Homily for 22d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
22d Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 30, 2026
Matt 16: 20-27
Rom 12: 1-2
Infant Jesus, Harvey, La.
MHC, Harvey, La.

"Get behind me" (James Tissot)

“You’re thinking not as God does but as human beings do” (Matt 16: 23).

Moments earlier, Peter had recognized that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:16).  Jesus directed his apostles to keep that to themselves, “to tell no one that he was the Christ” (16:20).

That secrecy seems to be because people, including the apostles, have no grasp of what it means for Jesus to be the Christ, the Messiah, God’s anointed agent of human salvation.  When he tries to tell them that he must suffer, die, and be raised, it’s more than they want to hear or can begin to understand.

Even Peter, to whom God the Father had revealed Jesus’ identity, objects vigorously:  “God forbid, Lord!  That can’t possibly happen!” (16:22).  If you’ve watched The Chosen (which I highly recommend), you’ve seen repeatedly how slow the apostles are to understand what Jesus is teaching and prophesying; that portrayal is consistent with the written gospels.

Jesus reacts so strongly to Peter’s objection that he calls him “Satan,” an obstacle to what God wants, a demonic temptation that Jesus must thrust behind him:  Get out of my way.  Don’t stand there and block the road I must walk.

Another way of looking at what Jesus tells Peter—“Get behind me”—is “Remember that you are following me.  I’ve just appointed you the rock, the foundation stone of my Church, but I’m the leader.  Get in line behind me.”

Which is a point we all need to remember.  Whether Jesus is chastising Peter for throwing a temptation in his face or “only” telling him to get back in line, he’s challenging us to put aside how we tend to think as men and women and, as St. Paul urged the Christians of Philippi, to put on the mind of Christ, his way of thinking (Phil 2:5):  the way of humility and obedience, and as Jesus says very plainly here, the way of the cross.  “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Matt 16:24).  The only road to the resurrection and heavenly glory is the one that Jesus walked ahead of us, the road to Calvary.

“Thinking as God does” doesn’t mean running to Calvary, wanting to suffer.  It means that when we act and speak as God wants us to, we will suffer.  Doing the right thing, saying the right thing, often comes with a price—as it did for Jesus, as it does for today’s martyrs who won’t deny Christ in the face of persecution, as it does for people who defend the human dignity of the unborn, of the foreign-born, of refugees, of the aged, of the homeless; for people who won’t cheat in school or in business; for people who keep their word when it would be easier to back out or back down or lie; for people who try to serve the common good rather than enrich or empower themselves; for people who deny themselves and their greed and their lust in order to honor, respect, and help others.

There are also sufferings that we don’t have any choice about:  illness and injury, natural disasters, ruined plans, the loss of loved ones.  These, too, are part of the cross that Jesus tells us we must carry in his footsteps.  They work for our holiness when we use them to unite ourselves to him and his passion.  This is the “spiritual worship” St. Paul speaks of in the 2d reading:  “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom 12:1).  Offer to God not a lamb or a bull or incense, as the ancient Jews and Romans did, but your own selves:  your joy and your sorrow, your hurts of body and heart.  Whoever follows Jesus like this will save his life—both body and soul for eternity at Jesus’ side (Matt 16:25).

7 Cooperators Inducted at Abp. Shaw HS

7 Cooperators Inducted at Abp. Shaw HS

The Greater New Orleans Center of the Salesian Cooperators inducted 7 new members on August 28 during a school Mass at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La. Attending the Mass were Shaw’s 535 students, the faculty and staff, the Salesian Cooperators of the New Orleans area, some parents and other family members, and some Shaw alumni.

Fr. Craig Spence, SDB, delegate for the local Cooperators, presided and preached at the Mass. Bernie Pontillo of the Cooperator provincial council and Rick Valladares, local coordinator, carried out the induction ceremony, which included their making of promises and the presentation to each of a certificate of membership, the Cooperators’ Project of Apostolic Life, and membership pin.

The new Cooperators are Pat Brehm, Anthony DiFulco, Anne Early, Lance Ehret, Nicole Perque, Megan Sepvalado, and Macie Weaver.

