Homily for Solemnity of Ascension

Homily for the Solemnity of the Ascension

May 29, 2025
Acts 1: 1-11
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

The Ascension (Rembrandt)

“Jesus … was taken up after giving instructions thru the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1: 2).

In all the years I’ve been reading the New Testament—since I was in high school, if not sooner—I never really noticed that line before this week.  I knew, of course, that Jesus had lingered with his disciples for 40 days, according to Luke’s timeframe, appearing to them now and again and speaking with them.

But what does “he instructed them thru the Holy Spirit” mean?  I suppose, in part, that he continued what he’d done during his public ministry, following the Spirit’s coming upon him at his baptism (Luke 3:22).  I suppose it also means that at this post-resurrection time he explained further why Christ had to suffer and how he fulfilled the prophecies, as he explained to the 2 disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-32).  All the disciples needed light from the Holy Spirit to grasp what Jesus’ life, teachings, passion, and resurrection meant.

St. Luke also tells us that they were to “wait for the promise of the Father,” waiting to “be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:4-5).  That Jesus himself was Spirit-inspired was insufficient for his paschal mystery’s full impact on them and for their ability to carry out the commission he was giving them.  Luke here is in synch with John’s account of the Lord’s promise at the Last Supper to send them the “Advocate” (e.g., 14:16,26; 16:7-15) after he has departed from them, not leaving them orphans but remaining with them in a different presence (14:18).

His new presence will present them with a power they haven’t imagined—not the restoration of the kingdom of Israel (Acts 1:6) with them as his vice regents (cf. Luke 22:30), but with the power of the Holy Spirit for their mission of being Jesus’ witnesses in Israel and “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8).  For that mission, they’ll need the wisdom, courage, and fortitude that they so evidently have lacked until this point.  How they were changed by the Spirit gives us hope.

The Acts of the Apostles will tell us—it’s been telling us thruout the Easter season—what the Spirit enabled the 12, the deacons Stephen and Philip, and other apostles to do to carry out their commission from Jesus.  Inspired ourselves with the gift of the Holy Spirit and the apostolic preaching handed down to us, we celebrate the sacred mysteries of the Lord’s passover and do our best to live as Jesus teaches and to hand on his Gospel of salvation.

Cause of Fr. Luis Bolla, SDB, Moves Forward

“Yánkuam’ Jintia,” the Star of the Forest, on His Way to the Altar

(ANS – Lima, Peru – May 28, 2025) – A story of silent holiness, woven between the rivers, the forest, and the indigenous faces of the Amazon – in,Ecuador and, above all, in Peru over the last 30 years – is approaching a new dawn. On May 30, the diocesan phase of the process of beatification and canonization of the Servant of God Fr. Luis Bolla, known to the Achuar people as “Yánkuam’ Jintia,” “the star that lights the way,” will conclude in Lima.

The closing session will take place at the archbishop’s palace in Lima. Presided over by Cardinal Carlos Castillo Mattasoglio, archbishop of Lima, it will also be attended by the postulator general of the Salesian Congregation, Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni, SDB, and his collaborator, Fr. Gabriel Cruz, SDB, who have come specially from Rome.

Members of the diocesan tribunal also will be present: Fr. Sandro Gabriele Carbone, delegate of the Archbishop; Fr. Edwin Limas Falcon, OSJ, promoter of justice; and Notary Fr. Manuel Ernesto Zegarra Basurco. All have zealously and rigorously followed up the collection of testimonies, documents, and reports of graces and signs related to the life and virtues of Fr. Bolla.

The cause was officially introduced on September 27, 2021, with the issuance of the edict by the archbishop of Lima. Since then, the process has faced many challenges. In the midst of the pandemic, with the restrictions imposed by the health situation and the dispersion of witnesses – many of whom live in the depths of the Amazon or in places that are difficult to reach – a strategy of remote interviews was adopted, with the necessary authorization from the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints.

Born in Schio (Vicenza), Italy, in 1932, Luigi Bolla professed as a Salesian and was ordained with a single desire: to give his life to the missions. He heard the voice of God when he was only 11 years old: “You will be a priest.” This desire was fulfilled in the forest on the border between Peru and Ecuador, where he lived for over 50 years among the Shuar and Achuar peoples. He was not a passing evangelizer: he learned the language, adopted the customs, travelled long distances along tracks and rivers, and above all loved the indigenous people, proclaiming the message of the Gospel in an original way.

His death in Lima in 2013 left an indelible mark. Today, his figure is re-emerging with force, not out of nostalgia, but out of recognition of a life that defies oblivion.

