Don Bosco Student, Climate Ambassador to COP29

Don Bosco Student Was Climate Ambassador to COP29

(ANS - Baku, Azerbaijan – November 29, 2024) – A 14-year-old Climate Champion, Swanik Choudhury, of class IX and his mother Climate Chaperon Swati Choudhury, a class V teacher, both of Don Bosco School Park Circus Kolkata (Calcutta), attended the COP29 meeting held in Baku, Azerbaijan.

“Swanik has taken proactive steps toward environmental conservation, including setting up compost pits, implementing rainwater harvesting, maintaining a kitchen garden, and planting saplings,” said his principal, Fr. V.C. George.

Swanik was invited to speak on a discussion panel regarding the contribution of different sectors to the growing environmental problems, and shared his role in Don Bosco’s climate committee, the Green Movement. “I spoke about our school’s extensive measures to combat climate change, from planting trees and donating clothes to literacy programs and spreading the motto ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle,’” he explained. “Meeting campaigners and activists from around the world reinforced my belief in the power of unity,” he added. During the event Swanik was also declared a Climate Ambassador by the United Nations Agency for Development and Peace.

 

Homily for Thanksgiving Day

Homily for Thanksgiving Day

Nov. 28, 2024
1 Kings 8: 55-61
1 Chron 29: 10-12
1 Cor 1: 3-9
Mark 5: 18-20
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Setting aside days to give thanks to God for his blessings is an ancient practice.  Our colonial forebears did so, most famously at Plymouth in 1621, altho Virginia claims to have observed a day of thanks in 1619 at Berkeley Plantation—which Fr. Dave reminded us of yesterday.

by Gilbert Stuart

George Washington proclaimed the 1st national day of thanksgiving in the 1st year of our new national government, setting Nov. 26, 1789, as a day “to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection and favor.”  He identified as one of the “signal favors of Almighty God” the “opportunity to establish a form of government for the safety and happiness” of the people of the United States.

Washington’s proclamation didn’t generate a regular practice.  Nor did Abraham Lincoln’s, who amid the devastation of civil war—the latest research estimates that 698,000 Americans died in those 4 years[1]—yet Lincoln in November 1863, days after his dedication of a cemetery at Gettysburg, found reason to be grateful to God and called for a national observance of thanks for “fruitful fields and healthful skies,” the maintenance of peace with other nations, the increase in the country’s population, and “a large increase in freedom.”  He stated:  “No human counsel hath devised, nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.  They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.”

And it was while the world was engulfed in a war far worse that Franklin Roosevelt firmly established Thanksgiving Day as American tradition for the 4th Thursday of November.

In her latest column, Mary DeTurris Poust speaks of a world “full of suffering and uncertainty and downright madness.”[2]  Despite all that, which bursts out of human sinfulness, God still blesses us.  Solomon prayed that “the Lord our God be with us, as he was with our ancestors; may he not leave us or abandon us, but incline our hearts to him, to walk in all his ways” (1 Kgs 8:57-58).  The Lord our God does still watch over us, enriching us in Christ Jesus with spiritual gifts that will render us “blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ,” because “God is faithful,” and he desires that we come to complete fellowship with his Son (1 Cor 1:7-9).

Solomon's Plan for the Temple
(Providence Lithograph Co.)

God’s spiritual gifts aren’t for our benefit alone.  They’re also to move us, to “call forth responsibility and commitment,” the preface says, “to the truth that all have a fundamental dignity” in God’s eyes; and, as we prayed moments ago, our hearts must be open “to have concern for every man, woman, and child, so that we may share [God’s] gifts in loving service” (Collect).

Assuredly, we’re aware of the terrible sufferings of people in Ukraine, Gaza, and Lebanon.  We may be less aware of or attentive to the terrors in Haiti, Sudan, Congo, and what drug barons are doing in Latin America, and to the persecution of Christians in Nigeria, India, and other places.  Thousands are also suffering from natural disasters—in Europe, the Philippines, from hurricanes in our own Southeast and from Western and Hawaiian wildfires.  Awareness followed by prayer opens our hearts to concern, even if that’s all we can do—concern for the victims of violence, floods, and fires, and for those trying to negotiate peace or provide humanitarian relief; and prayer for the conversion warlords and drug lords.

And we give thanks to God for his immediate blessings:  for the liberty that we enjoy, for the relative civil peace of our land, for food, shelter, and clothing, for benefactors of our works, for the brothers who surround us, for the staff who care for us so generously, for the grace of God, who pardons our sins and calls us to life with Christ.  At every Eucharist we tell how much the Lord has done for us, what mercy he has shown us (cf. Mark 5:19).

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[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/19/health/civil-war-death-toll.html

[2] “Waiting Without Hope,” Not Strictly Spiritual blogpost, 11/27/24.

Homily for Tuesday, Week 34 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
34th Week of Ordinary Time

Nov. 26, 2024
Rev 14: 14-19
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.

“Sitting on the cloud was one who looked like a son of man, with a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand” (Rev 14: 14).

