Salesians Honor 20 Jubilarians

Salesians Honor 20 Jubilarians

The New Rochelle Province celebrated the profession and ordination anniversaries of 20 jubilarians on September 26, at the Marian Shrine in Haverstraw, N.Y. The jubilarians included 14 confreres observing 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, 65th, and even 70th anniversaries of their first religious profession in 2020; 5 observing 25th, 40th, or 50th anniversaries of priestly ordination; and 1 observing both priestly and religious anniversaries.

The New Rochelle Province includes Salesian works in the eastern half of the United States and all of Canada: schools, parishes, youth centers, a retreat house, and a Marian shrine.

The 5 jubilarians present at their places in the sanctuary:
Frs. Gus Baek, Dominic Tran, Jim McKenna, John Grinsell, and John Blanco

Distance, health, or Covid-19 restrictions prevented 15 of the jubilarians from being physically present at the Shrine for the celebration.

Taking part in the jubilees Mass, in addition to Fr. Timothy Zak, provincial, and 5 jubilarians were another 49 Salesian priests, brothers, and candidates, and almost 30 family members, Salesian Cooperators, and other friends of the jubilarians. The Mass included the renewal of priestly commitment by the men celebrating their presbyteral jubilee, and the renewal of Salesian religious profession by those celebrating that anniversary.

Fr. Tim called the jubilarians “living witnesses” to Salesian pastoral plans and ideals. He stated that the Congregation’s 28th General Chapter, which met earlier this year, calls Salesians to return to Jesus Christ, the center of religious life. The jubilarians have presented Jesus to their confreres in multiple ways: as apostle, high priest, Son of God in human form, carpenter’s son, meek and humble, welcoming the poor, zealous preacher and healer, teacher, good shepherd, unifier in brotherhood, a living rule.

Fr. Tim leads Frs. Jim McKenna and Gus Baek
in the renewal of priestly commitment

Fr. Tim continued: All “the jubilarians have found in Christ the happiness for which we were created. . . . They’re living memorials of our Lord.” With the prophet Isaiah (first reading, Is 44:1-5), they’ve responded to the Lord’s invitation by saying, “I am the Lord’s.” Their fidelity has brought us the fruit of the Lord’s blessings and reminds all of us that we’re chosen by the Lord. Therefore we all join the jubilarians in thanking God “for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus” (second reading, Phil 3:8-14).

The longest-serving confreres are Fr. Jan Bernas, professed 70 years; and with 65 years professed, Bro. Gerard Richard and Frs. John Blanco, Bob Falk, and George Hanna.

Fr. Jan Bernas
(2008)

Fr. Jan Bernas, a former missionary in Zambia (1984-1994), is now semi-retired at age 90, after 23 years as chaplain at St. Joseph’s Terrace, a Polish nursing home, in Woodbridge, N.J., where he still resides. He was born at Oswiecim, Poland, where one of the main Salesian works of his native land is located. He made his first profession at Kopiec, Poland, on August 16, 1950, and was ordained in 1958 in Krakow.

Bro. Gerard Richard, 97, a member of the Salesian community of Sherbrooke, Que., is the oldest confrere in the province. Born at St. Louis de Kent, N.B., in 1923, he professed in Newton, N.J., on September 8, 1955, and has spent most of his life in the Salesian works of Canada: Boucherville, Que., Jacquet River, N.B., and especially Seminaire Salesien in Sherbrooke, for over 40 years. He served as a general fix-it man, doing electricity, plumbing, carpentry, and locks, and was a skilled craftsman in wood. Before joining the Salesians, he worked to pay for the studies of his youngest brother, Arsene, who became a priest and, eventually, bishop of Bathurst, N.B. Bishop Arsene died of cancer in 1989 at age 53; Bro. Gerard spent six months caring for him until he passed away. Bro. Gerard is. His greatest joy was to participate in Arsene’s episcopal ordination. Bro. Gerard himself crafted his episcopal crosier and presented it to him the day of his ordination!

Fr. John Blanco and Fr. Tim Zak

Fr. John Blanco, 90, has been serving at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., home of the Ironmen, for the last 3 years. He has proven to be an ironman his whole life, still working at odd jobs around the house rather than “retire.” The New Rochelle native, a member of the city’s Hall of Fame, first professed at Newton on September 8, 1955. He has been a house treasurer for much of his Salesian life in Ramsey, Columbus, Ohio, New Rochelle-Salesian HS, East Boston, Paterson, N.J., and New Rochelle-provincial house (24 years total) as well as director at Archbishop Shaw HS in Marrero, La., for 6 years and a parish priest in Port Chester (N.Y.)-Corpus Christi and Manhattan-Mary Help of Christians for 13 years. As a Salesian he has found his greatest satisfaction in celebrating Mass, hearing confessions, and preaching.

Fr. Bob Falk, 88, has been a missionary in Korea for his entire Salesian life. He hails originally from Green Bay, Wisc., and made his first profession at Newton on September 8, 1955. He was ordained in Turin, Italy, in 1963. In Korea he has been director of two communities, master of novices, and delegate to the Salesian Cooperators and the Don Bosco Volunteers secular institute, besides doing teaching and retreat ministries.

Fr. George Hanna, 86, is assistant pastor at St. Rosalie and St. John Bosco parishes in Harvey, La., and a member of the Salesian community of Marrero, La. He was born in Pawtucket, R.I., and made his first profession at Newton on September 8, 1955. He was ordained in Rome in 1966 and has been a parish priest for most of the years since, in Paterson, Port Chester-Holy Rosary, Elizabeth, N.J., Harlem, Orange, N.J., Washington, D.C., and Harvey (47 years in all). He was director of the communities of Port Chester, Harlem, the provincial house, and Washington (22 years), and part of the province’s vocation team for 4 years early in his priesthood. Fr. Hanna states: “I have great joy and satisfaction from my Salesian family and from the parishioners, young and old in various parishes who have touched my heart, to have journeyed with these people and to have had the privilege to love them and be loved by them. More now than ever I have come to understand that we are deeply loved by God. What greater joy can there be!”

