ACTS 303 January-March 1982

LETTER OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

Father Egidio VIGANÒ

REPLANNING OUR HOLINESS TOGETHER

<<REPLANNING OUR HOLINESS TOGETHER>>- Introduction - Dialogue with the provinces - A checking-up process with positive results - Limitations and lacunae - The basic problem - The best gift we can offer to the young - The daily meeting with Christ - Ascetical commitment - Don Bosco's style ­Conclusion.

Rome, 12 December 1981

My dear confreres,

Today, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the members of the General Chapter of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians were received in special audience by the Holy Father. The meeting was preceded by a solemn eucharistic celebration in St Peter's Basilica, a liturgy of great ecclesial significance. We prayed for the new Superior Council of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, for the growth of mutual communion among members of the Salesian Family and for an ever more courageous and efficacious approach to the evan­gelization of the young.

While our Sisters are intensifying their work on the final formulation of their Constitutions, we are already thinking of our own 22nd General Chapter which will deal with the same question. To ensure adequate preparation for so important a Chapter I have appointed as its Moderator, in accordance with art. 100 of the Regulations, Fr JOHN VECCHI, the present Councilor for the Youth Apostolate. Let us help him by our prayers and ready cooperation.

Dialogue with the provinces

Last October we finished the series of so-called "joint visits" with a meeting in Hong Kong with the provinces of the Far East.

I would like to say something about these visits because everyone is aware by now of the importance of this new way in which the Superior Council is able to be present in the different parts of the Congregation and which has now become a necessity for religious institutes in the present context of unity in decentralization and vice versa. I offer you some practical ideas which will enable everyone to be open to a universal vision of our Congregation at the present day and to be aware in some way of its strengths and weaknesses; this in turn will provide us with a realistic platform for our further reflections on the urgent need for holiness.

Each one of these joint visits has been a shared review of our Salesian life and a planning of its further development in the light of the guidelines of GC21. There was a discussion in each case between a group of Provincials with members of their Councils on the one hand, and the Rector Major with the Councilors in charge of various Departments and the appropriate Regional Councilors on the other. The matters to be discussed were put forward by the individual provinces and subsequently coordinated and synthesized by the various groups in agreement with their Regional Councilor.

There have been ten such visits in all:

Two of them, the first and the last, were in Asia:

- at Calcutta, for the Indian provinces (October 1979);

- at Hong Kong, for the provinces and delegations of the Far East (October 1981).

Six were in Europe:

- at Benediktbeuern, for the three German­ speaking provinces (January 1980);

- at Brussels, for the two Dutch-speaking provinces (February 1980);

- at Lodz (Poland), for the various East European provinces (April 1980);

- at Farnieres, for the three French-speaking provinces (August 1980);

- at Pacognano, for the provinces of Italy and the Middle East (January 1981);

- at Barcelona, for the provinces of Spain and Portugal (July 1981).

Two were in America:

- at Malibu (California, U.S.A.) for the Western English-speaking provinces (September 1980);

- at San Miguel (Buenos Aires) for the many Latin-American provinces (April 1981).

The central points discussed were the funda­mental issues of the GC21: the evangelization of the Salesian community in respect of some of the fundamental aspects of our religious life;

- the formation of all the confreres;

- the educative project and the success of our search for vocations;

- the Missions, especially in Africa;

- the Salesian Family, with particular concern for a greater involvement of lay people.

It has been necessary to increase the number of these meetings, dividing them up so as to deal with groups having a certain cultural and ecclesial similarity. The objective situations of the provinces differ very widely.

Those of Western Europe, for instance, find themselves in an atmosphere shot through with a secularism which unfortunately leads to dangerous irreligious attitudes. The Eastern European provinces on the other hand are situated in marxist societies where there are very definite problems caused by an arrogant crippling of apostolic values, especially in the field of youth pastoral work.

The provinces of the Anglo-Saxon areas are working in a society which is characterized by a pragmatic realism which is not always helpful in gaining a deeper appreciation of the far-reaching motivations that provoked the changes effected by Vatican II.

Positive assessment

The provinces of Latin America are actively engaged in the adaptation of their pastoral work along the lines expressed by the Bishops' Conference at Medellin and Puebla; here and there in different countries one can note signs of nascent controversy with temporal overtones of one kind or another. The provinces of Asia are acutely aware of the delicate problems involved in the inculturation process.

In Africa the Congregation is still at the stage of sowing the seeds, and this gives rise to specific needs and problems not experienced elsewhere. Because of all this the discussions with the groups of provinces often followed different lines with different emphases.

