5 New Salesians for New Rochelle Province

5 New Salesians for New Rochelle Province

On August 15, Bros. Carlos Cerda Gutierrez, Lorenzo Carlo D’Alessandro, Nicholas Kurt Jandernoa, Christo Ruben Philistin, and Jieo Aleksander Tecson made their first religious profession as Salesians of Don Bosco during a celebration of the Eucharist in the chapel of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Haverstraw, N.Y.

Fr. Dominic Tran, SDB, provincial, presided at the Mass and received the vows of the 5 young men. They had completed a year of novitiate at the Salesian house of formation in Richmond, Calif., under the guidance of Fr. Joseph Thinh Nguyen, master of novices. (The novitiate is located on the campus of Salesian High School in Richmond.)

Bro. Carlos professed as a Salesian coadjutor brother, while the other 4 men will study for eventual ordination as priests (God willing). All 5 will continue their formation at the Salesian house in Orange, N.J., including studies at Seton Hall University in South Orange.

Concelebrating priests praying for those to be professed

Bro. Carlos Cerda, 25, was born in Moroleon, Guanajuato, Mexico, and entered the Salesians from Lockport, Ill.; he was a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Joliet. He had been introduced to the Salesians by a Carmelite brother in the parish who was particularly close to the young people of the parish. He came to the Salesian formation house in Orange, N.J., in August 2021. His discernment also included a year of prenovitiate formation at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J., in 2023-2024.

Bro. Carlos discerned a calling to be a brother so that he can become “a friendly role model for other young people” and witness to the “call given by God to men who seek to dedicate themselves totally to God in community, living out the lay dimension of our Baptism,” particularly through the evangelical counsels. Bro. Carlos will pursue a bachelor’s degree in Spanish at Seton Hall, aiming eventually to teach at one of our Salesian schools. He aspires to touch the lives of many young people by listening to them and sharing their joys and challenges; to accompany young people at risk “by providing suitable trade skills”; and eventually to become a formator of men in initial Salesian formation.

Bro. Carlos found the best part of his novitiate year in the time spent in community with his novice classmates as well as the days designated for silence and prayer.

Parents of the new brothers stood and were applauded.

Bro. Lorenzo D’Alessandro, 27, comes from Vancouver, B.C., where he and his family belonged to St. Jude Parish. His parents are Robert D’Alessandro and Charlotte Carlos. He has a younger brother. Lorenzo came to the Salesians after 5 years as a diocesan seminarian, during which he earned a B.A. in philosophy. He had been influenced by one of his parish priests whose “example of holiness rubbed off on me, especially his love for sacred music and love for the liturgy as a whole.” In both high school and college, he found the Benedictine seminary rectors to be “men of great faith and intellect. Both showed me the beauty, ardour, and rigours of both consecrated life and intellectual life.”

Lorenzo desired to work with the young and to live a consecrated life in community, which he had witnessed with the Benedictines. A friend told him about the Salesians; he says, “It was as if God was saying to me, ‘There’s a religious order for that!’”

So Lorenzo began as a Salesian candidate in August 2022 at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey but had to return to Canada a few months later (visa issue), where he resumed his candidacy at St. Benedict, the Salesian parish in Etobicoke, Ont. He began prenovitiate there in 2023 but was able to return to Ramsey in January 2024 to complete the prenovitiate program. At the Prep, he was chaplain for some of the sports teams and the soup kitchen, and he also taught CCD at St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester, N.Y., on a weekly basis.

During his novitiate year in Richmond, Lorenzo found greatest satisfaction in “being able to assimilate and live out Salesian values on a more concrete level, as well as being able to get to know the students in school, mainly through coaching.”

Following his religious profession, Bro. Lorenzo will take courses in school and sports psychology at Seton Hall while preparing spiritually for perpetual profession and intellectually “to implement his studies into daily life personally, ministerially, and communally.” He sees himself ministering as a teacher, coach, and counselor.

The Eucharistic Prayer

Bro. Nicholas Jandernoa, 26, is from Pewamo, Mich., where his family are members of St. Joseph’s Parish. His parents are Bruce and Gail Jandernoa, and he has one older brother and three younger sisters.

Nicholas spent two years as a NET Missionary, which helped him to be open to consecrated life: “I discovered that I had a passion for working with young people and that God has chosen to work through me to show his love to the young.” He already knew about Don Bosco and admired how the saint used sports and magic tricks to grab young people’s attention and then bring them to Jesus. So he was attracted to the Salesians, where “I could serve young people and be involved with sports and games while also being consecrated to God.”