Jubilarians celebrating 60 years of religious profession, from September 8, 1960, when they completed their novitiate at Newton and professed there, include:

Bro. Mike Brinkman
(2010)

Bro. Mike Brinkman, 88, has been retired at the St. Philip Residence in Tampa since 2012. His hometown is Dayton, Ohio. He taught electronics at Don Bosco Tech in Rosemead, Calif., Don Bosco Tech in Boston, and St. Thomas the Apostle in Harlem (16 years total). He also taught at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, was principal at Don Bosco Tech in Paterson, and was on staff of Don Bosco Multimedia in New Rochelle, the province development office at the provincial house in New Rochelle, and for 10 years at Salesian Boys & Girls Club in Columbus, Ohio.

Fr. John Grinsell, 78, was ordained in 1971 in Columbus. He was director of the communities of New Rochelle-Salesian HS, Ramsey, and St. Petersburg for 6 years each and master of novices in Newton (1986-1989) and has done a lot of teaching and/or guidance work at Cedar Lake, Ind., Paterson, and South Orange, N.J. He served in parishes for 16 years in Port Chester (both Holy Rosary and St. John Bosco), Miami, and Orange. He has been coordinator of the Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester since 2015.

Bro. Jerry Meegan
(2010)

Bro. Jerry Meegan, 78, was born in Teaneck, N.J. He taught in the junior seminaries at Haverstraw, N.Y., and Goshen, N.Y., and served as principal in Boston-Don Bosco Tech, New Rochelle-Salesian HS, and St. Petersburg (13 years total). During 12 years at the provincial house, he was a provincial councilor, and 3 years superintendent of province schools. He was coordinator of the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw for 2 years and director of youth ministry for the diocese of St. Petersburg for 9 years. From 2010 to 2020 he was campus minister at Archbishop Shaw HS in Marrero, La. He is beginning a new assignment at Cristo Rey Tampa HS in Tampa. Bro. Meegan states: “My greatest satisfaction as a Salesian brother has been working with young men and women as a high school principal and a campus minister. These opportunities gave me a chance to get closer to young adults and help them along their journeys.”

Fr. Francis Twardzik, 80, is a golden jubilarian of ordination. He was born in Springfield, Mass., and was ordained at St. Anthony Church in Elizabeth, N.J., on March 21, 1970. He has been a member of the community of the Salesian formation house in Orange since 2017. He made his first profession in Newton in 1959 and has spent most of his priestly life in parishes of Byzantine Eparchy of Passaic: assistant pastor in Minersville, Pa. (1973-1976), pastor in Dunellen, N.J. (1978-1989), and Scranton, Pa. (1989-2017). He had brief stints as a teacher in Tampa and Marrero and one year at St. Rosalie in Harvey. Since the pandemic outbreak, he has resided in Haledon as chaplain for the Salesian sisters.

Fr. Jim Cerbone, 71, completed 50 years of religious profession this year and 40 years of ordination. He professed at Newton on September 1, 1970, and was ordained in East Orange, N.J., on October 4, 1980. He was born in Newark, N.J., in 1949. During his Salesian life he spent 7 years at the provincial house as assistant province treasurer and another 9 years in residence while serving as campus minister at Manhattan College. He taught at Ramsey, and New Rochelle for a total of 10 years and has also done parish ministry in Manhattan and Poughkeepsie, N.Y. He has been part of the Ramsey community for the last 11 years.

Three confreres came to our province from elsewhere have observed their 40th anniversary of profession: Fr. Rufo “Junji” Zarate, Fr. Sagayaraj Devadoss, and Fr. John Louis Mariapragasam.

Fr. Sagayaraj Joseph Devadoss, was born in 1960 in Tamil Nadu state, India, and made his first profession on May 24, 1980, in the province of Madras (Chennai). He was ordained in 1991 in Madras. The most interesting periods of his priestly life came in houses of formation—a diocesan major seminary and a Salesian studentate of philosophy. Since 2018 he has been pastor of St. Dominic Savio Parish in Edmonton, Alta., after two years as pastor of St. Thomas More Church in the same city. He states: “Ministering for the holistic growth of those in their postnovitiate formation was a more enriching experience (not without challenges, of course) both for the candidates and for me.”

Fr. John L. Mariapragasam
(2013)

Fr. John Louis Mariapragasam, 60, is from Krishnagiri, Tamil Nadu state, India, and made his first profession on May 24, 1980, in the province of Madras (Chennai). After ministry in many of that province’s schools and parishes as teacher, director, and parish priest, he came to Edmonton, Alta., in 2013, where he was director of the community and pastor of St. Matthew Church. In March 2020 he was transferred to Etobicoke, Ont., as director of the Salesian community of St. Benedict Parish.

Fr. Rufo “Junji” Zarate, 59, is from Binan (Laguna), Philippines, made his first profession on April 1, 1980, and was ordained in 1990. After ordination he served as a campus minister in several schools, as a parish priest, administrator of the province retreat center, and administrator of one of the most important schools in the province, Don Bosco Makati, from 2008 to 2014. He came to Canada in 2014 to minister to the Filipino members of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Surrey, B.C., which he continues. In addition, he’s the local delegate for the Salesian Cooperators. In 2019 he transferred canonically from the North Philippines Province to the New Rochelle Province. He has found his greatest joy as a Salesian priest in his strong faith in the real presence of the Lord especially during the Eucharistic celebration, inculcated by Don Bosco through his admirable mentors in formation. 

Fr. Dominic Tran

Fr. Dominic Tran, 51, was the lone silver jubilarian of religious profession. A native of Dalat Vietnam, he came to America as a young boy and was professed on August 15, 1995, in Bellflower, Calif. He was ordained in 2003 at Orange. Since 2016 he has been province director of vocations, based at the provincial house in New Rochelle. After 6 years teaching at Paterson, and New Rochelle, he was assigned to formation ministry in Orange. (2007-2016), including 3 years as director.

Celebrating jubilees of priestly ordination were Frs. Dennis Hartigan, Jim McKenna, Gus Baek, and Richard Rosin.

Fr. Dennis Hartigan, 69, ordained for 40 years, comes from Kearny, N.J., and was ordained for the diocese of Toledo, Ohio, on June 7, 1980. He professed as a Salesian in 1971 but withdrew when his vows expired in 1977. After many years of both high school and parish ministry in the diocese, earning a doctorate in educational leadership, and teaching at the University of Dayton, he returned to the Salesians and professed again in 2014. He is serving now at Cristo Rey Tampa HS in Tampa and previously served at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, the formation house in Orange, and Don Bosco Cristo Rey HS in Takoma Park, Md.