In addition, ten local Cooperators were honored for 27-43 years of membership in the Association. Fr. Steve Ryan, SDB, director, gave special recognition to Earnie and Bonnie Chiasson, Cooperators since 1983. Mr. Chiasson taught and coached at Shaw for a few years and served for over 35 years as beloved and respected assistant principal for student affairs.

Fr. Craig and Mr. Valladares give a 25-year pin
to Earnie Chiasson

The Mass solemnized the feast of St. Augustine of Hippo. Fr. Spence pointed to him as the model of a saint—a real person who struggled with temptation, made bad decisions, and ran from God but who eventually allowed God to catch up with him, take over his life, and give peace to his restless heart. Then he pointed to the Salesian Cooperators, who have committed themselves to following Jesus in the spirit of St. John Bosco, answering Christ’s universal call to holiness. Holiness, Fr. Spence said, starts when we let Christ take hold of us and walk with him.

A reception for all the Cooperators followed in the Salesian residence.

New and old Cooperators pose outside
after Mass

Photos: https://linkit.shutterfly.com/FheoyS

Your humble blogger happened to be in Marrero on an unrelated assignment—a happy instance of Divine Providence.

A Summer the War Can't Take Away

A Summer the War Can’t Take Away

(ANS – Lviv, Ukraine – August 28, 2026) – The war continues in Ukraine. And it continues to leave its mark on children’s lives too: in the disrupted nights, the air-raid sirens, the absences, and the fears they often learn to bear far too early. In this difficult context, however, the mission of the Salesian vice province in Ukraine also continues: to stand by young people, to educate, to accompany them, and to safeguard hope.

Once again this year, in fact, the Summer for Young People program was organized, alongside numerous summer activities promoted by the various Salesian communities. In this way, around 3,000 young people from various parts of Ukraine took part. For them, these were days of play, friendship, formation, prayer, and shared life.

It was, however, yet another summer spent in a country still at war.

When the sirens sounded, the courtyards would empty and youngsters and activity leaders would head down to the shelters together. And sometimes, even there, the singing, the games, and the activities continued.

Today, in Ukraine, a Salesian playground is also this: a place where a child can continue to feel like a child, a teenager can still dream, and a young adult can learn to give of themselves to others, even when a siren forces everyone to take shelter.

This is the heart of Don Bosco’s Preventive System: not to leave young people alone, but to be present in their lives, especially when things become more difficult.

This journey has also involved many young youth leaders. The School of Salesian Spirituality, lived out in the footsteps of Don Bosco, has helped them return to the roots of the charism and understand more deeply the meaning of their service. The Bosco Forum, with the motto: “Free to Serve,” was almost the natural culmination of this: young people who have received a warm welcome, friendship, and hope, and who now choose, in turn, to become a gift to other young people.

Behind all this there is also a large family that continues to walk alongside Ukraine. “Our gratitude goes to all the organizations, friends, and benefactors, and, in particular, to the Salesian foundations and mission offices in various countries, including Missioni Don Bosco of Turin and Don Bosco Mission Bonn, who share this mission with us,” write the Salesians of Ukraine. “Your help does not simply support activities. It enables thousands of children and youths to feel that, while their country is suffering, they’re not alone and they’re not forgotten.”

Every day, the war seeks to restrict their future. The Salesian mission, however, continues to open it up.

“With Don Bosco, we continue to believe in young people,” they conclude. “And together with them, we continue to believe in life.”

Some Ukrainian kids even had the chance
to visit Don Bosco's childhood home in Becchi.

