I offer you some suggestions on the subject of the primacy of God in our lives, starting from the work of preparation for the Team Visit which has been done in the various Provinces. I shall set out these suggestions in three parts: the spiritual life of the confrere, of the community and of the province.

1. The spiritual life of the confrere

The methodological approach of the Ratio requires that attention be given to making the processes of vocational development personalised. Vocation is a gift that God makes to each one of us; it is necessary, therefore, to take personal responsibility for the vocational response. This applies to all aspects of the vocation, and in particular to the spiritual life. We need to rediscover a methodology of the spiritual life. To arrive at a greater depth in one’s personal spiritual life I suggest the following points.

1. Personal prayer

In our Salesian spiritual life there is plenty of room for personal prayer. Responsibility for prayer rests on my personal decision; I need to organise my life of prayer, even if the community does not pray. The spiritual life needs time; I need to find a regular pattern for my prayer.

In our spiritual tradition, the expressions of personal prayer are connected with the frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance, with meditation, the visit to the Blessed Sacrament, the rosary, the examination of conscience, the daily prayer of the Church, union with God.

Meditation takes on a fundamental role in personal prayer. It is necessary to re-create and strengthen a mentality regarding the importance of meditation. According to our Constitutions it should last at least half an hour; it should not be neglected nor substituted too easily. The confreres are invited to make their meditation on Holy Scripture using the method of the lectio divina.

The Rector Major has suggested that we should make an examination of conscience each day for at least ten minutes; this helps us to remain vigilant in our lives, revives the sense of a spiritual itinerary, and prepares us for the celebration of the Sacrament of Penance. We should help the confreres to take up this spiritual exercise following the threefold confessio laudis, peccati, fidei.

2. Personal reflection and study

Each confrere should be helped to find time for personal reflection, a personal commitment to keep himself informed, to study. There is the need to create a mentality, but also to provide encouragement and suggestions. Community day can provide some useful time. Each one, however, according to his occupations should find a way to organise himself according to a regular pattern for each day, week, month and year. Here one should find the opportunities for spiritual, theological, Salesian, educational and pastoral reading.

3. Apostolic zeal

The fire of pastoral love, apostolic zeal, the oratorian heart, attention to the need for evangelisation, a sense of the Church, a sensitivity to the needs of poor youth are cultivated and nourished by the spiritual life. The “Da mihi animas” is first and foremost a prayer to God and a strong desire to be like Jesus the Good Shepherd, whose heart burns with love for everyone, especially the poor and sinners. A passion for the young is born from a passion for Christ.

4. A personal plan of life

Insistence on the personal plan of life is meant to awaken a more profound awareness about individual concern for formation and about the methodology of the spiritual life. Whether in the traditional form of good resolutions taken during the Retreat and days of recollection, or in the current form which makes use of a method of discernment, the personal plan of life is a necessity.

In the first place it depends on personal responsibility. No one can do for me what I don’t want to take an interest in myself; in formation what is involved is my very personal relationship with God and my response to my vocation. The formation process is not possible aside from the fascinating and terrible responsibility of the Christian, which is a collective responsibility only secondarily, because essentially it is a personal one.

At the same time the personal plan is meant to encourage a methodical approach as an essential aspect of the spiritual life. It is a question of a spiritual ordering, which concerns identifying the ends, putting the aims in order of importance, finding the appropriate means, refining the strategies, making use of the resources available, balancing the work to be done.

1.5. Spiritual direction

Spiritual direction is an experience and a spiritual exercise. In initial formation it is often limited to the novitiate. It is a personal responsibility. Without spiritual direction there is no serious spiritual progress. There is a need for greater consideration of this exercise throughout the Congregation. What the Ratio has to say is sufficient to set in motion a new practice of spiritual direction. The Rector of the community is the spiritual guide proposed for everyone.

In ongoing formation the friendly chat with the Rector is an adult and mature form of guidance. This practice needs to be taken up again. It is first of all the responsibility of the confrere since it concerns his growth. We have a certain reticence about speaking to others about our life; the Rector should facilitate this sharing of confidences and openness.

1.6. The grace of unity

The grace of unity is a spiritual gift to ask for, but also a personal task to be accomplished. The Spirit offers us this gift. Personal commitment requires us to make a synthesis of our whole lives. Its fruit is the overcoming of distraction and disintegration. The grace of unity is the summit of the personal spiritual experience.

