Homily for Memorial of St. Leo the Great

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Leo the Great

Nov. 10, 2026
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Pope Leo meets Attila
(Oratory of St. Philip Neri)

It’s a measure of Christ’s prudence and his kindness that he founded his Church “on the apostolic rock” of St. Peter.  Pope St. Leo was very conscious of being Peter’s successor, and his influence as a trustworthy teacher of the faith was universal.  We remember him particularly for his teaching on the 2 natures of Christ united in one divine Person.

Leo’s apostolic preaching and universal care for Christ’s flock in Peter’s name is one reason why he was the 1st to be called “the Great.”  A 2d reason is his work for peace and the protection of the people of Rome.  That he influenced Attila the Hun to divert his army is well known.  He was less successful later in getting Genseric the Vandal to spare the city, but he did manage to protect most of the people—no small achievement in the violent ancient world.

Popes continue to follow Leo’s lead in seeking to mediate “the protection of lasting peace,” tho the world usually isn’t willing to listen—not to Benedict XV, Pius XII, John Paul II, or Francis.  John Paul did at least avert a war between Argentina and Chile.  Leo XIV was recently partly responsible for the safe evacuation of Oleshky in Ukraine.  The media seem to have given most of the credit for that to Melania Trump.  There’s an old political adage that a lot can be accomplished if you don’t mind who gets credit for it.

We continue to revere Peter’s successors, and we pray they may always teach us well the truth of the Gospel.  We pray, too, that the world will listen to their appeals for peace and a just society based on human dignity.

Good Nite by Fr. Roman Jachimowicz

Good Nite by Fr. Roman Jachimowicz
“A new wind is blowing across Europe”

(ANS – Rome – November 6, 2026) – On the evening of November 5, during the general council session which began on October 26, Fr. Roman Jachimowicz, general councilor for the Central and Northern Europe Region, gave his Good Nite to the Sacred Heart community at Salesian headquarters. Drawing on his extraordinary visitation to Belgium and the Netherlands, and his time in Germany and Austria, he offered some reflections on cultural changes in Europe and the challenges they pose to the Salesians.

Something is changing in Europe

Fr. Jachimowicz spoke of a time of encounters and reflection. The protests sweeping through various European cities – each very different from the other – are, for him, a sign of dissatisfaction, fear of the future, and a need for security and guidance. Hence the question: are the Salesians in Europe able to recognize this change?

One moment in Assel, the Netherlands, has stayed with him: a large group of young people had gathered to pray, the majority of whom had no religious background. They were seeking silence, a moment to pause, something more profound. For the councilor, after years of talking about a secularized society, today we must increasingly speak of a post-secular society: a section of society has lived without God and without transcendence, and now feels a void.

The European paradox

Referring to contemporary art, which is often made up of fragments and has no connection to goodness, truth, and beauty, he described an era with many images, ideas, and freedoms, but one that struggles to find meaning. Europe offers possibilities never seen before: comfortable homes, well-stocked supermarkets, travel, education, healthcare, and technology. Yet anxiety, depression, and loneliness are on the rise. Young people have thousands of contacts but few deep relationships; they receive a vast amount of information but struggle to understand the world.

Using a simple image, he spoke of “information overload”: like fast food, it fills you up but doesn’t nourish you and can lead to “mental obesity,” with a full mind and an empty heart. The model of happiness that’s constructed, planned, or bought doesn’t work entirely, and the fundamental questions return: who am I? Where do I belong? What’s the meaning of my life? Where am I going? Not even artificial intelligence can answer these for us.

A cry for meaning, and the word “listen”

What’s happening today isn’t, in his view, merely a whisper, but at times “a cry for meaning, for belonging” and, ultimately, a cry directed toward God. This doesn’t mean a return to the religious forms of the past, nor that Europe is suddenly becoming Christian, but that many young people are seeking something true and stable. He cited France, where tens of thousands of young people gathered to pray and meet the Pope.

For the Salesians, the key word is listening: not only to what young people say, but also to what they don’t yet know how to say. Perhaps young people are asking their questions in places where the Salesians aren’t present. Recalling Dino Buzzati’s The Desert of the Tartars and Fortress Bastiani, he warned against the risk of having facilities full of young people without hearing their questions. The issue, he said, isn’t merely whether the works are functioning, but whether we’re still listening: can we recognize the young person who doesn’t immediately ask for catechism but seeks silence, and who doesn’t say, “I’m seeking God,” but “I don’t know what meaning my life has”?

