The annual meeting of FMA-PCI 2016 was held from 1-4 September 2016, at Sacred Heart Convent, Bangalore. There were 38 participants inclusive of Sr. Piera Cavaglià, Secretary General & the Resource person and Sr. Lucy Rose Ozhukayil, Presiding General Councilor and the 6 Provincials.
Sr. Piera Cavaglià animated the three days meeting on the following topics:
“Importance of Salesian historical memory” with special emphasis on:
• The main functions of the study of history
• Great and brief history
• Documentary sources
• Narrative sources
The “First Missionary expedition”
Authority as service in the evangelical and Salesian way. St. Francis of Sales – A master of spiritual accompaniment, highlighting the aspects of spiritual accompaniment in the writings of the saint.
Don Bosco as ‘An Educator who accompanies in the style of the Preventive System’. She dealt at length on the dimension of Guides in the life of Don Bosco and presented the figures of Mamma Margaret, Don John Calosso, Don Joseph Cafasso, the Salesian model of Salesian accompaniment under the following headings:
• The necessity and the importance of the Local Council
• Ecclesial requirement: harmony between authority and fraternity
• A Style that favors discernment and promotes co-responsibility
• An example of a Methodology of Discernment according to Don Bosco
Maria Domenica Mazzarello, a wise animator of people and communities under the following points:
• To animate with a broad perspective
• A presence that welcomes
• A presence that knows and loves each person
• A caring presence
• A presence that knows how to go from words to dialogue
She cited numerous examples and instances from the life of Mother Mazzarello and the Sisters of the primitive years of our Institute making her talk interesting, alive and relavant. She analyzed in depth how Mother Mazzarello accompanied a community in a time of crisis so that we may imbibe her loving and practical methods in our onward journey of accompaniment and animation in communities. One could easily sense the vibrations of love for the Institute and the desire to transmit the same sentiments welling up from the heart of Sr. Piera as she communicated the patrimony of the rich heritage of Don Bosco and Mother Mazzarello to FMA, India.
