ROME: 4 March 2014 -- Any official communications on sessions within
GC27 now
underway, you can follow through ANS and sdb.org, while
austraLasia
shall continue its service as an unofficial adjunct and
accompaniment,
like an appetiser, or dessert if you wish, or, if your tastes
are
different, like a little sip of Laphroaig to give you a
'peaty' taste to events in Rome!
7.30 a.m. Concelebration
- Mass of the
Holy Spirit
Fr
Pascual Chávez presided - "Let us ask God for the
gift par
excellence, “the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the
Father”. He
witnesses to Jesus and makes us in turn witnesses of the
Christ. May he
guide us through this Chapter Assembly. We need him to come,
as he did
at Pentecost, and personally and pastorally convert us,
transform us
from being closed and self-certain individuals to being open
and
courageous disciples, profoundly renewed so that we become
“witnesses
to the radical approach of the Gospel”. See complete
homily.
10.30 a.m. Prayer of invocation to
the Holy
Spirit, the Veni, Creator
Spiritus The Word of God
enthroned Fr Pascual Chávez'
opening address. Here are key excerpts: Opening gambit
On Sunday 10 November 2013, the final day of my visit to the
Kolkata
Province, I had the grace of visiting the Mother House of the
Sisters
of Charity of Mother Teresa once again. On the first occasion
I was
welcomed by Mother Nirmala, but this time it was Mother Prema
who
received me and came with me to pray beside the bed on which
Mother
Teresa had breathed her last, in the same room she had
occupied up to
the moment of her ‘Passover’. Our prayer then continued before
her
sepulchre, in the chapel at the Mother House. I must
confess that at
that moment I felt a deep inspiration, similar to the one I
had felt
before the Casket of Padre Pio last July, concerning what it
implied
for our “radical Gospel approach”. The Saints, especially
Padre Pio and
Mother Teresa, are a testimony, like Don Bosco for how we
should live
the Gospel radically ...
I would very much like to say that what concerns us is not the
future
of the Congregation, almost as if it were a matter of
survival, but
rather our prophetic capacity, meaning our charismatic
identity, our
apostolic passion ...
Pope Francis
I believe it behoves me here to refer to the captivating and
charismatic model which Pope Francis has introduced into the
Church. By
his gestures, attitudes and interventions he is already
profoundly
renewing it, seeking to enlighten minds, warm hearts and
strengthen the
will of all through the light and vigour of the Gospel to make
us all
courageous witnesses, “missionary disciples of Christ”, sent
into the
world, fearlessly, to serve the poor and excluded and thus
transform
this society. I do not believe that as a Congregation we can
remain
indifferent or detached concerning this; through him, I am
convinced,
the Spirit is speaking to the Church ...
The Congregation's way
forward
It seems to me that it is important to recognise, understand
and take
up this splendid ecclesial moment we are living through.
Without being
too pretentious, I would say that the road we are on as a
Congregation
and a Salesian Family, in preparation for the bicentenary of
the birth
of our beloved Father and Founder Don Bosco, is in fact along
these
lines. ...
Let's take a step forward now by asking ourselves what, at
this moment, is God's will for us as an institution ...
Challenges to be faced up to
Thanks be to God the Congregation has thus far not experienced
division
and has been loved and blessed by the Lord. Thanks be to God
it has
grown immensely over these 150 years, multiplying its
presences
throughout the world. Today however there are new and powerful
challenges on the horizon. In my view, and with the experience
of these
12 years of government, there are three we must pay particular
attention to:
Community life
Before he died, in his letter of convocation of GC25, Fr
Vecchi
maintained that community life was not only a topic to be
studied but
rather a turning point for renewal of the Congregation's life
... The young
Young people have become a huge challenge for us. The serious
risk we
run and, at the same time, the great temptation we can be
subject to,
is that of becoming administrators of our works but ceasing to
be
pastors and educators of the young ... Vocation and formation
The third challenge the Congregation is called to tackle is
the point
regarding “vocation and formation” of Salesians. I consider
this topic
to be of vital importance. This is why I wanted to make it the
topic of
my last letter as Rector Major. I consider the problem of
vocation and
formation to be a very strategic one! ...