A path toward God

The challenge isn’t to stop at social or psychological support, however necessary that may be. The Salesians are called to offer a home, genuine relationships, education, friendship and, “also or above all”, a path toward God. Fr. Jachimowicz expressed his conviction that a new wind is blowing in Europe and that the era in which secularization seemed the definitive answer is coming to an end. “You can’t see the wind. We only see what it moves.” He concluded with the question: are European Salesians ready to see this new wind?

Homily for 32d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
32d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Nov. 8, 2026
Matt 25: 1-13
Scout Trek-o-ree, Putnam Valley
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

We’re approaching the end of the church year, and in ch. 25 of St. Matthew’s Gospel we’re nearing the end of Jesus’ public ministry and his teaching.  Today and the next 2 Sundays, the last 3 of the church year, he’ll tell us 3 parables that advise us to get ready for the end—not the end of the year but the end of time, his own 2d Coming and the Last Judgment of every man and woman who ever lived, the judgment that will decide how we’ll spend eternity.  “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” (Matt 25:13).

I camp in Harriman State Park a few times a year, and I’m pretty good at planning what food, water, and gear I need.  Four years ago I started to prepare supper and realized I’d forgotten my knife, fork, and spoon.  After saying something I can’t repeat here, I realized I was going to have to eat my ramen noodles with chop sticks—I carry some with me as fire tinder.  But a nearby camper came to my site, just being friendly, and learning of my predicament, provided an extra set of utensils.[1]

My camping predicament and my salvation, as it were—the spare utensils—was quite different from the situation of the 10 young women in Jesus’ parable today.  I don’t habitually forget my utensils, which are one part of a lot of gear.  But these 10 women have just one task—to be ready to light the way for the bridegroom when he arrives.  One task!

You’ve all known people who can’t be depended on, people who depend on you to bail them out of their own irresponsibility.  It happens in school, at work, and in social circles:  “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out” (25:8).

The 5 wise virgins respond sensibly that there’s not enuf oil for all 10 of them.  The bridegroom’s procession home with his new bride will be spoiled if all 10 of the women have their lamps go dark.

The parable isn’t about just any wedding party.  The bridegroom is an image of Christ; we, the Church, are his bride.  The wedding feast is the banquet of eternal life:  “Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb,” the Lamb’s wedding feast, as we acclaim before Holy Communion, the sacrament of that eternal banquet.

By Frans Francken the Younger

In the parable, “those who were ready went into the wedding feast” with the groom.  “Then the door was locked” (25:10).

When St. Paul was writing his letters to the Thessalonians, Christians were expecting the Lord to return at any time.  The faithful in Thessalonica had asked Paul, with concern, about those who died before he returned.  Would they be saved?  That’s what Paul was answering in our 2d reading (I, 4:13-18).

By the time St. Matthew was writing his Gospel, 30 or 40 years later, Christians were facing up to Christ’s delay.  “The bridegroom was long delayed” (25:5).

The problem for the 10 young women with their lamps isn’t that “they all became drowsy and fell asleep” (25:5).  It’s that 5 of them weren’t prepared when the bridegroom finally showed up.

When the Lord returns, or when we’re summoned in death to appear before him for judgment, there won’t be any borrowing of oil nor any time to “go to the merchants and buy some” (25:9).  The lit lamps we’ll be carrying for the Bridegroom, for Christ our judge, will be the light of the Christian faith we’ve lived.  When we were baptized, the priest or deacon presented us—to our parents on our behalf—a candle lit from the Easter candle, and he commanded us, “You have been enlightened by Christ. Walk always as a child of the light and  keep the flame of faith alive in your heart. When the Lord comes, may you go out to meet him with all the saints in the heavenly kingdom.”

No one else can hand off to us the faith we will have lived, the virtue we will have practiced.  If we’ve been faithful disciples of Christ, we’ll go into the wedding feast with him.  If we show up empty handed, with useless, dead lamps, with no good deeds done in imitation of Christ, we’ll be locked out, and no amount of knocking on heaven’s door will help:  “Lord, Lord, open the door for us!  But he said in reply, ‘Amen I say to you, I don’t know you.’” (25:10-12)

Jesus concludes the parable, “Stay awake, for you know neither the day nor the hour” when the Bridegroom, Christ our Lord, will return, or when you (or I) will be called from earth to divine judgment.  “Stay awake” really means, “Be ready.”  Live every moment with Jesus at your side, in your heart, in your speech, in your manner of life.

