Post-synodal Exhortation of Pope Francis:
Youth - Faith - Vocation Discernment
Vatican City, 6 April 2019 -- Have you already stared reading it? Have you already received it in your own language? Yes, the long awaited Post-Synodal Exhortation of Pope Francis, following the 2018 Synod of Bishops on 'Youth - Faith - Vocation Discernment' was finally offered and signed at the Marian Shrine in Loreto (Italy) and released on April 2, 2019.
"CHRIST IS ALIVE! He is our hope, and in a wonderful way he brings youth to our world. The very first words, then, that I would like to say to every young Christian are these: Christ is alive and he wants you to be alive!" Pope Francis present us with a vibrant, open and easy-to-read pages, composed of 299 numbers, ordered according the Synod process structure in nine chapters:
- “What does the Word of God have to say about young people?”
- “Jesus, ever young”
- “You are the ‘now’ of God”
- "A great message for all young people”
- "Paths of Youth"
- “Young people with roots”
- “Youth ministry”
- “Vocation”
- “Discernment”
For Salesian Family readers from our EAO (East Asia - Oceania) Region, the following numbers about models of the young.might sound especially familiar We found three holy Salesian youth in there:
56. Saint Dominic Savio offered all his sufferings to Mary. When Saint John Bosco taught him that holiness involves being constantly joyful, he opened his heart to a contagious joy. He wanted to be close to the most abandoned and infirm of his fellow young people. Dominic died in 1857 at fourteen years of age, saying: “What a wondrous thing I am experiencing!”
And there are two quotations from EAO born holiness, wisdom of late Card. Francis Xavier Thuan and one young Vietnamese Martyr:
148. Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, when imprisoned in a concentration camp, refused to do nothing but await the day when he would be set free. He chose “to live the present moment, filling it to the brim with love”. He decided: “I will seize the occasions that present themselves every day; I will accomplish ordinary actions in an extraordinary way”. As you work to achieve your dreams, make the most of each day and do your best to let each moment brim with love. This youthful day may well be your last, and so it is worth the effort to live it as enthusiastically and fully as possible.
Since many Salesians were involved in the two year Synod process since 2016, we are privileged with many commentaries, summaries and other tools on how to digest this precious document in our life (ON BOSCOLINK the official summary of the Exhortation is available). Surely this unique and very 'Salesian' document of the Church's Magisterium will help us to widen our horizons (about Youth Ministry - Chapter
We give thanks to the Holy Father for this gift and as the Family of Don Bosco we respond with filial obedience and take this pages into our hands, for our prayer and reflection.
Related resources:
- BOSCOLINK - full text of the Exhortation and the Summary (ENG)
- BOSCOLINK - final document of the 2018 Synod and SDB General Chapter 28
