Handbook|Chap.2

Chapter 2

THE SALESIAN EDUCATIONAL AND PASTORAL PLAN


The Salesian Educative and Pastoral Plan (SEPP) is our guide for adapting the Salesian Youth Apostolate to the various situations and environments in which young people live; through it every project and resource is directed towards evangelization (Cf. Reg. 4). 1



2. QUALIFYING ASPECTS OF THE SEPP


1.1 Purpose of the SEPP


The SEPP is the historical interpretation and operational guide for the same mission in all areas and cultures of the world; it is the inculturation of our charism (CG24, 5).


  • The SEPP is an example of the sort of planning that should guide our mission in all provinces and projects.

  • The SEPP is the result of common reflection on the great doctrinal principals that identify the Salesian mission (frame of reference); it is an interpretation of the real situation; it is a plan of action (educational and pastoral priorities, goals, strategies and criteria for judgement, project planning …) and it is a guide for reviewing results.

  • The SEPP is a guide to the how the provincial and educational pastoral community should evolved in their efforts to adapt the Salesian mission to a specific context.


The primary aim of the SEPP is to assist provinces and communities to work with the same mentality, goals and criteria that make shared responsibility for pastoral work possible. The end result of this process should be a text that can be understood and carried out.


1.2 Characteristics of the SEPP


Since the SEPP is the operational guide for Salesian Youth Ministry it should possess the same fundamental characteristics described in the previous chapter. These characteristics should color every aspect and element of the SEPP. They are the essential features that mark a project as Salesian.


  • The central focus of the SEPP is the young person – especially the disadvantaged young person


The young person is the very center and heart of Salesian Youth Ministry.


  • He must be seen in his totality: body, intelligence, feelings, will; in all his relationships: with himself, with others, with the world at large, with God; he must be considered as an individual and at the same time as part of an environment (collective welfare and commitment to transforming society).

  • He must be seen in the whole existential process of growing as a human being to the point that he encounters Jesus Christ, the perfect Man, and discovers in Him the ultimate meaning of his existence.


For this reason

  • the SEPP directs and guides an educational process in which a variety of experiences, resources and activities are woven together to foster the gradual and all-round development of the young personality;

  • the SEPP indicates the goals, strategies and guidelines that give life to those Christian values and attitudes which constitute Salesian Youth Spirituality (SYS) and the methodology of Salesian education (the Preventive System).


In all of these activities young people who are poor or who are in difficulty should be our priority. This commitment is the hallmark of all aspects and dimensions of SEPP pastoral work.


  • The real situation of the community


Before it was a written document the SEPP was an exercise of community thinking and engagement; it involved clarification and identification aimed at


  • creating cooperation in the EPC (Educative and Pastoral Community) with common criteria, goals and guidelines that eliminated wasted efforts and built a synthesis, a common educational project;

  • creating an awareness of our common mission and mentality in the EPC;

  • becoming a shared frame of reference for our educative ministry that could be used to examine and verify its effectiveness.


The SEPP identifies the EPC and provides it with an instrument for planning; it is at the same time the subject of our educative ministry (Cf. R. 5).

  • Openness to the world of communications


Nowadays we cannot think of the SEPP only in reference to internal Salesian work; every institution and especially every educational institution is part of a vast network of communications with which it must interact and to which it must measure up. One must be conscious of image, of the impression one’s work creates outside the institution, etc. … Publicity can have a positive or a negative effect on educational accomplishments.


For this reason we must develop the SEPP with an awareness of the geographical territory in which a Salesian foundation serves as a point of convergence and an agent of educational transformation; it is equally important that the SEPP take into consideration a non-geographical, but no less real, territory: the world of social communications.


- The SEPP is more than a simple and efficient agenda for internal use; it communicates our mission and spirituality, it involves others in our work;

- The SEPP initiates a dialogue with all the educational, social and religious institutions in the same area;

- The SEPP must make us aware of modern technology as a means to establish relationships, present our message and engage in constructive dialogue with those we cannot see but who are nonetheless very real.


We must think of the Salesian community and apostolate as a network.


All of this is a challenge to educators and to their ability to teach and evangelize in a world dominated by the media:


- they must be trained to use the media;

- they must use the new technologies in their teaching;

- they must develop communication skills;

- they must help the “newly impoverished” – those who are excluded from access to on-line information – to gain access to these resources;


They must do all of these things while developing their own skills in using the media for education (Cf. Letter of the Rector Major, La comunicazione nella missione salesiana, in ACG 370).


