A healthy and robust identity brings joy and unity to life and gives a sound direction to apostolic work. It is where the Church places us and where it wants us to flourish. Thus, the diocesan priest is rooted in a particular territory, whereas the religious priest is characterized by a universal openness. Theological reflection in the post-conciliar period is marked by an intense awareness of the link between the ministerial priesthood and the common priesthood of the faithful. As the new Ratio of the Church insists, the community is essential to the life of a priest, both in the stages of his preparation (discipleship, configuration, vocational synthesis) and in the ministry lived in an attitude of lifelong formation. [31] C 115. Also known as Don Bosco. To be a Priest is to be like Christ: to be a man of God and a man for others in total self-donation like Jesus. He learns to meet the young at their level of freedom and in their experience of life (cf. The problem does not come from being too much priests, but from being too little priests: we tend to concentrate on doing priesthood rather than on being priests. The problem in the Congregation is that we have many priests but not enough priesthood. A Salesian priest is called to be a sign of Christ the Good Shepherd. The importance of this phase could not get greater endorsement than the one coming directly from the life of Don Bosco. We grow as human beings only through bonds of love. We have to remember that Don Bosco impressed a very concrete peculiarity on the figure of the Salesian Priest. Without the lay dimension we should lose the positive aspect of a healthy secularity characteristic of our choice of educational methods, and without the priestly dimension we should run the risk of losing the pastoral quality of the whole plan. 1 (1998) 16-27. Once he had established a 'mother house' in . Through the ministry of the Word (munus docendi) the Salesian who is a priest brings the word of Christ into a wide variety of situations and in different forms of preaching, help and counsel, illuminating the experience of the young, giving direction to their lives, and accompanying them in the transformation and transfiguration of their existence. We Salesians of Don Bosco, Province of St. Philip the Apostle, are part of an international community of consecrated religious, both brothers and priests, founded by Saint John Bosco. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (Heb 10:14), Thus, for us, there is only one priest and one sacrifice despite the fact that, from the Jewish point of view, Jesus was a layman, and that his sacrifice took place not in the Temple but on Calvary and in a context that was not sacred. Such a way of being high priest is diametrically opposed to the old concept: instead of ritual separation, we find an existential solidarity; instead of being raised up above others, we find an extreme abasement; instead of a prohibition of every contact with death, we find the call to accept suffering and death.[2]. So, like all consecrated persons, the life of a Salesian Priest will be marked by a passion for the Lord, translated into a joy that is often contagious (Salesian cheerfulness! Post-novices, called religious brothers, complete or expand university education, continue fraternal life in community, and are assigned to an apostolic work. All those baptized into Christ are, in fact, called to unite themselves with him in offering their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. He goes on to say something that still sounds surprising: The life of grace (i.e. As consecrated persons we are surely called also to bear witness to the marvellous interconnectedness of Gods creation on its way to the eschaton, to the reconciliation of all things in Christ. If we reduce man exclusively to his horizontal dimension, to that which can be perceived empirically, life itself loses its profound meaning. As a religious, the ministry of the Salesian Priest is always mediated by the community. The Spirit formed within him the heart of a father and teacher, capable of total self-giving: I have promised God that I would give of myself to my last breath for my poor boys. Andrew Delegation economer, director of Caring Center Originally from Vietnam. We see the intensity of holiness reflected in Mary, and ministerial authenticity in Peter. We must keep in mind, further, that the Salesian religious community is characterized by an essential complementarity between Priest Salesians and Brother Salesians: The significant and complementary presence of clerical and lay Salesians in the community constitutes an essential element of its makeup and of its apostolic completeness. In general, we need to ensure that specific formation is not reduced to its necessary intellectual dimension, much less to merely passing examinations. Aspirants to the Salesian priesthood must be helped to enter more deeply into their specific identity of confreres called to live the priesthood within the Salesian vocation and mission. The program consists of prayer, an apostolate (pastoral work), and college work or pastoral experience as needed. The vocation of every member of the Church is to be, like Mary, a total Yes to God. [11] AGC 335 28. It would be a tragedy if Salesian priests were to stop reading, reflecting and studying soon after ordination. A letter to consecrated men and women journeying in the footsteps of God (September 2014); Contemplate: To all consecrated persons pursuing the Beauty trail (November 2014); Proclaim: To consecrated men and women witnesses of the Gospel among peoples (August 2016). FAQ | EAO Salesian Brothers New Rochelle, NY 10802-0639 There is so much to be gained by a renewed attempt to understand the beauty of the priesthood of Christ. [10] AGC 335 27. A process of overall evaluation of the confreres Salesian experience since the novitiate, and especially during practical training, is a good basis for exploring motivations as well as orientations towards the future. His inspiration is not hermits in the desert or contemplatives in monasteries. It is in the context of this love for the Body of Christ, in its totality as well as in its concreteness as the community into which we are inserted, that the service of authority finds its meaning and justification. austraLasia - 4108_Vocation Story of Cl. Bernard Kaiau, SDB Salesians of Don Bosco - Wikipedia The first duty of the educator is to locate that sensitive spot, that responsive chord in the boy's heart, and take advantage of it. The program consists of prayer, an apostolate (pastoral work), and college work or pastoral experience as needed. FIN Province Vision-Mission Statement. Let us therefore put down a few points about the identity-mission of the Salesian Priest, without pretending to be either systematic or exhaustive.