Sorting thru’ the archives
The State of the Nation, so to speak
SEE
What is going on at my work, in my country, suburb, in my family? (What is happening in YCW this year?)
The April YCW newsletter speaks of five YCW initiatives.
1. Fr Jim Monaghan's Port Augusta group.
2. Another group out of Cardijn College in Adelaide.
3. The Parramatta Gents' group.
4. The YCW Food Project in St Albans, which started in about 2018.
5. Freddie's groups in Perth, which are really YCS groups.
About Subjects and Subjectivity
I know only a little about Michel Foucault, the great twentieth century French philosopher. In their book Foucault for Beginners (1997), authors Chris Horrocks and Zoran Jevtic, claim that Foucault asked himself one question, which he then answered in his many works. The question he posed is this: “What form of reason, and which historical conditions, led to this?”
Of the many and various aspects of life in our society to which I could apply this question, I have chosen to focus on the lack of representation of lay movements in the current Synod on Synodality.
Review of Life
Overwhelmed by folders and files and mountains of paper I am. Frustrated I am. Plough on, I will. After all, it’s Lent!
As I thumbed through a binder labelled 2002 Perth YCW, I came across a page describing the Review of Life method and also a description of the YCW based on an interpretation of the three words “young” “Christian” and “workers”. Here is a link to the page.
Well, I hope you have taken some time to read it. I have. I am impressed. It follows closely the traditional format of the ROL. I appreciate the time taken to explain the Judge stage of the ROL. Starting with how we feel about the situation being reviewed – recognising that something is wrong, or right is not just a cognitive thing. Every part of us is impacted by what happens to us and around us.
This explanation moves to the ideal, that is, ideally, what should be happening? Here we enter the world of values: What do we value that is being denied, or affirmed in this situation? And then: How closely are our values aligned with the values of Jesus, the values proposed by our faith?
This is the part of the ROL that often trips up people: if they haven’t given much thought to the part of faith in their lives, or to how Jesus fits into their world view, then the ROL starts to lose its power.
Sitting in my judgment seat, built on many years of reading, meditating and praying the scriptures, albeit somewhat poorly, I admit, I take heart from the honest and simple explanation given of the word “Christian.” The author(s) of this document tell us “Although not bible bashing, we are proud of our faith and we are strong and we act what we believe!
Dear Joseph Cardijn would be so proud of these young Christian workers!
Money, money, money makes the world go ‘round!
Why would Perth YCW spend $36.04 on 762 photocopies in December, 1999? Their fax bill was higher, being $52.02. Invoices forwarded to the Perth YCW office in the months either side of this month show very little activity that is media related. So, what was happening?
I volunteer as a mentor with YCW and YCS in Perth. They have their offices in the Catholic Pastoral Centre in Mary Street, Highgate, a suburb of Perth. One of the tasks I have set myself is to digitise all the pieces of paper in the files that fill three filing cabinets. The posts that make up this blog have come from this work.
Finance records from 1999 show that YCW paid a license fee for access to the Internet. On my latest visit to the office, I used my phone as a hotspot to link my iPad to the Internet. Advances in technology have rendered most of the computer equipment in both offices obsolete.
