MAKE OF YOURSELVES SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL

The Rector Major invites the young people of the Salesian Youth Movement to  make something beautiful of their lives. The message, taking up the theme of the Strenna “Come and see,” is an exhortation to the young to be in the name of Christ, protagonists in society and in the Church.

During the Mass at which he presided in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco, on the Feast of Don Bosco, Fr Pascual Chávez gave his message to the Salesian Youth Movement around the world, in the name of the saint of youth: “I can do nothing better than speak with the heart of our Father Don Bosco.”

Fr Chávez, as though it were Don Bosco speaking personally, allows the saint to describe his experience of faith and of his vocation. He invites the young to find in their own lives those things which had helped him to grow: Mamma Margaret (the family), adults to look up to, a climate of human and Christian values. “when I had to make important decisions, I came across people enlightened by the Holy Spirit who helped me to understand that life is a vocation and implies self-giving, and they guided me in listening to the Lord’s call and in accepting the mission He was entrusting to me.” Valdocco: “a workshop where a vocational culture was fashioned.”
The young are invited to look for witnesses and guides in their family and their surroundings who “are “our John the Baptists.” Those who once again can show us the Lord of Life!” Jesus asks, as he did with the disciples of John: ”Who are you looking for?”  The young should then ask the apostles’ question: «Master, where do you live?»  and accept the Lord’s invitation “Come and see.”

“When you ask, my dear young people «what should we do to give to our lives real meaning?» look at that Man who has loved us so much as to give himself totally for us. He is the model for every plan of life, and the faithful and full response to every vocation, because he is a Man totally focused on a central idea”. In contract with “the butterfly person,” who is content with an ephemeral life, there is the “rock of a man” “firmly anchored and rooted in a solid foundation which unifies and harmonises his life with the will of the Father, which guides everything he does and everything he says, which fills all his activity and his prayer.”

To the young invited not to live their life as though it were “a simple biological process,” the Rector Major declares: “You are called to be protagonists in society and in the Church: «you are the salt of the earth and the light of the world» as Jesus would say”.

The message then becomes a challenge: “Yes, my dear young people! “Today” God needs you to “re-make” the world.” The Salesian Family is the ideal setting in which to take their place, finding among the various models of life, religious, consecrated and lay, their own. “I pray for you my dear young people, so that today many of you will allow yourselves to be captivated, fascinated by God to the point of giving yourselves totally to Him.” He offers encouragement to the  Salesians so that they “may live with joy and fidelity the great experience of spiritual fatherhood.”

The full text of the Rector Major’s message to the young people of the SYM is available on sdb.org.

VOCATION GUIDANCE: A MISSION RELAUNCH

Mumbai, 26th January, 2011

(Two of the members of Youth Animation Centre are part of the Vocation Animation Team that participated in the National Level Conference at Mumbai on Vocation Guidance in South Asia)

The South Asia Vocation Guidance Meet ends with a unanimous commitment to relaunch the mission of creating a culture of vocations in the individual provinces. There were 30 participants from the provinces of India and the Vice province of Srilanka. The Rector Major and the General Councillor were present in spirit, the former through the call to create a culture of vocations through the strenna for this year and the latter with the video conference he gave to the participants.

Organised by the DBYASA, the Meet was convened by the Delegate for Vocation Guidance for DBYASA Rev. Fr. Brian Moras sdb and present all through were Rev. Fr. Joe Almeida, the Provincial incharge of Vocation Guidance in the SPCSA and Rev. Fr. Maria Charles the Director of DBYASA. Thanks to the hosting Province of Mumbai and its Provincial house, the meeting was a pleasant experience. Now that the annual exercise is over, what do we expect out of this?

A boom in the number of vocations? No. That is not what the theme concerns itself about. Rev. Fr. Fabio Attard, the General Councillor put it succinctly during his video conference saying, ‘the culture of vocations has not got to do with numbers but to do with the whole picture of Don Bosco’s Charismatic experience.’ A youngster to feel at home with your proposal of a vocation has first to feel at home with you, said the Councillor, drawing attention to why the Rector Major calls Don Bosco an ingenious Voction Animator – because he created an atmosphere where the young felt at home to search for meaning to their life.

Keeping with the theme, Creating a Culture of Vocations the presentations of the three resource persons, Fr. Ajoy Fernandes the Vice Provincial of Mumbai, Fr. Maria Charles the Director of DBYASA and Fr. Joe Almeida the Provincial of Guwahati, were well prepared and designed to prod the participants to concrete action. The outcome: there was a concerted ‘yes’ to the call to create a culture of vocations in the provinces. Searching for ways and means to do it the participants came up with the following possibilities – to create an awareness among every confrere about the mind of the congregation regarding the project and process of Vocation Guidance being part of the larger picture of Youth Ministry; to create systems – like networked teams, networked departments – within the provinces to ensure a holistic vocation ministry; to initiate activities that require holistic plans and participation of all the Salesians passionate about their life and its meaning and witness; to nurture good catholic families and to convince oneself and the provinces that vocations are primarily fruits of our personal and collective witness of life.

The departing feeling of the participants was one of joy and optimism that we are passionate about the Spirit that Don Bosco has left as our legacy and that it is enough for us to rekindle the energy as individuals and provinces to relaunch this specific mission in South Asia – to create a culture of vocations!

Antony Christy sdb

LIFE IS A VOCATION - 01

New Year of 2011: hope it will be peaceful and full of the blessings which the Father wants to give us in the incarnation of his Son.
The magnificent hymn in the Letter to the Ephesians, speaks of God’s plan of salvation. “Before the world was made, he chose us, chose us in Christ, to be holy and spotless and to live through love in his presence determining that we should become his adopted sons …” (1:4-5). Letter to the Romans also says: “They are the ones he chose specially long ago and intended to become true images of his Son …” (8:29).

The Greatest & most Important Blessing: In God’s plan of Salvation, we are called… have been created by Him in order to reproduce the image of his Son through the only thing which can make us like Him: love.

Human life is significant; the discovery of the meaning of human existence is the dream to be  fulfilled, the mission to be undertaken in this world. This fills our life with meaning, joy and vigour making it fruitful.

Life is a vocation. It is a real experience of living to the full... discovering and following one's vocation.

Adapted from the Rector Major's Letter for January.... watch out for 02, 03 & 04