Homily for 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 30, 2023
1 Kgs 3: 5, 7-12
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

You’ve probably heard about the guy who prayed constantly to win the Megamillions lottery.  Finally, God got tired of hearing him and, in exasperation, spoke to him.  “I’m glad you turn to me for help,” he said.  “But could you at least buy a ticket?”

How many of you have played the lottery, if not regularly, at least occasionally?  Or how many of you have gone to Atlantic City or Mohegan Sun to gamble a little?  Did you ever pray to win?

Solomon's Dream by Luca Giordano

wherein God promises him wisdom

If you did, your prayer stands in contrast to the prayer of young King Solomon.  When God said to him, “Ask something of me, and I’ll give it to you” (1 Kgs 3:5), the king begged, “Give your servant an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong” (3:9).  Solomon prayed for wisdom that would enable him to carry out the responsibilities of his vocation.

It’s not wrong to pray for material success:  to win the lottery, to pass an exam, to succeed in business or in a relationship, for good weather.  It’s not wrong to pray for some form of happiness, e.g., for good health for ourselves or others (which we do in our intercessions at Mass) or for safe travel.

But God was pleased with Solomon’s prayer because he asked for nothing like that; not for long life, wealth, or victory in war; rather, “for understanding so that you may know what is right” (3:11).  And God granted him an abundance of wisdom, so much that Solomon’s name ever since has been linked with that virtue, the virtue of wisdom.

Solomon’s prayer began with humility.  He acknowledged himself as the Lord’s “servant” (3:9).  Whenever we pray, we do well to imitate that example, to acknowledge our lowliness before God or the saints, as the case may be or to confess their greatness and goodness.  When we greet Mary, as we often do, we call her “full of grace.”  When we pray what Jesus taught us, we hallow or bless his Father’s name.

Solomon prayed for what he needed to fulfill his vocation, which was to rule over Israel, God’s chosen people.  Besides praising God, always an excellent prayer, as we see in so many of the psalms—e.g., today we maintain that God’s law is “more precious than thousands of gold or silver pieces” and “your law is my delight” (119:72,77)—besides that, we ought to pray for the graces we need to be faithful Christians.  Baptism and our relationship with the Holy Trinity is our most fundamental vocation.

Then we have our particular vocations as spouses or parents, or in my case as priest and consecrated religious; or, for the time being, the vocation of being a youth, a student; or you might be a senior citizen, perhaps a widowed person; or one who cares for others thru some profession; or a working person or an employer; and so on.  What graces, what gifts, do I need to serve God, family, and others where I am and amid the people around me?  Thus Solomon prayed that he’d be a good ruler.

The other part of his prayer was that he’d be able to “distinguish right from wrong” (3:9), which God explicitly recognized:  “that you may know what is right” (3:11).  No matter who we are or what our place in life is, we all need that kind of discernment.  All of us have to make moral choices within our families, our work, our leisure, our use of resources.  How can we best care for our health?  how be a fair and honest worker or employer or a diligent student?  how discipline our children?  how much to give to the poor, to my parish, or to some worthy cause?  what to watch on TV or how much time to spend online?  what’s a safe highway speed on this road at this time?  am I doing anything to care for God’s creation?  how can I be a kinder, more patient person?  do I show respect for everyone I meet and speak respectfully of others, even those who aren’t present?  how can I better practice chastity either in marriage or as a single?

Every one of us needs an abundance of wisdom and understanding in our daily lives.  God wants to give it to us, as he did to Solomon.  He’s pleased when we ask him to help us make good choices and live faithfully.

The Salesian Brother

The Salesian Brother

(ANS – Rome – July 25, 2023) – From a simple beginning, Don Bosco’s undertakings with the young men and boys of the Oratory in Valdocco (Turin) became more complex as workshops for printing, shoemaking, and metal work were added. He gradually formed his helpers into an association which he called the union or congregation of St. Francis de Sales. The volunteers who taught the various trades, assisted at church services, and ran the outdoor activities lived at home with their families, while still engaging in the work of the oratories. These were what he called the “extern” Salesians and included some zealous priests, devout lay people, noblemen and women, some mothers (including his own), benefactors, and promoters.

