Homily for Friday of 14th Week of Ordinary Time

Homily for Friday
14th Week of Ordinary Time

July 8, 2022
Matt 10: 16-23
Provincial House, New Rochelle

Jesus cautions us against trusting in human beings:  “beware of men, for they will hand you over to courts” (Matt 10:17).  Rely, instead, on God, who will supply you with the Holy Spirit (10:20).

Don Bosco taught us that.  Altho he turned readily to powerful and wealthy people in the Church and in civil society, he always put God first.  He was single-minded.  He was a priest always, equally in the royal palace and in the homes of the poor.  As we know, he got badly burned by pushing his friend Gastaldi’s promotion too far—a case of trusting in man—and that man did indeed hand him over to court, an ecclesiastical one.

Hearing a coachman's confession

(from Ceria's Don Bosco, illus. by Galizzi)

But generally our Founder was “shrewd as a serpent and simple as a dove” (10:16)—shrewd in a good sense in his dealings with every manner of person:  youngster, cleric, bureaucrat, noble; and simple in his personal habits, his prayer, his straightforward manner, his pursuit of holiness.  He was always ready to speak the Gospel message as prompted by the Holy Spirit:  to kids on the street, to coachmen, to those searching his house, to crowds in Paris.  In his inmost being, God taught him wisdom (Ps 51:8), so that his mouth and his pen ever proclaimed God’s praise (51:17).

Don Bosco remains always for us a model of life and of pastoral practice, demonstrating life as a mystic of the Spirit.  “Let him who is wise understand these things; let him who is prudent know them” (Hos 14:10).

Homily for 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
14th Sunday of Ordinary Time

July 3, 2022
Collect
St. Pius X, Scarsdale

Homily prepared for St. Pius but not delivered on account of illness.

“O God, in the abasement of your Son you have raised up a fallen world” (Collect).

(by Ioannes Moskos)

The collects or opening prayers of the Mass are almost always addressed to God the Father.  That’s quite obvious today in the prayer, which speaks of what God has done and continues to do thru his Son.

The prayer speaks of the Son’s “abasement,” his being brought low.  The Latin word in the prayer is humilitate, “by the humiliation” of the Son.  That word is rooted in the Latin word for “dirt,” humus.  The Son of God has been cast down into the dirt, completely humiliated—to “raise up a fallen world,” says our prayer.

How has God’s Son been abased or brought down?  In 2 ways.  The 1st was in the incarnation, when God the Son came down from heaven and took up our human nature. We proclaim every Sunday in the Creed, “For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven … and became man.”  In his Letter to the Philippians (2:7), St. Paul quotes an ancient hymn that says Christ took on the form of a slave when he came in human likeness, leaving behind all the majesty of God and becoming one of us by birth—can you imagine that the messiness of a human birth is worthy of God?—and then he grew up as a carpenter’s son in a human family in an insignificant village in Galilee.  Can you imagine Princess Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, adopting the role of Cinderella?  St. Augustine has written, “The divine nature could not demean itself any lower than by taking human nature with all its weakness, even to dying on a cross.”[1] 

And there you have the 2d way in which God’s Son was abased:  crucifixion.  Tho innocent and any wrongdoing, he was condemned to a shameful, painful death like a common criminal, like a slave or a murderer, exposed naked to every passer-by and mocked by his enemies.

The Son of God was so humiliated for only one reason:  to raise up a fallen world.  Sin has utterly debased us human beings.  We experience the shame of our sins whenever we come to the sacrament of Reconciliation, in secret, often barely able to whisper what we’ve done or said or failed to do.  Yet by bringing his sinless Person to us, Christ has cleansed us, made us whole, lifted us up alongside himself.

For his story didn’t end on Calvary.  He rose from his grave and ascended to where he’d come from, the throne of God.  He carried our humanity with him; he still bears it with him as he intercedes for us with his Father.  He raised our fallen nature and made it like his own.

We are touched by the grace of God in the sacraments, especially in Baptism, the Eucharist, and Reconciliation.  By God’s grace we have a destiny of “eternal gladness,” rescued from our slavery to sin and becoming, as St. Paul says, “a new creation” (Gal 6:15).  We prayed in the collect that God “fill [his] faithful with holy joy,” for thru his Son’s abasement he has “rescued [us] from slavery to sin,” granted us freedom as members of his own household, adopted us as his own children.

Alongside our Lord Jesus Christ, risen and ascended, God has planned a place for us in the heavenly kingdom, where we'll be ever joyful, eternally happy and at peace with the Holy Trinity, the saints, and all of humanity.

---

[1] LOH 3:441.

