Dear friends of the mission
This is how I like to address each of you who in different places and ways are sharing the same passion of bearing witness to the gospel of charity enkindled by the Spirit in the heart of St. Luigi Guanella and transmitted to us by charismatic osmosis.
The imminent celebration of the Nativity of the Lord offers me the opportunity to send you a fraternal greeting and warm wishes from our young mission of Noro, in the Solomon Islands, where Providence has called us to literally drop anchor off the immense Pacific Ocean about two years ago, in response to the repeated appeals of a Church poor in means but above all in need of closeness to her most fragile and vulnerable children. Among the communities entrusted to our pastoral care by the zealous Salesian missionary bishop, Mons. Luciano Capelli, the one nestled along the ocean coast and which bears the name of Canaan stands out.
Holy land, village unknown to most and absent from geographical maps but not forgotten by the Creator and Redeemer of the world.
It is a special grace for us confreres to board the slender mission boat every day and put out to sea, detaching ourselves from the shore early in the morning, leaving with us only the essentials for the celebration of the Eucharist, the catechetical animation, the visit to the sick. Often we also spend the night among the people of the village who don't let us miss the gift of a cordial welcome and joyful sharing of the little they have, often the result of arduous efforts and even some inevitable risk. Here in Oceania, as elsewhere in the world, alongside the poor to celebrate Christmas, the beautiful news of a God who made himself small and poor, choosing to get on the boat with everyone, casting his anchor of life and hope inside everyone's sea, regardless of the risks and the price to pay, in order to be Emmanuel for all, the word of the Father made flesh, his face visible and his heart wide open.
From the Solomon Islands, in the southern hemisphere, with our feet immersed daily in the missionary water, it seems to me easier and more beautiful to respond to the task of missionary animation that has been entrusted to us and of which our Guanellian family scattered throughout the world feels the need.
It seems significant to me to share with all of you, and in particular with the direct collaborators and referents of the Guanellian Missionary Presence of each Province, what Pope Francis reminded us at the beginning of Advent:
“God doesn't want pier controllers or lighthouse keepers but confident and courageous sailors who follow the Lord's unedited routes, casting the nets of life on his word! ... We are not made for peaceful sleep but for daring dreams! “
May God's dream for humanity, revealed in the Child of Bethlehem, enthrall us more and more, keep us awake inside to wake up the world around us.
Merry Christmas to all!
p. Luigi De Giambattista
PMG coordinator.