Fr. Jim McKenna, 69, was ordained on May 24, 1980, in Columbus, Ohio. He made his first profession in 1971 in Newton. Since 2009 he has been director of the Marian Shrine-Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw-Stony Point, N.Y. He comes from Jersey City and is an alumnus of Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey. He was province treasurer (1991-1994) and treasurer of the communities in Newton and Tampa, director at Archbishop Shaw HS in Marrero, La., and pastor in Port Chester-Corpus Christi. He was an assistant pastor in Manhattan and Belle Glade, Fla. He has found that the years went fast, and “being a Salesian priest has been a great fit for me vocationally. The many places being of service have given me a wider view of how God in this world is present in His church and sacraments.”

Fr. Gus Baek

Fr. Gus Baek, 62, was ordained 25 years ago on May 28, 1995, in Columbus, Ohio. He is currently director of Salesian Missions in New Rochelle, having taken on that responsibility a year ago. He was born in Kwangju, Korea, in 1958 and was encouraged to join the Salesians, which he did at Newton in 1985, professing vows in 1987. He has taught at Archbishop Shaw HS in Marrero, La., and St. Dominic Savio in East Boston, done Boys & Girls Club ministry in East Boston and parish ministry in Port Chester-Corpus Christi and Orange, and taught theology at Caldwell College in New Jersey. For 15 years he coordinated Korean youth ministry from the Reborn Young Christ Center in Stony Point, N.Y. (2004-2019); that ministry, chiefly conducting retreats for the high school students, has been his greatest joy as a Salesian priest. He feels blessed to be a Salesian priest for 25 years, working for the young and the poor. “I am very grateful to God,” he adds, “for the many blessings that have been given me. I would like to ask the Lord His wisdom, courage and strength to continue working for the poorest children and families of the world.”

Fr. Rich Rosin, 58, was ordained on May 28, 1995, at Columbus, Ohio. He comes from Queens, N.Y., and was professed at Newton on August 25, 1988. He served mainly in schools: Marrero, La., New Rochelle, Ramsey, and St. Petersburg including stints as principal in Marrero and New Rochelle and director in St. Petersburg. He has also been a parish priest in Etobicoke, Ont., and Chicago.

The 5 jubilarians present
prepare to cut their anniversary cake

Homily for 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the

27th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Oct. 4, 2020
Ps 80: 9, 12-16, 19-20
Matt 21: 33-43                                                                                   
Is 5: 1-7
Collect
Holy Name of Jesus, Valhalla, N.Y.

“The vineyard of the Lord is the house of Israel” (Psalm Refrain).

We can’t miss the allegory in today’s Scriptures, that God’s chosen people is his vineyard.  God’s chosen people is Israel first, and then it’s the Christian people, the new Israel cultivated and saved by Jesus.

The prophet Isaiah describes how the Lord created Israel, his vineyard, and the Lord’s distress, his anger, when it produces “wild grapes” (5:2), not the good fruit he’d expected (5:4).

In Jesus’ parable, the problem is different:  the vineyard’s good fruit is denied to its owner, its lord—violently so.  Jesus highlights the tenants’ desire to be masters of the vineyard, and the terrible consequences for them, because the owner will enforce his rights.

Both Isaiah and Psalm 80 also speak of terrible consequences that have followed Israel’s “wildness,” their unfaithfulness.  Isaiah speaks of trampling, ruin, bloodshed, the outcry of the poor who have been the victims of brutal social practices—like those who today cry out for justice against oppressive policies.  The psalm speaks of broken walls and invasion by wild beasts.

If we live in a world ravaged by war, terrorism, persecution, racial, ethnic, and gender oppression, economic turmoil, pandemic, and natural disaster—it sure doesn’t sound like or feel like a vineyard the Lord is tenderly cultivating; rather, like a vineyard that has distressed the Lord, angered him, refused him his due share of the harvest.  So many of the Lord’s people—and of all his human creatures—have taken the attitude of the tenants in Jesus’ parable:  let us seize this vineyard and make it our own and deny the owner his rights.  And we see—and maybe we practice—greed, oppression, violence, prejudice of various stripes.

So how should we be thinking and acting?  The starting point has to be recognizing who owns the vineyard.  Whether we speak of society or of the Church, it is the Lord’s.  The earth and the entire universe belong to him, and not to us.  Our country belongs to the Lord, and from that premise follow our responsibilities as citizens—in the policies we support or oppose, in whom we’ll vote for this month by mail or early voting or next month in person.  Our bishops have provided us with guidelines and moral instruction for our consciences as we weigh issues and candidates in a document called “Faithful Citizenship,” which you can find online.  (Its full name is “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.”)

And we belong to the Lord.  Our bodies are not our own, no matter what supporters of abortion say.  Our lives are not our own, no matter what supporters of euthanasia or assisted suicide say.  God created us to serve him—to return to him the vintage of his vineyard—and in this alone is our happiness.  He made us, as the old catechism taught us, “to know him, to love him, and to serve him in this world and to be happy with him forever in the next world.”

St. Paul today gives us some positive guidance on how to serve the Lord:  “in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God” (Phil 4:6).  Pray for what you need and for what others need.  “Your kindness should be known to all” (4:5).  Think about, and of course act upon, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,” whatever is excellent and “worthy of praise” (4:8).

If we’ve been half-hearted or faint-hearted or unconvinced in our service to the Lord, it’s certainly not too late to recognize his lordship and to resolve to give him his share of the harvest of our lives.  The Collect of today’s Mass refers to “the abundance of [his] kindness,” which “surpasses the merits and the desires of those who entreat” him, viz., us.  And we pray for his mercy, regardless of what we might have done, said, or neglected in the past—“what conscience dreads,” in the words of the Collect.  We can, instead, make the psalmist’s prayer our own:  “We will no more withdraw from you; give us new life, and we will call upon your name.  O Lord, God of hosts, … if your face shine upon us, then  we shall be saved” (Ps 80:19-20).