With the conclusion of this diocesan phase, all the documentation collected will be sent to Rome, where, after the diocesan inquiry has been validated, the Positio will be drafted with a view to recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God.

For many, the name Yánkuam’ Jintia is not only a living memory but a prophecy in progress. The star that illuminated the Achuar forest may soon shine in the firmament of the saints of the Church.

Homily for Wednesday, Week 6 of Easter

Homily for Wednesday
6th Week of Easter

May 28, 2025
John 16: 12-15
Acts 17: 15, 22—18: 1
Salesian HS, New Rochelle

At the Last Supper, Jesus assures the apostles that he’ll send them the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth.”  The Spirit will declare to them God’s truth (John 16: 13).

St. Paul preaching at Athens (Raphael)

That truth is what St. Paul brings to Athens, supposedly the center for the search for truth.  The Athenians who come to the Areopagus consider themselves philosophers, which means literally “lovers of wisdom.”  Paul points out to them what anyone can know and understand:  that God created the world and all that’s in the world (Acts 17:24).

From there, Paul goes on to proclaim the Christian message, something knowable only thru the wisdom of the Holy Spirit:  God sent Jesus into the world to bring us to repent of our sins (17:30).  Anyone can see, even without the Holy Spirit, that there’s lots of evil in the world and in our own behavior.  But the Gospel announces that thru repentance we may be forgiven and made right with God.  We know that Jesus reconciles us effectively with God because God raised him from the dead (17:31).

Jesus’ resurrection is the center of our faith.  Most of the Athenians can’t handle it.  St. Paul later writes to other Greeks in Corinth, “If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is empty, and so is your faith” (I, 15:14).  Without Jesus’ resurrection, we can’t suppose that God’s creation has a purpose, that he loves us, forgives us, and offers us eternal life.

But Jesus did rise, and so our repentance for our sins does bring forgiveness and the promise of our own resurrection when Jesus returns at the end of time, so that we may share in Jesus’ life.

The Spirit of truth that Jesus sends to us now in the Church assures us of this.

Homily for Tuesday, Week 6 of Easter

Homily for Tuesday
6th Week of Easter

May 27, 2025
Acts 16: 22-34
John 16: 5-11
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved” (Acts 16: 31).

The jailer at Philippi
brings a torch to see the prisoners

Speaking to the apostles at the Last Supper, Jesus tells them that the ruler of this world—he means the Devil, of course—has been condemned (John 16:11).  He also speaks of righteousness, sometimes translated as “justice,” as in St. Joseph being “a just man” (Matt 1:19), which means being in a right relationship with God.  That right relationship, rather than one of condemnation, is offered to us because Jesus has gone to the Father (John 16:10), is with the Father, and intercedes with the Father for us.

Altho our sins merit condemnation along with the ruler of this world and all who give him their allegiance, Jesus saves us from that.  This is what Paul explains to the jailer at Philippi:  we are saved by Jesus’ intercession for us, intercession sanctified by the blood of his sacrifice on the cross.

In this faith, we hope firmly for “a share in the resurrection of Christ” our Lord (Collect.)

Homily for 6th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
6th Sunday of Easter

May 25, 2025
John 14: 23-29
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

“Jesus said to his disciples:  ‘Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him’” (John 14:23).

Jesus, the Father, and the Holy Spirit made their dwelling with each of us when we were baptized.  St. Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, whom you have from God?” (I, 6:19).  Confirmation deepened that indwelling.  Christ’s dwelling in us is renewed in the Eucharist, thru which we both worship and consume his body and blood; we become incorporate with him.

Jesus tells us that we express our love for him by keeping his word.  We find his word in the Holy Scriptures.  So we must read, reflect on, and become familiar with the Scriptures; not just read them but absorb them so that they sink into our hearts.

That’s why the 2d Vatican Council—60 years ago already—put a lot of emphasis on the Scriptures, including an expansion in the amount of the Bible that we read in church—at Mass and the other sacraments.

St. Jerome is often quoted:  “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”     But hearing God’s word read in church is hardly sufficient for knowing and keeping Jesus’ word.  We have to take up the Scriptures also at home.  Reading and reflecting on the Scriptures ought to be a part of every Christian’s daily life.  If your Bible at home is collecting dust, you’re missing something.  Jesus wants to speak to you every day.  He wants to be part of your family life, your work life, your leisure life, and not only of your Sunday morning.  He and the Father want to dwell with you.

