“This year's Strenna,” continues Don Bosco's successor, “has as its theme, at a moment when there is so much suffering, that of the duty of hope in the face of a world reality that challenges us and that we cannot ignore: as the Salesian Family we are called to be good citizens and respect the anti-contagion rules but also good Christians and, where help is needed, not to shut ourselves up at home, but to stay close to those in difficulty - in safety. And that is what we are doing in our works, there where war is looming, or here in Rome, as in our parish of the Sacred Heart where in the evening young people bring food, blankets and comfort to those who do not have a roof to sleep under. A boost to solidarity, as we have heard from the testimonies from the world, which in these months of the Covid-19 emergency has also resulted in the collection in our works of 9 million euros, which we will send to our missions in 68 countries, to finance 120 micro-projects for young people and families.”
Fr À.F. Artime also underlines how a first testimony of hope of the 2021 Spirituality Days was the possibility, never happened before, of involving and meeting thousands of people who share the charism of Don Bosco: “The crisis caused by the pandemic has been transformed, thanks to the creativity of our works that are carrying out many online initiatives, in an opportunity for encounter and communion using modern technologies: I'm convinced that Don Bosco, who was a missionary, today would use the web to communicate good, to bring the message of Jesus all over the world. Not everything is bad in the web if we put it at the service of mankind: we have also experienced it in recent days, announcing the Strenna 2021 in all our works, from the general house of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, reaching 198 thousand people as far as Oceania.”
Marina Lomunno
Source: Avvenire
