austraLasia 1450
RM to young Salesians at Salesian House of Studies: meditation on mission
HONG KONG: 16th February 2006 -- On February 14th, Fr Chávez met with young Salesians at the Salesian House of Studies. He was welcomed by a student, Albert, now a deacon, who commented on the 75 years of existence of this study centre, "one of the ten missionary formation centres seen by Don Bosco in his dreams". That is bound to send students in a host of other centres scurrying to their libraries to discover the other nine, while not doubting at all Albert's claim for the tenth! In addition to those in initial formation, a further ten young missionaries were part of the encounter.
The occasion was a 'magisterial' one, enabling the Rector Major to develop some thinking on mission in the current context, the context of 'the Asian Millennium' (JP II), and the challenge of enriching ancient cultures with the leaven of the Gospel. "We are not here to convert 1.5 billion Chinese", he said, and repeated a little later, "we are not the saviours of China. We are , like Benedict XVI, but humble servants".
"We are here for the young, especially for the poor, abandoned, at risk, but", he asked "what does this mean in order to avoid being rhetoric alone?" "We are here to do what Don Bosco did in Valdocco, to make the life of young people happy. Happiness means love, to have a dream, to have a project. First of all to bring them to Christ and to bring Christ to them". He came back to motivation - if you have your 'why', you can face any 'how'. He then drew on the icon chosen by JPII for the Synod on consecrated life in 1994 - the Transfiguration, which is, at base, a very strong experience of God. As in Philippians Chapter 3, Paul shares his personal experience, his vision of the world where Christ has overturned his value system so that everything else is rubbish. The RM coined a word here...transvaluation!
We need to be able to share our experience of God - and Fr Chávez shared a little of his, from his 'Jerusalem' period, studying at the Hebrew University. He would go regularly into the grotto in Bethlehem, grubby as it is (some tourists take one look and go). There he would sit and ponder - what changes human history? On Fridays he would pray at the Holy Sepulchre, and prayed with a small cross he had bought there and still wears today. "Nobody loves me more than Jesus. Nobody has given his life for me other than Jesus"!
From the experience of God we move to an experience of humanity, and a passion for it. If we don't love people as they are, how can we love God who is invisible? (John's First Letter). And still with John, the Samaritan woman - she'd had five husbands, but in a sense only met the right one when she met Jesus, at which point she became an apostle, a missionary to her own village, telling her own experience.
The Rector Major invited his listeners to go to Philippians 2 and meditate on the 'kenosis', the basis of missionary spirituality. He invited them to take the Cross as their way of life and to never ever lose the sense of being sent. At this point strong applause.
Question and answer, the questions focusing on the future in their present context. His answer focused on the idea of St. Francis Xavier whose anniversary is being celebrated this year: "I am like the light near the tabernacle". Be a light shining now, in Hong Kong, in Macau, wherever.
Following this, the Rector Major met with some of the Salesian elders, Fr Bernard Tohill amongst them.
_____________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
RM to young Salesians at Salesian House of Studies: meditation on mission
HONG KONG: 16th February 2006 -- On February 14th, Fr Chávez met with young Salesians at the Salesian House of Studies. He was welcomed by a student, Albert, now a deacon, who commented on the 75 years of existence of this study centre, "one of the ten missionary formation centres seen by Don Bosco in his dreams". That is bound to send students in a host of other centres scurrying to their libraries to discover the other nine, while not doubting at all Albert's claim for the tenth! In addition to those in initial formation, a further ten young missionaries were part of the encounter.
The occasion was a 'magisterial' one, enabling the Rector Major to develop some thinking on mission in the current context, the context of 'the Asian Millennium' (JP II), and the challenge of enriching ancient cultures with the leaven of the Gospel. "We are not here to convert 1.5 billion Chinese", he said, and repeated a little later, "we are not the saviours of China. We are , like Benedict XVI, but humble servants".
"We are here for the young, especially for the poor, abandoned, at risk, but", he asked "what does this mean in order to avoid being rhetoric alone?" "We are here to do what Don Bosco did in Valdocco, to make the life of young people happy. Happiness means love, to have a dream, to have a project. First of all to bring them to Christ and to bring Christ to them". He came back to motivation - if you have your 'why', you can face any 'how'. He then drew on the icon chosen by JPII for the Synod on consecrated life in 1994 - the Transfiguration, which is, at base, a very strong experience of God. As in Philippians Chapter 3, Paul shares his personal experience, his vision of the world where Christ has overturned his value system so that everything else is rubbish. The RM coined a word here...transvaluation!
We need to be able to share our experience of God - and Fr Chávez shared a little of his, from his 'Jerusalem' period, studying at the Hebrew University. He would go regularly into the grotto in Bethlehem, grubby as it is (some tourists take one look and go). There he would sit and ponder - what changes human history? On Fridays he would pray at the Holy Sepulchre, and prayed with a small cross he had bought there and still wears today. "Nobody loves me more than Jesus. Nobody has given his life for me other than Jesus"!
From the experience of God we move to an experience of humanity, and a passion for it. If we don't love people as they are, how can we love God who is invisible? (John's First Letter). And still with John, the Samaritan woman - she'd had five husbands, but in a sense only met the right one when she met Jesus, at which point she became an apostle, a missionary to her own village, telling her own experience.
The Rector Major invited his listeners to go to Philippians 2 and meditate on the 'kenosis', the basis of missionary spirituality. He invited them to take the Cross as their way of life and to never ever lose the sense of being sent. At this point strong applause.
Question and answer, the questions focusing on the future in their present context. His answer focused on the idea of St. Francis Xavier whose anniversary is being celebrated this year: "I am like the light near the tabernacle". Be a light shining now, in Hong Kong, in Macau, wherever.
Following this, the Rector Major met with some of the Salesian elders, Fr Bernard Tohill amongst them.
_____________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For RSS feeds, subscribe to www.bosconet.aust.com/rssala.xml