Jesus speaks further—he’s talking to the apostles at the Last Supper—about his Father’s sending the Holy Spirit to them to teach them everything and remind them of all that he told them (cf. 14:26).  The Holy Spirit did part of that work by inspiring the apostles and other early disciples to compose the Sacred Scriptures—writing down Christ’s teachings so that we’d always have them.

The Holy Spirit continues to teach us and remind us of what Jesus taught by inspiring the Church.  In the 1st reading, the apostles and elders reached a decision about receiving Gentiles into the Church.  The Holy Spirit inspired their decision:  “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us,” they wrote, about how the “brothers and sisters in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia” (Acts 15:23) and all the non-Jewish people of the Roman world, should join with Jewish believers in Christ.  You can read in ch. 15 of the Acts of the Apostles the full debate that went on about that.

After ample debate, the leaders of the Church ruled that the Gentiles wouldn’t have to become Jews and adopt Jewish rituals; but everyone would have to put aside anything linked to the pagan gods and would have to adhere to certain moral practices, especially those regarding the sacredness of life and sexual morality:  “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us….”

“Whoever loves me will keep my word.”  Jesus’ word, then, is conveyed to us by the Holy Spirit thru the apostles and thru the Church, founded on the 12 apostles of the Lamb, as we heard in the 2d reading (Rev 21:14).  We call the Church “apostolic” because it’s faithful to what Jesus’ apostles have passed on to us.

The Mission of the Apostles
(Tommaso Minardi, Quirinale Palace)

If we want to keep Jesus’ word today, we listen to what the Holy Spirit teaches us thru both the Scriptures and the Church—the Church teaching thru the Pope and the bishops, not just whatever pops up on the Internet; teaching not only that Jesus is the Son of God, that he rose from the dead, that he offers us God’s grace, but also about the sacraments, about keeping the Lord’s day holy, about human dignity, human rights, and human life, about sexual morality, about care for God’s created world, about loving our enemies, about bringing our Christian faith to bear on the world we live in.  Our personal preferences and opinions don’t trump the Holy Spirit, who teaches us everything and reminds us of all that Jesus tells us.  “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him.”

Homily for Friday, 5th Week of Easter

Homily for Friday
5th Week of Easter

May 23, 2025
John 15: 12-17
Provincial House, New Rochelle, N.Y.

The Last Supper (Pieter Coecke van Aelst)

In the Old Testament, Moses (e.g., Deut 34:5; Josh passim), Joshua (24:29), and David (e.g., Ps 78:70) are called the slaves or the servants of the Lord.  It’s not a disparaging term for them.  Likewise in the New Testament when Mary describes herself as the servant of the Lord (Luke 1:38) and Paul (e.g., Rom 1:1) and James (1:1) call themselves slaves of Jesus Christ.

At the Last Supper, Jesus takes his intimate circle into a closer relationship, a step beyond a Moses or David relationship—into one of friendship.  He demonstrates his friendship by his love, his complete giving of himself for them, even his life.

Don Bosco called all the young his friends and said for them he studied, worked, and would even give his life.

Both Jesus and Don Bosco show us the friendship to which God has called us—for the young, for one another, and for our Lord Jesus.

Homily for Thursday, 5th Week of Easter

Homily for Thursday
5th Week of Easter

May 22, 2024
Acts 15: 7-21
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

(Vatican Library)

In these days the Church is commemorating the Council of Nicaea, which began on May 20, 325.  That was the 1st ecumenical council.

Yesterday, today, and tomorrow we’re reading about the Council of Jerusalem as reported in Acts 15.  It was the 1st synod of the young Christian community, but it’s not counted among the Church’s 21 ecumenical councils.  Unlike that meeting, Nicaea brought together over 300 bishops, all but 5 from the Eastern part of the Christian world; we don’t know who or how many gathered in Jerusalem, or where they were from besides Antioch and Jerusalem.  In addition, Nicaea was convened by secular authority, viz., Emperor Constantine.  Pope Sylvester I was represented by a pair of deacons.

The Council of Jerusalem set a precedent of convening church leaders—synodally, if you will—to deal with a controversial issue, as Nicaea did concerning the divine nature of Christ.  In fact, if Jerusalem hadn’t come to the decision it did, the Church would probably never have become ecumenical, worldwide, an assembly of God’s people gathered from everywhere.  It would’ve remained a sect within Judaism.

