Homily for the 4th Sunday of Lent

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Lent

March 27, 2022
Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 3: 2).

So the Pharisees and the scribes complain about Jesus.  In doing so, they summarize the Gospel, the Good News of our salvation.

In response to their complaint, Jesus illustrates God’s love for sinners by telling 3 parables.  The 1st 2 precede today’s parable in Luke 15 but aren’t included in our lectionary passage.  In the 1st, a shepherd seeks diligently for a lost sheep and brings home it lovingly (15:4-6).  In the 2d, a woman searches diligently thru her house for a lost coin and rejoices to find it (15:8-9).  I sure can identify with that woman’s search because about once a week I misplace something in my room or work space.  Jesus concludes both of these parables with the same refrain:  “I tell you, in just the same way there will be rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents” (15:10; cf. 15:7).

The longest parable is that of the lost son, a parable we usually call “the prodigal son.”  In it there are actually 2 lost sons, and it’s the father who’s prodigal—with his wealth and his forgiveness.

The father must have been deeply hurt when his younger son told him, “I can’t wait till you die.  Give me my inheritance now, and I’m outta here.”  A typical Middle Eastern father and probably most Western fathers would respond, “You’re outta here, all right!  Get out!  And I’m not giving you a penny.”

This father, however, is far more patient.  He grants his arrogant son what he asks and watches him depart.

Return of the Prodigal (Rembrandt)

How many weeks, how many months, how many years did that father watch—watch for his son’s return!  “While he was still a long way off, his father caught sight of him and was filled with compassion” (15:20).  He didn’t search for him in the same way that the shepherd searched for the lost sheep or the housewife for her lost coin.  But he watched with longing and hope for the return of his wayward child.  Even so does God love us sinners and long for our return to where we belong:  at his side.

The 2d character in the parable is the wayward son, the son filled with pride, the son who wastes his father’s gift, the son who wastes his father’s love.  He’s a sinner—like the people whom Jesus deals with, receives, and forgives.  “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

After a long time, after falling into a degraded condition, he begins to repent.  His contrition isn’t perfect.  It’s desperate.  But it’s contrition, and it brings him home to his father, where he’s forgiven and welcomed unconditionally.  So it is with us sinners when we come back to God, when we approach the Father’s mercy, whether our motive is love for one whom we’ve offended or merely dread of God’s punishment.  In the eyes of Jesus, it’s enuf that we want to come home.  He “welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

In fact, in the Holy Eucharist we come to Jesus’ sacred supper to feast with him, and by his mysterious power to feast on him.  We come to him as sinners, confessing, “Lord, I am not worthy”; but we come repentant and resolved to try to put way our sins, confident that he “will say but the word and my soul shall be healed.”

The 3d character in the parable receives the least attention.  That’s the older son.  He is, truly, the most pathetic of the characters, the one who remains lost at the end of the parable.  We don’t doubt that he represents the scribes and the Pharisees who resent Jesus’ merciful treatment of sinners.  He resents his father’s merciful reception of his younger brother—whom he won’t even acknowledge as his brother, calling him instead “your son” (15:30).  “All these years I served you,” he objects (15:39); all these years I’ve slaved for you.  He hasn’t stayed with his father out of love but out of duty, or perhaps, worse, only out of expecting his eventual inheritance.  It’s sad.  It’s sad like the situation of so many people who witness the goodness of God acting in Jesus but who won’t accept that goodness and join in it.

Even today many Catholics resent the mercy of God offered to sinners.  When Pope Francis teaches that the name of God is mercy and tries to make all of us sinners welcome in the Church, he’s scorned and even called a heretic.  The Holy Father isn’t redefining sin, not saying that sinful behavior is no longer sin.  He calls himself a sinner.  He is, rather, reminding us that God, like the father in Jesus’ parable, is very patient with us and continues to love us—as the father continues to love and pursue his 2d wayward, arrogant son, the one who refuses to come into the party.  God desires that we turn toward him, even imperfectly.

The parable ends with the older son still outside the celebration.  Will he come in?  You and I will finish the parable by how we respond to God’s pleading for us to accept his forgiveness, to come into the celebration:  the celebration of the sacrament of Reconciliation and the banquet of eternal life that begins at our altar here.

Small Gestures of Love in Service to Ukrainian Refugees

Small Gestures of Love in Service to Ukrainian Refugees

An Extraordinary Month

(ANS – Bratislava, Slovakia – March 24, 2022) – At the beginning of the year, when we were just beginning to know and welcome the message of the Rector Major’s strenna for 2022, no one could have imagined that its implementation would happen so quickly and in such extraordinary forms. It is not the numbers that are important; what matters is the measure of love shown. It is not the force of circumstances that guides the Salesians, but the imagination of small gestures of welcome and attention.

The Salesian Family in Slovakia, together with the Church and the whole of society, has been living the experience of charity tinged with blue and yellow for a month now, welcoming Ukrainian citizens.

At the beginning there was a moment of shock: no one believed that a war so close, so cruel, so unjustified was possible. The first step was the evacuation of the orphans of Lviv, who were entrusted to the Slovakian Salesians by their confreres in Ukraine as the apple of their eye.

The Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, after hearing from a Slovak missionary in Odessa, made themselves available directly at the border, welcoming mothers with children. Three FMA sisters spent the time of their school vacations in the service of first contact. At the end of this experience, they reported their impressions (EN), and in the wake of their experience, it was decided to hold the meeting of the directors at the border with Ukraine, including a practical part of service.

In Michalovce, the Salesian parish has organized a 24/7 reception center. Every evening, vans pick up women and children from the border so that they can finally wash, rest, and sleep in warmth at the Salesians. After 2-3 days they begin to talk, and the rest of the trip can be arranged. “In the first weeks people came who had family or friends in Europe. Now there are many who do not know where to go,” says Fr. Marian Peciar, delegate for communications of the Slovakian Province.

From there, another aid group was born, coordinating housing in families throughout Slovakia. Not knowing when the war will end, many are beginning to look for work, to settle in. All Salesian houses, youth centers, and parishes are involved in providing concrete help to Ukrainian refugees, facilitated by their cultural and linguistic proximity.

