Secular Franciscans and the younger generation: a legacy to share

Our guest speaker for the Regional Spiritual Conference in August, 2018 was Dr. Richard Shields. Comments from those that attended found Dr. Shields an excellent speaker and his talks were realistic and current to our day and time. We asked Dr. Shields to consider sharing future thoughts with us to be put on our Regional newsletter "Franciscan Focus" and he agreed. This is Dr. Shields first sharing. - Sherrill Guimond, Regional Formation Director

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As Pope Francis recently stated in Rejoice and Be Glad, the call, the invitation to the fullness of life in Gospel commitment is especially addressed to youth. World Youth Day has become an essential dimension of the Church’s ministry to young people (ages 16-35). As Sisters and brothers of penance, as men and women who have heard and accepted Jesus’ summons to “Repent and believe in the Good News,” secular Franciscans have a vision and way of life to share. Yet many of us are at a loss over how to do that...... 
…. Before asking what has happened to youth today, we need to ask ourselves some questions. “”Are we really open to youth?” “How well do we understand their needs and expectations?” “Can we empathize with their gnawing yearning for meaningful experiences?” “Do some of our judgements stand in the way of valuing young people?”