100th Anniversary of Salesian Boys' and Girls' Club

100th Anniversary of Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club in San Francisco

By Frank Lavin, Salesian Cooperator, former Club member and past board president

(ANS – San Francisco – June 30, 2022) – On Saturday, June 18, the Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in San Francisco celebrated its 100th anniversary. Fr. Mel Trinidad, provincial of the SDB U.S. Western Province, presided at Mass for the feast of Corpus Christi assisted by pastor Fr. Tho Bui, SDB, before the evening celebration. Highlights of the evening included a reunion of sorts of over 450 former Club members and friends, performances by the Club youth’s theatrical group, and the premiere of a 40-minute video documentary chronicling the Club’s rich history.

Likely the oldest living former Club member, Fr. Armand Oliveri, SDB, enjoyed the evening and the “shout out” and applause given to him. The current Club directors, Randal De Martini and Sherri Hughston, are both Club alumni with Mr. De Martini ministering there for over 40 years. Former director Russ Gumina, who served for almost 50 years, was coincidentally on a pilgrimage to Salesian holy places in Italy and prayed for the Club at Don Bosco’s tomb during the festivities. Many past pupils enjoyed visiting their FMA teachers at the celebration; the FMAs have served at the parish school since 1950.

The Salesians came to North America at Sts. Peter and Paul in 1897 (so are celebrating 125 years this year). After many requests from the San Francisco archbishops, starting with Bp. Joseph Alemany, O.P., during Don Bosco’s lifetime, Blessed Michael Rua assented to Archbishop Riordan’s request and sent the first group of Salesians to minister to the Italian immigrant community. At the time Italian youths accounted for over 60% of juvenile delinquency in the city.

Over time, youth activities such as athletics, dramatics, and Scouting, in addition to catechetical and educational instruction gave Boys’ a positive direction under the care of those early Salesians. By 1921, an official Boys’ Club was born with a full-time director, Angelo Fusco, under the supervision of Fr. Oreste Trinchieri, SDB. Over the next 100 years, the Club would boast an unbelievable record of accomplishment in developing young boys into community leaders, successful businessmen, devoted Catholic fathers and husbands, and loyal Club benefactors.

Quite a number of Salesian vocations sprang from the Club during the 1930s to 1950s especially. Although an official girls club ran alongside its big brother oratory, the “wandering girls’ oratory” was finally folded into it, and the Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club became a reality in 1994. Today the Club has over 600 youth members and is doing the same activities with kids since its founding: athletics, theater, educational support, a safe place for kids to congregate, accompanied by devoted lay ministers, many of whom are former Club kids themselves.

Last year, the club awarded over $250,000 in scholarships to approximately 50 members to assist with grammar, high school, and college tuition assistance. The Salesian Center at Sts. Peter and Paul Church has a lively parish, a grammar school, and oratory (Club) and is deeply rooted in the San Francisco community.

Photos: Salesian Boys’ and Girls’ Club

 

Homily for Memorial of St. Irenaeus

Homily for the Memorial of
St. Irenaeus

June 28, 2022
Collect
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Home, New Rochelle

“You called the Bishop St. Irenaeus to confirm true doctrine and peace in the Church” (Collect).

(Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate, Guelph, Ont.)

Irenaeus, the 2d bishop of Lyons, primatial see of France, was recently declared a doctor of the Church because of his writings in defense of true doctrine, as mentioned in the collect.

The collect also mentions his work for the peace of the Church, which is, besides, a play on his name, which comes from the Greek word for peace, irene.  Irenaeus was a Greek from Smyrna in Asia Minor, where he’d been a disciple of St. Polycarp, who in turn was a disciple of St. John the Apostle.  Thus Irenaeus received the apostolic preaching of the Church, its true doctrine, and became its staunch defender.

The peace of the Church depends upon true doctrine, as we know.  The Church is repeatedly disturbed and torn apart by false teaching, from St. Paul’s battles against Judaizers thru the Reformation up till our current rantings in social media over the Tridentine Mass, reception of holy Communion, and whatever Pope Francis has said most recently.

In the 2d century, one issue that roiled the Church was a disagreement over when to celebrate Easter.  The Eastern churches thought it should always be on Passover, whenever that fell in the calendar.  The West preferred Sunday, day of the Lord’s resurrection.  On behalf of Pope Victor I, Irenaeus—well situated as a Greek ministering in the West—mediated that and helped the Church settle on Sunday.  Thus also God used Irenaeus to confirm the peace of the Church.

But Irenaeus’s main claim to fame—to being a Father of the Church and, now, a doctor, is his writings in defense of true doctrine, especially Adversus Haereses (Latin title but written in Greek).  In his time those known as Gnostics were teaching that 2 principles ruled the world, one good and one evil, all matter was evil.  Further, only a select few, an elite, could learn true religion (this seems to be the form of Gnosticism that Pope Francis is still denouncing).  Irenaeus upheld the goodness of everything that God created, God’s supremacy over evil, and everyone’s ability to attain true religion and be saved.  This was the apostolic faith that he’d learned as a youth.

