Homily for 3d Sunday of Advent

Homily for the
3d Sunday of Advent

Dec. 14, 2025
Matt 11: 2-11
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

John's disciples visit him in prison

“Jesus said to them, ‘Go and tell them what you hear and see” (Matt 11: 4).

Scripture scholars debate why John the Baptist sent disciples to ask Jesus whether he was “the one who is to come” (11:3), i.e., whether he was the Messiah.  After all, according to St. John the Apostle’s Gospel, John the Baptist had long since pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29).

Some of John’s disciples, including St. Andrew, listened to him then and went to Jesus.  Evidently, not all of them did.  Historically, many people remained followers of John and his teaching well into the Christian era.

Therefore we speculate about John’s message to Jesus today.  Did John doubt Jesus because he wasn’t a fire-breathing prophet as John had been—recall last Sunday’s gospel (Matt 3:1-12)?

Another possibility is that John sent disciples to Jesus to try to open their eyes and ears to Jesus, to lead them to discern that Jesus was the Messiah whose coming John had been preparing the way for.

Jesus’ reply is that those disciples should tell John of the works he’s been doing, works that literally fulfill what Isaiah had prophesied:  “the eyes of the blind are opened, the ears of the deaf are cleared, the lame leap like stags, the tongues of the mute sing” (Is 35:5-6).  Jesus’ message isn’t fire and brimstone but hope and pardon—good news for anyone who will listen.

The Jubilee Year 2025 will conclude in less than a month.  Its theme has been “Pilgrims of hope.”  We’ve been invited to journey with Jesus and to find in him our hope for pardon from God, to find peace of heart, to find our way toward eternal life.  We’ve been invited to open our eyes and our ears and our souls to Jesus.

John the Baptist’s query to Jesus and Jesus’ answer are a challenge to us.  “Go and tell John what you see and hear.”  It’s been said that Mahatma Gandhi found Christ very appealing but was repelled by what he saw Christians doing in India.  In the 1960s, we used to sing a hymn in church called “They’ll know we are Christians by our love.”  When our family members, our co-workers, our fellow parishioners, anybody on the street sees us—what do they see and hear?  Are we witnesses to the works of Jesus?  Are we women and men of integrity, of truth, of prayer, of fairness, of kindness, of joy, of chastity, of diligence, of patience with the faults of others and patience in other trials, of forgiveness, of respect for others’ feelings and reputation, of care for God’s creation?  Do we confess our sins and entrust ourselves to God’s mercy?  In short, do we present an image of Jesus for the world to see and hear?

Building Relationships with Communities Receiving Lay Missionary Volunteers

Building Relationships with the Salesian Communities That Receive Lay Volunteers

An aspect of Salesian mission volunteers formation

(ANS – Rome – December 11, 2025) – In November, Salesian missionary volunteer coordinators, including Salesians and lay people engaged in volunteering, participated in an online formation session to consider the topic: Building relationships with the Salesian communities that receive volunteers. 

There were 2 sessions – one for Spanish language and one for English language. The sessions were well attended and had robust discussions about this topic.

In the Spanish language session, Adam Rudin, director of Salesian Lay Missioners in New Rochelle, discussed ideas about building healthy relationships with receiving communities that focused on clear expectations, strong communication, and thorough volunteer preparation. Written guidelines define the responsibilities of the volunteers, the program, and the host community, ensuring a shared understanding of the mission and standards of care. Before the volunteers arrive, meetings with site directors address program values, training, logistics, support structures, and local context. Volunteers also receive updated site profiles so that they arrive with realistic expectations and a respectful, well-informed understanding of the community they will serve.

Similarly, Ulla Fricke from Don Bosco Mission in Bonn highlighted a range of important focus areas for strengthening volunteer preparation and partnerships. She emphasized the value of a shared Salesian identity supported by clear structures, roles, and expectations, as well as the need to understand different communication cultures and to support consistently partners on the ground. Ulla noted challenges such as safeguarding and post-colonial awareness, clericalism, differing views of volunteer roles, high staff turnover, and communication style differences. She stressed the importance of navigating hierarchical dynamics with sensitivity, maintaining a warm relational “glue” that characterizes Salesian collaboration, addressing crises and sensitive topics with care, and investing in long-term trust-building to sustain healthy, mission-driven relationships.

Karen Amaro from Uruguay, director of a Salesian social work and member of the provincial missionary volunteer team, offered valuable insights from the perspective of receiving communities. She emphasized the importance of accompanying volunteers with care and consistency, ensuring that they feel welcomed, supported, and integrated into community life. She also underlined that a strong, trust-filled relationship with the sending organization is essential, fostering open communication, shared responsibility, and a common mission focused on the well-being of both the volunteers and the young people they serve.

