One important aspect of the innovation produced by the Council must be considered, because it is closely related to the presence of the laity in our Family.

The fact that the laity are in the mission with us, and we with them, is not simply a matter of a quantitative summation of forces, and still less is it an addition forced upon us by our losses and absences.

It is a question of a mutually enriching communion between distinct but complementary vocations in the Church. There is an interchange of values which improves the qualities of each of the vocations concerned, strengthening their identity, making them more incisive and enriching them with the element of being up to date.

It is evidently necessary to be able to bring about between lay and consecrated persons a true ecclesial communion of complementary vocations, founded on Christ, moved by his Spirit, and nourished by convictions of faith, by mutual witness, and by a concrete and practical choice of tasks. In other words it is a question of a deep communion in the same apostolic spirituality.

And this brings us back once again from another standpoint to the urgent need to root out superficiality!

The communion starts substantially from two distinct poles which however are related one to the other and in mutual tension.

The Layman fulfills his ecclesial vocation by passing from within secular values, from the World as a starting point, to the vertex of a religious attitude. The Salesian fulfills his vocation by moving from within his consecration towards the World, from the religious vertex towards human values. If we keep in mind the eloquent assertion of "Gaudium et spes" that earthly activity must be carried out in such a way "as to integrate human, domestic, professional, scientific and technical enterprises with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are ordered to the glory of God"¹² we shall understand the difference in direction of the two vocations and also their mutual complementarity.

We may think, for example, of the different and complementary tasks of parents (lay people) towards their children, and of educators (Salesians) in respect of the same children.

Don Bosco reminds us of this in a fatherly letter addressed to the confreres: "Above all, if we want to be seen as desiring the real good of our pupils, we must never forget that we take the place of the parents of the dear boys".¹³ (After the Synod of Bishops on the theme of the family, I wrote a circular letter to you in which I emphasized precisely the need to link youth ministry with family ministry; cf. ASC 299).

The lay parent dedicates himself in a Christian fashion to the education of the young, but beginning from the human demands inherent in generation.

The Salesian educator, on the other hand, dedicates himself to the education of the young beginning from the standpoint of the supernatural motherhood of the Church.

The two movements converge, meet, enter into communion and mutually enrich each other. How much the Salesian has to learn from the Layman! And on the other hand, how much the Layman has to learn from the Salesian! Both one and the other, acting alone and merely on their own account, would find themselves very much impoverished in their own particular vocation.¹⁴

And we could give many other similar examples in which the Layman, starting from secular values, enriches the Salesian, and vice versa the Salesian, starting from religious values, enriches the Layman with whom he comes in contact in the service of the young.

Between the laity in mission with us and us in mission with them, there is a common purpose which is the apostolate for the young and the poor. But the manner in which the purpose is achieved is different in each case; as the Council puts it: "in the Church there is diversity of ministry, but unity of mission".¹⁵

Both of them draw on the same evangelical spirit of Don Bosco, but they do so in different keys and with details which are different but mutually correlated: they mutually enrich each other, as in the classic interchange between celibacy for the Kingdom and marriage in Christ.¹⁶

Don Bosco lived concretely, and has taught us to do likewise, a similar precious communion. We were born in communion with the laity, and they with us, and our historical growth has followed the same line.

After a Council which has studied so deeply and launched this tremendous ecclesial value, how could we fail to commit ourselves to its growth: to improve the quality of communion and increase the number of those sharing in it?

But it is precisely together that we must speak of Christ, live in Christ and witness to Christ! We have a common Christian vocation of being authentic disciples of the Lord, even though it be expressed in different ways.

If we are to promote in our communities this precious communion we must have certain concrete objectives at which to aim, seeking and using means which every house has available or which the province can offer.

• The first goal to be attained, and it will subsequently throw light on whatever else has to be done, is a more organic knowledge of Vatican II with a special analysis of its doctrine on the vocation and mission of the laity. I have already referred to this above, and I dealt with at length in the earlier circular.¹⁷ Once again I remind provincials and rectors of their responsibility in this regard. It will be opportune too to promote some well planned study meetings with the lay people themselves.
• As one of the fruits of this deeper study, it will be necessary to instill in the laity the knowledge of being true committed Catholics, witnesses of their Baptism, aware of their secular vocation, courageous members of a Church-Sacrament of salvation, in the family, in the neighborhood, in society, and in fact everywhere.