Pope Francis said repeatedly that a synodal Church is a listening Church.  She listens to Christ’s faithful, both clerical and lay, and she listens to the Holy Spirit.  Luke tells us “much debate had taken place” in Jerusalem before Peter, Paul, Barnabas (Acts 15:7-12), and then James spoke (15:13-21).  James cites the Scriptures (Amos), showing one way in which the Church hears the voice of God.  When they finally reach an agreement, they give credit to the Holy Spirit for that as well as to their frank exchange of opinions, as Acts will tell us tomorrow:  “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us…” (15:28).

As long as the Church—and individual families within the Church, like our religious communities—live in human society, we’ll continue to have issues to deal with, issues of doctrine or charism, of morality, of structure and practice, of effective evangelization.  The Council of Jerusalem, or the Synod of Jerusalem if you like, shows us a Spirit-inspired approach to the issues of our age or any age for “announcing God’s salvation day after day, telling his glory among the nations” (Ps 96:2-3).

Salesian Missions & Rise Against Hunger Feed Haitian Youths

Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger Are Feeding 2,300 Haitian Youths

(ANS – Port-au-Prince, Haiti – May 21, 2025) – More than 2,300 youths in Haiti received nutritious food through a partnership between Salesian Missions of New Rochelle and Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization growing a global movement to end hunger. The shipments of meals were received by the Salesians and then distributed to 3 Salesian centers in the second half of 2024: Don Bosco Technique, Lakay Don Bosco, and the Vincent Foundation.

Vincent Foundation, located south of the city of Cap-Haïtien in the suburbs of Vertieres, is the only space in the neighborhood that opens its doors to youths in the area to allow them a safe place for play, leisure, and a meeting point. The foundation was able to distribute the meals to youths in the center who do not receive regular meals at home. Salesians report that there was a peaceful climate among the youths because they knew that a hot meal would be provided by the center.

At Lakay Don Bosco, Jeannot, age 15, was one of the recipients. He had been living with his grandmother after his mother died when he was 5. Because of their poverty, he left his grandmother to join the armed gangs to find money and food. After meeting the Salesians, Jeannot is now in Catholic Scouts and in school learning motorcycle mechanics. He is becoming healthy thanks to Rise Against Hunger meals, which allow him to eat twice a day.

Lourdena Bien-Aime Pierre, an educator and food manager, said, “Since receiving the Rise Against Hunger meals, the change within the community is very palpable because we see that the youths develop physically and also improve academically. Before, it was difficult to teach them since ‘a hungry belly has no ears.’ We have seen improvements for all of our students, especially Jeannot. The meals help him study and learn better. We are proud of him because he is committed, very responsible, and he has determination.”

The Salesians began working in Haiti in 1935 in response to the Haitian government’s request for a professional school. Since then, they have expanded their work to include 11 main educational centers and more than 200 schools across the country.

The 11 main centers each include several primary and secondary schools, vocational training centers, and other programs for street children and youths in need. Salesian programs are located throughout Haiti, including in the cities of Port-au-Prince, Fort-Liberté, Cap-Haïtien, Les Cayes and Gressier. Today, Salesians provide the largest source of education outside of the Haitian government.

Source: Mission Newswire

Homily for Tuesday, 5th Week of Easter

Homily for Tuesday
5th Week of Easter

May 20, 2025
John 14: 27-31
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

“Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27).

Fr. Gus Baek, of happy memory, used to tell us it took courage to live in the provincial house.  He didn’t explain.  But we all knew it took courage for him to lead our mission office (as it does for Mike Conway now), and it took courage for Gus to suffer cancer and its treatment and the inadequacy of that treatment and to face his approaching passage to the Father.  He handled all that with an equanimity like what Jesus shows us today:  “I’m going away, and I’ll come back to you….  I’m going to the Father. . . .  I love the Father and do just as the Father has commanded me” (14:28,31).

Jesus was completely at peace with what the Father was asking of him.  He offered that peace to the apostles:  “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you” (14:27).  He addresses that gift also to us.  It takes courage to come to St. Joseph’s and live a new phase of our discipleship—to do as the Father is commanding at this point in our lives.  Jesus urges us not to let our hearts be troubled or afraid.  He went away, as he said to the apostles, and he came back—risen, victorious, and offering again his peace.  His 1st word to them after his resurrection (and their desertion of him) was “Peace be with you” (20:19).

Paul & Barnabas at Lystra
(Bartholomeus Breenbergh)

If Jesus is with us still bestowing peace to our hearts, then we need not be troubled by our frailty, our diminishing memories and other faculties, our dependence on others, our own approaching passage to the Father.  We can find a level of peace as we look back at the work we have accomplished by God’s grace and what God has done thru us (cf. Acts 14:26-27) even if it hasn’t been as dramatic as the work of Paul and Barnabas.

