0377 - 0442 :: Salesian spirituality

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0377 - 0442

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0377 - 0442

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CRITERIA FOR SALESIAN ACTIVITY

'For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more...

Tothe weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, that

I might by all means save some' (1 Cor 9,19.22).

This is another autobiographical extract from Paul, belonging to a context

(1 Cor 8-10) which highlights the sense of christian liberty as a condition indispen-

sable to the cause of the Gospel for all, starting from those who are weakest.

The meaning of the two statements of Paul is immediately clear, especial-

ly if considered in the light of the example of Jesus. But the concrete situation

which forms the context of chap. 9 of the first letter to the Corinthians helps

to clarify still further the union between freedom and service. Some people at

Corinth were opposed to Paul: he was using his freedom to be independent of

the community for his maintenance, they said, because he was not a true apostle

(9,1). Paul reacts vehemently through the whole of chap. 9, making clear the

real sense of his freedom: it was above all that of an apostle totally possessed

by Christ's Gospel (9,12); that as such he had certain financial rights (9,4-12);

but he had given up those rights so that his service of the Gospel should be

more transparent, universal, all-embracing, and therefore free (9,12-18).

More than a proud declaration of principle, Paul was giving an example

of a freedom so completely at the service of all as to become the gospel choice

of being a "slave" of all: Jews, pagans, those of little account or who were weak

and fragile from a religious point of view (9,19-22).Was he being just non-

committal, or an opportunist? In reality there was a very firm principle under-

lying this unlimited self-abandonment: "I do it all for the sake of the Gospel"

(9,23).Paul, like Christ, takes on all human conditions so as.to make spring up

within them a genuine experience of faith.

To make of freedom a service, giving up even lawful rights and therefore

working absolutely gratuitously, with unconditional dedication to others, through

fidelity to the Gospel understood as an absolute benefit for man, even tOithe

point of exclaiming: "Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!": all this forms

an apostolic criterion which Don Bosco (as he appears in his historic "Valdocco

experience" C 40) put into practice, and left us a legacy.

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ART. 40 DON BOSCO'S ORATORY A PERMANENT CRITERION

Don Bosco lived a pastoral experience in his first Oratory which serves as a model;

it was for the youngsters a home that welcomed, a parish that evangelized, a school

that prepared them for life, and a playground where friends could meet and enjoy

themselves.

As we carry out our mission today, the Valdocco experience is still the lasting

criterion for discernment and renewal in all our activities and works.

All the constitUtional texts, from Don Bosco's first manuscripts

onwards, have carried a brief description of our works.The present Con-

stitUtions, however, do not do so, or at least not in any great detail.

The fact that salesian pastoral practice is carried out in specific kinds

of work, which still constitute a fundamental presence of the Congrega-

tion at the present day, has led to the preservation of a description

of them in the General Regulations. But some indication at least was

needed in the Constitutions, and the diversity of the contexts in which

we work and the continual springing up of new needs suggested that

in this section (C 40-43) should be presented the criteria which must

inspire the concrete putting of the mission into practice in the various

works and activities.

The section, in fact, carries the heading "Criteriafor salesian

activity'~In it we find the ideal model for reference, i.e. a characteristic

"pastoral experience" of Don Bosco,realized at the Oratory of Valdoc-

co: a model which is presented asa general criterion for discernment

and renewal (C 40). Three inspirational criteria are then given for the

realization of our works and activities, with their chief consequences

(C 41). Finally three main lines of action are indicated for practical

salesian activity: education, evangelization, and communication (C 42,

43).

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A characteristic pastoral experience

The Oratory quite literally filled Don Bosco'swhole existence. It

had its first expressions in the games and Sunday gatherings in the

meadows of the Becchi and in the IISocied.dell'allegria II.It developed

during the early years of his priesthood, from the meeting with Bar-

tholomew Garelli to the growth in size of the youthful community in

the poor Pinardi house with the stable organization of its life and ac-

tivities. At Valdoccothe Oratory subsequently developed in many ways:

it was the cradle of the newly born Congregation and of other religious

Associations and had reached maturity by the time Don Bosco died.

When our Father wanted to put his thoughts into writing, intend-

ing to leave in this way lIanorm for overcoming future difficulties

by lessons from the pastll,1so that his followers would be stimulated

to continue his work in creative fidelity, he wrote the "Memoirsof the

Oratory of St Francis de Sales". 2

When one looks back in the light of faith on the pastoral

pilgrimage of Don Bosco, it becomes clear that in his encounter with

the youngsters of the Oratory the foundations 'Ofa project were laid,

enterprises grew in perspective, and a style came to maturity (cf. C 20).

For this reason Don Bosco's initiatives were originally called the

'Work of the Oratories"', and the mother-house still kept the name

'Oratory of Valdoccoll,even after successivetransformations.

But what exactly was it that made this pastoral experience a

characteristic one?

An elementary knowledge of the history of northern Italy will tell

us that the Oratories formed part of the tradition and practice of some

of the Lombardy Churches. They were a setting for the main purpose

1 MO,p. 16

2 The HMemorie de//'Oratorio di S. Francesco di Sales" were published in 1946 (Ed. SEI Turin)

and later reprinted by offset at the instance of the Direzione Generale Salesiana. In the In-

troduction (by Fr E. CERIA), the reason is explained for their publication, despite Don Bosco's

prohibition (cf. MO, p. 1-12)

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of teaching catechism to the children of the Parish, with games and

entertainment offeredas an inducement to attend. Don Boscorethought

the idea (and this is what is expressed in the anicle) to meet the needs

of his poor boys. For him the Oratory was Hhouse,church, schoo/and

p/aygroundH; a complete programme of material relief, of family sup-

port, of evangelization, culture and social behaviour. Don Bosco

.transformed it from its parochial structure to an open and missionary

work designed to reach those who remained untouched by the normal

institutions. The Sunday activity became prolonged through the week,

because his help and support for his boys was not confined to Sun-

days; he turned it into a youthful community, with himself at its cen-

tre to promote relationships and provide animation: a community

Hwherefriends could meet and enjoy themselvesH.

The GC21, on the basis of the story of Valdocco and recalling Don

Bosco's original intuition, traced out the fundamental characteristics

of the physiognomy of the oratory setting. They are: Hpersonalrapport

of 'friend' between salesianand youngster and the brotherly 'presence'

of the educator among the boys; the creating of an environment to

facilitate such a meeting; varied activities to fill leisure time; a mis-

sionary 'open-door' attitude to.alllads who want to come in; a welcome

for everyone, but with proper attention to individuals and groups; a

gradual education of the youth community for festal celebration; a striv-

ing for firm group-life and unity - all these elements concur in form-

ing a wholesome human and christian personalityH,3

In Don Bosco at the Oratory, rather than the brilliant manager

of a structured work, we discover the creative affability which can size

up situations and respond to them, moved by pastoral charity. He was

tenaciously attached to his mission among young people. fur this reason

he was faithful and dynamic, docile and creative, firm and flexible,

all at the same time.

Deeply convinced of his divine call to the ministry of pastor of

the young,4 he felt ~imse1f inspired and guided by God. But at the

3 Ge21, 124

4 MO. p. 22 ff.

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same time he was very sensitive to the passing indications of current

history (HWemust try to get to know our times and adapt ourselves

to themH),5and attentive to the concrete situation of his boys.

This is borne out by the historical evolution of the Oratory of

Valdocco in its multiple and diverse vicissitudes.

The permanent criterion

The ValdoccoHpastoralexperience which servesas a modelHis put

forward in the article as the fundamental criterion for the discernment

and renewal, in dynamic fidelity, of all salesian worksand activity.The

SGC had indicated this very clearly in the document entitled: "Don

Bosco at the Oratory, the enduring criten'onfor the renewal of sale-

sian action ':6 As is clear, it is not a case of looking at the first Oratory

as a single concrete piece of work, but rather of considering it Hasthe

matrix, the synthesis, the sum total of all the genial apostolic crea-

tions of our Founder, the mature fruit of all his effortsH.7

Reference to the Oratory is indispensable, giving the word its full

meaning in the fascination and charm of its early days. The Oratory,

in fact, represents a pattern or yardstickfor everyone of our workswhich

aims at being Hahome for those who have none, a parish for those

who do not know where their parish is, and a school open to all who

might find difficulty elsewhere, 8 a playground where friends can

j MB XVI, 416

6 Cf: SGC, Document 2, nn. 192-273.

In this document which is the principal source of aCt. 40, the SGC insists on 'dynamic fidelity'

to Don Bosco, which implies flc:xibility in the face of new requirements and creativity in respon-

ding with 'new presences', not only by filling 'lacunae' or youth situations not yet reached,

but also qualitatively in responding to new problems unknown in Don Bosco's time, through

the development of ideas already present in embtyo in the personal work of the rounder,

with the VaIdocco Oratoty as the constant point of reference (cf. SGc, 227 ff. 249 ff. 259 ff.)

7 SGc, 195

8 SGC, 216

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meet and enjoy themselves. These are terms of great salesian import;

they evokeimages of sensitivity,attitudes, convictions,programmes and

style of presence.

It is symptomatic of Don Bosco that in the circular he wrote to

the members on the feast of StJoseph 1885, about the spreading of

good books, he has recourse to the same pastoral categories, though

with reference to a reality materially distinct from the Oratory: He said

in fact: "With the' 'Catholic Readings' I hoped to enter houses. With

the 'Companion of Youth' my aim was to bring the young to church

(parish!). With the 'History of It~ly' I wanted to sit beside them in

school. With a series of light readings I wanted to be once again their

companion in the time a/recreation. And finally, with the 'Salesian

Bulletin' I wanted to keep alive in the boyswho had returned to their

families the love of the spirit of St Francis de Sales and his maxims,

and to .lead them to become the saviours of other youngsters".9

"Don Bosco of the Oratory" emerges as the ideal criterion for

salesian action, for the realization of our mission in concrete service.

More therefore than an invitation to re-edit what Don Bosco started,

this criterion is an appeal to act like him in the deep understanding

of what he did and achieved in the service of the young and the or-

dinary people.lO

Everysalesian house worthy of the name must aim at reproduc-

ing Don Bosco's characteristic pastoral 'experience, and appear as a

present-day realization of the Oratory's emblematic and original reality.

Practical application of all this is needed in two directions: in

discernment and in renewal.

In the light of the oratory criterion, renewal means a constant

verification of our modern activities and works to see whether and to

what extent they are a faithful continuation of Don Bosco's mission,

in their style of presence and their ability to respond to needs. A

9 Collected Jetters. IV, p. 320

10Cf. SGC. 197: In the Oratory Don Bosco provides a wonderful example of docility to God's

will and of dynamic fidelity to rhe mission he had received for rhe education of the young

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readiness for continual renewal must accompany all we do, and calls

fora permanent adaptation of our worksand activity to the youtb con-

dition and cultural changes. We are reminded of this by the first arti-

cleof the General Regulations:."Keeping in mind its own socialmilieu,

everyprovince should study the situation and condition of youth and

the common people, and periodically verifythat its worksand activities

areproviding an effectiveservicefor young people who are poor" (R 1).

The use of the criterion for discernment means looking at things

in the perspective of development. The field of action is great, and

the young are found everywherein enormous numbers. New and urgent

questions are calling for an answer, and an answer must be given. But

rather than to the quantity of our works, the reference here is to the

development of a spirit and style of safeguarding them. Certainly our

creativity cannot be realized without regard to cost and method. We

must be able to appraise situations with intelligence and a courageous

heart. What is needed, in fact, is to find concrete methods and prac-

tical applications which best correspond to the salesian mission and

its apostolic project.ll

Renewal and discernment; these are our two watchwords in the

spirit of Valdocco!

Although it is not explicitly mentioned in the text, under the

heading of oratorian criteria falls also Don Bosco's solicitude for the

young, "especiallythose who are poor, abandoned and in danger", the

HpredilectionHspoken of in art. 14.

