The Theology and Ministry Program of the School of Humanities invites you to the online oral defense of the (bridging) M.A. Thesis entitled “THE VIA PULCHRITUDINIS: An Essential Dimension in the Kerygmatic Formation of Filipino Catholic Youth Ministers’” by LESLEY ANNE A. ROSAL (Philippines) on 1 October 2024, Tuesday, 3:00 p.m. The Board of Examiners is composed of Br. Joaquin Yap, Jr., S.W., D.Phil. (Second Reader/Principal Examiner), Raymond Aguas, Ph.D., and Fr. Jerome Vallabaraj, S.D.B., Th.D. The Thesis Adviser is Patricia Lambino, Ph.D. The defense is being held in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Theological Studies specializing in the field of Systematic Theology. It is open to the public.
Abstract: This paper contributes to the ongoing efforts of the Church in the Philippines to form Filipino Catholic youth ministers. In particular, it seeks to provide a response to the problem, “how is the via pulchritudinis an essential dimension in the kerygmatic formation of Filipino Catholic youth ministers?”
In line with this, this paper proposes how the Directory for Catholic Youth Ministry in the Philippines, Ka-Lakbay, may be updated in order to address more current problems and to reflect better new insights and directions from the youth, via documents from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Youth, and from others such as Pope Francis’ Christus Vivit (CV) and the new Directory for Catechesis (DC).
Drawing from CV and the DC, this paper suggests the via pulchritudinis (“way of beauty”) as an essential dimension in the kerygmatic formation of Filipino Catholic youth ministers. The kerygma, the foundational proclamation of the Gospel, should be a message “all of us need constantly to keep hearing.” (CV 111) Meanwhile, the via pulchritudinis — creation, arts, and Christ (in Christian holiness and the liturgy) — is a pathway of dialogue that brings the youth minister to an attraction toward contemplating the kerygma, participating in it, and thereby incarnating it into their lives. On the practical level, implementing this will require re-imagining the current structure of formation in Ka-Lakbay into one that integrates accompaniment. Concretely, the paper proposes: establishing small groups where a more personalized accompaniment is possible, focusing on growth in one’s prayer life, and emphasizing social action as an important component in the formative process of the young.
