Homily for Tuesday, 1st Week of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
Week 1 of Ordinary Time

Jan. 14, 2025
Heb 2: 5-12
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.

Salvador Mundi (Domenico Fetti)

“We see Jesus ‘crowned with glory and honor’ because he suffered death” (Heb 2: 9).

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews quotes from Ps 8, which was our responsorial psalm, about the dignity of human beings, “a little lower than the angels,” the crown of material creation (2:7).  People are meant to rule “all things,” but it hasn’t worked out that way (2:8).

Therefore God sent Jesus into creation, to become “lower than the angels” in his humanity—“lower” in that his material dignity is lesser than their spiritual dignity, “lower” in that earth is below heaven.  In his lesser, material dignity he was to “taste death” (2:9) like all human beings, all living things.

It’s God’s plan thru Jesus to lead men and women, God’s “many children,” thru their suffering, beyond their suffering, into glory.  Because Jesus submitted to the human condition, God has glorified him and made him “the leader” or, literally, “the pioneer” in human salvation (2:10).  One commentator writes, “In reality, what produced the glorification of Jesus is not his death itself but the way he faced his death.  He made it the occasion of a perfect offering of filial obedience to God and fraternal solidarity with” humanity.[1]

Jesus is “perfected thru suffering,” i.e., made complete.  He couldn’t be a complete man, couldn’t fully identify with the human race and become our leader, unless he suffered like us, even unto death (2:10).  “Those who are being consecrated,” viz., those who follow Jesus as their leader, have the same origin, a common humanity, as Jesus our consecrator.

Not everything is yet “under his feet,” “subject to him” (2:8).  The Devil still claims lordship over material creation.  But Jesus is already working his defeat, as evidenced in the exorcism he orders in the synagog at Capernaum in today’s gospel (Mark 1:21-28).  All things will come under his feet because he’s gone thru death, defeated death, and attained the glory of God “by the grace of God” (2:9) for all his brothers and sisters, God’s “many children” (2:10).

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[1] Albert Vanhoye, SJ, The Letter to the Hebrews: A New Commentary, trans. Leo Arnold, SJ (NY: Paulist, 2015), p. 74.

Salesian Saints & Saints' Causes, 2024

Salesian Saints and Saints’ Causes, 2024

Salesian Family Holiness Poster Published

(ANS – Rome – January 13, 2025) – At the beginning of the Holy Year 2025, it is significant to present the dossier of the Salesian General Postulation as a strong invitation to renew the universal call to holiness in the sign of hope that does not disappoint, as Pope Francis urges: “to bring hope where it has been lost: where life is wounded, in betrayed expectations, in broken dreams, in failures that shatter the heart; in the fatigue of those who can no longer do it, in the bitter loneliness of those who feel defeated, in the suffering that digs into the soul; in the long and empty days of prisoners, in the narrow and cold rooms of the poor, in places desecrated by war and violence.”

The saints and all candidates for holiness are witnesses and pilgrims of hope who have accepted the Lord’s promise here and now, in this suffering and groaning land, and who invite us to move “without delay” toward God, rediscovering the greatest hope in him  and then bring it without delay, as pilgrims of light in the darkness of the world.

We need to express deep gratitude and praise to God for the holiness already recognized in the Salesian Family of Don Bosco and for others in process of recognition. The outcome of a cause of beatification and canonization is an event of extraordinary importance and ecclesial value. It is a matter of discerning the reputation for holiness of a baptized person who has lived the evangelical beatitudes to a heroic degree or who has given his life for Christ.

The Salesian Postulation involves 173 individuals among saints (10), blesseds (117), venerables (20), and servants of God (26). The Postulation directly pursues 58 causes (plus 5 extra).

The dossier, the postulator general for the causes of saints of the Salesian Family, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, says, after reporting the list and status of each cause, presents the events of 2024, including the inauguration and blessing by the then-rector major, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, on June 4, 2024, of the new premises of the Salesian General Postulation at the Ceferino Namuncurá community in Rome: library, archives, custody of relics, and offices.

In addition, the following merit notice:

January 16, 2024: at the chapel of the Bocage Foundation in Chambery, the canonical recognition and conservative treatment of the mortal remains of Ven. Camille Costa de Beauregard (1841-1910), a diocesan priest whose cause has been entrusted to the Salesian postulation.

