Homily for 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
18th Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 2, 2026
Collect
Is 55: 1-3
Matt 14: 13-21
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden
(Lucas Cranach)

“Draw near your servants, O Lord, and … with unceasing kindness restore what you have created and keep safe what you have restored” (Collect).

What has God created that we pray him to restore and keep safe?

The 1st chapter of the book of Genesis tells us:  “God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (1:27).

We’re asking God in his “unceasing kindness” to restore his own divine image in us, to restore an image that we’ve clouded, even broken, by sin.  All the brokenness in the world is the result of a broken relationship between the Creator and his creation.  That’s a big theme in the opening chapters of Genesis.

The Scriptures this morning tell us how God does his restoration work, then keeps it safe.

In the 1st reading, the Lord invites “all who are thirsty” to “come to the water” (Is 55:1).  Water’s precious, necessary, and life-giving everywhere, very notably so in the arid Middle East, where God spoke these words thru his prophet.

Scientists get excited when space explorations find some evidence that there may once have been water on Mars or some other celestial body.  Where there’s water, there may be life.

Closer to home, one of the humanitarian projects our Salesian mission office supports, especially in Africa, is the drilling of wells and installation of pumps so that remote villages may have clean water for the people, their livestock, and their fields.

The Indian Express, Aug. 17, 2021

Yet closer to home, for years 7 Western states have been discussing water rights to the shrinking Colorado River for their cities, farms, and industries, unable to agree on how to distribute the water, and facing a resolution handed down by Washington.

Our hearts thirst for water, too; not the physical water of a well or a river, but the water of a healthy relationship with God.  And this God offers us, as Christ taught Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came to him secretly, seeking the kingdom of God (John 3:1-15); he offers us a new birth, a new creation, by water and the Holy Spirit.  Thru Baptism God restores what he created, viz., the divine image in a man or woman.  That image is a reflection of God’s Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.

A soul filled with grace is a living, glorious image of Christ our Lord.  St. Irenaeus of Lyons, a 2d-century Father of the Church, taught that the glory of God is a fully alive human being, a restored image of God himself.

God, thru Christ, has also provided for the safekeeping of the divine image in men and women.  That’s foreshadowed in what Jesus does in today’s gospel.  Moved with compassion for a hungry crowd, Jesus takes a few loaves of bread, blesses them, breaks them, and gives them to his disciples to distribute.

Last Supper window
OL of the Assumption, Bronx

At his Last Supper, he also “took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, ‘Take and eat; this is my body’” (Matt 26:26).  Still moved with compassion for us, he repeats those sacred actions when his bishops and priests celebrate the Eucharist.  The sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood, the mystery of our faith, keeps safe what Jesus has restored, the divine image in our souls.

The disciples gave Jesus’ multiplied bread to the hungry crowd.  But really it was Jesus giving it.  It’s Jesus now who turns bread and wine into his body and blood and distributes those gifts to his hungry and thirsty followers. 

“All you who are thirsty, come to the water!  Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare” (Is 55:1,2).  Come and be given life; come and be restored.

Oratory Environment Enlivens Tampa's Camp Mary Help

Oratory Environment Enlivens Tampa’s Camp Mary Help

By Genaro Cantú, Salesian candidate

This article was published originally (July 30) in Salesian News, weekly newsletter of the New Rochelle Province.

The campers and counselors gather for a fun photo on the final day of camp, in front of Mary Help of Christians Parish. Credit: Alex Gonzalez

(ANS – Tampa – July 30, 2026) – Home. School. Church. Playground. Salesians know these as the four pillars of Don Bosco’s Oratory. At Camp Mary Help of Christians in Tampa, these same pillars have come together uniquely. Local Tampa youths learn valuable life skills, share quality time with one another, and at the same time grow steadily to “discover their home in God's Church,” in the words of Stephen Watkins, the camp director. “Fun” and “faith-filled” are two words he uses to encapsulate the camp’s mission.

One of the aspects that has truly set Camp Mary Help apart is celebrating the camp-wide Mass daily before any activities. It’s celebrated by a Salesian priest on each day of the 7-week summer camp season. Campers are encouraged to participate actively by being an altar server, joining the camp choir, or serving as a lector.

A 10-year-old camper said of the opportunity to altar serve at camp, “I don't get to do it a lot, so I like doing it here.” He added that he found it “exciting.”

