austraLasia 1442
Turin to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and more: "It's much more important to have the fire"
HONG KONG: 11th February 2006: If you were watching the opening of the Turin Winter Olympics last night, you would have noted the way the exciting pageantry represented passion, dynamism and Italianism. Almost in real time, fiery passion and dynamism (and if we can give 'Italianism' a more universal twist according to Don Bosco) were being played out in the East, under the Angel of Arphaxad! "We are sons of a dreamer", the Rector Major told the provincial and his councillors, and later, to Rectors who joined the group, he told them to 'do in Mirabello what you see in Valdocco', Don Bosco's answer to the bemused 23 year old Rua who wondered how on earth he as supposed to be rector at that age. "Well", the Rector Major told them in Hong Kong this morning: "May all of our communities, your houses, be a replica of Valdocco". In that sense then, the coincidence, or divine serendipity of events in Turin and those in Hong Kong this February 10-11 was hard to miss.
In the first part of his meeting with the key leaders-animators of the Salesian community, the Provincial Council offered an overview of the province, highlighting the important gains and occasional difficulties. There have been important strategic changes in the mission, a sense of greater vitality in schools, parishes and youth centres, even if the schools face new and not easy challenges - finding and paying lay principals being one of these. The Salesian Family is much more united, thinking and acting more as one. They speak of "19 Salesian Family schools", for example, in Hong Kong. And there are many good lay people who love Don Bosco, many of them Past Pupils. Vocations are slowly moving, but there is great hope. In response the Rector Major made two main points: his great happiness in being part of these celebrations, which he acknowledged were joyfully noisy, but far more than firecrackers! He noted that it was about - and that he was about - firing up the hearts of the confreres, with the fire and passion of Da Mihi Animas. He also commented that he was happy to see their renewal, their striving for holiness and their deeper sharing in community. "It's much more important to have the fire. Motivation is the most important", he insisted, as he heard of their many significant efforts despite age, burnout and daunting challenges ahead.
That's why he expanded this thinking to Rectors, later in the morning. "Your first task", he told them "is to maintain well-motivated confreres. Vocation-wise, spiritual-wise, pastoral-wise, keep them motivated". For this reason it is important to maintain family spirit, to reproduce the fatherliness and friendliness of Don Bosco, so every confrere feels at home. And it all has one purpose - to set up a meaningful presence for youngsters. He asked them again to recreate Don Bosco in themselves, by giving God primacy in life, by having Don Bosco's convictions about the importance of young people and their education. He said much more to Rectors than we can really comment on here in a 'brief' news item, but clearly the Rector Major's magisterium is often contained within precious moments like this.
Later in the day - probably just as this item is going out - he is meeting with all CIN confreres and a number of other invited guests, Bishop Zen included.
More this evening.
GLOSSARY
serendipity: finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else. Strange coincidences.
______________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
Turin to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macao and more: "It's much more important to have the fire"
HONG KONG: 11th February 2006: If you were watching the opening of the Turin Winter Olympics last night, you would have noted the way the exciting pageantry represented passion, dynamism and Italianism. Almost in real time, fiery passion and dynamism (and if we can give 'Italianism' a more universal twist according to Don Bosco) were being played out in the East, under the Angel of Arphaxad! "We are sons of a dreamer", the Rector Major told the provincial and his councillors, and later, to Rectors who joined the group, he told them to 'do in Mirabello what you see in Valdocco', Don Bosco's answer to the bemused 23 year old Rua who wondered how on earth he as supposed to be rector at that age. "Well", the Rector Major told them in Hong Kong this morning: "May all of our communities, your houses, be a replica of Valdocco". In that sense then, the coincidence, or divine serendipity of events in Turin and those in Hong Kong this February 10-11 was hard to miss.
In the first part of his meeting with the key leaders-animators of the Salesian community, the Provincial Council offered an overview of the province, highlighting the important gains and occasional difficulties. There have been important strategic changes in the mission, a sense of greater vitality in schools, parishes and youth centres, even if the schools face new and not easy challenges - finding and paying lay principals being one of these. The Salesian Family is much more united, thinking and acting more as one. They speak of "19 Salesian Family schools", for example, in Hong Kong. And there are many good lay people who love Don Bosco, many of them Past Pupils. Vocations are slowly moving, but there is great hope. In response the Rector Major made two main points: his great happiness in being part of these celebrations, which he acknowledged were joyfully noisy, but far more than firecrackers! He noted that it was about - and that he was about - firing up the hearts of the confreres, with the fire and passion of Da Mihi Animas. He also commented that he was happy to see their renewal, their striving for holiness and their deeper sharing in community. "It's much more important to have the fire. Motivation is the most important", he insisted, as he heard of their many significant efforts despite age, burnout and daunting challenges ahead.
That's why he expanded this thinking to Rectors, later in the morning. "Your first task", he told them "is to maintain well-motivated confreres. Vocation-wise, spiritual-wise, pastoral-wise, keep them motivated". For this reason it is important to maintain family spirit, to reproduce the fatherliness and friendliness of Don Bosco, so every confrere feels at home. And it all has one purpose - to set up a meaningful presence for youngsters. He asked them again to recreate Don Bosco in themselves, by giving God primacy in life, by having Don Bosco's convictions about the importance of young people and their education. He said much more to Rectors than we can really comment on here in a 'brief' news item, but clearly the Rector Major's magisterium is often contained within precious moments like this.
Later in the day - probably just as this item is going out - he is meeting with all CIN confreres and a number of other invited guests, Bishop Zen included.
More this evening.
GLOSSARY
serendipity: finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else. Strange coincidences.
______________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
