FAITH,
COMMUNITY,
MISSION AND EVANGELISATION
A Salesian Perspective
One of the key ways of understanding the Catholic School is to imagine it as a faith community. This powerful image is also especially important for understanding the Salesian school. Imagining ourselves as a faith community provides a powerful vision of who we are, what our mission is and how we go about that mission. “Faith community” enables us to see ourselves more clearly for who we are, what we are on about and how we approach our task. Faith community provides us with an identity, a mission of evangelisation and a unique style of action.
Church as a Community of Believers
Community is central to any understanding of Christian faith and Church. Firstly, God as Trinity – Father, Son and Spirit – is a community of being. The identity of the Hebrew people as the Chosen People of God was expressed in community life, which incorporated shared beliefs, values and ways of being and living. The faith of the first Christians was expressed in communal life and worship (cf. Acts 2:42 – 27 and 4:32 – 35). Contemporary ideas about the nature of the Church, building upon the Second Vatican Council’s understanding of Church as “The People of God” (Lumen Gentium: # 9 – 17), gives special emphasis to the Church as community.
Community is fundamental to the Church’s understanding of the Catholic school and is one of the aspects that contributes to their special character (Sacred Congregation for Christian Education: 1977, # 53). Drawn together by constant reference to the Gospel and frequent encounter with Christ, the Catholic school should be a community with “an atmosphere permeated with the Gospel spirit of freedom and love” (Sacred Congregation for Christian Education: 1977, # 55). Indeed, the social nature of humanity and education as a social process make the establishment of community a basic requirement:
The community aspect of the Catholic school is necessary because of the nature of humanity and the nature of the educational process that is common to every school (Sacred Congregation for Christian Education: 1977, # 54).
A Salesian Perspective
This emphasis on community as a constitutive dimension of the Catholic school is given particular expression in the Salesian tradition as the “family spirit” of which Bosco commonly spoke as an essential feature of his educational thought (Laws: 1993, p. 17). In his articulation of how this sense of family spirit might be interpreted in the contemporary setting, Fr Laws points out that the term should be in a critical and discriminating sense since the overtones of nineteenth century, patriarchal, village inspired structures are obviously present. However, he suggests the term, as a lived reality, will have some permanent distinguishing features including friendly personal relationships, a wide variety of human contacts, group activity, the collaboration and leadership of the young, pastoral leadership and a strong sense of joy and celebration (Laws: 1993, pp. 17 – 19). Furthermore, he suggests that the school community will be a worshipping and reconciling community, with a positive commitment to justice as a result of the recognition of the essential dignity of all before God (Laws: 1993, p. 21).
We see here that the relationship between the various aspects that contribute towards school culture is dynamic and interactive. Beliefs about the human person give rise to values, which become the basis of behaviour and action. Basic beliefs and values are also given concrete expression in the traditions, expressive symbols and patterns of behaviour in the life of the school. The fundamental ideal of community becomes a concrete reality through a complex web of lived values, presumed ways of doing things, daily rituals and ritual celebrations, which in turn contribute to the building of community.
Faith
Faith is not in the first place a solely religious phenomenon. It is primarily a human phenomenon. The mystery of life and the many questions we have about ourselves, about our lives, about reality and about our relationship to reality are questions that seek to explore the foundations of personal experience. They are human questions and questions about being human. They inquire into patterns of experience and endeavour to discern some sense of meaning to the question of self and life.
Ultimately, the questions which we are to ourselves are questions of faith for they seek to put us in touch with the core of our being and the dynamic patterned processes by which we make life meaningful and shape our lives. James Fowler expresses well the association between human faith and questions about oneself in relation to reality.
Faith is not always religious in its content or context. To ask these questions seriously of oneself or others does not necessarily mean to elicit answers about religious commitment or belief. Faith is a person's or a group's way of moving into the force field of life. It is our way of finding coherence in and giving meaning to the multiple forces and relations that make up our lives. Faith is a person's way of seeing him/herself in relation to others against a background of shared meaning and purpose
Christian faith is our response to these questions in relationship to God’s self-revelation and self-communication in the person of Jesus Christ. Christian faith is primarily faith in Jesus Christ. Faith is not given, as is possible in a purely human faith, to some ideology or set of doctrines or propositions. Faith is first and foremost given to the person of Jesus as he is experienced and encountered in the life of the Christian.
Christian faith is the response of the Christian to the reality of Jesus in the world today and to the reality of the God whom Jesus reveals as the source and origin, the goal and end of all reality. In the person of Jesus, in his sharing our human existence, in his teachings, life, death, resurrection and continued presence in the Christian community we find a response to the questions of life and a sense of meaning and purpose. Our Christian faith is our response to the question of being in the light of Jesus.
Such a faith has moral, creedal and dogmatic implications, just as it has ethical, social and political implications. Our faith is, ultimately, not solely about intellectual assent to a set of creeds and doctrinal formulae. In the final analysis our faith is the response of our whole self in personal relationship with God, as revealed in the person of Jesus.
Identity
To share this faith with others is part of the dynamic of Christian faith. Jesus drew others to himself and enabled others to be together in new ways. The early disciples were drawn to share their faith in Jesus with each other – to the extent where they also shared their lives in real, concrete and practical ways. The experience of Jesus drew people together and transformed their lives.
It is this sharing of faith in Jesus that gives us a shared identity. We are drawn together in community. We are, however, not just any community. We are a Christian community … a community of the followers of Jesus. Our shared values are based upon his teaching. Our shared vision is the Kingdom of God. His life, death and resurrection are the inspiration of our life and action. We are bound together by our common baptism and our faith in Jesus.
Our faith experience, our shared values and beliefs, and our way of living out the Gospel through the Salesian tradition provide us with a unique identity. We acknowledge the basic dignity of each person. We adopt an optimistic view of the human person and of life because we see in each person the goodness of God and, despite the reality of suffering and evil, we have the courage to continue to hope because of what God has done for us in raising Jesus from the dead. We see ourselves, and our young people, as called to share in the divinity of God, as God shared our humanity in the person of Jesus. We are committed to the transformation of the world according to the vision of Jesus. We are called to share our faith with our young people that they might come to experience the joy of knowing and loving Jesus. These are just some of the factors that contribute to our identity as a Christian community.
Mission and Style of Action
Our identity as a Christian community also defines our mission. The Christian community is called to continue the mission of Jesus – to reveal the love of God to the world and transform the world in the image and likeness of God. As a Salesian community we are particularly called to be “signs and bearers of the love of God to the young.”
Our style of action is suggested by our mission and the One by whom we are sent. It is also the style chosen by Don Bosco – an approach suited to our mission of evangelizing the young: the style of the Good Shepherd.
