By Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB
My dear confreres, Salesians of Don Bosco,
I am addressing you today, telling you what I said during the General Chapter: “now is the hour for the 28th General Chapter”
The second action guideline for the entire Congregation says as follows: “it is urgent that we really put the DA MIHI ANIMAS CETERA TOLLE into practice.” It is in this very place that Don Bosco took the young Dominic Savio in. Our father was a young, 34-year-old priest, speaking with Dominic Savio, and at the end Dominic said:
“Ah Don Bosco, I understand; here you do business not with money but with souls.”
This is the point, my dear confreres.
For us, really at all times but especially today given the situation of our world, what is urgent for our Congregation is great clarity and energy in the evangelisation of the boys and girls of our Salesian Family. And for this we need all our creativity, our considerable understanding of cultural and religious situations, ever ready to present Jesus, in all freedom, and propose to young people that they can truly and strongly cling to him, and also see us as witnesses who speak with the life of this great treasure we bear, which is God and our faith in God.
It is more urgent than ever today that we have the ability to accompany the growth processes of our youngsters. We are well aware that Don Bosco was a great teacher of accompaniment – simply and profoundly and in his own way – of the human and spiritual growth of all his youngsters.
Therefore, I say to myself, when at times we talk about difficulties, vocational proposals, our response in certain parts of the world, I tell myself clearly: This is the road to follow! We know this!
Don Bosco was the first to show us, as he did with Dominic Savio and all the boys in the Oratory, that this was the way: living with human growth, but always with a courageous proposal of faith for his boys, along with prayer and the sacraments.
So, my dear confreres, once again I invite you come to a deeper understanding of this everywhere in the world. At this hour of our 28th General Chapter, it is urgent, throughout the Congregation, that we vigorously put the “DA MIHI ANIMAS CETERA TOLLE” into practice.