2. The spiritual life of the community

Salesian spiritual life has a strong community dimension. For us it is important “to live and work together:” for this “together” we also concentrate on the spiritual life. The community provides occasions of spiritual life and fosters a spiritual atmosphere. A necessary condition for the spiritual life of the community is its ‘quantitative and qualitative consistency’ (sufficient numbers and the necessary gifts).

2.1. The daily prayer of the community

The grace of unity also has implications for the community; it needs to know how to harmonise within the life of the community the requirements of the spiritual life, of fraternal life and of the mission. This means ensuring appropriate times for and patterns of prayer. It needs to guarantee a style of prayer that is simple but profound, knowing how to overcome formalism and routine. Other moments in daily life can also give a spiritual tone; especially the Good Night.

2.2. Weekly community day’

Community day, weekly if possible, provides particular opportunities for the spiritual life of the community. One of these is the celebration of the community mass. Where this is not possible every day, community day can provide the opportunity, which can also be open to lay people and young animators.

Another possibility is the community lectio divina. The community and each confrere has been invited by GC 25 to give a central place to the Word of God, through “lectio divina”, daily meditation, daily mass, the liturgy of the hours, celebrations of the Word, community preparation for the Sunday mass (CG 25 31). “Lectio divina” in particular is suggested. Personally and in community it is “to be fostered as a means of growth in the life of the community and a “school of prayer” for the confreres, the lay people and the youngsters, especially in the special periods of the liturgical year” (CG25 61, 47, 73).

According to GC25, in the life of our communities there has been a development in respect for the individual, for mutual esteem and in interpersonal relationships; communication is on a deeper level; there is a desire to share with others openness to the Word of God (CG25 11). The sharing of life and its experiences leads to “expressing the riches of their own interior lived experience; sharing their own worries and problems, plans and educational and pastoral experiences; practising listening, dialogue, the acceptance of different opinions and fraternal correction” (CG25 15). In this way it is also possible to arrive at a sharing of faith experiences, at spiritual reflection, at a review of life on the Constitutions, at spiritual and pastoral discernment (CG25 15 e 61).

On this day it is also possible to spend some time on ongoing formation. In the spiritual life there is a special need to learn how to share our experience and to communicate the faith, to practise “lectio divina”, to carry out discernment together, to review community life as a following of Christ, to pray personally and as a community.

2.3. Monthly and quarterly days of recollection

An opportunity for a spiritual experience is provided by the monthly and quarterly days of recollection. They need to be arranged in a new way. Community “lectio divina” could be used. More time should be given to personal reflection. There could be a community examination of conscience. There could be a time for sharing. Sufficient time and the necessary conditions need to be ensured. They can be a help for one’s personal journey, offering a periodical opportunity to examine one’s personal plan of life. Celebration of mass does not necessarily form part of the monthly day of recollection.

2.4. Spiritual discernment

Discernment is a gift of the Spirit and an activity in the Spirit. Only someone who is attentive, open, docile to the breath and to the fire of the Spirit is able to make plans. Community and personal planning require a spiritual atmosphere, in order to recognise the breath and to welcome the fire of the Spirit. The Spirit comes “as wind and fire”. “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophesying; but test everything; hold fast to what is good” (1 Thes. 5, 19). Someone who daily practises the lectio divina learns to discern.

Discernment requires practice, and needs to be learned. It has three stages or steps; it is a matter of discerning the calls, the situations, the practical decisions. Discernment helps us to discover that “here and now” there is something unexpected that needs to be heard and seen; listening and seeing open us up to gospel choices. Discernment leads us to decisions that require farsightedness and generosity: in this way we also become capable of drawing up various plans.

2.5. The Salesian Community Plan

A very useful community means for fostering fraternal communion, sharing life together, learning discernment, coming to a consensus is the Salesian Community Plan. In this the community asks itself questions about its way of being faithful here and now to the Salesian vocation and to the Constitutions. So the parts of the Salesian Community Plan can closely follow the same five sections of the Constitutions: sent to the young, in fraternal communities, following Christ obedient, poor and chaste, in dialogue with the Lord, in constant formation.

In the process of drawing it up, the discernment method is recommended: three stages are suggested: God’s call, the situation of the community, lines of action. To what is God calling the community this year? As regards this call where does the community stand? What are the positive aspects, the negative and the challenges? In practice what do we need to do, and what steps do we need to take? Discernment is carried out together with holiness in view.