From his contact with the Roman Church, Irenaeus knew that the apostolic faith was anchored by Rome’s teaching, based on the faith of Peter and Paul.  On that basis, Irenaeus “fostered unity and concord,” as the collect said.

Like Irenaeus, we hold to God’s universal salvation attained thru Christ.  Holiness is for everyone, not a select few.  And we find in the Roman Church, whether guided by John Paul II or by Francis, the preservation of apostolic faith and unity.  May the grace of Jesus preserve us all in unity and true faith.

Homily for 13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Homily for the
13th Sunday of Ordinary Time

June 26, 2022
Gal 5: 1, 13-18
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery” (Gal 5: 1).

In a couple of weeks, we’ll celebrate Independence Day—with parades, outdoor recreation, barbecues, and fireworks.  Freedom is worth celebrating!

The Scriptures today show us examples of freedom.  Jesus sets out from Galilee toward Jerusalem, “resolutely determined” to go toward the fate that awaits him there, not afraid of his enemies and not slowed down by his less-than-wholehearted disciples.  He’s firmly committed to his teaching of mercy toward those who resist him and resolved that anyone who would follow him be totally committed (Luke 9:51-62).

God has directed the prophet Elijah to call Elisha to follow him.  Elisha listens to Elijah with total commitment, burning his farming tools, sacrificing his oxen, and saying farewell to his parents—all so as to go freely and completely with Elijah (1 Kings 19:16,19-21).

St. Paul urges the Christians of the province of Galatia in what is now central Turkey to “live by the Spirit” (5:16), to give themselves completely to Christ.  “You were called to freedom” (5:13), he reminds them.  Christ died to set us free from slavery to the Devil so that we can enter the kingdom of heaven.  The Devil exercises his power over us thru what Paul calls “the desire of the flesh” (5:16), desire that gives way to evil works, desire that enslaves us, desire that leads not to life but to death.

When Paul speaks of the flesh, he doesn’t mean only our bodies.  Sexual desires and sins might be the 1st thing we think of.  But notice how he chides the Galatians against “biting and devouring one another” (5:15).  Desires of the flesh include gossip and backstabbing, boastfulness and arrogance, resentment and seeking revenge.  The “flesh” includes all the deadly sins:  greed and anger, pride and sloth, gluttony and envy, as well as lust.

The 7 deadly sins (Bosch)

We know of people consumed by addictions, perhaps to drugs, alcohol, gambling, reckless spending, as well as to pornography, womanizing, and forms of sexual deviancy.  Right now we’re in Pride Month, a national frenzy celebrating people who are proud of their deviancy and demand public approval of it.  Someone addicted to drugs or anything else, or committed to sinful behavior isn’t free.  He or she is enslaved to evil.

All of us are sinners, of course.  All of us fall into—or maybe leap into—sin from time to time.  We feel rotten when we do, somewhat enslaved to those 7 deadly sins.  We need Christ’s grace to forgive us, set us free, set us again on the road toward heaven.

That’s different from glorying in our sin or not even recognizing it, from making our sinfulness into virtue in our minds, our words, and our behavior.  Making sin into virtue happens in many ways—ways of giving oneself over to “the flesh.”  LGBTQ pride is one form.  Acclaiming abortion as “health care” and “reproductive freedom” is another form.  The 1987 movie Wall Street proclaimed “greed is good,” and a lot of people give their lives to accumulate money; it’s another form of deviancy.  Demanding control over human life thru the use of stem cells, thru in vitro fertilization, thru surrogate motherhood, and over death thru euthanasia or assisted suicide are forms of making ourselves into God—the original sin put before us in the 3d chapter of Genesis.

The Spirit of Christ aims to set us free.  Who’s the truly free person?  St. Paul urges us to “serve one another thru love” (5:13).  No one is freer than someone who’s in love with God and with his sisters and brothers, eager to assist them and walk with them the way Jesus walked with his disciples.  Think of the freedom of St. Francis or Dorothy Day.  In Galatians ch. 5 Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit or the outcomes of our living in the Spirit rather than in the flesh:  not only love but also joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (5:22-23).  Don’t we all want to live that way and to live with other people who practice those virtues?  Isn’t that liberating?  It’s Christ-like, and it’s what God created us for.  “For you were called for freedom, brothers and sisters.”

Treated by the Dutch Doctor

Treated by the Dutch Doctor

On June 22-24 I went out camping with Fr. Jim Mulloy in Harriman State Park:  https://link.shutterfly.com/Tms03ANl9qb.

Our original intent was to tent camp at Island Pond, but the weather forecast of rain caused us to switch to Dutch Doctor shelter, a short hike on the White Bar Trail (45 minutes) from the parking lot at the end of Johnsontown Road, and with water nearby. The shelter takes its name from John Frederick Helms, the "Old Dutch Doctor," who lived near the site from 1874 to about 1892, according to Harriman Trails, p. 146.

