| RMG – The Salesian vocation: meeting Jesus and Don Bosco |
| RMG – The Spirituality Days of the Salesian Family about to start |
In the Hall of the Salesianum, in the presence of the Mother General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Yvonne Reungoat, of Mother Eulalia Rueda, Superior of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, of the General Council of the Salesian Congregation and many members of the various groups of the Salesian Family, the Vicar of the Rector Major, Fr Adriano Bregolin, opened the Days with a special welcome to the Novices male and female present: “These young people are the great sign of this Strenna; they are the great icon, the great dream, the great hope of our Congregations; and the young Cooperators are also a great sign of a new laity.”
After a moment of prayer and the hymns of the opening ceremony, the official talks began. The first to speak was Fr Miguel Canino Zanoletty SDB at present completing his doctorate in the History of the Church at the Gregorian University in Rome. Fr Canino spoke about the vocational ministry carried out by Don Bosco: the proposal, the accompaniment, the personal fascination of the teacher for the students, the setting, the witness were some of the points touched on: “The proposal regarding a vocation was an art, which implied not only personal ability, but also reflection, strategies, practical structures. In this Don Bosco was a recognised master, capable of filling with enthusiasm and gathering together a large number of people in the mission of the salvation of youth.”
The next to speak was Sr Pina del Core, Principal of the “Auxilium” Pontifical Faculty of Education. In her talk entitled: “Young people and vocational choice: a mixture of fear and confidence. Challenges for educating to lifestyle choices”, on the basis of her professional and academic experience she considered the obstacles which hinder the courageous and clear-cut choices of young people. For an educator, therefore, “it is not enough to collect data , to know. It is necessary to help, to accompany, to be aware of the confusion, the anxiety, the difficulties, the fear of making a choice.”
The Assembly also had its own role to play in responding to what the speakers had to say and a number of those present put their own observations and questions to them.
After the afternoon session, in the evening the video-commentary on the Strenna for 2011 was shown, and this was then followed by the “Good Night” of the Rector Major. Fr Chávez invited each member of the Salesian Family to be a convinced witness to their choice of life. “Our life, our enthusiasm, our fidelity, ought to clearly show that we believe in the beauty of being who we are, of doing what we do, and therefore in the value of the vocation we have received. We will not be convincing, credible nor fruitful and effective from the vocational point of view, if we do not believe in the beauty of our own vocation. And in its relevance.”
A video summing up the activities of the first day is available on ANSChannel.
Published 21/01/2011