The animator of the process of drawing up, implementing and assessing the Plan is the Rector. His first task is the charismatic animation of the community in its spiritual, fraternal, pastoral, and formative aspects. If the Rector does not undertake this role, the community does not grow and the confreres gradually lose the sense of their vocation.

3. The spiritual life of the Province

The Province has its own life which encourages and conditions the vocational growth of the confreres. The life of the Province provides motivation for pastoral zeal and courage, has its own spiritual atmosphere, provides patterns of behaviour, has its own way of thinking/mentality, which can strengthen or weaken the life of the confreres and of the communities. The Province therefore provides objectives, strategies, means and procedures that support communities and confreres.

3.1. Profile of the Salesian

The Province indicates the profile of the Salesian, which here and now we are being called to live. Some elements of the profile of the Salesian are common to all the Congregation: they are to be found in Chapters 2 and 3 of the Ratio. In the Provincial Formation Plan each Province is invited to examine this profile more closely, giving it its own particular characteristics. The profile expresses the itinerary of vocational development to which God calls each confrere in the Province.

The profile of the Salesian helps in both initial and ongoing formation with the process which converges on the Salesian identity to be achieved. In addition it provides a model of life in which the grace of unity is to be achieved in personal life, without any loss of equilibrium. Finally it is the inspirational basis of the personal plan of life. In the profile the spiritual characteristics of the Salesian are expressed.

3.2. Retreats

Some Provinces have begun looking again at the Retreats provided for the confreres. It is a matter of giving a more marked Salesian identity to them. At the same time it is necessary to take into account the current nature of spiritual experiences such as the lectio divina, the possibility of sharing spiritual experiences, the provision of a more silent and reflective style, the role of the spiritual guide in the Retreats, the form of the liturgical celebrations and of popular pious practices. If we want to improve the spiritual climate of the Province, it is necessary to provide retreats that involve people and are profound.

3.3. Celebrations of the Provincial community

In the life of the Province certain occasions for celebrations occur such as professions, ordinations, jubilees. There are special moments in its life such as Assemblies and Provincial Chapters. These events, also from the organisational and relational points of view can be given a spiritual tone. In particular attention to the style of the celebration, its decorum, the calmness and beauty of the celebrations, can become models for the personal and community life of the Province itself.

3.4. Ongoing formation in the spiritual life

For the renewal of the life of our communities GC25 suggests some new attitudes to acquire or some commitments to assume. These are primarily spiritual or relational things to learn that require attention to motivations, feelings, attitudes, abilities. Only in this way is it possible to reach a person in the depth of his being; only in this way can a radical and not merely a superficial renewal of confreres and communities be guaranteed.

The Province can offer new forms of encouragement for these new learning situations. In particular there can be recommendations regarding lectio divina, discernment in its various forms, relationships in the communities, Salesian studies. Things that concern our identity as Salesians are especially welcomed by the confreres: Don Bosco, Salesian history, Salesian spirituality, Salesian pedagogy and pastoral approach.

3.5. Rectors as spiritual guides

The Province needs to foster the preparation of the Rectors, so that they know how to carry out their role as spiritual guides of the communities. It is necessary that the Rectors in the Province have a common preparation, continually updated, on how to fulfil their role in the communities. On the basis of the needs of the Province and the Congregation’s itinerary, this role of the Rector as spiritual guide needs to be emphasised. Otherwise it will be difficult to help the confreres and the communities live the primacy of God.

6. Discussion for the mixed groups (EAO 9 Provinces)

As a Salesians of Don Bosco in EAO Region what can we do?

- Where do we start if we want to help the confreres to deepen their spiritual life?

- What prevents us from making a lifestyle change when everything must go if only to

follow Jesus ( personal, community conversion from mediocre religious life style)?

- What concrete initiatives have been inspired by the recent letters or RM regarding

this themes (ACG 379 – Holiness, 382 – Consecrated Life, 384 – Discipleship in the

style of Don Bosco, 386 – Word of God) in our Provinces?

- Where is the key to be able to make the experience of God in our ordinary life?

- How can we re-discover our basic Salesian experience of good night/morning talk, word in the ear, friendly talk, frequent Sacrament of Reconciliation, informal faith sharing?