The Last Judgment (Giotto)

John the Visionary, prophet of the Book of Revelation, has another vision of the final judgment.  One “like a son of man” comes on a white cloud, comes from heaven—suggestive of the words of 2 angels to the apostles as they watched a cloud take Jesus out of their sight 40 days after his resurrection:  “Men of Galilee, … this Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:9-11).

In John’s vision, this son of man seems to direct 2 angels coming out of God’s temple in heaven.  They go out upon the earth to reap God’s harvest.

Here’s a similarity to Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the darnel (Matt 13:24-30,36-43).  After the wheat has been reaped, “the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and throw them into the furnace of fire.”

In John’s vision, the 1st angel reaps the ripe harvest of God—presumably of grain, and presumably gathering all of it for the Lord (Rev 14:15-16).  This seems to mean that the Lord will gather the just for himself, just as the Son of Man, coming in glory with all his angels to judge all the nations, in Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25, will separate sheep from goats and welcome the sheep into the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world (25:32-34).

The 2d angel wields his sickle among the grapes to be harvested for God’s fury (Rev 14:18-19)—the proverbial “grapes of wrath.”  These seem to be the wicked, akin to the goats in Matthew 25 (vv. 33,41).

The prophetic message is obvious.  Christ, the Son of Man, will come from his place in heaven to execute judgment, to complete the redemption of the just and to punish God’s opponents.  It’s a message of encouragement for those who are striving to be faithful to Jesus—for John’s late-1st-century audience trying to cope with persecution, and for Christ’s disciples in every age; for those who follow the Lamb of the earlier vision in this same chapter of Revelation, which was our reading yesterday (14:1-5).

The harvest will come.  Christ will save his own.  If we persevere in his ways in spite of trials—not only persecution but also the stresses of daily life—he’ll save us for eternal life.

Salesians in Brazil Reach Remote Villages

Salesians in Brazil Reach Remote Villages

Salesian Missions provides new outboard motors

(ANS - São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Brazil – Nov. 25, 2024) – Salesian missionaries in the Amazon are better able to travel to remote villages to provide pastoral support to indigenous people thanks to outboard motors that were purchased with donor funding from Salesian Missions of New Rochelle. More than 1,000 youths and their families living in the Alto Rio Negro region of Brazil have been impacted by this donation.

Salesians aid the communities of São Gabriel da Cachoeira and Santa Isabel do Rio Negro, which are far from the Salesian headquarters and hard to access. With the new transportation, Salesians are more easily able to access these communities to visit families, identify problems they face, guide and inform them, and refer them to services. Salesians are also able to offer training to pastoral leaders and prepare youths and adults to receive the sacraments.

Salesian missionaries have been supporting this indigenous region for generations to provide pastoral support, meet basic needs, and ensure access to education. The region faces several challenges that hinder the work being done, including the lack of roads. As a result, the necessary support is carried out using small boats that transport Salesians to various remote locations. The acquisition of outboard motors has brought safety, practicality, and reliability to travel for the various activities carried out by the Salesians in this area.

One Salesian said: “The local leaders of the communities have expressed positive feedback regarding the frequency of the visits. The Salesian priests are also feeling more confident in carrying out their missions, as previously, without an adequate and new motor, their journeys were challenging.”

According to the World Bank, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on Brazil with poverty tripling in 2021. Nearly 17 million people fell into poverty in the first quarter of the year and the poverty rate now is higher than it was a decade ago. Researchers estimate that some 27 million people, 12.8% of Brazil’s population, are now living below the poverty line.

Blessed Maria Troncatti to Be Canonized

Blessed Maria Troncatti, FMA,
to Be Canonized

(ANS – Vatican City – November 25, 2024) – On November 25, Pope Francis received Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, prefect of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in audience. During the meeting, the Holy Father authorized the promulgation of the decree concerning the miracle attributed to the intercession of Blessed Maria Troncatti, FMA, born in Corteno Golgi, Italy, on February 16, 1883, and deceased in Sucua, Ecuador, on August 25, 1969.

With this act, Pope Francis has paved the way for the canonization of Bl. Maria Troncatti. The date for the canonization will be decided during an ordinary consistory.

“This news is a reason to give thanks to God and brings great joy to the entire Salesian Family, especially the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the diocese of Brescia, which gave birth to the future saint, and the vicariate apostolic of Mendez, Ecuador, where Maria Troncatti carried out her missionary work. Her canonization is a sign of hope for her powerful witness of transmitting life and faith to new generations and the indigenous peoples of the Amazon forest, which became her ‘homeland of the heart.’ She was a woman of reconciliation and peace, with a maternal spirit that touched hearts,” commented Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, postulator general.

Maria Troncatti was born in Corteno Golgi (Brescia) on February 16, 1883. As a young girl, she actively participated in parish catechesis and received the sacraments, developing a deep Christian faith that opened her to a religious vocation. Inspired by the Salesian Bulletin, Maria considered religious life. Out of obedience to her father and her pastor, she waited until she came of age to request admission to the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. She made her first profession in 1908 at Nizza Monferrato. During World War I (1915–1918), Sister Maria trained in healthcare in Varazze and worked as a Red Cross nurse in a military hospital.

