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AGC439_Artime_Yeast

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AGC439_Artime_Yeast

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1. LETTER OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

STRENNA 2023

of the Rector Major

Fr Angel Fernandez Artime

AS YEAST

IN TODAY'S HUMAN FAMILY

The lay dimension

of the Family of Don Bosco

Turin, 20 December 2022

Introduction

On the occasion of the Salesian Family World Advisory Coun-

cil meeting held in May 2022 in Valdocco, Turin, I was asked to

explore the theme of the lay dimension of the Salesian Family

through the Strenna for 2023: a family that seeks to be always

faithful to the Lord in Don Bosco's "footsteps". This comment

is intended to respond to this request.

First of all, I would like to remind you that the Strenna 2023

is aimed at two target groups.

Th e first a re teenagers and other young people in all the

presences of Don Bosco's Family around the world - as the first

"beneficiaries" of the Salesian mission. In fact, from the outset

they h ave been in Salesian houses and at the centre of the at-

tention of any group in ou r family and they must be able to

know - as Christians or even as believers of other religions - the

strength of this message of the Lord: "be salt of the earth and

light of the world", be the yeast in today's human fam ily. It is a

very beautiful commitment, a beautiful way of living one's vo-

cation; and, at the same time it is a valuable challenge addressed

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4 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

to us educators who have the task of accompanying young peo-

ple on their journey of life, so that it may be lived in the name of

commitment and responsibility, in the search for fraternity and

justice for each and every one.

At the same time, the Strenna is addressed to all the groups

of the Salesian Family, invited to rediscover (or to discover) the

lay dimension proper to our family and the vocational comple-

mentarity that exists and that must always exist among us.

In the light of what most characterises ouT pedagogy and

our spirituality, we intend to help adolescents and other young

people especially to discover that each of them can be like

the leaven that Jesus speaks of, like that good yeast that helps

the "bread" of the human family to grow and become bigger

and tastier. And each of them can be a true pro-active agent,

because, in their own way, they are "a mission on this earth. "1

For Don Bosco's Family, this is a message that strongly urges

it to rediscover its lay dimension. In fact, it is a family where

the majority of the members are lay people: men and women of

many nations and distributed across all continents. This variety

that distinguishes us is already a gift in itself and is a responsi-

bility that we cannot shirk. Being so rich in cultures and

so widely connected and present in the world is the fruit of the

history of the mission and charism in which we were generated

and which are a gift of the Spirit.

Being together as a people of God (la6s = people, hence the

Italian word 'laico' and the English 'lay', that is, a member

of the people) for the good of young people from the East to

the West of the globe, from the South to the North, is in full

harmony with what the Church has been insistently demanding

for a long time, and it is what our fragmented world needs more

and more.

I EG, 273; ChV, 25.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 5

As consecrated men and women in the Salesian Family,

we are likewise invited to be "leaven in the dough of the bread

of humanity" and to live with one another, allowing ourselves

to be enriched by the evangelical secularity of so many brothers

and sisters. Indeed, we share most of our days with them.

Therefore, secularity is already in our DNA as consecrated

Salesian men and women, because we were generated in the

family which Don Bosco gave life to in the first Oratory and

which, from its origins, was made up of consecrated and lay peo-

ple. We were born with this intense closeness and sharing be-

tween states of life and vocations. In short and to put it succinct-

ly: we are called as a Family to give ofourselves and to complete

each other.

1. The yeast of the Kingdom

And again [Jesus} said:

"To what should I compare the kingdom of God?

It is like yeast that a woman took

and mixed in with three measures of flour

until all of it was leavened." (Lk 13:20-21)

Yeast goes to work silently. Leavening takes place in silence,

just lilrn the work of God's kingdom; it works "from within".

And indeed, who has been able to hear the yeast as it goes to

work on the flour and dough it has been mixed in with while it

is leavening it all? This image makes it possible to understand

how God's Kingdom acts. The Apostle Paul presents the king-

dom by recalling the essentials: "For the kingdom of God is not

food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy

Spirit" (Rom 14:17). This is the inner and invisible action of the

Spirit; it is yeast placed in the heart. And just like yeast, whose

activity takes place through contact, so does the Gospel.

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6 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

The parable of the yeast, chosen as the theme of the Strenna

2023, is a parable of great evangelical wisdom and pedagogical

and educational relevance, expressing the nature of the kingdom

of God that Jesus lived and taught.

There are various possible interpretations and emphases. My

choice of interpretation for this year's Strenna is precisely to pre-

sent yeast as an image and symbol of the fruitfulness and growth

of the kingdom of God. It is a kingdom in the hearts of people,

which fertilises the richness of the gift of the call to life, the vo-

cation where God has planted us, directing the mission of the

laity and of the entire Family of Don Bosco throughout the world.

''A little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough" (Gal 5: 9).

It is surprising how a small quantity offlour doubles or triples in

size once a small amount of yeast is added. The Lord tells u s that

the Kingdom of God is like the yeast with which flour (dough) is

leavened when making bread. Yeast, as Jesus emphasises, is not

the largest element in terms of quantity. To the contrary, very

little of it is used. but what distinguishes it is that it is the only

living ingredient and because it is alive it has the ability to

influence, condition and transform the whole batch of dough.

We can say, therefore, that the Kingdom of God is

''A humanly small and seemingly irrelevant reality. To become a part

ofit, one must be poor of heart; not trusting in their own abilities, but

in the power of the love of God; not acting to be important in the eyes

of the world, but precious in the eyes of God who prefers the simple

and the humble. Certainly God' s kingdom requires our cooperation,

but it is above all the initiative and gift of the Lor d. Om weak effort,

seemingly small before the complexity of the problems of the world,

wh en integrated with God's effort, fears no difficulty. The victory of

the Lord is certain: his love will make every seed of goodness presen t

on the ground sprout and grow. This opens us up to trust and hope,

despite the tragedies, the injustices, the sufferings that we encounter.

The seed of goodness and peace sprouts and develops, because the

merciful love of God makes it ripen ."2

2 FRANCIS, Angelus, Rome 14 June 2015.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 7

2. The Kingdom of God continues to grow in our world,

amidst light and shadow

In the Gospel, the Kingdom comes with Jesus himself: it is

his presence, his word-he, the Word made flesh. It is his way of

living with people, mingling with people of all social backgrounds,

among whom he prefers those whom others exclude. There is a

passage from the Gospel according to Matthew that opens a win-

dow on the way of being the Kingdom of God as lived by Jesus.

But the Pharisees went out and conspired

against him, how to destroy him.

When Jesus became aware ofthis, he departed.

Many crowds followed him, and he cured all ofthem, and

he ordered them not to make him known.

This was to fulfil what had been spoken

through the prophet Isaiah:

"Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,

my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.

I will put my spirit upon him,

and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

He will not wrangle or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.

He will not break a bruised reed

or quench a smouldering wick

until he brings justice to victory.

And in his name the Gentiles will hope" (Mt 12: 14-21).

Here, it is Jesus himself who works as leaven among the most

ordinary people, among the poor and the sick in need of healing.

"And he cured all of them": this is the 'lay' face of Jesus amid

the laos, the people, where no distinction is made between social

class or origins. They all seem to be united by poverty and the need

for help - a vulnerability that is not foreign to him as the first vers-

es show where the open hostility of the Pharisees is spoken of: a

warning sign of the cross that is approaching and where his be-

coming poor to enrich us will reach full completion (cf. 2 Cor 8: 9).

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8 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come

near; repent, and believe in the good news" (Mk 1: 15). This is

found 122 times in the Gospel and 90 times on Jesus' lips. As

t he great theologian Karl Rabner has expressed so many times,

it is clear that the centre of Jesus' preaching is the kingdom of

God. Jesus lived the Kingdom fully, demonstrating God's uncon-

ditional love for the least by deeds, and his lifestyle was adopted

by the Twelve through osmosis and continued in the early

Church: "the one who believes in me will also do the works that

I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these." (Jn 14: 12)

Even today we recognise that so much good is done and that

it grows at all latitudes in this Kingdom under construction.

And we likewise recognise that there is so much sorrow and

pain: sorrow and pain that is the direct consequence of our way

of being and acting as a human family.

We are called to open our eyes and hearts to God's way of

acting that establishes his Kingdom in his way. It is by attuning

ourselves to his way of being and acting that we collaborate with

him, as workers in his vineyard. Otherwise it ceases to be "of

God" and becomes only our work.

