BY FR. SHAY CULLEN
CHRISTMAS is to celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the greatest man who ever lived, the one man that gives meaning and purpose and values to a more and more secular, materialistic life-style that has alienated children from their parents.
Christmas is about children too and it will be a lonely time for some families. The children live much of their childhood lives surfing on the internet, playing video games and entering dark digital forests where dangerous monsters lurk.
The internet can be a source of knowledge but for many more it is the source of mindless entertainment that estranges youth from family and friends and distracts them from engaging with society around them. Many are unable to understand the truth and the social realities of life. Few can talk openly heart to heart with their parents.
They exist in a world apart, silent and withdrawn. They can be negatively influenced, groomed for sexual abuse, or become victims of online abuse and sex-tortion.
What young people need today is a blameless ideal superhero, a model they can believe in, one that performs miracles by helping humanity by doing good, standing for justice, teaching the truth, saving the children and inspiring others to help and protect them too. Spiderman or Superman lives in the imagination but a human involved in direct action helping the poor or youth cope with the frustrations of life is a real hero.
That is a person doing good who believes with conviction that taking actions like speaking the truth to power will challenge the leaders to change. The hero stands for the truth and knows and believes that justice and goodness will conquer and overpower the forces of evil and oppression.
We need more heroes to set people free from poverty, from jails and from the oppressive controlling power of the ruling elite. They will be agents of change and, like Jesus of Nazareth, they will change the world from darkness to light. It is His birthday we celebrate because his words, deeds and his life and death have revolutionized the world.
Christian parents, pastors, priests, teachers and politicians need to cast aside the apathy and usual lifestyles and learn and be superheroes and community leaders for their children and youth by giving positive good examples by standing in solidarity with the poor.
This Christmas they could organize youth groups to do good, like visiting innocent children jailed like animals behind bars in the youth jails. They can sit together and write to the politicians demanding the children be freed unless proven guilty of some serious crime they may be accused of. Parents should show the way by good example and be heroes to their children.
There are so many dangerous influences in the world over the internet that can brain-wash people and children into joining cults and allowing them to be enslaved as happened in Surigao Del Norte. (To be continued)/PN