After surviving a flood, she vowed to the Virgin Mary that she would dedicate her life to missionary work if she was saved. In 1922, Mother General Caterina Daghero sent her to Ecuador. Sister Maria spent three years in Chunchi before venturing into the Amazon rainforest alongside Bishop Comin and a small expedition. She and two other sisters established their mission among the Shuar people in southeastern Ecuador, initially settling in Macas, a village surrounded by Shuar settlements.

Sister Maria faced numerous challenges, from the dangers posed by wildlife and turbulent rivers to the complexities of evangelization. In Macas, Sevilla Don Bosco, and Sucua, her efforts blossomed. She served as a nurse, surgeon, orthopedist, dentist, anesthetist, and most important, as catechist and evangelizer, displaying deep faith, patience, and sisterly love. Her work for the empowerment of Shuar women led to the formation of hundreds of new Christian families, with couples marrying out of personal choice for the first time. Known as the “doctor of the jungle,” she tirelessly worked for human and spiritual development, especially for women. She founded a hospital, trained nurses, and fostered reconciliation between settlers and the Shuar community.

On August 25, 1969, at the age of 86, Sister Maria died in a plane crash near Sucua. She had devoted her life to love and service, even offering herself for reconciliation between settlers and the Shuar people. She once wrote, “Every day, I am happier with my missionary religious vocation!”

Declared Venerable on November 12, 2008, she was beatified on November 24, 2012, during the pontificate of Benedict XVI in Macas in the vicariate apostolic of Mendez, Ecuador.

Priests and people assembled for
Sister Maria's beatification in Macas

For more on Sister Maria, see From the Eastern Front: Blessed Maria Troncatti

Remembering Salesians Killed at Araguaiana

Remembering the Salesians Killed at Araguaiana

São Marcos and Meruri communities celebrate Mass on 90th anniversary

(ANS – Araguaiana, Brazil – Nov. 22, 2024) - On Friday, November 15, Republic Day in Brazil, the São Marcos and Meruri communities celebrated a Mass in Araguaiana in the state of Mato Grosso at the tomb of the Salesian martyrs Fr. João (Johann) Fuchs and Fr. Pedro Sacilotti, in honor of the 90th anniversary of their killing, which took place on November 1, 1934.

The celebration was led by Fr. João Bosco Maciel Monteiro, vice director of the Meruri community, accompanied by other Salesians: Fr. Beatus Volkmar Tola, Fr. Angelo Cesar Cenerino, and Fr. Douglas Chrystiano Silva Souza. During the Mass, prayers were also said in memory of Fr. Rudolf Lunkenbein, a Salesian missionary, and the indigenous Simão Bororo, who also were murdered in a similar situation.

P. João Fuchs, P. Pedro Saciolotti
 e índios Carajá

Frs. Fuchs and Sacilotti were Salesian missionaries dedicated to the evangelization of the indigenous communities of the Mato Grosso region, particularly the Bororos and the Xavantes. They worked in a period of intense challenges, facing not only cultural and geographical barriers, but also hostilities arising from defending the indigenous peoples against invaders of their lands and exploiters.

The mission of Frs. Fuchs and Sacilotti was rooted in the charism of St. John Bosco, focusing on education and promoting the welfare of the most vulnerable populations. They worked to integrate the Christian faith with local values and traditions, promoting the respect and dignity of indigenous communities. Their dedication put them in situations of great risk, however, especially when confronted with economic interests that threatened the populations they protected.

On November 1, 1934, both missionaries were assassinated near Rio das Mortes, while defending the rights of indigenous communities against land invaders. Their killing was regarded as the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for their faith and the cause of justice. They have been remembered ever since as examples of dedication and missionary courage.

Source: Salesians in Campo Grande Province

 

Homily for Solemnity of Christ the King

Homily for the Solemnity
of Christ the King

Nov. 24, 2024
John 18: 33-37
Rev 1: 5-8
Collect
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

Jesus before Pilate
Passion Play, Salesian Mission, Itajai, Brazil

“Pilate said to Jesus, ‘Are you the King of the Jews?’” (John 18: 33).

Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, questions Jesus after the chief priests and other Jewish leaders have turned him over to Pilate.  They want him executed, so they accuse him of being a rebel against Roman rule.

Pilate has no interest in Jewish religious arguments.  He does have an interest in preserving Roman authority and the general peace of his province.

He discerns that Jesus is no threat to Rome.  Jesus’ claim to authority “does not belong to this world” (18:36).  His authority comes from truth.  Pilate’s not interested in that; in fact, the next verse after today’s reading has him responding to Jesus by asking, “What is truth?”  Perhaps he snorted or sneered when he asked.  In any case, St. John records, “When he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and said to them, “I find no guilt in him” (18:38).

If Jesus claims to be an other-worldly king; if his only concern is truth—that’s nothing to Pilate or to Rome.  He doesn’t care, then, who Jesus is.

