SAFCAM Communique #52 - English

SAFCAM Communique #52            15/05/2021          

Dear Subscribers

The Worldwide Novena to Mary Help of Christians - 2021 edition has begun

(ANS - Rome) - The videos of the world Novena to Mary Help of Christians (15-23 May) proposed by the Salesian Headquarters will be made available online. This year's novena, elaborated by a collaboration between ADMA, the "IME Comunicazione" team, and ANS, will focus attention on Mary as "Powerful Virgin," to be implored with filial devotion in these pandemic times.

Each video will consist of a biblical reference to spark the reflection, a Gospel passage, an episode from Don Bosco's life, interventions by influencers and international testimonies, and a final prayer.

The contributors range from Salesian Cardinal Óscar Maradiaga, to Costanza Miriano, a Catholic journalist and blogger; from the artist and catechist "Fano", creator of the 2018 Strenna poster and of the "catechetical" poster of the 2021 Strenna, to the sculptor artist Martín Lagares, together with stories and experiences from various members of the Salesian Family who illuminate the spiritual journey of the novena.

The videos will be accessible in Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese and, with subtitles, in Polish, on the respective language channels of ANSChannel. Each video (10-12 minutes long) will be available one or two days in advance! The link for the first day (TODAY) of the novena - https://youtu.be/hrISeGFGYTo

A booklet containing the novena texts is freely available on the www.sdb.org site in all six languages.

This week also challenges us to pray for a renewal of the Holy Spirit as we prepare for Pentecost!

Let us also continue to unite our prayers to the worldwide ‘marathon of intercession’ initiated by Pope Francis for the end of the pandemic. In case you do not have the schedule here it is for the coming week:

Date                 Shrine                                      Country                    Intention

15            Our Lady Queen of Peace (Medjugorje)  Bosnia               For all migrants

16            Saint Mary’s Cathedral (Sydney)             Australia   For all victims of violence and human trafficking

17            Immaculate Conception (Washington, D.C.)   USA      For all world leaders and for all heads of       international organizations

18            Our Lady of Lourdes                                  France                     For all doctors and nurses

19            Mother Mary's House - Meryem Ana Evi (Ephesus) Turkey  For all people at war and for world peace

20            Nuestra Señora de la Caridad del Cobre     Cuba       For all pharmacists and health care personnel

21            Our Lady of Nagasaki                                    Japan                     For all social workers

Vatican news: This past week Pope Francis established ministry of catechist

With a new Apostolic Letter issued “motu proprio,” Pope Francis has established the lay ministry of catechist, intended to respond to an urgent need for the evangelization of the modern world, undertaken in a “secular” manner, avoiding clericalization. “Fidelity to the past and responsibility for the present are necessary conditions for the Church to carry out her mission in the world,” writes Pope Francis in the Apostolic Letter Antiquum Ministerium, with which the Holy Father instituted this lay ministry of catechist.

The LoveMatters4Educators workshop concluded this past week:

For those who are interested to get an idea of the topics covered you can find the 4 powerpoint presentations for each of the sessions on the ‘slider’ of the www.safcam.org website, and therefore easy to find and download. However, they will be left there only for the next 4 days, after which they will still be on the site, but will need to be searched for. Those presentations can be adapted as you see fit for use in your own educative and pastoral ministry. The francophone presentations are available too on the French section of the site and take a very different approach.

As advertised on ANS and uploaded on www.safcam.org too, is a set of 3 webinars organised over the next 3 Thursday afternoons by the Youth Ministry Sector, on the accompaniment of young people. The 3 themes are aimed at: sharing the pastoral and moral keys for the affective-sexual education of young people; thinking of educational criteria with reference to sexual diversity; and interpreting vulnerability, a characteristic of minors. It is worth diarizing these sessions and joining in. They will be run in Spanish but with simultaneous translation in English, French, Portuguese and Italian! See the details on our website.

We wish you a special week leading to Pentecost -  Camiel and François