A Journey of Faith and Fraternity in Patagonia

A Journey of Faith and Fraternity in Patagonia

Frs. Jorge Crisafulli and Gabriel Stawowy visit first Salesian missions

(ANS – Buenos Aires – August 27, 2026) – From August 8 to 16, the province of South Argentina (ARS) welcomed a significant visit focused on spiritual renewal and fraternity. As part of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first Salesian missionaries in the country in 1875. This visit occurred within the context of the celebrations for Don Bosco Month. The province welcomed Fr. Jorge Crisafulli (general councilor for the missions, 4th from left), Fr. Gabriel Stawowy (treasurer general, 3d from right), and Bro. Gunter Mayer, SDB, (provincial treasurer and head of the Salesian Mission Office in Austria, 2d from left). At certain stages of the journey, they were also accompanied by the ARS provincial, Fr. Manuel Cayo, Fr. Pedro Narambuena, and young volunteers.

In the basilica of Mary Help of Christians
in Buenos Aires

This tour enabled the superiors to gain a better understanding of the vast distances, the history, the economic contexts, and the evidence of holiness that characterize Patagonia.

The visit began on Saturday, August 8, in Buenos Aires. In the morning, after arriving in the country, the visitors were welcomed at provincial headquarters and at the basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Almagro. Here, together with the provincial and the local community, they visited the historic buildings and the church, entrusting the restoration work on the Salesian heritage to Divine Providence and Our Lady Help of Christians. The day concluded with the celebration of the Eucharist before their flight to the south of the country.

At the Ceferino Museum

On the 9th, the delegation landed in Tierra del Fuego, before travelling on to the historic Casa Nostra Signora della Candelaria. Accompanied by the local community and Mrs. Celina, a missionary volunteer who has served in Africa, they attended Mass at St. John Bosco Parish alongside the parish community and visited the historic buildings, with the support of local young people who assisted with translations into English.

August 10 was devoted to the community and productive life of the Salesian mission. They visited the sections dedicated to sheep shearing, dairy production, greenhouses, and food processing, before gaining a deeper understanding of the social reality of Margen Sur. The visit to the historic chapel reaffirmed in everyone the profound missionary vocation that characterizes this southern house.

At the tomb of Bl. Laura Vicuna

On the 11th, they flew to the Cordillera, where an inspiring journey began in the footsteps of Fr. Milanesio and Blessed Laura Vicuña. In Junin de los Andes, they walked the Via Christi and visited the house where Blessed Laura lived.

On Wednesday the 12th they continued their journey towards the cultrum in San Ignacio, paying homage to the place where the remains of Ceferino Namuncurá rest and to the chapel dedicated to St. Ignatius, which houses the tomb of Fr. Antonio Mateos, a Salesian missionary among the Mapuche native people. In Zapala, they shared a warm, fraternal lunch amid heavy snowfall, with the confreres from Chos Malal also joining them for the gathering.

On Wednesday afternoon, the group arrived in Villa Regina. For Fr. Jorge Crisafulli, it was an emotional return to the place where, more than 3 decades ago, he began his priestly ministry. He presided over the Eucharist in the parish church, as part of the parish’s centennial celebrations, and met with numerous friends and young people. After Mass they shared a fraternal dinner filled with anecdotes and discussion about the life of the Congregation.

On Thursday morning, they continued on to the shrine of Ceferino Namuncurá in Chimpay for a time of prayer. In the afternoon, they arrived in Viedma, where they visited the cathedral, the tomb of Bishop Cagliero, the bishop’s residence, and the chapel of Mary Help of Christians at the Cagliero Museum. At the Don Bosco Church, they celebrated Mass together with Bishop Esteban Laxague, SDB, of Viedma, and more than 200 members of the 34th Battalion of the Argentine Don Bosco Explorers, marking Explorers’ Day in the land of St. Artemides Zatti.

On Friday the 14th, they set off on the “Historical Route,” visiting the church in Carmen de Patagones, the first permanent Salesian center in Patagonia, founded by Fr. José Fagnano and Bp. Cagliero in 1885. They then continued their journey to Fortin Mercedes, where they celebrated Mass in the shrine, visited the museum, and had lunch before setting off for Bahia Blanca.

On Saturday, August 15, the day in Bahia Blanca was marked by remembrance. They visited the local branch of the Salesian Historical Archive, admiring historical photographs, letters, glass plates depicting the Selk’nam people, and records from meteorological observatories. There were some moving moments, such as the discovery of documents relating to the families of Fr. Crisafulli and Bro. Gunter in old publications. They also visited Bahia Blanca Cathedral and the altar where the remains of Blessed Laura Vicuña rest.