Nicholas became a candidate in Orange in January 2021 and a prenovice at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey in 2022-2023. He continued prenovitiate in Orange in 2023-2024. He aspires in these next couple of years “to grow in my love for Jesus, to whom I am consecrated, and to live out the Salesian Constitutions, which I have professed to live.” He has found his religious vocation “anything but boring,” an “exciting adventure full of love” that he hopes other young people will consider.

Salesian sisters and novices

Bro. Christo Ruben Philistin, 23, was born in Cap Haitien, Haiti, and is the son of Amos and Lunie Joseph Philistin, who now live in Brockton, Mass. He has an older sister. An aunt who is a nun introduced him to the Salesians in his hometown. He writes that she “greatly influenced me through her spiritual way of life. The priest of my parish, as well as the Salesians from the community in my hometown, have also had a significant impact on me, particularly through their sense of family, which has left a deep mark on my journey.”

Christo became a candidate in Cap Haitien in February 2020. In September 2022 he became a prenovice in the Salesian house in Thorland, Haiti, then began a year of novitiate in Mexico, where the Haiti Vice Province sends its men. After his parents moved to the U.S., his provincial facilitated his transfer to the U.S. novitiate so that he could be nearer to them.

He adds: “I wanted to become a Salesian to answer a call greater than myself, something deep within my heart urging me to be completely with God and for God voluntarily. Additionally, out of love for being with and serving the young, it has been the perfect match” so that he can “be with God and serve youth in the footsteps of Don Bosco.”

He says that he thoroughly enjoyed his novitiate year—community outings, the novice master’s conferences, opportunities for ministry. “The best part was the time we spent simply being together as a community, hanging out, sharing laughter, and watching movies.”

Bro. Christo aspires to deepen his relationship with God and engage in apostolic service to the young. In particular, “I would like to be a music teacher because I truly believe that music can lead young people to Jesus. I also feel that I can use my talent to inspire and accompany them on their journey of faith through music.”

Fr. Dominic welcomes everyone as Mass begins

Bro. Jieo Aleksander Tecson, 24, is a native of Quezon City, Philippines. His parents are Gaudencio and Maria Cristina Tecson, and he has a twin sister and a younger brother. They immigrated to Calgary, Alberta, and became involved in St. Patrick’s and Holy Spirit parishes there.

Altho Jieo’s father went to a Salesian school in the Philippines, Jieo discovered the Salesians by reading about Don Bosco and then seeing the movie St. John Bosco: Mission to Love, which suggested to him that he might become a priest like Don Bosco, caring compassionately for the young. After he’d started at university, he was investigating possibilities for religious life and contacted the Salesian vocation director in Canada. In the Salesians he found 4 of his personal desires: missions, priesthood, youth work, and religious devotion.

Thus Jieo became a candidate at Orange in August 2022 and a prenovice at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey in August 2023. During his prenovitiate year, he taught catechism at St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester, N.J.

“The best part of my novitiate year,” says Bro. Jieo, “was the spirit of brotherhood I experienced with my fellow novices, in moments both of praying and of playing.” He also found a lot of satisfaction in ministry to the students at Salesian College Prep, adjacent to the novitiate house.

Back in Orange for postnovitiate formation, he “hopes to deepen my relationship with God, better assimilate the spirit of Don Bosco, and continue cultivating my skills for ministry among the young. With God’s help, I wish to become more and more conformed to Christ, especially in his obedience, poverty, and chastity, and to learn truly what it means to be a sign and bearer of his love for young people.” Further down the road, Bro. Jieo hopes that he might become a missionary in some foreign land. “Most of my favourite saints were missionaries (the Canadian Martyrs among them!),” he states. But his ultimate aspiration is to become a saint.

The Eucharistic Celebration

Fr. Dominic starting the homily

40 priests concelebrated the profession Mass, assisted by over 200 members of the Salesian Family, family members of the newly professed, students from Salesian schools, and other friends.

Introducing the Mass of Our Lady’s Assumption, Fr. Dominic (in three languages) voiced thanks to God for calling us, thanks to our mother Mary, thanks to our brothers for their “yes” to God, and thanks to their parents—who were commended a couple more times during the rites.

Fr. Dominic’s homily focused on God’s initiative. On our own, he said, we’d never be ready to do God’s work. The Virgin Mary shows us that he can do great things in us, which he illustrated thru several of Mary’s virtues and applied them to religious life.

