for New Rochelle Province
Bros. Lenny Carlino, Steve Eguino, and
Craig Spence made their first profession as Salesians on Friday, Aug. 16, at
the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw, N.Y.
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| First, the serious post-profession photo: Bro. Lenny, Fr. Tom, Bro. Steve, Bro. Craig... |
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| ...then they ham it up |
Fr. Tom Dunne presided at the Mass of
Religious Profession, preached the homily, and received the vows.
For the next two years the three new
brothers will be part of the Salesian formation community in Orange, N.J., and
students at Seton Hall University in South Orange.
In addition to the three newly
professed of the Eastern Province, Bro. Jhoni Chamorro professed in Bellflower,
Calif., for the San Francisco Province. He also will continue his formation in
South Orange. All four newly professed made their novitiate in Rosemead, Calif.,
under the direction of Fr. Bill Keane. Their class started with seven novices.
Bro. Leonard Joseph Carlino, SDB, 22
years old, comes from Hauppauge, N.Y. He was a member of St. Thomas More Parish
there and was active in the parish’s Salesian-inspired youth group.
Lenny entered the Salesian formation
program at Orange as a candidate in August 2009. He says that he “felt at home
with the mission to the young, community life, and living the vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience” during this period of discernment. He adds that in the
different Salesian communities he saw “the witness of joy and optimism.”
In addition to his parents and the
Salesian Cooperators in the parish who influenced the youth ministry, Bro. Lenny
credits the parish clergy with inspiring his vocation: “One of the greatest
influences on my discernment was the deacon at my parish, Deacon Bob Weisz, who
always encouraged me and showed his support.
Also our two new deacons were a great support and witness. All three, along with our late pastor Fr.
Francis Midura, showed by their lives the path of holiness through everyday
life, something that translates well into Salesian life and spirituality.”
Lenny was attracted by the Salesians,
in the first place, because he found a certain “emptiness” in his life. “I always wanted to work with children,
teens, and young adults to some capacity.
Yet whenever I thought about being a teacher, or even working with kids,
there was always something missing. Once
I entered the candidacy program, I found that what was missing was the witness
aspect and complete self-gift for the young through profession. They deserve it, and I felt called to it by
God, [despite] my own faults and short comings.”
Asked what was the best part of the novitiate
year, Bro. Lenny writes: “One of the highlights of the novitiate was the
experience of ‘presence’ at Don Bosco Tech in Rosemead for lunch every
day. We had no specific task but to be
present to the students by talking with them and playing games. It was at the end of the year that we
realized how, even though we did nothing showy or flashy, our witness of
community life, of following Christ, and overall joy and authenticity was felt
by all the students. Also, we were
blessed to hear their life stories, about the struggles they go through at
home, and school, and with friends.
Overall, we were able to share life with them for the year, and support
them through the year.”
Bro. Lenny says that he is completely
open to whatever God wants for him in the future, and whatever the province may
ask him to undertake on behalf of the young. He would like to include music in
his ministry, “both playing and teaching it.”
Bro. Stephen Augustine Eguino, SDB, 24
years old, comes from the Bronx, where he was a member of St. Benedict Parish. His
older brother Mike is a Salesian, as well, presently part of the Salesian formation
community in Orange and studying theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary in
South Orange.
Bro. Steve came to know the Salesians
at Camp Don Bosco in Putnam Valley as well as from his brother’s attending Salesian
High in New Rochelle. Steve followed his brother to Salesian, graduating in
2007. He attended St. John's University for a year and SUNY Maritime College
for two years, studying engineering, before making his decision to enter the
Salesian formation program at Orange in August 2010.
In addition to his brother, who “showed
me what perseverance was and always encouraged me to take my faith seriously,”
Steve was influenced in his vocation discernment by Fr. Steve Ryan of the
Salesian Youth Ministry Office. Steve says the priest “was athletic, funny, and
a genuine person who I could tell cared about my family and me in a way that
Jesus calls us to love one another. He constantly welcomed me and invited me to
join in different athletic and Salesian events.” He also credits a former
pastor of St. Benedict’s, Fr. Richard Smith, with “helping me during the time
when I felt the call to the priesthood and showing a sincere concern and
accompaniment for me during that time.”