In the salesian the fervour of his initiatives stems from the love

that prompts him to seek innovations, and even great ones, in ways

of bringing salvation to youth.

The Oratory at Valdocco is the emblem of this earnest research.

Indeed we can say that Don Boscowas clearly aware that in the Oratory

he wasgiving a full response to God's call, and realizing in it the pur-

pose of his life.

11Cf. SGC, 230

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we thank you Lord,

for giving us Don Bosco as our Father and Teacher,

and for guiding him, through the experience

of the Oratory at Valdocco,

to be a concrete model

in our apostolic life and activity.

Grant that we may bring him to life again in ourselves,

and, with him as our inspiration,

make every one of our works

an authentic salesian "Oratory ';

Rahome that welcomes, a parish that evangelizes,

a school that prepares for life

and a playground where friends can meet

and enjoy themselves".

we make our prayer through Christ our Shepherd,

who lives and reigns for ever and ever.

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ART. 41 INSPIRATIONAL CRITERIA FOR OUR ACTIVITY

AND WORKS

Our apostolic activity is carried out in a variety of ways, which depend in the

first place upon the actual needs of those for whom we are working.

We give practical expression to the redeeming love of Christ by organizing ac-

tivities and works of an educational and pastoral nature designed to meet the needs

of the neighbourhood and of the Church: Sensitive to the signs of the times and with

initiative and continual flexibility we evaluate these activities, renew them, and create

new ones.

The education and evangelization of many young people, especially among the

vetypoor, means that we have to go to them where they are to be found, and provide

adequate forms of service in the context of their own life style.

Mter proposing the fundamental model, the ConstitUtions go on

in this article to enumerate, together and in their mutual in-

terdependence, the criteria for the practical realization of the activities

and works which take their inspiration from that model.

Don Bosco,living in dynamic fidelity the mission he had received,

created and put into practice after careful appraisal those initinives

whichcharity calted for. But he did not proceed in a haphazard fashion.

He had precise points of reference which he followed, as a guide in

the concrete realization of his ideas. :Thelist qf works in the first Con-

stitutions reveals a well ordered development plan.

Our task today is one of fidelity in the development of the sale-

sian mission. To interpret it as an uncritical repetition of the rounder's

initiatives would be a grave mistake. Rather does it call for harmony

with his perspective of commitments and agreement with the motiva-

tions underlying his actions, carried out in the characteristic style of

the preventive system.

But going beyond this perspective, we may ask ourselves what are

the fundamental criteria we can deduce from the Rule? Let us look

at the text with an analytical eye and see what we can infer.

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To give to our works and activity the physiognomy impressed by

Don Bosco, art. 41 indicates three basic criteria: our works "depend

in' the first place upon the actual needs of those for whom we are

working"; they must be "ofan educational and pastoral nature" in sale-

sian style; and they must be "designed to meet the needs of the

neighbourhood and of the Church'.

Attention. to the needs of those for whom we are working

The first criterion is a strong affirmation of the pn'-orityofpeople

over structures, and of the attention that must be given to the needs

of the human environment.

. More than with workswe are concerned with people, i.e. with those

to whom we have been sent and with their needs. To their fundamen-

tal expectations we must provide a response. Our works and activities

have to be continually rethought in relation to our beneficiaries and

their needs. No work is of absolUte value in itself. And every work

recognized as suited to the attainment of the purpose and conform-

ing to the spirit of Don Boscois to be'considered as valid and suitable

for us. Our activity, in fact, is a service offered to young people of

working-class areas: the young are our masters,1 Don Bosco was fond

of repeating, emphasizing by this phrase the great respect due to the

person of the youngster, in whose regard he alw~ysadopted the at-

titude of an authentic servant. The vicissitudes and development of

the wandering Oratory are a proof of the attention Don Bosco gave

to his charges.2

Today the Salesians find themselves in the world in widely differ-

ing situations and are called upon to respond to the chalknges made

to them by the different environments, and to the urgent needs aris-

ing from new social and cultural circumstances.

1 Cf. Collected letters, II, 361- 362

2 Cf. SGC, 349

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The existing conditions of families, culture, work, social relation-

ships,religiouslife, and living togqther are therefore factorswhich orien-

tate our service.

This calls for great skill in detecting the sensitivity and expecta-

tions of the young, for the ability to identify their real needs and res-

pond to the emerging idols which impoverish youngsters by alienating

their spirit, and for dedication to the human and christian advance-

ment of youth, especiallythose on the margin of societyand the Church.

This criterion calls on the Salesians to verify the functioning of

their works and activities, to make sure they are really a meaningful

presence,providing an adequate response to the demands of the young

and creating a space for them in which they can grow and be educated.

Our pastoral identity

The educational and pastoral purpose of the work is the second

discriminating criterion indicated in the constitutional article.

As Salesians we undertake many activities and different kinds of

work(schools,parishes, youth centres, and centresforfree-time activities,

forcultural animation etc.), with a view to meeting the needs of youth

and working-class neighbourhoods. We give great importance to all

these activities in so far as they contribute to the overall advancement

of the individual. But we have to ask ourselves whether they are set

up as Don Boscowould wish, and whether they do in fact attain their

desired objective.

Everywork and activity finds its justification in "the education

and evangelization of many young people ': Education is our special

field and our characteristic way of evangelizing. On the other hand

evangelizationis the raison d'hre, the radical motivation for our educa-

tional art. This basic identity is the most characterizing note of sale-

sianaction. Without it, any structure would fail in its purpose! In other

wordsin all our works our qualification of "missionariesof the young"

must be verified, bearers of the Gospel to today's youth.

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This idea is wonderfully reflected in the availability of Don Bosco,

who declared himself ready for anything, even for "raising his hat to

the devil", provided that by so doing he could save the souls of his

youngsters.3

The terms "educate and evangelize"and the double idea "upright

citizen and good christian" illustrate the ,richnessof this inspirational

criterioh, without which a salesian work cannot even be imagined.

The SGC expressesthis demand of our identity veryforciblywhen

it states that "the main criterion to be followed in deciding whether

a work should continue or be closed down is the possibility or other-

wise of carrying out real pastoral activity there".4

Strictly linked with the educational and pastoral objectives of our

work is an indispensable community presence. The action of an

educating and evangelizing community is a basic requirement for dis-

cerning the validity of our presence among various opportunities

offered ro us.

Sensitivity to the needs of the Church

The third criterion requires that our works shall "meet the needs

of the neighbourhood and of the Church': "Sensitive to the signs of

the times ...we evaluateour activities,renew them and create new ones".

Concern for the needs of the Church was rooted in Don Bosco's con-

science, and it should be the same in ours too.

The Church is the subject of pastoral work, and hence a panicular

contribution in this sector will be efficacious to the extent in which

it forms part of ecclesial action. In the Church the various charismata

and pastoral initiatives come together to form an organic unity. The

specificneeds of particular Churches varyfrom one to another, depend-

3 Cf. BM XIII. 325

4 SGC. 398

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ing on the local social and cultUral sitUation, the level of evangeliza-

tion in their neighbourhood and the resources of the Church itself.

On the other hand the richness of our charism makes it possible for

us to offer new and varied contributions.

Some Churches ask of us a specialized catechetical service, others

that we take charge of education in schools and provide animation for

the young in general, others that we work among emarginated peo-

ple, and still others that we work in populous working-class areas or

lend a hand in founding new communities.

Which and how many of these we should choose must not de-

pend only on our competence or on individual taste, but on the needs

of the Church and on an assessment of such needs in the light of the

overall commitments of a Province.

The SGC retUrned frequently to this concern for the universal and

particular Churches. To quote one text among many: HInthe plan of

action of everyProvince and house, priority should be given to the way

wecan best take our place with complete generosity in the localChurch.

Our exemption should be looked on more as an opportUnity for ser-

vice than as a privilege, something to increase our availability as we

carryout our mission".5On the other hand the sensitivityof Don Bosco

was no different: he was always ready to meet the expectations and

requests of the Bishops. The Church, in fact, needs multiple forms

and channels for carrying out dialogue with all of man and all men,

and to reveal the overall design of salvation.

Certainly it must be noted that the pastoral contribution which

the Salesians are called upon to offer must respond to the charism for

whichthe Spirit has raised them up in the Church: in organized pastoral

activitythey are not asked to do work at random which may happen

to be needed, but to bring the original contribution of their own iden-

tity-(ef. C 48).

And this is a principle for efficacy,a norm for participation and

a requirement for fidelity of the Congregation called to contribute to

j SGC4,38

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the building of the Church by manifesting "the multiform wisdom

of God".6 On the other hand its particular natUre and pastoral

originality must be interpreted according to a criterion of adaptation

to the needs of the individual Churches.

VaticanII expressedthese criteriain recommendations of tWokinds.

The first is addressed to religious, who are invited to maintain and

develop their own particular characteristics: "There exist within the

Church a great number of clerical and lay institutes devoted to various

aspects of the apostolate. They have contributions to make which are

as varied as the graces given them: some exercisea ministry of service,

some teach doctrine, some encourage through exhortation, some give

in simplicity or bring cheerfulness to the sorrowful..:,7 "Since however

the activereligious life takes many forms, this diversity should be taken

into account when its renewal is being undertaken". 8

The second kind of recommendation is addressed to the Bishops,

so that they may help the InstitUtes to preserve their own identity, not

only as regards community life and their internal regime, but also and

especially as regards their specific apostolic mission. "The hierarchy,.

whose task it is to nourish and feed the people of God, ... uses its pro-

tective authority to ensure that religious institutes established all over I

the world for building up the Body of Christ may develop and flourish 1\\

in accordance with the spirit of their Founders".9

If therefore religious are asked to make themselyes available to

meet pastoral needs, Bishops and Pastors are asked for discernment

as regards their different charismata, so as to provide space in local

pastoral work for the exercise of the gifts which the Holy Spirit has

provided for the building of the Church. The document "MutUae

relationes" explicitly emphasizes this concern: "Bishops should confer

on the different institUtes a mission that is recognized as specifically

theirs...; let specificduties and mandates be assignedto them".io

r, PC 1

7 PC 8

8 ibid.

9 LG 4~

10MR 8

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This kind of procedure will lead to the spontaneous definition

of the physiognomy of the various Provinces, which are situated in

specific territories and there have to render the salesian charism incar-

mite in the local culture and the reality of the particular Church.

Consequences

As well as the inspirational criteria, the article also pres~nts some

consequences which it may be well to consider, even if only briefly.

Attention to persons and to,the social and environmental con-

text, the dynamics of educational and pastoral action, and the response

to ecclesial requirements, inevitably imply the need to accept a

legitimatepluralism as a natural consequence.The article,in fact, speaks

of our work being carried out "in a variety of ways",of "adequate forms

of service", of renewing our activities and creating "new ones".

Such a perspective is obligatory in the multiplicity of situations

we are called upon to meet. Indeed Don Bosc,oteaches us to be ever

alert to find new and previouslyunknown waysof getting closeto youth.

The article also recallsa fundametltal attitude which followsfrom

the criteria we have spoken of. The salesian house is characterized by

"initiativeand constantfleXtbtlity~ which is typical of the salesian spirit

(C 19). Burning and courageous zeal finds its expression in this kind,

of attitude,' which prompts us to active intervention in the reality of

the situations we find, with persistenceand intelligent openness of mind

so as to adapt them to the rhythm of life.

Finally it is well to note the reference in the last paragraph to sale-

sian pfesence in the places where the young are to be found, and

t1speciallythe verypoor. This is a kind of servicewhich could be called

"unstructured", and arisesfrom the fact that it sometimes happens that

the usual educational and pastoral structures fail to reach a certain

nuz:nberof youngsters. In today's world, in fact, as was also the case

in Don Bosco'stime, there are young people in socialand psychological

situations which keep them awayfrom ecclesialinstitutions: we are well

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aware how many there are, especially in distressed areas, who are com-

pletely ignorant or have only a deformed idea of the Church.