In the previous six-year period the Special General Chapter had programmed review-discussions by continents, and there were four big meetings. The new scheme, although demanding bigger sacrifices because of the greater number of meetings, has turned out to be more practicable and down to earth. The overall appraisal of the results is a very positive one. Certainly defects and lacunae have been found, but the very fact of holding the meet­ings was something constructive and it led to greater union, clearer ideas on certain matters and greater commitment.

I would like to emphasize a few of the more positive aspects which may serve to strengthen our increasing hope for the future.

First of all, in all these meetings there was a strong feeling of unity about certain points:

love of Don Bosco, agreement about the significance of our identity, adherence to the recent General Chapters, solidarity and close communion with the Rector Major and Superior Council, the keenly felt atmosphere of real brotherhood; the freedom, clear speaking and mutual respect with which problems were faced. A religious and friendly relationship was built up with a greater feeling of shared responsibility, and the Provincials and members of their Councils were able to get a better idea of the wider dimensions of the Congregation and of their own Salesian responsibility in the fulfillment of their local role. The individual and global study of the various problems has made everyone more aware of important aspects of our vocation. In only a few days we were able to reach an effective synthesis with new and zealous commitment.

And then there was also a new sense of provincial unity, even though in some cases this is still at an early stage; a general atmosphere of hope, and a determination to reach practical decisions; the overall and realistic panorama acquired by the Rector Major and his Council of Salesian life and mission in the world; the possibility of drawing up a better animation program to meet the concrete situations which had now become better known; an increased sensitivity to the Gospel demands in religious life, and to the pastoral and pedagogical heritage of the Preventive System.

Our incorporation into the local Church has become more clearly understood as part of a practical convergence of all the forces working for the evangelization of today's youth, and in this way the sense of our specific place in pastoral work has been renewed; the idea of the Salesian Project has been better understood as a synthesis of different aspects of our life and work, as the realization of our overall pastoral objective, and as the way in which our traditional inspirations meet the new requirements of the present day.

There were also significant proposals for further commitment to the deepening of a particular spirituality for our young people: the appearance of more groups and youth movements in fact betokens a common source of inspiration in Don Bosco's spirit.

The topic of the Salesian Family has launched us decisively on a new plan of action in which the Salesian community is seen as the centre of animation and greater union that has become an active frame of reference for numerous lay endeavors.

The basic topic of religious life has led to a deeper understanding of the importance and significance of the community aspect of our lives and of animation as a service of authority, and to special insistence on the need to give back to the Rectors, and also to Provincials and their Councils, their true Salesian image.

The urgent question of formation has led first to requests for, and then (in the meetings that have taken place after the publication of the Ratio) to the acceptance of, the fundamental basic principles, the rulings and guidelines set out in the document "The Formation of the Salesians of Don Bosco", which was asked for by the GC21.

The topic of the missions and information on the African Project have reawakened and strength­ened Salesian enthusiasm on this very necessary front and have served to clarify and encourage many generous and practical initiatives on the part of a large number of provinces.

At the end of each of the visits practical conclusions were reached which are now being im­plemented and which are promoting the provinces' growth. Let us give heartfelt thanks to the Lord for so much good that has been done.

Limitations and lacunae

Certainly we have become aware of certain defects. Some of the joint visits were less well prepared than others. Sometimes there was more accent on receiving than on active participation and giving; sometimes more ability was shown in analyzing and expounding problems than in seeking for solutions for them (at least in the beginning) and in drawing practical conclusions. It should be kept well in mind that this was the first time this kind of dialogue had been attempted and there was in consequence no experience to fall back on.

A overall evaluation has been made of these visits by the Superior Council, and as a result it seems important and necessary to revise the manner of their organization so that the various Councilors involved can determine more accurately the objectives to be achieved and the matters to be dealt with; in this way the points of view of the different Departments can be better harmonized one with another. It has also been noted that greater attention needs to be given to the role of the Regional Councilors, especially in the planning of the meetings and in the identification of practical conclusions to be drawn. It is hoped that the Superior Council will be able to clarify in good time the specific purpose of each meeting and the range of points to be dealt with, so that attention and work can be concentrated on a few key points, leaving other aspects more as matter for information than for dialogue input.

The variety in situations and in the geographical extent of the different regions did not permit of the same kind of participation at every meeting.

Sometimes all the members of a Provincial Council took part (as was indeed desirable), in other cases only one or two could be present, with a consequent impoverishment of the value of the discussions and an impaired standard of communication and of ability to realize an effective follow-up.