To other volunteers who were free and felt they had a vocation, Don Bosco put the invitation to “stay with” him and live together in the home they had always regarded as the mother and center of their religious association. Following Pius IX’s suggestion, Don Bosco called this second charitable religious organization or group of “interns” the Pious Society of St. Francis de Sales. Its first official gathering was in Don Bosco’s rooms on December 18, 1859, and was made up of priests and clerics. In 1860 the first laymen admitted as brothers were Joseph Rossi and Joseph Gaia (cook at the Oratory for several years). Frederick Oreglia was a member of the aristocracy of Turin who became a Salesian brother and gave great service to the Oratory, then left to end his days as a Jesuit. Among the laymen who went to Argentina with Fr. John Cagliero in 1875 were Vincent Gioia, Bartholomew Scavini (master carpenter), Stephen Belmonte (musician and domestic economy attendant), and Bartholomew Molinari (music maestro), and they were considered “true evangelical workers.”

The brothers were fully engaged in working in Don Bosco’s way for the benefit of those who attended the Oratory. As cooks, doorkeepers, printers, cobblers, blacksmiths, administrators, teachers, sports masters, assistants at church services, class, games, etc., they made the Oratory’s mission their own.

This figure of the Salesian brother faced tensions in its early years as highly professional brothers mixed with brothers with little education. Don Bosco insisted on brotherly equality and resisted any attempt to introduce a 2d-class category among the brothers. For him there was room for all sorts of ministrations. All were apostles, all were educators, all were equal in dignity as human beings, Christians, religious, Salesians.

The passage of time brought certain incrustations. A major step after Vatican II was the opening up by the 20th General Chapter of the possibility of brothers becoming members of councils at all levels in the Society (local, provincial, worldwide).

As their equal, the brother eats at the same table as the cleric or priest, observes the same rules, takes part in the same practices of piety, has a right to the same vacations, and after his death benefits by the same suffrages. His presence among the boys in a house is never a merely administrative one. He is an apostle and an educator, a religious in the full sense of the word, and capable of fulfilling in the varied programs of the Salesian apostolate all those duties that do not require priestly ministry.

The difference consists in the fact that his work takes place, above all, in activities of a secular nature. The Salesian brother may develop his vocation as an educator, doctor, professor, agricultural expert, director of development projects, administrator, accountant, catechist, Scout guide, publicist, librarian, architect, computer technician, sports coach, musician, to name a few possibilities. Currently (12/31/22) there are 1,434 Salesian brothers in the world.

Source: SalesiansIreland.ie

Homily for Monday, Week 16 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Monday
Week 16 of Ordinary Time

July 24, 2023
Ex 14: 5-18
Provincial House, New Rochelle, N.Y.

The children of Israel are quick to despair at the least difficulty, and to blame Moses for their situation.  This episode at the Red Sea wasn’t the 1st time; they’d already complained about his efforts to liberate them while still in their slavery in Egypt.  And it wouldn’t be their last rebellion against Moses and God’s plans for them.

We might easily imitate the Hebrews’ bad example when our plans or our expectations run into objections, obstacles, or resistance, and lose heart.  It’s discouraging that our province loses a relatively young priest[1] or some promising candidate.  Our sins and frailties might discourage us.

God stood by Moses and repeatedly delivered his people in spite of their fears and even their sins.  Nor will he abandon us when we strive to partner with him in the ministry of Christ’s redemption or when we recommit ourselves as Christ’s disciples.

---

[1] Fr. Tom Provenzano died 3 days ago at age 56.

Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 23, 2023
Matt 13: 24-33
Ursulines, The Fountains, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
Blessed Sacrament, New Rochelle
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
OL of Assumption, Bronx

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast…” (Matt 24: 33).

Jesus tells us 3 parables today.  Each has its own hidden meaning.  The shortest of the 3 concerns yeast kneaded into a batch of wheat flour.

Those of you who’ve baked, know the importance of yeast.  Without yeast bread is different.  It doesn’t rise, and it doesn’t have the same flavor.  It’s like matzoh or the hosts we use at Mass:  2 forms of unleavened bread.

Eucharistic unleavened bread

But yeast is hidden, working deep within the dough.  We can’t see it at work; we can see only the result, an aromatic, tasty loaf of bread.

Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven, God’s realm, is like that.  Within the created world, particularly within the human race, grace works silently and mysteriously to transform whatever it touches.  Within the created world, someone moved by grace works silently to transform he world into a realm over which the Lord rules.