THE
MISSION OF THE
CHRISTIAN FAITH COMMUNITY
Evangelisation
Introduction
The identity of the school community is closely linked with the reality of ourselves Christian community. We are united through the waters of baptism as Christians and by our faith in Jesus Christ. The faith we share is our individual and collect response to person of Jesus, especially when considered in the wider human context of the mystery of life. His life, teachings, death, resurrection and continued presence in the Christian community shed new light on the great questions of human existence.
As individuals and as a community, we draw strength and inspiration from Jesus, who is our hope and our joy. In him we gain new insights into human existence, we find a sense of meaning and are confident in the purpose of our life: to know and love God, to participate in God’s ongoing act of creation and to finally achieve the fullness of our eternal destiny.
Mission
Our identity as a Christian community also defines our mission. The Christian community is called to continue the mission of Jesus – to reveal the love of God to the world and transform the world in the image and likeness of God.
As a Christian community in the Salesian tradition, we have a particular responsibility to do exactly this for young people. We are called to be “signs and bearers of the love of God to the young.” By our love for them we make the God of love known. By educating them we allow them grow in maturity to know and love God and their neighbour, to contribute to the transformation of the world and to achieve their eternal destiny.
To continue the mission of Jesus is to proclaim the Gospel in all that we do. It is to participate in the Church’s mission of evangelisation.
Evangelisation
Evangelisation is a very misunderstood word. However, a proper understanding of this word allows us to gain a very powerful insight into our mission and how we are to carry it out. The word comes from the Greek “evangeleos” meaning “good news”, or more simply as the gospels. Hence, the writers of the four gospels are known as evangelists and to proclaim the gospel is to evangelise. Simply put our mission as Salesian educators is proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ in every area of society, so that society may be transformed.
The importance of evangelisation in the Salesian mission is clearly stated in the most recent document from the Salesian Youth Ministry Department in Rome. Published in February 2001, this document, “Salesian Youth Ministry: A Fundamental Frame of Reference” sets out a clear, comprehensive and concise overview of the Salesian mission, it’s spiritual and philosophical underpinnings and the educative and pastoral methodology proper to Salesian work with the young. It states unambiguously:
Evangelising the young is the first and most fundamental goal of the Salesian mission. The project is radically open and positively oriented to the full maturity of the young in Christ and to their growth in the Church. (Page 51).
So What Is Evangelisation?
I suspect that evangelisation is one of those words that raises our suspicions – to start with it has too many syllables, it’s a technical and very “churchie word”, and it has all sorts of hidden innuendoes that sometimes leave us either nervous or numb. It conjures up images of men in black pants, white shirts and black ties riding bicycles around in pairs and knocking on doors. It is certainly a misunderstood word.
However, properly understood, evangelisation is a powerful word and a powerful concept. No longer is it to be associated with preaching the gospel so as to convert people to Christianity and have them baptised. Rather, evangelisation is about proclaiming the gospel in word and deed so as to transform humanity.
Paul VI indicated this in his encyclical letter Evangelii Nutiandi, strongly proclaiming that to simply consider or confine evangelisation to the proclamation of Christ Our Lord to those who do not know him, in preaching, catechetics, baptism and the administration of the other sacraments is to have a defective and incomplete definition of evangelisation.
Rather, the Church appreciates that evangelisation means the carrying forth of the good news to every sector of the human race so that by its strength it may enter the hearts of all people and renew humanity.
From this perspective evangelisation is inherent in the very nature of the Church and fundamental to its mission. Evangelisation is aimed at the personal transformation of individuals and the collective transformation of human societies and cultures so that these and the whole way of life of humanity are imbued with the spirit of the gospel of Jesus. It is about transforming every strata of humanity and of allowing the power of the gospel to affect every dimension of human existence.
Likewise, evangelisation is about challenging, recasting and even upsetting humanity’s criteria for judgement, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life, when they are in contrast to the Word of God and the plan of salvation. It is about letting our faith in Jesus Christ so permeate our lives and activities as to be able to have an impact on people’s ways of thinking and living.
Four Ways of Evangelising
The proclamation of the gospel is made above all else by the witness of a Christian life. This is the silent, but strong and effective, witness of a Christian or group of Christians in the midst of the community in which they live. This witness is an essential element and often the initial element in the work of evangelization. (#21)
It is lacking, however, unless at some stage the meaning of this witness is clarified and corroborated by a verbal proclamation of the good news. There can be no true evangelization if the whole story of the Jesus-event is not told. This involves the clear and unambiguous preaching of Jesus as Lord, as well as other means such as catechetics, education, the administration of the sacraments and the use of social communications. Preaching is such an important part of evangelization that it has often been equated with the whole of that work, whereas it constitutes only a part of it. (mainly #22).
The third form of evangelization is transforming practice. Evangelization will not be complete unless it constantly relates the gospel to people’s lives, personal and social. (#29) The church is duty bound to proclaim the liberation of the millions of people who live on borderline of existence. The church has the duty of helping this liberation, of bearing witness on its behalf and of assuring its full development. All this is in no way irrelevant to evangelization. (#30)
A prophetic denunciation of everything that radically hinders of denies the kingdom of God. This is based on the fact that evangelization includes the preaching of the mystery of evil (#28). To evangelize is to present the good news but in a world of sin. Denunciation is required in evangelization in order that people living in a world of sin may grasp the point of proclamation by seeing its opposite. Its aim like proclamation is humanization.
It seems clear, from what has been said above, that the promotion of justice and peace is a key component of evangelisation.
“Action on behalf of justice and participation in the transformation of the world fully appear to us as a constitutive dimension of the preaching of the Gospel, or, in other words, of the Church’s mission for the redemption of the human race and its liberation from every oppressive situation.” (Justice in the World, 1971)
The Content of Evangelisation
The content of evangelisation is twofold, the two parts being closely related.
Firstly, the good news is a transcendent reality. That is, it consists of God's love for human beings as manifested in the person of Jesus Christ and the hope of final fulfilment. The message of the gospel is one that proclaims God's love for the world in his Son and that in the Incarnate Word he has given existence to all creatures and has called all people to eternal life (#26). The salvation that God offers to every person in Christ Jesus is a gift of the grace and mercy of God himself and cannot be confined to the limits of life on this earth; it is a transcendental, eschatological salvation which has its beginning certainly in this life but which achieves it consummation in eternity, in union with God (#27).
Secondly, the good news is a historical reality. It consists in the accomplishment of the love of God in the midst of history. The gospel is not unrelated to the present everyday life of ordinary people. For this reason evangelisation requires a message which is explicit, adapted to various situations and constantly related to the rights and obligations of each individual, to family life, to common life in society, to international life and to peace, justice and development (#29). Evangelisation and human advancement, development and liberation are closely linked because the human being is not an abstract reality but a person subject to social and economic factors. Similarly, in the theological sphere – evangelisation and human liberation are linked because the plan of creation cannot be isolated from the plan of redemption which extends to the very practical question of eradicating injustice and establishing justice. From yet another perspective the law of love cannot be proclaimed unless it promotes a true practical advancement of humanity in a spirit of justice and peace (#31).