---

[1] This tale amused the Scouts at their Mass on Saturday evening.

Salesian Missions' Food Distribution Appeal

Salesian Missions Launches Annual Food Distribution Appeal

(ANS – New Rochelle – November 5, 2026) – Salesian Missions has launched its Annual Food Distribution Appeal, enabling donors to multiply their gift many times over by turning a $1 donation into $20 of critical nutrition.

Salesian Missions maintains partnerships with international humanitarian aid organizations like Rise Against Hunger and Feed My Starving Children that donate tons of nutritious food. With the trusted presence of Salesian missionaries in more than 130 countries, life-saving meals are provided for people who need them most. Donor funding helps Salesian Missions transport the meals from shipping docks to Salesian program locations around the globe.

In some places, the severity of food insecurity is overwhelming. An estimated 645,000,000 people are living with hunger, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Further, the organization has noted that about 2.1 billion people (26% of the global population) were moderately or severely food insecure in 2025, lacking regular access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food.

In 2025, Salesian Missions sent food aid to Benin, Burundi, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Guatemala, East Timor, Uganda, and Zambia. This food aid provided meals to students and served as an incentive for families to send their children to school. As a result of the feeding programs, students are thriving. Many have gained weight, suffer fewer illnesses, and have become more focused on their studies.

“Salesian missionaries are perfectly positioned to effectively and efficiently distribute goods and supplies like food aid to the communities in which they serve,” said Fr. Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “Our donors remain an integral part in ensuring this aid reaches youths who depend on Salesian programs for food, water, shelter, and education.”

More than 30,000 Salesians are dedicated to caring for youths who are poor and disadvantaged by providing programs around the globe. Salesian programs assist youngsters thru education (academic, trade, and agricultural), workforce development initiatives, emergency relief and humanitarian aid, infrastructure support, clean water initiatives, and nutritional and health services.

To learn more and make a donation, visit SalesianMissions.org/lp/food.

Appointment of New SDB Secretary General

Appointment of New SDB Secretary General

(ANS – Rome – November 2, 2026) – With the consent of his council, the Rector Major has appointed the new secretary of the general council. He is Fr. Tomasz Sage, a Salesian from the Wroclaw Province of Poland. He will succeed Fr. Guido Garino, who has held the post of secretary general since 2022.

Fr. Sage, born in Tarnowskie Gory on November 4, 1988, attended the Salesian novitiate in Kopiec, where he made his first profession on September 8, 2008; he professed perpetual vows on August 30, 2014 in Lubin. He was ordained a deacon in Jerusalem in 2015 and a priest in Tarnowskie Gory on June 18, 2016.

He has held various posts, first in his hometown, where he served as councilor and director of the Oratory, and then in Leszno, where he served as treasurer, vice director, and principal.

In April 2025, he obtained a licentiate in canon law from the Uniwersytet Kardynala Stefana Wyszynskiego in Warsaw.

In the service of Salesian life and mission

The secretary general serves the Rector Major and his council and contributes to the governance of the Salesian Congregation. He attends general council meetings, drafts the minutes, and oversees the preparation of official documents, ensuring that decisions are properly documented and communicated to those concerned. He is also responsible for the offices of the general secretariat; he oversees the collection and updating of data relating to the confreres, houses, and provinces; he oversees the publication of the Acts of the General Council; and he is responsible for the Congregation’s central archives.

Thru this service he contributes to the continuity of the Congregation’s governance, to communication between the general administration and the provinces, and to the preservation of the memory of the journey undertaken by the Salesian Society. His work, often discreet yet essential, supports the work of the Rector Major and his council and fosters communion and the smooth functioning of the Congregation, in the service of the Salesian mission thruout the world.

Salesian Missions Funds Don Bosco Community Center

Salesian Missions Funds Don Bosco Community Center
Aid for education and nutrition programs

Photo courtesy of Salesian Missions

(ANS – New Rochelle – November 3, 2026) – Don Bosco Community Center, located in Port Chester, N.Y., received donor funding to help support education and nutrition programs from November 2025 to July 2026. The funding came from Salesian Missions of New Rochelle.

The funding directly supported 70 youths in kindergarten to grade 8 who are from low-income and primary immigrant families. These families rely on the center for academic support, safe afterschool supervision, enrichment programs, and healthy nutrition. Most youths come from households of 3 to 6 members, and the parents generally have a high school education or less, work in low-wage jobs, and often face language barriers and food insecurity.