Fr. Chris Kunda, youth ministry delegate from Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, and Zimbabwe, also shared the experience of his province hosting volunteers since 1990s, a great work of coordination between youth ministry, missions, and rectors of the community. The first step is communication with the sending organizations, especially in clarifying the immigration policies and other challenges, learnt by experience over time, while the 2nd level is the receiving community, especially in the person of the rector.

Many of the sentiments introduced by Adam and Ulla were echoed by Karen and Fr. Chris.

After the presentations, there was excellent discussion about the topic.  Some of the discussion points included: strong relationships between sending and receiving communities are essential for successful volunteer placements. Clear communication from the outset, precise job profiles, and mutual understanding of roles, hierarchies, and cultural contexts help prevent future problems. Meeting partners in person and establishing a designated mentor greatly supports volunteers throughout their service. Participants also noted the need to clarify contractual expectations, including financial assumptions, and highlighted the value of preparing volunteers in local culture, the nature of the work, community life, and their own skills and responsibilities so that receiving communities can support them effectively.

The meeting concluded with missionary volunteer website and general updates. These online formation sessions are open to anyone who is interested in or working in Salesian missionary volunteering. They will take place twice a year (May and November). Please subscribe to our newsletter to keep updated about Salesian mission volunteer opportunities in the Salesian Congregation. You can subscribe by emailing: salesianvol@sdb.org or visiting our website.

We thank all the participants who came from Spain, Colombia, Bolivia, Peru, U.S.A., Venezuela, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, Italy, Lesotho, Ireland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Austria, Morocco, Zambia, Australia, Hungary, Great Britain, Vietnam, Dem. Rep. of Congo, and Cambodia: a vast mosaic, which is only a small representation of the world of missionary volunteering thruout the Salesian Congregation.

Fr. Francis T. Kelly, SDB (1939-2025)

Fr. Francis T. Kelly, SDB (1939-2025)

Fr. Francis “Frank” Kelly, SDB, passed into eternity on the morning of Dec. 11, 2025, in a hospital in Etobicoke, Ont. He had moved into a nursing home near the Salesian community at St. Benedict Parish in Etobicoke, Ont., about 2 years ago in view of his declining health but had continued his priestly ministry among the residents as long as he was able. He was 86 years old and had been a professed Salesian of Don Bosco for 66 years, a priest for more than 54 years.

Francis Thomas Kelly was a native of the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, where he was born on June 7, 1939, to John and Gertrude (Coyne) Kelly. Frank had four siblings: Theresa, Jack, Ed, and Jerry. His brothers predeceased him.

Within a month of birth, Frank was baptized at St. Patrick’s Church in Bay Ridge (Brooklyn), and at age 10 he was also confirmed there.

In September 1954, Frank entered Don Bosco Juniorate in Haverstraw, N.Y. He graduated there in June 1958. Although he had struggled with Latin in high school, he entered St. Joseph’s Novitiate in Newton, N.J., as a clerical novice on Sept. 7, 1958, and professed as a Salesian on Sept. 8, 1959. The master of novices was Fr. Aloysius Bianchi, and the 44 novices (as of Jan. 1, 1959) included the future Frs. Joseph Davie, Jack Gibson, Gerard Pellegrino, David Purdy, Jeremiah Reen, Floyd Rotunno, and Francis Twardzik and Bros. Joseph Ferrari, James Gleason, Richard Pasaik, and Gerald Warner.

Bro. Frank completed a year of study at Don Bosco College in Newton in 1959-1960, still having difficulty with Latin. In 1960 he was assigned to Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey to begin practical training. The following year he returned to Newton for 1961-1962 to resume studies but still could not handle Latin. He became a coadjutor brother and in 1962 went to Hope Haven in Marrero, La., to continue practical training; he served there for 3 years.

Bro. Frank’s years in Marrero factored into one summer camp experience at Camp Don Bosco in Newton. Former Salesian John Gushue shared a summer with him there in the mid-60s. “During a campfire,” he recounts, “a group of campers began singing the then-popular song ‘The House of the Rising Sun.’ Frank knew the song was about a New Orleans house of ill repute and as emcee thought the song was inappropriate for the campers. He stopped the singing mid-verse and rapidly moved to the next song. He had forgotten to ask the singers what they intended to sing for talent night. Frank was very smooth, savvy, and saintly as a campfire emcee.”

Bro. Kelly (right) hamming it up at summer camp in Cedar Lake, Ind.,
in 1968 with Bros. Tom Higgs, Charlie Bryson, and Dave Verrett

After making his perpetual profession in Newton on August 16, 1965, Bro. Frank returned to Don Bosco College as a coadjutor to continue studies. He concluded his coursework in June 1967 and was granted a “seminary diploma” instead of a B.A. Nevertheless, in the fall he began studies toward ordination as part of the first Salesian community at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio. He remained officially a coadjutor for the first 2 years but as he began his 3rd year in 1969, he became again a “cleric.” At that point, facility in Latin was no longer required for a priestly vocation. At the same time, he arranged with the PCJ and Fordham University to complete coursework toward a Master of Religious Education.