Activities at camp range from archery to canoeing on the lake, from arts and crafts to paying a visit to the barn on the complex (it's appropriately named Mary Has a Little Farm, with chickens, goats, and many other animals present). A caring and energetic team of counselors — many of them former campers themselves — assists the young and helps them to feel at home.

At Mary Has a Little Farm, campers got to experience
the shearing of Shamrock, a 6-year-old sheep. Credit: Arturo Sabogal

“When children come to camp, we work hard to help them feel as if they are part of our family,” Mr. Watkins shared. “We build trust, share our love, and give them a role in our community, which in turn allows them to better understand how God wants them to use their talents outside of camp.”

Tubing on the lake is a favorite among the teenage groups, while the water slides and water balloon fights seem to be most popular among the smaller campers.

Faith time takes place in the afternoon. This is a period devoted to interactive catechesis in an age-appropriate setting, plus weekly “witness talks,” and an opportunity for campers to share about their life in Christ. Each week, a specific theme is emphasized. Important virtues such as forgiveness and prayer took center stage recently.

Bro. Pascal Mukuye, SDB, shared that witnessing campers approach God's mercy during forgiveness week was especially meaningful to him. “To see our young people adoring the Lord, getting to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation, and being able to pause was just beautiful and very inspiring,” he noted.

The week of camp concluded with a lively Friday afternoon talent show, complete with cheerful animation, skits, karaoke, and an awards ceremony. Finally, to cap the week off on the highest of notes, a time of song and worship of the Blessed Sacrament occurred.

Camp Mary Help, which just concluded its final week for 2026, can certainly be described as a tremendous success. The young in the Tampa area were able to spend their summer alongside Christ and enjoying themselves. By doing so, they learned to value a life in which grace and unity with Him is not something boring or old-fashioned. Don Bosco’s saying “Run, jump, shout, but do not sin!” truly came to life, made possible by the cheerful assistance of the counselors and by the camp leadership and Faith Team. But in the end, it's all made possible by the intercession of our mother, Mary Help of Christians, for Don Bosco says that every one of those sent this summer to that bit of paradise in Tampa made it there only by her hand. And for that, thanks be to God.

Some of the Mary Help camp counselors. Credit: Stephen Watkins

Homily for Memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Peter Chrysologus

July 30, 2026
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

St. Peter Chrysologus (School of Guercino)

The collect for the memorial of St. Peter Chrysologus praises God for making this early 5th-century bishop of Ravenna “an outstanding preacher of your incarnate Word,” playing on the saint’s nickname, “golden word," which is what chrysologus means.  He preached so eloquently of Christ, the Word made flesh that he’s considered a doctor of the Church.

Our prayer was that by St. Peter’s intercession we might “constantly ponder in our hearts the mysteries of your salvation,” i.e., what God has done to save us thru the Word made flesh.  The incarnation of the Son of God is the 1st mystery of how God saves us from our sins and their consequences.

Jesus has advised us that our actions follow from our thoughts, i.e., from our hearts.  “A good person out of the store of goodness in his heart produces good, but an evil person out of a store of evil produces evil; for from the fullness of the heart the mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).  So, pondering the divine mysteries is the 1st step in our becoming like, speaking like, and acting like followers of Jesus.  Prayer, reading the Scriptures, meditation, and sitting with the Lord are where we begin our positive response to God’s love revealed to us in the Incarnate Word.  Doing that, we imitate our mother Mary, who reflected on everything in her heart (Luke 2:19).

The Immaculate Conception
(Velasquez)

Pondering isn’t enuf.  We pray also that we may “faithfully express [the mysteries] in what we do.”  We have to put God’s love into action—in our speech and our deeds.  We know that, of course, but knowing and doing aren’t the same.  So we plead for God’s help in speaking and doing what we know in our hearts, that we eloquently represent the Incarnate Word.

Such prayer God wants to hear and answer.  “Ask and it will be given to you; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matt 7:7).

Adieu, Bro. Hubert Twagirayezu, SDB

Adieu, Bro. Hubert Twagirayezu, SDB

by Pie Shumbusho, SDB

(ANS – Kabgayi, Rwanda – July 29, 2026) – On Friday, July 24, at the postnovitiate house of the Salesian Africa Great Lakes Province in Kabgayi, Rwanda, the funeral of Bro. Hubert Twagirayezu was celebrated.  Members of the Salesian Family, other religious, diocesan priests, family members, and friends of Bro. Hubert gathered to pay their last homage and lay him to rest.