A great deal of work is done in the provinces, but here and there one notes an unreasonable division of responsibility which is sometimes 11 hangover from an old kind of apostolic individualism, and in general betrays a lack of planning by pro­vincial and local communities.

Another consequence of a certain pragmatism in work and lack of community planning is a dangerous neglect of the spiritual life, of pastoral updating, and of ongoing formation. In some provinces these latter are not really up to the required level. I think that this is one of the reasons why assimilation of documents and directives of the Church and Congregation has been rather slow. A shallowness of thought about our religious profession is at the root of a far from imaginary danger, that of superficiality.

The basic problem

My dear confreres, at the present time, which is one of cultural transition, the enemy we need to fear most is precisely this superficiality in spiritual matters.

We run the risk of making our whole renewal consist in organization and initiatives 'for external use', so to speak. The restructuring of a province and its works is certainly important, and even indispensable. There is urgent need to revise our community dimension, to re-establish the true image of the Rector, to assimilate and apply the Ratio, to formulate our pastoral and educational plan, to broaden the perspectives of the Salesian Family, to be generous in our missionary commitment. But underlying all this, as its source and moving spirit we have to replan the way to make ourselves holy both individually and as a community: we have to rethink and re-live the real meaning of our religious profession and the vitalizing drive of the consecration it implies.

If we want our vast and enthusiastic renewal process to be something more than for mere 'external use', we have to be vigorous in our fresh drive to do what we are told in art. 2 of the Constitutions: to become in true Salesian fashion "the signs and bearers of the love of God for young people, especially those who are poorest. It is by fulfilling this mission in the imitation of Christ that we find our path to holiness".

We are not just 'catechists': we are 'educators' too; it is by educating that we evangelize. But we are not just 'educators' either, but rather 'guides' or 'mystagogues', terms dear to the Fathers of the Church to indicate initiation into the mystery of Christ. In other words we are concerned about providing a pedagogy designed to bring about a vital insertion of youth into the reality of the faith: it is by evangelizing that we educate, in the sense that all our educational activity is animated by and takes its concrete objectives from a concern to introduce young people to the mystery of Christ and let them live in his paschal victory. The vital principle of the Preventive System is always and everywhere the "Da mihi animas", which stems from a spirituality centered on pastoral charity conceived and lived out in the style of Don Bosco.¹ Our Constitutions tell us that "we accept youth as we find them and imitate the patience of God himself, whatever the state of their present freedom or faith. By a friendly presence we support them in the face of evil and help them through shared understanding to free themselves from every enslavement. We seek to enlighten them while recognizing the subtle process by which faith grows".²

But in order to do this with patience and constancy, i.e., to live the daily intention of guid­ing the young and initiating them into the Mystery of Christ, 'sanctity' or holiness is absolutely indispensable. This is therefore the first objective of our real renewal.

Our best gift to the young: our own holiness

The worldwide vision of the life of the Con­gregation that I have acquired through long contact (nearly three years) with the provinces through these joint visits leads me to say without any doubt that the biggest problem we still have to solve at the present day is that of renewing our holiness.

Yes, it is true: today's young people have an urgent need of our holiness. It is precisely for this that Christ and Mary have called us; our holiness is the best and most useful gift we can give to the young.

Unfortunately the word 'holiness' or 'sanctity' can be easily misunderstood by a confused mentality that is fairly common nowadays and born of an environment which puts a kind of cultural blockage in the way of its genuine meaning and implications. It can become identified with a false kind of spirituality which veers away from practical things; with an asceticism attainable only by rare heroes; with a feeling of ecstasy that looks down on active life; with an outdated understanding of the values of the present turning point in the history of man. Such a caricature as this can only be deplored.

We on the other hand believe firmly in holiness and in its relevance today. Rather than looking to the abstract concept of holiness or sanctity, we look to the living witness of Don Bosco as a saint. When we assert that our holiness is our best of what that can demand of us. His style of holiness is an instrument for educating. In us it would lose all its distinctiveness if it led to the interposing of a barrier between us and the young, or if it became distasteful to them.

The present situation in the provinces brings to my mind two fundamental elements of Salesian holiness to which we must give priority in practice if we are to succeed in making it a living reality once again at the present day.

The first is a close intimacy with Christ so as to ensure the daily source of pastoral charity in our educational activity. The second is an ascetical commitment to a constant kindness which is itself an element of pedagogy. Without a clear friendship with Christ, felt personally and lived out in com­munity, and without a serious ascetical background, no effort at renewal will ever make us signs and bearers of the love of God for the young.

