Joint winter general council meeting SDB and FMA 2016

By Our Own Correspondent

Rome, Italy, 11 January 2016 - As every mid January, also last Monday, January 11 the two full General Councils of SDB and FMA spent their half a day together in the SDB General House in Rome. After two Synods about Family, they could not avoid the 'Family ministry' topic.

As already reported by the ANS the main resource person this time was a Torino based Salesian theologian Fr. Andrea Bozzolo, Professor of Systematic Theology at the 'Crocetta' - Turin. His full talk and also the Good Night Talk of Mother Yvonne Reungoat in Italian language can be downloaded from the BOSCOLINK website.

In her Good Night Talk Mother Yvonne, FMA underlined that the core of our Charism is the family spirit and as usual the whole time spent together: prayer, input by Fr. Andrea, group sharing, assembly, good night and non formal times between 4 and 10 PM were clearly in the sign of mutual and deep sharing in a family.

Some emerging points in the group sharing (formal and non formal):

• May mentioned one striking talk from last Congress of Mary Help of Christians (Turin August 2015 - organized by ADMA) that highligted the Salesian saint with a difficult family background like Don Bosco, Laura Vicuna - as inspiration for our present youth ministry


• Our own (SDB, FMA) families of origin as an inspiration for our talk and also non-verbal language for the young people, in the style of Mamma Margaret


• The importance and need to generate family spirit in all of Salesian settings (school, parish, youth groups, boarding houses) where everybody feels accepted


• Need to share the Salesian Cooperators initiatives of the family ministry: preparation for marriage or healing of difficult marriage situations, diocesan centers run by the ASC


• Learn from the other Church family movements like Couples for Christ, Marriage Encounter and other as inspiration for our own family ministry in the SDB and FMA provinces, try to create systematic family networks where it's possible


• Appreciate more the importance of the kindergartens for the formation of the healthy future generations

The previous meeting of two councils was last July 2015 (AustraLasia 3666) and the next is scheduled again for next July 11, 2016 in the summer seat of the FMA general council in Castelgandolfo.

Without doubt this Rome based meetings of the SDB-FMA general councils aim also to foster a similar experience in each province around the world. There are still (very) few EAO provinces without a regular provincial council meetings of SDB-FMA provincial councils. The Salesian Family animation starts always from the 'core groups' founded by Don Bosco himself. Walking and talking together builds the family!

---

---