Vibrant Salesian Spirituality - A lovely letter from Rome

Viva Gesù,

May the love of our Lord be with you all, granting you many blessings and good health. How are you all doing? I hope you are well—both physically and spiritually. We continue to pray for the soul of Sr Maria Dao and the recovery of Sr Marguerite.

I just wanted to share with you what I’ve been up to. I’ve actually completed one year of studies in the Salesian Spirituality course. Hooray! It has been a year of hard work—15 subjects in total—covering many aspects, such as: History of Christian Spirituality, Theology of Consecrated Life, Philosophical Anthropology, Biblical Themes of Salesian Spirituality, Fundamental Spiritual Theology, Civil and Ecclesiastical History of 19th-Century Italy, Sociology of Consecrated Life, Marian Spirituality, Vocational Discernment and Accompaniment, Don Bosco’s Preventive System, Introduction to the Sources of Spirituality of the FMA Institute, and Elements of Canon Law.

As you can see, a lot of knowledge has been passed on to us. And how am I coping with Italian? Well, studying is tough, as you all know. But my motto is: "do your best in everything, and leave the rest in God’s hands". Indeed, God never gives us a burden we cannot bear. It is a matter of believing in ourselves and trusting in His help. Thanks be to God, all the hard work has been rewarded—I passed all my subjects! Hooray! (By the way, they don’t usually fail anyone, because they don’t want to keep us longer than two years!) For me, this knowledge has truly been a blessing in my spiritual journey. It has enriched me deeply, motivated me to grow, and helped me discover a deeper sense of purpose and belonging. 

This course is wonderful for deepening our knowledge of our charism and for helping us to live our consecrated life more deeply. Living together in a community of 50 truly makes FMA life vibrant and full of joy. I would warmly encourage any young sister who is discerning her path to consider taking this course, as it is a wonderful opportunity to grow spiritually and experience the richness of our community life.

This year is a Jubilee Year, and the Youth Jubilee took place from July 28 to August 3. We all participated in the program, and I volunteered for a week. It was a wonderful experience to witness how the events for young people were organized—so many strategic plans and dedicated people involved. Around 400 volunteers from different parts of the world came together. As volunteers, we were provided accommodation, transport, and food for free during the week.

Approximately one million young people gathered at Tor Vergata in Rome for the celebrations—both the vigil and the concluding Mass. I was there over the weekend, helping distribute food packages to the participants. It was an amazing experience, though very tiring, as we stayed up the whole night without sleep!

Now, what am I doing during the summer break? Well, it’s not really three months of holiday with nothing to do. Our schedule includes studying two subjects during the break, plus the Project Mornese for a month, including a one-week retreat. After that, we’ll have a week of rest before the new academic year begins. 

Today September 29, the new academic year begins. My first lesson is on the spirituality of St. Maria D Mazzarello. 

I think I’ll stop here for now and will update you again in my next email. Take care, and God bless you all. Attached are some photos of what I have been doing during the year.

Sr Kim P. Nguyen fma