Don Bosco sought to bind actively and in spiritual depth with the Salesians "those Catholics who so desire"; "in these difficult times", he said, "we Christians must unite to foster the spirit of prayer and charity by all the means that religion provides".¹⁸

• The sense of being a responsible member of the Catholic Church must become the moving nucleus of this apostolic activity.A third objective to be ensured is that of centering the apostolic interest of the laity who collaborate with us on the integral promotion of young people and on the needs of evangelization of the poorer classes. The common mission gives to all the Salesian Family its concrete tone and defines its characteristic place in the People of God.

Don Bosco involved the laity precisely to "remove or at least mitigate those evils which put at risk the morality of the new generations, in whose hands lie the destinies of civil society".¹⁹

• The apostolic interest of the laity for the young and for poor neighborhoods can be "direct and immediate" (parents, educators, teachers, catechists, social communicators, etc.), or it can be "indirect and mediate" through participation in cultural, social and political tasks etc. which have particular relevance to the young and the poor. It is not a case of listing activities and functions, but of opening horizons before apostolic desires.And then, as regards practical kinds of apostolate we need to intensify in the laity generosity and creativity, but keeping always in mind certain aspects which open up a great range of possibilities.

In the first place, insistence is needed on the daily witness which the laity must be able to provide by their state of life and in their work or profession: this is what gives its Christian aspect to their specific secular character.

In addition it is particularly meaningful and enhancing if the laity can be convinced about reserving a space for apostolic activity in their free time. Whether this be much or little, it is certainly one of the best signs of responsible and committed membership of the Church according to the mission proper to the Salesian Family.

The Council’s decree "Apostolicam actuositatem" presents three "areas" of apostolic perspective: the first concerns specific tasks in the field of evangelization, the second (and most characteristic) refers to the Christian animation of the temporal order, and the third involves initiatives in charitable works and social aid.²⁰ It is not therefore a restrictive, closed and unilateral perspective, but one that is open to ample possibilities of action.

The decree also presents various possible "forms" of apostolate. The two basic ones are: the ‘individual’ form, which in some countries is frequently the only one possible in practice; and the ‘associative’ form, particularly recommended by the Council, because "it is in happy harmony with a fundamental need in the faithful, a need that is both human and Christian; and at the same time it offers a sign of the communion and unity of the Church in Christ".²¹

In our Family various possibilities can be found for apostolic work in groups or associations.

But there exists an outstanding Association, that of the Salesian Cooperators. From the point of view of the Christian vocation of the lay person in our Family, this must be considered the center of reference for all such possibilities, because it is not an alternative to other associations, but rather aims at animating those others. The Cooperators are not an association which, as such, organizes works and specific initiatives; the Association is aware that it shares responsibility with us in preserving in all its members and in our Family the vitality of Don Bosco’s plan, bringing to it the riches of its own secular condition. In doing this it retains the possibility of offering animators for the identity of any other group or association whose specific nature needs to be known and appreciated, without prejudice to its autonomy.

On account of this vocational character, the Cooperators’ Association has particular bonds with our Congregation; it is in fact called upon to ensure, in special communion with us, the identity and vitality of the spiritual and apostolic heritage of Don Bosco in the world.

The Founder did not conceive the Association as being independent and made up only of lay people, but rather as an integral part or group aggregated to the Congregation. The great majority of its members are in fact lay, and the Association promotes their secular character; but it also includes diocesan priests and deacons (and even Bishops). It enjoys too its own peculiar autonomy, which however must be efficaciously harmonized with the serious responsibility of taking care (together with us) of the specific character and efficacy of the Salesian vocation.

