Message of the Rector Major for May

THE MESSAGE OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

Fr. Fabio Attard, SDB

Mary

The Visitation (Philippe de Champaigne)

Example of an open and giving heart

With God dwelling in us, like Mary, we see ourselves as called and sent 

Mary arose and went in haste (Lk 1:39). The words are few, yet full of meaning. Through these simple and decisive gestures, the inner structure of a heart that has truly allowed God to dwell within it is revealed. Mary’s departure isn’t for just any kind of journey; it’s the response of a life of recollection—of a soul that, having learned to listen and to discern, then moves to respond. After having lived through the experience of the Annunciation, Mary doesn’t stop to process what’s just happened to her. Mary doesn’t close herself within the intimacy of her own experience—an extraordinary and profound one—keeping it to herself. On the contrary, she allows herself to be molded and guided by the Word. She sets out to go to another.

Mary’s is a spiritual movement: she lovingly took in the Word, and now it’s the Word dwelling within her that directs her toward her neighbor. Those who truly love, as a consequence of feeling loved by God, forget themselves and place themselves at the service of others. Mary teaches us that openness of heart isn’t an optional virtue, but rather the very way in which God’s love takes shape in the life of one who believes in him.

Openness: Moving beyond a narrow vision

With God dwelling in us—like Mary—we see ourselves as being called and sent forth. Mary’s actions stand in contrast to a view of life built upon an unavailable “self,” closed in upon itself. When we choose to observe the world solely from a narrow observation point, we run the risk of arriving at the conclusion that our own opinion contains the whole truth. This is the longstanding temptation: to reduce reality to what we’ve already seen, measured, and planned. Our own way of thinking and seeing becomes the sole and exclusive measure.

Mary shows us that openness of heart is, first of all, an emptying of one’s own egoism. When we remain closed off—rather than allowing ourselves to be guided by charity—we lose that movement of the heart which receives God’s gift then to reach out to our neighbor. True openness of heart isn’t a human decision; it is, before all else, a grace – one that must be invoked, freely received, safeguarded, and exercised every day. We can’t truly reach out to others—in a full, free, and joyful sense—unless we allow God to be alive within our hearts. May he be the One to make us open—opening wide our eyes to what transcends our own small and poor human logic.

Emptying oneself is the first form of love

In a culture like ours, there is always the subtle risk of self-reference—the belief that one constructs his own identity by looking only at himself, as into an ever-smaller mirror. Mary bears witness to a different way of looking at life: she re-positions her entire existence toward the presence of the Word within her heart, and subsequently, toward Elizabeth’s need. It’s a choice that regards the need of one’s neighbor as a calling, as the fruit of one’s relationship with God. And it’s for this very reason that she sets out in haste to one in need.

True availability has, at its roots, the courage to question oneself and to renounce one’s self—even when this appears to be a loss. It’s not a matter of ostentatious generosity, but rather of an inner freedom born from having discovered that I can be myself only by giving of myself to another in a radical way. Here, an open and available heart isn’t the winning of a trophy, but an act of abandonment to the will of the Father.

Not an act of kindness, but an obedience to God who dwells in our hearts

Mary doesn’t go to Elizabeth because she believes from a human standpoint alone that her elderly cousin is in need of help. Her visitation to her cousin isn’t merely an act of kindness; rather, it’s the presence of the Son who, within her womb, is conforming his Mother to himself. Mary’s journey to Elizabeth is the mission of God himself, taking the form of a journey toward the other.

Mary’s visit is a mission born of the Son’s coming into her life. When Jesus truly becomes a part of our lives, everything we are and do flows from this single source. Mission springs forth from the personal encounter with Christ.

Unconditional availability: beyond the results

In the face of Mary’s free and generous choice, our desire to imitate her is marked by a very subtle yet ever-present temptation: that of wanting to see what kind of results our choices yield. Mary, who immediately sets out on her journey, conveys to us the decision of a heart that’s already full—one that seeks no security or certainty outside itself. For the true measure of a mission, and of its success, lies in its living relationship with the Word that dwells within it.