March 14, 2024: the authorization by Pope Francis to promulgate the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of the Ven. Servant of God Camille Costa de Beauregard; born in Chambery, France, on February 17, 1841, and died there on March 25, 1910. The miracle, which took place in 1910 [sic], concerns the child René Jacquemond, cured of “intense keratoconjunctivitis with grinding of the cornea, strong pericheratic injection, redness and injection of the conjunctiva, photophobia, and tearing of the right eye due to violent trauma from a plant-bardanian agent.”

March 15, 2024: in Lahore, Pakistan, closure of the diocesan inquiry into the cause of Beatification and Canonization of Akash Bashir (1994-2015), layman, past pupil of Don Bosco, killed in hatred of the faith. It is the first cause of beatification in Pakistan.

April 28, 2024: in Cuautitlan, Mexico, closure of the diocesan inquiry into the cause of the Servant of God Antoniette Böhm (1907-2008), Daughter of Mary Help of Christians.

May 5, 2024: in Modica (Ragusa), Italy, closure of the diocesan inquiry of the Servant of God Antonino Baglieri (1951-2007), layman, Volunteer with Don Bosco.

May 31, 2024: delivery of the Study Concerning the Life, Virtues, and Reputation for Holiness of the Servant of God Orestes Marengo (1906-1998), Salesian missionary bishop in Northeast India.

November 25, 2024: authorization by Pope Francis to promulgate the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria Troncatti, FMA, born in Corteno Golgi, Italy, on February 16, 1883 and died in Sucua, Ecuador, on August 25, 1969. Miraculous healing of a man from “Open cranio-encephalic trauma with comminuted fracture of the skull case, loss of brain substance and exposure of brain tissue in the right fronto-parieto-temporal area, widespread axonal damage (DAI), severe coma evolved in a vegetative state of type 2,” which took place in 2015 in Ecuador.

November 28, 2024: delivery of the Study Concerning the Martyrdom of the Servants of God Rudolph Lunkenbein, SDB, priest, and Simão Bororo, layman, killed in Brazil in hatred of the faith on July 15, 1976.

December 3, 2024: The theological consultants of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints (Rome) answered in the affirmative regarding the Study Concerning the Martyrdom of the Servants of God Jan Swierc and 8 Companions, Salesian, killed in hatred of the faith in Nazi death camps in 1941-1942.

December 18, 2024: authorization from Pope Francis to promulgate the decree concerning the martyrdom of the Servant of God Elijah Comini, Salesian priest; born on May 7, 1910, in Calvenzano di Vergato (Bologna), Italy, and killed by German soldiers in hatred of the faith at Pioppe di Salvaro (Bologna), Italy, on October 1, 1944.

Finally, the commitment to disseminate the knowledge, imitation, and intercession of the members of the Salesian Family candidates for holiness is recalled, valuing and caring for different aspects: liturgical and celebratory, spiritual, pastoral, ecclesial, educational, cultural, historical, social, missionary, etc.

At the bottom of the page you can download the Postulation Dossier – in Italian, English, Spanish, French and Portuguese – updated to December 31, 2023. It is also possible to download the 2024 Salesian Family Holiness Poster designed and created by graphic designer Andrea Cugini.

Download attachments: 

• 2024_Dossier_Postulazione_ITA.docx 
• 2024_Dossier_Postulazione_ENG.docx
• 2024_Dossier_Postulazione_ESP.docx
• 2024_Dossier_Postulazione_FRA.docx
• 2024_Dossier_Postulazione_POR.docx

Homily for Feast of Baptism of the Lord

Homily for the Feast of the
Baptism of the Lord

Jan. 12, 2025
Luke 3: 15-16, 21-22
Acts 10: 34-38
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

“John answered …, ‘One mightier than I … will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire’” (Luke 3: 16).

by Perugino

St. Luke tells us that John the Baptist “went thruout the region of the Jordan proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3), as we heard on the 2d Sunday of Advent.  He urged specific changes in the behavior of tax collectors, soldiers, and everyone else (3:10-14), we heard on the 3d Sunday of Advent.  Repentance for one’s sins has to be marked by a change in behavior—by conversion of one’s life.  That’s an essential step toward God’s forgiveness.

That was John’s mission:  to prepare people for divine forgiveness.  “The people were filled with expectation,” Luke states (3:15).  They were expecting “the Christ,” the Messiah, God’s agent for bringing grace and restoration to Israel, altho they didn’t really understand what that meant, what kind of a Messiah they should expect.