The universal openness that characterises us as a Salesian

Family is in full harmony with the Gospel of the Kingdom. The

proximity to so many and diverse human communities in about

75% of the countries of the world is already in itself a formidable

potential for unity and mission. More than 99% of the Church

is made up of lay people. Let us imagine how the proportion

increases if we consider and embrace the entire human fam ily:

the laity are the dough as well as the yeast of the Kingdom. As

St John Paul II wrote more than 30 years ago, in this vast world

"the mission is only at the beginning."3

Sometimes our human contribution or our little effort may

seem insignificant, but they are always precious before God. We

3 JOHN PAUL II, Encyclical Letter Redemptoris missio, R ome, 7 December

1990, no. 40.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 9

must not and cannot measure the effectiveness or results of our

efforts by placing the value on how much we invest in them, the

effort required of us, because the ultimate reason and motive for

everything is God. Let us not lose ourselves in excuses that paral-

yse the mission and construction of the Kingdom. Even for Don

Bosco the best could be the enemy of the good: it is not necessary

to wait for ideal circumstances to take the first step. Being aware

of our limitations, free from sterile triumphalism and self-refer-

ence, and at the same time full of trust, confident that "even the

most callous [boys] have a soft spot" (BMV, 237): this is the style

of the Kingdom lived according to the Salesian charism.

Looking at reality with God's "eyes" and "heart", we will un-

derstand that smallness and humility do not mean weakness

and inertia. There is little we can do in the face of much that is

required of us. However, it is never "not enough " or irrelevant,

because it is God who gives it growth. It is God's strength that

comes to our aid. And it is God who ultimately accompanies our

commitment, our efforts, our being poor yeast in the dough.

Provided we do all we can and always in his name.

3. The human family needs responsible sons and daughters

"The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the

men of this age, especially those who arn poor or in any way af-

flicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of

the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails

to raise an echo in their hearts."4

Thus begins Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution of

the Second Vatican Council. In three years' time we will remem-

ber the 60th anniversary of its promulgation.5 It has marked and

continues to mark the horizon within which the Church is called

to move: a panorama so familiar to those in the Church and in

the world who carry out a mission like that of Don Bosco, where

• GS, 1.

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10 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

youthful vitality and compassion for those who are poor and suf-

fering are always present.

It is an invitation to feel solidarity and enter without fear in

this time that we are given to live, with challenges that seem to

grow more and more in intensity, that are increasingly global

and where t he first to be touched, often tragically, are the

youngest cohorts of the population.

It is an encouragement to discover the meaning of our exis-

tence in the awareness that my life is never isolated from every-

one else's. The "I" and the "we" can only exist and live well to-

gether. The parable of the yeast and the proposal of this Strenna

help u s to attune ourselves to the evolution, over time, of the

processes that shape human history. The yeast added to the

dough needs its own time to ferment; and we too have a respon-

sibility and a commitment in building this human family so th at

the world may be more livable, more just, more fraternal.

We know how much good we are surrounded by, but also how

much suffering, injustice and pain still grips the world in which

we live, as I have already said. Pope Francis r eminds us of this,

when he says:

"Each new generation must take up the struggles and attainments of

past generations, while setting its sigh ts even high er. This is t he path .

Goodness, together with love, justice and solidarity, are not achieved

once and for all; they have to be realised each day. t is not possible to

settle for what was achieved in the past and complacently enjoy it, as

if we could somehow disregard the fact that many of our brothers and

sisters still endure situations that cry out for our a ttention.""

The cry of the poor is growing, the majority of whom are chil-

dren, teenagers and young adults: we face challenges that are as

widespread as they are close to those we find at the beginning of

5 The Constitution was promulgated on the occasion of the celebration of

Vesper s for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception on 7 December 1965.

6 F RANCIS, Meeting with the authorities, civil society and the Diplomatic

Co,ps. Santiago de Chile (16 January 2018), quoted in Fratelli tutti, 11.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 11

our mission. We are made for this time no less than Don Bosco

was for his. We strongly feel the appeal that comes from the hu-

man family of which we are a part as individuals and as a com-

munity; a family marked and wounded by the pressing need for

justice and dignity for the least and those cast aside: 7 in need of

peace and fraternity\\ in need of care for our common home.9

No less strong and radical, in other words at the root of every

other yearning, are the need for truth10 and the need for God. u

Faced with this reality, we must be very conscious of the fact

that we cannot postpone until tomorrow the good we can and

must do today. We are called to be yeast that transforms the

human family from within. It is a fundamental mandate and

coincides with our own life, with our being human: no one can

escape it or consider themselves excluded from it.

Therefore, as members of Don Bosco's Family and inspired

by the Gospel dynamic of the yeast, we intend to deepen and

recognise the richness of being part of this human and Salesian

Family where so many in this Family are laymen and laywomen,

and where as consecrated persons we must enrich ourselves

with this complementarity.12 Being lay is a state of life, a voca-

tion that so overwhelmingly characterises all the presences in

the world that identify in various ways with, or are attuned to,

Don Bosco's Family. Grateful for this, and as an authentic and

united family, we seek to malrn the most, in our various cultures

and societies, of the gift of their lives, the strength of their faith,

the beauty of their family, their life and work experience, and

their talents in interpreting and living the charism and mission

of Don Bosco for the youth and the world of today.

1 Cf. FT, 15-17; 18-21; 29-31; 69-71; 80-83; 124-127;234.

8 Cf. FT 88-111; 216-221; ChV 163-167.

9 Cf. all of the Encyclical Laudato Si'.

1°Cf. LF 23-25; FT 226-227.

u Cf. LF 1-7; 35; 50-51; 58-60.

._. Cf. J.E. VECClil, The Salesian Family turns twenty-five, in M. BAY (EDITED

BY), Passionate educators experienced and consecrated for young people. Lettere

circolari ai Salesiani di don Juan E. Vecchi, LAS, Rome 2013, 137.

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12 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

4. The layperson: a Christian who "sanctifies the world

from within"

This is how things are: the lay person in the Church and in

the Salesian Family is and will increasingly be a committed

Christian who "sanctifies the world from within."

A correct and attentive look at the ecclesiology proposed by

the Second Vatican Council allows us to declare that today, es-

pecially as Christians, we cannot accept (much less encourage)

a dualism between the sacred and the profane in the reality of a

world that was created by God. Surely this dualistic drift oc-

curred at a time when the legitimate autonomy of "secular

things", as opposed to "sacred" or religious things, was not ade-

quately understood.

Since the origins of Christianity and especially since the Sec-

ond Vatican Council, the Church has clearly recognised the rela-

tionship of Christians with the world in which they live; even in

a society where being a Christian was and is something marginal.

A splendid description of the Christian in the world is offered

in the "Letter to Diognetus" (2nd century AD) - in my opinion

a beautiful work of ancient Christian literature:

"For the Christians are distinguished from other men neither by coun-

try, nor language, nor the customs which they observe. For they nei-

ther inhabit cities of their own, nor employ a peculiar form of speech,

nor lead a life which is marked out by any singularity. The course of

conduct which they follow has not been devised by any speculation or

deliberation of inquisitive men; nor do they, like some, proclaim them-

selves the advocates of any merely human doctrines.

"But, inhabiting Greek as well as barbarian cities, according as the lot

of each of them has determined, and following the customs of the na-

tives in respect to clothing, food, and the rest of their ordinary con-

duct, they display to us their wonderful and confessedly striking

method of life. hey dwell in their own countries, but simply as sojourn-

ers. As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure

all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native

country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. [. ..]

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 13

To sum up all in one word - what the soul is in the body, Christians are

in the world. The soul is dispersed through all the members of t he body,

and Christians are scattered through all t he cities of the world [...]." 13

It is a magnificent and very u seful text to understand the

Christian secularism that we intend to present and that we have

indicated in the title of the Strenna with the "lay dimension" of

Christian life and of our Salesian Family.

Today, the Salesian Family of Don Bosco is called to live in

the world as leaven, co-operating, starting from its condition as

believers, in the construction of a better world wherever we are,

regardless of nation, culture and religion. The Church has given

a name to this broad field of action: th e secular nature of the vo-

cation of t he laity.