Finally, on August 16, after a week of intense activities, fellowship, and prayer for the Patagonian region, the superiors returned to Rome, leaving the communities with a renewed missionary enthusiasm and their hearts filled with stories and hope.

Fr. Joseph Nguyen Installed as Western Province Superior

Fr. Joseph Nguyen Installed as Western Province Superior

Fr. Joe Nguyen takes the oath of Catholic faith

(ANS – San Francisco – August 27, 2026) – On August 24 in Bellflower, California, Fr. Joseph Thinh Nguyen was installed during Mass as the new provincial of the Salesian Province of St. Andrew the Apostle, based in San Francisco. Fr. Hugo Orozco, councilor for the Interamerica Region, presided over the ceremony. 

Fr. Hugo Orozco preaching

In his homily, Fr. Hugo invited the new provincial to embody Salesian fatherhood by drawing inspiration from Don Bosco, fostering a spirit of listening, synodality, and closeness to the most disadvantaged young people. He noted that Fr. Nguyen, having served as master of novices for 9 years, has a deep understanding of the Founder’s paternal qualities. The homily concluded with a word of thanks to Fr. Melchior Trinidad, the outgoing provincial after six years of service, and a prayer to Mary Help of Christians, to whom Don Bosco always entrusted his works.

Fr. Joe Nguyen with his parents and confreres

Second Phase of Emergency Response in Colombia Gets Underway

Second Phase of Emergency Response in Colombia Gets Underway

(ANS – Medellin, Colombia – August 26, 2026) – Following the severe earthquake a couple of weeks ago, the Salesians in Colombia are launching the 2d phase of their emergency response, focusing on the resumption of educational and pastoral activities, humanitarian support for families who have lost their homes, and the reconstruction of damaged Salesian facilities. During the 1st phase, over 58 tons of humanitarian aid were distributed, and support was provided for emergency accommodation as well as pastoral and psychological care. The 1st financial aid payments have already been sent to affected staff members, thanks to cooperation between Salesian organizations, private individuals, and friends of the Salesian Family in Colombia. The Salesian community in Colombia thanks the worldwide Salesian Family for its ongoing support. Efforts are now focused on ensuring the continuity of educational services and carrying out technical assessments and reconstruction work, while keeping hope alive among the affected communities.

Fr. Comini's "Dear Little Book"

Fr. Comini’s “Dear Little Book”

The Diary of Fr. Elijah Comini, Salesian martyr

(ANS – Rome – August 26, 2026) – To mark the beatification of Fr. Elijah Comini, scheduled for September 19, the text Caro librettino: Diario di don Elijah Comini, salesiano, martire di Monte Sole has been published, edited by Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator general.

In an unabridged version, as faithful as possible to the original manuscript, Fr. Elijah’s spiritual diary – which he affectionately called “my dear little book” – provides an intimate and safe space in which to express his thoughts, emotions, dreams, and concerns: the Diario (Diary) which Fr. Elijah kept faithfully from the end of 1927, when he was a 17-year-old Salesian, until July 1944, just before the chain of events that would lead to his martyrdom on the evening of October 1. In his “dear little book” – small even in size (13.5 x 5.5 cm) – he records daily events thru a rigorous examination of conscience that helps him to scrutinize his intentions and aims; to adjust them in constant conformity with the primacy of the Gospel; and, above all, to give thanks, pray, and formulate firm resolutions, to which he remained faithful.

Rereading the diary in the light of the final event in Fr. Elijah’s life – his martyrdom in the Monte Sole Massacre – takes on a very special significance. It’Hs the supreme culmination of a life constantly oriented toward virtue and love, the pinnacle of a journey of faith and fidelity, in which his fortitude enabled him to face the ordeal of the supreme witness of love for Christ and his brothers. The young Salesian with an open smile and a practical nature, who showed his love first and foremost by doing things for others, lived a world within that largely eluded his confreres and which is – once again – revealed by his diary. Above all, certain resolutions he formulated at particularly significant moments in his religious and priestly life bear witness to a clear awareness of the total self-giving that being a religious and a priest entails: he asks God for the gift of holiness and shows himself to be clear-sighted and steadfast in ratifying, thru a free act of commitment, the sacrifice of his life.

