Homily for Tuesday, Week 17 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
Week 17 of Ordinary Time

July 30, 2024
Jer 14: 17-22
Matt 13: 36-43
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Those who pray the Liturgy of the Hours find familiar today’s reading from Jeremiah.[1]  If there’s a prophet of doom in the Old Testament, it surely is Jeremiah.  Yesterday with a parable he lamented the rot in Judah and Jerusalem (13:1-11), and today he mourns the destruction of his city, his country, and his people—all because of their wickedness (14:20).

We may feel similarly about Western civilization.  Benedict XVI often lamented that the West was forgetting its Christian roots, and rootless, was descending into relativism, materialism, a culture of death (St. John Paul II’s term), exploitation of the environment, and war.  In our country, one major candidate campaigns for unrestricted abortion and the other wants to deport 12 million people and abandon an entire nation to a brutal dictator.

But we’re neither alone nor helpless, as Jesus’ parable notes.  Yes, the Evil One’s weeds are in our midst, but so is God’s good wheat.  We pray, like the psalmist (79:8), for God’s compassionate care.  We pray that he overlook our own failures, protect his wheat, help us grow and stay healthy.  We wish to be his wheat, and we wish to cultivate God’s field with care (that’s a mixed metaphor, I’m sure).  We maintain our hope—the theme of the coming jubilee year—in Christ’s power still to transform us (to continue to convert us to his Gospel) and, thru us, to renew society.  “Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever” (Ps 79:13).

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[1] Used at Morning Prayer, Friday, Week II.

2025 Strenna: Anchored in Hope, Pilgrims with Young People

Strenna 2025 
“Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people”

(ANS – Rome – July 29, 2024) – At the end of the Salesian general council’s summer plenary session, Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, rector major, announced the theme of the strenna for 2025: ”Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people.”

The theme was chosen in collaboration between the rector major and his vicar, Fr. Stefano Martoglio, who will take over the governance of the Congregation on August  17, until the 29th General Chapter (February 16 - April 12, 2025). As explained by the rector major himself in the document presenting the theme of the strenna, the text written by “two pairs of hands” specifically concerns the choice of the theme and its presentation, while the commentary on the strenna proper will be developed entirely by Fr. Martoglio, acting in the place of the rector major. He will also present it officially to the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and to the entire Salesian Family – as usual, in the last days of December.

The basics that helped identify the theme are two important anniversaries planned for 2025: the Church’s jubilee year, which Pope Francis announced with his bull Spes Non Confundit (“Hope does not disappoint,” Rom 5:5); and the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian Missionary Expedition, which Don Bosco sent to Argentina.

All this has led us to think that the strenna for 2025 must have “hope” at its core, and the path that we will follow with the young. This justifies the title “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people,” the rector major writes.

Presenting the theme of Strenna 2025 – usually provided at this time of the year to allow the planning for new educational and pastoral years in some countries starting as early as September – Card. Fernandez Artime and Fr. Martoglio offer different ideas on how to prepare for next year in Christian and Salesian terms, drawing inspiration for the strenna from the papal bull, as well as from the words of hope (experienced, realized, sometimes wounded) of young people around the world.

To know their thinking in detail, simply download and read the full text of the strenna presentation, available at ANS in Italian, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Diocesan Documents on Akash Bashir Presented in Rome

Diocesan Documents on the 
Servant of God Akash Bashir Presented in Rome

(ANS - Vatican City - July 29, 2024) - On July 29, the diocesan investigation of the Servant of God Akash Bashir (June 22, 1994 - March 15, 2015), martyred Salesian alumnus, was presented at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. Present were Dr. Federico Favero of the Dicastery, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni (at right in photo), postulator general of the Salesians, and Fr. Gabriel Cruz, vice postulator of the Bashir’s cause. The 4 bundles of transcripts and public copies were presented, two in Urdu and two in English. Then the seals were broken and the General Index reviewed to verify the articulation of the structural parts of the investigation, dwelling in particular on the work of the historical commission. With the documents’ opening, the proceedings can be divided and organized. They will then pass temporarily to the printery, which will collate and bind them in white, titling and numbering the volumes, according to the practice of the Dicastery. Thereafter, they will be made accessible to the competent office, which will study their legal validity: that is, the Dicastery will check that the fulfillments prescribed under the law have been carried out correctly and completely in the diocesan phase.

Fr. Dennis Donovan, SDB (1954-2024)

Fr. Dennis Donovan, SDB (1954-2024)

After a year-long fight against pancreatic cancer, Fr. Dennis Dale Donovan died on Thursday morning, July 25, two days after entering the Joe Raso Hospice Residence in New City, N.Y., where he passed away.

Fr. Dennis, 70, was a member of the Marian Shrine community in Haverstraw-Stony Point, N.Y., of which he had been director from July 2021 until June 30, 2024.  He was a professed Salesian of Don Bosco for almost 51 years and a priest for 41 years.