The transcendental and historical aspects of the content of evangelisation obtain a unity in the person of Jesus and the Kingdom of God that he inaugurated.
Evangelisation and the Catholic School
A final point about the nature of evangelisation – its relationship to education in the context of the Catholic school. Of its very nature the Catholic school is part of the Church and it is a “genuine instrument of the Church” (CCE: 1998, #14). In the light of our prior discussion, the Church sees its role in the world as that evangelisation, that is, of proclaiming to every dimension and facet of humanity the mystery of the love of God as revealed in the person of Jesus Christ. The Church continues this saving mission of Jesus Christ and the school is an essential part of the Church’s evangelising mission (CCE: 1977 #5 – 9; CCE: 1998, #14).
Summary
This has been a fairly heavy exploration of the mission of the Christian faith community. However, it is essential to have a clear theoretical understanding of our mission. This provides us with a firm and sure basis for exploring more practical aspects of our evangelising mission.
Three points to conclude:
Evangelisation entails proclaiming the gospel in word and deed, by silent witness and explicit proclamation of Jesus as Saviour. Evangelisation is about individuals, societies and cultures being transformed by Jesus and his message of salvation.
Evangelisation is closely related to human development – all that contributes to a more human society is proper to evangelisation.
An education that allows the growth towards maturity of the whole person contributes towards the evangelising mission of the faith community.
DON BOSCO AND EVANGELISATION
Introduction
Evangelisation is a fundamental component of the Salesian mission and involves proclaiming the gospel in word and deed through silent witness and explicit action. Human development is an essential aspect of evangelisation and an integral education contributes to this by enabling the human and Christian growth of young people.
I now turn my attention to Don Bosco and evangelisation. It is quite clear from the preceding discussion that Don Bosco would not have been in the habit of using the word “evangelisation”. The concept would not have been part of his theological or educational repertoire. Why, then, is it considered so essential to the whole Salesian educative-pastoral project?
Don Bosco’s Practice
This is a situation in which we need to look at the action, rather than the words of Don Bosco. To what fundamental values, attitudes and truths does the concept of evangelisation point in the context of a Salesian school?
An understanding of Don Bosco’s work at the Oratory demonstrates Don Bosco worked with his youngsters on a range of levels:
providing for basic needs like food, clothing and housing
providing a sense of welcome, acceptance and security
providing a practical education that would allow them to take their place in the world
providing them with the spiritual and religious framework in which to experience and encounter the living God.
Don Bosco’s goal of working for the formation of young people to become active Christians and contributing citizens demonstrates that he was concerned about both the horizontal and vertical aspects of the process of evangelisation. Human development and spiritual development went hand-in-hand for Don Bosco.
Don Bosco provided a lively Christian environment that provided for the social, academic, social, spiritual and pragmatic development of the boys in his care. In contemporary jargon we would say that he provided for the education of the whole person. The gospel was preached by the silent witness of his collaborators, by the explicit proclamation of the faith, by working actively for the good of those charged to his care.
Don Bosco managed to develop a stimulating and vibrant environment where there was a whole host of educational, social and recreational activities, whilst still maintaining a spiritual perspective to life and human existence. Again, in contemporary jargon – there was a genuine synthesis of faith and culture … faith and life.
Don Bosco’s approach was one of accompanying young people on the journey of life. Evangelisation is not an event that is accomplished in one moment or achieved once and for all, rather it is a life-long process of growth and development – implicit is the assumption that Salesian educators will accompany young people along the journey. If we had time we could explore this idea of accompaniment in more depth – because it gives some insight into Don Bosco’s practice.
It is a growth that enables the young person to grow in their love of self, God and others – that, as St Paul puts it, allows us to grow in our experience and understanding of the length and breadth, the height and depth of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus – and that empowers us to move forward and out to touch the lives of others and to liberate them, in turn, to move forward and out in courageous love.
This is the process that enables young people themselves to become evangelisers. Don Bosco utilised groups in a powerful and productive way – in his day they were called “sodalities” – today we would call them action groups or community service programmes, or out-reach groups. Don Bosco was a genius at getting other people involved – probably because there were so many students and he was doing so many things there were very few other options. However, there is no doubt that his strategy paid dividends. The older students would teach the younger students or assist them in their games. He would gather young people into groups for particular purposes such as organising feast days. Some groups would have a more devotional focus. Others would be involved in charitable works – such as the Company of St Aloysius, where the boys involved went throughout the city of Turin to care for the victims of a plague epidemic.
Evangelisation as a Key to Being Salesian
I believe that evangelisation is a concept that can act as a key to understanding the Salesian Spirit. It provides us as educators with a language that allows us to place our educational activities into a framework of development and liberation whilst maintaining a spiritual perspective. If you like it enables us to give flesh to that famous statement from the gospel of John, where Jesus expresses the purpose of his mission in terms of the metaphor of “life”: “I have come that you may have life – life in all its fullness” (John 10:10)
We are bombarded by negative images of young people. Young people themselves are bombarded by negative images of the world. They are exposed to a plethora of life-sapping images and approaches to reality – a world in which there is little hope – where their dreams are so easily squashed and dashed – where their reason for being is expressed more in terms of what they achieve, own and consume rather than who they are.
Here is where we, as educators, who walk with the young, are in a unique and privileged position to be prophets of life and hope for the young – to proclaim by means of our words, actions and attitudes that we are able to account for the hope that is ours. By accompanying them in their search for some meaning and purpose in life, by helping them to ask questions and assisting them to name the realities they discover we are able to liberate them from death-oriented approaches to life and empower them to live life in all its fullness.
While there is an undeniable decline in the number of people who actively participate in religious services on a regular basis – it is also undeniable that young people still search to discover ways of giving expression to the spiritual dimension of life. Their sense of connectedness with others, their family, their society and their world is so often so tenuous and in the midst of their confusion they yearn to discover where and how they belong – where and how they can find some sense of purpose and meaning – where and how they can find some definitive guide for living a happy life – where and how they can move beyond the superficial to something deeper, more nourishing and ultimately, more life-giving. These are the sorts of understandings about life and reality that are usually attributed to faith.
A Practical Approach to Faith
I think that we have something to learn from Don Bosco’s very practical approach to faith. Building on the insights of his patron and model, St Francis de Sales, he was convinced that young people could be holy. Francis taught that holiness was not the preserve of monks. But that everyone was called to holiness and that each person was capable of achieving holiness by living out the duties of the Christian life in whatever state and circumstances they found themselves. Don Bosco applied this to young people – if it was possible to become holy by living out ones duties in the context of the Christian life, then it was also possible for young people to become holy.