Homily for 26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
26th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Matt 21: 28-32
Holy Name of Jesus, Valhalla, N.Y.
Sept. 27, 2008                                                                                     

This is a slight rewrite of the homily I gave on 9/28/08 at St. Anthony’s Church, Elizabeth, N.J.

“Which of the two did his father’s will?” (Matt 21: 31).

Neither the chief priests nor we have any difficulty answering the question Jesus poses at the end of his short parable.  Of course it’s the 1st son, the one who changes his mind and goes to the vineyard, who does what his father asked.  It’s actions and not nice words that matter.

The actions that Jesus is speaking of, the actions that his Father wants from us, are actions of repentance.  In the 1st reading the prophet Ezekiel speaks of wicked people turning away from their evil and being rewarded by God with life (18:27-28).  He also refers to good people turning to wickedness and forfeiting life by that unhappy choice (18:24,26).

Jesus points out to the chief priests and elders that they have seen many people, disreputable people, turn from their sins—tax collectors and prostitutes, for example (21:31)—and start to live good lives, like that 1st son going to the vineyard.  These, says Jesus, are entering the kingdom of heaven, are drawing close to God and to eternal life (21:31).  He adds that the chief priests and elders, who ought to be leading the people toward salvation, have had no change of heart, no conversion.  They’re quite like the 2d son, saying the right things but not living up to their words.

We might be reminded of various good resolutions we’ve made.  You’ve all made good resolutions, haven’t you?  I’m going to stop smoking next week.  I’m going to end this inappropriate relationship.  I’m going to lose 20 pounds.  I’m going to study seriously this year.  I’m going to go to the sacrament of Reconciliation.

We might be reminded of people who profess, sometimes very publicly—in books, on TV, on a campaign trail, even carrying a rosary—that they’re good Catholics.  They just disagree with 2 or 3 or 4 of the fundamental moral teachings of the Church and sort of ask, “So what?”

Or we might be reminded of a parent who admonishes a child, “Do as I say and not as I do,” or of a clergyman whose actions belie his preaching.

Words without actions don’t mean much, or as we often say, “Talk is cheap.”  You’ve got to do more than talk the talk; you’ve got to walk the walk.  St. Francis is alleged, inaccurately, to have told his followers. “Preach always.  If necessary, use words”; in other words, preach 1st by your example.  Regardless of who 1st said it, make sure there’s a consistency to your life, an integrity.

If any of us should examine our life, surely we’d find some inconsistency between what we believe and what we do, between what we urge on others and what we do.  This shouldn’t be shocking—scandalous failures aside—because we’re human.  We have our foibles, our blind spots, and our sins.

Jesus calls us to try to face ours sins and repent, like the 1st son in his parable, like the tax collectors and prostitutes whom he led to God during his ministry.  Jesus calls us to consistency, to integrity:  to make our deeds match our words; not only to say we’re Catholic Christians but to live as his disciples and members of his Church; to live our particular callings as students, workers, citizens, spouses, parents, priest; to live as people of light—the light of Christ; as people of life—Christ came that we “might have life, and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10); as people of love—for God is love, and Christ leads us to God. The collect this morning reminded us of that the Father’s immense power expresses itself in pardoning and forgiving.

On the last day, when Christ asks who did his Father’s will, may all of us be able to answer, “I did,” because we really tried to turn from our sins and to live by Christ’s teachings.

Bp. Ernest Coppo Celebrated in His Hometown

Bp. Ernest Coppo, founder of U.S. Eastern Province, Celebrated in His Hometown

(ANS – Rosignano Monferrato, Italy – Sept. 21, 2020) – The town of Rosignano Monferrato has a centuries-old history based on its strategic position as the “sentinel of Casale,” a perennial seat of military garrisons. On the rock that dominates the town is a 12th-century castle; the parish of St. Martin emerges on the opposite hill.

In Rosignano, Don Bosco found fertile ground, thanks also to the impulse of the pastor, Msgr. Giovanni Bonelli, a very good friend. Vocations flourished. Famous among these was the “watchman of the Oratory,” Bro. Marcellus Rossi, who for decades was the faithful doorkeeper of the house of Valdocco. Then there were the Sorbone sisters, Sister Angelica, pioneer and provincial in Argentina and Chile, and Mother Enrichetta, vicar general of the Salesian Sisters until 1942. Among these and other extraordinary Salesian vocations stands out the figure of Bp. Ernest Coppo, Salesian missionary in the United States, Australia, and Italy.

Ernest Coppo was born on February 6, 1870, in the Stevani district of Rosignano. He began his studies in the house that Don Bosco opened in Borgo San Martino. Among Ernest’s companions was his exact contemporary Peter Ricaldone from Mirabello, destined to become Don Bosco’s fourth successor (1932-1951). Here they both met Don Bosco, an encounter that marked their lives.

Ernest concluded his formation in the seminary of Casale, and on August 7, 1892, was ordained. The following year he entered the Salesian novitiate in Foglizzo, and on October 4, 1894, he made his perpetual profession before Blessed Fr. Rua. In 1898, at the head of a group of three Salesians, he reached New York to carry out a demanding and courageous apostolate at the service of migrants who had come to America in search of a better future. [This “courageous apostolate” is described in detail in The Zeal of the Salesians by Fr. Mike Mendl.]

A young Fr. Coppo

“Twenty years of mission absorbed all the energies of Fr. Coppo in the service of emigrants and their youngsters, from religious, social, and civil points of view,” Fr. Ricaldone remembered years later.

This surge of faith and service to his neighbors most in need brought him to Australia in 1923 as vicar apostolic of Kimberley. Ordained bishop at the shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, he departed for Kimberley to be among the aboriginal people. These were years of intense pastoral work: he reached distant villages, met families, gave impetus to the human needs of work, formation, development, and the Gospel. The organizational and pastoral experience he had picked up in America he made available to his Australian people. [The Kimberly vicariate became the diocese of Broome in 1966.]

