After the 2022 Provincial Chapter

After the 2022 Provincial Chapter

Our Eastern U.S.-Canada Province held its every-3-years provincial chapter from July 10 to 15.  At the "invitation" of Fr. Provincial, I'd been working on its preparation and organization since last September.  The chapter ended on Friday (except for remaining paperwork), I prepared for and celebrated one Sunday Mass, and I had 2 medical appointments on Monday.  Then, as soon as I could "escape," I took a clear-my-mind camping trip in Harriman State Park on Tuesday-Wednesday, July 19-20.

Photos:  https://link.shutterfly.com/rjuAR4vHQrb

I parked along Rte 106 (Kanawauke Rd) in the lot where the White Bar Trail crosses the road. There were 4 or 5 cars there 

(and when I returned on Wednesday nite, no others), but I didn’t encounter anyone on my trails.

Instead of going straight up Island Pond Road, the easier way to go, the way Fr. Jim Mulloy and I've used too many times to count, for a variation and some exploration, I hiked up the White Bar and Nurian trails (a combined 1 mile, thus .25 mile longer than the direct road) to the Nurian's intersection with Island Pond Road.  (On my way back, I took the direct IPR route all the way).

Another hiker reports the same basic hike, adding a couple of side trips: https://scenesfromthetrail.com/2017/05/20/boston-mine-and-island-pond-harriman-state-park/

There's a secluded, shaded camping area just before Island Pond where Fr. Jim and I have camped several times.  I reached it in about an hour, set up camp, 

and ate lunch (peanut butter and Ritz crackers).  I hung up my bear bag 

so as not to have to worry about my food while I was at the pond.  

At the pond I met a couple of seniors and 2 dogs enjoying the sun and the water.  I fetched about 4 liters of water from the pond (filtering, of course) and swam.  Before I retired for the nite, I took a couple more dips--such a relief from the heat!  Other traffic on the pond included a few kayakers.  

If it hadn't been so hot (above 90 degrees), I'd have pitched my tent inside the ruins of the ranger station at lakeside. 

But there's precious little shelter from the heat there.

Back in camp, I read, prayed, and had supper around 5:30.  In the sun the heat was oppressive; it must have been 10 degrees cooler in the shade, not really uncomfortable.  I didn’t need my tent fly in the warm, dry weather.  Insects weren’t bad at all on Tuesday and most of Wednesday, but I did come home with several itchy bites.  The site includes a fine fire pit, but no fire was necessary.  I slept better than I usually do when camping, and better than I did at the chapter.

I heard more visitors heading to the pond in early evening but didn’t see them (the campsite is well off the trail); judging from the noise they were pre-adolescent females screeching (anyone who has a sister or has worked a day camp understands!).  

On Wednesday, I was up at dawn and went to pond but only took pictures.  I celebrated Mass, ate, 

Coffee and oatmeal for breakast

prayed, read some more.  I had to move my chair from time to time to keep in the shade. 

No real napping.  Another gent and pooch visited the lake.  I swam some more.

I’d considered staying out one more nite but decided I’d had enuf R&R.  So I packed up gradually, alternating with reading and a bit of prayer (no ecstasies or other mystical experiences).  I had my freeze-dried supper between 5:00 and 5:30, 

Mac and cheese with Crystal Lite, 

followed by freeze-dried chocolate cheesecake (not shown)

finished packing, and was on the outward trail (Island Pond Road) at 6:25, back at the car at 7:20, home at 8:30.  On my hike out, I saw a flock of turkeys, 1 little snake in the road, and 1 deer 20 feet off the road that didn’t even go bounding off into the woods.  I hope no one’s disappointed that I had no ursine encounters.

It was a nice, relaxing, peaceful trip.  Solitude is good for the soul and even for the body!

Homily for 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 24, 2022
Ps 138: 1-3, 6-8
Luke 11: 1-13
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me” (cf. Ps 138: 3).

Abraham and his 3 guests (Rembrandt)

The 1st reading (Gen 18: 20-32) is the immediate sequence to last week’s 1st reading—the only time in the Sunday lectionary when we get such a sequence on consecutive Sundays.  Today’s passage concerns Abraham’s pleading with the Lord, one of the guests whom he’s entertained with a meal and conversation.  The conversation with the Lord reported today is a prayer on Abraham’s part, an extended dialog with God, in the form of bargaining like someone in the village market haggling about the price of a goat or a bolt of cloth.  What Abraham aims to purchase is the life of his nephew Lot, who lives in Sodom.  And the Lord hears Abraham’s prayer.

That leads us to the psalm response:  “Lord, on the day I called for help, you answered me.”  Ps 138 is a prayer of thanksgiving to God for deliverance from enemies and for other blessings, including the possibility of worshiping the Lord in the temple in Jerusalem.