Fr. Frank's ordination portrait

On April 3, 1971, he was ordained in Columbus and became Fr. Frank Kelly. Pastoral assignments followed: teacher and director of religious activities (DRA) at Salesian High School, New Rochelle, N.Y. (1971-1974), DRA at Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey (1974-1976), assistant pastor at St. Anthony Parish, Elizabeth, N.J. (1976-1980), retreat preacher at Don Bosco Retreat Center, Haverstraw (1980-1984), director at Salesian Junior Seminary, Goshen (1984-1986). The highlight of his year and a half in Goshen was a visit from Mother Teresa, which profoundly affected him.

With the seminary’s closure at the end of 1985, Fr. Frank in 1986 became part of the contingent of American expatriates founding the Salesian work in the Toronto area. From 1986 to 1992, he was director of the community and DRA at Don Bosco Secondary School in Weston, Ont. An example of the impact he had comes from a DBSS alumnus, Frank Capadoccia: “Fr. Kelly was special in every possible way. His massive grin and perennial laugh made Don Bosco a special place for me and countless other lost high schoolers trying to find our way. I was lucky enough to be part of a retreat led by Fr. K and Fr. Dave Sajdak, which quite literally changed my life. It’s where I learned that I could proudly be a Catholic. It’s where I met my wife Paula, and it’s where my entire view about who I was and what I could become changed. And now, looking back, 60+ retreats that I’ve personally led, how many incredible journeys adjusted toward the light of better days ... all because of our amazingly special Fr. K!”

Fr. Frank with seminary students and staff, 1984

After a sabbatical at the Institute of Salesian Studies in Berkeley, Calif., Fr. Frank was appointed assistant pastor at St. Benedict’s Parish in Etobicoke, Ont. (1993-1995), then director of the Salesian community (1995-2001) and pastor (1995-2007). From 2000 to 2006 he also served as vice provincial of the Canadian vice province.

Fr. Frank took another sabbatical year in 2007-2008 at Salesian High School in New Rochelle. He returned to Etobicoke in 2008, ministering as a spiritual director for the Salesian Family, parishioners, and many others for the remainder of his life. His impact was profound; many were convinced that he had a gift for reading hearts.

Fr. Frank’s gifts also included humor and an artistic side. Former Salesian Spencer Boudreau recalls: “Frank was a great guy with a wonderful sense of humour. On feast days in Newton he would decorate the dining room. He took great pride in doing so and always did an incredible job with limited resources.”

Salesian Cooperator Lynn Krakaur, sister of the late Fr. Dennis Donovan, has similar memories, particularly of Christmas 1984 celebrated in Goshen with the confreres and their families (including your humble blogger and his parents): “Fr. Frank loved Christmas! He had a robust laugh that was so joyful! One of our fondest memories was spending Christmas Eve at the residence in Goshen, with Fr. Frank! Our family talked about that celebration for years! I pray that they are all together (my mom, dad, Dennis, et al.) celebrating Christmas, with Fr. Frank leading a sing-along!”

Fr. Frank in Santa disguise, celebrating Christmas at Goshen in 1984

From Elizabeth, N.J., Deacon Joseph Caporaso, a Cooperator, also remembers Fr. Frank’s joy and artistry, as well as his pastoral heart: “I was saddened to hear of Fr. Kelly’s passing. Fr. Kelly came to St. Anthony’s in Elizabeth with so much joy, and a very contagious laugh. He was so involved in all aspects of parish life and brought his gifts of creativity and deep spirituality to many in the parish. None of us will ever forget the magnificent Easter display erected behind the main altar of Christ rising from the tomb on Easter Sunday. His ability to touch so many of us with his charismatic personality and his warm, caring heart is without a doubt one of his many attributes. When he left for another assignment, we were all sad to see him go and often spoke about him for many years after.”

Bro. Bernie Dubé lived with Fr. Frank for nine years in Etobicoke and notes many facets of his priestly ministry: “I really met and lived with him when I was assigned to St. Benedict’s Parish in 1988…. He was always very hospitable, loving, and caring. He was an excellent preacher, healer, confessor, holy priest, and above all a wonderful Salesian. He was a prayerful man and a friend. He was my director for nine years, while he was pastor at St. Benedict’s. He was always very supportive to me.”

