by Cl. Christopher Xavier (INM)
NASHIK-MAHARASHTRA, NOVEMBER 22, 2013: In view of the Salesian Mission Day (SMD) 2014, the community of Divyadaan celebrated Missionary Week from 4th November to 
The Missionary week began with the Holy Eucharist on 4th November. Fr. Savio D'Souza, the Rector, preached on the theme of the Mission Day – "We are the Others", sharing Christ's love with the migrants. While explaining the different aspects of the migrants all over the world, he pointed out how Don Bosco himself was a migrant during his boyhood and how Christ had come to this world as a migrant leaving his heavenly abode. The inaugural prayer service that followed in the evening helped the community to be oriented towards the missionary dimension of the Salesian apostolate.
On 5th morning a short documentary on "The Salesian mission in Angola" from the Missions department made the community mediate on the need of Salesian mission around the globe. Later on the Holy Mass was presided over by Rev Fr Paul Olphindro SDB, the Vice Provincial of the Silchar Province who spoke about a Salesian Missionary as one who is always with Jesus, Don Bosco and the people of the missions. That evening the community was also blessed with the visit of Fr. Fabio Attard SDB, the general councilor for Youth Apostolate. His presence and talks added more fuel to the fervour of the missionary week.
Keeping up the theme and the message of the SMD, a Missionary Rosary was dedicated to the migrants from each continent on 6th evening. This Missionary Rosary was designed by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen in 1951 that dedicates each decade for a continent.
There was also a conference on New Evangelization on 7th evening by a veteran Salesian Missionary of Africa, Rev. Fr. Tony D'Souza SDB, the residential confessor of Divyadaan. He urged the young Salesians to pay attention to the faith formation in the ministry. He also shared his mission experience in Africa and the process of evangelization in the different counties in Africa.
An adoration service was also conducted on 8th evening to thank the Almighty for the missionaries who worked in this sub-continent and also for the missionary vocations from different parts of the country especially for the missionary aspirants, pre-novices and novices.
A week of mission orientation in this post-novitiate community culminated with the concluding Eucharist on 9th November with the concluding prayer service during which the theme video from the mission department was screened along with the prayer for the Mission Day. The brothers expressed that the missionary week was both informative as well as inspiring.