Czech Republic – One of COVID-19 lockdown's pastoral fruits

08 October 2020

(ANS – Brno) – For the last seven months the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a lot of suffering to most of the world and has also awakened a lot of human solidarity with the vulnerable population in many ways. However, there are also positives - future experiences opened - inspired by the strict lockdown situations. Last 7 September, one of the Salesian communities in Europe, in Brno, the Czech Republic's second-largest city, launched a special monthly SDB community prayer encounter with the young on its YouTube channel.

Fr Libor Vsetula, the Rector, in a video explains the background and plan to continue this “community open prayer” on each first Monday of the month until next June 2021. The SDB community monthly recollection consists of a simple scheme of praying the Holy Rosary, followed by Eucharistic Adoration and a Goodnight Talk.

In the first prayerful SDB community monthly encounter open to the public, the Rector shared last summer's activities - both in dozens of youth camps organized and conducted by SDB with many lay mission partners of Brno-Zabovresky and Brno-Lisen Youth Centers as well as news of the repair of three boiler rooms before the coming winter. A special 'guest' shared his Goodnight; this time it was a fresh perpetually professed Cl. Vlastimil Vajdak (currently a theology student in Ratisbonne, Jerusalem). His life and vocation story may touch the hearts of many young and not-so-young people: “God would like to enter your lives!”

The whole SDB community prayer moment is a fruit of a three-month-long lockdown period when the Salesian were close via a professional broadcasting of daily Mass, Adoration or Rosary since last March. An interactive window on YouTube and Facebook also allow live prayer intentions and sharing of young people. The annual schedule is as follows: Sept 7, Oct 5, Nov 2, Dec 7, Jan 4, Feb 1, March 1, Apr 5, May 3 and June 7 (always at 8 PM, GMT+2).

Thus echoed, one of the Rector Major's proposals following the GC28 (ACG 433, p. 25) : “We will make known and esteemed what was essential for Don Bosco and for so many generations of Salesians as a fundamental pillar of our work of evangelization and education: the beautiful presence of our Mother the Help of Christians in our educational proposals and in our prayer with the young.”  

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ANS - “Agenzia iNfo Salesiana” is a on-line almost daily publication, the communication agency of the Salesian Congregation enrolled in the Press Register of the Tibunal of Rome as n 153/2007.

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