Bro. Hubert returned to his Father’s home on Friday, July 17, in a traffic accident that occurred at Mpigi, about 60 miles from Kampala, Uganda, on the way toward Kigali, Rwanda, for the priestly ordination of Salesians held on July 18. Bishop Balthazar Ntivuguruzwa of Kabgayi presided over the funeral Mass, surrounded by Fr. Gabriel Ngendakuriyo, Salesian provincial, and his council, and other Salesian and diocesan priests.

The Funeral Mass

In his homily, the bishop expressed his heartfelt condolences to the Salesian Family, Bro. Hubert’s biological family, and the Church in general. He invited everyone to pray for the soul of the departed brother so that he may rest in peace. Words of consolation, the gatherings, and the closeness of friends don’t remove either the sadness, the void, the feeling of a loss, or the shedding of tears, the bishop said, but the hope of resurrection and life everlasting that Jesus Christ promised to those who believe in him can console those who lose their loved ones. He invited those present to believe in the word of God so that they don’t remain with endless questions which can’t give any solution to what they experience during the difficult moments.

Before the concluding prayer and other burial rites, Fr. Augustin Cesar Habanabakize, director of the postnovitiate, which hosted the event, invited 3 people to address a word of testimony about the life of the late brother. These were Fr. Anaclet Munyankindi, who spoke on behalf of the delegation from Palabek, Uganda, where Bro. Hubert was carrying out his mission; Bro. Hubert’s brother, who spoke on  behalf of the family members and friends; and Fr. Ngendakuriyo, the provincial. The major point which all speakers emphasized was the apostolic zeal, the hard, organized work, the commitment, and the love for young people that Bro. Hubert always showed by looking for what could improve their lives.

Fr. Provincial expressed his gratitude to everyone present, especially the bishop, who put other duties aside and responded positively to celebrate the Eucharist. He promised to give the community of Palabek another Salesian to keep up the work which Bro. Hubert had been doing and invited everyone to pray so that the new person should be a man of God and a hardworking religious fit for the Salesian mission.

Concluding the testimonies, the bishop invited young people who attended the funeral not to fear responding “yes” to the call of God so that they may join others to work in his vineyard. "Young people, God needs you, the Church needs you, society needs you. You have lived with the one whose eternal life we are celebrating today, and you have seen how he worked, how he served God by serving you. So come and continue what he has begun," the bishop exhorted. After the concluding prayer and the final blessing, the funeral rites were led by Fr. Frederic Murindangabo, the vice-provincial, at the cemetery where Bro. Hubert was laid to rest with other Salesians and an FMA sister. 

A Life of Service and Planning for the Poor

Bro. Hubert Twagirayezu, firstborn son of Peter Claver Twagirayezu and Alphonsine Uwimana, was born on January 16, 1982, in Masaka, Rwanda. After the death of both of his parents, he and the siblings moved to Muhanga District, Rwanda. He professed as a Salesian on August 15, 2005, and made his perpetual profession on July 14, 2013, in Saint Andrew Parish, Gitarama, Rwanda.

Bro. Hubert, Jan. 10, 2024, in New Rochelle
(by Fr. Gabe Stawowy)

Bro. Hubert served in the province in different houses as an administrator and formator and pursued further studies in New Rochelle, N.Y. He returned to the Father's house while he was serving the Lord in Palabek, Uganda, as an administrator of the house, the principal of the camp’s vocational training center, and province development officer. Those who worked with him described Bro. Hubert as a man who loved storytelling, shared information generously with his confreres, and had a deep love for work. He fully embraced Don Bosco’s spirit of hard work, often saying that rest would come later, according to testimonies shared at the event. He was also known for initiating projects aimed at uplifting the poor, and he leaves behind several projects he had envisioned.

"They're still digging with their bare hands"

“They’re still digging with their bare hands”

A Salesian Missionary Speaks from “Ground Zero”

(ANS – Caracas, Venezuela – July 28, 2026) – Venezuelan Salesian missionary Ubaldino Andrade, who normally works with South Sudanese refugees in northern Uganda, has returned temporarily to his home country to visit his family. During his stay, he visited the areas hardest hit by the earthquakes and worked alongside displaced people, volunteers, healthcare workers, and family members who continue to search for their loved ones among the rubble. His account reflects a tragedy that is no longer making the news but is proving unbearable for the population.

More than a month after the 2 earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, which struck northern Venezuela on June 24, the death toll continues to rise. The latest official figures put the number of 5,546 fatalities; furthermore, 16,740 people have been injured, and 17,907 have lost their homes or are unable to return to them.