The diary brings to light his “heroic love for souls” and his total self-giving to God, expressed from his youth: “Cupio dissolvi et esse cum Christo,” as he noted as early as the age of 18. This helps us to understand his “pastoral charity” in the spirit of St. John Bosco, which drove him to remain among his people “until the very end” and which illuminated, beyond all uncertainty, “the 3-day period of suffering” (September 29 – October 1, 1944), culminating in his holding “the breviary tightly in his hands” and the loud recitation of the Litany of Loreto in his final moments.

As Fr. Pasquale Liberatore, SDB, then postulator general of the Salesian Congregation, wrote in the Preface to the edition of the diary edited by Fr. Rino Germani in 1994: “This diary will contribute to a more complete understanding of Fr. Elijah Comini thru his daily determination to strive for perfection in religious life, in accordance with the demands of his consecration to God and in the spirit of St. John Bosco’s joyful yet demanding spirituality. The value of the diary lies in a revelation. It reveals, thru language imbued with intimacy and confidence, the degree of familiarity attained in his dialog with the Lord. This revelation comes as a surprise because, outwardly, Fr. Elijah never let anything show. It is precisely this contrast – a somewhat austere demeanor and such an eloquent heart – that gives rise to an intriguing interplay of light and shadow in his holiness.”

The most brutal and largest massacre carried out by the Nazi SS in Europe during the 1939-1945 war took place around Monte Sole, in the areas of Marzabotto, Grizzana Morandi, and Monzuno, altho it is commonly known as the Marzabotto massacre. Between September 29 and October 5, 1944, 770 people were killed; however, the total number of victims at the hands of the Germans and Fascists, from the spring of 1944 until liberation, stood at 955, spread across 115 different localities within a vast area comprising the municipalities of Marzabotto, Grizzana, and Monzuno, as well as parts of neighboring territories. Of these, 216 were children, 316 were women, 142 were elderly people, 138 were recognized as partisans, and 5 were priests, whose “crime” in the eyes of the Germans was to have stood by the entire population of Monte Sole – thru prayer and material aid – during the tragic months of war and military occupation. Alongside Fr. Elijah Comini, a Salesian, and Father Martin Capelli, a Dehonian, 3 priests from the archdiocese of Bologna were also killed during those tragic days: Frs. Ubald Marchioni, Ferdinand Casagrande, and John Fornasini. Fr. Fornasini was killed on October 13, 1944, and beatified on September 26, 2021.

For further information, please write to: postulatore@sdb.org

Homily for the Feast of St. Louis IX

Homily for the Feast of
St. Louis IX[1]

Aug. 25, 2026
Collect
Abp. Shaw HS, Marrero, La.

Wexford Friary Window of St. Louis IX
By Andreas F. Borchert,
httpscommons.wikimedia.orgwindex.phpcurid=12783627

In the prayer of the Mass, we noted that St. Louis, king of France for about half of the 13th century, passed “from the cares of earthly rule to the glory of a heavenly realm.”  Then we prayed that we might come to God’s “eternal kingdom by fulfilling our duties on earth.”

Louis IX isn’t a saint because he was a king but because he brought his Christian faith into his family life and his public life.  He was a faithful husband and a good father to 11 children, 6 of whom lived to adulthood.  He was a man of prayer and supported the Church by completing Notre Dame Cathedral and building a personal chapel, one of the jewels of Gothic architecture, called the Sainte-Chapelle.  He promoted learning by initiating what would become one of France’s premier universities, the Sorbonne, and was a friend of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas Aquinas while they were theology professors at the University of Paris.