When the German Pallottine missionaries were able to resume their mission (interrupted by World War I) in 1928, Bp. Coppo retired to Italy, where he became a formidable animator for the missions. Fr. Ricaldone, who became Rector Major in 1932, remembered him thus: “Bp. Coppo aspired to declare himself an old missionary bishop, and with insistent zeal he invited his listeners to think about the needs of the Church in the most remote missions.” Until his last moments, he lived as a zealous pastor, ceasing his earthly existence in Ivrea, where he had gone to preside over a Marian congress, on the evening of December 28, 1948, at the age of 78.

The hometown, to which Bp. Coppo returned many times, this year remembers the 150th anniversary of his birth. It celebrates him as an example of missionary commitment and evangelizing passion of enormous relevance: for his intelligent work among migrants in America, for the support and promotion of the Australian indigenous peoples, for his patient and welcoming charity toward all whom he met in Italy.

Rosignano Monferrato - By Andrea Marchisio Frukko - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11252488

Homily for Feast of St. Matthew

Homily for the Feast of St. Matthew

Sept. 21, 2020
Matt 9: 9-13
Provincial House, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“Jesus saw a man named Matthew” (Matt 9: 9).

Pope Francis, while he was still Jorge Bergoglio, was so taken with this gospel scene that he lifted a phrase from St. Bede’s homily upon it as his episcopal motto:  miserando atque eligendo, “by having mercy and by choosing,” which in its fuller context explains that this is how Jesus saw that man named Matthew sitting at his customs post.  As most of us already know, it’s the patristic reading for today.  The straightforward text of the gospel, elucidated by Bede, tells us that Jesus sees with merciful eyes, and because of his mercy, he chooses this man, calls him into followship, calls him into fellowship.

I suppose our picture of the scene and of Matthew himself is colored somewhat by what The Chosen presented—which is fascinating and complex.  Pope Francis has colored the scene by referring to Caravaggio’s rendition of it.

Perhaps the most striking feature in the painting, after the light tending from above right toward Matthew is the hands:  Jesus’ hand, a disciple’s hand, the hand of a gentleman at the table, Matthew’s hands, and the hand of the man standing over Matthew.

At a quick glance, Jesus seems to be pointing, like the disciple and the gentleman.  A closer look seems to show that Jesus is reaching out toward Matthew, maybe beckoning, maybe even grasping at him to pull him in.  It may be seen as a hand of mercy, choosing the man at the table.

The disciple, between us and Jesus, is pointing, probably at Matthew.  What does the gesture mean?  What’s the disciple thinking?  Is he pointing out Matthew to Jesus:  this is the guy who’s taking our money? this is the one I’ve told you about?

The bearded man is pointing toward Matthew while looking toward Jesus, as if to mean, “Did you just call him?”

And Matthew—he’s the picture of misery, maybe even shame.  His hands are grasping the coins on the table.  Is he struggling to decide how he shall respond?  Is he loath to leave this job, this income, this security?  Is he already acquainted with Jesus, friend of tax collectors and sinners?  Dare he hope that Jesus can make him something else?

Then there’s the man standing over Matthew, an older fellow, it appears, maybe Matthew’s supervisor.  His attention is on neither Jesus nor Matthew, but on the money, which he’s reaching for.

There’s tension here, as there must have been when Jesus beckoned to Matthew and said, “Follow me.”

Jesus stretches out that same hand, that welcoming, merciful hand, to us still today, trying to pull us into companionship with him.  We sit here, like Matthew, deciding daily whether we’ll follow him, or cling to something less that we’ve kept on the table.

Homily for 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
25th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Sept. 20, 2020
Matt 20: 1-16
Blessed Sacrament, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matt 20: 16).

Thus concludes our gospel reading this morning.  The same verse also concludes the passage in Matthew’s gospel preceding this reading (19:30).  That passage recounts the story of a rich young man who came to Jesus but decided not to remain with him because he was unwilling to give up his wealth; after which Jesus challenged all his followers to surrender all that is precious to us for his sake, for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 19:16-29).

Altho the Jews in Jesus’ time—and today’s preachers of the so-called prosperity gospel—believed that wealth was a sign of God’s favor, Jesus preaches that wealth may in fact distract us from God, even sidetrack us from him.

Jesus turns us and our world and our expectations upside down.  In our 1st reading, God said to his people thru the prophet, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways” (Is 55:8).

Both the prophetic message and the parable of the vineyard workers upturn what we expect.  We expect scoundrels to be disowned by the Lord, but he’s generous in forgiving those who repent of their wickedness (55:7).  We expect those who work longer and harder to receive greater pay, but the Lord is more generous than we expect.

Laborers in Vineyard (Jacob Willemsz de Wet)

In the parable, the 1st workers hired seem at 1st glance to have a legitimate gripe.  On the other hand, the landowner reminds them of their agreement:  for a day’s work, a day’s wage.  He’s not cheating them.  Then he points out that he is, instead, being generous with the other workers—day laborers who were so unfortunate as not to have been hired earlier in the day by someone else, but who, like everyone, need a daily wage to survive—to buy bread and salt and other basics for their families, to pay rent, perhaps to buy medicine.  We don’t even know whether the landowner really needed those workers for the last hour or was actually going out of his way to help them, to give them not only a day’s pay but also a little bit of self-respect in that they were providing for their families.

The men who worked all day—something like 12 hours—in the heat, probably gathering the grape harvest, in effect complain that they’re being treated unfairly, rather than admiring the landowner’s generosity.  It’s human nature to judge our status by what others have rather than by what we do have.  Jesus is telling us this parable as a commentary on the kingdom of heaven, and thru it he emphasizes God’s generosity.  As human beings, sinful men and women, we’re in no position to demand of God what we deserve, as the 1st workers suggest to the landowner.  As sinners we don’t deserve a place in the kingdom of heaven.  We’re like the workers hired later in the day, even at the end of the day, grateful that God is kind, merciful, and generous to us, forgiving us as we don’t deserve—remember last week’s parable of the 2 servants who were in debt and needed mercy (Matt 18:21-35)?

Whether we’ve tried to be faithful to Christ all our lives or have come to him relatively late in life; whether we’re guilty of unspeakable sins like adultery or abortion or indifference toward the poor, or are guilty of “only” lying, cheating, petty theft, harshness toward one another, gossip, neglect of our sick or elderly relatives—all of us need Christ to invite us into his vineyard and to offer us what only he can give, the wages of everlasting life, for he “is generous in forgiving” whoever comes to him.

