austraLasia #3382
GC27 on Retreat &
ROME: 27 February 2014 -- One Australian Salesian Brother likes to remind us of a diocesan priest where he was working who owned a yacht, which he named 'Retreat'. Whenever the Bishop rang for him (it was invariably a Monday) the housekeeper would say "Father is on Retreat". The bishop was mightily impressed with the spiritual progress his good local pastor was making in the course of a year!
Well, GC27 is now 'on Retreat', but far from water or yachts unless the dingy (as distinct from dinghy) ditch that runs through the Pisana could be graced with that name! We can largely leave them in peace over these next few days, so expect fewer missives. But you might like to follow the retreat talks by way of private meditation, and this can be done via SDL. Additional talks will be added as they are translated.
As you can see from the cover of the Italian edition published by Elledici above, the Retreat theme follows the Chapter theme. However, Fr Juan José Bartolomé does far more than simply parrot the letters and explanations that have been published thus far on the Chapter theme. He picks up on Fr Chávez's 'profile of the new Salesian' and explores the by now familiar threefold mystic-prophet-servant in his peculiarly and profound biblical way. And as he pointed out in his introductory talk on the Wednesday evening, these also become motifs for prayer. An example of how he proceeds (scheduled for Thursday morning's presentation) follows:
Our prayer motif for today is the first feature in the “profile of the new Salesian”: being a mystic leads the Salesian to living his vocation in total dedication and ongoing conversion under God's unconditional supremacy. We will focus our attention, our heart, on the person of Jesus, witness and model of faithfulness to the God who had declared that he was his Son and whose cause, the kingdom, he takes up as his exclusive concern. One God alone, the Father, one cause alone, the kingdom.
We intend to retrace Jesus' passion for God and his concerns as the key to understanding his person and work. His total identification with God and his cause confirms him as the beloved Son and makes him his best evangeliser. It is not a case of different tasks, but Jesus needed to distinguish these tasks as he carried them out: before dedicating himself to preaching God and his kingdom, Jesus had to prove to himself that he was accepted as God wanted him to be, as his son.
Spiritual Exercises
The Italian term for a Retreat is esercizi spirituali, drawing directly from St Ignatius' term 'Spiritual Exercises'. When we use this latter term in English we are almost always making reference to a Jesuit-inspired retreat, which is why the simple word 'Retreat' (and not even 'spiritual retreat') is usually preferred for general reference. This time, however, Spiritual Exercises might well be the term to use. Fr Bartolomé points out in his introduction that he is quite deliberately following Ignatian inspiration and even method. Like St Ignatius he makes no claim to 'preaching' - he is instead giving them 'exercises'.
The exercises begin by taking them through Matthew's account of Jesus' Baptism, demonstrating along the way that temptation can be looked at as a spiritual experience to draw profit from, if we handle it the way Jesus did!
Bartolomé's and Vicent's work has been published in Italian (LDC) and Spanish (CCS), but it has not been translated and therefore not published in English, The summary guide sheets for which the link above has been given in SDL are the only available material in English - but they do contain the substance of the larger work so are a valuable way of coming to grips with this substantial and biblically and Salesian inspired set of reflections on the Chapter theme.
Reminder of GC27 timetable
Thursday 27 February - Sunday 2 March - on Retreat.
Terminology
If there is any terminology used that you are unsure of, and you don't have the app, look it up in the Salesians A-Z web page.
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LAGUNA: 27 Feb 2014 -- In the evening of the 21st of February 2014, the St Peter College Seminary of the Diocese of San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines hosted an evening affair dubbed, Seminarians Night 2014. In attendance were mostly diocesan formation houses and religious communities closely collaborating with them. The Salesian Sacred Heart Postnovitiate Seminary-Canlubang, Laguna community showed its Sentire in Ecclesia, being one with the Church, by participating. Fr. Charles Manlangit, SDB, Rector, represented the community accompanied by the first year brothers.
The celebration began with the Eucharist in Latin, followed by the first vespers proper of the Chair of St. Peter. The occasion was capped off with an entertaining dinner program. With the different exchange of vocation stories and formation, it was a moving sight to see such an encounter, where consecrated men and women nurtured by various charisms follow a single movement of love that stems from Jesus Christ.
This initiative was a first of its kind in the diocese wherein formation communities, both in and out of the diocese, gather together for fellowship and interaction regardless of whether communities are secular or religious in nature. Apart from being a vigil celebration of the titular patron of the host seminary, this was as well an anticipation of two grand upcoming events of the diocese: the host seminary celebrating thirty (30) years of its presence and the enthusiastic Diocese of San Pablo with its golden anniversary of its foundation.
It was a memorable encounter and radiated the beautiful unity of the Church. From the positive feedbacks, there was a major feeling that this should be celebrated annually, hoping to see a more collaborative diocese that constantly gazes upon the face of Christ.
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Did you know that Don Bosco's Rooms (the 'Camerette) are now on Facebook?
