magazine of the daughters of mary help … of the daughters of mary help of christians between sign...

MAGAZINE OF THE DAUGHTERS OF MARY HELP OF CHRISTIANS

BETWEEN SIGN AND DESIGN



November-December2007

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Editorial4 Yearning for the futureby Giuseppina Teruggi

15Arianna’s LineThe Struggle in Deciding

Rivista delle Figlie di Maria AusiliatriceVia Ateneo Salesiano, 81 - 00139 Roma RM

tel. 06/87.274.1fax 06/87.13.23.06

e-mail: [email protected]

General DirectorMariagrazia Curti

EditorsGiuseppina TeruggiAnna Rita Cristaino

CollaboratorsTonny Aldana • Julia Arciniegas • Mara Borsi

Piera Cavaglià • Maria Antonia ChinelloEmilia Di Massimo • Dora Eylenstein

Laura Gaeta • Bruna GrassiniMaria Pia Giudici • Palma Lionetti

Anna Mariani • Cristina MerliMarisa Montalbetti • Maria Helena Moreira

Concepción Muñoz • Adriana NepiMaria Luisa Nicastro • Louise Passero

Maria Perentaler • Loli Ruiz PerezRossella Raspanti • Manuela Robazza

Lucia M. Roces • Maria Rossi

TranslatorsFrench • Anne Marie Baud

Japanese • Japanese ProvinceEnglish • Louise Passero

Polish • Janina StankiewiczPortuguese • Elisabeth Pastl Montarroyos

Spanish • Amparo Contreras ÁlvarezGerman • Austrian-German Provinces

EDIZIONE EXTRACOMMERCIALEIstituto Internazionale Maria Ausiliatrice

00139 Roma, Via Ateneo Salesiano, 81c.c.p. 47272000

Reg. Trib. Di Roma n. 13125 del 16-1-1970Sped. abb. post. art. 2, comma 20/c

Legge 662/96–Filiale di Roma

n. 11/12 Novembre/Dicembre 2007

Tipografia Istituto Salesiano Pio XIVia Umbertide 11, 00181 Roma

RIVISTA DELLE FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE

13Mary

She wrapped Him in Swaddling Clothes

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The Lamp

The Poem of the Spouse

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20LifeThe importance of knowing how to choose

DialogueMaria, icon of dialogue

36Outskirts

Chronicles from below

Video The Nativity

Camilla Discerning

3Dialogue

Maria, icon of dialogue3Outskirts


Video The Nativity

Camilla Discerning

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Editorial

YEARNING FOR THE FUTURE

Giuseppina Teruggi

An eastern sage once said: “If I would have the omnipotence of God for a moment, theonly miracle I would work would be that ofgiving words their original meaning”. In reality, noted Tonino Bello, words todayhave acquired a multi-use. The same termfrequently holds meanings that arediametrically opposed. It seems to me thatone of these multi-use words is future.Those among us who are older and moreexperienced think of young people as thefuture of society, of the Church of ourreligious family. We are happy to meetyoung people who passionately committhemselves to something that is worthdedicating time and energy. We are proudof the good number of young people in allparts of the world who say “yes” to the God who calls them to a life of consecration. Weare full of hope because there is a future!

I joyfully told a group of young Sisters whomI met: “You are the future of the Institute” It came to me spontaneously, even though itwas an overused and multi-usedexpression. I became aware of theirdiscomfort when they fell silent. For manyyoung people in different life situations, thefuture no longer constitutes a magic wordthat colors dreams, plans and an ideal.Many people look to the future with fear, ina confused, undetermined way. They livethe fear of not being able to carry out theirown plans. They feel wrapped in anuncertainty that places them in the difficultyof deciding and deciding to do something forlife.

In many of today’s cultures being committed forever becomes one of the greatest

challenges. One tends to prevaricate, to putthings off. One may even arrive at deferringchoices to the point of arriving too late. Thisproblem frequently finds its roots in adultvictims of disenchantment, of tolerance, of aroutine that smothers idealism andsuffocates enthusiasm. They themselvesare uncertain and incapable of offering theyounger generations the gift of hope andtrust.

We ask ourselves how a young person canserenely face marriage and motherhoodwhen publicized opinions deal with “Forty reasons for not having children” that has as a subtitle “No kids”, a recently published book that is very widespread. Or how can ayoung person perceive the fascination ofreligious life when a mass media campaignridicules it and makes Sisters seeminsignificant.

We know that we live in a time of greatchallenges and great opportunities. It is atime of the Spirit that continues to act inhistory. We believe that young peopleyearn for the future. They also know how tolook to it with hope, with curiosity, with thedesire to commit them to fill it with meaning.We who are on their side and believe inthem can make ourselves companions intheir seeking that is so often uncertain orfrustrated.

We can still make them hear: “Whatever your heart hopes for is possible. A good,beautiful future is possible. If you want, Iwill walk with you so that you will be able tofind your way”.

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DossierJulia Arciniegas-Maria Antonia Chinello

Living means choosing in a continualtension between the signs that aremanifested along the journey and thedesign carried out that realizes God’s plan for each person, What is important isjourneying together :young people andadults, religious communities and laity.Reciprocal accompaniment is a continualtending toward love so that life may be freeand filled with abundant happiness. For all.

Among 1,000 possibilities

Being young today means having tocontinually decide from among possibilitiesin all fields: where to go with friends, whichschool to attend , when to phone to set up atime to meet a person…It is not true, therefore, that young people do not decide.Every choice, however, leaves a vaguesense of restlessness and a lack ofsatisfaction because the field of opportunityis variegated and vast. What ispreoccupying is the weakening of the senseof the future and the propensity to allowoneself to be led by chance and not by aplan. The uncertainty that goes hand inhand with contemporary life makes us feelat a loss before the thought of tomorrow,and therefore it is precisely these seriouschoices, those that are “long term”, that suffer.Young people, but also adults, capable ofhandling themselves, choosing from amongthe opportunities offered by “outside and inside life”, and the Net find themselves in great difficulty when faced with whichdirection to give their lives. Frequently, theyput off the question of a tomorrow that is tooclose. The “immobile generation” as it hasbeen called by researchers in someEuropean nations, no longer seems to havetime to live the “rites of passage” from youth to adulthood because everything is so short,imprecise, undefined…

Is life a “collage” or an original design?

“This is the main node of my life now, and I can’t seem to escape it: the difficulty to decide, to choose, to express what I want tobe or do. For my part, it is like movingforward and an immediate turning back. Ilack the awareness of what I want to do…I feel blocked and I become aware that this isalso why I easily let myself be draggedalong by others…”

“There are decisions that are too big for me, that involve a whole life, and I feel like I amin a “painful immobility” and that I am not incondition to choose anything, Then I fallinto a state of total apathy. I no longer takepleasure in what I am doing, I no longerhave any desire, any will to enjoy my life…”

These are some expressions, confidences,of young people who find themselves facedwith possibilities about ulterior life choicesthat cannot be put off. It is like a “collage” of suffered experiences, expressingimpotence, anger, sadness and that solitudethat always accompanies the incapacity ofmaking a decision. The choice is a trickysituation of life that echoes the social andcultural environment in which one isimmersed, and that reflects confusion andfear of tomorrow.

Learning to “re-choose”

Statistics, numbers, experiences...these arenot sufficient to guide a decision.Being capable of making right decisions is aprocess that involves the person, herhistory, her emotions, her relationships. Lifetoday requires a new coherence; life is not aseries of casual events without meaning orconnection. It is necessary to focus on theconnecting thread that gives unity to life andallows for living it in fullness and withappreciation.In the past, once a choice was made it wasforever and there was no further discussion.It was enough to live it each day. Today it iscoherent in the measure in which one

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chooses again, continually acquiring newmotivations to persevere in the choice.Whoever pauses when faced with apreviously assumed decision, runs the riskof seeing her own certainty collapse underthe cry of continual change and theassessment to which existence is subject.When there are fewer points of referencewhich one has been able to trust, decisionsare put to the test. Those who seek newstimuli and understand ulterior motivations,succeed in being coherent.

The Gospel within the pact

In September,2007 the Holy Father met withyoung Italians at Loreto and dialogued withthem, forming a “pact” to change the world through the Gospel. These young peoplewent to the encounter revealing a greatsensitivity for true values, without rhetoric,seeking real answers.

Perhaps it was the adults who were more incrisis in the face of the need for certainty.In the words the Holy Father addressed tothe young people we see the guidelines thatthe educator and the ecclesial and religiouscommunity must show, and above all, theeducational task that awaits them for

walking together with young people duringthese present times… not only to have new vocations, but especially to restore meaningto life and mission.“Dear young people” said Benedict XVI, “do not be afraid of being different or of beingcriticized for what could seem to be a lossor out of style. Your peers, but also adultsand especially those who seem far from thementality and values of the Gospel, have aprofound need to see someone who daresto live according to the fullness of humanitymanifested by Jesus Christ. Seek a soberlifestyle in solidarity, in sincere and pureaffective relationships, honest commitmentto study and work, profound interest for thecommon good and the courage of humility.Go forward with determination and freedomof spirit, communicate peace, support theweak, prepare hearts for the newness ofChrist.” The Holy Father did not flatter theyoung people; he did not address them withmere pleasant expressions, but he invitedthem to a task of commitment, sendingthem back to their cities to build centers onthe outskirts; to work so that the experienceof their faith would generate relationships,community, and companionship, centers offaith, hope, love , meaning, justice, ecology,legality, and cooperation.

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Young people going against the current,vigilant, critics…and where do we stand?

