Regarding the question of a renewed experience of God

Encounter with the Word

108.  The daily encounter with the Word already in act in the communities for years now in the communities, has grown in consistency and depth, so much so that it has been brought out by almost all of the provinces as a prioritychoice, a point of reference for life, a wisdom glance in order to interpret the reality on the personal and community level in view of the educational mission.

We perceive that the appointments with the Eucharistic Jesus, His Word, and the experience of prayer are, in general, held to be essential for a dynamic, spousal fidelity to the Covenant. The need for interiority, for finding the necessary time to meditate and contemplate, has grown with the increasing noise of contemporary civilization, which often leads to inner dispersion. We are aware that the more we become women of prayer, the more we become capable of responsibiity for openness to others (cf PF 40).

For this reason, houses of prayer, the request for sabbaticals and places of spirituality where we and the young may have time to recharge ourselves have sprung up in various contexts.

·       How can we guarantee quality and depth to the listening and sharing of God’s  word so that it may become an inspiring force in that journey toward sanctity along which we travel with the young people, with lay collaborators and families?

·       How can we accept the appeal of the Holy Father to make our communities authentic schools of prayer that distinguish themselves in the art of prayer?

·       How can we live the contemplative dimension of the Salesian charism, joining it to the commitment of educational solidarity, of active citizenship?

·       How can we assure the continuity and the quality of the houses of prayer that already exist or that may be established in the future?

State of discernment

109 - The theme of discernment has been on the agenda of preceding General Chapters several times and has become an object of reflection in the provinces and communities. Many provinces, noting the rapid changes and the complexity of today’s reality, express the need for living in a state of discernment, cultivated as a necessary attitude for reading history in the light of God’s design and for seeking the true causes of the phenomena, and not only as an episodic experience or a method to be applied only in particular circumstances.  In the communities where discernment is lived habitually on both the personal and community level, there are fewer difficulties in relationships, the continual prayer asked for by Jesus in the Gospel becomes easier, the planning sessions illumined by the presence of God, Who is the constant reference point, more comfortable..     

·       How can we go from an occasional to a constant, evangelical discernment? What ways should we follow to guarantee the conditions for reflection, silence, listening and sharing in our communities?

·       How can we involve the entire educational community in the discernment process, so that together we may be able to identify the new frontiers of our mission in the reality in which we live?

·       How can we deepen the beatitudes, foundation of evangelical citizenship, within the educational communities with the scope of defining formative journeys in the Salesian perspective?

Marian dimension

110.  The study of the Marian dimension in the Christian life and in the charism, the research on how to express and assimilate Salesian spirituality lived in the feminine style constitute two recurring themes in the reflections of the Institute.

>From a careful reading of the capitular syntheses, we easily perceive that these realities are generally present in the life of the FMA and of the educational communities, and also in the application of the Preventive System inspired and sustained by the vital reference to Mary.

Other paths of research are now opening on the meaning of Mary’s presence for the growth of every Christian and, in particular, for our experience as FMA, for the parents, educators, young people and all those who feel it to be their duty to carry forward the «unpublished work» of Mary in the Third Millennium (cf PF31).  This  research cannot be limited to the level of reflection or study, but must become a vital reference point for the educational communities.

The syntheses also indicate some ways of deepening that feminine self-awareness, necessary to better utilize our resources, those of the girls and the young women with whom we are in contact.

·       How can we go from what could be at times a merely devotional Marian relationship to the understanding of the Marian dimension of Christian life and in particular of the Salesian spirituality of the FMA?

·       What does it mean for us FMA to live the «unknown» of Mary in our life?

·       How can we continue the journeys already begun in deepening the Marian dimension of the charism and make them accessible to all the FMA and to the educative communities?

Need for formation

111.  A fundamental aspect pointed out by the Province Chapters is the need for that formation which every FMA is called to assume responsibly. Formation must be understood as an ongoing process toward vocational unity; a duty which has the greatest priority among all others, particularly in today’s complex,constantly changing world (cf PF 38).  Consequently, the commitment to formation must favor the building of an identity in constant growth, which is flexible and dynamic and is the result of multiple relationships and associations.  The loss of many certainties require attitudes of research, dialogue, thinking and, for us, the explicit reference to the proposal of Christian faith, docility to the Spirit and continual conversion.

The rise of international communities, particularly in mission lands, implies a formation that is open to differences and, for the Sisters who are sent to the mission ad gentes, a specific preparation and accompaniment.

>From the many responses received from the provinces, we see the inadequacy of formation, made evident by the comparison with the complexity of the world scene and with the multiethnic and interreligious reality.

·       How can we favor, particularly in the new generations, the development  of a consistent and flexible identity?

·       How are we  to educate ourselves and others to interculturednessn in a world in which diversities are called to coexist and to harmonize?

·       Are we convinced of theeducational and Salesian meaningfulness of formation in international environments, as a workshop where the riches of one’s own culture are harmonized with those of other cultures in a reciprocal exchange of gifts?