Communications, and especially social communications, should characterize all the aspects and dimensions of a provincial SEPP.



1.3 Organic Unity


The SEPP represents the planning aspect of Salesian Youth Ministry. It should be a clear expression of the organic unity of that work. It should unite all the aspects and elements of the Salesian apostolate in a single process with a single goal.


This process consists of four fundamental, mutually related and complementary aspects. We call these aspects the four dimensions of the SEPP. (Cf. Const. 32-37; Reg. 6-9).


The educational-cultural dimension (Reg. 6) and the evangelization-catechesis dimension (Reg. 7) develop the two fundamental aspects of a person: his status as a human being and his vocation to be a son of God (citizen and Christian; educate by evangelizing and evangelize by educating).


The vocational dimension looks to the ultimate goal of the educational and evangelizing process: responding to God’s plan with a responsible choice of life (Reg. 9).


The group/communitarian dimension: this is a characteristic of our style of educating and evangelizing. We work through groups, through involvement in a local area, through promotion and transformation of the world in which we find ourselves, through leadership and animation (Reg. 8).

2. THE DIMENSIONS OF THE SALESIAN EDUCATIONAL-PASTORAL PLAN (SEPP)


These dimensions are the vital content and dynamic of Salesian Youth Ministry; they indicate the ultimate goal towards which we are working. They cannot be absent from any of the activities, works or services in which we are engaged. Their presence must be felt in every facet of the SEPP.


We would like to describe exactly what each of these dimensions involve, what challenges they face, and what choices they oblige us to make to carry out the SEPP effectively.


Although we will describe these dimensions separately, it is important to remember that they form a unity. Each one makes a specific contribution to the whole – and at the same time each one is influenced and nuanced by the others. This organic synthesis is a characteristic of Salesian Youth Ministry.


2.1 The Educational-Cultural Dimension


2.1.1 Specifically


The educational-cultural dimension, integrated with the dimension of evangelization and catechesis, is the very heart of the SEPP.


This dimension is concerned with the all-round educational growth of those we serve; it exemplifies the central importance of the personal development of the young people in a specific human community, in a specific geographical area; this human community is both the subject and the object (agent and the recipient) of a socio-cultural process.


The educational dimension is a characteristic trait of our pastoral youth work. This is true because:

  • it involves those we serve; we work with those who need support in their human development;

  • it concerns the content of our work: we take responsibility for education, culture, job training and free time – all of this as part of the faith journey;

  • as far as our method is concerned: we evangelize by educating.


In conjunction with this educational aspect we devote special attention to the world of culture and communications with its new forms of expression, and the challenges we face at this point in history.

2.1.2 Ultimate Goal


Our educational work is directed to developing a person who can accept life as it is and live it well. We seek to develop a person who can face himself, others and society at large with a wealth of values and meaning. He will possess convictions and the ability to judge and interpret events, to make choices and accept responsible commitments (Cf. Const. 32).


This process of personal growth takes place in a specific social and cultural context. Within a given type of cultural heritage, we are not confined to the physical, intellectual or moral education of young people, nor are we limited to helping them acquire jobs and technical skills. We are concerned with instilling a vision of the world and developing a way for them to live as persons. We seek to act as cultural mediators, to help them discern and find their place in their own culture. At the same time we endeavor to promote a positive evolution of human culture towards a synthesis of faith and life.


2.1.3 Challenges We Hope to Meet


Society is becoming ever more complex and at the same time ever more universal. A mass, world-wide, pluralist culture is evolving. Through the mass media values, words and points of view spread with amazing speed. Not infrequently this results in a clash of ideals, values and life-styles.


In this society young people can find themselves isolated in their search for meaning. They can be intimidated by an uncertain future; they try to hold on to the present, to survive, unwilling to make clear long-term commitments. They seem uncertain of themselves, they seem to suffer from low self-esteem. They face the problems of daily life with enormous difficulty; they are pressured to conform, to seek immediate gratification.


The absolute importance and priority of economic concerns causes different forms of poverty. These diverse forms of poverty can assume alarming dimensions and threaten or block human development. Entire human communities suffer forms of anthropological impoverishment.


We are witnessing widespread phenomena such as resignation in the face of seemingly unchangeable situations; withdrawal into a personal and private world – consumerism, indifference, superficiality, drugs – or mindless and sometimes violent rebellion.