I would like to offer you a few thoughts on these last two points which provide the main thrust for the launching of our new effort.

The daily meeting with Christ

Let us first read attentively what Don Bosco wrote in his spiritual testament: "Your first Rector Major is dead. But our true Superior is Jesus Christ, and he will never die. He will always be our master, our guide and our model".³ Let us keep in mind too what our spiritual tradition asserts: "Pastoral love, young and alive, is at the very heart of our spirit just as it was so powerfully conspicuous in our Founder in the beginnings of our Society. It is this ardent apostolic drive which makes us 'seek souls and serve God alone' ".⁴ Holiness lives and is manifested in that love which gift to the young, what we mean is that young people need to find in each one of us another Don Bosco with his "oratorian heart". And it is in this sense that it seems both fundamental and urgent that we should revive and enhance our sanctity, and at the same time restore to the word its relevance and appeal, which have been somewhat damaged by the prevailing misrepresentation. Don Bosco's sanctity is uncomplicated and attractive, it is strong and inspiring.

God alone is holy. Human holiness is a com­munion and participation of divine love; it confirms us in the knowledge that the Spirit of the Lord enters in a vital way into man's heart and history; without it humanity cannot attain its goal.

Among the very large number of saints (they are indeed the leaven of human integrity in the Father's design) Don Bosco is an outstanding witness and purveyor to the young of the indis­pensable values of sanctity; and Dominic Savio gives us the same message with enthusiastic hope and trust.

I have spoken of Don Bosco's sanctity as at once uncomplicated and attractive, one which inspired trust and built up friendship, but at the same time was unyielding in its Gospel demands. This holiness is not attainable without a special call of the Spirit, nor can one persevere in it without continual recourse to him and fidelity to his inspirations. Although this kind of sanctity is uncomplicated and attractive it is neither easy nor comfortable!

For us "it is not enough to love". Don Bosco has taught us that the ideal of Salesian sanctity lies rather in making ourselves loved; and the dream of the rose arbour provides us with a clear reminder is the love of God (the" agape" of the evangelist St John).

Salesian sanctity or holiness looks from a particular point of view at the charity of the Father, who loved man so much that he sent his Son and his Spirit to save him. And it emphasizes in this love the gift of himself in the plan of salvation, especially for the young.⁵ It is not limited to words but is built on facts: pastoral love shows itself in deeds.

Action imbues an entity with a special vigor and graces it with a genuine and fertile attraction. Sacred Scripture is always proclaiming the necessity of doing something: "Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven".⁶ It is a question therefore of a pastoral charity that is concrete and active, and that lives in us together with a constant friendly relationship toward two kinds of persons: the infinite persons in God, and the persons of men, especially "the poor and the little ones". In this way we become aware of the internal force of charity which provides a close link between our relationship of friendship with God and with the young. Which of these relationships comes first: the one with needy man or the one with God? Is there some kind of dependence of one on the other? Does one of them influence the other? These are interesting questions, and in replying to them we come to the crux of the problem of how we are to renew our sanctity.

They are questions which are not just pleonastic nor are they artificial or superfluous. They come directly to grips at a deep level with certain suggestions that certain secularists put forward.

In fact the present-day cultural changes, which have caused the greatest crisis in the history of religious life, are characterized by strong man-centered ideas with "a concept of a self-explanatory world without any need for recourse to God".⁷ This kind of mentality has been able to make a subtle infiltration into faith areas, disguised under religious trappings. The biblical and patristic view of man as the "image of God", implying that one cannot really know man unless one knows Christ who is God made man,⁸ has veered to the opposite view that man knows the mystery of God (if he exists!) by knowing himself.

Such an attitude as this can give only a devastat­ing reply to the above questions; without explicitly asserting the primacy of love for man the emphasis is nevertheless almost exclusively on man, on his needs, on situations of social injustice, which are assumed as a point of departure for rethinking the meaning of God's love and hence of religious consecration.

Such an interpretation fosters a dangerous man centered attitude which leads very easily to a cloud­ing over of pastoral charity and hence to a pro­gressive adulteration of our sanctity. True enough the apostle St John proclaims the absolute necessity of love for our neighbor: "he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen".⁹ But here John is talking about how we can check up on the practicality of our love; and in fact a little earlier he had written:

"love is of God...; in this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us...; if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another; we love God because he first loved u;"¹⁰

The Old Testament had already spoken of love if God and of neighbor in terms of absolute primacy, but it is in the New Testament that the extent and inner force of such love takes on extraordinary dimensions.

