Morelos (Mexico). From 10 to 12 March 2023, more than 130 students from the Mexican provinces Mother of the Church (MMO) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (MME) of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Christ the King and Mary Help of Christians (MEG) and Our Lady of Guadalupe (MEM) of the Salesians of Don Bosco, participated in the National Meeting of Salesian Student Representatives (REALSA), organized by the National Team of Salesian Education (ENES) in Camohmila, Morelos, to help young people reflect, deepen, and grow as Guardian Leaders of Creation.
The participants were welcomed by Sr. Margarita Chavarría, MME Provincial, who invited them to experience this meeting as good representatives of their institutions and to allow themselves to be challenged by this experience of openness to new paths of human, Salesian, and ecclesial growth. Fr. Carlos Montoya, SDB, President of ENES, opened the days by urging the representatives to consciously live Pope Francis’ call to be custodians of creation, according to the teachings of Laudato Si’.
Sr. Luz Aurora García FMA, facilitator of the activities, shared with them the objective of the meeting and the goals: to deepen the richness of the pillars of Integral Ecology of pre-Hispanic Mexico, to then promote them in daily life in the style of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello.
The first moment of reflection concerned the Care of nature, to deepen its richness and encourage contact with one’s cultural roots. The Cosmodanza group, led by director Juan Guerra, recreated, together with the Calpulli indigenous community, a circular environment for ritual-celebration through dance, an activity that has helped to recognize the origins and cosmogony of the ancestral peoples of Mexico, great custodians of creation.
The copal, the pyramid, ancestral signs such as the Aztec solar stone, the clothes, the natural instruments with which to play music with sweet and rhythmic sounds, favored the experience of dance, to enter into dialogue with the culture of the Mexican ancestors, awakening respect for the diversity of thought and ancestral culture, showing profound gratitude to mother earth in her four cardinal points, and recognizing in her the true God for whom we live. In this climate of reflection, four major teams were formed under the signs of water, fire, wind, and earth: North, South, East and West.
Later, Sr. Maria Guadalupe Chavez presented to the young people St. Mary of Guadalupe, a model of integral ecology and of action in favor of the custody of human creation. In her presentation, she elaborated on Our Lady’s help and message to a native of the indigenous peoples of Mexico, St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. She explained to them that the Virgin bears imprinted on her mantle the constellations that were in the celestial vault at dawn, which makes her the Guide of a people, the Star that directs from the sky. She is thus a celestial reflection and mediator, through her nature and religious sense, of the language of a people, in a historical moment in which their religiosity was disrupted and gave no hope. In the evening, the Marian prayer was celebrated with a ‘rain’ of blue neon, to represent the constellations depicted on Mary’s mantle.
The second day of activity started with a creative body activation, where the young people demonstrated their physical abilities. Then, Sr. María del Carmen Juárez FMA led the ecological prayer, during which the young people praised God with psalms, recognizing Him present in nature. They continued with reflection on Jesus, Don Bosco, Mother Mazzarello, Pope Francis, deepening their custody of human dignity and creation. In a 3rd moment, “The pillars of ecology in Laudato si'” were dealt with in depth with three practical activities: Hiking – ecological education: leave no trace, leave one’s ecological footprint; Aquatic: community resilience and empowerment; environmental games: responding to the cry of the poor.
In the afternoon, the young people broadened their knowledge through workshops on integral ecology: care and education; Ethics of care; Sustainable living; Bioethics; Sensitivity management; Safety triangles; Ecological education. In the evening they met Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, guardian of human dignity and creation and, later, they demonstrated their artistic skills in the cultural festival, presenting typical costumes, dances, and songs.
In the Goodnight, Sr. Leonor Salazar, MMO Provincial, told them: “Young Salesian leaders, you are our joy and our hope! Educate yourselves to take care of yourself, to take care of others, of the environment. May the Holy Spirit give you the wisdom to allow yourself to be formed in this integral cure.”
On the last day, Sr. Patricia Rodríguez, a member of ENES, worked together with the participants on the Identity Card of the Salesian Pupil Representatives (REALSA) for the Province, identifying its elements. Fr. Filiberto González Plasencia, MEG Provincial, encouraged them by saying, “Be leaders, custodians of creation. Remember that we were born of a man whose surname is ‘Bosco’ and with him we are people who build and promote integral ecology. Make a difference at school, in your environment, in society, because Don Bosco believes in you. Make our world a ‘Bosco’, a common home where we can all live together in peace, all in the same house, building it, making it more beautiful.”
Sr. Gabriela Trinidad Murguía then shared with them the theme of ecological conversion, addressing the reality of the common home with the 1st chapter of Laudato Si’ and the 4th chapter, which suggests betting on a sustainable lifestyle, inspired by Integral Ecology of Pope Francis. Sr. Patricia Rodriguez illustrated the essential elements for the elaboration of local projects for the care of creation and some were shared in the assembly.
At the end, each of the representatives of the Schools was given the image of Saint Mary of Guadalupe, Model and Guide for the Custody of Creation, and the Alliance for the Care of the Environment was signed, to promote in every Salesian school “care for the environment with small projects of great impact, in the style of the Salesian charism,” a document that was presented at the offering of the final Eucharist presided over by Fr. Carlos Montoya and Fr. Miguel Núñez, SDB. In his homily, Fr. Carlos reiterated the call to be true leaders in caring for creation.
Grazie! Sono felice e commossa nel vedere che, in qualche parte del mondo salesiano, si educa gioiosamente e seriamente alla custodia del creato, alla cura dei grandi valori umani e cristiani.
Grazie ancora. sr Maria Rossi