CATHOLIC YOUTH IN THE FACE OF MORAL DECADENCE, WHAT IS OUR FATE? By Tobe Eze

 CATHOLI DIOCESE OF NSUKKA.

A TALK BY TOBE EZE (DAN~HILL) TO CYON DURING YOUTH WEEK.

TOPIC: CATHOLIC YOUTH IN THE FACE OF MORAL DECADENCE, WHAT IS OUR FATE?

Introduction

Definition of Terms

1. Catholic Youth

2. Morality

3. Decadence

What is Moral Decadence

Causes of Moral Decadence

Effects of Moral Decadence

Our Fate in the Present Situation

Conclusion

INTRODUCTION 

We are now experiencing what was not obtainable before now. Many things we were holding so dear are now going down. Our moral lives are now being affected so much that we do not consider many things sacred to be sacred any longer. We are now experiencing too many changes both positively and negatively and they are seriously affecting us especially on our moral lives. We need to go back and get the real definitions of things in order to help us recover what we have lost and help our moral lives today. Continue Reading.........

DEFINITION OF TERMS

A. Catholic Youth: A Catholic youth is a young man or woman who is baptized and is practicing Catholicism as his or her religion. Going for the, he or she should be unmarried. Anyone who has contracted marriage both civil, traditional, or religious is no longer a youth and should join the other arms of the church. (My problem here is that I do not know where to classify campus husbands and wives. And those who are as well taking their illegal boyfriends and girlfriends as husbands and wives. (Baby kill me).

B. Morality: It is principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behaviours. Morals are what you believe to be right and wrong. Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper. Morality is moral quality or character, rightness or wrongness as of an aaction, the character of being in accord with the principles. Morality is the system through which you will determine right and wrong conduct, the guide to good or right conduct.

C. DECADENCE: It is moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury. Decadence is defined as behaviour that shows a love of self-indulgence, pleasure and money, or the process of decline or decay in society's ethical and moral traditions.

D. Moral Decadence: It is the process of behaving in a way that shows no moral standards. It means gross reduction in the moral values in a particular society. It is a collapse in upholding our societal values, beliefs, norms and ethical standards. It is of no doubt that moral decadence has completely replaced core moral values in present times. This ravaging phenomenon is cause of some of the major problems Nigeria is facing as a nation.

CAUSES OF MORAL DECADENCE

There are many things that are giving ways to the advent of moral decadence in our world today and they are as follows:

PEER GROUP: Many sayings have supported it that friends or peers influence each other in one way or the other. We can tell better that many ways we behave today are gotten from our discussions and relations with our peers both in the school, community and church. Most of the things we do today are gotten from our secondary school friends and others in the wider  or world. We cannot negative everything about peers but the bad aspects stick more than the positive side.

SOCIAL MEDIA: As we heard yesterday from the talk presented, we can testify that social media is now dealing with us in a way that is already alarming. We should show concern now to this trend so that it will not destroy us entirely. Many of us are now finding models there which is very wonderful but we tend to forget that the culture, climate, make up and so on of those persons are far more different from ours. Check where you are coming from before you imitate unnecessarily. Some of us are now learning to lay bare what suppose to be covered from social media. The very first place Adam and Eve covered when their eyes were opened we are now leaving them open and covering where we should leave open. What some girls spend on their hairs can buy a plot of land but they leave their private parts open. A tragic situation. We do not care about what the things we watch do to our psyche and it is tragic.

POOR PARENTAL CARE: Many have written many things about family upbringing and the effects on our lives and society today which I am one of them. Family should be the bedrock of every formation and some parents are now neglecting that. Some parents have left the primary assignment of training their children in the hands of house maids and school teachers which sometimes end up deforming the child. Being over busy in working for what you will use in training your children and leaving the same children not trained is very problematic to the morality of the society. We are seriously losing it from the grass root and it is really destroying us now. Parents are no longer interested on what their children watch on the televisions, wear, say, do etc 

FAILURE IN OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: It is crystaly clear to everyone in Nigeria today that the system of education in Nigeria is one of the major causes of Moral Decadence in Nigeria today. No one is ready to do things in a right way, the students, teachers, governments and even parents. All are now interested in the certificate and not the knowledge. All are now for the motion of getting the certificate by all means. Not minding the means. They forget the good means through which we can get it. The canal knowledge of the students and the staff is now part of the courses being taught in our institutions and once you pass that course, every other course will also be wonderful. Even when the teachers or lecturers try their best to see to our good, because we are now attuned to this way of life, we choose the other side of it. How can a secondary school child be going to school by 09:00am and we will expect his/her morality to be protected? And they come out from families. How can students who do not stay in the classroom to learn uphold his/her morality? At the end, who is fooling who?

LACK OF HOLINESS OF LIFE: One of the problems Pentecostalism has brought to us is to make us think that praying, falling and shouting are the only ways to be Holy or spiritual. And others think that it is by dressing very shabby that we are holy or spiritual. We are having only the old mothers in our church today who always pray for their children to live long and be successful and the same people they are praying for are in the school in a room shouting baby kill me. Our youths are no longer prayerful, our youths are no longer spiritual. Some of us here have not gone for confession for years, months now. Some have lost the taste of the Holy Communion for they cannot remember last time they received it. When things get hard for the person, he/she will run to a prayer house to get magic in the name of miracle. It is a pity.

