Teaching Aids
Aids for the Salesian Missions Day 2011 Campaign
Manifesto (poster)
DVD with 4 short films:
America - Volonteers proclaiming the Gospel
Ecuador - The phenomenon of missionary voluntary service
Mexico – Volunteers and Salesians at the service of immigrants
Brazil - Volunteers – missionaries of the young
CD with texts in various languages, presentations (PowerPoint) and photos
Teaching aids
Holy pictures with a prayer
All the material is available in 5 languages on the web site: www.sdb.org:
Throughout 2010 and 2011 all the contributions on the topic can be shared thanks to SDL (Salesian Digital Library http://sdl.sdb.org)
The 2011 DVD Reflection Guide
Some questions to start reflection
In general, watching the videos:
What has the video taught you?
What image struck you most forcibly?
What do the various experiences of the volunteers teach you?
Do you realise that Christ also needs you to proclaim the Gospel?
In what way could you too be a missionary of the young?
Ecuador - The phenomenon of missionary voluntary service
What do you think about these youngsters who are so enthusiastic? Try to make a list of the motives which led them to decide to have this missionary experience.
Edison found a meaning to life in serving others, based on faith and love for Christ. What place has faith in your life?
After having had this missionary experience as volunteers, some take the path of a vocation to the priesthood or consecrated life. What is your vocation? What are you doing to know whether or not the Lord is also calling you?
Mexico – Volunteers and Salesians at the service of immigrants
What are the factors, incentives and desires which lead young Mexicans to emigrate?
What are the dark aspects of the situation of migrants in your country, and what could you do as a volunteer in your circumstances?
Would you be able to leave your country, your family, friends, and like Elisabeth devote a year of your life for others in the missions ?
Brazil - Volunteers – missionaries of the young
In order to be a missionary volunteer of the young it is not necessary to leave your own country. What are the “missionary sites” to be found in your country and in what way could you become involved as a volunteer - missionary?
Have you had any experience in evangelising people of your own age as the young Brazilians do?
Seeing the joy and the satisfaction of the volunteers, why don’t you try it too?
Some educational – pastoral and missionary activities suggested for 2011
Invite some young missionary volunteers for a meeting in school, in the oratory, in the parish to talk about and discuss their experience
Organise a missionary exhibition (see the material in the CD, or ask for some photographs of voluntary service – cf. pages 26 -28)
Prepare a cine-forum on the 4 short films for 2011 for a youth group, religion class. It is possible to discover a missionary approach based on the pillars of Don Bosco’s Preventive System
Get the mass media, regional and local, such as radio, TV, papers, magazines interested in the subject, … so as to make voluntary service known and promoted. The documentaries on the DVD can also be offered free of charge for transmission on television
Find on the internet the various organisations of voluntary service in the world in order to know this fine youth initiative better
Suggest that young people become involved in a missionary group with the possibility of having a missionary experience
Identify in one’s own locality “missionary sites,” in which it would be possible to devote some hours of servivce during the week.
On the first Thursday of the month, or on some other day, with the Salesian community and young volunteers hold a prayer vigil in order to discern one’s vocation and pray for missionary – priestly, religious and lay - vocations.
Where voluntary service already exists, organise a forum on missionary volutary service at Province, national or regional level. The participation of representatives of non- Salesian organisations present in the area would also be a good idea.