The command of Jesus Christ in this regard is crystal clear: "Love one another as I have loved you!"¹¹ That little word 'as' is a very precise and fundamental reply to the question posed above. In our pastoral charity love for the young flows intimately and of its very nature from our love for God; our friendship with youth is the precious and natural consequence of our friendship with God. Without love for God there can be no pastoral love for the young.

Pope Paul VI in his inaugural address to the Second General Conference of the Latin-American Bishops (Medellin 1968) drew the attention of the bishops of Latin-America to a doctrinal point concerning pastoral charity. He spoke of the dependence of love of neighbor on love of God.

"You are aware", he said, "of the attacks made at the present day on this doctrine which is so clearly and irrefutably derived from the Gospels: the aim is to secularize Christianity, ignoring its essential reference to religious truth, to the ineffable and superabundant love of God for men, ignoring also its reference to the duty of man's response to love him and to call him Father and in consequence to call men in all truth by the word 'brothers', so as to free Christianity itself from what Cox calls 'that form of neurosis which goes by the name of religion', so as to avoid all theological concern and offer to christianity a new and entirely pragmatic efficacy, which alone would make it acceptable and workable in today; secular and technological civilization".¹²

And so our friendship with God is the true source and lifeblood of our pastoral predilection for the young; and we come next to the question: How can we nourish and continually increase our love for God? And the reply can only be: by a daily encounter with Christ.

St John, who is not only called the "theologian of love" but also its most outstanding witness, has left us the classical definition of substantial sanctity when he asserts that "God is Love".¹³ This decla­ration was not made by Jesus, nor was it an abstract dogmatic pronouncement; it was the result of John's lengthy reflections on the life and paschal mystery of his friend Jesus and on Christ's personal relations with the Father. The more John con­templates the words, deeds and psychology of Jesus the more does he see that they point vividly to the fact that charity (or love, or "agape") sums up the whole historic meaning of the incarnation of the Word, and the full explanation of the whole mystery of God made man.

What distinguishes believers of the New Cov­enant from others is for John precisely this manner of looking at Christ. It is not enough to recognize him as the Messiah and Lord of history. A vital adherence is needed to his way of loving with an active sharing in its efficacy.

The realism of the love of God is found totally in Christ, who lives out its distinctiveness and power. God is pure spirit;¹⁴ no one has seen him.¹⁵ He is present in Christ who is the perfect image of the Father,¹⁶ and in him is concentrated all the divine transcendence of love. Christian knowledge and love of God does not mean simply reflecting admiringly on his omnipotence, wisdom and justice, but rather in feeling oneself practically involved with Christ so as to share actively in his love.

The "saint" is one who is fully open to this love and becomes a channel for passing it on to others. Relaunching our Salesian sanctity therefore means primarily the cultivation of our friendship with Christ by both the individual and the community.

This is why the daily encounter with Christ is indeed the alpha and omega of pastoral charity. "Encounter" in this context certainly implies a permanent relationship of friendship; but what I have in mind here is a definite time-slot inserted in each day for practices like meditation and personal prayer, the liturgy of the hours and the Eucharist. The sacrament of his paschal memorial which comprises the greatest act of love in all history must become again the vital and impelling centre of our own lives and of all our communities.

The essential and indispensable aspects of our personal and community meeting with Christ were treated at length by the Special General Chapter with objective application to the realities of our own life; I invite you to meditate once again on its 9th document, "The praying community".¹⁷

Ascetical commitment

The second pillar that sustains the whole edifice of our sanctity is a daily practical ascetical program for our personal conduct and our com­munity life style. One of the dangerous phenomena we have become aware of in these years of crisis for religious life is an almost complete disintegration of ascetical ideas; this appears as a loss of the methodical effort to eliminate with the help of God's grace whatever may be opposed to growth of life in Christ and to a rugged determination to face up to the sacrifices involved: renunciation and self-denial,¹⁸ the acceptance of suffering,¹⁹ spiritual combat,²⁰ not for their own sake but as a sharing in the paschal mystery of Christ and a willing cooperation with the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