Antoniette Pace, a lifelong St. Benedict parishioner, pays similar tribute to Fr. Frank: “Fr. Kelly often said that the Scriptures are alive in the world, in the day-to-day stuff of life. How true these words ring as we consider the gospel readings at daily Mass on the days surrounding his death. On Dec. 10, the gospel proclaimed, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest,” an often-quoted passage by Fr. Kelly. God only knows how burdened Fr. Kelly must have been in the events that led to the emergency room at the hospital and during the long hours that night and into the morning of Dec. 11. On Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a Marian feast very dear to Fr. Kelly’s heart, the gospel proclaimed, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Fr. Kelly’s life and death remind us that when we surrender our lives to the will of God, letting go of our powerlessness in the face of wearisome and heavy burdens, we become free, like Mary, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to rejoice and magnify the Lord. Thank you, Fr. Kelly for teaching us how to proclaim God with our lives!”

Fr. Kelly is survived by his sister Theresa Kelly.

FUNERAL ARRANGEMENTS

Wake at St. Benedict Parish, 2194 Kipling Avenue, Etobicoke, Ontario

Thursday, December 18, 2025

• 3:30 p.m. – Reception of the Body
• 6:30 p.m. – Evening Prayer

Funeral Mass

Friday, December 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. 

Reception in the church hall following the Mass

The body will be brought to Montreal after the Mass.

Saturday, December 20, 2025

• 8:00 a.m. – Mass for Salesian Family members only
  Don Bosco Youth Centre, Montreal
• 10:00 a.m. – Burial
  St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Cemetery

Homily for Saturday, Week 2 of Advent

Homily for Saturday, Advent Week 2
Memorial of St. Lucy

Dec. 13, 2025
Sir 48: 1-4, 9-11
Matt 17: 9-13
Provincial House, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Elijah confronts Ahab & Jezebel
(Thomas Matthews Rook)

“How awesome you are, Elijah, in your wondrous deeds!” (Sir 48: 4).

The reading from Sirach looks for Elijah’s return, to turn away God’s wrath and turn human hearts toward God and one another.  Jesus confirms this prophecy for his disciples and adds that the prophecy has been fulfilled in the person of John the Baptist.

Then Jesus compares himself to John in terms of suffering.  He doesn’t say it, but Elijah, too, suffered, chased into hiding and then into exile by people in power who didn’t want to turn their hearts toward God or their fellow men and women.

St. John the Baptist in Prison
(ShababChristian.com)

John suffered imprisonment and death for preaching a message of conversion—the turning of hearts—in particular a message of marital purity.  Elijah’s preaching also had been a call to purity—purity of cult, fidelity to the nation’s marriage bond to the Lord.

The courage of John’s preaching was a wondrous deed.  So was his recognition of the Lamb of God when Jesus came to the Jordan.  Likewise, his handing over to Jesus his disciples was a wondrous deed, and his acknowledgment of his lesser role in God’s plan of salvation.

Most of St. Lucy’s story is legend.  We know she was a virgin martyr, probably from Syracuse in Sicily, and had given her heart to Jesus.  She imitated John the Baptist and Elijah in her courage, the courage required to follow Christ even to death during Diocletian’s persecution.  That won her wide fame in the Church, and like Agnes and Agatha, Cecilia and Anastasia, her name was inserted in the Roman Eucharistic Prayer.

That Lucy or the other young women had such courage is a wondrous deed.  St. Ambrose wrote of Agnes:  “Girls of her age cannot bear even their parents’ frowns and, pricked by a needle, weep as for a serious wound.  Yet she shows no fear of the bloodstained hands of her executioners.”[1]  Such courage, such loyalty to Christ is a rare and awesome deed, one that we still witness wherever believers are persecuted today in Islamic, secular, or tyrannical settings.

It’s awesome, too, that one of our brothers, Fr. Frank Kelly, followed Jesus so closely, not in any physical danger but in the day-in-and-day-out life of a Salesian and a priest.  He was as down-to-earth as anyone we know, jovial, fond of a good meal, yet was wondrously pastorally sensitive, deeply in love with Jesus and Mary, available to the service of God’s people in school, parish, and spiritual direction.

A week ago, I heard much the same about Bro. Al Cussen, CFC.

God still sends us wondrous men and women like Elijah, like John the Baptist, to turn our hearts toward himself and toward our brothers and sisters.  May he work some wonders also in our hearts, so that we may point people toward the Lamb of God.

[1] Treatise on Virgins, LOH 3:1311.

Fr. Jan Swierc and Salesian Companions to Be Beatified on June 6, 2026

Salesian Martyrs Fr. Jan Swierc and 8 Companions Will Be Beatified on June 6, 2026

(ANS - Vatican City – December 9, 2025) - On November 18, Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, substitute of the Vatican Secretariat of State, informed Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator general of the causes of the saints of the Salesian Family, the rite of beatification of the Venerable Servants of God Jan Swierc and 8 Companions will take place on June 6, 2026, in Krakow. Pope Leo XIV’s representative will be Card. Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Fr. Jan Swierc and 8 priest companions of the Salesian Society were victims of the Nazi persecution which, after the German occupation of Poland during World War II was unleashed with particular vehemence also against the Catholic Church. Religious engaged in pastoral and educational activities, uninvolved in the political tensions of the time, were arrested and killed simply for being Catholic priests. They are:

1) Jan Swierc was born in Krolewska (today Chorzow) on April 29, 1877. After completing his higher and theological studies among the Salesians in Italy, he was ordained in Turin in 1903. Later, he directed several Salesian houses in Poland, also carrying out the ministry of pastor. On July 8, 1938, he took over as director and pastor of the Krakow house and became a popular preacher. On May 23, 1941, he was arrested with other confreres by the Gestapo and taken to Montelupich Prison, where he was beaten and tortured. On June 26, 1941, he was transferred to the Auschwitz concentration camp and killed the following day.