Thru the afterschool program, youths received homework help and took part in STEAM and recreation activities. The center provides after-school academic support and enrichment for approximately 30 children, ESL classes, and college access mentoring for approximately 20 first-generation students.

The center’s nutrition program provided hot meals for the youths and their families. Funding also supported the soup kitchen that provides nutritious meals to individuals, families, and elderly community members facing food insecurity. This helped reduce hunger and strengthen family support. The center serves close to 4,300 hot meals each month.

During the past year, the center also introduced a culinary skills and ServSafe certification program to provide men, women, and youths in the community with practical job skills and training. The program has generated strong interest, and there is currently a waitlist of more than 45 individuals hoping to participate.

Two of the youths who were supported thru the center’s college program gave an interview with News12 Westchester. Andrea Barjas explained, “I’ve been a part of the Don Bosco Scholars for two years, and they’ve helped me thruout the whole process.” Diego Umanzor said, “I feel like people believe in me. People around me are rooting for me.”

Don Bosco Community Center serves youths and families that are often vulnerable and struggling, empowering them to build lives of dignity, stability, and hope. Programs feed, educate, and support families to offer a chance for a brighter future.

Source: MissionNewswire

Homily for Thursday, Week 31 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Thursday
Week 31 of Ordinary Time

Nov. 5, 2026
Luke 15: 1-10
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

The Good Shepherd
(Philippe de Champaigne)

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Luke 15: 2).

It’s been said that if Jesus doesn’t eat with sinners, he must eat alone.  Let’s concede that his Mother could join him.

To respond to the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes, Jesus tells 3 parables.  We just heard 2.  All of us probably could narrate the 3d one from memory, the parable of the lost son and his rejoicing father (15:11-32).

All 3 parables highlight heaven’s joy when someone who’s been lost is found and restored, symbolized by a sheep, a drachma, and a son.

The parables, let’s remember, are addressed to those who look down on “sinners” and fault Jesus for caring about them.  Perhaps we sometimes despise “sinners” too—the world has an ample cast of evil characters.  If we care about them like Jesus, altho we can’t dine with them, we can pray for them.

The other side of the parables is us.  We are the lost sheep, the lost drachma, the lost son, sinners.  We are the ones who rejoice God’s heart when we repent (15:7,10); and repentance is our constant, never-ending work, trying daily to let Christ find us and keep us safe.

Salesians to Rebuild 2 Schools in Sudan

The Salesians to Rebuild 2 Schools in Sudan

Will restore hope to 581 children affected by civil war

(ANS – Khartoum, Sudan – October 28, 2026) – The civil war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has left the country devastated, with millions displaced and numerous schools, hospitals, and homes destroyed.

In Khartoum, the capital, the fighting has also severely affected the facilities of the Salesian mission, which for decades has been providing education, vocational training, and support to thousands of vulnerable families.

After more than 3 years of conflict, the material damage has been compounded by an economic crisis that prevents many families from meeting basic needs, such as feeding their children and providing them with an education. Many children have been out of school for a long time, leaving them vulnerable to child labor, exploitation, and other risky situations.

The provincial delegate for Sudan, Fr. Joseph Can, traveled to Khartoum to assess the damage. While finding the situation relatively calm in the areas he visited, he noted the deterioration of schools, workshops, parish centers, and other mission facilities. Fortunately, much of the infrastructure can be restored. To this end, the Salesians have launched a program of gradual rehabilitation, with the aim of returning these educational and social spaces to the communities.

Two schools damaged by the war and 581 children in need of a return to education

Among the priorities are the schools in Al Gubba and Al Gadisiya, linked to the Salesian parish of St. Joseph in Kalakla, in the southern part of Khartoum. The former has 287 pupils—161 girls and 126 boys; the latter has 294 pupils—155 girls and 139 boys. In total, the 2 schools are attended by 581 children from families who have suffered displacement, financial loss, and the direct consequences of violence.

Both schools have suffered significant damage to classrooms, doors, windows, furniture, and water and electricity systems. At Al Gadisiya, it will also be necessary to assess the safety of an upper floor whose construction has not been completed.

The works involve the refurbishment of 12 classrooms or rooms and 2 blocks of toilet facilities in each school, the restoration of essential utilities, and the purchase of school furniture. School uniforms and teaching materials are also provided for all pupils, along with financial support for the 26 teachers and 4 support staff working at the 2 schools.

