi, the man who was with you on the far side of the Jordan, the man to whom you bore witness is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him. John replied, “No one can have anything except what is given him from heaven. You yourselves can hear me out. I said, ‘I am not the Christ; I am the one who has been sent to go in front of him.’ It is the bridegroom who has the bride; and yet the bridegroom’s friend who stands there and listens to him, is filled with joy at the bridegroom’s voice. This is the joy I feel and it is complete. He must grow greater and I must grow less.” (Jn 3: 23-30).
2. Commentary
This passage sums up the final testimony of John about Jesus. The text presents to us John the Baptist’s acceptance of the personal consequences of his testimony on Jesus.
The Baptist took this opportunity to make it clear to everyone, once and for all, that he is not the Messiah. Based on the passage quoted here, Jesus had taken up the baptismal activity of John or at least was baptizing at the same time as him. Instead of protesting, John proclaims the need that Jesus has to grow greater and that he has to grow less. This is a beautiful attitude that we advisors must have. Our service must promote the human, Christian, apostolic, Marian and Vincentian growth of VMY.
The testimony of John urges us all to examine our way of giving witness to Jesus and, in a special way, invites the advisors to re-assess the spirit that motivates them in their service to VMY. It is necessary that the young people be empowered in VMY.
The best companion is someone who is capable of promoting the processes of growth and maturity of faith among the young people in VMY. I hope that the model of accompaniment and respect for the growth of others is clear to us. A good advisor does not fear losing companions since he is aware that the young people with whom he/she works with do not belong to him/her, they are not “his/her own.” He/she knows that his/her role is to help the young person grow humanly, spiritually and as a Vincentian. Moreover, he/she is happy to find out that his/her work has attained its objective and has succeeded in “passing on” to young people the love for Jesus Christ in the person of the poor, that he has been able to develop all their potentials, that he has accompanied them so they become authentic leaders of the community, builders of justice and peace.
Dear advisors, I invite you to personally reflect and respond to the following questions: Have I learned to leave the scene at the right time “so that Jesus may grow greater and I grow less?” Do I allow the young person to take his own path, to continue his personal search or do I encourage affective dependencies? Does my style as an advisor promote a healthy empowerment among the members of the VMY?
3. Youth Empowerment in the VMY
It means to open young persons in the VMY to new dimensions and sectors of the life of the Church. It is to instruct them to dialogue with other experiences of the world of young people and of society and make possible their integration to the concrete task of transforming the reality, through their conscious, open and leading participation in the structures of society. I am convinced that youth empowerment is an expression of the spirit of brotherhood that bursts forth from the Gospel, giving man the privilege over structure. It is a constructive link of interpersonal relationships that humanizes and becomes an evangelizing space that brings to reality a new ecclesial and social order.
I understand that “youth empowerment” means putting young people in a preferential position within the development of the activities that are in accordance with their personal interests. Young people come to participate in all the planning and implementation processes of an action by identifying problems, contributing solutions, carrying-out and supporting their own activities and making an evaluation of the results.
4. Creed of the VMY Advisor
1. I believe that each man and woman carries a story within himself/herself, a story to narrate to others… an important one. We are called to know, to value and to love the story of each of the members of the VMY.
2. I believe that each young person, member of the VMY, has a beautiful project of life following Mary’s example. I believe that advisors make of their service to young people a story of salvation, that through your life you narrate to others, your love to God, to the poor and to Mary.
3. I believe in the potential of the VMY in the future. I am convinced that you will help them so they may truly become a living presence of Mary in the world, especially to the poor.
4. I believe in the empowerment of young people in the VMY. Our accompaniment finds meaning in the degree in which we promote their being able to voluntarily take on their commitment and empowerment within the Church and in society. We need young Vincentian leaders!
5. I believe that they are called to holiness. A holiness that is built upon the everyday life; in the simple and happy life; in the life of self-giving and service; in a life built upon the virtues proper to our Marian-Vincentian spirituality. Our holiness develops in the service and evangelization of the poor.
6. I believe that they are evangelizers of other young people… young people who live without complexities or tepidness their Marian Consecration. Be catalysts of an evangelization that responds to the needs of your contemporaries.
7. I believe in the accompaniment that educates, forms, and leads to a personal and personalized encounter with Jesus Christ in the person of the poor and the marginalized. St. Vincent said, “Turn the medal around and you will encounter in the poor the person of Jesus.”
8. I believe that we are all called to make known the page of God’s salvation story to the poor. I believe that we are called to make of our lives a “good news” for the poor and, consequently, for young people. We are called to share the “experience” of God’s salvation that we discover in them.
9. I believe that we have to tell young people and the poor the beautiful story of Jesus Christ, of love, of forgiveness and of hope. It is a story that gives meaning to the life of the poor, of the people. We know that it gives meaning because Jesus is the one who gives meaning to our lives as servants of young people and of the poor.
10. I believe that, as advisors, our service is centered on the poor. We are called to be true companions (educators) of the members of VMY to a living, renovating and happy encounter in the service of the poor.
Fr. G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
VMY Director General
Paris, August 10, 2005
Annex
Prayer of the VMY Advisor
Lord, I am one of those who,
contemplating the hidden youth of your Son,
lives the joy of advising young people,
and dreams of integrating them to the task of building the Kingdom.
I know that the dream of a VMY member is part of your dream of love.
I pray not for myself, rather for them who, in their struggle and search,
seek to intensely live out their consecration in the service of others.
May the members find in me, although they may not realize it,
the bond that I have made in them.
May I be faithful to this bond,
as you were faithful in the ups and downs of the way to your people.
Lord, you are for us an Emmanuel:
grant me the grace to perceive the cry
that comes from the hearts of young people,
and to be a sign of your presence among them.
Teach me to listen, so that I may know how to discern between good and bad.
You who are present in the poor,
help me know how to accompany the youth and discover you in the poor.
As your Son is the Way,
make of me an open, committed and sure way,
that is an image of Jesus of Nazareth.
Grant me a Eucharistic heart, capable of giving without limits:
transform my weaknesses and insecurities.
Lord, may I not flee from the urgent need to become a prophet
and may the wisdom that I discover in your fatherly heart grow in me.
May I know how to live my service as an Advisor
as a true promoter of the empowerment of young people;
an empowerment in the Church and in the world,
that will lead them to a commitment of transformation
of their situation and the situation of the poor.
Shower your blessings, Lord, on all VMY advisors:
that their work may be an option of life and that the young person, may be
a fountain of ministerial and Vincentian renewal for all.
Bless, Lord, the young people that I have already encountered and those whom I will encounter.
As I joyfully serve you, may I never forget the Mother of your Son
and may She, together with John the Baptist, give me the water necessary to motivate the life
that gushes forth from a youthful sincerity.