2) Ignacy Antonowicz, born in Wieslawice on July 14, 1890, was ordained in Rome in 1916. A teacher of theology in the Salesian studentate in Foglizzo, he was a military chaplain in the Polish army during World War I. Sent to Krakow as director of the theological studentate, he held this post until his arrest on May 23, 1941. Taken to Auschwitz, he was mistreated and beaten. He fell seriously ill and died on July 21, 1941.

3) Ignacy Dobiasz, born in Ciochowice, on January 14, 1880, was trained in Salesian studentates in Italy and was ordained in 1908. Back in Poland, he carried out pastoral and educational ministry in various localities. From 1931 he was sent as parish collaborator to Krakow. On May 23, 1941, he was arrested and deported to Auschwitz, where he died on June 27 following exhaustion and beatings.

4) Karol Golda, born in Tychy on December 23, 1914, studied in Salesian houses in Poland before being sent to Rome, where he was ordained in 1938. Returning to his country to teach theology in the Oswiecim studentate, he was arrested by the Gestapo on December 31, 1941. In February 1942, he was deported to Auschwitz, where he was shot on  May 14, 1942.

5) Franciszek Harazim, born in Osiny on August 22, 1885, was educated in Salesian studentates in Poland and at Ivrea, where he was ordained in 1915. He returned to his country to teach in Salesian schools and in the Salesian major seminary in Krakow. He was arrested on May 23, 1941, and taken to the Montelupich prison and later to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where, due to beatings and ill-treatment, he died on June 27,  1941.

6) Ludwik Mroczek, born in Kety on August 11, 1905, carried out his preparation for the priesthood in Poland, being ordained in 1933 and serving as a pastor in Oswięcim, Lviv, Czestochowa, and other places. Arrested on May 22, 1941, he was taken to Montelupich Prison and then to Auschwitz, where he died on January 5, 1942.

7) Wlodzmierz Szembek, born on April 22, 1883 in Poreba Zegoty, was a member of a noble family. He graduated in engineering, looking after the family estates until 1928, when he entered the Salesian aspirantate in Oswięcim. He was ordained in Kracow in 1934 and became secretary of the Salesian province. Arrested on July 9, 1942, he was imprisoned in Nowy Targ and then taken to Auschwitz, where he died on September 7, 1942.

8) Kazimierz Wojciechowski, born in Jaslo on August 16, 1904, was formed in Salesian studentates in Poland and was ordained in 1935 in Krakow. He carried out pastoral work in Daszawa and Krakow, where he was arrested on May 23, 1941. Deported to Auschwitz, he was killed on June 27, 1941.

9) Franciszek Miska, born in Swierczyniek on December 5, 1898, completed his theological studies in Turin, where he was ordained in 1927. He carried out his ministry in Salesian institutes and parishes in various localities in Poland, until he was put in charge of the Salesian institute in Lad. Arrested and taken to various prison camps, on  October 30, 1941, he was deported to Dachau, where he died on  May 30, 1942.

Immaculate Conception and Don Bosco's Mission

The Feast That Gave Birth to the Oratory and the Salesian Mission

(ANS – Rome – December 8, 2025) – The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception is like a “birthday” in Salesian history: it marks the beginning of Don Bosco’s Oratory, the foundation of the Congregation, and a permanent Marian key for Salesian spirituality and mission. All the successors of Don Bosco have repeatedly returned to December 8 to rediscover in it the style, hope, and maternal presence of our Immaculate mother that continues renewing the Salesian Family today.

December 8 in the life of Don Bosco

On December 8, 1841, while vesting for Mass in the church of St. Francis of Assisi, Don Bosco met young Bartholomew Garelli and began to catechize him, starting with just a “Hail Mary” prayed together. Don Bosco always pointed to this humble moment as the “beginning of the Oratory,” a beginning he explicitly linked to Mary Immaculate.

Salesian tradition recalls that Don Bosco saw in that “Hail Mary” the seed from which the entire Salesian work would grow. Later in life, he affirmed that December 8 was the day on which “all our greatest things began,” showing how the Immaculate Conception became an interpretive key for his vocation and mission among the young.