GROUP 1

1. What do we start if we want to help confreres to deepen their spiritual life?

-the provincial asks confreres to attend renewal courses based on their needs and that of the province. Give them time for renewal, leaving their assignments to give time to attend such courses….(three weeks at least).Everyone is oblige to attend…except for those who show strong resistance. (China)

-Some other formats could be used- like series of short seminars which last only for a few days(weekend) This would allow the confreres not to be absent from their works and afford them time to join such seminars. (Australia)

-For confreres celebrating their jubilee – a program of 2 years has been established which consists of pilgrimages Salesian Holy Places and the Holy Land). Another is a 9-day retreat going back to our own holy places (source). (China)

-As salesians, our identity is to work for young people…we have so many apostolic activities which at times draw away from our basic identity or our charism. We give more importance to our work rather than our “being”. (Japan).

-Most of our salesians are young and in their early stage of formation. Hence most of the effort is on teaching the basic of our salesian charism such as our prayer of life, the rendiconto, helping them to be open and to have the right motivation. Efforts are made especially to help them towards a deeper understanding and practice of their spiritual life. An important means to this is the making up of their personal project of life. (Indonesia)

-In the meeting of past pupils in India they chose the theme “Call to Holiness.” This reminds us Salesians that our style of education should lead to a holiness of life among the young we serve. Consequently our own holiness consists in being with the young. Uplifting their spiritual life and doing so we also uplift ourselves. Unfortunately this involvement and meeting with the young is becoming fewer and fewer. (Thailand)

-Rectors’ meeting provided the venue for spiritual upliftment….meetings with the rectors forming them and for them to share what they have experience in their own communities. Documents from Rome are translated to Korean Language to allow more understanding on many confreres. Lectio Divina…asking resource persons to assist them…then letting them practice what they have learned in their communities. (Korea)

-We had to change the criteria in appointing rectors. Before, rectors were selected based on their capacity as good supervisors. The traditional concept of the rector was that of the executive. Today however, if we want to have a superior who must be the unifier and animator of the community he must have the criteria of such a superior. Leading his community towards a deeper spiritual life without neglecting the human dimension of our life as salesians. (Australia)

-We have many young confreres..we have to pay more attention to initial formation…We organized the on-going formation. Retreats which satisfied the different age groups…for young confreres…for deacons… even for economers…(Vietnam)

Intervention: These are activities being done already….but where do we really start…How do we determine the core of our problem? What must we do so that our community becomes a place of sanctity? (Japan)

-Two means:

1. continuous seminar on prayer. The confreres are allowed to attend according to their possibilities.(freedom).

2. In the meeting of the rectors. Study session and business session.

The study session deals on fostering one’s spiritual life.

There are certain principles that we need to be reminded of; first it is very hard to measure one’s spiritual life. Only God knows. Another principle; it is in our action that we find a source of deepening of our spiritual life. Perhaps it is in the way we fulfill our duties with proper motivation, the joy and dynamism that we perform these that we can deepen our spiritual life. We find our contemplation in action… according to our constitutions.

GROUP 2 What prevents us from a life-style change?

A. Issues

• Individualism

• Excuses not to join the community prayers: boring prayers, find prayers too shallow – praying personally is claimed to more fruitful.

• Too busy with the demands of ‘work’ [primacy of the work not of God]

• Attraction of modern life

• The difficulties experienced through serious misconduct arise due to influences coming from secularism.

• Lack of motivation

• If one does not find value in the practices of piety – no motivation to do them [‘The richness of the Mass is not measured by the externals’]

• How do you plug in the richness of the practices of piety?

• Superficiality

• We are superficial.

  • We don’t listen, we only hear. We merely recite the breviary we don’t really pray them.

• Without deep personal conviction there is no community conviction.

• How can we prevent superficiality?

• That there is a specific way of praying, of doing salesian spiritual direction seem to run counter to the call for spontaneity ( this was not explored further)

B. Rendiconto in the practice of the communities

• Difficulties and Transparency.

• To speak of spiritual matters to confreres.

• Those assigned in parishes and schools use excuses such as: ‘I am too busy.’

• Young rectors have difficulty in assuming the ‘father figure’ in a community where older confreres are present

C. Strategies/initiatives

• Bring back the rendiconto

• Formal or informal—there is danger that the informal does not bring about spiritual deepening.

• People who are open are more open to God. They will seek spiritual direction/rendiconto.

• The reluctance of confreres can be overcome by the rector extending a warm invitation to come and have a chat.

