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Visit of Don Bosco’s relic 2012 Committed to youth Salesian Province “Our Lady of Mercy”, in Barcelona.
What is the real meaning for you, nowadays, of living Don Bosco’s style?
For me it mainly means to be a believer
Since I was a little child, my family and the Salesians had handed on the thing that has been most important for me – the Christian Faith.
A faith which makes me realize that God is essential both for our existence and our life,
a life that is worth living.
I would also emphasize optimism, which is very characteristic of Don Bosco,
as a result of commitment, and involvement in so many things
but at the same time without feeling overwhelmed or stressed out.
And I think that those who know me well can see that I am someone who is happy with this commitment.
I would also like to make reference to the preventive system.
In my view this commitment is closely tied to Youth and prevention,
which means, as I see it, taking the first step, planing the project and its goals with the help of a team.
And so, from my point of view, prevention means doing things with common sense.
As far as I am concerned, Don Bosco’s style means having a reference point in my life,
a model to follow and being able to work it out day by day.
There are several things about Don Bosco that I like very much, like his joy, and his optimism,
things to be practised here in the parish and daily life,
with the children doing catechetics, and in the Youth Center, the open Center...
I also like the idea of Don Bosco sharing the Gospel in community,
instead of being alone, having some people around you.
And the parish community is the perfect place to share, in order to have the Gospel as a point of reference.
And finally, I also enjoy very much the idea of Mamma Margaret's family,
because she was always there in her son's life
and as a lay woman in the family, she became a visible and essential point of reference for everyone.
For myself, living Don Bosco’s way of life means continuing the work he began.
being able to devote ourselves to young people most in need of help, and doing this as a calling.
thus creating a better and fairer society
where we can fully trust each individual, each educator,
all the families we work with, so that they can overcome all their difficulties.
It was in the SYM (Salesian Youth Movement) that I began enjoying Don Bosco’s way of life,
not just as a place for entertainment but also a serious and formal one.
It is here that I received my first call to a new vocation, the theatre.
Ten years ago I started a theatre group, and here I am, And I have also become the coordinator of all this kind of activity in the Province.
So, as we usually say: stay young by being among the young, I’m trying to live and do things in this way, since my SYM experience.
Following what they told me at school, Don Bosco based his life on happiness and youth,
and I think that, as Don Bosco himself used to say, it is very important to build our life on happiness and joy
so we can educate young people in values in their spare time.
To live Don Bosco’s style means being fully open to others, being warm and friendly to all.
offering room for personal development for every individual
where he or she can also decide what they want to be in the future.
And this is one of the tasks we carry out in youth centres. We offer room for the young to be educated in values
where they themselves can decide and realize what they want to become in the future;
when they become adults they can be people of discernment, with a well-founded critical approach.
To live Don Bosco’s style today is a double daily challenge for me:
on the one hand, like Don Bosco himself, being a tireless worker
means committing myself,
directly to equality and justice between individuals and peoples.
And on the other hand, thinking of the personality of Don Bosco the dreamer,
makes me trust that my belief in a better world is possible.
I believe that the transformation of this world must be in the hands of the young
who are the true key players for change.
And this is experienced in terms of family, a community, that makes every day activity easier.
The Relic comes to the Province of Barcelona, the Salesians, communities and their work at an intense and interesting time.
As you know, we are immersed in a process of revitalization and internal revival
both for each Salesian's vocation and for every Salesian community, as well as for the the charism expressed through their work.
This return to the very love that inspired us when we were young, is an interesting one.
It gave us the urgency to give ourselves to others, and now to return to revitalize the charism
that meant so much to our lives and the lives of many young people.
We believe that it is a nice gift for the youth of today, and a good project of life for them all.
That is why we hope that the visit of Don Bosco will encourage us, Will help us in this regard.
We will pray to him insistently and with great faith:
WELCOME HOME The relic will remain in our Province from 1st to 11th November 2012