December 8 in the Life of the Oratory

The date December 8, 1841 is remembered as the birth of Don Bosco’s Oratory for poor and abandoned youth, the starting point from which all his works would unfold. For this reason, Salesian tradition calls December 8 “the birthday of the Salesian mission,” expressing both historical origin and spiritual identity.

From the earliest years, Don Bosco rooted this Marian origin in daily life at Valdocco. By 1842 he was already preaching an annual conference on December 8, invoking Mary Immaculate’s protection on the Oratory. He encouraged specific practices—such as the Month of May in honor of Mary Immaculate (published in 1858)—to cultivate in the boys a concrete devotion that would shape their moral life and apostolic responsibility.

December 8 in the Growth of Salesian Spirituality

Don Bosco interpreted the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception (1854) as a confirmation of what he had already lived at the Oratory. One of its clearest fruits was the Immaculate Conception Sodality, founded by Dominic Savio shortly before the dogma was defined. This group became a “seedbed” for apostolic zeal and eventually for the first Salesian vocations.
In his Month of May and his preaching, Don Bosco presented Mary Immaculate as a “lens” for understanding his entire educational project. Her purity and total openness to God served as a model for the boys and as a spiritual force against the “powers of evil” in society—not thru politics, but thru education and catechesis. This Marian outlook is inseparable from the Preventive System, which Don Bosco understood as the expression of God’s provident love: a love that anticipates, welcomes, and accompanies, reflected in Mary’s immaculate availability.

December 8 and the Foundation of the Congregation

On December 8, 1859, the feast of Mary Immaculate was celebrated with great solemnity at Valdocco. That evening, Don Bosco gathered a small group of his most committed collaborators to give life to what would become the Society of St. Francis de Sales. This date, intentionally chosen, is officially remembered as the foundation of the Salesian Congregation, placed under Mary Immaculate’s mantle to ensure her motherly guidance over the new society.

Later ecclesial events reinforced this Marian seal. The development of devotion to the Immaculate, the dogmatic proclamation, and Don Bosco’s subsequent spread of devotion to Mary Help of Christians were all understood by him as a unified thread of Marian protection. Historians note that Don Bosco often applied to Mary Help of Christians expressions originally linked to the Immaculate Conception, seeing in both titles one maternal presence accompanying the path of the Congregation.

December 8 in the Voices of the Rectors Major

Rectors Major have often returned to December 8 to call the Salesian Family back to its Marian roots. Fr. Pascual Chavez emphasized that the link between Don Bosco and the Immaculate Conception is not only historical or doctrinal but also touches a central aspect of the Preventive System: a God who lovingly anticipates and accompanies, reflected perfectly in Mary’s openness to grace. He also recalled that Fr. Egidio Viganò chose Mary Immaculate as the theme of his first circular, titled “Mary Is Renewing the Salesian Family of Don Bosco,” highlighting that authentic renewal always passes thru renewed Marian consecration.

The birth of the Congregation on the feast of the Immaculate was not accidental but programmatic. Don Bosco wanted his sons and daughters to live the Salesian charism under Mary’s gaze and guidance in service of the young.

For every Salesian, December 8 remains a day of gratitude and vocational memory—an annual return to that first Hail Mary with Bartholomew Garelli—so that “all our greatest things” may continue to spring from Mary’s intercession for the young. Thus, the feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary continues to stand at the heart of Salesian identity and mission.

Homily for Memorial of St. Juan Diego

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
and Tuesday, Week 2 of Advent

Dec. 9, 2025
Matt 18: 12-14
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

OL of Guadalupe Shrine
St. John Bosco Church, Chicago

“It’s not the will of your heavenly Father that one of these little ones be lost” (Matt 18: 14).

During his earthly life, our Lord Jesus showed constantly his love for the little ones.  He welcomed children, literally the little ones.  He was patient with the littleness of understanding in his disciples.  He treated society’s outcasts, metaphorical little ones, with dignity.

Today we celebrate the Lord’s ongoing care for society’s insignificant, little people.  We honor St. Juan Diego, who personified the oppressed and downtrodden of the world of the conquistadors.  He was graced with the vision “of the most holy Virgin Mary” (collect) thru whom God showed maternal care for the lowliest, most ordinary people of this world.

We find comfort in that, we lowly, ordinary people.  We’re on in years and aren’t in peak health and subsist on the kindness of benefactors.  The Virgin Mother cares for us as she did for the conquered people of Mexico; her care indicates her Son’s care.

Mary’s care gives us an example, too, that we must care for one another as well as for anyone who might be regarded as one of God’s little ones—for all the Juan Diegos we meet.

Homily for Solemnity of Immaculate Conception

Homily for the Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception

Dec. 8, 2025
Eph 1: 3-6, 11-12
Luke 1: 26-38
Salesian HS juniors, New Rochelle

The Immaculate Conception (Velasquez)

“In love he destined us for adoption to himself thru Jesus Christ” (Eph 1: 4-5).