Fr. Dominic concluded by linking the day’s rite with two historical events of 2025: the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition (1875) and the Church’s jubilee year. Don Bosco told the first missionaries that they would be doing God’s work; doing God’s work unites all of us wherever we may be. The theme of the jubilee is hope. A Salesian, said the preacher, is always cheerful because he or she bears Good News. With God we have hope and can do great things.

A New Batch of Novices

Meanwhile, in Richmond, Calif., five men began a year of novitiate on August 14. Two of them are from the New Rochelle Province, one from the San Francisco Province, and two from the Irish Province.

Photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/SFm4RH03UVb

Most of the SDBs present posed after Mass.

Salesians Commission 10 Missionary Volunteers

Salesians Commission 10 Missionary Volunteers

Photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/H6QchlIUSVb

The Salesians of the New Rochelle Province commissioned 10 lay missionaries during Evening Prayer on Thursday, Aug. 14, in the chapel of the Don Bosco Retreat Center at Haverstraw, N.Y.

The 5 men and 5 women had completed 3 weeks of orientation for mission, including fellowship, prayer, paperwork, cultural preparation, introduction to St. John Bosco and the Salesian charism, recreation, and some practical experience in St. John Bosco Parish in Port Chester, N.Y. The final week was a retreat alongside two dozen Salesians at the retreat house, Aug. 10-16.

Fr. Dominic Tran, SDB, provincial, presided at the commissioning, assisted by Adam Rudin, director of the Salesian Lay Missioner program.

The 10 SLMs are Ambroise Curutchague, 23, of Bakersfield, Calif., who will serve as a teacher at Don Bosco Agricultural Training College in Lufubu, Zambia; Nathaniel Devlin, 20, of Moline, Ill., also sent to the school in Lufubu; Emily Durr, 22, of Cincinnati, will serve as a clinic nurse at the Palabek, Uganda, refugee camp; Edwin Feliberty Jr., 37, of Jersey City, N.J., will join the staff of the National Shrine of Mary Help of Christians in Haverstraw, N.Y.; Alexandria Foos, 25, of Westerville, Ohio, will work with young girls at the Instituto Maria Auxiliadora in San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Douglas Hinman, 30, of Littleton, Colo., will teach English at the Don Bosco Institute in Alexandria, Egypt; Jennifer Lopez, 26, of Austin, Texas, will serve first in Madrid and then in Bangkok; Angel Nuñez-Arce, 20, of Chicago, will assist with youth ministry and music at Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, N.J.; Sueshai Perez, 27, of Austin, will serve alongside Jennifer in Madrid and Bangkok; and Eileen Ramirez Quintana, 27, of Buckeye, Ariz., will teach English in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Fr. Dominic took his homiletic cue from the one-verse Scripture reading of Evening Prayer, Romans 8:30. That verse, he said, suggested John Calvin’s doctrine of predestination. But, he said, St. Paul’s wider context notes that God’s plan preceded creation and leads up to God’s predestining us to belong to him through Jesus Christ. The verse highlights Mary’s role in God’s plan. Her Assumption into heaven points to the call all of us have received as God’s children.

God has a plan for each of the lay missioners, Fr. Dominic stated, wherever they may be going. The Catholic understanding of God’s plan includes human freedom. We pray that God’s plan will go to and be fulfilled in all places on earth.

God’s Word is always alive and active, he continued. He told the volunteers that God has destined them to be missionaries of the Word, and as bearers of the Word to bring hope and life to the poor. This is God’s plan of love. “You are to be the instruments of God’s plan and God’s love,” Fr. Dominic told the ten women and men.

Every August, your humble blogger is recruited during the retreat week to guide the SLMs on a hike in Harriman State Park, which is very close to the retreat house.

On Tuesday the 12th, he brought them to Pine Meadow Lake, a 2-mile jaunt over a gradual ascent that mostly follows Stony Brook and Pine Meadow Brook to the lake. Photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/LPkR3eKXSVb

Celebrating Mass at Pine Meadow Lake

Homily for 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
20th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Aug. 17, 2025
Heb 12: 1-4
Jer 38: 4-6, 8-10
Villa Maria, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx

“Let us … keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (Heb 12: 2).

The Letter to the Hebrews pictures Jesus as our leader in faith, using the analogy of a race (12:1), as St. Paul also does in 3 of his letters (1 Cor 9:24; Phil 2:16; 2 Tim 4:7) and in Acts (20:24).  Most of us probably would consider our earthly pilgrimage more like a trek, a slog, a slow plodding along rather than as a race.  But the point’s the same.

One translation (RSV) calls Jesus the “pioneer” of our faith.  A pioneer, you know, is someone who opens the path into uncharted territory, like Daniel Boone or Lewis and Clark.