Other than a small group of Korean day hikers we saw at the parking lot, we encountered only 4 other hikers on Wednesday, not a soul on Thursday, and 2 day hikers at 7:00 a.m. on Friday--but heard a few voices in the woods, apparently coming from the Tuxedo-Mt. Ivy Trail, which crosses the White Bar a short distance away from the shelter.

The shelter has at least half a dozen good campsites around it--several of which still had rope for bear bags hanging high from tree limbs (a different style of bear-bagging than I use).

Following advice about bears, I hung our bag

about 50 yards away from the shelter.

As usual, Fr. Jim fetched water (choosing to hike to Lake Sebago to do that, and to explore the ADK camp there), while I cut firewood.  He also set up his hammock and took a nap, but he didn't dare try to use it overnite.

It did indeed rain--lightly for 45 minutes in the afternoon and heavily in the middle of Wednesday nite. In the morning we found out that the roof leaked a little, just missing me but leaving little puddles on the tarp next to me and dampening the foot of my sleeping bag and pad (not enuf to notice till morning). It took all day in Thursday's dampness to dry out the tarp, pad, and bag--helped mightily when the sun finally came out late, toasty warm, in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, there was a heavy rain from 1:00 to 1:45 p.m., during which I hiked on an unmarked trail to and from Lake Skenonto, just to verify the trail (a shorter, flatter trip to the lake than staying on 2 marked trails that also have a lot of elevation).

From opposite sides of the fire, 

both Fr. Jim and I took photos of burritos on the grill.

We grilled burritos for Wednesday supper, supplemented by cheese, crackers, nuts, trail mix, apricots. My Thursday supper was freeze dried chicken with risotto plus nuts and apricots. Had cheese and crackers for one lunch and PB&J sandwich for another. Fr. Jim basically skips lunch.

After Fr. Jim left for home on Thursday morning (he had duties there), it was like a day of recollection for me--a quiet day of reading and prayer besides that short hike and campsite chores. I hadn't brought enuf reading with me--finished off 2 magazines and plus 2 Magnificat readings.

Set up for Mass on Thursday morning

So that was our adventure with the "Old Dutch Doctor."

Ushering Nepalese Women toward Livelihoods

Ushering Nepalese Women toward Livelihoods

(ANS – Kathmandu, Nepal – June 21, 2022) – The empowerment of local women has always been an important concern for Don Bosco Institute in the Thecho district of Kathmandu. The institute reached a milestone of training its 22nd batch of tailoring and 18th batch of beautician courses by June 2022. The students of these batches graduated on June 16.

The graduation day of these batches was marked by the visit of the newly elected mayor of Mahalaxmi Municipality, Hari Gobinda Shrestha, a friend since the founding of the institution. Mr. Shrestha addressed the students to use fully their training and skill. He also expressed his happiness at the institute’s imparting this training at an affordable cost to the women, who are mostly local. The women received their certificates on this day.

The graduation program consisted of a few cultural songs and dances and the outpouring of thanks and gratitude to the trainers and the institute by the students. On this occasion, Fr. Binu Jacob, rector and principal of the neighboring Don Bosco Lubhu house, was welcomed and felicitated by Thecho’s rector, Fr. Augusty Pulickal, while Bro. Philip Xavier, director of the institute, had organized the program very efficiently.

The tailoring students are offered a sewing machine at a very concessional rate, so that they can begin an enterprise on their own.

Don Bosco Institute has trained about 600 students in tailoring and 310 students in beautician courses.

The Salesian presence in Nepal, entrusted to the care of the Calcutta Province of India, promotes the education of poor young people through 4 canonically erected works and a combined total of 9 different centers, scattered in the central-eastern and far western regions of the country. The Salesians arrived in Nepal in the 1890s and as a first step started a secondary school in Siddhipur, a village in Lalitpur district. Today there are about 20 SDBs coming from different provinces in India, and in addition to their commitment to education and social development and their bearing witness to Christian life, they have made themselves well-liked by the population and local authorities for their valuable services in reconstruction after the terrible earthquakes in the spring of 2015, which caused thousands of casualties and huge damage, and for their support to Covid-19 patients during the hardest phase of the pandemic.

Homily for Memorial of Immaculate Heart of Mary

Homily for the Memorial of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary

June 25, 2022
Luke 2: 41-51
Provincial House, New Rochelle

“His mother kept all these things in her heart” (Luke 2: 51).

Finding of the Savior in the Temple

(William H. Hunt)

What things did the mother of Jesus take to heart?  The focus of this familiar story, of course, is Jesus.  In short form, she takes Jesus to her heart, as she’s done since his conception (cf. Luke 2:19).

1st, Jesus recognizes his true Father and wants to be where his Father is and do what his Father wants.  “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (2:49), or in an alternate, equally valid translation, “Did you not know that I must be about my Father’s business?” (thus Rheims and JB).

