This morning, during the second General Congregation (session) of the Synod of Bishops, a young American woman named Briana Regina Santiago, from the Apostolate of the Interior Life shared some thoughts with the Synod Fathers.
Holy Father, and all those who are present, my name is Briana Santiago; I am 27 years old and I come from San Antonio, Texas. I have just begun the fifth year of formation with the Apostles of the Interior Life - a community of consecrated women, and this is the fourth year of my philosophy and theology studies at the Pontifical Lateran University here in Rome.
We young people today are seeking; seeking meaning in life, seeking work, seeking our path or our vocation, seeking our identity. Young people dream about security, stability and personal relationships ... about finding a place where they can feel that they belong (Final document from the pre-Synodal meeting on Youth, faith and vocational discernment, 2018). Wounded by solitude, family weakness, and existential anxiety, we ask the Church to accompany us with a living witness that is aimed at evangelizing through your own lives (Pre-synodal document, 2018). Let us recognize the usefulness of an exchange of information which is both ideal and common, something that is possible through the internet but also how technology. used in an inhuman way can create a deceptive parallel reality that ignores human dignity (Pre-synodal Document, 2018).
Most of what I have just listed comes from a reflection made during the pre-synodal meeting last March. I participated by welcoming young English speakers who were connected through social media, and I was physically present among the three hundred delegates while the reflection was taking place. I share with you that I was surprised by how much we young people have in common despite our many languages and cultures. There was so much joy in that hall: the joy of knowing and being known, that we felt in the laughter, the songs, and the chatter during the breaks. We young people want dialogue, authenticity and participation, and in that context, we were welcomed by adults who were available and eager to know what we carry in our hearts. It was an experience of fraternity among very different people, some of whom also belong to other religions or are non-believers, who shared seven days of communion and mutual sharing.
We recognize that there are so many needs in the world, so many topics on which we need to reflect and dialogue, and therefore we are even more grateful that at this moment in history the Church is focusing on us and everything that concerns us. This is an honour and for us also a great responsibility, to be transparent and aware of our fragility in order to help not only ourselves, but also the generations that will come after us.
On a more personal level, I want to share with you that the Lord led me to Rome to seriously discern the consecrated life, not only because my family is made up of practicing Catholics, but also thanks to every person who made him- or herself an instrument of Providence on my journey. My pastor in San Antonio became one of us, and in his closeness I saw a welcoming Church that cared for even the smallest member, and I broke down in the face of such love. My catechists spoke not only of rules, but also of their personal relationships with Christ, and in doing so, they changed my image of God from that of a judge to that of a Father. At university, I met a consecrated woman who took seriously everything that I was experiencing and accompanied me, helping me to pray and develop my interior life. As it was for me, I believe that all of us young people need to be heard first, and then guided to enter more deeply into ourselves. In short, we want to be met right where we are - intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, socially and physically (Pre-synodal Document, 2018).
I am united with all of you in hoping that the Spirit may descend upon every one of us to illuminate that which will bring us ever closer to happiness, and to the encounter with Christ in the fullness of life and love.
(Original text in Italian)
Address shared by Briana Regina Santiago
with the Synod Fathers
Holy Father, and all those who are present, my name is Briana Santiago; I am 27 years old and I come from San Antonio, Texas. I have just begun the fifth year of formation with the Apostles of the Interior Life - a community of consecrated women, and this is the fourth year of my philosophy and theology studies at the Pontifical Lateran University here in Rome.
We young people today are seeking; seeking meaning in life, seeking work, seeking our path or our vocation, seeking our identity. Young people dream about security, stability and personal relationships ... about finding a place where they can feel that they belong (Final document from the pre-Synodal meeting on Youth, faith and vocational discernment, 2018). Wounded by solitude, family weakness, and existential anxiety, we ask the Church to accompany us with a living witness that is aimed at evangelizing through your own lives (Pre-synodal document, 2018). Let us recognize the usefulness of an exchange of information which is both ideal and common, something that is possible through the internet but also how technology. used in an inhuman way can create a deceptive parallel reality that ignores human dignity (Pre-synodal Document, 2018).
Most of what I have just listed comes from a reflection made during the pre-synodal meeting last March. I participated by welcoming young English speakers who were connected through social media, and I was physically present among the three hundred delegates while the reflection was taking place. I share with you that I was surprised by how much we young people have in common despite our many languages and cultures. There was so much joy in that hall: the joy of knowing and being known, that we felt in the laughter, the songs, and the chatter during the breaks. We young people want dialogue, authenticity and participation, and in that context, we were welcomed by adults who were available and eager to know what we carry in our hearts. It was an experience of fraternity among very different people, some of whom also belong to other religions or are non-believers, who shared seven days of communion and mutual sharing.
We recognize that there are so many needs in the world, so many topics on which we need to reflect and dialogue, and therefore we are even more grateful that at this moment in history the Church is focusing on us and everything that concerns us. This is an honour and for us also a great responsibility, to be transparent and aware of our fragility in order to help not only ourselves, but also the generations that will come after us.
On a more personal level, I want to share with you that the Lord led me to Rome to seriously discern the consecrated life, not only because my family is made up of practicing Catholics, but also thanks to every person who made him- or herself an instrument of Providence on my journey. My pastor in San Antonio became one of us, and in his closeness I saw a welcoming Church that cared for even the smallest member, and I broke down in the face of such love. My catechists spoke not only of rules, but also of their personal relationships with Christ, and in doing so, they changed my image of God from that of a judge to that of a Father. At university, I met a consecrated woman who took seriously everything that I was experiencing and accompanied me, helping me to pray and develop my interior life. As it was for me, I believe that all of us young people need to be heard first, and then guided to enter more deeply into ourselves. In short, we want to be met right where we are - intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, socially and physically (Pre-synodal Document, 2018).
I am united with all of you in hoping that the Spirit may descend upon every one of us to illuminate that which will bring us ever closer to happiness, and to the encounter with Christ in the fullness of life and love.
(Original text in Italian)
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