"What specifically characterises the laity is their secular na-

ture [...] The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God

by engaging in temporal affair s and by ordering them according

to the plan of God. They live in the world, that is, in each and in

all of the secular professions and occupations. They live in the or-

dinary circumstances of family and social life, from which the very

web of their existence is woven. They are called there by God that

by exercising their proper function and led by the spirit of the

Gospel they may work for the sanctification of the world from

within as a leaven. In this way they may make Christ known to

others, especially by the testimony of a life resplendent in faith,

hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound up in all

types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and

to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may

come into being and then continually increase according to Christ

to the praise of the Creator and the Redeemer." 14

13 Letter to Diognetus (Chap. 5-6; Funk 1, 317-321).

14 LG, 31. The Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici (1988), sums up

very well that it is the task of all the baptised, albeit in different ways, to be

yeast in the world: "The images taken from the gospel of salt, light and leaven,

although indiscriminately applicable to all J esus ' disciples, are specifically

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14 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

And it is no less true that the condition of the lay faithful is

common to all, and that we all share responsibility for the Kingdom.

"Theologically, the secular nature of the whole Church is un-

derstood from the meaning of the church-world relationship, and

from the common priesthood, prophecy and kingly dimension;

every baptised person is a member of a Church that must serve

the world to make God's salvific will and his kingdom present,

even if each baptised person exercises or develops this secularity

in a particular way, so that there is a diversity of ministries and

functions and, to a certain extent, of 'presence and situation'

in the world, history and society. "15

It is important to understand what this "Christian style" con-

sists of as a way of being present in society, in line with the Sec-

ond Vatican Council :16 the way forward for evangelisation and

the missionary activity of the Church in a society in which reli-

gion can no longer be taken for granted as if it were something

obvious and always present.

Recognising the "autonomy of the profane" as a legitimate as-

pect of secularity, theology is concerned with distinguishing

between the autonomy of profane tasks and the kingdom of the

religious, with the legitimate right to the coexistence of both real-

ities. In other words, it highlights the legitimate aspect ofsecular-

ity, which is very different from "secularism" linked to a radical

secularisation that is the enemy of all that is religious. Religion in

its various "creeds" has every right to exist and to have a "citizen-

ship card". The Second Vatican Council is decisive in this regard:

applied to the lay faithful. They ai-e particularly meaningful images because

they speak not only of the deep involvement and the full participation of the

Jay faithful in the affairs of the earth, the world and the human community,

but also and above all, th ey tell of t he radical newness and unique character of

an involvement and participation which has as its purpose t he spreading of

the Gospel that brings salvation. " (Cf. ChL 15).

15 R. BERZOSA, «i Una teologia y espiritualidad laical?», Revista Misi6n

Abierta, (mercaba.org/fichas/laico).

16 Cf. C. T HEOBALD, L a fede nell'attuale contesto europeo. Cristianesimo

come stile, Queriniana, Brescia 2021, 96-146.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 15

"Now many of our contemporaries seem to fear that a closer bond

between human activity and religion will work against the independence

of men, of societies, or of the sciences.

"If by the autonomy of earthly affairs we mean that created things

and societies themselves enjoy their own laws and values which must

be gradually deciphered, put to use, and regulated by men, then it is

entirely right to demand that autonomy. Such is not merely required

by modern man, but harmonizes also with the will of the Creator (...)

"Consequently, we cannot but deplore certain habits of mind, which

are sometimes found too among Christians, which do not sufficiently

attend to the rightful independence of science (...) But if the expression,

the independence of temporal affairs, is taken to mean that created

things do not depend on God, and that man can use them without any

reference to their Creator, anyone who aclmowledges God will see how

false such a meaning is. For without the Creator the creature would

disappear. "11

Christian anthropology must seek today, as in the past, to

translate the values and the message of salvation transmitted

by the Gospel into the language of the different societies and

cultures of the world. It is a question of harmonising the legiti-

mate autonomy of man with the validity, authenticity and co-

herence of the Christian faith. This is the challenge for the be-

liever, for the Christian faithful and for us in our mission as the

Family of Don Bosco: respect for everyone, but fear and shame

because of our condition as believers - never and with no one!

The Church, through the voice of the Second Vatican Coun-

cil, reminds us that it is a grave error to separate daily life from

the life of faith.

"They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city

but seek one which is to come. For they are forgetting that by the faith

itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties,

each according to his proper vocation.

"Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think

that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of

certain moral obligations, and wh o imagine they can plunge them-

11 GS, 36.

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16 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

selves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are

altogether divorced from the religious life.

"This split between the faith which many profess and their daily lives

deserves to be counted among the more serious errors of our age."18

It is about living as Christians in a world that will not be bet-

ter without the little leaven that Christianity brings to the

world created by God. It is from humility, but also from the con-

viction of the value of our faith, in dialogue with different soci-

eties and cultures, that we can contribute to improving the lives

of the people around us, renouncing any logic of proselytism

or imposition. To put it in the words of a magnificent pasto1~ and

a man of reflection capable of dialogue with culture, Cardinal

Carlo Maria Martini: "Wielding a belief, whether scientific,

philosophical or theological, to make ends meet by imposing a

solution, is a painful premise for an ideology and a source of vi-

olence."19 But it is also not acceptable for the Christian of all

times - and especially today - to practise a comfortable kind of

irenics or "do-goodism" that reduces coherence, witness and

personal and community authenticity.

And, just as yeast in the dough goes almost completely un-

noticed, so does our collaboration in building the Church and a

more human, more just society and one that is more in accor-

dance with the will of God, ask us to consider that it is more im-

portant to do good than it is to have the good that is done at-

tributed to us. The most important thing will always be to con-

tribute to the good of society and the world, even "without copy-

right", without confusing effective action with being at the cen-

tre of attention, also recognising that the good done by others is

at least as good as ours. If we are not convinced, let us once

more read the passage of the Gospel in which the Lord corrects

his disciples for having tried to stop the good that others did,

even if they were not from "their group".

18 GS, 43.

1• Cf. C. M. MARTINI, Los mouimientos en la Iglesia, LEV, 1999, p. 156

(our translation in English).

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 17

We must practise interpreting reality as believers who include

others, promote dialogue with others, with culture, the media,

with intellectuals and with those who think differently and also

in opposition to us. These are the virtuous habits that our way

of being in the world requires, the "Christian and Salesian style"

that we can bring to an understanding of the world and things.

This style will allow us to weave relationships with other

consecrated persons, other ordained ministers, other lay faith-

ful, other Christians and with other men and women of other

religions. It seems that this is a good way to "work for the sanc-

tification of the world from within as a leaven.20 A way of doing

things that puts us in harmony with "the universal call to holi-

ness in the Church.21 And since the Church is involved in the

world in the twofold transcendent and immanent dimension, ev-

ery Christian must be a sign of the Kingdom of God already pre-

sent in human history. If piety and devotion, the life of prayer

and the sacramental life underline the transcendent profile of

this holiness, the social commitment to justice and human

brotherhood underlines, for us, the immanent Christian dimen-

sion. Like Don Bosco, we live with our feet on the ground and

our eyes fixed on heaven. In this regard, a qualified member of

our Salesian Family offered us his own vital reflection as a lay

person in the world and in the Family of Don Bosco, defining lay

believers in the Church and in the Family of Don Bosco as those

men and women who have a threefold belonging: to Christ, to

the Chm·ch and to the world.22

Pope Francis, in the beautiful meeting we had with him on

the occasion of the canonisation of Artemides Zatti, presenting

him as "kinsman of all the poor", reminded u s that it is part of

our Salesian vocation to be educators of the heart, preparing

people, especially young people, for the world of today:

20 Lumen Gentiwn, 31.

21 Title of Chap, V of Lumen Gentium.

22 Cf. A. BOCCIA, Credenti Laici nella Chiesa e nella Famiglia di Don Bosco.

Uomini e donne delle tre appartenenze, Private edition.

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18 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

"Thus a hospital became the 'Father's Inn', a sign of a Church t hat

seeks to be rich in gifts of humanity and gr ace, home of the command-

ment of love of God and our brothers and sisters, a place of health as

a pledge of salvation. It is also true that this is paTt of the Salesian

vocation: the Salesians are the great educators of the h eart, of love,

of affection, of social life; great educators of the heart."23

Bringing to the Church and the world the gift of the lay

charism lived in the Salesian Family is a vocational response that

leads us to be present as signs and witnesses, in dialogue, and by

offering the humble service of who we are for the common good.

It is from and in lay life itself, which in many cases passes

through the specific vocation in the family and a professional role

in the world, that the laity, and in particular the Christian laity,

the laity of the Family of Don Bosco, are called to establish, pro-

mote and support the Gospel values in society and in history, con-

tributing to the consecratio mundi, the consecration of the world,

to the establishment of the Kingdom of God here and now.

