I am happy o be wriing his leer o you, hrough which i is my inenion o convoke he 27h General Chaper l a c i d a r e h o s e l e Winess p s o G e h f o approach
TheGeneral Chaper is he 27h in he hisory of our Sociey; I will ake place in ROM a he Salesianum in he Generalae; I will begin on Saurday 22 FBRUARY 2014 a TURIN in he Basilica of Mary Help of Chrisians wih a visi o he places of our Salesian beginnings; Moderaor: Fr Francesco Cereda Moo: work and emperance 1. CONVOCATION
Four main areas: living in he grace of uniy and wih joy he Salesian consecraed vocaion; having a srong spiriual experience, aking up he way of life and di acion of Jesus; building up fraerniy in our communiies of life and acion; generously dedicaing ourselves o he mission, walking side by side wih he young so as o give hope o he world. 1. CONVOCATION
The fundamenal aim of GC27 is ha of helping each confrere and communiy o live he aposolic plan ofi Don Bosco wih fideliy. GC27 herefore, in coninuiy wih GC26, is mean o furher srenghen our charismaic ideniy. 1. CONVOCATION Fundamenal purpose of he heme
As fruis from GC27 we wan o make our Salesian life even more auhenic and herefore visible, credible and fruiful. If we believe in our vocaion and live i wih convicion, hen we are credible Visibiliy is no primarily aking care of our image, bu he beauiful winess of our vocaion. Flowering of vocaions will come as a consequence of he auheniciy of our life. I am convinced ha in order o achieve he objecives of GC27 a spiriual and pasoral conversion is required. I is necessary o enkindle he fire of spiriual and aposolic passion in he hear of every confrere. 1. CONVOCATION Fruis o be hoped for from he implemenaion of he heme
GC27 has oher paricular asks: The elecion of he Recor Major and members of he General Council for he six year period 2014-2020. A rehink regarding he organisaion and srucuring of he Deparmens for he Salesian mission: youh minisry, missions, social communicaion (cf. GC26, 117, 118). Reflec on he grouping of he hree Regions of urope (cf. GC25, 124, 126, 129). evaluae he decision o enrus he Salesian Family o he Vicar of he Recor Major (cf. GC25, 133 and GC26, 116). valuae he overall srucure of he General Council and he srucures for cenral governmen of he Congregaion (cf. GC26, 118). 1. CONVOCATION Oher asks
Culural challenges: The firs challenge wihou doub is, pos-modernism, a ypically wesern phenomenon. A second challenge is inculuraion, marked also by an increasing inerculural menaliy. The hird challenge regards secularisaion. cclesial challenges: The curren siuaion means ha new evangelisaion is no somehing opional bu a missionary obligaion. The Church is emped by a dimming of hope he unease in consecraed life. pluralism, which can slip ino relaivism. 2. GLOBAL CONTXT Challenges...
Insiuional challenges: Looking a iniial formaion we observe a greaer weakness in wo fundamenal areas: vocaional discernmen and personal accompanimen. Also eviden is a lack in assimilaion of he guidelines of he Congregaion regarding pasoral work. We noe a weakness in direcion and animaion. Governmen and animaion do no always foser a change of menaliy. 2. GLOBAL CONTXT Challenges...
Personal challenges: One has o menion some failings in he life of he Salesian: individualism, acivism, self-formaion. There is ofen no awareness of he ideniy of our vocaion as consecraed Salesians The affecive and effecive disance from he world of he young is increasing; hey are ofen no undersood or seen as our only reason for being. The affecive dimension of he Salesians, which is lile appreciaed; emoions, feelings and affecions are negleced if no ignored. 2. GLOBAL CONTXT Challenges...