In Trnava, the Salesian Cooperators have opened their own hospitality center, with 100 beds, for the refugees. With the help of other members of the Salesian Family, they offer meals 3 times a day, dedicated programs for children, Slovak language courses, assistance with administrative matters, and, if guests decide to stay in the country, guidance in finding stable housing and work.

“I didn’t know Catholics before, but now I know they are good. I’m a psychologist, translator, I used to work as a manager. But now I’m here as a woman who needs help,” testifies Katja, a Ukrainian refugee and mother of two little girls. Her husband remained to defend Kiev, and she tries to hide her tears behind a smile: “I don’t know what tomorrow will be like…. But my girls are here. Everything will be fine.”

Presov has become a strategic community in helping the Ukrainian population. Thanks to contacts with various Salesian organizations in Europe, the vice provincial, Fr. Peter Jacko, has quickly organized an effective chain of solidarity and humanitarian aid. Encouraged by the visit of Fr. Daniel Antunez, president of Missioni Don Bosco of Turin, the Slovakian Salesians collected aid from various organizations throughout Europe in a large warehouse in Presov, which was then transported across the border to Ukraine, where other Salesians distributed it according to need, even in remote villages that other organizations could not reach.

Everyone helps in any way they can. Last but not least, it is also done through moments of prayer, which during Lent are pleas for peace in Ukraine. And several times a week, starting from the Gospel of the day or from other religious ideas, all members of the Slovak Salesian Family receive through social networks messages of animation, to remind them that evil can be overcome only with grace and goodness of heart.

Communicating from the Human and Spiritual Dynamic

Communicating from the Human and Spiritual Dynamic

by Fr. Gildasio Mendes

(ANS – Rome – March 24, 2022) – On the occasion of the 24th of the month, ANS readers are offered the third of a series articles written by the general councilor for Communications, Fr. Gildasio Medes, on the theme “St. Francis de Sales Communicator: Inner pilgrimage, wisdom in the art of communicating.”

A way of communicating from the human and spiritual dynamic

St. Francis lived his communicative experience at various levels, through the different situations he experienced and decisions he had to make.

At one level Francis developed a style of communicating that was an expression of his spirituality, his loving image of God, his inner freedom to be honestly in touch with his own humanity and tendencies, his mystified fears with their anxieties, his dark nights, and also the comfort he found in God’s grace. It meant that he plumbed the depths of his humanity to find, in dialog with God, the key and inspiration for his interpersonal communication. In his deep and true inner pilgrimage, he came to an authentic, honest confrontation with himself, and he made choices that were priorities for his life, e.g., the inner tension in his vocational choice between doing his father’s will and his deep desire to become a priest. Here we can identify the communicator who, in dialog with himself, finds in God his inspiration and source for deciding with truth as his criterion.

At another level, in his interpersonal relationships Francis had an immense, wide network of people with whom he related and whom he accompanied. Francis expressed himself through dialog and a great openness to understand the person starting from that individual’s circumstances. He was open to what was different, without losing serenity, and acting confidently and charitably.

He was also a communicator in spiritual accompaniment, knowing how to follow the right dynamics of welcoming, listening, dialog, and deep understanding of the human person.  Francis showed great human wisdom and psychological and spiritual maturity in his spiritual accompaniment of Jane Frances de Chantal, in the way he understood the depths of the human individual. Jane Frances herself said this: “Francis was very generous in his spiritual direction, in accordance with the truth and variety of the authentic love he had for souls.”

At the level of community communication, Francis’s stance was one of a clear sense of reference: to his spiritual fatherliness and to his moral authority as the spiritual guide of his communities. Here we see a Francis de Sales growing in understanding of his institutional communication skills, maintaining openness, flexibility, and firmness in confronting his adversaries.

At the same time, Francis wisely managed the processes and decisions regarding institutional communication, especially as bishop, writing letters, documents, texts, defending the Church’s teaching when faced with a context of theological and ecclesial conflict, in his approach to Calvinist adversaries, and in the difficult decisions he had to make as bishop.

Therefore, at a personal, interpersonal, and institutional level, Francis is revealed as a serene but firm communicator. He was gentle, yet determined, patient yet tenacious.

Polish Salesians and Others Assist Ukraine's Refugees

“There are more good people than you might think.”

(ANS – Warsaw – March 24, 2022) – The hard work of the Salesian Family around the world for the Ukraine emergency continues at full pace. The greatest burden of responsibility and practical work in the field at this stage falls on the Salesian works in Poland, which are giving their best not only to welcome the refugees, but also to convey their affection and human feeling for them.

“They asked us what we needed as soon as we arrived; they offered us everything, they gave us everything, they helped us with everything.... We will never forget them,” says Lydia, a Ukrainian refugee in Poland, about the welcome she received from so many Polish volunteers.

Lydia arrived in Warsaw from Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine, after 4 intense days of travel, together with her children, while her husband remained in Ukraine. They are worried, of course, “but we have hope in a peaceful future, which will come soon,” says the woman. Supporting her in her confidence is also the experience of solidarity she has received in this circumstance: “There are more good people around than you might think and, in these situations, you can see why they do everything with their heart,” she confided to Alberto Lopez, whom the Salesian Mission Office of Madrid sent to Poland.

Also coming from Poland is an initiative of solidarity carried out by some students from the Salesian schools of Pila, who brought food, clothing, and other materials to Poznan to be distributed to Ukrainian families. And another story of hope, again from Poland, specifically from Przemysl, just 9 miles from the border with Ukraine: that of Yana, Zlata, and Lev – a young Ukrainian mother and 2 children – who, thanks to the efforts of the Salesians of the city of Civitanova Marche in the Central Italy Province, are now safe from the war in that town in the Marche region.