But at the same time, we can see new and genuine social forces at work on all sides. There is a search for meaning and identity, a desire for a better quality of life. New values are coming to the fore: the rediscovery of the equal dignity and reciprocity of men and women; solidarity, peace, development, etc.; there is a demand for stable and fruitful inter-personal relationships and mutual respect.


Families and traditional educational institutions are losing the privileged position they once held in helping people grow. The educational shortcomings of institutions (family, school, Church, etc.) increase the sense of uneasiness. The inability of these traditional institutions to speak meaningfully to the young makes them unable to help young people mature, acquire values and overcome superficiality.


2.1.4 Specific Choices to Develop


Promoting the educational-cultural dimension of pastoral work in these circumstances requires emphasis on certain specific tasks.


  • Foster the process of personal and social growth in each young person. This will lead him to full human maturity, make him the protagonist of his own life capable of perceiving the mystery that surrounds him and of seeking out its meaning.


The following are aspects of this process that must find a place in our pastoral and educational projects.

- The young person will come to recognize the positive worth of his person and his life through the experience of teachers who accept him freely and unconditionally; he will learn to see and appreciate his values and his talents.

- The young person should cultivate the different talents and gifts he possesses (physical, athletic, intellectual, cognitive, affective, sexual, social, …).

- The young person should gradually open himself to relationships, to genuine inter-personal communication through growth in the area of affection and sexuality; he should accept the diversity of others, the experience of being part of a community, of friendship in a climate of cheerfulness and collaboration.

- The young person should form his conscience, develop ethical judgement and discernment through serious and critical study of the cultural examples and norms of society, and through developing a Gospel-oriented understanding of life, experience, responsible freedom, commitment and solidarity.

- The young person should search for the meaning of life – he should be open to and long for the transcendent; he should come to see his life in the context of God’s plan. This can be achieved through rich experiences of fullness and of limitation that are shared and internalized. It can be achieved through professional and vocational assistance that will help the young person to plan his life responsibly as a gift and a service to others.


  • Helping young people to accept their culture with criticism and creativity involves the following tasks.


- Help them evaluate the level of culture offered in educational programs and institutions. Its should place greater emphasis on being rather than on having; on people rather than possessions; on ethics rather than technique, economic or political skill; on the community rather than the individual; on the defending life and being open to the transcendent.

- Prepare them to interpret their social and cultural world critically: using as a criterion the central importance of the person in this world.

- Develop communication in all its forms: inter-personal and group communication; the study of languages, the production of messages, the critical and educational use of the media.

- Initiate them into the practice of ethical discernment marked by a Christian vision of the dignity of the human person, of his rights, duties and of the common good.

- Develop the ability to create culture; to play a responsible role in the collective process of transforming reality along the lines of Gospel values.


  • Develop a pedagogy of values that will lead to the personalization of these values. This can be done with the following four-step process.


- Experience a value in a way that makes the young person perceive its value and benefit.

- Understanding and awareness that will make it a part of his existence.

- Repeated exercise that will help to internalize the value.

- Profound motivation that will lead a person to take a chance on this value against all other advantages.


  • Grow in our commitment to justice and peace (Const. 33) and assure an educational process that counteracts the widespread phenomenon of youthful unease; this can be done through systematic involvement with individuals, society, institutions, processes, and human interaction – these are often the causes of this uneasiness. We must pay special attention to the following important elements.


- Our educational environment should provide a family atmosphere of acceptance in which one’s sense of self-esteem can grow and one can overcome attitudes of dependence.

- We must examine the frequently unspoken assumptions that exist in institutions and the educational environment which influence our judgements and decisions.

- We must foster the cultural and technical preparation of the neediest young people in a way that suits their abilities and will allow them to take their normal place in society and work.

- We must pay close attention to individuals and to their diversity; we must assist and direct their professional training and education.

- We must establish regular and frequent contact with parents, with the local area and its institutions, and with those who work in the field of troubled youth.

- We must be committed to the transformation of society – and especially to justice and peace – struggling against everything that promotes or allows poverty, injustice and violence.


  • We must develop a methodology marked by the following elements.


- Our programs must be tailored to fit the personal individuality and background of each young person; we should concentrate more on the young person’s internal resources than on his external conditioning.

- We should favor educational experiences that involve direct and active contact with the real world, research skills and methods, and the ability to see reality from different points of view and different perspectives.

