Missionary vocation discernment (ANSmag 1998, March)
Criteria for the discernment
Jesus is my best friend and I want everyone to know him
I’m able to resist the temptation to be the shepherd of the flock in order to be a fishermen in any sea
I have sufficient courage to give up all that I have to do what God wants me to do.
I want to leave behind my security to be sent to any part of the world I don’t know
I’m ready to sow the seed without expecting to reap a good harvest
I’m enough foolish as to risk my health and personal safety to serve God’s Kingdom
The risk of physical danger in proclaiming the love of God for those most in need doesn’t worry me.
I can give up my favorite TV program, my bank account, my hobbies, my familiar places, people I love, in exchange for no other reward than the satisfaction of knowing that I’m doing God’s will.
My reason for leaving for far off lands is not to collect tropical fruits from the trees, but to help my neighbor who is hungry
I help the church not just to listen to the Gospel, but to go our and proclaim it anew and to put it in practice
I believe that I can do all this cheerfully and for pure love and to achieve an heroic reputation.
Some characteristics of the Salesian who live the missionary dimension in his daily life
(Fr. Luciano Odorico, Councilor for Missions, 1998)
a Salesian who is concerned about the needs of the Kingdom and who lives with the spreading of that Kingdom as his first and principal objective.
a Salesian who every day sees himself as a missionary sent to the young people
a Salesian who goes looking for the youngsters without waiting for them to come to him; therefore gets to them in real situations quite drastic.
a Salesian who is always available, who doesn’t hang back
a full time Salesian, cheerful, optimistic, with wide horizons
a Salesian open to a serious consideration to discern whether in his vocation there is something further in it which says “the time has come to leave everything and to go where the Lord sends you”.
