EAO Provincial meeting 2018 - Day 1

By Our Own Correspondent

Dili, Timor Leste, 6 March 2018 -- The first full day of the EAO 2018 Provincial and Delegates meetings started in the Dili – Comoro Blessed Artemide Zatti postnovitiate chapel with the Eucharist presided by the youngest provincial, Fr. William Matthews (AUL).

Traditionally the first two morning sessions (90 minutes each) are dedicated to the personal sharing of the Superiors: ‘How are you?’ Through an attentive listening all 20 participants who came together from 15 countries (Australia, Samoa, China-Hong Kong, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Timor Leste and Pakistan) all participants were enriched. Few highlights from their sharing:

Listening to the Salesians, helps me to witness God’s work, the power of the resurrection in the confreres, it’s the first gift and ministry of the provincial.

Recently I experience a moment of transformation of one senior confrere who shared: ‘This year I received a grace: God make me aware about my negative attitude, open my eyes.’ Yes, negative judgement is a judgement about God’s action in our life. Before this witness I doubt, that we adult can change and my faith has grown! It reminds me about the conviction of Pope Francis ‘to believe in the power of the resurrection in our life’.

Listening well is the way of accompaniment and we can see a slow progress in our province, also among the rectors the spirit of listening spreading more.

We need to have somebody to have somebody who listen to me. I feel a need of counselling or of regular confessor. I need also attend to my need, more time to be deeply reflective.

Due to fast cultural changes that affects the young Salesians I’m asking: Should I go with you for cycling or to coffee shop to catch up with the younger generation of Salesians?

I’m accompanied by my spiritual director and there are still three predecessors in my province and in complicated situation I go to ask them. It’s a great help!

Collaboration in the council, collegiality and getting feedbacks from the provincial commission heads and the rectors on important issues is very helpful, so my service of shepherding becomes better!

We try to place in each community according this strategy one senior confreres who would become mentor to younger rectors and helps to strengthen our Salesian culture!

Listening to the confreres is important, although they have already an answer before talking to me. Listening there is not problems solving, they know already, but the confreres want to be listened. It’s not about the conclusion and our confreres have a strong need to be listened.

Now after 3 years as shepherd of my confreres I’m now recruiting my confreres as their own problem solving.

It’s a challenge to listen to our confreres coming from 8 different nationalities, how can we overcome the lack of spiritual accompaniment amongst us?

For past few years as provincial, I’m praying every day for each confrere, especially for the difficult ones, sick or those in difficult situation of mission or finances.

For the reshaping the provincial is not enough, we need also to listen to our lay mission partners, not only to the Salesians. And it’s not easy to listen to them. They criticize our Salesians, rectors or principals of the school. For me it’s a strong inner purification.

This Strenna 2018 will help us a lot, not so much for the youth outside, but for our own confreres they will continue and persevere in own vocation. I have realized that as Delegation we are strong in numbers, but weak in experience. We listen to all superiors and to this wonderful EAO experience.

Afternoon time the Superiors dedicated to the monthly recollection, open with the meditation talk by Fr. Lanfranco Fedrigotti (CIN) – recollection on the Samaritan Woman story, main motif of the Rector Major’s Strenna 2018, Gospel of John, chapter 4. Again the Bible sharing in smaller groups followed the period of silence and meditation.

For the Vespers all participants again gathered in the Postnovitiate chapel and after the prayer listened to the Good night talk give by Fr. Godofredo Atienza (FIS - Southern Philippines and Pakistan delegation), who offered a large inside in the Cebu province present and gave thanks to many who are helping in many ways his provincial community.

Next four days of the 2018 EAO meeting are dedicated to the common sharing about each sector of Salesian life and mission with a special focus to discern most important processes of charismatic growth in our provinces!

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