- We should educate by socializing – that is we should see education as a process of relating and communicating; a collaborative and social experience that creates the attitudes and skills necessary for living together and sharing.

- We should take care that all these educational activities come together to form an integrated personality in which all these elements merge and strengthen each other, a harmonious personality in which aspects and aspirations are prioritized according to their importance.



2.2. The Dimension of Evangelization and Catechesis


2.2.1 Specifically


To evangelize young people is the fundamental goal of our mission. Our program is radically open; it’s purpose is to help young people achieve full maturity in Christ (Cf. Const. 31) and grow in the Church. Spiritual formation is the very heart of personal development (CG23, 160). We assist and foster human growth by providing an itinerary of evangelization and education in the faith (CG23, 102-111).


To evangelize is to proclaim the Good News of Christ in every area of society, so that we might transform society from within (Cf. EN 18).


Evangelization is a complex process involving diverse elements (renewal of interior life, witness, explicit proclamation and catechesis, adherence of the heart, entrance into the community, apostolate initiatives …); but the central element of evangelization is the explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ as our only Savior (Cf. EN 24 and Ecclesia in Asia 19).


2.2.2 Ultimate Goal


An education which evangelizes and an evangelization which educates, this is the characteristic of the Salesian youth apostolate. Its ultimate goal is a synthesis of faith and culture in life. This implies

  • Faith must become the central value of the individual and of his world-view;

  • Faith must be critical, open to new educational demands and cultural challenges;

  • Faith must be committed, ready to translate values into practice;

  • Faith must stimulate and deepen the process of humanization; it must nurture individuals and human groups in conformity with the model of Jesus Christ.


To accomplish this, evangelization must do the following:

  • promote and defend openness to religion on the part of individuals, cultures and societies;

  • take the initiative in proclaiming the Good News with words and methods that suit the situation;

  • assist in creating the experience of the faith through an encounter with the Word of God and the celebration of the Sacraments;

  • educate habits of thought and attitudes towards a life plan inspired by faith;

  • our evangelization must be a proclamation of the Good News of Salvation that corresponds to the hopes and problems of young people and to social and collective situations in which they find themselves;

  • establish an appropriate rhythm to our various interventions, without losing sight of our final goal; help focus the attention of the world in which we work by forming groups and leaders.


2.2.3 Challenges We Hope to Meet


Secularization is widespread and it invests fundamental aspects of our life. Religion is gradually becoming something entirely private and subjective; indifference to religion, especially to its institutions, is commonplace. At the same time we are witnessing a new sensitivity to spiritual values and a new search for relationship with the transcendent. This is particularly true among young people. Unfortunately this interest is often little more than subjectivism, syncretism and superstition.

Diverse religious traditions are often found living side by side, and the number of multi-cultural and multi-religious situations is on the increase. On the one hand, this pluralism can lead to sincere, practical dialogue, careful and profound inculturation of the Christian faith and a courageous evangelization of culture; on the other hand it could give rise to a facile syncretism or the tensions and hostility that make evangelization impossible.


Through prayer meetings and a commitment to peace and justice we can cultivate the demand for an interior life, the thirst for spirituality and the desire for dialogue and collaboration in other religious communities



Young people entertain a variety of expectations. Through no conscious choice many find themselves far removed from their faith; their goals and guidelines have little to do with religious values. Others live with a sort of weak religiosity; their religious practices are more or less occasional and dictated by social convention or the desire and need for inner peace and assurance. Their life and faith are not coherent, they have made no personal and mature choices. At the same time there are other groups of committed young people who live their faith in depth.


In each and every one of these young people one can perceive a need for truth, liberation, human growth and the desire, sometimes unconscious, for a deeper understanding of the mystery of God.


How can we cultivate and deepen this desire for God; how can we prepare them for the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus and reawaken in them the desire to know and be with Jesus Christ? How can we teach them to construct a new Christian identity at the same time they are developing human values? How can we be a community whose own faith is believable; how can we communicate this faith in meaningful language within the framework of a new culture?



2.2.4 Specific Choices


  • We must see to it that all the educational elements of our environment, methods and structures are coherent with and open to the Gospel. We must avoid certain tendencies inherent in secular society:


- Only what can be proven rationally is true;

- Only what can be perceived actually exists;

- The ethical is that which is useful;

- The meaning of life depends on the efficiency and functionality of our actions and convictions.