Mary, icon of a free heart – Word, faith, and charity

Cardinal Carlo Martini offers us a reflection that’s brief, yet profound and essential: the Word is the seed, faith is the womb that receives it, and charity is the fruit that is born. Mary is the woman who lived this dynamic in its fullness: with humility, she welcomes the Word; with faith, she rises and goes in haste; with charity, she gives of herself. Her “going in haste” conveys that gesture of charity which mirrors a heart that’s free and liberating, illuminated by the Word that sustains her faith.

An open and available heart isn’t merely a heart that’s sentimentally good; rather, it’s a heart that has learned to dwell within the tension between the proclamation received and embraced, and the brothers and sisters who await it; between interior grace and the road to travel; between the mystery of God and the concrete reality of human need.

Mary teaches us that we need not wait until we have understood everything before we set out.

Homily for 5th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
5th Sunday of Easter

May 3, 2026
1 Pet 2: 4-9
Villa Maria, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

The Last Supper (Jaume Huguet)

“Let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God thru Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2: 5).

St. Peter gives us something of a mixed metaphor in this passage from his 1st letter.  We’re to be stones used to build a house, but living stones for a spiritual house; and we’re also to be holy priests—both houses and priests.

Both metaphors—stones and priesthood—point to our relationship with Jesus.  Jesus is the “living stone” (v. 4) that Peter refers to, based on Ps 118 (v. 22), which is one of many Old Testament texts that Jesus fulfills, a verse that he cited himself with reference to his rejection by the chief priests and elders (Matt 21:42).  They didn’t accept him as the Messiah, but instead sent him to his passion and death.  But the rejected stone has become a living stone because God the Father raised him from the dead and made him the cornerstone of his work to redeem the human race:  “a cornerstone, chosen and precious”—here Peter is citing the prophet Isaiah (28:16).

We allow Jesus to take us and build us up into a great temple for the honor of God, part of the temple of his living body (John 2:19-22)—living stones piled onto and around the chosen and precious cornerstone.

Jesus is also the great priest of the new covenant between God and the human race.  He offered himself as the sacrifice that inaugurated that new covenant:  “This is the cup of my blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant, poured out for the forgiveness of sins.”  Not only is Jesus the great priest of the new covenant.  He is the only priest of the covenant, as his sacrifice, offered on the cross, is the only sacrifice of the Christian people.

When Jesus commands us to offer his sacrifice—“do this in memory of me”—he gives us all a share in his priesthood.  That’s why Peter tells us “to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God thru Jesus Christ.”  The one sacrifice we offer is Jesus’ body and blood; we join ourselves to him to make this offering, or in the word our liturgy likes to use, this “oblation.”

While it’s true that Jesus appoints a few men to represent him by presiding over this sacrificial offering, he wants all of us to make the offering.  We’re invited to take part in “my sacrifice and yours,” the sacrifice of the ministerial priest and of the priestly people, to make Jesus’ sacrifice our own.  All of us are priests inasmuch as we offer ourselves along with the Lord Jesus.

Further, Peter suggests we “offer spiritual sacrifices thru Jesus Christ,” and these aren’t confined to the sacrifice of the Mass.  Our prayers at any time of day and in any place, especially our prayers of praise to God or prayers of atonement for our sins, are such spiritual sacrifices.  

At Prayer (by Antonio Parreiras)

St. Paul urged the Romans (12:1) “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.”  How much we have to offer to the Lord thru our bodies:  offering our physical and emotional pain, offering our fasting before Holy Communion, during Lent, or at other times, offering dietary restrictions, offering our weariness at the end of a long day or when tending to someone who’s sick, offering our getting out of bed in the morning, listening to someone who needs to unburden her heart—that list of bodily self-offering could go on and on.  (If you’re of a certain age, you may remember the sisters in school telling you, when something hurt or bothered you, to “offer it up.”)  These are “spiritual sacrifices” in that we’re not doing what the ancients did, bringing a bull or a lamb to be sacrificed; nor are we being literally crucified with Christ.  Our offering involves our bodies, but coming from our hearts and our heads, is intentional and spiritual.

