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The official newsletter of the Salesian Mission Animation FIN
Issue No. 4 June - July 2007
By Pope John Paul II
Being a Priest Today
Fifty years as a priest is a long time. How much has happened in this half-century
of history! New problems, new lifestyles, and new challenges have appeared. And
so it is natural to ask: what does it mean to be a priest today, in this time of
constant change, as we approach the Third Millennium?
Certainly the priest, together with
the whole Church, is part of the
times in which he lives; he needs
to be attentive and sympathetic,
but also critical and watchful, with
regard to historical developments.
The Council has pointed to the
possibility and need for an
authentic renewal, in complete
fidelity to the word of God and
Tradition. But l am convinced that
a priest, committed as he is to this
necessary pastoral renewal,
should at the same time have no
fear of being “behind the times,”
because the human “today” of
every priest is included in the
“today” of Christ the Redeemer.
For every priest, in every age, the
greatest task is each day to
discover his own priestly “today”
in the “today” of Christ to which
the letter to the Hebrews refers. This “today” of Christ is immersed in the whole of
history-in the past and the future of the world, of every human being and of every
priest. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8). If we
immerse our human and priestly “today” in the “today” of Jesus Christ, there is no
danger that we will become out-of-date, belonging to “yesterday.” Christ is the
.
My Dear Friends,
measure of every age. In his divine, human,
and priestly “today,” the conflict between
“traditionalism” and “progressivism” once so
hotly debated- finds its ultimate resolution.
Humanity’s Profound Expectations
If we take a close look at what contemporary
men and woman expect from priests, we will
see that, in the end, they have but one great
expectation: they are thirsting for Christ.
Everything else-their economic, social and
political needs-can be met by any number of
other people. From the priest they ask for
Christ! And from him they have the right to
receive Christ, above all through the
proclamation of the word. As the Council
teaches, priests “have as their primary duty the
proclamation of the Gospel of God to all”
(Presbyterorum Ordinis, 4). But this
proclamation seeks to have man encounter
Jesus, especially in the mystery of the
Eucharist, the living heart of the Church and
of priestly life. The priest has a mysterious,
awesome power over the Eucharist Body of
Christ. By reason of this power he becomes
the steward of the greatest treasure of the
Redemption, for he gives people the
Redeemer in person. Celebrating the Eucharist
is the most sublime and most sacred function
of every priest. As for me, from the very first
year of my priesthood, the celebration of the
Eucharist has been not only my most sacred
duty, but above all my soul’s deepest need.
June 8, 2007
Peace in Christ Jesus!
As the Easter season draws to an end, we are once again being reminded that Jesus is not just One-of-us and One-for-us but One-with-us
until the end of time. He has given us the sacraments of the Holy Eucharist and Holy Orders to perpetuate his presence here on earth. His
body is food for the mission. His blood is shed for reconciliation.
Indeed, there is no priesthood without the Eucharist; there cannot be any Eucharist without the priesthood; there is no priesthood, nor
Eucharist, without Christ. The deep need for Jesus has long been felt in all places, at all times. Mother Teresa was never tired of saying:
“Give us Jesus, only Jesus, always Jesus!” Thomas a Kempis wonderfully writes: “What a wonderful mystery is this great dignity of priests,
to whom is given that which is not given even to the angels! Priests alone, being rightfully ordained in the Church, receive the power to
celebrate and to consecrate the Body of Christ.” If every Christian is Alter Christus (another Christ), how much more a priest? Sacerdos
alter Christus! O Christian, how great is your dignity. O priest, how greater is yours.
Fr.Augustin Miciano, SDB
Missions Animation Office

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SALESIAN MISSION TERRITORIES
Don Bosco Mission Center
This important Salesian presence in
Tonj is an oasis in the desert of death that
surrounds it. It is jointly administered by the
Salesians of Don Bosco and the Salesian Sisters
and its ministries include: a large parish, a school,
a medical clinic, and a leprosarium. While the
facilities may appear to be primitive when
considered against the standards of more
developed nations, they have become the focal
point of reference in a community that has no
central administration.
