(ANS – Los Teques) – The Study Days entitled From First Proclamation to Missionary Discipleship in America and the Caribbean held in Los Teques, Venezuela, ended 25 November, 2013. Seventy SDBs and FMA were present, including three Salesian Bishops.

The Study Days were organized in three parts: I. Analysis of the Situation;     II. Study and Reflection;  III. Conclusions. Each day began with lectio divina led by Sister Maria Ko on the first proclamation in the scriptures.

The first session was devoted to presentation and discussion of the analysis of the situation, based on the answers to questions previously sent to the participants by Fr Rafael Borges and Sr. Ana Maria Fernandez. This session concluded with a talk by Fr Alfred Maravilla on first proclamation as the foundation of missionary discipleship with a view to arriving at an agreed understanding of first proclamation.

In the second session the speakers were chosen intentionally from outside the circle of the Salesian Family, in order to hear a different voice on the topics, and to help the participants to think outside the box, to reflect more deeply and hopefully to discover new insights and perspectives.

Professors Enrique Alí Gonzalez and William Rodriguez spoke on the challenges of religious syncretism in first proclamation, while Fr Attilio Ignacio Hartmann, SJ, outlined the challenges that secularism creates for the first proclamation of the Gospel. Finally, Fr Antonio Arocha, Director of the Catechetical Centre of the Archdiocese of Valencia, gave a talk on the relationship between first proclamation and education to the faith. In the third session, Salesian Sr. Gloria Garcia Pereira spoke about the challenges and opportunities of first proclamation in Salesian settings.

The final session consisted of separate meetings of the Salesians with Fr Václav Klement, and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians with Sr. Alaíde Deretti. The group of Salesians proposed to the provinces, inter alia, to take advantage of opportunities for lifelong learning to help the Salesians to understand better the importance of first proclamation and to live the Salesian vocation in a permanent state of mission.

We need to rediscover Salesian presence in the playground as an opportunity for first proclamation and the service of volunteering as an opportunity for the first proclamation by young people to young people, and their families, through better collaboration between youth ministry, social communication and missionary animation.

After Mass on 25 November, the majority of participants left for Maracaibo to participate in the Fourth American Missionary Congress.

Published 25/11/2013