By Fr Gianni Caputa

Nazareth, Israel, 30 August 2023 -- Nazareth is quite some distance from the EAO Region! But many a confrere in this region have had the benefit of a visit to the Holy Land; quite a number of our priests, and a few of our Salesian Bishops in the region have studied in Jerusalem and have undoubtedly had an opportunity to visit Nazareth, so this news item should be of universal interest.

The beautiful Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent was consecrated in Nazareth on 6 September 1923, and this will be commemorated in just a week's time in a very special way, including the presence of the Rector Major, Deo Volente, at the Basilica of Jesus the Adolescent which dominates the landscape overlooking the city where Jesus "went down with [Mary and Joseph] and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them."

A special booklet has been prepared for the occasion (available on bosco.link). It contains a message from the Rector Major, in which he says:

What a fascinating model is the Lord as a young man for teenagers and young adults. The Lord opened himself up to life as an adolescent who lived the “precious years of formation preparing himself for the mission” in the school of Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. This is how the Holy Father, Pope Francis, expressed it. And so it must continue to be for all teenagers and young adults here, and in every part of our world, who can prepare themselves in the “Salesian school of life”, for the mission that the Lord will offer them later because for each one of them our God has prepared a “dream” that will be realized in their lifetime.

The Provincial of the Salesians in the Middle East, Fr Alejandro José Léon reminds us all of Pope Francis's Post-Synodal Exhortation Christus Vivit, following the 2018 Synod on Youth, in which he presents us with a young Jesus in lively and attractive terms. This Exhortation is quoted extensively in the booklet. The booklet itself has been carefully compiled and beautifully presented and is a model for historical celebrations (of which there are many across the Salesian world). It is well worth a read. But even more so "to give thanks for the lives of so many who have gone before us, for so much life lived in goodness and given until the end." We could also spare a prayer for peace in a turbulent area of the world.

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