Rector Major Officially Presents 2019 Strenna

Rector Major Officially Presents 2019 Strenna

(ANS – Rome – December 28) – Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime, SDB Rector Major, officially presented the 2019 Strenna for the Salesian Family at the Generalate of the Salesian Sisters, following a long tradition.

The theme of the strenna, or theme for the coming year, is “Holiness for you, too,” expanding upon the biblical text “So that my joy may be in you” (John 15:11).

Present at the event were Mother General Yvonne Reungoat, FMA, and her general council, Fr. Filiberto Gonzalez, SDB general councilor for communications, Fr. Eusebio Muñoz, delegate of the Rector Major for the Salesian Family, and other members of the Salesian Family.

In his presentation, Fr. Angel illustrated what the goal of Strenna 2019 will be: “I want to comment on a very familiar subject, with a title taken directly from the Pope Francis’s apostolic exhortation on the call to holiness in the world of today, Gaudete et Exsultate. In choosing this topic and this title, I want to translate into our language the strong appeal to holiness that Pope Francis has addressed to the whole Church.”

Mother Yvonne then recalled that the choice of the theme of holiness of this year’s strenna was made unanimously by the board of consultors of the Salesian Family.

Strenna 2019 will be presented for in-depth study to the entire Salesian Family during the Salesian Family Spirituality Days, scheduled in Valdocco (Turin), January 10-13, 2019, focusing on “Holiness for you too,” i.e., for everyone. These annual study days bring together some 400 delegates from six continents belonging to the 31 groups of the Salesian Family.

The English text of the Rector Major’s commentary is posted at https://donboscosalesianportal.org/

On ANSFlickr there are photos of the presentation of Strenna 2019.

On the sdb.org and ANSChannel, the video presentation of Strenna 2019 is available in various languages:

• Italian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLhlLk7VyVk
• English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5-sfYvzKnI
• Spanish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWwjMhwAEWE
• Portuguese: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMZygWtfbP0
• Polish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gwg8wxn5dA

At the beginning of January, the video will also be available in French.

Homily for Feast of Holy Family

Homily for the Feast
of the Holy Family

Dec. 30, 1979

Luke 2: 41-52
St. Paul’s, Congers, N.Y.

“And they did not understand what he said to them” (Luke 2: 50).

1980 is to be the Year of the Family, as this year has been the Year of the Child.  Appropriately, we conclude 1979 with the gospel of the child Jesus in the Temple, of Mary and Joseph’s concern for him and misunderstanding of him, and of Jesus’ obedience to them.

The Gospel is eternal, of course, and not least in the little picture of family relations.  We also gather some insights into family life from secular sources; Mark Twain, for instance, is supposed to have said, “When I was 18, my father didn’t know anything.  When I was 21, I was amazed at how much he had learned in 3 years.”

This morning, I’d like to speak particularly to the youngsters.  Parents and other veterans of life, however, may eavesdrop if they like.

Church of the Holy Savior

Bruges, Belgium

In this little gospel, Jesus has a bit of a conflict with his parents.  Now, St. Luke has already let us know that Jesus is a special person—God’s Son.  And Mary and Joseph know that.  So the story is quite interesting when we see what happens.

1st, either accidentally or on purpose, Jesus gets separated from his parents.  2d, he has a definite idea of what he ought to be doing and wants to do it.  3d, his parents don’t understand him.

How did Jesus get lost?  Was he lost, or did he perhaps run away?  St. Luke doesn’t tell us.  In any case, now that Jesus is 12 years old, he’s on the verge of manhood according to Jewish law and custom.  Apparently he figures he’s able to look after himself, and he certainly does make an impression on the teachers in the Temple.  He’s a brilliant, pious lad.

When Joseph and Mary find him after 3 days, he seems to be surprised.  He asks, “Why were you looking for me?  Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”  His Father, of course, is God.

But his parents don’t understand.  Even with the extraordinary circumstances of his birth, even with Mary’s custom of reflecting on all these events, they don’t understand.  They don’t fully understand him or what he’s been up to.

