As 2024 well reminds us, the Dream at Nine Years of age was evoked by Don Bosco in the Memoirs of the Oratory, one of his most personal writings. Among other things it is an inspiration to understand the first supernatural call that a young man hears. Therefore, looking at the experience of the birth of Don Bosco's vocation can lead to a better understanding of the call that “remained deeply impressed on my mind for the rest of my life.”
The mission of vocational animation includes the pastoral action of welcoming and accompanying the very personal journey of young people in their vocational discernment and decision. Fr Miguel Angel García Morcuende, General Councillor for Salesian Youth Ministry, explains that "in the dream of God there is a place for everyone. But vocation is also a game of grace and freedom: we are and we live between the call of the Lord and the decisions and changes that we must make."
These ideas are contained in the latest issue of the Salesian Youth Ministry Animation magazine "Flash", which frames some simple elements of vocational pedagogy starting from three coordinates. It can be said that the accompaniment of those called is understood as an itinerary that hinges on a CONTEXT (correspondence to grace), someone who ACCOMPANIES (listening to God who calls through mediations) and an ACTION (discernment). Every vocational dream is intertwined and built little by little around these three elements.
This can be an instrument of formation for Salesians and lay people who accompany the pastoral life of Salesian Provinces and for those who accompany young people in "aspirantates", "live-in communities", "groups of those who are searching", and"vocational guidance centres".
