#567

Glenford Lowe, Delegate of East Africa, explains how the Chapter has helped his inward journey:
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As the days of the chapter draw me closer to the great paschal event, I cannot but reflect on this whole Chapter process as my journey to wholeness…from death to Life.
Salesian spirituality for me is not about doing perfect things, but aspiring to Life…
Our vocation as Salesians and our living together in community is a journey and not a destination…we run the danger of ‘institutionalizing’ community. We forget to enjoy the living together and isolate ourselves in a cocoon of individualism.
For me, the chapter is a constant reminder that it is not what I do but who I really am that matters. And that is my Salesian Community birthright !!!

We spend our lives aching to be real, because we have forgotten how to be spiritual .
We float and coast on the waters of uncertainty, because we have lost the truth about our ‘Oratorian Criterion’…
We have, at times, become cold and insensitive because we have allowed our ‘heart-space’ to be invaded by a ‘half-measured love for the mission….’
We race and chase after the holy grail of modernity and in the bargain lose sight of the poor around us.
We seek refuge in a ‘scarcity mentality’, because we fear the power of synergy…
We have to admit that we are at the crossroads of our journey…the widespread demise of ‘religious witness’, ‘fraternal life’, ‘animating presence’, ‘openness to new forms’ is a way for us at this chapter to reclaim an awareness of the magnitude of the journey we each have to make…

No doubt we all want to strike the nail on the head, and rightly so…but may we also be inspired to use the right wall…and that will be the joy of a new resurrection…

All this will make my Salesian life meaningful
if I could gift myself with this personal life-plan :

Dare to Dream
Observe the Ordinary
Network with the Neighborhood

Believe in Being
Operate by Optimism
Seek the Spiritual
Celebrate Community
Online for Others


Glenn Lowe, sdb
glowesdb@yahoo.com

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Thinking aloud is a private initiative that seeks to share impressions among English-speaking participants at a time when the Chapter is at its peak.
It is a response to a query from confreres back in the provinces: 'Can't our delegates tell us what they think ?'
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