Every Christian—each of us, sisters and brothers—is called by Christ to be yeast in the world; called to influence the human race.  Yeast doesn’t make noise or draw attention.  Quietly, it does its work of making bread more palatable and satisfying.  Christ calls each of us in our families, workplaces, and social activities to act like yeast, to penetrate all things and infuse them with his presence.

We don’t have to be Billy Graham or Mother Teresa to change the world.  We have only to let Christ fill our hearts and then live Christ-like lives as best we can by practicing virtue and resisting vice.

Spouses who are faithful and considerate to each other are yeast in society.  Parents who teach God’s ways to their children and treat them with gentle firmness are yeast.  Honest, diligent workers are yeast.  Patient, truthful, respectful people are yeast.  Families that worship on Sunday and pray in their homes are yeast.  People who are involved in parish life are yeast.  People who use the earth’s resources with restraint and are generous with the poor are yeast.  People who bring Christian principles into public life by how they vote and by the policies they support are yeast.

In the collect (opening prayer) we prayed that God’s grace might make us fervent in hope, faith, and charity and that we might always be watchful in keeping God’s commands.  We were praying that we might be yeast that leavens our families, our society, and our culture for the glory of God.

Fr. Thomas Provenzano, SDB (1967-2023)

Fr. Thomas Provenzano, SDB (1967-2023)

Fr. Thomas M. Provenzano died unexpectedly on July 21 in his room in the rectory of St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester, N.Y. He was 56 years old and had been a professed Salesian of Don Bosco for almost 30 years and a priest for almost 22 years. He was parochial vicar in the parish and vice director in the Salesian community.

According to Fr. Pat Angelucci, director and pastor, Fr. Tom’s alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and he got up to turn it off. When he didn’t show up for the 8:00 a.m. Mass, Fr. Pat went to his room and found him dead on the floor. The first suggestion was that he’d had a heart attack, which hasn’t been confirmed. The evening before, he’d engaged in lively table conversation with his confreres, heard confessions, and taped an upcoming talk on the Eucharist.

Tom Provenzano was born on March 18, 1967, in Bronxville, N.Y., the youngest of

Anthony and Edythe Volpe Provenzano’s four sons. He was baptized at Immaculate Conception Church in Tuckahoe, N.Y., the family’s parish, within a month of his birth and confirmed there in 1980. He attended Salesian High School in New Rochelle, graduating in 1985, then spent three years at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Although he admired the Salesians’ “great sense of camaraderie,” he entered the New York Archdiocese’s candidacy program for the priesthood in 1988 instead of the Salesians. As a diocesan candidate, he completed a B.A. in philosophy at Iona College in New Rochelle in 1991.

But Don Bosco staked a claim on Tom, and in January 1992 he entered the Salesian formation program at South Orange, N.J. In August that year he began a year of novitiate with seven classmates in Rosemead, Calif., under the guidance of Fr. Harry Rasmussen. Seven of them professed on August 15, 1993, in Rosemead. Bro. Tom made his perpetual profession in New Rochelle on August 21, 1999.

Two years of postnovitiate formation in South Orange followed first profession. During that time Bro. Tom earned an M.A. in education from Seton Hall University (1995). He did practical training at his alma mater, Salesian High, between 1995 and 1997, teaching history and religion. He began theological studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum in Worthington, Ohio, in 1997. When the Salesians withdrew from the PCJ the following year, Bro. Tom and two other students moved to the Salesian Theological Institute at Tlaquepaque, Mexico. He earned a bachelor’s degree in theology there as well as learning Spanish.

Fr. Tom was ordained in his home parish in Tuckahoe on August 25, 2001, by Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, SDB, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. He began his priestly ministry at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Paterson, N.J., as parochial vicar for a year. In 2002 he was sent to St. John Bosco Parish in Chicago as parochial vicar, and from 2003 also vice director.

Fr. Tom returned to Salesian High in New Rochelle in 2007 as campus minister (CYM) and religion teacher. Three years later he was assigned to St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Elizabeth, N.J., as director and pastor. When the Salesians withdrew from the parish in 2013, he returned to Chicago as director and pastor of St. John Bosco. Completing six years with those responsibilities, he moved to College Park, Md., in 2019 to begin studies for a doctorate in theology at The Catholic University of America in Washington. He didn’t complete that project, but instead took up parish ministry once more in 2021 at St. John Bosco in Port Chester.

Fr. Tom blogged at The AX: 2021 (theaxattheroot.blogspot.com), trying “to give a Catholic-Christian perspective on pop culture, current events and whatever else strikes me at the moment.”