So even the ideal family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had problems.  Even the best of sons, God’s own Son, was misunderstood by the holy couple charged with his earthly upbringing.  If the Lord Jesus had a problem getting Mary and Joseph to understand and accept his growth, his desires, and his maturing sense of independence, can we be surprised if ordinary kids have those sorts of problems?  When the 4th Eucharistic Prayer says that the Son of God became man like us in all things but sin, it means he was subject to every human weakness, limitation, and temptation, including those of adolescence.

We must also notice how Jesus responded to Mary and Joseph and what happened afterward.  Although he seemed so sure of himself and although they didn’t understand him, Jesus did go home with them to Nazareth, and he “was obedient to them … and he progressed steadily in wisdom, stature, and favor before God and men” (Luke 2:51-52).  God’s own Son, the little genius who caused the Temple scholars to marvel, is perhaps already aware of his future career.  But he goes home and obeys his parents, those very human folks who don’t understand him.  And by doing that he fulfills God’s plan:  he grows in wisdom; he grows in height, weight, and age; and he grows in God’s favor and men’s. In other words, Jesus matured and grew up thru his teenage years and early manhood, studying, learning, working, playing, praying, loving, laughing, and crying—all the things you and I do.  He did become a full-grown man, but in the context of a human family with its joys, its troubles, its misunderstandings, its love, its crises.

This gospel story of the 12-year-old Jesus in the Temple shows us a lot of things.  But for us young people, it reminds us that the Lord Jesus understands us because he was our age once and had our problems, even the same problems with mom and dad, except maybe for getting the car on Saturday night.  So we have someone we can look to for understanding and guidance when we run into a rough spot within the family.  It also reminds us that even the Lord Jesus grew and matured and took time to become a fully responsible adult; and he did that growing up within a family, doing the ordinary things any son in 1st-century Nazareth was expected to do.  The way to growth in wisdom, maturity, and favor with God and men is the same for all of us.

May God bless you young people, not with problem-free lives, but with insight, patience, understanding, and love.  May you grow into mature Christian persons who can face misunderstandings and use them as steps to greater growth.

Pastoral Assignments for 2019: Round 1

Pastoral Assignments for 2019: Round 1

A letter from Fr. Tim Zak, provincial, on Dec. 26 announced the 1st set of pastoral assignments that will take effect on July 1, 2019--in this case, for the triennium 2019-2022.

The 5 appointments announced--4 directors and a member of the provincial council--all required confirmation by the Rector Major.

Fr. Mike Conway

Fr. Michael Conway was appointed to a 3-year term on the provincial council. He will replace Fr. James Heuser, whom Fr. Zak thanked for his decades of leadership offered to the province (as vice provincial, provincial, and most recently provincial councilor, as well as director). Fr. Conway is currently in his 4th year as director of the SDB community in Maryland (the "Washington" community) and president of Don Bosco Cristo Rey HS and Corporate Work-Study Program.



At the same time, Fr. Heuser's current term as director-president of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., was extended for 1 additional year.

Fr. Michael Pace was appointed to a new 3-year term as director of the SDB house of formation in Orange, N.J.

Fr. Jack Janko

Fr. John "Jack" Janko was named director of the SDB community of East Boston, which serves Salesian Boys & Girls Club there. He was director there from 2000 to 2007 and, after a long assignment at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, is currently a member of the Club staff. He will replace Fr. James "Jay" Horan, who is in his 3d year as director.


At St. John Bosco Parish in Chicago, Fr. Richard Alejunas,

Fr. Rich Alejunas

parochial vicar there, will begin a 3-year term as director of the community, succeeding Fr. Thomas Provenzano, who will be completing 6 years as director.  It appears that Fr. Tom will stay on as pastor.

SDB Generalate to Settle Permanently at Sacred Heart

SDB Generalate to Settle Permanently at the Sacred Heart Center in Rome

(ANS – Rome – December 18) – On December 17, Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime presented a letter that informed the Salesian Family worldwide of “an important decision that I have made together with the general council regarding the definitive placement of the Salesian headquarters, which will be at Sacred Heart.”

Fr. Fernandez informs the community at Sacred Heart on Dec. 17 

of the superiors' decision to keep Salesian HQ there.