“Provoke adults. Recall them to their responsibility. They are the great‘absences’ in our life. Witness to them by your faith” theseare the words of Dionysius Tettamanzi,Archbishop of MilanIt is bitter to see that frequently we are theadults and perhaps our communities (theabsent?) when we unconsciously hide thetruth, take defensive and judgmentalpositions in meeting with young people,holding on to the nostalgia of times past,rather than being open to new adventures ofencounter, being available to give answers,but not to listen to questions, running tofulfill needs and meet deadlinesrather than being patiently involved injourneys of reciprocal accompaniment. Ifwe do not turn back the route we run therisk of forgetting that joy is the treasure ofexistence: “It is living in communion of hearts”, says Jean Vanier, “where we reciprocally help one another to grow

toward a great freedom. Life flows from oneto another.”

A “being there” that has distant roots

During his lifetime John Bosco oftenexperienced the fascination and the doubtsof “vocational choice that contracted withthe tenacious certainty of his childhood“dream”.It was not the case of the tension toward thefundamental choice of life, mission orprofession, but rather one of the most vividproblems of his pedagogy and of spirituality.In the Memories of the Oratory, Don Boscoshowed the difficulties, doubts and anxietiesthat accompanied his vocation. Thedecision came about according to a“pedagogical” process that would always counsel him in the future: reflection, requestfor counsel from wise persons, intenseprayer…

Even Mary Domenica Mazzarello, after along period of discernment and after havingcompleted a radical vocational choice, thatis revealed in her biographical itinerary,exercised this role in particular for theformation of the Sisters and for vocationaldiscernment.An example of this was the event of her“crisis” of identity (1860-1872), by which shewas urged (once she had overcome it) tolive “rapport with God in a new way,understood and known in a new light”. In rapid sequence she had illness, trial,purification, conversion, trustingabandonment (entrustment) to God’s will, the change of type of activity–from peasantto seamstress-but always with aneducational and pastoral intention, thedistancing from the group, isolation, theencounter with Don Bosco, and a newhorizon: the Institute of the Daughters ofMary Help of Christians.The Plan of Formation of the Institutereminds us that “there is an intimate and indissoluble bond between the commitmentof permanent formation and the educationalmission. In the measure in which we live inChrist and with the young people, we carry

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out our Salesian vocation and we become,in turn, guides and educators for othervocations.The vocational proposal is set in everydaylife and it opens to a span of possibilities inwhich the young people are called to investtheir resources in choosing a directionaccording to God’s plan. It rests on an itinerary of vocational maturity and does notimply a specific and/or exclusive orientationfor consecrated life among the FMA…” (PF 81).

While you are on the journey...

“Love for the young people leads us to listen to their reality, to review our ministrypractices and to seek our style ofaccompaniment at the sources of thecharism.”This is the beginning of the presentation tothe guide While you are on the journeydrawn up by the youth ministry team of theSouthern Cone of Latin America, SEPSUR.It deals with material that the SDB and FMAof the provinces of Argentina, Chile,Uruguay, and Paraguay have placed at thedisposition of those who share the sameeducational passion and have giventhemselves to God for the life of the young.“We offer our contribution to you” –continues the document-“so that while youare on your journey you can be acompanion to many young people and asign of the love that God has for them; toyou, so that while you are on your journeyyou will have the experience of belonging toa community that opens wide its doors tothe needs of young people and gives themreal answers to their own lives; to you, whowhile you are on your journey also feel theneed to be accompanied by your brothersand sisters and from this experience youbecome those who accompany youngpeople”.These are words that express apreoccupation that is also present in thehearts of many FMA who feel the urgency toset in motion processes of vocationalaccompaniment for young people in allworld contexts. Caring for them implies

helping them to discover God’s plan for their lives and to carry it out as a condition fortheir happiness and as a way to holiness inthe fabric of everyday life.This conviction, well- evidenced by recentInstitute documents, had its roots in the veryheart of God, source of life. It is He whocalls to existence and gives to each personthe possibility of growth according topersonal characteristics, received as a gift.Every life is, therefore, a vocation and eachvocation finds meaning and fulfillment inGod.Having had its origin in Love, life becomes,in turn, a call to love, to realize oneself fullyin love, in the total gift of self (cfr PF,83).…It becomes your companion on the journey…The vocational dimension requires from usthe availability and willingness to placeourselves at the side of the young people tobecome companions on the journey, asJesus did on the road to Emmaus.He teaches us the art of “going toward”, of listening to the stories of life with the hopeand sadness they hold, of asking questionsthat help to go to the depths of existence, ofnarrating, of remembering. In the wake ofthe wandering Jesus, we too, learn to createthe authentic educational relationship thatexcludes all dependence and links lovingkindness to the needs of a journey markedby planned times and places, by the clarityof the goal to be reached, to deepenmotivations, to accord patience and respectto individual rhythms.Only the person who breaks the bread ofher own life and shares it can become acompanion on the journey to the point ofrevealing the presence of the One whoalways seeks us so as to satisfy our thirstfor happiness and invite us to work in Hisvineyard....In a community that opens wide thedoors…Accompanying means, therefore, sharingthe bread of faith, of the experience of God,of the struggle of seeking. When themembers of the educating communitywitness to their own choice, or better, totheir being chosen by God, the newness,

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the risk, the joy of the festive journey of thevocational response, the young people feelencouraged almost by “contagion” to find their own way. They thirst for the livingwater and only the community that livesdaily relationships in transparency can be incondition to accompany them toward thesource of God’s love.Accompaniment, in fact, presupposes thatthe communities are united, “having one heart and one soul” (cfr Acts 4,32) and are ready to open wide the doors to witness tothe love and joy that constitute thefascination of consecrated life and render ita credible and efficacious sign for youngpeople who are seeking.

...One also feels the need to beaccompanied…Belonging to a community leads to theexperience of richness and the struggle toput in common what one has, but especiallyall that one is. This sharing implies thecapacity and freedom to sincerely giveoneself to another, to others, with thecertainty of being able to reach the scope towhich one is called, thanks to thecontribution and presence of all communitymembers. From this perspective, the totalgift of self also implies the availability toassume in the first person the other personin her richness and in her weakness. Wethus establish reciprocal accompaniment, aprocess of shared growth toward the sameobjective,one that facilitates the fullrealization of God’s plan and in one’s life. The experience of reciprocal care for oneanother becomes the condition thatfacilitates accompaniment of the youngpeople whom we find on our journey or whoask us to undertake it together.

The most beautiful heart in the world“Once upon atime there was a young manin the midst of a crowded plaza. He saidthat he had the most beautiful heart in theworld, or at least in the whole valley.Everyone admired him. He was trulyperfect without the least defect. All agreedthat yes, this was the most beautiful heart,and the more they said it, the more the

young man became proud and boasted ofhis marvelous heart.Suddenly, an old man popped up out ofnowhere.“Well,”he said, “to tell the truth, your heart is much less beautiful than mine.”While hedisplayed it, the eyes of all and of the youngman were upon him. Certainly, that heartbeat strongly, but it was covered with scars.There were areas that had pieces takenaway and were patched with others, butthey didn’t quite match…So it was that theheart was out of shape. In addition, it wasfull of large holes. All looked at the old manwith some perplexity. The young man burstout laughing: “You’re joking,” he said. Compare your heart with mine. Mine isperfect, yours is all mended.” “That’s true,” admitted the old man. “Yours has an absolutely perfect aspect, but I would neverexchange it for mine. Every woundrepresents a person to whom I have givenmy love. I detached a piece of my heartand I gave it away. In exchange, I oftenreceived a piece of another heart that filledthe emptiness in my own, but certainly, itwas never exactly the same and so it is thatI have some little bumps of which I havegrown very fond, However, each onereminds me of the love I have shared. Atother times, instead, I gave a piece of myheart to persons who did not correspondand this explains the gaps. Loving is risky,certainly, but no matter how painful thesecracks may be, they always remind me ofthe love that I experienced for thesepeople….and who knows? One day they will come back, and perhaps they will fill thespace that I have reserved for them.”The young man was speechless, and tearsran down his cheeks. He took a piece of hisown heart and went to the old man, offeringit to him with trembling hands. The old manaccepted it and placed it in his heart, thenhe took a piece of his old mended heart andwith it filled the wound left in the heart of theyoung man. It fit, but not perfectly; theedges were a little crooked. The youngman looked at his heart that was no longer“the most beautiful heart in the world”, yet he found it more wonderful than ever,

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because the love of the old man ran throughit.”

This is the wish that we address to you as acommunity already on the journey towardGeneral Chapter XXII. May our love runand reach the young people and those wholive at their side, like a stream of living watercalling them to full and abundant happiness.In turn, may we accept the love that is givento us so that “no matter what happens, Ilearn. Each time is a a new gain.” (Marguerite Yourcenar)

Questions for community sharing

How can we help the young people andeducators who love them not to allowthemselves to be overcome byuncertainty?How can we reassure them and say that“choosing is possible and an easilytraveled way” , and that only by accepting and living resistance andfear, typical to the human heart, willthey find serenity and inner peace?

The goal to which our pastoral actionmust tend is that of educating the youngpeople to discern the design of God fortheir lives and to assume it as a mission.(C.72)

“An efficacious accompaniment cannot exist without a Christian community forreference, one that presents itself as anicon of the different vocations in theChurch.The educating community is called tooffer an environment in which thedifferent vocational proposals are visibleand credible , but also to configure itselfas a workshop in which the differentvocations find the suitable soil todevelop and integrate itself reciprocally.” (LM 112).

How can we entrust to them the wisdom thatleads to reading and accepting in events theconnecting thread of their own lives andthose of others?

