3882(II)_Touching the Salesian Family heats

34th Salesian Family Spirituality Days

By Ms. Emilia Flocchini

Rome, Italy, 14-17 January 2016 - During the four days (Jan 14-17) of the Salesian Family Spirituality Days all 380 participants were witnesses to many powerful and touching testimonials, group and personal experience sharing according languages (including also one Japanese group). The evaluation highlighted especially the family spirit strongly felt through the continuous presence of the Rector Major and all of his councilors. Also the presence of one refugee family (Salesian Cooperators) from Syria with their two children was very much at the center of these days.

Among more than 20 interventions was one very powerful talk around the three main elements of the 2016 Strenna: (1) With Jesus, (2) Together and (3) Adventure in the Holy Spirit.

Fr Rossano Sala, SDB, a Fundamental Theology Professor from Turin with logical and forceful arguments referred to the four forms of poverty spoken about by Cardinal Walter Kasper and showed how they can be met by the four pillars of the Oratory according to the mind of Don Bosco. Four elements listed in the Article 40 of the SDB Constitutions were the main highlight:

• For poverty of the body there is "the home that welcomes";
• For cultural poverty, "the school that prepares for life";
• For poverty of relationships, the "playground where young people meet friends and enjoy themselves”;
• For spiritual poverty, the "parish that evangelizes".

The full talk is available on the www.sdb.org as well on the BOSCOLINK

On the last day - January 17 - Sr. Lesley Sandigo (FMA World Delegate to the Salesian Cooperators) in the name of all participants shared the commitment for the Strenna 2016 in action:

COMMITMENT of the SF Spirituality Days 2016:

I commit myself (personal)

• To live my vocation with joy and gratitude in order to witness to the young people the beauty of following Jesus in the world today
• To take with responsibility our belonging to the Church and to the Salesian Family in our daily life
• To make Don Bosco’s pedagogy and spiritual heritage our lifestyle!

We commit ourselves

• To collaborate with the Dioceses in order to meet the youth in the geographical and existential peripheries of the world witnessed the Love of Christ that had attracted Don Bosco.
• To network with other social and political realities in order to answer the new poverty of the youth and of the families.
• To foster strong experience that does call for the total involvement of the young people to give themselves to God at the service of the others in a journey of holiness.
• To share strong moments of spirituality and apostolic commitment in order to foster the growth in the sense of belonging to the Salesian Family.

THROUGH

• The joint formation and sharing of apostolic projects among the SF groups
• The mutual accompaniment among the SF groups
• The Advisory Council (=Consulta) of the Salesian Family (local-provincial level)
• The Identity Charter of the Salesian Family (ed. 2012)

Next year the 35th Salesian Family Spirituality Days will be held again in Rome - January 19-22, 2017. We expect few more participants from the 15 SF groups present in the 22 countries of our Region.