Saint Francis de Sales, whose celebrations we h ave just fin-

ished on the occasion of the fourth centenary of his death, is one

of the most unique and fruitful prophets in the history of the

Church capable of sh edding light on the greatness of each one's

vocation. That is how it was for many lay people of every social

background whom he personally accompanied, helping them to

flourish in the garden in which they were placed by the Lord, to

the point of being fully holy. Saint Francis de Sales remains an

ever new and irreplaceable source of inspiration for those who

recognise themselves as "Salesians", wh atever their state of life.

In the recent Apostolic L etter that Pope Francis offered to all

religious families who refer to the charism of Sain t Francis de

Sales, the importance of th e spirituality that the Saint of Geneva

proposed in his time and t hat today is extremely topical in the

theology of the laity is highlighted.

23 F RANCIS, Address at the audience with the Salesian Family for the canon-

isation ofBlessed Artemides Zatti, Paul VI Hall, Rome, 8 October 2022.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 19

"Almost everyone who has dealt with devotion has taken an interest in

teaching people separated from the world or, at least, has taught a type

of devotion that leads to this isolation. I intend to offer my teachings

to those who live in cities, in the family, at court, and who, by virtue of

their status, are forced, by social conveniences, to live among others."24

This is why those who think they are relegating devotion to

some protected and reserved sphere are very wrong. Rather does it

belong to everyone and for everyone, wherever we are, and every-

one can practise it according to their own vocation. As Saint Paul

VI wrote on the fourth centenary of the birth of Francis de Sales:

"Holiness is not the prerogative of one group or of another or of any

one person, but an invitation and a command addressed to all those

who bear the name of Christian. ' Friend, go up higher.' All are bound

to ascend the mountain of the Lord, although not by one and the same

path . "The practice of devotion must differ for the gentleman and the

artisan, the servant and the prince, for the widow, young girl or wife.

furt her, it must be accommodated to their particular strength, circum-

stances, and duties,"25

Crossing the secular city, looking after our inner self, com-

bining the desire for perfection with every state of life, finding a

centre that does not separate itself from the world, but teaches

how to inhabit it, appreciate it, also learning to take the right

distance from it: this was his intention and continues to be a

valuable lesson for every woman and man of our time.

This is the Council's theme of th e universal call to holiness:

'"Fortified by so many and such powerful means ofsalvation, all the faith-

ful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord, each in his

own way, to that pe1fect holiness whernby the Father Himself is perfect'

(L G 11). 'Each in his or her own way' the Council says 'We should not

grow discouraged before examples ofholiness that appear unattainable."'26

24 St FRANCIS DE SALES, Introduction ala vie devote, 1,1: ed. Ravier - Devos,

Paris 1969, 23 (our translation in English).

25 PAUL VI, Epist. Ap. Sabaudiae gemma, on the fourth centenary of the

birth of St Francis de Sales, Doctor of the Chur ch (29 January 1967), in AAS

59 (1967), 119.

26 Gaudete et exsultate, 10-11.

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20 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

"Mother Church offers them to us not so that we may try to

copy them, but so that they may spur us to walk on the unique and

specific path the Lord has designed for us. 'What matters is that

each believer discerns his own way and brings out the best in him-

self, what is so personal God has placed in him.' (Cf. 1 Car 12:7)27

The Church is alive, "together with those who are called" ac-

cording to the original meaning of the term, thanks to the rich-

ness of every vocation that defines her. Every call is at the service

of all the others and only in giving oneself can one express and

regain one's full identity. Gifts are not the private and exclusive

property of a group. As baptised individuals we all share in the

priesthood of Christ, in the prophecy and kingship of Him who

came to serve and give life. Ordained ministry is understood only

as a service to the common priesthood of all the faithful. Like-

wise, what is typical of the lay state is a gift for all who enter into

the life and call of every other member of the one body of Christ.

The "secular dimension" is therefore also shared by those who

belong to consecrated life or to the ordained ministry: the story

of Don Bosco offers u s splendid evidence of this. Don Bosco was

a priest of the diocese of Turin who founded two congregations

of consecrated men and women, and two other lay associations;

and with all of them, and with many others he knew how to in-

volve people, he immersed himself very intensely in the "world"

in which he lived, in the life and problems of hundreds of thou-

sands of young people, fearlessly overcoming great difficulties

and borders, with a fruitfulness that inspires millions of people

today - beyond national, cultural and religious differences.

Being a Christian and being a lay person opens the way to

make the most of the intensity of secular, lay talent, committing

it to the infinite wealth of possibilities that are open to those

who live in the world animated by faith, hope and charity. The

Second Vatican Council proclaimed this clearly:

27 FRANCIS, Apostolic Letter Totum Amoris Est, on the Fourth Centenary of

the Death of Saint Francis de Sales, LEV, Vatican City 2022, 32-34.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 21

'The laity, by their very vocation, seek the kingdom of God by engaging

in temporal affairs and by ordering them according to the plan of God.

They live in the world, that is, in each and in all of the secular profes-

sions and occupations. They live in the ordinary circumstances of fam-

ily and social life, from which the very web of their existence is woven.

They are called there by God that by exercising their proper function

and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may work for the sanctification

of the world from within as a leauen.211 In this way they may make

Christ known to others, especially by the testimony of a life resplen-

dent in faith, hope and charity. Therefore, since they are tightly bound

up in all types of temporal affairs it is their special task to order and

to throw light upon these affairs in such a way that they may come

into being and then continually increase according to Christ to the

praise of the Creator and the Redeemer. "29

It is not the task of the commentary on the Strenna to define

all the areas and realities of life in which the presence of the

laity is transforming and can become that leaven of the King-

dom of God that no one else could "knead" as effectively and ex-

tensively. In any case, in the Church the laity have a broad and

complex spectrum of potential and challenges, of situations to

face that are at the same time like many appeals for those who

wish to be "salt of the earth and light of the world." It is a jour-

ney that this year's Strenna invites and urges us to resume, in-

tensify and make our own courageously and generously, malting

the message of the Church herself timely when she says:

"The eyes offaith behold a wonderful scene: that of a countless number

oflay people, both women and men, busy at work in their daily life and

activity, oftentimes far from view and quite unacclaimed by the world,

unknown to the world's great personages but nonetheless looked upon

in love by the Father, untiring labourers who work in the Lord's vine-

yard. Confident and steadfast through the power of God's grace, these

are the humble yet great builders of the Kingdom of God in history."30

•

point

out

that

parts

italics

and

bold

are

choice,

precisely

to highlight the theme that this commentary on Strenna 2023 intends to high-

light in a specific way.

29 LG, 31.

30 ChL, 17.

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22 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

There is no doubt that for all the laity of the Salesian Family

today - and for consecrated men and women who live day by day

enriched by their vocation and complementarity - the world, so-

ciety, economy and politics, social action at the service of others,

Christian life in daily life are and must always be a theological

place of encounter with God:

"Their [the laity's] own field of evangelising activity is the vast and

complicated world of politics, society and economics, but also the world

of culture, of the sciences and the arts, of international life, of the

mass media. It also includes other realities which are open to evange-

lisation, such as human love, the family, the education of children and

adolescents, professional work, suffering. The more Gospel-inspired

lay people ther e are engaged in these realities, cleru·ly involved

in them, competent to promote them and conscious that they must ex-

ercise to the full their Clu·istian powers which ru·e often buried and

suffocated, the more these realities will be at the service of the king-

dom of God and therefore of salvation in Jesus Christ, without in any

way losing or sacrificing their human content but rather pointing to a

transcendent dimension which is often disregru·ded, will find them-

selves at the service of the building up of the Kingdom of God, and

therefore of salvation in Jesus Christ. "31

5. Don Bosco's Family called to be yeast

Don Bosco was able to involve so many people, malting them

active and enterprising agents ofthe same dream of salvation for

young people. Fr Giulio Barberis carefully noted what Don Bosco

said addressing the young people of the Oratory on the evening

of the feast of St Joseph, 19 March 1876, just over five months

after the departure of the first missionaries for Patagonia. Re-

ferring to the field and vineyard of the Gospel parables and the

strength of his personal experience of peasant life, he helps young

people in Valdocco to understand how everyone can play their

part, always precious and important, in the growth of the King-

31 EN, 70.

3 Pages 21-30

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 23

dom of God. It is a secular, evangelical and ecclesial example

of how we are called to bring our talents to fruition together, each

according to his or her life story, ability and calling. Thus, Fr Bar-

beris takes up Don Bosco's words which will undoubtedly seem

of the utmost theological importance to u s:

"Our Divine SavioUI~ and you understand it well enough, meant by the

field or vineyards around him, to speak of the Church and everyone in

the world; the harvest is t he salvation of souls, since all souls must be

gathered up and brought to the Lord's granary; oh how abundant is

this harvest; how many millions of people there are on this earth! How

much work there is to be done to see that everyone is saved; but oper-

arii autem pauci, the laboureTS are few.