Jesus “endured the cross, despising its shame” (12:2), humiliation, and excruciating pain.  The word excruciating originates in the Latin crux, “cross.”  Jesus did that “for the sake of the joy that lay before him” (12:2), which is the joy of the resurrection and eternal life.  In this he is, indeed, our pioneer; or, as St. Paul calls him, “the firstborn of many brothers and sisters” (Rom 8:29), the 1st human being to rise from the grave to new, everlasting life.

On Friday we celebrated the feast of the Virgin Mary’s assumption into heaven, her entrance body and soul into eternal life alongside her Son.  That’s God’s promise to all of us who follow Jesus Christ, our leader, our pioneer, in this race or this trek, this long pilgrimage toward our eternal home.  In the collect (the prayer of the Mass), we prayed to God that “we may attain your promises.”

We take hope and courage from Jesus’ leadership, the “perfecter of our faith,” i.e., the one who completes it by bringing us where God wants us to be.  We take hope and courage from his cross, that we “may not grow weary and lose heart” (12:3), and from Jeremiah’s experience of being thrown into the mud and left to die by the faithless leaders of God’s people.  God saw that Jeremiah got rescued from the muddy cistern—let’s note that he was rescued by a foreigner, a Cushite, an African.  And God also saw that the bloody, battered body of Jesus was raised whole, entire, and renewed from the grave.

God has “prepared for those who love” him (collect) the same eternal life.  Even tho we suffer as we follow Jesus’ path, we know—as we’ll pray after Communion—that when we are “conformed to his image on earth,” God is making us Jesus’ “coheirs in heaven.”  Therefore, sisters and brothers, we work to “persevere in running the race that lies before us” (12:1), or slogging along the road, but at whatever pace following Jesus our leader, our pioneer.

Sherbrooke SDBs Bring Joy to Underprivileged Kids

Campamento Savio Brings Joy to Sherbrooke Youths

(ANS - Sherbrooke, Que. – August 14, 2025) – From August 4 to 8, the annual Campamento Savio welcomed 45 underprivileged children and adolescents to Aux Berges Dominique Savio on the scenic shores of Lake Memphremagog, near Sherbrooke. Guided by 6 counselors, including aspiring Salesian Cooperators Veronique from Sherbrooke and Diala from Lebanon, the camp offered days filled with joy, friendship, and learning. The Salesian community of Sherbrooke, led by Fr. Pierre Celestin, actively participated, with Fr. Alain and Fr. Georges taking on the role of cooks to support the camp’s activities. Designed to provide hope and happiness, the camp left unforgettable memories for young participants while embodying the spirit of Salesian outreach.

Homily for Thursday, Week 19 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Thursday
Week 19 of Ordinary Time

Aug. 14, 2025
Josh 3: 7-11, 13-17
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Israel crosses the Jordan
(James Tissot)

“The Lord said to Joshua, ‘Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of Israel, that they may know I am with you, as I was with Moses’” (Josh 3: 7).

Joshua wasn’t Moses.  But God enabled him to do a work like Moses, leading Israel across the Jordan on dry land and subsequently—tho it doesn’t appear in the lectionary—to defeat and destroy Jericho and other cities as Moses had led Israel to victory in battle against their opponents.

In Joshua, Israel had a leader who resembled their “founder,” so to speak, a leader with his own character and gifts, and it was evident that God was with him.  It’s similar with our religious families.  None of you can be exactly like Edmund Rice, nor can any Salesian replicate Don Bosco.  But our calling has been to resemble them while living their charism according to our own character and gifts, in our time and place.  Inasmuch as we’ve done so, the people of God have been able to know that God has been with us, as he was with Edmund and John.

The manner of our resemblance to our founder necessarily changes as the phases of our lives unfold; but the vocation is the same:  to follow the founder’s charism, and ultimately to follow the Lord Jesus, as the collect for St. Maximilian says, addressing God:  “that, striving for your glory by eagerly serving others, we may be conformed, even until death, to your Son.”

Salesian Missions Programs for Youths in Need

Salesian Missions Highlights Programs for Youths in Need

International Youth Day

(ANS – New Rochelle – August 12, 2025) – Salesian Missions in New Rochelle joins humanitarian organizations and countries around the globe in recognizing International Youth Day. Celebrated each year on Aug. 12, International Youth Day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness of issues affecting young people around the world.

Working in more than 130 countries, Salesian priests, brothers, and sisters provide a range of social development and educational programs for youths who are poor and at risk. They help ensure that youths have the basic needs of nutrition, shelter, safety, and health care accessible to them. Salesians also offer more than 5,500 primary and secondary schools and more than 1,000 vocational, technical, professional, and agricultural schools around the globe.

