austraLasia #1816

Back on Roman soil but with fond memories and reminder ' to be mystics, prophetic and ready to serve'.

ROME: 15th April 2007 -- The Rector Major arrived back in Rome early this morning. He had left Ho Chi Minh City on 14th after a 'family gathering' of some 200 Salesians from all communities and presences.  At the core of this family celebration was his presentation of expectations for Salesian Vietnam, as well as his congratulations to the confreres for present achievements.  This visit had enabled him to note, as he is wont to do, the inevitable social changes that are occurring in Vietnam as elsewhere, with the challenges these bring to the Salesian vocation and mission.  He pointed out to the assembled confreres the important elements for Vietnamese Salesians to ensure that they remain faithful to the identity of consecrated Salesian life, and to remain up to date in response to the needs of the young "to be mystics, prophetic and ready to serve'.
    Again at the homily in the Mass celebrated together - an insistence on the Salesians' main mission in Vietnam: to be evangelisers of the young.  As Mass concluded he raised the sights still further - a challenge to increase in quantity and quality so that a second province is called for!
    That brings to a conclusion the Vietnam sojourn and nearly twice-a-day reporting - assisted for the first time by a well-honed communications team in Vietnam that wrote up the events in almost better English than this writer can himself produce!  We look forward to more.
    Meanwhile the Rector Major turns his sights to another part of the world where he must soon be in (May) - this time at the express request of the Pope: Brazil and the CELAM meeting, the Combined Episcopal Conferences of Latin America, which are grappling with the situation of profound crisis in faith practice in that part of the world.  It is expected that the Rector Major, who will represent the USG of which he is president, with his now quite global hands-on perspective and his keen analytical mind and prophetic outlook, will have an important contribution to make.
    And finally - we wish a 'happy birthday' for tomorrow, for Pope Benedict XVI as well as a happy anniversary of his election three days later.
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