This is a very serious loss; it removes from religious life its quality of being a 'sign' in the world. Without some visible ascetical commitment no clear witness is given to the great value of the vows, which are in themselves a formidable Gospel challenge to today's permissive society. Indeed, without an ascetic aspect the objective veracity of the vows cannot exist, or in other words specifically religious sanctity would be robbed of all its meaning. Pope Paul VI, speaking on one occasion to religious, sadly lamented: "The most dangerous scourge threatening your Institutes is that of the present-day laxity in which we are immersed. Resist it at all costs! Today more than ever in the past, religious life must be lived out in full in conformity with the lofty and rigorous demands of prayer, humility, a spirit of sacrifice, and the austere practice of the vows. In a word: religious life must be a holy life, or else there is no reason why it should exist at all".²¹

The history of christianity shows that because of differing anthropological ideas prevailing in various times and places, the practical expressions of asceticism have been frequently changed to new forms. A healthy ascetical pedagogy is always linked with local culture and requires adaptation to the particular kind of vocation chosen. Thus in a setting of platonic mentality it was not difficult to invest asceticism with a certain dualism characterized by a harmful concept of material values.

On the other hand the asceticism of a 'contem­plative' cannot be measured by the same yardstick as that of an 'active' religious, and vice versa. Man is a composite of flesh and spirit, and lives out his personal vocation in a particular culture with its own anthropological perspective.

A proper asceticism must take account of the requirements of God's plan for man, flesh and spirit, in accordance with an ever deeper understand­ing of man's reality. The present turning point in man's history certainly calls for inculturation and acculturation, or a wise adaptation of Christian asceticism in general, and our Salesian asceticism in particular, to new human values which have recently appeared, and to the demands posed by the signs of the times; but it must remain clearly ascetical and still more clearly Christian, and also (for us) Salesian: a homogeneous growth determined by Christ's paschal mystery and our own spiritual traditions.

Indeed asceticism implies the offering of oneself to God through a radical following of Christ, and for us it means the dedication of all our energies to pastoral activity: the apostolate can be looked upon as a kind of athletic exercise of charity because of which, as says St Paul: "I treat my body hard and make it obey me, lest I be disqualified".²²

Today our asceticism must pay due regard to scientific progress made in the study of man, but it must also see such progress in a paschal light. "Christ, the new Adam", says Vatican II in Gaudium et Spes, "in the very revelation of the mystery of the Father and of his love, fully reveals man to himself and brings to light his most high calling... It is through Christ and in Christ that light is thrown on the riddle of suffering and death

which, apart from his Gospel, overwhelms us".²³

Man's historical turning point, already referred to, has given proper emphasis to the values of freedom, the body, personal development and the importance of self-realization. But all this remains at a pagan level and can deteriorate into self-centeredness unless it is washed in the paschal waters of baptism.

New cultural concepts cannot change the Gospel content of consecrated life; thus, for example, "far from lowering the dignity of the human person, religious obedience leads it to maturity by extend­ing the freedom of the sons of God".²⁴

We are living in a civilization which has put the primacy of God aside and in consequence has lost the sense of sin: our own sins and those of others and particularly, for us, the sins of the young. In today's society the triumph of con­cupiscence is applauded (with its emphasis on power, well-being, the flesh and the pride of life). And on the other hand each of us feels in his own heart the irrepressible strength of his passions,²⁵ fed by so many enticements flaunted before him. The vast number of our weaknesses and sins, and those of other people (and especially the young) is a sad reality. Don Bosco, we know, was an implacable enemy of sin; he knew that it cuts us off from God and his friendship, and in consequence it disfigures both man and society.

We have an urgent need to stir up in ourselves the ability to be converted, to make expiation, to avoid future falls, or in other words to foster a love and sorrow which will be expressed in a permanent attitude of compunction which reserves a privileged place for humility and Christian self-abnegation.' ²⁶ All this is not in any way opposed to self-realization, but is in fact an indispensable aspect of it. In a paradoxically unique and perennial way, the mystery of the Cross proclaims the impor­tance of obedience in faith. Remember the Garden of Olives: "Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup away from me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it".²⁷ In Christ's own self-realization he saw the horizons of his own development not in a subjective plan in accord with his own desires and inclinations, but in the context of a wider project, which involved God as Father: a vast project of love and victory, but which passed through Calvary.

