Be Saints!

Art  12 Union with God

As he works for the salvation of the young, the Salesian experiences the fatherhood of God and continually reminds himself of the divine dimension of his work: “Apart from me you can do nothing”.

He cultivates union with God, aware of the need to pray without ceasing in a simple heart-to-heart colloquy with the living Christ and with the Father, whom he feels close at hand.  Attentive to the presence of the spirit and doing everything for God’s love he becomes like Don Bosco a contemplative in action.

The Salesian, while engaged in work for the salvation of the young, feels his need of God.  God is at the beginning of his vocation; the Salesian experiences God not only as his Father, but also as the Father of the boys to whom he is being sent; Jesus is his  Leader and Saviour with whom the Salesian  wants to join in his work of Salvation,  while the Holy Spirit is experienced as the love and the life that gives him meaning and unites  us with the mystery of the Trinity.

From the very first letter that he wrote to us, Fr. Chavez is  persistently calling us to return to the roots of our vocation which is none other than holiness. His initiative really started from the invitation of Pope John Paul II when he addressed the Capitular members : “My dear Salesians, be saints”.
 

We live in a world that is driven by the need of success. There is great pressure on all to deliver, to show that one is competent. People and institutions are judged more on their performance, on their ability to produce results. This drive may also come from an underlying need that we all have to prove ourselves with others, to be autonomous in our actions and the underlying need of success. With this kind of pressure it is very easy to fall into the trap of forgetting the divine dimension of what we have set out to do. The means that we employ can easily become an end in itself, and we start relying more on our own resources and seeking the approval of others. We see this drive for success also entering Religious life; at times what drives us is more the desire not to be seen as failures, but rather as competent persons  whom people may admire and look up to.

This article brings us back to the source of our vocation. We are reminded in this article that “Without me you can do nothing”. It is not by our own capabilities but by God’s grace, for we are limited. It is only from a divine perspective we are

able to see things in a different light. What to us may seem as failure, may be the very thing that God is able to use to bring about so much good. We therefore need to be  in a simple heart-to-heart colloquy with the living Christ,  and like him have a living relationship with the Father, whom he feels close at hand.  Success is not a biblical word; rather the word that we find used in the scriptures is fruitfulness. “I am the vine you are the branches, if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.” It is only by being rooted in Jesus that our humble efforts can be transformed to be able to feed the multitudes.

We now have various good means for nourishing our desire to see continually the face of God.  Fr. Michael Smyth translated in English the Eugenio Ceria’s work “Don Bosco with God”.  It is a book that must enrich not only our libraries,  it is a fundamental book that helps us to learn from don Bosco intimacy with God. Ceria writes:“In this times of feverish activity some would like to regard Don Bosco as a saint of action, almost as if the church, from St Paul to the present day, had not always had saints who were very active, and if a modern active saint did not also need to be a man of prayer. There is not sanctity without an interior life, nor can there be an interior life without a spirit of prayer.”   Don Rinaldi’s definition of our spirit has become well known among us: “tireless industry made holy by prayer and union with God”. In other words we are called to be “contemplatives in action”, “our hearts set on  God as our feet are firmly on the play ground”. 

Article 95 of our Constitution helps us also to be contemplative in action and to live every  day as a liturgy.

“Immersed in the world and in the cares of the pastoral life, the Salesian learns to meet God through those to whom he is sent.

Discovering the fruit of the spirit on the lives of men, especially the young, he gives thanks for everything; as he shares their problems and sufferings, he invokes upon them the light and strength of God’s presence.

He draws on the love of the Good Shepherd, whose witness he wants to be, and shares in the spiritual riches offered him by the community.

His need of God, keenly felt in his apostolic commitment leads him to celebrate the liturgy of life, attaining that “tireless industry made holy by prayer and union with God”, that should be the characteristic of the sons of St. John Bosco.”