The Chapter's tasks
Therefore the Congregation is called in this Chapter, which is
an
extraordinary moment for spiritual and charismatic preparation
for
celebration of the bicentenary of Don Bosco's birth, to
understand its
Founder and Father ever more deeply, to take up his
pedagogical
experience, his preventive system with conviction and to make
its own
his spirituality which is marked by pastoral and educative
charity ...
The urgent need to
understand our origins
Over these three years of preparation for the bicentenary of
Don
Bosco's birth, but already since the last Chapter and its
appeal to
‘return to Don Bosco’ we have asked ourselves how he went
about things
in his time. Today, as then, the challenge is the same:
bringing the
values of the Gospel back into moral, social, cultural,
political life
through education, not to create a new "Christianity" or even
to regain
areas or privileges we have lost, but to offer a contribution
to
forming an individual and collective culture which knows how
to
foreground the real needs of the human being. Historical and ecclesial
significance of Don Bosco
In my view, Don Bosco's original contribution is to be found,
prior to
it being in the many "works" and in certain relatively
original
methodological elements – such as the famous “preventive
system of Don
Bosco “ – in the intellectual and emotional perception he had
of the
universal, theological and social import of the problem of
"abandoned"
youth.
The General Chapter
We are called to return to the essential, to be a poor
Congregation for
the poor, and to rediscover inspiration from the very
apostolic passion
of Don Bosco. We are invited to draw on the bountiful
wellsprings of
the charism and at the same time open ourselves bravely and
creatively
to new ways of expressing it today ...
Attitudes for taking part
So then how are we to live this experience of the Chapter in a
constructive way? What kind of commitment should every Chapter
member
take on board? What are the attitudes one should have when
taking part
in a General Chapter? ...
GC27 requires
our complete involvement.
We are all called to live this event responsibly, to see its
vital
importance and to refresh our interest and availability each
day for
the road that the Spirit is leading us to set out on. ...in
particular, serious
reflection,
calm, profound prayer, personal contribution, awareness
that we are called individually to be part of it, a readiness
to listen
to God and ourselves. Our openness to the questions,
provocations,
stimuli and challenges of modern man, in our case those of the
young,
frees us from every kind of sclerosis, tonelessness, stalemate
or
bourgeois mentality and sets us on the road “in step with God”
...
Historical sensitivity has been a typical element of Don
Bosco's and of
the Congregation, and today more than ever we cannot overlook
this ...
Our community and our life cannot be built on any other
foundation than
Christ nor can it be built with outmoded materials. Many
experiences
confirm the suspicion that at times, here and there, we have
tried to
build the house on sand, and not on rock. Every attempt to
refound
consecrated life which does not lead us back to Christ, the
foundation
of our life, and which does not make us more faithful to Don
Bosco, our
founder, is destined to fail.
Theme
At times there is a tendency to identify our being radical
with
perfection or seeking it, but it is not so: we do not expect
fruit from
a small plant, and even more so from a seed just planted in
the ground,
but that it puts down good, deep roots. For someone who wants
to enter
Salesian life, or religious life in general, we cannot demand
that he
be "holy" (unfortunately, at times, not even after many years
of
consecrated life) unless he is well-rooted/radical in his life
choices
... I believe this has implications for formation ...
Aims and results
GC27 aims to help every confrere and every community to
faithfully live
out Don Bosco's apostolic project. GC27 desires then, in
continuity
with GC26, to further strengthen our charismatic identity ...
Conclusion
My dear confreres and Chapter members, on 25 March 2008 I was
re-elected as Rector Major by GC26 and on the days that
followed the
Vicar and other Sector and Regional Councillors were elected,
with the
task of animating and governing the Congregation for the six
year
period, 2008-2014. Over these six years we have sought to live
this
task intensely, investing our best energies in it ...