"By the labourers working in the vineyard of the Lord is meant all

those who in some way work for the salvation of souls. And note well

that labourers here does not only mean priests, preachers and confes-

sors, as some believe, who certainly are put there to work and are di-

rectly involved in gathering the harvest, but they are not alone, they

are not enough. The labourers are those who in some way work for

the salvation of souls; like those who work in the fields are not just

the ones gathering the grain but all the others as well.

"Look around a field and see the variety of labourers. One is ploughing,

another turning over the soil; others are using a hoe; someone has a

ralrn or is breaking open the clods and flattening them; others are sow-

ing seed, others still covering it over; somebody is weeding, pulling out

darnel, grass, vetches; one is hoeing, another uprooting, another one

cutting; others are watering just at t he right moment and pressing the

seeds in; oth ers instead are reaping, malcing bundles of sheaves, there

are others loading the cart and pulling it; one is spreading out the wheat

while another is beating it; one is separating wheat from chaff; others

are cleaning, using a sieve, putting it into sacks, carrying it to the mill

to make flour; one is sifting, another kneading, another baking.

"So you can see, my friends, what a range of labourers are needed be-

fore the harvest can fulfil its purpose of giving us bread from Heaven.

As it is in the field, so it is with the Church; all kinds of labourers are

needed, all kinds. No one can say: "Althou gh my behaviour is irre-

proachable, I would be no good working for the greater glory of God."

No, nobody can say that; everyone can do something."32

32 !SS, Salesian Sources, 1. Don Bosco and his work, Kristu J yoti, Bangalore

2014, 812-813.

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24 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

We were born charismatically as a community and as a com-

munion of people of different social backgrounds, states of life,

professional profiles... all united by the same mission and moti-

vated by the same ch arismatic drive that Don Bosco knew how

to pass on.33 This is the nature of the Oratory in the years of its

foundation, from 1841 to 1859: (18 years!), which still strongly

reflects this synergy of the People of God who in various ways

cooperate to make young people more at risk "good Christians

and upright citizens." It is undeniable that we were immediately

born as a group of God's people: it is t he nature of our charism

and our mission.

I am well aware - and I try to pass on this awareness to the

whole of our Salesian Family- of a particularly obvious fact: on -

ly together, only by living in communion can we do somet hing

meaningful today.

I launched a strong appeal to the entire Salesian Congrega-

tion r egarding our shared mission with the laity - an appeal that

serves the whole Family of Don Bosco - and not listening to it

would lead, in the not too distant future, to a point of dangerous

non-return.

I said:

"Our GC24 was certainly a charismatic response to Vatican II's eccle-

siology of communion. We lrnow well that Don Bosco, from the outset

of his mission at Valdocco, involved many lay people, friends and col-

laborators in such a way that they could be part of his mission among

young people. He immediately 'fostered participation and the sharing

of responsibility by ecclesiastics and laity, m en and women. '34 It is

therefore, in spite of our resistance, a point of no return, because,

in addition to corresponding to Don Bosco's actions, the model of the

mission shared with the laity proposed by GC24 is in fact 'the only

practicable model in present conditions."'35

33 J.E. VECCHI, La famiglia salesiana compie uenticinque anni, 140-142.

"' GC24, no. 71.

35 GC28, Action Programme 6, p. 59.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 25

Thus we have a point of no return for the good of those

who decide and have decided to enter into this style of mission,

formation, shared life that opens new horizons in the future for

the charism of Don Bosco in full harmony with the path that the

Church is taking with the guidance of Pope Francis, which is

surely prophetic and exemplary.

At the same time there is also another dangerous and risky

non-return for those who instead fail to or do not want to cross

this threshold and remain locked into forms of self-referential

isolation: no longer in step with the times in the way of living

and interpreting the Salesian presence, and destined to become

irrelevant and to become extinct as the years proceed.

The ultimate goal of Don Bosco's mission is, together with

the salvation of his young people, the transformation of society.

Don Bosco's broad and courageous vision, his tireless diligence,

his resilience in the face of obstacles... are explained only with

this horizon of social transformation and evangelisation of

young people on a world scale.

Don Bosco does not engage in politics but can talk to all rep-

resentatives of the various levels of government because his

commitment is transparently oriented toward the good ofyoung

people. No one who cares about human society and service to

others - as public service is and should also be for the good of all

- can display a lack of interest in this.

Therefore, our common voice can find access and be given

an ear far beyond confessional boundaries if together today we

embody the same zeal of predilection for young people that was

given to us as a charism and that we can only achieve together

as a Family of Don Bosco.

The complementarity of vocations in Don Bosco's

Family, being united as a Salesian Family, and united with the

great number of lay people involved in our presences around the

world, together in mission and formation, becomes an unavoid-

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26 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

able demand today and even more so in the future, if we do not

want to remain irrelevant.

And communion in the family spirit and within the vast Sale-

sian movement is the great gift we possess as a precious legacy.

6. In the shade of a large tree with beautiful fruit

In my letter at the end of the Second Seminar for the pro-

motion of the Causes of Beatification and Canonisation of the

Salesian Family, I wrote:

"From Don Bosco down to ow· own times we recognise a tradition of

holiness to which we need to pay attention, since the incarnation of

the charism that bad its origin in him found its expression in a variety

of states of life and in different forms, it is a question of men and wom-

en, young people and adults, consecrated persons and lay people, bish-

ops and missionaries who in certain historical, cultural and social con-

texts, different in time and place, made the special light of the Salesian

charism shine out, representing a heritage that continues to play an

effective role in the life and in the communities of believers and of men

and women of good will."36

With humility and a deep sense of gratitude, we recognise in

the Salesian Family a great tree with many fruits of holiness.

These are men and women, young people and adults who have

filled their lives with the leaven of love, a love that is given to

the end, faithful to Jesus Christ and to his Gospel.

Ecclesiology shows, as we know, that the different vocations

have a common baptismal root and are destined to contribute to

the growth of God's people:

"In Chill'ch Communion the states of life by being ordered one to the

other are thus bound together among themselves They all share in a

30 A. FERNANDEZ ARTIME, Letter ofthe R ector Major at the conclusion ofthe

2nd Seminar for the promotion ofthe Causes ofBeatification and Canonisation

ofthe Salesian Family, Rome 20 May 2018. https://aTcbive.sdb.org/Documenti/

Santita/Seminario_2018/Santi_2_Seminario_2018_RMlettera_en.pdf&gt

3.5 Page 25

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 27

deeply basic meaning: that of being t he manner of living out the com-

monly shared Clu·istian dignity and the universal call to holiness in

the perfection of love. They are different yet complementarY, in the

sense t hat each of them has a basic and unmistakable character which

sets each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in relation

to the other and placed at each other's service."37

This perspective indicates that the Salesian charism is com-

plete when vocation and mission are lived in the reciprocity and

complementarity of the different calls. Precisely this should be

the profound meaning of the Salesian Family: a vast apostolic

movement for the salvation of young people.

It is interesting to note that, among the 173 Saints, Blessed,

Venerables, Servants of God of our Family, 25 are lay people who

have embodied the Salesian charism in the family, in the Sale-

sian house, in secular life, in their profession, a privileged space

of Christian witness, and in different social, historical and cul-

tural contexts. I think it is very appropriate to recall them as

testimony within the commentary on this Strenna:

- Saint Dominic Savio, a teenager and expression ofyouthful

holiness, fruit of preventive grace and leader of a long line of

young saints.

- Blessed Laura Vicuna, a teenager, testifies to the strength

of love that gives life and reminds us of the reality of the

wounded family.

- Blessed Ceferino Namuncura, a young Mapuche, recalls

the value and respect of indigenous cultures and the work of

inculturation of faith and the charism.

- Blessed Francesco K~sy, CzesJaw Jozwiak, Edward

Kazmierski, Edward Klinik, Jarogniew Wojciechowski,

martyrs of the oratory at Poznan, witnesses of the faith to

the point of martyrdom.

- Among the blessed martyrs of the Spanish persecution we

meet: Alessandro Planas Sauri e Giovanni de Mata

37 ChL, 55.

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28 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

Diez, lay collaborators; Tommaso Gil de la Cal, Federico

Cobo Sanz, lgino de Mata Diez, three aspirants to Sale-

sian life; Bartolomeo Blanco Marquez, layman and en-

gaged to be married; Teresa Cejudo Redondo, wife and

mother, Salesian Cooperators engaged in the ecclesial, social

and associative reality of their environment.

