JAKARTA: 28th October '04 --  After an anxious delay from Dili (flight cancelled, re-routed through Darwin-Denpasar) the Rector Major had to reschedule some elements of his visit to the Indonesian part of ITM, but made the priority his visit to the postnovitiate and novitiate communities, Wisma Don Bosco and Tigaraksa.  The latter is a new community, and gave the Rector Major a chance to speak about 'planting the charism' in a part of the world (Indonesia) where the Salesians arrived in 1985 and already have more than 35 Indonesian-born Salesians, with 4 communities, 3 in Jakarta Archdiocese and 1 in Sumba.

    As he moves around each province, the RM likes to identify the 'Valdocco' of the province.  This time he characterised Tigaraksa as The Becchi in the making, the place where Don Bosco's dream can come true....and perhaps too the Valdocco of Indonesia.

    In these beginnings of Salesian history in Indonesia, 'it is important to plant the charism faithfully'.  It requires a lot of Salesian identity.  There are three elements to see that the charism is well planted, said the RM:

    1.  The expansion of the Salesian charism, geographically.  Since 1875 a missionary expedition has left Turin each year.  The missionary dimension of our charism is so important, and the missionary dimension of course including our mission to youth.  We are missionaries of the young.  'I begin to see the expansion here in Indonesia: Wisma, the Parish of SJB, Tigaraksa, Sumba...but there are millions of youth in Indonesia yet to be good Christians and honest citizens!'

    2.  The growth of all vocations within the Salesian Family; think SF not just SDB.  The current 22 groups in the Salesian Family are a sign of the vitality of the charism, but there are another 30 branches besides!  The Salesian Family is not a fruit of Don Bosco's mind (he was clever, capable) but a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  'Apostolic' means to work for the growth of the Church.  We are thankful for the gift of vocations in Indonesia - but they are not yet enough.

    3.  Holiness - because this is God's dream, our sanctification.  This is the way to become good Salesians; we are not just social workers or volunteers.  These we appreciate because they spend three years for others, but for us it is a vocation, our whole life for the young.  We are called to be consecrated for the young in a single movement of love, for God and for the young.

    The Rector Major then went on to develop some thinking about how Don Bosco formed young people.  This will be the substance of another austraLasia later in the day.  In the meantime the RM returns to Wisma for supper, then off to the airport for the flight to Japan, the final stop in his longest trip, a total of 22 days.