Have you read Christus Vivit? (ChV) I hope so ... it's great, and a gift of the Spirit for those of us who work with youth. It offers new horizons in pastoral service; an energetic sending to the peripheries and it encourages us to assume a missionary sensitivity of listening and a shared path with the youth of today ... and if you are young, I think it will give you a new image of God, closer to your youthful world.
Particularly, I find in ChV elements for an approach to the Bible with a youthful look. I like this a lot.
I usually say that we learn to listen to God in the Bible so we can listen to God everywhere. I have come to recognizing how God acts; to sense a liberating God in the Scriptures, so that I am able to identify with God with more certainty in life and in my own life. Thus, daily life is also a revelation of God. I find in ChV a very good ally to accompany the young people to recreate the Word in their lives and to listen to an echo of the voice of God in the lives of young people. For me, it has been very significant to be a witness in that God continues to touch the lives of young people and that young people do have an openness to listen to God. In El Salvador, I had the opportunity to be part of a team for the beginning of the missionary service of the Word for young people. Do young people want to know the Bible? It was a question that didn’t inspire, but it was increasingly obvious that it was a matter of giving the key of the "Wi-Fi" for God and the young people themselves "connected" with the "signal" of the Spirit in their lives. And ... what is the key to the "Wi-Fi"? God is always young and also speaks the language of young people.
A healthy image of God can’t be that of the stern old man sitting on a throne, from where he crushes us with his gaze as supreme judge. The encounter with Jesus in the Scriptures shows us another face of God. The Bible and life are filled with hope, forgiveness, happiness, inspired people, rebellious against oppression, restless, mysteries to unveil, tenderness, mercy, clues to happiness, family, care, challenges to grow as humanity, contemplation, calls to fraternity and closeness, etc.
Young people understand this, they look for it, and they need it. Once they discover it in their lives they will have a better disposition to "download" the love of God in their hearts, and when they "network" with other young people who have experienced the same thing: they are able to face "troubles" which come later.
Well, a hug from Guatemala, from where we continue our journey in the call of the Claretian Family; to be companions of the way of the new generations, especially in the existential and social peripheries. We are waiting for you here to share the life and joy of the Gospel that many young people in Central America experience.