Assuredly, Mary must have kept in her heart this knowledge of who her son was, to whom he really belonged.  Altho she didn’t know how God’s plan would develop, the plan told her in general terms by Gabriel, she was ready for whatever that might be.

2d, Jesus displays astounding understanding in his dialogs with the teachers in the temple—the scribes, the teachers of Torah.  It bespeaks the kind of upbringing the boy had already received at home in Nazareth—how important faith and Torah were in that household.  Years later, Jesus’ skeptical neighbors would ask, “Where did this man get all this?” (Mark 6:2).  Some of it was from his native intelligence and talents, as it is with any of us, and part of it was from the hearts of his mother and foster father.

The boy’s interactions with the teachers of the Law also bespeaks Jesus’ own focus in life:  to ask questions of the learned men and to offer his own observations.  He was “listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him were astounded at his understanding and his answers” (2:46-47).  We recognize Jesus as “the wisdom of God”—the title comes from St. Paul (1 Cor 1:24)—and his wisdom rests, of course, on his divine Personhood, but in human terms on his love for and mastery of Torah and all that the Lord had done for his people thru the ages, and his desire to focus his own life on all that.  Obviously, Mary and Joseph hadn’t witnessed the boy’s interactions with the teachers during those days.  We may reasonably suppose that some of those men informed the couple of what had been going on—and gave Mary a lot of food for thought, a lot of things to keep in her heart.

3d, we note that Mary and Joseph found Jesus “sitting in the midst of the teachers” (2:46).  God’s Son descended from his Father’s side and “pitched his tent among us,” in St. John’s evocative phrase (1:14)—note the endorsement of camping!  Thruout his public life Jesus would surround himself with people—the 12, the holy women who followed him and provided for them (Luke 8:1-3), and other disciples.  God’s Son wants to be in the midst of people, wants to be with us—not a distant Redeemer but one marked by accompaniment.  “When 2 or 3 gather together in my name, I’m there in their midst” (Matt 18:20).  He got his initiation into human closeness from his earthly parents and his “brothers and sisters,” his kin, at Nazareth (6:3).

Mary “kept all these things in her heart.”  The collect this morning calls her heart “a fit dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.”  It was fertile soil for her reflections on Jesus as she watched him mature, as she listened to his preaching, as she became the center of the disciples gathered in the upper room after his ascension.  St. Augustine says so aptly that Mary conceived God’s Word in her heart before she conceived him in her womb.  So she was ready for the Holy Spirit, ready for Jesus.

The collect prays that, with Mary interceding for us, “we may be worthy temples of [God’s] glory.”  Our worthiness comes from imitating her:  from keeping God’s Word in our hearts and, like her, letting our hearts lead us to act on the Word.

Homily for Tuesday, 12th Week of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
12th Week of Ordinary Time

June 21, 2022
2 Kings 19: 9-11, 14-21, 31-36
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph Residence, New Rochelle

“You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth” (2 Kings 19: 15).

Sennacherib bas-relief. Photo by Timo Roller - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39985581

2 Kings 18-19, just a little of which appears in our lectionary, provides us with accounts of the Assyrian assault on the kingdom of Judah, part of a broad campaign to subdue the rebellious western provinces of their brutal empire.  These chapters contrast the arrogance of the Assyrians with the Jews’ humble reliance on the Lord.   According to the boasting of Sennacherib, numbers, military might, and siege works make him lord of the earth; he mocks the powerless gods of the nations, including the God of Israel.

King Hezekiah of Judah—one of the few kings recognized in our Scriptures as devout and upright—prays to the Lord for deliverance, and the Lord sends Isaiah to announce his answer:  Jerusalem laughs at the power of Assyria (19:21), and Sennacherib will be forced to retreat (19:28).  Today’s last verse recounts how a plague of some sort devastated the Assyrian camp and compelled them to go home (19:35-36).  The Lord proved himself more powerful than a mighty army and the gods of Nineveh.  Lord Byron tells this tale in a magnificent 6-stanza poem, “The Destruction of Sennacherib.”

Every government and many scientists, businessmen, scholars, journalists, and others who shape public opinion and public policy fall into the temptations of Assyria:  to think that wisdom and power come from armies, money, study, laboratories, and “expertise.”  You may remember David Halberstam’s book about how The Best and the Brightest technocrats and academics led us into the Vietnam War and couldn’t get us out of it.

The Jewish experience and Jesus’ teachings tell us something else.  Russia is the latest empire to face this issue and seems no readier than Assyria to learn from it.  Western society has our own lessons to learn, our own ways in which we pretend to wisdom, usurp the ways of the Creator:  seeking salvation in weapons, reproductive technology, perversions of sexuality, decisions about life and death.

