By Mr. Thomas Y. Lee

Daejeon, Korea, 2 December 2019 -- The Association of Salesian Cooperators of Korea held its annual Advent Retreat in Daejeon Salesio Youth Center from 30 November to 1 December 2019. About 180 Cooperators made their Retreat and some Cooperators with their children. This time the Retreat theme was ‘The Lord be with you’ with subtitle ‘God is with us’(Mt 1.23).

On the first day, Fr. Michael Chang SDB told us about the ‘Immanuel’ explaining it as the ‘The Lord be with you’ that is spoken in Mass five times.

And Provincial Delegate Sister Gertrude Kim Sung Min prepared a program called ‘take off your shoes’ for those attending. There were 3 questions. When am I afraid of taking off my shoes? What sort of footprints do I leave for others? What sort of a person I am to be? Answering these questions, all Cooperators came to think more deeply about considering others once more.

Next day, on Sunday, Sister Gertrude led another program called ‘work and prayer’.

Cooperators went over Don Bosco’s words. And in the following Mass, 6 Cooperators finally made their first Promise. In order to become Salesian Cooperators, over the past 3 years they have attended ‘Formation School’ , annual Provincial Council events and Local Council Apostolic activities with their inner enthusiasm for the young. As you know, Korea ASC has a formation school for Cooperators. Through this school, applicants who want to be a Salesian Cooperator can receive an initial formation and existing Cooperators are able to be reminded of and strengthen their identity once again.

Currently, 550 active Korea ASCs are working together with many in the Salesian Family for the young most in need.

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