1. A theme which crops up repeatedly

Every time we consider ourselves with respect to our mission, we are reaffirmed in our conviction about its validity, and at the same time comes the awareness that we must make ourselves more competent to fulfil it in all its possibilities. The frontiers become ever more numerous, requests multiply, urgent needs become ever more pressing; we would like to be better prepared, to be able to offer them in their widely different circumstances the guidance and support they need.

This has been my experience too in the first year and a half of my service as Rector Major. Contact with Provincials in different parts of the world has enabled me to see at first hand the vast extent of the youth area, the accumulation of expectations, the prompt response young people give to our efforts, the relevance of our charism for society and the Church.

I have admired the tireless work of communities, often with less than adequate numbers of personnel, in frontier contexts of an advanced social, educative and pastoral nature, intent on expressing the mission in courageous projects and the animation of numerous collaborators.

The harvest is great! More than by the quantitative disproportion between the work and the workers, we are struck by the challenges presented by the present situation: the putting forward of a sense of life, education of conscience, accompanying the young on a pilgrimage of faith, building up a broader solidarity, the efficacious embracing of poverty, effective expression of the Gospel, seeing to it that the Word of God is applied to the questions and possibilities of daily life.

We become aware that to have greater influence it is not sufficient to be more numerous or have more powerful means at our disposal; what is necessary above all is that we be disciples of Christ to a greater extent, entering more deeply into the Gospel, qualifying community life, centering our projects and interventions on a more pastoral aspect. It is, if we may use a word which may seem rather ‘secular’ a problem of quality; in gospel language it means the genuine nature and transforming force of leaven.

Quality emerges as a necessary requirement in every sector of life, culture and activity. It is spoken of in terms of an ‘excellence’ to be sought, a ‘competence’ to be fostered, an overall ‘quality’ to be attained.

Good will and generous availability are indispensable but insufficient unless they are accompanied by the knowledge and techniques proper to a field of activity, the understanding of cultural phenomena which are a mark of present-day life and, for us, the ability to confront such phenomena with an ever deeper understanding of the mystery of Christ.

The problem is not only for Salesians. It is the common situation of all who want to live, without going astray, through the present cultural transformation, in which to be educators, pastors or simple Christians implies discernment and choice.

Some expressions which have long become common, such as pluralism, an ethically neutral society, secularization, the right to be different, freedom of thought and expression, multimedia culture, subjectivism, remind us of this with the rapid bombardment of advertising.

It is the same challenge which underlies the new evangelization: the ability to live consciously the Christian faith, to bear witness to it with joy, and also to speak up in the modern areopagi and proclaim Jesus Christ in all his richness.

This was felt almost as a constant prodding in our GC24. It was clear from an analysis of the situation of the Congregation, that living the salesian project of consecrated life at the present day with a serene maturity and facing up adequately to the tasks of our mission, require of every confrere a greater spiritual strength, a qualitative leap with regard to general preparation, specifically that of a pastor and educator, and new cultural, professional and pastoral skills.

I made this trend of the Chapter my own, and in my final address I emphasized the priority of a formation particularly attentive to the cultural dimension as an essential part of educative ability and of the spirituality of the pastor.

In our six-year program we have made this a central point on which all sectors must converge. It seemed important to us to keep alive in every confrere an intention and tendency towards the growth of his own vocation, to arouse the communities to the creation of an environment which fosters the maturing of individuals, and to ask Provincials to invest in the preparation of personnel and on the quality of educative and pastoral projects.

I now return to what was recommended with regard to complete ongoing formation; but I want to focus in particular on the need to recover the love for cultural commitment and the consequent capacity for study.

It is clear that for us, as was affirmed by the GC23, spiritual renewal, pastoral tendency, cultural preparation and educative competence cannot be separated one from another, if the Salesian is to be inserted in the youth context with the ability to dialogue and make effective suggestions. Together they depict the physiognomy of our holiness and the way we approach it. This means that the urgency of a lawful and obligatory qualification must not be confused with an exaggerated search for efficiency. Our hope lies always in the grace which the Father pours abundantly into hearts, in the Cross which is the sign of life and salvation, and in the Word which enlightens us. But as individuals and as a Congregation, a part of the generous response to our vocation is not to leave the talents we have received lying idle.