austraLasia 894
'What do you think of the Da Vinci Code?': a day in the life of a Regional Superior
YOKKAICHI(Japan): 29th September '04 -- Aspirants are likely to keep you on your toes at the best of times. Increase the odds by putting together five nationalities and two religious families, and you have to be ready for anything! That's at least how Fr. Klement saw it on a visit to Yokkaichi (just north of Osaka) where 18 aspirants, including several from outside of Japan (Vietnam, Korea, Rwanda), 4 Salesians and 3 Piarists including a Pole and a Filipino, live together in one big happy family.
Fr. Klement decided a question-answer session might be as good a way as any to conduct a dialogue - and got his money's worth. 'How many are there like us?' 'Well, lots, actually, especially in this region...about 550 all up'. Satisfied smiles. 'How many Salesians profess each year?', 'Um, of 520 novices last time around, 490 made first profession'. Good, then before what might have been the more testing question, Fr. Klement is off the hook with 'Has there been a Salesian pope?', 'Nooo - but we have 6 cardinals and 110 Bishops!'.
The focus now moves to Japan. 'Is there a comparatively high number of lay people in Salesian work in Japan?' (Astute question). 'Comparatively? Well, alongside some 17,000 SDBs worldwide there are some 200,000 lay partners. In Japan there are 130 Salesians, give or take, and 2000 lay staff.' (Work out the Maths, kiddo). 'And please, don't forget the Salesian Family in Japan. Look, there's FMA, Salesian Cooperators, Past Pupils, Caritas Sisters...' (Keep adding up, kiddo).
And then, and importantly, the questions that really matter, with the answers that really matter. 'What's the best thing about Yokkaichi formation house?' 'The spirit, the joy, the team work, the prayer'. 'What's the important thing for us as we aim to be Salesian priest or Brother?', 'God's Word - for me. Discerning the call: the decision for love, for God, for Church, for life, for consecrated life, for the salvation of the young, for Don Bosco...for Salesian, priest, or brother.'
The personal questions are always the toughest - and the answers deserve to be heard in the context in which they were asked, not broadcast via austraLasia! You'll need to ask Fr. Klement yourself if he has had any mystical experiences - and what he thinks of the 'Da Vinci Code'. But the questions overall suggest what we all know, that personal Salesian witness is one of the most important elements in nurturing a vocation, and 'what was your dream?', 'who is the one you respect most?', 'what do you think of the Salesians now, and expect of them in the future?' are questions for all of us.
Thank you Fr Klement!
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'austraLasia' is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia-Pacific. It functions also as an agency for ANS, based in Rome. Try also www.bosconet.aust.com. Do you know what Don Bosco International is? Is it different from Don Bosco Network? Are these terms translated into Italian? And for that matter, what is ONLUS? For further comment cf Lexisdb