When we pray, we’re often asking the Lord’s help in some fashion.  We need an abundance of his help in numerous aspects of our lives.  This psalm prayer, Ps 138, like our Eucharist, is thanksgiving for the help the Lord has already provided.  The psalm begins, “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with all my heart.”  That’s what we do at Mass, thanking God for the great gift of Jesus Christ:  for the deliverance he has won for us from our sins and from eternal death.  In the Eucharist Christ is personally present to us not only with his body and blood, his soul and divinity, but also with his grace and power for us to have a right and holy relationship with his Father.  In the Eucharist we pray that, persevering in grace, we may come to be counted among God’s saints, and we pray for the eternal life of all believers who’ve gone before us—indeed, we pray for the whole world.  Baptism has made all of us a priestly people thru our relationship with Christ, and we exercise our Christian priesthood by interceding with Jesus’ Father for the salvation of the whole world.

(by Maximilian Piotrowski)

The psalm praises God for helping us on our day of need:  “You have heard the words of my mouth.  When I called you answered me.  Your right hand saves me” (138:1,3,7).  The psalm refers to our enemies.  The original composer of the psalm probably had in mind personal enemies, as David might have had Saul in mind when Saul was seeking his life, or when David had to flee Jerusalem when Absalom rebelled against him.

Certainly it’s fitting for us to pray for deliverance from enemies or anyone who wishes us harm, or from danger when we travel or from illness.  We can pray very appropriately for others who are oppressed unjustly, like the people of Ukraine and Hong Kong or villagers in El Salvador terrorized by gangs.

More important is to pray for deliverance from our ultimate enemy, the one who seeks our eternal damnation.  We pray with the psalmist, “Against the anger of my enemies you raise your hand” (138:7).  Christ has been raised from the dead to overcome the hatred of Satan and all the demons of hell.  Christ teaches us to pray, “Do not subject us to the final test” (Luke 11:4) and to pray with persistence for the gift of the Holy Spirit (11:8,13).

Every schoolchild and a lot of college students dread “the final test”—even graduate students facing a comprehensive exam or defending a dissertation.  The followers of Jesus are tested every day.  Our sisters and brothers in China, Pakistan, Nigeria, and other places live in constant danger of persecution:  arrest, mob violence, kidnaping, etc.  Their faith in Christ is constantly put to the test.  So is our faith, specifically in adhering to the moral teachings of the Scriptures in the face of relentless “progressive” policies on matters of human life and sexuality, and in the face of “regressive” policies on migration and asylum, the climate and the environment, and capital punishment.  (Last week Pope Francis reminded us that protecting God’s creation is not optional for Christians.)  In the Lord’s Prayer we pray that God’s kingdom come (Luke 11:2), that God be the ruler of our lives.  If we mean that, we’ll stand up for what Christ and his Church teach us on such public policies, regardless of opinion polls, the media, and our political leaders.

“Do not subject us to the final test” might also take a more personal meaning.  It may be something like what Jesus faced in the Garden of Gethsemane, so afraid of his coming passion and death that he sweated blood.  Our own approaching death—we always have to keep before our eyes the fact that we’re going to die and come before Christ to give an account of our lives—the approach of death might fill us with a dread like Jesus’.  The thought of judgment might tempt us to despair of our salvation—a “final test” thrown at us by Satan.  Do we really trust the great mercy of God, mercy he readily bestows on repentant sinners?  Jesus tells us to be persistent in begging God for what we need (Luke 11:8)—and that’s forgiveness, mercy, salvation.  He tells us to keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking at the Father’s door (11:9-10).  Our heavenly Father, he says, is far better than any earthly parent and won’t hesitate to “give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him” (11:13)—the Spirit who makes us holy temples of God, the Spirit who unites us firmly with Jesus our Savior.  Fortified by the Spirit, we can face any assault, any trial, any test of Satan.

When we’re tested, may God in his kindness and his truth deliver us; may his right hand save us; may he complete his work of salvation in us (Ps 138:2,7-8).

Celebrating 30 Years of Church's Presence in Mongolia

Celebrating 30 Years of the Church’s Presence in Mongolia

(ANS – Ulan Bator – July 15, 2022) – In a mission country like Mongolia – where there are about 1,300 Catholics out of a population of more than 3 million people – remembering one’s roots and joining forces with all those involved in evangelization are two fundamental attitudes in order to be able to continue sowing the Gospel message. That is why the Salesians in Mongolia were pleased to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Catholic Church’s presence in Mongolia with the rest of the country’s small ecclesial reality.

In July 1992, after the fall of the Communist regime, the Church was able to return to the country: the first missionaries sent belonged to the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and were Frs. Wenceslaus Padilla, Gilbert Sales, and Robert Goessens.

So on July 9, Abp. Alfred Xuereb, apostolic nuncio to both South Korea and Mongolia, and his secretary came to the tomb of Bp. Wenceslaus Padilla, together with the prefect apostolic of Ulan Bator, Cardinal-elect Giorgio Marengo, and all the missionaries of Mongolia – including the Salesians – and some Mongolian friends. Fr. Gilbert Sales came specially from the Philippines. Bp. Padilla had been the head of the mission “sui iuris” since 1992, and then the first prefect apostolic of Ulan Bator, until his death in 2018.