Because schools were shut down for
nearly twenty years, the educational level of the
people has suffered. But they are eager to learn,
and their thirst for knowledge and formal education
is strong. Classes on the most primary level are
attended by students who range in age from 6 to
16. Adult education has students from 17 to 50.
Playing catch-up for years of neglect means that
everyone is at the most rudimentary level of
education, but their eagerness to advance is
moving to see.
Brother Giacomo Comino
“More than 250,000 people are
dependent on outside help,” reports Salesian
Brother Giacomo Comino. Br. Giacomo has been
the Bursar of the St. Joseph Institute in Khartoum,
in the city where for ten years more than a million
evacuees from the southern region of Sudan have
been living in inhuman conditions. “In these camps
there is an incredible desperation and great
misery. The evacuees try to build temporary
shelters with branches and sheets of plastic which
are then destroyed with the next downpour.” But
the greatest need is for food and medicine. Br.
Giacomo cannot see an end to the humanitarian
catastrophe: “Only when people feel safe will they
return home. However when they try to start again
they will need help from outside. There has been
too much destruction by the militias in the western
region of Sudan: more than 50,000 have died and
more than a million have left their villages.” The
Salesians in Sudan have responded to the
emergency: “We have sent a representation
there as a point of contact and to keep us in
touch.
While some have sought refuge in
Tonj, others have gone to Kakuma, Kenya,
just across the border from Sudan. In a new
“city” compromised of 70,000 refugees, the
Salesians have set up three technical schools
within the camp. They have helped provide
food, shelter, education, and recreation to the
desperate people who escaped murder and
hunger.
Salesian Commitment
This desert land, overwhelmed by
war, drenched in blood is now the land to
which God has called the Salesians to be
apostles to the young. The five presences of
the Salesian communities – St. Joseph Tech
in Khartoum, Don Bosco Training Center in El
Obeid, missionary parishes in Khartoum, Tonj
and Wao – are the fields of ministry in which
we try to plant the seeds of hope so that the
future of the Sudan will be brighter than the
past and war will be a distant reality. We ask
our readers to join us in praying for the
people of Sudan and for the Salesians
ministering there, so that they may persevere
in building up their country.
SALESIAN MISSIONARY IN FOCUS
By Fr.Remo Bati,SDB
The Rev.Adolf Faroni, SDB was born at
Treviso, Italy on February 9,1923. As an
elementary student, he studied at
Correggio, Italy, but then the family
migrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina,
where he finished his secondary
schooling. Having listened to God’s call,
he entered the aspirantate at the age of
17 at Bernal. After five years, he went to
the novitiate and made his first
profession at Moron, Buenos Aires on
January 31, 1947. Bro Adolf went back
to Bernal for his philosophical studies,
after which he spent his practical
training with the young at Bernal and
Ramos Mejia. He was sent to England
for his theological studies from 1953 to
1957, where he was ordained priest on
June 15, 1957 at Melchet Court. With
missionary spirit and zeal, he
immediately worked in the Philippines
that same year, where he was together
with some of the Salesian Pioneers at
DBTI Victorias, Negros Occidental.
From there, he was assigned to
Canlubang Seminary and St.John
Bosco Parish Makati where he fulfilled
the tasks assigned to him with diligence,
dedication and love. Often he gave the
impression of being very strict and
serious but deep within him is a golden
heart, full of love and understanding for
the young.
While engaged in active apostolate
among the young, Fr. Faroni succeeded
to combine work and study and earned
his Master’s Degree in English (1972).
Going deeper into his mastery
of English, he graduated with flying
colors as Doctor in Literature in
1977 from UST Manila.
With the ardent zeal to let Filipinos
all over the country know more
about Salesianity and the most
recent issues on faith and morals,
he translated some of the books
related to these from Italian,
Spanish and French into English.
So far, he has already written at
least 160 books and booklets
dealing with Salesianity, Mariology,
Mission, etc. They are all very
interesting and enriching reading
materials. Apart from these, he is
very consistent and regular in
hearing confessions at St.John
Bosco Parish, Makati where he is
much appreciated not only as
Confessor but also as Spiritual
Director. Thanks to Fr. Faroni for
having spread the Salesian spirit
throughout the country through his
pen, writing with love!