Who is Jesus?

Does it matter to me whether Jesus is a witness to the truth, “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev 1:5), “the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (1:8)?

If I believe that, how does it affect my life?  Do I take Jesus as my ruler, the one to whom I give my allegiance, the guide to what I believe and how I act?  If he’s given his authority to the Church that he founded on the rock of St. Peter, is my conscience formed and my behavior guided by what the Pope and the Church teach—on sexual morality, on capital punishment, on human rights, on war and peace, on business ethics?

God truly loves me.  By his blood, Jesus has freed me from my sins (Rev 1:5).  That’s a truth to which his resurrection bears witness.  My life—here and hereafter—has meaning to God.  Thru Jesus’ death and resurrection, I’m worthy of standing before God, forgiven, and am meant for eternal life in God’s kingdom.

And so is everyone else.  God truly loves every person and means for everyone to share eternal life in Christ.  “The whole creation, set free from slavery”—slavery to the Devil, slavery to our sins—“renders service to the almighty, ever-living God and ceaselessly proclaims [his] praise” (Collect).  Every man is my brother, every woman my sister, everyone a beloved child of God redeemed from Satan by Christ’s blood.  How, then, shall I treat my brothers and sisters?  Can I forgive whoever’s wronged me and assist those in need?  Do I truly respect unborn human beings, foreigners, the down-and-out, people of a different color or a different faith?

Jesus says, “Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).  Am I listening?

Homily for Thursday, Week 33 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Thursday
33d Week of Ordinary Time

Nov. 21, 2024
Rev 5: 1-10
Luke 19: 41-44
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.

“The lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed, enabling him to open the scroll with its seven seals” (Rev 5: 5).

The 7 Seals (Ottheinrich Folio)

The 7-sealed scroll lays out the divine plan for the human race; it’s solidly sealed, completely hidden, until the son of David appears, who is at the same time the “Lamb that has been slain” (5:6).  He alone is “worthy to receive the scroll and break open its seals” (5:9), to roll out the fulfillment of God’s plan.  His worthiness follows from his having been slain, like the Passover lambs, thus purchasing for God a people drawn “from every tribe and tongue and nation” (5:9).

In yesterday’s double parable of the king, 10 gold coins, and citizens who reject his kingship, there were double penalties:  one for the lazy, indifferent servant, and one for his enemies (Luke 19:11-27).  There’s a continuity from that parable to today’s gospel—with a passage between reporting Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and the plea of “some of the Pharisees” that Jesus rebuke his disciples for the way they’ve welcomed him into the city (19:28-40). 

These Pharisees reject “the king who comes in the name of the Lord” (19:38), like those citizens who urged the emperor, “We don’t want this man to be our king” (19:14).  The citizens’ rejection and that of “some of the Pharisees” inform Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem:  “If this day you only knew what makes for peace” (19:42)—something hidden from their eyes, like God’s plan sealed in the scroll—if only they would “recognize the time of [their] visitation” (19:44), then they’d be spared the destruction of siege and ruin; Luke writes with the benefit of hindsight, having witnessed what the Romans did to Jerusalem in 70 A.D.

Jesus loves the holy city and its people.  He weeps for them, as he’d later tell the women of the city who meet him on the way to Calvary, lamenting his fate, to weep for themselves and their children (23:27-31).  Recognition of the lion of Judah, the Lamb of God, makes for peace.  Recognizing the authentic king and allegiance to him reconciles us with God; his presence is the Lord’s “visitation, bringing redemption to his people” (Luke 1:68) hailed by Zechariah.  That redemption isn’t liberation from Rome but from “the hand of enemies” (1:74) who would prevent us from “worshiping God in holiness and righteousness” (1:75)—the demonic powers.  This redemption makes of “every tribe and tongue, people and nation” joint citizens and priests of “a kingdom for our God” (Rev 5:9-10).  This redemption forges what Augustine terms “the tranquility of order,” the right order between us and God and among all people.  This is God’s hidden plan, revealed in the Lamb that would be slain (cf. 5:6) but would triumph (5:5).

Homily for Tuesday, Week 33 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
33d Week of Ordinary Time

Nov. 19, 2024
Luke 19: 1-10
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.

Zacchaeus (by Niels Stevns)

“Zacchaeus … was seeking to see who Jesus was” (Luke 19: 2-3).

Yesterday’s gospel (Luke 18:-43) told us of a blind man who called out to Jesus as he was coming into Jericho.  The blind man, unnamed in Luke’s version of the story, knew exactly who Jesus was:  Son of David.  He sought a cure, and his faith saved him.

Zacchaeus apparently doesn’t know Jesus, and as the story begins doesn’t have faith.  He was a seeker, trying to find out, perhaps trying to nurture a spark of his Judaism.  Maybe he’d already heard about the miracle from the other side of town.  Or maybe Jesus’ reputation had come to the tax collector’s ears even before that.