  • We must promote the development of a person’s religious dimension – whether he is Christian or belongs to another religion. We do this by understanding this dimension; purifying it and opening it up to the desire for faith. To accomplish this we must:


- foster those dispositions that are the basis of openness to God (to know how to retreat within oneself; to be silent and listen to one’s inner voices; to be conscious of one’s abilities and limitations; to have a sense of wonder, to appreciate all that is good, great and beautiful within and around oneself; to be open to others and to their diversity, etc. …);

- provide systematic and critical religious education that will enlighten the mind and strengthen the heart ;

- encourage openness, respect and dialogue vis-à-vis other religions (ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue);

- be close to our students and teach them to share and work together, unselfish service and solidarity – these are indispensable pre-conditions for an authentic and liberating religious experience.


  • We must offer the first evangelization that will enable one to live a true, personal faith experience through:

- a meaningful presentation of the person of Jesus;

- direct contact with the Word of God;

- intense experiences of celebration, personal and community prayer;

- encounter and meaningful communication with believers and Christian communities of the past and of the present.


  • We must develop systematic guidelines for education in faith inspired by the values of Salesian Youth Spirituality; the guidelines should lead to a choice of life in the church that reflects these great aspects of Christian maturity:

- human growth that leads to an understanding of life as a religious experience;

- an encounter with Jesus Christ through Word and Sacrament; discovering in Him the meaning of individual and collective human existence;

- gradual entry into the community of believers, the sign and an instrument of human salvation;

- commitment and vocation to the transformation of the world (CG23, 116-157).


  • We must introduce young people into a conscious and active participation in the liturgy – especially celebration of the sacraments of Reconciliation and the Eucharist.


- we should foster their preparation in an atmosphere of hospitality and friendship that encourages them to open their hearts;

- we should celebrate liturgies of quality that lead to a true personal relationship with Christ;

- we should encourage a personal commitment to translate into daily life what one has celebrated;

- we should strengthen closeness to the Lord through personal meetings with teachers and spiritual directors (Cf. CG23, 173-175).


  • We must cultivate a missionary awareness that makes young people:


- believable witnesses and heralds of the faith in their own world;

- active missionaries among their peers – especially those who are distant or indifferent; this can be done through volunteer work, youth movements, mission groups, participation in evangelization projects, etc.

- effective co-workers in the mission “ad gentes” (foreign missions) through correspondence with missionaries, collaboration with concrete mission projects, and possible volunteer work in the missions,

- responsive to a possible missionary vocation in the Church.



2.3 The Vocational Dimension


2.3.1 Specifically


The individual, in the singularity of his existence, is at the center of our program of education and evangelization. It is aimed at helping him carry out his own life’s work in conformity with God’s call (vocation). For this reason the vocation apostolate is always present in every stage, activity and phase of our educational and pastoral work; it is its natural and concrete outlet (Cf. Const. 28; 37).


In our vocation apostolate we should emphasize three aspects:


- guidance for all young people involved in our educational activities;

- constant effort through appropriate activities to discover and foster vocations that show a commitment to society and the Church;

- a particular responsibility to the Salesian Charism in its many forms, displayed in our zeal to discern and foster in young people the seeds of a consecrated or lay Salesian vocation.


These three concerns support and complement each other. They constitute the domain of the Salesian vocation apostolate (Cf. CG21, 110).



2.3.2 Ultimate Goal


Through this dimension of the Salesian Youth Apostolate we intend

  • to help young people face their future with an attitude of availability and generosity,

  • to pre-dispose them to hear the voice of God,

  • to guide them in making their own life plans.


This contribution can be understood in two complementary ways:

- it is an attitude on the part of the subject who takes responsibility for his own existence;

- it is an assistance from an adult who offers the results of his own discernment and experience.


2.3.3 Challenges We Hope to Meet


In making Christian plans for their future young people encounter certain important phenomena.


  • Traditional religious manifestations, values, symbols and practices have undergone social and cultural changes.


- A multi-cultural society with a variety of conflicting messages and examples makes choice and direction in one’s life difficult;

- Secularization and materialism dominate our culture and create a critical mentality more concerned with immediate and utilitarian values than transcendent or altruistic ones; relativism diminishes our sense of morality and weakens our experience of a life of faith.

- Social commitment exists outside the framework of religious motivation.

- Adolescence is prolonged; adult responsibilities are accepted later in life.


