“They Cause Happiness wherever They Go!”

I had the privilege of training profit organizations, non-profit organizations and various groups of religious congregations. In all these organizations people come and go. Trust me –volunteer organizations are difficult to lead; much more difficult is to lead a religious congregation. The reasons are plenty. I don’t intend to get into any controversy over that. But, would like to dwell on the bonding between organization and the members of the organization and the problem of leaving an organisation.

John C. Maxwell makes an important point with regard to the term ‘leaving an organization.’ He says nobody leaves an organization. People who leave, leave the people they live within an organisation and not an organization. He presents four reasons why people leave an organization particularly religious organization: 1. People quit people who devalue them. 2. People quit people who are not trustworthy. 3. People quit people who are incompetent. 4. People quit people who are insecure.

Same thing can be applied to the new entrants to Brotherhood vocation. If Brotherhood vocation is devalued by us, the Salesians, or if we are not trustworthy or if we are incompetent and if we are insecure, there is a danger that we will not have enough brothers vocation and it would be difficult to retain the existing brothers from leaving the brotherhood to become priests. Often the slow growth of the brotherhood vocation is portrayed as a problem of people not interested in joining us. Instead we must have the courage to say it is because of the above said problems with us Salesians.

I was deeply impressed when I read what Fr. Juan E. Vecchi wrote about the influence of Bro Zatti’s intercession on Fr. Pedro Arrupe, the then Father General of the Jesuits when he kept praying for lay vocations to his congregation through the intercession of Blessed Zatti. It is remarked by Fr. Vecchi that he had 18 brothers in that year to enter Jesuit order. Fr. Pedro Arrupe himself said that those who entered as brothers were after the heart of St. Ignatius.

But, against the calculations of some within the Salesian congregation, the brotherhood vocation is flourishing. It is partly because of the leadership roles played by many brothers who kept on till the end in spite of lack of encouragement and support from others. Take the case of many brothers who take lead roles in many segments of our Salesian life and mission. Many are in the helm of affairs not necessarily with the governance of the congregation, but primarily with the government circles, students circles, ITIs, Polytechnic Colleges, Youth Centres and among youth in general.

Today, Salesian brothers have become a new brand of committed people who have started transforming the face of the Salesian world. The seriousness attached to the forthcoming Brothers congress, with the many meetings, planning sessions, deliberations and scrutiny, is a sure sign that there is going to be an astonishing leadership from the brothers in reaching out to the young and an in returning to Don Bosco.

Wherever I was, I saw brothers radiating joy and happiness to all around them. They are truly a band of people after the heart of Don Bosco. Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Some cause happiness wherever they go. Some cause happiness whenever they go.” Truly, a salesian Brother is one who causes happiness wherever he goes particularly amidst the young. This work of radiating joy will be the witness and continue to be the challenge to all the brothers and priests who truly desire to see the Salesian congregation full of brothers in the active ministry of radiating that joy.