It is natural therefore that, besides the salesians working for the

education of the young in schools and oratories, there should be some

who go after those at a distance in the places "where they are to be

found", meeting them "in the context of their own life style" to pro-

vide "adequateforms of service"for their "education and evangelization".

In many cases we have to find new ways of being present and of

evangelizing, in line with the flexibility and creativity which are

char_acteristicof our spirit (cf. C 19).

Salesians called to these forms of missionary service will have to

remember the requirement of community life and maintain a deep

communion with the other members of their community and Province,

and to foster an ever more intense evangelical and salesian spirit, in

.close union with Christ the Apostle and in the spirit of the "da mihi

animas" of our Father Don BoscO.11

Let us ask of Christ, the Good Shepherd,

that all we do may be inspired and guided

by a genuine charity

made concrete especially

in solicitous concern for other people.

That our activities may always provide a response

10 the needs of the young for whom we work,

Let us pray to the Lord.

That all our works

may always have as their first objective

the service 'of the young and the poor,

inspired by the teachings of Christ the Saviour,

Let us pray to the Lord.

11 On "new presences", v. in particular GC21, 154-161: New modes 6f salesian presence for

evangelization

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That above every secondary purpose

our primary aim may always be

the .evangelizing education

given us by Don Bosco as an tdeal,

Let us pray to the Lord.

Grant, 0 Lord,

that our every thought and action

may be always animated by the saving charity

of Jesus Christ our Lord.

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ART.42 ACTIVITIES AND WORKS

We carry out our mission chiefly in such works and activities as make possible

the human and christian education of the young, such as oratories and youth centres,

schools and technical institutes, boarding establishments and houses for young peo-

ple in difficulties.

In parishes and mission residences we contribute to the spreading of the Gospel

and to the advancement of the people. We collaborate in the pastoral programme

of the particular Church out of the riches of our specific vocation.

In specialized centres we make available our pedagogical and catechetical exper-

tise in the service of the young.

In retreat houses we provide for the christian formation of groups, especially of

young people.

We dedicate ourselves also to every other kind of work which -hasas its scope the

salvation of the young.

The three areas of activity

Articles 42 and 43 refer to works and activities grouped according

to the clifferent sectors of our mission: education, evangelization and

communication. Within each of these areas some significant examples

are given which are described at greater length with their characteristics

in the General Regulations.

in this way it has been possible to avoid giving a list, difficult

to compile, of everything we do. By presenting the principal existing

structures in groups we have been able to give prominence to the

similarity in physiognomy between the different works and activities

and their characteristicfeatures. The search for possible structures which

do not yet exist, or initiatives for the renewal of the present ones, are

not ruled out by the text which needs to be read in the context of the

whole section.

A further point must also be made to preclude the risk of

misunderstanding the content of these two articleswhich are, moreover,

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drawn up in very different ways. The main areas of education,

evangelizationand communication, in which the operational structUres

are grouped, are not to be understood as watenight companments

A school, for example, has a characteristic educational structure, but

this does not preclude the importance of social communication in it,

and still less that of pastoral activity. The parish too, although

characteristicallya work of evangelization, is not really salesian without

dimensions of education and communication. And to complete the

example, a publishing house, although primarily a social communica-

tions structure, would not achieve its purpose from a salesian stand-

point were it not to have also an educational and pastoral aim.

There is indeed a real distinction betWeenthe three areas, because

everywork and activity must maintain the basic physiognomy which

characterizes it, but these should not be considered one by one in a

closed and exclusivefashion, but in an open and mutually connected

manner as areas of activity which complement each other.

Area of the education of youth

Art. 42 provides a schematic outline of the first tWosectors with

a reminder in measured terms of some of the characteristic elements

of the fields of activity, followed by an enumeration of the main

strucmres.

First are grouped together those works which can be described

aseducational and for the young: the text, in fact, speaksof Hthehuman

and christian education of the youngH.This essential dimension of our

activityfinds practical realization in typical works in which the accent

is on youth and education. In works of this kind it is possible to follow

a programme of overall education following our pastoral plan, and it

isindispensable that in all we do we have clearlyin mind our preferential

concern for the world of youth.

The General Regulations go into more details in describing the

different works and their specific characteristics.

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- The Oratory and Youth Centre (R 11-12)are seen as 'an educa- k

tional environment' with a 'strong missionary slant'. They are organized

as a community service, and aim at evangelization through many dif- I

ferent recreational, educative and apostolic activities.

- The characteristic element for the salesian school (R 13-14)is

the overall development of the individual attained through a religious

approach and a balanced openness to culture. The educational pro-

cess is founded on solid cultural values and takes into account the

dynamics of youth. Its social character is in line with the local social

milieu, to which its cultural perspective and branches of training are

also related.

- Hostels and boarding schools (R 15)constitute a servicewhich

enable a youngster to gain indispensable experience in a creative life

environment. In them reigns a family atmosphere which facilitatesrela-

tionships, promotes responsibility, and fosters a happy life together.

- The servicesof vocation guidance too reflect the characteristic

aspects of our youth settings. They are fundamentally places where

young people who feel called to an ecclesial commitment can find

welcome, guidance and encouragement.

Although the list may well appear incomplete, the sequence of

these and other works cotifirms our commitment to animation in the

youth sector and emphasizes the educative aspect of the Congregation.

Area of evangelization of the poor and working classes

The second group includes works which are strictly pastoral and

for the common peoPle.

The article says that through these works "we contribute to the

spreading of the Gospel and to the advancement of the people". The

evangelization of such densely populated and missionary environments

is a specific characteristic of such works and givesthem their particular

aspect and style. Evenin these works,preferential concern for the young

alwaysremains the expression of our specific vocation and the distinc-

tive contribution we make to the pastoral workof the particular Church.

396

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- In this area special mention is made of our commitment in

the missionary field, which had ~lready been indicated in articles 6

and 30 as being among the apostolic priorities of the salesian mission.

In the light of one of the articles of the Regulations concerning the

"Missions"(R 22), we can note a particular aspect of salesian missionary

presence.At a time when progressivelyless attention seems to be given

to concrete problems of global development in emerging countries,

it is interesting to see the need declared for creating the "conditions

favouringa free processof conversion to the christian faith with respect

shownfor the cultUral and religious values of the neighbourhood ". In

thisway prominence is given to the evangelizing and plebeian dimen-

sion of all our missionary work.

- With regard to parishes, art. 26 of the Regulations givesa clear

outline of their specifically>salesian qualities. They should be

distinguishedby their low-incomepopulation and their interest in young

people. Their animating centre is the salesian community, which con-

. sidersthe oratory and youth centre as part of its pastoral project, sets

greatstore by catechesisand bringing back those who have lapsed, fosters

the linkage between evangelization and human advancement, and

favoursthe vocational development of each individual.

- The constitUtional article refers also to a particular task of the

Salesians:pedagogical and catechetical servicesin specialized centres.

Thisis a skilled servicewe are called upon to offer for a more efficacious

and deeper formation and animation of youngstersby trained and com-

petent educators.

- Finally the service provided by retreat houses and sPirituality

centresis highlighted. These provide a very valuable contribution to

the growth of spiritUality among groups, and especially youth groups,

followingthe lines of the sanctity of Don Bosco. The GC2! makes ex-

p1i~itreference to such houses in connection with their importance as

"placesof vocational guidance".!

As we have said already,the article provides only examples,though

they are not without significance. The field of salesian work and ac-

1 Cf GC2!, 118

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tivity alwaysremains open to inventivenessand creativity,provided the

aim is to reach young people. In fact, says the artkle in conclusion,

Hwededicate ourselves also to every other kind of work which has as

its scope the salvation of the youngH.2

Finally, it may be asked why an article which consists simply and

solely of a list of works has found its way into the Constitutions at all.

Was it really necessary?

The prominence givento the kind of works,although not absolute-

ly essential, is not something merely secondary in salesian tradition.

Don Bosco, in fact, always attached great importance to the institu-

tion of HorganizedHworks: they were the salesian HhousesHT. hese are

better able to respond to the complexities of the salesian educational

and pastoral plan, and the need for the community type of manage-

ment which is characteristic of our educational system. Moreover an

organized work does not mean that its structure is so rigid that it can

never in any circumstancesbe changed. The perspective of the HfamilyH,

which is constantly recalled, is a perm~mentcall for structural flexibility.

The opening of a work is alwaysa matter for planning; it is a ques-

tion of how we are to place a house and community 4t the service and

disposition of youth.

God our Father,

in the multiplicity of your works,

you realize your undivzded purpose

of bn'nging men to you.

Grant also to us the ability

to pursue incessantly the final end of salvation

in the multiple van'ety of our presence

among our fellow men,

2 Cf, Costituzioni 1875, I. 1 (F. Morro, p. 73)

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By the guidance of your Spirit,

may we live in every situation and circumstance

the charisma of our Founder,

for the benefit especially of poor youngsters

and of peoples most in need,

and in the charity of Christ,

your Son and our Lord.

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ART. 43 SOCIAL COMMUNICATION

We work in the social oommumcation sector. This is a significant field of activityl

which oonstitutes one of the apostolic priorities of the salesian mission.

Our Founder had an instinctive grasp of the value of this means of mass educa-

tion, which creates culture and spreads patterns of life; he showed great originality

in the apostolic undertakings which he initiated to defend and sustain the faith of

the people.

Following Ills example we utilize as God's gift the great possibilities which social

communication offers us for education and evangelization.

'Cf. 1M 1

The third area of our activity is social communication, Dasignifi-

cant field of activity which constitutes one of the apostolic priorities

of the salesian missionD.

Communication should not be understood as the sum total of

a collection of DinstrumentsD,but as a complex and dynamic reality

which enters into all we do. Nor should it be considered merely as a

particular activity or a specific sector of apostolic work, but rather as

a main road to the full realization of our task as educators and pastors

who are also communicators.

Social communication at the present day

In a societyin which the reality of communication is invading and

involving spheres formerly unexplored and not even thought of, the

contents of this article are prophetic. The development perspective is

no longer that of the industrial or post-industrial society,but the society

of communications which are advancing with giant strides. "The mass

mediaD, said the Ge2!, "become ever more a massive educating in-

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fluence, shaping and begetting cultUres. They elaborate and broad-

castaccumulated evidencewhich underlie new life stylesand new criteria

of judgementH.1

As a result of its incisive action stemming from the combination

of highly refmed technical instruments and the most sophisticated forms

of the language of visual images, social communication has taken on

and is playing a decisive role in the cultUral dialect and in social life

and customs.

The Church has recognized its importance and even its indispen-

sability for communicating the gospel message. HOur centUry is

characterized by the mass media or means of social communication,

and the fIrst proclamation, catechesisor the further deepening of faith

cannot do without these means... The Church would feel guilty before

the Lord if she did not utilize these powerful means that human skill

is daily rendering more perfect. It is through them that she proclaims

from the housetops the message of which she is the depositary. In them

she fInds a modern and effectiveversion of the pulpit. Thanks to them

she succeeds in speaking to the multitUdesH.2

The Founder I s example

Don Bosco had an intuitive grasp of the important implications

of this phenomenon for the young and for people in general: HInhis

ownday Don Boscoconsidered the press, the publication of good books

and magazines, stage plays for youth, music and song not only as means

for the serviceof educational pastoral works, such as oratories, hostels,

schools, missions, but also as 'original apostolic endeavours' directed

of their very natUre to the mission Divine Providence gave him for

youthH.3

1 Ge21, 148

2 EN 45

3 Ge21, 149

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It seems evident that our Founder considered social communica-

tion a practicaland authentic means of mass education, a parallel school

of great efficacy and power. At the present day we hear his appeals

in this regard with a new interest: "I beg and implore you not to neglect

this most important aspect of our mission";4 "this was one of the main

tasks given to me by Divine Providence".5 "I do not hesitate to call

this means divine, since God himself made use of it for the regenera-

tion of man".6 Moreover Don Bosco has told us in writing that the

spreading of good literature is "one of the principal aims of our

Congregation':7

The oldest versionof the Constitutions in Italian is veryinteresting

for the space given to this matter, having regard to the undeveloped

nature of the means available at the time: "... the members shall strive

to preach retreats, spread good books, and use all the means that unflag-

ging charity shall inspire, so that by means of the spoken and printed

word.a barrier may' be raised against the heresy and irreligion which

is trying to find its way by so many means among the ignorant and

uneducated; that is what we are doing at present through the publica-

tion of the Catholic Readings".8

Our Father was well aware of the great power of the mass media

for reaching people and of their limitlesspersuasivecapabilities, so much

so in fact that he urged the use of "everymeans that christian charity

inspires" for promoting the faith.9

He looked to the future, undertaking also "new and original

apostolic enterprises for defending and sustaining the faith of the

people".