  • Other factors influence the psychological and religious attitudes of young people faced with choices:


- the individual considered as an absolute value; the search for meaning in daily life;

- the need for personal experimentation; the desire to share responsibility and work, the need for instant gratification;

- a strong sense of community manifested in the search for communal living and communication; an acute sensitivity to justice, solidarity and service of the most vulnerable;

- a widespread longing for depth, silence, prayer and different forms of religiosity – frequently subjective and fragmentary;

- a psychological tendency to change one’s opinions and judgements, something that makes long term commitment difficult.


  • The lack of meaning or definition displayed by certain vocations in the Church: priesthood and religious life.


- their identity is not clear; their contributions to the human community are not apparent;

- the way these vocations are lived here and now (their human realization, the sort of relationships they impose and exemplify, serenity and certainty in times of trial …) these things don’t enjoy much credibility; they are not the sort of lives that attract others.


Faced with a world of young people that is both complex and contradictory, the vocation apostolate frequently veers back and forth between two extremes. Either it ignores the dynamics of psychology and offers prospects that neither challenge nor interest, or it is too timid offering no serious challenge or possibility for advancing one’s vocation; it limits itself to short-term experiences and avoids life-long decisions.



2.3.4 Specific Choices


In these circumstances:


  • Our vocational apostolate must be founded on the vocational quality of our community in its entirety and of our teachers. The witness of their life and the spirit with which they live their own vocation will be the most effective means for helping young people to make generous and conscious plans for the future.


- Our community must cultivate an attitude of confidence and openness to God’s gift; it must pray assiduously for vocations.

- There must be a profound renewal of the Christian life of our communities and of their hospitality and readiness for dialogue; they must be present among young people so that their vocational choice becomes a valid example with which the young can identify;

- We must increase the sensitivity of first our confreres and then all our communities, the Salesian Family, our Teaching Communities so that the direction and cultivation of vocations becomes the ministry and responsibility of the whole community and not just the work of those who are appointed as local or provincial vocation directors;

- We must take advantage of those of our confreres or lay associates who are especially gifted in guiding and attracting possible vocations.


  • Our vocational apostolate must be part of our process of education in the faith. It is the point where all our educational and evangelical efforts come together.


  • We should offer Vocation guidance through


- professional and educational guidance adjusted to age and circumstance that will help a young person to discover his own talents and to use the gifts he has been given;

- an educational atmosphere where there is meaningful witness of people living their lives as a vocation;

- information about possible careers in the world and in the Church (meetings, talks, experiences, etc., …);

- the chance to do volunteer work among the needy – a way of fostering generosity and the willingness to help;

- personal direction and contact for all the young people who express a desire for it.


  • We should present clear and explicit examples though


- contact with meaningful personal and community witness from the present and the past as well;

- intense spiritual formation through training in prayer, hearing the Word of God, and taking part in the sacraments, the liturgy and Marian devotions;

- taking active part in the life of the Church community through apostolic groups and movements, areas considered especially favorable to the growth of Christian life and vocation;

- study of the theme of vocations at the various stages of religious education, especially during adolescence and youth;

- a personal invitation to follow one’s vocation;

- direct contact with a community involved in vocations.


  • We should practice progressive and accurate discernment in the community following specific guidelines: direct contact, dialogue, visits, prayer and mediation for awareness of God’s call, willingness to share the community’s apostolic commitment.



  • Our vocational apostolate must be personalized. It must try to reach each individual in a way that corresponds to his own experience, to the world in which he lives and the just needs of his community:



- We must offer concrete educational and pastoral guidance animated by the Educative and Pastoral Community (EPC) within the framework of the Salesian Educative and Pastoral Plan (SEPP);

- We must provide possibilities for dialogue and encounter with individuals, groups and families;

- We must provide occasions for deeper spiritual experience and personalization (retreats, days of recollection, etc.);

- We must provide systematic spiritual direction.


  • Our vocational apostolate must be coordinated especially with the family, the local Church and other groups in the Salesian Family.


- We should share common theoretical and practical guidelines;

- Our concern should be the general good of the Church and not our particular objectives;

- We should offer our experience and specific charism in guiding and promoting vocations;

- We should animate and sensitize families to vocations.


2.4 The Group/Community Dimension


2.4.1 Specifically


The experience of group/community is one of the most important insights in the Salesian youth apostolate process of education and evangelization.


The Preventive System requires an intense and open atmosphere characterized by fraternal and friendly relationships in which all are engaged. It is a communal form of human and Christian growth. The affectionate presence, solidarity, leadership and stimulus of educators constitute its life-blood. It promotes every constructive form of work and collaboration with others; it is a concrete initiation into civil and ecclesial community commitment (Const. 35, Reg. 8).

