Hajja Salesjana July-September 2021

31 H AJJA S ALESJANA Visit our social media platforms in English, French, Italian, and Spanish https://www.museocasadonbosco.it Museo Casa Don Bosco museo_casadonbosco Living stones that keep Salesian history alive: These stones tell the story of visionaries young and old whose feet were firmly planted on the ground: men, women and children, lay people and priests, who accepted the task of rethinking "the objectives, structures, style and evangelising methods of their community". They built a new experience of Church by nourishing the young Body of Christ in original ways, offering faith formation, education, job security and protection from exploitation as a path of holiness. These living stones honour the diligent work and vibrant faith through which the Oratory was built into a spiritual edifice. Young people as protagonists: Don Bosco invited his young people to be protagonists of hope, and they did not disappoint. These walls could serve as a footnote to the Frame of Reference for Salesian Youth Ministry which reminds us that youth ministry is authentically Salesian to the extent that it treats young people not as empty recipients to be filled, but as protagonists who have something precious to offer. Youth ministry builds up the young when it is more than a “pious escape” from the raging rivers of life. It changes lives and opens hopeful horizons when it empowers the young to face everyday life responsibly by building their identity and their future on that corner stone who is the Risen Jesus. Like the boys whom Don Bosco invited to bring stones to build their own dining room, young people today need to discover their unique role in building up of the church through their own life of faith, hope and responsible service in their God-given vocation. Coming Full Circle When Don Bosco was beatified in 1929, his remains were carried in solemn procession from the Salesian school in Valsalice to the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin. The wooden and crystal urn used that day was crafted by Salesian artisans at the school of St. Benigno. Today, it is supported by four large stones, also drawn from the Stura and Dora rivers. These living stones still speak: in life, Don Bosco supported the young in the process of drawing close to Jesus and building themselves up as a spiritual edifice; today, the young hold up Don Bosco as their friend and father who has passed from Valdocco into Easter glory.