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The official newsletter of the Salesian Mission Animation FIN Issue No. 5 July - August 2007
By His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI*
The Eucharist and Priestly Spirituality
The eucharistic form of the Christian life is seen in a very special way
in the priesthood. Priestly spirituality is intrinsically eucharistic. The
seeds of this spirituality are already found in the words spoken by the
Bishop during the ordination liturgy: “Receive the oblation of the holy
people to be offered to God. Understand what you do, imitate what you
celebrate, and conform your life to the
mystery of the Lord's Cross." (RO, 163)
In order to give an ever greater
eucharistic form to his existence, the
priest, beginning with his years in the
seminary, should make his spiritual life
his highest priority. (cf. PDV, 19-33) He
is called to seek God tirelessly, while
remaining attuned to the concerns of his
brothers and sisters. An intense spiritual
life will enable him to enter more deeply
into communion with the Lord and to let
himself be possessed by God's love,
bearing witness to that love at all times,
even the darkest and most difficult. To
this end I join the Synod Fathers in
recommending "the daily celebration of
Mass, even when the faithful are not
present." (PDV38)This recommendation
is consistent with the objectively infinite value of every celebration of
the Eucharist, and is motivated by the Mass's unique spiritual
fruitfulness. If celebrated in a faith-filled and attentive way, Mass is
formative in the deepest sense of the word, since it fosters the priest's
configuration to Christ and strengthens him in his vocation.
__________________
*These are excerpts from Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 80 and 81, the Pope’s
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Eucharist as the Source and
Summit of the Church’s Life and Mission, Rome, 22 February 2007
The Eucharist and the Consecrated Life
The relationship of the Eucharist to the various ecclesial vocations is
seen in a particularly vivid way in "the prophetic witness of consecrated
men and women, who find in the celebration of the Eucharist and in
eucharistic adoration the strength necessary for the radical following of
Christ, obedient, poor and chaste." (VC, 95) Though they provide many
services in the area of human formation
and care for the poor, education and
health care, consecrated men and
women know that the principal purpose
of their lives is "the contemplation of
things divine and constant union with
God in prayer." (CIC, 663) The essential
contribution that the Church expects
from consecrated persons is much more
in the order of being than of doing. Here
I wish to reaffirm the importance of the
witness of virginity, precisely in relation
to the mystery of the Eucharist. In
addition to its connection to priestly
celibacy, the eucharistic mystery also
has an intrinsic relationship to
consecrated virginity, inasmuch as the
latter is an expression of the Church's
exclusive devotion to Christ, whom she
accepts as her Bridegroom with a radical and fruitful fidelity.(VC, 34) In
the Eucharist, consecrated virginity finds inspiration and nourishment
for its complete dedication to Christ. From the Eucharist, moreover, it
draws encouragement and strength to be a sign, in our own times too,
of God's gracious and fruitful love for humanity. Finally, by its specific
witness, consecrated life becomes an objective sign and
foreshadowing of the "wedding- feast of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7-9) which
is the goal of all salvation history. In this sense, it points to that
eschatological horizon against which the choices and life decisions of
every man and woman should be situated.
My Dear Friends,
July 1, 2007
Peace in Christ Jesus!
As we continue our journey in the Ordinary Time of the Liturgical Year, we celebrate the extraordinary presence of Christ in the
ordinariness of our daily lives. As he became flesh, he pitched his tent among us, waiting for us to welcome him in our hearts. When the
Word became a Jew, he opened his arms on the cross to embrace even gentiles, commanding and commissioning his followers to “baptize
.all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” (Mt 28:19) that in the end, all cultures may be Christocentric.
Indeed, communio always precedes missio. Without a personal relationship with Jesus, there will be no authentic mission. Without a
personal consecration and dedication to our teacher and friend, we can neither speak about him nor bear witness to him. Without personally
knowing him (in the Hebrew sense, i.e. loving), we cannot make him known and loved.
The Jesus I have personally known and loved for the past 40 years of my religious life - the Christ of faith, to whom I have fervently given
my faith and my hope for the past 30 years of my priestly life, is the same heri, hodie et semper! (Heb 13:8)
Fr. Salvador F. Pablo, SDB
Missions Animation Office

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SALESIAN MISSION TERRITORIES
History of the Catholic Church in Cambodia
It was about the 15th century where the first year
of evangelization in Cambodia began.