Fr. Andrade, known to everyone as ‘Uba,’ visited La Guaira accompanied by Salesian Jorge Bastidas and a young woman from the Salesian Youth Movement in Venezuela. There he met a population that, despite their exhaustion and having lost hope of finding survivors, continues to search for the bodies of their loved ones. Here is his account.

“Many people have lost hope of finding their family members alive, but not of at least finding their bodies. People continue to dig with their bare hands,” the Salesian missionary emphasizes.

He stresses that it’s difficult to grasp the extent of the destruction until one visits the affected areas in person. Entire buildings have been crushed, and the upper floors have become the new ground floors, with several stories buried under them.

“What reaches us thru the media is nothing compared to the immensity of the tragedy. There isn’t a single street where you won’t find a destroyed building or house,” he explains.

Faced with the destruction, the missionary highlights the spontaneous mobilization of thousands of people. Vehicles laden with water, coffee, rice, arepas (flatbreads), clothes, tools, and flashlights continue to arrive from Caracas and other states across the country.

The solidarity shown by the people stands out in the face of a tragedy that seems unimaginable

“They’re not coming just to look. They’re coming to help, to comfort, to clear up, and to be with their brothers and sisters. To paraphrase St. Paul, where sorrow and misfortune have abounded, so too have solidarity, empathy, and closeness,” continues the Salesian.

Fr. Uba and his companions were able to distribute water, fruit juices, clothes, soap, hygiene products, and food to families living in tent cities after losing their homes, their possessions, their memories, and even their documents.

Among the aid items were some simple chocolate cookies. A doctor, exhausted after several days of work and lack of sleep, explained to them just how important such a seemingly insignificant gesture could be at that moment.

“There is so much sadness and a strong smell of death. A small cookie doesn’t make you want to eat – the sadness is truly overwhelming – but it can take away that bitter taste we have in our mouths,” the doctor told Fr. Uba.

The Salesian also speaks of the children’s ability to create small pockets of normality. “One day, among the tents and rubble, we found a group of children playing inside an old abandoned car, pretending, in the midst of the disaster, to lead a normal life, without T-shirts, because the heat is unbearable.”

At what might be called ‘ground zero’ (the epicenter), where a cluster of blocks of flats, each over 14 stories high, have been crushed as if they were a giant sandwich, people continue to wait for the ‘moles’ – ordinary people with no professional training – to enter thru the gaps in the rubble, still searching for someone.

“There aren’t many international teams left. The people are still here: university students, Venezuelan and foreign doctors, forensic pathologists, nurses, and young people who keep on digging and searching for bodies,” continues the Salesian. All these people need helmets with lights, warm clothing, flashlights, and protective equipment. Healthcare workers are also asking for mosquito nets to close off the tents where they work, due to the proliferation of flies in the areas where bodies are still being recovered.

Young people, healthcare workers, and volunteers continue to search thru the rubble with almost no resources

During his visit, Fr. Uba met a woman who is still searching for several family members. She and one of her children survived because they were not at home when the earthquakes struck.

“She told us she couldn’t cry because she had to stay strong so that her children wouldn’t lose heart. But how long can a person hold out in these conditions?” wonders Fr. Uba, who also highlights the miracle of finding someone alive in the area a month after the earthquakes.

The missionary then warns that, once the initial rescue phase is over, an equally complex task will soon begin: dealing with the psychological consequences of a traumatic experience that many people have not yet been able to come to terms with.

For their part, the Misiones Salesianas office in Madrid and its Jóvenes y Desarrollo NGO have already allocated over 350,000 euros from the Emergency Venezuela campaign so that the Salesians can assist the population and planning for reconstruction can begin.

The Salesian response includes the distribution of food, water, medicine, and hygiene products, as well as healthcare and psychosocial support, child protection, emergency education, and the restoration of damaged homes and infrastructure. One of the initiatives will provide support for 6 months to 680 particularly vulnerable families in Caracas, La Guaira, and Carabobo. Parishes, schools, and Salesian centers remain open as places to welcome people and to store and distribute aid. Religious, young people, and volunteers continue to travel daily to the affected areas with whatever resources they can gather.

It’s the end of the day, and Fr. Uba concludes his account: “We return home in silence, speechless. But tomorrow will be another day, and we’ll return once more, laden with whatever we manage to procure.”

Source: Misiones Salesianas

Homily for Tuesday, Week 17 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
Week 17 of Ordinary Time

July 28, 2026
Jer 14: 17-22
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Jeremiah lamenting the ruin
of Jerusalem (Rembrandt)

“Let my eyes stream with tears … over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people” (Jer 14:17).