Hezekiah (Wikipedia)

Your role as teachers was once to try to impart authentic wisdom to the young—the wisdom of Hezekiah and Isaiah—by which to guide their lives and influence their families and their careers.  Now your role is to pray like Hezekiah for your past pupils, which you do, and for our national and international leaders and all who shape mores and policies.  It’s a lot!  Join Hezekiah’s plea:  “Lord our God, save us from the power of [human beings], that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, O Lord, are God” (19:19).

Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

Homily for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi

June 19, 2022
Luke 9: 11-17
1 Cor 11: 23-26
St. Joseph Church, New Rochelle, N.Y.

Multiplication of the Loaves and Fish

(Ambrosius Francken)

“The 12 approached him and said, ‘We’re in a deserted place here.’  He said to them, ‘Give them some food yourselves’” (Luke 9: 12-13).

Jesus has spent a day teaching and healing—2 ways in which he reveals the kingdom of God, 2 ways in which he delivers salvation “to the crowds” (9:11).  Now the day’s ending, it’s getting dark, and the apostles tell Jesus to send the crowds off to fend for themselves.  It’s an image of his followers’ situation after his ascension.  The crowds of his disciples would be “in a deserted place,” a world without their teacher and master, abandoned, left on their own.

Except that’s not how Jesus left them, how he’s left us.  He told the apostles to organize the crowds:  “Have them sit down in groups of about 50” (9:14)—and then to give them food.  Inspired by the Holy Spirit whom Jesus left to his disciples (which we celebrated 2 weeks ago on Pentecost), the disciples organized themselves to continue Jesus’ mission of announcing the kingdom of God.  That’s how the Church was born; that’s what the Church does; that’s why the Church is organized and isn’t just a loose collection of people, a crowd of individuals.

And the Church feeds the followers of Christ—feeds us with Jesus Christ himself under the appearance of bread and wine—bread foreshadowed by Jesus’ multiplication of the loaves in that deserted place.  He blessed that bread, broke those loaves, “and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowds” (9:16), so much that there was a superabundance.  At every celebration of the Eucharist, the priest acts in the person of Christ—note that he always pronounces, “This is my body … this is my blood,” not “This is his body … this is his blood,” because it’s Christ who is speaking, Christ who is acting, Christ who is blessing, breaking, and giving the bread and wine that have become not bread and wine but his very Body and Blood.

In our deserted place, this world that sometimes seems to barren and hopeless, in which sometimes we feel lost and overwhelmed, Jesus, thru his Church, still feeds us.  He’s never left us alone in the dark, never abandoned us.  We have a superabundance of his presence in the Holy Eucharist, the feast of his Body and Blood.

That’s how it’s been since the 1st days of the Church.  Our 2d reading was from one of St. Paul’s letters to the Christian community at Corinth in Greece.  He wrote that letter in the mid-50s A.D.—only 25 years after Christ’s death and resurrection, 25 years after the Last Supper, “the nite he was handed over,” the nite on which Jesus “took bread, and after he had given thanks, broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me”; and likewise with a cup of wine (11:23-25).  Paul continues, teaching us that every time we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes (11:26).  He will come again because he is alive, and when we remember his Body and Blood, he is present among us, he is with us, as much as he was with the 12 at the Last Supper, as much as he was with 2 other disciples at Emmaus when he blessed, broke, and gave them bread as they sat down for supper (Luke 24:30).

This bread and this wine become his actual Body and Blood, no longer bread and wine but only appearing so.  A friend of 20-century Catholic writer Flannery O’Connor once described the Eucharist to her as a “pretty good symbol.”  O’Connor responded, “If it’s just a symbol, to hell with it.”  It would be useless for our salvation.  It’s not a symbol on our altar, not a commemoration like many Americans will be celebrating today if they read the Emancipation Proclamation, celebrating the freedom announced to slaves in Texas on Juneteenth (June 19, 1865).

No, the Eucharist doesn’t represent Jesus Christ, merely making us think of him but otherwise not touching our lives.  It is Jesus Christ, and thru it he touches us with healing, with grace, with his saving life, death, and resurrection.  That’s why Sunday Mass is essential to us as his disciples.

That’s why St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians continues (in the verses after what we read here), “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.  A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup.  For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself” (11:27-29).  It is Jesus Christ whom we approach at Communion, Jesus Christ whom we consume.  If we don’t recognize that, or if we come forward without repenting our sins, then we are despising Jesus Christ, and we eat his Body blasphemously.  That’s why some bishops have given solemn warnings to politicians who advocate for the slaughter of unborn human beings, which is as grave a sin as one can commit.  Unborn lives matter!  Those bishops, therefore, are challenging the sacrilegious communions of pro-abortion politicians—and anyone who’s pro-abortion—and calling for them to repent.

