You cannot make yourself holy. But God can make you holy. And He wants toPaul Graas is a young Spanish-Dutchman who has been living in Amsterdam for several years. He works at the "Stichting Instudo"and has started an initiative to connect Dutch Catholics, with the aim of creating a community to counter the prevailing individualism.
In this interview, Paul Graas talks about his book "Holiness for losers"and offers an analysis on faith and ecumenism in Netherlands.
Why did you write "Holiness for Losers"?
- There is a lot of very good spiritual literature in Spanish, both for young people and adults. But in Dutch there is none. Obviously good books and classics of spirituality are translated, but there are no books written in Dutch by Dutch people, especially for young people. There is an explanation for this, because it is a country where there are not many young Catholics, but it is a project that I was looking forward to, in order to bring to young people spirituality topics adapted to their mentality.
"Holiness for Losers" is also a book that was born, thank God, because of the education I received from my parents. Since I was young I have had a yearning for holiness and I discovered my vocation, which is to be a numerary of Opus Dei. But I noticed that, because of the environment in which I was formed, I had a somewhat mistaken perception of holiness. It was a perception according to which, if I put my enthusiasm and hard work into it, in the end I would become a saint. However, with time one realizes that in life there are adversities and that, even if you have God's grace, you make mistakes. When I realized this, I was disappointed.
On the other hand, in my environment I saw mental health challenges and wounds that mark the relationships between people and I noticed that the classic discourse of ascetic struggle could not reach young people in that environment.
Little by little, as I deepened my relationship with the Lord, He made me realize that we can be saints, but we have to change our perspective. That is what I wanted to capture in the book. I don't necessarily say new things, but I have tried to convey the message in a language that will convince young people that they can be saints.
What is the attitude of Dutch youth towards religion?
- We have three groups. We have the group of young people who have been educated in the Catholic faith, then the group of those who come from a Protestant background and, finally, the group of those who are totally secularized.
Starting with the first group, there you have young Catholic people who have always been aware that they are a minority. There are no really Catholic schools in Holland, for example. There are by name, but they have been secularized. The only thing they have related to the Catholic faith is a carol festival at Christmas. So young Catholics have always been in an environment where they were the only ones practicing and hopefully in their parish there was a community or they have been able to connect with some Catholic movement. Depending on how the faith is rooted in the family or in the social environment, that faith is either abandoned or forged.
The next group is that of those who come from Protestant environments, who can be Puritans, Calvinists, Evangelicals or liberals, there is a lot of diversity. But Protestants are better organized, socially and ecclesially. There are more schools with a Protestant Christian identity and parishes with large groups. The challenge with this is that in certain parts of the country you can be educated in a bubble, in the sense that your environment is mostly Christian and that's all you know.
The third group is that of the secular environment, the majority of young Dutch people have Catholic or Protestant grandparents, but they have not received any formation. They have no idea about the faith, they do not know the Gospel and they do not know who the Virgin Mary is. Christ for them is a historical figure and the Church is something that belongs to the news or to the sociological plane.
Knowing this environment, how do Catholics live their faith in the Netherlands?
- When you deal with Catholics you notice that many of them have a tendency to close themselves in the parish. It doesn't mean that they don't have non-Christian friends, but that their experience of faith is a bit clerical. They stay within their parishes, groups or movements, aware that few people share their faith. The clerical mentality is still present for many in the Netherlands for this reason.
But here you also have a very interesting group, which is still small but growing. It is the group of converts, who know very well the Protestant or secularized environment. They have had a very interesting life experience because they are usually converted as young adults and are more aware of what it means to be Catholic in a secularized world. They know how to evangelize and take the initiative.
How can we evangelize in a country with these characteristics?
- Whether you are Catholic, Protestant or secularized, what you notice is that many young people are disillusioned with what they have encountered in life.
More than being convinced to fight to live your faith, the first thing to do is to realize that this disillusionment is wrong. You can always start over and God loves you unconditionally. Your identity is not based on the mistakes you have made, the vices you have or the environment in which you find yourself. Your identity is something much deeper to be discovered.
That is why I think that one of the most important virtues for formation is humility, a self-reflection based on the love of God. This does not make much difference between Catholics, Protestants and secularized people, because we all live in a very individualistic society and we all have wounds.
What does the "CREDO" initiative consist of?
