Chennai: A nun theologian has urged leaders of the worldwide Salesians of Don Bosco to become a transforming presence in Asia by rediscovering their order’s mystical roots.

“If we are serious about being a transforming presence in Asia, then we must embrace a lifestyle following the age-old values of true holiness, contemplation, renunciation and asceticism, detachment and simplicity,” Sister Inigo Joachim told the leaders, including Salesian rector major Father Angel Fernandez Artime.

The heads of the order’s global departments dealing with mission, finance, youth, communication and formation are currently meeting at Chennai, capital of Tamil Nadu state, to plan and reshape their mission in the region for the next decade. Heads of all Salesian provinces in the region are also attending the five-day meeting that began on February 28.

Sister Inigo, a former superior general of St. Anne`s Chennai, tackled the state of religious life in South Asia in the second session of the opening day.

“We need the courage and the faith of our founders and saints in letting God lead us into paths we do not know, into unfamiliar territories. Let us ask the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and to set our hearts on fire,” said the Franciscan nun, who is much sought after to address bishops, priests, seminarians, nuns and laity both in India and overseas.

She began by interpreting religious life through the prism of the Second Vatican Council. “There were a variety of responses from the religious after the council,” she said and added that all congregations made a sincere effort to renew and update themselves after the council.

Quoting from the statistics from the Conference of Religious India, Sister Inigo noted that one third of India’s more than 125,000 religious men and women have moved into social sector “with skills and competence to change society.”

The nun, who chose to work among prisoners in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, South Asia’s largest prison, after leading her congregation for 12 years until 2002, stressed the need for the religious to become mystics and God-centered people.

“We are seen as good administrators and managers but not for what we are” supposed to be – mystics. According to her, mystics see God in everybody and in all things.

The sari-clad nun underscored the need for good pastors and said, “Without you schools will go on, social work will go on but the sacraments are your monopoly as ordained priests.”

Sister Inigo also urged the Salesian leaders to learn from the poor. “The poor have the capacity to teach us through their resilience and their faith in God,” she said and recalled Mother Teresa’s words equating love of Jesus with the love of the poor. “We need good leaders who live authentic lives and preach the Gospel values,” asserted the nun, who was the only participants from South East Asia at the Synod of Bishops in Rome in 1994.

The popular feminist speaker also focused several positive trends in lives of the religious in Asia and said the growing rate of vocations gives hope to the region where Christians are a minority. These vocations now come from minority cultures, tribes and other groups bringing multi-culturality to religious life in Asia.

The meeting aims to evaluate the Salesian works in South Asia and reach a common vision for the region and set priorities for their work among young people.

The meeting also addressed various challenges Christians in South Asia face in the current socio-political-religious scenario.

Father Maria Arokiam Kanaga, general councilor of South Asia, in his introductory message, said the meeting was an opportunity for the order’s top brass to meet for a direct dialogue and mutual listening. The meeting will also evaluate implementation of the call of the order’s 27th general congregation that urged the Salesians to become radical witnesses to the Gospel as mystics, prophets and servants.

The Salesian chief asked his men to deepen their spiritual and mystical life. “The poor youngsters are the purpose of our mission and we can achieve this purpose through education and imparting the Gospel values.” He also urged his men to share their mission with lay collaborators.

Renowned Jesuit theologian Father Michael Amaldoss also addressed the gathering on the challenges facing Christians in South Asia, especially in India.

Although India’s economy has progressed at 7 percent, the benefits of the economic growth have not reached the poor through appropriate government programs, the Jesuit noted. India is listed 126 among 180 nations in terms of per capital income and 130 in Human Development Index. The gap between the “rich few” and the “poor many” has widened and around 350 million people, around 30 percent of the total population, still live below the poverty line, the Jesuit noted.

Clarifying the difference between the Church and the Kingdom of God, the Jesuit theologian reminded the gathering that the challenge of Christian living is to build up the Kingdom of God in the whole world. “At the same time we also have to build up the Church as the symbol and servant of the Kingdom,” he added.

The paradigm shift from the Church to the Kingdom encourages Christians to work for equality and justice and to open up to the challenge of pluralism.

Salesian Emeritus Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil spoke about various challenges and perspectives of Salesian life and mission in the South Asia region. He urged the gathering to heed people’s sensitivities, maintain dialogue between stakeholders, serve the young at risk, highlight the dangers of commercialism and instill social responsibility among others.

(Source: donboscoindia.com)