Titolo notiziario Nome società N. 68 - August 2014 Newsletter for Salesian Missionary Animation A Publication of the Mission Department for the Salesian Communities and Friends of the Salesian Mission Dear friends, The worldwide celebrations of the bicentennial of the birth of our dear father Don Bosco have began. Our missionary antennae are attentively directed to Becchi.
We contemplate the child born there: Johnny.
Since the birth of this child, like every child, there is “a movement to wards the outside.” He had to “go out” too from Becchi, because of the extreme poverty and family tensions.
“He went out”, to build his dream and become the father of a new fam ily, a missionary family. From Bec chi ... to Australia! The celebration of this 200 th birthday also means returning to our mission ary roots.
We live this jubilee, therefore, from the Salesian missionary perspective.
May the solemn conclusion of these celebrations on August 15, 2015, find the sons of Don Bosco “bruised, hur ting and dirty because they have been out on the streets, rather than being unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to their own secu rity” (see Pope Francis, EG 49): “Let us go out, then, let us go out to offer everyone the life of Jesus Christ!” This is the best birthday gift we can offer to our dear Johnny! Happy Feast! Fr. Guillermo Basañes SDB Councillor for the Missions The cry of the missionary heart The cry of the missionary heart The cry of the missionary heart of Don Bosco: of Don Bosco: of Don Bosco: “Da mihi animas!” “Da mihi animas!” “Da mihi animas!” “ A closer look at the missionary thrust of Don Bosco reveals that it is but the ulti mate fruit and liveliest manifestation of his missionary zeal to make Jesus known. This apostolic passion is the dynamism which underpins all his initiatives. In fact, if we examine closely his ministry to young people, it is easy to realise that this was deeply permeated by his passion for preaching the Gos pel: During the outbreak of cholera in 1854 Don Bosco challenged his best boys to look beyond the safe con fines of the Oratory and go and help those stricken with cholera. Dominic Savio’s dream-vision of the Pope bring ing the light of faith to England reflects the missionary spirit that reigned in the Oratory. “Don Bosco’s ora tory” stressed Fr Vigano, “is conceived with a missionary perspective for young people without a parish.” This missionary zeal – synthesised in Da mihi animas – was the animating dynamism which cuts across all his initia tives.” (Missionary Formation of the Salesians of Don Bosco, p.52-53) Salesian Missionary Intention Salesian Missionary Intention Salesian Missionary Intention Salesian Missionary Intention All previous issues of "Cagliero 11" are available at purl.org/sdb/sdl/Cagliero I am from a family of six children, two boys and four girls and I am the fifth born. I was not brought up in a very catholic envi ronment though I was bap tized very young. I made my first Holy Communion only when I was already seventeen years old. Until then I knew nothing about religious life nor the priest hood. But when I entered the Oratory of Don Bosco for the first time, I met the Salesians who mixed with us young people. I was shocked to see Euro pean priests playing, joking, jumping and even eat ing with poor dirty kids. It looked funny as well as strange for me. At first I could not understand why these foreigners were doing this. But I did not have the courage to approach to ask them since I was new in the Oratory. Slowly their very simple style of life and their way of welcoming the young be came a powerful inspiration and attraction for me. Soon I really desired to be one of them.
That’s how my Salesian mission ary vocation was born. As a young Salesian I expressed my desire to give myself at the ser vice of the Lord as a missionary anywhere He wants to send me.
Thanks be to God that my appli cation was accepted by the Rec tor Major.
I am very grateful that I was able to attend the Course for the New Missionaries in Rome and Turin. It was a wonderful opportunity to understand better the dynamics of mission, about the Church and Don Bosco and his charism. The experience truly strengthened my vocation and my commit ment to be with the young throughout my life. Dur ing the Course I lived with and shared with fellow new missionaries. I also met so many Salesian mis sionaries with so many years of missionary experi ence. I learnt a lot from the experiences they shared. Thanks to the Course I was informed and prepared to face the challenges of the missionary life like the difficulties of languages and cultures.
Forewarned is forearmed! My being a missionary is a fruit of the voca tion promotion in the Province. But being one of the first 2 Malagasy Salesian missionaries some peo ple cannot understand why I decided to leave Mada gascar when we still need missionaries. But our Vice – Province received a lot from other Provinces! Now it is time for Madagascar to contribute in the fulfil ment of Don Bosco’s dream for many young people in other parts of the world.
I am happy and very grateful to work here in Zambia as a missionary together with Salesians from Zambia and other countries. I take everything as gifts from God. It is a blessing to be among the Zambian people who are very kind, welcoming and friendly. I do not find it difficult to be with them even though I still need to work very hard to know the Zambian language and culture.
I would like to remind my fellow young Salesians not to be afraid to respond if they feel God is calling them to be a missionary outside their own country. Do not worry about anything. God is always be there to sustain us! Cl. François de Paul Rakotomalala malagasy, missionary in Zambia For evangelisation in the Australia For evangelisation in the Australia For evangelisation in the Australia --- Pacific Province Pacific Province Pacific Province “I want to help fulfill Don Bosco’s dream for many young people the worldover” The Province of Australia-Pacific has 99 Salesians living and working in 4 countries with 12 temporarily professed confreres (3 Brothers and 9 candidates for priesthood), 12 Brothers, 75 priests and 2 novices, 6 pre-novices (2013 two). 14 Salesian communities (1 in Fiji and New Zealand, 3 in Samoa and 9 in Australia) carrying out their educative and pastoral mission in 8 schools, 10 parishes, youth centres, altogether a wonderful multicultural mosaic of confreres of at least 10 different nationalities.
May Salesians in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa have a daily experience of God, so they may proclaim and share their gift of faith through testimony and procla mation, b b b e it in the more secularised context of Australia or amongst young Pacific Islanders, and may they do so joyfully and enthusiastically.