In deciding to join the Salesians,
Steve says, “Everything that I enjoy and I am good at, I have learned through
the Salesians. I want to share the things that bring me happiness in life. I
want to share them especially with the young and poor. I want to walk with them
and show them it is possible to live your life with Christ at the center
through the charism of St. John Bosco.”
During his novitiate year in Rosemead, Bro.
Steve found the best part of the program “was the young people we encountered
from all different walks of life. They challenged us to be ready to accompany
them, and they challenged us to be always authentic people and not put on a
show for them for the sake of entertainment. They wanted real people to talk to
and share their stories with, who would listen and not judge them, and be there
as a friend who could help them in their times of trial.”
For the immediate future, Bro. Steve
“wants to continue to serve the young with the fire in my heart that I have
right now, especially after first profession. I want to keep that fire burning
for as long as God is calling me.”
He has “no particular apostolate I hope
to specialize in, but if I had to lean in a certain area it would be sports and
music,” he says. “I have been blessed with many talents, and they are mainly
sports- and music-related. I can use these areas to bring young people closer
to Christ and show them the joys of having a personal relationship with God.”
Bro. Charles Craig Spence, SDB, 36
years old, is originally from Mobile, Ala., and belonged to Our Savior Parish
there. But has spent most of his life in Pass Christian, Miss., where he was a
member of Holy Family Parish.
Craig came to the Salesians as a lay
missioner, serving as a youth minister and living with the Salesian community
at Don Bosco Tech in Paterson, N.J., in 2001-2002. Very quickly he won the
confidence of the students as well as the Salesians, and he also won the
nickname “Missionary Craig.” When the school was closed in May 2002, he moved
over to Mary Help of Christians Parish on Manhattan’s Lower East Side to do a
second volunteer year as the parish’s youth minister (taking his nickname with
him). So successful was he with the young people that the parish hired him in
2003, and he stayed on as youth minister and part of the Salesian community,
which also included the novices at that time.
The New York Archdiocese closed the
parish in May 2007, and Craig returned to Mississippi for several years,
working still as a parish youth minister—and considering his future. Drawn by “the
mission to serve the young and the poor,” by
2011 he’d decided that his future lay with the Salesians. He entered the formation
program in Orange.
Bro. Craig says that the best part of
his novitiate year was “having the opportunity to grow in my prayer life.” For the immediate
future, he “just wants to do my duties well.”
Fr. Tom’s homily pointed to the Mass
readings’ focus on God’s intention in calling people and God’s love for us.
Like the judge Samuel (cf. 1 Sam
3:1-10), Fr. Tom said, the three candidates for profession heard a call from
God. His call isn’t an affirmation of
something already done but is about what God has done in and through us, and
sometimes in spite of us. We don’t choose religious life; we are drawn to it by
God. He calls; we respond.
Fr. Tom found three significant points
in the story of Samuel’s call and what it means for us.
1. God’s call is rooted in the first
moments of our existence, like Samuel’s, who was wondrously conceived in answer
to his mother’s prayers. Then it’s a blessing for us, as for Samuel, to be
called by name in order to fulfill a certain dream.
2. God’s call is nourished in a way of
life that lives out our baptismal commitment—in family, parish, and the
Salesian community.
3. Our response to the call is only the
beginning. Vocation doesn’t end with first profession; it continues to nourish,
challenge, and affirm us. Our posture has to be like Samuel’s: “Speak, Lord,
your servant is listening.” For the Lord to teach us, we have to be quiet and
listen, and we have to remember that the servant isn’t in charge; he follows.
Mary knew that (cf. Luke 1:26-38), Fr. Tom
continued. She follows the pattern of
Hannah (Samuel’s mother) and Samuel, of John the Baptist and Elizabeth; she’s faithful
to her Hebrew faith. She responds humbly
to the angel that she’s the Lord’s servant.
She listened to the Lord her whole life, reflecting on what he was doing
in her life.
Fr. Tom noted that on Aug. 16 we were
celebrating Don Bosco’s 198th birthday.
He responded to a call from God in a dream, somewhat like Samuel’s
call—a call to reach out to the young who were in need. He was told to follow the guidance he’d
receive from Mary, who became central to his entire life.
Profession is the start of a lifelong
commitment to our mission and to our brothers, Fr. Tom said. “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening,” is
the guideline for those about to profess, and Mary is their guide. They will find God while meeting the young. They will meet Jesus in prayer and the
sacraments, so that what God is beginning in them today may be brought to its
completion.
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