(ANS - Rome) - "Belonging  more to God, more to the confreres, more to the young" is the title of the First Letter of the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, that will be published in the Acts of the General Council, No. 419. The text shows the same title as his intervention at the conclusion of the General Chapter 27, because he builds upon it.

Analysing the characterizing moments in the history of the congregation, and before delving into the current one, Fr Fernández Artime shares how he's living the task to which he was called: "From the Faith standpoint, I am abandoning myself to the Lord. Because I know that I am not alone (...) and carrying the young people in my heart."

The Rector Major, reiterating those identified as priorities for action by the GC27, then focusing on the appropriate attitudes in order to be faithful to one’s charismatic identity: "I really believe, Confreres, that the spiritual life must have the first place,  a spiritual life that first of all is a search for God in everyday life, in the midst of all we are doing, of all our occupations."

Speaking of community life, Fr Fernández Artime reiterates the importance of striving to achieve "the ‘utopia’ of fraternity according to the Gospel," which is only possible when there are feelings of true love among persons: "The heart needs and demands it. Community life in the future will be fraternal or it will not exist at all  This is one of the ingredients that today’s candidates are mostly looking for, and for the most part it is not always something they encounter."

A special focus is dedicated to the option for the young people, especially those most in need, "our masters", as Fr Fernández Artime calls them, according to a famous phrase taken from Don Bosco. Such option on their behalf "needs to become, in an imperative manner, the greatest effort and the distinctive feature of the Congregation in this six-year period;" and the natural and consequent call to poverty is not a "suggestion only for the more sensitive or for those rather more generous but is proposing it as a way of making in our lives a genuine exodus. It ought to be something essential for our being Salesians of Don Bosco".

Noting that "the missionary dimension is part of our identity," the Rector Major also indicates the various geographical areas worthy of attention by the Congregation in the coming years. And before concluding, he invites all the confreres to celebrate the Bicentennial in the society, in the city, with the people of God, but also within the Congregation and the Salesian Family, reviving the gift received.

The full text of the Letter of the Rector Major is available on the website sdb.org.

Posted on 09/09/2014