The group/community dimension is an expression of a person’s own social dimension and is a fundamental characteristic of Salesian education and evangelization. The youth group is not just a means to reach the mass of young people, it is the locus of the educational and pastoral relationship where teachers and students live together like a family in mutual trust and open their hearts to each other. It provides an atmosphere in which one can experience Salesian values and in which education and evangelization can take place. It is a place where the young people themselves can be encouraged to become the principal agents of their own formation.


2.4.2. Ultimate Goal


Through our group/communitarian program we hope to achieve the following results.


Develop the ability to perceive and live in depth the value of other people and of community as a network of interpersonal relationships;

Grow in the readiness to share and play an active role in one’s environment;

Direct one towards social commitment; teaching responsibility for the common good;

Deepen the experience and understanding of Church as communion and service;

Discover and bring to maturity one’s vocation decision in the context of society and the Church.



2.4.3 Challenges We Hope to Meet


Young people look for groups in which they can satisfy their desire for personal communication and their need for independence and belonging. Sociology has shown the importance of this factor – peer group membership – to an understanding of the behavior and choices of young people.


Relationship and belonging are a complex affair in our society. Our views and life-choices are pluralist. The messages and values society conveys are often fragmentary. These are but some of the elements which effect the phenomenon of community in our times. There are many forms of joining and belonging; the plurality of sometimes mutually contradictory ideas and values can lead to breakdown and fragmentation. Nonetheless the need to create a living space for young people persists. A space where young people can grow and develop their own identity; a place where they can experience Christianity and the Church in a meaningful way.


2.4.4 Specific Choices


If we are to cultivate this dimension we must make certain specific choices.


  • Group Option


The group is the hallmark feature of our associative/community program. We see the group as the most effective place in which to build character; it is the place in which one can search for answers about the meaning and reason of life; it is the place in which one can exercise creativity and learn to be open to society and to the world that surrounds one; it is the ideal place to experience the Church.


In practical terms the group option implies the following.


- We must look upon the group in which a young person lives as his most important experience of belonging; being a part of larger groups supports this experience;

- Groups must be allowed to chart their own course; they do this by taking into consideration the members of the group, as well as the society and local Church in which they live;

- Respect the qualities and contributions of leaders who arise in the group;

- Pay particular attention to new forms of youthful association, especially volunteer work and groups of conscientious objectors; these are valuable options for peace and the service of others.


  • Open to all young people – they are the real protagonists of this work


We must


- create a wide variety of programs and environments that extend a broad welcome to young people of different ages and interests;

- start from the point in which young people find themselves and the expectations which they express and move at a rate that respects their abilities;

- offer to the more sensitive and committed, serious programs that will help them grow in faith and in their social and apostolic commitment.


  • For the purpose of educating


Education is not just one among many basic dimensions in this program it is the inspiration that guides and embraces all the other dimensions.


In practical terms this education option involves:

- providing different level groups based on age and particular needs; all of these groups are linked by progressive and ongoing programs (boys, adolescents, young men);

- paying special attention to vocation and Christian commitment groups; they are the cream of our group work;

- providing constant training and formation for teachers and leaders;

- providing special occasions for intense communal living (retreats, camping, all –day get-togethers); these occasions reinforce and give renewed impetus to a group’s Christian and community commitment;

- making performance, teaching efficacy and youth activities the object of reflection and review in the Educational community.


  • Style of Animation


Within the framework of our particular educational goals we should opt for a style of animation that involves the following elements.

- We must consider the human person relying on his own internal resources as capable of commitment and responsibility in those processes which concern him;

- Our methods must emphasize the positive: the riches and potential each young person has within himself; we must find a way to cultivate these gifts;

- We must adopt a style in daily life that assists young people – suggesting, motivating, helping to grow; our relationships must be liberating, beneficial and strong;

- Our ultimate and universal goal must be restoring to each person the joy of living fully and the courage to hope.


Animation has a human face, that of the animator. He plays a specific and indispensable role. This role may differ in particular situations and groups, but displays certain constant features.

- He will encourage the formation of groups and their progress in carrying out their search, performing their activities and realizing their ideals;

- Through his skill and experience, he will help the group overcome its crises and establish personal relationships among group members;

- At opportune moments he will join the young people in their search for new perspectives in thought and action;

- He will promote communication between groups; encourage the groups to be open with each other;

- He will assist individual group members in the process of reaching human and Christian maturity;

- He will introduce the perspective of Christ in discussions of plans and problems within the group.


