austraLasia #3238
Acts of Oceania Study Days on
Initial Proclamation
ROME:
1 July 2013 -- The Missions Department has just
published the Acts of the
Study Days on the Salesian
Mission and the Initial Proclamation of Christ in Oceania.
The
beautiful lay-out, which clearly reflects the rich cultural
diversity
of Oceania, is in itself an attractive invitation to the
reader to
thumb through the 240 page booklet. The content gives the
reader a
sensation that what one has in between his hands are solid yet
practical reflections.
The Acts opens with an excerpt from Don Bosco’s 4th
missionary
dream on July 2, 1885 where he saw “a number of islands
grouped
together, whose inhabitants were varied in temperament and
appearance”
and the youth from these innumerable islands cried out to him
“Come and
help us! Why do you not fulfil what your fathers have began”?
Don Bosco
concludes his narration saying “I felt that all this indicated
that
Divine Providence was offering part of this evangelical field
to the
Salesians, but for some future period. Their efforts will bear
fruit,
for the hand of God will be constantly outstretched over them,
unless
they become unworthy of His graces…”
The first missionary seminar on The
Challenges of Missio ad Gentes in Oceania was held in
2004. The
recent Study Days held in 2011are actually a deepening of the
reflections in 2004. The Acts reveal how the different
speakers and the
group discussions sought to respond to the question: Is the
topic on
initial proclamation relevant in Oceania where a great
majority are
baptised Christians? The discussions and reflections
underlined that at
baptism the child received the habitus of the faith (the capacity to
believe), but
not the personal act of faith (the firm commitment to orient
one’s own
life according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ). However, in the
context
of Oceania’s traditional societies and secularised cultures
today, the
initial proclamation a child receives in the family is often
not
adequate to become the foundation of a robust faith. Without
this
initial conversion and initial personal faith, catechesis
risks
becoming sterile. In this light, even Oceania’s Catholics who
frequent
our parishes and Religious Education classes in our schools as
well as
other Christians who frequent our youth centres all need
initial
proclamation of the Gospel in view of developing their faith
and
personal adhesion to Christ. In fact the General Directory for
Catechesis insists that Christians who have abandoned the
practice of
their faith as well as those who live their faith out of habit
all need
initial proclamation of the Gospel in view of fostering their
personal
option and adhesion to Christ. Thus, initial proclamation is
the first
and necessary step towards a new evangelisation of Oceania!
The booklet, which has been mailed already directly to the
communities
of Oceania, is not only a record (ACTS) of the Study Days. Its
value
lies on the 10 activity sheets which are intended for the
local
community so that these Study Days may be used for the ongoing
formation as one of the activities of the regular Day of the
Community,
hence foster its reception by the local communities. It is a
highly
recommended reading not only for those working in Oceania but
even
those in East Asia as well as in other regions of the Salesian
world.
The
full text is also available in PDF version from SDL.