He presented holiness as something that was attractive – he equated it with being happy – “Here holiness consists in being always happy”. He believed that it was impossible to be truly happy if lives were effected by sin – in other words, if relationships were askew. Furthermore, Don Bosco presented holiness as something that was achievable – it was easy to become a saint – all one had to do was one’s duties according to one’s state in life depending on age and condition. Don Bosco was not talking about taming the means so as to make easy something that was difficult. He was not watering down the ideal or suggesting second rate version s of sanctity. The point he was on about was – as he said of Dominic Savio – that holiness did not consist in doing great and extraordinary things but in carrying out one’s duties. And he named these for the young people of his time:
Study
Joy
Piety
Purity
Obedience
Love of God
Love of neighbour
There is no doubt that we wouldn’t use the same style of language. However, I think that the concept that holiness (the fullness of life) is lived out in the midst of daily life remains valid.
I wonder what duties and responsibilities, what values and qualities would we propose as signs of youthful holiness in the contemporary context?
In writing the life of Dominic Savio, so that it would be a model for other students and future generations at the Oratory, Don Bosco has Dominic speak to one of the new arrivals in the following terms.
It’s simple [says Dominic]. Here we make holiness consist in being very joyful. Our only worry is to avoid sin as the great enemy of our souls which steals God’s peace and grace from our hearts. We try to do our duties well and willingly pray. You can start right now and take as your slogan, ”Serve the Lord with Joy”.
Some Practical Implications of the Idea of Evangelisation
So what then might be some of the practical implications of this idea of evangelisation in the context of the Salesian school?
a culture permeated by a sense of faith – faith in action
an environment imbued with a spirit of solidarity, optimism, support and encouragement
promotion of justice as an essential aspect of the proclamation of the Gospel
importance of personal witness
quality of relationships – it is in relationship that we met Christ
allowing Gospel values to permeate every dimension of school life
quality teaching and learning
quality pastoral care
discipline and welfare practices, procedures and processes which reflect gospel values
liberating young people from false beliefs, practices and approaches to life
enabling young people to develop a sense of purpose, meaning and hope
the models of life and holiness that we present
the style and quality of our liturgical celebrations
reaching out as church to our unchurched students – encouraging involvement in church (in the widest sense, rather than exclusively in the sense of attending Sunday Mass)
accompanying our students in their faith life and in their spiritual search
integrating faith and life
making the spiritual dimension of life an integral and daily dimension of the life of the school
celebrating life and our identity as a Christian community
the quality of the hope we provide for our young people
ensure the quality of our teaching and learning programmes (as an act of proclaiming the gospel, allowing human development and promoting liberation).
EVANGELISATION AS A FUNDAMENTAL DIMENSION OF THE SALESIAN EDUCATIVE-PASTORAL PROJECT1
Introduction
In February 2001 the Salesian Youth Ministry Department, based in Rome, issued the English language version of an important document entitled Salesian Youth Ministry: A Fundamental Frame of Reference. The purpose of this document was to outline a comprehensive overview of Salesian Youth Ministry. It attempts to capture the depth and richness of the insights of generations of Salesian experience of working with young people all over the world. It does so from the perspective of attempting to identify those aspects of the Salesian Educative-Pastoral Project that are essential to the Salesian identity, mission, methodology and style.
The document is designed to be an instrument of study and a guide for reflection and discussion. It makes no pretence at developing and analysing every topic, but intends to offer a unified frame of reference and some practical criteria that can guide Salesian educative-pastoral work. Here I reproduce the section on evangelisation, which emphasises evangelisation as an essential dimension of the Salesian Educative-Pastoral Project.
Orientation
The document identifies four essential dimensions to the Salesian Educative-Pastoral Project.
The Educative Cultural Dimension, which focuses upon the ensuring an appropriate quality educational experience as central to the Salesian project;
The Dimension of Evangelisation and Catechesis, which focuses upon developing the spiritual experience and faith dimension of the lives of the young;
The Vocational Dimension, which focuses upon processes which allow young people to discover and live their life plan as a contribution to the transformation of the world in line with Christian principles;
The Dimension of Group Experience, which focuses upon utilising the experience of belonging to groups as a means of allowing young people to experience the social dimension of life and respond in a way that leads to their active participation in society and in the Church.
Some of the language in the document reflects a mentality that is foreign to Australian sensitivities. However, the point of reproducing the section on evangelisation is to provide some ideas that can form the starting point for further reflection.
The Dimension of Evangelisation and Catechesis
What Is Specific To The Dimension?
Evangelising the young is the first and fundamental goal of the Salesian mission. The project is radically open and positively oriented to the full maturity of the young in Christ and to their growth in the Church.
Spiritual development is placed at the centre of the whole development of the person. Providing an itinerary for evangelisation and for an education to the faith assists and fosters human development.
To evangelise is to proclaim the Good News of Christ in every area of society, so that society may be transformed from within. Evangelisation is a complex process involving diverse elements (renewal of interior life, witness, explicit proclamation, catechesis, adherence of the heart, entrance into the community, apostolic initiatives …) but the central element is the explicit proclamation of the Jesus Christ as our only Saviour.
The Ultimate Goal
An education which evangelises and an evangelisation which educates, this is the characteristic of Salesian Youth Ministry. Its ultimate goal is a synthesis of faith and culture in life. This implies:
Faith becomes the central value of the individual and his/her worldview
Faith that is critical and able to deal with new educative demands and cultural challenges
Faith that is committed and ready to translate values into practice
Faith that stimulates and deepens the process of humanisation
This requires an evangelisation which:
Promotes and defends openness to the religious dimension on the part of individuals, cultures and societies;
Takes the initiative in proclaiming the Good News with words and methods that suit the situation;
Assists in creating the experience of faith through an encounter with the Word of God and the celebration of the Sacraments;
Educates attitudes, habits and comportment towards a life plan inspired by faith;
Proclaims the Good News of Salvation that corresponds to the hopes and problems of young people and to social and collective situations in which they find themselves;
Establishes an appropriate rhythm for various initiatives, without ever losing sight of the final goal; gives attention to large numbers and the environment by forming groups and leaders.
Challenges To Which It Seeks To Respond
Secularism is widespread and it affects the fundamental aspects of reality. Religion is gradually becoming something entirely private and subjective; indifference to religion, especially to its institutions, is commonplace. At the same time one witnesses a new sensitivity to spiritual values and a new search for relationship with the transcendent. Unfortunately, this is often little more than subjectivism, syncretism and superstition.
Diverse religious traditions are often found existing side by side, and the number of multi-cultural and multi-religious situations is on the increase. On the one hand, this pluralism can lead to sincere, practical dialogue, careful and profound inculturation of the Christian faith and a courageous evangelisation of culture. on the other hand it could give rise to facile syncretism or tensions and hostility that make evangelisation difficult.
Tother with all these one also notes a demand for interior life, a thirst for true spirituality, a desire for dialogue and collaboration with members of other religions through prayer meetings and commitment to peace and justice in the world.