Dennis Donovan was born to Thomas and Helen Rudolph Donovan on Feb. 26, 1954, in Nyack, N.Y.  He was baptized at St. Ann’s Church in Nyack less than a month after birth.  After the family moved to West Nyack, he was confirmed at St. Anthony’s Church in neighboring Nanuet, their parish.  The family also included Dennis’s younger sister Lynn.

Dennis entered Salesian Junior Seminary, the aspirantate at Goshen, N.Y., in September 1968, and upon graduation four years later was admitted to the Salesian novitiate at Ipswich, Mass.  His master of novices was Fr. Ted Ciampi, and some of his classmates were Tom Connery, Allen Dec, Jay Horan, John Serio, and Gene Walter.

Bob Ferrara, one of his novitiate class who remained with the Salesians for a few years, paid tribute to Fr. Dennis shortly before he went into hospice:

In Ipswich we put on the musical play 1776.  I played John Adams.  It turned out to be one of the best decisions made for me by Bro. German Martinez, as I was strongly reluctant to do so.

The play never would’ve happened without the talent of Dennis Donovan, truly a phenomenal keyboard player (piano/organ).  He was solely responsible for directing and performing all the music.  He humbly did so with perfection.

Through the years, I’m sure he allowed for tremendous prayer whenever he played at a service, encouraging many to join in song.  They say that “those who sing, pray twice.”  Well, I believe he taught many that prayer is meaningful and fulfilling through music.  

Thank you, Fr. Dennis for teaching us how to pray!  You have nothing to fear!  We pray for you!

Bro. Dennis and the others professed on Sept. 1, 1973, at Don Bosco College in Newton, N.J., then undertook college studies there.  He earned a B.A. in philosophy at Don Bosco in 1977.  He was certified in New Jersey to teach English and later was certified also in New York.

Bro. Dennis did practical training at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., from 1977 to 1979.  He went to Columbus, Ohio, in 1979 to undertake theological studies at the Pontifical College Josephinum and was ordained by Bishop James Griffin at Christ the King Church in Columbus on May 21, 1983, with his classmates Frs. Bill Bucciferro, Tom Connery, Jim Marra, Ted Montemayor, John Nazzaro, Joseph Vien Hoang, Gene Walter, and others.

Fellowship with Fr. John Puntino, Bro. Tom Sweeney,
and Fr. Steve Shafran on Province Day, 2008

Fr. Dennis’s first assignment as a priest brought him back to his alma mater, Salesian Junior Seminary, in Goshen, teaching and assisting the school’s treasurer, Fr. Joseph Stella, from 1983 to 1985.  He returned to Columbus in 1985 as treasurer at the Salesian Center and the Salesian Boys & Girls Club until 1994.  In those years he also served as chaplain to the Ohio State Senate—the capitol was four blocks from the Salesian Center—and to the central Ohio chapter of the American Guild of Organists.

Playing the organ and learning about the instrument was one of Fr. Dennis’s passions.  He was also fascinated by clocks and watches.

During those years he developed a secondary priestly ministry as cruise chaplain, starting in 1990.  In 2005 he formally enrolled in the Cruise Ship Priest Program of the Apostolate of the Sea-U.S.A., which coordinates chaplaincies for seafaring men and women, both crews and tourists, and remained a member until his death.  He served on the AOS-USA Administrative Board from 2015 to 2018.  Doreen Badeaux, secretary general of AOS-USA, writes, “Fr Dennis made a huge impact upon the ministry to the People of the Sea!”  She continues: “What can I say about Fr Dennis Donovan?  He is, was and forever will be a great man of God, a kind soul and a man who was a friend and supporter to everyone he met.  He had an impish good humour and a gentle yet fun loving manner.  He will be forever missed.”

While he was on the AOS administrative board, Ms. Badeaux says, “he overhauled the Cruise Ship Priest Manual, assisted with wise counsel, … was always available to help give advice and helpful tips to priests who were new to the program,” and he helped forward the canonization cause of Benedictine Bro. Marinus LaRue, a former Merchant Marine captain, whom then-Bro. Dennis had met at St. Paul’s Abbey in Newton.

Fr. Dennis thoroughly enjoyed cruise chaplaincy, combining it with his own vacation time, sometimes accompanied by family members.  At the same time, he was always ready to meet the pastoral needs of hundreds of vacationers at sea as well as of the ship’s crew:  sacraments, counseling, and occasionally a funeral.  He told a reporter for the Tampa Tribune in 2009: “You actually get very busy as a priest.  Passengers take advantage of a spiritual advisor who doesn’t live in their hometown.  Some have not been to church in 20, 30 years.  They figure, ‘This priest doesn’t know me.  He won’t be judgmental.”[1]  Cruise chaplaincy later drew the attention of the National Catholic Register, which cited Fr. Dennis:  “On every cruise, he encounters passengers who are not familiar with the work of the Salesians—and it’s not unusual for those passengers to contact him at his office, long after the cruise is over, to request more information or send a donation to support the [Salesians’] work.”[2]  In fact, he would usually return from a cruise with generous donations from the passengers.