“Salesians are focused on education but know that youths in poverty are dealing with much more than that in their daily lives,” said Fr. Michael Conway, director of Salesian Missions. “This is why Salesian feeding and sheltering programs, youth centers, medical clinics, and more are essential to a young person’s overall well-being and enables them to focus on their education to gain the skills for future employment and self-sufficiency.”

In honor and celebration of International Youth Day 2025, Salesian Missions is proud to highlight Salesian initiatives that educate and empower youths.

HAITI

More than 3,000 youths in Haiti received nutritious food through a partnership between Salesian Missions and Rise Against Hunger, an international humanitarian organization growing a global movement to end hunger. The shipments of meals were received by the Salesians of Don Bosco in Haiti and then distributed to 11 Salesian centers and schools in the first half of 2024. Salesians facilitate school feeding programs, family meetings, professional training, primary and secondary education, apprenticeships, catechesis classes, and various other social activities.

Haiti faces ongoing political and social strife. Rodnel Ball, age 16, is one of the recipients and has been living at the Timkatec center in Port-au-Prince for 5 years. He said: “When I arrived at Timkatec, I started to eat Rise Against Hunger meals every day. The meals are important to me because they give me strength and they taste good. Not only did I gain weight by eating the meals, but I also found the motivation to study. I study better. I like to sit with my classmates when I eat.”

A Salesian noted, “We appreciate Rise Against Hunger and the solidarity from the United States for sending food for our youths. We can see the joy on the face of each child after eating and when they arrive home.”

INDIA

Salesian missionaries with Don Bosco Snehalaya in Assam, India, were able to fund the “Comprehensive Support for Poor and Needy Children in Assam” project thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The funding provided support for 142 young people in need of care and protection at 5 Salesian childcare institutions.

Donor funding was used for food, education, clothing, and counseling, as well as support for the staff to provide the services. The institutions that were supported were the Snehalaya Boys Home, which provides support for 29 boys ages 12-16; Auxilium Snehalaya, which supports 30 girls, ages 6-11; Ila Snehalaya, a home for 23 young boys, ages 6-11; Jyoti Snehalaya, a home for 33 girls, ages 12-18; and Snehalaya Center for Child Rights, a home for 25 boys, ages 15-18.

Anjana Tanti, age 18, is one of the youths supported by this donation. She is living at Jyoti Snehalaya. She said: “I had a very bad childhood. My father died when I was 3 years old. My mother married another man. My stepfather used to beat me. I was the victim of child abuse. I was rescued by Childline, Dimapur, and was referred to Auxilium Snehalaya at the age of 5.”

UKRAINE

Salesians were able to construct a new soccer field for students at Blessed Klymenty and Andrey Sheptytskyi in Lviv, Ukraine, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The donation impacted more than 400 students who regularly use the field.

The previous field was in such disrepair that it made it difficult for the students to play at all. It was filled with mud and was uneven. The soccer goals lacked netting, so when a goal was scored youths had to chase the ball.

A Salesian said: “The new field is bringing a new life for the students who are more enthusiastic about playing soccer and using the field. Since the beginning of the school year, Salesian priests and soccer coaches have actively conducted soccer activities on the field next to the gymnasium. They organized a class schedule to ensure fair playing time for all. In the morning, students are using the field and after midday, the field is utilized for youths from the Salesian Pokrova Parish.”

Close to the gymnasium is a modular city of Mariapolis, where people who have been internally displaced are living. Among them are youths who are interested in sport activities. The goal is to reach out to these youths so that they can access the new field. Salesians will also rent the field to raise the funding needed to cover maintenance costs.

WEST AFRICA

Salesian missionaries in the Our Lady of Peace provincial community were able to provide 209 scholarships to youths who are disadvantaged, thanks to donor funding from Salesian Missions. The Antonio Cesar scholarship program took place in Benin, Burkina Faso, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, and Senegal.

According to the UNESCO Statistical Institute, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of exclusion from education. More than a fifth of children aged about 6-11 are out of school, a third of children aged about 12-14, and nearly 60% of young people aged about 15-17. The region faces a growing demand for education due to its steadily increasing school-age population. Girls face greater exclusion from school than boys of the same age.

Youths receiving the scholarships were aged 8-25, and they were either orphaned or from families that could not afford their schooling.

