austraLasia #3404
Piece by piece ...
ROME: 27 March 2014 -- The election of Councillors for each of the main sectors is an exhaustive process now that the new process is in place - yesterday's meetings in Regions produced a list of names and today a series of straw votes takes place for each sector.
First up was Formation.
The rest of the Sector Councillors will be elected in the course of the day.
The new Vicar of the new Rector Major gave the Goodnight last night.
Tonight (27th) the Facilitator, Fr Jose Cristo Rey Paredes cmf gives the Goodnight
----------------------
And the man for Formation is ... Fr Ivo Coelho. a former Provincial in Mumbai Province he is currently the Rector at Ratisbonne in Jerusalem. He is not at the Chapter and had to accept by phone. Ivo is 55 years of age.
More details once we have the others later in the day.
Vicar's Goodnight
Dear Confreres,
Thank you for the serenity and communion with which you have carried out this process of discernment and election to choose the Vicar of the Rector Major, as well as what you have done earlier in electing the Rector Major. Thank you also for the trust you have put in me with this election.
Having got to know the life of the Congregation over these twelve years, the Provinces, the confreres, especially the many young confreres around the world, and having been part of the General Council, I am available to offer my service to you all, especially to the Rector Major, Fr Angel, given the experience I have gained, my abilities and my limitations. Radical obedience is precisely the obedience to be able to live not by our own plans, but by the circumstances that God has us encounter.
1. Legacy
I would like to look, firstly, at the legacy left us, and me, by Fr Pascual, his Vicar Fr Adrian and the entire General Council I have spent this last twelve years with. It is a valuable legacy that finds its roots in the Special General Chapter and in people such as Fr Egidio Viganò and Fr Juan Vecchi, Rector Majors who along with Fr Pascual came from the Americas. It is a legacy we must reflect on, draw from, accept and ultimately allow to flourish.
I esepcially thank Fr Pascual for always having involved me in so many experiences and initiaves amd precisely, because of this, allowing me to love Don Bosco; I thank him above all for his great charismatic insight on approaches to the young, on Consecrated Life, the Salesian Family and the Congregation. Let us continue to gaze upon the “rock from which we have all been hewn” and the place, Valdocco, “where we were all born”. I have to say that amongst the Councillors, as well as fellowship I have found true friends.
2. Listening and vision
Personally I feel in tune with what the Rector Major, Fr Angel, told us in the homily this morning and what the GC27 points out to us as a point of departure for our understanding of situations and all our decisions: listening. At the same time I find myself also in tune with what Pope Francis says: “let us learn how to see with Jesus' eyes”, because “he who sees, believes”. I feel I still have to learn, with your help, how to be supportive, how to cooperate, listen and see.
3. Charismatic guide
Today at various levels we are called to the ability to be charismatic guides, exercise a leadership that is both mystical and prophetic in service of the young. It is difficult to find the ways to exercise this new kind of leadership; it is a leadership that is the responsibility above all of the Rectotr Major, Fr Angel. As I have already said this morning, my fundamental task is to be a sincere and honest help to him, a loyal and faithful collaborator of the Rector Major, Fr Angel, along with the whole Council.
Blessed Michael Rua is someone who can enlighten me in this role. It was not for nothing that Fr Adrian put the painting of Don Rua at the beginning of the corridor that led to his office, so he could be inspired by him. I am grateful to Fr Pascual for having reminded us in 2010 of the centenary of Fr Rua's death and that we must get to know him. It will help me in my task of recalling what Fr Rua did beside Don Bosco when he was his first collaborator.
4. Being Jesus' disciples
Don Rua will also help me to keep in mind the help I must give to the vocational growth of every confrere. I would like to recall here what Fr Pascual wrote in his letter for the centenary year of Don Rua's death: “Following Don Rua's example as a faithful disciple of Jesus in Don Bosco's footsteps, every confrere is called to rediscover the ways to preserve his fidelitty to his consecrated vocation. Our vocation is a precious gift, but it is “like a treasure in earthenware vessels”. The greatness of the gift received is often threatend by the fragility of our response … In fact, by embracing consecrated Salesian life we undertake to follow Jesus and we become his authentic disciples and zealous apostles. This all demands of us a convinced vocational fidelity".
Fr Pascual goes on:“When Don Rua was sent to Mirabello to found a new house, he summed up the advice he had received from Don Bosco in just one statement: “At Mirabello I will try to be Don Bosco”. How important it is that each of us take on this same attitude! This is also our project of life, as expressed in our Constitutions, to be Don Bosco today, where we live and work. Becoming Don Bosco, day by day, is exactly what the Constitutions point out to us. We know that after the approval of the Constitutions on 3 April 1874, Don Rua was called the living rule because of his exemplary life."
I conclude by calling to mind and thanking the confreres and rectors of the communities of the General House and the Vatican, for whome I have a sspecial responsibility as Vicar. I especially thank the collaborators I have had over these years in the formation sector here in Rome: Frs Bernard Grogan, Chrys Saldanha, Santo Dal Ben and Horacio Lopez, as well as the regional coordinators, Provincial Formation Delegates, formators and those in formation. I thank the confreres at the UPS and the international communities. Thanks to you all. Good night.
Fr José Cristo Rey García Paredes cmf - Goodnight
His work almost done, thisevening Fr José gives a Goodnight to the assembled Chapter members - he is no stranger, really, to Salesian tradition, and his Goodnight is an example of that. Simple, brief (almost within the 3 minutes, but what the heck!) - and interesting!
He speaks of the ministry of fidelity while 'surfing in the liquid society'! What a great image. We are 'the faithful' and the one thing that is not liquid in the whole surfing scene is the 'paltform' we choose to get our balance on - our faith.
Next time round perhaps we can give the full contents of this little gem.