Young people entertain a variety of expectations. many find themselves fare removed from their faith without having consciously abandoned it; their goals and criteria have little to do with religious values. Others live a sort of weak religiosity; their religious practices are more or less occasional and dictated by social convention or the desire and need for inner peace and assurance. Their live and faith are no coherent. They have made no personal and mature choices. At the same time there are other groups of committed young people who live their faith in depth.
In each one of these young people one can perceive a need for truth, human growth and the desire, sometimes unconscious, for a deeper understanding of the mystery of God.
How can one cultivate and deepen this desire for God? How can one prepare them for the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus and reawaken in them the desire to know and be with Jesus Christ? How can one educate them to construct a new Christian identity within the process of developing human values? How to be a community whose own faith is believable? How can one communicate this faith in a meaningful language within the framework of a new culture?
Specific Choices To Be Developed
Make sure that all educative elements of the environment, methods and structures are coherent with and open to the Gospel. One needs to overcome certain tendencies inherent in secular society such as the following:
Only what can be proven rationally is true;
Only what can be perceived actually exists;
The ethical is that which is useful;
The meaning of life depends on the efficiency and functionality of one’s actions and convictions.
Promote the religious dimension of the person both in Christians and in those belonging to other religions. This is carried out by a deeper examination and purification of attitudes and opening them up to the desire for faith. To accomplish this one needs to:
Foster those dispositions that are at the basis of one’s openness to God (to know how to retreat within oneself, to be silent and listen to one’s inner voices; to be conscious of one’s abilities and limitations; to have a sense of wonder, to appreciate all that is good, great and beautiful within and around oneself; to be open to others and to their diversity, etc…);
Provide systematic and critical religious education that will enlighten the mind and strengthen the heart;
Encourage openness, respect and dialogue with other religious traditions;
Comply with the practice of educative presence with the young and teach them to share and work together, open to unselfish service and solidarity – these are the indispensable pre-conditions for an authentic and liberating religious experience;
Offer initial evangelisation that will enable one to live a true, personal faith experience through:
A meaningful presentation of the person of Jesus
Direct contact with the Word of God
Intense experiences of celebration, personal and community prayer
Meaningful encounters and communications with believers and Christian communities of the past and of the present.
Develop a systematic journey of education to the faith inspired by the values of Salesian Youth Spirituality; this journey should lead to a choice of life in the Church that reflects these great aspects of Christian maturity
Human growth that leads to an understanding of life as a religious experience;
An encounter with Jesus Christ through Word and Sacraments; discovering in Him the meaning of individual and collective human existence;
Gradual entry into the community of believers, the sign and instrument of salvation of humankind;
Commitment and vocation with a view to the transformation of the world.
Introduce young people into a conscious and active participation in the liturgy – especially celebrations of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist by:
Promoting a preparation of these by means of a welcoming environment rich in friendship and fellowship that encourages them to open their hearts;
Celebrating liturgies of quality that lead to a true personal relationship with Christ;
Encouraging a personal commitment to translate into daily life what one has celebrated;
Strengthening closeness to the Lord through personal meetings with educators and spiritual directors.
Cultivate a missionary sensitivity that makes young people:
Credible witnesses and heralds of the faith in their own environment;
Active missionaries among their peers – especially those who are distant or indifferent; this can be done through volunteer work, youth movements, mission groups, participation in evangelisation projects, etc;
Effective co-workers in the mission “ad gentes” through communication with missionaries, collaboration with concrete mission projects, and possible volunteer work in the missions;
Responsive to a possible missionary vocation within the Church.
EVANGELISATION
A Reflective Response
The above material presents an overview of evangelisation as a fundamental dimension of the Salesian Educative-Pastoral Project as outlined in the document “Salesian Youth Ministry: A Basic Frame of Reference”. The question remains: what does this mean for us in the Australian context? My intention here is to give a reflective response to the above theoretical outline from the perspective of the context of an Australian school community.
Optimistic and Realistic
The presentation of evangelisation outlined in the document is positive and optimistic in its context and orientation. There is an optimistic assessment of young people as capable of faith and faithfulness, as having a deep desire for spiritual experience, as being able to respond to the presence of God with courage and generosity. Young people are not simply objects of evangelisation, they are able to respond with freedom and be agents of evangelisation for their peers.
There is a positive understanding of community as an environment rich in relationships and friendship, solidarity and mutual support. It presumes a community abounding in enthusiasm and energy, full of activity and joyfulness. The context is one of a community imbued with a sense of hope and courage conscious of its identity, its mission and its mode or style of action.
Simultaneously, there is a realistic assessment of the situation of the faith in the world today. We live in a society that has, in many senses, lost its religious consciousness, but thirsty for spiritual experience. Materialistic values predominate in many situations and people are often valued for what they have and for what they do rather than who they are. Yet a deep desire for “something more” is also very evident and quite real. Yet the search for the spiritual does not always translate into participation in religious institutions. In fact, there is amongst many a deep suspicion of religious institutions. And for good reason, considering some of the scandals that have beset the Church in recent years.
A Community Response
T
Our personal, and often silent, witness to Christian values, the Christian view of humanity and the Christian way of life are an essential dimension of evangelisation. Who we are and how we live have a profound affect on our young people. We cannot discount the influence that we as people have on their lives. This is why presence amongst the young and personal engagement and interaction with them holds special place in the Salesian way of being and doing.
The educative response of the community is also part of the evangelising process because it contributes to the overall human development of the young. The explicit proclamation of the Gospel, while an essential aspect of evangelisation, is not the only aspect. By enabling young people to grow in knowledge, skills and competencies we are contributing to the project of evangelisation. We are allowing them to develop the ability to respond to, participate in and contribute to the society in which they live. This is also part of the evangelising process. Our educational programmes, the pastoral care we provide, the sense of community we build, and the activities and opportunities we offer are all part of the process.
Journey
I have referred several times to evangelisation as a process. This implies that it is not a one-off experience. It is not something that happens at one moment and is thereby achieved for all time. Evangelisation is a journey of growth and maturation. Experiences along the journey should be such that they are sensitive to the needs and aspirations of people who are at different points along their human and faith journey.
Journey is a beautiful metaphor because it implies a process, a search, an exploration, an adventure to be undertaken. Each of us are at different stages in the journey of life and in our faith journey. We have each had different “adventures” as part of our life experience, our search for purpose and meaning has been undertaken in different context and we have explored different paths along the journey. Yet we are all, ultimately, on the same journey - the journey of life, the adventure of living, the search for meaning and purpose, and the exploration of the reality of love. As a community, but perhaps not all of us as individuals, we find Jesus to be the alpha and the omega (the beginning and the end) of our journey.