“It was a truly moving experience,” said Fr. Alessio Massimi, director of the Civitanova Marche youth center. “We arrived in Przemysl at the Salesian house and unloaded the van loaded with so much generosity from our parishioners. During the days that we were there, we went to the center where the refugees are being received, a large shopping center, and we made ourselves available to do anything. We found a great organization. We, in particular, made the beds every day, because people were accepted but the next day they left for various destinations, some in Italy, some in Portugal, some in Spain, depending on where they wanted to go. On our return we picked up Yana, Zlata, and little Lev to take them to Civitanova, where their grandmother Natalia is waiting for them.”

The provincial of Sicily, Fr. Giovanni d’Andrea, informed ANS about reception developments in that province too: “We are finishing the placement of single-parent ‘mother-child’ units with ‘support families,’ so as to create a ‘broad-based accommodation.’ Today, with the help of a mediator, 4 children we welcomed, together with their mothers, have been included in the socio-educational activities of the Salesians’ Our Lady of La Salette Youth Center in Catania.”

Other news of solidarity arrives from South Korea, where between the disbursement of the province and the donations coming from other Catholic organizations, the Salesian coordination for the response to the emergency has brought in a large sum of money intended for the refugees. From the United States West Province, a single work, that of Bellflower, has collected a large sum of offerings that will be forwarded to the Salesian Mission Office of New Rochelle. In Great Britain, the entire community of the school of Chertsey, animated by the parent of a student who is an expert in finance and computer science, is involved in a major project to collect materials and programs to enable young Ukrainian refugees to follow lessons by videoconference from schools in their country.

Van, Cots, Food, Medicine

A Van, Cots, Food, Medicine
Stories and Faces of Hospitality in Massive Salesian Relief Operation

 

(ANS – Kyiv – March 21, 2022) – While the war in Ukraine continues and the world’s attention is on the chances of success of the negotiations, for those who remain in the bomb-torn country, the options to survive largely depend on international solidarity – a front on which the Salesians are always on the front line.

Without lighting and heating for days, sheltered in a cellar, with all the shops closed and able to buy bread only when it was distributed on the street – this was Natalka’s life with her children, aged 5 and 2, before leaving Kharkiv three weeks ago.

“The worst part was the cold for my children because all I could think about was what I was leaving behind – my husband – but most of all what I was gaining, saving their lives.”

They traveled for several days on foot, but also by bus and train until they reached Medyka, the border crossing with Poland. “The worst was the cold and the snow, carrying a baby in my arms, a big backpack, and holding the other child by the hand. It is very unjust what we are suffering,” she says.

Now that she is welcomed by the Salesians, it is not as if everything is resolved. The children are frightened as soon as they hear the sound of a plane and there is always fear for the fate of her husband, whom she calls every day. But Natalka is happy as long as she knows he is fine, and he is consoled by knowing the solidarity that the family receives, “from the Salesians, above all.”

Natalka’s family is certainly not the only one to be welcomed by the Polish Salesians. Overall, the sons of Don Bosco from the 4 Polish Provinces have prepared 1,117 places in Salesian refugee centers throughout Poland, of which 501 are already occupied. They are currently sharing what they have, but maintaining such a large number of refugees is costly, and they will need more and more support.

Despite the threat of war, they also managed to send dozens of humanitarian convoys to Ukraine. They bring medical supplies, food, blankets, generators, and personal hygiene items. The synergy is significant: for example, thanks to a collaboration with the mission office of Bonn, Germany, they managed to purchase 300 cots with as many pillows and bedspreads and 600 sets of bed linen and towels.

Another testimony of effective and efficient Salesian support comes from Zhytomyr, Ukraine, about 80 miles from Kyiv, where the local Salesian house received a new car as a gift on March 16.

Fr. Michal Wocial, a Salesian who works at the Salesian house, had asked for help after the old school bus broke down on one of the various trips to help refugees flee to Poland.

 “It was a priority operation for us,” says Fr. Jacek Zdzieborski, director of the Salesian mission office in Warsaw. “We were quickly able to find a seller of an 8-seat minivan with a large trunk, as was needed. A week later, the vehicle had already been purchased, imported, registered, and insured.”

And they were not long in finding a donor: the purchase was soon financed by Missioni Don Bosco, the Salesian mission office of Turin.

This is one of many examples of fruitful collaboration and God’s providence that we believe guided this enterprise. “It is incredible that in such a short time we were able to obtain a vehicle and complete all the formalities,” comments Fr. Zdzieborski.

The van left for its destination full of gifts, including a power generator, food, medical supplies, and blankets.

Finally, donations in money from all the Salesian and Salesian Family works around the world continue.

Homily for 3d Sunday of Lent

Homily for the
3d Sunday of Lent

March 20, 2022
Luke 13: 1-9
[adapted for] St. Joseph Residence, N.R.
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle

Do you think the citizens of Mariupol and Kiev are greater sinners than everyone else?

We don’t know anything else about whatever Pontius Pilate did in Galilee in the incident to which Jesus refers in today’s gospel; but apparently he had his Roman troops kill some people in connection with some religious gathering.  That fits the little we know from history about Pilate’s character—besides, of course, that he ordered the crucifixion of Jesus, an innocent man.

Nor do we know anything about the incident at Siloam in Jerusalem that killed 18 people, who may have been passers-by or perhaps workmen but who certainly were as innocent as the victims who make news in our time like the golf team killed on a Texas highway last Tuesday nite or people killed in the Midwest by a tornado. 

Jesus replies to whoever reported those tragedies to him that a like fate awaits them unless they repent.

And the innocent victims of Putin’s war on Ukraine?  They don’t deserve what’s happening to them.  Nor do the victims of war and terrorism in the Middle East, in Ethiopia, in Congo, in sub-Saharan Africa, and in numerous other places on our globe.  Nor do human beings in the womb who fall victim to Planned Parenthood, the policies promoted by our President and other officials, and unscrupulous physicians and lawyers.