For the occasion, the apostolic nuncio blessed the new altar next to Bp. Padilla’s tomb and celebrated Mass. Then Bp. Marengo shared some information about the Church’s mission in the country and what is being accomplished and said that all together they were building the dream of the late Bp. Padilla, “who today will be happy to see us from Heaven gathered around him, humbly loving and serving our beloved Mongolia.”

The main celebration took place the following day, Sunday, July 10: early in the morning many parishioners arrived at the cathedral from many places, the most distant from more than 250 miles away, some bringing food and drinks for the feast day, while others started cooking in the area. By 10:00 a.m., many priests were invited to hear confessions for the many attendees as the cathedral filled with people: guests, visitors, many leaders of different religions.

During the solemn Eucharist, the nuncio expressed a message of gratitude: to God, the pioneers, and the missionaries who still live and work for the mission of the Mongolian Church! But his words of gratitude were also extended to the local government, the people, the faithful, and all the friends inside and outside the country who accompany in various ways, factually or with prayers, this mission.

“The mission started 30 years ago: it seems a long time, but for God, it will seem to be yesterday ... and the mission still goes on with many challenges and changes, but all in hope, faith, with sacrifice and witness!” commented Fr. Andrew Tin Nguyen, a Salesian originally from Vietnam who is serving in Darkhan.

The Salesian presence in Mongolia is under the care of the Province of Vietnam and was started in 2001, with a technical school and oratory in the capital, Ulan Bator. In 2004, a parish with youth center was started in Darkhan, in the north-central region of the country; finally, since 2016, they have also taken over the pastoral care of the mission in Shuwuu, not far from the capital.

Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 17, 2022
Psalm 15: 2-5
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

“He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord” (Ps 15: 2).

Abraham hosts 3 visitors (Gerbrand van den Eeckhout)

The responsorial psalm praises the just person.  In today’s liturgy it’s a response to the actions of Abraham, one of the biblical models of a just man, a man who strives to be close to God and carry out what God asks.  That’s demonstrated in our 1st reading by his hospitality to strangers—who are in fact the Lord and 2 angels.  These respond to Abraham’s graciousness by telling him that the promise which God made to him years earlier is about to be fulfilled:  his wife will finally bear him a son.

The psalm is for us more than for Abraham.  It promises eternal life to the just person:  he or she “will live in the presence of the Lord.”  The basic question is, what makes us just?  How do we merit eternal life?

The psalm identifies behaviors that a just person does, like thinking truthfully (15:2), or doesn’t do, like slandering other people (15:3).

Other faults brought out in the psalm include causing harm to someone (15:3); taking up a reproach against one’s neighbor (15:3), which I suppose means gossiping and publicizing someone’s faults for the sake of tearing down that person; lending money at usury (15:5), which we could say means taking financial advantage of people; accepting bribes, especially in the execution of justice (15:5).

The psalm also points to 3 positive behaviors.  I already mentioned truthfulness.  Another is “despising the reprobate” (15:4), i.e., looking down on wrongdoers, not approving of evil actions, not honoring or celebrating criminal or immoral behavior (e.g., drug dealing, human trafficking, adultery, abortion).  And there’s “honoring those who fear the Lord” (15:4).

On one level, these are very personal qualities.  Being a just person before God means being a man or woman of truth and integrity, one who respects the reputations of others, gives reverence to God, uses one’s resources fairly and compassionately, honors good people.

On another level, the psalm refers to all of us, to society.  Are our communications, our mass media, our social media just and truthful in their reporting and their opinions?  Sex and violence sell newspapers and generate box office ratings.  Do we promote violence and sexual immorality by what we watch, the video games we play, the supermarket tabloids we read?

Are we as a nation compassionate toward the needy—the victims of natural disasters, refugees from war, persecution, the rampant violence in some countries, economic hardship?  How is it that some Western societies, including our own, practically reject refugees from civil wars in the Middle East and gang violence in Central America but are far more welcoming to refugees from Ukraine?  Is there a double standard there, a discriminatory standard?  Instead of despising the reprobate, to use the psalm’s words, do we despise people who disagree with us in politics, practice a different religion, or have a different-colored skin?

The mass media and so-called “progressive” politicians, including our governor, have been giving loads of attention to abortion for the last several months, mostly lamenting that in many states it will become harder for women and their doctors to kill unborn human beings.  The psalm identifies the just person, the one who walks blamelessly, as one “who harms not his fellow man.”  Killing a human being in the womb is harm to that person, and nothing justifies it—not even cases of rape or incest, which punish the innocent—the unborn—for the crime of the father.  When did it become just to execute children because their fathers are criminals?

Let’s concede that all of us act or speak unjustly sometimes.  Sometimes we resist the truth, sometimes we’re not generous with our money or our time, sometimes we pay tribute to behavior that’s wrong.  Sometimes we physically or emotionally abuse other people.  Sometimes we abuse God’s name instead of honoring it.  The responsorial psalm says, “He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord,” but all of us are sinners.

