EAO Good Night Talk (44)
Seoul – Korea
November 1, 2017
How do you hear the cry of the poor in your daily life?
First World Day of the Poor – November 19
Dear Friends and Salesian Family members!
I experienced many times, that even four years after the gift of Pope Francis prophetic letter ‘The Joy of the Gospel’ (November 2013), many faithful within the worldwide Catholic community are still not aware about full shape his ‘Project – Dream’ about the Church in the state of permanent mission, reaching out especially to the poor.
So we were glad with the announcement of the First World Day of the Poor (Sunday – November 19, 2017). Indeed it’s another consistent initiative along Pope Francis deepest conviction: at the very heart of the Gospel is life in community and commitment for others. Without loving concretely the poor we can’t be true disciples of Jesus.
During past four years our Rector Major repeated with a tireless zeal: The poor young people are saving the Salesians! Indeed our Salesian vocation lived in different ways (SDB, FMA, Salesian Cooperators, VDB, CDB, ADMA, Caritas Sisters of Jesus, SAL, SIHM, DQM – SQM religious, Past Pupils of Don Bosco & Mary Help of Christians or Michaelites) experience the same reality: wherever we are committed with and for the poor people or youth in need/at risk – in these places we see our vocation flourish!
According the specific wish of Pope Francis, let’s make the week of November 12-19 a special time of a personal encounter with the poor (youth) and action for them: Let us love, not with words but with deeds! Without the poor youth we can’t meet properly Jesus as Salesians of Don Bosco – not only in our special works – like Tuloy sa Don Bosco (FIN), Los Palos (ITM), Kodaira – Tokyo (GIA), Myitkyina (MYM), Liloan – Cebu (FIS), Dae Rim Dong – Seoul (KOR), Boys Town – Taiwan (CIN), Engadine – Sydney (AUL), Can Gio (VIE), Chiang Mai (THA) or Tetere in Solomon Islands (PGS).
Also each member of the Salesian Family is called this November to meet personally Jesus in the poor, face to face, not just on the Facebook. As the poor (youth) have a special place in the Heart of God – if we like to remain his true children, we are called to live with the same heartbeat! Let the role models of Fr. Gaetano Nicosia or Br. Elmer Rodriguez and many other Salesians committed to the poor, keep us walking out of our comfort zone towards the encounter with Jesus present in the poor youth around us!
In Don Bosco
Fr. Václav Klement, SDB
EAO Regional councillor