If we are repentant sinners, tho—and we’re all sinners, it’s just a question of our turning to Jesus in sorrow—then he invites us to come to him.  “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed” (Communion Rite).  He comes to us in person with salvation, with grace, with the promise of eternal life.

Salesian Missionary Volunteers

Salesian Missionary Volunteers

Advisory Board Meets for First Time

(ANS – Turin – June 16, 2022) - The Salesian Missionary Volunteer (SMV) Advisory Board met in Valdocco from May 31 to June 9 to draw up the first strategic plan to promote SMV in the Salesian Congregation.

There is only one Salesian charism and, following the wings of the Spirit, it is embodied in every context, respecting and enriching it. A privileged expression of this dynamism is missionary volunteerism, that is, when young persons decide to spend part of their life in a place other than home by putting themselves at the service of a Salesian work, guided by the community that welcomes them and prepared by a specific training course before departure.

Following Don Bosco’s example, the Salesians have always cherished such experiences and continue to promote them throughout the Salesian world. Following the publication of the handbook “Volunteering in the Salesian Mission” in 2019, some lay volunteer coordinators in their provinces began to gather periodically to share the challenges and joys of their work, and gradually the Salesian sectors for missions and youth ministry joined forces to initiate a broader reflection on Salesian missionary volunteerism. Thus the SMV Advisory Board was born: a very fine example of a shared mission between lay and consecrated people and full collaboration between youth ministry and mission animation.

Team members at the moment are Fr. Pavel Zenisek and Marco Fulgaro, members of the sector for missions; Fr. Rafael Bejarano Rivera, member of the sector for youth ministry; Juan Carlos Montenegro from the U.S. Western Province; Lauren Hichaaba from the Australia-Pacific Province; and Adam Rudin from the U.S. East and Canada Province.

After two years of online meetings, with flexible schedules due to time zones (6 a.m. in Australia, 10 p.m. in Italy), the advisory board met for the first time in person in Valdocco, from May 31 to June 9. They were 10 days of very intense work, out of which came the strategic plan draft for the coming years to strengthen SMV at the congregational level. Four areas were identified after discussion with the provinces, through 2 surveys and several personal interviews, and after reflection by the team: collaboration and networking, formation, accompaniment, and development. For each of these areas, several objectives were identified, with activities to be put into practice counting on the help of many different actors in the Salesian world.

The work was accompanied by the general councilors for youth ministry and for missions, Fr. Miguel Angel Garcia Morcuende and Fr. Alfred Maravilla, in line with the planning of the sectors, in which there are several indications of volunteerism.

Furthermore, the reflection was broadened by sharing with all the regional councilors, who expressed their vision of SMV within the countries belonging to each of the 7 regions of the Salesian Congregation, and by a discussion with the sector team for formation.

“May this work bear fertile fruit for the benefit of so many young people and Salesian communities around the world!” is the wish of the members of the SMV Advisory Board after this intense period of engagement.

Homily for Friday, Week 11 of Ordinary Time

Homily for Friday
11th Week of Ordinary Time

June 17, 2022
Matt 6: 19-23
2 Kings 11:1-4, 9-18, 20
Salesian HS, New Rochelle, N.Y.

“Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth’” (Matt 6: 19).

In the 1st reading the Scriptures show us the example of a wicked queen who sought earthly treasure, or at least power, to the point of murdering the entire royal family except for one child who was hidden.  History provides many such examples, right up to today, of rulers, business people, and others who pursue wealth, power, or some other objective at any cost, causing immense personal and social destruction—e.g., thru violence or environmental devastation.

The Sermon on the Mount (Cosimo Rosselli)

Christ teaches us something different.  He reminds us that earthly wealth, as well as power, pleasure, and fame, is fragile, temporary, passing.  It might be lost or stolen or disappear at any time.  Power can be taken away.  Money can be robbed or lost thru bad investments.  Beauty and strength fade with time.

What remains?  What can we really count on?  Jesus speaks of “treasures in heaven,” and he says these treasures can be “stored up” (Matt 6:20).  These are all the acts of love we’ve carried out—he speaks of our hearts (6:21)—all the loving words we’ve spoken, all the prayers we’ve offered, all the sacrifices we’ve made on behalf of Christ.

All our faithfulness to Jesus our Savior he counts in our favor, little treasures he puts to our heavenly account—so that when we pass from this world into eternity and leave behind all that the world thinks is important, Jesus will greet us at his door:  “Well done, good and faithful servant.  Come and share your lord’s joy” (Matt 25:21).  If we’ve given Jesus our heart on earth, his heart will be ours forever.