Our students, likewise, are all at different points along the journey of life. They have had different faith experiences and experiences of life. We are called to respect all this and yet we are called to beckon them forward to embrace life with enthusiasm and confidence, courage and hope. All we do and the way we do it should take the developmental nature of faith into account. Our goal is to allow them to grow, mature and develop as human beings and as Christians. We provide experiences and opportunities for this to occur. Our educational programmes contribute to wards this human development. RE programmes, retreats and liturgies provide opportunities for an encounter with Jesus in Word and Sacrament. We gradually lead our young people to be ever more part of and involved in the life of our community and provide opportunities for them to be part of the community of believers, the Church. We guide them so that they will gradually realise their unique vocation in life and undertake it with enthusiastic commitment.
Some Key Moments of Evangelisation
While all we are and all we do contribute to the evangelising mission of the community, there are some aspects of our life as a community that play a special part in the process of evangelisation. Amongst these I would name the Religious Education Classroom Programme, the Retreat Programme, our special community celebrations, the Senior Community Involvement Programme and other opportunities for service, the Pastoral Care Programme and moments of prayer and liturgy.
Religious Education Programmes
Salesian schools are continuing working on their RE programmes are of the best quality.
It is essential that these remain vital and that they are taught with enthusiasm and vitality. There is no room for complacency or mediocrity when it comes to our classroom religious education classes. And I can say this as one who knows from experience that RE is by far the most difficult subject to teach and as one who is continually struggling to teach RE in a way that engages the students and elicits a response from them.
Retreats Programme
A
Community and Liturgical Celebrations
Community celebrations such as assemblies, swimming and athletics carnivals, feast days and the like are amongst the special community celebrations that contribute towards the total evangelising process. Every time we celebrate who we are we strengthen the bonds that unite us. This is effected more so if the context is joyful and a true celebration of life.
Our special celebrations are also key moments in our life as a community because they express and celebrate our identity as an evangelising community. They are also evangelising moments in which the religious dimension can be named, acknowledged and celebrated. Liturgical celebrations enable this to occur in a particular way, which culminates when the community celebrates the Eucharist, the source and summit of the life of the Church.
Pastoral Care Programme
Pastoral Care is a complex and multi-faceted reality. Pastoral Care has its origin, as the name suggests, the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. It is a quality of love that is demonstrated in practical action. It is a ‘being-with-for’ another in a caring, loving, nurturing way. In this sense it is something that imbues an environment and influences every aspect of the educational process.
“
While particular individuals will have specific responsibilities in relation to various aspects of pastoral care, it is the responsibility of all (staff and students) to contribute to the environment of loving-concern for others that is at the heart of pastoral care.
The quality of our pastoral care – in the broadest sense – is an essential aspect of our evangelising efforts. When we provide a safe and aesthetically pleasing physical environment we are affirming the dignity of others as much as when we offer care and concern in a time of crisis. When we offer educational programmes about issues relevant to the welfare of the young we are providing opportunities for human development and growth as much as when we provide counselling services for those with particular needs.
Our pastoral care contributes to the physical, emotional and spiritual welfare of our students and, hence, contributes towards the overall evangelisation of the community and individuals who make up that community.
By the quality of our pastoral care we affirm the dignity of individuals, support their growth and development and demonstrate that love that is so characteristic of the Salesian way of being: “Signs and bearers of the love of God to the Young.” This is all part of the evangelising project of the Salesian school.
SALESIAN YOUTH SPIRITUALITY
What follows is combines my own reflections with material taken from “Salesian Youth Ministry: A Basic Frame of Reference and “Educating the Young to the Faith”, the official document of the 23rd General Chapter of the Salesian Society, held in Rome in 1990. (A General Chapter is the extended meeting, held every six years, of Salesian representatives from around the world.).
Salesian Youth Spirituality draws its inspiration from the rich spiritual tradition that originates from Don Bosco’s own practice at the Oratory in Valdocco. It is not, however, a static reality. Rather it is a dynamic reality that has developed over time and evolved as it has encountered the various countries and cultures to whom the Salesians have taken the spirit and mission of Don Bosco.
The secret of Don Bosco’s success as an educator was his intense pastoral charity, namely that interior energy which created an inseparable bond between his love of God and of his neighbour and allowed him to forge a synthesis of his work of evangelisation and education.
Salesian Youth Spirituality is the concrete expression of this pastoral charity and constitutes a fundamental element of the Salesian pastoral action.
Some key characteristics of Salesian Youth Spirituality include:
Youthful Spirituality
Salesian Youth Spirituality is exactly that: a spirituality for young people and those who work with them. It is youthful, not just because it is primarily directed towards the young, but also because it displays a youthful quality – active, optimistic, community-oriented, able to adapt to changing circumstances. It is a spirituality that is appropriate for young people and that is able to uncover the workings of the Spirit in their lives and to help them grow and develop.
Spirituality of Daily Life
In the tradition of St Francis de Sales, Salesian Youth Spirituality sees daily life as the place and context of encounter with God. It is a fundamental Salesian intuition that there is no need to detach oneself from daily life in order to seek the God. Don Bosco had a finely tuned awareness that the place to meet and experience God is in human reality – “As you did it to the least of these, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40). The events, duties and activities of every day life are the means of growing in love and service of God.
Spirituality of Joy, Optimism and Hope
The Oratory of Don Bosco at Valdocco was known as a place of joy, optimism and hope. Through music, theatre, sport, outings and the everyday activities and encounters of the classroom, the workshop and the playground Don Bosco enabled his young people to grow in their knowledge and love of God. Don Bosco constantly promoted a way of living in which young people could equate holiness with happiness. Deriving both joy and hope from the experience of the resurrection, Christian life is presented as a journey. Such an approach delights in activity and cultivates an optimistic attitude full of hope in the natural and supernatural resources that people possess.
Spirituality of Friendship with the Lord Jesus
Salesian Youth Spirituality encourages young people to grow daily in their friendship and personal relationship with Jesus. The personal encounter with Jesus develops as a result of daily life lived with hope and joy, moments of prayer and reflection, a life of loving service and opportunities to experience Christ in the Scriptures and the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.
Spirituality of Communion in the Church
The very dynamic of Christian spirituality is that it is drawn to community. Jesus gathered his disciples, the early Christians spontaneously gathered for prayer and fellowship, Don Bosco gathered around himself those who were willing to share his spirit and mission. This same community-oriented dynamic is active when young people gather together to celebrate life and to celebrate the presence of God as part of the reality of the journey of life. Christian faith is spontaneously oriented towards community and this provides opportunities for young people to have a positive and life-giving experience of Church, as a community of the followers of Jesus.
Sacramental Spirituality
The sacraments reveal the mystery of God as experienced in human life – they are moments of encounter with Jesus, the Risen Lord. Don Bosco believed passionately in the pastoral and educative nature of the sacraments as a means of providing guidance and nourishment on the journey of life. The sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist were especially important to him. Through Reconciliation the young are able to experience the tender mercy and forgiveness of God and to obtain guidance for the future. In the Eucharist the young are able to encounter Jesus as food for the journey and as Word for living faith-filled and loving lives.