Adam Rudin, program director of the Salesian Lay Missioners, regretted Fr. Tom’s death: “I always found him to be very personable, jolly, and a great conversationalist. I would always look forward to seeing him and spending time with him when the SLMs would stay in Port Chester. He was always so welcoming and took a genuine interest in getting to know the SLMs.”

Salesian Cooperator Janis Aldridge wrote: “In South Orange, at the Salesian house of formation, we came to know Tom as a young man—some thirty years ago. Then, in 2014-2017, while living in Chicago, Allen and I were privileged to attend Masses, be inspired by his sermons, and laugh together at his jokes. Fr. Tom also drove out to the suburbs of St. Charles [town west of Chicago] to be with Salesian Cooperators in formation, and officiated when they took their Promise.”

Joan Sirc, former secretary to the principal of Salesian High School, remembers Fr. Tom very well: “The first time he came to us at Salesian he was a brother. He spent a lot of time sharing his day and always his pleasant humor. He will be missed.” 

Fr. Tom is survived by his brothers Joseph, Anthony, and Salvatore and their families.

Auxiliary Bishop John Bonnici of New York presided at his funeral Mass, and Fr. Pat Angelucci preached.

Fr. Tom Dunne (left) with Fr. Tom P., 2009

Funeral Arrangements

At St. John Bosco Church                             Wednesday, July 26

260 Westchester Avenue                                Reception and wake                2:00 – 6:45 p.m.

Port Chester, NY 10573                                 Mass of Christian Burial         7:00 p.m.

Thursday, July 27

            Burial                                                  10:30 a.m.

            Salesian Cemetery

            3 Craigville Rd., Goshen, NY 10924

 

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

Many of us may remember a common exercise assigned at the beginning of a new school year when we were elementary students: a short essay on how we’d just spent the summer.

Edmonton skyline with one bridge over North Saskatchewan River

The four weeks I spent in Edmonton, Alberta, June 17-July 13, at the request of Fr. Tim Zak weren’t exactly a vacation, although the workload was lighter than what I do day by day at home. For the first time in my Salesian life there was even an assigned day off (Monday) every week.

St. Edmund's Church, est. 1911, present church, 1962

Before Fr. Mario Villaraza left for a month-long vacation in the Philippines, he asked the provincial for a confrere to take his place at St. Edmund’s Church, where he’d been pastor since the fall of 2022. Fr. Tim turned to me.

Lunch with Monica and Arcelie,

invaluable office staff

I found a vibrant, devout congregation that worshiped at three weekend Masses, each attended by 200-300 people and each with its distinctive musical style. The people sang and voiced their responses clearly and loudly. They made generous offerings. Many were involved in various parish ministries.

First communicants after Mass

On the first Sunday I was there (June 18), Fr. Mario confirmed 7 teens and gave first Communion to 27 children immediately before departing on his vacation. The previous day he, I, and two local priests heard first confessions and other confessions. On later Sundays I baptized, confirmed, and gave first Communion to a 16-year-old girl whom Fr. Mario had prepared, and I baptized an infant—both of these within a parish celebration of the Eucharist.

Baptizing Khue

More photos from St. Edmund here, and St. Edmund's people here.

At weekday morning Masses (Tuesday-Friday), 25-30 parishioners took part, with a bit of music, homily, and general intercessions, and congregants doing the first readings and assisting at the altar. I had 2 opportunities to celebrate daily Masses at 2 of our other Salesian parishes, St. John Bosco and St. Matthew. One of the features of St. John Bosco is its furnishings: altar, ambo, and presidential chair that St. John Paul II used when he celebrated Mass in Edmonton in 1983.

Sanctuary of St. John Bosco Church

with furnishings used by St. John Paul II

More photos of St. John Bosco Church here.

Each week I offered Mass at two assisted living homes within the parish: one of Tuesday celebrating the previous Sunday’s Mass, and one on Thursday anticipating the next Sunday’s Mass. I was taken by surprise at each the first time, not knowing I was to celebrate a Sunday Mass, and which one. But the residents—about 30 on Tuesdays and 15 on Thursdays—were most appreciative. In both cases, volunteers from St. Edmund handled all the arrangements.

After my last Sunday Mass at St. Edmund

In addition, on Wednesday evenings St. Edmund’s Parish held a Marian novena service followed by Mass. On Friday mornings Eucharistic adoration followed Mass.

