The Mysticism of the Brief Moment

72. Don Bosco’s gift to us was the ability and the skill to discover God in the midst of people, intense activity, problems of life and at brief moments during the day. During our relief operations at Kokrajhar in 1996 when 400 volunteers (priests, seminarians, sisters, doctors, nurses, youth, Christians and non-Christian activists) worked for 4 months in hearty unity, the Eucharist in the morning and brief prayer in the evening gave us the needed strength to toil tirelessly in the rain and in the heat. The mysticism of the brief moment to which we clung passionately during those difficult days, helped us to welcome new volunteers as they came, to create a climate of mutual esteem and  collaborate across cultures, to overcome tensions (SL 92), to recognize our vulnerability and seek remedies (SL 60, 92),  to join hands together ecumenically and inter-religiously, and serve 200,000 victims of an ethnic conflict. Silence is strength, prayer provides energies (SL 14,60).