The Catholic attitude regarding moral guidance of youth

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Part of The Carolinian

Title: The Catholic attitude regarding moral guidance of youth
Creator: Wrocklage, Bernard
Language: English
Year: 1952
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Fulltext: 7N OUR present survey covering moral guidance of our youth, we shall not touch upon the so-called "problem boy," but upon the lad who faces a serious problem, not the character almost permanent ly warped through an unfortunate background, but rather the average run of youth who must safeguard his own morals. The problem con fronting his deals with the shaping of his own personal program of life, one which will guarantee the fulfill ment of his own individual destiny. Such a calling consists in his own dedication and attachment to a per sonal ideal to which all his interests and energies are related. This inner adhesion of himself to such an ideal THE AUTHOR is far more intimate than the voca tion of life, let us say, to the clerical or lay state, and even less for that manner, to professions of life such as political career, research in nat ural science, etc. Such a top notch center binds itself so closely to one's personal integrity that no condition of life can absorb it, no human per son nor law has the jurisdiction to create a rift within its precincts. A profession, on the other hand, is re lative to change of circumstances, must yield to the demands of the times, lies out of the control of suc cess or failure. But a personal union with Christ lies within the control of our desires, and supposing of course the use of His grace, grants an inner autonomy so absolute that none can cast off, except we our selves. The Catholic Attitude Regarding Moral Guidance Of Youth Then, too, this program of life is uniquely individual, in as much as each lad entering life may ap proach his ideal in a manner that corresponds to his temperament. Although our hearts are fashioned to love and grow into the full stat ure of His Divine Image, yet each may find Him under a different viewpoint. Some are drawn to Him as a Divine Friend, others as a Personal Father, others again un der some attribute, say. His Divine Wisdom. One's own natural equip ment and interior yearnings of spir it and capacities dictate a way l^eu. Bernard 'lAJrockla.cje, S.V.^b.,Pk.^b. Professor, College of Liberal Arts determined by God's particular plan in each case. We must bear in mind though such a call is not di vided from other walks in life, yet it is distinct from any other. In stead of dividing our conduct into several spheres, its spirit animates all professions, assures a power per vading all our relations with our work, ourselves and fellowmen, overflowing from one root center. Such a coordinated outlook and attraction contributes two indispen sable aids in moral conduct: Power and Direction. It yields direction by offering a long ranged objective which stands above and independent of the com plexities of our modern times which our youth must face. It is an un failing light to gaze at when the criss-cross attractions of the envi ronment drive our young men into confusion. The false supposition of John Dewey that the young find their way in conduct through the sheer use of a moving environment is showing its sad results already. Place the young in an envi ronment both physical and social and youth will find himself through experiment. The give and take in society will balance his outlook, so that his desires will find coor dination through a balanced outlet, says Dewey. Literally swimming in relativity, the lad becomes the mercy of his changing environment and turns himself into a bewildered specimen of irreconciliable attrac tions. Mastery of an environment is first of all a mastery of ourselves, an adjustment of inner spirit rather than only a disposition of outer circumstances. It is not the world which influences us, but, rather the idea of the world which we possess that finds an inroad into our be havior. The Ideal guarantees power above all, power to choose, stamina to follow through with our con victions. As soon as love directs itself to a single focus upon which the heart can rest, the fullest amount of energy is released. Release of energy is the true source of power. Whereas without coordination of values, even among lads of fairly well formed habits, interests and power may be scattered. Unable to utilize all their energies in the face of morally conflicting attrac tions, choice of conduct may fall in a balance at a time only when reserve strength offers a bulwark against a pitfall. Love For An Ideal As A Source Of Power We cannot underestimate the importance of love for an ideal which releases a power for action. (Continued on next page) March, 1952 Page 5 Quite frequently one hears an in dividual say, "I am weak, I do not have enough will power." Weakness of will, in some cases, becomes the last refuge offered by a youth to explain away an un fortunate mishap. But generally is it a lack of will power why young men fall into misdeed? The best psychologists together with Lindworsky deny any such defi ciency in the will itself. Their rea sons seem quite convincing. The will is distinctly one faculty, although it exerts its effects in many and varied kinds of activities. Were the will itself weak, this same weak ness should reveal itself in some de gree in all the actions, in as much as these activities flow from one common source. The very con trary, however, proves itself. The very same lad whose will power failed in the presence of some vice, sustained an endless power and stamina in other regions of conduct. Without any inner struggle he can play the most fervent ball games on the hottest days; he can muster enough energy to shorten his work through intense labor to have an extra hour for competitive sport. Another case presents itself. The priest points out the enormity of a committed misdeed. After the priest finished his admonition, the youth turns and says, "Father, seems no use in trying, I am too