Fruits of the 2017 World Council Meeting in Rome - Focus on Formation
By Mr. Philip Yu, ASC
World Councilor ASC for the EAO Region
Pisana, 25 February 2017 -- After five days of 2017 ASC WORLD COUNCIL MEETING I am more than happy to share with you the firsthand message from the World Council meeting from the Salesian General House in Rome.
I’m always excited and anxious to come to the World Council Meeting like a student aboard back home.
Yes, this is my Family – where I am empowered to serve the Region, where I share the love, where I’m accompanied. Accompany, a basic but very often undermined function of a family. In modern society, the working parents have little time to accompany their children but the grandparents usually have time and like to accompany their grandchildren. Many times, this is where the vocation being conceived. So every member shall find his/her own family – the local centre. Every local centre finds its own family of the Salesian house that it is established. In fact, Don Bosco wants every Salesian community to have a local Center of Salesian Cooperators.
As a good companion, we shall pay attention to the environment of accompanying. It is where the young family members feel at home in an atmosphere of support, flow of ideas and affections. The environment should be understood and perceived in its potential where young people and adults feel welcomed and involved. An environment that is taken care and accompanied certainly engender the process of quality formation and at different levels – human, spiritual, Christian and Salesian.
Not only that we have a new Project of Apostolic Life (PAL) but the World Council has created new tools for you: Commentary to PAL, Formation Guidelines, Criteria for Animation and Governance. The English version has been made available to us.
Now it is your turn to use these wonderful documents and put them into practice through quality formation. We consider it important to continue the effort to accompany the fellow members and the local Centers, both initial and continuing, in the sense of belonging to the Association.
After all, in everyday life we develop our apostolic commitment, communion and collaboration. To seize the growth opportunities, we need to strengthen the sense of belonging that is realized through active participation in the meetings, fidelity to the Promise made to God, and economic solidarity. This allows us a proper autonomy and to realize projects in the most needed part of the Association.
Throughout the 5 days meeting of the World Council, we were accompanied in our reflection by all prayers centered on the Family. The accompanying of families in difficulty, already in place in our Association, urge us to continue courageously in this direction. Together with the Church that is preparing the Synod 2018 “Youth, faith and vocational discernment”, we as an Association, look forward to the next World Congress to in Rome on 25 - 28 October 2018.
Let’s pray and invoke the Holy Spirit to enlighten us, as Salesian Cooperators, we feel co-responsible IN RESPONSE TO THE NEW CHALLENGES.
May Mary Help of Christians and Don Bosco accompany us all on the journey towards a deep faith and pastoral charity!
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