SECOND PART: SALESIANS AND LAITY, MEMORIES AND PROPHECY

CHAPTER 1: SALESIANS (SDBs) AND LAITY IN THE WORLD AND IN THE CHURCH

"The good man seemed to be beside himself with joy at having a church in his house.

Thank you, my good friend, for your kindness and good will.

I accept these generous offers, provided you can promise me that I can come here next Sunday with my boys". (MO, p.256-7).

1. CALLED BY THE FATHER TO WORK IN HIS KINGDOM

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"To me", wrote Don Bosco on his arrival at Valdocco,"it seemed truly to be the place of which I had dreamed and seen written: Haec domus mea, inde gloria mea". And he went on to emphasize the solicitude in granting the faculties "to have sung Masses, to make triduums, novenas and retreats, to admit to confirmation and holy communion, and to certify that all those who regularly attended our programme had fulfilled their Easter duty".¹ From the entire story it is easy to deduce that "to be Church" and make the "experience of Church" is at the heart of Don Bosco's plan of education.

The opening at Valdocco on Easter Sunday 1846 became the sign of the special linkage between on Bosco's Oratory and the Resurrection Community.

The Salesian mission was to be at the service of the great project of communion which began at the creation and reached its fullness in Christ's Easter victory.

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Created to live and build communion

Man was created "in the image and likeness of God"² and is called to exist in a relationship which manifests the gift of the Trinitarian communion present in his heart.

This gift is also a commitment³. Life is a call to grow in communion with God and with others, to develop one's personal resources and transform the world and nature into a dwelling place worthy of the human family.

This communion is expressed in the first place in the relationship between man and woman⁴ (cf. Gen 2,18) who have equal dignity and responsibility. It is a matter of a reciprocal and complementary relationship lived especially in the family, the fundamental subject of society, a community of persons which renders visible and communicates the gift of communion.

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In acceptance of creation and of history

"And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good"⁵. Created realities have an intrinsic goodness, their own autonomy and consistency.

Humanity responds to the initiative of God, who calls it and collaborates with it for the transformation of the world through work, science and technology, in the development of society through politics and economics, in the pursuit of justice and solidarity among different peoples. Of this the witness of great men and women is a sign. Such a project manifests the unity of all human beings who come from the same Source and have the same final End. God truly loves the world and involves everyone in working together to build it in unity and peace.⁶

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In a process of reconciliation

In the history of humanity sin destroyed the original unity, shattered interpersonal relationships, changed God's truth into lies and brought death into the world.⁷

Nevertheless the final word is not sin and man's death, but love and the life of God.⁸ From the initial shipwreck of humanity began the long and still unfinished story of human adventure, which is at the same time both profane and salvific.

Fragments of salvation are particularly evident in the different religions. These manifest the force of humanity in seeking God, a search prompted by grace and having its definitive fullness in the mystery of Christ.⁹ God's presence and action can also be seen in persons of good will and upright conscience.

This is an invitation to us to collaborate with them and with believers of different religions in building a world which is more human, just and fraternal.¹⁰

¹ cf. Memoirs of the Oratory, p. 265

² cf. Gen 1, 26

³ cf. Gen 1, 28

⁴ cf. Gen 2, 18

⁵ Gen 1,31

⁶ cf. GS 92

⁷ cf. Gen 3, 1-24; Wis 2,24

⁸ cf. Gen 3, 15

⁹ cf. LG 16, NA 1.2

¹⁰ In this sense we can extend the meaning of the term "Laity" to include all those who, although not belonging to the Catholic Church, want to contribute in various ways to an integral education in the spirit of Don Bosco (cf.AGC 350, p.11 and 14).