Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam). On November 18, 2023, the Mary Help of Christians Province (VTN) of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and the Saint John Bosco Province (VIE) of the Salesians of Don Bosco jointly organized the Provincial Mission Day at the Philip Rinaldi SDB community in Ho Chi Minh city. Unlike every year, this year the Sectors of Mission of two Provinces cooperated in the organization in the spirit of solidarity.
Present on this day were Fr. Barnaba Le An Phong – the Provincial of SDB Vietnam, Sr. Maria Hoang Thi Thu Ha – the Provincial of FMA VTN, Fr. Thomas Vu Kim Long, SDB – the Counselor of Mission of SDB Vietnam, Sr. Maria Lu Thi Thuy Nga – the VTN Provincial Coordinator of the Sector of Mission, the Salesian and FMA, the Novices, Postulants of 2 provinces, members in the Salesian Family and young people.
The theme chosen for this day is: «Be a witness of Mercy and Forgiveness». This is the message Pope Francis left after his visit to Mongolia (August 31-September 4, 2023). The theme was chosen with the hope that each member of the Salesian Family becomes a trustworthy presence of a mercy and forgiveness of God to people in the world today, especially to poor and abandoned young people.
Opening the meeting, Fr. Barnaba offered a prayer for the grace of the Holy Spirit and blessings for the Provincial Mission Day. He sent the participants greetings from Fr. Alfred Maravilla, SDB – General Counselor of the Missionary Sector: “working on the mission field so that God can be revealed with all the joy of the Gospel”. He wished a lively and fruitful day so that each one had his heart on fire, feet on the move.
Next, Fr. Thomas shared about the topic with 3 main parts: Today world context from a missionary perspective, seeing the missionary from the heart of God of love and the mission of mercy and forgiveness in Salesian Missionary spirituality. Evangelization is the work of God. It is God who makes himself known. He also invited everyone to go back to the source to contemplate Don Bosco. For Don Bosco, missionary work was a great way to integrate Salesian charismatic identity into the local areas. Not only that, Don Bosco also wanted the Salesians to ignite the missionary fire in the hearts of indigenous young people so that they could continue to proclaim the Gospel to their peoples.
Next, Sr. Maria Thuy Nga shared with the participants about the Ad gentes mission of the Help of Christians Province in Vietnam. The story begins with the missionary spirit of primitive times, the missionary FMA on Vietnamese land, the missionary footsteps of Vietnamese FMA around the world… This was an opportunity for everyone to see the living examples of Don Bosco, Mother Mazzarello and the early and present missionaries who have committed themselves to the missionary to fulfill God’s dream.
Interwoven with the presentations, the community contemplated the merciful and forgiving face of Jesus through the musical scene “The story of the woman 2000 years ago” and a short play about Blessed Sister Maria Troncatti, the missionary sister who devoted her entire life to God in the missionary land of Ecuador.
Next, the participants listened to the stories of Fr. Thomas and Fr. Joseph Tran Van Hien about their journey when they had visited and presented among the Vietnameses Salesian Don Bosco and FMA sisters who had lived and carried out the Salesian mission there.
After that, the community attended the Mass presided by the Provincial – Father Barnaba and consecrated by the Salesian priests. The whole community remembered the first missionaries who brought the Salesian charism to Vietnam and passed away. In his homily, Fr. Barnaba evoked the image of “being” a disciple of the Apostles. He also invited the community to become true disciples first, before going to make all nations disciples of God.