Yet that’s not cause for despair.  Jesus Christ justifies us, that is, makes us just before God.  St. Paul writes to the Colossians, “It is he whom we proclaim, admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (1:28).  We were washed clean and made perfect in Christ by Baptism, and now, after Baptism, we receive the same undeserved grace from Jesus Christ in the sacrament of Reconciliation—which reconciles sinners with God, as the name says.  We can bring our falsehoods, infidelities, gossip, unjust anger, and all our sins to Jesus and be cleansed, be made whole, be made just in God’s eyes.  We can’t do it ourselves, but thru his cross Christ has done it for us.  Perhaps this was “the better part” that Mary was choosing as she sat at Jesus’ feet in our gospel story this morning (Luke 10:42), letting the words of Jesus wash over her and renew her.  That’s what he desires for each of us.

 

Meet Brother Rob Malusa

Meet Brother Rob Malusa

by Fr. Steve Ryan, SDB

Bro. Rob in the chapel 

of the SDB provincial center in New Rochelle

In June Brother Robert “Rob” Malusa, SDB, came back to the USA for the summer. He arrived on June 16, and is staying in New York for a few months. Originally from Long Island, Bro. Rob was with the Salesians in the U.S. for several years before going to Africa as a missionary. For nearly ten years, he has served first in Malawi and then in Zambia.  

Bro. Rob began his time in Zambia as the assistant principal of a big technical school. “The government loves the place since it creates lots of work,” he explained, having beamed that the school had 1,000 students learning 12 different subjects.

After three years, Bro. Rob was called to another school due to an emergency. They had no principal! Located in an extremely rural part of the country, Lufubu sat 800 miles from the capital, Lusaka, and 180 miles from the nearest store. “Although I had been hesitant, it all worked out beautifully,” Bro. Rob reflected. The agricultural school had a farm attached to it, which helped make the community self-sustainable. Brother worked hard to make the farm and the school work more closely together.

His latest assignment was in the training of young Salesians. Bro. Rob worked on the formation of novices and is now setting up a program for the young Salesians.

Bro. Rob loves his life as a missionary and expressed his appreciation for all those he has encountered. “I love the people in Malawi and Zambia,” he shared. “They are very caring and sharing people. If they have even one grape, they’ll give you half.” Bro. Rob also noted how the youths are open to faith and spirituality. Despite the language barrier at first, they love to sit and talk, and, eventually, everyone understands one another. “They are open in terms of their life, their faith, and their love of God,” Bro. Rob stated. “That’s what brings me the most joy.”

Homily for 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 10, 2022
Deut 30: 10-14
Luke 10: 25-37
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“If only you would heed the voice of the Lord, your God, and keep his commandments … when you return to the Lord your God, with all your heart and all your soul” (Deut 30: 10).

The verse preceding that verse from our 1st reading this morning states, “The Lord, your God, will again take delight in your prosperity, even as he took delight in your fathers’ prosperity” (30:9) before speaking of the condition attached to that prosperity, the prosperity of God’s people. That condition is a return to wholehearted obedience to the commandments of the Lord.

(by Aime Morot)

In the gospel reading, a scribe, a scholar of the Jewish Law, asked Jesus what he had to do to inherit eternal life—not earthly prosperity but everlasting prosperity with God.  When Jesus questioned him, he summarized the Law as wholehearted love of God and love of his neighbor as much as he loved himself.  To which Jesus said simply, “Do that, and you’ll have eternal life” (Luke 10:25-28)

So, in both Deuteronomy and Luke’s Gospel, the condition of prosperity—in this life and for eternal life—is faithfulness to what God commands, and his fundamental command is love:  to love God himself completely, wholeheartedly, without reservation, and to love one’s neighbor.

The Hebrew people in Moses’ time were falling short of that.  Hence the challenge to “return to the Lord, your God, with all your heart and all your soul.”  The Son of God, Jesus, came to us with the same challenge:  “Repent, and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1:15), i.e., turn away from your sins and return to the Lord your God, who loves you.

Is there anyone who doubts that our society, like the Hebrews in Moses’ time and the Jews in Jesus’ time, has a prosperity problem?  I don’t mean in an economic sense, altho we all recognize that, what with the price of groceries, gasoline, rent—among other problems.  I mean in a deeper sense, the deficit in recognition of “who is my neighbor?”, the question the scribe asked Jesus (10:29).  Jesus tells one of his most famous parables to answer that question, and Jesus’ answer tells us something about our need to “return to the Lord, our God” if we want the human race to prosper, if we want personally to enter eternal life.

The nation was shocked 2 weeks ago by the deaths of 53 migrants who were, in effect, baked in an abandoned trailer in San Antonio.  Who were neighbors to those Mexicans and Central Americans?  Certainly not the coyotes who transported them across the border for thousands of dollars each.  Certainly not our politicians, who can’t fix our immigration laws and procedures.  Certainly not a population that’s hostile to immigrants regardless of the violence, famine, and poverty that compels them to flee their homes.

The nation may be losing its sense of shock when young black men are shot down by police officers, by gang members, or in street crime.  If all men are created equal, as we proudly maintain in our Declaration of Independence, when are we going to regard everyone as a neighbor to love like ourselves, regardless of color—or sex or language or creed?