Jesus gives us not only his peace but also himself.  He came back to the apostles; he remains with all his friends.  He remains with us.

76 Scouts Receive Religious Emblems

76 Scouts Receive Religious Emblems

On Sunday, May 18, dozens of Scouts both male and female gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan for the annual Religious Emblems Mass, accompanied by their Scout leaders and family members.

Scouts studied, discussed, and carried out tasks over the last 9 or 10 months to earn the Deus et Civitas Mea and Deus et Patria Mea medals of the American Heritage Girls; the Marian and Spirit Alive medals of the Girl Scouts; and the Ad Altare Dei and Pope Pius XII medals of Scouting USA (formerly Boys Scouts of America).

In addition, 2 adults were awarded the Bronze Pelican medal for their contributions to the spiritual development of Catholic youths, and 2 were awarded the St. George medal for further contributions to the growth of Catholic Scouts.

Bp. Peter Byrne, auxiliary bishop of New York, presided at Mass and preached the homily.  Fr. Mike Mendl, SDB, an archdiocesan Scouts chaplain, and Fr. Matt Reiman, pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Nyack, concelebrated.

Chris Kristensen, chairman of the Archdiocesan Committee on Catholic Scouting, announced the awards.  Bp. Byrne presented them, assisted by Fr. Mendl and Bill and Carol Burns.

The entire Catholic Committee prepared the Mass with the assistance of staff of the cathedral and staff from the archdiocese.

Fr. Mike, emblems counselor Tom Liberati,
and Salesian student Dan Berge (Pope Pius medal)
(photo by Donna Castorina)

More photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/5ydO2pLkxTb 

Ordination Anniversary

Ordination Anniversary
Monday, 5th Week of Easter

May 19, 2025
Acts 14: 5-18
John 14: 21-26
Salesian HS, N.R.

As I said at the beginning, today Fr. Jim [Heuser] and I are celebrating the anniversary of our ordinations as priests in 1984 and 1978.  Later this week, Fr. Tom [Brennan] and Fr. Dominic [Tran] also will have anniversaries, and next week Fr. Dave [Moreno] and Fr. Mike Conway.

Card. Oscar Rodriguez anoints the hands
of Fr. Joshua Sciullo with sacred chrism at his ordination

Perhaps you’re thinking, “That’s a lot of priests.”  Yes and no.  In truth, there’s only one priest, and his name is Jesus Christ, the Jesus who brings us God’s love and who sacrificed his life on the altar of the cross in order to rise from death and lead us alongside himself to his Father.  “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will … make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23).

In order to share God’s love with the billions of people who weren’t alive when Jesus walked on this earth, Jesus shares his priesthood with other men who become his images and his agents, “other Christs” we call them.  He pours out his Holy Spirit upon them, so that they may preach the Gospel as Paul and Barnabas did in the 1st century (cf. Acts 14), so that they may make Christ present in the sacrament of the Eucharist and forgive sins as Christ did.  God’s love continues to touch the world thru the men whom he calls to priesthood.

That’s why it’s important for you to pray for priests—those you know here at Salesian, those in your parish, and all priests anywhere.  You want them truly to be images of Christ, to do the work of Christ today.

Could Christ be inviting you to take up his mission of being “another Christ” for people today?  It’s possible.  Christ is always inviting young men like you—not angels, but ordinary men—to continue to share all that he taught the apostles, as Jesus says in today’s gospel (cf. John 14:26), to continue his work of revealing God’s love for men and women, forgiving sins, and nourishing us with his own body and blood.

Homily for 5th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
5th Sunday of Easter

May 18, 2025
Collect
Acts 14: 21-27
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

In the collect we prayed, “Almighty ever-living God, constantly accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us.”

The Resurrection of Christ (Piero della Francesca)

The word paschal is based on the Hebrew word for Passover.  In Christian language it takes on the meaning of Easter, referring to our Lord Jesus’ passover from his passion and death to his rising from the tomb and ascension into heaven.  Our Easter candle, representing the light of Christ and his victory over death, is also called the paschal candle.

Mystery means, in part, something we don’t understand, as in a mystery story or the mysteries of the ancient world, like the statues on Easter Island or the “lost colony” that disappeared from North Carolina without a trace in the 1580s.

But for us, mystery takes on additional weight—not only what we don’t understand, like the mystery of the Trinity or the mystery of Christ’s being both God and human at the same time.  It’s also the Greek word for the sacraments, those sacred signs by which God bestows on us his own life, the life of grace.  We usually begin Mass with a reference to “celebrating the sacred mysteries,” and after the consecration we “proclaim the mystery of faith.”