RIVISTA DELLE FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICERIVISTA DELLE FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE

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VISTA DELLE FIGLIE DI MARIA AUSILIATRICE

Pedagogical, Biblical andEducational Studies

Close Up

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MARY

Mary, witness of the “Kenosis (humiliation) of God

Aristede Serra

Christmas was approaching. In Bethlehem, Mary“…gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped himin swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger” (Luke 2, 7).Wrapping a newborn in swaddlingclothes was a widespread usage. In the area ofGreek culture, for example, it is attested to fromthe VII-VI century before Christ. So this is whatMary also did. The angel, however, offeredthose swaddling clothes to the shepherds as a“sign”.”Let this be a sign to you…you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes and laying ina manger” (Luke 2, 12).

There is, therefore, a “sign”, i.e., a message, a teaching to be discovered in those clothes. Butwhat? The living tradition of the Church-documented in the writings of the Fathers, thetheologians, from liturgy, from figurative art –recognized a highly variegated symbolism in theBabe of Bethlehem, covered in swaddlingclothes. Here are a few suggested by the literaltone of the Lucan text.

A “glory cloaked in poverty

The tradition of the Church is punctual incatching the contrast between Luke 2, 9 andLuke 2, 12. In verse 9 the evangelist writes: “An angel of the Lord appeared to them (theshepherds) and the glory of the Lord wrappedthem in light.”

In verse 12, instead, we read that the angel saidto the shepherds: ”You will find an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes.” We easily see the difference between the two descriptions. Onthe one side there is the glory of the Lord that“wraps” the shepherds, vesting them with intense light. On the other, instead, there is thechild “wrapped” in swaddling clothes. And we

keep present that in Luke’s theology the “glory of the Lord” is soon connected to the paschal glorification that the Father confers on Jesus(Luke 9,26,31,32; 21,27;,26; Acts 7,55;22,6,11).This signifies that the child of Bethlehem has adivine nature. He is the “Savior-Christ-LordLuke 2, 11): three titles that Luke’s catechesis in the Acts reserves for the Risen Christ (Acts, 36;5, 31; 13, 23). The message, therefore, is clear.

What shines forth to the external of this gloriousnature of the Child? Nothing! Now that He isborn for us, for all the people (Luke 2, 10, 11),He becomes a participant in our life condition.Neither “glory” nor “splendor” shines around Him. If, as God, He was vested with light (cfr.Ps104, 2), now as son of man He is covered withdiapers, like any other little one, fragile andhelpless.

The “glory of God”, that is due to the onlybegotten Son of the Father (cfr Jn 1, 14), ishidden by the veil of his humanity, also subjectto his littleness, to limitations, to the anguish ofthe world below.

A God on the journey toward the tomb

The Christian reflection, visibly witnessed to alsoby iconography, has continually brought out theparallelism that exists between Luke 2, 7 andLuke 23, 53. On the one hand, we see Marywho “Gave birth to her firstborn son, wrappedhim in swaddling clothes and laid him in amanger” (Luke 2, 7). On the other, we seeJoseph of Arimathea when “Taking the body of Jesus down from the cross, he wrapped it in asheet and laid it in a tomb”.

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From here we see the insistent accord inChristian thought between the “wrappings” of Mary and the “funeral cloths” of Joseph of Arimathea; between the “manger” and the “sepulcher”. The reliable message that comes tous is this: the Messiah of God, once vested withthe human condition, also assumed our state ofdeath, and what a death! Coming among “His own” (John 1, 11), he came into our world also to die.

This is the sign that Jesus would express at theimmanence of His passion: ”Now my soul is troubled and what am I to say? Father, save mefrom this hour? This is why I have come to thishour.” (John 12, 27)

In another way Luke repeats what Paulprofessed in the celebrated hymn of the letter tothe Philippians (2, 5-8): “Christ Jesus, though being divine in nature, did not deem His equalitywith God something to be grasped at, to bejealously guarded, but stripping Himself Heassumed the position of a servant and becamesimilar to humankind. He appeared in humanform, humiliated Himself, becoming obedientunto death,death on a cross.”

A God-child surrounded by the loving care ofMary and Joseph

The cloths with which Mary dressed her little oneafter having given birth are also an indication ofthe maternal care with which she, along withJoseph, her spouse, gave Jesus so that Hecould grow and reach human maturity. Anindication in favor of this reading of the “sign” of Bethlehem could be drawn from the differencebetween verses 12 and 16 of the chapteraccording to Luke.

Especially in verse 12 the angel indicates thesign to the shepherd saying: “You will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in amanger.” Then in verse 16 Luke writes that the shepherds “…found Mary and Joseph and theBaby, lying in a manger.” The difference between the two versions is the following: Inverse 12 the sign announced is composed of 3elements: the Child, the swaddling clothes, and

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the manger. Verse 16, instead, evaluates thesign mentioning the following elements: Maryand Joseph, the Child and the manger. In otherwords, of the three elements, (the Child, theclothes, the manger) only 2 reappear in verse16, i.e., the Child and the manger. Theswaddling clothes are no longer remembered.In their place, Luke introduces the names ofMary and Joseph.

Is this a chance substitution? I don’t think so. Here is the probable reason.

Based on 3 steps of the Old Testament,(precisely Wisdom 7, 4; Job 38, 8-9 and Ezekiel16, 4), it is declared that a child wrapped inswaddling clothes at the time of birth is not afoundling, nor an abandoned baby. It is,instead, an infant guarded with tender affectionby persons close to it who would care for it,especially its mother.

The author of the Book of Wisdom has KingSolomon of ancient times tell us:”I, too, as a newborn…was wrapped in swaddling clothesand surrounded with care” (Wis 7, 4).

In turn, Jacob’s poem presents the Creator as the one who gives birth to His child, i.e., the sea.To this newborn creature (the sea) He extendsmaternal care, wrapping it in clouds and mist,almost as though they were swaddling clothes(Job 38, 8-9).

In poetic terms, the prophet Ezekiel recalled toIsrael the humility of its origins and the maternaltenderness of God in its regard. The prophetwitnessed in the name of the Lord (Ez 16,4-5):“At your birth, when you came into the world,your umbilical cord was not cut and you werenot washed with water so that you could bepurified; you were not rubbed with salt, nor wereyou wrapped in swaddling clothes. No mercifuleye was turned upon you…”

God rested His glance amid so much squalor onhim, and He had compassion: “I passed close to you and saw you while you writhed in blood, andI said to you: Live in your blood and grow likethe grass of the field…” (Ez 16, 6-7).

In the light of this premise, there is profiled areasonable hypothesis on why Luke uses thenames of “Mary and Joseph” in v.16 instead of “wrapping cloths” in v. 12. Those “cloths” in the symbolic language of the evangelist are thetangible signs of all the care that Mary offered toJesus together with Joseph, her spouse and thelegal father of the Child (Luke 1, 27; 2, 4; 3, 23;4, 22). Thanks to the maternal offices of Mary,which were united with those paternal ofJoseph, the “Son of the Most High” (Luke 1, 32) could develop and reach the fullness of Hisgrowth as the “son of man”.

The ministry of Mary and Joseph, so to say,“wrapped” Jesus and “surrounded Him with solicitous assistance in such a way that He“…grew in wisdom, age and grace, before God and man” (Luke 2, 52). We have here aprecious starting point for the modern science ofeducation!

A medieval author from the XIII Century, Rupertof Deutz (+1130), understood in a very lucidmanner the symbolic pregnancy of the “cloths” in which Mary covered the newborn Jesus.

To comment on the passage of the Canticle ofCanticles where the spouse said to his bride:“The perfume of your clothing is like the perfumeof Lebanon” (Canticles 4,11), Rupert imagines that Jesus addressed His Mother with thesewords: “What shall Isay of the cloths in whichyou wrapped me and placed me in themanger?...Those cloths were the first fruits of allclothing, i.e. of the good works, which you wereto do for me for me with maternal and more thanmaternal love…

You, in fact, mother and faithful Virgin, though Iwas your little one, a little man, served me in allas to God Himself…”

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Arianna’s Line

The Struggle to Decide

Maria Rossi

In the course of life, at some time or other,everyone is faced with important choicesand they ask themselves which path theyshould take. The process of deciding is notspontaneous. It presupposes a reflectionand consideration with regard to thepossible consequences of the choice to bemade.

Preferences usually guide us toward thosealternatives which, according to expectation,correspond to values lived and satisfyprofound aspirations, procuring greaterpleasure and usefulness. Decisions bringwith them a more or less broad margin ofthe unforeseen and the loss of otherpossibilities which, especially with regard tovital choices, create tension and anxiety. Itis not rare that when faced with animportant decision we pass a sleeplessnight.

People define themselves as being decisiveor indecisive from the way and capacity forfacing situations that require a choice.

Being decisive, therefore, i.e.,understanding and discerning the directionto be followed or the situation at hand or thechoice to be made with a certain speed anddetermination, is a personality trait and isgenerally more pronounced in leaders.

Being fairly decisive is considered to benormal, given that the majority of peopleseem to be so and do not need a lifetime tothink of what they’ll be when they grow up or which shoes to buy. Being perplexed orundecided, i.e., needing much time tochoose rather unimportant things is

considered to be a negative trait, orsomething missing in one’s personality. Sometimes this is true.

Actually, especially in the West, in the faceof great life choices and the choice of aprofession, it seems that the majority ofyoung people are undecided and that thislack of decision and postponing of choicesis becoming the norm. This situation isgenerally attributed to the frailty of thenewer generations, to the fear of assumingresponsibility, to the difficulty of drawing upa personal life plan in the face of themultiple possibilities presented, of not beingtrained for struggle and sacrifice. Thisreading of the data is fairly realistic, butperhaps incomplete. There is more to it.

The great choices between past andpresent

The life choices that create greater anxietyin confrontations in which decision makingfrequently becomes anguishing areespecially marriage, consecrated life andchoosing a profession.