Missionaries from Portugal translated the
writings of Christian literature in the Khmer
language. By the 17th century, French
missionaries wrote books of Christianity in
Khmer and founded seminaries and religious
communities which were destroyed soon after
by the Vietnamese invasion of 1784.
The following year came where the Catholic
Khmers were deported to Bangkok. That time
also marked a Catholic community in
Battambang. The coming of the 19th century
was not peaceful too where wars and conflicts
did a great damage to the Church communities.
The 1970's war would change the landscape of
Cambodia. The coming to power of the regime
of the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot (1975 - 1979)
would bring lot of sadness for the country, its
people and its religions. Many people lost their
lives in the nightmare of genocides committed.
The year 1990 opened a new hope for the
Church because the government gave freedom
of worship. Similarly, in December 3, 2006 in
Thang Koo, there was the celebration of the
450th year of the coming of the Gospel in
Cambodia with around 2000 faithful from
around the country. Statistically, there are about
4,000 Khmer Catholics in a country mostly
Buddhist.
First steps towards Don Bosco’s arrival in
Cambodia.
Don Bosco officially arrived in Cambodia in
1991 from Thailand, a country where the
Salesian presence started in 1927. Thailand
had to cope with the Cambodian refugee camps
on its territory. The Thai government forbade
any organization other than the Thai army to
come to the support of the refugees fleeing the
war.
In 1989, the Thai government allowed the
United Nations to conduct technical education
for youth in the refugee camps through the
Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and
Refugee (COERR). This organization delegated
the project to the Jesuits from India. They, in
turn, thought of the Salesians from Bangkok
due to their expertise in vocational and technical
education.
The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Renato
Martino, knowing the work of the Salesians, was
also in favor of giving the project to Don Bosco.
In August 1989 the Salesians established 6
centres for technical education at the 2, 8, Sok
Sann and B sites along the Thai-Cambodian
border. The centres were lead by Brother
Roberto Panetto and the past pupils of Don
Bosco Bangkok. The machinery was provided
by the Salesians from Macau to support the
project in favor of the Khmer youth in the
refugee camps. Within two years there were
around 3,000 young participants who had
gained some technical skills, but the war was
nearly over in Cambodia and the people were
about to be repatriated. Past pupils and the
personnel kept asking the Salesians “Are you
going to come with us?”
______________________
To be continued…
www.catholiccambodia.org
www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
SALESIANS IN FOCUS
NOVITIATE BATCH 1966-67 CELEBRATES RUBY JUBILEE OF PROFESSION AS SALESIANS
Dear Fr. Master,
May 24, 1973
It is with great joy that we write this letter to you. The impact of the significance of
our perpetual profession today, the feast of our Lady, Help of Christians, prompts
us to write and share with you our happiness and tender feelings—who else should
rejoice with us over the great things which the Lord has done?
At this moment, we recall the solicitous guidance and paternal care you always
had for us in our novitiate. The years we spent in practical training have proven
your teachings wise. You taught us Christ. That is the reason why as we approach
the day of our profession, we feel strengthened. We know we are not alone in our
dedication to the Lord. Christ is with us. And right behind them we find you, a
guide, a teacher, an inspiration and above all, a friend.
Your sons in Don Bosco
Novices 1966-67
Above is the letter addressed to Fr. Giuliano Carpella, novice master of batch 66-67, thanking him for his
guidance during their novitiate days. What their master did to them helped them equip themselves to be more
capable of putting up a life-long commitment and dedication to God, that which they sealed with their
signatures on the day of their perpetual profession.
On 29 June 2007, they celebrated the 40th year of their religious profession.
Among them, six became missionaries. They are Frs. Ochoa & Tapay (THA),
Fr. Pablo & Bro. de la Cruz (PNG), and the late Fr. Santos (Timor) & Zamora
(Africa) who died in the missions. The rest, Frs. Baldonado, Cavestany, Cruz,
Evangelista, Ocampo, & Varela, actively persevere in the ministerial
priesthood, celebrating their 30th Sacerdotal Ordination this year. One of them
even became a bishop, Most Rev. Patricio Buzon of the Diocese of Kabankalan,
Negros. Asked about their secret on how they endure, they say: “We know that
we are not alone in our dedication.” Certainly, for them, life is Christ.