More important is that St. Louis was a friend of the poor and sick, providing for their needs, doing what the prophet Isaiah spoke of in our 1st reading (58:6-11).  He reformed the laws and made sure that justice was carried out regardless of the high or low estate of those who came to court.  He made peace treaties with his neighbors in Spain and England.  His sense of justice was such that other European rulers sought him as a mediator, and he had cordial diplomatic arrangements even with the Mongol rulers of Central Asia.

St. Louis learned the qualities of virtue and good government from his saintly mother, Blanche of Castille.  Listen to your mothers’ good teachings, and always respect them.

St. Louis did well what all rulers are supposed to do:  provide for the well being of their people, maintain justice, keep the peace, and be mindful that God is our supreme ruler.  Religion is far more than praying and going to church (those are important); it’s also applying what we believe to our personal daily lives, or as the gospel today said (Matt 22:34-40), loving God and loving our neighbors.

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[1] St. Louis is the patron saint of the archdiocese of New Orleans. His day is a feast outside the city of N.O. and a solemnity within it.

Homily for 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
21st Sunday of Ordinary Time

August 23, 2026
Matt 16: 13-20
Wynhoven Apts., Marrero, La.
St. Joseph, Gretna, La.
MHC, Harvey, La.

Jesus Gives Peter the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven
(Tempio di Don Bosco, Colle Don Bosco)

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Matt 16: 13).

On the last 3 Sundays, we’ve seen Jesus work wonders:  feeding a massive crowd with a few loaves and fish, walking on water, and expelling a demon.  If we had read the passages from Matthew’s Gospel that come between those episodes, we’d also have heard some of his teaching.

Today Jesus brings his disciples to the point where he’s been leading them, the crucial point of his earthly ministry.  He asks his disciples a fundamental question about his identity:  who do people think I am?

Drawing from current events and Israel’s messianic expectations, they offer some suggestions:  John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the old-time prophets, brought back to life by God’s plan.

That’s not really what Jesus wants to ask, however.  The fundamental question is, “Who do you say that I am?” (16:14).  You’ve followed me for months, you’ve heard my teaching, you’ve seen my miracles, you’ve gone out and preached and healed in my name, you’ve lived with me.  What does all that tell you about me?  What’s that all about?  Who am I, really?

We can imagine an awkward silence, some nervous looking around, some looking down at the ground.  You all remember moments like that in a classroom, right?

Finally, Simon Peter replies.  He sounds pretty sure of himself:  “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (16:15).  Jesus affirms his answer, emphatically.

Jesus’ question is fundamental for us, too.  Who is Jesus in our lives?

If we answer, “He is the Christ,” i.e., the Messiah, God’s Anointed One, God’s agent of our salvation; if we answer, “He is the Son of God,” the Second Person of the Holy Trinity—what does that mean for us?  Does it really affect us?  Can we follow him haphazardly?  Can we belong to him for an hour on Sunday and then just mosey thru the rest of the week with him on the sidelines of our lives?  Does “he is the Christ, the Son of the living God” require a conversion of us?  What impact does our answer have on our lives—on how we act, how we speak, how we think?

Jesus’ response to Simon Peter also requires our attention.  He says he’ll build his Church on Peter, the rock of faith in him as the Messiah.  Jesus promises that the powers of sin and death shall not prevail against his Church; Jesus gives Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven, to admit or to deny entry (16:18-19).  The Church belongs to Jesus Christ; but he entrusts it and its message of salvation to Peter.

That entrustment continues in the person of Peter’s successors, in the 266 men who have followed him up to and including Pope Leo XIV.  Christ has commissioned them to preach and preserve the Gospel of salvation, to combat the powers of error, of sin, of darkness, of death, and to dispense the mercy of God by which we sinners may be admitted to the kingdom of heaven.

The keys that Jesus gives to Peter may also be used to lock the gate.  Charged by Christ to determine what is authentic faith in him, Peter and his successors define true Christian faith and distinguish it from false teaching.  An example occurred last month when Pope Leo ruled that the Society of St. Pius X, which rejects the Second Vatican Council, is outside the faith of the Catholic Church, its leaders are excommunicated, and some of its sacraments are invalid.

