Fri, 30 July 2010

Change comes with a price

Fr. Sebatian sdb

Change is a challenge. To accept it, one needs courage. Change is part of our daily life and it is essential for growth. “The world hates change, yet it is only change that has brought progress,” said a wise man. We are constantly changing, our environment is changing, our place of residence is changing, our friends are changing and our world itself is changing. Those who accept it with courage grow, but those who resist it end up disappointed.. In this issue of the Salesian bulletin you find many changes starting with its very name; to make it sound more universal we have changed the name to “Don Bosco East Africa”. You find a new editorial team, one each from Kenya, Tanzania and Sudan, new topics and new correspondents. Though international, being a magazine mainly for private circulation within the salesian family we have tried to get a person to write from every community and association existing in our province (AFE). I must admit that we have not succeeded, it is tough but I will try other means and I hope to bring you at least a small piece of news from every corner of the province. Feel free to write a comment to the editor about what is published, and about the magazine itself. READ ON>>

Presentation of the 2010 Strenna

On the occasion of the centenary of the death of Don Michael Rua, who was totally faithful to Don Bosco and to his charism, I want to invite the whole Salesian Family to act as a real movement of disciples and apostles of Jesus and to be committed to the evangelisation of the young.
Being committed to  evangelisation is the fruit and the consequence of being the disciple of the Lord Jesus, who following Him becomes his zealous missionary. In this way we want to take up the challenge of helping the young  «to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ READ ON>>

GOOD NEWS FOR THE HUMAN RACE: JESUS

THE GOSPEL TO THE YOUNG

 “Jesus is God’s Yes to man and also man’s reply to God” (2Cor 1,18-24).            

 For a number of years I have been mulling over the idea of offering the Salesian Family in this monthly reflection in the SB, some simple and systematic thoughts on what is at the centre of our faith, emphasising some aspect of the Salesian tradition going back to Don Bosco, and, as indicated in the Strenna for 2010, in the centenary year of the death of Blessed Michael Rua: In imitation of Don Rua, as authentic disciples and zealous apostles let us bring the Gospel to the young. In his first encyclical, Benedict XVI reminds us that “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon” (Deus Caritas est, 1). Christianity is not a collection of truths arrived at through reflection over many centuries, nor of moral norms to be practised, but rather a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus which, as we see in the New Testament radically changes our lives and makes us real “Christians,” that is to say “those who are Christ’s”. This characteristic can be clearly seen in a key word of the Sacred Scriptures which we are familiar with: “Gospel” based on the original Greek word which means “good news,” and which Mark the first to write down the oral witness of the Christian community about Jesus used as a title: “The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God” (Mc 1,1). From the very beginning, enlightened by the Spirit, Christians understood that Jesus was the very best news for the whole human race. READ ON>>

‘Africa, rise up!’: The Second Synod for Africa

The 2009 Second Synod for Africa ended on 25th October after having started on the 4th of the same month. Bishops from around the world gave more than three weeks of their time in Rome, and it was no holiday. They reflected on the theme, “The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace: ‘You are the salt of the earth... You are the light of the world’. The synod gave an opportunity to take a look back to see the progress, development, growth and mission of the Church in Africa. There are both blessings and challenges that mark this growth. They took a serious look at issues ranging from challenges for family, to resource exploitation, trade imbalances, debt, climate change, women in Africa, conflicts, poor governance, migration, corruption, globalization, health challenges, and insufficient media coverage of the real Africa with all its lights and shadows. READ ON>>