Once upon a time this was not the case.Until approximately the eighteenth centuryin many countries life choices were made bythe head of the family. It was the fatherwho, on the basis of family patrimony andpolitical interests, decided which sons anddaughters would marry and which wouldbecome clerics or nuns. Remaining in thefamily was not considered to be dignified.The girls who did not marry were called bythe derogatory name of spinsters and theboys were called bachelors.

Even professions were predetermined. Thefarmer’s son became a farmer, the son ofthe pharmacist a pharmacist, and so on.The possibility of choosing was missing and

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therefore the matter of being decisive orindecisive did not exist.

Today life prospects have been extendedand the horizon of possibilities is muchbroader. Life choices, in addition to beingfreer, are also much more varied.

The family. In addition to the traditionalform based on marriage, there are others, attimes choices, at times lived as a remedy,such as a need that is more tolerant thanaccepted. Whoever chooses to live alone orfinds themselves in this condition, can do sowithout being branded by derogatory terms.On the contrary, being single today is not aproblem.

Consecrated life. Until the seventeenthcentury this was recognized under itsmonastic form, the cloister. Mary Ward,who died in 1645, mentioned by John PaulII in Mulieris Dignitatem among the mostexcellent people was imprisoned in Monacoof Bavaria by the Holy Office because shewanted to found an institute of activereligious fashioned along the lines of theCompany of Jesus. She was exoneratedonly in 1907. Today, in addition to thetraditional forms of cloistered and active life,there have arisen in continuation diverseforms of the laity, legates to Dioceses, ofsmaller dimension, but with greaterflexibility, at times, even of uncertainduration and stability.

Professional life. Even regarding the choiceof a life profession, the exclusions arealmost by chance. The son or daughter ofan ordinary worker, if possessed of thecapacity, attitude, interest and will, canaspire even to more prestigious professions.The many possibilities that broaden thespace of freedom of choice do not facilitatethe decision-making process, but rather

make it more difficult. To choose one needsto know and to know a complex reality evensummarily one needs time. And, afterhaving known and discerned which path tochoose and which, among the many waysthat are possible and attractive, or those tobe left behind, it still could become ananguishing problem. Being perplexed, inthis case putting off a decision could be nota mere anomaly, but a prudent duty.

Some educational warnings

Whoever works in an educationalenvironment generally find herself withadolescents, young people and familiesdealing with problems of professional andvocational guidance. This is not a problemthat involves only experts and young peoplefrom 17-18 years of age and onward. Sincethis is a very important phase of life, it isnecessary to bear it in mind throughout thewhole journey of growth and educationalcommitment. Anyone who has hadeducational experience knows that vitalchoices cannot be improvised nor can theybe mere pilot programs such as thosecarried out by consumer report surveys.Intervention must be delicate, prudent,respectful and suited to the age group.

A few indications in this regard could beuseful. To help young people in theirdecision–making process, in seekingguidance, it is necessary to do so in theactual social context, looking at things fromtheir point of view, seeing them in theirfamily, and then national, cultural, religiousand ethnic environment to help themdiscover their capacity, attitudes andprofound aspirations and even theirlimitations and eventual counter-indications.

In addition to their self-knowledge, it is agreat help for the young people to get to

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know the possible formative offerings, theprofessional outlets and even the needs ofthe surrounding society and Institutions thatseek to give positive responses to theirneeds. Many young people choosefinancially profitable professions and brilliantcareers, but there are also those who,stimulated by the desire to give positive andcreative responses to the needs of society,commit themselves to safeguard theenvironment, work for justice and peace, forthe respect of human rights and for theeducation of young people to the greatvalues.

It is also important to offer opportunities forvalid experiences, for the awareness ofdifferent forms of life and work. Theyshould not be pressured nor be pushedtoward hasty decisions.

Even the negative comment on the fact thatonce upon a time it was not necessary tohave all this in order to decide no longerhave meaning.

One of the difficulties in confronting vital andprofessional decisions comes from the fearof limiting the field of responsibilities. Up toeven 19 years of age a young person couldmake a 360 degree turn in cultivatingcapacity, attitude, and interest, especially ifthey are pursuing higher education.Choosing a school and a degree coursefrom among many possibilities and leavingothers is truly a task. So it is for a state oflife. For fear of losing possibilities, somepeople put off making a choice. They goforward on tenterhooks ,seeking to grasp allthat life offers, and end up without making achoice and find themselves alone.

The attentive educator, while allowing theyoung person to have a personalexperience, can support them in their

decision-making process by active andpatient listening, stimulating them to criticalinformation, helping them to see whichchoices could be more in consonance withthe realization of their personality, of theirdreams and in conditions to give meaning totheir life. Without falling into the tritepublicity of indoctrination, one can offervalid reasons and good witness in favor ofcommitted choices.

In order to encourage fidelity in a choice of life,be it married, consecrated or a life dedicated toothers, it is of great benefit in accompanying theyoung person in passing from the ideal to thereal, from being enamored to being in love, fromneed to the acceptance of one’s own limitations and those of persons, institutions and to gratuity,while constantly conserving enthusiasm.

Little daily choices

This could seem to be an appendix, but perhapsnot. Daily choices, while seemingly of little valueare, instead, very important and yet very difficultto implement. One decides each day to begenerous, tolerant, patient, attentive to theneeds of others, more faithful to communitytimes and more constant in prayer, to correctsome habit not quite suited to an adult or anelderly person, to be sober and attentive toone’s diet…

But then almost every evening one becomesaware that that was not quite how the day wentand one could have done something better…

When we become aware of things, we remain abit perplexed, bewildered and, at times, evendiscouraged. What are we to do? Are thedecisions taken each day or during times ofgreater reflection true decisions or are theyuseless proposals? Do they, perhaps, deal withthose limitations which each person must takeinto account and do we sway between thehumble acceptance and a vigilant asceticism or,as Mother Mazzarello would say “not making peace with our own defects?”

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The Lamp

The Poem of the Spouse

One of our present day mystics, MadeleineDelbrel, who lived on the outskirts of Paris andwas strongly involved in the social aspect of life,discovered the profound root of her spirituality inthe spousal dimension that she expressed in aclear and profound manner in her writings: “In the Church, Spouse of Christ,” she wrote, “all of humanity is called to His love. Every baptizedperson participates in this nuptial love. We havechosen to be satisfied with this one love. If wedo not offer our entire being, or if we do not giveto this love the dimension that belongs to it, weare virgins who do not serve either the spread oflife nor that of eternity. At the dawn of the NewTestament, John the Baptist said: “The one whohas the bride is the Spouse, but the Friendrejoices…”Many Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, after the example of Mary Domenica,have realized the spousal dimension that fits invery well with Salesian spirituality…especially in its feminine sense. Here we present theexperience of Mother Rosetta Marchese,understood as a reminder of total and trustingabandonment to God.

The secret reminder

Anyone who has read the notes of MotherRosetta, written almost on a daily basis,especially those of the last years of her life, hasbeen struck by her simple yet profoundspirituality. Profoundly Salesian and profoundlymystical…two characteristics that do not exclude one another, but strongly recall her.

“The grace of the spouse is to penetrate and share the mystery of His passion, His ardor for

the sanctification of souls, the ineffable secretsof His eternal communication with the Father. Itraveled the way of the cross for the first timewith the heart of a spouse. Jesus enfolded mein His impassioned sorrow and held me closelyto Himself. I feel that this is the beginning of animmense grace” (October 12, 1968)

“I suddenly, unexpectedly felt a strong call to allow myself to be penetrated by the sweetnessof the Love of Jesus. It was a brief moment, butI believe I understood this inexpressiblesweetness as an ocean of peace, like a verycalm river that sought to penetrate the soul.” (1970)

“Leading the Congregation is so overwhelming that I can do nothing more than remainabandoned in His rest, in His Heart. Hetransmits to me His compassion, His teaching,the means to go toward the hunger andexhaustion of my sisters and of the youngpeople. His is a continual Mass…”

“The spiritual experience of Mother Rosetta”, writes Sr. Maria Esther Posada, “is configuredas a real and profound mystical experience inwhich one finds the seal of Trinitarian loveunited to that of the human creature. It is amystical experience that in Christianity isalways fuller, a more profound participation inthe paschal mystery of Christ. In MotherRosetta’s experience, one also sees the seal of Salesian mysticism that maintains one’s heart outstretched and open to the world of youth.

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She wrote to the FMA: “You know , dear Sisters, the intentions of my heart as soon as Iheard the news that it was necessary to behospitalized and when I understood theseriousness of my illness. Never had I thoughtof any other intention or had in my heartanything else especially during the times ofgreater suffering except the sanctity of theCongregation and as a consequence, thesalvation of youthful souls” (Circular letter, September 3, 1982).

Revealing letters

There are many messages with which MotherRosetta reached her daughters. They are limpid,clear letters that reveal with great simplicity herprofound love of God .

To a Sister who was suffering she wrote: “The Lord has not gone to a mistaken address. Hereally wanted you, and He persecuted you withsweetness…You must not resist His attraction; your heart must be all and only His, without fearand with spousal dedication.”

And one day she responded to a question thatwas filial, but somewhat indiscreet: “Have I encountered the Lord in my profound being? Ihope so, however, one can always make thisencounter more true and real.”

“Be sure that I carry you in my heart, my living heart, the one that the Good Lord has given meto be, in the footsteps of my sisters, the figure ofHis love.”

I recommend that you go to rest, to relax andread in the Fatherhood of God your task to servethe souls that are His.”