The resumption of teaching activities, in fact, does not depend solely on the reconstruction of the buildings. Many families have lost their jobs and lack the necessary resources to buy school supplies or ensure their children have adequate nutrition.

Much more than just repairing classrooms: nutrition, protection, and community life to rebuild the future

Therefore the Salesians plan to provide a daily meal to the 581 pupils, helping to combat hunger, improve concentration, and encourage school attendance. The initiatives also include sporting activities, hygiene education, psychosocial support, and child protection measures, so that children can find a safe and stable environment in schools.

The schools also serve as an example of coexistence in a country deeply scarred by violence: 388 pupils are Muslim and 193 are Christian, and they all share the same classrooms without any religious distinctions.

The Salesians arrived in Sudan in 1980 and were the last religious congregation to leave the country at the height of the war, when it was no longer possible to guarantee their own safety. They have now returned to contribute, thru educational reconstruction, to restoring trust and cohesion within the communities.

Restoring the chance to study to these 581 boys and girls means much more than simply repairing buildings: it means offering them protection, stability, and an opportunity to build a different future.

Salesian Missionary Volunteers

Salesian Missionary Volunteers
The Advisory Team Visits Würzburg

(ANS – Würzburg, Germany – November 4, 2026) – Following its annual meeting in Rome, the Salesian Missionary Volunteers advisory team travelled to Würzburg, where they took part in a gathering of former volunteers who, in recent years, had been sent from Germany to various Salesian provinces around the world for a year of volunteer service. The gathering, focused on the theme of hope, was very fruitful and well-attended.

U.S. members of the advisory team are J.C. Montenegro from Bellflower, Calif. (far left in photo), and Adam Rudin from New Rochelle (at back, 3d from left).

Rector Major's Message for November

 THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

Fr. Fabio Attard, SDB

Believing – in a World

Without a Compass 

A reflection on Rom. 12:12: “Be joyful in hope, steadfast in tribulation, persevering in prayer.”

By Arpingstone - Public Domain 

Let’s pause for a moment on these few words. Let’s read them again slowly, allowing each one to find its place within us: joyful… steadfast… persevering. These are brief words, written by Paul to the community in Rome, yet they contain an entire journey. They’re offered as cardinal points for those who fear they’ve lost their way.

How many today feel this bewilderment. We live in an age rich in possibilities, knowledge, and instruments, yet often poor in shared points of reference. We’re constantly bombarded by information, proposals, and promises of happiness, and we struggle to distinguish what endures from what passes away. Everything is in acceleration. Uncertainty grows, and life becomes fragmented. Something within us weakens: the capacity to wait, to persevere, and to entrust ourselves.

Paul doesn’t offer us a formula that consoles us for a fleeting moment; he gives us a rule of life. He doesn’t ask us to flee the world, but to inhabit it with a heart that’s rightly oriented. Hope, steadfastness, and prayer—interwoven like a three-strand cord that’s not easily broken.

Joyful in hope

Be joyful in hope. The first word is an invitation to joy—not to a superficial cheerfulness, but to that quiet joy born of a certainty: God is faithful. Our lives have meaning. No situation, however dark, is beyond the reach of his saving hand.

Let’s allow this certainty to sink deep within us. History isn’t a random succession of events; our existence isn’t consigned to a void. We walk toward a fulfillment that we don’t construct alone: ​​we receive it as a promise; we welcome it as a gift. Precisely for this reason, hope doesn’t divert us from our daily commitments; indeed, it restores them to us so we can live them with greater freedom and responsibility.

Those who hope can sow even when they don’t yet see the harvest—loving without possessing; serving without seeking a reward. Hope unbinds us from the anxiety of “wanting it all and wanting it right now” and educates us to a fruitful, patient, and trusting form of waiting—like that of the farmer who steadfastly awaits the precious fruit of the earth.

To be joyful in hope, then, means safeguarding in our hearts a joy that can endure even through tears. It’s the joy of those who know that evil will not have the final word. It’s a humble joy—sometimes silent—yet one that rests upon a rock: the presence of God.

Steadfast in tribulation

Christian hope doesn’t preclude tribulation. It promises no one a life free of trials. It asks something of us that is both humbler and greater: to remain steadfast amid the trial.