And thus we exercise the priesthood of Christ’s faithful people:  “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own” (1 Pet 2:9).

Salesians Step Up Support for Displaced Lebanese

Salesians Step Up Support for Displaced Lebanese

Source: Misiones Salesianas (Madrid)

(ANS – Beirut – April 29, 2026) – The crisis in the Middle East continues to worsen despite the ceasefire declared in Lebanon. Bombings in southern Lebanon, rising prices, and a lack of jobs are putting thousands of families in difficulty. Against this backdrop, the Salesians are continuing their work to assist the more than 100 displaced people at the El Hossoun center and are stepping up their commitment to education, providing scholarships and aid so that children can continue their studies and maintain hope amid the war.

The crisis in the Middle East remains severe, particularly in Lebanon, where the ceasefire is fragile and hasn’t entirely halted the violence. “Bombings continue to be reported in the south, and more than 50 localities have received evacuation orders, causing further displacement,” explain the Salesians working in Lebanon.

In the early stages of the recent escalation of violence alone, at least 30,000 people sought refuge in centers such as the Salesians’ facility in El Hossoun, while many others were forced to flee without resources, settling with family or friends or in uninhabited buildings. This situation compounds years of accumulated crises that have deeply weakened the country.

The humanitarian emergency is closely linked to a structural economic crisis. Since 2019, the Lebanese economy has contracted by more than 38%, one of the most severe declines globally. Inflation and currency devaluation have sent commodity prices soaring, leaving a large part of the population without access to food, healthcare or education. Currently, around 44% of the population lives in poverty, and many families are forced to make extreme decisions such as cutting back on food, taking on debt, or withdrawing their children from school.

Displaced families: living on the bare minimum in extreme conditions

At the Don Bosco center in El Hossoun, the Salesians are welcoming displaced families into spaces set up as shelters. Currently, more than 100 people are living in makeshift facilities, with very limited resources and in emergency conditions.

Many of these families have been displaced repeatedly, have lost their homes, and arrive with only the bare essentials. Furthermore, “these are people who have nowhere to return to. Some displaced people have tried to return to their homes, but most have been destroyed. So they will likely be with us for a long time,” add the Salesians.

Fear, trauma and psychosocial support

Beyond basic needs, the war leaves a deep emotional mark. The Salesian teams active in this emergency phase are working with children and adults experiencing high levels of fear, anxiety, and stress.

“Many children struggle to express their emotions, experiencing crying fits and constant fear after having lived through situations of violence,” say the Salesians in Lebanon. Through activities such as play, drawing, or individual support, the teams try to help them regain their emotional stability.

Furthermore, they organize group sessions and safe spaces for women and minors, addressing situations of anxiety, trauma or even postnatal depression in contexts of extreme vulnerability.

The crisis is also having a direct impact on education: schools have been closed for many weeks, and many educational facilities have been bombed or are now housing displaced people. In addition to this situation, the economic crisis means that many families cannot afford to educate their sons and daughters, which is leading to an increase in school dropout rates.

Responses looking to the future

MISIONES SALESIANAS of Madrid, together with the Salesians in Lebanon, continues to adapt its response to a prolonged crisis, combining immediate humanitarian aid with sustainable initiatives. Food, shelter, education, and emotional support form part of a comprehensive approach that seeks not only to respond to the emergency, but to provide opportunities for the future.

In the crisis in the Middle East, the presence of the Salesians is a sign of hope for thousands of people who strive every day to carry on in one of the most challenging contexts in the world.