Jesus showed up at the Jordan, and John baptized him.  St. Matthew (3:13-17) and St. Mark (1:9-11) present the scene, as well—with Matthew recording John’s humble protest.  Why would Jesus need to be baptized?  If he was sinless, what did he have to repent?  How was he supposed to be converted and change his life?

The Fathers of the Church—the earliest non-biblical Christian writers—explain that Jesus’ baptism wasn’t for his own sake but for ours.  For example, St. Maximus, bishop of Turin in the 1st half of the 5th century, preached:

Someone might ask, “Why would a holy man desire baptism?” Listen to the answer: Christ is baptized, not to be made holy by the water, but to make the water holy, and by his cleansing to purify the waters which he touched.  For the consecration of Christ involves a more significant consecration of the water.

For when the Savior is washed all water for our baptism is made clean, purified at its source for the dispensing of baptismal grace to the people of future ages.[1]

The consecration that St. Maximus speaks of is Christ’s consecration by the Holy Spirit’s descent upon him.  We consider this his anointing, tho not with physical oil as you and I were anointed in Baptism and Confirmation.  In the 2d reading today, St. Peter explained to the household of the Roman centurion Cornelius that “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” so that he could carry out his mission of salvation, “healing all those oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38).

Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, anointed as the Christ.  Christ is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah; it means “anointed one.”  When you and I are anointed with sacred chrism in the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, we are “christened,” made Christs.  Jesus was empowered by his Father to pass on to us the Holy Spirit when we, like him, are washed in sacramental water and anointed with chrism.

John the Baptist also spoke of fire.  You know how the Holy Spirit came upon the 12 apostles, our Blessed Mother, and more than 100 other disciples on Pentecost Day: “there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit…” (Acts 2:3-4).  We say that the Church was born at that moment, and filled with the Spirit the apostles began to preach the Gospel and win converts who were promptly baptized with water and the Holy Spirit (2:41).

St. Peter also told Cornelius that after his baptism Jesus “went about doing good” (Acts 10:38).  The Holy Spirit empowers us, too, disciples of Jesus in the 21st century in the Bronx.  Jesus proclaimed, “I’ve come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” (Luke 12:49).  Obviously, he doesn’t mean with physical fire—God save the poor people of Southern California!—but with spiritual fire:  the fire that purifies our hearts, the fire that cleanses ours sins, the fire of love for God, the fire of a firm commitment to live for Jesus, the fire to love our brothers and sisters in our words and actions so that, like Jesus, we may go about doing good, the fire to stand for truth and integrity in our public lives.

Take note of this:  Luke records that Jesus “was praying” after his baptism, and that’s when “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended upon him” (3:21-22).  Prayer opens up heaven for us and makes us receptive of that Holy Spirit, that divine fire.  Only by opening ourselves to God can we live for God, love one another, and live with truth and integrity.  Only with the help of prayer can we be God’s beloved children, well pleasing to him (cf. 3:22).

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[1] “Sermo 100, de sancta Epiphania,” 1, 3, in LOH 1: 612-613.

Salesian Presence at SEEK 2025

Salesian Presence at SEEK 2025

Igniting a Missionary Spirit

In Salt Lake City: J.C. Montenegro, Vicky Weekly,
Luis Chacon, Fr. Sean McEwen, and Fr. Steve DeMaio

(ANS – Washington – January 7, 2025) – What happens when thousands of young Catholics gather to explore their faith and discover their purpose? A spark ignites—a spark that can change lives and light up the world. At SEEK 2025, the Salesian Lay Missionary Volunteer Programs of the USA shared this spark, connecting with college students who want to make a difference.

This year’s SEEK conference, organized by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS), was held from January 1 to January 5 in two locations: Salt Lake City, Utah, and Washington, D.C. Over 21,000 students attended, eager to grow in faith and find ways to serve. The Salesian volunteer programs—Salesian Lay Missioners (SLMs of the New Rochelle Province) and Salesian Volunteers (SVs of the San Francisco Province)—were present alongside members of the Salesian Family, including the Salesian Sisters and Salesians of Don Bosco. Together, they shared the joy and mission of Don Bosco with everyone who visited their booths.

A Mission of Service

The conference focused on service and helping others. Students had opportunities to attend daily Mass, spend time in Eucharistic adoration, and listen to talks designed to inspire young men and women. At the Salesian booths, students learned about the work Salesians do worldwide and how they could get involved in this mission of faith and love.

