Salesian Youth Ministry1 Exploring the Document. Salesian Youth Ministry2 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT

Salesian Youth Ministry 1

Salesian Youth Ministry

Exploring the Document


BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT


THE DOCUMENT

SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY

A BASIC FRAME OF REFERENCE


Initial Reflections

Provides a comprehensive overview of the Salesian missionProvides a language for discussion and reflectionPresumes a collaborative, community-based contextPresumes a dynamic understanding of charism


Nature of the Document

Its purpose is to offer a systematic compilation

It draws from work of 30+ years of revision and reflection

It is an instrument of study


STRUCTURE

Part One – Fundamental ElementsSalesian Youth MinistrySalesian Educative-Pastoral ProjectSalesian Educative-Pastoral Community


STRUCTURE

Part 2 – A Working Model Applies the basic framework to a variety of

different contexts of Salesian Youth Ministry ORATORY or YOUTH CENTRE SCHOOLS and TECHNICAL TRAINING CENTRES PARISHES SERVICES TO YOUNG AT RISK NEW FORMS OF SALESIAN MINISTRY



SYM is characterised by:Experience of Don Bosco and the OratoryPreventive SystemSalesian Youth SpiritualitySalesian Youth Ministry


DON BOSCO AND THE SALESIAN MISSION: A HISTORICAL FRAME

OF REFERENCE

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Don Bosco was acutely aware that God called him for a unique mission on behalf of poor young people.


The mission to which God called Don Bosco is characterised by

Its focus on the young, especially the poorest of themDon Bosco’s realisation that his mission was to reveal the love of God to poor young peopleA style of ministry particularly suited to his mission: the approach of the Good ShepherdOther people sharing in the mission to evangelise the young


The Mission Continues

God continues to call many others to carry on and share in Don Bosco’s educative and pastoral mission for the total well-being of young people, especially the poorest


PREVENTIVE SYSTEM

Don Bosco’s mission and life project, shared by the Salesian Family, find their expression in a specific style of life and action, the Salesian spirit, centred on pastoral charity and characterised by that youthful dynamism which was revealed so strongly in Don Bosco and at the beginnings of our Family.

The Salesian spirit is embodied and manifested in the spiritual and educative experience of Don Bosco in the first Oratory at Valdocco. He called it the Preventive System. It is a rich synthesis of:


PREVENTIVE SYSTEM

A spiritual experience

A proposal for evangelising the young

A pedagogical methodology


A Spiritual Experience

Centred in the love of God

An encounter with God in the young

Educative relationship based on pastoral charity


A Proposal for Evangelising the Young

Encountering the young where they are

Recognising the gifts of the young and developing their positive resources

Priority to the poor

Organised experiences of faith

Offering a particular form of Christian life and youthful holiness


A Pedagogical Methodology

Will to remain with the young

Unconditional acceptance

Preventive criteria

Centrality of “Reason, Religion and Loving-kindness”

A positive environment rich with opportunities


SPIRITUALITY AT THE ROOT OF SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY

Appropriate for young people

Daily life as the place of encounter with God

Paschal spirituality that delights in activity and encourages hope

Christian life as a journey


SPIRITUALITY AT THE ROOT OF SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY

Personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, Word and sacraments

Communion with the Church

Responsible service

Marian spirituality



Is a participation in the ministry of the Church

Through the gift of the Salesian charism it enriches and brings this action to the world of young people.

It is the way of living out the Salesian mission with Don Bosco’s spirituality and Preventive System

Serves the Church’s mission of evangelisation


SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRYKey Characteristics

A Decisive Choice: The Young, Especially the Poorest

The Task: To Educate by Evangelising and to Evangelise by Educating

A Community Experience


SALESIAN YOUTH MINISTRY Key Characteristics

A Specific Style: Animation

Holistic Pastoral Work: Unity in Diversity

A Significant Presence in the Church and in the World


A DECISIVE CHOICETHE YOUNG, ESPECIALLY THE

POOREST

Don Bosco consciously chose the poorest, those at risk, those who live on the margins of society and of the Church. He sought them in the places where they were to be encountered, proclaimed the Good News to them, accepted them, recognised and respected what they had within, journeyed with them and adapted his pace to theirs.


