by Fr. Steve Whelan, SDB

Every year the Rector Major of the Salesian Family, Fr. Juan Vecchi, SDB, issues a strenna or motto for the Salesian Family as an aid to focus their apostolic efforts.

From 1997 to 1999, Fr. Vecchi has taken his cue from the three-year project of renewal proposed by the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, in preparation for the 2000 Holy Year and the new millennium.

1999 is dedicated to the Heavenly Father, and the strenna reminds us of the most common Catholic practice of the sign of the cross: ("In the name of the Father"), giving renewed meaning to this devotion which has, perhaps, become overly casual.

Fr. Vecchi grounds the strenna in the scriptures by quoting the first line of Paul's great encomium of the Father in his letter to the Ephesians, where we are reminded of our adoption through Jesus Christ.

By way of practical challenge, we are called to "turn to (the Father)" in the sense of "turning around" or "turning toward," which implies conversion of heart and life. We are called to walk with our young people so that together, male and female, young and old, all nations, all races and all faiths, work in unity to build a renewed world. This renewed world could never become a heaven on earth denying the spiritual and eternal, but by working for peace and justice for all it would become a sign of the heavenly reign-the fulfillment of God's plan for all humanity.

It is in this spirit we dedicate our energies and lives "in the name of the Father."