The collect prayed God to “accomplish the Paschal Mystery within us.”  That is, it’s God’s work, God’s accomplishment, not our own.  There’s an echo of this truth of our faith in the 2d reading:  “The One who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold I make all things new’” (Rev 21:5).  The renewal or rebirth of our souls is God’s work in those who accept this rebirth thru Baptism and following Jesus.  This truth is echoed again in the report that Paul and Barnabas give on their return from their missionary travels:  “they reported what God had done with them” (Acts 14:27).  Our part in this divine work is just to accept it, to say “yes” to God, like the Virgin Mary’s saying to the angel, “Let what you say be done to me.  I’m the Lord’s servant” (Luke 1:38).

Our prayer also asked that God do his work in us “constantly.”  There’s no “one and done” with God’s grace and with our commitment to him.  Our acceptance, our conversion from the Devil and all his deceptions, has to be ongoing, constant.  Every day we have to open ourselves afresh to God, to the way of living that Jesus teaches us.  God gives us the sacrament of Reconciliation—the mystery of his forgiveness and renewed grace—as a special help for our conversion.  After we were “made new in Holy Baptism,” as the collect said, we need renewal—oh, so often!—because sin ever lurks around us, trying to lure us away from God with the false, fleeting promises of wealth, power, pleasure, or fame.  St. Paul promises us, “Just as in Adam all die”—i.e., by our own self-seeking—“so too in Christ shall all be brought to life” (1 Cor 15:22).

Indeed, God wants us to “come to the joys of life eternal” (Collect)—the life of the Paschal Mystery of our Lord Jesus.  Paul and Barnabas assured their disciples, “It’s necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22).  Jesus’ Paschal Mystery included his passion; so we sacrifice ourselves to follow Jesus:  to be truthful, to be chaste, to be kind and gentle, to forgive, to be helpful to others.  This is the “much fruit” we prayed about in the collect, that with God’s “protective care” we’d bear “much fruit,” the fruit of virtuous and holy living—thru the grace of God offered us by our Savior Jesus Christ.

Homily for Thursday, Week 4 of Easter

Homily for Thursday
4th Week of Easter

May 15, 2022
John 13: 16-20
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

The Last Supper (Rubens)

“I know those whom I’ve chosen” (John 13: 18).

Our gospel this morning comes from Jesus’ words at the Last Supper right after he washed the apostles’ feet.  He addresses them as his chosen ones.  Later he’ll call them his friends, not his servants (John 15:15).

Today’s collect also refers to those whom God has chosen:  “chosen to make new thru the wonder of rebirth.”  God’s choice is an act of grace, offered first to the apostles, then to as many as will accept Christ’s message and “the amazing mystery of [the Father’s] loving kindness” (Collect).

It’s a mystery that God loves sinners and chooses to save them in Christ.  Christ humbled himself, as St. Paul sings in the famous hymn of Philippians ch. 2, descending from his place in heaven to take the relative form of a slave, of a human being.  Among his friends, he humbled himself further, doing the slave’s literal dirty work of washing feet.

He shows such humility as an example for all whom God has chosen.  None of us is greater than our master.  At the Last Supper, Jesus will tell us to love one another (13:34).  We’ve received God’s “loving kindness,” and we’re to share it humbly.  By sharing it, we preserve it, as the collect prayed:  “may you preserve the gifts of your enduring grace and blessing.”  We receive God’s grace and preserve it by humbly serving one another.  This is what he’s chosen us for.

In today’s patristic reading in the Office, St. Augustine says something like that.  The Lord told us to love one another as he has loved us.  “His object in loving us was to enable us to love each other.  By loving us himself, our mighty head has linked us all together as members of his own body, bound to one another by the tender bond of love.”[1]

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[1] Treatise on John, Tract 65: 1-3 (LOH 2:789).

Homily for Tuesday, 4th Week of Easter

Homily for Tuesday
4th Week of Easter

May 13, 2025

John 10: 22-30
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Mausoleum of Galla Placidia, Ravenna

“My sheep hear my voice; I know them and they follow me” (John 10: 27).

Part of today’s gospel should sound familiar; we heard its last 4 verses on Sunday.

Jesus, our good shepherd, knows his sheep.  He knows each of us by name and speaks personally to us as he did to his disciples when he was among us 20 centuries ago.  He addresses by name Simon, Philip, Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas.  They feel his personal connection and eagerly embrace the relationship he wants with them.  Mary even clings physically to him after his resurrection until he restrains her.

