Spain – The role of Laity in today's Church

26 April 2023

(ANS - Puertollano) - On Sunday, April 16, the provincial meeting of the "Hogares Don Bosco" (HDB), a church movement of married couples and family apostolate born within Salesian spirituality, was held in Puertollano, Spain.

The couples from the groups of Atocha, El Plantío, Valdepeñas, Fuenlabrada and Aranjuez were very well received by the group from the Puertollano Houses, who together with the Director of the House, Fr. Sergio Oter, and the Salesian Cooperators and Past Pupils of Don Bosco, made the meeting a true day of family and Salesian Family.

Participants of the event were accompanied in the presence of the Delegate of the Salesians of Don Bosco, José Luis Guzón, and the Provincial Coordinator of the Salesian Cooperators, Mari Ángeles Calzado; and digitally by the two Coordinators of the National Council of HDBs, Cristóbal and Irene, and the Coordinators of Costa Rica, Alejandro and Priscila. Salesian Cooperators from the houses of Valdepeñas and Ciudad Real also participated in the day. The theme for reflection "The Role of the Laity in the Church Today" was presented by José Manuel García, Delegate of the Secular Apostolate of Ciudad Real. From his experience, he addressed aspects such as "the laity and lay persons," "the laity and the family," "the Church in relation to the laity and the family," and "reasons for living the laity in hope."

During the time of reflection in small groups, participants shared their reflections, experiences, and initiatives on the role of the laity and the family in the life of the home and the local or diocesan Church.

"We heard resounding expressions that are very familiar to us in our Salesian charism: vocation, being leaven, accompaniment, discernment, sense of Church, public presence, cultivation of the interior-spiritual life, social dimension of faith, management of temporal affairs according to God, rethinking and assuming the lay vocation, courageously opening paths in the life of the Church, and protagonism of the laity - because the laity is not the one who 'stands on the sidelines,' nor the one who waits to be told what to do," the participants said.

Fr. Oter then led the visit to the Salesian house in Puertollano, and then came time for a time of agape and fraternity among all, complete with spontaneous games and tournaments.

"The Eucharist, presided over by José Luis Guzón, was an authentic thanksgiving for the vocation we have received and to which we must respond by being faithful to what God asks of us," the HDB members continue the narrative. "In it, couples who have been in the HDB Movement for 25 years or more received the badge for their fidelity and witness, as well as the commitment to continue to be witnesses of God's love starting from their family and lay vocation."

The next appointment for HDBs will be as early as Thursday, April 27, when, in the evening, a reflection will be shared online, in the style of "Salesian Goodnight" and Mother Margaret, with all members of the movement in Spain.

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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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