Gladness Mashubuka: Called to Lead

 

At 16, Gladness Mashubuka asked the Lord to show her how to do his will; soon after that, he guided her into youth ministry. The former SACBC Youth Commission chairperson tells Daluxolo Moloantoa about her faith and youth ministry.

The 19th-century English theologian Charles Spurgeon once said: “There are no crown-wearers in heaven who were not cross-bearers here on earth.” Gladness Lobina Mashubuka has been a “cross-bearer” on earth — as a 12-year-old altar server she was tasked with bearing the processional cross at Holy Mass in her parish. This was the beginning of her calling to carry the cross for young Catholics throughout her years as a young adult.

As a 16-year-old, Gladness wrote in her journal: “I want to learn how to believe in practising God’s will, and to witness the name of God.” Soon thereafter, she was elected vice-chair of her parish youth group. This was the beginning of a slow but steady rise in Church youth affairs, which has included a term as chair of the Youth Office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). At present, she chairs the Youth Commission of the archdiocese of Pretoria.

Born the third of four children on June 26, 1990, Gladness was raised in a devoutly Catholic family in Makometsane, a rural community in KwaNdebele, Mpumalanga province. “I grew up in a Catholic home with the most loving parents and the best siblings one could ever ask for. Although we were not financially well-off, my parents made sure that we had everything we needed. Our house was always full of love, jokes and lots of laughter,” she told The Southern Cross. The family attended church at St Francis of Assisi in Makometsane, an outstation of St Anthony of Egypt parish in Siyabuswa.

Gladness attended local primary and high schools, and matriculated in 2007. After high school, she enrolled for studies in civil engineering & plumbing at the Tshwane North (TVET) College in Pretoria. To be close to the college, she moved to Mamelodi township, northeast of Pretoria.

Warm welcome into the parish

There she became a parishioner of St Daniel Comboni church. “I was warmly welcomed into the parish, and more especially in the parish youth group. This is where my love, passion and commitment for the youth ministry grew. It was a place where, as a young person from the rural areas, I was made to feel safe and that I belonged,” she said. Her commitment to youth affairs grew beyond the parish, first at the archdiocesan level and then nationally.

In 2020, Gladness received a surprise call from Archbishop Dabula Mpako of Pretoria. He invited her, along with six other young people from the archdiocese, to a meeting. “In the meeting, Archbishop Mpako explained that upon consultation with other stakeholders, he had identified the seven of us as potential leaders of the archdiocesan youth commission he was planning to establish. Shortly after that meeting, I was elected as the chairperson of Pretoria’s youth commission,” she said.

Soon after her instalment as chair of the commission, the SACBC Youth Office made a request for every diocese in the conference to forward names of young people who were willing to stand for election at interdiocesan level. The archdiocese of Pretoria put Gladness’ name forward, and she was elected as the chairperson of the SACBC Youth Ministry for the term of 2021/22.

Besides the regular duties that came with the position, she also promoted the SACBC Youth Office in other structures of the Church, and oversaw the growth and development of the youth ministry. “It was an immense reward for me to see the impact of our work on young people, not only in the youth ministry but also in their personal lives,” she said.

Among the highlights of her term she counts working on the youth office’s gender-based violence awareness and anti-human trafficking campaigns, as well as the Youth-Go-Clean Project, which was inspired by Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation, Gaudete Exultate, and his second encyclical, Laudato Si’.

Preparing for World Youth Day

Another highlight was the opportunity to travel. In October last year, Gladness visited Portugal to attend the International Preparatory Meeting World Youth Day 2023. The international Catholic youth gathering, which is usually held every three years, took place in Lisbon from August 1-6 this year.

“I was the sole representative of the SACBC region at the meeting. During the meeting, which was held in Fatima, we were given detailed information to help ensure that the youth are spiritually and logistically prepared for the pilgrimage. We also got to visit the main sites for WYD 2023. There we met up with the members and the volunteers of the WYD Local Organising Committee,” she said.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an adverse effect on the SACBC youth ministry, especially at a parish level. This also resulted in many fundraising initiatives for sending young people to WYD 2023 being put on hold, limiting the numbers of Southern African participants. “We do have a small number of young people from the dioceses who will attend World Youth Day this year. They will all be attending under the umbrella of the SACBC Youth Ministry, instead of separately as dioceses,” Gladness explained.

At the time of interview, WYD2023 would be her first World Youth Day, an experience which she hoped would further enhance her development as a youth leader. “I would like to use this pilgrimage as an opportunity to deepen my connection with God, to connect with the worldwide youth community, to build bridges between my culture — and our nation — and others, and also learn and appreciate foreign cultures and languages,” she said.

“On a spiritual level, I would like to make use of my time at the pilgrimage to focus on prayer, to open myself up to the Holy Spirit, and to trust God to guide and move me to where he wants to lead me,” she said.

Prayer from Psalms starts the day

Every morning, Gladness starts her day by saying a one-line prayer from Psalm 51: “Oh God, open my lips, and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.” She also combines her prayers with the Guardian Angels’ prayer and the Angelus. “The Angelus prayer helps me to stay mindful of two things. Firstly, to constantly say yes to God, just as our Blessed Mother Mary did. Secondly, it reminds me that Christ became Man and lived among us so that he could die on the cross for us to be saved,” she explained, adding that she is also devoted to praying the novena to St Jude.

When she is not involved in her day-to-day work or in youth affairs, she indulges in several activities. “I love being surrounded by nature. I regularly visit botanical gardens, nature reserves and parks. I also love to travel, because it always presents the opportunity to explore new things. Ultimately, going home to spend time with my mom and family brings me the greatest joy,” Gladness said.

Her words of advice to young Catholics: “Be a missionary! Bring God to others. Know and explore the richness of our Church. Take the opportunity to attend Mass, and to go to confession. Pray at all times — not only when you want something from God, but at all times. Most importantly, open your heart to Christ because he is there. He is alive and he is always with you.”

Published in the June 2023 issue of The Southern Cross magazine