During his homily this evening, Thathi said something insightful. I'm sure he was hinting at something very practical and concrete rather than saying something for the sake of saying. Talking of youth ministry and Don Bosco's style he highlighted two points. First of all, he said that Don Bosco took the first step towards the boys. He did not sit and wait for the boys to approach him or come to the place where he was. He reached out to them in their own situations. He encountered the boys in their contexts and this encounter was so meaningful that they would then flock to him. However, the fact to be noted: he initiated every encounter.
The second aspect was something that caught my attention. Thathi said, once boys were with him, he trusted them and entrusted them responsibilities. Know not if Don Bosco had a sort of fear if the boys would live up to the demands he was placing on them, but he certainly did share and entrust all that he started to them.
That got me thinking: Are we training our young people to take charge or do we act and behave in such a way that we remain 'in charge' always? If so, then boys will always be boys. No leadership or transformation is possible because we will always treat them as kids and look at ourselves as the sole visionaries and custodians of their well being.
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