STRENNA_2026_PRESENTAZIONE_FINALE_ENG


STRENNA_2026_PRESENTAZIONE_FINALE_ENG

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PRESENTATION OF THE THEME FOR
STRENNA 2026
“DO WHATEVER HE TELLS YOU”
Believers, free to serve
Year after year the Strenna is offered as an opportunity for the entire
Salesian Family to come together around a particular theme, so that –
through prayer and reflection, listening and sharing – each Group’s call can
find food for its own spiritual, charismatic and pastoral journey.
In light of the Jubilee experience, STRENNA 2025, Anchored in
hope, pilgrims with young people, gave us the opportunity to walk
together with the whole Church to contemplate the mystery of Christ, the
source and support of our hope. Around the theme of the hope that does not
disappoint, we were able to contemplate how the mystery of a creator God
who visits us in his Son continues to sustain us today through the power of
the Spirit. It has helped us to recognise the signs of God in daily life – the
concrete reality that reflects the mystery of God’s love for us. Hope is
strength and confirmation of the “already” that we are experiencing and
contemplating. It is also a source of courage and joy for the “not yet”.
The event of the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary
expedition has been a very concrete and real opportunity, through which
we have rediscovered how the strength of hope for Don Bosco generated the
courage in his heart that sustained him in discovering God’s plan and the
firm commitment to put it into practice. Reading this event in depth, we can
say that hope was the driving force of Don Bosco’s pastoral heart. It is hope
that has enabled him to read the signs of the times and to look at the world
sustained by his faith in God.
This historical event took place at a particular moment in Don Bosco’s
life: alongside the missionary expedition, he was committed to sending the
Salesians to France, as well as establishing the Salesian Cooperators
Association. So it was a period of great enthusiasm for our Father, who
always prioritised openness and availability to God’s will in his heart.
Guided by hope, Don Bosco was deeply rooted in faith.
While it is true that Don Bosco lived in Turin, it is even more true that
his heart and mind were everywhere in the world. His hope – once he
discovered God’s plan – became a source of certainty and full conviction that
this must be followed, with faith, to the end, without fear and without
hesitation.
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The first Salesians sensed the strength of hope that animated Don
Bosco’s heart and mind. It is no coincidence that later on, they themselves
would understand and interpret it as “Don Bosco, man of faith, Don
Bosco, believer, Don Bosco, united with God.”
Various discussions and reflections that emerged from the World
Salesian Family Consulta meeting held at the beginning of June 2025
focused on the question of “faith”: if the strength of hope is based on faith, a
life truly full of hope leads to a deeper and more authentic relationship of
faith with Jesus, the Son of the Father, made man for us and who continues
to be present among us with the strength of the Spirit.
Let me offer you some points that will then be developed in STRENNA 2026.
1. A call to listen
“Do whatever he tells you” is not just a simple biblical quote, but a
very real spiritual and pastoral manifesto. The invitation, the command, is
spoken by Mary right at the beginning of the Gospel. The context that
envisaged a moment of celebration suddenly risks ending badly, a total
failure: there is not enough wine. In this situation of crisis and difficulty,
Mary, the caring mother, simply invites the servants to be attentive to what
Jesus will say when “his hour” comes.
It is well worth re-reading this Gospel passage.
Gospel of John, 2:1-11
1On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the
mother of Jesus was there. 2Jesus and his disciples had also been
invited to the wedding. 3When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus
said to him, ‘They have no wine’. 4And Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, what
concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.’ 5His
mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.’
6Now standing there were six stone water-jars for the Jewish rites of
purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7Jesus said to them,
‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. 8He said to
them, ‘Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.’ So they
took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and
did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn
the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10and said to him,
‘Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after
the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until
now.’
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11Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed
his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
Mary's words to the servants at Cana (Jn 2:5) contain a pedagogy of
listening as well as of response, a pedagogy that opposes all forms of passive
obedience. Mary does not simply say “obey”, but invites the servants to a
personal, active and pro-active listening: “whatever he tells you”. It is an
invitation to trust in the person of Christ, a trust that becomes a gesture of
responsibility that in turn generates authentic freedom.
