SALESIAN MISSION ANIMATION NEWS
The term SMS is frequently
used in a non-technical sense
to refer to the communication of
text messages themselves. It
has become the easiest and
most affordable way of sending
and receiving communication
nowadays. Tapping on the idea
of being able to network among
peoples including the Salesians
and its supporters, it was in the
first quarter of the year 2007
that the Salesian Mission
Animation Office had installed
the SMS machine in order to
intensify the drive of promoting
the advocacy of mission
animation in the province.
The idea of adding text
messaging to the work of
evangelization is not something
new. It is a way to be able to
make use of the signs of the
times in order to service the
circle of Salesian communities
and friends through timely text
quotes about missionary
endeavors, breaking news and
bible quotes among others.
The SMS machine comes
in a software device installed
in the computer that keeps a
data base of the cell phone
numbers of the subscribers.
We are sending out weekly
text quotes for Smart and
Globe subscribers. The SMS
derives its benefit from the
advantage point that it is the
fastest form of communication
that can be utilized.
We hope to be able to
reach more peoples as the
year 2008 unfolds and likewise
share inspirational quotes
pertaining to the missions that
will elicit fervor and
volunteerism in foreign lands.
Lord, You called St John Bosco to be a teacher and father to the young. Fill us with love like his:
may we give ourselves completely to your service and to the salvation of those entrusted to our care. Amen!
[From the Mass of St John Bosco - January 31]
SALESIAN MISSIONARY IN FOCUS
THE KISS OF CAMILLUS
Fr. John Aranda Cabrido, SDB
If one had to choose one moment – just one single moment – of his or her
life to present before the Good Lord on Judgment Day, mine would certainly
be the kiss of Camillus. There I found myself so totally incommunicado as
one of only two priests in the enormous island of Normanby (yup "b"...in
Papua New Guinea) with my brother priest some two-days walk away across
high mountain jungles. I was there upon the invitation of Bishop Francesco
Panfilo SDB to help the village of Kelologeia and its neighboring villages for
the Christmas of 2002. I had earlier informed the people that I was willing to
visit the sick and the elderly as long as they were prepared beforehand. So after an afternoon
catechism, the local prayer leader Pita (or Peter) gently asked whether I was ready to visit
Camillus. When I inquired where Camillus lived, Pita readily pointed up to the mountainside
sheltering our mission station. “Just there,” he said. Though still new to this land, I knew just there
could easily be an understatement with treacherous implications. Nevertheless, I quickly packed
the Eucharist, some vestments and a ritual book and invited a seminarian for extra support, and up
the mountainside we went. The ascent was steep and, for a city slouch like me, it was an
excruciating exercise; but Pita was jumping from rock to rock like a gazelle! After over half an hour
of relentless ascent, we finally reached Camillus’ mountain perch. I saw that his family had
prepared meticulously for our coming. A home made mat woven from pandanus leaves lay before
the hut, with freshly picked hibiscus bordering the mat with Camillus seated in middle. Camillus was
thin, aged and blind but when he heard that we had arrived he mustered all his strength and tried to
stand. Pita helped him up and led him towards me. That was when Camillus lunged at me, hugged
me tightly and kissed me repeatedly. I tried initially to back off, more from embarrassment since I
was by now swathed in perspiration and dripping like a faucet, but Camillus was weeping and
would not let go. We had the service of the sick with confession and the Eucharist. We tried to stay
a little while but the sun was soon to set and we still had our descent to make. On the way down, it
was Pita who was crying. When I inquired
why, he simply answered “Father, you
are the first.” As it turned out, Camillus in
healthier years was a village catechist
and an indefatigable church worker. But
during the past fifteen years he had been
so sickly he could no longer go to the
mission station. Many priests had passed
by the station, time and time again,
mainly for the Eucharist. “But Father,”
Pita explained, “you are the first to visit
Camillus.” I have visited many sick and
elderly people since then. Just this
December, after having mass at Gar and
visiting the bed-ridden Benedicta, some
Bosconians and I had to walk some 25-
30 kilometers back to our home base in
Illi. Don Bosco’s words to his
missionaries continue to ring true, “Have
a special predilection for the young, the
sick and the elderly.” I just hope the Lord
will remember that suffocating hug and
smacking kiss of Camillus.
Ceferino is Blessed
Last 22nd of November 2007, Ceferino Namuncura was proclaimed Blessed. About 200,000 people took part at Chimpay in the
beatification. He is a young Mapuche Indian, Salesian student and aspirant to the priesthood who died at 19 years of age in Rome, Italy in 1905.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone SDB, Secretary of State and Papal Delegate for this ceremony read the Pontifical Decree that numbered Ceferino
among the Blessed, indicating the date of his liturgical memorial, 26 August, the date of his birth.
At the end of the celebration, Fr Pascual Chávez paid his respects to the Mapuche people saying: “Today, Chimpay represents a land of saints
because it has given us a Saint and a model for all the young people of the world. Many thanks to the Mapuche people!”
