Missionary Intention
Cagliero11
MAY 2017
SALESIAN MISSIONARY INTENTION
FOR SALESIANS IN AFRICA
That, as prophets of mercy, justice and peace, they may know how to educate the young to the social dimension of charity.
Africa, in many countries, continues to suffer
serious social problems, such as ethnic
divisions, political corruption, the radicalization of the political groups, the lack of equal
opportunities for all and freedom of
expression. It is part of our commitment to
education and evangelization to propose
itineraries of faith that will lead our young
people to be, in their context, brave citizens
who are builders of a more just and fraternal
society, credible witnesses of reconciliation
and peace
IN THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY FATHER’S PRAYER INTENTION
- April 2017
Newsletter for Salesian Missionary Animation
A Publication of the Missions Sector for the Salesian Communities and Friends of the Salesian Mission
This month, where Holy Week blossoms out into Easter, we also see the blossoming of several years of reflection on the First Proclamation of Jesus Christ, a reflection made in the course of 8 Study Days spread over five continents. At Cachoeira do Campo, Brazil, from 23 to 30 April we shall hold the first regional seminar of missionary animation and formation, in collaboration with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. The aim is to understand, deepen and assimilate the theme of First Proclamation. We shall also look for a concrete, educative pastoral path to make it systematic. We wish to consolidate within the provinces the practice of this First Proclamation of Jesus Christ in the various sectors of our presences.
This seminar in Brazil will be followed by others: in Thailand, for Asia and Oceania, from 13 to 20 August; In 2018, at Fatima, for Europe, from 04 to 11 March; and finally for Africa, at Johannesburg, from 12 to 19 August. Announcing the Risen Lord in all the various cultures of the world is the compelling and on-going mission of the Church. We need to announce him in the context of rich cultural traditions through mutually enriching dialogue; in contexts that are strongly secularised, but with a great hunger for spirituality and a search for a meaning in life; in contexts of wide openness to the Good News; in contexts of a certain weariness within Christianity, with a need for fresh vitality. All these contexts are a part of the human reality of today. They are all in continuous evolution, and not bound within defined geographic boundaries.
We offer the world, particularly the young, our witness of a happy and coherent evangelical life, and a rich and generous love. These give rise to the question, “What urges you to live this way?” Only pastoral wisdom can enable us to respond to this “opening of the door” with the “logic of faith” such as, “In the footsteps of Don Bosco, we too are, all of us and on every occasion, called to be educators to the faith. Our most sublime knowledge is, therefore, that of Jesus of Jesus Christ; and our greatest joy is to reveal to everyone the unfathomable richness of his mystery.” (Const. 34) There are so many “mission lands” in our playgrounds, our corridors, our classrooms, our workshops, our offices, where we spend the whole of our day. Each of them call out to us for one or another form of First Proclamation in all its fullness. The book “First Proclamation” will soon reach your provincial house. It is a tool of formation. Hopefully it will motivate you to face the challenges of being a missionary today.
Alleluia! The Lord Jesus, on his third day in the profound darkness of death, hears the joyful call of the Father to return to life. This is the fundamental reason why every Salesian community also learns to shine forth the joy of his call, to shine forth the joy of the Risen One.
We are reminded of the missionary appeal from the Rector Major on 8 December of last year. He said, “The mission to evangelize the world demands of us, the Salesians of Don Bosco, to go beyond, to be more open, to respond to so many requests that keep coming to us continuously from the Church for an evangelizing mission in various places and among so many peoples.” The light of Easter makes us understand that this mission of evangelization is a response. All peoples of the world, especially the youth, have the right and a thirst for the Good News of the Lord, the conqueror of sin and death.
Dear confrere – young and not so young – you are still in time to write to the Rector Major (afartime@sdb.org) your letter expressing your availability for the mission ad gentes, ad exteros, ad vitam. The 148th Salesian Missionary Expedition of next September is already almost ready! Only YOU are missing! Happy Easter! Fr. Guillermo Basañes, SDB Councillor for the missions
Congratulations, Cagliero11!!! We have hit a century – No.100! This simple bulletin of missioinary animation is published in Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, Russian, Ukranian, Slovakian, Czech, Cantonese Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Polish, German, Japanese, Khasi and so many other languages. It is simple and familiar, but an incisive instrument of missionary animation. Salesian Missionary Intention There are many ways of ‘giving one’s life’ for the young. One is to pray for them, with the greatest love possible. To ask that they respond generously, each to his vocation, is to ask something bigger and better for someone who is beginning life. Then if the call is to leave their nets and follow the Lord through total consecration to him, there is no greater treasure or more precious pearl on this earth that they can bind their heart to. But the positive response remains a mystery hidden where the grace of God encounters the freedom of each person: prayer remains the main means of vocation promotion.
For Salesian Vocations That every Salesian community may radiate the joy of being called by the Lord.
I t was my grandmother who gave birth to my vocation to be a missionary among indigenous peoples. She had indigenous blood and, hence, I had a closeness to them right in my genes.