LAZINESS: There is nothing as sweet as wasting. In the morning, you will wake up, freshen up, eat and pick up your phone to do little morning chatting. One funny thing about phone is that when you want to stop, it will give you reasons to continue. Some do not like stressful life. They like to enjoy what others prepared and they will never prepare for another. They sit beside the main road and be counting cars and motorcycles. They know the names of every latest car in town but they do not have a verve of a bicycle. 

THE EFFECT OF MORAL DECADENCE 

Of course we know that Moral Decadence has affected us in so many ways. Some of them are: 

LOSS OF LIFE: Many have lost their lives in one way or the other because of the decay in our moral lives. The tragic thing is that many who are innocent are being killed and so many other ways lives have been lost. Many who are guilty die regularly and people are not learning.

LOSS OF FUTURE: Many of our youths are now aimless because of the way of life they have chosen. It is true that husband is not everything but it is very necessary. Many ladies have lost their would have been husbands because of the type of life they live. Some join one group or the other and they will end up becoming village touts. 

INCREASE IN EVIL IN THE SOCIETY: We hear of so many crimes these days because of the level our moral lives have degenerated. There are increase in kidnapping, arm robbery, murder, abortion, stealing and many others. People do not keep their property anyhow in their houses any longer, why? (Where I pack my Bike).

INCREASE IN PREGNANCY OUT OF WEDLOCK: It is always true that pregnancy is a gift from God but there should be appropriate time for it to come. Our youths are now taking everything for granted and we are now suffering it. It is in our culture to see ladies who are pregnant out of wedlock as worst sinners ( which should not be), and many are now going into it with any quam of conscience. They are no longer ashamed of it.

INCREASE IN ABORTION: Some will never accept the fact that they have done something wrong, instead, they will suffer innocent people to cover up their sins. The rate by which people do abortion these days is now alarming. Instead of attacking the problem of self-control, they will leave that to abort an innocent child or children. Many who are alive today are denying others entrance into the same world. 

INCREASE IN BROKEN HOMES: Things happen around us but we do not ask necessary questions rather, we choose to continue in the same live. Many of our parents are still living together but those that wedded yesterday are now going for annulment of their weddings and divorce. Some are just managing their homes not that they are enjoying it. Some of the problems hurting them today are gotten from what they did as youths. Some during their youthful age almost tested every man/woman that greeted them on the way and now it is now very difficult for them to control themselves. Some cannot stay with only a woman because of what they have formed, likewise some women. Some destroyed their wombs, some gave their sperm to one spiritual kingdom and all are now hurting them in their older age. Some also married those they never prayed to marry because they got pregnant along the line. They are living in a perpetual prison.

INCREASE IN PENTECOSTALISM: After destroying ourselves, we will be going from this prayer house to another to see if God will do something but when we were being called back, we rejected the call. Many also, after living a loose and stupid life will form men and women of God.

INCREASE IN POVERTY: Many young men and women who have not known anything in this world are now married and they are faced with the challenges of seeing to the needs of family life. That make the number of poor families to grow more. 

OUR FATE IN THE PRESENT SITUATION

The fact of life remains that it is difficult to swim against the current but it not impossible. We have to go against this Decadence that is ravaging us to save our lives, societies and the world. Let us watch these:

THE PEOPLE WE KEEP AS FRIENDS: Anyone or any group that is not adding positively to your life should be avoided before it gets worst or even impossible. Do not follow those that drain you always, rather go with those that will enrich you, especially in your moral life.

THE NEW REVOLUTION ICT: ICT is never categorically bad, we should make serious effort to get the good aspect of it and run away from the bad aspect of it. If we use it very well, it will enrich us more and we will always be happy having it.

OUR FUTURE AS PARENTS: We should always be mindful of our future as husbands, wives and parents and start now to form a wonderful future through what we do now. Tomorrow is being planned for today, we should aim at wonderful families in the future and the work starts from us today.

OUR EDUCATION:  It is no longer a new thing to us that the type of government we have is not interested in our future and education. We should rise up to take the bull on the horn and face our academics squarely. We should have the knowledge and not the certificate. Knowledge is power and not certificate is power.

SELF EMPLOYMENT: It is only a fool that is still entirely waiting for government to provide job for him or her. We should rise up and take skills seriously and help our future. There is no gain bragging of being a graduate when you are dying of hunger. Graduate with a skill or a shop is an added advantage, work to get it.

GOD IS OUR HOPE: Many things that happen to us can also be our faults. Some of us are working seriously, they are always busy but they gain very little. Why not try and have time for and with God so that he will help you. Reconcile with him and as a Catholic, go for confession, be a communicant, attend activities of the church, devote them to him. Challenge him with your time also and I believe he will see you through.

CONCLUSION

As we have gone through all these, we can see where our problems come from, how they are affecting us. We have also seen our fate, let us do the right thing and God Almighty will help us.

We pray with Mary the mother of every youth to help us on our journey towards heaven, so that all our efforts in this life may not be in vain. We ask these and every other intentions we have through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns in the unity of the Holy Spirit God forever and ever. AMEN. THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU