#569
CHOOSING A RECTOR MAJOR
The moment is almost upon us - how do we go about the task? Below are some comments on the process that will be followed, along with a heartfelt plea from one of 'austraLasia's correspondents. (By the way, will we have to change the name 'austraLasia' now there's two regions? Any thoughts on that?)
Anthony
McSweeney, former Superior General of the Blessed Sacrament Fathers and now
President of the Union of Superiors General in
* It is first necessary to create a climate through prayer, meditation, personal reflection and Eucharistic adoration that will be conducive to the workings of the Holy Spirit.
* Then
there will be personal and fraternal sharing on the charism of the
Salesians. McSweeney notes that whenever a religious group calls to mind
the charism of the founder, a profound event takes place within the group.
* The process involves times of personal reflection and prayer, times open to
sharing with other chapter members, times of personal prayer again, then the
election. * The election of the Rector Major is different than the
election of the Vicar, which is different again from the election of the
Department Councilors and the
Regional Councilors.
Fr. McSweeney next went through the actual process for the election
of the Rector Major.
1. The first phase will be to look at the current state of the
congregation....the problems, the dynamics, and the overall situation in which
the congregation finds itself right now.
Reflection on the qualities needed for the Rector Major takes place at this
time. There will be times of sharing either by language groups,
regions, or other parameters. The important element here was to have
freedom and spontaneity. Then there will be times of quiet and silence
so that each can put himself before the Lord and God’s Word and look at
the qualities needed.
2. The second phase will encompass the personal look shared with the
other chapter members. The vision of the problems, qualities needed and
the current situation will be shared and differences and convergences
noted. At the end of this phase each
chapter member will write down 2 names and submit them.
3. In the third phase the list of names received will be listed
alphabetically with no numbers given to any of the names. Next will follow more personal prayer and meditation.
Then will come the choosing of one name to be handed in, and the names listed
with numbers this time so that the group might see if a convergence were taking
place.
4. The last
phase will follow—the election of the new Rector Major. McSweeney
shared with the capitulars his hope that the Rector Major could be elected by
next Wednesday, with the Vicar on Thursday, and then the Department Councilors
and the Regional Councilors on the weekend following Easter. He made it
clear that we were looking for Salesians who were competent, came from a
variety of cultures, and could work as a team.
AND NOW A PLEA:
Dear fr.Julian,
sorry to bother you again, but your e-mail has become a great forum for
involving all confreeres in the work of the Chapter. Can you please forward
this request to all capitulars of your list - as they prepare to choose the
successor of don Bosco and to write down the final documents:
do not forget don Bosco!
By what I read seem that our congregation began after 1971! Except vague
references to the preventive system I have not read any quotation from the
words of our father don Bosco. I see that other flourishing movements
(Focolarini, Opus Dei, Neocatechumenals, El-Shaddai, etc) refer continually to
their founders: their every word, every action, every choice is repeated and
spread all over the world. I am sometimes afraid that some confreres
might see don Bosco as sometimes old (last century) and far (Italian, Western).
No Rector Major, no matter how smart, can replace don Bosco as the inspirer of
our work.
Thanks for your time.
God bless you, and happy Easter
fr.Michele Ferrero - Taipei