Homily for Thursday, Week 4 of Easter

Homily for Thursday
Week 4 of Easter

April 30, 2026
Acts 13: 13-25
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Art in the Basilica of
St. Paul Outside the Walls, Rome

Acts has shifted its focus from Peter’s preaching and leadership to Paul’s.  The preaching of both shows God’s revelation to Israel leading up to the coming of Christ.

Peter’s opening of salvation thru the Jewish Messiah also to pagans came about by exception—the Spirit-led conversion of Cornelius and his household (Acts 10).  Paul’s opening to them begins on his 1st missionary journey in a passage that the lectionary omits; he and Barnabas convert a Roman official on Cyprus.  It’s also at that point, apparently, that the missionary leadership shifts from Barnabas (13:2) to Paul—who is so named for the 1st time (13:9).

Back on the mainland of Asia Minor today, they go together to the synagog, but it’s Paul who takes up the invitation to “exhort the people” (13:15).  He’ll hardly stop talking for the rest of the book.  He addresses both Jews and “God-fearing” worshipers in the synagog, i.e., Gentiles who have joined the Jews as devotees of the one God, perhaps by a full conversion to Torah, perhaps only by a moral conviction.

Today’s passage also hints at Paul’s strong personality.  Earlier, his preaching of Jesus had provoked violent reactions that endangered his life (9:20-30).  Now John Mark leaves the mission (13:13).  That’s not explained, but later Paul and Barnabas will break up their partnership, acrimoniously, on account of it, which Paul viewed as desertion (15:36-39).  Maybe John Mark found Paul all too much to deal with.

We continue to see God’s work unfold—out of the history of Israel, out of the mission of John the Baptist, out of Paul and Barnabas’s cooperation with the Holy Spirit (13:2), in spite of the human personalities involved and other obstacles.  Step by step, personality by personality, charism by charism, God aims at and works for salvation.

So God always does.  He continues to save thru the glories and despite the defects of the Church and individual Christians.  He uses the unseen charism of an unknown young Carmelite nun in an insignificant town in Normandy[1] and the powerful charism of a larger-than-life Pope from Poland to build his kingdom.  He uses humble religious like us—and what varieties of personality types we’ve known!—and like the families we came from and the colleagues we’ve associated with, all of us trying what we can to follow Jesus and counting on his grace to compensate for our weaknesses.  As we’ll pray shortly, we trust that God’s graciousness will conform us to the mysteries of his mighty love (Prayer over the Offerings).

---

[1] St. Therese of Lisieux

Two Cardinals Commemorate St. Maria Troncatti

Two Cardinals Commemorate St. Maria Troncatti

(ANS – Hong Kong – April 29, 2026) – Both Cardinal Stephen Chow Sau Yan, SJ, bishop of the diocese of Hong Kong, and one of his predecessors, Salesian Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze Kiun, attended the Mass in commemoration of St. Maria Troncatti, FMA, organized by the Salesian Sisters of the Chinese Province on Saturday, April 25. In his homily, Cardinal Chow recalled the admirable qualities of Sr. Troncatti, including her far-sighted wisdom; her courage in breaking with traditions that restricted the freedoms of the indigenous Shuar people of Amazonian Ecuador, among whom she worked as a missionary until her death; a life deeply rooted in prayer; and her constant commitment to reconciliation. For her part, the provincial, Sr. Teresina Luk kum Lee, recalled how the greatness of the FMA saint lay in her faith, hope, and unconditional love, which translated into a profound capacity for introspection, complete submission to God’s will, selfless generosity, and evangelizing zeal. The ceremony concluded with the reading of a message sent for the occasion by the FMA mother general, Mother Chiara Cazzuola, containing an invitation to “manifest holiness in our evangelizing mission.”

13 Young Men Are New Catholics

13 Young Men Are New Catholics    

Twelve Salesian HS students and one alumnus (2024) received the sacraments of initiation—Baptism, Confirmation, and First Eucharist—at a special Mass in the school chapel on Saturday, April 18.  They had been prepared by religion teacher Michael Marasco since September thru the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults. 

