austraLasia #2128
Letter from London
LONDON: 19th April 2008 -- (the day, too, on which Dom [sic] Tarcisio Scaramussa receives episcopal ordination. We pray for him out of gratitude and love).
Readers of The Tablet will know that Robert Mickens writes weekly under the rubric of 'Letter from Rome'. Yesterday we published a letter from Manila, so it seems appropriate to stay with the genre for at least one more day. What do provincials do after an exhausting 50 days of 'pentecostal' fe(r)ver at a General Chapter, especially if things back in the province are in good hands? They take a little break of course! Fr Frank Moloney writes from London:
"As you know, I completed my doctoral studies in Sacred Scripture at Oxford University, between 1972-75. As this (at my respectable but advanced age!) could well be the final visit to Europe, I flew from Rome to London to say farewell to various people and places from those important years.
I have been with the Salesians in London, Bolton and other places in the United Kingdom to say farewell to the many Salesians who became friends and beloved confrères over those years. Most are now aged, some have died, but their affection and support must be acknowledged. Secondly, I took the opportunity to visit the remnants of the community of Benedictine Sisters from Fernham, a village outside Oxford, where I did most of my writing. The community has now been broken up but two are still actively living the Benedictine life at Minster Abbey (Founded by St Mildred in 607) in Minster, Kent. Time in silence in the monastery, marked by the rhythm of the 'Opus Dei' (in the true Benedictine meaning of that expression) has been a good time for post-Chapter reflection".
Frank flies out on the homeward trail on 26th April, where 'real life' and the task of making GC26 come to life amongst members of the Australia-Pacific Province has to begin.
Incidentally, another motive for publishing this 'Letter' or parts of it, comes out of this morning's experience with a class in Jerusalem, where the students broke into groups to share at a deeper level some aspects of 'conversatio', that level of communication somewhere between the sublime and the gorblimey where much of our faith is actually transmitted and shared amongst us, and pastorally. A group of White Fathers, seven in all, attending the class, came away from the group and said 'Thank you Father - this is what communications is really about. We hope there is more of this personal sharing involved in the course'.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2008 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at at http://sdl.sdb.org
Title: australasia 2128
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces AUL
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2128
Letter from London
LONDON: 19th April 2008 -- (the day, too, on which Dom [sic] Tarcisio Scaramussa receives episcopal ordination. We pray for him out of gratitude and love).
Readers of The Tablet will know that Robert Mickens writes weekly under the rubric of 'Letter from Rome'. Yesterday we published a letter from Manila, so it seems appropriate to stay with the genre for at least one more day. What do provincials do after an exhausting 50 days of 'pentecostal' fe(r)ver at a General Chapter, especially if things back in the province are in good hands? They take a little break of course! Fr Frank Moloney writes from London:
"As you know, I completed my doctoral studies in Sacred Scripture at Oxford University, between 1972-75. As this (at my respectable but advanced age!) could well be the final visit to Europe, I flew from Rome to London to say farewell to various people and places from those important years.
I have been with the Salesians in London, Bolton and other places in the United Kingdom to say farewell to the many Salesians who became friends and beloved confrères over those years. Most are now aged, some have died, but their affection and support must be acknowledged. Secondly, I took the opportunity to visit the remnants of the community of Benedictine Sisters from Fernham, a village outside Oxford, where I did most of my writing. The community has now been broken up but two are still actively living the Benedictine life at Minster Abbey (Founded by St Mildred in 607) in Minster, Kent. Time in silence in the monastery, marked by the rhythm of the 'Opus Dei' (in the true Benedictine meaning of that expression) has been a good time for post-Chapter reflection".
Frank flies out on the homeward trail on 26th April, where 'real life' and the task of making GC26 come to life amongst members of the Australia-Pacific Province has to begin.
Incidentally, another motive for publishing this 'Letter' or parts of it, comes out of this morning's experience with a class in Jerusalem, where the students broke into groups to share at a deeper level some aspects of 'conversatio', that level of communication somewhere between the sublime and the gorblimey where much of our faith is actually transmitted and shared amongst us, and pastorally. A group of White Fathers, seven in all, attending the class, came away from the group and said 'Thank you Father - this is what communications is really about. We hope there is more of this personal sharing involved in the course'.
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . Use Bosconet-wiki to be interactive. RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2008 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at at http://sdl.sdb.org
Title: australasia 2128
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces AUL
Date (year): 2008
ID: 2000-2099|2128
