Hajja Salesjana October-November 2020

“DREAM AND HELP OTHERS DREAM” THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR DON ÁNGEL FERNÁNDEZ ARTIME 26 H AJJA S ALESJANA Greetings to all of you, friends of Don Bosco’s charism around the world, or readers who may have chanced upon the Salesian Bulletin - the communication tool that Don Bosco himself founded and loved so much. Today’s greeting bears a message filled with the Family Spirit and expressive of wonderful closeness on the part of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, to the entire Salesian Family, even if it was specifically addressed to us, the Salesians of Don Bosco, at the time when we were holding our General Chapter. The Holy Father, this simpleman of God and the most credible leader in the world, who prayed alone in the vast, empty piazza in front of St. Peter’s Basilica on a rainy and cold afternoon, as night was falling on March 27, 2020; this man of God who prayed for all mankind, which has, perhaps as never before, seemed so Promethean 1 as in the present century, while, at the same time, never so fragile as when stricken with a virus that has paralyzed the planet; this man of God who never before had been so alone when praying and, yet, at the same time, never so accompanied; this same man of God, just three weeks prior had wanted to be present to our General Chapter via a message that, far from formal, was familiar, purposeful, and challenging for the children of Don Bosco. Among the many significant things that he says to us, Pope Francis ends his message with the following words: “I would like to offer you these words as your ‘Goodnight’ – just like those that take place in every Salesian house at the end of the day – inviting you to dream and to dream big – knowing that all the rest will be given to you in addition. Dream of open, fruitful, and evangelizing houses capable of allowing the Lord to show very many young people His unconditional love and to permit you to enjoy the beauty to which you were called. Dream… not only for yourselves and for the good of the Congregation but for all the young people who (Pope Francis to the Salesians) 1 A reference to the Greek mythological figure, Prometheus, who stole fire to give to mankind to enable it to become like gods, with their power. The parallel with today’s mankind is that never before have we tried to play God as we do now – trying to control life and death and all manner of natural realities through the modern “god” of science – and, yet, a microbe has put the entire world on shutdown and man on his knees. By Annie Spratt from www.unsplash.com