Sacred Heart (Sacro Cuore) is a historical Salesian center known all over the Salesian world. At the specific request of Pope Leo XIII, Don Bosco built the church there in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and the Salesian house naturally founded adjacent to the church become the place where Don Bosco stayed when he was in Rome. It is where he wrote the famous letter of 1884 to young people, a letter of such weight that it’s published as an appendix to the SDB Constitutions. At the altar of Mary Help of Christians in the church Don Bosco wept repeatedly during the one Mass he celebrated there, remembering how God and the Virgin Mary had worked wonders in his life.

Sacred Heart, on via Marsala, is located in the heart of Rome, directly across the street from Stazione Termini, the city’s main rail and bus station.

In mid-2017 the Salesians relocated their general headquarters to Sacred Heart as a temporary measure from the large, free-standing complex at 1111 via della Pisana that had been their generalate since 1970. The decision to make Sacred Heart as the permanent seat of Salesian central government entailed an intense dialog with the Salesian province of Central Italy and the national center of the Italian Salesian provinces, both of which operated from this center. Their pastoral activities will be transferred elsewhere in the holy city by 2020.

Church of the Sacred Heart and the front 

of the rest of the Salesian complex on via della Marsala, Rome.

The Rector Major also said that the Generalate’s personnel will assume the pastoral services related to the Sacred Heart Basilica and care for young immigrants, and will maintain and service Don Bosco’s rooms, as part of special Salesian sites.

The Rector Major’s letter to the Salesians and the Salesian Family all over the world details the whole procedure that was followed in the maturation of this historic decision, its processes, and the timetable for completing the process of settling the headquarters.

From the time of the founding of the Society of St. Francis de Sales in 1859 its central headquarters remained at the motherhouse in Valdocco (Turin) until they relocated to the complex built in the far outskirts of Rome, on via della Pisana, specifically as the generalate. The superiors had been given to understand that the Roman suburbs were developing in that direction, but that prediction proved ill-founded, and no additional pastoral work was able to develop there other than a retreat and conference center (the Salesianum) attached to it. That entire building complex was given up last year in the face of a complex (in a different sense) legal situation, and the central government of the Society moved to Sacred Heart while studying where to settle permanently.

Homily for Christmas Day

Homily for Christmas Day

Dec. 25, 2007

John 1: 1-5, 9-14
Provincial House, New Rochelle, N.Y.

On Christmas Eve 3 of us SDBs concelebrated Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in D.C.  This morning we had a modest Mass at home with just the 5 of us who make up our modest community.  Since I wasn't the celebrant at either of those Masses, I offer my modest readership a homily from the archives.

“In the beginning was the Word.  All things came to be thru him.  We saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son” (John 1: 1, 3, 14).

The Word, the voice of God, the communication of God, the revelation of God, was from the beginning.  He was with God; more, he was God.  He spoke when God said, “Let there be light,” when God said, “Let us make man in our own image” (Gen 1:3,26).  The Word overcame the darkness of primeval chaos.  The Word brought life and light.

The Word continued to speak to humanity thru the centuries:  “God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors thru the prophets” (Heb 1:1), but with only partial effect because so many people preferred darkness, chaos, sin.

And therefore God spoke a more definitive Word:  “In these last days, he has spoken to us thru his Son” (Heb 1:2).  “The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world” (John 1:9)—not in overpowering form, so that his glory should overwhelm us as the sun does the naked eye; but “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1:14), humbly “pitching his tent” among us, as the Greek says literally, evoking Israel’s remote nomadic ancestors:  “My father was a wandering Aramean,” the Jewish profession of faith in Deuteronomy declares (26:5).  Today, of course, the Word’s pitching of his tent is a “pitch” for the Boy Scouts.

The Shepherds and the Angel (Carl Bloch)

God fully reveals himself in his enfleshed Word.  He reveals “his glory, the glory of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth” (1:14), not by blinding us, not by stunning us, but by gently demonstrating the Father’s love for us, by inviting us to return to our original status as God’s children, made in his own image— calling us to share in the glory:  “This life was the light of the human race” (1:4).