I was born at Manaus. We migrated to the interior, where we lived eight years surviving through hunting and on the fruits we cultivated. We had to walk four kilometers to attend Mass. An Italian priest used to preside. When I completed primary school my family returned to the city. There, at the age of 14, I started learning Catechism and began to help at liturgical functions. I heard about the Salesians from the “good nights” my father used to give us. He had studied in a Salesian school at Rio Negro.
After secondary school I tried out a vocational experience as a volunteer in a social project called “Don Bosco For Minors”. I remember very well a statement by the provincial of the time. He told me and another young person, “We need young people to work among the indigenous peoples of Rio Negro ...”. These words left a deep mark on me.
In 2006, during my regency, I started working among the Yanomami in Maturacá.
That year, together with my community, I carried out several activities among these indigenous young people and their families: oratory, education, catechesis, .... .
After this rich experience among the Yanomami I went on to study theology at Ratisbonne, Jerusalem. In 2013 I was sent to the indigenous people of river Marauiá. I accepted this obedience with great joy.
I have now been working four years with the Yanomami. I am the director of a school. Since two years my teachers and I do the pastoral work of catechizing people. I think my motto at my ordination and religious profession have a lot to do with my missionary vocation to work among the indigenous. “I am here; send me” (Is 6,8) was my motto at my religious profession. “Thy will be done” was my motto at my diaconate; “The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep” (Jn 10,11) at my priestly ordination.
I do face some challenges: the lack of Salesian missionaries in this area; some organizations in our region block the work of the Salesians, wanting to turn the indigenous against us; the scarcity of material means to develop the mission among the Yanomami and other ethnic groups of the area; the enormous distances from one community to the next.
I look back at the years I have spent in the Salesian Missionary Province of the Amazon and my greatest joy is to watch the fruits of the hard work of our Salesians. So many of them dedicated their lives to this indigenous mission. The seeds of the Incarnate Word were already present in the hearts of these people. The missionaries woke them up and made them sprout.
Today we are a part of the history of these indigenous peoples. We shall continue to sow seeds that will bear abundant fruits in this region of Rio Negro in the form of good Christians and honest indigenous citizens.
On the occasion of the Salesian Missionary Day 2017 I wish to leave a message to young people: do not be afraid to say “YES” to working among indigenous peoples. They need your presence among them to share the knowledge of various cultures.
Come without prejudices. Discover the wealth of the indigenous peoples. It is possible for all of us to live in harmony, respecting the cultures of each other. We can share our knowledge if we are humble of heart. Do not afraid to learn from a new experience of cultural sharing and an experience of the Lord, in the Salesian spirit of Don Bosco.
P. Lázaro Santos, sdb Rector of the Salesian Mission - Maturacá River. Indigenous State School “Imaculada Conceição”- Amazonas ; BRAZIL
Witness of Salesian Missionary Sanctity Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni SDB, Postulator General for the Causes of Saints
Venerable Mons. Octavio Ortiz Arrieta (1878-1958), the first Salesian of Perù, bishop of Chachapoyas. In his first pastoral letter of 1922 he addressed the faithful of his diocese thus: “If you are the father of the family, educate your children in the holy fear of God. Do not forget that in this sweet temple of the family you are the priest of the Most High. There, you are the one entrusted with preaching and piety. Let religion be what forms the tender hearts of your children, if you wish to see them grow up wise and healthy, useful to religion and to the nation, and one day, happy inhabitants of heaven.” “MY GREATEST JOY IS TO KNOW THAT THE SEED IS GIVING FRUITS ”
Salesian Missionary Intentions
in the light of the Holy Father’s Prayer Intentions for 2017
JANUARY
FOR ALL SALESIANS
That they may always and everywhere be men of the Church and of unity.
FEBRUARY
FOR SALESIANS IN THE AMERICAS
That they may keep alive in their hearts the love of Jesus for poor youth.
MARCH
FOR SALESIANS IN THE MIDDLE EAST
That Salesians may continue to be signs of faith and hope among the persecuted Christians of the Middle East.
APRIL
FOR SALESIAN VOCATIONS
That every Salesian community may radiate the joy of being called by the Lord.
MAY
FOR SALESIANS IN AFRICA AND
MADAGASCAR
That, as prophets of mercy, justice and peace, they may know how to educate the young to the social dimension of charity.
JUNE
FOR SALESIANS WHO WORK IN
CONFLICT AREAS
That they may be Builders of Peace through the weapon of “education” and the proclamation of the “Prince of Peace”
JULY
FOR SALESIANS IN EUROPE
That Project Europe, a missionary project of the Congregation, may bear abundant fruit.
AUGUST
FOR SALESIANS IN OCEANIA
That they may share with the young the beauty of their vocation.
SEPTEMBER
FOR THE 148 TH MISSIONARY EXPEDITION
That every Salesian may be a missionary according to the heart of Don Bosco.
OCTOBER
FOR SALESIANS IN VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRES
That vocational training centres continue to be schools of development and Christian humanism in the world of work.
NOVEMBER
FOR SALESIANS IN ASIA
That they may be builders of communion in diversity.
DECEMBER
FOR OLD AND SICK SALESIANS
That they may continue to radiate the joy of their vocation call and be intercessors for abundant graces of the Lord for the Salesian mission.