Unlike the crash of a tower in Jerusalem or an auto accident on the highway, wars and violence are the results of human choices—multiple choices, not of a school test kind but of ongoing choices made by many individual actors, such as Putin and his advisors and his generals or terrorist leaders and their fanatic followers.  There is grave sin, mortal sin, at work here.  Those who don’t repent will meet a terrible fate, according to Jesus.  He doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll meet a violent end like some gangster or a drone-targeted terrorist or the leaders of Nazi Germany.  There is a worse fate than that.

Jesus cautions his listeners to heed the fate of sinners:  “If you do not repent, you will all perish” (Luke 13:3,5).  Undeniably, all of us are sinners, no better and no worse, probably, than Pilate’s Galilean victims or those on whom that tower collapsed—just ordinary people, ordinary people who sometimes make sinful choices in what we do to other people or what we say about other people:  our infidelities, lies, dishonesty, slanders, callous indifference, unwillingness to forgive, etc.  And undeniably, eventually we’re going to die and come to judgment.  Jesus Christ “is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.”

That judgment will result in a sentence of damnation for the unrepentant.  In this sacred season of Lent Jesus invites us to repent.  He is, after all, a merciful and loving Savior who doesn’t desire the death of sinners but their forgiveness and everlasting life—the same gift for all of us that he bestowed on the repentant outlaw at his side on Calvary (Luke 23:42-43).

(by James Tissot)

Jesus reinforces his warning to repent with a parable about a fig tree.  It hasn’t been productive, and its owner decides to cut it down (13:6-7).  His gardener, however, pleads for some patience with the tree (13:8).  Give it time to “repent,” so to say, and encourage that time with some attentive care.  Jesus is like that gardener; he brings to us his Father’s attentive care:  an invitation to repent, forgiveness lavishly bestowed, assurance that God loves us and wants us to be with him forever, even a willingness to carry our sins to the cross and thru the cross to defeat the powers of hell by rising from the dead and offering us a like resurrection.

So let’s listen to Jesus and “bear fruit” of repentance (13:9).  During Lent let’s examine our lives, acknowledge our sinful desires and behavior, go the sacrament of Reconciliation, and welcome an abundance of divine grace that will make our lives fruitful with virtue.

Homily for Commemoration of St. Cyril of Jerusalem

Homily for the Commemoration of
St. Cyril of Jerusalem

March 18, 2022
Collect
Provincial House, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Today’s Collect praises God for wonderfully leading the Church to a deeper sense of the mysteries of salvation thru the life and teachings of St. Cyril of Jerusalem.

He backed his orthodox faith by suffering exile 3 times at the hands of the Arians.  He taught the faith clearly to the catechumens and neophytes of Jerusalem, leaving us a beautiful collection of catecheses on Baptism, the Eucharist, and Christian life—much of which has become instructive but pleasant reading in the breviary each year.

It’s quite in keeping with Cyril’s mystagogy that we begin the Eucharist with a reference to the sacred mysteries we’re about to celebrate, and that today’s Prayer over the Offerings asks that God’s grace prepare us for the worthy celebration of these mysteries.

Immediately, the “mysteries” are these sacramental rites by which God’s own life comes to our altar, touches us, is consumed by us, and sanctifies us.  A few weeks hence are the paschal mysteries for which we’re preparing in the present season, asking that God’s grace make us worthy to celebrate them—to celebrate the paschal mysteries not only in the sacred triduum and its octave but also in the eternal Easter of our Risen Lord.

Salesians Care for Children and Refugees

While War Rages, Salesians Care for Children and Refugees

A group of Ukrainian refugees arrived in Sicily

(ANS – Rome – March 17, 2022) – “The children are afraid. As soon as the air-raid sirens start to sound, they run for shelter in the basements. We keep trying to help them in every possible manner. Currently there are many people who have arrived from the eastern regions here. This is life now.... And we are afraid too.” So says Lesia, one of the people currently residing in the Salesian house at Bibrka, not far from Lviv in western Ukraine.

“When an airplane flies over us, the children run to the windows. And they say to each other, ‘Whose is it? Ah, okay, it’s Ukrainian.’ Unfortunately, even the youngest children understand a little of what’s happening around them,” say the Salesians.

As the third week of the war draws to a close, the situation in Ukraine is becoming increasingly painful for many people. The Salesians, all of them of the 2 SDB provinces in the country, remain firmly at the side of the needy and, supported by international solidarity, continue to resist and to give hope, relief, comfort, and every kind of help to those in need.

The solidarity fund set up by the Salesian Coordination Team in Rome for the response to the emergency in Ukraine continues to receive donations from all over the world. Sometimes they are large sums of money, sometimes smaller donations, but like so many drops of water, they all go together to form a sea of good that translates into concrete and tangible help for those who are now left with just the clothes on their backs and little else.

Don Bosco Mission Bonn is receiving a large quantity of medicines from Action Medeor, the largest medical aid organization in Europe, which operates as the “emergency pharmacy of the world.” Thanks to the direct connections always maintained with the Ukrainian and Polish Salesians, the medicines and medical devices can be delivered directly to Ukraine.

As well as food aid: the Salesians of Krakow sent a new load of food to Kiev on March 16.

People in the U.S. and Canada may assist the Salesians of Ukraine and Poland thru Salesian Missions and the New Rochelle Province treasurer’s office.

In addition to the much-needed help to those who have remained in Ukraine, the work of welcoming refugees in various countries is also being renewed. The 48 people – women and children – picked up in a minibus by the Don Bosco 2000 Association, in collaboration with the Salesians’ Sicily Province, have arrived at their destination. The first photos taken of them on Italian soil convey the image of faces that are tired and frightened, but still capable of sketching a smile.

It should also be emphasized that several Salesian entities are receiving requests for further information and offers of donations from people and organizations with whom they were not in contact before: a sign that the good work done, together with the high attention to communication on the good done, are bearing fruit.

Finally, while the work of accompanying and welcoming refugees continues at full speed, the Salesians are also sounding the alarm raised by various NGOs active on the borders of Ukraine regarding the risks of human trafficking by unscrupulous individuals and organizations.