According to the mainstream media, polls inform us that most Americans want abortion as allowed by Roe v. Wade to be maintained.  Polls also inform us that most Americans don’t know that Roe v. Wade allowed abortion at any time during pregnancy right up to a complete birth without any restrictions whatever and without any interference from parents, husbands, or boy friends.  Unrestricted abortion funded by taxpayers remains the position of the President of the U.S., the governor of New York, the Democratic Party, Planned Parenthood, and of many other people; but of only a minority of Americans, according to polls that the mainstream media won’t tell you about, about how many people want a good many restrictions on abortion, e.g., parental consent, how many weeks of pregnancy, practice only by doctors, etc.

Further, if we follow the science—as the President, academics, and the mainstream media selectively urge us regarding climate change and Covid-19, for example—we know indisputably that a pregnant woman carries an unborn human being.  Abortionists try to disguise that fact by calling that human being a fetus, or even “the product of conception”—which is technically correct but deliberately obscures what the “product” is, what the “fetus” is.  It’s not a dog, a monkey, or a sheep but a separate, distinct human being—a person.  Killing that person, Pope Francis has said more than once, is like hiring a hitman to solve a problem.  He’s also called it murder.  A human being as a problem—that’s what the Nazis said of the Jews, the Serbs said of Moslems in Bosnia, the Hutus in Rwanda said of the Tutsis, jihadists say of Christians.

If abortion is the taking of an innocent human life, it’s no different from what happened recently in Buffalo, Uvalde, or Highland Park or what Russia is doing in Ukraine.  Is that how Jesus tells us to recognize our neighbor?

I may be preaching to the choir here.  I hope so.  Yet each of us needs to ask whether there’s anyone whom we don’t recognize and treat as a neighbor, anyone to whom we are not a good Samaritan.

God told the Hebrews:  “This command that I enjoin on you is not too mysterious and remote for you. . . .  It’s something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out” (Deut 30:11,14).  If we’ll hear the voice of the Lord our God, if we’ll return to him with all our heart and soul, then a path of well-being and prosperity will be open before us:  on our borders, in Ukraine and the Middle East, in our inner cities, in our schools and on our city streets.

Homily for Friday of 14th Week of Ordinary Time

Homily for Friday
14th Week of Ordinary Time

July 8, 2022
Matt 10: 16-23
Provincial House, New Rochelle

Jesus cautions us against trusting in human beings:  “beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts” (Matt 10:17).  Rely, instead, on God, who will supply you with the Holy Spirit (10:20).

Don Bosco taught us that.  Altho he turned readily to powerful and wealthy people in the Church and in civil society, he always put God first.  He was single-minded.  He was a priest always, equally in the royal palace and in the homes of the poor.  As we know, he got badly burned by pushing his friend Gastaldi’s promotion too far—a case of trusting in man—and that man did indeed hand him over to court, an ecclesiastical one.

Hearing a coachman's confession

(from Ceria's Don Bosco, illus. by Galizzi)

But generally our Founder was “shrewd as a serpent and simple as a dove” (10:16)—shrewd in a good sense in his dealings with every manner of person:  youngster, cleric, bureaucrat, noble; and simple in his personal habits, his prayer, his straightforward manner, his pursuit of holiness.  He was always ready to speak the Gospel message as prompted by the Holy Spirit:  to kids on the street, to coachmen, to those searching his house, to crowds in Paris.  In his inmost being, God taught him wisdom (Ps 51:8), so that his mouth and his pen ever proclaimed God’s praise (51:17).

Don Bosco remains always for us a model of life and of pastoral practice, demonstrating life as a mystic of the Spirit.  “Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them” (Hos 14:10).

Homily for 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 3, 2022
Collect
St. Pius X, Scarsdale

Homily prepared for St. Pius but not delivered on account of illness.

“O God, in the abasement of your Son you have raised up a fallen world” (Collect).

(by Ioannes Moskos)

The collects or opening prayers of the Mass are almost always addressed to God the Father.  That’s quite obvious today in the prayer, which speaks of what God has done and continues to do thru his Son.

The prayer speaks of the Son’s “abasement,” his being brought low.  The Latin word in the prayer is humilitate, “by the humiliation” of the Son.  That word is rooted in the Latin word for “dirt,” humus.  The Son of God has been cast down into the dirt, completely humiliated—to “raise up a fallen world,” says our prayer.

How has God’s Son been abased or brought down?  In 2 ways.  The 1st was in the incarnation, when God the Son came down from heaven and took up our human nature. We proclaim every Sunday in the Creed, “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven … and became man.”  In his Letter to the Philippians (2:7), St. Paul quotes an ancient hymn that says Christ took on the form of a slave when he came in human likeness, leaving behind all the majesty of God and becoming one of us by birth—can you imagine that the messiness of a human birth is worthy of God?—and then he grew up as a carpenter’s son in a human family in an insignificant village in Galilee.  Can you imagine Princess Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, adopting the role of Cinderella?  St. Augustine has written, “The divine nature could not demean itself any lower than by taking human nature with all its weakness, even to dying on a cross.”[1] 

And there you have the 2d way in which God’s Son was abased:  crucifixion.  Tho innocent and any wrongdoing, he was condemned to a shameful, painful death like a common criminal, like a slave or a murderer, exposed naked to every passer-by and mocked by his enemies.