In Washington: Adam Rudin (SLMs) and Bro. Rafael Vargas

Planting Seeds for the Future

One of the conference’s biggest successes was creating a list of over 270 young people interested in becoming Salesian lay missionaries. These young adults now have a chance to explore their calling and join a community dedicated to serving others. For many, SEEK 2025 began a journey to discover their vocation and grow closer to God.

The Salesian Family in Action

The presence of the Salesian Sisters and SDBs brought an extra layer of inspiration. They shared stories of missionary work and showed the students how Salesian spirituality is centered on joy, community, and service to the young and marginalized. Their enthusiasm made a lasting impression on everyone who stopped by.

Continuing the Mission

SEEK 2025 was more than just an event; it was a place where faith and service came together. The Salesian Family’s participation helped many students see how to live their faith in action. This collaboration will continue to bear fruit as these young people take steps toward a life of service and mission.

Don Bosco once said, “Do good while you still have time.” SEEK 2025 reminded us of the importance of this mission. We are excited to see how these connections grow and how the spirit of Don Bosco inspires more people to serve.

Together, we can continue spreading faith, hope, and love worldwide. Now, it is our time to accompany these young adults who desire to serve God as missionaries; maybe they will choose to serve with us.

In Washington: Bishop Kevin Sweeney of Paterson with Salesian novices,
prenovices, sisters, and brothers and other religious of his diocese.

Don Bosco in a Year Podcast

Don Bosco in a Year Podcast Launched

(ANS – Mumbai, India – January 9, 2025) – A new podcast, Don Bosco in a Year, was launched on January 1 to honor Don Bosco’s legacy and share his inspiring story with a global audience. Based on the book 365 Days with Don Bosco compiled by Fr. Anthony Christy, SDB, this unique project aims to bring his teachings to life in a fresh and accessible way. The podcast is available on Spotify and YouTube.

The series features 365 episodes, with one released daily throughout the year. Each episode is hosted by a different young person, offering his or her personal insights and reflections on Don Bosco’s life and mission. This approach makes the podcast engaging and relatable, especially for younger listeners.

The idea for this initiative comes from the bicentenary celebrations of Don Bosco’s first dream. It reflects the Salesian commitment to spreading his message across modern platforms, ensuring it reaches as many people as possible. By involving youths as hosts, the podcast highlights the continued relevance of Don Bosco’s work and his dream of empowering young people.

Listeners can look forward to a variety of stories and reflections that connect Don Bosco’s journey with today’s challenges and opportunities. This project is not just a tribute but also a way to keep his spirit alive, inspiring generations to follow his example.

YouTube - Spotify 

Photo and Slogan for Sister Maria Troncatti's Canonization

Photo and Slogan for Sister Maria Troncatti’s Canonization

(ANS – Rome – January 9, 2025) – On Wednesday, January 8, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, mother general of the Salesian Sisters, announced the photo and slogan that will accompany the canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti, FMA missionary.

On November 25, 2024, the Holy Father authorized the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria. The date of canonization is currently awaited.

Like every saint, the figure of Sister Maria has several facets, some of which have been focused on to present her in today's context and to the Church. And from Fatima, Portugal, during the Good Night delivered to her sisters participating in the three-year Evaluation of the Interprovincial Conference on Europe and the Middle East, Mother Chiara illustrated the choice made.

The image is an authentic photograph that shows her smiling. “In agreement with the General Council,” Mother Chiara explained, “we have chosen this photo, in which she is already well-advanced in life, that expresses, from the features of her face, the maturity she has achieved and the motherliness that was recognized in Sister Maria Troncatti by the local people. After the first approaches with them, she earned the title of ‘Madrecita,’ a very tender nickname that in Spanish means ‘mama,’ something very deeply felt. And so she was called until the end of her life and is still remembered today with what, I would say, is the most beautiful of nicknames.”

“There were many other beautiful photos,” Mother Chiara said, “but this seemed to us the one that most expresses the fullness of life in Jesus, the fullness of the gift and also the fullness of motherhood.”

The slogan reads: “Mother and missionary crafter of peace and reconciliation.” In this case too, Mother Chiara gave reasons for the choice: “Sister Maria Troncatti is a Mother, first of all. She is a missionary, because what she did with the strength of God and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, only a missionary with a large and generous heart can do. She is a crafter of peace and reconciliation because, in her constant mission, she always tried to bring the settlers and the Indians together, because there was a war going on between them. Her life was offered precisely to heal a fratricidal struggle that could have brought many victims. It was offered so that there would be peace between these two populations.”