One very notable cruise experience occurred at Eastertime last year, when Fr. Dennis and another cruise chaplain, Bishop Robert Lynch, bishop emeritus of St. Petersburg, prepared the Stolz family’s four adopted children, all of whom have Down syndrome, for their First Communion in mid-Atlantic aboard Holland America’s MS Rotterdam.[3]

From Columbus, Fr. Dennis was called to the provincial house in New Rochelle, N.Y., as director of development for the province.  He served there from 1994 to 1998.  He acted at the same time as province delegate for the Salesian Cooperators.  In 1998 he was sent back to Columbus as executive director of the Boys & Girls Club for six years.

In 2004 Fr. Dennis moved to Mary Help of Christians School in Tampa as treasurer for the school and the Salesian community.  Two years later he was appointed director there and served two terms (2006-2012), which included the closing of the school, the move of Good Shepherd Parish to the Mary Help campus, the parish’s renaming to Mary Help of Christians, and the Salesian work renamed Mary Help of Christians Center.  The center’s retreat program was developed further.  The center is also the home of the Saint Philip the Apostle Residence for senior Salesians, a work that led to Fr. Dennis’s developing a province plan for the care of elder confreres.

Fr. Dennis’s management skills were good enough for him to be named province treasurer in 2012 and to move back to the provincial house for 9 years.  He served briefly as director of the community (2017-2018), when the Salesian High School community merged into the provincial house community.

Giving a financial report
at the 2019 provincial chapter

The general treasurer of the Salesian Society, Bro. John Paul Muller, wrote from Rome:

I am very grateful to Father Dennis.  On the one hand, he has helped me a lot and supported us here in finding solutions.  On the other hand, he was a very committed pastoral caregiver.  I am sure that his illness prepared him well for his encounter with our Lord Jesus.  Here in Rome, we will remember him at our Mass on Monday.

I had two good teachers from your province, Father Cappelletti and Father Dennis.  Both different, but both convinced and exemplary Salesians.

Celebrating 60th birthday with his family
at the provincial house

Fr. Dennis is survived by his sister Lynn and her husband Andrew Krakaur of West Nyack, N.Y., and his nieces Lauren (Matt Finn) of Montrose, N.Y., and Erin (Matthew Dybus) of Norwalk, Conn., and many members of the Donovan family.

Donations in Fr. Dennis’s memory can be made to the Marian Shrine, 174 Filors Lane, Stony Point, NY 10980.

Father Dennis was waked in the Marian Shrine Chapel at Haverstraw on Tuesday, July 30, from 1:00 to 6:45 p.m.  After the casket was sealed, and the Mass of Christian Burial followed at 7:00 p.m.  New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmond Whalen presided, and Father John Nazzaro preached.  Bishop Whalen thanked the Donovans and the Salesians for Father Dennis’s long service to the Church, especially in Rockland County.  More than 30 priests, both Salesian and diocesan, concelebrated.  The congregation filled the chapel; it included a large contingent of the Donovan family, Salesian sisters, Salesian brothers, Salesian Cooperators, Salesian Lay Missioners, representatives of the Apostleship of the Sea, and numerous friends of the Salesians and of Father Dennis in particular.  The Mass was livestreamed so that relatives in Germany, as well as elsewhere, could watch.

Father Dennis was buried in the Salesian Cemetery in Goshen on Wednesday, July 31.

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[1] “Divine Vacation,” online July 2, 2009.

[2] “Priests of the Sea,” online July 7, 2016.

[3] AOS-USA Maritime News, April 9, 2023.

Homily for 17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
17th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 28, 2024
John 6: 1-15
The Fountains, Tuckahoe, N.Y.
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

This is an adapted and condensed version of the homily I gave 3 years ago at 2 other parishes.

Multiplication of the Loaves & Fish
(Ambrosius Francken)

“There’s a boy here who has 5 barley loaves and 2 fish; but what good are these for so many?” (John 6: 9).

Since November, on most Sundays we’ve been reading from St. Mark’s Gospel.  Now we come to a 5-week interruption in that cycle, partly because Mark’s Gospel is considerably shorter than Matthew’s or Luke’s for filling out our Sunday readings, and partly because the 6th chapter of St. John’s Gospel is so fundamental. These 5 weeks are the only time in our 3-year cycle of readings when we hear that chapter.

The story of how Jesus multiplied a few loaves and fish and fed thousands of people is remarkable in itself.  It’s also so important to the Christian Gospel that it’s one of the very few stories from Jesus’ public life reported in all 4 of the gospels.  What Jesus did is also foreshadowed in the story of the prophet Elisha recounted in our 1st reading (2 Kings 4:42-44).

Jesus’ miracle is thus well attested.  Similar accounts appear in the lives of the saints, also well attested.  God must enjoy such miracles.  E.g., on one occasion St. John Bosco multiplied breakfast rolls for his boys because the baker had cut off the bread supply (as often happened, Don Bosco was seriously in arrears); another time he multiplied chestnuts for the boys as a treat after a pilgrimage; and once he multiplied hosts for Holy Communion because the sacristan hadn’t put out a fresh ciborium.  (I checked the tabernacle; we’re good.)

