(ANS – Rome) – Yesterday Saturday 21 January the  XXXth in the series of the  Spirituality Days attention was concentrated on some practical examples of following Don Bosco in the Salesian Family. The Rector Major’s own reflection on the Strenna was also eagerly awaited. Then in the afternoon in group work it was possible to benefit from the sharing of experiences and strengthen synergy.

 The day began with a Round Table presentation of “The Face of the Young Today.” Fr Hubert Geelen, a Belgian Salesian, now assistant parish priest at Castelnuovo Don Bosco, spoke about cultural and spiritual forms of poverty inviting the audience to look more with the heart at current youth situations: “I believe that there is too much culture or better too many cultures. Young people are not without culture, but rather have to deal with too much. There are too many “things” dumped on them to be able to satisfy their spirit. Need and greed is simply stirred up.”

With Fr Giancarlo de Nicolò in the chair, the next contribution was from Sr Mary Ann Fernando, who spoke about forms of material poverty of the young from the experience of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in Sri Lanka and their project for orphan girls often former child soldiers: “Emotional hurts is the common factor for all of them though to varying degrees. It calls for a suitable atmosphere and educative interventions and we do all we can to provide each child with love, care, attention and psychological help she needs. Counselling and guidance play an important role.”

By means of a video presentation the experience of Fr Jean-Marie Peticlerc and the Salesian in Argenteuill among the young people on the outskirts of Paris was demonstrated responding in practical ways to the social and affective forms of poverty of the young.

Half way through the morning  the Rector Major addressed the packed assembly in the Hall. He issued a strong invitation to the Salesian Family to come to know Don Bosco very well in order to imitate his activity and total dedication on behalf of the young. “In our own time, marked by the absence of father figures, Don Bosco is offered to us as a model of love with all the loving kindness of the Preventive System and all the proactive style of the “Da mihi animas”, Fr Chvez said. “In fact, having Don Bosco as our father and teacher means preserving God's gift. Allowing Don Bosco to guide us in life, striving to let his spiritual experience guide our own experience will allow us to live under the guidance of divine grace, experiencing God's action in us. Whoever lives in Don Bosco's home, whoever learns at his 'school', experiences God's gift and knows how to be thankful for it. God has not made the experience of his grace easy, nor is it always easy to experience his closeness, proof of his kindness to us: accepting Don Bosco's teaching, his fatherliness, is our Salesian way of knowing that God loves us. This lies at the root of our ability to be cheerful, that typical Salesian way of living out our holiness.”

In the afternoon in language groups there was reflection on the various talks heard so far. As usual, it was a very beneficial opportunity for members of the various groups of the Salesian Family to meet and to share ideas and gain new insights.

The Rector Major presided at Mass and the homily was given by Fr Maria Arokiam, Regional Councillor for South Asia.
The evening concluded with a social gathering with music, games and some conjuring tricks recalling the cheerful atmosphere of the Oratory so dear to Don Bosco.

Finally, Fr Piotr Marcin, a member of the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel, gave the Good Night and spoke about the centenary of the death of their founder Fr Stanislao Markievic.

video

Published 22/01/2012