weak. My passions just get the best of me." But while engage in his professional work, he never tires nor is there lack of power to meet the gravest obstacles. Another instance refers to a young prisoner of war who found his exertion in studying the English language distasteful and sluggish. Later on his efforts to grasp the language turned into an intense joy and fervor. The wonderful change came about when a good vocabulary was needed to read the love letters sent to him by his Eng lish-speaking fiancee. Falls and lack of effort found in some forms of activity and not in others does not arise from lack of power in the will, but rather be cause the power in the will is not used, and power is not used be cause there is not enough love. Love or the prizing of virtue does not exceed the desire for vice. One finds one's will coming into power the more one loves, and if one loves little, power is little. How can directors increase love and estimation for their supreme Ideal, render the love of Christ and the virtues adorning his personality the predominant attraction? What is the secret of creating this love superior to another love? Importance Of Valuation The will always moves to ob jects presented as values, that is to objects which are prized and ap preciated. Unless the thing in question is a value for the person, no movement of the will in its di rection will follow, regardless how precious it may be in itself or for others. But as soon as an inroad into man's desires paves itself, action results. And the more the object is prized the greater the in clination. The inclination is not a passive quality but eminently ac tive. And such a movement re mains constant toward an ideal as soon as a common denominator be tween the person and the object loved or cherished is established. Man's will or desire becomes a part of the very item he wants. Or as Maritain puts it, “the part of one self in another becomes the gravi tation pull or intentional connaturality by which the lower tends in wardly toward existential union with the beloved, as towards its own being from which it has been separated." To weave on appreciation of vir tue into the hearts and minds of the the youth depends to a large extent upon the qualified efforts of the spiritual director and in general the educator. It is a task not merely of in struction, but moving the will to love and appreciate values, not merely conviction, but also persuasion. The general law will prove help ful and in most cases guarantee a movement in the direction of ideals lies in the motive power of the image. A certain authority in this field, named Eymieu, words it briefly as follows: "The more con crete, impressible and living one discovers an image resounding throughout one's entire being, the more it drives one to act." Gen erally speaking, ideas must be suf ficiently concretized to penetrate into the sphere of both mind and sentiment to overpower into action. Unless the director speaks to the whole man, even the best defini tions of virtues remain powerless. Being too abstract and foreign, they bear little leverage for move ment. Speaking to the whole each in dividual requires special attention, for each person is a world in him self. Addressing ourselves to the man in general is for the most part ineffectual, for the man in general does not exist. It is this particular lad with all his inner baggage, his secret capacities, la tent yearnings and aspiration in this temperament. So unique has God made His creatures, that Maritain says, "no moral case occurs twice in the world." While each soul bears the imprint of Christ's image, it is up to the director to guide him within the framework of his temperament where appeal and interest take form, an appeal which God's particular Providence intend ed for each. Any attempt to recast the unique individualities of young man into several categories may hinder God's plan for this partic ular soul. In God's house we are assured that there are many man sions for all types of souls. Let us not take it upon ourselves to reduce this number of mansions. No director can hardly justify his intentions of molding the lives of others into a pre-conceived pattern of his own, thinking that one or the other temperament might be class ed superior. History bears out the fact that, great men are found among all classes of temperaments. Instead of being repressed which might bottleneck their energies and aspirations into an artificial figure, the good elements were respected, brought out to bloom into a perso nality which God had intended. Knowledge Of Temperament Although individual structure cannot be classified into sharp out lines, yet it might prove serviceable to propose the chief elements of the various temperaments for general norms of direction. While it is dif ficult to know one's temperament fully, general reactions, conduct, and individual interests give us some clue. The three constitutive elements of temperament devised by two diligent Dutch scholars, Heyman and Wirsma, seem most funda mental. They are the emotional type, the active type, and the 3rd type who reverberate to impres sions. We need not insist on the fact that no one element covers any one exclusively. Usually several or more are found, with one hold ing predominance. The emotional specimen feels much. He laments, and laughs easily and reacts more violently to words, using strong terms for ob jects which in themselves may not be significant. The non-emotional displays the very opposite. He feels little, is moved rarely and only for a grave reason. He is more (Continued on page 25) Page .6 THE CAROLINIAN THE CATHOLIC ATTITUDE . . . (Continued from page 6) ON RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION (Continued from page 7) sober with words and measures his impressions. The active soul pours itself into action independently ol results, whether his honor or glory is at stake or not. He acts because the idea spontaneously conveys itself to movement. For him leisure is a torment, a veritable punishment. Whereas the inactive feels an in ner resistance to