Something about Jesus attracted this wealthy, possibly hard and unsentimental man—mustn’t a collaborator with Rome be hard and unsentimental?  Something attracted Zacchaeus and compelled him to try to see Jesus, even to the ridiculous point of climbing a tree like a boy—he, a dignified, grown man.  Perhaps he knew Jesus was friendly toward outcasts like him.  Perhaps he had hope for a moment of grace.

Is there anything about us that makes people want to seek us out?  Is there anything about us that offers people hope?  Anything that might draw them thru us toward Jesus, toward the grace of God?  In our company, can people feel that salvation has come to their home (cf. 19:9)—not from us, of course, but thru us?

Homily for 33d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
33d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Nov. 17, 2024
Heb 10: 11-14, 18
The Fountains, Tuckahoe
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“But this one offered one sacrifice for sins, and took his seat forever at the right hand of God” (Heb 10: 12).

“This one” is our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the Letter to the Hebrews has been speaking, contrasting him with the priests of the Old Testament.  We’ve heard some passages about that for several Sundays now.

https://hoshanarabbah.org/blog/2013/02/23/the-twice-daily-sacrifice

The Old Testament priests offered new sacrifices every day, sheep, goats, and bulls on the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem.  “Those sacrifices can never take away sins,” the sacred author states (12:11).  They can atone for our sins but not erase them, just as an apology we make to someone atones for our fault but doesn’t remove the offense or cause it to be forgotten.  Furthermore, repeated temple sacrifices were necessary because of people’s repeated faults against God and neighbor.

Jesus, however, offered on the cross one sacrifice for our sins.  The blood of the Lamb of God has done what no earthly sheep’s blood can do.  He has no need to repeat that offering of his own body and blood; once was enuf; once was perfect and complete for all time and all people.  “Where there is forgiveness of [all our sins], there is no longer offering for sin” (12:18).  Jesus’ one sacrifice makes our sins disappear.  It cleanses us in God’s sight.  “By one offering he has made perfect forever those who are being consecrated” (10:14).

“Those who are being consecrated” means those who are being made sacred because they belong to God.  Those who take part in Christ’s one sacrifice are cleansed and made perfect in God’s eyes.  Christ’s disciples are joined to him sacramentally.  That’s why St. Paul frequently addresses believers as “God’s holy ones,” as “saints.”

We’re joined to Christ sacramentally by Baptism.  In Baptism we enter the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus, which is not just a historic event of the year 30 A.D. (or so) but an eternal event.  It is ever present to God, an eternal self-offering of Christ, an eternal rising of Christ to life—for there is no past or future for God, only an eternal now.

(by El Greco)

We share in this sacred eternal mystery every time we take part in Mass, in this new and eternal covenant in the body and blood of Christ.  In the body and blood of Christ, our sins are forgiven and wiped away as if they never happened; they no longer exist.  At every celebration of the Eucharist, we offer Christ’s one sacrifice on Calvary and Christ risen from the dead, “forever seated at the right hand of God” (10:12) interceding for our pardon and our being restored to God’s family.  So we’re no longer separated from God but are consecrated to him.

Then it remains for us to live as consecrated persons, as “God’s holy ones.”  In the prayer over our offerings in a few minutes, we’ll pray that our offering (Jesus) “may obtain the grace of being devoted to” God, i.e., of living faithfully like Christ.  After communion, we’ll pray that our participation in Christ’s body and blood “may bring us growth in charity,” i.e., may we always speak and act out of love for God and for one another—in devotion, prayer, and self-sacrifice; in patience, kindness, honesty, and cheerfulness.

The Congregation's Mission Offices

The Congregation’s Mission Offices
At the service of Don Bosco’s Charism

L-R: Dr. Pinedo, Ms. Sanchez, Fr. Mairura, Fr. Stawowy,
Fr. Conway, Fr. Moral, Bro. Muller, and Fr. Maravilla

(ANS – New Rochelle – November 15, 2024) – Fr. Alfred Maravilla, general councilor for the missions, convened the directors of the 4 congregation-level mission offices in New Rochelle, November 12-13. Dr. Nelson Pinedo (Don Bosco Mission Bonn); Fr. Luis Manuel Moral Lamela and Paula Alvarez-Naveiro Sanchez (Misiones Salesianas, based in Madrid); Fr. Michael Conway and Fr. Gabriel Stawowy (Salesian Missions, New Rochelle) were present. Bro. Jean Paul Muller, treasurer general, was also present. A representative of Missioni Don Bosco in Turin was unavailable.

This meeting looked at issues addressed at the previous meeting, January 2023 in Turin, focusing on the identity of the four mission offices at the congregational level (R. 24). Fr. Eric Mairura, from the Salesian Missions Department in Rome, moderated the discussion, which focused on the importance of the identity of the mission offices as an expression of the charism of Don Bosco at the service of the charism.

The reflections also stressed that the primary purpose of the mission offices is to be at the service of the Rector Major, organizing initiatives to generate interest in the Church and in society on the missionary commitment of the Salesians of Don Bosco; and then to promote and maintain this commitment, supporting the needs of evangelizing activity and the integral development of the Congregation and new missionary presences.

