Brno community monthly prayerful encounter with the young

By our own correspondent

Brno, Czech Republic, 18 September 2020 -- For the last seven months the Covid 19 pandemic has brought much suffering to most of the world and has also awakened much human solidarity with the vulnerable populations in many ways. However there are also some positive - future-oriented experiences - inspired by strict lockdown situations. One of the Salesian communities in Europe, Czech Republic' second largest city of Brno, launched a special monthly SDB community prayer encounter on 7 September with the young on the YouTube channel.

Fr. Libor Vsetula, Rector, explains in the invitation video the background and plan to continue this 'community open prayer' until next June 2021 on each first Monday, that is on the SDB community monthly recollection date: a simple scheme of praying the well-animated Holy Rosary, followed by Eucharistic Adoration and a Goodnigt.

In the first prayerful SDB community monthly encounter open to the public, the Rector shared the previous summer activities - both in dozens of youth camps organized and conducted by SDB with many lay mission partners from Brno-Zabovresky and Brno-Lisen Youth Centres as well the repairing of three boiler rooms before the coming winter. A special 'guest' who shared his Goodnight this time was a fresh perpetually professed Cl. Vlastimil Vajdak (currently a theology student in Ratisbonne, Jerusalem). His life and vocation story may touch the hearts of many young and not-so-young people: 'God would like to enter your lives!'

The whole SDB community prayer moment is the result of 3 month long lockdown when the Salesians remained close through a professional broadcasting of daily Mass, Adoration or Rosary since March. An interactive window on the YouTube and Facebook page also allows live prayer intentions and sharing of the young people. The annual schedule: Sept 7, Oct 5, Nov 2, Dec 7, Jan 4, Feb 1, March 1, Apr 5, May 3 and June 7 (always at 8 PM, GMT+2).

In this simple monthly open community prayer echoes one of the proposals of the Rector Major following GC28 (ACG 433, p. 25) : "We will make known and esteemed what was essential for Don Bosco and for so many generations of Salesians as a fundamental pillar of our work of evangelisation and education: the beautiful presence of our Mother the Help of Christians in our educational proposals and in our prayer with the young."

YouTube channel:

• Invitation for the one year long first Monday prayers
• First Monday of September - Rosary, Adoration and Goodnight

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