Docile to the action of the Spirit, the Daughter of Mary Help of Christians commits herself byvow to observe perfect continence in celibacy. This offering of her whole being renders her(FMA) to be a sign of the union of the Church with Christ, her spouse, and her witness to thePeople of God who await the vision of her Lord. (Const. 13)

S.M.S

“I will make you my spouse forever; I will make you my spouse in justice andright, in benevolence and love” (Hosea 2, 21)

Behold, I will seduce her, carrying her tothe desert and speaking to herheart…That day-the oracle of the Lord-will call me “my spouse’” (Hosea 2,16.18b)

…I have given myself to souls who, time after time, put me on the way, forthat natural sense of duty, which wasalso satisfaction for the same dutyfulfilled. I have loved them, yes, withthe desire to make them yours, but howstingy and measured has this poor lovebeen…I came to your Heart that was the magnificent grace of this immensespiritual maternity that I seem tounderstand in its fullness for the firsttime…(RosettaMarchese)

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LIFE

The Importance of knowing how to choose

Anna Rita Cristaino

How can we distinguish if an act is bioethically good or bad? Which yardstick of justicecan be used? Which is the right one?

We remain disconcerted when we readabout questions of bioethics in newspapers.In the end, we don’t know who is right and who is wrong. When the Church gives itsjudgment, when it forcefully sustains that lifeis to be guarded from its beginning to itsnatural end, it is attacked as being out ofdate and of being against freedom ofresearch.

There has been an attempt to say:”OK, but perhaps in some practices there’s nothing wrong, perhaps the end justifies themeans.” We feel inadequate in facing determined arguments, but bioethics is nota field for specialists or philosophers. Itregards rather what we do daily in the fieldof health and should have as a basis of animportant choice and every “choice”, it implies discernment and judgment.

Judging does not mean condemning, butrather comparing what we want to do withwhat it actually constitutes : the desire forbeauty, justice, truth. Discerning is at thebase of daily life. Expressing a judgment isfundamental because we want tounderstand and not “undergo”.

Love, egoism, and fear could be at the baseof our choice. In the field of bioethics weneed to lament that certain actions(abortion, artificial insemination) are notpropagated out of egoism, but because offear. Egoism, in fact, has behind itself an “I”

badly pronounced, crooked, altered, but atleast there is an “I”. Behind actions dictated by fear, however, there is no longer anyone;the person has fled, and there remains onlyreaction and instinct. Today we no longercare for the object of which we speak: Is thefetus a person? Does artificial inseminationcarry risks? Is euthanasia carried out in theinterests of others instead of the invalid?,but only if what we are doing is our decisionand is not against the law. That’s it. In short, we no longer reason with thecategory of true/false, right/wrong.Whoever reasons with this measure islabeled as a “fanatic” or “behind the times”.

In speaking of bioethics, we find a challenge“with our heart” or “with our power”. Choosing on which side to stand is not anoption, but a cultural obligation and a lifeobligation. It is not a choice only forintellectuals, or for saints, but one thatregards all, even our young people.

This is the basis of bioethics: to face thewhole field of medicine and biology with thelove of the truth, of justice and of beautywritten in our depths and not with prejudiceand with nothing of ethical relativism. PopeBenedict speaks of a “moral grammar”thatcould help us in discerning. Our heart iswritten with this grammar, is made in theimage of a Creator who has engraved it withreason and freedom, precisely in His image.

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The Journey through the forest islong only if you do not love the

person whom you are going to see

(Proverb from the DemocraticRepublic of Congo)

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25 YEARS OF

PROJECTAFRICA

COMMUNAUTE DE LA KAFUBU

(Marie Auxiliatrice)

Located at 215 Km from the center of the city ofLubumbashi, this community was started in 1929 andis in the diocese of Sakania, Kipushi. 10 Sisters areinvolved in the following works:

*The Lyceum “Kwesu”, day and boarding school with 300 boarders and 50 day student, and it offers thefollowing courses: human and pedagogical sciences,commercial, technical and administration.

* The administration of a co-ed elementary school,“Shibukeni” entrusted to the Sisters of the Diocese.

* The health enter “LAFUBU”. Reference center for 6zones located in the villages of Kilobelobe,Shindaika, Musoshi, Evabuka, Dilanda andKainakanga.

*Center for Guidance and formation for women.

*Service to the people through woodworking, a smallshop for clothing, material for maintenance andnutrition.

*Pastoral and educational activity in the communityworks, parishes and villages.

COMMUNAUTE DE LA RUASHI

(Immaculate Heart of Mary)

Located 7KM from the center of the city ofLumumbashi, this community was opened in 1960.The community is composed of 10 Sisters who workin the following:

Secondary School, “Hodari” with 1700 students. This is a public school for girls and it offers courses intechniques of sewing and dressmaking, pedagogy,commercial and administration courses,specialization for formators in sewing anddressmaking and for professional nursery schools.

*Two public elementary schools “Hodari Block I” and “Hodari Block II:

*Pastoral and educational activity in the parishes

*Diverse extracurricular activities for the formation ofthe woman.

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Like a marketplace

Maria Luisa Nicastro-Mara Borsi

The price goes from 15,000 dollars for lung to62,000 for a kidney. These are the prices of theworldwide business of the trafficking in organs.

Iran is the only nation that has legalized thebuying and selling. There are many women whosell, but rarely do they “receive”.

A Chinese doctor, Wang Guoqui, arrestedby the police in a hospital and who soughtpolitical asylum in the United States,confirms that he removed organs, skin,corneas and other tissue from personscondemned to death. In 1994, a reportcommissioned by the Information Agencyof the United States and presented to theUnited Nations, sought to portray asunfounded the trafficking of organs and tosay that it was an “urban legend”. In June of 2005, a few journalists of the Spanish TVprogram Antena 3 and the dailynewspaper El Mundo, unmasked apresumed trafficker of organs in Mexicodressed as a priest along with a complicitdoctor. There was no proof that it was a setup, but the police did not reach anyappreciable results. During an internationalconference held at the Viminale in Rome, itwas noted in a dossier that a few Moldaviancitizens had gone to Georgia and Turkey tosubmit to an operation to remove a kidney,all organized by the Russian Mafia. And forthe first time, something tangible andprobable was spoken of : the selling ofone’s organs by persons who were desperate, but “consenting”.

B

The stories of kidnapping went on for twentyyears without confirmation, but buying andselling is at this point a noted phenomenonalso because transplants have becomesafer and more routine so organ donorsoffer little resistance.

In reality, what determined the efficacy oftransplants was not the improvement ofsurgical technique, but a drug, cyclosporine,which allows the immune system to inhibitproblems and reduce the risk of rejection toa minimum. Heart and kidney transplantshave, therefore, become an almost safeoperation that has spread to a worldwidelevel. The scarcity of organs has becomeevident especially if we compare thenumbers with how many transplants havebeen carried out. Organ donation is notwidespread because of cultural andreligious reasons.

China has a fundamental role in the buyingand selling of organs in the Pacific area. In1984, immediately after cyclosporinebecame available, the government issued adocument entitled: “Regulations concerning the use of cadaver organs or those ofpersons condemned to death” that

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established that the organs of thecondemned may be used for transplant ifthe prisoner and the family agree or if noone claims the body. The law furtherestablished that all be done in completesecrecy. Doctors residing in Japan, HongKong, Singapore and Taiwan who act asintermediaries and direct their patients tohospitals of Wuhan, Beijing and Shanghai,then provide for the use of the organs. Thesystem is very efficient insofar as foreignersdo not have to wait days or weeks becausethe organs are available. Executions areplanned to meet the market’s needs.

David Rothman, a member of the BellagioTask Force which has drawn up the mostauthoritative report on the internationaltrafficking of organs, provoked interest whenhe asked: “What would happen if the mediasociety would take seriously and on aninternational level the principles proclaimed

and would institute a control commission tokeep the practice of organ donations understrict surveillance? And if they would stoptraining surgeons who come from countrieswhere similar practices are tolerated? And ifnations would refuse-as did South Africa in thetime of apartheid-to hold international meetingsin these countries? And why don’t pharmaceutical companies that producecyclosporine refuse to sell this drug only todoctors and hospitals where the standards fororgan donation are respected?”

For a worldwide ethic

Objective and responsible information and aneducation to values constitute the master way tocombat efficaciously the social wound of thecommerce of organs and to favor an authenticculture of transplants.

In 1991 John Paul II wrote: “Thanks to science and to the professional formation of doctors andhealth workers we have new and marvelouschallenges. We are challenged to love ourneighbor in new ways, in evangelical terms, tolove to the end.”

The only choice that is ethically acceptable isthat of solidarity, of seeking the common goodand therefore of the gift of self. Donation andtransplants represent a singular, at times heroicservice to life and may become an opportunityfor generosity and mercy toward sick andsuffering neighbors.

The human body as value has no price, andtherefore is not an object of commerce. Theonly possibility for exchange becomes a noble,indescribable act on the horizon of gratuity andaltruism.

Sources consulted:

“Avvenire”, January 28,2007. Organs for sale-aworldwide business

“Missioni Consolata:, Journey into third millennium slavery 107 (2005) 10-11

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GOAL

An Extraordinary Enterprise: To savethe world!

Emilia Di Massimo

The most important result of the weeklongconference of the participants who subscribed tothe Convention on biological diversity (COP7)held at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in February2004, was an agreement on the first phase thatled to the constitution of a worldwide network tosafeguard the patrimony of flora and fauna, buton land and water.