The young! Finally, I seem o observe in he Congregaion a quie worrying pehnomenon: here and here I noice a more or less conscious unwillingness and someimes a clear inabiliy o be sympaheic owards, o learn abou or undersand con and o graciously accep he new forms of expression which are a feaure of oday's young people. To recreae he Salesian charism in he mos varied siuaions i is no enough o adap i o he differen youh conexs. We wan o do his while living in heir world, speaking heir language, sanding side by side wih hem no only as hose o whom we are sen especially bu, above all as companions on he journey. 2. GLOBAL CONTXT Young people as a challenge
Besides he many posiive aspecs here are also significan difficulies: in some pars of he Congregaion ageing of he confreres, he shorage of vocaions and he complexiy of he works make hoped-for renewal difficul; in ohers i is a sruggle o organise pasoral aciviies wih he choice of he young as primary focus; problems in finding necessary space for communiy life difficulies in finding valid and effecive prodcedures for ongoing formaion; Here and here a lack of enhusiasm in living he vocaion and here are weaknesses in animaion on he par of Recors. 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL
The need o race ou he profile of he new Salesian; oday called o be: a mysic: "find a response o [secularism] in acknowledgemen of God's absolue primacy". a prophe: "In oday's muliculural and muli-religious world here is demand for winess of evangelical fraerniy". a servan: "The presence of new forms of povery and di marginalisaion ough o call forh ha creaiviy in he care of hose mos in need". 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL
The need o race ou he profile of he new Salesian; oday called o be: a mysic: "find a response o [secularism] in acknowledgemen of God's absolue primacy". a prophe: "In oday'sumuliculural hange ires a cand All his req u! e c i c a r p d n a e s d n i m f o h o b a servan: "The presence of new forms of povery and di muli-religious world here is demand for winess of evangelical fraerniy". marginalisaion ough o call forh ha creaiviy in he care of hose mos in need". 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL
Radical approach of he Gospel in consecraed life canno be limied o pracice of he evangelical counsels. I involves ones whole being, ouching is vial elemens: he following of Chris and he search for God, fraernal life in communiy, he mission. very one of hese areas is imbued wih he spell of he vocaion, and herefore called o express he radical aiude of he Gospel. This radical approach was proclaimed by Jesus himself hroughou his propheic minisry, which finds is mos explici expression in he Sermon on he moun (cf. M. 5-7) 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
Our specific vocaion is o Salesian consecraed life, which places us as disciples and aposles of he Lord Jesus in he fooseps of Don Bosco. I is described in synhesis in Ar 3 of he Consiuions. There needs o be space which is balanced and harmonised for spiriual experience, fraernal life in communiy, and he mission. 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
The grace of uniy among hese feaures of our vocaion is a challenge o be faced seriously and wih deerminaion. spiriual experience fraernal life in communiy mission. 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
spiriual experience An... all-embracing experience, because i places us in he presence of a God full of zeal who admis of no rivals, and wih an all consuming presence; unifying experience, because i gahers ogeher all aspecs of life around he one hing imporan and necessary; dynamic experience,because i gives us a new hear and a new spiri : wha one has o do, he law o be fulfilled, is no ouside ourselves, bu wihin us. 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
spiriual experience An experience ha makes us... Disciples of Chris (C. 61-84) and Seekers of God (C. 85-95) We have o carefully culivae our spiriual life, a boh personal and communiy level. I will be necessary o overcome an idea of he spiriual life which is of an inimisic naure, exraneous o or on he fringes of he life of he world; bu a he same ime i will be necessary o give greaer imporance o he experience of prayer, improve he qualiy of communiy life, and in professional manner be well-prepared o carry ou our service of egvangelisaion, o be propheic signs in he face of he curren values his world canonises, and be irrefuable winesses o he God of Love. 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
in fraernal communiies C. 49-59 I is impossible o imagine Salesian religious life wihou ha communion which is realised in he common life and shared mission. We can idenify some dangers, for example, ha of organising a syle of relaionships which are merely funcional or hierarchical or falsely democraic A communiy wihou communion is reduced o a group in which people may have a place, bu are lef in isolaion. On he oher hand, in religious life communion wihou communiy is a narcissisic way of living: individualism. 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
