1. LETTER OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

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“AND JESUS INCREASED IN WISDOM AND IN YEARS AND IN FAVOUR WITH GOD AND MAN” (Lk 2,52)

An unforgettable experience. – THE STRENNA for 2006. – 1. Dangers and threats facing the family at the present day. – An environment unfavourable for the family. – An easy ‘solution’, divorce. – Privatisation of marriage. – False expectations about marriage. –Economic and consumer factors in family life. - 2. The family, the way by which the Son of God became man. – 3. Family life and the Salesian charism. – 3.1 “In the beginning the mother was there”. – 3.1.1 A brief biographical sketch. a) Before the move to Valdocco (from 1788 to 1846). – b) Ten years with Don Bosco (from 1846 to 1856). – 3.1.2 Spiritual profile of Mamma Margaret. – a) a strong woman. – b) a ‘Salesian’ educator. – an effective catechist. – d) the first cooperator. – 3.2 Valdocco, “a family that educates”. 4. The family as mission. – 4.1.“Family, make yourself what you should truly be”. – The cell of society. – Sanctuary of life. – Proclaimer of the gospel of life. – School of social commitment. –4.2. “Family, have faith in your true role”. – 5. Pastoral and pedagogical applications. – So here are my suggestions. – Some practical proposals. – Conclusion: a legend flavoured with wisdom.

1 January 2006

My dear Confreres,

I am writing to you at the beginning of the New Year on the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and I pray that it may be a time of grace that will enable us to grow “in wisdom and in years and in favour with God and man”, as did Jesus.

For a proper understanding of the motherly role of Mary with regard to her son Jesus in all its depth and richness, we must begin from the central mystery of our faith: the incarnation of the Son of God who – in St Paul’s words – “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2,7).

This radical humanity of the Emmanuel (God-with-us), Jesus Christ, implies an essential human trait: its historical nature, the fact that being human lies in being and becoming, in a developing self-realisation throughout life, that is never finished. This is a characteristic found also in Jesus who, according to Luke’s gospel, “increased in wisdom and in years and in favour with God and man” (Lk 2,52). This is a perspective that throws a wonderful light on Mary who, together with Joseph, was given the mission of “educating” Jesus, of helping him to develop the powers of his being human, in a way similar to that of every mother with her children. The case of Jesus is certainly unique because his defining centre, which constitutes his eternal being, is that he is the Son of the Heavenly Father. And so this divine sonship gradually developed in him in a human fashion thanks to the educative action of Mary, and without any doubt of Joseph too who was the father-figure in the Holy Family of Nazareth and who, together with the mother, played an indispensable part in the full maturing of the child into manhood.

And there, dear confreres, you have the priceless mission of the family: to help children to attain to full human stature, which is that of Christ. Nowadays, unfortunately, the family is beset by an enormous challenge, that of recovering its nature and its mission. This explains what lies behind the Strenna for 2006 which I shall now present to you. But first let me tell you about an unforgettable experience.