Advent Recollection & Celebration of Provincial’s Feastday 2016
Tokyo, Japan, 3 December 2016 -- More than 40 Salesian gathered in Tokyo – Chofu for the already traditional Advent recollection organized by the formation commission.
The whole program was programmed in line with the Japan provincial vision ‘To become a province for the poorest youth’. After a welcoming Greetings, all participatns listen to Ms Yuko IIJIMA, of Tokyo – Shimoigusa Salesian parish. Her talk helped all confreres to get in direct touch with the world of marginalized youth of Japan today. She explained how the unemployment (for longer time) brings many youth to live as homeless. Ms Yuko met personally many of those youth and published a book-interview about the juvenile poverty of Japan.
After an examination of conscience and time for confessions, being available also one external confessor - Fr Jaime Coelho (80 years) now the only remaining portoghese Jesuit missionary in Japan.
During the Festive Eucharist – Solemnity of St Francis Xavier – Patron of the Japan Province and Patron of the Missions, Fr Provincial highligthed that with the same missionary zeal of our Patron we can reach the poorest young people of Japan also today. The homilist also pointed some traps on this journey – like the messianic complex, lack of common mission mentality while working for the poor youth. First of all to continue the journey towards the poor youth, deliberated in the Provincial Chapter (June 2016) means to embrace the charismatic preferential option and grow daily with the merciful heart of the Good Shepherd.
Concretely one of the fruits of this Advent recollection is a growth in conviction that the preferential option for the poor youth is posible in all of Salesian schools and parishes in Japan – provided we are living with an open heart for our main destinataries. Each SDB community in Japan does offer daily a special prayer for a spiritual and pastoral conversión of all confreres.
After the Eucharist followed a fraternal dinner and celebrations of joined 61st Birthday and Feastday (8th December) of Fr. Mario Yamanouchi, followed by a simple Academy with songs and music with fraternal felicitations.
