S TRENNA 2009

by Pascual Chávez Villanueva

A VAST MOVEMENT

FOR THE YOUNG

THE EXPANSION OFTHE CHARISM

(The mission and the missions)

The unity of the Salesian mission, complex as it is in its components, needs missionaries who live an interior unity. In other words, they are able to open education, especially of the young, to evangelization, (CMS 14)

_In my first six years as Superior General I was able to visit almost all the Provinces of the Congregation. It was a grace to be able to see the vitality of the Salesian charism in situations so very different as are the 130 countries in the five continents where as a Congregation and as the Salesian Family we find ourselves. With growing conviction I can say that the Salesian charism is a precious gift for the Church, for humanity and in particular for the young. Saint Paul compares the Church to a body, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, and whose head is the Lord Jesus. The various different charisms and ministries are the “organs” of this body, each one with a specific function and all at the service of the same mission: the life and the “health” of the whole body. A principle of the theory of evolution (it is the bicentenary of the birth of Darwin) declares: “ need creates the organ”. We can say that the new needs of the Church and of the world are propitious for the creation of “organs” which are quite new and provide valid responses to the Church and to the world. It is therefore possible to affirm, “with a feeling of humble gratitude” (C. 1), that the Salesian charism is an “organ” which God has raised up through Don Bosco, as a response to the new needs of the young especially the poorest and most abandoned, across the whole world.

 Don Bosco tried to give practical expression to this charism through a variety of activities and works starting with Valdocco which is not just a geographical location but a criterion for every kind of Salesian work in so far as it is “house, parish, school, playground.” The activities and the works give a practical face to the Salesian charism, but are not to be identified with it. In so far as they belong to the Body of Christ, they constitute a living organism capable of adapting to various circumstances. It can sometimes happen that the desire to perpetuate works or activities without ever changing them can basically represent infidelity to the mission. Never can we ever prescind from a clear charismatic discernment process, without thereby running the risk of losing our identity. This sort of discernment has two elements:

• we are being called to respond to the most urgent and profound needs of the young, especially those most disadvantaged;

• the response demanded of us is that of being “signs and bearers of the love of God” for these young people, through activity that is both evangelising and educative. These two elements constitute the criterion of the significance of Salesian activity: being signs of God’s concern for those young people most deprived of the experience of his Love, starting from those who on account of their socio-economic situation, cannot find any way of personal fulfilment in their lives, and sometimes not even any reason to live.

 Religious ignorance is almost absolute. With admiration and gratitude I want to bear witness to the fact that in all the Regions, the Salesian Family stands out for its generous self-giving and creativity on behalf of those to whom we are sent, in this way imitating the extraordinary versatility of the Founder. The world of today offers the means and possibilities never before imaginable. Following the example of Don Bosco, we need to know how to use them in the mission. One very special feature is to be found in the work of the Salesian Family “places of mission”, especially where on account of circumstance of the past or of the present it is difficult or even impossible, to undertake the work of evangelisation and Christian formation. Not being able to even speak about Jesus Christ should not represent an a obstacle to the missionary vocation. It is not by chance that in the Mass for Don Bosco, we hear the Word of God through Saint Paul: “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Phil 4, 8). Even in situations like this we bring with us our charismatic identity to the building of the Kingdom of Christ, “a kingdom of justice, love and peace,” values which no one of good-will can reject. As long as there are poor and abandoned young people in need of education and all-round human development the Salesian mission will have its role to play and be relevant. 