The Son of God was so humiliated for only one reason:  to raise up a fallen world.  Sin has utterly debased us human beings.  We experience the shame of our sins whenever we come to the sacrament of Reconciliation, in secret, often barely able to whisper what we’ve done or said or failed to do.  Yet by bringing his sinless Person to us, Christ has cleansed us, made us whole, lifted us up alongside himself.

For his story didn’t end on Calvary.  He rose from his grave and ascended to where he’d come from, the throne of God.  He carried our humanity with him; he still bears it with him as he intercedes for us with his Father.  He raised our fallen nature and made it like his own.

We are touched by the grace of God in the sacraments, especially in Baptism, the Eucharist, and Reconciliation.  By God’s grace we have a destiny of “eternal gladness,” rescued from our slavery to sin and becoming, as St. Paul says, “a new creation” (Gal 6:15).  We prayed in the collect that God “fill [his] faithful with holy joy,” for thru his Son’s abasement he has “rescued [us] from slavery to sin,” granted us freedom as members of his own household, adopted us as his own children.

Alongside our Lord Jesus Christ, risen and ascended, God has planned a place for us in the heavenly kingdom, where we'll be ever joyful, eternally happy and at peace with the Holy Trinity, the saints, and all of humanity.

---

[1] LOH 3:441.

100th Anniversary of Salesian Boys' and Girls' Club

100th Anniversary of Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club in San Francisco

By Frank Lavin, Salesian Cooperator, former Club member and past board president

(ANS – San Francisco – June 30, 2022) – On Saturday, June 18, the Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco celebrated its 100th anniversary. Fr. Mel Trinidad, provincial of the SDB U.S. Western Province, presided at Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi assisted by pastor Fr. Tho Bui, SDB, before the evening celebration. Highlights of the evening included a reunion of sorts of over 450 former Club members and friends, performances by the Club youth’s theatrical group, and the premiere of a 40-minute video documentary chronicling the Club’s rich history.

Likely the oldest living former Club member, Fr. Armand Oliveri, SDB, enjoyed the evening and the “shout out” and applause given to him. The current Club directors, Randal De Martini and Sherri Hughston, are both Club alumni with Mr. De Martini ministering there for over 40 years. Former director Russ Gumina, who served for almost 50 years, was coincidentally on a pilgrimage to Salesian holy places in Italy and prayed for the Club at Don Bosco’s tomb during the festivities. Many past pupils enjoyed visiting their FMA teachers at the celebration; the FMAs have served at the parish school since 1950.

The Salesians came to North America at Sts. Peter and Paul in 1897 (so are celebrating 125 years this year). After many requests from the San Francisco archbishops, starting with Bp. Joseph Alemany, O.P., during Don Bosco’s lifetime, Blessed Michael Rua assented to Archbishop Riordan’s request and sent the first group of Salesians to minister to the Italian immigrant community. At the time Italian youths accounted for over 60% of juvenile delinquency in the city.

Over time, youth activities such as athletics, dramatics, and Scouting, in addition to catechetical and educational instruction gave Boys’ a positive direction under the care of those early Salesians. By 1921, an official Boys’ Club was born with a full-time director, Angelo Fusco, under the supervision of Fr. Oreste Trinchieri, SDB. Over the next 100 years, the Club would boast an unbelievable record of accomplishment in developing young boys into community leaders, successful businessmen, devoted Catholic fathers and husbands, and loyal Club benefactors.

Quite a number of Salesian vocations sprang from the Club during the 1930s to 1950s especially. Although an official girls club ran alongside its big brother oratory, the “wandering girls’ oratory” was finally folded into it, and the Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club became a reality in 1994. Today the Club has over 600 youth members and is doing the same activities with kids since its founding: athletics, theater, educational support, a safe place for kids to congregate, accompanied by devoted lay ministers, many of whom are former Club kids themselves.

Last year, the club awarded over $250,000 in scholarships to approximately 50 members to assist with grammar, high school, and college tuition assistance. The Salesian Center at Sts. Peter and Paul Church has a lively parish, a grammar school, and oratory (Club) and is deeply rooted in the San Francisco community.

Photos: Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club

 

Homily for Memorial of St. Irenaeus

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Irenaeus

June 28, 2022
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Home, New Rochelle

“You called the Bishop St. Irenaeus to confirm true doctrine and peace in the Church” (Collect).

(Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate, Guelph, Ont.)

Irenaeus, the 2d bishop of Lyons, primatial see of France, was recently declared a doctor of the Church because of his writings in defense of true doctrine, as mentioned in the collect.

The collect also mentions his work for the peace of the Church, which is, besides, a play on his name, which comes from the Greek word for peace, irene.  Irenaeus was a Greek from Smyrna in Asia Minor, where he’d been a disciple of St. Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of St. John the Apostle.  Thus Irenaeus received the apostolic preaching of the Church, its true doctrine, and became its staunch defender.