4 Collected letters, vol. IV, p. 321

) ibid. p. 319

6 ibid. p. 318

7 ibid. p. 320

8 Costituzioni 1858, 1,5 (cf. F. MOTTO, p. 78)

9 Costituzioni 1875, 1,7 (cf. F. MOTTO, p. 79)

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Salesian commitment in the field of communication

The reference made in the article to Hhisexample is for today's

Salesiansthe strongest motive for continuing along the road Don Bosco

has pointed out.

The field is a vast one; new techniques for transmitting messages

and news are appearing every day. We must not be found wanting in

the courage shown by our Founder, who sawall the great possibilities

offered by this phenomenon as so many Hgiftsof GodH.

The article invites us to think in renewed terms and to be creative

in the use of means of communication. It is a case of developing our

commitment to a mature and fruitful use of the massmedia, understood

asan ensemble of instruments, and to introduce the language of com-

munications into our educational and pastoral work.

The salesian is a communicator who draws his insPiration from

the ''Perftct c(Jmmunicator';10the exemplary cause of everyexpression,

everyimage and every technique. He does not consider the creative

expressionand use of the media as something merely incidental or sub-

sidiaryin educational projects, but is convinced that these possibilities

of expression add up to a genuine new method of communication,

a real language which must not be undervalued, especially in educa-

tional dialogue with the rising generations. And so he employs every

means of communication relevant to his particular situation: he makes

intelligent and competent use of the cinema, local TV and radio

transmissions, together with other items like audiovisuals, the theatre,

music, the so-called 'body language' etc.H

It was precisely Htosensitize our various fields of apostolate to this

new language and to change the attitudes of tQ9sewor~ing in themH

that the GC2! asked that courses should be promoted for systematic

.'~,

',"

\\' ,

10CP 11

II Cf. concluding address of Re.c\\to.r Major to GC22 (GC22, 73)

.<'

,~.

. 403

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training in critical approach"to the mass media's programmes and their

use as normal means of educative, communication. 12

We note that the article indicates clead};<whatour objective must

be as qualified communicators: for education and evangelization.

The first purpose is education. In this connection the SGC speaks

of our threefold task: of liberation, of co-responsibility, and of

treativity.13The influence of the mass media on youngsters and on or-

dinary people is enormous: they read all kinds of printed matter, they

listen to all sorts of transmissions, and flock into theatr(:s and cinemas.

Often it happens that fundamental principles become distorted and

even repudiated beneath the deluge of messages received every day.

From this a specific task derives for us, a work of liberation to free

people from the conditioning effectsof all these factors and form them

to a~ attitude of critical appraisal in the face of the violence of hidden

persuaSlOn.

But this is not enough. We have to educate to a.constructive at-

titude of shared responsibility,to activeintervention with positivefollow-

up. It is a matter of developing in young people a critical aesthetic

and moral sense to set them on the road to a "personal and free

choice".14

The youngster must be helped to an understanding of the

language, to a c'riticalassessment of the message (which is often the

expression of some ideology or mentality), and to dialogue by means

of the variousforms of comparison and discussion.The educator should

also aim at stimulating creative imagination in this field: it is up to

him to make the guiding intervention of one who is not only able to

discern the underlying reality, but wants to bring his influence to bear

in its regard.

The second purpose is evangelization.

12 GC21, 152. In the

of initial fotmation

13 SGC, 456-458

141M 9

"Ratio" the stUdy of social

(cf. FSDB, passim)

communication

forms part of every phase

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Everyform of social communication represents a value to be.

cultivated in its own right, because it is the expression of human words

which are anchored in the divine Word, the Word of God. But social

communication can be put at the specific service of the spreading of

the evangelical message, Hatthe service of the GospelH, to increase

Halmostinfinitely the area in which the Word of God is heard, and

to enable the Good News to reach millions of people". 15 .

Experience shows that the use of the new language proves fruit-

ful and efficacious not only at the strictly educational level but also

for purposes of litUrgical and catechetical animation, in formation to

prayer, and in living the encounter with Christ in the sacraments.

In conclusion we may recall what the Rector Major said in his cir-

cular letter HThechallenge of the media': Mter discussing the salesian

dimension, he wrote: "Social communication is a 'new presence' for

us".16We should be prompted to accept it by the open and courageous

attitude adopted by Don Bosco in the last century.

HDonBosco,man of vision that he was, was well aware of the ever

in<;t;easingimpact of social communication. Right from the early years

at his apostolate he worked with enthusiasm in this particular field.

He said of the printed word: 'In these matters Don Bosco wants to

be in the vanguard of progress'. He was posssessed of a saintly

daringH.17

Let us praise the Lord

who for the salvation of men

provides means in every age

. for the communication of his Gaspe/, .

and entrusts them to the hands of his disciples.

15 EN 45

16 Cf. ASC 302 (1981), p. 6-8

17 ibid. p. 30

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For our Congregation

that it may be able

to communicate the message of salvation

by expressing it in every language

and inserting it in every culture,

Lord, hear our prayer.

For all those who with us and like us

are called to spread the faith in the world,

that they may be able to find in their environments

apt instruments

for the efficacious transmission of your Gospel,

through a harmonious unity of faith and cultures,

Lord, hear our prayer.

Grant, 0 Lord, to the sons of Don Bosco,

and to all our collaborators in the work of education

the creativity and courage of our Founder,

with the abtlity to accept and use for your Kingdom

the riches of the means of communication

which our times provide,

so that we may be

authentic communicators for the masses,

to the praise of your glory

and for the salvation of the world.

406

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THOSE WHO SHARE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE MISSION

'He who plants and he who waters are equal, and each shall receive his wages according to his

labour. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building' (1 Cor 3,8-9)

Parties had sprung up in the community of Corinth: "I belong to Paul, I

belong to Apollos, I belong to Cephas, I belong to Christ" (1 Cor 1,12). Worldly

wisdom, divorced from the logic of the cross, could not recognize in the multi-

ple ministerial expressions the unity of the gift of faith given by God in Jesus

Christ. "You are still of the flesh... are you not merely men?" (1 Cor 3,3-4) asks

Paul,and he goes on to specify in vv. 5-9 the sense of the roles of preachers

and teachers, or more simply of the different ministries in the one Church.

At the centre stands God in Christ, the absolute protagonist of man's salva-

tion or, to put it in the terms of the Gospel, the coming of the Kingdom. In the

parables Jesus uses the image of a field to indicate humanity as the place of

the Kingdom (Mt 13, but v. also the connection between people and vineyard

in Is 5, or plantation in Ezek 17,7);the ministers are collaborators ("synergoi"),

equally indispensable for the divine choice and for service of that choice. At

this level the various interventions in God's field (planting, watering) are second-

ary and subaltern to the unity of the project; it may be that the difference will

appear fro.rtIthe sense of responsibility and purity of intention with which each

minister will have done what was given him to do (1 Cor 3,10-17). Paul is

forthright in his admonition: "You are God's field, God's building". And the war-

ningis addressed to the ministers, because he is saying in fact: in your different

kinds of service in the one field of God, remember that that is the community

in which you have to work, those are the people you have to evangelize, and

aboveall do not forget that God is its raison d'etre and its principle of belonging.

The pauline text is much more than a statement of principle: it is a strong

warning based on concrete facts, on things which happen and bring to mind

the final result, a just judgement on the validity of the service rendered. But

still more it is a stimulus to grow in stature as spiritual men recognizing their

common equality, though in different roles; before the one God who is the Father

of all and works in all.

The Constitutions apply this teaching of Paul within the Congregation and

the Salesian Family. We can never forget Don Bosco who unified everything

in his "Da mihi animas", and at the same time did so much to bring his col-

laborators to understand and practise unity in brotherhood as they worked at

different tasks for the salvation of the young.

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ART. 44 THE MISSION IS GIVEN TO THE COMMUNITY

The apostolic mandate which the Church entrusts to us is taken up and put into

effect in the first place by the provincial and local communities. The members have

complementary functions and each one of the their tasks is important. They are aware

that pastoral objectives are achieved through unity and joint brotherly responsibility.

The provincial and the rector, as promoters of dialogue and team work, guide

the community in pastoral discernment, so that it may accomplish its apostolic plan

in unity and fidelity.

The community the subject of the mission

The title given to this section reveals at once the perspective of

the articles which make it up(C 44-48). We are concerned with defin-

ing the Jubject of the mission, or in other words to whom the apostolic

mission is confided. And the answer is clear: it is given to the

community.

The community takes up a.ndputs into effect the apostolic man-

date received from the Church. The salesian mission is not something

entrusted to the responsibility of individuals, but is a reality involving

a group of people who share responsibility.

Among Salesians, therefore, there is neither room nor justifica-

tion for individualism in apostolic work. Each member obviouslybrings

his own talentS to the mission and plays his part in the responsibility

for itSfulfilment (cf. C 22). But his indispensable personal task forms

part of a community commitment. Here we have a first decisive state-

ment about the community dimension which gives the hallmark to

our apostolic work and style of education. We are not speaking of a

generic kind of community concern, but of being clearly aware that

it is the community as a whole that takes up the mission received, and

that puts it into practice as a group.

Those therefore to whom the mission is given in a particular place

are at apractical level "the provincial and local communities" concerned.

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The "provincialcommunity" has a particular importance as regards

responsibility for apostolic work. It is in fact "the institutional salesian

unit which best corresponds to the local Church".1

As will be said later and more explicitly (cf. C 58 and 157), the

province is not to be considered simply as an administrative entity, but

as a "communion of local communities" which recognize that they share

responsibility for the salesian mission in a particular region.

This permits the offering of a specific and diversified service to

the particular Church, thus manifesting the life and pluriform mis-

sion of the Congregation.

The "local community" carries the responsibility at a more

restricted level, defined by the neighbourhood in.which it is sitUated

and carries out i.ts specific apostolic tasks.

It followsthat each member and each local community, while car-

rying out a particular activity, acts in the awareness of being solid with

other members for the fulfilment of a common mission of wider

extenSIOn.

Unity and joint responsibility

In the cotpmunity wl1ich is responsible for the mission "the

members have complementary functions and each one of their tasks

is important" like living organs of a single body. This was an image

dear to Don Bosco,2 and it expresses very well the idea, on the one

hand that the fulfilment of the mission depends on many functions

which differ one from another, and on the other that these functions

cannot be understood in isolation from each other and from the whole

orgamsm.

1 SGC, 84

2 V. conference of Don Bosco to the salesians. 11.03.1869:BM IX, 267-271

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According to the law of enriching diversity and mutUal com-

plementarity, we find in the salesian community confreres with dif-

ferent tasks to carry our and with widely differing talents, abilities.and I

qualifications.

Each of them needs the others because the contributions of all

of them are important, even though they differ in nature and

promInence.

Each one, in line with what was said in art. 22, should feel a cor-

relative relationship with the other members of the community.

