Holiness & Community

Our constitutions affirms that: To live and work together is for us Salesians a fundamental requirement and a sure way of fulfilling our vocation… c49

Indeed community life is one of our richest dimensions which Don Bosco cherished so much and yet one of the most challenging aspects of our vocation to live out. Very often basic skills of interaction, together with a nourishment from our rich Christian and Salesian traditions  can be a source of transformation of our life together.

Here we offer some reflections and quotes on community life and prayer which hopefully will be helpful to trigger off a process of dialogue and reflection.

“Dear Salesians, …be saints!
As you well know, holiness is your principal task.” JP II

Holiness is the demanding way that together we want to follow in our communities; 

it is “the most precious gift we can offer to the young” (C 25);

 it is the highest goal that, with courage, we can set for all. 

Pascual Chaves

The community expresses in a visible manner
the mystery of the Church…  

In praying, the Salesian community responds to this call… 

making its own Don Bosco’s prayer:  

“Da mihi animas, cetera tolle”.   C85

Prayer as the Language of the Community

Prayer is the language of the Christian community. By prayer, community is created as well as expressed. Prayer is first of all the realization of God's presence in the midst of God's people and, therefore, the realization of the community itself. Most clear and most noticeable are the words, the gestures, and the silence through which the community is formed. When we listen to the word, we not only receive insight into God's saving work, but we also experience a new mutual bond. When we stand around the altar, eat bread and drink wine, kneel in meditation, or walk in procession, we not only remember God's work in human history, but we also become aware of God's creative presence here and now. When we sit together in silent prayer, we create a space where we sense that the One we are waiting for is already touching us, as that One touched Elijah standing in front of the cave (1 Kings 19:13).

Our Salesian Roots

January is a special month for us Salesians for  we celebrate the feasts of our Founder St John Bosco as well as that of our Patron St Francis of Sales, whom Don Bosco took as his model. These two great saints lived out that Salesian spirituality which was forged in their daily life as pastors. 

Both saints used writing as a means of reaching all categories of people to guide them in their spiritual life and help them live a more authentic Christian life.

These Animation Notes are an initiative of CONFORT, (CIVAM Ongoing Formation Team) with the  aim of helping in the on-going formation process of confreres and Communities. We know how very often the demands of the apostolate take up so much of our time. We hope that these Notes will help you remain in touch with the spiritual dimension of our active involvement in the apostolate.

We have taken Philip Rinaldi’s simple but profound insight into the spirituality of D Bosco – Union with God amidst so much business –as the mission statement of this initiative. 

CONFORT 

John Bosco and Francis of Sales

Vital ‘Salesian' affinities. Don Bosco tells us that he was attracted by two essential aspects of the moral and spiritual characteristics of Francis de Sales:

·  his apostolic energy, his zeal for the salvation of souls, his defence of the truth, his fidelity to the Church; and

·  the Christ-like gentleness that imbued his zeal: his charming manner, his patience, his extraordinary sensitivity.

The vital source of both these qualities is a deep, solid and decisive conviction, namely, that love is the totality of God and the totality of man. Thus it is possible to group the affinities found in our two saints under the three following aspects.

Staunch pastoral character. The first characteristic that both saints shared was their pastoral nature… Francis was an intellectual, a writer, a theologian - but first and foremost he was a bishop…. He was a man of many talents, and consecrated himself heart and soul to his duties and responsibilities as bishop. He was utterly selfless and never failed to give his all to his flock… As befitted a good shepherd he dedicated himself tirelessly to celebrate, sanctify and govern always for the good of his people, regardless of their social standing. All his writings were inspired by his episcopal activities. It was as a bishop that he guided so many Philotheas and Theotimuses along the path of devotion, and founded the Congregation of the Visitation. He wore himself out in his total dedication to this active apostolate, in accordance with his episcopal motto: Chosen by God, assigned to his people.

