austraLasia 822
Fr. Chavez unpublished: an anniversary
reflection
ROME: 5th April '04 -- We
have heard of 'Don Bosco inedito' - the unpublished writings or sayings of Don
Bosco. From time to time the 9th Successor of Don Bosco, Fr. Pascual
Chavez V., talks to the community that he is part of, the General Administration
in Rome, often in the context of a Good Night. It would seem a
shame if such a 'pearl' as the other evening's talk, on the 2nd anniversary
of his election, were to remain unpublished in some form or other.
Two years and visits already to some 52 provinces
later, Fr. Pascual was reflecting on some key moments in his own spiritual
journey. Prominent amongst these was a retreat given to the Council by Fr.
Frank Moloney (2001). Fr. Pascual experienced a need to take his own
spiritual life even more seriously, to make it count more for self and
others. Here was the genesis of a theme that has now become insistent in
his writings: Make yourselves saints! On a second occasion, at the
Catacombs, when Fr. Vecchi by then close to death, had sought the
Anointing of the Sick, the notion returned, strongly. Then there were the
announcements of the beatification of Luigi Variara, Artemide Zatti and Maria
Romero, and, ultimately, his meeting with the Holy Father as newly elected
Rector Major.....'Make yourselves saints'.
Fr. Pascual said that he has received many
comments, some in writing, from confreres who have been moved by his letters, to
take their own spiritual and religious life more seriously: their meditations,
their reading, their monthly recollections....
The Rector Major then moved on to questions he
has been asked - of course the obvious one: 'How do you feel about your
Office?' He had no ambitions for this office! But he saw immediately
that this was God's will and despite his limitations, something to accept.
"Do you ever feel discouraged?" Well, no - not that there were not many and
serious problems right from the start. And then he reflected again on all
these visits he has made to provinces, where he has seen first-hand the
astounding charism of Don Bosco at work. This is an antidote to
discouragement, and a reason for each Salesian to take his religious and
spiritual life more seriously. Fr. Pascual commented, using the English
phrase 'part-time' how Fr. Vecchi had himself pointed to the danger that so many
Salesians face of being so absorbed in their work that their real purpose of
witness can become part-time.
And then, some homely advice from the depths of
his own being and practice: he has now, for some time, adopted the practice of a
careful and prayerful daily examen of conscience, usually at the end of a day
when he will ask himself who it is he has met, how the conversation has
gone, and so forth. This and regular use of the Sacrament of
Reconciliation (he specified - every 15 days or so) can be as powerful a
tool for all of us as it is for him.
What will our true impact as Salesians be?
To be witnesses, to strive to make ourselves saints.
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