[7]. Mary is at the same time also a concrete person with whom we have a very special relationship. The Salesian Priest - Salesians Ireland | Continuing Don Bosco's The program consists of prayer, an apostolate (pastoral work), and college work or pastoral experience as needed. There was a new priest assigned to the school that year that showed me who the person of Jesus was. At 20 years old, he joined the candidacy to become a Salesian priest. What can I as a confrere / we as a community do to improve our knowledge of the context in which our young people live, especially those among them who are living in more precarious conditions? How could we ensure that specific formation includes not only the intellectual dimension but also the human-fraternal, the pastoral, the charismatic, and that of consecration lived out as Priest (or Brother)? Founded The Salesian Congregation. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. The religious brothers that have opted for Coadjutor status continue additional education or are assigned to a Salesian site. The English translation of potestas as powerdoes not convey this important nuance. His example and his guidance . These programs are run by Salesian missionaries priests, brothers and sisters, as well as lay people all . Salesian Priest Formation Program/Process. Fr Juan Vecchi, 8th successor of Don Bosco, reminded us that gift is a fundamental category for understanding the true nature of consecrated life. (FSDB 25), The Salesian priest [or deacon] combines in himself the gifts of Salesian consecration and those of the pastoral ministry, but in such a way that his particular manner of being a priest and exercising his ministry stems from his Salesian consecration. In them, in fact, the objective and ministerial priesthood seems to be associated in a special way with the subjective and existential priesthood of the oblation of oneself in the way required by the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. That is the reason behind Fr Vigans suggestion that we use the terms Priest-Salesian and Brother-Salesian, where Salesian is understood as a noun. Jesus died that he might gather into one the scattered children of God. Salesian Missions is headquartered in New Rochelle, NY. Pastoral charity is not a new element that comes in after ordination, identified with peculiar pastoral activities reserved to the priest, but is, instead, at the very root of the vocation of Salesians who are priests. For us, however, it is urgent to reflect on the identity of the Salesian who is a priest. It is the heart of all our formation, the fountainhead of our formation process and its constant point of reference. However, the Catholic understanding of vocation is much broader: Every baptized person has a vocation a call to love and serve God. 8. Praying the Rosary for Vocations | Salesians of Don Bosco We were born out of the experience of Don Bosco with the marginalized youth of Valdocco to whom he gave his life until his last breath. All our formation, both initial and ongoing, consists in acquiring and actualizing this identity in individual persons and in the community. [18] The Salesian Rector: A ministry for the life and governance of the local community (2019) 40. What is needed, therefore, is a very precise formation and qualification: a great capacity for human relationships, vaccination against all forms of clericalism, a good theology of the laity, experiences of formation together with our lay mission partners. It is also the determining criterion of vocation discernment. Fr. The transition from practical training to the next stage of initial formation a move that normally takes place close to the preparation for perpetual profession can offer good opportunities of discernment to both confrere and community. The sacrament of Reconciliation occupies a special place in the life of a Salesian Priest, as it did in the life of Don Bosco. Indeed, the two were on opposite courses. Lk1:48).[5]. (Jn 11:52) Are there limits we can put to those who are children of God? Montral, QC H1E 2E5 [17] The Biographical Memoirs, after quoting several examples of how this sacrament was lived in the Oratory, summarize Don Boscos reasoning as follows: Just as there is no barren or sterile land which cannot be made fertile through patient effort, so it is with a man's heart. The basic steps are: Prenovitiate A time of initial discernment usually lived in an active Salesian community. Canonized by Pope Pius XI. A large number of Salesians have felt the call to priesthood. It is significant also that the ministry of the Word comes first, not that of sanctification. Salesian, member of either of two Roman Catholic religious congregations, one of men and one of women, devoted to the Christian education of youth, especially the less privileged. Dominic Tran, SDB (914) 636-7445 ext. (AGC 335 18-23) The priest is called to have the heart of the Good Shepherd, and to have an awareness and internal feeling that bind him inseparably to those to whom he is sent. It is time to rethink the whole process of specific formation so as to give our Salesian consecrated