Steadfastness is the quiet strength of those who remain faithful when the path becomes an uphill climb. It means not abandoning what’s good simply because it demands time, sacrifice, and patience. When everything around us urges us to cast aside whatever doesn’t yield immediate satisfaction, the believer bears witness to the value of faithfulness—in relationships, in one’s vocation, in service, in education, and in the pursuit of justice.

Tribulation wears many faces, and each of us is familiar with some of them: illness, loneliness, failure, misunderstandings, a crisis of faith, the struggle of accompanying those who suffer. Then there are the tribulations that weigh upon entire peoples: war, poverty, forced migration, violence, inequality, and a lack of faith in the future. Faced with all this, the disciple can’t turn away his gaze. Indifference isn’t a Gospel path.

Steadfastness, in the light of the Gospel, thus becomes presence: the mature capacity to stand alongside those who suffer, not running away. It’s the courage to defend human dignity when no one else seems to see it. It’s faithfulness to the Gospel even when its message appears weak, inconvenient, or at odds with prevailing fads.

Persevering in prayer

But from where do hope and steadfastness come? Not from willpower alone. They require a deeper source, and Paul names it: perseverance in prayer. Without prayer, hope risks being reduced to naive optimism, and steadfastness to senseless obstinacy. In prayer, however, we gratefully acknowledge that we’re sustained in life by God.

To pray is to return, each day, to the Source. In silence and by listening to the Word, we learn to distinguish what’s urgent from what’s truly important. Prayer isn’t a magic wand that changes circumstances. It’s the sacred space where God changes us: he transforms our perspective, illuminates our hearts, and teaches us to interpret history not starting from our fears, but in the light of his fidelity.

To persevere in prayer means remaining steadfast even during times of dryness, distraction, or silence—when no consolation comes our way. It’s precisely then that prayer is purified: we choose to trust in God for who he is, and not merely for what he gives.

Persevering prayer thus becomes a relationship, surrender, and an openness to God’s will. It doesn’t lock us away in a private, interior sphere. A true encounter with God always matures into a call to encounter our brothers and sisters: the poor, disoriented youths, wounded families, and those who’ve lost hope. True prayer opens our eyes, educates us to compassion, and leads to service.

A compass for our times

In a world without a compass, the Christians don’t claim to possess all the answers. Rather, they simply bear witness to having found a direction—one that has a Face and a Name: Christ, in whom suffering is traversed by love and death opens onto resurrection.

Believers don’t arrogantly impose certainties. They offer credible witness: they’re joyful without being naive, steadfast without becoming rigid, prayerful without withdrawing from reality. Through their lives, they show that another way of living is possible.

Amid the disorientation of our times, Paul hands us a compass that is both simple and profound. Let’s hold it in our hands and allow it to guide our steps: hoping with joy, persevering with love, and praying without growing weary. 

Homily for Memorial of St. Martin de Porres

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Martin de Porres
Tuesday, Week 31 of O.T.

Nov. 3, 2026
Collect
Phil 2: 5-11
Luke 14: 15-24
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Statue of St. Martin de Porres
(Calvary Hospital, Bronx)

God “led St. Martin de Porres by the path of humility to heavenly glory” (Collect).

As a poor, mixed-race, illegitimate son of a single mother, Martin couldn’t be admitted to religious life in 16th-century Lima.  He became a lowly volunteer in the Dominican convent of the Holy Rosary.  After 8 years, the prior allowed him to profess as a lay brother, and he continued his menial tasks.  He served scores of his brothers and everyone else who came to him in poverty or illness.  He gave his own bed to the sick on more than one occasion.  His care for sick friars had miraculous incidents.  Thruout Lima, he was known as “Martin the charitable.”

Martin was imitating Jesus, who “did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.  Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil 2:6-7).  Jesus came to serve us and to give his life for us (Mark 10:45), and that lowliness led to the glorification of his humanity (Phil 2:9).

In the parable Jesus tells today, it’s the great ones of society, the arrogant and the rude, who lose out:  “none of those men … will taste my dinner” (Luke 14:24).  That great dinner to which many were invited (14:16), of course, is the banquet of eternal life.  Who enters the feast and partakes?  The poorest of society, the humble, anyone willing to accept the great man’s invitation to come in and fill the banquet hall (14:21-23).

The humble are exalted, as we heard in Saturday’s gospel (Luke 14:11).  The humble like Martin de Porres are lifted up to glory.  For the humble “have the same attitude that is in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5).