He wants a similar, close relationship with each of us.  At our Baptism Christ’s minister addressed us by name, in his name:  Harry, John, Gregory, James, Michael, Zoe, and so on.  He calls us to follow him, to walk with him like Cleopas and his wife on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35).

Following him means believing in him and in his Father:  believing that the Father and the Son love us, forgive us, and desire us to live in eternal life with them thru the gift of their Holy Spirit to us.  Walking with him means doing the work of the Father as Jesus did:  loving one another, healing others, teaching others, leading others to the safe meadows where our shepherd takes us.

I’m not accustomed to citing op-eds from the New York Times in my homilies.  But one from yesterday’s paper bears on this.  David French references Pope Leo’s first homily, in which he calls the Church “a beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world,” and continues by arguing that the Church doesn’t do this thru its “grandeur”—“the beauty and majesty of [its] buildings” (French) but thru “the holiness of her members” (Leo).  The writer interprets: “It is not the church’s power or wealth but the church’s witness that helps transform the world.”[1]

We do Jesus’ works with our patience, our forgiveness, our encouragement, our listening to others, our readiness to assist others, and our uniting in prayer with and for one another.

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[1] David French, “Pope Leo Is All Over the Map…,” NYT, op-ed pages, May 12, 2025.

Homily for 4th Sunday of Easter

Homily for the
4th Sunday of Easter

May 11, 2025
John 10: 27-30
Acts 13: 14, 43-52
Rev 7: 9, 14-17
Villa Maria, Bronx                      
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx

The Good Shepherd
(Catacomb of St. Priscilla)

“Jesus said:  ‘My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me’” (John 10: 27).

The gospels tell us frequently how Jesus spoke to people in a personal way.  His sheep hear his voice.  He addresses individuals very personally, often by name, e.g., Simon Peter, Philip, Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Thomas.  Drawn into a personal relationship, they follow him.

Jeus has called each of us by name, too, called us into a personal relationship with him.  When we’re baptized, thru the priest or deacon who stands in for Christ, we’re addressed by name:  Michael, Elizabeth, Kevin, Sarah, Anthony, Mary—whatever our name is—“I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”  Likewise in Confirmation, the bishop, standing in for Christ, addresses us by name as he signs us with chrism:  “So and so, be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus knows us and calls us to follow him in a relationship of love and joy, like Mary Magdalene clinging to Jesus when he meets her and addresses her by name outside his empty tomb (John 20:11-18).

Following Jesus has a cost.  We don’t immediately leap into the eternal life he offers us.  Like Jesus himself, like the apostles Paul and Barnabas in our 1st reading, we’ll meet opposition, hostility, and threats because we follow Jesus (Acts 13:43-52).  The world is not fond of his message that God loves everyone, that God created us male and female, that marriage is sacred, that human life is precious because it belongs to God, that we must love our enemies, that we must share our resources with the needy.  At the Last Supper, Jesus warned his apostles, “If they persecuted me, they’ll persecute you too” (John 15:20).

Persecution is referenced in our 2d reading:  “These are the ones who’ve survived the time of great distress” (Rev 7:14).  The book of Revelation comes out of a period of intense persecution at the end of the 1st century, aiming to encourage the followers of Jesus and give them hope.

Jesus promises his sheep that “they shall never perish” and “no one can take them out of my hand” (John 10:28)—not Roman emperors nor Communist dictators nor religious fanatics.  Those who faithfully follow Jesus will follow him into eternal life (10:29).

Did you notice that Paul, Barnabas, and the disciples they won for Christ “were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52)?  You may remember that one of Pope Francis’s major writings was Evangelii gaudium, “The Joy of the Gospel.”  Because Jesus knows us personally, has called us by name, and has joined us to himself, we’re filled with joy.

Adoration of the Mystic Lamb
(Ghent Cathedral)

The book of Revelation tells us, “The Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (7:17).  He overcomes all the distress of this world, all the trials of ordinary family, social, and political life, all the harassment and persecution that his flock encounters.  That flock, that “great multitude which no one could count” (7:9), stands before the throne of God in heaven and “before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands” (7:9)—the white robes of innocence and purity, like the white garments of the newly baptized and the albs of ministers of the altar; and the palms of victory over sin, over death, over the world’s tribulations.

Our prayer this morning/afternoon noted that our “brave Shepherd has gone before” us to “lead us to a share in the joys of heaven” (Collect).  He knows us; he calls us; let’s follow him.

