SAFCAM Communique #73 - English

SAFCAM Communique #73            16/10/2021  

Dear Subscribers   (and especially all who have subscribed following our appeal yesterday; THANKS!)

Civam commission meetings:

We have the pleasure of welcoming to DBYES approximately 30 delegates of Formation and Youth Ministry from the circumscriptions of our region, for the annual meeting of their Civam commissions, together with general councilors Don Ivo Coelho and Don Miguel Angel Garcia.

It is the first chance of face to face meetings after such a long time; it makes us appreciate the difference between online/virtual and ‘incarnational’ meetings! Please pray that all the travelers reach their destinations safely and that this 2021 encounter be all the more fruitful.

Youth and family Ministry

The Sector for Salesian Youth Ministry has published another useful book – ‘Youth Ministry and Family’.

This document does not claim to be a family ministry manual. It is a collection of reflections which highlight how the involvement and integration of these two realities - Salesian family and youth ministry - help us to   understand the significance and the needs that this dual perspective entails for our educative and pastoral renewal. Can we form the character of our children, adolescents, and youth without examining, clarifying, and reviving family values? If you have not yet received it from your Youth Ministry delegate, you can download it from our SAFCAM website. It is a pity that the translation from the Italian is rather Italianish!

Miracle wanted

Amidst all the sad news of the week, there was the good news the Pope John Paul (the first) will be beatified soon thanks to a miracle attributed to his intercession. This coming week we begin the oft-forgotten novena to Don Rua who played such a crucial role in carrying our congregation forward for 22 years as first successor to our founder. See the powerpoint which can be downloaded from www.safcam.org and use it in honour of his feastday on the 29^th. Don Rua was beatified in 1972, and is just waiting for one certified miracle in order to be declared a saint. How about calling on him to intercede in some desperate case facing you, a friend or family member. Download the novena available on the SAFCAM website!

Our daily bread…

Every year additional themes are agreed internationally to focus our attention on different issues. So in recent days we had ‘the girl child day’, a world beer day, world lesbian day, and so on!

Today it’s World Food Day – a day to not only appreciate what we have on our plates, but to be concerned about the millions of people who don’t know where their next meal will come from.

Poverty, conflicts, unpredictable weather patterns and the global pandemic across the globe are affecting ‘food security’ at macro levels and causing hunger at micro levels. In war-torn regions or drought afflicted areas, farmers are unable to grow the food required, many children don’t have access to school meals, millions of people are starving. Meanwhile in certain parts of the world there is over-production and wastage.  With everything going on in the world right now, it’s often hard to remember the pain and hardship experienced by the most vulnerable. But our collective commitment to take action makes a difference. And tomorrow by the way is Eradication of Poverty day!

The World of YouTube

Don Bosco Tech Africa have posted their latest 10-minute clip with testimonies from Salesian TVET Centre managers and staff in the Africa-Madagascar region who have been trained on “Management of Don Bosco Technical and Vocational Education and Training Centres”. The course was conducted by the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization (ITC-ILO). It is in English and French with subtitles all through. It is worth have a look and don’t forget to click LIKE so that it gets given higher exposure - https://youtu.be/S0EDtGq69YQ   BDTA have a channel with 70 subscribers and 30 videos so far.

By the way Fr Selvam Sahaya, member of our community here at DBYES, also has his own channel with 58 clips from 4-90 minutes long on topics related to Spiritual Direction, Positive psychology, and inspirational reflections. He already has 634 subscribers. Is there any other individual confrere who beats that?

A few days ago, I searched for the clips that had received the most views worldwide. And currently it is the song Despacito by Louis Fonsi in Spanish, which was posted in 2017 and has garnered a whopping 7,6 billion (yes BILLION) views, with 46+ million ‘LIKES’ and around 5 million thumbs-down! I added my DIS-like, because the song is just another promotion of depraved promiscuity. Simply have a look at it, then search ‘Despacito’ in google and click on the lyrics in English to see what I mean. I am not trying to promote it! Like the drawing your attention to the songs ‘WAP’ by Cardi-B and ‘Montero’ by Lil Nas in previous communiques, I just wish to make us aware of what we are competing against in striving to spread the values of the gospel. Even Jerusalema – the gospel hit in siZulu that everyone danced to in 2020 – has not managed to reach a fraction of clicks compared to those music idols acclaimed by the global youth scene.

As for children from 5-12 who have access to internet, their favourite entertainment online are the games on the following platforms - Poptropica, Club Penguin, Whyville, Mattel’s Barbie, Nickelodeon, Cooking tycoon - among others. Ever heard of these? Google will guide you to them. These free-to-play games do not try to teach any noble values, but inculcate at an early age the values portrayed by celebrities idolized by the media, with individual success and glamorous materialistic ideals as the goal of life. Again on some wonderful catholic family sites there are inspiring stories, catechetical resources, and clips about the saints, but they hardly attract any attention. What would Don Bosco do in response to all this?!

Could the salesians develop similar online popular games that educate, catechize and evangelize?

Fr Alphonse our regional has begun the extraordinary visitation in Angola immediately after his grueling visits and consultations in AFO and AFW over the previous months (11 countries complicated by the travel restrictions). Let’s keep him in prayer that he be blessed with the much-needed energy and health, besides discernment and wisdom, to perform these tasks.

A closing thought to ponder:

A Christian maybe should be redefined from being "one who believes in Jesus" to "one who believes in the Devil!" Because those who don't believe in the Devil, usually stop believing in sin, and when you stop believing in SIN you stop experiencing any need for a Saviour! Any agree?!

In union of prayer,

God bless.  Camiel and François