If we pray the Liturgy of the Hours, Jeremiah’s lament sounds familiar.  It comes up at Morning Prayer every Friday of Week III.

The prophet mourns the devastation of Judah and the impending doom of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian army.  He calls upon God for relief in the name of the Lord’s own glory and the covenant God made with Israel, even as he admits Israel’s sins.

In our time, we lament so many ills that befall not only our own nation but the whole world.  We lament gross sins of war and terrorism against nations; against human nature and human dignity; against God’s creation and social justice.  We lament such as earthquakes, wildfires, and other natural disasters.

So we pray to the one who can save:  “Is it not you alone, O Lord, our God, to whom we look?” (14:22).  We can’t fix the ruins of Venezuela, Haiti’s violent chaos, or wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Africa.  But we can affirm our own commitment to the covenant we’ve made with the Lord our God, to follow Jesus faithfully in prayer and our relationships with one another.  We can be people of peace and constructors of fraternity here.

Homily for 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 26, 2026
Rom 8: 28-30
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

“Those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom 8: 29).

Everybody's Magazine
Public domain
- Wikimedia Commons

One of the Greek myths concerns a sculptor named Pygmalion, who created a statue so likelike that he fell in love with it.  George Bernard Shaw picked up the Greek myth and turned it into a stage play called Pygmalion in 1912.  In turn, in the 1950s Lerner and Loewe very creatively turned Shaw’s play into a musical set in 20th-century London—My Fair Lady.  In that story, a language professor transforms a Cockney street girl (a flower seller) into a high society lady, and then falls in love with his own creation.

The 2d Person of the Holy Trinity is a perfect image of the 1st Person:  God the Son and God the Father, respectively.  Their mutual love proceeding between them is so perfect that it’s a 3d Person, the Holy Spirit.  I have to be careful not to speak of the 2d and 3d Persons being created because they’re not.  The Father begets the Son eternally:  God from God, true God from true, we profess in the Creed.  There’s no “becoming” between them.  Likewise, the eternal Holy Spirit.  There’s no “falling in love” within the Trinity.  God’s very nature is love.

But we may be able to say that God falls in love.  Certainly, he creates in love.  Like Pygmalion or Prof. Henry Higgins, he makes something new and marvelous, or more precisely, he makes someone.  “God created man in his own image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27).

God created us out of love, knowing each human being in advance of our coming to be, and he has predestined us to become like Jesus Christ, his perfect Son, so like Jesus that we become his brothers and sisters, children of God.  We are imperfect people, sinners—sin is the only thing that can scratch or even shatter the image of Jesus Christ in us—but thru Christ God justifies us, makes us new and innocent.  The more that God’s grace touches us—in prayer, in the sacraments, in our efforts to imitate Jesus our Lord—the more we are transformed into images of Jesus.  And God is in love with us.  He has “called [us] according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28), the purpose of being glorified (8:30) alongside our brother Jesus in eternal life.

St. Paul writes “that all things work for good for those who love God” (8:28).  No matter what sins we commit, no matter what evil comes our way, God continues to love us and to make everything come out according to his ultimate plan—our redemption.  Christ suffered terrible evil, was tortured, killed, and buried.  But God the Father raised him gloriously; and that’s his intention also for us who do our best to respond to his love—the love by which and for us he created us and turns us bit by bit, day by day, into images of his Son Jesus Christ.

"Only by taking up the cross can we truly follow Jesus"

“Only by taking up the cross can we truly follow Jesus”

(ANS – Rome – July 23, 2026) – In his Good Nite to the members of the SDB and FMA general councils, who were gathered on July 22 at the Salesian headquarters, the rector major offered a profound reflection on the meaning of following Christ in consecrated life today.

Drawing inspiration from the Gospel dialog between Jesus and Peter – when the apostle, after proclaiming Christ as the Messiah, rebuked him for foretelling his own passion, only to be told in reply to “deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him” – Fr. Fabio Attard invited everyone to ask themselves what it actually means to live out this following of Christ in the present day.

The rector major referred to Pope Francis’s teaching on pastoral conversion, recalling that this can’t exist without prior personal conversion: it’s not primarily a matter of changing methods, but of converting the heart of the pastor. Hence the challenge – also highlighted in the reports from provincial visitations – of communities where life risks becoming “a collection of individualisms,” with a lack of joy in being among young people, listening to them, and accompanying them in the schoolyard.