Each mission office has its own historical development in response to the needs of the missionary activities of the Congregation. “Unfortunately, due to historical circumstances, the mission offices have been seen by many, above all, as an inexhaustible source of funds. This is a distorted and incomplete vision of the mission office,” Fr. Maravilla said. “The mission office is a form of Salesian ministry that makes known the missionary activities of the Congregation and takes a pastoral approach for people who share their resources for the missionary activities of the Congregation regardless of their religious affiliation, so that they can have a spiritual perspective, come closer to God, and be in new spiritual communion with the wider human family,” he added.

Discussion also revolved around how the 4 mission offices can better coordinate the help provided to the provinces thru the Rector Major’s distribution of funds; how to agree on common criteria in responding to direct requests for project funding from the provinces; and how to promote the development of the province mission offices.

The next meeting will be in June 2025 in Rome, where the procurators will also be able to meet the new rector major and the members of the general council, who will be elected in March.

ACSSA Board of Directors Meets

Meeting of the ACSSA Board of Directors

By Sr. Paola Cuccioli and Fr. Stanislaw Zimniak

(ANS – Rome – November 13, 2024) – The board of directors of the Salesian History Association (ACSSA) met from November 8 to 10 at the Pontifical Salesian University in Rome. The meeting, attended by the various representatives of the associates from around the world, was also enriched by a meeting with Cardinal Angel Fernandez Artime, rector major emeritus.

The work involved Sr. Inacia Chaquisse of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Mozambique), Ms. Pamela Alarcon (Argentina), Sr. Maria Imaculada Da Silva (Brazil), Sr. Maria Rohrer (Tunisia), Fr. Matthew Kapplikunnel (India), Fr. Nestor Impelido (Philippines), Sr. Paola Cuccioli (Italy), Sr. Maria Maul (Austria), Fr. Bogdan Kolar (Slovenia) and Fr. Stanislaw Zimniak (Poland-Italy).

The presence of Fr. José Mendonça, Superior of the UPS Vice-Province, Fr. Francesco Motto, and Sr. Grazia Loparco, former presidents of ACSSA, and Sr. Maria Luisa Nicastro, secretary general of the FMAs, further embellished the meeting with interesting content and challenges.

Fr. Motto recalled the responsibility entrusted to the members of the association to keep the Salesian historical memory alive; otherwise it risks being lost. Sr. Loparco urged a study of the past to discover the seeds of a future yet to be imagined. Sr. Nicastro recalled how the mother general of the FMAs, Sr. Chiara Cazzuola, and her council, through official communications to the Institute, are committed to soliciting missionary origins in the provinces and in particular to supporting the members of the ACSSA in their commitment to the study of history.

After these enlightening reflections, the board focused on the organization of the continental seminars (Africa, Americas, South Asia, Europe, East Asia-Oceania) and on the world congress to be held in Brazil, the focus of which will be the Salesian missions on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the 1st SDB Missionary Expedition (1875-2025) and that of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (1877-2027).

The individual programs for each event have been presented, which will provide in all circumstances 2 types of contributions:

The general issues:

–     women’s missions;

–     the concept of mission in different historical periods;

–     the influence of missionaries in different contexts and cultural areas;

and specific contributions:

–     biographies of missionaries;

–     architecture and urban planning;

–     the contribution of the press in spreading the testimony of the missionaries in places of action;

–     the contribution of missionaries in safeguarding the specific nature of indigenous peoples through the conservation/decoding of their language, their customs, and other specific details;

–     education and evangelization through the different places of education: schools, oratories, vocational courses, parishes, playgrounds;

–     and the different areas of cultural expression: study, music, theater, sports, literature, groups.

The speakers will be not only SDBs and FMAs, but also other members of the Salesian Family and external scholars who are passionate about Salesian history and missionary activity.

The meeting of the ACSSA board was also enriched by meeting with Cardinal Fernandez, who during his term of office always paid great attention to Salesian history, highlighting not only the origins and development of Don Bosco’s work, but also the challenges and perspectives that arise from it. Once again he stressed in his address that research and study are a privileged and crucial aspect for accepting and living the Salesian charism.

During the work, the activities of the 6 national sections – Poland, Argentina, Italy, Brazil, Spain, India – and of the individual members were also examined. Among other things, the updated website of the Association and the  annual magazine ACSSA informa, also accessible online, were presented.

Furthermore, Ms. Pamela Alarcon presented a valuable project to connect all the historical archives of the SDBs and the FMAs thru the Rhizome Project, which will be explored soon.

The treasurer of the Association explained finances, illustrating the financial trend and noting the relevance of registration fees for ACCSA to perform well.

Finally, the publications members of ACSSA published over the year were recalled and others were approved pending publication.

