APPENDICES
John Paul II
APPENDIX 1
Message of His Holiness JOHN PAUL II
for the beginning of the GC24
To the Very Reverend
Fr JOHN E. VECCHI
Vicar General of the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco
[195]
1. It gives me particular pleasure to send to you and to all
the Salesian confreres, especially those gathered together in the
Congregation's 24th General Chapter, my cordial greetings and
good wishes.
How could my first thoughts at this time fail to be of the
late lamented Fr. Egidio Vigaṇ, who was Rector Major of the
Salesian Congregation for so many years? I think of him with
gratitude and emotion as I recall his prodigal commitment in
disseminating the renewing wisdom of the Second Vatican Council
in both the Society of St. Francis de Sales and the wider areas
of the Church at large, taking an active part on several occasions
in great and important ecclesial assemblies.
While I recall his faithful service to the Church, I pray that
the Lord may grant him the peace of his Kingdom, and imbue the
entire Institute with renewed apostolic and missionary spirit in
view of the third Christian millennium which is already imminent.
[196]
2. It is in the perspective of the Great Jubilee that this
General Chapter is taking place, an event of fundamental
importance in the life of the Congregation. Every General Chapter
has always a double objective: on the one hand that of looking
back over the previous six years to assess the commitment made by
the various communities for the realization of what was decided
on by the previous Chapter and, on the other, that of planning in
the light of the original charisma the life of the Congregation
in the period now beginning. The original charism, in fact, must
never be lost sight of.
In this context, and in these years of notable and rapid
social and cultural changes, the specific educational and
pastoral vocation of the Salesian Congregation finds in the
Chapter the means and occasion for reaching decisions for the
benefit of the young and of the whole Christian community, which
awaits a renewed evangelical and missionary impulse. A great
responsibility is this! In its light, while praying that the work
of the capitulars may be effective, I remind them that the
assembly has a character of particular urgency in the context of
the contemporary world.
[197]
3. With the down-to-earth approach of the educator and the
far-sightedness of the saint, Don Bosco put before his sons a
precise apostolic objective: 'The preparation of upright citizens
and good Christians'. Without any doubt the Salesian Congregation
has frequently reflected on the significance of these words, even
to the extent of making them a slogan; it reminds educators of
the path they must follow and propose to the young who avail
themselves of Salesian education in the various sectors of
activity: a kind of challenge able to give sense to their
existence.
The results of an educational method of this kind can be seen
in a history which is by this time more than merely secular in
nature. The Salesians can count on a great number of friends of
Don Bosco scattered all over the world, with different
denominations but all linked with the Saint of the young; they
can count on numerous Past-pupils who still look to the Father
and Teacher of their younger days as an important reference point
in their family commitments and their obligations in society;
they can count on Cooperators who give effect to their Founder's
dreams of education and evangelization, as they continue to
spread abroad Don Bosco's genuine spirit and Salesian
spirituality.
[198]
4. The reference to those who ask Don Bosco and his Salesian
sons to help them to live as "upright citizens and good
Christians", provides me now with an opportunity for a more
explicit reflection on the theme of the present capitular
assembly: the relationship between Salesians and lay people.
In recent years the world of the 'laity' has attracted special
attention on the part of the Church's magisterium, and before and
after the Synod dedicated to the "vocation and mission of
the lay faithful in the Church and in the world" I myself
have made several pronouncements in this regard. In the Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles
laici which followed the Synod, I gathered together in an
organic manner the needs and perspectives which have arisen in
recent years in the Church, so that "the rich 'theory' on
the lay state expressed by the Council can be translated into
authentic Church 'practice'" (n.2). Speaking of the risks to
which the witness of lay people is exposed in today's world, I
wrote: "Two temptations can be cited which they (the laity)
have not always known how to avoid: the temptation of being so
strongly interested in Church services and tasks that some fail
to become actively engaged in their responsibilities in the
professional, social, cultural and political world; and the
temptation of legitimizing the unwarranted separation of faith
from life, i.e. a separation of the Gospel's acceptance from the
actual living of the Gospel in various situations in the
world" (ibid.).
[199]
5. At the school of Don Bosco, who wanted to make
"upright citizens and good Christians" it is possible
to help the lay faithful to overcome these two risks. In their
tradition, in fact, the Salesians have efficacious means for
creating harmony and balance between the various demands of
contemporary life.