identity the centrality that belongs to it. Read Taoist texts, both historical and modern. And so already, in the ecclesial community, the order of institutional, hierarchical and operational realities take second place (if we may put it that way; remember where the chapter on the People of God is placed in Lumen Gentium!) (FSDB 39). Formation Process to Become a Salesian Candidacy. The Salesian community is not an artificial aggregation of two kinds of members who make an effort to live together. The Pope invites priests to return to Nazareth, to step away from important and solemn places, and return to the places from which we were called, where it was clear that the initiative and the power was from God. The secret is to return to Nazareth in order to renew ourselves as pastors who are at the same time disciples and missionaries. No matter how barren and restive at first, it will sooner or later bring forth good fruit. [14] See Bozzolo, The Dual Form 36-37. The vocation to be a Salesian of Don Bosco is lived in two distinct ways: as a Salesian Brother (also called the 'Lay Salesian', or 'Salesian Coadjutor') and as a Salesian Priest. [33] Cited in AGC 335 14. There is no chastity if you are not chaste, there is no poverty if you are not poor, there is no obedience if you do not obey.. [3] John Paul II, The Pope: A Scandal and a Mystery, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, (Rome 1994). The Salesian Priest is at all times and everywhere an educator-pastor, concerned about the total well being of those to whom he is sent, with a totality defined by the mission and person of the Lord. (Rev 22:17) The vocation of Mary is the vocation of us all. Both these ways of being an SDB complement each other. In particular it openly proclaims the eschatological character of the People of God. It will begin by loving what is naturally good and ultimately advance to what is supernaturally good, provided that a zealous spiritual director will cooperate with God's grace by prayer and effort. I first started thinking about becoming a Salesian priest when I was a senior at one of our Salesian high schools, Don Bosco Prep. Br. Apart from this, the Salesians were always present with us on school outings, in the playing field and other school related activities. Salesians UK - Training as a Salesian The risk of a suffocating paternalism that borders on clericalism and abuse of authority can be reinforced by the way father figures could be experienced and understood in certain cultural contexts. [33] During the study of theology, we would need to make a concerted effort to read the theological treatises in the light of our charism. Become a Priest - VisiHow After his ordination in 1895 he spent ten years as novice master at Genzano di Roma. Paulinas, 1988) 324. See Young Salesians and Accompaniment: Orientations and Guidelines (2019) 46. 4. Maybe the time is not yet ripe, and there is need for prior doctrinal research at a deeper level.[1] The situation does not seem to have changed today. Good practices like these would help give much more value to the crucial passage from practical training to specific formation and perpetual profession. But religious follow the Lord in a special way, in a prophetic way. (Apostolic Letter of His Holiness Pope Francisto All Consecrated People on the Occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life, 28 November 2014, 2). During this phase, the candidates live in a Salesian formation community and discern the option to be a Salesian priest or brother. [27] Within this presentation of the charism, we must learn to propose the Salesian consecrated vocation first of all by joyful witness, and then also in more explicit ways. SALESIANS IN MONGOLIA Community in Ulaanbaatar Fr. We find the same basic truth about our identity expressed in art. There is another field in which today our being eschatological sign and living memorial of the way of life of Jesus becomes a precious gift for young people, the Church and the world at large. Preparing young Salesians to a passionate competence in this area is surely one of the great challenges facing initial formation, because it calls for far more than merely the insertion of a few extra courses on catechesis or sacramental theology into an already packed curriculum. The fatherliness of Don Bosco is the hallmark of his spirit and charism. Salesians of Don Bosco | Becoming a Salesian Priest This implies at the same time a constant return to the charismatic inspiration that nurtures our Salesian identity and mission. Our Salesian consecrated vocation is a gift from God to us, to young people, to the Church, to the world. It is significant, in this perspective, that while Peter was certainly married, John remained a virgin: As the virgin apostle he represented the religious priest as opposed to Peter, the married secular priest. [Ibid.] Becoming a Salesian brother or priest involves a formation process that includes prayer, study, community life and practical experiences with young people. Peter received an office and love was then bestowed upon him for the sake of the office that he might accomplish it more perfectly. How could we ensure adequate accompaniment of confreres in the quinquennium? From the Eastern Front: Fr. John Grinsell, SDB (1942-2021) - Blogger 3541, no. Pastoral charity leads to a constant immersion in the life of the people of God in the ongoing self-donation of service.[4]. How to Become a Taoist Priest - Synonym We can think of the teenager John Bosco who learnt to cherish the sacrament during the years at the Moglia farm and then at the school of the good Calosso. Dominic Tran, SDB and Fr. [12] The Salesian charism colours everything. Salesian Society Novices come to understand the Salesian identity of their vocation by making the Salesian constitutions their own and by living fraternal life in the community. It cannot, therefore, be a vertical affair.
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