“With the Strength of Love”
“Con la fuerza del amor” (With the Strength of Love) is the title of the hymn, which has been officially launched and contains verses in five languages: Spanish, English, Italian, French, and Portuguese, to represent the diversity and richness of this branch of the Salesian Family that brings together more than 30,000 members distributed in 11 Regions.
The Social Communication Office of the Ecuadorian Province “Sacred Heart of Jesus” reached him at his place of mission, Bomboiza, and spoke with him about this challenge that allowed him to get to know the Salesian Cooperators better, to work together with friends from different countries, and to contribute, with his abilities as a musician, to reach people’s hearts.
How did the opportunity to create the hymn for the Congress come about?
The opportunity came because of my closeness to the Salesian Cooperators of Ecuador. They had an initial idea for a song and asked me for help to develop it. Together we defined the concept and they communicated to me the elements they wished to highlight. I sent them a proposal, they examined it and liked it. Only afterwards did they tell me that they wanted to present it at the World Congress; at first I thought it was only for a meeting in Ecuador.
How was the process of composing the text?
We had meetings on Zoom and I asked them what they wanted to highlight in the hymn, what was most important for them in their vocation as Salesian Cooperators. From these dialogues the words strength, love, and promise emerged, which they renew every year. Then I understood that these elements were central and had to be present in the hymn, and I included them in the chorus. I would also like to point out that I did not carry out the production work alone. It was beautiful because friends from Chile, from Portugal, and from Guayaquil joined this project. It was also a challenge to be in Bomboiza and to work with the bare minimum. But contributing with this hymn to Salesian life was for me a great blessing.
Why was “The Strength of Love” chosen as the title?
The title responds to the request of the Pacific–South Caribbean Region of the Salesian Cooperators. During a retreat, the Salesian Cooperators of that Region had understood that love is the force that unites them, that drives them to go forward. They told me: “Look Cris, what we need is that this be known, that for us what matters is the strength of love.” They repeated it to me several times and from that idea I wanted to tell a story.
What is the message you would like to remain in every person who listens to the hymn?
The song speaks about the place where we find ourselves now and about the mission we have received. Our home can be in the neighborhood, on the street, or in a workshop; the Salesian charism is lived there, sowing faith and hope. I would like those who listen to the hymn to ask themselves where their mission is as a Salesian, as a lay person, as a Salesian Cooperator. In the final part of the hymn I intend to express that we are called and sent by Jesus to the poorest and the most needy, and that the hope of a new future is our mission. To put it in a simpler and more direct way, I would like this idea to remain with them: “you and I are the mission.” This phrase contains the whole message, because Christ’s mission became human, was incarnated in Jesus, and He sent all of us. For this reason, you and I are the mission.
An Invitation to the Salesian Family to Listen to This Hymn
The invitation is to get to know better the work and the vocation of the Salesian Cooperator. Through this song, those who listen to it can ask themselves who the Salesian Cooperators are and discover that he or she too can live this vocation. Many have the desire to serve and this is an opportunity to understand service as a vocation. The invitation is to dare to transform service into a life project, to understand that service transforms life and for this reason to take it on as a concrete response within the Salesian mission.
Cristian Calderón
Salesian Communication Office
Source: Salesianos.org.ec