Piece by piece ...
ROME: 27 March 2014 -- The election of Councillors for each of the main sectors is an exhaustive process now that the new process is in place - yesterday's meetings in Regions produced a list of names and today a series of straw votes takes place for each sector.
First up was Formation.
The rest of the Sector Councillors will be elected in the course of the day.
The new Vicar of the new Rector Major gave the Goodnight last night.
Tonight (27th) the Facilitator, Fr Jose Cristo Rey Paredes cmf gives the Goodnight
----------------------
And the man for Formation is ... Fr Ivo Coelho. a former Provincial in Mumbai Province he is currently the Rector at Ratisbonne in Jerusalem. He is not at the Chapter and had to accept by phone. Ivo is 55 years of age.
More details once we have the others later in the day.
Vicar's Goodnight
Dear Confreres,
Thank you for the serenity and communion with which you have carried out this process of discernment and election to choose the Vicar of the Rector Major, as well as what you have done earlier in electing the Rector Major. Thank you also for the trust you have put in me with this election.
Having got to know the life of the Congregation over these twelve years, the Provinces, the confreres, especially the many young confreres around the world, and having been part of the General Council, I am available to offer my service to you all, especially to the Rector Major, Fr Angel, given the experience I have gained, my abilities and my limitations. Radical obedience is precisely the obedience to be able to live not by our own plans, but by the circumstances that God has us encounter.
1. Legacy
I would like to look, firstly, at the legacy left us, and me, by Fr Pascual, his Vicar Fr Adrian and the entire General Council I have spent this last twelve years with. It is a valuable legacy that finds its roots in the Special General Chapter and in people such as Fr Egidio Viganò and Fr Juan Vecchi, Rector Majors who along with Fr Pascual came from the Americas. It is a legacy we must reflect on, draw from, accept and ultimately allow to flourish.
I esepcially thank Fr Pascual for always having involved me in so many experiences and initiaves amd precisely, because of this, allowing me to love Don Bosco; I thank him above all for his great charismatic insight on approaches to the young, on Consecrated Life, the Salesian Family and the Congregation. Let us continue to gaze upon the “rock from which we have all been hewn” and the place, Valdocco, “where we were all born”. I have to say that amongst the Councillors, as well as fellowship I have found true friends.
2. Listening and vision
Personally I feel in tune with what the Rector Major, Fr Angel, told us in the homily this morning and what the GC27 points out to us as a point of departure for our understanding of situations and all our decisions: listening. At the same time I find myself also in tune with what Pope Francis says: “let us learn how to see with Jesus' eyes”, because “he who sees, believes”. I feel I still have to learn, with your help, how to be supportive, how to cooperate, listen and see.
3. Charismatic guide
Today at various levels we are called to the ability to be charismatic guides, exercise a leadership that is both mystical and prophetic in service of the young. It is difficult to find the ways to exercise this new kind of leadership; it is a leadership that is the responsibility above all of the Rectotr Major, Fr Angel. As I have already said this morning, my fundamental task is to be a sincere and honest help to him, a loyal and faithful collaborator of the Rector Major, Fr Angel, along with the whole Council.
Blessed Michael Rua is someone who can enlighten me in this role. It was not for nothing that Fr Adrian put the painting of Don Rua at the beginning of the corridor that led to his office, so he could be inspired by him. I am grateful to Fr Pascual for having reminded us in 2010 of the centenary of Fr Rua's death and that we must get to know him. It will help me in my task of recalling what Fr Rua did beside Don Bosco when he was his first collaborator.
4. Being Jesus' disciples
Don Rua will also help me to keep in mind the help I must give to the vocational growth of every confrere. I would like to recall here what Fr Pascual wrote in his letter for the centenary year of Don Rua's death: “Following Don Rua's example as a faithful disciple of Jesus in Don Bosco's footsteps, every confrere is called to rediscover the ways to preserve his fidelitty to his consecrated vocation. Our vocation is a precious gift, but it is “like a treasure in earthenware vessels”. The greatness of the gift received is often threatend by the fragility of our response … In fact, by embracing consecrated Salesian life we undertake to follow Jesus and we become his authentic disciples and zealous apostles. This all demands of us a convinced vocational fidelity".
Fr Pascual goes on:“When Don Rua was sent to Mirabello to found a new house, he summed up the advice he had received from Don Bosco in just one statement: “At Mirabello I will try to be Don Bosco”. How important it is that each of us take on this same attitude! This is also our project of life, as expressed in our Constitutions, to be Don Bosco today, where we live and work. Becoming Don Bosco, day by day, is exactly what the Constitutions point out to us. We know that after the approval of the Constitutions on 3 April 1874, Don Rua was called the living rule because of his exemplary life."
I conclude by calling to mind and thanking the confreres and rectors of the communities of the General House and the Vatican, for whome I have a sspecial responsibility as Vicar. I especially thank the collaborators I have had over these years in the formation sector here in Rome: Frs Bernard Grogan, Chrys Saldanha, Santo Dal Ben and Horacio Lopez, as well as the regional coordinators, Provincial Formation Delegates, formators and those in formation. I thank the confreres at the UPS and the international communities. Thanks to you all. Good night.
Fr José Cristo Rey García Paredes cmf - Goodnight
His work almost done, thisevening Fr José gives a Goodnight to the assembled Chapter members - he is no stranger, really, to Salesian tradition, and his Goodnight is an example of that. Simple, brief (almost within the 3 minutes, but what the heck!) - and interesting!
He speaks of the ministry of fidelity while 'surfing in the liquid society'! What a great image. We are 'the faithful' and the one thing that is not liquid in the whole surfing scene is the 'paltform' we choose to get our balance on - our faith.
Next time round perhaps we can give the full contents of this little gem.