Spirituality of Responsible Service
The Salesian emphasis on joy-filled activity and the natural Christian dynamic of faith-in-action lead the Salesian educator to actively promote service of others as a sign of commitment. It is through the transformation of the world in which they live that young people live out their Christian commitment. Responsible service can be seen as the yardstick for the journey of spirituality. It is in service of others that the young realise the dignity of the human person, the value of work, and the joy of meeting Christ in others.
Marian Spirituality
Don Bosco felt himself guided throughout his life by the sustaining presence of Mary. Mary is the example par excellence of the gospel attitudes of listening and responding, faithfulness, humility, courage, faith, simplicity, hope, service and love. Salesian Youth Spirituality leads young people to place their hope and trust in the Mother of Jesus and to rely on her as the Help of Christians.
CONCLUSION
Salesian Youth Spirituality is not something extra that is to be added to whatever is else is happening. Salesian Youth Spirituality arises out of the lived experience of each Salesian community. It is in and through the experience of the hopes and joys, the grief and anguish of daily life that this spirituality is lived out. It is celebrated through the activities of daily life and in special moments of commitment, prayer and service; the culmination being when the whole community gathers for the Eucharist. Such a spirituality is not a down-playing of the demands of the Gospel, but a realistic living out of these demands in a way that is suited to young people and allows them to grow and develop.
Salesian Youth Spirituality dares to believe in the goodness and beauty of young people, because they are sons and daughters of God. It is a spirituality that dares to be positive and optimistic because it draws its inspiration from reality of the resurrection of Jesus. It is an ever evolving spirituality that has as its goal that young people will grow in their love and knowledge of Jesus Christ and so have the faith and confidence to live their lives as good Christians and honest citizens.
FAITH
COMMUNITY IMPLIES
A STYLE OF ACTION
Introduction
In the last few weeks we have been on an excursus considering the nature of evangelisation as the mission of the faith community. We now return to the main topic of faith community, with particular reference to the style of action by which the Salesian faith community is identified.
The primary thesis that I have been exploring is that the concept of faith community provides us with an identity, a mission and a way of going about that mission.
Understanding ourselves as a faith community enables to see ourselves more clearly for who we are, what we are on about and how we approach our task. Faith provides us with an identity as a community of the followers of Jesus living out our journey within the Salesian tradition; a mission of evangelisation – that is proclaiming the gospel by our words, our deeds, and principally by our educational endeavours; and a unique style of action. It is this style of action that we will now explore.
Gospel Tradition
D
Image
of Christ the Good Shepherd modelled on an ancient statue found in
the Catacombs of St Callistus, which are entrusted to the care of
the Salesians.
Matthew (18:12 – 14) and Luke (15:1 – 7) also have a shepherd story that throws light on the ancient Christian image of Jesus, the Good Shepherd. In this case the shepherd is prepared to leave the ninety nine sheep and to go in search of the one lost sheep. When he finds it, he lifts that sheep on his shoulders and carries it back home, where he calls together his friends and neighbours in order to celebrate the sheep that has been found. It is the combination of these two gospel stories that has produced the powerful image that has so inspired Christian art for centuries.
Salesian Tradition
Don Bosco’s deliberate choice to model his style of action after the model of the Good Shepherd is something that evolved throughout the formative early years of his life. In his famous dream at the age of nine, young John’s first impulse is to counter the unacceptable behaviour of the youngsters around him by force – he rains down blows upon them. When the “Lady” appears, she teaches him to win them over by not by violence but by gentleness and kindness. This dream was to inspire Don Bosco throughout his life – he later understood that it was his call to a specific mission and to a specific style of action in order to achieve that mission.
Other experiences set young John along the path of the Good Shepherd, including his experience of the clergy of his time. He writes:
“I would see good priests working at their sacred ministry, but I could not strike up a close relationship with them. Often I would see my pastor out walking with his assistant. I would greet them at a distant and bow when they got closer. But they would return my greetings gravely and courteously, and then continue on their way.” (Memoirs of the Oratory p. 44)
Young John longed for a different reality and more than once commented:
“If I were a priest, I would act differently. I would look for boys and get them around me. I would want them to know that I care for them and desire their friendship. I would speak kindly to them, give them good advice, and dedicate myself entirely to their spiritual welfare. How I would love to have a chance to talk to my pastor, just as I did with Father Calosso. Why shouldn’t it be so?” (Memoirs of the Oratory p. 44)
When Don Bosco began his work among the poor and abandoned youth of Turin, this is approach that he adopted. In ways appropriate to his time he deliberately adopted a style of working with the young that would offer them the same sense of belonging, security, and intimacy which he himself had so longed for and which he intuitively understood that all young people long for.
The Letter from Rome
Don Bosco was no less concerned with promoting this unique “Good Shepherd” style of action in his old age. In 1884, at the age of 68, already sick and frail and less than four years from his death, Don Bosco was attending to important official business in Rome. Yet he remained concerned about what was happening back at the Oratory in Turin. The zest and enthusiasm of the pioneering days seem to have been lost. Relationships between staff and students had deteriorated. There was even tension amongst his followers, some of whom thought that the organisation had not changed to meet new circumstances. Don Bosco, tired and homesick, experienced a dream that recurred over two nights. He was latter to use this dream as the basis for what would become known as his famous “Letter from Rome”.
I
The young must not only be
loved, but they should know that they are loved.
The second scene is alarmingly different. There is boredom, suspicion, weariness, surliness, coldness, discontent, ingratitude and a lack of prayerfulness. Don Bosco demands an explanation because he knows that his followers burn themselves out caring for these young people. This time it is Buzzetti who responds:
The best is missing … the young must not only be loved, but they should know that they are loved. Christ made himself small with the small and bore their weaknesses … the teacher who is seen only in the classroom is a teacher and nothing more; but if he joins in their recreation, he becomes a brother … Christ did not crush the bruised reed or quench the smouldering flax. He is our model.
Loving-Kindness
Loving-kindness is a key aspect of this distinctively Salesian Good Shepherd style of action. Loving-kindness is the most unique (and, perhaps, the most misunderstood) element in Don Bosco’s system. Essentially it describes the love-filled relationship between educator and student. Don Bosco himself used the Italian word “amorevolezza.” There is no English equivalent for this word and it is often simply translated as kindness. This can be misleading because the concept is far richer and more profound.
“
Loving-kindness is an
attitude of love – a love that is both supportive and challenging.
Loving-kindness is an attitude of love – a love that is both supportive and challenging.
Rather, it is an attitude expressed in practice in the commitment of the educator as a person dedicated to the good of the students. Educators are present in the midst of the young, prepared to offer guidance and correction where and when necessary, and ready to accept sacrifices and hard work in the fulfilment of their mission. It calls for a real availability to the young, a deep empathy with them, the openness to enter into genuine relationship with them, the ability to dialogue with them and the willingness to share their lives.