• An invitation to verbalize the difficulties can open up dialogue that is spiritually nourishing.

• Daily individual contact

• Availability and concern helps the confreres to be more open – by taking advantage of the right moment.

• Days of recollection

• Enables members of a community to venture into the spiritual area e.g., faith sharing.

• Concrete initiatives: slow down in praying the breviary to be tuned in to the meaning of the prayer

• Contemplation fosters a deepening awareness of the need to be in touch with ourselves and with God – e.g., hour of contemplation in front of the Blessed Sacrament (this is particularly effective in the context of a renewal program).

• A seminar on prayer.

GROUP 3 What were concrete initiatives made to deepen the spiritual life?

The Circular Letter of the Rector Major

1. Carroll: well disseminated in AUL

2. Vu, Leong, Cho and Suphot: translated in different languages

3. George: study by the Provincial Council

4. Greg: common reading though not always finished

Greg: organizing a seminar on prayer led by a Carmelite nun

Leong: themes used during the annual spiritual exercises: 2004 Eucharist, 2003 Lectio Divina

Carbonell: obligation of the priest to pray the breviary - no longer stressed

Francis: using the Provincial Council monthly meeting in developing the theme of the primacy of God, shared to all the Rectors during their monthly meeting and trickled down to the communities: 2003 – spiritual themes like discernment, lectio divina, sacrament of eucharist and reconciliation, devotion to the blessed Mother

Suphot: holy hour practice of the former provincial (Bishop Prathan)

Carbonell: consistency in the daily prayer rhythm of salesian schedule

Question 4:

Carroll: salesian prayer to life and salesian life to prayer – instead of fighting distractions, maybe the distractions are meant to be integrated in one’s prayer life

Greg: emphasis on meeting God amidst the young

George: using a daily journal and placing the concerns of day – as an economer, learnt the prayer of petition and the invocation of prayer for benefactors

Leong: key is to start from the heart – from the love that comes from the heart of Jesus, the Shepherd’s heart – and to move from heart to our heart

Carbonell: to find in work the union with God (Rinaldi)

Francis: key is in having a greater awareness of God in one’s life and this is made possible with the practice of the examination of conscience (examen of consciousness)

Cho: return to Don Bosco – studying his way of life and tradition, consciously recognizing God’s presence when we are in the midst of the young, following the daily schedule of the community

GROUP 4 Question 3: What concrete initiatives have been made?

• a retreat: looking at Christ with the eyes of Don Bosco (aus)

• a retreat on Lectio Divina (china)

• Lectio Divina seminar for initial formation, challenge to develop sdbs competent in Lectio Divina (korea)

• resource center for salesianity and spirituality (korea)

• Lectio Divina; Word of God; ongoing mentalization among confreres (Thailand)

• Seminar on Prayer for all confreres by batches (FIN)

• drafting of personal plan of life and community plan of life (FIS)

Question 4: What is the key experience of God in our ordinary life?

• Awareness of the presence of God at the start of the day and acknowledging the loving presence of God at the end of the day

• mental prayer: everyday half an hour of prayer:

• deep appreciation of our salesian life to be able to live our salesian life

• faith of the confrere: its primacy in our life to have a relationship with the Lord

• in a communist context where evangelization and catechism is limited, where Christians are a minority, witnessing the primacy of God in our life- we look at Don Bosco, as symbol of living our religious life

• giving importance of examination of conscience, giving time and noticing how God is present in our daily life…”where during the day where my heart burned within me?” an identification of our daily Emmaus experience. Practice of examination of conscience or examination of consciousness

• seeing the action of God in our life and in the life of others: spending time for reflection

• how can I feel the Word of God and where

• ordinary life referred to salesian life…we return to Don Bosco: to be faithful more, to follow the community schedule, salesian traditions

• short fervent prayers during the day…a way of experiencing our union with God in our daily life. “the exercise of recollection and of this short fervent prayer is fundamental for a devout life” (de sales) Don Bosco taught us to practice it

• const. 12: living in the reality of the Trinity inside ourselves…seeing the invisible

• noticing the presence of God in significant experiences with confreres and with the young

GROUP 5 : good night/morning talk, friendly talk, frequent confession and faith sharing.