- Blessed Alexandrina Maria Da Costa, Salesian Coopera-

tor, who recalls the highest form of cooperation, that of union

with the redemptive passion ofJesus.

- Blessed Alberto Marvelli, a former student of the oratory

at Rimini, engaged in the social and political world.

- Venerable Mamma Margherita Occhiena, a motherly and

female presence at the origins of the charism.

- Venerable Dorotea Chopitea, wife and mother, who "wel-

comed" and gave growth to the Salesian charism, manifest-

ing the choice of a poor life and the ability to be evangelised

by the poor.

- Venerable Attilio Giordani, husband and father, who em-

bodies Salesian joy in the family, in work, in the oratory, in

his mission land.

- Servant of God Simao, an Indian Bororo, who shared the

Salesian mission with Father Rodolfo Lunkenbein and re-

calls the need to recognise and welcome the seeds of truth

present in every culture and tradition.

- Servant of God Matilde Salem, wife and benefactor, who

gave of her goods and life for the fruitfulness of the charism

in Syria, and testifies to the strength of communion between

Christians, and the capacity for coexistence with the faithful

of other religions.

- Servant of God Antonino Baglieri, Volunteer With Don

Bosco, who in sickness knew how to be the leaven of the Gospel.

- Servant of God Vera Grita, Salesian Cooperator and teacher,

instrument of a mystical work that commits every Christian

to make the grace of the Eucharist bear fruit.

- Servant of God Akash Bashir, a young former pupil from

Pakistan who gave his life for his brothers and sisters.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 29

Among these numerous and varied figures ofholiness I would

Wm to point out ones that offer us a significant and original

witness of lay holiness and that, in my opinion, show the multi-

faceted aspect, that is, rich in aspects, sides, shapes and colours,

of lay life lived in different contexts, in different centuries, with

different vocations, but full of simple holiness in everyday life.

That "next door" secular holiness that will always do us so much

good to discover. Let's pause to contemplate them:

MARGARET 0CCHIENA,

"MAMMA"

We know how at the beginning of the oratory, after thinking

and rethinking how to get out of difficulties, Don Bosco went to

talk about it with his parish priest in Castelnuovo, exposing his

need and his fears. "You have your mother!" replied the parish

priest without a moment's hesitation, "let her come with you to

Turin." Mamma Margaret arrived in Valdocco on 3 November 1846,

and for ten years she was the mother of hundreds of boys. In 1846

only the oratory was open, and the boys crune there especially on

Sundays. The Biographical Memories speak of at least 800 who

came. Throughout the week, every night, after work in the city,

young people came for evening classes. One can just imagine the

noise and shouting. The classes took up Don Bosco's kitchen and

bedroom, the sacristy, the choir, the chapel. Voices, songs, comings

and goings, but it could not be done otherwise. Mamma Margaret

was there with them. Certainly priests and even lay people came

to help Don Bosco and some women came later to help. But only

Mamma Margaret was there, full time, always. This availability

made her dear to everyone, and she was therefore venerated by

those who lmew her. Right from the outset, when she came

to Turin, as soon as she becrune known by people in surrounding

suburbs, she was called by no other name than "Mamma".

Here, for ten years, her life fused with her son's life and with

the beginnings of the Salesian work: she was Don Bosco's first

and main Cooperator; her active kindness was the maternal ele-

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30 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

ment of the preventive system. Illiterate- but full of that wisdom

that comes from above - she was also a help to many poor street

children, children of no one; she put God in first place, consuming

herself for him in a life of poverty, prayer and sacrifice.

BARTOLOME BLANCO MARQUEZ,

A YOUNG ALL-ROUND CHRISTIAN

"I am a worker, I was born of parents who were also workers.

I have lived and do live in a narrow setting, one where the lowly

class work. Running in my veins, sometimes exacerbated by the

fire of youthful enthusiasm, I sense a protest, an energetic

protest against those who believe that we are not like them be-

cause we have had the misfortune - or perhaps the fate - of be-

ing born into poverty, wearing worker's gear and having rough

and calloused hands. But let us clarify our ideas: I am a worker

and I am a Catholic." The person speaking this way is a young

man of 19, by profession a chair manufacturer, a chairmaker, at

the People's Action rally on 5 November 1933 in Pozoblanco

(Spain); an upright and courageous young man with uncommon

intelligence, of humble origins, a worker, defender of the rights

of the people and of the Church.

Born in Pozoblanco (Cordoba, Spain) on 25 December 1914,

he lost his mother in the so-called "Spanish" flu epidemic. Having

lost his father at the age of twelve, he had to leave school and

start working as a chair maker. When the Salesians arrived in

Pozoblanco in September 1930, Bartolome attended the oratory

and helped as a catechist and leader. He found in Fr Antonio do

Muifto a director who urged him to continue his intellectual, cul-

tural and spiritual formation by being involved in study groups.

Until Bartolome's untimely death, this Salesian would be his con-

fessor and spiritual guide. Bartolome was appreciated by rela-

tives, friends, companions for his ingenuity, apostolic commit-

ment, and his attitude as a leader. Later he entered Catholic Ac-

tion, of which he was secretary and where he gave of his best.

He moved to Madrid to sp ecialise in the apostolate among the

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 31

workers at the Istituto Sociale Operaio or Social Workers Insti-

tute, and distinguished himself as an eloquent speaker and schol-

ar of social issues. Having obtained a scholarship, he learned

about Catholic workers' organisations in France, Belgium and

the Netherlands through a trip organised by the Social Workers'

Institute. Appointed delegate of Catholic trade unions in the

province of Cordoba he founded eight groups.

When the revolution broke out on 30 June 1936, Bartolome

returned to Pozoblanco and made himself available to the "Civil

Guard"for the defence of the city, which surrendered to the other

warring faction after a month. Accused of rebellion, he was sent

to prison, where he continued to behave in exemplary manner:

"o deserve martyrdom, one must offer oneselfto God as a martyr!"

He was tried and sentenced to death in Jaen on 29 September.

After the sentence, while remaining calm and defending himself

with dignity, he said: "You believed that you were hw·ting me

while instead you are doing me good because you have chiselled

out a crown for me."

The letters he wrote to his family and fiancee on the eve of

his death are clear proof of this: "Let this be my last will: for-

giveness, forgiveness and forgiveness; but indulgence, which I

want to be accompanied by doing everything possible. So I ask

you to avenge me with the revenge of the Christian: reciprocat-

ing those who have tried to hurt me with good", he wrote to his

aunts and cousins.

And to his fiancee, Maruja: "When I have a few homs left for my

final rest, I just want to ask you one thing: that in memory of the

love we had for each other which grows at this moment, you take

care of the salvation of yom soul as the main objective, so that we

can meet in heaven for all eternity where no one will separate us."

His fellow prisoners kept the moving details of his departure

for death: barefoot, to resemble Christ more closely. When they

put the cuffs on his wrists, he kissed the hands of the militia mem-

ber who put them on him. He did not accept, as they proposed, to

be shot in the back. "Those who die for Christ," he said, "must

do so facing forward and with bared chest." Long live Christ the

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32 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

King!" and he fell with open arms in the shape of a cross, riddled

with bullets next to an oak tree. It was 2 October 1936. He was

not yet 22. He was beatified in Rome on 28 October 2007.

ATTILIO GIORDANI,

A LAYMAN "A LA DON Bosco"

Born in Milan on 3 February 1913, he distinguished himself

since his early years for his great passion for the Salesian Ora-

tory of Saint Augustine and, already at the age of eighteen, for

his dedication to the young people who went there. For decades

he was a diligent catechist and a constant and brilliant leade1~

with so much simplicity and joy. He looked after the liturgy,

formation , games free time, theatre. He loved God with all

his heart and found the resources for the life of grace in sacra-

mental life, prayer and spiritual direction.

During his military service, which began in 1934 and ended,

in stages, in 1945, he demonstrated an apostolic approach

among his comrades in arms. He was employed with the Pirelli

Firm in Milan where he also spread joy and good humour, and

a profound sense of duty.