Salesians Appoint New Postulator General

Salesians Appoint New Postulator General

(ANS – Rome – October 27, 2026) –Fr. Fabio Attard has appointed Fr. Gabriel de Jesus Cruz Trejo as the new postulator general for the causes of saints of the Salesians of Don Bosco, succeeding Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni. Vatican approval was granted on October 26.

The New Postulator

Fr. Gabriel Cruz Trejo was born in Mexico City and made his first Salesian profession in 1997. He was ordained a priest in 2006. He began his ministry in Salesian formation in Mexico. He served as a formator and teacher, as well as community director and director of the interprovincial postnovitiate.

Fr. Cruz subsequently earned a licentiate in missiology and theology of religions from the Pontifical Gregorian University. He also earned a specialization in Islamic studies from the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome. Fr. Cruz was then sent as a missionary to Pakistan, where he carried out intensive pastoral, educational, and missionary work, also serving as the delegate for Pakistan of the Southern Philippines Province.

In 2022, he was assigned to the Salesian Generalate in Rome, where he joined the postulator’s office as an assistant to Fr. Cameroni. During this time, he earned a diploma in advanced specialization in the causes of saints from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, which was conducted at the Pontifical Lateran University and the Augustinianum Patristic Institute. He also served as the global spiritual animator of the Association of Mary Help of Christians.

A Precious Spiritual Heritage

The postulator general for the causes of saints is responsible for overseeing, on behalf of the Salesian Congregation, the causes for beatification and canonization promoted by the Congregation and by the various groups of the Salesian Family. In collaboration with the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, he contributes to the Church’s discernment and promotes awareness of the witness of holiness that has matured within the charism of Don Bosco.

Ever since the introduction of Don Bosco’s cause in 1890, the postulator general’s office has safeguarded a precious spiritual heritage that today extends to every continent and to the various vocations of the Salesian Family. Its mission consists in overseeing the causes through the various stages of their process and in making known the spiritual richness of the women and men who have exemplarily embodied the Gospel according to the Salesian charism.

As postulator general, Fr. Cruz will make available to the Church the spiritual richness of the causes for beatification and canonization promoted by the Salesian Congregation and the groups of the Salesian Family.

Homily for All Souls Day

Homily for All Souls Day

Nov. 2, 2026
John 14: 1-6
Ps 23
Rom 14: 7-12
Salesian HS Juniors, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Holy Trinity & Souls in Purgatory
(unknown artist)

In the gospel we just heard, Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled (John 14: 1).  When someone we love dies, our hearts are troubled.  That doesn’t mean we’re bad Christians; it means we’re human.  Jesus wept when his friend Lazarus died (John 11:35).

But Jesus also reassures us even when we grieve for deceased loved ones.  He tells us he’s prepared a place for us (14:2), and he’ll take us to himself (14:3).  Jesus himself passed thru death and into a world beyond our experience.  In that world, the world of eternity, he waits for those we love, and he waits for us.  Even when our hearts are troubled, we have this consolation of our faith.  Jesus has gone ahead of us and is waiting for us whom he loves.

Jesus is the Good Shepherd.  He shows us the way to the verdant pastures that Ps 23 speaks of.  He shows us the way to the house of the Lord where he wants us to dwell with him (John 14:3)—not just “for years to come,” as the psalm says (v. 6), but forever.

So why do we have this solemn day called All Souls Day, a day of praying for the dead?  It’s not that we lack confidence in the goodness of Jesus our Shepherd, Jesus who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).

We pray for the dead because, as St. Paul reminds us, “we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.  Each of us shall give an account to God” of our lives (Rom 14:10,12).  All of us have to pass the final exam in order to arrive at the place Jesus has prepared for us.  Our prayers for the dead help them prepare for their judgment because for God there is only the present—no past.  Our prayers and others’ deaths are all present to God.

When you go to a prom or a relative’s wedding, you make sure you clean up, your clothes are clean and neat, and you’re well groomed.

To come into the place God has prepared, where Jesus waits for us—to come into God’s presence—we’ll have to be perfectly clean, all stain of our sins wiped away.  Everyone sins, right?  The sins we carry with us to the grave, like our pride, selfishness, laziness, or impurity, have to be cleansed.  In Catholic theology, we call that purgatory, getting cleaned up for God, having our sins scrubbed away.

So on All Souls Day, we pray for the dead—for all who have died, including our relatives and friends—that they’ll be washed by God’s mercy and be able to come into his presence, to dwell forever in the place that Jesus has prepared for them.