A Salesian explained: “We want to ensure that all youths have a chance to gain an education, particularly girls who face greater disadvantages in accessing education. Salesians provide education and social development programs to support poor youths and their families. It is our goal to connect all youths, despite their disadvantages, to education where they can gain skills for later employment and to succeed in life.”

Loop Trail Around Island Pond

Loop Trail Around Island Pond

On the first Saturday in a long time on which I wasn’t assigned a 4:00 p.m. vigil Mass (Aug. 9), I went hiking in Harriman State Park (having thought about 2 other possibilities but finally choosing something relatively “tame”).

I left New Rochelle at 6:45 a.m. and parked at the Elk Pen in Arden, off Rte 17 just before 8:00.  There were 4 other cars there already.  The Appalachian Trail passes thru there, and I parked almost in front of the path that starts thru a meadow toward Green Pond Mt.  In a few minutes I’d made that .25-mile crossing 

and came to the trailhead of the Arden-Surebridge Trail.  I followed that south .35 mile to the trailhead of the Stahahe Brook Trail.  That no longer crosses the brook, the old bridge having washed out. 

I’d been on this trail once before, but only as far as the bridge; the rest was new to me.  After just .75 mile, that trail ends when it comes to the Nurian Trail.

Stahahe Brook-Nurian trail junction

This part of the Nurian Trail also was new to me.  It climbed Green Pond Mt. with several switchbacks and came into the Valley of Boulders (at 9:15 a.m.), which follows a brook running southwest out of Island Pond. 

It was dried up, as it was the last time I descended into the valley looking for water (while camped above Green Pond).  The trail climbs up steeply for .65 mile 

and meets the Dunning Trail above Green Pond.  I stopped for a breather and a snack at 9:49.

I hopped onto the Dunning Trail at 10:05, eastward for .95 mile, descending, then ascending

till it reached the White Bar Trail (10:42 a.m.).  The two trails run together for .25 mile along a ridge.  Where the Dunning breaks off to the east and the White Bar continues north, at 10:55 I met the first people I’d seen all day--a family of 4, also hiking from the Elk Pen but clockwise.

The White Bar ran level for a while, then had ups and downs.  I was getting hungry, and when I found a spot on the trail where I could sit somewhat comfortably, I stopped for lunch, Midday Prayer, and a bit of reading while lunch (sandwich, dried apricots, trail mix, fruit juice) settled.  Almost all of the hike had been in the woods, well shaded, to this point, and as I sat the mosquitoes came around to pester me.  (As long as I was moving, they weren’t a problem.)

I resumed my hike at 11:52, and in 13 minutes came to the end of the White Bar Trail where it comes to the Arden-Surebridge and the Long Path (together very briefly here).  I’d been on the White Bar .9 mile since the Dunning broke off.  15 minutes going west (.25 mile) on the ASB brought me to its junction with the AT just south of the Lemon Squeezer, a narrow cut thru massive rocks.

AT cuts left from ASB thru the gap

Lemon Squeezer

I took a peek and a photo but didn’t squeeze thru.  I’d been there 24 years ago and don’t remember whether I did go thru it then or found a way around it.

I picked up the AT westward there (while the ASB turned south).  In about 10 minutes (.15 mile) Island Pond came into view (12:30) to the left and down.  I followed several footpaths toward the pond 

and saw various spots where many people were lunching, sunning, fishing, or swimming; I couldn’t tell (didn’t try) whether any of them were camping, but there were some obviously fine spots to camp and several fire rings. 

In the center, people fishing

At the boat ramp where Island Pond Road (about .35 mile from the first view) comes down from Arden Valley Rd., I met more than a dozen people in several groups, and there I took a refreshing dip (and one gent took my photo).

I was on my way west again on the AT at 1:45.  I met a good many folks hiking down Green Pond Mt. (or up, depending on which side of the peak).  One couple told me they were planning to camp at the pond.  Another chap, just starting his way up the mountain about 2:50, was an AT thru hiker who told me he’d started in Georgia.  I didn’t try to hold him up with conversation; he looked a bit worn out and had a 4-mile trek ahead of him to the Fingerboard shelter.

Thank you, NY-NJ Trail Conference, for
installing steps on parts of Green Pond Mt.

I hadn’t checked altitude anywhere all day, but when I reached the peak, it was 1,189 feet, compared to the pond’s 970 feet (per the map) and 573 feet at the Elk Pen lot.  From the boat ramp, it’s about 1.1 mile back to the lot, with that 200-foot gain in elevation and then 616-feet descent.  I was back to the lot at 3:00 p.m.  It was packed with vehicles.