• We mainly discussed the friendly talk. It was generally agreed that the friendly talk with the rector was not practiced very well throughout the region. The rector finds difficulty inviting the confreres and the confreres rarely present themselves for the friendly talk. The reason is many and varied but the result is the same. Some reported that finding the confrere in their place of work and recreation or perhaps in the dining room is a good point of contact and a good place to begin. Regular familiar sharing on a casual basis can lead to a deeper sharing when the time is right. This is practicing the preventive system among ourselves.

• It was suggested that the rectors could be more pro-active and approach the confreres confidently.

• The good night is practiced in some communities but less often in small communities of two or three. These traditional customs are more present in other more traditional communities and less often in more active and diverse communities.

GROUP 6 Question 2: What prevents us from making a life change?

• Before we make changes we need to know what we want to change: from-to.

• Change can take on different forms

• personal life

• communities

• We are talking our changes in our spiritual life.

• Our life is driven by priorities

• What are our spiritual priorities?

  • Conscious priorities – Gospel

    • Salesian

    • Charism

• What are our subconscious priorities that really DRIVE?

  • What we do and how we do?

• We need to recapture the DREAM of Don Bosco: DAMIHI ANIMAS

• Priority of God that enlivens our mission

• MISSION ACCOMPLISHED IN COMMUNITY

  • (Avoiding danger of Individualism)

GROUP 7

• The demands of the ministry prevents a good number of communities from the practice of even the few typically salesian practices of piety. This contributes to a gradual diminishing of the fascination with things spiritual and conversely leads to a “drying up” of the Salesian heart.

• We suggest the following steps:

  • Instilling in every confrere the personal conviction of the importance, nay primacy of God in his life.

  • Maximizing the existing traditional practices of piety by engaging in them with more love and intensity.

  • Encourage and assist in the crafting of a Personal Plan for each confrere wherein the quest for the grace of unity is an essential aspect.

  • Work towards the crafting of a community plan where the grace of unity is given a primary consideration.

7. Possible practical things we could do (for the individual EAO provinces)

Some meaningful initiatives undertaken in some Provinces to help the spiritual renewal of the confreres after GC25 (related to the Modul 2: Evangelical witness)

- Personal project of life (how to draft, used in the formation houses; spiritual retreat)

- Lectio Divina (monthly section in the Salesian Bulletin, Rectors meeting, daily effort)

- Help the rectors to become spiritual animators of their local community (monthly retreat

materials, regular rectors meeting with formation sessions, seminars)

- Giving utmost importance in building the community around the tables of the Word

and the Eucharist, giving emphasis on community experience of Reconciliation

- Rediscover the ways of genuine discernment of God’s will through proper spiritual

direction, the friendly talk with the Rector, Community sharing and meetings.

AUL (Australia – Fiji – Samoa)

Rectors meetings used to focus on Rector as spiritual animator, working largely from the Ratio:e.g. Plan of life,

An assembly of the Province immediately preceding and beginning the Provincial Chapter helping connect everyone with the chapter work and providing a prayerful and reflective beginning

Retreats for the confrere: normally with an SDB leader from within or outside the province e.g.Looking at Christ through the eyes of Don Bosco

Lectio Divina

Spirituality of Francis de Sales

Courage to be a Salesian

Need: Increase the reflection time on retreat beyond meeting together

The day of recollection based prayer service initiating our process of discernment for our new provincial.

We try to translate what we do into our prayer forms

e.g. prayers for retreats, meetings, seminars based on the topic, our work background, our constitutions so as to keep them relevant and not create dichotomies between work/life against praying.

At those times when deeply personal issues emerge in conversation (e.g. around the community table) more genuine prayer often follows.

Many of these questions are “the eternal questions” which can never be fully answered; but struggling with them can be salvific.

Finding ways of meeting core differences in theology, spirituality and piety which can sometimes divide more than unite community.

Not having always to have celebration of the Eucharist as the focal gathering prayer; using other prayer forms more often.

Picking up on Fr Chavez’ challenge: To recover our spirituality we need to find God waiting for us in the young. We need also to be continually building bridges to and with them.

We are leaning more and more from our lay co-workers who often bring in fresh ideas (or remind us of what we have perhaps forgotten or let fall into mere routine).

So we also need to challenge our lay people to be more innovative and indeed become part of our spiritual journey and challenge us.

Sometimes we concentrate so much on the “big” events that we forget those few who have a spark of spirituality already and could really grow and thrive with individual or small group attention. Getting back to Don Bosco’s original formula!

Then build on this through peer support.