Some of the parishioners took me out to dinner

a couple of evenings before my departure

People came to confession before many of the weekday Masses and sometimes after Mass, and before the Saturday vigil Mass. I was asked twice to anoint a sick person, and to bless a couple of vehicles and numerous rosaries and other sacramentals.

The Don Bosco Residence; new home being built next door

I lived in the Salesian residence, located in the Fraser Vista subdivision in the northeast section of the city. Besides Fr. Mario, 3 Salesians from the Madras (Chennai) Province live there while serving 3 parishes. They were very welcoming. There was a 4th, but he returned to India shortly before I came. Our life in common consisted mainly of morning and evening prayers; occasionally, a meal together. Their diet was primarily Indian or Sri Lankan (the cook being Sri Lankan), which was way too spicy for me. The confrere who did the purchasing tried to accommodate me, e.g., by buying a whole roasted chicken. I bought cold cuts or had tuna for most of my lunches (which I had to pack with me to take to the parish or on my outings).

Near our residence: North Saskatchewan River, 

the Edmonton beltway, and power lines (which are everywhere)

More photos of the neighborhood and the trails here and here.

I used Mondays to explore two national parks, Elk Island and Jasper. The former is about 35 miles east of Edmonton on the Trans-Canada Highway, the latter 225 miles west on the TCH. Both have exceptional beauty, the first flat and wet, the second mountainous (it’s in the Rockies, after all) with rushing streams and large lakes. Both have ample wildlife and lots of hiking trails. I hiked in Elk Island for 4 hours, covering about 14 kms. 

Pond with beaver lodge, Elk Island NP

Bison grazing nonchalantly in an Elk Island parking area

More photos of Elk Island NP 

In Jasper I did one short hike at the Pocahontas Mine site, which took about an hour and featured one steep ascent, excellent view over Jasper Lake and toward the mountains, and a long more gradual descent. 

From one of the high spots on the trail at Pocahontas Mine

More photos from the Pocahontas trail and Punchbowl Falls here.

Maligne River Canyon (or gorge)

And I did a longer hike in the Maligne River gorge, about 2 hours with 300 feet descent then reascent over 2½ miles out and back. The gorge was spectacular.  More photos here.

Canoers on Maligne Lake

(at $80 an hour, Canadian)

Mountain goats in Jasper NP

More photos of the roads to and from Medicine Lake and Lake Maligne, and of wildlife here.

And here's the town of Jasper.

I was also able to visit the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village, which celebrates the tens of thousands of Ukrainian immigrants who settled on Canada’s prairies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—the largest Ukrainian diaspora in the world; 

St. Vladimir's Greek Orthodox Church, Ukrainian Village

Woman making cabbage rolls & Ukrainian pastries

42 photos from the Ukrainian Village. (Unfortunately, my batteries died before I finished my visit.)

and Fort Edmonton Park, which preserves different phases of the city’s human settlement, from the First Nations through the Hudson’s Bay Company outpost to the early 20th century.

Rowand House, Fort Edmonton HQ

(everything here is reconstruction)

Example of living quarters in craftsmen's section

More photos of the 1846 reconstructed fort here.

Ottewell farmstead, ca. 1885, at Fort Edmonton

McDougall's General Store, ca. 1885, Fort Edmonton

More photos of the 1885 city street here.

St. Anthony School & Chapel, ca. 1905, Fort Edmonton

Here are a few photos of the 1905 and 1920 city streets.

Edmonton has an extensive system of walking and biking trails, some of which are along the North Saskatchewan River close to the Salesian residence. The sun doesn’t set until after 10:00 p.m. so far north, and I took a lot of evening walks on those trails.

Along the Fraser Ravine Trail in our neighborhood;

Edmontonians like flowers

Abp. Lustosa Declared Venerable

Abp. Antonio De Almeida Lustosa Declared Venerable

(ANS – Vatican City – July 20, 2023) – The Dicastery for the Causes of Saints has passed on to the postulator general of the causes of saints for the Salesian Family, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, the decree by which on June 22 the Pope Francis declares that “the theological virtues of faith, hope, and charity toward God and neighbor, the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance and other related virtues, were practiced to a heroic degree by the Servant of God Antonio De Almeida Lustosa of the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco, archbishop of Fortaleza.” The decree is signed by the prefect of the Dicastery, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, and the secretary, Bishop Fabio Fabene.