There was too much at stake in COP7. InEurope species are dying out at a much fasterrate than they normally would. Before leavingKuala Lumpur, the EU commissionerresponsible for the environment, MargotWallstrom, presented the picture in dark tones:”I am obliged to choose accurately which situationto condemn” she admitted, referring to the variety of environmental problems to beresolved. “Biodiversity”, she continued to explain, “is not a luxury, but an indispensablecondition for life. The first to suffer from thedestruction of the ecosystems are the poor ofthe whole world, those whose sustenancefrequently depends directly on biodiversity. Thegreat question is not if there is life on Mars, but ifthere will continue to be life on earth.” Can there be a conference that is preoccupied only withresolving the problems of flora and fauna?Absolutely not! The greater threat is that to thehuman species. The expansion of cities and thenetwork of roads destroy and divide the naturalhabitats on which the patrimony of flora andfauna depend. The senseless exploitation ofnatural resources and the introduction ofpredatory or foreign resources harm nutritionalresources and the natural balance of theecosystem. According to some statistics, today’s climactic change could produce an

unprecedented acceleration of the process ofextinction, which could, by 2050, eradicate athird of the existing species of the world. Thehuman species, we must remember, needs thenatural world to survive. One example toillustrate this: forests oxygenate the air, impedesoil erosion, prevent flooding and moderate theclimate. Furthermore, they furnish wood, foodand pharmaceuticals. Margot Wallstromdescribed the regions to safeguard biodiversityusing four E’s: ethical, environmental, economicand emotional.

And she asked: “Can you imagine a summer day without the song of birds?”

Seventh Millennium Objective:

To insure environmental support

Reaching the seventh Millennium Objectiveimplies guaranteeing forms of sustainabledevelopment and the ability to preserve thereproductive capacity of natural ecosystems forfuture generations. We deal with committingourselves to a variety of politics in condition torevert the tendency in respect to environmentalharm that they produce and to improve themanagement of the ecosystems. Sadly, we arefaced by a geography dotted with imbalance inconsumption, environmental harm and theimpact of man on the environment. Wealthynations are responsible for the greater part ofpollution that strikes the environment and theexploitation of planetary resources.

Urgent: global partnership

Empowering a global partnership fordevelopment is the 8th Millennium Objective for2015. Only if nations commit themselves infavor of a North-South developmentalcooperation will we be able to have positiveresults in all problematic environments for the

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most disadvantaged nations: debt reduction,access to pharmaceuticals…

In the ecological field safeguarding the flora-fauna patrimony implies undertaking anambitious work gifted with precise objectives atwhich we will be able to arrive if there is ashared will to adhere to the agreements made.National and regional zones will be established.By 2010 they will be constituted on the land andby 2012 on the ocean. A commission willevaluate the method by which to maintainbiodiversity in the marine areas outside ofnational confines. Actually, in all the world only10% of the areas characterized by majorbiodiversity and 11% of the oceans aremonitored, a few in a very inadequate manner.It was further decided to have internationalagreements, to have the possibility for a newglobal partnership for biodiversity that will uniteall organizations that occupy themselves withbiodiversity. It is urgent that activities destinedto halt the extinction of the species becoordinated.

The goal

The objective presented proposes to reach thefollowing goal: to integrate the principles ofsustainable development in the politics ofnations and programs to halt the destruction ofenvironmental resources. On the one side it isnecessary to confront the scarcity of naturalresources to which poor people have access, onthe other, there is the need to remedy theenvironmental dangers caused by the intenseconsumption by wealthy populations. Manyenvironmental problems originated with themodels of production and consumerism,especially in highly developed nations. Peaceand sustainability are linked to our way ofthinking and acting. They require a neweveryday lifestyle. It is necessary that we havea stronger sensitivity for what regards our co-responsibility in the defense and care of thehabitat that God has entrusted to us. Which waywill we choose?

Not all riches are equally used and distributed to contribute to the building of a better world.

UNDP Data :

Soil degradation is a problem that touches almost 2 billion hectares of land, damaging the sustaining of atleast a billion individuals who live on the land. Approximately 70% of the fishing reserves are completelyor highly exploited. 1.7 billion individuals, i.e., a third of the world population, live in nations where thereis a water emergency. Sustaining approximately 900 million poor people, residents in rural areas, dependin great part on natural products. Up to a fifth of the illness registered in poor nations can be traced backto environmental risk factors. and sustainability are interdependent and linked to our way of thinking andacting. They require a new lifestyle in everyday life. There is an urgent need for a stronger sensitivity forwhat regards our co-responsibility in the defense and care of the habitat that God has entrusted to us.What ways will we undertake? Wealthy nations generate the major part of the environmental pollution onthe planet and this impoverishes natural resources. 20% of the population of the “North” consumes 86% of the resources, produces 95% of toxic waste and 65 % of gasses that contribute to the greenhouseeffect and planetary warming. 455 kg of refuse…this is the mountain of refuse produced each year (on the average) by a person in an opulent society. The poor are the most vulnerable subjects ofenvironmental shock and stress, such as the precocious impact of global climactic change.

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WORLD OF YOUTH

Desire for the future?

Cristina Merli

At times it seems that we’re walking on shifting sands. Young people frequently donot know on what terra firma to take thenext step. This is the era of uncertainty, ofrelativism. It is frighteningl to have gambleon one’s future, on a promise of love, on the possibility of being really happy. Briefromance, precarious work, disappointingpolitics, mistrust in relationships. What ideaof the future do our young people have?Which emotions are projected towardtomorrow? Is there a long term plan? Weasked these questions of adolescents from16-18 years of age.

Which emotions do you experience inthe face of the future that awaits you?

My first thought is fear! Fear because Idon’t know what awaits me, I don’t know if I will be capable of doing what I want to do,but if I think about it, I also feel a greatdesire to discover what awaits me. Sara

A bit of fear, but also great curiosity and thedesire to commit myself to reach what Iwant. Ettore

Fear, hope, fascination. Francesca

The future creates a sensation ofdisorientation. Marta

I am anxious and agitated because I don’t know what awaits me. Chiara

The future? I want to go there now! Gabriel

It sends me into crisis. Marco

I can’t wait for the time when the “future” arrives! Stefano

Do you have plans for your tomorrow?

Only short term plans. Chiara

I want to have a family, many children andbe able to dedicate myself also to socialwork. Federica

I have a few plans, but they are veryuncertain. Matteo

Not yet defined. Valeria

Yes, I want to study, become a teacher,marry and have children. Francesca

Yes, ambitious ones that can be carried outeven at short term. Gianmarco

No, I still have unclear ideas. Serena

Yes, I would like to become an actor.Gabriel

Yes, but I don’t know if they can be carried out. Alberto

I have so many plans that I don’t even know where to begin the list. Beatrice

What are you afraid of ?

Not finding work and a home to that I will beable to live on my own. Nicolo

Having ever greater responsibility. Silvia

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Being a failure, someone who did not knowhow to do anything with her life, who did notsucceed at anything that she had in mind.Lucia

Thinking that what I want will not happen,and that all my dreams could go up insmoke. Andrea

Not being able to find a job after universitystudies. Sara

The thought of not being able to live in thefuture, of dying before having done all that Iwant and could do. Gabriele

Politics. Claudia

The possibility of finding myself unpreparedto face the unforeseen. Valentina

Losing those dear to me. Marco

Not being something for someone. Lucia

The idea of remaining alone.Francesca

What fascinates you?

The possibility of acquiring myindependence and the idea of responsibility.Babi

Knowing that there are new opportunities.Gabriele

The idea of coming home in the eveningand of being satisfied with my life. Vanessa

The fact that something is so beautiful thatI cannot even imagine could happen.Margherita

The fact that one day I could finally havethe answer to the question “What will happen to me?” Sara

I am fascinated by being able to choosefrom among so many interestingopportunities. Chiara

Knowing that my capacity could help me tobuild my future and my life. Ettore

The unforeseeable. Stefano

Finally, we asked these young people whichstrong points give them the strength to hopefor a good future. The responses were moreor less the same: family, relatives, friends,and a few cited their own capacity. Someadmitted they had no strong points. All,however, expressed the strong hope ofbeing able to be truly happy. It is the journeyof a person, every person. It can betraveled only by the individual. But eventhough the responsibility is personal, thejourney may be traveled in the company ofothers…parents, educators, friends. As educators who, in a world of shifting sands,have the presumption and courage to saywith our words and life: What your heartyearns for is possible; a good beautifulfuture is possible…if you want, I will accompany you…

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Exploring Resources

Life to the limits

Anna Mariani

In responding to a question asked of a 16 yearold by an adult about why so many youngpeople die in car and motorbike incidents andwhy so little care taken, the response was: “For us young people it is better to live one day as alion than a lifetime as a sheep”.

This statement provokes restlessness andconfusion and many want “to live” the world of our adolescence in search of sensations beyondall limits.

The adolescent word and consumerism

An element to keep in mind is consumerismBaumann says: “Consumers are mainly those who gather sensations; they are collectors ofthings only in a secondary and derived sense.The modern individual assumes the role ofcollector of pleasures, of sensation seekers” and if these sensations are satisfied with a gamebeyond legal, physical and moral limits, so muchthe better! It is not the journey that satisfies, butit is how the road to it is traveled.

Extreme attitudes find fertile ground in a societythat has seen the sense of legality decline, orbetter, the moral bond and the practical adheringto norms, even those that expect administrativeor penal sanctions, have lost power.Adolescents have lost the sense of limits andare in a continual state of challenge withthemselves or a group of friends or self and theinstitutions; they are in continual search for risksto show their strength and diversity. It hasbecome a mental stimulation that leads them tostand up to what they are most afraid of: fearand death. It is as though through violent actionthey can exorcise fear and in a delirium ofomnipotence that they can be the masters anddecide, therefore, the life and death of thevictims –many times themselves-who fall intotheir hands. This explains why at times certaindangerous

games are transformed into tragedy. Theincapacity to understand the limits and over-evaluation of one’s ownpower triggers perversemechanisms that could frequently have a tragicepilogue. Such is the case of stones thrownfrom overpasses, gang rapes of peers, and thechoice of a violent sport, of motorcycle or carraces, of adolescent bravado. It is a kind ofomnipotent delirium. There is, undoubtedly, ayouthful sub-culture that has lost the sense ofnorm and of what is right, and believes thatlosing itself in the idea that force is the easiestway to obtain all that one desires. It sees itselfand the other person only as an obstacle to beremoved for the full satisfaction of one’s desires.

