Cagliero 11 ottobre 2015 - ING


Cagliero 11 ottobre 2015 - ING

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Nome società
Titolo n otiziario
Newsletter for Salesian Missionary Animation
A Publication of the Missions Sector for the Salesian Communities and Friends of the Salesian Missions
D ear friends,
Although the mission-
aries of the 146th Missionary
Expedition are already on their
way to their destinations, the
footprints of their sandals and
their missionary zeal remained
in the basilica at Valdocco. We
are profoundly grateful to the
Lord, because every missionary
call ad gentes is also a clear
sign that “the lord loves the
Congregation, wants to see it
vibrant for the good of the
Church and never ceases to en-
rich it with new apostolic ener-
gy” (Const. 22).
It was very interesting for me
during the Preparatory Course
together with the new mis-
sionaries, to experience first-
hand how this missionary call
ad gentes, ad exteros, ad vit-
am is a precious gift of the
Spirit for each of them, for the
Church, for the world. Hence
we need to know how to listen
better and welcome the Lord
who gives Life, the Dominum
et Vivificantem; know how to
invoke the Holy Spirit. It is He
who calls, forms, sends and ac-
companies every missionary. It
is he who continues to call to-
day to leave one’s own land
and go! “Let him who has ears
to listen understand…”
Fr. Guillermo Basañes SDB
Councillor for the Missions
THERE IS A CLEAR CONNECTION BETWEEN
CONSECRATED LIFE AND MISSION
T he missionary dimension,
which belongs to the very
nature of the Church, is also
intrinsic to all forms of conse-
crated life, and cannot be ne-
glected without detracting from
and disfiguring its charism …
The fiftieth anniversary of the
Second Vatican Council’s De-
cree Ad Gentes is an invitation
to all of us to reread this docu-
ment and to reflect on its con-
tents .
The Decree called for a
powerful missionary impulse in Institutes of Consecrated Life. For
contemplative communities, Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus,
Patroness of the Missions, appears in a new light; she speaks with
renewed eloquence and inspires reflection upon the deep connec-
tion between contemplative life and mission .
For many active religious communities, the missionary impulse
which emerged from the Council was met with an extraordinary
openness to the mission ad gentes, often accompanied by an
openness to brothers and sisters from the lands and cultures en-
countered in evangelisation, to the point that today one can speak
of a widespread “interculturalism” in the consecrated life .
Hence there is an urgent need to reaffirm that the central ide-
al of mission is Jesus Christ, and that this ideal demands the total
gift of oneself to the proclamation of the Gospel. On this point
there can be no compromise: those who by God’s grace accept
the mission, are called to live the mission. For them, the proc-
lamation of Christ in the many peripheries of the world be-
comes their way of following him, one which more than repays
them for the many difficulties and sacrifices they make. Any ten-
dency to deviate from this vocation, even if motivated by noble
reasons due to countless pastoral, ecclesial or humanitarian
needs, is not consistent with the Lord’s call to be personally at
the service of the Gospel.
For the full text of the
Message for World Mission Sunday 2015
see: http://tinyurl.com/poc2of3

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My going to the missions has become a tool
to evangelise my own people
While growing up, I met many people who dedicated the whole of their
life to the proclamation of the Gospel, either explicitly or through the
services they rendered. I also wanted to do the same.
Although my call to the missionary life became quite evident at the novitiate in
Ghana, the first time I actually considered going to the missions was when the
first Nigerian missionary was sent to the Sudan in 2007.
During the post novitiate I was privileged on several occasions to participate in the village ministries. I was
moved by the villagers’ simplicity and availability to serve God. I asked myself many times why can't I stay back with
this people? In the meantime my discernment continued and during my final year in the post-novitiate, I expressed my
desire and availability to the Rector Major in 2012. He sent me to Bangladesh.
My arrival in Bangladesh was like my second birth. Learning from the scratch practically everything – culture,
language, food - was not that easy. Contrary to my initial fears, Bangladesh turns out to be the mission I had always
longed for. Here we minister to people who are really in need. I must say that their
simplicity constantly helps me to make a sincere examination of conscience. To
crown it all, is the joy of being in a Salesian community flavoured with fraternity,
optimism and cheerfulness.
One may ask: “Why embark on missio ad exteros while there are people in
Nigeria who have not yet embraced the Gospel?” Well, first of all I think that the
Lord is calling me personally to be a missionary and not to heed this would be like
the Prophet Jonah who tried to flee from God’s call. Secondly, I have come to real-
ise in these few years that going to the missions has not only nourished my faith and
that of those to whom I’ve been sent, but it has become a significant tool of evange-
lisation as well for my own people – the Christian community where I come from.
Since an average Nigerian will think, by default, only of migrating for greener pastures, by willingly accepting to work
in a difficult place with socio-political, economic and religious problems becomes a practical missionary catechesis.
Moreover Nigeria has been blessed with lots of great missionaries, and the local vocations are blooming tremen-
dously. Perhaps more missionary generosity from Nigeria, could be a fitting way to say thank you to the first mission-
aries who found it worthy to sacrifice their lives for us!
Surely I’ve got my daily challenges, and a total immersion into a new cultural context could take ages. But I do
hold close to my heart the advice of my Novice Master: “You will suffer, but your suffering will be like that of a seed
planted in the soil, which dies, in order to grow and bear fruit for the benefit of all!” Indeed, it is in sharing the suffer-
ings of Christ, that we experience the greatest joy ever !
Cl. Joseph Kunle Ogundana
Nigerian, missionary in Bangladesh
Witness of Salesian Missionary Sanctity
Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni SDB, General Postulator for the Causes of Saints
In a circular letter to the confreres in 1930, the Servant of God Fr. Carlo Braga (1889-1971), a
missionary in China and the Philippines, wrote: “The type of mortification more pleasing to
the Lord, and the most meritorious for us, is that of voluntary and generous acceptance of
daily tribulations, which make up our cross. Our Holy Founder, when he spoke of mortifica-
tion, pointed out that this cross is especially our EGO with its passions, the effort needed to
overcome the bad natural tendencies, it is the pain that is inseparable from all spiritual
struggles ... our good Father pointed out that one cannot leave this cross, neither day nor
night, neither for an hour, nor for a minute. In fact in the Gospel we can read what our Divine
Saviour said: “If any one would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and
follow me (Mt 16, 24).”
Salesian Missionary Intention
For Salesians in South Asia working in educational and social apostolates
That as educators and pastors Salesians bear witness to the primacy of God and proclaim
the Gospel to young people who attend our educational and social works.
While Salesians are known for the great educational and social work done efficiently, we are less
known as spiritual men, who live only for God and his glory. Even in non-Christian contexts where a
direct proclamation is not possible, our educational and social works are an eloquent testimony to
the primacy of God and the Gospel in our lives and in our apostolate. Let us pray that Salesians give
importance to the initial proclamation of the Gospel through the educational and social apostolate.