Fr. Miguel Ángel García Morcuende • The Salesian Shepherd Educator in the Educative and Pastoral Community
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signs and bearers of the paternal presence of
God in the EPC and, in particular, among young
people.
The “pedagogical love”, “the system of
kindness”, “gentleness of St. Francis de
Sales”, “pedagogy of the heart” refer to the
Preventive System, in particular to that set
of attitudes and practical indications that
are related to loving kindness, which goes
beyond the gesture of friendliness. It always
underlies the pastoral charity that seeks the
salvation of young people, manifested
through recognisable affection tempered
by reason. And this applies especially to
young people, but also to the laity.
It implies, above all, a pastoral “heart”: the
will, the drive, the desire to work, to find enjoy-
ment in pastoral undertakings, to be available,
to give oneself with a joyful heart, to feel drawn
towards those most in need, to consider every
effort proportionately, to overcome small frus-
trations easily, not to give up, to face risks and
difficulties as if they were small things, to
“begin new processes with enthusiasm and
creativity” (Evangelii Gaudium, n. 222).
[c] Living pastoral charity means fighting
against the “enemies” within us. There is always
something to improve, something to free us
from, which leads to a loss of passion for the
mission, intimately linked to the fear of change,
the difficulty of adapting to new languages and
the lack of courage to take risks (to get out of
our comfort zone). All of this is the manifesta-
tion of the “charismatic chill”, which limits the
prophetic response and, consequently, gives
rise to pastoral withdrawal.
Sometimes an identity crisis arises in some
brothers when they no longer have a specif-
ic position of responsibility within the Work
(due to physical and/or mental aging or ill-
ness). In the EPC, it is not always easy for old-
er members to get involved and participate,
unfortunately forgetting that these brothers
enrich our houses with their experience, their
prayer and the offering of their lives.
However, we are convinced that in any situ-
ation we express our consecrated “being” in our
“being” among young people (“sacrament of pres-
ence”), giving priority to the poorest. In other
words, the SDB, with his weaknesses and in
spite of them, must wholeheartedly enter into
the depths of the youthful condition, especial-
ly where there is most need and abandonment.
For this reason, each one, when reviewing his
personal project, must question himself about
his sensitivity to the dramas and urgencies of
society, especially the reality of children and
young people who suffer the most from injus-
tice and its consequences.
In the words of Pope Francis: “to bear wit-
ness that Jesus is suffices for us and that the
treasure with which we wish to surround our-
selves is made instead of those who, in their
poverty, remind us of and represent Him: not
the abstract poor, statistics and social cate-
gories, but real people whose dignity is
entrusted to us as their fathers. Fathers of
real people; that is paternity, the capacity to
see, concreteness, the ability to caress, the
ability to weep (Address to bishops partic-
ipating in a training course organized by
the Congregation for Bishops and the Con-
gregation for Oriental Churches, 12 Sep-
tember 2019).
2.2. Taking the Side of Young People by
Working for an Organic Pastoral Ministry
Youth culture is a place inhabited by God and
in need of SDBs, who are able to enter into it,
to know its dynamics in depth and to rewrite
the Gospel in a new and different way, so
that it is accessible and valid for them. The
first responsibility of an educator/evangelis-
er is to define reality with a concentrated, sus-
tained, deep gaze.
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