Bur for the achievement of pastoral objectives a mere structural

arrangement of tasks and roles is insufficient. It is of much greater im-

portance that the members be conscious of their dependence on each

other, and that they accept the implications of this. This is what the

text means by the phrase "through unity and joint brotherly

responsibtfity':

The word 'unity' here refers particularly to an objective sitUation

of working together and the sense of mutUal belonging; and on the

other hand the phrase 'joint brotherly responsibility' expressesmore

particularly the subjectiveattitUde in conscienceof the variousmembers,

each of whom shares the responsibility of his confreres, and carries our

his own task in a responsible manner and with the intention of building

unity and working coherently with the others.

The ConstitUtions take up this concept again in the chapter on

the fraternal community (chap. V), when dealing with the communi-

ty obedient to the will of the Lord, and also in connection with the

service of authority (cf. especially C 66 and C 123).

The pastoral guide

The second part of the article is closely linked with the first.

Ac'tion by the community implies the unity of the members in

the diversity of their individual tasks. This obviously requires a guide

in pastoral discernment so as to ensure union and fidelity in carrying

our the apostolic plan. .

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Who is this guide foreseen by the Rule for these apostleswho share

responsibility for their community operations? He is the Provincial in

the provincial c9mmunity and the Rector in the local community.

But shared responsibility means more than the members just

waiting for or receiving directives; they have to work together in ap-

praising situations and studying possible options. The superiors,

therefore, are to be regarded as "promoters of dialogue and teamwork".

We must not look on them simply as works-managers,but be aware

that they are called to guzde an apostolic community so that the latter

may proceed in united fidelity to their specificsalesian mission, without

which it would not be possible to achieve the objective of the apostolic

plan conceived by Don Bosco.

The article points to a central trait in the physiognomy of the sale-

sian superior, which will be completed in due course by other aspects

in later parts of the Rule (cf. C 55, 121,161,176).The one who presides,

in his capacity as salesian superior and coordinator of the community's

religious life, is essentially the one who gives orientation to its educa-

tional and pastoral commitments. In him religious authority implies,

and even demands, his role as a pastoral guide and vice versa. In Don

Bosco's plan the guide of the salesian community is the apostolic and

spiritual educator of a group of other pastors and educators, the coor-

dinator of their individual efforts, the animator of the spirit which

prompts missionary activity considered in its totality.

The GC21, in depicting the figure of the rector, says that he is

"the pastoral guide of the salesian mission in a threefold function, as

teacher of the Word, as sanctifier "throughthe ministry of the sacraments

and as a coordinator of apostolic activity. He holds principal respon-

sibility for the mission among the young and the people entrusted to

his community; he preserves and renews the fidelity of the confreres

in their pastoral commitment to the preventive system; he cooperates

with the Bishop and the diocesan clergy in the combined pastoral ac-

tion of the local Church".3

3 GC21, 52

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It is a question of a skilled ecclesial service called for by the very

reality of the salesian community, which in the mission received from,

the Church finds its tenor and specific way of life (d. C 3).

God our Father,

awake and develop in us

the awareness of the mission

which through the Church and our Society

you have entrusted to us to be carried out

in our local and provincial communities.

May your Spirit help us

to know, understand and love each other

in mutual collaboration.

Make us glad to have so many brothers at our side,

grant that we may be solid in our aims and efforts,

as we try to be truly united around our supen'ors

for the achievement of your loving designs.

we make our prayer through Christ our Lord.

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I ART.45 COMMON AND COMPLEMENTARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Each of us is rc;sponsible for the common mission, and participates in it with

the richness of his own personal gifts and with the lay and priesdy characteristics of

the one salesian vocarion.

The salesian brother brings to every field of education and pastoral activity the

specific qualities of his lay status, which make him in a particular way a witnesS to

God's Kingdom in the world, close as he is to the young and to the realities of work-

ing life.

The salesian priest or deacon brings to the common work of promoting human

development and of educating in the faith the specific quality of his ministry, which

makes him a sign of Christ the Good Shepherd, especially by preaching the Gospel

arid administering the sacraments.

The significant and complementary presence of clerical and lay salesians in the

community constitutes an essential element of its make-up and of its apostolic

completeness.

In art. 44 it was stated that the one single mission entrusted to

the community is carried out by members who "have complementary

functions and each one of their tasks is important".

Now art. 45 presents briefly the figures of the members who make

up the community and work in it for the same mission. It expresses

in synthetic fashion:

- the vocational unity;

- the specific characteristics of the salesian coadjutor brother (or "lay

salesian") and of the salesian priest or deacon (or "clericalsalesian");

- their essential reciprocal relationship.

The vocational unity

The priest or deacon and the brother are presented in the first

place in their fundamental equality. The salesianvocation, saysthe Rule,

is the same for both. The two figures are referred to as the "salesian

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brother" and the "salesianpriest": what is fundamentally common to

both is that each is a "salesian"(the term being used not as an adjec-

tive but as a noun), thus expressing their fundamental equality. The

manner of living the common salesian vocation, on the other hand,

is spelled out by the specific characteristics which define the particular

condition of each of them, priest and brother, and the respective tasks

which devolve on them as a result.

The article begins by taking up again the theme of art. 44 and

stating that each of us is responsible for the common mission and par-

ticipates in it with the richness of his own personal gifts. The expres-

sion "each of us" is to be understood in a collective sense: the brother

and the priest. It is another way of emphasizing the fundamental com-

mon responsibility, which is followed by the reference to the original

contribution provided by each of the two figures. One and the same

religious consecration, the identical apostolic mission and participa-

tion in community life are at the basis of the equality between brother

and priest.

Don Rinaldi pur it like this in 1927: "When Don Bosco began

to think about founding a religious Society,he wanted all its members,

priests, clerics and laymen, to enjoy the same rights and privileges...

The brothers ... are salesians obliged to strive after the same perfec-

tion and carryout the verysame apostolate which belongs to the essence

of the Salesian Society".! Don Rinaldi's words reflect those of Don

Bosco himself; when speaking of the Congregation to the young ap-

prentices he said: "It is an association of priests, clerics and laymen,

especially artisans, who want to live in unity so as to love each other

and do each other good... Between the members of the Congregation

there are no divisions: we all look upon ourselves as brothers...".2

And so the ConstitUtions give prominence to the unity of the sale-

sian vocation, bur also to the necessity of two kinds of members for

the fulfilment of the original mission of the Congregation.

lACS 40, 24 July 1927, p. 574

2 BM XII, 121

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"The sons of Don Bosco",wrote Fr Ricaldone, "must stand side

by side, complete one another, and go forward in carrying out the air.ns

of their identical mission... they are not separate or divergent elements,

but the heirs, instruments and executors of the same divine plan".3

This joint presence of laymen and clericsand their indispensability

for the mission is not just something incidental but has its roots in

the very identity of the Congregation.

The Rector Major, Fr. E. Vigano, wr()te: "We find in the Con-

gregation's single vocation two fundamental aspects: the sacerdotal

and the lay. It is not simply a case of this or that confrere... preferring

the ministry or things temporal; it is a matter involving the salesian

community as a vital organism, i.e. the Congregation as such, which

has of its'essence a peculiar and simultaneous sense of both the sacer-

dotal consecration and the lay dimension, each imbuing the other and

forming together a unique life of communion".4

Specific characteristics of the two figures

But vocational unity does not deny or disregard the specificnature

of the two figures, and the second and third paragraphs of the article

dwell on some characteristic featUres of each.

1. The sa/esia,n brother.

The Rule presents the salesian brother in the first place in his

singular salesian vocation, as a "brilliant creation of the great heart

of Don Bosco,inspired by Mary Iielp of Christians", to use the delicately

sensitive expression of the Servant of God, Fr Philip Rinaldi.) The

3 ASC 93 (1939), p. 14

4 E. VIGANO, The lay element in the salesian community,

j ACS 40, 24 July 1927, p. )74

ASC 298 (1980), p. 1)

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seventh successorof Don Boscopoints out the lofty ecclesialsignificance

of this vocation, comparing it with that of the ministerial priesthood:

"Radically the difference is not one marked by any negative quality

or lack of ecclesial endowment; it is a case of a different choice: the

brother has opted for a positive christian ideal not determined by the

sacrament of Holy Orders but constituted by a number of values which

form of themselvesa true vocationalobjectiveof high quality. The Ge21

points out clearly the nature of this choice, calling it a 'vocation' which

is in itself 'specific' (with its own special character), 'complete' (it lacks

nothing), 'original' (the brilliant creation of the Founder), and

'meaningful' (of particular relevance at the present day»>.6

As a salesian the brother is first and foremost an "educator",

dedicated by vowto the overalladvancement of the young and the com-

mon people. He carries out tasks of a cultural, professional, social and

fmancial kind, in addition to those which are of a catechetical, liturgical

and missionarynature; in other wordshe is engaged in "everyfield

of education and pastoral activity /: Because, as a religious, he does not

act in his own name but receiveshis mission from the Church, he shares

deeply in the pastoral ministry, giving a particular expression to his

baptismal priesthood.

But while the salesian brother is carrying out these tasks, he is

also giving his characteristiccontribution to the community, a contribu-

tion which the Constitutions see as deriving precisely from his lay con.

dition. "There are some things", said Don Bosco,"that priests and clerics

cannot do, and you will do them...";7 they are precisely the things

which his condition as a 'lay' religious enables him to. do.

Hence, after stressing the authentic and fundamental salesian

religious vocation and its community dimension, the text goes on to

consider the specifically 'lay' form in which the brother lives it. As

the GC21 said very clearly: "The lay dimension is the concrete form

in which the brother lives and operates as a salesian religious".8 The

6 ASC (1980), p. 10; d. Ge21, 173 ff.

7 MB XVI, 313

8 GC21, 178

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article of the Constitutions says the same thing in different words: the

brother "brings ... the specific qualities of his lay status", It should be

noted that precisely because of this kind of presence, as well as' the

traditional name of "salesian brother" the Constitutions and Regula

tions in cenain contexts use the term "lay salesian".

We may ask: in what precisely do the "specificqualities of his lay

status" consist, that distinguish him from the lay qualities of the man

living in the world?9

The SGC givesthe following answer: "With the characteristcspro-

per to religious life, he liveshis vocationas a member of the laity,seeking

the Kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and by ordering

them according to God's plan; he exerciseshis baptismal priesthood,

prophetic witness and kingly service, and in this way truly shares in

9 It will be useful to keep in mind the significance of some terms in frequent use. "li1ity~

according to the accepted usage in ecclesial documents (cf. especially LG chap. IV and AA)

refers to those who through Baptism have been incorporated into Christ and constitUted

members of the People of God; in their own way they share the priestly, prophetic and kingly

office of Christ, and to the best of their ability carryon the mission of the whole christian

people in the Church and in the world (cf. LG 31). In the Council documents and in the

CIC the layman is considered from the vocation standpoint as a member of the faithful distinct

from clerics, who are in sacred Orders (cf. LG 31; CIC, can. 207). The religious state is one

with peculiar characteristics in the Church, linked with a charism of the Spirit; the conciliar

documents explicitly state that the faithful who are either clerics or lay can become religious.

(cf. LG 43; CIC, can. 588).

In the documents of the magisterium frequent reference is made to secular tasks as belong-

ing ro the laity (cf. LG 31: "Their secular character is proper and peculiar to the laity"). The

term "secular" (and related terms) refers to tasks connected with the "secular" reality, i.e. all

temporal realities which concern the present age (as distinct from the realities which directly

concern the last end). In one sense the whole Church, bqause of its pilgrim narute, has a

secular character, and therefore all its members are linked to some extent with secular realities.

But the laity are more specifically inserted in such realities and it belongs to the laity to insert

in them the gospel ferment through their professional contributions.

