Seeds of a Salesian Vocation

We had an rather serious and involved monthly recollection this morning at Gagilapuram.  We reflected by ourselves on the second chapter of our Constitutions (the Salesian Spirit).

Among the other things that caught my attention during the specific reading of the decade of articles we choose for our reflection, I found Art. 16 most appealing.  It speaks of the Salesian Family Spirit.

In an atmosphere of mutual trust and daily forgiveness, the need and joy of sharing everything is experienced, and relationships are governed not so much by recourse to rules as by faith and the promptings of the heart.  

Quite a good synthesis of what should characterize a religious community. However what struck me most was the sentence that followed.  Not that it was anything so revelatory. But I never knew that the Constitutions themselves had spelled this so distinctly, that too right in the first section of the book (only goes to show how thorough is my own knowledge about the Salesian Constitutions).

This is a witness that enkindles in the young the desire to know and to follow the salesian vocation. 

Looking back at my own life, it is precisely this 'curiosity' the sort of 'magic' in the ambiance at the vocation camp that drew me to the aspirantate.

Statistics reveal that for the past decade or more, there have been just one youngster who has joined us from our own settings.  All the others never ever were associated with the Salesians till they reached the vocation camp or aspirantate!  Spells something very very distinctly about our community life in the Province.