  • Linked to the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM)


Individual young people, groups, youth associations that share the Salesian spirituality and methods but maintain their organizational autonomy are implicitly or explicitly part of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM).


Groups work together and are linked to each other in the local Educational community. Through this local community they interact and enrich each other; together they create a culturally vibrant climate that is marked by Christian commitment. This interaction will be more widespread on a provincial and inter-provincial level. Groups will be encouraged to communicate and exchange ideas; this will assure their impact in the local area and their involvement in the local Church (CG23, 275-277).


  • Involvement in Society and in the Church


The youth group is one way of opening up and building an Educational and/or Christian community that is actively engaged in the world around it. For this reason we would encourage the following.

- Within the Salesian Youth Movement, groups and group leaders should communicate and establish contact with each other;

- They should take an active part in the educational community;

- Adults should become involved – especially parents who can make valid contributions to an enriching exchange of ideas.


Youth groups should find an outlet in society and in the Church that is consistent with their vocational purpose. Salesian group work should promote:

- the preparation and assistance that enables a young person to take part in the life of society, to assume moral, professional and social responsibility, and to cooperate with all those who are trying to build a more worthy society for mankind;

- active involvement in civil society through groups that promote the common weal in a democratic society;

- involvement in the Church, living that vocation which formation has led on to discern and embrace;

- a definitive choice of Salesian spirituality open to the possibility of a “lay, consecrated or priestly vocation for the benefit of the whole Church and of the Salesian Family” (Const. 28).



3. CONCLUSION


Together these four dimensions constitute the internal dynamic of Salesian Youth Ministry.


- The educator encounters young people at the point in which he finds them; he encourages and assists them to develop all their human resources to the point that they are open to the meaning of life and the search for God;

- He directs them towards an encounter with Jesus Christ and the transformation of their life according to the Gospel;

- He brings their experience of the group to maturity, to the point that they can see in the Church the communion of believers in Christ, and become themselves fervent members of the Church;

- He helps them discover their own vocation in the over-all commitment to transforming the world in the light of God’s plan.


For these reasons:

  • these four dimensions are inseparable; each one conditions the other to the extent that one cannot develop one without explicit reference to the other three;

  • the unity and inter-related nature of these dimensions must be apparent in the goals and strategies of the SEPP of every province activity to the extent that each activity becomes a part of a common process of human and Christian growth;

  • an individual work, because of its nature or the needs of those it serves, may have a SEPP that emphasizes one particular dimension - dimension of education for schools, evangelization for parishes … but it must never lose sight of the essential elements in the other dimensions.



Suggested bibliography for further study


VECCHI J., Pastorale giovanile una sfida per la comunità ecclesiale, LDC Leumann, (Torino) 1992, Parte quarta: Le dimensioni fondamentali del Progetto educativo, capp. 1-7, pp. 201-314.


VECCHI J., - PRELLEZO J.M. (a cura di), Progetto educativo pastorale. Elementi modulari, LAS, ROMA 1984. In particolare, si suggerisce:

Parte Prima:

Cap.2: NANNI C. (ed.), Educazione, o.c., pp.26-37.

Cap.3: GROPPO G. (ed.), Evangelizzazione e educazione, o.c., pp.38-49.

Parte Terza:

Cap.20: VECCHI J., (ed.), Orientamento e pastorale vocazionale, o.c., pp.242-256.


ISTITUTO DI TEOLOGIA PASTORALE - UPS, Dizionario di Pastorale Giovanile, LDC, Leumann (Torino) 1989. Tra le voci tematiche, si suggerisce:

TONELLI R. (ed.), Associazionismo, o.c., pp.79-87.

TONELLI R. (ed.), Educazione/Pastorale, o.c., pp. 290-297.

TONELLI R. (ed.), Gruppo, o.c., pp. 415-418.

DE PIERI S., (ed.), Vocazione, o.c., pp. 1132-1144.


DICASTERO PER LA PASTORALE GIOVANILE SALESIANA, Il progetto educativo-pastorale delle ispettorie salesiane. Raccolta antologica di testi. Dossier PG. Esperienze a confronto 9, Roma 1995, pp. 11-158.



1 The sixth chapter will speak about methodological guidelines.