mission C. 26-48 The mission does no consis in doing hings, bu essenially in being signs of he love of God in he world. The specific aims reflec he ideniy, especially for aposolic, consecraed life, wih he pasoral or promoional aciviy which he religious underake in he various areas of human life. The radical approach of he Gospel in he aposolic mission has sense, and can be measured in he growh of pasoral chariy, like ha of Don Bosco: "for you I sudy, for you I work, for you I live, for you I am ready even o give my life". 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Consecraed Life
d n a K R WO C N A R TMP Aricle 18 of he Consiuions, which has as is ile Work and emperance,presens hese wo hings, for us inseparable, as an essenial elemen of he Salesian spiri: "he wachword and badge of he Salesian"; "he wo weapons armed wih which, Don Bosco wroe, we will succeed in winning over everyhing and everyone". One could say ha i represens he Salesian way of undersanding and puing ino pracice he radical approach of he Gospel, "in which in a pracical manner hey incarnae day afer day, he ideals and dynamism of our faih, hope and chariy". 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Salesian expression
d n a K R WO C N A R TMP Work is associaed by Don Bosco wih union wih God : sancified work. Work is aposolic mission. Work in auonomy is no for us Salesians; on he conrary we are called o live and work ogeher (C.49) Temperance is undersood as self-conrol, moderaion of ones inclinaions, insincs, passions, being reasonable, cuing off from worldliness, no fleeing o he deser bu remaining wih people wih one's hear under conrol. For us, Fr Viganò wroe he measure of our Salesian emperance is no our renunciaions, bu growh in he pracice of pasoral and educaional chariy 3. TH RADICAL APPROACH OF TH GOSPL IN CL Salesian expression
In order o make he heme concree and achieve he aim of GC27, cerain requiremens are needed: Processes o be se in moion The firs process regards he way of living nowadays our consecraed Salesian vocaionin he grace of uniy and wih joy. The second process regards knowledge of Don Bosco, which needs o be consanly improved o be he inspiraional moive of our life. The hird process regards he lived personal communiy aiude owards he Consiuions. RQUIRMNTS o MAK TH THM CONCRT
In order o make he heme concree and achieve he aim of GC27, cerain requiremens are needed: Care needs o be given o culure. and o culures cclesial challenges need o be considered. Care needs o be aken o increase he culure of he Congregaion, especially wih regard o formaion demands of a serious vocaional discernmen and effecive personal accompanimen. Mindse o be changed Finally here is a mindse o be changed a a personal level,so as o foser he overcoming of forms of individualism, deepen he ideniy of consecraed life, acquire effecive sexualand and emoional mauriy. RQUIRMNTS o MAK TH THM CONCRT
In order o make he heme concree and achieve he aim of GC27, cerain requiremens are needed: The syle and organisaion of communiy life needs changing: consisency, simplificaion, roles ec. Need o change he form of presence and exercise of he role of he Recor of he communiy: qualiy, readiness for leadership, ec. Need o change way of managing human resources; srenghen co-involvemen and charismaic use of resources: Salesian Family, shared responsibiliy of laiy, ec. Srucures o be changed RQUIRMNTS o MAK TH THM CONCRT
Processe s N O I T A o be s e i OC V N O C 1. Mindse n m o i o n 2. GLOBAL CONTXT o be changed 3. RADICAL GOSPL APP S r u ROACH OF Salesian CL c u T r e R C s N O C M o TH b e H T c h K a n ge d A M o S T N QUIRM R A his poin he quesion usually comes up, "bu is i possible o live like Chris?". I is no a rheorical quesion. There are confreres and communiies who live wih grea joy, generosiy, fideliy and wih a radical approach, and ohers on he oher hand whose lives are based on he easy life, individualisic, unconcerned abou ohers, abou he young or he poor.
P ro ce ss e s N O I T A o b e se i OC V N O C 1. Mindse n moion 2. GLOBAL CONTXT o be changed 3. RADICAL GOSPL APP S r u ROACH OF Salesian CL c u T r e R C s N O C M o TH b e H T c h K a nge d A M o S T N QUIRM R Today as yeserday God is calling us o holiness in Salesian life. And his is possible if we live as Chris did, as our beloved faher and founder lived wih grea joy, araciveness and a smiling face, bu wih he grea radical approach of he Gospel, expressed in his wofold moo d n a K R WO ANC RA P M T
l a c i d a r e h o s e l e Winess p s o G e h f o h approac d n a K R WO ANC RA P M T
Faher and Teacher of he young, S John Bosco, docile o he gifs of he Spiri and open o he realiy of your imes you were for he young especially he lile ones and he poor, a sign of he love and special care of God. Be our guide as we walk he pah of friendship wih he Lord jesus, so has we may discover in him and in his Gospel he meaning of our lives and he rue source of happiness. Help us o respond wih generosiy o he vocaion we have received from God, so ha in daily life we may be builders of communion, and may collaborae wih enhusiasm, in communion wih he whole Church, in creaing a civilisaion of love. Obain for us he grace of perseverance in living a high sandard of Chrisian life, according o he spiri of he beaiudes; and gran ha, guided by Mary Help of Chrisians, we may one day be wih you in he grea family of heaven. Amen