Vocation of the Pope

Fr Roy often sent e-mails to Confreres with  links which he thought would of particular interest to them. One of the last links that he sent out was to the following article about the Pope’s own youthful days; Fr Roy saw the possibilities that the Pope’s own testimony had in vocation animation of our young people. Being so close to Vocation Sunday and also as we bid our last farewell to Fr Roy as a Province, let us reflect on it at a personal level and use it in our ministry.

My dear
brother Salesians,

I am forwarding the latest article of Sandro Magister about Pope Benedict's 'confessions' about his early days, which were included in his message for World Youth Day.  I think they could be useful in youth ministry and vocation promotion …

Roy

ROME, September 6, 2010 –Benedict XVI released a message unusually rich in autobiographical details.

It is the message for the World Youth Day that will be held in Madrid in August of 2011. It is a text plainly written by the pope himself, a concise summary of his vision. From the God lost to the God who makes himself near again in Jesus. A Jesus whom it is possible to "touch" in the sacraments of the Church.

It is a text that demands to be read in its entirety. But to begin, here are the three passages in which pope Joseph Ratzinger talks about himself, about his childhood during Nazism and the war, about the blossoming of his vocation to the priesthood, about the birth of the idea of writing a book about Jesus: "almost to help to see, hear, touch the Lord."

by Sandro Magister

The Confessions of the Young Ratzinger

The three autobiographical passages included by Benedict XVI in the message for the World Youth Day
____________

DURING NAZISM AND THE WAR

[...] In thinking of my own youth, I realize that stability and security are not the questions that most occupy the minds of young people. True enough, it is important to have a job and thus to have firm ground beneath our feet, yet the years of our youth are also a time when we are seeking to get the most out of life.

When I think back on that time, I remember above all that we were not willing to settle for a conventional middle-class life. We wanted something great, something new. We wanted to discover life itself, in all its grandeur and beauty. Naturally, part of that was due to the times we lived in. During the Nazi dictatorship and the war, we were, so to speak, “hemmed in” by the dominant power structure. So we wanted to break out into the open, to experience the whole range of human possibilities.

I think that, to some extent, this urge to break out of the ordinary is present in every generation. Part of being young is desiring something beyond everyday life and a secure job, a yearning for something really truly greater. Is this simply an empty dream that fades away as we become older? No! Men and women were created for something great, for infinity. Nothing else will ever be enough. Saint Augustine was right when he said “our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you”. [...]
__________
THE CALL TO THE PRIESTHOOD

[...] There is a moment, when we are young, when each of us wonders: what meaning does my life have? What purpose and direction should I give to it? This is a very important moment, and it can worry us, perhaps for some time. We start wondering about the kind of work we should take up, the kind of relationships we should establish, the friendships we should cultivate...

Here, once more, I think of my own youth. I was somehow aware quite early on that the Lord wanted me to be a priest. Then later, after the war, when I was in the seminary and at university on the way towards that goal, I had to recapture that certainty. I had to ask myself: is this really the path I was meant to take? Is this really God’s will for me? Will I be able to remain faithful to him and completely at his service? A decision like this demands a certain struggle. It cannot be otherwise. But then came the certainty: this is the right thing! Yes, the Lord wants me, and he will give me strength. If I listen to him and walk with him, I become truly myself. What counts is not the fulfilment of my desires, but of his will. In this way life becomes authentic. [...]
__________

WHY THE BOOK ABOUT JESUS

[...] In the Gospel we find a description of the Apostle Thomas’s experience of faith when he accepted the mystery of the Cross and resurrection of Christ. Thomas was one of the twelve Apostles. He followed Jesus and was an eyewitness of his healings and miracles. He listened to his words, and he experienced dismay at Jesus’ death. That Easter evening when the Lord appeared to the disciples, Thomas was not present. When he was told that Jesus was alive and had shown himself, Thomas stated: “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25).