Homily for Tuesday after Epiphany

Homily for the Tuesday after Epiphany

January 7, 2025
Collect
1 John 4: 7-10
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

by Sebastiano Mainardi

God’s “Only-Begotten Son has appeared in our very flesh” (Collect).

The Son of God became a human being; “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).  (As a camper, I like John’s literal text:  he “pitched his tent among us.”  Of course, that likely comes from the nomadic culture of the ancient Middle East.)

The Fathers of the Church—St. Athanasius, for example—liked to say that God became a human being in order that humans might become divine.  We have a prayer to that effect in our preparing the gifts at the altar.  That’s where our prayer today takes us:  “may we be inwardly transformed” by the Son of God.  His grace is transformative.  Moreover, he has given us the precious gift of himself in the Eucharist, so that by consuming his flesh and blood we might be transformed—that we might become what we eat, that we might be incorporated into the body and blood of Christ.

Becoming divinized thus is life.  The Only-Begotten Son came “into the world that we might have life thru him” (1 John 4:9).  So divinized, we’re empowered to act like him, to share God’s love for humanity—beginning, of course, with the real people in our lives.  “Everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God” (4:7), for he or she’s been transformed inwardly by our Lord Jesus.

Cardinal Fernandez Artime Appointed to Dicastery for Consecrated Life

Card. Angel Fernandez Artime Appointed Pro-prefect of Dicastery for Consecrated Life

(ANS – Rome – January 7, 2025) – The Salesian Congregation extends its heartfelt congratulations to Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime on his appointment as pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DIVCSVA). This announcement was made by the Vatican Press Office on January 6. With a decade of distinguished service as Rector Major of the Salesians, Card. Fernandez Artime has demonstrated exemplary leadership and unwavering commitment to the Church and the Salesian community. In light of his new role, he shared his thoughts with ANS.

Your Eminence, what was your reaction to the Holy Father’s appointment?

“Yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany, following the celebration with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Basilica, I received the news at noon that the Pope has appointed Sister Simona Brambilla as prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life. He has created this new service of pro-prefect, which he clearly considers vital, asking me for this service.

I must say, of course, that over the last few months I had known the Holy Father’s intentions and I had given him my full availability with a sense of faith and obedience to the Pope as a Salesian. I also wish to convey my heartfelt readiness to contribute following these years service in the Salesian Congregation, which have been of great spiritual and human richness for me.

I am happy about this service that they are asking of me, and I am fully available, just as I am entirely committed in my ecclesial service as a member of the College of Cardinals, to accompany and assist the Holy Father, and also from my pastoral service as a bishop, in the various needs of the Church.”

What do you think awaits you now in this new service entrusted to you by the Holy Father? How do you feel about collaborating under the leadership of a sister after many years leading a male congregation?

“I have already met and spoken several times with the prefect emeritus, Card. João Braz de Aviz, and with the then-secretary, now prefect of the Dicastery, Sister Simona Brambilla, always noting the excellent atmosphere of dialog, understanding, and shared vision. I am confident that the Holy Father has wisely structured the Dicastery in a way that is both rich and timely for our present time.”

What dreams and challenges do you foresee in your new assignment?

“Regarding dreams, hopes, plans, and perspectives, I still have much to learn about the Dicastery itself, although I am well-acquainted with the Salesian Congregation and consecrated life from my experience as a religious. One conviction stands firm: the Dicastery, with the collective expertise of the 32 individuals with whom I will collaborate, serves a significant purpose. From what I have observed and experienced, we will strive to illuminate the beauty of consecrated life and apostolic movements within the Church.

Through her humble service as prefect, alongside my contribution and those of other dedicated individuals, the Dicastery will inspire, enlighten, and engage with congregations and institutes in meaningful ways. We will enthusiastically accompany the joys and challenges of consecrated life and apostolic movements.

As I often reminded provincials during my tenure as Rector Major, ‘Life is always richer and more expansive than the challenges we encounter daily. The Dicastery will be far more than a problem-solving office. And I used to say this in the knowledge that it is God who accompanies the Salesian Congregation, and I say this today knowing that it is God who accompanies the Church, led by the Holy Spirit through the Vicar of Christ, Pope Francis. It is this same Spirit that must direct all services and Dicasteries through the mediation of the people who are called to serve.”