The true light who has come into the world shines upon us anew at Christmas.  But truly the Word speaks to us daily, is given a kind of flesh in our human voices and on the printed page—not only when we do a formal lectio divina but also whenever we listen to the Word with open ears and open heart.  Every Scripture reading at Mass, every psalm, canticle, and reading in the Hours is an opportunity for the Word to speak to us if we’ll listen.  Too often it seems we’d rather rush thru the Office, this officium, this “duty,” than let it sink in, let ourselves respond to it.

A response to the Word is called for, as John’s prolog brings out:  “He was in the world…, but the world did not know him.  He came to his own” home or his own place, “but his own people did not accept him.  But to those who did accept him he gave power to become children of God” (1:10-12).

When the Word dwelt among us in the flesh, he called for a response, a yes or a no:  “Come, and I’ll make you fishers of men” (Matt 4:19); “If you wish to be perfect, sell your possessions, give to the poor, and come, follow me” (Matt 19:21); “Do you want to leave too?” (John 6:67); “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is unworthy of me” (Matt 10:38).  The invitation, the choice, the possibility of what might be, is laid before every human being, laid before each one of us.  Christmas reminds us of God’s love and of what we can be.  It invites us to respond.  But truly we are invited every day to respond, to accept Jesus as our Lord, our teacher, our model, our friend—or to look elsewhere for truth, fulfillment, life.

Finally, John reminds us that the invitation, the possibilities, are a gift, a grace.  “To those who did accept [the Word] he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name, who were born not by natural generation nor by human choice nor by a man’s decision, but of God” (1:12-13)—by God’s choice, by God’s call, by God’s grace, by God’s gift.  And to such believers God has given it to “see his glory” in the “Son, full of grace and truth”; and, following the Son, to come to grace, the divine favor, to come to glory thru the Son, to dwell in the truth of God’s love, of God’s fatherhood; ultimately, to pitch our tents and make our dwelling in the home of the Father.

“The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him” (1:18), revealed God as love, most desirous to have us as his own.  Our acceptance is glory to God in the highest and joy for the world.

Homily for 4th Sunday of Advent

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Advent

Dec. 23, 2018

Luke 1: 39-45                                                           
Nativity, Washington, D.C.                                                           

“When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice…” (Luke 1: 41-42).

Section of a memorial by the Master of Spes Nostra, ca. 1500 

(Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam)

Our attention during the last several days of Advent has been on John the Baptist, the forerunner, the announcer of the imminent coming of the Savior.  Today the other great figure of Advent comes into view, the Virgin Mary.  But John remains an important character in the story.

If you pray the Rosary, you’re very familiar with the scene in the Gospel.  Mary, St. Luke tells us, went in haste to the home of her elder kinswoman Elizabeth (1:39).  Her haste betokens an eagerness to witness the wondrous deed that the angel Gabriel has made known to her, Elizabeth’s conception of a son some 6 months earlier (1:36-37); and an eagerness, we believe, to assist her relative.

We may also see in Mary’s haste—her promptness, not rashness (as in “haste makes waste”)—an indication of her character, one of those attitudes that made her so favorable in God’s eyes (1:28,30), viz., a readiness to act on whatever God reveals to her. 

So we have right there, my dear sisters and brothers, some examples in Mary’s attitude and behavior for us to imitate:  readiness and promptness to act when God speaks to us; readiness and promptness to help our neighbor and especially our own kin; readiness and promptness to look for signs of God at work in our world.  Thus we, also, responding to the promptings of God’s grace in us may continue to find favor with him, be filled with his grace, like Mary.

What happens when Mary arrives at the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah?  Elizabeth is inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the presence of her Lord (1:42), not merely of her younger relative, who probably wasn’t even showing yet.  Elizabeth has already been specially favored by God by being able to conceive her son at her advanced age and apparent infertility (1:36)—whatever that age may have been; St. Luke tells us only that she was “advanced in years” (1:7).