I would like to recall three elements in particular.
In the first place, the ability for educational follow-up. You
can call it assistance, animation, family spirit, or whatever you
like, but it is always a matter of being present among the laity
and among people in general as a "stimulus to the growth of
the person in his own environment" leading to a "common
search" for a project of life. Hence the urgent need for
Salesian communities, rich in numbers and spirituality, ready to
accompany all and respond to needs and demands. Collaboration
between Salesians and laity must aim at forming "educative
communities", in which personal talents are shared for the
good of all. Who could ever forget Don Bosco's extraordinary
ability to gather around him so many persons in a unity of
purpose?
The second element consists of a dynamic organization,
adroit in its strengths: of individuals in groups of common
interests, in associations of civil and religious commitment, and
in vast educative and spiritual movements. I repeat what I said
on an earlier occasion: "There is no doubt that this
ecclesial tendency towards group apostolates has a supernatural
origin in the 'charity' the Holy Spirit instills in hearts (cf.
Rom 5,5). However, its theological value matches the sociological
need that in the modern world leads to the organization of
combined efforts in order to reach pre-established objectives.
(...) It is a question of combining and harmonizing the
activities of those who aim at influencing the spirit and
mentalities of people in various social conditions with the
Gospel message. It is a question of putting into practice an evangelization
that is able to exert an influence on public opinion and on
institutions; and to reach this aim, well-organized group action
is required" (Gen. audience, 23 March 1994, n.2). Truly
Don Bosco was a master in the organization of diverse forces,
asking from each one what he was able to give, and bringing all
of them into concrete, practical and visible convergence.
And the third element on which to rely is the spiritual
indication which stems from Don Bosco's experience at Valdocco and
which has extended beyond the limits of the Salesian community.
Lay people of the present day have need of a deep spiritual life.
This is required by the nature of the tasks they have to carry
out: as their commitment increases to the building of God's
Kingdom, so too do the obstacles standing in the way, and the
need becomes clear of a deeper interior apostolic conviction.
Modern culture needs convinced and active believers who will be
in the world a leaven of kindness and of what is good. For this
reason the formation of the lay faithful is one of the priorities
on which the efforts of the community must converge. Formation
helps lay people in the discovery of their particular vocation,
it provides them with the means needed for their ongoing maturing
process, and introduces them to the ways of the Spirit of the
Lord. It builds up the "union which exists from their being
members of the Church and citizens of human society"
(Christifideles laici, n.59). "A faith that does not
affect a person's culture is a faith 'not fully embraced, not
entirely thought out, not faithfully lived'" (ibid.).
[200]
6. Don Bosco placed much emphasis on spiritual formation,
understood as learning to live the whole of one's personal
existence, in its various expressions, in the presence of God and
the active construction of the Kingdom. A similar formation will
prepare the laity of the new era to be able to respond to the
formerly unknown challenges of our time, so as to create a future
rich in hope for all humanity. The work of the recent Assembly of
the Synod of Bishops on the consecrated life has emphasized the
relationship existing between the spirituality of a religious
Institute and the spirituality of the lay people who take from it
the inspiration for their life and activity. This is the
perspective in which it is intended that the reflection of the capitular
assembly will take place; it will not fail to indicate lines of
apostolic cooperation between consecrated and lay persons who are
called to be in the world courageous witnesses of the Gospel.
I entrust the work of the Chapter to Mary Help of Christians,
who continues to watch over the dreams and aspirations of the
sons of Don Bosco who are working, sometimes at personal risk, in
territories of first evangelization. There it will be possible to
work efficaciously, even with lay people who do not belong to the
Catholic Church, provided that there is the ability to live to
the full the experience of Don Bosco and to put forward in an
integral manner both his educative system and his apostolic
spirit.
In invoking the protection of Don Bosco and the Salesian
Saints upon all who dedicate themselves to so fascinating but
demanding a mission, from my heart I send to you, to those taking
part in the General Chapter, to all the confreres in the various
communities, and to the whole Salesian Family, a special Apostolic
Blessing as a mark of my esteem and confidence.
From the Vatican, 31 January 1996, Feast of St. John Bosco
JOHN PAUL II
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