Fr. Gildásio showed the class how stories in the Bible and our faith engage us via immersion through the five senses combined with feelings, dialogue, and mystery. He illustrated this by having the class participate in two exercises where immersion and feelings were identified in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, and then immersion the faithful experience during Mass. He also detailed how Jesus Christ is the perfect communicator, which is proven directly by His encounters in the New Testament.

“Fr. Gildásio clearly brought years of experience to his presentation for our Salesian Communicators' School of Formation. I especially appreciated when he emphasized to us that communication needs to engage all five senses and that it also needs emotion,” Br. Kevin White, SDB of the Orange Community (SUE) shared. “He said that good communication happens when we experience our senses, emotions, feelings, and interactions, and then it goes to the level of the mystery, of an encounter with God.”

The School met again on Tuesday, November 16 at 1:00 pm ET via Zoom to learn about the Salesian Charism and Social Communication, which was presented by Fr. John Serio, SDB. Its attendees are a small group, who Fr. Gildásio exclaimed will “bear much fruit,” combined of SDBs, novices, a Salesian Cooperator, and lay people who work in Salesian settings. Each member of the school is also a proud member of the Salesian Family in North America. Many of them work in communications-based roles, while some have encountered communications and marketing duties throughout their Salesian and professional experiences. Attendees from both classes were deeply moved by the presenters and subjects.

“The two sessions of the communications course have been extremely insightful from both a personal and a professional perspective,” Amy Marinaro, who works in the SUE province offices of vocation and youth and young adult ministry in New Rochelle, NY, beamed. “The first session with Fr. Gildásio Mendes dos Santos provided new ways to view the Bible by engaging the five senses and by turning to Jesus and Mary as master communicators. The second session with Fr. John Serio was extremely helpful in recentering us in the Salesian charism that is being shared and communicated on our various forms of media.”

“For us in initial formation, the presentations by Fr. Gildásio and Fr. John Serio increase our awareness of the importance of reaching out to young people as signs and bearers of God's love by using those means of communicating that attract their attention,” Fr. John Puntino, SDB of the SUE Province, who works with novices at Salesian College Preparatory in Richmond, CA, echoed.

The class meets about once a month for an hour and a half. Attendees receive a thank you email with a recording of the class within 24-48 hours for them to view at a time convenient for them, whether they were able to attend or they communicated that they could not make the session but would watch at a later time and come prepared to the next class. After having taken December off for Christmas and New Year’s, the School will meet again on Wednesday, January 19, which will be presented by a communications professional and member of the Salesian Family in a Salesian school. Participants have been very happy to be a part of the course and look forward to gathering again in the new year.

“To be able to come together via Zoom with other communicators of the Salesian message has been refreshing and inspiring!” Karen Krynen, communications officer at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, CA (SUO) exclaimed. “I look forward to hearing what others across the country and in Canada are doing and appreciate Julia's successful efforts in reminding us that we're part of something much bigger!”

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