We too want to be able to see Jesus, to speak with him and to feel his presence even more powerfully. For many people today, it has become difficult to approach Jesus. There are so many images of Jesus in circulation which, while claiming to be scientific, detract from his greatness and the uniqueness of his person. That is why, after many years of study and reflection, I thought of sharing something of my own personal encounter with Jesus by writing a book. It was a way to help others see, hear and touch the Lord in whom God came to us in order to make himself known.

Jesus himself, when he appeared again to his disciples a week later, said to Thomas: “Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe” (Jn 20:27). We too can have tangible contact with Jesus and put our hand, so to speak, upon the signs of his Passion, the signs of his love. It is in the sacraments that he draws particularly near to us and gives himself to us. Dear young people, learn to “see” and to “meet” Jesus in the Eucharist, where he is present and close to us, and even becomes food for our journey. In the sacrament of Penance the Lord reveals his mercy and always grants us his forgiveness. Recognize and serve Jesus in the poor, the sick, and in our brothers and sisters who are in difficulty and in need of help. [...]

St Joseph song - How could it be?

To you, O blessed Joseph,
do we come in our tribulation,
and having implored the help of your most holy spouse,
we confidently invoke your patronage also.
Through that charity which bound you to the Immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which you embraced the Child Jesus,
we humbly beg you graciously to regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood,
and with your power and strength to aid us in our necessities.
O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ;
O most loving father,
ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence;
O our most mighty protector,
be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness;
and, as once you rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God?s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity;
shield, too, each one of us by your constant protection,
so that, supported by your example and your aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holily, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.

St Paul's Shipwreck - something to celebrate.

The 10th of February is a special day on the island of Malta, for on that day people celebrate the feast of the shipwreck of St Paul. this occured in the year 60 AD and is recoreded in the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. Last year was the 1950th annivesary of this event and Pope Benedict XVI visited the island to mark the occasion. Here we bring some extracts from his homily; these were delivered when the Pope himself was experiencing a his own storm in the media.



The Holy Father praying at the Grotto of St Paul in Rabat during his visit to Malta.



“Saint Paul’s arrival in Malta was not planned. As we know, he was travelling to Rome when a violent storm arose and his ship ran aground on this island. Sailors can map a journey, but God, in his wisdom and providence, charts a course of his own. Paul, who dramatically encountered the Risen Lord while on the road to Damascus, knew this well. The course of his life was suddenly changed; henceforth, for him, to live was Christ (cf. Phil 1:21); his every thought and action was directed to proclaiming the mystery of the Cross and its message of God’s reconciling love.

“That same word, the word of the Gospel, still has the power to break into our lives and to change their course. Today the same Gospel which Paul preached continues to summon the people of these islands to conversion, new life and a future of hope. Standing in your midst as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, I invite you to hear God’s word afresh, as your ancestors did, and to let it challenge your ways of thinking and the way you live your lives.” [St Paul’s Grotto, 17^th April 2011, Rabat]

“[In] the account of Paul’s shipwreck on the coast of Malta, and his warm reception by the people of these islands [we] notice how the crew of the ship, in order to survive, were forced to throw overboard the cargo, the ship’s tackle, even the wheat which was their only sustenance. Paul urged them to place their trust in God alone, while the ship was tossed to and fro upon the waves. We too must place our trust in him alone. It is tempting to think that today’s advanced technology can answer all our needs and save us from all the perils and dangers that beset us. But it is not so. At every moment of our lives we depend entirely on God, in whom we live and move and have our being. Only he can protect us from harm, only he can guide us through the storms of life, only he can bring us to a safe haven, as he did for Paul and his companions adrift off the coast of Malta. They did as Paul urged them to do, and so it was “that they all escaped safely to the land” (Acts 27:44).

“More than any of the cargo we might carry with us – in terms of our human accomplishments, our possessions, our technology – it is our relationship with the Lord that provides the key to our happiness and our human fulfilment. And he calls us to a relationship of love…” [18^th April 2011 – Floriana]