The peace of the Church depends upon true doctrine, as we know.  The Church is repeatedly disturbed and torn apart by false teaching, from St. Paul’s battles against Judaizers thru the Reformation up till our current rantings in social media over the Tridentine Mass, reception of holy Communion, and whatever Pope Francis has said most recently.

In the 2d century, one issue that roiled the Church was a disagreement over when to celebrate Easter.  The Eastern churches thought it should always be on Passover, whenever that fell in the calendar.  The West preferred Sunday, day of the Lord’s resurrection.  On behalf of Pope Victor I, Irenaeus—well situated as a Greek ministering in the West—mediated that and helped the Church settle on Sunday.  Thus also God used Irenaeus to confirm the peace of the Church.

But Irenaeus’s main claim to fame—to being a Father of the Church and, now, a doctor, is his writings in defense of true doctrine, especially Adversus Haereses (Latin title but written in Greek).  In his time those known as Gnostics were teaching that 2 principles ruled the world, one good and one evil, all matter was evil.  Further, only a select few, an elite, could learn true religion (this seems to be the form of Gnosticism that Pope Francis is still denouncing).  Irenaeus upheld the goodness of everything that God created, God’s supremacy over evil, and everyone’s ability to attain true religion and be saved.  This was the apostolic faith that he’d learned as a youth.

From his contact with the Roman Church, Irenaeus knew that the apostolic faith was anchored by Rome’s teaching, based on the faith of Peter and Paul.  On that basis, Irenaeus “fostered unity and concord,” as the collect said.

Like Irenaeus, we hold to God’s universal salvation attained thru Christ.  Holiness is for everyone, not a select few.  And we find in the Roman Church, whether guided by John Paul II or by Francis, the preservation of apostolic faith and unity.  May the grace of Jesus preserve us all in unity and true faith.

Homily for 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

June 26, 2022
Gal 5: 1, 13-18
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery” (Gal 5: 1).

In a couple of weeks, we’ll celebrate Independence Day—with parades, outdoor recreation, barbecues, and fireworks.  Freedom is worth celebrating!

The Scriptures today show us examples of freedom.  Jesus sets out from Galilee toward Jerusalem, “resolutely determined” to go toward the fate that awaits him there, not afraid of his enemies and not slowed down by his less-than-wholehearted disciples.  He’s firmly committed to his teaching of mercy toward those who resist him and resolved that anyone who would follow him be totally committed (Luke 9:51-62).

God has directed the prophet Elijah to call Elisha to follow him.  Elisha listens to Elijah with total commitment, burning his farming tools, sacrificing his oxen, and saying farewell to his parents—all so as to go freely and completely with Elijah (1 Kings 19:16,19-21).

St. Paul urges the Christians of the province of Galatia in what is now central Turkey to “live by the Spirit” (5:16), to give themselves completely to Christ.  “You were called to freedom” (5:13), he reminds them.  Christ died to set us free from slavery to the Devil so that we can enter the kingdom of heaven.  The Devil exercises his power over us thru what Paul calls “the desire of the flesh” (5:16), desire that gives way to evil works, desire that enslaves us, desire that leads not to life but to death.

When Paul speaks of the flesh, he doesn’t mean only our bodies.  Sexual desires and sins might be the 1st thing we think of.  But notice how he chides the Galatians against “biting and devouring one another” (5:15).  Desires of the flesh include gossip and backstabbing, boastfulness and arrogance, resentment and seeking revenge.  The “flesh” includes all the deadly sins:  greed and anger, pride and sloth, gluttony and envy, as well as lust.

The 7 deadly sins (Bosch)

We know of people consumed by addictions, perhaps to drugs, alcohol, gambling, reckless spending, as well as to pornography, womanizing, and forms of sexual deviancy.  Right now we’re in Pride Month, a national frenzy celebrating people who are proud of their deviancy and demand public approval of it.  Someone addicted to drugs or anything else, or committed to sinful behavior isn’t free.  He or she is enslaved to evil.

All of us are sinners, of course.  All of us fall into—or maybe leap into—sin from time to time.  We feel rotten when we do, somewhat enslaved to those 7 deadly sins.  We need Christ’s grace to forgive us, set us free, set us again on the road toward heaven.

That’s different from glorying in our sin or not even recognizing it, from making our sinfulness into virtue in our minds, our words, and our behavior.  Making sin into virtue happens in many ways—ways of giving oneself over to “the flesh.”  LGBTQ pride is one form.  Acclaiming abortion as “health care” and “reproductive freedom” is another form.  The 1987 movie Wall Street proclaimed “greed is good,” and a lot of people give their lives to accumulate money; it’s another form of deviancy.  Demanding control over human life thru the use of stem cells, thru in vitro fertilization, thru surrogate motherhood, and over death thru euthanasia or assisted suicide are forms of making ourselves into God—the original sin put before us in the 3d chapter of Genesis.