On the positive side, you hear a beautiful expression of the gates of God’s mercy opening wide every time you go to confession.  In Jesus’ name, the priest gives you absolution:  “God the Father of mercies, thru the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; thru the ministry of the Church, may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  [That was a demo, not a sacramental celebration.]  There is Christ’s Church at work, effectively prevailing against “the gates of the netherworld,” the gates of death, when the Church expresses Peter’s faith, preached and preserved by the Holy Father.

New Rochelle Province Commissions 9 Lay Missioners

New Rochelle Province Commissions 9 Lay Missioners

Led by Fr. Dominic Tran, SDB, the Salesian New Rochelle Province commissioned 6 men and 3 women as Salesian Lay Missioners for service in 3 countries during the coming pastoral year. The commissioning took place during Evening Prayer on August 14, vigil of the solemnity of the Assumption, in the chapel of the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw, N.Y.

During the commissioning rite, each missionary was given a mission cross, and all were prayed over and blessed. Each read a short statement of purpose and signed a document of commitment.

The 9 SLMs come from the states of Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Dakota and the province of Ontario. Two of the volunteers are adults who’ve had careers; the younger adults range in age from 19 to 24. Six are college graduates.

Fr. Tran places a mission cross
over the head of Matthew Heidenreich

Four of the men will go to mission territory in Amazonian Ecuador, sanctified by the holy labors of St. Maria Troncatti, FMA (1883-1969), as well as by Fr. Thomas Brown, SDB (1939-1995), an American medical missionary. Brendan Moorehouse, Matthew Heidenreich, Richard Lytle, and Keaton McCollum will be the first SLMs missioned to that part of the Salesian world. The Ecuador Province has been sending its mission volunteers there for years.

Two women, Noelle Chmelik and Veronica D’Andrea, will serve at Hogar Sagrado Corazon, a girls orphanage in Montero, Bolivia. Dozens of SLMs have ministered there over the years, but none since 2020.

Veronica D'Andrea reads
her mission statement

Craig Duff and Ephraim Black are going to the Salesian school and mission center in Okinawa, Bolivia, another work served by a lot of SLMs, but not recently.

Joanne Maher will serve at the provincialate of the Salesian Sisters in San Antonio, Texas.

Brendan Moorehouse signs
his commitment document

Under the direction of program director Adam Rudin, the 9 SLMs went thru 3 weeks of orientation in Port Chester, New Rochelle, and Haverstraw, including mission inculturation, introduction to Don Bosco and the Salesian charism, safeguarding, service projects, a retreat, and a hike in Harriman State Park. Mr. Rudin was assisted by 3 SLM veterans, Fr. Craig Spence, SDB, Douglas Hindman, and Angel Nunez.

Along Pine Meadow Brook
in Harriman State Park

In the SLM program’s 50+ years, more than 425 volunteers have served in 35 countries, including the U.S., mostly in Salesian or Salesian Sisters’ works, always on behalf of the young and the poor.

About 25 Salesians participated in 2026’s commissioning liturgy, along with 7 returned SLMs and about 20 youths from 2 Salesian schools who were at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Haverstraw-Stony Point for a week-long service-retreat program.

Fr. Tran’s homily focused on God’s call to make Christ present, whether we do that in the missions or in our ordinary lives. The Virgin Mary models that for us; when she visited her relative Elizabeth, both Elizabeth and unborn John recognized the presence of Jesus immediately on Mary’s greeting her cousin, before she did a single thing.

Photos: https://linkit.shutterfly.com/FS9289

"Charity is patient; charity is kind"

“Charity is patient; charity is kind”

Fr. Fabio Attard unveils the theme of the 2027 Strenna

(ANS – Rome – August 19, 2026) – The rector major has officially unveiled the theme of the 2027 Strenna, offering the Salesian Family an in-depth reflection on the journey undertaken in recent years and on the prospects that lie ahead. The new theme, “Charity is patient; charity is kind – ‘Dedicated’ to the integral good of young people,” is rooted in St. Paul’s hymn to charity and in the pedagogical legacy of Don Bosco’s Preventive System. It invites every member of the Salesian Family to a renewed educational and pastoral commitment to young people, especially those most in need.