The decree begins with the words “In the shadow of your wings.” This biblical quotation, found in several psalms and chosen by Abp. Lustosa as his episcopal motto, illustrates well the testimony of the Servant of God’s virtuous life. He placed his trust in God his refuge and lived an intense union with him, the source of his tireless and fruitful pastoral activity.

After briefly covering the stages of the life of the great Salesian archbishop, the decree summarizes the passages that accompanied the cause of beatification: by virtue of his reputation for holiness, the diocesan inquiry took place at the archiepiscopal chancery in Fortaleza, Brazil, from August 14, 1993, to August 14, 2001. Its validity was recognized by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints with a decree  on May 2, 2003. Once the Positio was prepared, it was submitted to examination by the theological consultors on November 8, 2022. The ordinary session of the cardinal and bishop members was held on June 20, 2023.

The spiritual and pastoral profile of the new Venerable of the Church is well expressed by these words spoken by Fr. Pasquale Liberatore, at that time postulator general, on the occasion of the 19th anniversary (1993) of the death of the Servant of God: “He was a great ascetic (also from an external perspective: ‘wrapped in air’ was how his physical person was described), but with an adamantine will which translated the fire that burned within him. Thanks to this inner strength, he was able to carry out exceptional work, leaving an imprint in so many areas: a passionate researcher of the truth, a serious scholar, writer, and poet who established so many works: the Curé of Ars pre-seminary, the Cardinal Frings Institute, the São José hospital, the Nossa Senhora de Fatima shrine, the Assunção Cearense radio station, the Casa do Menino Jesus schools, workers’ groups, etc.; and above all, he was the  founder of a religious congregation. Both great yet simple, he knew how to ensure that the bishop’s many commitments could also include catechism to little ones and – in the final years of his life – his erudite lessons in Latin with a humble stamp collection. A zealous pastor, he loved his people, never left his flock, felt the urgent need for vocations, and filled his seminaries with them. He was always a Salesian at heart. “An eternal Salesian,” he called himself. Made master of novices as a newly ordained priest, he remained a forger of souls in the Salesian style throughout his life. An ascetic, I said initially. In fact, he epitomized the motto left to us by Don Bosco: work and temperance. The secret of his holiness is to be found in his abhorrence of all forms of mediocrity. He was an athlete of the spirit – perhaps that’s why we love to remember him ‘always on his feet’ (although in recent years he was confined to a wheelchair). Always on his feet! Even today. Like someone who continues to teach us a lesson. The most difficult and most demanding lesson: holiness.”

The official version of the decree is available in several languages.

Quenching the Pain of Poverty

Quenching the Pain of Poverty

(ANS – Sunyani, Ghana – July 18, 2023) – “We have come a long way. Our daily headache of searching for water has come to an end,” reports a Salesian missionary serving in rural Ghana, where supporters of the Clean Water Initiative of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle have funded the construction of critical infrastructure in 2 communities.

Both communities are in the Bono Region, where residents—most of whom are poor farmers—depend on nearby streams for all their water needs. Those streams are often unreliable and usually contaminated by grazing animals who depend on that same water. Thanks to generous donors, the Salesians have been able to make a difference.

Kojokesekrom
This community of 700 includes 300 people who work on area farms but don’t live there. Due to extreme poverty, many of Kojokesekrom’s young people migrate in search of better lives – but the journey is dangerous, and most do not survive. Others get arrested in Libya and are sold into slavery.

“Fortunately, awareness of this issue means that many of these youths have been rescued and returned home in recent years,” explains Father Timothy Ploch, interim director of Salesian Missions. “Their best opportunity back home is to become farmers; still, it’s not a lucrative business by any stretch of the imagination, and their lives are very difficult.”

Salesian missionaries at the Odumase Mary Help of Christians Parish serve these youths and their families through 16 outposts in 22 different villages. Under their local guidance, funding from the Clean Water Initiative supported the installation of a borehole and hand pump that now supplies safe drinking water for all of Kojokesekrom. This means that residents no longer worry about whether their streams will dry out, or whether they’ll get sick drinking from them.

Chiraa
In 2015, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth started the Holy Family of Nazareth School for children in pre-K through 4th grade. The school is located in an isolated, undeveloped area where missionaries immediately noticed the lack of locally available clean water.