We may be struck by such stories, 1st, by how nature’s limits are surpassed.  How could Jesus turn 5 loaves and 2 fish into a banquet for 5,000 men, plus women and children?  This is an example of what St. John calls the “signs” of Jesus, a word he uses twice in today’s story (6:2,24).  Other “signs” include his changing water into wine at Cana and raising Lazarus from death.  2d, we’re struck that the signs indicate something much deeper going on, deeper than what our eyes see and our ears hear.

If exceeding the limits of nature to feed more than 5,000 people was a wondrous sign, the Eucharist foreshadowed in this meal offered by Jesus is a far greater surpassing of nature.  That foreshadowing is why the story appears in all 4 gospels.

The gospels even use language that we recognize as eucharistic:  “Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks (eucharistesas in St. John’s Greek), and distributed them” (6:11).  Matthew, Mark, and Luke also include the verb broke:  Jesus broke the loaves before distributing them.  At Mass the priest pronounces those same 4 verbs in the Last Supper narrative:  “On the night he was betrayed he himself took bread, and, giving you thanks, he said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples…” (EP III).

When I was a boy, a long, long time ago (tho not in a galaxy far away), we learned in the Baltimore Catechism that a sacrament is “an outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.”  (I’m sure that sounds familiar to some of you!)  The bread and fish that Jesus multiplied and used to feed a hungry crowd are signs of a greater feeding that he has provided for his people; signs of a greater miracle of nature than multiplication.

In the Holy Eucharist Jesus transforms nature.  He changes the bread that we bring to the altar, and the ordinary wine, into something totally different, substantially altered.  What looks like bread and wine, what tastes like bread and wine, what smells like bread and wine is no longer bread and wine:  “This is my body, which will be given up for you.  This is the chalice of my blood … poured out for you.”  On our altar are no longer bread and wine but the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the same body crucified on Mt. Calvary, the same blood spilled, the same body that rose from the dead and now lives forever in heaven.  In the coming weeks Jesus will teach us in the rest of ch. 6 that he is the living bread come down from heaven, giving eternal life to all who come to him and eat his body and drink his blood.

The transformation of ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ—not symbols but really, truly, and actually his body and blood—is something beyond nature, something supernatural, a miracle of grace.  The Eucharist is one of those 7 outward signs instituted by Christ to give us divine grace.

Another miraculous transformation is indicated by this sacrament.  Ordinary food—bread, meat, potatoes, and veggies—our bodies transform into all the nutriments we need for life and activity.  The Eucharist, tho, is the true “Wonder bread.”  We don’t transform the Eucharist, but the Eucharist transforms us; we become what we eat and drink; we become the Body of Christ.

Consequently, we must act like what we’ve become.  We must be who we are:  the Body of Christ, people who speak and act like Jesus—not only when we praise God on Sunday but in our entire lives:  at home, at work, at play or relaxation.  The Eucharist is intended to transform us totally so that when God calls us into eternity, our entire, transformed selves will be recognized as belonging to Jesus Christ, our savior and redeemer, and we shall live alongside him forever.

Two Salesians Could Soon Be Venerable

Two Salesians Could Soon Be Venerable

Diocesan Documents for Servants of God Fr. Vendrame and Bp. Marengo Are under Study in Rome

(ANS – Rome – July 22, 2024) – At Salesian Headquarters in Rome, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator general for the causes of saints of the Salesian Congregation, met Fr. John Zosiama, superior of the province of Shillong, India, and Fr. Sebastian Kuricheal, superior of the province of Guwahati, India, on July 18.  During the meeting, Fr. Cameroni updated the 2 provincials about the cause for canonization of 2 Salesian Servants of God: Fr. Constantine Vendrame and Bp. Orestes Marengo.

Fr. Vendrame (center) with youngsters

The reports of the diocesan inquiry have already been approved and submitted to the Vatican for further investigation by a team of theologians, historians, cardinals, and bishops. Once this investigation is completed, the decree on the venerability of these two Servants of God will be promulgated and they will be titled “Venerable.”

Fr. Cameroni said he was deeply touched and inspired by the lives of these 2 holy missionaries as he read all the accounts. He asked both provincials to encourage and spread devotion to these holy confreres in Northeast India, involving the whole Church and the faithful. They made an indispensable, unique contribution to the growth of the Church in that region.

Bp. Marengo with a child

The diocesan investigation process for Fr. Vendrame began on August 19, 2006. The provinces of Shillong and Guwahati sincerely are grateful to Fr. Mawrie Barnes, postulator of the diocesan inquiry, for his interest and hard work for this noble cause.

We continue to spread devotion to these 2 Servants of God and pray fervently that the process can proceed smoothly.

