In one of our little conversations at coffee after dinner (and believe me, these conversations are little because Italian coffee fills a thimble, and not a mug), a few of my professor-type colleagues were telling me about places in Italy where the Salesians always brought teenagers for summer experiences… how those same youths fell in love with those places and decided to move there to start their families.There are villages in the Alps, for example, where a good percentage of the population are past pupils of the Salesian youth centers and schools of Torino.
Well this makes perfect sense. I know that there is something similar that happened in California. A lot of those who went to Camp St Francis or to St Francis School, who came from other parts of California, decided to settle there once they had the possibility to do so as adults. I think there were many good memories from their Salesian days that fueled this choice. And, if I really want to consider this, a number of the men at St Dominic Savio Parish in Bellflower when I was growing up had grown up with the Salesians in Los Angeles (Our Lady Help of Christians Parish) or in Niagara Falls (St Joseph Parish) or in Paterson (St Anthony Parish). When they were looking for homes for their families after World War II, they purposely chose to live in Bellflower to be close to the Salesians. In other words, man past pupils of the Salesians built homes for their families near to the places where they lived wonderful summers in youth programs, or moved close to other Salesian centers so that their children might have the same opportunities. Amazing. There are so many past pupils living close to Salesian communities, and choosing to do so, on purpose! Imagine if we organized!
Certainly it has been to our sadness for decades that religious communities are shrinking. Every time somebody tells us that a change is around the corner, it never comes.Monterey Bay seen from Camp St Francis
It was during the year of my first profession, 1968, that the Salesians began to decline in number. 40 years of profession and 40 years of decline. It used to really concern me when I worked as vocation director and in charge of initial formation. All efforts came to nothing. Then, about 15 years ago, I came to the conclusion that my lifetime is one of transition. I better just get used to it, I resolved. No consolation in any of that, but I have decided not to let it discourage me. That religious life will emerge under a new form is almost all I can say, but will I ever see it? I don’t know. The good times will come. I have not seen them and perhaps will never see them… but they are coming.
In the meantime, it just seems important to ground others in the Salesian spirit, trusting that the Holy Spirit will not take away God’s good gifts that have already been given to the world and to the Church.
That is why I am here in at the Università Pontificia Salesiana in Rome: to help with the charismatic and spiritual formation of young Salesian leaders from the five continents.
That is why I continue to work at Don Bosco Hall in Berkeley: to help do the same with Salesian Family members from English-speaking countries, and with lay members of the Salesian Family from our own cities.
There has been starts and stops; there have been political manuevers and power plays; there has been pride and prejudice. All that used to baffle me; now it just makes me weary. There is no time for that sort of thing. Beyond all of that, I still have to trust that the Holy Spirit will not take away those good gifts that have been given.
What I say here is superficial… but then, the cup of coffee is very small in Italy. We had time to get charged up on the topic, but not to delve more deeply. For that we would have needed a mug of coffee... but how much caffeine would that have put inside us? As it is, we are left with a good taste in our mouths and some energy to tackle this issue.
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