Biography

Angel Fernandez Artime, 64, was born on August 21, 1960, in Gozon-Luanco, Asturias, Spain. A Salesian since 1978, he was ordained a priest on July 4, 1987, in Leon. He holds a degree in pastoral theology and a licentiate in philosophy and pedagogy. In his home province of Leon, he served as youth ministry delegate, director of the school in Ourense, member of the provincial council, and vice provincial, and from 2000 to 2006, provincial. In 2009, he was appointed provincial of Argentina South Province.

In December 2013, he was nominated as provincial of the Mary Help of Christians Province in Spain, a role he never assumed due to his election as Rector Major on March 25, 2014, during the 27th General Chapter.

He was re-elected at the 28th General Chapter in 2020. During his tenure he made pastoral and animation visits to over 120 countries, delivering messages of hope and unity, as the 10th successor of Don Bosco. His extensive experience in guiding the Salesian Family, comprising 32 officially recognized groups, has strengthened bonds among its members and promoted the Congregation’s educational and spiritual mission.

Over the years, as Rector Major, he received 23 honorary citizenships and an honorary doctorate in pedagogy from the University of Palermo.

He was created a cardinal by Pope Francis on Sunday, July 9, 2023, and received the cardinal’s biretta and ring in the consistory on  September 30.

On December 17, 2023, Card. Fernandez Artime took possession of the diaconal parish of Mary Help of Christians in Via Tuscolana, assigned by the Pope, and he was ordained bishop on April 20, 2024, in the basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome.

Homily for Memorial of Sts. Basil & Gregory Nazianzen

Homily for the Memorial of
Sts. Basil & Gregory Nazianzen

Jan. 2, 2025
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

This is an adaptation of a homily given 5 years ago to a different community.

St. Basil the Great
(Kyiv Cathedral)

In this season of light, the collect for Sts. Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen speaks of the light that they brought to Christ’s Church by their example and teaching.  They came from the same part of the Roman Empire, from Cappadocia in what’s now Turkey, and they were friends, admirers, and supporters of each other from their youth.  As the excerpt from Gregory in today’s Office of Readings indicates, they had a friendly rivalry—each promoting the excellence of the other.

Basil apparently was marked for greatness from the start.  Gregory was more retiring and had to be pushed toward ecclesiastical office, including by his friend.  Both became bishops, and both were staunch defenders of the divinity of Jesus Christ in the face of Arianism, a heresy that didn’t heed St. John’s teaching:  “Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have the Father, but whoever confesses the Son has the Father as well” (1 John 2:23).

Arianism was politically correct at the time and caused a lot of grief particularly to Gregory, who had the misfortune, shall we say, of being made patriarch of Constantinople and thus thrust into the teeth of the Arian-inclined imperial court.  His theological writing was so sound and so clear that he became known as “the Theologian,” a title he retains in the Eastern Churches.  Nevertheless, the opposition in Constantinople induced his resignation after just a couple of years, and he retired to a life of recollection and hymn-writing in the friendlier neighborhood of his homeland.

St. Gregory the Theologian
(Kariye Camii, Istanbul)

Basil, on the other hand, didn’t encounter political difficulties.  He mixed a life of prayer with very active pastoral care and practical charity—supporting schools, founding hospitals, promoting monasticism (St. Benedict learned from him a century and a half later), and fostering liturgical life (composing texts for the Eucharist and teaching people to pray the Psalms).  He urged the political authorities to care for the poor and defended true doctrine in writing.

From Basil and Gregory we may learn, as the collect suggests, to pursue the truth with humility and to practice charity.  Humility helps us be loving brothers to each other, to staff, and to others whom Providence sends in our direction.  It takes humility to recognize the truth and not to identify it with just our own opinions.  Pursuing the truth, I suggest, includes taking a keen interest in contemporary events and everything else that touches Christ’s Church, human dignity, natural law, and the common good, so that, like doctors Basil and Gregory we may enlighten others with the Gospel.

Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB (1938-2024)

Cardinal Angelo Amato Has Died

“Spiritual son of St. John Bosco spent himself for the Gospel for many years with generosity”

Photo: Vatican News

(ANS - Vatican City – January 2, 2025) - Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, passed away on December 31. He was 86 years old. Following his death, the College of Cardinals now consists of 252 cardinals, of whom 139 are electors and 113 are non-electors.