Fr. Xavier Ernest, SDB, Chaplain at the Olympics

Fr. Xavier Ernst, SDB, on the Team of Catholic Chaplains at the Olympic Village

(ANS – Paris – July 22, 2024) – While the best athletes of all disciplines are converging from all over the world on France, and on Paris in particular, the Olympic village dedicated to welcoming them, in the Saint-Denis area, is ready. It includes houses, shops, and a large park with 9,000 trees and shrubs that have been specially planted. But not only that: inside there is also a multi-religious center in the form of a tent, similar to the “tent of meetings” that young people from Salesian circles have known in the Campobosco experience. Within this space there are a reception area and 5 different prayer rooms, which house the chaplains of the 5 main religions (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist). These include Catholic chaplains – including Salesian Fr. Xavier Ernst – as well as Protestants and Orthodox.

Since their resumption in modern times under the guidance of Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the Olympic Games have included a significant spiritual dimension. “For a long time now, there has been a spiritual presence at the heart of the Olympic Games, as this is a request from the International Olympic Committee. It is precisely the one who calls for an interfaith space in the Olympic Village,” François Morinière of Holy Games explained.

About 30 Catholic chaplains were chosen by the Catholic Church in France to be present at specific time slots, depending on their availability (with hours of service from 7 am to 11 pm). They are priests, men and women religious, and lay people, all united by 2 things: love for sports and the experience of spiritual guidance. Among them is Fr. Xavier Ernst, SDB, pastor of St. John Bosco parish in the 20th arrondissement of Paris and delegate for youth ministry in the province of France and Southern Belgium.

“Our service is to be present. Athletes know that in the Olympic Village there is this space, a place for listening, sharing, and relationship. Our environment is furnished with icons, symbolic furnishings, and the Bible,” Fr. Ernst explains. “Every morning there will be a moment of lectio divina, of reading and sharing the Gospel, a moment that will be ecumenical. And every day we’ll celebrate the Eucharist, not in the multi-religious center, but in the church next to the village.”

“Will we have 1 visitor per day, 10, 50, or 100? Obviously we don’t know! But the important thing isn’t the number, it’s our being at the service of the athletes,” the Salesian says.

During the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), the Salesian Family will be active in offering its spiritual service to the many athletes, coaches, members of delegations, and fans who will crowd Paris for the occasion. For example, in the church of Saint-Sulpice, from Thursday, July 25, to Friday, August 2, the Salesian Youth Movement over 17 section will propose a series of activities and animations—reception, games, listening, times for prayer—in addition to 2 highlights entrusted to it by the organizing committee: the ecumenical prayer vigil on Tuesday, July 30, with Mark Gangloff, 2-time Olympic swimming champion, and the Mass on July 31, presided over by Bp. Emmanuel Gobillard, delegate of the Church for the Olympics in Paris.

Source : Don Bosco Aujourd’hui

Homily for the Feast of St. James the Greater

Homily for the Feast of
St. James the Greater

July 25, 2024
Matt 20: 20-28
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

It’s a little curious that today’s Scriptures pass over the most glorious parts of St. James’ apostolic career.  We don’t hear how promptly he left his nets and his father to follow Jesus or how that following of Jesus led him to martyrdom (Acts 12:1-2).

Instead, we hear of his and his brother’s ambition and naiveté.  As Bp. Barron writes, they ask for power and honor.[1]  The other nite I watched how this scene is depicted in The Chosen.[2]  Jesus seems to be stunned and very disappointed, 1st in the brothers, then in the reaction of the others.  We know the end of the story, which may make us ready to judge them all harshly.

Like we’ve never sought power or honor for ourselves!  Bp. Barron concludes his take on the scene, “When you serve others, when you become the least, you are accessing the power of God and seeking the honor of God.”

That’s why Jesus called James and John, and why he calls us.  That’s why James finally gave his life for Christ and why we give him our lives.

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[1] The Word on Fire Bible:  The Gospels (Park Ridge, Ill., 2020), p. 125.

[2] Season 4, episode 4

Homily for Tuesday, Week 16 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
16th Week of Ordinary Time

July 23, 2024
Mic 7: 14-15, 18-20
Ps 85: 2-8
Matt 12: 46-50
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

“Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old” (Mic 7: 14).

The hills of Gilead
(Wikipedia)

Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, refers to lands east of the Jordan renowned for their rich pastures, once occupied by some of the tribes of Israel.  He pleads with God for a restoration, a deliverance based on Israel’s admission of their sins and his forgiveness.  The prophet’s confident that the Lord “will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins” (7:19).  That’s our own confidence every time we go to confession, isn’t it?  And indeed every time we begin Mass.

Only if people confess and repent can God save.  In Psalm 85 Israel acknowledges their guilt and credits God with bringing them home from exile in Babylon:  “You have favored your land; you have brought back the captives of Jacob.  You have forgiven the guilt of your people; you have covered all their sins” (vv. 2-3).  Yet they pray for a complete restoration—for prosperity and contentedness on the land, which can follow only from God’s good pleasure.