• If all the authentic laity who are in mission with us (Past Pupils, Collaborators, Friends) became members of this special Association, it would strengthen their personal Salesian identity and in addition they would bring to the other associations of which they might be members a greater commitment in a better Family communion. This is what Don Bosco wanted.Finally, another important objective to be attained is that of making known and loved the evangelical patrimony of Don Bosco with its specific values of his charisma and criteria for activity. This means helping lay people to grow in the Salesian spirit and apostolic method left to as by our Founder as a heritage; but in this formative task it is always necessary to see that everything is in harmony with their secular vocation.²²

To achieve these objectives it will be obvious, I think, to everyone that some priorities must be laid down for competent and efficacious action.

I recall some of these, especially for the benefit of provincials:

— To make sure that the confreres in charge of this sector are adequate in number and quality, that they are up to date and have the necessary time available for the work involved.

— Constantly to promote the calling together, friendship and formation of lay people in view of an apostolic involvement; in this connection those who are young should not be overlooked but rather given special attention.²³

— To help individuals to choose concrete and practical commitments in keeping with their personal possibilities in educational, pastoral, charitable and other works for the common good, either individually or in association with others.

— To organize initiatives at provincial level which will create a climate of renewal and re-launching in every community.

Vatican II brought with it a vast spiritual renewal. As Paul VI said: "We are living in the Church at a privileged moment of the Spirit. Everywhere people are trying to know him better, as the Scripture reveals him. They are happy to place themselves under his inspiration. They are gathering about him; they want to let themselves be led by him".²⁴

Now if the Spirit of the Lord is providing the Church at the present day with a special period of spiritual rebirth, it would indeed be strange if we, who are precisely bearers of one of his charismata, remained passive or were satisfied with the simple and meager effort of repeating what had been done before: that would not be movement, but rather a comfortable way of standing still.

In commenting on the Strenna, I said that the life of the Church provides a yardstick for measuring ourselves: either we launch a characteristic "spiritual movement" with the contribution of the whole Salesian Family and we shall be leaders for the future, bearing the Council towards the third millennium, or else we shall resign ourselves to remaining in the rear, closing ourselves in nostalgic musings on the past and running the risk of imprisoning ourselves up in a museum of past memories.

We need something to shake us up; and 1988 offers a magnificent opportunity for the purpose.

A significant majority of confreres in the Congregation are already breathing the fresh air of this renewal, nourished and supported (for more than a year now) by the renewed Constitutions.

And so the conditions exist, and indeed in various provinces very positive steps have already been taken for the growth and expansion of a characteristically apostolic "spiritual movement", which involves and catalyzes a large number of lay people together with ourselves.

To this end we must able to give back to our consecrated life its specific feature of "charisma". This means, as "Mutuae relationes" says, "bringing an element of real originality into the spiritual life of the Church along with fresh initiatives for action". Such a characteristic demands "a constant re-examination of fidelity to the Lord, docility to his Spirit, prudent weighing of circumstances and careful reading of the signs of the times, the will to be integrated in the Church, awareness of obedience to the hierarchy, boldness in initiatives, perseverance in self-giving, humility in the face of adversity. In a genuine charism there is always a mixture of new creativity and interior suffering".²⁵

These expressions provide us with a very useful yardstick for comparison and revision.

From the very beginnings the charism of Don Bosco has given rise in the world to a concrete, attractive and adequate "youth spirituality"; St. Dominic Savio provides proof of this. At the present day, after the Council, the members of the Salesian Family must renew in their own Group and in mutual encounters with others the most genuine spirit of the Founder, so as to manifest the existence in all of them of a dynamism of holiness, of a "movement of people" which inspires, guides and sustains a genuine spirituality for young people of the middle and lower classes.

We know that Mary Help of Christians, Mother of the Church, was present in the origins of many charisms in favor of the People of God; we are well aware of her motherly initiative and particular care in the case of our own Family. Let us ask her insistently, in view also of what we want to do for 1988, for the lights, energy and practical gifts which will enable us to make our family in the Church truly "a vast movement of persons who in different ways work for the salvation of the young".²⁶

May she give special help to us Salesians who, in this movement of people, "by the will of the Founder... have particular responsibilities: to preserve unity of spirit and to foster dialogue and fraternal collaboration for our mutual enrichment and greater apostolic effectiveness".²⁷

My greetings to all of you, with my best wishes to every community that it may be a lively and dynamic center of "youth spirituality".