austraLasia #2565

Theology students write grateful letters to Don Bosco

We received a number of 150th reflections and it would obviously be of little value to print them all, so just one has been selected, simply to record the event in this e-letter.  Apologies to others who sent along theirs; they are appreciated, but a choice has been made! In the case below, the theologate community in Vietnam reflected at length on their individual stories of vocation.

VIETNAM: 22nd December 2009 -- The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Salesian Congregation is an opportunity for the Congregation to look back at its origin as well as to look forward to living its charism in the future to better respond to new demands and challenges.
    On the 17th of December the theologate community in Vietnam had a gathering to reflect upon the journeys of vocation of its members.  Fr Them has put pen to paper to sum up the event as he saw it.
    One member shared that he came to know his vocation through the soccer field at a Salesian centre. He came to the Salesian playground just to play soccer. Nonetheless, in the time he was with the Salesians, he was gradually attracted by the family spirit and the committed life of the Salesians at the Centre.
    Another member came to the Salesian community to learn more about the possibilities and ways of realising his commitment to poor children.
    Before becoming a Salesian, another member had quite a comfortable life in terms of a well-paid job, but he recognized the emptiness of a life without meaning and tried to learn some alternatives in life.  Religious life has been his best choice since it gave him a meaningful life and true value.
    Some Salesians met with their parents’ objections when they announced that Salesian life would be their future. They had to appeal to some Salesian priests for intervention, asking the Salesians to persuade their parents to allow them to continue their way of life.
Following the Salesian vocation was not easy for a number of others. Some parish priests discouraged them from following the Salesians and urged them to join the diocesan seminary with promises of financial support. Yet, they eventually responded to God’s calling and opted for Don Bosco and became Salesians.
    A number shared their reflections on the difficulties they met in community life, the gap between the ideal described in the Constitutions and real life: conflicts, envy, tension take place in religious life in the same way as in the world. 
    Through sharing these reflections, we can see that vocation is a mystery, and at the same time, a divine gift. There are certainly more qualified and better persons in the world, yet, God has chosen some and assigned them a mission that was beyond their capacity. Therefore, the members of the community are more convinced in their vocation. “It is not you who chose me, but it is I who called you.” (Jn 15, 16).
    As a result, complying with the invitation to this reflection, the members of the community organized the writing of letters to Don Bosco in order to thank God and Mary Help of Christians. This was the best opportunity for them to express their personal gratitude and commitment to the consecrated and apostolic Salesian life. They offered these letters in a simple ritual at the evening of 17th and burned them on the 18th of December.
To conclude the celebration of the anniversary, the community was reminded of the sentiments of Don Bosco regarding the foundation of his congregation: “If I had known all the sufferings, toils, objections and attacks to this work of founding a religious congregation, I would not have had the courage to start this work”. Fortunately, God had not revealed this to Don Bosco in advance as he said: “You will understand everything at its time.” (MB 1, 123; MO 31). The community was similarly reminded of the commitment of John Cagliero who became Cardinal later: “Monk or no monk, it does not matter. What matters is to remain with Don Bosco and help Him.” (MB 6, 335; 11, 157).

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Title: australasia 2565
Subject and key words: SDB General 18th December
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2565