Now Elizabeth is given another grace, that of faith:  she sees not with her bodily eyes, which probably can’t detect Mary’s pregnancy, but with spiritual insight that Mary’s pregnant; inspired by the Holy Spirit (1:41), she sees that Mary’s not pregnant with an ordinary child but with her Lord.  She’s been given the gift of faith to recognize Jesus.

Dear friends, if we recognize Jesus, i.e., know who he truly is; if we take him as our Lord—then we have received a gift from God.  Faith is a gift.  It’s not given to everyone.  Some of the smartest and most talented people in the world haven’t met Jesus, haven’t believed in Jesus, might even have positively rejected him.  We thank God for this gift he has given us thru the same Holy Spirit who inspired Elizabeth so many centuries ago.

The next thing we notice in the story is that Elizabeth’s child, too—unborn John—recognizes the presence of Jesus:  “At the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy” (1:44).  The presence of our Lord Jesus among us is cause for joy, my brothers and sisters!  We know this instinctively as we prepare for and celebrate Christmas.  The entire atmosphere is different, and it’s not just because of commercialism.  There’s joy around us.  There’s hope around us even when we see the sorry world with its problems.  This is the world that the Son of God has entered, entered to redeem.  So John, representing all of us, leaps for joy.  And we, knowing that the risen, alive Lord Jesus Christ remains with us, are a joyful people.  We, confident that our risen, alive Lord Jesus Christ forgives our sins and calls us to eternal life with him, live joyfully and share our joy with the world—not only at Christmas but all year long.  “Joy to the world! the Lord is come.  Joy to the world! the Savior reigns.”

You may ask how our risen Lord Jesus is present to us, or you may already know very well.  He’s with us in the Holy Eucharist.  He’s with us in our fellow Christians, in this sacred gathering.  He’s with us in his Word, the sacred Scriptures—wherein he wishes to speak to us daily for our encouragement, our admonition, or our union with him in praising his Father.  How much our Lord Jesus loves us, to be so present, in addition to his forgiving our sins!  How could we not leap for joy—at least spiritually—and share our joy with our families, friends, and others?

Homily for December 22

Homily for December 22

1 Sam 2: 1-8

Luke 1: 46-56
Collect, Prayer over Offerings

December 22, 2018

Salesians, Silver Spring, Md.

The holy joy of Mary and Elizabeth (source unknown)

The theme that recurs in today’s liturgy is lowliness, humility, poverty.  We hear it in the Collect, the Psalm, and Mary’s Magnificat.  This is the lowliness, humility, and poverty of those who are completely dependent upon the Lord; of sinners who need redemption; of people who realize and appreciate the favors bestowed upon them by the Lord’s graciousness, like Hannah (1 Sam 2:1-8) and Mary (Luke 1:46-55)—and us who “confess his Incarnation with humble fervor” (Collect) and bring “our offerings to [God’s] sacred altar” seeking “the purifying action of [his] grace” (Prayer over Offerings).

In our hearts we know well our dependence on God not only for grace but also for the progress of our ministry.  We know that when we rely on ourselves, as we’re tempted to do so often, things don’t go well with us—in our spiritual lives, in our ministry, in our works.

The Lord has promised his mercy to Abraham and all his children (Luke 1:55), among them us who believe as Abraham did (Rom 8:11-12)—believe in God’s grace, in our Redeemer’s keeping company with us (Collect), in Christ’s choice of us as his humble instruments when we agree to journey with Christ and with Mary in lowliness, humility, and poverty.

Two Birthday Boys

Two Birthday Boys

At our house on Dec. 21 we celebrated the birthdays of our 2 most senior confreres, one of whom turned 68 the previous day (Fr. Dennis, 2d from left) and the other turning 70 the following day (your humble blogging photographer).  We dined out, then came home for chocolate birthday cake and espresso (or decaf coffee) and after-dinner liqueurs.

Aid for Migrants Continues at Padre Chava Refectory

Aid for Migrants Continues at Padre Chava Refectory

(ANS – Tijuana, Mexico – December 21) - At  the Salesian Padre Chava Refectory, one of several sites hosting the great number of migrants stuck at the U.S. border while trying to press claims for asylum, action to support anyone who needs help continues without interruption. On December 14 a community health activity was held in the courtyard of the Salesian house, providing information and medical care, plus a little Christmas party for children, with games, gifts, and sweets.