Fr. Attard urged us to recognize the many addictions that threaten inner freedom – not only digital ones, but also toxic friendships and relationships that don’t set us free – emphasizing that it is pointless to concern ourselves with young people if we’re not first and foremost committed to a genuine personal conversion, with the Lord at the center, renouncing self-centeredness. He also warned against “pastoral worldliness” which transforms pastoral service into a quest for personal gratification and recognition.

Referring to the dream of the rose-covered arbor, written by Don Bosco as early as 1847 – just his 2d year at Valdocco – the rector major recalled how the founder had understood from the outset that consecrated life for the sake of young people involves the dimension of the cross: “It’s a matter of the cross, not a walk in the park. It’s the path to Calvary.” If this dimension is forgotten or not embraced, he added, there’s a risk of causing harm to young people, to the mission of the Congregation, and to the Institute.

Fr. Attard concluded by recalling Don Bosco’s promise of an extraordinary future for the Congregation, on one condition alone: fidelity to the Constitutions, that is, to the Gospel as it’s been handed down and set out in the Constitutions. He urged us to have the courage to carry the cross with freedom and authenticity, “because young people are waiting for us, and the future is there: it’s up to us to ensure that it remains so.” 

Experiencing Connection at Camp Echo Bay

Experiencing Connection at Camp Echo Bay

by Julia St. Clair

(ANS – New Rochelle – July 23, 2026) – A beloved landmark in the New Rochelle community and the tristate area, Camp Echo Bay opened its doors for the summer on Monday, June 29. It takes place on the Salesian High School campus and is open 5 days a week through Friday, August 14, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The camp is run by Jimmy Ascencio, ’19, and Matthew Boggi. Matt is a theology teacher at Salesian High School. Additionally, 3 Salesians are involved in the camp: Bros. Bill Hanna, John Taylor, and Lorenzo D’Alessandro.

“A lot of the counselors are former campers, and it’s good to see them grow and keep coming back,” Jimmy shared. He works as Monroe University’s cross country and track and field team’s assistant coach, strength and conditioning coach, team recruiter, and equipment manager. “We have a lot of kids who start coming here in pre-K and stay through 8th grade. Running the camp doesn’t feel like work to me; it’s a fun thing.”

Staff member Naomy Ayapan first came to Camp Echo Bay in the 2nd grade after her family moved from Tennessee to New York. “The counselors are not just counselors; they’ve always been there for me,” Naomy reminisced. “I also met my best friend here, and we’ve grown a lot together.”

Naomy attended Camp Echo Bay as a camper through 8th grade. She loved it so much that she became upset the weeks when she didn’t go to camp. “I cried when my mom didn’t sign me up on some weeks,” Naomy remembered.

Naomy has worked at Camp Echo Bay for 4 years and has loved every moment. “I enjoy coming back to Camp Echo Bay and experiencing the connection here,” she beamed. “Everyone’s always been there for me.”

Along with former campers returning as counselors, a lot of Camp Echo Bay’s male counselors are Salesian High alumni, like Cory Gardner, ’19. “Corey and I went to school together,” Jimmy exclaimed of Corey, who oversees the 6th to 8th grade group.

Corey previously worked as a counselor during the 2021 and 2022 camp seasons. “Job opportunities took me away from Camp Echo Bay for a while, and then Jimmy asked me if I could come back,” Corey explained. Corey, who works as a high school counselor, accepted happily. “I see the value of being a role model and leader for the kids,” he declared. “The kids make the camp, and it’s especially great to see the older kids rediscover their childlike wonder. I love to help them all find their true gifts in a positive way.”

Camp Echo Bay welcomed 255 boys and girls during its opening week. For its 2nd and 3rd weeks, 365 campers came each week. Weeks 4 and 5 are expected to see an estimated over 400 boys and girls in attendance.

One key tradition at Camp Echo Bay is its special theme weeks; each week is centered on and celebrates a part of pop culture. With this in mind, Camp Echo Bay began its season with Holiday Week. Superhero Week followed the week after the Fourth of July, and the next week was Star Wars Week. This week, Camp Echo Bay celebrates Nickelodeon Week, and next week will be Olympic Week. The two themed weeks for August will be Disney Week and Carnival Week.

For more information, visit Camp Echo Bay’s website, or contact them at (914) 632-0248 ext. 215 or campechobay@salesianhigh.org.

This story ran in the New Rochelle Province newsletter on July 23 and was picked up by ANS the same day.