RELATIONSHIP OF YOUTHS TO BLESSED VIRGIN MARY

By Rev. Fr. Ferdinand Okafor

One of the problems in the Catholic Church today that requires urgent attention, is the decline in the devotion to Mary among the youths. Mary played an important role in the history of salvation. It is worrisome to observe that the talk about Mary as well as devotion to her is considered boring or irrelevant by the present day youth. Most youths no longer participate in the recitation of the rosary whether in the Church or at home. They see the praying of the rosary as well as the devotion to Mary as the prayer for the aged. This problem bothers the mind of many traditional Catholics and the question that follows is: what is the way out? But before discussing the way out of this problem, we must be certain of those that are concerned in this matter: that is, the youths.
It is difficult to say exactly who the youths are. There are various opinions as regards those that can be regarded as youths. In the Catholic Church, the age is not really defined. The Code of Canon Law only defines those who are minor: that is anybody who has not completed the eighteenth year of age, while anybody that has completed the eighteenth year of age is regarded as major (Can. 97 $ 1). The Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary describes youth as a period of time when someone is young: that is, the stage between childhood and adulthood. Some people regard youth as a boy or girl who is a teenager: that is from the ages of 13 to 19. In all however, youth is a period of physical growth and development from puberty to maturity. It is, the period of adolescence.
The problem with the youths of today is that they like spontaneous prayers that give little or no room for meditation. This is a resultant effect of the kind of society that we are living in. In a society where people prefer noise of all kinds to quietness, this kind of attitude is bound to occur. Most youths today, dread silence. They do not appreciate the value of silence. Little wonder then that most youths are no longer creative and their ability to retain ideas is low too.
The way out of this problem could be to organize a cultural revival among the youths which will focus on forming the youths to imbibe the value of silence and meditation. Youths need to develop love for the Blessed Virgin Mary and learn from her what it means to ponder on the word of God. Mary is a perfect example of true discipleship and a model for all who desire to live a contemplative life. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary has its appropriate point of reference in Christ. It helps us to contemplate the works of Christ in the salvation of mankind and to love him in turn. The Church rightly honours the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. From the most ancient times, the Blessed Virgin has been honoured with the title: Mother of God, to whose protection the faithful fly in all their dangers and needs.
The devotion that is given to the Blessed Virgin Mary differs essentially from the adoration which is given to the incarnate word and equally to the Father and the Holy Spirit (Lumen Gentium, n. 66). In honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary, God is adored and glorified. When we contemplate on the virtues of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we easily call to mind Our Lord Jesus Christ and His salvific work. In promoting devotion of the Blessed Virgin Mary, certain attitudes of piety which are incorrect such as exaggeration of content and form which even falsifies doctrine as well as the small-mindedness which obscures the figure and mission of Mary must be avoided. It is necessary to avoid a one-sided presentation of the figure of Mary, which by overstressing one element compromises the overall picture given by the Gospel. Every unworthy self-interest is to be carefully banned from the area of what is sacred.
Mary is not only an example for the whole Church in the exercise of divine worship, but she is also, clearly, a teacher of the spiritual life for individual Christians. The faithful are to look up to her and imitate her in making their lives an act of worship of God and their worship a commitment of their lives. As St. Ambrose rightly stated, we need to have the spirit of Mary in order to glorify God and proclaim the greatness of the Lord. Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary gives Christians an opportunity to grow in divine grace and motivates them to cultivate theological virtues of faith, hope and love, as well as other virtues that characterized the Blessed Virgin Mary. These virtues include humility, meditation, prayerfulness (cf. Acts 1:12-14); her fortitude in exile (cf. Mt. 2:13-23) and in suffering (cf. Lk. 2:34-35, 49; Jn. 19:25); her poverty reflecting dignity and trust in God (cf. Lk. 1:48, 2:24); her attentive care for her Son, from His humble birth to the ignominy of the cross (cf. Lk.2:1-7; Jn. 19:25-27); her delicate forethought (cf. Jn. 2:1-11); her virginal purity (cf. Mt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38); her strong and chaste married love. These virtues of the Mother will also adorn her children who steadfastly study her example in order to reflect it in their own lives.
It is impossible to honour the Blessed Virgin Mary who is “full of grace” (Lk. 1:28) without thereby cultivating in oneself the state of grace, which is friendship with God, communion with Him and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is this divine grace which takes possession of the whole man and conforms him to the image of the Son of God (cf. Rom. 8:29; Col. 1:18). (n. 57, Marialis Cultus Pope Paul VI).
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin is an aspect of Christian worship (Lk. 1:48). We express our devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary through the celebration of the liturgical feasts dedicated to the Mother of God and Marian prayer, such as the rosary, which is an “epitmo of the whole Gospel”, that expresses this devotion to the Virgin Mary. We therefore need to take these devotions seriously by participating actively in them.