Homily for 3d Sunday of Advent

Homily for the
3d Sunday of Advent

Dec. 15, 1985

Luke 3: 10-18

Assumption, San Leandro, Calif.

A man had just put down a new sidewalk.  He looked out the window and saw some kids marking up his wet cement.  He stormed out and yelled some very rude things at them.  A neighbor heard him and asked, “Don’t you like children?”  “In general, yes,” he answered, “but not in the concrete.”[1]

This Sunday preachers have a certain temptation to avoid the gospel and to take a good look at Philippians.  Philippians offers us some beautiful generalities: “Rejoice! Let everyone see how unselfish you are.  Don’t be anxious.  Pray gratefully for what you need” (Phil. 4:4-6).

But if we want to get concrete, e.g., about not being selfish, maybe we should join the crowds in asking John the Baptist, “What should we do?” (Luke 3:10).

The Preaching of John the Baptist (Peter Brueghel the Elder)

Last Sunday we heard John preaching a baptism of repentance and announcing that the Lord is on the way.  All mankind shall see salvation (Luke 3:3-6).  In the verses that we skip between last week and this week, he warns us to repent in our actions, not just in our minds:  for the God who comes to save comes to take care of evildoers, too!

So the crowds want to know what they should do.  How does one go about repenting in order to prepare a way for the Lord? The question is obviously of interest to us—not only in Advent season, but all our lives; for we’re always looking for his coming.

You must have noticed that John doesn’t mince words.  “Let the man (or woman) who has 2 coats give to him who has none.  The man who has food should do the same” (3:11).  That’s a pretty concrete application of Paul’s “Everyone should see how unselfish you are” (Phil. 4:5).

And John told the tax collectors not to exact more than they were entitled to—excessive taxation was one of the greatest injustices of the time, and many a tax collector was stuffing his own pockets.  Again, John’s answer is pretty concrete, and it goes beyond unselfishness to basic justice.  Likewise his advice to soldiers.

Brothers and sisters, what are we to do?  Are our hearts disturbed when we hear John’s words about abundant possessions?  When we read or hear about the hungry, the homeless, the unemployed, and the disaster-stricken, do we look at our own loaded freezers, our crammed closets, our luxury cars, our electronic toys and electric gadgets, our cosmetics and cigarettes and season tickets?  Maybe we ought to.  Maybe, in conjunction with John’s preaching, we ought to read Jesus’ parable about Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16.

“Exact nothing over and above your fixed amount” (3:13).  If we have a business—a paper route, a grocery, a corporation—do our prices allow a reasonable profit after expenses?  Are the employees paid a decent wage, with benefits, enough to support their families?  Are surplus goods given to charity or just dumped?  Does the business respect the environment in which we all have to live?  Do we—as individuals and as businesses—pay our fair share of taxes, or by dodging them do we commit injustice against everyone else, who are thereby forced to pay more to make up for people like us?

“Do not bully anyone.  Denounce no one falsely.  Be content with your pay” (3:14).  These may not be temptation for soldiers so much anymore, at least not in our culture.  But they can apply to public officials, to police officers and security guards, to claims investigators and reporters, top union leaders, to clergy, in fact to virtually everyone who holds a job or exercises authority or shoots the breeze with his or her friends.

For Christ is coming.  He is coming to judge:  i.e., to save the oppressed, the down-and-outers, and the repentant; but to take down the oppressors, the couldn’t-care-lessers, and the proud (cf. Luke 1:51-53).  John uses a homey, farm boy image:  “His winnowing fan is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his granary, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire” (3:17).

In the primitive agriculture of hilly, rocky, 1st-century Palestine, farmers didn’t harvest with huge combines that we’ve seen, at least in pictures.  They reaped the standing grain with sickles and brought the sheaves to a threshing floor.  On this open stone floor, the grain was trodden by oxen and a drag until the bran and straw had been separated from the wheat kernels.  Then the whole mess was winnowed by being tossed repeatedly into the air; the evening breeze or peasants wielding fans would blow away the lightweight bran, while the heavier kernels would keep falling back to the floor.  Finally the grain was passed through sieves to remove dirt and other particles.  (Don’t ever let anyone tell you the good old days weren’t hard work!)