The Association finally ratified the registration of 9 new members:

–     Ana MARTÍN GARCÍA, laywoman, Spanish;

–     Gonzalo VIOLANTE, layman, Argentine;

–     Bro. João Bosco MONTEIRO MACIEL, SDB, Brazilian;

–     Fr. Edson Donizetti CASTILHO, SDB, Brazilian;

–     Rodolfo Luís LEITE BATISTA, layman, Brazilian;

–     Sr. Maria da Paz MILANEZ, FMA, Brazilian;

–     Mr. Samuel RESENDE DALDEGAN, Salesian Lay Cooperator, Brazilian;

–     Bro. Albert RAMADAN, SDB, Chadian, active in Tunisia;

–     Mr. Rinio BRUTTOMESSO, layman, Italian.

 

Mapuche Celebrate Blessed Ceferino Namuncura

The Mapuche People Celebrate 
Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá

(ANS - Namuncurá San Ignacio, Argentina – November 12, 2024) – The community of San Ignacio, a town in the Argentine province of Neuquen, organized a celebration on November 8-10 to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the beatification of Ceferino Namuncurá, son of the last Mapuche chieftain.

The event opened with the arrival of the first gauchos on horseback; they were welcomed with a Mass celebrated by Fr. Natalino Freitas. The next day, those present went on pilgrimage to the cemetery where Rosario Burgos de Namuncurá, Ceferino's mother, rests. At the altar in the cemetery, the tombs were blessed, the deceased were prayed for, and flowers were offered in memory of each Mapuche.

The pilgrims then went to the “kultrum,” where the remains of the Blessed Mapuche rest. The pilgrimage was followed by torches to the top of the Cerro Ceferino. There the pilgrims prayed in front of a bust of the young Mapuche.

The event in honor of Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá was also attended by numerous authorities, including the mayor of Junin de los Andes, Luis Madueño; the mayor of Aluminé, Diego Victoria; Deputy Gabriel Álamo; the minister of education and the governor of Neuqeén, Soledad Martinez; and artist Alejandro Santana, author of the “kultrum” and the “Via Christi,” in Junin de los Andes. Cirilo Namuncurá, president of the Ceferinian Commission, addressed a formal greeting to the guests. Mass was then celebrated by Fr. Antonio Sánchez Lara, SDB, pastor of Chimpay, Rio Negro Province, the birthplace of Blessed Namuncurá, and concelebrated by Fr. Freitas and Fr. Isidoro Adami, SDB.

 

Archival Conservation at the Postulator's Office

Archival Conservation at the Postulator’s Office

(ANS – Rome – November 12, 2024) – An important experimental work was carried out from October 10 to November 11 for the conservation, organization, and cataloguing of some documents at the archives of the office of the Salesian postulator general in Rome, who studies and promotes the causes of saints of the Salesian Family. At the invitation of the postulator general, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, and with the collaboration of Fr. Gabriel Cruz, Diego Aguado, archivist at the Salesian Historical Archives of Peru, has carried out an experimental process for preserving original documents relating to the collection of Blessed Alexandrina Maria da Costa, Salesian Cooperator: correspondence, manuscripts, and photographs of great value for the Salesian Family.

This first step is significant since it serves as a model for the treatment of the rest of the materials in the archives, especially in reference to documents of greater historical value. During a month of intense and qualified work, Mr. Aguado carried out an accurate preventive conservation treatment which included the removal of elements harmful to document preservation (metal objects, plastic, adhesive tapes, etc.).

In addition, to ensure the integrity of the documents, custom-made documentary cases were created for each one, using appropriate materials and free of harmful agents. Similarly, the documentation received an archival organization treatment that involved the classification, ordering, and description of the material to facilitate its identification, consultation, and placement in the archival collection.

“We are sure that this effort represents a first step and a reference model to ensure all the documents of great value preserved in the postulator’s archive,” Fr. Cameroni said.

20 Years Serving Lao Youth with Dedication

20 Years Serving Lao Youth with Dedication

(ANS – Vientiane, Laos – November 12, 2024) – Since 2004, more than 1,000 young people from all corners of Laos Peoples Democratic Republic have received good preparation for their lives thanks to Don Bosco Youth Vocational Training Center in Vientiane. Due to the mutual cooperation and trust between the Lao Youth Union and the Salesian Foundation of Thailand, the unique presence of Don Bosco in this country has been developing very well. The Salesian Thai Province has generously funded the whole project.

On November 8-9, Fr. Joseph Phuoc, regional councilor for East Asia-Oceania, made his extraordinary visitation in Laos. He was welcomed by the Salesian community, staff, and students of Don Bosco Youth Vocational Training Center. He met with the staff, gave the “good morning talk” to the students, and gave a “good night talk” to the boarders. He gave words of encouragement to everyone. In addition, he also met with the Salesian sisters, who have opened a vocational training center for young women.

The Salesian work in Laos started on May 24, 2004, under the leadership of Fr. Tito Pedron and Sanya Boonprasert, a past pupil of Don Bosco Technological College in Bangkok. They started by repairing small vehicles. This activity was called Mitr Samphan. It was managed by 5 young Laotians who also were past pupils of Don Bosco in Bangkok. Later, this work was expanded and became the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center at its present location. The house was canonically erected on January 17, 2019.

