Thailand, Sampran 2011
Mission Study Days – East Asia - Introduction
Fr. Václav Klement, SDB
Councillor for the missions
Taizè, 6th August 2011
How are you? I’m coming from France, praying for three days in the Taizè community with 5000 of young people from all around the world and also prayed for all of you.
Then I attend a week-long meeting of seventy Salesians from Western Europe in Lyon for 5 days about the topic of ‘Project Europe’ together with the Rector Major, Fr. Pascual Chàvez.
I bring his warm greeting and blessing to all of you.
It’s a great gift of God to live as Catholic Christians in Asia. I’m really quite often home-sick for Korea. Among many reasons is especially the family spirit of our young and small Asian Churches, where God of Jesus Christ was welcomed very recently and the often small Church communities have no problematic past and there is no bias against the Jesus Family. Especially here in East Asia we experience every day that even after two thousand years after Jesus resurrection the mission of his Church is still in the initial stage.
In these days we are called to re-discover the dynamics of the initial proclamation of the Gospel. About four billions of people especially many youngsters are still waiting to hear Good News of God’s salvation, brought by Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, there is a lot of prejudice about this very important moment on the path of Jesus disciples, and even many of the consecrated members of the Salesian Family are not prepared to foster, to facilitate this important first encounter between Jesus Christ and our non Christian friends or youths.
After almost many months of preparation, we are together here in Sampran: Salesians of Don Bosco, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and some of the Salesian Family Groups present in East Asia (SHIM, DQM, SQM, Caritas of Jesus, Salesian Cooperators). It’s already a fifth Regional Missionary Formation event since 1989. Indeed each 6 years the Salesians and Salesian Sisters shared together a formation opportunity on themes: The Far East – Cultures, religions and evangelization(1989, Hua Hin), Evangelization and Interreligious dialogue (1994, Batulao), Uniqueness of Salvation in Jesus Christ and Need of Primary Evangelization (1998, Hua Hin), “The challenges of the Mission “Ad gentes” in East Asia”(2004, Hua Hin). Since last 2004 the event was opened to all groups of the Salesian Family. After the GC26 of the SDB (2008) this opportunity is called ‘Mission Study Days’ and the focus is not so much on formation of many missionaries, but it’s more an occasion to reflect deeply on some dynamics in the whole evangelizing mission.
Tackling the theme of the initial proclamation of Jesus, mean for us Salesians to question the missionary action of the Church and of the Congregation. It’s a crucial question for the whole path of evangelisation and education. At the beginning I invite you to consider some important elements:
All of us are being daily in touch with thousands of non Christian youth especially in our schools, parishes, training or youth centres. Hence we are called to discover the opportunities and dynamics of initial proclamation of Jesus in our daily life;
We are also called to be more open through dialogue of life with non Christians or not-yet really evangelized Christians and to reach out as friends as far as we can…
We are called to clarify some of our doubts or prejudice about the ‘direct or indirect evangelization’ or about the relationship between our life witness and proclamation etc;
We are called to confirm the importance of the family and our family ministry as a privileged place for the first proclamation of the Gospel. A presence of one Salesian Cooperators is an invitation for all of us;
At the end we are called to share our own experience of God with others, trying to get into the dynamics of the ‘First Asian Missionary Congress’(Chiang Mai,2006). John Paul II invited us in the Ecclesia in Asia to ‘tell the story of Jesus’ as the best way of Gospel proclamation (n.20). For the Salesians it’s also a topic for the 2012 Salesian Mission Day with the same content and title. In the preparation of this event we tried to encourage also the ‘storytelling’ as the best way of sharing own experience of faith.
The same topic of ‘Initial proclamation of Jesus’ was chosen by both SDB and FMA mission councillors as THE TOPIC for the Sessenium 2008-2014 worldwide. We started with the European Study days in Prague (2010), we continue in 2011 with two Study days in Asia, one in Oceania; next year 2012 in Africa and the last in 2013 for all of America. Four of the Study days are held on SDB ground, three on the FMA facilities. I’m very grateful for the hospitality of the Thai FMA Sisters with their new Provincial Sr. Maria and all who did contribute to prepare and make happen this Study days 2011 of East Asia.
The whole Church is by its nature missionary and our contribution as Salesian Family to the Church mission we find mainly the field of education. Our way of living and sharing the Gospel is the way of the Preventive System of Don Bosco. We are immersed in our busy daily life and mission, and we lack often time to reflect about our own actions and convictions. These Study Days give us the chance to reflect together more deeply on our evangelizing mission. We hope to offer the fruit of our reflection and our intuition to many brothers and sister of the Salesian Family in East Asia, one of the three most vibrant Salesian regions worldwide.
I entrust our stay to Mary, Mother of the Church and Help of Christians who was present in the Cenacle with Jesus’ disciples before the first Pentecost. Let’s pray together:
Mary, Mother of the Church,
we give you thanks for your Yes to God and for your journey of faith
as first disciple and missionary of Jesus.
We want to live in communion with all the disciples of your Son Jesus,
together with the pilgrim Church
in order to bring the Gospel to all.
Mary, inspire us with the courage to talk
about the world to Jesus and about Jesus to the world!
Help us, O Mother to follow Don Bosco, a tireless storyteller,
in order to share with humility, patience and courage
the experience of our personal encounter with Jesus
in our communities, among the young and with every one we meet. Amen.