Three significant anniversaries

Presented at a time of great significance for the Salesian world, the 2027 Strenna forms part of the journey marked by the years from 1875–1877, a 3-year period rich in foundational events for Don Bosco, the Congregation, and the Salesian Family. Fr. Fabio Attard recalls the journey already undertaken with the 2025 Strenna, “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people,” dedicated to the first Salesian missionary expedition of 1875 and marked by the Church’s Jubilee, and with the 2026 Strenna, “Do whatever he tells you – Believers, free to serve,” focused on the foundation of the Salesian Cooperators and on Mary’s words at the wedding at Cana (John 2:5). To these 2 anniversaries is now added the 150th anniversary of the First Missionary Expedition of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, as well as the 150th anniversary of the writing, in 1877, of one of Don Bosco’s most important works: “The Preventive System in the Education of Youth.”

The choice of theme

The title of the 2027 Strenna draws directly on the words with which Don Bosco himself described the foundation of his educational method, quoting Saint Paul: “The practice of this system is entirely based on the words of St. Paul, who says: ‘Charity is patient and kind.... Love bears all things, hopes all things, endures all things.’” The 2nd part of the title – the call to be “dedicated” to the integral good of young people – takes up an expression that Don Bosco himself used twice in his writings, emphasizing how the director and the educator must be “dedicated [the Italian is consacrato] entirely” to their pupils, ready to face any hardship for the sake of their civic, moral, and academic education.

The structure of the 2027 Strenna

In the light of these references, Fr. Attard has structured the 2027 Strenna in 2 parts. The 1st part offers an in-depth reading of the context of St. Paul’s hymn to charity, contained in chapter 13 of the First Letter to the Corinthians, presented as “the most excellent way” leading to conformity with Christ.

Originally written in response to the divisions and rivalries within the Corinthian community, St. Paul’s eulogy of charity becomes, for the Salesian Family, a criterion for gauging the authenticity of Christian life and pastoral charity toward young people. “We may speak all languages, know the mysteries of God, possess extraordinary faith and perform heroic deeds; but without love we are merely noise, and everything we do loses its deepest value.”

The 2nd part of the strenna reinterprets the 3 pillars of the Preventive System – reason, religion, and loving-kindness – in the light of current educational challenges.  In terms of reason, Fr. Attard proposes rediscovering the Preventive System as a “pedagogy of encounter,” which places at its center not programs or structures, but each individual young person, with his own story and potential, drawing on the experience of Valdocco and the importance of educational networks built together with young people, not merely for them. In terms of religion, the rector major invites us to recognize the “spiritual thirst” that dwells in young people’s hearts, in an age marked by hyper-connectivity, loneliness, and a lack of spaces for silence, emphasizing the importance of accompanying them in recognizing God’s voice in their own lives. Finally, in terms of loving-kindness, Fr. Attard proposes Jesus the Good Shepherd and the pilgrim on the road to Emmaus as a model, capable of walking alongside his disciples, listening to them, and shedding light on their experience – a style characterized by closeness, gentleness, and kindness, already evident in Valdocco and directed with particular care toward the poorest young people.

The Preventive System: our treasure

“Charism and competence go hand in hand for the integral good of young people,” writes Fr. Attard, recalling that the Preventive System is not merely a method, but the gift of a charism entrusted to the whole Salesian Family throughout the world, to be loved, understood, and safeguarded with humility and intelligence, avoiding all superficiality.

With the presentation of the 2027 Strenna, Fr. Attard invites all members of the Salesian Family to celebrate joyfully the 150th anniversary of the Preventive System in the education of young people, turning it into a precious and providential opportunity for a deeper understanding of the Salesian charism and for a renewed educational and pastoral commitment to young people.

Later on, the official poster for the 2027 Strenna will be presented to the whole Salesian Family, while the full text will be available at the end of December 2026.

Fr. Attard’s presentation is already available in Italian, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Polish.