In the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco, Turin all decked out festively and filled with the faithful, many concelebrants and the high-level liturgical animation of the basilica choir, Fr Martoglio presided over a celebration rich in pathos and memory; filled, above all, with the awareness of the value of this rite, in which the three participating institutes – Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA), and Community of the Mission of Don Bosco (CMB) – renewed heir missionary commitment, before the Help of Christians: the Salesians for the 155th time, the FMA for the 147th, the members of the CMB for the7th.
"Do not forget this day in your life; carry it with you, because this sign of hope, faith and light is our joy", said the Vicar of the Rector Major in his homily, offered – following the example of Don Bosco – in the form of an exhortation to departing missionaries.
Fr Martoglio also spoke of "responsibility and generosity", with reference to the vocation that the missionaries felt in themselves, and which they have welcomed and cultivated up to this point. Then, underlining the messages of the day's liturgy, he noted the "relevance" of the readings, which highlight how all Christians are called to be prophets and witnesses of God's presence. "Today's Word of God reminds us that the centre of our being Children of God is to bring his presence to others, as the only hope of the world," he explained.
Fr Martoglio also noted that the conditions for being true disciples and missionaries are trust in God and in his Providence, and the transparency of one's own action. For this reason, he urged them to always follow what brings them closer to God and abandon what distances them from him.
He concluded by reiterating the importance of always living in a spirit of communion, with God and with others, leaving this exhortation as a gift for all.
At the end of the short homily offered by Fr Martoglio in Italian and English – due to the extensive participation of missionaries and their family members overseas, as well as for the benefit of the thousands of people who followed the celebration connected via the web – the exciting delivery of the Missionary Crosses to the departing missionaries then took place. Fr Martoglio, as head of the Congregation until the election of the next Rector Major, gave them to the 27 Salesians of Don Bosco participating in the expedition; Mother Chiara Cazzuola, Superior General of the FMA, gave them to her departing missionary sisters; while permanent deacon Guido Pedroni, Coordinator General of the CMB, gave them to the lay missionaries of the association he founded.
The full video of the Mass is available for anyone to watch on the ANS YouTube channel.
