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30 - June 2011

Nome societ

Titolo notiziario

Newsletter for Salesian Missionary Animation

Sending missionaries ad gentes

is necessary for the new evangelisation of America
he name of Jesus is unknown to a vast part of humanity and in many sectors of American society. It is enough to think of the indigenous peoples not yet Christianised or of the presence of nonChristian religions such as Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism, especially among immigrants from Asia. This obliges the Church in America to be involved in the mission ad gentes. The program of a new evangelisation on the American continent, to which many pastoral projects are directed, cannot be restricted to revitalising the faith of regular believers, but must strive as well to proclaim Christ where he is not known. Likewise, the particular Churches in America are called to extend their missionary efforts beyond the bounds of the continent. They cannot keep for themselves the immense riches of their Christian heritage. It would be a mistake not to encourage an evangelising effort beyond the continent with the excuse that there is still much to do in America or to wait until the Church in America reaches the point, basically utopian, of full maturity. With the hope that the American continent, in accordance with its Christian vitality, will play its part in the great task of the mission ad gentes, I make my own the practical proposals presented by the Synod Fathers: to maintain a greater cooperation between sister Churches; to send missionaries (priests, religious and lay faithful) within the continent and abroad; to strengthen or create missionary institutes; to encourage the missionary dimension of consecrated and contemplative life; to give greater impetus to mission promotion, training and organisation.
John Paul II, Ecclesia in America no.74

Missions! Cordial greetings during the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. June is dedicated to prayer for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Cordial greetings during the year when we focus our attention on Salesian Volunteer Service for our Salesian Mission Day! The Volunteer service ... is one of the best opportunity to discover Gods call - a statement of the Rector Major at the end of a meeting of the directors of missionary volunteer service of seven Provinces

ear Salesian missionaries and friends of the Salesian

(AUL, ITS, AUS, CEP, PLS, GBR, IRL) in Rome last April 2011. After 45 years of operation Matto Grosso majority of Provinces offer young people the experience as missionary volunteers. Hundreds of young people undergo training during the year. Hundreds of young people leave either for a whole year of volunteer service or for a short period of immersion in the Salesian mission in all continents. For the Province of Ecuador the volunteer service is a first step of the Salesian vocational journey. For the Provinces of Africa, America and Asia, volunteering is an opportunity for Project for Europe, because many of the youth return home after becoming the pillars of youth work in European countries. For communities that accept volunteers, the volunteer programme is a chance to open our lives to young people for 24 hours, sharing with them the Salesian charism. Listening to the testimony of so many young Salesians who started their vocational journey through the volunteer service is moving! (www.sdb.org / AGORA). I invite you to pray that more Salesian communities may be open to volunteers! I invite you to pray that more Salesians learn to 'waste their time in journeying with young volunteers'! I invite you to believe that young people could become great missionaries! Fr. Vclav Klement, SDB
Councilor for Missions

ollowing graduation from university, I came upon, by chance, an advertisement for the Salesian Lay Missioner (SLM) programme of the New Rochelle Province. It was my initial introduction to Don Bosco and his charism. I never forgot a good night given shortly before I left as a missionary volunteer in which we were told that our mission was relatively simple: Being Christ for the young we meet, and looking for Christ in them. I meditated upon those words frequently. On one occasion at the Hogar Maria Auxiliadora, an orphanage run by the Sisters in Cochabamba, Bolivia, in the midst of the chaos on a particularly challenging day, one boy who I still clearly remember gave me a small picture which I quickly accepted and placed in my pocket. Later, I noticed that it was the picture of Jesus which he had cut out from a magazine. Reflecting on that simple gift I am sure those chaotic events of that day would have still occurred, but had I been more aware of Christs presence, the young may have been able to recognise Christ in me. The experiences I had in both Bolivia and Sierra Leone, were certainly grace filled. They were times in which Christ became present to me in a very real way. My Salesian religious vocation itself was fostered, grew and was confirmed while I served as a missionary volunteer for two and a half years. These experiences gave me the courage to respond to my religious vocation with a firm yes. In fact I cannot recall a moment during my vocational discernment where the added desire to serve the Lord in a foreign mission was not present. Naturally as soon as I entered into the novitiate I was only too eager to write to the Rector Major, offering myself to serve as a missionary wherever he wishes to send me. Thus, after my post novitiate studies I was sent to South Africa. During my missionary send off Eucharist the, then, Provincial, Fr. James Heuser stressed that despite the scarcity of vocations, our eyes, like those of Don Boscos, must see further than our current situation, must recognise those in greater need and our hearts must seek ways to assist them, even at the cost of sacrifice. I am ever grateful for the support and generosity of my home Province of SUE! My years of practical training in South Africa provided a wealth of new experiences. I coordinated the youth retreats in our retreat house near Johannesburg as well as the youth ministry team. Though we provide a variety of programs, the primary focus is our five day Love Matters retreat. The course which is a behaviour change program has evolved over the years since its inception in 2001. It is a concrete and practical approach to address the issue especially for teenager who not only are the primary carriers of the virus but they also live in the country with the highest amount of HIV cases in the world. As I continue with my theological studies here in Jerusalem, I look forward to returning to my Vice Province of South Africa to whatever assignment awaits me. The road is bound to be filled with experiences and challenges and opportunities for growth. My prayer turns to remaining available and open to whatever the Spirit presents me. Br. Sean McEwin
Canadian, missionary in South Africa

Through the volunteer programme I discovered my Salesian missionary vocation

Salesian Missionary Intention

For all missionary groups of the South Cone Region
That all the Salesian communities of the South Cone region (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay) find ways how to involve young people in missionary groups, as their contribution to the Salesian Mission Day 2011
The Southern Cone Region celebrated its first convention on Missionary Volunteer Service in May 2010 in So Paulo. The missionary culture of the region includes several groups of the Missionary Childhood Society, missionary groups, with the possibility for young adults to be involved in missionary volunteer service. Let us pray that this movement may reach all the Provinces, so that the invitation of the 26th GC no. 49 may also be realised in this region: "After the example of Jesus love, the Salesians foster the missionary spirit, generously place at the Rector Major's disposal Salesian personnel for missio ad gentes, and encourage missionary vocations among lay people and families."
Send your suggestions and contributions to cagliero11@gmail.com