Fr. Romeo Trottier, SDB (1937-2020)

Fr. Romeo Trottier, SDB (1937-2020)

Fr. Romeo Trottier, SDB, passed serenely from Sherbrooke, Que., into eternity on Sunday morning, Sept. 13. In faith, we trust that he didn’t stop at the Pearly Gates but continued until he reached the Salesian Garden and was welcomed by Don Bosco, the Madonna, and the pantheon of holy Salesians.

Fr. Romeo was 83 years old, professed as a Salesian for 65 years, and a priest for over 54 years. He’d been suffering from leukemia for about two years, continuing his ministry of Canadian Salesian communications as best he could. He was taken to a Sherbrooke hospital on Sept. 5 with breathing difficulty, and on the 9th was taken to Fleurimont Hospital for palliative care.

Fr. Romeo was one of the great men of the one-time Canadian delegation and Canadian vice province, where he passed his entire Salesian life except for studies. “He was an expert in Salesian spirituality, the key person in the creation of the Canadian vice province in 1988, and a model of friendly presence to the young even in his 80s,” writes Fr. Rich Authier, former superior of the vice province.

Touring the Vatican printing department--amid fresh bundles of L'Osservatore Romano--
with other editors of the Salesian Bulletin in 2012.

Fr. Romeo succeeded Fr. Ron Quenneville as provincial delegate for Canada in 1976 and served for 12 years, until the erection of the vice province. For many years (starting around 1990), he edited Canadian Salesian news in a couple of formats, and after the untimely death of Fr. Paul Cossette in 2013, he also took over Carrefour Salésien, the Canadian Salesian Bulletin.

Fr. Romeo came from a small town called Proulxville, near Three Rivers, Que., where he was born to Donat and Aline Trottier on the feast of the Assumption in 1937 and baptized the next day at the parish church of St.-Severin. The Trottiers were a large family: Fr. Romeo had six brothers and six sisters, and he landed almost exactly in the middle of the procession, the sixth-born.

Romeo attended the local elementary school from 1943 to 1950. Like many of our Canadian confreres, he owes his vocation (after God and family) to the recruiting efforts of the legendary Fr. Pierre Decarie. Fr. Decarie came to Romeo’s school in the spring of 1950 to speak to the youngsters about Don Bosco and the Salesians, and he also mentioned the seminary in Newton, N.J., and the summer camp in Ellenville, N.Y.

Romeo had already taken the entrance exam for the Three Rivers diocesan minor seminary, but he showed an openness to the Salesians. Mr. and Mrs. Trottier consented for Romeo to go to Newton. There were already many Canadians studying there, who came to number about 20, including youngsters who headed south with him.

Romeo had never been farther away from home than Montreal. But in July 1950 he set out for Ellenville, and in the fall to Don Bosco Seminary. He liked his first-year experience, even though he had to learn English. The Canadian aspirants attended separate classes until they were proficient enough in English gradually to be integrated into the regular classes.

In 1951 the aspirantate was transferred to Haverstraw, N.Y., as Don Bosco Juniorate under the directorship of Fr. Joseph Caselli, who was a very understanding superior.

Desiring “to be a good Salesian and worker in the Lord’s vineyard,” Romeo entered St. Joseph’s Novitiate in Newton on Sept. 7, 1954. He was part of a very distinguished novitiate class, Fr. Aloysius Bianchi’s first as master of novices. They lived in the “gray house,” the so-called Horton mansion. Some of the others in the class were Tony Ambrogio, John Blanco, Francis Bracchi, Bob Falk, Barney Hagus, George Hanna, Jean-Paul Lebel, Orlando Molina, Gerard Richard, and Alfred Rinaldi. They made their first profession on Sept. 8, 1955.

Following graduation from Don Bosco College in 1958, magna cum laude, Bro. Romeo was sent to the Don Bosco School in Jacquet River, N.B., for three years of practical training (1958-1961). It was a small, rather insular boarding school with about 100 boys, fifth to eighth grade. He made his perpetual profession in 1961 at St. Louis de Kent, N.B.

When it was time to study theology, Bro. Romeo had the luxury of a fine cruise across the Atlantic—at the time that was less expensive than flying. While some of the Canadian theologians went to Lyons or Castellamare, Bro. Romeo was the only one who went to Rome. He took the “propedeutic” or preparatory year of non-theological studies.

In 1962 he moved up to Turin and enrolled at the Pontificio Ateneo Salesiano (PAS), called the “Crocetta” (from its neighborhood). He was privileged to take courses with some of the Congregation’s most distinguished professors, such as Fr. Domenico Bertetto, Fr. Agustino Favale, Fr. Antonio Javierre (a future cardinal), Fr. Pietro Brocardo, and Fr. Eugenio Valentini.

His classmates in Turin and Rome included George Hanna, and schoolmates included Angelo Amato (another future cardinal), Emilio Allué (future bishop), Javier Aracil, John Blanco, John Basso, Tom Juarez, Jeremiah Reen, and Earl Bissonnette.

In 1965 the main campus of the PAS was shifted to its new location in Rome, and Bro. Romeo was in the first “senior” class there. That gave him an opportunity to witness the last session of Vatican II and take part in the closing Mass, December 7, 1965. He vividly remembered the Council’s closing with its many speeches on December 8.

Ordination to the priesthood came at the hands of the cardinal vicar of Rome, Luigi Traglia, on March 5, 1966, at St. John Bosco Church. He earned an STL from what had become the UPS (instead of PAS).

Being present for the closing days of Vatican II was a special experience, and most special was a post-ordination audience with Pope Paul VI with the class’s parents, each newly ordained greeting the Pope. He told the newly ordained, “Wherever you go, be priests of the Council”—which, obviously, stuck with Fr. Romeo.

Fr. Romeo’s first priestly assignment was to Seminaire Salésien in Sherbrooke, Que., where he stayed for 15 years (1966-1981), teaching Latin, religion, English, and art history at various times, and also at various times responsible for student life and discipline. The school enrolled about 80 pupils, all boarders. The following year (1967), it opened to local day students. In these years he earned a Bachelor’s degree in education from Quebec City’s Laval University (1972) and a Master’s degree in pastoral education at the University of Sherbrooke (1973).