Homily for Tuesday, 11th Week of Ordinary Time

Homily for Tuesday
11th Week of Ordinary Time

June 14, 2022
1 Kings 21: 17-29
Christian Brothers, St. Joseph’s Residence, New Rochelle

Elijah confronts Ahab & Jezebel in Naboth's vineyard

(Thomas Matthews Rook)

Yesterday’s reading and today’s narrate the story of Naboth, Ahab, and Elijah.  Naboth is an upright man who follows Torah.  Ahab is an oppressive monarch who has no concern for Torah.  He’s followed false gods, and now he murders someone who stands in his way, abetted by his idolatrous wife.  Like Nathan confronting David, Elijah comes to reproach the king and pronounce judgment.

God doesn’t tolerate rival gods, as we saw last week in the story of the prophets of Baal.  Nor does he tolerate social injustice, putting one’s property or power above one’s fidelity to himself.  He sides with the poor and the powerless.  His prophets remind us of that, of our religious obligations to him, and of our social bonds to one another—prophets like Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa in our own time.

Pope Francis, like St. John Paul before him, also has been a prophetic voice constantly reminding us of these truths.  He challenges us religious, e.g., to be faithful to our charism and our calling, and he challenges the world at large regarding the poor and the powerless, for example concerning war, migrants, the environment, the oppression of women and children thru trafficking and pornography, abortion and God’s plan for sexuality, care for the victims of disasters and violence.

We try to be sensitive to such concerns and to be faithful to our commitments as religious.  We know that we always stand under God’s judgment, like Ahab.  Each day the Word of God, like Elijah, meets us with a measurement of our words and actions, even our thoughts and attitudes—not so much regarding people on the other side of the world as the brothers in our own house and the sisters who attend us.

Don Bosco's Dream for Laos Takes Shape

Don Bosco’s Dream for Laos Takes Shape

Collaboration between Lao Youth Union and the Salesians

(ANS – Vientiane, Laos – June 13, 2022) - On Thursday, June 9, at the headquarters of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union, the Phase IV Agreement between the Salesian Society of Thailand Foundation and the Youth Development Department of the Lao Youth Union was officially signed. Signing the agreement were Piya Yathotoo, on behalf of the Lao Youth Union, and, on the Salesian side, Fr. John Bosco Dheparat Pitisant, SDB provincial of Thailand. The Salesian presences in Laos and Cambodia depend on the Thai Province. The signing ceremony was also attended by Fr. Patrizio Maccioni, director of the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center, and Fr. John Paul Vu Van Trung, treasurer, as Salesian representatives.

The ceremony was introduced by a speech by Fr. Dheparat, followed by that of the secretary general of the Lao Youth Union, Monchai Laomuasong.

“We hope that this signing ceremony of the Phase IV Agreement will continue to make Don Bosco’s dream for Laos a reality,” say the Thai Salesians.

The Salesian province of Thailand first signed a cooperation agreement with the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union in 2008. Subsequently, the agreement was renewed three times for the periods 2008-2009, 2010-2014 and 2016-2021.

The work of the Salesians in Laos began under the good auspices of Mary Help of Christians on May 24, 2004, under the leadership of Italian missionary Fr. Tito Pedron. Don Bosco’s spiritual sons began their work simply by repairing small vehicles: an activity that was carried out by 5 young Laotian men who had studied at the Don Bosco Technological College in Bangkok, Thailand.

Later, this work expanded and became the Don Bosco Vocational Training Center at its present location. The house was canonically erected on January 17, 2019, and now forms a community of Fr. Maccioni as director, Fr. Vu Van Trung as treasurer, and Fr. John Baptist Huy Huang.

The center offers courses in electricity, automotive mechanics, motorcycle repair, and welding. In this first semester of 2022, 56 boys attended, 38 of whom boarding students. Eight are Catholics.

Nine Salesians Ordained Deacons

Nine Salesians Ordained Deacons

(ANS – Jerusalem – June 13, 2022) – On June 12, at the Church of All Nations in Gethsemane, Abp. Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM, Patriarch of Jerusalem, ordained 9 young Salesians from the Salesian Monastery of Ratisbonne as deacons. The newly ordained deacons belong to eight different Salesian provinces: Delhi, Guwahati, Zambia, United States East, Lombardy-Emilia, Sicily, Africa Great Lakes, and Papua New Guinea-Solomon Islands. 

The new deacon from the U.S. is Bro. Joshua Sciullo, at the far left among the newly ordained in the photo.  Bro. Josh will spend the summer at the Salesian parish of St. Benedict in Etobicoke, Ont., beginning to learn how to minister to the people of God as a deacon.  For the coming school year, he'll be assigned to the formation community in Orange, N.J., continuing to serve as a deacon at Our Lady of the Valley Church and to finish his theological studies at Immaculate Conception Seminary in South Orange.

The solemn ceremony was also attended by Fr. Alfred Maravilla, general councilor for Missions, Fr. Alejandro Leon Mendoza, provincial of the Middle East, Fr. Erino Andrea Leoni, vice provincial from Lombardy, Fr. Francesco di Natale, vice provincial of Sicily, and Fr. David Moreno, U.S. East provincial secretary.