A distinction needs to be made berween secular laity, who foster secular realities and

raise their level in a christian fashion, acting within them in virtUe of their own duties and

laws, and religious laity (which include the salesian brother) who work in specific sectors of

the secular realities in virtue of their consecrated statUs and according to the spirit of their

rounder (cf. ASC 298, p. 25 ff.),and bring to them through their professional competence

the charitable activity of the 'church, offering a living witness to the fact that "the world can-

not be transfigured and offered to God without the spirit of the beatitUdes" (cf. LG 31)

417

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1 the life and mission of Christ in rhe Church; wirh rhe. inrensiry thar

derivesfrom his specificconsecration, and by 'mandate' of the Church

(and not merely as a private individual), he fulfils the mission of

spreading the Gospel and of sanctifying in a nonesacramental man-

ner; his worksof charity are undertaken with greater dedication within

a Congregation devoted to the integral education of youth, especially

those in need; finally, as regards the christian renewal of the temporal

order, since he has renounced worldliness he exercises this form of

apostolate as a religious in a most efficaciousmanner, educating youth

to the christian renewal of work and to other human values",l0

The salesian brother is called to live his lay condition according

to the salesian charism and in the context of his community,l1 The

reality of his lay status is not cancelled by his religious profession, but

rather givesa special slant to everyaspect of the confrere's life: the sale-

sian miss'ion, life of community, apostolic activity, profession of the

counsels, prayer and the spiritual life,

It givesto the salesian community too its characteristic aspect that

Don Bosco wanted: enriched by its lay aspect the community is able

to approach the world more validly as regards its ~postolic objectives,

The text does not refer directly to the different roles of d1e sale-

sian brother, but stresses that his lay condition and his experience,

united with a deeply salesian heart, make him particularly "close,..

to the young and to the realities of working life': History bears witness

to the fact that in the Oratories, in technical and trade schools, in the

missions the brothers have carried out a very rich apostolate and have

had a most efficacious influence!

We may well think that in the evermore secularizedworld in which

we are living, the presel1ceof the salesian brother becomes correspon-

dingly more urgent and valuable,12

We may note finally that the entire text of the Constitutions reveals

the interior attitude which underlies the characteristic vocation of the

10 SGC, 149

II Cf. ASC 298 (1980), p. 29-30

12 Cf. ASC 298 (1980), p. 47-49: the RectOr Major presents two authoritative

Don Albera and Don Rinaldi

appeals, quoting

418

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brother, 'on account of which his salesian heart is anchored in the

transcendence he lives in temporal realities, into which he injects the

radical power of the Gospel. This enables him to move in a secular

context with a mentality which is at the same time both technical and

pastoral, and this is of gre.at value to the community!

2. The salesian priest or deacon.

The "salesianpriest or deacon" is the sign of Christ the Good

Shepherd, the sacrament of his ministry as Head of the Church.

Priests, according to Vatican II, exercise the function of Christ as

Pastor and Head in proportion to their share of aurhority".13 In fact,

"by the anointing of the Holy Spirit, priests are signed with a special

character, and so are configured to Christ the priest in such a way that

they are able to act in the person of Christ the Head". 14

Between the ministerial priesthood (deriving from the sacrament

of Order) and the common priesthood of the faithful (deriving from

the sacrament of Baptism) there is a mutual complementarity: they

are ordered one to another. 15From the standpoint of the final pur-

pose of christian life, primacy belongs to the common priesthood: .''All

the disciples of Christ, persevering in prayer and praising God, should

present themselves as a sacrifice,living, holy and pleasing to God. They

should everywhere on earth bear witness to Christ and give an answer

to everyone who asks a reason for the hope of an eternal life which

is theirs." 16

Bur from the point of view of the sacramental efficacy of their

insertion in the sacrifice of Christ, the priestly ministry has an essen-

tial role on account of the "sacred power" of which it is the bearer:

IJ PO 6

14 PO 2

15 Cf. lG 10

16 ibid.

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priests, in fact, "exercisewithin the limits of their authority the office

of Christ, the Shepherd and Head ".17

What happens is that the service of the priestly ministry renders

efficacious in the Church the common priesthood of all the faithful.

But if priests exercisetheir role of presiding they must also, as St Peter

warnsin his first letter, avoid acting "asdomineering overthose in (their)

charge but being examples to the flock" (1 Pet 5,3): they must be able

to show that they are at the same time both "leaders and members";

"truly 'fathers', but also 'brothers'; teachers of the faith, but mostly

'fellow-disciples' of Christ; 'masters of perfection' for the faithful, but

'witnesses' also by their personal holiness".18

On the basis of this doctrine of the Council, the Constitutions

ask in the first place that salesian priests be all that they should be.

lt is both pleasing and significant to recall what Don Bosco said

to the Minister Ricasoliwho had invited him to Palazzo Pitti at Florence

on 12December 1866: "YourExcellency,I want you to know that Don

Boscois a priest at the altar, a priest in the confessional, a priest among

his boys, a priest in Turin, and a priest in Florence. He is a priest in

the house of the poor and a priest in the palace of the king and his

ministers". 19

This is a wonderful indication of personal identity and unity of

life in Don Bosco."In this way",declaresthe Council, speaking of priests,

"by adopting the role of the Good Shepherd they will find in the prac-

tice of pastoral charity itself the bond of priestly perfection which will

reduce to unity their life and activity".20

The salesian priest feeds his heart on pastoral charity which can

only come from Christ the Shepherd. This is a basic attitude which

prompts him to seek through his every word and gesture to be an

authentic pastor with the heart of Christ himself. lt is his first and

chief task!

17 LG 28

18 MR 9

19 BM VIII, 239

20 PO 14

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Recalling the decree NPresbyterorumOrdinisN,the SGC had this

to say: NThepriest is the spiritual man and must always have before

his eyesthe image of Christ, servant and shepherd. His ministry is-an

actof service, eschatological in character, the visible signs of which are

hispreaching of the Gospel and administration of the sacraments. In

virtue of his offic~,he publicly proclaims Christ as Saviour of today's

world;he gathers together the christian community, uniting them in

Christ'ssacrifice,and as their guide he leads them to the Father through

Christ in the SpiritN.21

But the Constitutions emphasize that the salesian priest is called

to exercisehis ministry according to the salesian chansm in the con-

text of his community. His model is Don Bosco, whom Pius XI in his

Encyclicalon the priesthood cited with John Mary Vianney and Joseph

Cottolengo as a Nstarof the first orderNand a "true giant of holinessN.

The salesian priest is a priest according to the spirit and apostolic

guidelines which made of our Father a sign of Christ for the young

and the common people.

The Council itself recognized that within the one priesthood there

could be different roles: NAllpriests contribute to the same purpose,

the building up of the Body of Christ, and this demands many kinds

of duties and fresh adaptations, especially in our own times".22

There are therefore different waysof exercising one and the same

priestly ministry.

There are many tasks which may await the salesian priest: respon-

sibilityfor a youth centre, preacher and catechist, teacher and educator,

workin a parish, chaplain, group animator, missionary, superior of a

communIty, etc.

The common denominator is the fulfilment of his task with a

priestlyheart; that he proclaim the Word, that he sanctify and animate

a community. The text expressesthese intentions and tasks by the word

Nespecially"..

21 SGC, 142

22P08

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The salesian priestly ministry is not something isolated and prac-

tised individually. It enters into the communion of pastoral objectives

for the complete christian education of the young which involves-also

other equally indispensable contribUtions.

Nevertheless the text emphasizes a basic orientation. Among all

their tasks, salesian priests give priority to those characteristic of their

ministry, because" it is the first task of priests to preach the Gospel

of God to all men",23 and they are ministers of the sacraments, par-

ticularly of the Eucharist and Penance. And so the Gospel, the altar

and the confessional represent the priorities for the ministry of every

salesian priest.

Essential reciprocal relationship

The last paragraph of the article-emphasizes the essential mutual

relationshiP that must exist between the lay salesian and the salesian

priest in the community, if the latter is to assume its full apostolic

physiognomy. This means that in the salesian priest must be found

some of the aspectsfound in eminent form in the vocationof the brother

and vice versa, and this to such an extent that the priesthood has no

meaning from a salesian point of view if it is not seen in relationship

with the figure and contribUtion of the lay salesian.

On the other hand the lay religious character of the brother does

not find its true meaning without conscious reference to the figure and

ministry of his priest confreres; the brother lives and works in spiritual

and pastoral communion with them.

The article ends with the statement that the significant and com-

plementary presence of clericaland lay salesiansin the community con-

stitutes an essential element of its make-up and of its apostolic com-

pleteness. This is an expression in other words of Don Bosco's explicit

desire concerning the "form" of the Salesian Society (cf. C 4): the Sale-

sian Congregation would no longer be itself if one of its components

23PO4

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---

were missing; in every provincial and local community the presence

together of clerics and lay members is needed for its "apostolic

completeness".

The priestly and lay dimensions require each other and com-

penetrate in a specific spirituality of apostolic activity. Each is in so

strict an integrational relationship with the other that they become

mutually essential. In the salesian community priests and brothers take

part in a vital exchange of their different aspects, and forge the bond

of an intrinsic inter-relationship for carrying out their common mission.

As the Rector Major said at the end of the GC22: "Everyconfrere,

be he cleric or lay, if he has the true awareness of being a 'member',

will feel that he shares the responsibility for everything, bringing to

it the gift of himself and his particular vocation. The priestly and lay'

components do not imply the extrinsic summation of two dimensions

each belonging to groups of confreres distinct from each other, run-

ning on parallel lines and eventually putting together the effortsof each

group, but rather a single community which is the true recipient of

the one salesian mission. This requires a particular formation of the

personality of each confrere, so that in the heart of each clerical sale-

sian there is an intimate feeling of being linked to and coinvolvedwith

the lay dimension of the community, and in the heart of each lay sale-

sian in turn there is the same feeling in respect of the community's

priestly dimension. It is the salesian community, in each of its members,

which bears witness to these sensitivities and carries out undertakings

which are at the same time both 'priestly' and 'lay.II'24

From all this it is not difficult to understand why the Constitu-

tions indicate the "significant and complementary presence" of clerics

and laymen as an "essential element" for the "apostolic completeness"

of the salesian community. And one can understand too the impor-

tance, in pastoral work for vocations, of presenting and illustrating ade-

quately the two figures of salesians, with the specific and rich contribu-

tion that each of them brings to the common mission for the young

and the poor.

24 GC22, 80; cf. also GC21, 1<)4-196

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God our Father,

you distribute your gifts in a variety of ways,

and direct them all to the common end of salvation.

Grant that in our communities

the common riches and diverse gifts

with which you endow lay and priestly members

may be received by each one with gratitude

and used to good effict

for the harmonious building of your Kingdom,

especially among young people.

Through Christ our Lord.

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ART. 46 YOUNG SALESIANS

The family spirit and the dynamic drive which is characteristic of our mission

among young people make particularly important the contribution of young salesians

in the apostolate.

They are closer to the rising generations; they can provide inspiration and en-

thusiasm; they are ready to try new solutions.

The communiry, by encouraging and guiding this generosity,helps them to mature

as religious and apostles.

'-'

a This article assigns particular function to young salesians, clerics

and young coadjutor brothers, in the r~alization of the sal~sian mis-

sion. They are deeply involved in apostolic responsibility, even though

still in their period of formation. Don Bosco showed a great capacity

"for sharing responsibility; even with the youngest of his helpers...; he

could filld for everyonethe right job, suited to his temperament, ability

and formation, so that all felt satisfied".l

Don Bosco'sexample brings us to the two main points of the pre-

sent article: the apostolic contribution of young confreres and the

attitude of the community in their regard.