At present, the Salesian community is led by Fr. Patrick Maccioni, the director, and includes 4 other confreres (3 priests and a brother). The Center has opened up to various skills, such as electrician, automotive repair, motorcycle repair, and welding. In this 1st school semester of 2024, there are 46 young men. Among these are 36 boarders, who include 5 Catholics.

Tthere is not yet any Lao Salesian of Don Bosco. Teachers, instructors, and former students dream about the first Lao Salesian member. They wholeheartedly commit themselves to follow the path of Don Bosco!

Thailand Province Social Communication Office

Homily for Tuesday, Week 32 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
32d Week of Ordinary Time

Nov. 12, 2024
Luke 17: 7-10
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

The Unprofitable Servant
(by Eugene Burnand)

“We are unprofitable servants” (Luke 17: 10).

I preached on this text last year, and of course those of you who were here all remember that!  Or not.

Sometimes the verse is rendered, “We’re worthless servants.”  It means our service doesn’t draw pay or benefit.  We make no profit from it.

The note attached to this parable in the NAB    tells us that it reminds the apostles “that Christian disciples can make no claim on God’s graciousness; in fulfilling the exacting demands of discipleship, they are only doing their duty.”

And how many of us perfectly fulfill our duty?  Who hasn’t fallen short?  Who hasn’t sinned?

So we all depend upon grace.  God the Father thru his Son Jesus freely pardons us and gladly recognizes our efforts, however faulty and feeble.  In another parable, 5 chapters earlier in Luke, Jesus calls “blessed those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival,” and he says the master “will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them” (12:37).

We can say happily, Jesus our master has turned the tables on us (pun intended).  He who calls us his friends, not his servants (John 15:13-15), graciously serves us—at his Eucharistic table and, we trust, will serve us also at his heavenly banquet; not because we’ve earned such a profit, such a blessing, but because he loves us so much.

Province CYMs Meet

Meeting of Province CYMs

16 coordinators of youth ministry (CYMs) and 3 province YM staff gathered at the Sacred Heart Center in Newton, N.J., from October 23 to 25, for their annual meeting. The event began with a day of reflection led by Fr. Tom Dunne on the theme of hope. The 2d day was dedicated to training, starting with a presentation by Adam Rudin on fostering service-oriented hearts to encourage missionary discipleship and vocational discernment. The day concluded with presentations by CYMs on youth ministry in their local settings. The final day involved discussions on various pastoral needs, including debates and a presentation by Fr. Franco Pinto, vice provincial, on the Salesian mission.

150th Anniversary of Salesian Missionary Activity

Give Thanks, Rethink, Relaunch

Toward the 150th anniversary of the 1st Salesian missionary expedition

(ANS – Rome – November 11, 2024) – On November 11 we remember 1875, so many years ago, when the first missionary expedition set out!  The commemoration of this important event opens the celebrations for the 150th anniversary in 2025. The slogan chosen for the occasion helps us enter this anniversary: Give thanks, Rethink, Relaunch.

Give Thanks: We give thanks to God for the gift of missionary vocation which enables the sons of Don Bosco today to reach out to poor and abandoned youths in 137 countries.

Rethink: This is an opportune occasion to rethink and develop a renewed vision on the Salesian missions in the light of new challenges and new perspectives which lead to new missiological reflections.

Relaunch: We have not only a glorious history to remember and be grateful for, but also a great history still to be accomplished! We look to the future with missionary zeal and enthusiasm so that we may reach out to even more poor and abandoned youths.

Celebrations for 150th anniversary will be mainly at the province level: each province is invited to undertake a concrete missionary initiative internally or to strengthen existing initiatives significantly so that they become permanent signs of this celebration.

At the congregational level, the new Rector Major will preside over the missionary send-off on November 11, 2025, in the basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Valdocco. It is a celebration with which the Congregation renews its missionary commitment in front of Mary Help of Christians.

“All the celebrations at different levels have a single goal,” explains Fr. Alfred Maravilla, general councilor for missions, “to keep the missionary spirit and enthusiasm alive in the Congregation, in order to promote greater missionary zeal and generosity among the Salesians and the entire educational-pastoral community. It’s the missionary spirit of the Salesians that revitalizes the Congregation, keeping it vibrant and attractive to new vocations,” he pointed out.

The logo that sums up the theme was produced by Martina Monceková from the Czech Republic. It shows the world globe washed by waves, which symbolize both courage and new challenges, as well as dynamism and recklessness. It’s a growing dynamic which tends more and more toward new missionary horizons. Three red figures refer to the Salesian logo and to the fire of a renewed missionary enthusiasm. In the middle is a ship, a symbol of the first missionary expedition (1875). The picture shows us that the missionary spirit is not an individual fact, but a charismatic element left by Don Bosco to the Congregation and the entire Salesian Family. The shape of the wheel means unity and mutual connection. The logo is complemented by the three key words and the highlighted anniversary number “150.”

The logo may be used, but only in its official version without any alterations. To receive the logo in different languages and formats write to us at: cagliero11@sdb.org