Human sciences are not sufficient for understanding and living out such a plan of the Father. The wisdom of faith is required. "Instead of the spirit of the world", says St Paul, "we have received the Spirit that comes from God... And we teach in words that come not from human wisdom but in the way the Spirit teaches us."²⁸ "Let me put it like this: if you are guided by the Spirit you will be in no danger of yielding to self-indulgence, since self-indulgence is the opposite of the Spirit, the Spirit is totally against such a thing; the two are opposed to each other... When self-indulgence is at work the results are obvious: fornication, gross indecency and sexual irresponsibility, idolatry and sorcery, feuds and wrangling; jealousy, bad temper and quarrels; disagreements, factions, envy; drunkenness, orgies and similar things... What the Spirit brings is very different: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control"²⁹ "My brothers, there is no necessity for us to obey our unspiritual selves or to live unspiritual lives. If you do live in that way, you are doomed to die; but if by the Spirit you put an end to the misdeeds of the body you will live."³⁰ "I think", concludes St Paul, "that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us."³¹

And so the riches of charity in us must be defended by strong self-discipline. It is a most serious mistake at the present day to think that an ascetical commitment is an out-of-date element no longer needed. The opposite is the case: in a permissive society like ours there is more need than ever of conversion and self-control in a down-to­-earth pedagogy of penance and prevention.

To ensure our commitment and to make it constant and vital, personal and community disci­pline is needed.³² To this end Christ has offered us a special meeting with his paschal mystery in the sacrament of Penance. Sincerity and a personal use of this sacrament are indispensable elements for the development of sanctity. In fact the sacrament of Penance provides special and abundant light and energy from Christ for conversion, expiation and prevention. And in this way our ascetical zeal becomes a vital part of our encounter with Christ so as to live it and communicate it to the young.

Don Bosco's style

Some months ago when writing to the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and referring to Don Bosco, I said: "The passage of time makes it more and more obvious that we are dealing with a truly remarkable saint. We can now firmly state what in the past we only conjectured, that Don Bosco was responsible for a great spiritual current in the Church, and his living traditions and practical concepts have laid the foundations of a genuine and creative new school of holiness and apostolate" .³³

This may still seem a daring statement to make, but we are experiencing its truth. And we need to feel a special responsibility in this regard, because our Congregation is placed at the heart of the Salesian Family for its spiritual animation.

It is of the utmost importance that we foster and intensify our Christ-encounter and our ascetical commitment, and we must know and deepen our way of putting them into practice, because in this way there is brought into being that style of holiness that corresponds to our particular mission.³⁴

* I have already tried in the Strenna for 1981 which dealt with our interior life to stress the aspect of our daily meeting with Christ. And the Strenna for 1982 concentrates our attention on the characteristic ascetical dedication involved in work and temperance. Don Bosco wanted these two ideas of work and temperance to be the two parallel lines on which the Congregation would -move forward; he wanted them to be our watchword.

They appear as the two diamonds on the shoulders of the personage in the famous dream, as if to indicate the part they play in sustaining and put­ ting into effect the values and requirements repres­ented by the other diamonds.

* After GC21 we pledged ourselves to study more deeply the preventive system in its various dimensions, and here we are particularly concerned about the characteristics which give it its own peculiar spirituality. The two pillars of which Don Bosco speaks ( the Eucharist and Penance) appear once again, in the light of the Council, papal teaching³⁵ and our own experience of recent years, as the two basic principles or central points for our spiritual renewal. They emphasize in comp­lementary fashion both our daily encounter with Christ and our ascetical commitment.

* Moreover the community aspect of our Gospel plan for the following of Christ³⁶ offers us new elements for our spiritual life. These elements place our meeting with Christ in a setting of brother­ly community; our family spirit must be seen and lived in our houses in the light of Christ, and this goes beyond considerations of flesh and blood and natural feelings. These same elements too give a special slant to our zealous asceticism, in the sense that obedience (which for us has a strong com­munity dimension) was placed by Don Bosco at the foundation of our Salesian mission. In the light of this style of Salesian obedience how much individualism and how many independent initiatives have need of revision and correction!

* Finally, and I touch on these points only briefly, healthy tradition as lived out in the Spartan conditions of the early generations and the witness of our great predecessors, together with the directives of the Constitutions and Regulations, provide us with practical and impelling means of ensuring union with God and ascetical practice; for instance:

- To improve the quality of our daily encounter with Christ, it will help to read again, with a view to practical resolutions, Chapter 8 of the Consti­tutions³⁷ regarding listening to God, prayer, the Eucharist, Penance, Marian devotion, and a liturgy of life in which we offer ourselves and our daily work as "a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God".

- In connection with the ascetical commitment, I offer you some very practical indications taken from the Constitutions and Regulations:

Const. 42: Work and temperance in opposition to comfort and a life of ease; readiness to suffer heat and cold, hunger and thirst, fatigue and rejection, whenever the glory of God and the salvation of souls require it.

