I say my “Yes!”

I am not so young but I always read your Direct Line section and I wish to share a thought that came to me a little bit stronger in these days: the pressing desire to work for the Church, to know Jesus. I said yes with apprehension and also joy even if I don’t know how to do it. It was a desire that I have been feeling for a long time but in these days it is pressing and becoming stronger.
Arthur R.

Thank you for having shared this moment that is so particular and important for you. There are moments in our lives that we feel that we have to respond to a call, and these moments arrive and present themselves in different forms, like the need to do something different, to work for something important, to get out of the routine in order to realize a new project which is more enduring, or the urge to respond to a call from God…

To feel called to something important which our lives will depend on in the future is a typical and unique condition of the human person. We cannot in fact say that an animal may be called to realize something, as it has inside itself a law which it naturally follows. In fact, it doesn’t have the capacity to respond to a call because the state of responding is inherently and typically human who has the freedom to do or not do something, to respond to or not respond to the call. Only human beings are conscious of being called and can respond to a call. Those who are believers and Christians do it, knowing that big questions in life and one’s response to them are a part of that relationship with the Father who has made us and who knows how we can realize his plans for us. Our yes to Him will be our full openness to this relationship, a yes that will be made clear in the course of time and also in accommodating that particular path that God has thought for each one of us.

But also those who have no religious affiliations feel in themselves a call to something greater, like to realize themselves as men and women in a design which is greater than themselves and for the benefit of all humanity. Their yes for example may help in the task of building universal brotherhood, sustaining peace and justice, and caring for environment and for an authentic relationship with everyone.

Francis Chatel

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Independence at 14 years old?

I am 14 years old and I often read New City especially your Direct Line. I am writing to you because in these last days in my family, I am a bit in a particular situation. It could be because of my actual age and for my character that there is never a day that I don’t fight and quarrel with my parents. Many are telling me that it is the age of fighting with them and everything will just pass as I grow up, but I believe that under all these there is something else. What should I do to minimize these fights with them?
Stephen A.

Thanks for your email. We are happy that you read our Direct Line. Your situation in your family is common in the life of a teenager. It’s a new phase for you and your parents. When you were small, they lived a life of nurturing you in such a way that they were very vigilant of everything that you needed. Now that you are a grown-up, they have to learn to distance a little bit, but without discounting you. Then they see you as a person who tries to express his own identity and autonomy, even if there is need for you to mature and grow more. Anyway, it’s good to be thankful for the relationship you have with them, and for their guidance. But there is a need for a new type of relationship.

At 14, the need to independently think and make decision, always brings with it an attitude of rebellion and at times a tension that continues for some days. Even if we try and desire to patch up broken ties, it’s easier not to communicate. What we are undergoing is very difficult, but what is important is to never give up and discern the good we want even if at times it will hurt and disappoints us. Even if you think you are completely right, try to be in the shoes of your parents. Of course, when they speak, they often run the risk of being kill joy and out of fashion.

A seventeen year old girl by the name of MJ shares, “Two years ago, when I was fifteen, together with my I organized a vacation, For me it was a new experience, and an important one because it was the first time that I would be out of the house for two nights. It was an occasion to know more about myself and about others and also to enjoy two days with my peers. My parents were not really agreeable and had prohibited me to go. My first reaction was to close myself up and to reject their authority. I did not accept their decision. But as time passed by, I understood that their attitude was no dodgeness, but a real worry; for I was not yet prepared for a vacation to be alone, as it was evident by the way I faced things in everyday life. So I tried to understand their point of view. This challenged me to overcome myself and to enter into a dialogue with them and to acquire a vision wider than that of my reality.”

You may do your part in trying to be in dialogue and to avoid possible bitterness and judgments like “my parents are always like this.” Actually they can always improve, thanks to your understanding and your capacity to win back their trust.

Giovanna Pieroni

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