Amongst other things, they have loads of photos of the Chapter members visiting the rooms. They also have some delightful cartoon images of Don Bosco:
Candid Camera - KOR
GC27 on Retreat &
Seminarians in celebration: "Sentire in ecclesia" by Bro. Luke Adrian A. Maloloy-on, SDB - see further below
ROME: 27 February 2014 -- One Australian Salesian Brother likes to remind us of a diocesan priest where he was working who owned a yacht, which he named 'Retreat'. Whenever the Bishop rang for him (it was invariably a Monday) the housekeeper would say "Father is on Retreat". The bishop was mightily impressed with the spiritual progress his good local pastor was making in the course of a year!
Well, GC27 is now 'on Retreat', but far from water or yachts unless the dingy (as distinct from dinghy) ditch that runs through the Pisana could be graced with that name! We can largely leave them in peace over these next few days, so expect fewer missives. But you might like to follow the retreat talks by way of private meditation, and this can be done via SDL. Additional talks will be added as they are translated.
As you can see from the cover of the Italian edition published by Elledici above, the Retreat theme follows the Chapter theme. However, Fr Juan José Bartolomé does far more than simply parrot the letters and explanations that have been published thus far on the Chapter theme. He picks up on Fr Chávez's 'profile of the new Salesian' and explores the by now familiar threefold mystic-prophet-servant in his peculiarly and profound biblical way. And as he pointed out in his introductory talk on the Wednesday evening, these also become motifs for prayer. An example of how he proceeds (scheduled for Thursday morning's presentation) follows:
Our prayer motif for today is the first feature in the “profile of the new Salesian”: being a mystic leads the Salesian to living his vocation in total dedication and ongoing conversion under God's unconditional supremacy. We will focus our attention, our heart, on the person of Jesus, witness and model of faithfulness to the God who had declared that he was his Son and whose cause, the kingdom, he takes up as his exclusive concern. One God alone, the Father, one cause alone, the kingdom.
We intend to retrace Jesus' passion for God and his concerns as the key to understanding his person and work. His total identification with God and his cause confirms him as the beloved Son and makes him his best evangeliser. It is not a case of different tasks, but Jesus needed to distinguish these tasks as he carried them out: before dedicating himself to preaching God and his kingdom, Jesus had to prove to himself that he was accepted as God wanted him to be, as his son.
Spiritual Exercises
The Italian term for a Retreat is esercizi spirituali, drawing directly from St Ignatius' term 'Spiritual Exercises'. When we use this latter term in English we are almost always making reference to a Jesuit-inspired retreat, which is why the simple word 'Retreat' (and not even 'spiritual retreat') is usually preferred for general reference. This time, however, Spiritual Exercises might well be the term to use. Fr Bartolomé points out in his introduction that he is quite deliberately following Ignatian inspiration and even method. Like St Ignatius he makes no claim to 'preaching' - he is instead giving them 'exercises'.
The exercises begin by taking them through Matthew's account of Jesus' Baptism, demonstrating along the way that temptation can be looked at as a spiritual experience to draw profit from, if we handle it the way Jesus did!
Bartolomé's and Vicent's work has been published in Italian (LDC) and Spanish (CCS), but it has not been translated and therefore not published in English, The summary guide sheets for which the link above has been given in SDL are the only available material in English - but they do contain the substance of the larger work so are a valuable way of coming to grips with this substantial and biblically and Salesian inspired set of reflections on the Chapter theme.
Reminder of GC27 timetable
Thursday 27 February - Sunday 2 March - on Retreat.
Terminology
If there is any terminology used that you are unsure of, and you don't have the app, look it up in the Salesians A-Z web page.
-------------
SENTIRE IN ECCLESIA
by Br Luke Adrian A. Maloloy-on, SDB
by Br Luke Adrian A. Maloloy-on, SDB
LAGUNA: 27 Feb 2014 -- In the evening of the 21st of February 2014, the St Peter College Seminary of the Diocese of San Pablo, Laguna, Philippines hosted an evening affair dubbed, Seminarians Night 2014. In attendance were mostly diocesan formation houses and religious communities closely collaborating with them. The Salesian Sacred Heart Postnovitiate Seminary-Canlubang, Laguna community showed its Sentire in Ecclesia, being one with the Church, by participating. Fr. Charles Manlangit, SDB, Rector, represented the community accompanied by the first year brothers.
The celebration began with the Eucharist in Latin, followed by the first vespers proper of the Chair of St. Peter. The occasion was capped off with an entertaining dinner program. With the different exchange of vocation stories and formation, it was a moving sight to see such an encounter, where consecrated men and women nurtured by various charisms follow a single movement of love that stems from Jesus Christ.
This initiative was a first of its kind in the diocese wherein formation communities, both in and out of the diocese, gather together for fellowship and interaction regardless of whether communities are secular or religious in nature. Apart from being a vigil celebration of the titular patron of the host seminary, this was as well an anticipation of two grand upcoming events of the diocese: the host seminary celebrating thirty (30) years of its presence and the enthusiastic Diocese of San Pablo with its golden anniversary of its foundation.
It was a memorable encounter and radiated the beautiful unity of the Church. From the positive feedbacks, there was a major feeling that this should be celebrated annually, hoping to see a more collaborative diocese that constantly gazes upon the face of Christ.
-------------------------
Did you know that Don Bosco's Rooms (the 'Camerette) are now on Facebook?
Amongst other things, they have loads of photos of the Chapter members visiting the rooms. They also have some delightful cartoon images of Don Bosco:
Candid Camera - KOR