In the gospel reading, we heard how God sent an angel to invite the Virgin Mary to become the mother of the Son of the Most High (Luke 1:31-32), i.e., the Son of God.  God the Father had destined Mary in love to be his most special daughter, and paradoxically, to become the mother of his Son.  What a mystery, that she should be at the same time both mother and daughter of God Most High!

That’s not the only mystery we celebrate today.  The gospel is about Mary’s conceiving Jesus as her Son—that’s the mystery of the virginal conception of Jesus without any human participation, only the power of the Holy Spirit, as we heard (1:35).  The feast we’re celebrating today is Mary’s immaculate conception.  When she was conceived in the womb of her mother, St. Ann, in the normal way that children are conceived—her father was St. Joachim—unlike every other human person, she was conceived without original sin, without the stain imposed on all the rest of humanity (except Jesus), by the sinful choice made by our most remote ancestors.  That was the story told in our 1st reading (Gen 3:9-15,20).

In the opening prayer of the Mass, we noted that God preserved Mary “from every stain” so that she might be “a worthy dwelling” for his Son.  The Son of God deserved a perfectly holy mother, one without any trace of sin.

You and I know how remarkable that is.  We can scarcely go a day without committing some sin, some moral failure, in word, action, thought, or omission.

But God has a plan for that!  “In love he destined us for adoption to himself thru Jesus Christ.”  God’s love acting thru Christ can overcome our sins and, in the words of the opening prayer, “we too may be cleansed”; cleansed of our sins, we may become God’s beloved children.  Jesus does that for us if we allow him into our lives.  After the facts of sin, we can become immaculate by God’s love and forgiveness, and so join Jesus and Mary in heaven.  “Nothing will be impossible for God” (Luke 1:37).

"GO Beyond Traditional Education"

“GO Beyond Traditional Education”

Committee on Artificial Intelligence in Salesian schools Meets Google

(ANS - Mountain View, Calif. – December 5, 2025) – A delegation of 6 representatives from the Steering Committee of the Italian Salesian project “GO Beyond Traditional Education/Gemini@Salesians” is at Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., to discuss the responsible integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in education. The visit aims to strengthen the existing collaboration and present the expanding vision of this project, which puts the dignity and integral development of the human person at the center of innovation.

The “GO Beyond Traditional Education” project started in 2025 and rapidly evolved from a regional pilot experiment into a national movement in Italy. Initially involving a pilot group of 750 teachers in 26 institutes in the North East Province of Italy (INE), it has now broadened its horizons to involve up to 1,600 educators in over 50 Salesian schools and vocational training centers thruout Italy, reaching more than 25,000 young people.

The most innovative elements, documented by the research conducted in collaboration with the  Pontifical Salesian University (UPS) and the Salesian University Institute of Venice (IUSVE), concern the profound pedagogical transformation that generative AI (Gemini) is triggering.

The initial results of the research (which are still being thoroughly monitored) show an extraordinary impact:

Significant time savings: Teachers reported an estimated subjective saving of about 37% on teaching activities. This precious time is freed up and can be reinvested in the listening, presence, and personal accompaniment of young people, strengthening the educational relationship, the heart of the Salesian model.

Teaching innovation: More than 550 teaching activities and about 100 productivity activities have been developed and documented, focusing on areas such as teaching design, content generation, and personalization of learning, including for students with special needs.

Role of the teacher: far from being a substitute, AI acts as a powerful “CO-PILOT” for the teacher, facilitating the customization of pathways and stimulating teaching creativity.

The project is supported by an integrated ecosystem that includes “Google for Education” (with the Gemini platform), “MR Digital” (for technical and training support), the UPS, and the IUSVE (for pedagogical research and the ethical and values framework).

The program of the visit to California included key moments to get to know each other, consolidate collaboration, and discuss collaborative efforts to integrate AI in education directly with Google leaders.

In particular, the program included a visit to the Tech Park/Demo Center on Tuesday, December 2, and a campus tour in Mountain View, with a stop at the Google Store. Another crucial day was Wednesday, December 3, which took place in San Francisco: after a campus tour in the morning, 2 summit meetings took place: a leaders’ meeting and a one-to-one meeting.

In preparation for the one-to-one meeting, the national coordinator of the “GO Beyond Traditional Education” project, Fr. Elio Cesari, sent a letter proposing an expanded vision which envisages an increase of Gemini licenses in Italy (almost 2,000 teachers in 2026) and possible international expansion to schools in other countries that have expressed a strong interest in participating in the project.

To support this ambitious phase and establish an ethical and effective model for AI in global education, 3 specific requests were made for discussion at the meeting:

- Financial support for the continuation of the university research phase, which is essential to maintain the evidence-based educational model.

