Hajja Salesjana - Oct-Dec 2021

13 H AJJA S ALESJANA There may be those who have forgotten the value of service. Perhaps we Christians have forgotten that the commandment of love of God also implies love and service to our neighbor. Akash understood it very well and incarnated it in his young life. Being faithful in little things, he was able to be faithful in big ones, too. Through the offering of his life, he saved those hundreds of families. Akash Bashir's death reflects the love of Jesus on the Cross for the salvation of many. This life of service, of deep and simple prayer, and of love of neighbor is, without a doubt, the most evident charismatic sign of the Salesian educational system. Every student in any of our works knows that to reach sanctity all it takes is to be happy, loving deeply both God and the many people whom we hold dear; to take care of those whom we hardly even know; to be responsible in ordinary duties; to serve; and to pray. Akash Bashir is the living example of this. He is an example of holiness for any Christian, an example for all the young Christians of the world. Thus, It is possible to be a saint today! In a particular way, Akash represents young Pakistani Christians and those in religious minorities. Akash Bashir is the standard, icon, and voice of so many Christians who are attacked, persecuted, humiliated, and martyred in non-Catholic countries. Akash is the voice of so many brave young people who are capable of giving their lives for the Faith despite poverty, religious extremism, indifference, social inequality, discrimination, and life’s difficulties. I cite here some of these young saints or blessed ones, such as St. Dominic Savio (+1857), St. Maria Goretti (+1902), Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati (+1925), the young St. José Sánchez del Río (+1928) and the recently beatified young man Carlo Acutis (+2006). Like theirs, perhaps as an “anonymous saint,” Akash Bashir’s life and martyrdom in today's world is the light of Faith that bursts forth from the darkness of hatred. Akash’s life is powerful evidence of the Catholic Church of today that reminds us of the first Christian communities of the past. They lived immersed in cultures and philosophies opposed to the Faith of Jesus the Christ. The communities of the Acts of the Apostles were also a minority, but with an immeasurable faith in God. The life and martyrdom of this young 20-year-old Pakistani makes us recognize the power of God’s Holy Spirit, who is alive and present in the least expected places — in the humble, in the persecuted, in the young, and in the “little ones” (the anawim) of God. Akash Bashir, our Salesian student from Pakistan, is a living testimony to our Preventive System, an example for our young people, and a blessing to our religious minorities. I wish the best to you all - your families, Communities, and works - and a beautiful beginning of the academic year. Don Angel The Bashir family - his parents and younger brother