Living Valdocco Today

Living Valdocco Today

After a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the youth ministry office of the province of the Eastern United States and Canada organized the first retreat for Salesian youth leaders from all 9 SDB and FMA schools in the province at the Marian Shrine at Haverstraw, N.Y. The event involved 88 participants, including accompanying adults and 14 youth team members. The retreat was held March 4-10 with the goal of having student leaders experience a journey through Valdocco, where Don Bosco founded his first work among the young people of Turin. The retreat took the participants through what it means to be “Valdocco today” and also gave them the skills and knowledge on how to improve the Valdocco experience in their own schools.

Homily for Tuesday, Week 2 of Lent

Homily for Tuesday
2d Week of Lent

March 15, 2022
Matt 23: 1-12
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, New Rochelle

“Jesus said, ‘do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example’” (Matt 23: 2-3).

Jesus urges us his followers to be consistent in our discipleship—not only to talk about but to practice what we believe.  Our example is the true measure of our belonging to him.  Or, as Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, “By their fruits you will know them” (Matt 7:20).

He goes on to command humility:  not to seek titles and honors, which is always a temptation, not to take pleasure in the respect that others show us, which can leave us feeling smug.  Rather, “The greatest among you must be your servant” (23:11).  Our true honor is in serving our brothers and sisters.  Our satisfaction comes from imitating our Lord, who “came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45).  Aren’t we most grateful for people like our mothers who selflessly looked after us and our siblings, and nurses who tend the sick and frail similarly?

Finally, Jesus reminds us that, no matter if we’ve had a precious mentor or 2 in our lives, he’s our real teacher, the one who teaches us what we really need to know:  the way to eternal life.  Jesus reminds us that regardless of whom we rightfully respect or pay homage to, our real Father is his Father, the one to whom our ultimate allegiance belongs—not to “my country right or wrong,” not to the Yankees or the Gaels, not even to our religious superior.  We “have but one Father in heaven” (23:9).

Salesian Family Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees

“I was a stranger and you welcomed me...” (Matt 25:35)

The Salesian Family Welcomes Ukrainian Refugees

(ANS – Rome – March 14, 2022) – The war in Ukraine has given rise to an important flow of generosity. These days, initiatives to collect funds, basic necessities, and direct hospitality for the Ukrainian population fleeing the war are proliferating. Here are the latest updates.

As soon as he received the task of supervising the implementation of Salesian activities, services, and programs in the field throughout the territory directly involved, Fr. Krzysztof Grzendziński, treasurer of the Warsaw Province of Poland, got in touch with Fr. Jacek Zdzieborski, head of the Salesian Mission Office in Warsaw. They discussed how to make the information and communication service on Salesian actions more effective in this situation.

In addition, work has begun to tighten the network with those involved in the country’s other provinces – Krakow, Wroclaw, and Pila – and in Slovakia and Ukraine. The intention is to focus more on helping “host families” who receive refugees in their homes. Work is also being done in favor of orphans and the creation of an asylum. And another idea that has emerged is to create a database on job opportunities to offer Ukrainian refugee parents.

In terms of economic aid to the provinces on the front line, donations continue to arrive from all over the Salesian world. People in the U.S. and Canada may assist the Salesians of Ukraine and Poland thru Salesian Missions and the New Rochelle Province treasurer’s office.

Even at the level of groups of the Salesian Family, we can report direct and committed participation in solidarity: this is witnessed by the global initiatives promoted by groups such as the Salesian Cooperators and the Salesian Sisters.

As for hospitality, then, if it is true that the lion’s share is made by the provinces closest to the western borders of Ukraine, several provinces throughout Europe are also finding more and more spaces to host those in need. Because, as Fr. Giovanni D’Andrea, provincial of the Salesians of Sicily recalled, “it is a commitment that goes well beyond the collection of money or material, it is a question of sharing their dramatic experience with any refugees.”

So on Sunday, March 13, the association Don Bosco 2000, which works with the Salesians of Sicily, with Fr. Marcin Kaznowski, provincial of Krakow, organized a bus to bring 48 women and children from Przemysl, Poland, to Alcamo, Sicily. 36 of these refugees will be housed in a structure of the association, and 12 in families who have given their availability.

In the Piedmont and Valle d’Aosta Province, the number of Salesian families and communities who have made themselves available to host refugees has risen to 118. In Chieri, in agreement with the Salesians of Lviv, with some families, and with the city government, the Salesians organized the journey and the reception of 31 refugees (mothers, children, and adolescents), who arrived at their destination on March 11.

Finally, the last front, the spiritual one, should not be forgotten either. Here, too, the initiatives are innumerable. Just to mention a few: the secretariat of the Salesian Youth Movement in Piedmont proposes that on every Monday evening of Lent the Rosary be recited in common to implore peace. The students, Salesians, and staff of the Salesian Institute of Macao, China, gathered in a moment of prayer for peace in Ukraine on March 4.

Homily for 2d Sunday of Lent

Homily for the
2d Sunday of Lent

March 13, 2022
Luke 9: 28-36
St. Joseph, New Rochelle, N.Y.
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

(by Carl Bloch)

“Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and spoke of his exodus that he was going to accomplish in Jerusalem” (Luke 9: 30-31).

Jesus has gone up a mountain to pray.  In prayer he becomes so absorbed in God that his person reflects God’s presence; the divinity hidden under his human nature shines forth.  We say that his humanity’s transfigured.  The glory of God transforms him.

He’s joined by 2 other figures.  Moses and Elijah summarize all the history of Israel, all of Israel’s experience with God.  Thru Moses God established a covenant with Israel and made them a united people to whom God gave the Promised Land, a land flowing with milk and honey.  Elijah was the 1st of the great prophets thru whom God continually called Israel to be faithful to the covenant.

Both Moses and Elijah “appear in glory.”  They’re in heaven with God and reflect divine light.  A powerful aura is around them, more than the halo we imagine around the heads of the saints.  They speak with Jesus about “his exodus in Jerusalem.”

We associate Moses with the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt, their liberation from slavery by the power of God, their crossing of the Red Sea, and their wandering in the desert on their journey to the Promised Land.  An exodus is literally a “road out,” a going forth.  Moses has reached the glory of heaven by leading Israel on their exodus, their journey from slavery to the Promised Land.