Jesus doesn’t talk about restoration, but he does talk about pleasing God; a restoration is implied.  “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, sister, and mother” (Matt 12:50).  Doing the Father’s will, of course, means turning from our sins toward God.  The restoration, then, is to a warm family relationship with God thru his Son, a relationship of brotherhood with the Son.  That’s why we’re brothers to one another—and have been made at the same time sons of God.  We’re restored to the divine image in which we God created us.

Salesians Dream Big to Heal War Wounds

Salesians Dream Big to Heal War Wounds

(ANS – Lviv, Ukraine – July 22, 2024) – Ukraine is going through a very difficult period in its history. Unfortunately, war always brings great pain, and many young people lose their lives, while many others will forever bear the signs of violence on their bodies. The Salesians are always close to the neediest, as can be seen in all the work they do with refugees and displaced persons, with the poor, the sick, and the disabled. It has already been almost a year since the Salesians in the Vice Province of Greek-Catholic Ukraine (UKR) launched the first soccer team in the whole country to be made up of young people who have limb amputations due to war. A month ago the Salesians also started the first team for children and youths with amputations.

Thanks to the support of the Don Bosco Salesian Mission Office in Bonn, these sports activities for children and youths are developing very well and the number of their participants is increasing.

During this year, a professional team has been created that is able to give its contribution and advice to those looking to start working in this field. “Every day several of our rehabilitation specialists, coaches, and psychologists work together to help young people overcome this difficult time and find a new balance in life, find an activity that they like, that gives them hope,” Fr. Myhkhaylo Chaban, superior of UKR, says.

In this way the Salesians have become the point of reference for the whole of Ukraine. The central soccer association for amputees at European level, through its president, Mateusz Widlak, is expressing its closeness and supports the various Salesian initiatives. To promote this type of sport, to make it better known, the Pokrova Salesian team (which takes its name from the title of the most venerated Madonna in the country, “Our Lady of All Protection”), is participating in the Polish national championship. (Latin-rite Salesians belong to the Krakow Province.) The desire of the UKR Salesians, however, would be to start a soccer league for amputees in Ukraine. Meanwhile, following the example of the Salesians, a few months ago two other teams were created in Ukraine: Shakhtar Stalevi of Donetsk and Dnipro Cherkasy.

“In the weekend that has just passed, we organized a great and first event for the whole of Ukraine,” Fr. Chaban said. We’ve hosted these teams in our Salesian center: for formation, play, training, and a recreational moment. The purpose was to get to know each other, to dream of a future together. In these three days we have also organized formation for people who would like to create soccer teams for amputees in their cities.”

From the different cities of Ukraine, in fact, several managers participated who will start these activities in the near future. The Salesians have become a center where it is possible to prepare well for work with youths and children who have lived through the horrors of war.

“And with the new Salesian Sports and Rehabilitation Center that we are planning near Lviv and that we hope we will be able to achieve soon, we want to offer a place of hope for many young people, young people and families” concludes the Superior of UKR.

Homily for 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
16th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 21, 2024
Mark 6: 30-34
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“His heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6: 34).

The Good Shepherd
(fresco, catacombs)

Sheep and shepherds are the main theme in today’s Scriptures.  You and I don’t know much about sheep or shepherds.  The only sheep around here are at the Bronx Zoo.  I think there are a few also on farms up in Westchester County.

Sheep aren’t particularly bright; I hope that’s not why God calls us his flock.  They’re prone to wandering off if not closely managed by a shepherd; that’s more like us, who find it hard always to focus on God.  They’re vulnerable to wild animals like the wolf Jesus speaks of in John ch. 10 (v. 12) or the lions and bears David fought off while watching his family’s flock (1 Sam 17:34-36).  St. Peter warns us, “Your opponent the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8).

So we need the guidance and protection of a good shepherd.  Jesus identifies himself as that good shepherd in John 10.  In today’s gospel he demonstrates his care for his followers.  He’s moved with pity, Mark says, with compassion, even tho both he and his apostles are tired and looking for rest, so beleaguered they can’t even manage a decent meal (6:31).

What does our compassionate Lord do for the vast crowd that comes to him?  Mark tells us today that “he began to teach them many things” (6:34).  Next week we’ll hear what else he did:  feeding the vast crowd with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish.  Jesus teaches, and Jesus feeds.  Like the shepherd in Ps 23, he refreshes souls with spiritual food (v. 3), and he spreads a table before his people (v. 5).

Jesus continues to care for his flock.  He teaches us in 3 ways.  1st, he speaks to us in the Sacred Scriptures.  We need to listen to him teaching us—not only when we come to Mass but also by taking up our Bibles at home and reading them, absorbing their contents.

2d, Jesus speaks to us thru the Church that he founded, which provides sound teaching of God’s truth and God’s way of living.  The Church, after all, wrote the Scriptures—the gospels, the letters of the apostles, and even the Old Testament, which comes from God’s people before Christ.  The Church, further, determined which ancient writings were divinely inspired and belonged in the Bible, and which didn’t.  And Jesus promised to remain with us “always, until the end of the age” (Matt 28:20), and the powers of hell will not overcome the Church (Matt 16:18).  The Church, led by Christ, continues to teach us truth, e.g., about God’s love for every human being, and moral living, e.g., on war and peace and the right use of our sexuality.