Const. 79: The use of mortification and custody of the senses to preserve chastity.

Canst. 83, 85, 87: To live our poverty, accept its inconveniences and adopt a simple and frugal tenor of life in a spirit of sacrifice.

Canst. 91, 93, 94: To live our obedience; to offer our will to God in the Congregation; to be always available; to consider the superiors and community as special means for knowing the Father's will; to be flexible in dialogue; to place our abilities and special gifts at the service of our com­mon mission. Don Bosco rightly teaches us that instead of doing works of penance we should practice obedience.

Reg. 36: We must keep our critical sense and our conscience alert to our moral obligations in the choice of reading matter, film shows, radio and television programs; we should recall the austerity demanded by religious life and the obligations of our community life and work.

Reg. 50: There is a special personal and com­munity penance to be practiced on Fridays and during Lent.

Reg. 55: We are to avoid the comforts and attractions of the world.

Reg. 61: We are committed to temperance in food and drink, simplicity in dress, moderate use of holidays and amusements, abstention from smok­ing as a form of Salesian temperance and a witness to our work of education.

Don Bosco, the other great Founders, and the Saints are the kind of people who do honor to humanity. They have spread love and joy about them, as true disciples of Christ with their eyes fixed on the annihilation, the kenosis, to which he submitted. Before all else they teach us to fill our hearts with love, love that is nourished and defended by a courageous asceticism; and we should remember that pedagogical asceticism makes use of things that may appear small but have in fact a characteristic significance and are a vital and permanent means for strengthening the will in line with the Gospels.

* And there, dear confreres, you have some useful reflections developed after a global review of the life of the Congregation made through our combined visits.

It is urgent that we replan our holiness together, and bear witness to it by a more credible style of life and apostolate. This is a challenge forced upon us by the needs of people, especially young people. Recent years have seen a considerable change in our way of life to adapt ourselves to cultural modifications and to ensure a more adequate and practical presence in the world. Unfortunately we are not always awake to the fact that certain secular customs and attitudes call in question little by little the very essence of consecrated life.

We must become in the world so many saints. We are the signs and bearers of the love of God for the young: we cannot therefore fail to be in touch with them; but we are called to be among them as true disciples of Christ after the manner of Don Bosco. Superficiality in spiritual matters makes us naive and over simple in adapting ourselves to the world in which we live; holiness on the other hand calls for adaptation not to the world itself but to the world's evangelical requirements and needs!

Hence we have to be in the world, but not worldly; not aliens, but with our own particular identity; not relics of the past, but modern pro­claimers of the eschatological reality of the paschal mystery; not blind followers of popular trends, but courageous promoters of a pressing renewal; not remaining aloof from human events, but protagonists of the history of salvation.

In following Christ according to Don Bosco's spirit we make use of all the circumstances, events, signs of the times, and even negative or unjust situations to promote our growth in holiness. In this bold enterprise, a far from easy one because our role is that of a challenger (we must be 'signs of contradiction' as Jesus was), the desired results are not achieved 'ex opere operato' as the saying goes, i.e., by simple change of structures or organization or by adopting forms of life and apostolate better fitted to today's needs; such changes are indeed indispensable but they must be founded on something else, something deeper which will support them. The worth of sanctity depends on the heart; it is attained and it increases rather 'ex opere operantis', or in other words by the thinking power of our intelligence, by the commitment of our will, by the initiative of our love.

There is no other way. Evasion, by criticizing structures or putting the blame on others, is of no avail. Here I am face to face with my own conscience in the depths of the reality which is myself. There is the source of the atomic energy that can resolve the crisis; it is there in the sanctuary of my own person. This is the great truth; let us think about it!

Pope John Paul II tells us that "it is truth that gives the courage to make great decisions, heroic options, perpetual commitments. Truth pro­vides the strength for practicing difficult virtues, for living the Beatitudes of the Gospel. And the truth is Christ whom we know and whom we follow. And from this truth there stems an ardent desire for sanctity"³⁸

Let us ask Mary to obtain for us clarity of understanding. In the divine plan of redemption it was she who gave Christ to the world; she first brought him to us at Christmas, and she continues to bring him to every age of the Church's history; she brings him at the foundation of religious Insti­tutes (as at Becchi and Valdocco); she brings him into the life of every individual.

May Mary Help of Christians be always with us and be our guide.

My wish for each one of you is for a New Year that will see your enthusiastic and determined commitment to sanctity.

Fraternally in Don Bosco,

Father EGIDIO VIGANÒ,

Rector Major.