Elijah also had an exodus in the 1st half of the 9th century B.C.—not as dramatic as Moses’.  When he had to flee from the wrath of pagan Queen Jezebel, he walked for 40 days from Israel to Mt. Horeb, which is another name for Mt. Sinai.  That was his “road out,” his journey from danger to the presence of God.  And God confirmed him in his role as a prophet.

So Moses and Elijah have experienced each an exodus.  Now they talk with Jesus, you could say as his coaches, about the journey he’s “going to accomplish in Jerusalem.”  His journey isn’t to Jerusalem but in Jerusalem.  It’s not something that he’ll merely endure but something that he’ll “accomplish.”

As we know, Jesus will journey in Jerusalem following the road of his trials before the Jewish leaders and Pontius Pilate to Mt. Calvary to a tomb to resurrection.  His exodus will be his passion.  We call his exodus the “paschal mystery,” linking it to the Hebrews’ pasch or Passover in Egypt and to their sacrifice of the paschal lamb whose blood saved them when the angel of death passed over Egypt smiting every 1st-born of the Egyptians.  By accomplishing his exodus, Jesus will reach heavenly glory as Moses and Elijah did.  That is, Jesus, fully human in a body like ours, will be glorified thru his death and resurrection.  The temporary glory that the 3 chosen apostles witness on the mountain will become the unending glory of Jesus Christ, God the Father’s “chosen Son” (9:35).

The 3 apostles are commanded to “listen to” this chosen Son (9:35).  When they listen to Jesus—when we, disciples of Jesus, listen to him—they and we will travel our own exodus, our own journey out of the earthly realm that’s under the power of the Devil (as we heard in Jesus’ temptations last week [Luke 4:6]) into the reign of God.  If you have any doubt about who rules the world, consider the wars going on—not only in Ukraine; and abortion, the drug trade, sex trafficking, corporate greed.  We have a life’s journey—a pilgrimage, in the traditional language of Christian faith—to accomplish.  Our journey, like the journeys of Moses, Elijah, and our master Jesus, is a long one, a hard one, one that sometimes involves deprivation and suffering.

Many of our brother and sister disciples of Jesus suffer persecution today because they follow Jesus.  In sub-Saharan Africa, Muslim terrorists attack them.  In Mexico, priests and catechists who speak against drug trafficking are killed.  Christians are harassed and driven from their homes in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East.  Christians, including nuns and priests, are assaulted and prosecuted in Pakistan and parts of India.  Churches are knocked down in China and Christians coerced into obeying the government’s religious rules.

In Western countries—in Europe, North America, and Australia—Christians are taken to court for refusing to approve of homosexuality and transgenderism, and hospitals and medical personnel are pressured to perform abortions and medically unnecessary surgery, and pharmacists pressured to prescribe contraceptives.  If one preaches what the Scriptures (or biology, for that matter), say about human sexuality like a Lutheran bishop in Finland at this time, one can be charged with the crime of hate speech, creating a hostile environment, fomenting violence against gay or trans people.

This isn’t to mention your day-to-day challenges, or mine, of living as a faithful disciple of Jesus—to keep the commandments, to be faithful spouses, to be forgiving, to be patient, to be gentle, to be diligent workers, to respect the reputation of our neighbor, to welcome strangers and refugees, to defend people who are in danger (like the people of Ukraine).

Our exodus with Jesus will lead to glory with him.  We believe this.  We profess it every time we say the Creed at Mass or as part of the Rosary.  The 4th stanza of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” sings, in part:  “In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea, With a glory in His bosom That transfigures you and me; … He died to make men holy….”  The transfigured glory of Jesus was an encouragement to Peter, John, and James on the mountain, and it’s a promise to us.  The glory of Jesus attained thru his exodus in Jerusalem transfigures us into holy men and women, into saints.

Salesian HS Team Takes 2d Place in N.J. Championship Competition

Salesian Eagle One Team Finishes Second at Robotics Championship

(ANS – New Rochelle, N.Y. – March 7, 2022) - The Salesian Eagle One robotics team from Salesian High School in New Rochelle ranked 2d in its category at the FTC New Jersey State Championships, out of 24 participating teams. The Salesian Eagle One team consists of students Aidan O'Driscoll (captain, builder), Aaron Jiang (programmer), Nick Sanchez (driver), Eric Deda (builder, wiring specialist), Kenneth Paredez (programmer), and Ken Nze (developer). Fr. Paul Chu, SDB, is their coach.

Diocese Starts Inquiry for Beatification of Akash Bashir

Diocese Starts Inquiry for Beatification of Akash Bashir

(ANS – Rome – March 11, 2022) – On Tuesday, March 15, at the cathedral of Lahore, Pakistan, Abp. Sebastian Francis Shaw, OFM, will officially open the diocesan inquiry into the martyrdom, reputation for holiness, and signs of the Servant of God Akash Bashir (June 22, 1994 - March 15, 2015).

Exactly seven years have passed since the day when Akash Bashir, 20 years old, a past pupil of Don Bosco, sacrificed himself to prevent a suicide bomber from causing a massacre in St. John Church in Youhannabad, a Christian neighborhood in Lahore. Akash had studied at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Lahore and was a security volunteer at the parish church.

The Catholic Church of Pakistan awaits with great anticipation this event, which marks the beginning of the first cause of beatification and canonization of a Pakistani Christian.

The Salesian Congregation is promoting the cause, the World Confederation of Past Pupils of Don Bosco as co-petitioner. The postulator is Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB.

Bryan Magro, world president of the Past Pupils of Don Bosco, wrote: “The testimony of Akash Bashir, who gave his life until death, has left a profound impression on us as past pupils of Don Bosco and on the entire Salesian Family. We cannot and do not want to lose the memory of young Akash. His simple and normal life is undoubtedly an extremely meaningful and important example for the young Christians of Lahore, all of Pakistan, and the Salesian world. The life and martyrdom of this young Pakistani, only 20 years old, makes us recognize the power of the Holy Spirit of God, alive, present in the least expected places, in the humble, in the persecuted, in the young, in God’s little ones. Akash Bashir, a Salesian alumnus of Pakistan, is testimony to Don Bosco’s Preventive System, an example for our young people and a blessing for religious minorities.”