Loving-kindness also implies much about the atmosphere in which education occurs. It is an environment of love, where human values are genuinely respected and promoted and where there is an openness to the spiritual dimension of life. It is an atmosphere marked by a “family spirit” in which there is mutuality in human relationships and a full range of joyful and stimulating educative activities.
A further aspect of loving-kindness is that it requires a deep knowledge and understanding of young people – on an individual and personal level as well as collectively. It implies being attentive to their ideals, hopes and aspirations, their fears and anxieties. It means being able to discern their needs and the means by which they can make a meaningful contribution to the educative and wider community. Knowledge of the social and cultural conditions in which they live and analysis of the conditioning factors to which they are subjected is indispensable to this process.
Some Factors To Consider
Some of the practical and constructive ways in which this distinctively Salesian, Good Shepherd approach becomes concrete include the following.
A Decisive Choice: The Young
Don Bosco was whole hearted in his choice to work with and for the young and gave himself to this mission without reserve. This decisive choice to be with and for the young is characteristically Salesian. The Salesian mission is primarily focused upon the young, their development, their welfare, their education, their evangelisation and their salvation. Young people are the focus of the Salesian mission.
Presence
This choice to be with and for the young is given concrete expression by the educator’s presence with the young. This is an active, involved presence that shares their life experiences, accompanies them along the journey of life and is prepared to stand with and for them. This presence is an act of love that reveals the love of God to the young.
Personal Relationship
It is via this presence with and for the young that Salesian educators build personal relationships with the young. They adopt an attitude of listening, dialogue and empathy. They are attentive to the joys and hopes, the anguish and anxiety of the young. They are quick to recognise, acknowledge and celebrate achievement, effort and contribution. They are also prepared to intervene when necessary to correct and offer guidance – the quiet “word in the ear” is very effective in enabling young people to grow and mature in an appropriate manner.
Confidence in Young People
Salesian educators have a profound respect for the goodness of young people as sons and daughters of God. They believe in their ability to contribute positively and constructively. They view young people with optimism and confidence. They trust in their ability to be involved, to be pro-active, to be protagonists of their own future. They think the best of young people and work to ensure that young people have every available opportunity to be able to realise their potential and to express their God-given talents with creativity and confidence. This is an attitude that springs from the Christian belief in the goodness of creation, the dignity of the human person and the salvation won by the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Activity and Opportunity
Salesian educators utilise their confidence in young people and their capabilities to create an environment full of activity and opportunity. Activities of all sorts enable young people to be active and involved. They provide constructive things to do and positive ways of relating to others. Such activities are an expression of the educational, recreational and social opportunities that contribute to the evangelisation of the young. Opportunities for prayer and reflection are treasured moments that allow young people to grow in faith, hope and love.
Attentive to the World of the Young
Salesian educators are attentive to the world of the young. They are aware of those things that attract the attention and interest of the young – whether these be sport, personalities, music, film, ideas or causes. They learn to appreciate the formative power of these interests and experiences and to utilise them in their relationships with young people. They are aware of the educative potential of all that interests the young and incorporate them into their educative strategies.
Sensitive to Culture of the Young
Salesian educators are aware of all that promotes or hinders the welfare of the young. They study the youth situation and popular culture to discern those aspects that can promote or hinder the education and evangelisation of the young. They utilise all that is positive and work to counter the negative.
An Attitude of Love
After the example of the Good Shepherd, Salesian educators persevere in their love of young people. They not only love their young people, they ensure that their young people know that they are loved.
FAITH, COMMUNITY, MISSION AND EVANGELISATION
A Review of the Journey
Introduction
The purpose of this series of articles has been to explore the nature Bosco College as a faith community. In doing this we have investigated such topics as:
The Nature of Community
Salesian Family Spirit as a manifestation of community
The nature of faith
Our identity as a Christian faith community
Our mission as a Christian faith community
Evangelisation as the mission of the Christian faith community
A Salesian Perspective: Educating by evangelising and evangelising by educating
Don Bosco and evangelisation
Don Bosco’s practical approach to faith
Evangelisation as a fundamental dimension of the Salesian Educative-Pastoral Project
Practical choices to pertinent to evangelisation:
Promoting gospel values
Promoting the religious dimension of reality and the human person
Offering a variety of faith experiences
Developing a systematic journey of education to the faith
Introducing young people to full, active and conscious participation in the liturgy
Cultivating a missionary sensitivity
A reflective response, especially as related to key evangelising moments at Bosco College
Salesian Youth Spirituality
A distinctive style of action
At the beginning of this article I suggested that the notion of faith community provides us with an identity, a mission and a way of going about that mission. Understanding ourselves as a faith community enables to see ourselves more clearly for who we are, what we are on about and how we approach our task. Faith community provides us with an identity, a mission of evangelisation and a unique style of action.
IDENTITYMISSIONSTYLE
Key Characteristics of Salesian Community
Ways of relating – a familiar and friendly relationship – relationship that is appropriate to the various roles that people have – a friendship that is professional – that bears in mind the reality of the teacher / student relationship but is not afraid to enter into and share the life of the other – a relationship that is based upon a sense of respect for the dignity of the other – a relationship that does not wait for the student to make the first move, but one that reaches out, and makes the first move to engage young people.
Ways of thinking – keeping young people, their welfare and education at the centre of our endeavours – discovering God in the young – communicating the love of God to the young – entering into and sharing their lives – loving what they love – guiding and challenging the young – engaging with the young – being youthful – adopting a dynamic and optimistic style of action
Ways of doing things – being with young people, spending time with them and sharing their lives – presence – agreeing upon and working towards common goals – contributing to community according to our own capabilities – consistency in expectations, routines and procedures – not because this is the expected bureaucracy but because these are the decisions of a community made for the benefit of a community.
Ways of praying – sharing our Christian journey together – recognising that each of us will be at different stages of that journey – simple yet profound experiences of prayer – a eucharistic community gathered together by the Word of God – praying in a variety of ways and at a variety of times and in a variety of places.
Communication – sharing of information – seeking counsel, opinion and advice – engaging in mutual dialogue – working together – shared decision making
Celebration – acknowledging our identity through simple yet profound prayer – recognising and acknowledging success, achievement and effort – recognising personal and communal milestones
Support and concern – sharing the lives of others – providing practical support to each other at a personal and professional level – effective pastoral care that this pro-active as well as reactive.
JOY AND HOPE
The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the people of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, 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. For theirs is a community composed of people. United in Christ, they are led by the Holy Spirit in their journey to the Kingdom of their Father and they have welcomed the news of salvation, which is meant for every person. That is why this community realizes that it is truly linked with mankind and its history by the deepest of bonds.
Gaudium et Spes #1
Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
Second Vatican Council (1965)
1 The document uses the word “pastoral” more in the sense of “evangelising” than in the sense of “pastoral care”. Hence, the document speaks of Salesians “educating by evangelising and evangelising by educating.” The key pastoral or evangelising activity of Salesians is education.