“Students and staff at the school drank out of a stream, which wasn’t a safe water source,” says Fr. Tim. “That led to regular illness among children and teachers, which interfered with learning and contributed to the ongoing cycle of poverty.”

Today, Chiraa has its own mechanical borehole, water collection and storage tower, and spouts that together provide clean water for 340 students, staff, and sisters at the school. Additionally, 30 local families also benefit from the spouts whenever they need it.

“We are grateful for our donors who made this new water source possible,” says one of the missionaries there. “We wouldn’t have clean water without their support.”

Source: Salesian Missions

Salesian Sisters Provide Oasis amid War in Khartoum

Salesian Sisters Provide an Oasis amid War in Khartoum

(ANS – Khartoum, Sudan – July 17, 2023) – The war that began on April 15 in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), is about to reach its 100th day. The streets are deserted and inaccessible to the population due to the ongoing fighting. There is no public transport, electricity is almost absent, and water is becoming a scarce and precious commodity. A Salesian missionary lives with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (FMA) in Shajara, 4 miles from Khartoum. There, despite having to close elementary school, the Salesian Family serves the poorest and neediest population through informal classes, giving food and shelter to several hundred people, and also caring for the injured.

The war has spread to many other cities in Sudan. Little is known about the conflict, however, “because of the limited movement of people,” explains a Salesian missionary. “In most areas the [electrical] current has been interrupted for several weeks and temperatures are always above 104º. In addition, running water has become a luxury in most areas of Khartoum, and the supply also has been drastically reduced. Some shops have been looted, and many others have run out of supplies,” explains the Salesian.

The Salesians have two presences in Khartoum – the vocational school and the parish of St. Joseph – and another in the city of El Obeid, 300 miles from Khartoum. “All three have been closed due to insecurity and the dangers that lie ahead,” he says. The Salesians from these communities have left the country, with the exception of the director of the vocational school, who has moved to the FMA residence in Shajara, where he collaborates in the initiatives that are carried out to help the needy.

The FMAs opened their presence in Shajara in 1989. There are 5 sisters who run an elementary school for poor children and also have a center for the promotion of women. They are currently the only representatives of the Catholic Church in the vicinity of the Sudanese capital. The sisters’ residence is surrounded by poor families living in metal shacks. Because of the insecurity caused by the war, the FMAs closed the elementary school and the women’s center, but focused their service on supporting hundreds of poor people.

The sisters opened their classrooms and their residence for the poor and transformed the space into a house of prayer. The work has become a playground for poor children where they can play during the day and a safe haven where they can sleep at night. Every day about 80 poor children of different ages, together with their mothers, live in the sisters’ complex, a number that rises to more than 150 people a night. The sisters provide food during the day to all whom they host and offer breakfast daily to about 300 poor children and other people who live around their residence.

The sisters gather the children in a classroom during the day and teach them English and mathematics and give drama lessons. They sing, encourage the children with board games, and offer religious meetings. And because stray bullets injure many people living around Shajara every day, and most hospitals in Khartoum have no medicine or doctors to turn to, the FMAs have also begun an apostolate with the sick and injured. “Every day, between 15 and 20 injured patients come to the sisters’ residence for medical help,” they say from the home.

For the poor of Shajara, the house and the FMA complex have become an oasis for finding spiritual and material nourishment and hoping for some medical assistance. With faith and hope, the religious and all the staff who animate them ask to pray for peace to come to Sudan, “while in the meantime we try to keep life more or less normal,” they explain.

Homily for 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 16, 2023
Matt 13: 1-9
Is 55: 10-11
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

“A sower went out to sow. . . .  Some seed fell on rich soil … and produced fruit” (Matt 13: 3, 8).

(Vincent van Gogh)

Jesus tells us a parable that’s well known, tho not as famous as the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son.  In the verses following the parable (the long form of today’s gospel), he offers an explanation; or perhaps it’s St. Matthew’s interpretation of the parable.  We’re given to understand that the seed so abundantly scattered by the sower is the Word of God.

That understanding is matched by the 1st reading, from the prophet Isaiah.  There God proclaims that his word will be effective and fruitful; it will achieve his purpose (55:11).

Jesus sows the Word of God among his disciples; indeed, he casts the seed among anyone and everyone.  Those who are receptive to his teaching are like the good soil receiving the farmer’s seeds.  Their hearts are open to receive Jesus’ words—to become disciples (which means “learners”) and to act on his words.