work. Rather than labor, he prefers to read something agreeable, or dream. If he acts, it is solely out of motives extrinsic to his work. The resonant man who rever berates to all impressions falls into an important class. Any external change finds a re-echo within him self. If he reacts rapidly to first impressions leaving no impressions upon the soul, he is classed as reverberant to primary impres sions, a creature of primary reac tion. To such people impressions may strike but once and ramify over their whole being. Although impression may penetrate slowly, yet its effects may last a long time, even for life. Those of primary re action reverberate suddenly to an offense and often no matter how violent, forget soon. While others of secondary reaction react less fervently, but hold the offense much longer. They belong to the group who say, "I pardon, but do not forget." Of course, these several group ings to not comprise the total am plitude of an entire person. Many other so-called accessory elements can be added. His intellectual qualities may be either analytical or synthetic. In addition other ten dencies or drives might be includ ed, as self-love, avarice, sensuality, prodigality, etc. Though very im portant in moral issues, yet they are not the elements constituting a tem perament, since. they do not form the psychic material out of which a temperament results. Rather these accessory traits merely condition these three constitutive elements,, and all taken together form one entire temperament. Take for example the emotional type where non-active and subject to primary reaction. Being very sensitive to the variations of the external work, their humor alters with the change of environment. And in as much as they are in active, they usually live in an in ner world of reverie and ideal. Such characters are usually gifted with generosity, originality, quick ness of apprehension and often dis posed to art. They suffer one seri ous defect, instability. Men as Oscar Wilde or Byron belong to this group. Even the great St. Francis of Assisi numbers himself in this class. Reacting vehemently to the misery of his times, he gave himself entirely and forever to re lieve the state of poverty. As a non-active individual he preferred to enter himself, instead of follow ing his father's profession. React ing immediately with impulsiveness, he changed his clothing and be came the beggar of Rome. St. Francis was an artist and remained one after his conversion by giving renunciation a taste of poesy, and making austere life agreeable. Some say that St. Francis was the holiest of all Italians, and of all the most Italian. Such temperaments require a firm and understandable director whose guidance preserves their flame of enthusiasm aglow by il luminating their intellects with the language of the heart. There are other souls active to impressions of secondary reaction, and inactive as well. These are usually more introverted, and in clined to be reflexsive and medita tive. Although constant, yet they have tendencies to over-analyze, and often fall into scruples and problems. Many atheists and pes simists have joint this group, such as Schoppenhauer and Kier kegaard. Another personality be longing to this class is the holy Cur6 of Ars. He bore a strong compassion for the poor, avoided military service and almost ready to abandon his seminary studies’ because the branches were too rugged. He remained a pessimist all his life. Such personalities need a guide who can encourage and prompt the heart with an affective type of meditation leading them to confi dence and love. Others again are listed as emo tional, active and individuals of primary reaction. They are impul sive, revolutionaries who make good demagogues, but often lack con stancy to continue. Mussolini and Mirabeau belong to this class. Being enterprising and bursting into ac tion with lack of reflection, they endanger themselves to dissipation and lack of Interior spirit. (Continued on page 26) is much higher that- all those sen tenced to capital punishment for the same crime during more than three hundred years of Spanish rule and American rule put togeth er. Profit physical and material well-being are considered as the paramount human values. The re sult is that the rate of thefts in private enterprises as well as in government offices is very alarm ing. Crimes are not mere violations of penal laws. They have a much deeper significance. They are clear symptoms of the spiritual and moral disintegration of society itself. This moral decay should cause us the greatest anxiety. We can not sit idly by and fold our arms. We must do something about it quickly and positively. We are mindfull of the difficulties that the government interposes with regard to the effective teaching of religion in the public schools. But in all candor we must, however, admit that the teaching of religion to our children, inside or outside the pu blic schools, leaves much to be de sired. ; We propound no charges nor i raise recriminations. We blame no body, . much less, the, parish priest. Unlike the American or Spanish parishes, ours are usually very I large. In the United States there is one parish priest for every five thousand inhabitants. In the Phil ippines it is one for about fifteen thousand people. The parish priest alone therefore has not the means to provide for the religious instruc tion of his parishioners. He needs the cooperation and the support of all of us. The problem concerns everybody, the layman as well as the churchman. It is a. practical problem which calls for organiza? tion, for collective action, for the concerted efforts of all Catholic forces. With all humility I respect fully suggest that His Excellency, the Archbishop call a meeting of members of the Catholic Action, Papal Knights, Church dignitaries, Knight of Columbus, Members of the Legion of Mary, and Catholic educational leaders to devise ways and means for the effective teach ing of religion in the public schools. We face a great responsibility to God and to our country; a respon sibility which we