John’s image shows that the Messiah will separate the wheat from the chaff, to save the wheat and gather it into his barns and to get rid of the chaff.  Judgment is a punishment for those who won’t listen, vindication—salvation—for those who repent.

“What should we do?”  The choice is ours.

---

     [1] From Gerald Kennedy, The Preacher and the New English Bible (NY, 1972), p. 102.

Go West, Young Man!

Go West, Young Man!

I suppose it's a stretch to qualify myself as "young," but most guys half my age wouldn't do an overnite backpacking hike in Bear Mountain State Park, which I did on West Mountain on Dec. 3-4.  (I was visiting the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw for a meeting on the 5th.)

Starting up the AT

Part of the long ascent

In fact, on Monday the 3d, I met about a dozen day hikers, and all the one who realized I was planning to camp out at West Mountain shelter were mildly shocked.  In truth, on my approach to the shelter I did meet 3 much younger hikers who had just camped overnite there (Sunday-Monday).

Both Monday and Tuesday were delightfully sunny--very welcome after a lot of rain in the preceding days.  They were also very windy, which gave a slightly chilly feel to the days even in the sunshine.  When the sun ducked behind clouds occasionally, it was more than slightly chilly.  And after the sun set, the temperature also set, so to speak.  There was ice in the little puddles near the shelter on Tuesday morning.

Bear Mountain & Perkins Memorial Tower seen from West Mountain

I parked in the lot along Perkins Drive; the lot was just about full, so meeting a lot of day hikers was no surprise.  At least this time I didn't meet any thru hikers on the Appalachian Trail, as I did in Maryland a couple of weekends earlier, in snow.  From the parking lot a very short trip on the 1777 West Trail brings a hiker to the AT, and I went southward up West Mountain--a familiar trail I've taken several times before.  

Where the Timp-Torne (blue) meets the AT (white)

at the crest of West Mountain

It took about an hour to get up to the ridge where the Timp-Torne Trail intersects and runs along with the AT; I stopped several times to take pictures.  I stopped more times along the ridge, where the wind was pretty fierce, not only threatening to blow off my hat but even to knock me over once or twice.  

From West Mt. ridge, looking west over the Anthony Wayne Rec Area

and the interchange of Palisades Pkwy with US Rte 6

There was a thick carpet of leaves everywhere, and I was very careful about my footing.  Altho I was following footprints all the way up the mountain and along the ridge, I didn't actually see any other hikers until I was about a quarter mile from the shelter.  Hiking alone has its risks, as I'm well aware.  I trust in God (and pray!), but being careful also is critical.

Where the AT drops down toward the Palisades Pkwy, leaving the Timp-Torne, is well marked--large signpost.  

I'd forgotten how far it still is from there to the shelter, a half mile.  All told, it took me one more hour to get there from when the TT first joined the AT.  I was almost to the shelter when I met the aforesaid 3 young guys hiking out, and then a pair of older women day hikers.  

The West Mt. shelter, with Timp-Torne trail blaze on a front corner

and my trash bag hanging from a rafter.

At the shelter was a party of about 8 much older guys having their lunch--a Monday hiking club.  We took a bunch of pictures of each other.

Most of the seniors Monday hiking club

Your humble blogger in front of West Mt. shelter

A few more day hikers and a dog (and one jogger) passed by during the afternoon--the jogger twice!  Otherwise, I had the shelter to myself and got myself settled in.  

But mostly I foraged for firewood, which wasn't as hard to find as I was afraid it would be, all within a 10-minute walk of the shelter.  I even unsnagged a good-sized dead limb from where it had lodged in a tree, using my rope to pull it down (carefully!).  I accumulated a good stash of kindling wood and larger stuff, and was glad I'd brought my folding saw and hatchet for cutting up the larger stuff.