Praying the Litany of the Saints
on behalf of the candidates for Baptism

The current Salesian students included six 9th graders, three 10th graders, and three 12th graders.

Fr. Michael Conway, Salesian director, presided and preached, and 4 Salesian priests concelebrated, while 2 brothers joined the young men’s families and sponsors in the congregation. Fr. Conway compared the 13 young men to the people who came to believe in Jesus after the resurrection and the preaching of the apostles.  Washed clean of sin, they now have the grace to remain with Jesus.  With him, they have all that they need, and all of us who belong to Jesus have cause to rejoice.

The newly initiated Catholics and their families and sponsors were invited to a spectacular brunch in the cafeteria after Mass.

Homily for Tuesday, Week 4 of Easter

Homily for Tuesday
4th Week of Easter

April 28, 2026
Acts 11: 19-26
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

St. Barnabas, by an anonymous
18th-century Lombard artist

We saw last week that persecution in Jerusalem led to the spread of the Gospel to Samaria and to an Ethiopian court official.  Today reaches Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch, and in Antioch, the 3d city of the Empire, the Word of God is preached also to Gentiles.  Christianity is on the verge of transformation from Jewish sect like the Pharisees or the Essenes to embracing the whole world, as Jesus commanded before his ascension (Matt 28:19).

According to tradition, Luke was from Antioch.  If that’s true, he’s a firsthand witness to the transformation’s beginnings, as he’ll later be to its development on Paul’s missionary journeys.

Our reading re-introduces Barnabas, who’s already been described as a generous man (Acts 4:36-37) and a sponsor of Saul, the recent convert (9:27).  Now, as a Cypriot, he’s sent as an envoy to Antioch, where his compatriots have been such daring evangelists.  Jerusalem, the mother Church, is concerned for her daughters in the provinces and acts like a provincial sending out an extraordinary visitor.

Presumably Barnabas has kept in touch with his protégé Saul.  He must have seen his potential, based on Saul’s earlier, passionate preaching (9:20-22,28-29).  Now, he brings him out of his seclusion in Tarsus and sets him going on the mission (11:25-26) God had in mind when Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus (9:6,15-16).

God’s plans evolve slowly, and they evolve with the cooperation of a lot of people—good men like Barnabas and even persecutors—people who may not be aware of their part in the plans or grasp their part only vaguely, like the anonymous evangelizers “who had been scattered by the persecution” (11:19) and the anonymous Cypriots and Cyrenians who “began to speak to the Greeks as well” (11:20).

In the large picture, we too are among the anonymous evangelizers.  We’ll be mostly unknown a century from now, just names in a necrology or pictures in the files.  But so long as we do our best to be “good men, filled with the Holy Spirit and faith” (11:24), God will remember us and our little labors to spread the Good News of Jesus.  For that we’re grateful to Jesus and his Father.

Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Easter

April 26, 2026
John 10: 1-10
The Fountains, Tuckahoe
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

Good Shepherd mosaic
(Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna)

“The shepherd calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10: 3).

From all the Scripture readings today, you may have figured out that today’s Good Shepherd Sunday.  It’s also World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

God gives everyone a vocation, a particular, personal path by which we are to come to the “verdant pastures” and “restful waters” where we shall be secure for eternity, “dwelling in the house of the Lord” forever.

For most of you, that vocation is marriage and family life.  For some, it may be a single life devoted to serving Christ as a teacher, medical professional, or some other form of contributing to the welfare of society, however glorious or humble that service may be, so long as it’s done in Christ.

But our prayer today is especially for those vocations that directly serve the Church, vocations that take up Christ’s role of shepherding his sheep and leading them to those green pastures and pure waters.  We pray for priests, sisters, deacons, brothers, and other men and women who are consecrated to God’s service.

