Live Jesus! Australian Province to celebrate Francis
de Sales in a special way
MELBOURNE: 23rd January 2006 -- While Francis de Sales is
typically noted on 24th January for his 'journalistic' side, it would
be reductionist in the extreme to think of him in that light
alone. The first thoughts that might come to mind anyway,
concerning Francis, are quite possible 'Live Jesus!' his favourite
phrase. A work of the great Saint and spiritual director which is
not so well known, is his 'Little Treatise on Holy Communion' which he
wrote for the Superior of a community of Sisters - so typically Francis
in its style and content, suggesting a kind of 'toothpaste' image as
preparation: "If you awaken at night you should fill your mouth with
some good aspiration, like the names of Jesus and Mary, which are quite
fitting to freshen our mouth in which Our Lord desires to enter".
Far removed in time and space from the Abbess de
Puit-d'Orbs, another Francis, Francis Moloney, who has just assumed
office as Provincial in Australia, has made a strategic choice for the
Feast of St. Francis de Sales. He is highlighting 'Eucharist as
Memory and Sacrifice', thus providing a tone for his period of
leadership, but doing this in the context of an 'open house' invitation
to all confreres in the Province to visit the relatively new Province
Centre in Melbourne, opened a little over a year ago and blessed at the
time of the Rector Major's visit. The Provincial is offering two
talks on that day. In addition to the one already named (EMS,
initials which are, coincidentally, directly related to journalism!),
he will also offer some reflections on the recent Synod of Bishops on
the Eucharist, at which he was a 'peritus'. But, just as
essentially, the occasion is aimed at fraternal fellowship and 'bon
homie' and has, according to Fr Moloney, provoked "a big and
enthusiastic response, and I am looking forward to catching up with as
many people as possible".
Communication is many things. No one could
doubt that tying it to Eucharist in this way is one of them. The
Province will also traditionally hold its other major festive gathering
for this season at Brunswick on the 31st of January, a large
public Mass in a Salesian parish attended by members of the Salesian
Family from all over.
___________________
AustraLasia is an email
service
for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions
as an
agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