I conclude by entrusting this Pentecostal event of our
Congregation to
Our Lady, to Mary the Immaculate Help of Christians. She
has always
been there in our history and her presence and help will not
be lacking
at this time.
Address by Card.
João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the
Congregation for Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. His address
focuses on the following
"Amongst the many aspects in which we are called to express
our radical
witness to the Gospel, and which Fr Chávez has summed
up in the three
ways indicated above, I would like to highlight just one which
seems to
me to be so important in today's ecclesial and social context,
for our
consecrated lives to be authentic and truly a credible witness
to our
choice of God and to the validity of the Gospel for our time:
living
the prophecy of communion and fraternity." Greeting from
Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone - in the
name of all Salesian prelates around the world:
"In our specific task, the sharing of the very same basic
inspirations
guiding our life, putting together our gifts, material and
intellectual
resources with the exercising of a ministry of unity which is
properly
that of the Bishop, has allowed us to offer young people
ideals and
horizons for life, and to be able to say again with Don Bosco:
“for you
I study, for you I work, for you I live, for you I am even
ready to
give my life” (C. 14)." Greeting from Mother
Yvonne Reungoat, Superior General FMA
"Our two General Chapters are taking place on the vigil of the
year
dedicated to consecrated life which Pope Francis declared at
his 29
November 2013 meeting in the Vatican with 120 Superiors
General. In the
days preceding this they had gathered for their General
Assembly right
here in the Salesianum. Pope Francis’ words are a happy
confirmation of
the theme you have chosen for the Chapter. The Pontiff
stressed that a
radical approach is required of all Christians, but religious
are
called to follow the Lord in a special way. They “are men and
women who
can reawaken the world”. He also said that “consecrated life
is
prophecy”, that God “asks us to leave the nest holding us in
order to
be sent out to the frontiers of the world, avoiding the
temptation to
become domesticated. This is the most concrete way of
imitating the
Lord”. Greeting from Ms Noemi
Bertola,
World Coordinator for the Salesian Cooperators. Cf
complete text. Greeting from Ms Olga
Križová,
Coordinator General for Don Bosco Volunteers, in the name of
the
Salesian Family. Cf
complete text. Fr Francesco Cereda,
Moderator for the 27th General Chapter declares the Chapter
formally
open. Concluding hymn, Sub tuum praesidium confugimus
1.00 p.m. Lunch
Terminology
If there is any
terminology used
that you are unsure of, and you don't have the app, look it up
in the Salesians
A-Z
web page.
One homily of particular note
A homily of particular note was the one delivered by Cardinal
Farina on
the 8th Sunday of Ordinary Time to the by now assembled
Chapter members
in Rome. Amongst other things, but rather more than other
things, he
focused on return to 'the complete Don Bosco' and highlighted
this in a
particular way, as the excerpts below indicate:
"In my life as a Salesian religious, bishop and cardinal I
have always
had to deal with books. Allow me then to continue listing ways
by which
Don Bosco aimed to carry out his Salesian mission. I invite
you to read
the Circular on spreading good books written by Don Bosco and
sent to
all Salesians in 1885." [He then quotes extensively from this]
...
"Dear confreres, these expressions of our Founder are not only
interesting from an historical point of view, but they are
also wise
and important for our life, our Congregation and its future."
Obviously we don't have to copy the exact structures Don Bosco
set up.
But - I ask myself - does it cost us so much to say that
vocations and
formation houses are what we are most serious about, since
they
guarantee the survival of the Congregation and the good works
it does?
Why don't we put some articles and photos in the Salesian
Bulletin and
in our magazines, on our formation houses (aspirantates,
novitiates,
studentates of philosophy and theology...) and include their
postal
address, phone number etc.?
Let's go back, my dear confreres, to reading Don Bosco,
getting to know
his life and works and how much he achieved: so - the Don
Bosco of his
writings and, much more broadly still, what he was, what he
experienced, what he achieved, a complete Don Bosco , his
greatness, as
the Lord gave him to us and for which we want to thank Him in
this
Eucharistic celebration."