God chooses such people; they don’t decide it on their own.  Our prayer is that they may recognize his choice and respond “yes” to it; and that after responding they may follow his path faithfully.  We pray, then, for the men who are already bishops, priests, and deacons, the women and men who already belong to religious orders and other forms of consecrated life.  And we are grateful to them for their commitment to the Lord.

And we pray that more young women and men will hear God’s call and answer it, to become shepherds like Jesus, the Good Shepherd, who thru them will care for God’s flock, keep it safe from thieves and wolves and the enemy of our souls, and lead the sheep to heaven.

You know every well how much Jesus needs priests, nuns, deacons, and religious brothers to lead parishes, teach the faith, care for the sick, counsel the troubled, preach the Gospel in places where Jesus is unknown.  You see how parishes are being closed or consolidated because there aren’t enuf priests to serve them all.  It’s far, far worse in many parts of the world, where priests travel over huge territories to bring the sacraments to the faithful perhaps once a month.  You see how Catholic schools have to close because there aren’t enuf sisters and brothers to staff them at a cost working families can afford.  (When I was in Catholic elementary school in Tampa ca. 1960, I think my parents paid $5 or $10 a month for tuition; the internet tells me that’s equivalent to about $55 or $110 today—which won’t get you even a week in Catholic school now.  We have to admit that one reason tuition was so affordable is that nuns were grossly underpaid back then.  Nevertheless, the School Sisters of Notre Dame provided us with an outstanding education, for which I owe them a great debt.  And they helped nurture the seed of the vocation that God had planted somewhere within me.)

Is God not calling young people to his service now?  Or are we not listening?

Church vocations arise out of Catholic families, for the most part.  That means that Catholic families have to foster them, encourage them.  If you want priests and nuns, do more than pray that someone else’s children will answer the call.  Plant the thought in your own children or grandchildren.  Bring them to church, teach them to pray, and explain our faith to them.  Hold up the noble example of priests, sisters, and deacons you know or know about.  Encourage, but don’t pressure—in any direction, whatever their inclinations or talents might be.

Of course, priests, deacons, and sisters, for their part, have to try to be noble examples—in spite of being sinners, as we all are.  And that’s why it’s important that you pray for us, as we pray for you.

God doesn’t call men to be priests or women to be sisters because they deserve it or because they’re talented or because they’re good-looking or for any such reason.  He calls for his own reasons, which we can’t fathom.  And then he supplies the grace the individual needs so that he or she may be ready and able to call the Lord’s sheep by name and lead them out, walking ahead of them (John 10:4), guiding and protecting them.

Homily for Thursday, Week 3 of Easter

Homily for Thursday
Week 3 of Easter

April 23, 2026
Acts 8: 26-40
John 6: 44-51
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Yesterday’s reading from Acts narrated Deacon Philip’s happy experience in Samaria.  That came about because of the violent persecution that broke out after Stephen’s martyrdom and the scattering of some of Jesus’ followers (Acts 8: 4-8).  God was bringing it about that faith in Jesus would grow on account of adversity.

The passage ended, “There was great joy in that city” (8:8), Samaria.  We can imagine also the joy in Philip’s heart as he saw the fruit of his preaching—and satisfaction and comfort, such was we’ve all experienced at various points in our teaching or other ministries.

But the Holy Spirit didn’t allow Philip to rest on his diaconal laurels.  He was ordered to move on, as we all have been ordered more than once.  The word of God doesn’t allow us to sit still.  It wants to spread, for which it needs preachers, teachers, and doers.  It demands our availability and readiness.  I’ve heard it said that obedience means availability.

In the gospels we’ve been listening to Jesus’ bread of life discourse, which up to today’s last half verse concerns Jesus’ word as food for eternal life.  Today’s passage began, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him” (John 6:44).  There, again, we meet availability:  Jesus is at the Father’s disposal, ready to be sent—sent from on high thru his incarnation, sent about Galilee and Judea to preach the Good News, eventually sent to Calvary.  And we meet in that verse also God’s action on us:  he draws us to Jesus; he leads us to Jesus—if we allow him, if we’re ready, if we’re available to the Word.