Life between dream and reality

The psychologist Vittorino Andreoli has statedthat today’s adolescents “even though full of objects are emptier in the area of sentiments,and are more fragile”. It is a fragility that could translate itself into a point of strength when itbecomes the seeking of another, a need forfriendship, a bond of sentiments among youngpeople, i.e., “the seeking an excuse to grow”

In growth we call into cause parents who do notlisten because they have substituted televisionfor conversation and educators and teachers“must teach how to live by allowing the youngpeople to speak”.

“Life is a combination of reality and fantasy. Reality alone is sad and fantasy alone is pureillusion.

It is necessary to look at actual reality thinkinghopefully of tomorrow!

In adolescence there is need to fly, not toescape life, but to give it color!”

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Mary, icon of dialogue

Bruna Grassini

I pray for a future where the followers of thevarious religions meet serenely and openly withone another, respecting each other andwelcoming the truth that is in the religion of theother person.

I pray for a future in which each person is readyto learn from what is true and good in religions.

Cardinal Francis Grinze

President Emeritus of the Pontifical Council forInter-Religious Dialogue

The dialogue of love: the encounter

Castelgandolfo, September 25, 2006. In anhistoric encounter with the Diplomats of theMuslim community present in the world, PopeBenedict XVI greeted them saying: “Dear friends, I am happy to welcome you to thismeeting. I hope that we will be able to reinforcethe bonds of solidarity and friendship betweenthe Holy See and the Muslim Communities ofthe world. From the very beginning of myPontificate I have desired that we continue tostrengthen the bridges of friendship with thefaithful of all religions with a particularappreciation for the growth of dialogue betweenMuslims and Christians” (Osservatore Romano).

These are words and gestures that illumine lifeand encourage the seeking of ways ofcollaboration in the service of a future of peace.

In his 1964 Encyclical Ecclesium Suam, PopePaul VI exhorted us to appreciate the valuespresent in our separated brethren, recognizingChrist and the virtuous woks in the lives of otherbelievers. “It is right”, he said, “because God is

always marvelous and surprising in His works” (47).

True dialogue is not only concerned withdoctrine and is not limited to a mere exchange ofideas. “In some way, it is always an exchange of gifts.”

It is therefore necessary that we entrustourselves to Mary. She takes us by the hand,she guides us, and she opens hearts.

I remember a page written by Tonino Bello, inwhich he calls Our Lady ”Woman of the First Step”, symbol of the resurrected Church, who “in all haste moves to bring the joyful proclamationto the world”. And he suggested a prayer that is very dear to me: “Mary, make us like you experts in taking the first step. Sweetestsister…You were an incomparable expert in the Preventive System…take us by the hand and cover us with your mantle.”

Ephesus “house of dialogue”: listening

Ephesus: this is where Christianity took its firststeps. Here the faith had to work with differentreligions, other languages, other customs andmentalities. Here the Church began a longjourney of faith even down to our times. Theapostle Paul reminds us that we, too, were“foreigners” and “immigrants” in the beginning. His motto was “I have made myself all things to all to bring all to Christ.” The connection, we know, was not easy. As in those times, wetoday are called to make an effort inunderstanding, trust, witnessing to our faith, anddistinguishing ourselves in charity.

Mary is the “House of encounter, the house of listening, and the house of dialogue”. Here

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Christians and Muslims have prayed the AveMaria of the Gospel and the Koran in alllanguages for centuries.

Dialogue of truth and encounter is the Messagethat Benedict XVI transmitted to the EuropeanEcumenical Assembly that was held at Sibiu:“True dialogue, he wrote, is understood wherethere is not only the Word, but also where thereis listening, and from listening there comesencounter, relationship and understanding” (Osservatore Romano).

The source of dialogue is prayer; it flows fromand grows at the school of the Word.Furthermore, it requires an adequatepreparation, especially when controversialarguments must be faced, those respecting theexpressions of the cult of various religions.

Sadly, we know that a great part ofthe discussion was polluted byignorance and politics, which createmistrust and often rejection ofreligious practice.

At Loreto the Holy Father asked theyoung people to “feel themselves to be Church, where one learns to loveby educating self to the gratuitousacceptance of one’s neighbor, to the loving attention to those in need,to the poor and the least.”

Dialogue is not a one-way street; itis a journey of faith that requiresclear identity, prayer and adequatepreparation. The Koran mentions

Mary thirty-four times, and does so with love andrespect, calling her Virgin, Mother of Jesus, butnever “Mother of God”. This shows the depth of difference that still exists.

Though Mother Teresa of Calcutta neverpreached, she edified the Church by giving greatlove to the poor, an incalculable good for theChurch, a great help to those who were dying ofhunger.

So it was that she taught her Sisters and all ofus the dialogue of life, entrusting to us her livingin the simple expression that characterized her:

“Everyone who is here, at the side of the road, is Jesus waiting for our love.

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Outskirts

Outskirts


Maria Antonia Chinello-Lucy Roces

Recently, joining groups, volunteering, andthe more sensitive sectors of the world ofinformation have given life to multiculturalinformation through “underground newspapers”, press agencies bulletins of organizations, to lend a voice, denounceand protect the least among us.

And the Net is ever more frequently thenode and file that makes visible the newsthat we must know what is good but wouldotherwise have no way of being spread.

Changing one’s point of view

A newspaper editorial group is composed ofmany people who occupy themselves withvarious services, among these there arealso the so-called “white” chronicles, i.e., all the information that refers to services andthat tells the stories of the social life of thecity: marginalization, insertion of personswith disabilities into the world of work,legalities for immigration, prisons, nomadsand multicultural integration.

Sadly, the facts of the “white” chronicles make the news only if they are interwovenwith the “black” chronicles Ex: the clearing of the Gypsy camp by the use of force ; theeconomy if the center for the disabled iscarried out thanks to the use of public funds,etc. Social journalism or that of serviceis the information that occupies itself withsocial problems denouncing at the sametime lack of service and/or abuse. Placing

self on the side of the “social” as information, brings a great responsibilityinsofar as writing from the outskirts of thestory means finding the right words to tell ofdesperation and hope, hatred and solidarity,violence and war with peace and tolerance.

One more node

With the advent of the Net, social journalismhas acquired a particular vivacity, but aboveall, a notable visibility. Online journalism,different from the traditional, offers, thanksto a network of competent collaborators, thepossibility of continual updating, reflectionand an in-depth study, favoring that work ofjournalistic investigation that all toofrequently is omitted due to lack of timeand/or by control. The Internet allows forthe use of its multiple resources: blogs,forums, chat rooms, mailing list, andpodcasting.

It is the concept of media citizenship, inwhich any citizen uses the new media totranscend and transform traditional media.One passes from “media consumers” to active citizens with the media.

For example, in China, a nation known forcontrol over any type of information, citizenshave succeeded in condemning the fact thata young person arrested by the police wasbeaten to death because he had refused toshow his resident card. The news asked for

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comment: “Who is responsible for the unnatural death of a citizen?” The cry of the blog participants continued to rock theNet and gave life to such a strong publicopinion that the traditional media finallyadjusted its agenda to satisfy the “right to know”.

The case closed with 18 persons and 23officials being condemned and it led to theabolition of anti-wanderer laws and thevictory of the “people” over the “powerful”.

The Internet allows one to leap thetraditional mediations of the press, and thuseven a small local reality finds its way ontothe enormous international scene in anautonomous way, creating a tight, largenetwork.

In this way the problems of cost and thedistribution of the news is overcome,conquering and interacting in spaces thatare built as a community bound by specificinterests.

Becoming “good news”

What can we possibly do, after a year ofreflection on the power of information? Howcan we commit ourselves to bring outdifferent information, one that is moreattentive to the person on the outskirts ofthe world?

Reading and listening to news,comparing and dialoguing, not beingcontent with what appears; beinginterested in the “absent” themes: migration, poverty , and human misery toacquire a stronger sense of justice and toaffirm the recognition of human rights;being open to new forms of information andmaking known the good that is done inone’s own place to produce “good practices” and to collaborate by joining

groups, volunteering ind the most sensitiveareas among those working in the world ofinformation.

In order to have authentic and qualityinformation today, information that reportsthe outskirts of the story of the men andwomen at the center, it is not enough tohave journalists. You, too, must be there.

How will the future be?

“True journalism is that which is intentional, i.e. that which gives scope and that seeks toproduce a form of change”

(Ryszard Kapuscinski)

“Journalism is a story of ‘soles’ … Those of men and women who, out of passion goamong the people in search of stories to tell,consuming them if it then becomes social;the soles wear out even more…Because it means telling of different countries that untiltoday had never made the news. These arecountries that the Internet has helped togrow.