In 1975 he was appointed director of the community and school, serving two terms (till 1981). Simultaneously, from 1976 he was superior of the Canadian delegation, till 1988. This responsibility entailed visiting the houses, overseeing the delegation’s finances, and working in collaboration with the provincial in New Rochelle.

Celebrating Mass with Salesian Bulletin editors
at Salesian HQ in Rome, 2012

Then he collaborated for nine years as vice provincial (1988-1994, 2006-2009) with Fr. Richard Authier when the Canadian delegation was elevated to a vice province (1988-2009). Around 1988 he was named Salesian provincial delegate for the Canadian Cooperators, serving them officially until 2018.

His influence with the Cooperators was tremendous. According to Rosa D’Addario, their former coordinator: “In all things Salesian [he was] definitely the authority, most informed. With regard to others, encouraging, loving, attentive, a caring listener with a delightful sense of humor, warm, enthusiastic, friendly, approachable, wise, and compassionate; always made you feel welcome and completely at ease. He always participated in the regional encounters.” She adds, “Fr. Romeo was a great person, and I will really miss him!”

When his term as director in Sherbrooke ended, in 1981 he moved to Ste. Claire Parish in Montreal as an assistant. When Fr. Jean-Paul Lebel volunteered for the missions and left for Rwanda in 1983, Fr. Romeo succeeded him as pastor and director, serving till 1995. In 1984 he was one of the province’s delegates to the 22d General Chapter.

A short stint at Maria Ausiliatrice Parish in Riviere-des-Prairies, Montreal, followed (1995-1996) before he was sent back to Sherbrooke as director for two more terms (1996-2002). He remained thenceforth in Sherbrooke, doing multiple jobs at times, including community treasurer, pastoral ministry, Cooperators, communications, etc.

Fr. Romeo listed parish work, his years of theological study, and student life in Jacquet River as his most enjoyable experiences as a Salesian. He retained happy memories particularly of Fr. Ted Ciampi and Fr. Paul Avallone, two of the founders of Salesian work north of the border, both long dead now, and of his work alongside the late Fr. Maurice Petit.

Homily for 24th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Sept. 13, 2020

Rom 14: 7-9

Holy Name of Jesus, Valhalla, N.Y.

“If we live, we live for the Lord” (Rom 14: 8).

Can you believe we’re still reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans?  And we’ve been reading only small excerpts from its 16 chapters?  Well, today we’ve come to the last of the 13 Sundays in this Roman sequence.

For most of these 13 weeks, Paul has given us doctrinal lessons, e.g., about our participation in the death and resurrection of Christ.  In the last couple of weeks, he got to the practice, about how we are to live as followers of Jesus.  That’s what underlies today’s 3 verses from ch. 14 of the letter.

This chapter concerns some disputes among the Christians in Rome about how closely they should follow Jewish practices—some of the believers were Jews, some Gentiles.  So they argued about diet, festal observances, and practices that might be linked at least conceptually with idolatry.

Paul pulls them up short:  none of us lives for himself.  In life or in death, we belong to the Lord, to Jesus Christ (v. 8).  So whatever we may eat, however we might celebrate (or not) the traditional Jewish Sabbath and feasts, we do everything for the Lord and not for ourselves.  We don’t insist on our own way for the entire community:  “My way or the highway!”

This applies very much to the Church today.  On the political front, Catholics and other Christians argue hotly about presidential candidates, and some are ready to excommunicate people on the other side.  Our bishops, those commissioned by our Lord Jesus to speak in his name, lay out principles that we must consider as good citizens before we vote or otherwise engage in electoral politics—at any level.  (And we have a moral obligation at least to vote; lay Catholics are encouraged to be actively engaged politically, whereas the clergy are forbidden to do so in any partisan way.)  We all ought to read what the bishops have published.  It’s a pamphlet called “Faithful Citizenship,” and you can find it easily online.

Pope Francis, likewise, is ready to engage in dialog with anyone:  socialist, capitalist, atheist, head of state, common folk, Protestant, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, saint, or sinner—and treat everyone respectfully as a child of our one Creator, as someone whose soul he wishes to touch.

Fall of the Rebel Angels (Pieter Bruegel the Elder)

It’s really arrogant, an act of the deadly sin of pride, to think that I am the font of all truth, goodness, and righteousness.  That’s a temptation we all have at times, isn’t it?  When theologians speculate about how angels became demons, how Lucifer became Satan, they usually ascribe it to pride, to their thinking they were wiser than God himself, and their rebelling against God’s intentions.  That’s not in the Bible as such, but it is consistent with St. Paul’s words today:  “None of us lives for himself.”

In the Church today, we see many divisions.  Many people have gone into schism—a word that means “division”—because they reject the 2d Vatican Council.  Battles are fought all over social media—self-righteous, angry, un-Christlike battles—over the teachings and actions of Pope Francis, even over whether he’s really a legitimate Pope; over individual bishops and individual priests; over liturgy, the sacraments, and other church practices.  America Media’s podcast this week is called “Pope Francis’ critics are dividing the Church.”  A recent book put it this way:  “Being like Christ is not about making people think like you, but loving people as they are, wherever they may be.”[1]

“If we live, we live for the Lord,” Paul says.  Do we listen to the words of Jesus and the words of the rest of our Scriptures?  Do we focus on our relationship with Jesus Christ and not on any other messiah, whether that be a church leader or a political one or some entertainer or economist or business guru?

If we do live for Christ, we may indeed discern whether someone’s words or actions are good, bad, or indifferent.  The Scriptures do urge us to discriminate in that sense.  But we may not pass judgment on the person, may not condemn.  That belongs only to the Lord.  We may judge only ourselves, whether we truly live for Christ and are being faithful to him.  For everyone else, we pray, and we show mercy, patience, and forgiveness, as Jesus teaches in today’s parable (Matt 18:21-35).

---

     [1] Marie Mutsuki Mochett, American Harvest (Graywolf Press, 2020), emphases in the original, cited in America, June 8, 2020, p. 43.