Polish Salesians Aiding Ukrainian People

Polish Salesians Aiding Ukrainian People

From the website of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle:

Please take a moment to watch this beautiful and very touching video of the Salesians in Poland organizing humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people ... and please share! It is posted on our Youtube channel.

 

https://youtu.be/AF_n3Gc8mWQ

Fr. Isidore "Sid" Figlia, SDB (1930-2022)

Fr. Isidore “Sid” Figlia, SDB
(1930-2022)

Fr. Sid in 2010

Fr. Isidore Joseph Figlia, SDB, familiarly known as Fr. Sid, died "of old age" at St. Philip the Apostle Residence in Tampa on Sunday morning, March 6.  He was 91 years old and had been a professed Salesian of Don Bosco for 63 years, a priest for 53 years. He had been in poor health for a long time, including a bout with Covid-19 in 2020.  After a brief hospitalization this winter, he went into hospice care at home on February 25.

Although his early documents, such as his Don Bosco College record and Salesian directories, give his name as Isidore, for most of his Salesian life he signed himself, officially and unofficially, as Sid or Sidney.

Fr. Sid served in many of the works of the New Rochelle Province, most notably 11 years in Boston at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club of East Boston as executive director (1976-1982) and at Don Bosco Tech as director (1987-1992), and 19 years at St. John Bosco Parish in Harvey, La., as assistant pastor (1984-1987) and pastor (1994-2010).

Sid was born on April 8, 1930, in Brooklyn, son of James and Frances Marchese Figlia.  He entered the life of Christ through Baptism at St. Joseph Church in Brooklyn on May 25 that year and was confirmed in 1940 at St. Bridget Church in Ridgewood, Queens.

After high school, Sid served in the U.S. Army; he was discharged in January 1952 as a sergeant.  He entered the Sons of Mary Program at Don Bosco College in Newton, N.J., on July 1, 1956.  In September 1957 he was admitted to St. Joseph’s Novitiate in Newton under the tutelage of Fr. Aloysius Bianchi.  The class was large—42 altogether when the roster was provided to Turin for the elenco.  Among them were Frank Carabello, Noel De Bruton, Tom Glackin, Al Marshall, Hector Poulin, Dick Presenti, Jack Trisolini, and Steve Whelan.  They professed as Salesians at Newton on September 8, 1958.

Following graduation from Don Bosco College in June 1961 with his B.A. in philosophy, Bro. Sid began practical training as a teacher and assistant Don Bosco Agricultural School in Huttonsville, W.Va., where the students included both boarders and day boys.  The following year he was assigned to Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa (1962-1964).  MHC’s enrollment of about 145 in grades 5-9 was 99.7% boarders.  Bro. Sid was charged with assisting in the ninth grade (or “small”) dormitory, capacity about 20 boys who were sometimes a little rambunctious (as witnessed by this writer).  On more than one occasion, the prefect of studies, Fr. Orlando Molina had to intervene after lights-out.  Bro. Sid taught English and social studies to the younger lads and had other assistance responsibilities, of course.

Possibly from practical training days in Tampa:

Bro. Sid with a large crawling critter (MHC Center)

After professing perpetual vows at Newton on June 27, 1964, Bro. Sid embarked on theological studies at the Istituto Salesiano in Bollengo, Italy, near Ivrea.  His classmates included Bros. Frank Carabello, Hector Poulin, and Peter Sella.

The American students at Bollengo posing with the Rector Major, Fr. Aloysius Ricceri (center, arms crossed), in 1967. From l-r: Bros. Dominic Salamone, Floyd Rotunno, Sid, John Vetere, Tony D’Angelo, Jim Naughton, Steve Whelan, Charles Ruloph, Hector Poulin, Dick Presenti, Pete Sella, and Tony Fasulo. (MHC Center)

After three years, he was happy to return to the U.S. as part of the first contingent of Salesians enrolled at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio; he was the only fourth-year man, Bros. Carabello, Poulin, and Sella having chosen to finish their studies in Italy.  The SDB community lived at the Joss in the former convent behind St. Turibius Chapel.  Faculty members Fr. Jerry Sesto and Art Lenti, however, had faculty quarters.  Bro. Sid’s studies culminated in priestly ordination at the Josephinum on June 1, 1968.  He completed his Master of Divinity degree from the Josephinum in 1975.

Fr. Sid’s ordination photo (Province Archives)

Newly ordained Fr. Sid was posted to Don Bosco College in Newton as dean of students for two years—an assignment he didn’t particularly relish.  Perhaps with academia in mind, he started a Master’s program in history at Seton Hall University in 1969 but didn’t go far into it.  In fact, in 1970 he was sent back to Tampa as vice principal for one year and as prefect during a second year.  In 1972 he moved again, this time to Salesian Junior Seminary in Goshen, N.Y., as principal for two years.

His replacement as principal in Goshen was Fr. Bill Keane, newly ordained.  “The super guy he was,” Fr. Bill writes, “he had everything ready for me in the office and a little bottle of something in my room for those cold winter nights!  The man thought of everything!  He was a barrel of fun and a great Salesian.”

Fr. Sid returned to Italy with Fr. Romeo Trottier in 1974 for a program in Salesian studies at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, coming away certified in that field.  Then in 1975 it was back to Newton for a one-year stint as dean of the Sons of Mary.

A change of pace from school and formation work came in 1976 with his assignment to East Boston as executive director of the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, located at the time on Paris Street.  The success of his six-year tenure, as well as of his broader priestly ministry, was recognized by the Club in 2011 with the Don Bosco Award.

