Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 7624 Plough Quarterly • Winter 2015 courageously answered this call in a context where this might have meant death. Not all of us are being asked for such a radical act of dis- cipleship, but this example should remind us to remain faithful to our calling at all times, even when the tides of the times are against us. We must be ready to give our all – including our lives – in order to be faithful to our vocation, especially our calling to spread the gospel to all corners of the earth. Pope Francis underlined this in his homily during a Mass celebrated for over three million youth from around the world gathered on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013: Where does Jesus send us? There are no borders, no limits: he sends us to everyone. The gospel is for everyone, not just for some. It is not only for those who seem closer to us, more receptive, more welcoming. It is for everyone. Do not be afraid to go and to bring Christ into every area of life, to the fringes of society, even to those who seem farthest away, most indiffer- ent. The Lord seeks all – he wants everyone to feel the warmth of his mercy and his love. “Going,” “teaching,” “observing,” and “all” are central words of Christ when he calls us to dis- cipleship. These words make us realize that living the gospel cannot be a halfhearted affair, because it means faithfully going to all, teach- ing all, and observing all. Such faithfulness has a clarity that is refreshing and liberating; it should be our starting point for teaching Christian dis- cipleship to our children and young people. It invites them to focus on the essential question as they develop their personality and prepare for their vocation in the world: “What does it mean to be human?” Formation This brings us to the third lesson: formation. To find out what it means to be human – a life- long task – we need to learn, and teach our children, to see the world through the eyes of God. This is why dedicated study of scripture should be an integral part of every Christian’s education. It was Massoud’s knowledge of scrip- ture that enabled him to reach Joseph and open up a whole new perspective to a hardened and blinded heart. When we learn to see through the eyes of God, we will understand the created order he gave us and our place in that order. We will learn what it means to be human. Few have expressed this better than Pope Benedict XVI: Charity calls the educator to recognize that the profound responsibility to lead the young to truth is nothing less than an act of love. Indeed, the dignity of education lies in foster- ing the true perfection and happiness of those to be educated. In practice “intellectual charity” upholds the essential unity of knowledge against the fragmentation which ensues when reason is detached from the pursuit of truth. (Address to Catholic educators on April 17, 2008 in Washington, DC) As disciples, we must dedicate our life to the pursuit of truth. But we can only do so if our hearts and minds have been so formed that we are able to stand upright in a world that is utterly confused, a world that has become enslaved to its passions, to the trends of the day, and to the violence which ensues when faith is detached from reason, and reason is detached from faith. How else can we explain some of the extremes of our age: abject poverty, rising ideo- logically inspired violence, the sexualization of society, the killing of the unborn, and the breakdown of families? G. K. Chesterton rightly points out that Christian discipleship “is the only thing that frees a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age.” In my own case, I cannot thank my parents enough for refusing to allow my siblings and me to conform to the popular trends of our times. Instead, they immersed us in a profoundly Christian culture full of beauty and wisdom,