In sum, Philip, Jesus, and we all move on at the Father’s direction.  Even here—you’ve been sent here for some purpose of God, I’ve been sent to you by my superior (quite willingly), and Greg and Jim will be told soon enuf, “Get up and head south (or north or east or west) on the road that goes down” (Acts 8:26) from New Rochelle to somewhere God has planned.  Philip found himself on a desert road.  Perhaps for some of you St. Joseph’s Residence seems like a desert.  Philip found an opportunity to bring someone to Jesus.  It may be so also for you.

When we let the Holy Spirit direct us, blessing follows.

Homily for the Memorial of St. Anselm

Homily for the Memorial of St. Anselm

April 21, 2026
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Fides quaerens intellectum is St. Anselm’s famous description of theology:  faith seeking understanding.  That’s echoed in the collect, in which we prayed “that our faith in you may so aid our understanding”—our understanding of God, which of course can never be complete until we come into God’s very presence.  It’s not faith we seek but God himself.

That seeking was the object of Anselm’s life, leading him to one of the most prominent monasteries in Europe in the latter part of the 11th century, Bec in Normandy, where he aspired “to seek out and teach the depths of your wisdom.”  As a teacher, Anselm founded that school of theology which became known as Scholasticism, the method of the schools.  It relied on the use of reason rather than directly on Scripture—the method of the Fathers of the Church—to ponder and better understand God and his wonders.  The monastic schools eventually evolved into the universities, where men like Albert, Thomas, and Bonaventure further developed Anselm’s method.

In theology, liturgy, and prayer, we better understand God and his wonders so as to find our heart’s delight, as the collect says, to delight in God’s love revealed in the Scriptures, in the life of Christ, in the natural world, in the human mind, and in the bonds of friendship.  Anselm fostered all that in popular devotional writings as well as in theological treatises—and so has been ranked a doctor of the Church.

He also became a great churchman after he was compelled to become archbishop of Canterbury and to defend the rights of the Church against royal impositions.  Part of the responsory in today’s Office of Readings says, “He steadfastly asserted that the Church, the bride of Christ, was not a slave but free.”  For that, he was exiled twice.  Thus he set a precedent for one of his successors, Thomas Becket, and foreshadowed what would come more radically in Thomas More’s time.  The conflict lives on in China and elsewhere, even in the Pope Leo-Donald Trump contretemps.  “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

But Jesus doesn’t change; he continues seeking to grasp us with his love.

Salesian Family Day Celebrated in Sherbrooke

Salesian Family Day Celebrated in Sherbrooke

(ANS – Sherbrooke, Que. – April 21, 2026) – On Saturday, April 11, members of the Salesian Family in Quebec Province gathered to celebrate Salesian Family Day, with representatives from Montreal and Sherbrooke in attendance. The gathering took place at the Don Bosco Youth Centre and was inspired by the Rector Major’s 2026 strenna: “Do whatever he tells you: Believers free to serve.” The day began with a moment of prayer led by Fairouz Hanna, provincial coordinator of the Salesian Cooperators in Canada, followed by the screening of the official video for the 2026 Strenna. Following this reflection, the participants split into small groups to explore the 4 key verbs of the message: look, listen, choose, and act, guided by various facilitators. This was followed by the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Association of Salesian Cooperators, with a presentation on the history and current activities of the Association. The day concluded with the Eucharist, presided over by Fr. Richard Authier. Present were Sr. Alphonsine Roy and Fr. John Puntino, delegates of the Salesian Family and the ASC in Canada, together with other Salesians, Daughters of Mary Help of Christians from Montreal and Toronto, members of ADMA Montreal, past pupils, ASC members from the 3 centers, and numerous supporters.