Parking lot jammed with cars,
viewed from halfway across the meadow

The total hike was 7 miles, and it took 7 hours including an hour at the pond and the other breaks, which was about what I’d figured (basically, a mile an hour).

29 photos in sequence: Photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/bGA8Gq54IVb

Homily for 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Aug. 10, 2025
Ps 33
Collect
Wis 18: 6-9
Heb 12: 1-2, 8-12
St. Francis Xavier, Bronx
Our Lady of the Assumption, Bronx                

The First Passover (Bible Hub)

“Blessed the nation whose God is the Lord, the people he has chosen for his own inheritance” (Ps 33: 12).

Israel praises God in Psalm 33 in gratitude for his kindness in choosing them to be his very own people, his chosen people.  Ps 33 speaks of Israel as the Lord’s inheritance.  That same word is used in today’s collect, not of God’s people but of what he has planned for his people—not only Israel but all whom he has adopted as his children and thus as his heirs.

God has given us his Holy Spirit, who teaches us that God is our Father, our Father who has adopted us.  Because we possess the Holy Spirit as God’s gift—those are the words used in the sacrament of Confirmation when the bishop anoints you:  “Be sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit”—because of that we’re joined to Jesus, Son of God, as his sisters and brothers.

As God’s children in Christ, we hope to share in his inheritance; in the words of the 2d Eucharistic Prayer, we hope “to be coheirs to eternal life,” the life of Jesus risen from the dead.  We hope to be given a place in God’s household forever.  God promises this to us (collect), not because we deserve it or have earned it but simply because he loves us when the Holy Spirit makes us resemble Jesus.  In Ps 33 we prayed, “May your kindness, O Lord, be upon us who have put our hope in you” (v. 22).

The reading from the Book of Wisdom recalled the formative history of Israel as God’s chosen people.  God “summoned” (18:8) Israel on “the nite of passover” (18:6).  He called them and saved them when the angel of death passed over Egypt and slew all the firstborn except in the Hebrew houses marked with the blood of the passover lamb.  These were “the holy children of the good” (18:9)—children of the good and faithful patriarchs like Abraham (cf. Heb) and ultimately of God himself.

In the New Testament, God chooses new children and makes them holy by their belonging to Christ.  So has he chosen and adopted us, chosen us for eternal life as he chose the Hebrews in Egypt to live and to march out into the freedom of the Promised Land.

If God has chosen us to be his adopted children; if God has made us members of his household; if God desires that we share Jesus Christ’s risen eternal life—then how are we to respond?  The readings give us the clue of “faith.”  We respond with faith.  The Book of Wisdom tells us that God’s people put their faith in “the oaths” (18:6), i.e., the pact or covenant that God made with Abraham to make him the father of a numberless nation; so they “awaited the salvation of the just and the destruction of their foes” (18:7).  The Letter to the Hebrews tells us, “By faith Abraham obeyed” (12:8) and believed in God’s promise.

So, by faith we look to Jesus Christ, risen from the dead to save us from our demonic enemies and from our sins.  By faith we obey what Jesus teaches us and what the Church of Jesus teaches us regarding what we are to believe and how we are to act.  So Jesus proclaims blessed “those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival” (Luke 12:37); blessed are we, his sisters and brothers, who look for his return in glory and, looking for it, live as he and his Church teach us.

Homily for Thursday, Week 18 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Thursday
Week 18 of Ordinary Time

Aug. 7, 2025
Ps 95: 1-2, 6-9
Num 20: 1-13
Matt 16: 13-23
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, N.R.

(by Raphael)

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Resp. Ps.).

The readings and the psalm today present us with a rock of salvation, and both readings show a leader who fails.

Commentators have always been puzzled as to why the Lord was displeased with Moses in the episode concerning the water at Kadesh.  Whatever the reason, God found him unfaithful in showing forth the Lord’s holiness in the eyes of Israel and banned him from entering the Promised Land (Num 20:12).

Even after Jesus designated Simon as the rock foundation of his Church (Matt 16:18), Simon, now Peter the rock, evidently failed to accept God’s plan for our redemption (16:22-23).

Perhaps Moses wasn’t entirely obedient in how he carried out God’s instructions.  Peter certainly had his own ideas about what Jesus should do.  The hardening of human hearts is, as Jesus says, an obstacle to what God wants to do (16:23).

The way to salvation, the only way, is indeed based on the rock of our salvation.  That rock, finally, is Christ, as St. Paul affirms:  “they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ” (1 Cor 10:4).  Our salvation lies in letting God soften, mold, and shape our hearts; in learning to “think as God does” (Matt 16:23) as much as our hard heads allow us to; in “kneeling before the Lord who made us” (Ps 95:6).

