ADMA YOUTH RECOLLECTION

Cesana - At the end of the summer, from 2 to 4 September, about fifty youngsters took part in the spiritual exercises organised by the primary ADMA: 30 boys from the middle school and 20 from the high school. They were accompanied by two Salesians and the teams made up of married couples, young university students and working people.

These were days to stop and take a breath, finding refreshment not only from the torrid heat of the last few months, but also, or rather above all, from the frenzy of the days and the incessant buzz of things to do, which, alternating with the tepid idleness of the long summer hours, usually fills the holidays of young people and teenagers. Stop, be silent, listen, pray and play: these were the slogans for the three days at Cesana, an opportunity to open the heart and make space in silence to meet the Lord, to listen to His Word and to experience a lot of Salesian cheerfulness that exploded between one silence and another, between one catechesis and another, in the games, dances, songs, chatter during the walk, in the noisy chatter at the tables during meals and even in the cleaning that followed in the kitchen and refectory.

While the older children meditated on the parables, addressing the themes of listening to the Word, the relationship between mercy and justice, freedom and forgiveness, the middle school children reflected on their relationships with God in the family and with friends, always starting from the Word. The days, marked by Lauds, daily Mass and the rosary for the high school boys, and for the younger ones, by prayers in the form of readings, songs and the ever-present three Hail Marys of Don Bosco before going to sleep. The experience culminated in confessions and adoration on the last evening and ended in the final Mass together with the parents. The boys returned home more united, joyful and energized to start the year, without however sparing us a critical note: three days are too short!