We have come to the end of my mandate as General Councillor for the Missions.
It is an opportune moment to take a step back and look far ahead.
The missionary work of the Congregation is not only beyond our efforts, but also beyond our vision.
In our period of service, we accomplish only a fraction of Don Bosco’s mission.
No initiative is complete.
No animation visit completely revitalises.
No missionary sending meets all the needs of the missions.
No missionary orientation fully prepares one to face challenges.
No OPP or SEPP fully realizes the mission of the Congregation.
We plant seeds that may one day grow.
We water the seeds that have already been planted, hoping that they will bear abundant fruit in the future.
We grow plants that may produce fruit far beyond our expectations.
We lay foundations for initiatives that will need further development.
Our work may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way.
This gives us a sense of liberation in realising that we cannot do everything.
And it is an opportunity to let God do the rest.
Indeed, conclusions are propitious occasions to humbly accept that we will never see the final results of all our efforts.
This means being humble workers in the Lord's vineyard, not Master of the Harvest; servant-leaders, not messiahs!
THANK YOU
I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the members of the team of the Missions Sector: Fr. Pavel Ženíšek, Fr. Eric Mairura, Fr. Reginaldo Cordeiro, Mr Marco Fulgaro; to the Regional Coordinators of Missionary Animation (Fr. Arun Charles, Fr. Marcelo Edwin Coronel, Fr. Tiago Eliomar, Fr. Robert Falzon, Fr. Privat-Ignace Fouda Bieme, Fr. Sunny Palamthattel), the Provincial Delegates for Missionary Animation and the members of the Advisory Teams for the SMV, the Mission Offices and the Missionary Museums, for our wonderful collaborative ministry in promoting the missionary spirit and commitment throughout our Society (C 138).
STRENGTH TO EMBRACE GOD’S WILL
The deepest desire of my heart before the Lord is to conclude my service and return to my mother Province as an ordinary confrere after GC29, because of its desperate and urgent need of personnel.
I hope that the members of the 29th General Chapter would allow me to fulfil this desire.
Above all, I pray that I will have the strength to accept God's will for me and embrace it wholeheartedly.
My heartfelt 'thank you’ to everyone!
