Page 194 - Reflections on St. Joseph

III. OSJ’s Today: Fathers of Genuine Witnessing

a. Talking in the Air?

While the youth of today seriously need catechism, the way we catechize them seems to be
disconnected from their real world. That is why it is not surprising anymore that majority
of the youth easily get bored and lost when we TALK about God. “We are not speaking of
thinking about and interpreting the Word of God or of organizing doctrines that are to be
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transmitted in order to help youth in their lives.” Rather, we need to be genuinely present
among them if we really want to become fathers to them.

b. Fathers “like St. Joseph”

“It is precisely in the direct contact with them that we ought to discover their [the youth]
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hopes and frustrations, their desires and aspirations, their contradictions, etc.” Implied in
this statement is the vitality of the presence of the OSJ’s among the youth. This paternal
presence has to be anchored on genuine witnessing because “Modern man listens more
willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are
witnesses.” Hence, for us to succeed in youth apostolate, we must be genuine witnesses.
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As Oblates, to become genuine witnesses we need to be faithful to our charism: to serve the
interests of Jesus like St. Joseph. Here, I want to focus on the phrase “like St. Joseph.” If this
is to be taken seriously, then we have to be fearful also like St. Joseph in serving the interests of
Jesus. By fearful, I mean we need to imitate the religious justice, wisdom, and obedience of
our patron for us to become genuine witnesses.

c. Concluding Statement: St. Joseph’s Philosophy of Education

From what has been stated above, it is clear that Joseph’s philosophy of education is praxis-
based. However, this does not mean that we no longer need theories in educating the youth.
We need theories. The challenge for us is to be able to successfully translate these theories
into action. By action, I mean genuine witnessing. We will succeed in educating the youth if
our presence becomes a means for them to learn holy fear of God, wisdom and obedience. If
they succeed in assimilating these virtues in their lives, our job is not done yet but we are
assured of the fact that our paternal educative presence has borne fruit. That means that we
have more people like St. Joseph ready to serve the interests of Jesus.

NOTES

1 For a more comprehensive 4 Ibid., 90. 7 The Second Oblate Youth
understanding of these theories 5 Anthony R. Ceresko, Introduction Ministry Congress Concluding
see Nil Guillemette, Your Heart’s to Old Testament Wisdom: A Document, Step by Step: Oblate
Treasure: Exploring Difficult Bible Spirituality for Liberation Youth Following The Way in the
Texts (Pasay City: Paulines, (Quezon City: Claretian Third Millennium (Asti, August 8-
2010), 73-98. Publications, 2000), 55. 13, 2005), 7. [Emphasis mine].
2 Nil Guillemette, Your Heart’s 6 Barry L. Bandstra, Reading the Old 8 Ibid.
Treasure: Exploring Difficult Bible Testament: An Introduction to the 9Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi
rd
Texts (Pasay City: Paulines, Hebrew Bible, 3 ed. [Apostolic Exhortation on the
2010), 87. (Wadsworth: Thomson, 2004), Evangelization in the Modern
3 Ibid., 88. 442. World], 8

10 December 1975, no. 41.

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Reflections on st. joseph