Fr. Sid during his time in East Boston. (Province Archives)

Fr. John Nazzaro, the Club’s executive director at the time of the award, commented after Fr. Sid’s death:  “Fr. Sid was a great gift to the Salesian Boys & Girls Club in East Boston.  Along with the staff he brought credibility to the Salesian work.  He saw the ‘Salesian Oratory’ affiliated with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.  Under his leadership the Club went co-ed, was sponsored by the United Way, was always fiscally solvent, and took on the name Salesian Boys & Girls Club.  I treasure the time I lived with Fr. Sid and the opportunity I had to learn from him.  He was very close to my family, especially my sister Marie, who was a board member of the Club for several years.  Wherever he was stationed, Fr. Sid brought to his priesthood a clear vision of reality and a no-nonsense approach to his ministry.”

Fr. Sid with Fr. John Nazzaro, Orange, N.J., 2011

Despite six years in East Boston, two-year assignments remained something of a pattern for Fr. Sid.  In 1982 he went to Don Bosco Multimedia Center in New Rochelle, N.Y., as treasurer, working under the leadership of Fr. Joseph Perozzi, who died in September 1983, and Fr. John Malloy.

In 1984 he began a triennium of parochial ministry at newly founded St. John Bosco Parish in Harvey, La., as Fr. Emil Fardellone’s assistant.  That ministry ended with an appointment as director of Don Bosco Tech in Boston, where he served five years.

Outgoing director of Don Bosco Tech Fr. Ken McAlice (right) is ready to hand off the school and community to Fr. Sid in 1987. (Province Archives)

In 1992 he went “on loan” for one year to St. Mary of the Lakes, a parish at Medford in the Trenton, N.J., Diocese.

Returning to Salesian life and remaining in New Jersey, he served as assistant pastor under Fr. Vince Zuliani at St. Anthony Church in Elizabeth (1993-1994).  Then came 16 years that, at least initially, were the happiest of his priestly life:  pastor of St. John Bosco in Harvey.  He had a thriving parish and shared a thriving parochial school with the other Salesian parish in town, St. Rosalie.  For six years he was assisted by Fr. Ernest Faggioni, for four years he had no assistant, and then he was assisted for another six years by Fr. Joseph Vien.

Fr. Sid was loved by his parishioners, enjoyed the comradeship and parochial assistance of his confreres at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, and was close to his old classmate, Fr. Frank Carabello, who had become a priest of the New Orleans Archdiocese and was pastor in neighboring Gretna.

From Marrero Fr. Steve Ryan writes that Fr. Sid was “a good friend of many here in Louisiana.  He cared deeply for people—very deeply.  He prayed for anyone who was going through a hard time.  It always gave you comfort that Fr. Sid was rooting for you in difficult moments of your life.”

Fr. Sid made a favorable impression on Fr. Pascual Chavez, regional councilor for Interamerica (1996-2002) and then Rector Major (2002-2014):  “I met him the first time at Louisiana, and since the first moment he gave me a very good impression for his human quality, priestly zeal, and Salesian identity.”

Hurricane Katrina in the late summer of 2005 changed everything—for New Orleans, for the West Bank, and for St. John Bosco Parish.  Fr. Sid continued his faithful service for five more years, but the parish and the school struggled with the storm damage, the departure of many people, and a heavy blow to the local economy.

In October 2008 the Marrero community celebrated Fr. Sid’s 40th anniversary of ordination and 50th of religious profession. L-R: Bro. Joe Tortorici, Fr. Tom McGahee, Fr. Jim Heuser (provincial), Fr. Sid, Fr. Frank Carabello, Fr. Jim McKenna, and Bro. Dave Verrett. (photographer unknown)

In 2010 Fr. Sid moved back north, assigned to the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw, N.Y., where the local folk who came to daily and Sunday Masses appreciated his ministry.  One of those quasi-parishioners tells a tale that he called “Humor in Vestments:  The Rockin’ Cell.”  It was a weekday Advent Mass with about 60 people on hand, and Fr. Sid was preaching on the Lord’s gifts, pausing frequently after tossing out a question and giving people time to think.  Then the silence of a pause was interrupted:  “from out of nowhere…, the melody of ‘Silent Night’ blasted away from a sinful cell phone.  Nice tune, wrong place.”  As Fr. Sid continued his homily with questions and silences, “Silent Night” also continued.  As people looked around, trying to scope out the perp, Fr. Sid “started turning red,” and our narrator was afraid he was going to blow up in anger.  As Fr. Sid turned “beet red,” he reached into his pocket … and turned off his cell phone.  Then came unrestrained laughter from everyone.  And Fr. Sid concluded his homily on the Lord’s gifts:  “Thank you, Lord, for the gift of laughter.”

But Fr. Sid was able to regale the good people of the Marian Shrine for only that one year, 2010-2011.  He made his final trip to Mary Help of Christians Center in Tampa in 2011 to take up residence at the Salesian assisted living facility, St. Philip the Apostle Residence.  It wasn’t in order to retire, however.  Deacon Ed Anctil of Mary Help testifies:  “Since joining the St. Philip Community, Fr. Sid was the confessor every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Mary Help of Christians Parish and then he would remain to concelebrate the 11:00 Mass.  Even in his last years, as his physical health declined he was ever faithful.  In the end he would drive his motorized wheelchair to the church and sit in the relic room, since his chair was too big to fit in the confessional.  His warmth, tenderness, smile, and caring were ever present to those who sought comfort in the sacrament of Reconciliation. He will truly be missed.”

Fr. Sid at the party for his 91st birthday in April 2021 (MHC Center)

Funeral services for Fr. Sid were held at Mary Help of Christians Parish in Tampa: wake on Wednesday, March 9, and Mass of Christian Burial on March 10.  Fr. Franco Pinto, MHC's director, presided and preached at the funeral.

On Saturday, March 12, Fr. Sid was waked at the Marian Shrine Chapel, in Haverstraw. A 2d Mass of Christian Burial followed, celebrated by Fr. Tim Zak, provincial; Fr. Tom Ruekert preached.  Burial (amid a winter storm) took place at the Salesian Cemetery in Goshen.