Mandalay, Myanmar, 15 December 2024 --
Day One (9 December 2024, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception)
Archbishop Marco Tin Win (the Ordinary of Mandalay Archdiocese) and Fr. Dominic Jyo Du (former V.G.) were kind enough to give Liturgical Orientations to all the Salesian priests gathered in Anisakhan for the Ordination of 2 Salesians and an OFM (8th, Dec. 2024, II Sunday of Advent).
Directives for the Celebration of the Holy Eucharist (approved by the CBCM) were the main source to share with us; these “Directives” are in turn based on GI (General Instructions of the Roman Missal) and consequent upon the Vatican II Documents, especially SC, LG, and PO (Sacrosanctum Concilium, Lumen Gentium, Presbyterorum Ordinis).
His Grace called to mind the sacredness of the Liturgy in terms of the Priests’ proper attire (with Alb instead of the ordinary cassock or soutane), movements and uniformity of gestures, and hand-positions (dignified), music (harmonious and inspiring and not mundane) and prayers well-articulated.
Exaggerations and abuses were present soon after Vatican II, so St. Paul VI was constrained to publish instructions and directives on liturgical and, especially, on Eucharistic celebration. His Grace emphasized the Eucharist as “the Source and Summit of the Life of the Church”.
Day Two and Three (10 and 11 December 2024)
These days were taken up by Fr. MC George, SDB from Dimapur Province. This priest who had worked several years in the Salesian Missions is also an experienced and exemplary Salesian. His topics on Salesian Animation (EGO is the Enemy, Life-long Learning, Salesian Presence) were solid and convincing, spiced up with jokes and interesting life experiences.
The salient points were: How to overcome our bloated EGOs, valuing our Charism and spirituality yet avoiding exaggerations and exclusiveness, knowing how to work with and, also under, others; the importance of having a Mentor, having the guts to change and be corrected; use of spare time to learn and update oneself, having the mindset of: ‘I always need to keep learning more!’ ; the great indispensable need of Reading books; our Poverty: do we just ‘profess’ and NOT ‘practice’ it?; the Salesian Presence / Preventive System: like fathers, brothers, fand riends, but NOT Policemen; our Presence has to be LAAPS (=Loving, Attention, Availability, Presence, Sharing), the willingness to “Waste” our time for the young, and not being the commanding Boss. Instead, it should make us fathers, brothers, and friends. Salesian prayers are with the boys/youth, avoiding the multiple and long prayers or devotions.
The questions given for Group discussion were: what do I get from the Talks, how much do I agree or disagree, and why? Whether our works/activities are geared toward the poorest 5% of the population; where should we change and what more could we do; will the Church, society, and people miss us when we are no longer present? Why? What is our uniqueness or indispensable contribution to the Church and society?
Day Four (12 December 2024, Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe)
This whole morning was for the Presentation of the various Commissions: Formation, Salesian Family, Social Communication, Missions, Economy, and Youth (SYM). All the Delegates presented their Commission’s activities, plans, and future thrusts, including what is still lacking to be done; the questions and interventions from the confreres clarified many points and left the Commissions to work out clear lines for the future.