The contribution of young salesians

The ~tremendous importance which the Church today, and Don

Bosco yesterday, attribute to the period of youth is undeniable. It is

important to the existence-ofindividuals and to the future of humanity;

it is a benefit for all, a benefit for humanity itself. "Youth" in fact

1SGC,498

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"represents a heritage of values for the individual, for society and for

the Church. It is a treasure in itself for what it is and for what it gives:

the richness of its 'being' and the fruitfulness of its 'sharing'. ... Youth

is a time for making discoveries,a time when future prospects are seen,

a time for making choices, for planning, a time for making responsi-

ble and fruitful personal decisions. All this, it is true, is a possibility

that in practice is not alwaysrealized; but the possibility is nevertheless

an objective one, especially in the light of the additional energy and

life enjoyed by the 'new man' risen through baptism". 2

These considerations are even more valid in the case of our young

confreres and well explain the significanceof their presence in our com-

munities. They represent the offering of fresh possibilities, a sowing

for the future, a springtime of ideals, a flourishing of life.

It is not a matter of fostering idyllic visions. We know that in their

heart is found the true measure of what they are, but their eager desires

and their freshness of approach have a significant effect in the com-

munity. The article of the Constitutions gives prominence to this,

without at the same time getting starry-eyed about it.

The text recalls two characteristic aspects of our spirit and mis-

sion to explain what it is that makes the apostolic contribution of young

salesians particularly valid.

Everycommunity is committed to the building of a "famtly":every

member can contribute efficaciously to this objective. But it is evident

that young confreres through their joy and enthusiasm their spon-

taneity and expansive nature, and their generosity, are the most lively

element in our communities: they are the ones who help most in main-

taining the family spirit which renders the communities attractive.

The other reason which makes the contribution of young confreres

so valid concerns apostolic activity. Dynamism is a characteristic trait

in salesians: by the very fact that our mission is addressed to youth,

it must necessariiybe carried out with a spirit of initiative and renewed

enthusiasm. Moreover, art. 10of the Constitutions says that the centre

2 E. VIGANO, AGC 314 (1985), p. 6-7

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and synthesis of the salesian spirit is npastoral charity characterized by

youthful dynamismn.Our young confreresare best fitted for maintaining

and fostering the ''youthful'' style of our apostolic activity.

The value of their contribution is expressed in three traits which

they exhibit.

In the first place the Rule states that the young confreres are "closer

to the rising generations': We know how difficult it is at the present

day, and at the same time how important, for an educator to remain

sensitive to young people; and a basic attitude of this kind is obligatory

for the salesian; "an empathy with the young and a willingness to be

with themn, so as to be able to understand them and share with them

.(C 39).

Young confreres achieve this spontaneously and without any dif-

ficulty, .because of their infectious cordiality and their own youthful

tastes and interests. They help the community, therefore, to keep in

touch with the young; they provide a natural bridge betWeenyoungsters

and older educators.

The text adds a second trait: "they can provide inspiration and

enthusiasm': This is furnished by the novelty of their first pastoral ex-

perience, their desire to respond with all their strength to the lord's

call, and the creative freshness natural to their age.

Finally, says the article, "they are ready to try new solutions': In

apostolic work continuity is a good thing, but not obstinate rigidity.

Dialogue betWeen older and younger confreres helps in the finding

of adequate solutions which are based on experience but at the same

time open to new ideas and initiatives.

We should never forget that our Congregation was founded with

young people, and that the daring missionary endeavours of the first

generations were the work of young salesians!

Welcome by the community

The community welcomes the young confreres as members shar-

ing the common responsibility. It is in its own interest not to waste

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but rather to develop this new strength given by God to the Congrega-

tion. The community must therefore foster their maturing as religiQus

and their apostolic growth, so that their valuabk contribution be not

lost.

To attain this end the members encourage the young confreres

in their generosity,help them to overcomeany misgivings, SUpP?rttheir

initiatives even in the face of passing frustrations, willingly receivetheir

suggestions and new ideas, and bring them in when plans are being

made or programmes drawn up.

Ids of interest here and much to the point to quote a famous

passage from the Benedictine Rule. "... If we have said that we are all

called upon to express our opinion, it is because very often the Lord

reveals the best decision to one of the younger members")

Don Bosco's style was no different. His biographer writes: "Thus

Don Bosco trained his clerics to use their taltnts, contenting himself

with laying down guidelines and then letting them pursue the goal.

Nevertheless he was always ready to come to their assistance".4

As well as encouraging the young confreres in their activity, the

community is also called upon to guide the direction in which their

youthful energies are expended. Apostolic activity needs care and is

accompanied by certain risks: that of individualism which separates

the confrere from the community, activismwhich leads to superficiality,

and fragmentation which is an obstacle to growth in internal unity.

The wealth of pastoral experiencealready gained by the community

should help to strengthen the favourable conditions and lessenthe risks,

by example; by advice, but especially by the full insertion of the young

confreres in well planned pastoral activity.

These considerations make very clear the urgent need for a real

family spirit between salesians of different ages. A happy formula to

keep in mind is: Let the older confreres remember that the Congrega-

3 Rule of St Benedict, chap- III, "The calling of the brethren to council"

4 8M V, 26

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........-

tion does not end with them, and let the younger ones not forget that

with them it does not begin!

God our Father,

you sow the seeds and a sign of hope

in those who are young.

Bless our young confreres,

guide them in their choices

and sustain them in their difficulties,

so that 'in generous selfdonation

and in more direct contact with the rising generations,

they may be efficacious mediators of the Gospel,

and give to our communities new enthusiasm

in the spirit and style of Don Bosco.

Through Christ our Lord.

.. ','

, ,.

"',,, .

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ART. 47 THE EDUCATIVE COMMUNITY AND LAY PEOPLE

ASSOCIATED WITH OUR WORK

We bring about in our works the educative anq pastoral community which in-

volves young people and adults, parents and educators, in a family atmosphere, so

that it canbecomea livingexperienceof Churchand a revelationof GodIs plan forus.

In this community lay people associated with our work make a contribution all

their own, because of their experience and pattern of life.

We welcome and encourage their collaboration, and we give them the oppor-

tunity to get a deeper knowledge of the salesian spirit and the practice of the preven-

tive system.

We foster the spiritual growth of each of them, and to those who may be so in-

clined we suggest a closer sharing of our mission in the Salesian Family.

The educative and pastoral community

The article opens with a very simple statement: "we bn'ng about

in our works the educative and pastoral community'~ This takes on

particular importance in putting our educational plan into effect, by

contributing to the attainment of the objectives of our apostolic action.

For this reason the salesian community does not close itself in the

religious group, but rather expands its communion in ever-widening

concentric circles.

Don Boscodid not use the kind of terminology we use today, but

in practicehe adopted the idea of the educativecommunity by gathering

collaborators around him and involving the youngsters themselves in

a deeply educational setting. The educative community, therefore, is

a characteristic need of our system, which requires a vigorous environ-

ment of participation and constructive relationships, and associates

everyone, educators and youngsters alike in a single dynamic

experience.l All educational and pastoral activity inevitably requires

1 Cf. Ge2l, 102

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a community structUre, not only because of the multiplicity and

necessary convergence of the different factors involved, but especially

because it implies a tissue of relationships and active involvement on

the part of all concerned.

The educative community is also a decisive factor in evangeliza-

tion. The strength of unity lived in an evangelical spirit is already in

itself a living testimony, as well as an efficacious way of announcing

the Gospel. An evangelized community is of itself an evangelizing

power.2

Finally, as the goal ultimately sought, the educative community

is a manifestation of Church, which is a reality of communion. This

is why in the concrete realization of such a community the ideal should

always be aimed at making of it a true "Church experience".

As the ConstitUtions point out, the educative community is

characterized less by the organization of its roles and structUres(which

are necessary nonetheless) than by the spirit that animates it and by

itsfamtly atmosphere. The ability to meet together, cordial collabora-

tion, simplicity and spontaneity of style, all come together in a family

atmosphere of kindness and goodwill. But above all it tends natUrally

to become a community of faith, where God is present and com-

municates himself, where there is the ability to proclaim and bear

witness to the Gospel, where is possible an authentic experience of

Chun;:has a place of communion and participation, so that the young

may feel for themselves the worth and significance of human and chris-

tian communion with God and with their fellow men.

And so the community should be seen as a continually growing

reality, advancing in form and achi.evement.

Who are the members of this progressively developing community?

The constitutional text replies: "young people and adults, parents

and educators'; or in other words all those concerned in the educa-

tional and pastoral work. These are involved and must allow themselves

to be involved, they must share and collaborate in the work.

2 Cf. GC2!, 62

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There would be little point in giving a longer list. The salesians

have a great work facing them: many people are required for a .work

of education and all are called upon to make their contribution, even

though at different levels and with different roles. It is a question of

uniting all their efforts for the realization of a common project for the

benefit of the young.

To bring this about, clarity must be maintained concerning the

plan's inspiration, organic unity and consistency, and its practical in-

fluence on the programming of various initiatives.3 The awareness of

the common mission must be developed; the shared responsibility must

be recognized of all who take part in the planning of the work, and

the collaboration of each one must be encouraged according to his

abilities and the possibilities for personal fulfilment and -the sharing

of experiences.

The lay people

In the life of the educative and pastoral community valuable and

indispensable strength is provided by the "laypeople associated with

our work ~ The article makes special mention of them and gives pro-

minence to their distinctive contribution.

There are many reasons why we should give carefu! consideration

to their presence: their large number in both educational and pastoral

structures; the important contribution they make as professional peo-

ple;

their

willingnes'sI

collaborate

in passing..on the

educative

message.

But above all these'stands a reason of an ecclesial natUre. Vatican

II providesa rich doctrinal, spititU~ and pastoral teaching on the theme

of the laity. They are the basic element in the People of Go(i,4 called

3 Cf. GC2l, 68

4 It should be noted that the term 'lay' (or 'layman', 'lay person', 'laity' etc.) as currently

used in some environments can be ambiguous. We use the term in the conciliar meaning

of 'member of the People of God'. Cf. in this connection the Rector Major's letter on The

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to a prophetic, priestly and kingly ministry which they exerciseby giv-

ing christian animation to the temporal order. The decree "Apostolicam

actuositatem" indicates active and responsible participation in- the

Church's mission as being proper to them and absolutely necessary;5

the decree HAdgentes" points to the importance and even indispen-

sability of the laity in the missionary activity of the Church;6 the Con-

stitUtion "Gaudium et spes" describes the commitment of lay people

as significant and decisive in the relationship between the Church and

the contemporary world. Without their presence, in fact, the many

secular environments would not have the benefit of christian witness

and action. In particular the Church's magisterium has made abun-

dantly clear the role of the laity in educational structures. 7

These authoritative indications have contributed to the profile of

the layman and recognition of his specific function.

It is not the intention of our ConstitUtions to summarize the con-

ciliar doctrine on the laity, but to make clear that their presence in

salesian work is not just instrumental. 8 They are there because of an

intrinsic need in our Family: Don Bosco recognized and passed on to

us the urgent necessity "of uniting the efforts of good people in help-

ing each other to do good".9 Lay people therefore are actively present

in the salesian educative and pastoral community, in which they have

a specific role because of the "contribution all their own" which only

they can give. Their experience, professional ability and the model of

life they provide represent a great and indispensable element in educa-

tion and pastoral work. The figure of the layman provides young peo-

ple with a more complete range of models of christian life, allows for

a more wide-ranging dialogue on contemporary problems regarding

the family and the professions, and gives greater opportunity to the

lay person in the Salesian Family, in AGe 317 (1986)

j Cf. AA 2-3; cf. also lG 31

(, Cf. AG 41

7 V. 'Lay Catholics in schools: witnesses to faith'; CEC, Rome 1982

8 Cf. The Rector Major: 'The fact that the laity are in the mission with us, and we with

them, is not simply a matter of a quantita~ive summation of forces, and still less is it an addi-

tion forced upon us by our losses and absences'; in AGC 317 (1986), p. 14; cf. also GC21, 66

9 D. BOSCO, Regulations for Salesian Cooperators 1876, I

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salesians to dedicate themselves to the specific field of animation; the

layman exercisesan educational role all his own, different from ours

but capable of integration with it.