The Spirit of Christ aims to set us free.  Who’s the truly free person?  St. Paul urges us to “serve one another thru love” (5:13).  No one is freer than someone who’s in love with God and with his sisters and brothers, eager to assist them and walk with them the way Jesus walked with his disciples.  Think of the freedom of St. Francis or Dorothy Day.  In Galatians ch. 5 Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit or the outcomes of our living in the Spirit rather than in the flesh:  not only love but also joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (5:22-23).  Don’t we all want to live that way and to live with other people who practice those virtues?  Isn’t that liberating?  It’s Christ-like, and it’s what God created us for.  “For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.”

Treated by the Dutch Doctor

Treated by the Dutch Doctor

On June 22-24 I went out camping with Fr. Jim Mulloy in Harriman State Park:  https://link.shutterfly.com/Tms03ANl9qb.

Our original intent was to tent camp at Island Pond, but the weather forecast of rain caused us to switch to Dutch Doctor shelter, a short hike on the White Bar Trail (45 minutes) from the parking lot at the end of Johnsontown Road, and with water nearby. The shelter takes its name from John Frederick Helms, the "Old Dutch Doctor," who lived near the site from 1874 to about 1892, according to Harriman Trails, p. 146.

Other than a small group of Korean day hikers we saw at the parking lot, we encountered only 4 other hikers on Wednesday, not a soul on Thursday, and 2 day hikers at 7:00 a.m. on Friday--but heard a few voices in the woods, apparently coming from the Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail, which crosses the White Bar a short distance away from the shelter.

The shelter has at least half a dozen good campsites around it--several of which still had rope for bear bags hanging high from tree limbs (a different style of bear-bagging than I use).

Following advice about bears, I hung our bag

about 50 yards away from the shelter.

As usual, Fr. Jim fetched water (choosing to hike to Lake Sebago to do that, and to explore the ADK camp there), while I cut firewood.  He also set up his hammock and took a nap, but he didn't dare try to use it overnite.

It did indeed rain--lightly for 45 minutes in the afternoon and heavily in the middle of Wednesday nite. In the morning we found out that the roof leaked a little, just missing me but leaving little puddles on the tarp next to me and dampening the foot of my sleeping bag and pad (not enuf to notice till morning). It took all day in Thursday's dampness to dry out the tarp, pad, and bag--helped mightily when the sun finally came out late, toasty warm, in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, there was a heavy rain from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m., during which I hiked on an unmarked trail to and from Lake Skenonto, just to verify the trail (a shorter, flatter trip to the lake than staying on 2 marked trails that also have a lot of elevation).

From opposite sides of the fire, 

both Fr. Jim and I took photos of burritos on the grill.

We grilled burritos for Wednesday supper, supplemented by cheese, crackers, nuts, trail mix, apricots. My Thursday supper was freeze dried chicken with risotto plus nuts and apricots. Had cheese and crackers for one lunch and PB&J sandwich for another. Fr. Jim basically skips lunch.

After Fr. Jim left for home on Thursday morning (he had duties there), it was like a day of recollection for me--a quiet day of reading and prayer besides that short hike and campsite chores. I hadn't brought enuf reading with me--finished off 2 magazines and plus 2 Magnificat readings.

Set up for Mass on Thursday morning

So that was our adventure with the "Old Dutch Doctor."

Ushering Nepalese Women toward Livelihoods

Ushering Nepalese Women toward Livelihoods

(ANS – Kathmandu, Nepal – June 21, 2022) – The empowerment of local women has always been an important concern for Don Bosco Institute in the Thecho district of Kathmandu. The institute reached a milestone of training its 22nd batch of tailoring and 18th batch of beautician courses by June 2022. The students of these batches graduated on June 16.

The graduation day of these batches was marked by the visit of the newly elected mayor of Mahalaxmi Municipality, Hari Gobinda Shrestha, a friend since the founding of the institution. Mr. Shrestha addressed the students to use fully their training and skill. He also expressed his happiness at the institute’s imparting this training at an affordable cost to the women, who are mostly local. The women received their certificates on this day.

The graduation program consisted of a few cultural songs and dances and the outpouring of thanks and gratitude to the trainers and the institute by the students. On this occasion, Fr. Binu Jacob, rector and principal of the neighboring Don Bosco Lubhu house, was welcomed and felicitated by Thecho’s rector, Fr. Augusty Pulickal, while Bro. Philip Xavier, director of the institute, had organized the program very efficiently.

The tailoring students are offered a sewing machine at a very concessional rate, so that they can begin an enterprise on their own.

Don Bosco Institute has trained about 600 students in tailoring and 310 students in beautician courses.

The Salesian presence in Nepal, entrusted to the care of the Calcutta Province of India, promotes the education of poor young people through 4 canonically erected works and a combined total of 9 different centers, scattered in the central-eastern and far western regions of the country. The Salesians arrived in Nepal in the 1890s and as a first step started a secondary school in Siddhipur, a village in Lalitpur district. Today there are about 20 SDBs coming from different provinces in India, and in addition to their commitment to education and social development and their bearing witness to Christian life, they have made themselves well-liked by the population and local authorities for their valuable services in reconstruction after the terrible earthquakes in the spring of 2015, which caused thousands of casualties and huge damage, and for their support to Covid-19 patients during the hardest phase of the pandemic.