On 6 May 1944, he married a catechist, Noemi D'Avanzo. They

would have three children: Piergiorgio, Mariagrazia, Paola. In his

family he was a husband and father, rich in great faith and seren-

ity, chosen austerity and evangelical poverty for the benefit of the

most needy. Without taking anything away from the family, h e

made the oratory his second family, putting his wealth of inven-

tiveness and extraordinary educational skill at the youngsters'

service. In agreement with his wife Noemi, he left for Mato Grosso

(Brazil) to share his own children's choice of missionary commit-

ment. On 18 December 1972, during a meeting, after speaking

enthusiastically and ardently of the duty to lay down one's life

for others, he suddenly felt himself failing. He was just in time to

tell his son, "Pier, you carry on" and then died of a heart attack.

He has been Venerable since 9 October 2013.

His life as an apostolically committed Christian took on such

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 33

a determined and personal orientation to discover (these are all

his words): "The joy of serving Christ"; "not being good just for

those who are good"; "Living in the world wit hout being of the

world"; "Go against the current"; "Not seeking but giving"; "It

is necessai-y to live what you want to make live." This was some-

thing that matured over the different stages of his life: as a

teenager, as a young soldier then as a soldier on the Greek-Alba-

nian military front, as shown in his "War Diary". The choice of

his fiancee Noemi Davanzo was also motivated by reasons of

faith, as she wrote in a letter: "When the Lord brought you to

me, he placed before me your love and spirit of dedication to

those who are especially beloved of the Saviour. This was the

main trigger that prompted me to ask you to be my companion."

Attilio's faith was so great that it is truly a "sign" of God's

presence: in the family, in the oratory, in the parish community

and for those who meet him: a faith that is more than pro-

claimed - it shines through his actions and his way of being:

"The extent of our belief is manifested in our being."

VERA GRITA,

"THE LITTLE TEACHER FROM SAVONA"

Born in Rome on 28 January 1923, she lived and studied in

Savona where she obtained her teacher's certificate. At the age

of 21, during a sudden air raid on the city (1944), she was over-

whelmed and trampled underfoot by the fleeing crowd, with se-

rious consequences for her physically, and from then on she re-

mained forever marked by suffering.

She went unnoticed in her short earthly life, teaching in the

schools of the Ligurian hinterland, where she earned the esteem

and affection of everyone for her kind and meek character.

She attended Mass In Savona at the Salesian parish of Mary

Help of Christians, and was regulai' in her use of the Sacrament

of Penance. A Salesian Cooperator since 1967, she carried out

her call in the total gift of herself to the Lord, who in an extraor-

dinal'J way gave himself to her in the depths of her heart with

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34 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

the "Voice", the "Word" with which he communicated the Work

of the Living Tabernacles to her.

Under the impulse of divine grace and accepting the media-

tion of her spiritual guides, Vera Grita responded to the gift of

God by witnessing in her life, marked by the constant fatigue of

illness, to the encounter with the Risen One and dedicating her-

self with heroic generosity to the teaching and education of her

students, attending to the needs of her family and witnessing to

a life of evangelical poverty. She died on 22 December 1969, at

the age of 46, in a room the hospital in Pietra Ligure.

Vera Grita attests first of all to an all-embracing Eucharistic

orientation, which became explicit especially in her final years

of life. She did not think in terms of programmes, apostolic ini-

tiatives, projects: she accepted the fundamental "project" that

is Jesus himself, until he made her life his own. Today's world

attests to a great need for the Eucharist.

Her journey through the strenuous labour of her days also of-

fers a new lay perspective on holiness: becoming an example of

conversion, acceptance and sanctification for the "poor", the "frail"

and the "sick" who can r ecognise themselves and find hope in her.

As a Salesian Cooperator, Vera Grita lived and worked,

taught and encountered people with her strong Salesian sensi-

tivity: from the loving-kindness of her discreet but effective

presence, to her ability to be loved by children and families;

from the pedagogy of kindness that she carried out with her

constant smile, to her generous readiness with which, regardless

of the inconvenience, she turned in preference to the least , to

the little ones, to the distant, the forgotten; from her generous

passion for God and His Glory to the way of the cross, letting

everything be taken from her in her illness.

AKAsH BASHIR,

WITNESS TO FORTITUDE AND PEACE

A Past Pupil of Don Bosco, he is the first Pakistani whose

Cause of Beatification and Canonisation is in process. On 15

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 35

March 2015, he sacrificed himself to prevent a suicide bomber

from causing a massacre in St John's Church in Youhannabad,

a Christian neighbourhood in Lahore, Pakistan. Akash Bashir

was 20 years old, had studied at the Don Bosco Technical Insti-

tute in Lahore and had become a security volunteer.

What is most striking is how this simple young man was so

strong in dealing with evil and fighting murderous violence. The

words he said to the bomber before he died - "I will die, but I

will not let you enter the church" - express strong faith and

heroic courage in witnessing to love without measure.

The Gospel of that Fourth Sunday of Lent (15 March 2015)

proclaimed Jesus' words to Nicodemus: "For all who do evil hate

the light and do not come to the light, so that their deeds may

not be exposed. But those who do what is true come to the light,

so that it may be clearly seen that their deeds have been done in

God" (Jn 3:20-21).

Akash sealed these words with his young Christian blood.

He fought cheek by jowl with the power of death, hatred and

violence and made light and truth triumph. He washed his white

garment with the blood of the Lamb, making it resplendent

(cf. Rev 7:14).

Contact with the world and the Salesian charism reinforced

the goodness and generosity in Akash that he had learned in his

family and in the Christian community. Akash Bashir is an ex-

ample of holiness for every Christian, an example for all the

young Christians of the world. And he is undoubtedly a clear

charismatic sign of the Salesian educational system. Akash is

the voice of so many brave young people who manage to give

their lives for faith despite difficulties, poverty, religious extrem-

ism, indifference, social inequality, discrimination. The life and

martyrdom of this young Pakistani makes us recognise the pow-

er of the Holy Spirit of God, alive, found in the least expected

places - in the humble, the persecuted, the young; in the little

ones of God.

And let us not forget

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36 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

ARTEMIDES ZATTI,

IN THE YEAR OF ms CANONISATION

He was certainly a consecrated religious, but one cannot fail

to be struck by the lay dimension ofhis holiness spent in the daily

exercise ofcharity in the simplicity ofa small hospital and a small

village. He is an example and a model of consecration to his peo-

ple in sacrificial and patient work, having God as its source, its

motivation for faith and as the sole and ultimate goal of his life.

Their lives, the lives of all of them and their example are like

"leaven in the dough" that continues to grow, and the Kingdom

within us and around us.

The lay faithful offer the humus for the growth of the

faith. 38 This expression of Benedict XVI reminds us that Chris-

tianity is rooted and develops in the world thanks to the faith

and commitment to evangelisation of so many lay people, mar-

ried people, families and Christian communities. By the grace of

Baptism, faith grows and spreads.

Similarly, the above-mentioned lay witnesses of Salesian ho-

liness and many others "next door" have also given and continue

to offer the humus for the growth of the Salesian charism. This

company of saints reminds us that before works and roles, the

quality of human relationships is the privileged place for the

proclamation of the Gospel and the flourishing of the charism.

These testimonies remind us of the universal call to holiness,

so dear both to St Francis de Sales - as we have already said -

and to our Father of the Salesian Family, Don Bosco, when he

proposed the goal of holiness to the young people of the oratory

and to ordinary folk as a goal open to all, easy to follow and

oriented to endless happiness.

All this by having Mary Help of Christians, the one who wel-

comed Jesus into her virginal womb and for this reason Mother,

38 BENEDICT XVI, Catechesis, 7 February 2007.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 37

Teacher and Guide of the faith, especially in the accompaniment

ofthe young generations on their journey towards holiness. The

lives of all of them and their example are like "yeast for the

bread."

7. Our young people as yeast in today's world

I would like to conclude this year's Strenna message with a

final word that addresses our young people and the path we

want to take together, because they too want to accompany us

as we want to accompany them:

"We want to tell you loudly, with all our heart. Being here

for us was a dream come true: in this special place that is Val-

docco, where the Salesian mission began, together with Sale-

sians and young people for the Salesian mission, with our com-

mon will to be saints together. You have our hearts in your

hands. Take care of this precious treasure ofyours. Please never

forget us and keep listening to us. Turin, 7 March 2020."39

In fact, young people prepare for life, we accompany them on

this journey, and I have no doubt that a very great service that

we would render to them, to society and to the Church is to help

them become aware of the social role they must play and for

which they must prepare. That is why they are also the first to

learn that they are called to be yeast in in the human family.

