Rome (Italy). On 31 January 2023, on the Solemnity of St John Bosco, as usual, the Rector Major of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, 10th Successor of Don Bosco, Father and Center of Unity of the Salesian Family, addressed the young people of the Salesian Youth Movement from all over the world with a Message.
In his words, he exhorted them to be true leaven, salt and light in the human family and to be active in social commitment, responsibly accepting today’s great challenges: the promotion of family life and values, the commitment to eliminate poverty, the fight against hunger, the defense of human rights and the rights of minors, peace building, the care of creation, encouraging dialogue between young people.
“These challenges require that with your life, your formation, your studies, your work, and your vocation, you express a ‘yes’ that concretely demonstrates your commitment to building a more just and fraternal world. These challenges put you at the crossroads of accepting or rejecting a busy and exciting life in which to concentrate all your best strengths and energies according to God’s dream for each of you.”
The Rector Major invites young people “to make fruitful the gifts and talents that God has granted to each one” and to commit themselves “to grow in faith, in true love, in fraternity, and in service to everyone, especially the least, the most negatively affected by life, those who have fewer opportunities.”
Finally, thanking the Lord for the “many expressions of beauty, fullness, and goodness” present in their lives, he encouraged them to think also of young people like them “who are lost, disoriented, and very far from those values that give them dignity. Our God, who is the Father of all His sons and daughters, needs you and asks you to be His face and His hands to reach out to those who have fewer possibilities”.
