(ANS – Rome) –The letter of the Rector Major at the beginning of the year, entitled “Like Don Bosco with the Young and for the Young”, was addressed to the whole Salesian Family and was the commentary of the Strenna 2015. The letter we receive now, exactly before the conclusion of the Bicentenary of Don Bosco’s birth, is in a proper sense the second letter addressed to the Congregation. Here below we present some keys to the reading of the letter as presented by Fr. Francesco Cereda, Vicar of the Rector Major.

From the title itself,the letter expresses its fundamental intentionality. It aims at highlighting the fruits expected by the celebration of the Bicentenary for the Congregation, so that it “may have life to the full”. The Bicentenary undoubtedly caused a more widespread external projection of Don Bosco’s charism (outside the Salesian Family), i.e. a greater visibility, a more lively link with the Salesian Family, a more direct commitment with the local church and territory, but above all a greater involvement of the young. The Rector Major, however, intends to linger on the “more interior and intimate” effects of the Bicentenary, i.e. those that will produce more life and vitality for the Congregation, more identity, more sense of belonging. In this sense, the Bicentenary has been a “year of grace” for all of us.

The first fruit we expect is the happiness of every Salesian. The Rector Major, like Don Bosco, wishes that every confrère may live the joy of his call. We cannot communicate to the young the joy of the Gospel, if we do not live the joy of the call, “vocationis gaudium”. Because of this, the Rector Major shows closeness and understanding to those confrères who find themselves in vocational difficulties and invites them to “return to the former love”, to the moments of the first answer to the call, to the love of Lord Jesus and of Don Bosco. He asks that also the community help remove those obstacles which create a lack in the sense of belonging, relational coolness, spiritual fatigue, little apostolic zeal.

The other fruits that the Rector Major expects, recall what he expressed in the closing speech of GC27 and in his first letter to the Congregation, last September. These are not repetitions, but rather a revival of the key themes for the six-year period, presented from the beginning, but with further specifications. On the other hand, he deems it important not to disperse ourselves on manifold commitment fronts, but rather to concentrate on the same fundamental tasks indicated to the Congregation. We live in a culture of dispersion and fragmentation; therefore concentration and convergence are important, with the attention Pope Francis highlighted on the occasion of His visit to Valdocco last June 21^st, as our Salesian characteristic: concreteness.

Hence the Rector Major demands that we concentrate on the fundamental challenges we have to face as Congregation. First of all he requests that we bear fruit in our mystical life, in the capability of a reading reality with faith, in the search for God, in our remaining with Christ and, in Him, in loving and bearing fruit. Besides, he shows us the commitment for the poorest youth, becoming ourselves poor; this is a journey that demands concrete options for the poor and the abandonment of a mentality of power and strength. Finally he asks that we put ourselves in tune with the “Evangelii gaudium” of Pope Francis and not to be afraid of facing the challenges of evangelization, not to stop on the threshold in proposing the Gospel, but to have the courage of proposing to all to live their lives as Jesus did, to be true evangelizers and educators of faith.

If to the Rector Major the starting point is the dream of a Congregation of happy Salesians, the finishing point is the achievement of a Congregation that is always missionary. This is part of our identity since the beginning of our history, because Don Bosco dreamt of a Congregation with this characteristic and toiled to make this dream become true. The missionary capability is a great asset of the Congregation. Each Salesian must be a missionary; in order to remain faithful to the Gospel, to the Church and to Don Bosco, the Congregation must be missionary; let those confrères who feel called to missionary life not be afraid of sending their request to the Rector Major; let Provinces and Provincials be generous in arousing missionary vocations.   

Published 13/08/2015