3d, Jesus speaks to us in prayer.  Our prayer is partly the words we speak to God and the saints—with customary prayers like the Our Father and Hail Mary, and prayers that rise directly from our hearts in our own words, or as St. Paul says, “with sighs too deep for words” (Rom 8:26)—about our joys and our sorrows; and prayer’s partly what God says to us in our hearts when we open them up to him.

So, there you have 3 ways in which Jesus our Good Shepherd continues to teach his flock:  Scripture, Church, and prayer.  Next week he’ll feed his followers with physical bread, leading up to his teaching about spiritual bread:  his own body and blood, the Holy Eucharist, the food that nourishes us as we journey toward eternal life.

Homily for Memorial of St. Camillus de Lellis

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Camillus de Lellis
Thursday, Week 15 of O.T.

Collect
Is 26: 7-9, 12, 16-19
July 18, 2024
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

God “adorned the priest St. Camillus with a singular grace of charity toward the sick,” the collect acclaims.  In that prayer, we ask God to give us “a spirit of love” for both God himself and our neighbor, a love that will enable us to pass safely to eternal life like Camillus.  If we are wrapped in love, or rapt in love, we’ll come safely into the eternal presence of Love.

Some of you carry out a ministry toward the sick or the infirm.  In fact, all of you do, the ministry of attentiveness to the needs and concerns of your neighbor, your brother—and not only the brother in this same house but also of your brothers thruout the province and the congregation; and not only those who are sick or elder or who have special needs, but those too who labor (cf. Matt 11:28) to carry out the mission given them by our Lord Jesus.

We pray constantly that “the way of the just” may be made smooth and level (Is 26:7), that all our brothers and sisters whose spirits keep vigil for the Lord might bring an element of the Lord’s justice, mercy, and light into our world (26:9).  This is a grace of charity open to all of us, besides the daily charity of attentiveness and concern here among us.

Changing Lives, One Person at a Time

Changing Lives, One Person at a Time

(ANS – Freetown, Sierra Leone – July 12, 2024) – More than almost any other place on Earth, youths in Sierra Leone struggle to survive because of the consequences of abject poverty. Yet amid overwhelming adversity, there’s hope for something better, and it starts at Don Bosco Fambul.

Don Bosco Fambul is one of the country’s leading child welfare organizations—providing food, clothing, shelter, educational opportunities, counseling, crisis intervention, and family reunification services for an estimated 2,500 street children each year. Salesians and staff that run this center provide these important services in close partnership with local authorities, who rely on the Salesians’ expertise and shared commitment.

“Despite Sierra Leone’s constitutional guarantee to protect and educate its children, there simply aren’t enough government resources to help vulnerable children,” explains Fr. Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle. “That’s where Don Bosco Fambul steps in—changing lives one step, and one young person, at a time.”

Such transformation starts at the street level—literally—with Don Bosco Mobil.

Officially established in 2010 as the primary contact point for many of Don Bosco Fambul’s beneficiaries, the Don Bosco on Wheels outreach bus travels to Freetown’s most notorious neighborhoods. They offer meals, clean clothes, showers, and basic health care to children living and working on the streets. Staff also educate these children about Don Bosco Fambul’s full complement of programs so that—if and when youths are ready to make a change—they know where to turn for help.

“It’s not hard to imagine the skepticism and fear among homeless youths who spend their days dodging exploitation and abuse,” Fr. Mike says. “That’s why the staff who operate Don Bosco on Wheels invests considerable time into gaining the confidence and trust of vulnerable youths.”

That’s how Titus, now 19, learned about Don Bosco Fambul. He first began spending time on the streets when he was just 7 years old—a coping mechanism for escaping dire poverty and despair at home. Rather than return to his parents after school, he would roam the sidewalks and alleyways of Freetown until midnight. Sometimes, he would steal money in order to eat—which led to his being kicked out of the house permanently.

For 2 years, young Titus fended for himself … and then Don Bosco Mobil rolled into his life.

Initially, staff worked with Titus and his family in hope of reunifying them. When those efforts didn’t succeed, he entered Don Bosco Fambul’s Group Home for boys, where he received the support he needed to reshape his future.

And the results are tangible. Missionaries at the Group Home report that Titus is a lector, an altar server, a brass band player, a baker, a practicing tailor, and a singer! He is also enrolled in Milton Margai Technical University, with plans to become a social worker so that he can help more kids like himself.

Titus is just one of the young people who have found new hope at Don Bosco Fambul. Thanks to caring people, many more precious children will be rescued from the streets.