Where are we to find Jesus’ teaching?  Where can we find the Word of God?  We’ve heard the answer many times:  the sacred Scriptures are the Word of God.  God speaks to us in the Bible.

The Word of God written, preserved, and handed on in the Scriptures is so precious that the 2d Vatican Council in the 1960s placed special emphasis on it in one of its fundamental documents or teachings.  Speaking thru the Council, the Church has put a new stress on the Scriptures, urging all Catholics as never before to read the Bible, study the Bible, pray the Bible.

Therefore the Scriptures have an important place in Mass and the other sacraments.  Since the Vatican Council we hear 3 readings at Sunday Mass instead of 2, as in previous centuries, and we have an expanded repertoire of readings from the gospels, the Old Testament, and the letters of the apostles.  The Church really wants us to be familiar with the Word of God.  The Church really wants the Word to sink deep roots in our hearts.

We’re also strongly encouraged to read the Scriptures and ponder them on our own.  Every home needs a Bible with a good, modern translation—and there are many of those available.  But not a Bible simply to put on a bookshelf or a coffee table; rather, a Bible to be picked up every day and read.

The Bible is the story of God’s love for humanity, the story of God’s intervention in our sinful history to save us from our sins, to set us free (as St. Paul says) from our slavery to corruption and death (Rom 8:21), to make us whole and healthy, to lead us to our true and permanent home in God’s household for eternity alongside Jesus our brother.  We want to know that story and make it part of our daily lives.

Moreover, St. John’s Gospel tells us that the Word of God isn’t just something written in a book.  The Word of God is a living Person:  “the Word became flesh and lived among us” (1:14).  The Word of God, the 2d Person of the Trinity, is enfleshed in Jesus Christ.  In the Scriptures, therefore, we meet a living Person.  It’s the Person of Jesus Christ that we want to take into our hearts, into our very being.  St. Paul writes to the Galatians that it’s no longer he, Paul, who lives, but Christ who lives in him (2:20).  That living Word of God, Jesus Christ, will achieve the end for which the Father sent him into the world, into our history; as Isaiah says, God’s Word shall do his will, achieving the end for which he sent it (55:11).  That end, that purpose, is to redeem us from sin and bring us into eternal life.

Arrangements for the Salesians after Rector Major Becomes Cardinal

Arrangements for the Salesians after the Rector Major’s Appointment as Cardinal

Following the Holy Father's choice of Fr. Angel Fernandez to become a cardinal, at least some Salesians speculated whether he'd continue as Rector Major.  Your humble blogger suggested, if a diocesan bishop continues to govern his diocese after becoming a cardinal, why couldn't Fr. Angel do likewise?  But Pope Francis has something else in mind.

(ANS – Rome – July 14, 2023) – Following the unexpected announcement by Pope Francis of the appointment of the Rector Major of the Salesian Congregation as cardinal, Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime has written a letter to Salesians and the Salesian Family, sharing what the future foresees for governance of the Congregation.

The Rector Major began by stressing that the news was completely “unexpected” for him, and that he welcomed it as a “gift that Pope Francis has given us as a Salesian Congregation and as the Family of Don Bosco.” “How much the Pope loves us!!!” the Rector Major writes.

Pope Francis himself, recounts Don Bosco’s 10th successor, summoned Fr. Fernandez to the Vatican on Tuesday, July 11, for an appointment that he wanted, with fatherly attention, so as “to agree on the necessary timing of my service as Rector Major, for the good of the Congregation.”

The Holy Father “was attentive, warm and a profound admirer of Don Bosco's charism and particularly affectionate,” Fr. Fernandez reported. At the end of the conversation, he said, the Pope has decided that the Rector Major continue his service as Rector Major and cardinal at the same time, for one year. He will then convene a general chapter – the Congregation’s 29th – to be held in February 2025, during which a new Rector Major will be elected. He will offer his resignation from governance of the Congregation on July 31, 2024. From that point on his vicar, Fr. Stefano Martoglio, will assume governance of the Congregation ad interim, and he will preside at GC29.

The Rector Major states in his communique that when his resignation becomes effective, he will take up the task entrusted to him by the Holy Father, a task he is not yet aware of. He asks the Salesians and the Salesian Family to intensify their prayers for the Pope and also for himself, “faced with the prospect of this new service in the Church which, as a son of Don Bosco, I accept in obedience, without having sought it, nor wanted it.”

The complete letter of the Rector Major is available in various languages.