Forty-six years ago, around 10:30 a.m. on July 15, 1976, the glorious sacrifice of the Salesian missionary and his native friend took place. This year, on the 46th anniversary of the martyrdom, Fr. Klemens Deja celebrated the Mass, which was also attended by three diocesan priests and Fr. Douglas Chrystiano, representing the Salesian community of San Marcos. During the celebration, Fr. Deja recalled the importance of this martyrdom for all the Bororo people and the missionary sentiment in bringing the Good News to all.
Afterward, the graves in which the two Servants of God are buried were decorated with spring flowers, and a candle was lit at each burial, to commemorate the great faith that led them to the highest degree of donation in Christian life.
Furthermore, to commemorate this date, Fr. João Bosco Maciel, secretary of the Province of Brazil Campo Grande (BCG), to which the mission of Meruri belongs, sent a prayer proposal to the entire Salesian Family, recalling a famous phrase of Fr. Rodolfo Lunkenbein: "To die for the cause of God, this would be my dream."
A dream that, as recalled by Fr. João Bosco Maciel, "came true to fulfill Don Bosco's missionary dream. In this time of prayer, we want to thank the Father for the gift of martyrdom that He has granted to our Church in Mato Grosso, to the Salesian Congregation, and to our Province. Martyrdom is not the result of a personal project but is a gift from God, accepted, however, with freedom and joy. Just as Jesus, who while feeling the bitterness of the chalice, anguished by the weight of suffering, freely offered himself to the Passion; (Eucharistic Prayer II), so Fr. Rodolfo Lunkenbein and Simão Bororo, who were working up to the moment of giving up their lives, courageously went towards the supreme sacrifice," concluded Fr. Maciel.
Source: missaosalesiana.org.br