"Do whatever He tells You"

“Do whatever He tells you”
Rector Major Unveils the Theme of Strenna 2026

(ANS – Rome – August 5, 2025) – The theme of Strenna 2026 has been officially unveiled by the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, who offers the Salesian Family a detailed and heartfelt overview of this year’s choice and the spiritual journey ahead. The theme, “Do whatever He tells you” – Believers, free to serve, is deeply rooted in the Gospel and the heart of the Salesian charism, inviting every member of the Family to a renewed experience of faith, freedom, and generous service.

Presented at a significant moment for the Salesian world, Strenna 2026 builds on the energy of the Jubilee Year and the reflection inspired by the 2025 Strenna, “Anchored in hope, pilgrims with young people.” Fr. Attard centers the new strenna on Mary’s words at the wedding at Cana (John 2:5), interpreting them as a powerful call to active, trusting, and responsive faith. This is not passive obedience, but a dynamic act of love and courage—an encouragement to listen deeply to Christ and respond with true freedom.

This year’s strenna is particularly meaningful as it coincides with the 150th anniversary of the first Salesian missionary expedition and the founding of the Salesian Cooperators Association. Don Bosco’s example—marked by hope-filled action and attentiveness to the signs of the times—remains a guiding light, capable of bearing witness to the “boldness of faith.” Fr. Attard writes: “Genuine faith is not timid but courageous; it is willing to take risks on behalf of the Kingdom. It is the boldness of those who know they can count not on their own strength but on God’s power.”

Strenna 2026 also emphasizes the importance of “spiritual intelligence” in reading the present moment—recognizing God’s action in history, especially in the lives of young people. This deeply Salesian approach challenges the Family to move from a faith of words to a faith of action, rooted in the Gospel and open to the world’s challenges.

Fr. Attard’s presentation is more than the announcement of a theme; it is an invitation to a personal and community journey. He calls for a faith attentive to God’s presence in history, especially among the young, and insists on the essential link between faith, freedom, and service. “This is the culmination of the entire journey: from being rooted in faith to freedom, from freedom to service, all as a natural expression of the gradual growth of the love received.”

As Strenna 2026 is unveiled, the Salesian Family is invited to walk this path together, reading reality with spiritual intelligence, rooted in the Gospel, and moved by generous service. With this strenna, Fr. Attard urges all to celebrate their heritage and embrace the call to be believers who are truly free to serve, especially the young and those most in need.

The official poster for the 2026 Strenna will be presented to the entire Salesian Family in October.

The full text of Fr. Attard’s presentation is available at ANS (bottom of the page) in Italian, English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese.

Homily for the Dedication of St. Mary Major

Homily for the Memorial of
the Dedication of St. Mary Major

Aug. 5, 2025
Collect
Num 12: 1-13
Matt 14: 22-36
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, N.R.

Jesus saves Peter from the sea

In the collect we asked the Lord to pardon our faults, and we noted that we can’t please him “by our own deeds.”  Then we asked for the intercession of the Mother of Jesus our Lord.

Both readings tell tales of people—good people—trying by their own deeds to accomplish something.  Aaron and Miriam, tho Moses’ siblings, learn that they don’t have the same call to lead Israel that their brother has (Num 12:6-8).  They commit the fault of presumption, like more than a few in our time who presume to correct the Holy Father or to teach as prophets all over the internet.  Peter learns that he can’t keep his footing on the turbulent waters and needs Jesus’ hand to save him (Matt 14:30-31).

In the 1st case, Moses cries to the Lord, interceding for Miriam, and Aaron too asked for his intercession (Num 12:11-13).  We may suppose that Moses’ prayer was heard inasmuch as his brother and sister continued with him on the journey toward the land of Canaan.

In Peter’s case, Jesus caught him and pulled him up when he cried, “Lord, save me!” (14:30).

We ought to know not to challenge the Lord as Aaron and Miriam did, and know not to walk our journey without Jesus’ help.  We can’t please the Lord, i.e., live in grace, by our own deeds.   But sometimes we forget that.  Then our Mother Mary prays for us; we invoke her so often to “pray for us sinners now”—not only “at the hour of our death.”  We’re confident that her intercession is more powerful than Moses’, confident that she desires our safe passage toward the Promised Land almost as much as her Son, our Lord, desires it.

And, like Moses, we take up prayer for our brothers and sisters, God’s people, speaking face to face with the Lord (Num 12:8)—for our confreres, families, pupils, friends, and indeed the whole world.  Jesus calls us, too, to be intercessors.