The subtitle of the Strenna, “Believers, free to serve”, completes the
picture by tracing an existential trajectory: freedom is born of faith, and
service springs from freedom, that is, a freedom which, when lived, makes
others free. This is not a chronological sequence, but a vital dynamic, where
each element feeds and is sustained by the others. One cannot be a believer
while remaining distant and detached from that which can and must
generate life, joy and communion. Believing means placing a wager, staking
everything you have. Believing pushes us outside the comfort zone of merely
“commenting” on history. Believing is an experience that gives birth to and
contributes to the construction of a more just society. Believing becomes
energy that fuels these processes towards a more successful humanity.
2. A path towards a generative faith
The Strenna proposal follows a progression that echoes the Christian
method of discernment: recognise – interpret – choose. It is a path that
avoids both blind and submissive activism and a disembodied and overly
private and individualistic spirituality. It is an invitation to take the
direction that opens up before us when we accept the invitation of the Word
with faith, a direction marked by trust and responsibility. It is the direction
that characterises the best Salesian tradition: helping young people to have
and show confidence, accompanying them and educating them to make
choices that empower them, in view of the goal of forming “good Christians
and upright citizens”.
2.1. Welcoming the signs of the times
We must first reflect on the urgency of “embracing time and
history”. The history we live in, with all its challenges, must be
“encountered” with empathy. This attitude expresses a gesture of active love
towards the reality that surrounds us. As educators and pastors who are
believers, we refuse to fall into the trap of immobility that causes us to
passively endure events. Ours is a call to “recognise” the challenges with
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spiritual intelligence. It is a crucial and decisive step: recognition is the
result of discernment, that is, of the ability to interpret what happens in
depth. Only in this way can catastrophic and defeatist interpretations be
avoided.
For those of us involved in educational and pastoral processes, we can
say that the image of “history as a treasure chest that holds and reveals
God’s action” is particularly relevant and evocative. The treasure chest
suggests that, as humans reveal themselves before our eyes, only by paying
close attention can we perceive how divine action is present, even if hidden,
gently active. Eyes of faith are necessary for God’s action to be discovered,
grasped and taken up. It is a deeply Salesian approach: Don Bosco knew
how to grasp the action of “providence” in the most complicated stories, the
most difficult situations. And he was able to transform every apparent
obstacle and difficulty into opportunities for the integral growth of young
people and the propagation of the Kingdom.
2.2. Being rooted in faith
The second movement leads directly to the heart of the Christian
experience. Reading events in the light of Christ is a fundamental option
that only matures as the result of constant commitment. Jesus Christ
cannot be perceived as an “object” of faith. Jesus Christ, Son of God made
man for us, is logos, that is, a criterion that helps us understand reality. It
is an approach which, enlightened by the power of the Holy Spirit,
overcomes every form of dualism between the sacred and the profane.
Only this healthy relationship with Christ can reveal the divine in the
human to our mind and heart. Only in this way does the call to discover
how “God's will emerges from the events we experience” become particularly
meaningful. This mature approach of faith recognises that God not only
speaks through Scripture and the Magisterium, but (and this touches deeply
on our vocation) also comes to meet us through the concrete history of
young people and those we encounter on our journey. Their stories are a
continual revelation of – and call to – God’s presence.
All careful discernment requires and sustains a sound spiritual
formation. A central and indispensable element is the encounter with the
Word. Hence the strength that sustains this dynamic. It is through
systematic contact with the Word that we grow in a healthy way. Only when
we are nourished and enlightened by it do we realise that the Word of God is
not mere information but spiritual food, light for the daily journey. We can
say that the Word, when we really listen to it – ob-audire – not only
“informs” us, but goes beyond, “shapes” us and “transforms” us.
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2.3. The freedom of the call
The third passage touches on the delicate question of Christian
freedom in a culture where there is so much confusion in this regard. Only
when we engage in “free listening” do we experience the “liberating power” of
the good news. Listening which is forced, listening which is conditioned by
fear and self-interest has no impact; indeed the end result can even be
damaging. Free listening is really free when we feel that it is becoming a real
experience of joyful acceptance of the divine will. It is the freedom of the
children of God that once experienced and lived, makes us avoid dangerous
arbitrariness in the pastoral field.