- The story of "CREDO"represents what we have talked about before in Dutch sociology. It all starts with a boy named Albert-Jan, who comes from an evangelical background. Evangelicals are the fastest growing Christian group in the Netherlands and in the whole world. They have a charismatic tinge and are very apostolic. Albert-Jan came from that environment but, realizing that the Evangelicals do not have a great tradition, he felt a longing to follow Jesus Christ and realized that with that group he could not go any deeper.
This boy came to know the Catholic Church through an Opus Dei center and immediately connected with Catholic teachings. So much so that in less than a year he entered the Church, in love with the Eucharist and aware that there he could deepen his relationship with God.
Albert-Jan got married, had a daughter and the ups and downs of life made him face the difficulty of leading a Christian life in the middle of the world. Suddenly, one Tuesday he decided to go to the parish for Mass in the morning and in the church he met a 20 year old boy. After Mass he approached him and asked him if he went there regularly, but the boy replied that it was the first time he had ever entered a church.
This young man became curious about the faith through some videos of Jordan Peterson and Bishop Barron, so he wrote an email to a Protestant pastor and a Catholic priest asking what he had to do to become a Christian. The priest suggested he attend a Mass and that's where he met Albert-Jan. They started talking and eventually, after conversations and starting to attend a parish, the young man converted to Catholicism.
Albert-Jan noticed that this happens very often. People are curious about the faith but can't find anyone to bring them closer to religion. So he started to organize gatherings, like having a drink after Mass, a barbecue or a party, so that people can meet and ask questions about Catholicism. So in a very affordable way young people meet other Catholics to learn more about the faith and share it.
Albert-Jan thought that if people came to the Church and took the initiative to come out of a "digital faith" based on video training, we should help them to continue taking those steps. He contacted me, proposing to make a project that would seek out those who have their "digital faith" to accompany them and to help them meet other people who also share their faith.
Through another project of mine, I had contact with professionals in the world of communication in the Protestant environment and they are the ones who have helped us in the initiative. They are a group with great Christian projects, a lot of professional experience and openness to Catholic ideas.
In "CREDO" we want, through social media and our website, to show testimonies of young Dutch people who have converted to Catholicism. At the same time, we create high quality content that explains concepts of the Catholic faith in a simple way. But we do not limit ourselves to content, we also help people to get in touch with other Catholics and parishes. With all of this, we make sure that this experience does not remain digital.
The idea is to introduce in a very affordable way encounters with the Catholic faith, ranging from having a coffee to going to Mass. We are intermediaries, we find young people who are online and put them in contact in the real world with other Catholics.
What is the ecumenical environment like in the Netherlands?
- I am a bit on the border in that sense, because I am very much in contact with Protestants, especially in the world of communication. When you have such a secularized environment, finding someone who shares your faith in Jesus Christ helps a lot to connect with them because of that common belief. In my student days, for example, more than half of my best friends were Protestants.
It is true that the Catholic world has always been a bit more isolated in Holland, but that is changing because there is a new openness that has two explanations. On the one hand, since we are in such a secularized country, we have been supporting each other among Christians. On the other hand, the Church has a special attraction for many Christians of other denominations.
A detail that exemplifies this is the welcoming of the monasteries, where people of any faith can go to spend a few days for a retreat. People have a need and curiosity for this mystical atmosphere, for the care of the liturgy and silence. In the monasteries there is a spirituality that reaches the depths of the human being and that attracts the attention of all of us, Catholics and Protestants.
I also believe that there is a real interest in some aspects, such as the Virgin Mary. There are Protestants who are beginning to take an interest in Mary and want to rediscover her figure from their own tradition. Both in the theological and ascetical environment there is a greater closeness between Catholics and other Christians.
What challenges are there to living the Catholic faith and maintaining that ecumenical atmosphere in the Netherlands?
- Individualism is a very important challenge in Holland. Also the issue of education, because there is a lack of schools with authentic Catholic roots, in that sense the Calvinists have better initiatives.
Another challenge is the lack of parishes where there is a real community. In the same sense, there is a lack of young people with formation and the desire to go out and evangelize.
The last challenge is the politicization of the faith and the polarization created by issues such as abortion or gender ideology. We Catholics in the Netherlands need to open up a bit, something Pope Francis says a lot.
In the face of all this, we must highlight the work of the Dutch Bishops' Conference. Our bishops do a great job in our country and we must recognize all that they do for the Dutch Catholics.