Source: Salesian Missions

Youth Meeting in World's Coldest City

Youth Meeting in the Coldest City in the World

(ANS – Yakutsk, Russia – July 16, 2024) – The 26th Far Eastern Youth Conference took place in Yakutia from July 7 to 14. This is a meeting of the eastern part of the diocese of St. Joseph based in Irkutsk, the largest Catholic diocese in the world in terms of area. More than 30 participants from different parishes, hundreds of miles apart, met in the Salesian house in Yakutsk. The theme of the meeting was the search for the vocation and dream of God for each person, in connection with the Rector Major’s 2024 Strenna. In speeches and informal moments, witness talks were presented about the vocation of priests, religious, Salesian Cooperators, active lay people, and also the testimony of a missionary volunteer. Invited guest Oleg Voskresensky enriched the program with a series of talks on the historical-scientific foundations of the Christian faith. Conference participants learned the history of the city of Yakutsk, the largest city in the world built on perennially frozen ground. They visited the Kingdom of Eternal Ice and the Mammoth Museum. The event took place in Yakutsk as part of the double jubilee; this year the city marks 30 years since the arrival of the Salesians and the establishment of the parish, and also 15 years since the consecration of the only Catholic church in the Yakutia territory.

(Jan Krupa, SDB)

 

Homily for Tuesday, Week 15 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
15th Week of Ordinary Time
Memorial of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel

Is 7: 1-9
July 16, 2024                                       
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Isaiah meets Ahaz
by Benn Matthew, https://medium.com/@benn29

Isaiah said to Ahaz, “Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear” (Is 7: 4).  Ahaz, king of Judah, faced an ungodly alliance of his Israelite cousins in the northern kingdom and the Gentile Arameans (Syrians).  To defend Jerusalem, Ahaz was about to invoke help from Assyria, effectively making Judah a vassal of that brutal pagan empire.

Isaiah tried to dissuade Ahaz, urging him to turn to God rather than the ruthless power of Assyria.  In this context Isaiah invited the king to ask for a sign from God in the verses immediately after today’s passage.  When Ahaz stubbornly demurred, the prophet gave him a sign anyway, that the young woman (the literal meaning of the Hebrew almah) would conceive and bear a son (7:14).

Ahaz lacked faith in God’s plans for Judah and for David’s dynasty, and in God’s prophet, as much as Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum lacked faith in Christ’s works and message (Matt 11:20-24).  God’s word in Christ and his activity in the virgin mother of Jesus invite us to have faith:  faith that “God upholds his city forever” (responsory).  Each of us is a city of God, a “holy mountain, fairest of heights,” (Ps 48:2-3), a joy to our Lord Jesus, precious to him.  He fortifies us with the maternal protection of Mary (collect) so that we may be kept safe from the conspiracies of Satan and his earthly allies.  “Take care and remain tranquil and do not fear,” for God is with us (cf. Is 7:14).

May we stand firm (cf. Is 7:9) with Christ and Mother Mary in keeping faith, resisting sin, and loving our brothers and sisters.

Homily for Memorial of St. Benedict

Homily for the Memorial
of St. Benedict
Thursday, 14th Week of Ordinary Time

Year II
July 11, 2024
Collect
Hos 11: 1-4, 8-9
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

The collect for St. Benedict stresses love for God.  That was the core of his life and of his teaching.

St. Benedict of Nursia
Writing the Benedictine Rule
(Hermann Nigg)

He was born a few years after the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Western civilization descended into political, social, and moral chaos.  Benedict fled that.  How appropriate that today’s 1st reading states, “Out of Egypt I called my son” (Hos 11:1).  God “taught Ephraim to walk, took them in [his] arms” (11:3), and that’s what he did thru Benedict for the reconstruction of civilization in Europe, drawing him and succeeding generations “with bands of love” (11:4).

Benedict and the monastic community that grew up around him focused their lives on “divine service,” as the collect says.  That meant prayer, especially the Liturgy of the Hours, and hard, self-sustaining work.  Thus the motto “Work and Prayer.”  Their prayer centered them on God but interceded for the world.  Their work was their livelihood but enhanced the world around them.  The word monk may be rooted in solitude, separation from the world.  But Benedict’s monks offered a “school of divine service,” teaching their neighbors not only how to pray but also how to improve their fields and to learn artisanal skills and to study.  They laid the foundation for a new civilization in Europe.  That’s why St. John Paul II declared Benedict one of the continent’s patron saints.

Benedict XVI recognized Benedict as the patron of his pontificate.[1]  He also recognized in our time a decline of European civilization like that in the 6th century.  Europe, he lamented, has lost its Christian roots.  We see new forms of political, social, and moral chaos, and not only in Europe.  The solution now is the same as in the 6th century:  to seek God alone, to love God above all else, and to share that love with our brothers and sisters.  “The great monk,” Benedict XVI believed, “is still a true master at whose school we can learn to become proficient in true humanism”[2]—a humanism that knows who we are and what a great destiny God has chosen us for.

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[1] Benedict XVI, public audience, April 9, 2008, in Church Fathers and Teachers from Saint Leo the Great to Peter Lombard (San Francisco: Ignatius, 2010), p. 19.

[2] Ibid., p. 24.