On Island Pond

On Island Pond

My usual camping partner Fr. Jim Mulloy and I were joined by Fr. Paul from our New Rochelle community and prenovice Thomas Nguyen from Fr. Jim’s Ramsey community.  We camped Friday-Saturday, Sept. 4-5, near the south shore of Island Pond in the northwest section of Harriman State Park (near Tuxedo Park).  The Appalachian Trail runs by its north shore.

There were a lot of people fishing or paddling about the pond, and we met a few day hikers, including one with a very nice set-up near the ruins of a house on the rocky south shore.  

He had a chair, food and beverages, and a book, and he told me he'd also been swimming.  Later in the evening 3 people came to camp next to the ruins and made themselves a fine fire in its fireplace.  They'd driven up from Philadelphia, they told us in the morning.

Fr. Jim had been to this area a few years ago and remembered an excellent camping spot, which he managed to find via a side path off the old woods road.  It was more than ample, had a good fire ring, and had a view of the lake.  Fr. Jim and Thomas set up hammocks, and Fr. Paul and I pitched our tents.  Everyone was comfortable enuf.

As usual, Fr. Jim took care of fetching and filtering water.

Altho there was plenty of fallen wood about, the morons who'd been there last had cut a bunch of live wood for their fire--both pine and rhododendron.  We didn't use that but gathered our own for both our cooking fire and our "atmosphere" fire.  Having my folding saw helped a lot.

Fr. Paul at work

We cooked hamburgers on my little grill and munched on other goodies that we'd brought.  Fr. Jim always brings cheese; he had a small block of cheddar but was distressed that he couldn't find the slices he'd brought for the burgers.  (He found them in the morning.)

Fr. Jim and Fr. Paul returned to the lake at dusk to watch the sunset--which wasn't much because of the intervening western hill, but the sky was pretty--and view the stars. 

I rigged up our bear bag, which was pretty heavy with 4 guys' remaining food plus our trash bag.  But I overlooked a little cooler bag that Fr. Jim had brought, containing some sausages.  And in the morning it was nowhere to be found; a raccoon had visited, we figured.

Thomas went to bed fairly early, evidently tired.  I stayed up past 9:00, tending the fire and reading by flashlight.  As I was turning in, with the fire down low, Fr. Jim came back, but Fr. Paul stayed out.

Very late, Fr. Paul met 2 hikers from Brooklyn lost in the dark and led them to our camp and had them set up just a few feet from us.  They'd taken the train to Harriman and had a long hike southward and eastward, and apparently gotten a little disoriented.  They didn't have a map.  We enjoyed talking with them on Saturday a.m. as we broke camp, and the lady was delighted to accept some of my leftover instant coffee powder.  Others gave them some of their leftover chow, too.

Fr. Paul got up early to watch the sun come up.

At left, our 2 friends from Brooklyn; then Fr. Paul, Fr. Jim, and Thomas.

First we celebrated Mass on the rocks at lakeside and then chatted with 2 of the folks camping at the house ruins.

Posing after Mass
pic by Thomas w Fr Paul's phone

By 9:30 we were on our way back to our car and to Don Bosco Prep.

Homily for 23d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the

23d Sunday of Ordinary Time

Sept. 6, 2020

Rom 13: 8-10

Holy Name of Jesus, Valhalla, N.Y.

Can you believe we’re still reading from Romans?  And only pieces of it, at that?  It’s 16 chapters in all, and we’re hearing only excerpts, mostly small ones, on 13 Sundays.

Last week, with the 1st 2 verses from ch. 12, St. Paul started to offer practical advice on Christian living after 11 chapters of doctrine.  After passing over the rest of ch. 12 and the beginning of ch. 13, the lectionary today continues the practical advice:  “the one who loves another has fulfilled the law” (13:8).  That “law” means the Law of Moses, primarily; or the sum total of God’s laws for humanity if you want to take it a little further.

Students at a Salesian school in Saragossa, Spain,
illustrate love and joy (ANS)

Like Jesus, Paul cites the Old Testament command, to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  This is everything—after loving God, of course.  If our neighbor is an image of God, as the Book of Genesis teaches (1:27), then by loving our neighbor we’re also loving God.

Paul quotes some of the commandments—about adultery, theft, murder, covetousness—obviously not all of the 10 commandments, much less the rest of the Torah, but a representative sample to mean all of them.  This is not to mention the specifics of Christian morality that we learned in Catholic school or CCD.  But these specifics are expressions of the command to love one another.  If we love someone, we don’t steal from him; we don’t abuse her or exploit her.

Sometimes Christianity is mischaracterized by its foes as a religion of “thou shalt not.”  It is, rather, a faith of “thou shalt”:  thou shalt love thy neighbor in practice by respecting him, aiding her, sharing your abundance of goods with him when he’s in need, counseling or comforting her, opening your heart and your door (as so many people do after a natural disaster, for example).  Not only does love do no evil to one’s neighbor, as Paul says (13:10), but love does positive good whenever and wherever it can.

Mary's love for her family, exemplified by her visit
to her cousin Elizabeth (OL of the Valley, Orange, N.J.)

This practical love has to begin with our own responsibilities.  We all know the adage “Charity begins at home.”  The 1st neighbors whom we must love are our own families, or in my case, my religious community in New Rochelle.

“Owe nothing to anyone, except to love one another,” Paul writes (13:8).  Husbands and wives, help and support each other.  Be patient and gentle with each other.  Be considerate.

Parents, give time and attention to your children.  Be patient and gentle with them even while you try to teach them good manners, good morals, and responsibility.

Children, obey your parents, do your schoolwork and chores, treat your siblings decently—and be patient with your parents when they’re not perfect.

All—be forgiving and encouraging.

And so you will show genuine love, the fulfillment of God’s law.  May God bless us all!

Celebration of Blessed Ceferino Namuncura

Celebration of Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá

Photo: Pedro Bautista

(ANS – Carmen de Patagones, Argentina – September 2, 2020) - On August 26, Bishop Esteban Maria Laxague, SDB, of Viedma presided over Mass on the occasion of the 134th anniversary of the birth of Blessed Ceferino Namuncurá, the first indigenous Blessed in South America. The celebration took place in Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish, the first parish in Patagonia, where Ceferino’s baptismal certificate is kept. On the occasion, moreover, the 140th anniversary of the arrival of the Salesians in the land dreamed of by Don Bosco was celebrated.