From the shelter: the Timp, Croton Point, and the Hudson River, including Haverstraw Bay

There were 2 unfortunate sights around the shelter:  a lot of trash, some of which I collected and eventually took out with me; and evidence that a lot of standing wood had been cut down.  Barbarians at the gate!

I also took a lot more photos with the sun lighting up the Timp, the Hudson, and the Manhattan skyline, and I prayed parts of the Divine Office and a Rosary.

The setting sun partially lights up Manhattan's skyline. 

In the foreground are Stony Point and Haverstraw.

Beyond the shelter (and the West Mt. ridge), the sun's almost ready to set.

It gets dark early at this time of year, so I took care early to prepare my bear bag and lay a fire in one fireplace.  I ate pretty early too--a freeze dried concoction of beef, lentils, and veggies, with some almonds and an orange later, washed down with Crystal Lite and, later, hot chocolate.

Vestiges of my supper, lit up my headlamp

One match to light 2 tea lights and the fire!

With a fine fire going, I was able to do some reading, getting about halfway thru an issue of America before I was ready to turn in for the nite after 9:00 p.m.  I loaded up the fireplace first.

Of course, after the fire eventually died down it got pretty darn cold, and I had to put on more layers of clothing.  Even so, I didn't sleep all that well.

What a sight to wake up to!

The scene immediately in front of the shelter on Tuesday a.m.

With the sun well up, I got up too at 7:00 a.m. and immediately rekindled the fire, which warmed me up sufficiently.  I'd planned to celebrate Mass after I returned to the Marian Shrine, so I fetched my bear bag and made breakfast--oatmeal, a granola bar, some dried apricots, and some almonds--with coffee, of course.  It was cold enuf that my Pocket Rocket was reluctant to crank out heat to boil the water.

Behind and otherwise near the shelter are many campsites.

I went out and brought in one more very large chunk of firewood--a long-dead stump.  Getting that on the fire was more than sufficient for the rest of the morning.  I took my time cleaning up and packing and reading some more of my magazine.  I was frustrated by not being able to pray the Office, however, because I'd neglected to update my iPad.  (A lot of catching up to do later in the day!)

At 11:00 I prepared my lunch (Ramen noodles and cheese with more Crystal Lite, apricots, and almonds), doused the fire and smoldering stump with most of my remaining water, and finished packing up.

A bit after noon I headed out, taking the Suffern-Bear Mountain Trail north from where it splits off the Timp-Torne a 3-minute walk from the shelter (2 minutes if you're not loaded with a backpack).  

A cairn marks where the Suffern-Bear Mt. Trail (after a short run along with the TT) breaks off and heads north toward Bear Mt. while the TT continues east toward the Timp and Dunderberg. TT's blue blazes are evident; a close look at a tree beyond my saw (atop the rock) reveals 2 yellow blazes for a left turn of the SBM.

It was a long time since I'd been on this stretch of the SBM, and it was a mistake.  

The 1st segment of the SBM away from West Mt. shelter is pleasant enuf. 

Here you can see Bear Mt. and Perkins Tower in the distance.

I knew it would be longer than going back by way of the AT, and I remembered there was one steep descent.  Turns out there were 2 very steep descents, and several ascents (not so steep), and it was a long and somewhat hazardous hike (the steepness compounded by the leaves).  

The 2d really nasty descent, 

from the bottom

When the steeps were finished with, I came to the Doodlekill and then 2 more brooks, so I was trudging in a fair amount of mud besides having to cross the 3 streams balancing on rocks that I wished were much larger than they were.  

The Doodlekill

 

SBM's crossing of the Doodlekill

Finally, there was a nice stretch of old woods road, and eventually the junction with the 1777 West, which brought me back to the parking lot--deserted except for my car.  In fact, I hadn't seen a soul all day.  It took me almost 3 hours from the shelter, including a couple of short breathers and a snack break.

The 2 Revolutionary War trails include explanatory signage. The 1777 trails preserve the routes used by British troops to attack and capture the 2 Continental Army forts guarding the way up the Hudson River, Forts Clinton (where the Bear Mt. Zoo is today) and Fort Montgomery (a state historic site worth a visit).

More photos at 
https://pix.sfly.com/yHu6CX