cannot shirk. I I thank you. March, 1952 Page 25 THE CATHOLIC ATTITUDE . . . (Continued from page 25) Spiritual directors handling their fate, need wide understanding, encouraging them to meditate even if the help of a book be necessary. Recommending an intimate union with God will often bear great fruit. Others belong to this class who are influenced by secondary reaction. More balanced and lasting such characters are generally termed the passionate. Dante, Goethe, Caesar, St. Augustine, Bernard, Teresa and John Bosco number themselves in this class. Haughtiness constitutes their chief danger. Directors succeed the best by keeping them in the spirit of fra ternity, by having them meditate upon the realities of the spirit in cluding the fragility of the human soul. Such are but a few of the many possible character combinations in the total range of the human make up. The sum-total comprises a vast garden of varieties, each of which call for respect and consideration. Their observation and understand ing offer one condition to bring the inherent goodness of each youth into bloom. By tuning his deep unshakeable ideal with his own temperamental stuff, its image will penetrate the whole man, will be come more appealing, assumes more value, and releases more power. Over and above the means awakening the appeal and love for an ideal through the director him self. An effective medium to re direct the love of our youth, calls for more than a doctrinaire, nay even more than conveying the fruits of past experience. In the last analysis it is the impact of his personality upon the person direct ed. Formation or education in this sense, as Father Van Zeller main tains, is a personal affair or it is nothing. It needs be a personality whose vital relationship serves to bring Christ to his charges. Nay, I dare say, not that he brings Christ to others, but rather that he permits Christ to give Himself through his direction, a Divine Ideal transmitted only in the meas ure in which the director lives the Christian life himself. (Continued from page H) increase in the ceaseless flow of enormous pensions. At times he would rave about his son's irre sponsibility and dependence, he had even caught himself cursing his son for betraying his standards of human decency, but he would remember his wife and his promise. Andres was his son. . . Andres' family constituted only Nita, his city breed wife who drank, smoked, and was as spendthrift as her husband, and Josefina, their only daughter who had her mother's dark and attractive eyes and her father's haughty bearings coupled with an unbridled temper. I can not forget the day they came home to the hacienda for it was my birth day. I was wearing my new red poplin dress that Nanay Rita bought from the "tabo-an." Tatay Juan was Iyo Talyo's encargado and the day Andres and his family arrived, he was busy preparing for the day's entertainment and seeing to it that the food would be enough for every body. It was Iyo Talyo's delight to greet every homecoming of his son with a merry celebration and a sumptuous feast. I was helping my mother spread the newly cooked rice to cool off on the wide green banana leaves when Tatay Juan came over to us. Beside him was Josefina, neatly dressed in white, and with a red ribbon smartly perched on her curly hair, looking so young and childish. "Show her around the hacienda," Tatay Juan had said. "She had been only a tiny mite the last time she was up here. I'm sure she will enjoy it and like it enough to stay here for keeps." And Tatay Juan left us. We became fast friends. She would wake up early in the morn ing when the mists were still cling ing to the sleepy hills and come to our small cogon-roofed house. Na nay Rita was certainly amused when Jo told her that she liked to walk to and fro in our tiny sala because she could hear her feet sing. It was really our creaking bamboo floor. Out of embarrass ment, perhaps, Tatay Juan with a simulated nonchalance said that he had wanted to replace them with a new bunch of young bamboo but Nanay Rita objected. Both Nanay Rita and I knew that he was lying, of course, but we understood. It was he who strongly refused to have the old and shiny floor changed as he would lie down on its coolness every noon after meals □nd doze off for a few minutes be fore going to Iyo Talyo's house or to unhitch the carabao from the fields and lead it off to a cooler and greener grazing land. Nanay Rita would offer Jo some hot chocolate but she would refuse □nd say that she never failed to take a sip of morning stimulant be fore coming over to the house. I would catch a whiff of wine from a distance and once I was about to say something about it when I had looked up and saw the look on Tatay Juan's eyes; the words died in my lips. Jo had to watch me feed the pigs and throw big corn grains to the chickens before we could go on our daily morning ] treks to the wide grasslands and near-by hills. We would go up to the top of the hills, sprawl lazily on the green-carpeted earth and get a view of the wide expanse of Ha cienda Cirila, named after Iyo Talyo's wife who died when Andres was born. We could see the vast plains and the green fields splat tered conspicuously with clusters of nipa and cogon-roofed houses hud dled close to one another. We would feel the cool morning air start whin nying across the land and watch the gray-white smoke curling out from among the stoic mountain foliage which shyly hid some of the huts. Up there I would try to inhale as much as I could of the cool fresh ness of the mountain'’ air and bask with delight at being a witness to such an unruffled serenity. Jo would talk endlessly on the wonders and comforts of the ' city, the loneliness and monotony of country life, the thick clinging mud during big rains, and seeing nothing but green all around. As the sun struggled higher, she would suddenly get up and say, Come, dreamyhead, I'll race you down hill. And off she would vanish like a deer who has sensed a hunter in sight. We would rest beneath the gentle shade of the guava tree. Page 26 THE CAROLINIAN