There are now 10 living Salesian cardinals, 5 of whom are potential electors in a conclave.

“I give thanks to God for the edifying witness of this spiritual son of St. John Bosco who for so many years spent himself with human finesse and generosity for the Gospel and the Church. I think of his priestly spirit and the theological preparation with which he served the Holy See, especially in the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. I assure you of my prayers for the soul of this good servant.” This is how Pope Francis remembers Salesian Cardinal Angelo Amato, in a telegram addressed to the vicar of the Rector Major, Fr. Stefano Martoglio.

Angelo Amato was born in Molfetta (Bari), on June 8, 1938, to a family of shipbuilders. The first of four children, he had undertaken his studies at the Nautical Institute in Bari, in the long-distance captains department. But at the beginning of his third year of studies, in October 1953, he decided to abandon this career to enter the Salesian aspirantate in Torre Annunziata. In 1956, he made his first religious profession. After moving to Rome, he studied at the Pontifical  Salesian Athenaeum (now the Pontifical Salesian University), obtaining a licentiate in philosophy. In 1962 he made his perpetual religious profession and began 2 years of practical training at the Salesian school in Cisternino (Brindisi), where he taught literature in the middle school. After obtaining a licentiate in theology at the Salesian University’s School of Theology in Rome, he was ordained a priest on December 22, 1967.

He enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and in 1974 obtained a doctorate in theology and was immediately called to teach the subject. In 1977 he was sent to Greece by the Secretariat for Christian Unity, spending 4 months in the Jesuits’ Athens residence to prepare for university enrolment. After passing the entrance exam (modern written and spoken Greek), he moved to Thessaloniki as a scholarship holder for the patriarchate of Constantinople. He resided at the Vlatadon Monastery, home of the Orthodox monks’ convent and the Idrima ton Paterikon Meleton (Institute of Patristic Studies), with a library specializing in Orthodox theology and a valuable microfilm collection of Mount Athos manuscripts. He then enrolled in the School of Theology at the University of Thessaloniki, attending Jannis Kaloghirou’s lectures on the history of dogma and Jannis Romanidis’s lectures on systematic dogmatics. At the same time, he conducted research on the sacrament of penance in Greek Orthodox theology from the 16th to the 20th century, which was published in the Analekta Vlatadon series (1982).

Back in Rome, Fr. Amato taught Christology in the School of Theology at the Pontifical Salesian University, of which he was dean from 1981 to 1987 and 1994 to 1999. From 1997 to 2000 he was also vice rector of the university. In 1988 he was sent to Washington for studies on the theology of religions and to complete the Christology textbook. He was then appointed consultant to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Pontifical Councils for Promoting Christian Unity and for Interreligious Dialogue, and councilor of the Pontifical International Marian Academy. In 1999 he was appointed prelate secretary of the restructured Pontifical Academy of Theology and editor of the newly founded theological magazine Path. From 1996 to 2000 he was a member of the theological-historical commission for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000.

Appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on December 19, 2002, and elected to the titular See of Sila with the personal title of archbishop, he received episcopal ordination on January 6, 2003, from Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Basilica.

On July 9, 2008, Benedict XVI called him to succeed Cardinal José Saraiva Martins as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, and in the consistory of November 20, 2010, created him cardinal of the Diaconia of Santa Maria in Aquiro. He participated in the conclave of March 2013 that elected Pope Francis. On December 19, 2013, Pope Francis confirmed him “donec aliter provideatur” as prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, a post he left in 2018 shortly before turning 80.

In November 2013, Cardinal Amato closed the diocesan phase of the beatification and canonization process of Bishop Tonino Bello in Molfetta Cathedral. “Freedom of thought and action, appreciation of the laity, education for the young, the value of peace, love for one’s neighbor, consideration for the poor,” said the cardinal, “were the teachings” of Bishop Tonino, bishop of Molfetta from 1982 to 1986. His testimony, Cardinal Amato emphasized, “tells us that holiness is not a privilege of the few, but a vocation for all,” because we are all called “to follow Jesus and the theological virtues: faith, hope and charity.”

The Bishop Domenico Cornacchia of Molfetta, together with the entire diocese, remembers Cardinal Amato “with profound gratitude” as “a man of faith and tireless pastor, who served the universal Church and the people of God with great dedication.”

Source: Vatican News