THE CHINA PROVINCE

1. How to start?

Ongoing formation programmes,

Formation in Rectors’ meeting

Use of Lectio divina, involvement in youth work

2. What prevents us?

Individualism, secularism, laxity, superficiality

Rendiconto a problem, informal rendicondo spiritually ineffective?

3. Concrete initiatives in response to Rector Major’s letters?

Retreats, seminars, prayer meetings, study by Provincial Council and Rectors’ meetings, spirituality libraries, initiation to personal programme of life and community life programme

Key to experience of God in daily life

Prayer, Awareness of the presence of God in confreresand young

Examination of conscience, of consciousness

Short fervent prayers throughout the day whatever one is doing

Good night/mourning talk, friendly talk with Rector, frequent confession, faith sharing

A problematic area, rectors must be more pro-active at least at the beginning of the renewal process

CHINA PROVINCE FIVE PRIORITY STRATEGIES

1. Rediscover the beauty and power of our Constitutions and Regulations; not only public reading, but life sharing about their content, article by article

2. Exercise contemplation by quiet holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament once a week

3. Pray with the young, organized by the young for the Salesian community, even for two or three hours

4. Present good experiences of personal plan to encourage all to make personal plan

5. Make a community spiritual journey through a root-finding pilgrimage in local Salesian “holy places”

THE PHILIPPINE NORTH PROVINCE

The main issue that stifles growth and deepening in the spiritual life in FIN is individualism.

There is need to focus on the duty of one’s apostolic life, while making it integrative with the duty of building up the fraternal community and the emands of the consecrated life. This is best expressed with the insistence to fulfill the personal plan of life and the community plan of life. One important indicator of its success is when personal prayer supported by spiritual direction and discernment flourishes among the majority of the confreres.

THE PHILIPPINE SOUTH PROVINCE

1. REFLECTION AND SHARING OF THE PROVINCIAL THRUST BASE ON THE STRENNA.

- using the monthly meetings of the provincial council to discuss and share the topic on the deepening of our spiritual life or the thrust of the province, echo it with the rectors and the rectors echo it with his community members

2. REVISITING AND SHARING OUR PERSONAL PLAN OF LIFE:

2.1 the confrere reviews/revises his PPL especially during the annual retreat

2.2 the confrere shares his personal plan of life with his community

2.3 during rendiconto, the confrere updates his rector about his personal plan of life

2.4 the confrere shares with fr. provincial his personal plan of life during his visitation

3. ALL COMMUNITIES REVISE COMMUNITY FORMATION PLAN

- the community revisits/reformulate their community plan of life

THE JAPANESE PROVINCE

1. Whether apostolic or not, work has been so far a priority in our province. Spiritual life and spiritual experiences have to be considered our priority from now on keeping in mind how Don Bosco lived the grace of unity in his everyday life.

2. We have to form an atmosphere conducive to sanctity in a communitarian way, in other words we have to get the mentality that the community helps us to become saints and that we can help the others to reach the same goal.

3. We need to consider the place where we are working as the place God has given us to do missionary work, rather than going somewhere else looking for more gratifying experiences of apostolate.

1. Disseminate throughout the Vice Province and put into practice the paper of Fr. Cereda on the Primacy of God.

2. To promote the Rector’s role of animating the community with respect to Salesian Spirituality through conferences, good nights, and sharing on the documents from the magisterium (Church and Salesian).

3. To promote the confrere’s rendiconto as a result of the spiritual relationship between the Confreres and the Rector

THE KOREAN PROVINCE

1. Lectio: Rector 1/2 day formation – Too much Theory; Temp vows 3 full days – result – First our rectors need to have this formation and they themselves should teach it.

Rectors’ formation: Lectio formation;All rector’s this year should have a 2-3 day retreat using lectio

2. Make rectors spiritual direction guides and updating of rectors[Animation Notes trans]

3.We have different meetings and seminars: use the letters of Rector Major as contents.

4. Personal Plan of Life: During the annual retreat every confrere made his plan and presented it before the altar. Every year we should make this a part of the retreat. The rector should see to it that during the monthly day of reflection each confrere should reflect on his personal plan;Make use of the forms that we have given out to all the confreres.

5. Small communities – difficulty of the rendiconto and conference

• Sharing thoughts about the letters of the Rector Major

• Having a common monthly recollection for a few communities.