The Constitutions are referring particularly here to the laity who

panicipate fully in the mission of the SalesianFamily,but are addressed

too to all those lay people who, even though not belonging to our

Family, share with us the responsibility for putting our plan into

effect. Lay people can be valid and necessary collaborators who ef-

ficaciouslycomplement our educational, pastoral and evangelizingwork.

In the common task each one maintains his own identity, because from

this stems the educational and pastoral richness. But it is also indispen- \\

sable to cultivate a mutual communion for reciprocal enrichment. As

the Rector Major wrote: "It is evidently necessary to be able to bring I

about between lay and consecrated persons a true ecclesial commu- I

nion of complementary vocations, founded on Christ, moved by his

Spirit, and nourished by convictions of faith, by mutual witness, and \\

by a concrete and practical choice of tasks. In other words it is a ques-

tion of a deep communion in the same apostolic spirituality".10

The animating role of the Salesians

The salesian community has a particular task in respect of the

educative community as a whole and of each of its members.

The apostolic plan entrusted to the community requires the sale-

sians to take on the role of animators of all the forceswhich collaborate.

This is said explicitlyin art. 5 of the General Regulations which describes

the salesian religious community as the "animating nuc/eusH of the

educative community.

The constitutional text speaks of three specific tasks in this work

of animation: the involvement of all the collaborators, their formation,

and the proposal of a salesian vocation.

10 AGC 317 (1986), p. 14

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- The community of salesians undertakes in the first place to

wekome and encourage their collaboration. With regard to the lay per-

son associated with the community's work, the salesian is called on

to adopt a positive attitUde of welcome acceptance in a family spirit

for the contribution given to the realization of the educational pro-

ject. But that is not sufficient. The authenticity of the welcome and

the sense of belonging to a human group are measured by the degree

of participation. This is a need at the present day of all associations,

and implies a style of involvement in programming and evaluation.

The salesian therefore is asked for a creative and positive attitUde, able

to promote convinced adherence and to open possibilities and space

for active participation.

- But participation means more than a quantitative calculation

of convergent elements. It implies a common and constantly developed

frame of reference, and aims which are shared by all; otherwise it can

end up in harmful conflict. And so the second recommendation comes

in: we give them the opportunity to get a deeper knowledge of the

preventive system and foster the spiritual growth of each one.

The salesian spirit and the preventive system are the key points

in educational and pastoral sharing. No intervention can possibly be

efficacious without a frame of reference that is valid for all and a com-

mon systemof values to put before the youngsters.The preventivesystem

ensures common action and unity of intention; the salesianspirit creates

harmony of heart and feeling.

- The final paragraph of the article extends the formation aspect

to the vocational field. Our lay collaborators are not only oUf.fellow

educators, but are also christians in need of continual spiritUal growth

and of care in the process of their vocational matUring. As salesians,

bearers of a charisma which fosters the growth of individuals to full

maturity in Christ, we feel responsible for sharing our charism first of

all with those who collaborate with us in educational and pastoral work:

lay people have the right to expect, from us encouragement and an

example of holiness.

In particular the text emphasizes the logical consequence of the

path which the salesians and their lay collaborators follow together:

a closer sharing of our mission and of Don Bosco's sPirit in the Sale-

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sian Family. If lay people fipd themselves welcome in a fumily at.l

mosphere and environment, if they are formed to the values of the

preventive system and the salesian spirit, if they feel personally involved

in the great objectives of the education and evangelization of youth,

it is natural that they may wish to join those lay Associations which

Don Bosco himself thought up for uniting all those who wanted to

share in his mission. It is the responsibility of the salesians to foster

the process and suggest to them a salesian vocation. 11

God our Father,

raise up in our communities

able and generous lay christians.

May your Spirit inspire and guide them

in sharing with us the education of young people,

and the advancement of your Kingdom in their hearts.

Help parents to be fully aware of their responsibility

as the first educators of their children.

May j(lith and charity inspire our relationships,

so that we may be able to realize with them

a true Church experience.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.

11Concerning the significance of the Association of Salesian Cooperators for rhose who are in

the mission with us. cf. AGC 317 (1986), p. 19-21

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IART. 48

SOtIDARITY

WITH THE PARTICULAR CHURCH

The community livesand expressesits apostolic commitment within the particular

Church. We become part of itS pastoral action which has the Bishop at its beadl and

the directivesof the BishopsI Conferenceasa springboardforactionon a widerscale.

We offer the particular Church the contribution of our work and salesian

pedagogy, and we receive from it direction and support.

To forge more systematic links we share initiatives with other groups belonging

to the Salesian Family and with other religious institutes.

We are ready to cooperate with civilorganizations working in the fields of educa-

tion and social development.

I cf. CIC, can. 678,1

In the Church

Articles 6, 31 and 44 of the ConstitUtions have already spoken

of our participation in the Church s mission. This article gives special

prominence to the place of our apostolic service in the local Church.

The opening statement emphasizes the rich theological content

of the theme. The Apostolic Exhortation HEvange1ini untiandiH made

the forthright statement: HThisis how the Lord wanted his Church

to be: universal, a great tree whose hrand:Ies shelter the birds of the

air, a net which catches fish of every kind or which Peter drew in with

one hundred and fifty-three big fish, a flock which a single shepherd

pastures. A universal Church withoUt boundaries or frontiers... H .1

HNeverthe1essthis universal Church is in practice incarnate in the in-

dividual Churches made up of such or such an actual part of mankind,

speaking such and such a language, heirs of a cultural patrimony, of

1 EN61

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a vision of the world, of an historical past, of a particular human

substratumH .2

It is in this perspective that the article asserts, as though as a

premise to what comes later, that the salesian community lives and

expresses its apostolic commitment in the panicular Church, echoing

in this way what is said in the document HMutuae relationesH: HThe

particular Church is the frame of history in which a vocation expresses

itself in concrete form and fulfils its apostolic responsibility. It is here,

within the ambit of a definite culture, that the Gospel is preached

and receivedH ,3

Our vocation as salesian religious has a universal character. To

quote HEvangeliinuntiandi Hagain: HTheindividual Churches should

keep their profound openness towards the universal Church. It is quite

ramarkable, moreover, that the most simple christians, the ones who

are most faithful to the Gospel and most open to the true meaning

of the Church, have a completely spontaneous sensitivity to this univer-

sal dimension H .4

HBut, at the same time, a Church 'toto orbe diffusa' would

become an abstraction if she did not take body and life preciselythrough

the individual Churches. Only continual attention to these two poles

of the Church will enable us to perceive the richness of this relation-

ship between the universal Church and the individual Churches H .5

It is in the light of these considerations that we accept the reference

to the Bishop as bearing the first responsibility and the directives of

the Bishops' Conference as indispensable guidelines in our apostolic

action. In fact, the individual Bishops are the visible source and foun-

dation of unity in their own panicular Churches, which are constituted

after the model of the universal Church H .6 For this reason the Coun-

cil recommends religious to collaborate in the various pastoral ministries,

2 EN 62

3 MR 23

4EN64

~ EN 62

6 I.G 23

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due consideration being given to the particular character of each

insti tu te .7

The article makes these exhortations of the Council con,cretefor

us salesians by means of two guiding statements: to be faithful to our

own charism "we offer the contribution of our work and salesian

pedagogy".. and to be attentive to the Church" we receivefrom it direc-

tion and support",

The first point emphasizes the special values we are to bring to

the particular Church: the kind of pastoral activity which is typkal of

Don Bosco and his preventive system,

The second, on the other hand, urges us to accept the guidance

of the Bishops, to enable us to playa consistent part in the combined

pastoral work and to have the whole particular Church behind us in

our own work,

In communion with the groups belonging to the Salesian Family and

with other religious institutes

Within the particular Church our Constitutions emphasize the

fact that if our pastoral service is to be coherent it must be organically

connected with two realities: the Salesian Family and the religious life

as a whole.

- The different groups of the Salesian Family are at the service

of the local Churches just as we are. Don Bosco said, for instance, of

the Cooperators: "The Association will depend absolutely on the

Supreme Pontiff, the Bishops and the Parish Priests in everything ap-

penaining to religion" .8 Don BoscoIScharism is a single unified reality

and must be offered as such in the Church; its visible manifestation

is the Salesian Family, which must be ever more present in the Church

7 CD 35

8 D, BOSCO, Regulatio~s

for Salesian Cooperators

1876, V, 2

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I as a united gtoup. Th~ linkage and cootdination, thetefoce, between

its component groups is important for fostering a better insertion and

I more efficacious salesian service: this is what was already suggested in

art. 5.

- As regards the connection with other institutes of religious /tIe, I

the Church herself has given norms indicating how this is to be done:

it consists in sharing, through appropriate organisms, in common in"

itiatives for the increase of religious life in the Cburch.9 In our case

this is also a precious heritage left to us by the Founder, who was always

attentive to every charism given by the Lord I s Spirit for the good of .

his Church (cf: C 13).

I With this text the Congregation intends explicitly to make its own I

the doctrine of Vatican II on the mystical greatness of the particular

Church and on its pastoral reality, and indicates some practical

consequences.

The organization of any pastoral plan takes place at two levels:

- at the diocesan level in so far as the Church finds its centre of unity

in the Bishop;

- at national or regional level with a group of dioceses which have

social and cultural affinity with each other, and common traditions

of a linguistic, theological and spiritual kind: episcopal conferences

I' are the organisms best suited for the expression of common pastoral

concern at national level, or at regional level covering more than

one diocese.

In the neighbourhood

A fundamental norm of pastoral action is collaboration, based

on common sense and humility.

9 V. the Council's observations on 'Conferences of Major Superiors' in PC 23; cr. also

MR 48. 61

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---

We do not pretend that by ourselves we can solve all the prob-

lems of youth, nor are we so ingenuous as to dissociate these problems

from the intricate overall picture. We know that around us exist

organisms, movements and people who are as zealous as we are

for the integral development of youth. In the article, the horizons of

cooperation become ever wider. Every salesian community wnsiders

it an apostolic duty to collaborate with all the active forces present in

society.

Art. 57 will say that the salesian co~munity is "attentive to the

cultural milieu in which it carries out its apostolic work, at one with

those among whom it lives" and that "it cultivates good relations with

all". If we put alongside this note the brief practical indication in the

present article regarding cooperation with civil organizations working

in the fields of education and social development, there emerges

the image of an apostolic community actively inserted into its neigh-

bourhood, in active interaction with the dynamic factors which

contribute to its development. The community is called to be a centre

with open doors, ready to deal with the collective repercussions of its

activities,committed to participate in the life of the human community

in a give-and-take fashion, and not retreat into its own ivory castle.

The civilorganizations dealing with education and social develop-

ment would seem to be the most suitable 'organisms to which we can

offer our cooperation in fulfilment of our policy of serviceto the young

and the poor. The Rector Major said in his Report to the GC22 on

the state of the Congregation: "It is not humility to have no weight

at national and international level in youth problems".l0

10 GC22, RRM 1978-1983,337; on the insertion of the salesian community into the

neighbourhood, v. "Comunita salesiana nel territorio" (Department of YOUth Pastoral Work,

Rome 1986)

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7.6 Page 66

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God our Father,

by virtue of its apostolic mission

you insert each of our communities in a particular Church.

Grant that under the guidance of the Bishop

and in collaboration with other forces in the Church

we may work with dedication and loyalty for its growth.

Give us the grace of faith, ardour of charity,

detachment from ourselves and zeal for your Will.

May we be able to discern what is true and good,

that we may be able to cooperate with human organizations

for the education and promotion of youth.

Above all, make us generous in our communion

with the other groups of our Family,

so that by all means and in every way

we may contribute to the building in unity of your Church,

the mystical Body of your Son,

who lives and reigns with you for ever and ever.

\\i

442