- Resources to increase significantly the scale and quality of teacher training activities, especially in view of the project’s expansion into new countries.

- Support for the creation of sharing opportunities with Salesian network schools in other countries.

The Salesian mission of offering young people the cutting edge of technology, while keeping the integral dignity of the person at the center, finds in this visit to Google the possibility of shaping the future of education with Artificial Intelligence on a global scale.

Homily for 2d Sunday of Advent

Homily for the
2d Sunday of Advent

Dec. 7, 2025
Matt 3: 1-12
Rom 15: 4-9
Villa Maria, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

John the Baptist preaching
(Peter Brueghel the Elder)

“John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’” (Matt 3: 1).

For several weeks, our liturgical eyes have been on Christ’s 2d coming and the fulfillment of God’s kingdom.  Today our focus shifts to his 1st coming, his coming in historical time—while Tiberius Caesar ruled in Rome and Pontius Pilate governed Judea in Caesar’s name.

When I go hiking in Harriman State Park or the East Hudson Highlands, now and then the blazed trail may become hard to follow; or if I’ve gotten onto an unblazed trail, it may disappear entirely.  Then I have either to backtrack or refer to a map and compass to get my bearings and find my way to where I want to go.

Appalachian Trail blaze
on a boulder

Before Christ appeared in person in the time of Tiberius and Pilate with his word of salvation, a prophet appeared in the borderlands of Judea to prepare people for his coming, to reorient them to the path toward the kingdom of heaven, to help them find their way thru life’s wilderness.

This prophet was John the Baptist, a wild sort of man, strangely dressed, keeping a strange diet, and preaching a strange message:  the one for whom Israel has been waiting is coming soon.  He comes not for deliverance but for judgment.  Prepare for him by turning away from your sins, by finding your bearings back to God.

John presented the case for repentance more harshly than Jesus did when he appeared.  Not that Jesus ignored the possibility of hellfire.  But more generally, St. Paul recalls for us, “Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Rom 15:7), echoing the complaint of the scribes and Pharisees:  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15:2).

A sinful woman kisses Jesus' feet
(Rubens)

St. Paul ties Christ’s welcome to our “welcoming one another” (Rom 15:7) and “to thinking in harmony with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus” (15:5).  In other words, Christ comes with salvation for those who receive him and follow him, those who imitate him in their love for their brothers and sisters—for all God’s children.  How all-encompassing that is, Paul tells us when he speaks of both the circumcised—the Jewish people—and the Gentiles being called by Christ to “glorify God for his mercy” (15:8-9).

That command to “welcome one another” and “think in harmony with one another,” the command to love one another in practice and not just in theory, is a call to conversion just as much as what John the Baptist preached when he demanded of his listeners that they “produce good fruit as evidence of repentance” (Matt 3:8).  If we’re truly sorry for our sins, we’ll try hard to act virtuously instead.  That’s how we prepare the way for God’s mighty one, our Savior, to come and “gather his wheat into his barn” (3:12), to lead us into the kingdom of heaven.

Homily for Memorial of Blessed Philip Rinaldi

Homily for the Memorial of
Blessed Philip Rinaldi

Dec. 5, 2025
Salesian High School, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Fr. Rinaldi recollected before
the casket with Don Bosco's remains
1929

God has blessed the Salesian Family with an abundance of holy men and women.  Just a few are portrayed here on the walls of our chapel.  One you don’t see is the holy priest whom we celebrate today, Blessed Philip Rinaldi.  Blessed Philip knew Don Bosco, was very close to him, and in 1922 became his 3d successor as rector major or superior general.  He died on Dec. 5, 1931, at the age of 75.

One of the early Salesians who knew Don Bosco very well* compared Blessed Philip to Don Bosco.  He said that their personalities, character, and holiness were so alike that the only difference between them was their voices.

No one here, obviously, has ever heard the voice of either Don Bosco or Blessed Philip.  But we know that both were fatherly priests, priests who cared very much for the young people in their care, showing everyone great kindness and patience.

Two characteristics of Blessed Philip Rinaldi that I’d highlight, besides his fatherliness, are his devotion to our Blessed Mother and his life of prayer.  He always prayed to Mary Help of Christians for guidance and help as a young priest, as provincial, and as a superior of over 5,000 Salesians all over the world.  (There are a lot more now, well over 13,000.)  Whenever he had a problem, he turned to Mary for the wisdom that he needed to solve it.  All of us can do that.

Blessed Philip also knew that, however busy he was, he needed to pray.  He needed to keep in touch with our Lord Jesus, who is the center of our lives, who gives us the strength we need each day to carry out our responsibilities, who protects us from the devil’s temptations, who leads us to heaven.  At the beginning of each day, we make a general intention to do everything for God and with Jesus, and at moments during the day, we remind ourselves of that.

* Fr. John Baptist Francesia.