Vocation journey of the Indonesian novices

By Our Own Correspondent

Jakarta, Indonesia, 15 February 2018 -- Like the diversity of 14.000 islands, 600 hundred languages, hundreds of ethnic groups in the Indonesian archipelago, also our 12 novices (batch 2017-2018) witness the the unity in diversity of their country: 3 of them were born in Malaysia (one of them in Kuching), 9 of them in different islands of Indonesia (Flores, Western Timor and Java), their age range from 19 to 24 years.

One of the novices can communicate in fluent English and all of them in perfect Indonesian lanugage. However they dream one day they could make a big leap in their English with help of lay missionary volunteers - native speakers. Thanks to this desire of the novices and their formators, first appeal to the five provinces with missionary volunteer program was already launched to Australia (Cagliero Project), USA West and East (Salesian Lay Missioners), Ireland (Savio) and Great Britain (Bova Volunteers).

Since last July 2017 after twelve years of the novitiate in the distant island of Sumba (2005-2017), the heart of the Indonesia Salesian formation (Novitiate) is again back to the community of Tigaraksa, on the western side of Jakarta (province Banten). In the large compound there is a Vocation Training Center with majority Muslim students, large farm land and daily Oratory with football and basketball field. The move from distant island to Tigaraksa is appreciated by everybody!

The Salesian community of Tigaraksa is composed of 8 Salesians (Rector Fr. Andi Wibowo) - 4 Priests, 2 Salesian Brothers and two Scholastics - practical trainees with a Novice Director (Master) Fr. Andre Delimarta. There are some 20 Lay mission partners involved in our mission - instructors, farm and domestic workers and the security.

As every young people of their age, our Indonesia novices are full of energy, faith and enthusiasm. Also the question raised during the recent extraordinary visitation offers a good insight in their inner landscape:

• How and when can we discern the missionary vocation [ad gentes] and what are its challenges? Which are the most necessary missionary destinations [for SDB]?


• How can we overcome the generation (cultural) gap between the novices and formators?


• How we face vocation challenge (crisis) and how can we overcome it?


• How to we approach young Muslims? (when we approach, sometimes they move away)


• How do we discern well the vocation of Salesian Brother? (confusion, signs, talks)


• The scrutiny make us evaluate ourselves or just made us afraid?


• Chastity – How can we keep the right ‘boundary’ relationship with the opposite sex?


• Can be a Salesian Brother be a missionary ad gentes?


• It’s possible ‘not to open about everything’ to the Novice-master?


• Can I be the ‘Cafasso’ for myself?


• When you fall in love with Salesian community?


• How is the Salesian mission with the non-Christian youth, like Muslims?


• Why many young people enter the SDB Congregation and then leave?


• We [SDB] work for the young. But what I can offer in reality to them?

Thanks for the generous answer of our Indonesian novices to the call of God! We remember them during their second half of the novitiate (first profession is scheduled for July 24). They also remember another 22 novices of ITM Viceprovince who are doing their novitiate in Fatumaca - Timor Leste.

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