(ANS - Rome) - "Don Bosco’s Da mihi animas was the basis and the driving force of all Cardinal Cagliero’s undertakings. (...) The same commitment to the development of the people is still needed today in the Vicariate. (...) Of course a Salesian bishop can maintain the link with the heart of Don Bosco." These are some of the thoughts expressed by Bishop Gabriel Escobar, SDB, of the Apostolic Vicariate of Chaco Paraguayo, in an interview granted in preparation for the visit of the Salesian Bishops to the places of Don Bosco (Turin, 21-25 May).

Cagliero lived the motto Da mihi animas totally:  how can we today live it with the same passion?

"Don Bosco’s Da mihi animas was the basis and the driving force of all Cardinal Cagliero’s undertakings and all that he was able to accomplish as Pastor of the Particular Church of the Apostolic Vicariate of Patagonia in Argentina. With exemplary zeal, as the son of a great dreamer, Don Bosco, he was concerned only about caring for souls and planning the spread of the Kingdom of God, in the style of the Salesian charism.

I am convinced, as a bishop, that everyone should have a motivation that leads him to undertake many initiatives for the greater glory of God. The key to this is the Da mihi animas of our Founder and Father Don Bosco. It reminds us that everything must tend to the salvation of souls and that we cannot initiate any action if it does not have as its primary objective the salvation of people.

How can you today, in your diocese, realize the commitment to the development of people which Cardinal Cagliero showed?

Commitment to the development of the people today can be realized in the Vicariate, through a deep and simple Christian life, by which charity burns within us, as pastors. However, it must be a charity that has the Salesian characteristics. For example, it must be a pastoral charity, in which the zeal to make Jesus Christ and his Kingdom known leads us to seek the salvation of souls, and manifests itself in educational charity. There is no doubt that education is the resource that allows us to help young people to develop their energies for good, if we are serious about forming in all the faithful the desire to be honest citizens of this world and good Christians and future inhabitants of heaven.

In short, we could say that we must BELONG TOTALLY TO CHRIST to be able to give without limit to the mission. Without a convinced love for him in whom we have placed our trust we will make little or no progress in our spiritual lives and in our work, and these are the key elements for the improvement of our world. And the key to belonging totally to Christ must come from our interior life, that is nourished every day by our life of prayer, spiritual direction, community life and, of course, the concrete experience of charity each day.

Cardinal Cagliero was a son of Don Bosco of the first generation. What do you think was the main influence that he preserved from the oratory?

There is no doubt that Cardinal Cagliero kept in his heart and in his mind the oratorian style that our Father Don Bosco had instilled from the beginning of his work. It consisted of THE ORATORIAN HEART, which can be summarized in the life and experience of the oratory as a BIG HOME where the young felt loved, respected and taken into consideration with all their strengths and weaknesses. It was like a GREAT CHURCH where they could appreciate all the gifts that God has given them and give thanks for them all through the experience of a simple but profound prayer, full of devotion and love to this God who has done so much for us. It was like a GREAT SCHOOL, where the young learn for life and improve as people, building a world that is just and fair for all. Finally, it was a BIG PLAYGROUND, where joy comes from the depths of one's being, in that contact with others through play and prayer, a joy that is manifested in their attitude towards others.

Is it possible for a Salesian Bishop today to maintain the link with the heart of Don Bosco?

Of course it is!  A Salesian bishop can maintain the link with the heart of Don Bosco to the extent that he tries to be faithful to the spirituality that he imbibed in initial formation and later in pastoral work. Salesian spirituality is very practical and accessible by people of all areas and social classes insofar as Salesian spirituality combines two key elements: the interior life and social motivation.

This combination gives priority to different factors, such as:

1. Joy as an outward expression of the happiness we experience in being at peace with God, with others and with ourselves.
2. Friendship as a gift of oneself and unconditional acceptance of others.
3. Daily life as the best place that God gives us to meet him, and to grow and fulfil our potential.
4. The Risen Jesus as our traveling companion and reference point, with whom we are called to establish a deep relationship, through the Word of God, prayer and the sacraments, especially Reconciliation and the Eucharist.
5. The Church as a community, made up of all those who live in the style of Jesus, and which we make real by being active and responsible members.
6. Mary Help of Christians as a woman full of life, the first believer, sharing with Jesus in the work of salvation, encouraging us and helping us as our mother and teacher.
7. Commitment, understood as a responsibility to assume our task and collaborate in the construction of a more humane and just society, in the light of the values ​​of the Gospel, with a predilection for the poorest young people.

What does it mean today to be a Bishop with a Salesian heart?

For me to be a bishop with a Salesian heart means:

• Being a Good Shepherd who gives his life for his sheep, who knows them and goes in search of them.
• Being a man of God who is always vigilant about what is going to happen, who is faithful to the Church and especially one who has a deep spiritual life that he can pass on to his priests and faithful.
• Having a great love for the Mother of God and men.
• Having great apostolic zeal; one whose motto is "DA MIHI ANIMAS, CAETERA TOLLE".

Published 30/04/2015