Don Bosco’s Choice

Don Bosco adapted his work to suit his young people.

It was aimed at helping them to grasp the richness of life and its values, at preparing them for life in this world and making them aware of their eternal destiny.

The Salesian ministry is youthful – not only because it is primarily aimed at young people – but because its style and perspectives display a youthful quality.


A Way of Ministering

The choice of this ministry calls for a special way of looking at reality and a special way of reacting to it. Salesians learn to understand reality from the standpoint of the young and: are sensitive to all that promotes the education and

evangelisation of the young or that endangers their welfare;

are attentive to positive aspects, new values and possibilities that emerge;

develop an attitude of listening, dialogue and empathy for the young.


Practical Implications

Aware of different situations of poverty and social exclusion

Understand educational institutions

Aware of other factors influencing the young

Aware of young people’s attitudes towards religion and the Church

Understand local culture

Familiar with the youth condition


The Task: To Educate by Evangelising and to Evangelise

by Educating Salesian Youth Ministry emphasises the profound relationship between educative activity and evangelising action.

The entire educative process is directed towards openness to God and conformity to Christ.

The process contributes to each young person’s growth in freedom and responsibility with Gospel values and Christian inspiration.


Education and Cultural Sensitivity

Salesian Educators Proclaim the Gospel with educative and

pedagogical realism Cultivate an operative faith in the young Are committed to dialogue with the cultural milieu

in which young people live Strive to implant and cultivate fundamental values,

criteria for judgement, and models of life that conform to the Gospel


OVERVIEWThe Salesian pastoral proposal encourages and fosters the human talents of the young, draws out their deepest aspirations, cultivates a desire for the transcendent

Educative and Cultural Dimension

It directs the young towards an

encounter with Jesus Christ Evangelising Dimension

It brings to maturity their sense of belonging to society and the Church

Group Dimension

It leads them to a discovery of their own vocation as a commitment to transforming the world in conformity with God’s plan

Vocational Dimension


COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

Community experience is a characteristic of the apostolic work and educative style of the Salesians. Community is subject and agent of pastoral mission Salesians lead young people to an experience of the Church

by having them share in the life of a community Family spirit, personal relationships, mutual trust between

educators and young people, fostering youth groups and youth leadership – these elements are characteristic of the

Salesian style of education and evangelisation


COMMUNITY

Community is composed of many groups and always has young people at the centreThe Salesian religious communityMembers of the Salesian FamilyLay people sharing in the spirit and mission

of Don BoscoOthers who admire Don Bosco; his work,

mission and spirit


A SPECIFIC STYLE:ANIMATION

Animation “means giving life to a work which raises questions, gives motives for hope, brings people together, prompts collaboration, and gives rise to an ever more fruitful communion for the realisation together of a plan of life and action in line with the Gospel.”

(Juan Vecchi)




Fundamental Convictions and Practical Options

Trust in the individual and his/her inclination for good

The liberating power of educative love

Openness to each and every young person

The active presence of educators in the midst of the young


HOLISTIC PASTORAL WORK: UNITY IN DIVERSITY

These various elements combine to form a holistic and unified approach to Salesian Youth Ministry, that has a single goal: “the all-round welfare of young people and the world in which they live” and which is a significant presence in the Church and in the world.


A Significant Presence in the Church and in the World

The community lives and acts as a meaningful presence in the Church and in the worldAs part of the Church communityAs a significant presence of the saving

action of God in the social and political community

As a presence of the Church in a pluri-religious and pluri-cultural context



Historical Experience

Preventive System

Youth Spirituality

Youth Ministry

Documents

Salesian Youth Ministry1 Exploring the Document. Salesian Youth Ministry2 BACKGROUND AND CONTEXT