Cagliero11_2022_12_en


Cagliero11_2022_12_en

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CAGLIERO 11 ,
newsletter for Salesian
Missionary Animation
Publication of the missions sector for SOB communities and friends of the salesian mission
The Missionary Strategy
JI
of St. Francis de Sales
Dear missionaries
and friends of the
Salesian Missions,
I send you a fraternal greeting
with the desire and com-
mitment to see our charismatic
identity strengthened within the
Church with effective action
among those most in need.
For this year we at the Sector for
Missions propose ·commu-
nicating Christ Today·through
Social Networks as the theme. It
highlights the fact that
reactivation of this mission
must begin with each one, in
one's own family and in the
society. In union with the
m essage that Pope Francis gave
us "that you may be my
witnesses· in the proclamation
of the Gospel.
At the beginning o f December,
the month in which we
celebrate the birth of the Savio r,
Iwould like to invite each one of
who share the mission as
m e mbe rs of the Salesian Family
to continue to commit
ourselves to the transformation
of a more just. m ore fraternal.
m ore e vangelized society.
I~~
.L/.-~ ~ " l o / '
▀ Fr. Hernán Darío
Carmona López, SDB
Regional Coordinator for
Missionary Animation, Inter-
America Region
During his missionary experience in the Chablais region of France (1594 -
1597), St. Francis de Sales developed his missionary strategy.
Firstly, to be near the people he accepted to live in the Chateau of Allinges
accompanied only by his cousin. By choosing to walk down to Thonon every
day, he met people in their ordinary daily life: workers in their shops, farmers
in their fields and villagers in their homes. Thus. he established a simple
personal relationship with them. Becoming their friend, his witness of life
became even more appealing. This apostolate of relationship and friendship
became the foundation of his missionary work.
Secondly, Francis of Sales lived poor and deprived of resources. He had little
by way of human support. Although he was housed in the Chateau of Allinges
as guest of the Baron of Hermance. he refused to preach the Gospel protected
by the weapons of the Catholic army.
Thirdly, h e placed his hope in God alone. His strength was in prayer and in the
daily Mass at the small chapel of the Chateau before descending to Thonon.
Even if he was insulted and mocked. even if the Protestants avoided or assailed
him, he treated them with great respect and profound charity.
Fourthly, he was convinced of the natural inclination to love of every human
heart. For Francis the missionary challenge was to help every person to believe,
to receive the gift of faith, to believe in the existence of a God of love, incarnate
in our humanity in Jesus, crucified for love of us, and resurrected so that we
may enter fully into the communion of love with God.
Finally, h e prepared himself well to preach with the same care for his rather
small flock of faithful in the Chablais as he would for a crowd of the faithful.
When people refused to listen to him, Fran cis wrote pamphlets and distributed
them. Like the Protestants he also used Scriptures in his preaching and
discussions with some of them.
Indeed. Francis evangelized above all, though his personal example of life - by
way o f his courage, his faith, his ch arity, and his preaching - that touched
people's hearts and led to the conversion of many.
▀ Fr. Alfred Maravilla, SDB
General Councilor for the Missions
FOR REFLECTION
AND SHARING
▀ What can I learn from
missionary strategy of
St. Francis de Sales that is
applicable in my context?
▀ What importance to
I place to my personal
witness of life?

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VOLUNTEERS IN MEXICO ~
AND THE SALESIAN MISSION
Dear Margarita, how would you define the current post-Covid situation of
Salesian missionary volunteering in Mexico?
During the Covid pandemic, the Salesian Province of MEG decided not to
suspend the experience of the Salesian Missionary Volunteer Service, and
instead continued to prepare and send volunteers. Certainly, the number
of volunteers has indeed decreased considerably. Now in the post-Covid
situation, the MEG province continues to commit itself to experiences of
service and witness that bring young people closer to God. For this we
continue to prepare, train, and send volunteers to the Salesian
communities. This year we have 15 volunteers in 5 communities.
What do you think is the greatest benefit of the presence of international
volunteers who come to help Mexico?
The international volunteers that we receive enrich our communities
through their culture, their way of living the Catholic religion and their
Salesian joy. In certain aspects, we do find some similarities. But for the
most part they are differences that complete the Salesian mission.
On the other hand, the benefit that volunteers receive from the program is
to meet God through the children, the adolescents and the young people
of our houses, who live different realities from those that they are used to
or do not know at all.
Laura Margarita Aguilar Aguirre
Coordinator of the Salesian Missionary
Voluntary Service (SMVS) of Guadalajara,
Mexico.
She volunteered for a year in Nogales,
northern Mexico and after this experience,
she started in 2013 as a SMV coordinator
within the MEG province, where she still
works today. In the meantime, she has
graduated in pedagogy.
Her duties include, among other things, the
training and accompaniment of volunteers,
organization of formation meetings, visits
of volunteers to their communities.
As a woman and a lay person, what do you think can help the Salesians to
better understand and support Salesian volunteering?
First of all, by raising awareness of the importance of missionary animation
in our communities. Furthermore, with formation through the materials
and aids from the Salesian Missionary Volunteer Service.
In our MEG Province we have decided to work on this programmatic line:
to take care and ensure that every Salesian of Don Bosco lives his vocation
happily and fraternally starting from the sacrament of presence, being
among the children, adolescents and young people as a friend and an
educator Thus, they can be witnesses of God's love through
accompaniment. We insist on the priority that the accompaniment of
young people in its three phases must have: for those who are preparing
to live the experience of volunteering, for young people who are doing
volunteering and for young people who have already lived their experience
of volunteering. Salesian missionary, never stops accompanying them.
CULTURAL CHANGE
• Job
• Culture in general
• Language
• Disease
• Others
39,4 %
37,2 %
12,0 %
8,0 %
3,4 %
COMMUNITY LIFE
• Cohabitation
• Salesians SDB
• Other volunteers
• Individuals
• Sisters FMA
36,3 %
25,8 %
22,6 %
9,7 %
5,6 %
HOMESICKNESS
8,8 %
SOLITUDE
6,0 %
Source:
Thesis by Dr. Jc Montenegro
Volunteer not-for-profit
organisations
For the Salesian missionary volunteers
and past volunteers in Mexico
We pray that volunteer non-profit organisations committed to human
development find people dedicated to the common good and ceaselessly
seek out new paths to international cooperation.
[Pope Francis’ prayer intention]