In preparing to write this commentary, I decided to look for

and read, precisely for this final section of the Strenna, some of

what the last three pontiffs - St John Paul II, Benedict XVI and

Francis - have told the young people, because I was sure that

their messages would be abundant and very powerful. And that

is how they seem to me: so current, so timely and, dare I say it,

so "Salesian". And at the same time I want to strongly affirm

how vast, extensive and demanding is the task that young

39 GC28, What llind of Salesians for the Youth of Today? Letter of the

young people to Chapter members, Annex 3, p. 146.

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38 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

people have before them in the Church and in the world. Ifthey

accept the challenge of being truly today's young people, active

in their Christian and social commitment and true "yeast " in

the human family.

Pope John Paul II, three years before his death, in one of

his speeches proposed,4° eight great challenges that are genuine

proposals of Christian, social and political life and commitment

for young people who want to meet significant challenges. In re-

ality, these are eight challenges that some scholars reduce to just

one that could be expressed in this way: putting the human be-

ing at the centre ofeconomics and politics. The task is this: the

defence ofhuman life in all situations; the promotion of the fam-

ily and the eradication of poverty (through debt reduction, pro-

moting development and opening up fair international trade);

the defence of human rights and work to ensure disarmament

(reduction of arms sales and consolidation of peace after con-

flicts); the fight against major diseases and access for all to the

most necessary medicines; the protection of nature and preven -

tion of natural disasters; and finally, the strict application of in-

ternational law and conventions.

In turn, in the Encyclical Letter on integral human develop-

ment, Caritas in Veritate ,41 Pope Benedict XVI lists the current

challenges that are urgent and essential for the life of the world

and in which today's young people can engage, such as: the u se

of the eai·th 's resources, respect for ecology, the just distribution

of goods and the control of financial mechanisms, the fight

against hunger in the world, promotion of the dignity of work,

human solidarity with the poorest countries, service to the cul-

ture of life, inter-religious dialogue and the construction of

peace among peoples and nations.

Finally, Pope Francis proposes a series of demanding tasks

JOHN

PAUL

II,

Address

Ambassadors

of Countries

Accredited

the

Holy See, Rome, 10 January 2002.

" Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate , Rome 29 J une

2009.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 39

that we have as Christians and that await young people who

want to take them on and engage in them with their faith and

commitment, since many other young people suffer from such

violence and extortion.

Among his various writings (Encyclicals, Apostolic Exhorta-

tions and Messages to young people),42 I would like to recall the

following: there are terrible and painful contexts of war (and I

cannot fail to mention the unjust war against the Ukrainian peo-

ple, which we all know because it has lasted for eleven months

now); there are many people and young people who suffer from

violence that manifests itself in many different ways: kidnappings,

extortion, organised crime, trafficking of human beings, slavery

and sexual exploitation, war crimes, etc. Some children are forced

to become soldiers, to be part of armed gangs and criminals, to be

involved in drug trafficking. Not a few children and teenagers are

enslaved in the sex trade and trafficking. And there is no shortage

of people and young people who are marginalised and even mar-

tyred because of their ethnicity or their beliefs. The pain of mi-

gration (in inhuman situations) and the scourge of xenophobia

cannot be forgotten.43 The discarding of people around the world,

racism and the violation of universal human rights are other

realities of a world in which there is also so much pain.4'1

Are we aware that all this and much more affects this human

family in which we seek to be yeast, salt and light?45 Could we

say that this is a pessimistic view? No, not at all. Pope Francis

himself cites many advances that exist today, but that go hand

in hand with a "deterioration of ethics":

42 Cf. ChV, 72-74; Cf. FT, 25.

•3 FT, 38-40.

... Ibid, 18-24.

"I would like to emphasise in a very significant way what the Rector Major

Fr Pascual Chavez wrote about the commitment of the Salesian Family to

the defence of life, in all its senses and in all its dimensions. This is a very rich

list of our current commitments (which also involves young people): Cf.

CHAVEZ, P., You love everything that exists, and nothing that you have made dis-

gusts you... Lord Louer of Life. (Wis 11:24.12,1), in In., Circular Letters to the

Salesians (ACG 396 (2006) Letter 019), LAS, Rome 2021, 604-605, 609-617.

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40 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

"With the Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, we do not ignore the posi-

tive advances made in the areas of science, technology, medicine, in-

dustry and welfare, above all in developed countries. Nonetheless, "we

wish to emphasise that, together with these historical advances, gr eat

and valued as they ar e, there exists a moral deterioration that influ-

ences international action and a weakening of spiritual values and r e-

sponsibility. his contributes to a general feeling of frustration , isolation

and desperation [. ..]. We see "outbreaks of tension and a buildup of

arms and ammunition in a global context dominated by uncertainty,

disillusionment, fear of the futm e, and controlled by narrow economic

inter ests". We can also point to "major political crises, situations of in-

justice and the lack of an equitable distribution of natural resources...

[...] In the face of such crises that result in the deaths of millions of

children - emaciated from poverty and hunger - there is an unaccept-

able silence on the international level."46

This reality is an opportunity for all of us, but especially for

young people, to feel the Lord's call to live their Christian and

also Salesian life (within the family of Don Bosco) as a great

task.

This task and challenge had already been recalled by Pope

Paul VI at the end ofthe Second Vatican Council with a message

addressed to young people in which he said:

"Lastly, it is to you, young men and women of t he world, t hat the

council wishes to address its final message. For it is you who are to r e-

ceive the torch from the hands of your elder s and to live in the world

at the period of the most gigantic transformations ever realized in its

history. t is you who, receiving the best of the example of the teaching

of yom parents and your teachers, are to form the society of tomorrow.

You will either save yourselves or you will perish with it.

[...] ...and build in enthusiasm a better world than yow· elders had! "47

Today, with deep conviction, I address this request that

comes to all of u s to be truly yeast in the human family to all of

you , dear young people. These challenges demand that you say

• 6 FT, 29 which also cites the Document on Human Fraternity for World

Peace and Living Together~ Abu Dhabi (4 February 2019): L'Osseruatore

Romano 4-5 February 2019, p.6.

•17 PAUL VI, Message to young people Rome 8 December 1968.

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THE RECTOR MAJOR 41

yes or no to your commitment to building a more just and fra-

ternal world with your life, your formation, your studies, your

work and your vocation. These challenges place you at the cross-

roads of accepting or rejecting a challenging and exciting life in

which to put all your strength and energies according to God's

dream for each of you.

And certainly you are not asked for any particular, extraor-

dinary heroism, but only - yet this is already a lot - to make

your own gifts and God-given to each of you fruitful, committing

yourselves to grow in faith, in true Love, in fraternity and in

service to all, especially to the least, to those who are most af-

fected by life, to those who have least opportunity.

It seems to me to be a precious proposal for every young

Christian and Salesian who wants to be a missionary disciple

of the Lord today, and also a challenge and a proposal of such

dignity and scope that, without any shame, it can be offered

to any young person who wants to live their human condition

to the full, whether they are Christians or professes other

religious beliefs or seek to an essential and authentic humanism.

At the same time it leads you to live outside your "comfort

zones"which, like sirens with their songs, can lull you to sleep.

I just referred to humanism and I would like to conclude ex-

plicitly with a reference to this "Salesian humanism" with

which we can educate all the young people of all nations of the

world who are involved in Salesian presences because

"For Don Bosco [it] meant giving due weight to all that is positive in

the life of individuals, in creation, in the events of history. Th.is led

him to accept the genuine values present in the world, especially if

pleasing to the young; to place himself in the flow of culture and of

human development in his own times, encouraging the good and re-

fusing to lament about the evil; wisely seeking the cooperation of

many people, convinced that each one has gifts that need to be discov-

ered, recognised and put to good use; believing in the power of educa-

tion which provides support for the young person 's development, and

encoW'aging him to become an upright citizen and a good Christian;

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42 ACTS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL

and always and everywhere entrusting himself to the providence of

God, perceived and loved as a Father."411

I conclude by thanking the Lord for a beautiful and full

life in our Salesian Family at the service of the Gospel, asking

the Lord for the whole Church and for us as part of the same

Church to accept the joyful task of evangelising, because "she

was sent by Christ to reveal and to communicate the love of

God to all men and nations."49

May our Mother Help of Christians help all of us to be mis-

sionary disciples, little stars that reflect her light. And let us

pray that hearts may open to joyfully receive the proclamation

of salvation which is God himself in Jesus.

~~;:+cei.Q-

F1· Angel Fernandez Al'time, S.D.B.

Rector Major

' 8 P CHAVEZ, Like Don Bosco the educator we offer young people the Gospel

ofjoy through a pedagogy of kindness. Strenna 2013 (AGC 415 (2013) Letter

038, op. cit., 1240-1241..

49 Ad Gentes, 10.