Province Celebrates St. Philip the Apostle

Province Celebrates St. Philip the Apostle

St. Philip the Apostle
(St. Nicholas Church, Ghent, Belgium)

On May 3, feast of the Apostles St. Philip and St. James the Less, the province observed Province Day at the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Haverstraw, N.Y. (street address: Stony Point).  St. Philip is the patron of the New Rochelle Province.

Fr. Dominic Tran, provincial, presided and preached at Mass in the Shrine chapel at 10:30 a.m. He was assisted by 33 concelebrants and 12 coadjutor and seminarian brothers, the province’s 2 prenovices, and some province staff, joined also by some of the faithful who frequent the Shrine. The Shrine’s musician, Catherine Ramirez, led the music.

Fr. Dominic said in his homily that when Philip asked Jesus at the Last Supper to “show us the Father,” he showed that he didn’t understand the relationship between Jesus and his Father. But he showed the right attitude: he desired to know the Father.

“Is the Father enough for us?” Fr. Dominic asked. Then he observed that Philip had asked on behalf of the others; he said “us.” He wanted God not only for himself but for the others as well. This concern for others, the preacher continued, was a characteristic of Philip, as we see elsewhere in the Gospels. Several times he leads others to Jesus.

Another of his characteristics was practicality. For example, in John 6 he asks Jesus where they could possibly buy enough food for the great crowd who were listening to Jesus.

Going beyond Philip’s practical nature, Fr. Dominic pointed out that God desires for us greater things than we can desire for ourselves. Jesus came that we might have life in abundance. In these days of assembly, we’ve been considering what God desires of young people and of our province, namely, abundant life for ourselves and the young entrusted to us. This, Fr. Dominic insisted, will be enough for us.

Fr. Dominic voiced our common prayer: that we continue to desire God. We know that he desires us. This, he stated, must be our motivation as we plan the future of the province. We have shortcomings, and we’ll make mistakes; these remind us that we need God. If Jesus will show us the Father, that will be enough for us.

At the end of Mass, Fr. Franco Pinto, vice provincial, expressed the province’s thanks to Fr. Dominic for his leadership. He also thanked the past provincials who were present, and all the confreres of the province, who work so hard even when they grow tired.

Fr. Dominic, in turn, thanked Fr. Franco and everyone else involved in planning the days of assembly and the Province Day festivities in particular, and all the confreres who took part.

An ample buffet luncheon followed in Lee Hall, prepared and served by William Diaz and his team from New Rochelle. The celebration included observance of Fr. Luc Lantagne’s birthday.

Link to 30 photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/YutOALrPeTb

Rector Major Pledges Devotion & Prayer for Pope Leo XIV

 Rome, 8 May 2025

To His Holiness

Pope LEO XIV

Holy Father,

with profound joy and devotion we offer you our best wishes for the beginning of

your pontificate.

May the Holy Spirit accompany you on this journey with strength and wisdom, so

that it may be a beacon of hope, unity and peace for the Church and the whole world.

May his heart, full of love and mercy, inspire trust in the faithful and promote justice

and brotherhood among all peoples.

The sense of the Church that Don Bosco conveyed to us by stating that any effort is

little, when it comes to the Church and the Papacy nourishes our affection for you

and the reception of your important Magisterium.

Let us warmly assure the prayer of the Congregation and the Salesian Family by

invoking Mary Help of Christians' intercession at the beginning of His ministry.

Ad multos annos, Holy Father!

Joyful Celebration of Salesian Family Day

Joyful Celebration of Salesian Family Day

(ANS - Sherbrooke, Quebec – May 7, 2025) - Around 40 members of the Canadian Salesian Family gathered on April 26 at the charming Dominic Savio Camp on the shores of Lake Magog, near Sherbrooke, to celebrate together the Salesian Family Day of the Montreal and Sherbrooke region. The day began with a moving celebration focused on 4 pillars: peace, love, faith, and hope, which invited people to reflect on and strengthen these values. Throughout the day, thanks to interventions by Fr. Richard Authier and Fr. Pierre Celestin Ona Zue, participants reflected on Strenna 2025 and the Dream of the Ten Diamonds. The celebration culminated with the Eucharist, presided over by Fr. George Harkins, delegate for Salesian Cooperators at the St. John Bosco Centre in Sherbrooke. Representatives of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Salesians of Don Bosco, Don Bosco Volunteers, Association of Mary Help of Christians, Salesian Cooperators, and friends of the Salesian work and family members of some of the participants took part.