We see this from experience: when “every action” is “lived and guided
by the Word,” the contours of an integral spirituality emerge, where there is
no separation between prayer and action, between spiritual life and
commitment in the world.
The experience of Cana, then, calls us to be attentive to the “danger of
a self-referential faith, conditioned by our own reason”, that is, to a faith
based on “what I think” as expressed in the phrase we often hear (and
perhaps even say): “in my opinion”. This is almost a faith that bows to the
demands of our “reason”.
In the Salesian context, faith and reason are always considered allies,
pursued with the awareness that the necessary balance is a delicate and
urgent journey. The risk of a purely horizontal approach arises from selfish
choices that claim to measure everything with exclusively human criteria.
The consequence is that faith, and consequently any proposal for faith
education, is reduced to a mere rational proposal.
Here we have the invitation to clarify the fact that it is not a question
of devaluing reason, but of preventing it from becoming the only criterion of
judgement, obscuring the dimension of mystery and grace. These are
indispensable dimensions for any ecosystem of integral education.
2.4. Generous service
The fourth and final movement leads to the culmination of the
direction we have taken: service. “Rooted and free - we serve”. This is the
culmination of the entire journey: from being rooted in faith to freedom,
from freedom to service, all as a natural expression of the gradual growth of
the love received.
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The invitation to “cooperate fully” resounds with particular strength
for all believers. The adverb “fully” emphasises the importance of the total,
without reserve. It is the language of every true journey of faith, where the
believers discover themselves to be active collaborators in God’s work.
From this we can understand the power of the expression “boldness of
faith”, which echoes one of Pope Francis' favourite expressions. Genuine
faith is not timid but courageous; it is willing to take risks on behalf of the
Kingdom. It is the boldness of those who know they can count not on their
own strength but on God’s power
The Cana event ends with “the joy of sharing”, a distinguishing mark
of the Salesian charism. It is not a superficial, emotional, trivial or
ridiculous joy. It is a genuine and deep joy that comes from sincere sharing
that strengthens the experience where we all feel we are part of a project
bigger than ourselves, God’s project.
3. The commemorative dimension
The reference to the 150th anniversary of the Salesian Cooperators is
not only celebratory but programme-oriented towards what the Lord
continues to ask of us. Don Bosco’s prophetic dream is still relevant today,
recalling both the “vision”’ he communicated and our current responsibility
as heirs and promoters of his charism. The 150th anniversary thus becomes
not only a memory of the past but a relaunching into the future.
It will be a year where we will have the opportunity to study, reflect,
thank and celebrate the experience of the Salesian Cooperators, who
continue to express and experience a moment of grace. While we thank the
Lord for his providence both for the Salesian Cooperators Association and
for all the Groups of the Salesian Family, let us deepen our knowledge of the
charismatic dimension that the Spirit of God has brought about through
Don Bosco. The past is a beautiful legacy that propels us towards a future
in which we are even more prominent believers and free to be worthy
servants in the cause of God’s kingdom.
Conclusion
In a time of great change and challenges, along with unprecedented
opportunities, STRENNA 2026 aims to be a spiritual journey that offers a
compass for personal growth in faith and growth in pastoral experience at
the community level. In this regard, we are called as Groups of the Salesian
Family and local communities to begin by listening to reality rooted in faith
in Christ. In this way, we live our calling with true freedom. It is a freedom
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that urges us to make choices in favour of young people and all those who
are lacking the “wine” of hope. It is a freedom that leads us to strengthen
our commitment to integral human advancement..
From the beginning, Don Bosco “imagined” a great movement of
people who, together with him and like him, could contribute for the good of
youth. Well, this is Don Bosco’s dream that continues today. The celebration
of the 150th anniversary of the Salesian Cooperators strengthens the
determination in all of us to be servants of young people as they face today’s
challenges. This determination bears witness to our faithful and generous
response to the words that Mary addresses to us today: “Do whatever he
tells you.”
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