6. Communities – The mentality that we have to get together is weak

This leads to a lack of communication of life and of salesianity

Have to change the mentality of the confreres from the beginning of their formation. Need to form a community mentality: meals, prayer, recreation.

Delegate positions of responsibility to as many confreres as possible so that they come to realize the problems.

Emphasize our traditions through the presentation of lives of holy Salesians: community life, Prayer, etc.

Our communities have to realize that they are responsible for finding vocations

Have to find vocations so that our communities can become bigger with better consistency and more gifts. Right now need structural reorganization.

THE THAILAND PROVINCE

1. Examination of conscience and examination of consciousness

2. By reviving youth group experiences(Savio’s Friends

Choirs, Bible study) we can foster our own salesian spirituality

3. Faithfulness to our traditional practices of piety (Meditation by using Lectio Divina,

Spiritual reading, etc.)

THE VIETNAM PROVINCE

1. Where is the starting point to deepen the spiritual life ?

• Insist on the personal Project of Life, especially the spiritual life

• Set up the community plan

• Hold seminars for different groups for on going formation

2. What prevent us from making a life style change …

• Pay more attention to the risks of individualist styles of working, and the danger of consumerist life.

3. Most insisting things to do:

• Rendiconto : Create better opportunities for friendly talk and spiritual experience sharing

• Lectio Divina: More explanations and more frequently applied.

• Meditation: More concerned in all communities. Help the young confreres to practice meditation more effectively

• Community Day: Try to do the best, especially with the communities emerged with various work.

The Rector Major: Deepening of the spiritual life – conclusion of the day

We have singled out the biggest challenges of our spiritual life (cf. document on province sharing. These can be summed up thus:

• From outside (culture): secularism, consumerism, materialism-individualism…infiltration causing us to live as if God does not really exist. Result is that everything depends on us. We are most professional in our work but the danger is of becoming social workers. Instead we are called to make visible the efficacious salvation of Christ. Materialism leads us to live religious life - ‘professionally’ in the way we run our schools, our training centres etc. It means not proposing models which are alternative to our culture. Consumerism is always looking for the best; it lacks a soul.

• From within (weak Salesian identity): living more as a status of life than as a project of life; looking for status, but a project of life speaks rather of dynamics – we end up living without conviction, motivation. It all comes out of generic life style, or superficial way of life.

• The lack of quality formation – does mean to disregard [continuous] formation, the loss of vocation. Just another side of the coin. Vocation is God’s gift, formation is our responsibility. It is the best response we can make to the gift. Formation enables us to follow Jesus, live mystically, live in charity, otherwise we end up following nobody. It keeps our life motivated, ascetic in our following of Jesus. It in fact produces a cultural revolution. (Phil 3:I count….as rubbish). Formation is the only way to suitably live a charismatic life…and without Charism (= gift of the Holy Spirit) there is no Religious Life. Beware the temptation to renounce formation.

• Lack of interior sense of things: living as Pharisee, superficially in other words. What is important is the external aspect – our activities as pastors, our practices of piety. Remember 1Cor 13 – the greatest gift is love.

If we look seriously at the challenges above, only then does Fr Cereda’s intervnetion make sense. The new style of Religious Life requires people of passion, mystics, people of fire, love as the most powerful of driving forces.

Read the 2 volume series written by Fr Braido (Don Bosco - Prete dei giovani nel secolo delle libertà). Here you see DB with passion in any of life’s endeavours. His main mission was passion. Let’s leave the Holy Spirit to be our leader!

Nietzsche: If you have a ‘why’ you can live any ‘how’. Without convictions and motivation there is no energy, progress, change or journey to growth.

After preparing a letter about the North European region, I was impressed by the number of martyrs during World War II – 200 in Slovenia alone! During communist times they managed to transmit the Charism to others. If you have a why you can face any how!

I am appreciative of Fr Cereda’s talk and of your own sharing. The most important thing we face is to help confreres to find their motivation for life.

To this topic we can add spiritual direction: this was a topic often referred to in the general assembly today. Recall Fr. Rua? ‘Do in MIrabello, as you have seen done in Valdocco!’ – Rector at 25 years of age. His task was to hand over his spiritual experience. If we have no experience, we have nothing to hand over!

We need to help people (rectors) to listen better, to clearly listen to the voice of God now, to help confreres to more generously answer according to what God wants us to be! Rectors are not managers, and not only leaders. They are Fathers, Brothers, Friends and have the task of understanding and incarnating the spiritual role.