One day the social journalists will also knowhow to be citizens. And they will work forauthoritative information, one that iscourageous and critical and that is capableof fast, technological competition with thenew frontiers imposed by the marketplace ofthe media”

(Mauro Sarti, Journalist)

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THE NATIVITY STORY

A dramatizationof the NewTestament birthnarratives fromthe Annunciationto the birth ofJesus, focusingon therelationshipbetween Mary(Keisha Castle-Hughes) andJoseph (OscarIsaac) and theirarduous trek

from Nazareth to Bethlehem, with subplotstracking the journey of the three Magi and theefforts of King Herod (Ciaran Hinds) to preventthe prophecy of a messiah from coming to pass.A composite of the Gospels of Matthew andLuke, embroidered with apocryphal traditionsand the imagination of the filmmaker, the Biblestory gets the prestige treatment in directorCatherine Hardwicke's artful, reverent andaffecting retelling, with soulful performancesfrom an excellent international cast -- includingShohreh Aghdashloo as Elizabeth -- andimpressive production design. Mike Rich'sscreenplay manages to flesh out Mary andJoseph while remaining faithful to Scripture,poignantly suggesting the humanity beneath thehalos. Some violent images. A-I -- generalpatronage. (PG) 2006

Full Review

In an effort to reach as wide a market aspossible, most Christmas-themed movies comegift-wrapped in a secular brand of sentimentalitythat completely misses the true meaning of theholiday. But Hollywood finally gets it right with"The Nativity Story" (New Line).

From the opening strains of the soundtrack --hints of the Advent hymn "O Come, O ComeEmmanuel" -- you know you're in good hands.

A composite of the birth narrative accounts inthe Gospels of Matthew and Luke, embroideredwith apocryphal traditions as well as theimaginative inspiration of the filmmaker, theBible story gets prestigious treatment in directorCatherine Hardwicke's artful, reverent anddeeply affecting retelling. The film has anexcellent international cast and impressive "ThePassion of the Christ," the financial success ofwhich no doubt paved the way for this movie.(Without the blood and controversy, however,"The Nativity Story" should appeal to an evenwider audience.)

Filmed in Matera -- the ancient Italian townwhere Mel Gibson shot "The Passion" -- andMorocco, it opens with prophecy-paranoid KingHerod (Ciaran Hinds) plotting to kill all the malebabies in Bethlehem.

Flashing back a year, Zechariah (StanleyTownsend) is told by an angelic voice that hiswife Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo), thoughadvanced in age, will bear a son.

In Nazareth, her young cousin, Mary (KeishaCastle-Hughes), a peasant girl -- still practicallya child and living under the daily uncertainties ofRoman occupation -- is informed by her parents,Anna and Joaquim (Hiam Abbass and ShaunToub), that she is to marry Joseph (OscarIsaac), an upright carpenter a few years hersenior. Troubled over her betrothal to "a man Ihardly know, a man I do not love," Marywithdraws to a nearby grove where theAnnunciation, nicely handled, takes place, withAlexander Siddig personifying the angel Gabrielwho reveals she will give birth to Jesus.

Meanwhile in Persia, the three Magi set out tofollow the star westward (explained here as arare convergence of Venus, Jupiter and anastral body).

What is described with only a few lines in Luke'sGospel becomes the meat of the film, as Josephand Mary undertake the arduous journey fromNazareth to Bethlehem, battling sandstorms,treacherous terrain, hunger and, while passingthrough Jerusalem, thieves.

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Along the way, Hardwicke, raised Presbyterian,weaves in references that foreshadow events inChrist's life: Mary washing Joseph's feet; Josephexpressing anger over merchants in the Templecourtyard; a roadside crucifixion. In a moresymbolic allusion, during a river crossing, Maryis imperiled by a snake, echoing the serpent ofEden.

Though the New Testament is sparse on detailsabout Mary and Joseph, the thoughtfulscreenplay of Mike Rich, a practicing Christian,manages to flesh them out while remainingfaithful to Scripture, beautifully suggesting thehumanity beneath the halos.

Castle-Hughes conveys maturity well, playingMary with all the anxieties that anyone wouldhave in her extraordinary situation while havingto deal with the disparaging looks of neighbors,the threat of stoning and the incredulity of herown parents. Her mother even hints at rape.Particularly touching is a scene in which Marysits alone at night pondering why God haschosen her ("I am nothing," she sighs). Likewise,Isaac soulfully essays Joseph with anempathetic decency, as he quietly shoulders hisappointed responsibility, while troubled by anabiding sense of inadequacy.

As to the birth of Jesus, it's all there: theshepherds, the Wise Men, etc. Despite somegreeting-card gloss, cloying sentimentality isavoided. Throughout the film, Hardwicke neverwaters down the religious elements to make thestory more palatable for nonbelievers, mostclearly demonstrated when she has one of theMagi proclaim the radical truth of the Incarnationby declaring that the infant is "God made intoflesh."

In a poignant moment that inextricably links themanger to the cross, his fellow traveler -- afterhis companions have presented their gifts ofgold and frankincense -- tearfully offers theChrist Child myrrh "for his sacrifice," portendingJesus' atoning death.

Astute eyes will catch the shot of one of Herod'sminions scouring the abandoned cavelike stableafter the holy family has fled to Egypt and findinga swaddling cloth draped over the vacantmanger, presaging the empty tomb.

Though placed differently from Luke's Gospel,Mary's "Magnificat" is incorporated by Hardwickein a way that's most effective.

Amid the Christmas pageant elements, there area few brief images (the slaughter of theinnocents, for example) that may upset veryyoung children. Both Mary's and Elizabeth'spainful labor are vividly depicted.

The film's hopeful message should resonatebeyond Christian audiences to a world stillgroaning for peace and good will.

With very little source material to go on, it's true

that most of this movie is speculation. But

thoughtful direction by Catherine Hardwicke and

a strong screenplay by Mike Rich give viewers a

glimpse into Mary and Joseph's emotions.

Castle-Hughes, who wowed audiences in Whale

Rider, portrays Mary with all the angst you might

expect from someone in her situation. It's heart-

wrenching to see Mary endure disparaging looks

from neighbors, the threat of stoning, and the

doubts of her own parents (her mother hints that

she believes the girl was raped). Mary and

Joseph both feel woefully inadequate to be

bringing the son of God into the world, yet they

quietly shoulder their responsibilities with hope

and faith.

This movie is a little slow in spots, and it's clearly

religious. But its message of peace and goodwill

will resonate with non-believers as well.

The film contains some violent images. TheUSCCB Office for Film & Broadcastingclassification is A-I -- general patronage. TheMotion Picture Association of America rating isPG -- parental guidance suggested. Somematerial may not be suitable for children.

(Review from the United States Conference ofCatholic Bishops website www.usscb.org)

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Camilla

To Discern

To discern…what a difficult word. But what itreally wants to say is To Choose! To separatein order to choose. I remember when mymother had me separate the farina for semolinawith a sieve. Certainly, in my life I have reallyhad to choose…and how! As a young person I had to choose between marriage or consecratedlife. There were no doubts…consecration for a life dedicated to young people was for me. Thenafter I entered I began to see so many childrenin our houses, in our corridors…but with the passing of time, I saw them only from thewindows. “You’re old”, you might say, but perhaps it was only that we were unaware that itwas already after 7 pm and the young peoplewere just beginning their day while we wereending ours, closing doors and windows. Nowhere we are faced withanother choice. “Here all of us need to reflect and think again,” said my animator, “everyone should give her contribution.” And so I thought and re-thought,like a good FMA who wanted to give hercontribution and finally I went to give mycontribution to the animator, but the HouseCouncil had already decided! It was a questionof timeliness…oh, if only I had been quicker to propose my idea. And prayer? Another point onwhich to discern. Prayer with the young people!The manner would have to change, but withoutchanging the substance, the times withoutchanging the length. Here I was back atdiscerning. This time, however, it was not theHouse Council but the whole communitytogether that thought about it and expressedtheir idea. “We’ll pray all together and at the

same time, it won’t be difficult for the young people to adjust!” So it was said in one voice. Oh, yes! What beautiful times we had when allprayed together, we lived our vocation in onesole chorus, all in agreement, all present atrecreation, all there, on the same page.

Now, no, everything is different! A Sister runswhere there is urgency, another there wherethere is a young person, doors and windows areopen almost all the time. We are truly Sisters ofthe Council…we, ourselves !

Choosing in continual discernment, in continualreflection… understanding. Ah! And what do I do? What do I choose? Well, thinking back,when I was a child it was my mother who tookcare of me and who chose what was mostopportune for my life! Then it was thecommunity animator who, like a good motherand sister suggested what was right for myreligious life, for my own good…taking away the inconvenience for my having to do so! So it wasthat the problem of choosing was removed fromme. And now at the private interview that isalmost a meeting, I almost don’t know what to say…I would like my animator to suggest something to me…Certainly, being a person of discernment, judgment, critical capacity andcommon sense is a great challenge for one whowould want to be mute and flat and a marvelouswitness of women who still have much to do.

Let us discern, Sisters, let us discern!

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FotoclickAn invitation to young people

To express themselves through

titled photographyon issues of life and happiness,

friendship, and human rights.

Rules:

The digital photos must be in JPEG form and must be of at least 2 megapixels.

If they are sent in printed from, the minimum format must be

13x18cm . Each participant may send a maximum of 5 photos. Each photo must beaccompanied by a testimony (diary form)

The themes chosen for the contest are: the miracle of life and happiness, friendship, andhuman rights. All young people between the ages of 16-25 are eligible to participate. Thephotos may have one author only (please indicate name and surname, age, place of residence,FMA reference community) or they may be the expressions of the creativity of a group (pleaselist names, age and place of residence of the individuals belonging to the group and the FMAreference community).

Photos must arrive by December 30, 2007.

The best photos will be published in DMA in the Photo Click article and at the end of 2008finalists will be chosen.

The others will be inserted in an appropriate section of the website and used on otheroccasions, always in the magazine.

The photos will be judged by a panel of experts who will choose those to be published in themagazine, while the announcement of the final winners will be done through a votingprocess that could be found on the Institute website, www.cgfmanet.org in the YouthSpace section. Photos should be sent to the following address [email protected] .Please write fotoclik in the subject line.

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