Our annual retreat comes to an end today. Every morning has been dedicated to a conference and reflection time; every afternoon we visited the different places of the life of Francis de Sales, and had little explanations in the places. Five of my students are on this retreat, and so they know a lot of the details, but they are very happy to see the actual places. However I realize that the vast majority of the Salesians participating in this week have no idea about Francis de Sales. So, between the talks of Fr Morand Wirth and Fr Jozef Strus', I fill in some background for some of the Indians (like, what is the Introduction to the Devout Life, and what are the Calvinists). We are talking some very basic information, because they are really clueless about Francis de Sales (and pretty clueless about Don Bosco too, as I found out in the four short hours that we were in Valdocco). So, I've told them they should come and do the ISS course (yeah, as if!).
Well, I'll be back in Rome overnight: tomorrow I will leave for Slovenia for a week of conferences and such.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Annecy retreat - Thorens and La Roche
Today on the retreat, Fr Morand Wirth led us through the first day according to Part Five of the Devout Life in his morning conference. In the afternoon, we took a tour of the birthplace of St Francis de Sales (Thorens) and the town of La Roche, where he had his early schooling.
Just beside the parish church is a simple monument to St Francis de Sales. It serves as a welcome sign to the town and divides the town's principal street. Among the monuments to Francis de Sales, it is quite simple and, for this reason, also quite lovely.
La Roche is a town of medieval origins, rich in history and significance for Savoy. It is today the tenth city in size and influence in Haute Savoie. It is also the town where Francis de Sales and his three cousins received their primary schooling. The parish church has an onion dome. This is a sign that the townspeople fought with Napoleon in the campaign against Russia. Napoleon lost the war and many in his empire lost their lives, but the onion-dome belltowers still proclaim the heroism of the townspeople. It is, I suppose, a consolation prize.
Thorens - Salesianum: the first stop in the talking tour or retreat pilgrimage was the birthplace of St Francis de Sales. Nothing remains of the original chateau, burned during the 30 years war. Over the site of the place where the master bedroom stood is now a chapel to commemorate the birth of our saint. It is a bit of a disappointment for us, but the best we can have now, 400 years later. It brings home the undrstanding that these placid hills were outraged by generations of wars. So if we could not visit the actual home of the child Francis, at least we can stand on the same spot.Birthplace of St Francis de Sales
Church of Saint Maurice, parish church of Thorens. It is here that Francis de Sales was baptized on 28 August 1567. He chose to be ordained bishop in this same church. This took place on 8 December 1602.Saint Maurice, Thorens
Thorens: Monument to St Francis de Sales
The De Sales Family CastleSalesianum: this is the name of the home of the De Sales Family. It is also known as Chateau De Sales, and it is a real castle. This terrain and structure predates the arrival of the De Sales Family to Thorens. It was orginally a fortress, built to defend the valley from the onslaught of the French. Francis' father and uncle were responsible for this line of defense in the years after Savoy regained its independence in 1559. Francis' younger brother Louis de Sales, also a military man, secured this castle as the family home. After the birthplace of Francis and his brothers and sisters was destroyed by fire during the Thirty-Years War, this became the main residence for the de Sales family, and remained so until just a year ago when the last descendent of Louis de Sales died. His widow has closed it to the public in the past year.
La Roche-sur-Furon
Monday, April 17, 2006
Easter journey and retreat preparation
Last night (Easter Sunday night) a group of us left Rome for Torino. The group included students and staff from the UPS, from Testaccio, as well as various Salesians from the Roman province. Our destination is Annecy, for the annual retreat. We will be led through the retreat by Morand Wirth through the places of St Francis de Sales.
I am making this my annual retreat, and while I have been to Annecy three times already, I have never spent more than two days there. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this.
Okay, we got to Torino at 6:30, and reached the mother house at Valdocco at 7:15. Waiting for us was John Roche, who is from my own province of course. John is also taking part in this retreat, as are several others from the Don Bosco community of the UPS. He did not come with us on the bus last night because he traveled to Torino directly from Treviso, where he has been helping with Holy Week confessions. He has now had the experience of the Cure of Ars, for from the Saturday before Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, he was hearing confessions for seven hours every day. And because there were a lot of people for the masses too, he was needed to preach. He said he learned more Italian in the confessional than in the Italian classes he took last September!
After morning prayers in the church of St Francis de Sales, and breakfast in the pilgrim lunch room, there was free time until 11:00 mass in the basilica. I saw a friend of mine from the 1970s, Franco Lotto. We visited for about an hour, but then I noticed that our Roman group was wandering around aimlessly. That's when it dawned on me. It is Easter Monday, which is a holiday in Italy. All the shops are closed today! So what are these guys going to do for the next two hours before Mass?
Saying goodbye to Franco, I went and found John Roche and a couple of Indian classmates of his (both of whom are named Sebastian) and offered to show them some of the historical places in the vicinity. They were pleased with this, and so I took them on a brisk walk to see some of the places within walking distance: the Rifugio, the little Hospital of St Filomena, the mother house of the Sister of St Anne (all founded by the Marchesa Barolo), the Cottolengo, the Insane Asylum (where they tried to cart off Don Bosco, but he slammed the carriage door on the monsignori, and they ended up there instead), the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, the main street of 19th Century Torino (Grosso Dora) and the path that Dominic Savio and John Cagliero used to take to get to school, the school where Savio, Rua, Cagliero, and classmates did their Middle School, the church of St Francis of Assisi, the City Hall, the church of the Dominicans where Don Bosco and the Oratory Boys ministered to the Cholera Victims in 1854…
As I say, I brought them to these places really quickly, just touching the surface, since we only had about 90 minutes. But John and the two Sebastians were very happy, since they had heard of these places, but never even seen a photo of any of them. If there had been time, I would have taken them to the Cathedral to see the Shroud (encased, not on display), but there was no time really.
After mass and a quick lunch, we left Torino for the four hour bus ride to Annecy. Annecy is the home town of Francis de Sales. There were 57 of us on the bus (a bus which was designed for 40, but which has squeezed in more seats. It is not exactly American Airlines for leg room!) Then this evening, we started the retreat formally.
I am making this my annual retreat, and while I have been to Annecy three times already, I have never spent more than two days there. Needless to say, I am looking forward to this.
Okay, we got to Torino at 6:30, and reached the mother house at Valdocco at 7:15. Waiting for us was John Roche, who is from my own province of course. John is also taking part in this retreat, as are several others from the Don Bosco community of the UPS. He did not come with us on the bus last night because he traveled to Torino directly from Treviso, where he has been helping with Holy Week confessions. He has now had the experience of the Cure of Ars, for from the Saturday before Palm Sunday through Holy Saturday, he was hearing confessions for seven hours every day. And because there were a lot of people for the masses too, he was needed to preach. He said he learned more Italian in the confessional than in the Italian classes he took last September!
After morning prayers in the church of St Francis de Sales, and breakfast in the pilgrim lunch room, there was free time until 11:00 mass in the basilica. I saw a friend of mine from the 1970s, Franco Lotto. We visited for about an hour, but then I noticed that our Roman group was wandering around aimlessly. That's when it dawned on me. It is Easter Monday, which is a holiday in Italy. All the shops are closed today! So what are these guys going to do for the next two hours before Mass?Saying goodbye to Franco, I went and found John Roche and a couple of Indian classmates of his (both of whom are named Sebastian) and offered to show them some of the historical places in the vicinity. They were pleased with this, and so I took them on a brisk walk to see some of the places within walking distance: the Rifugio, the little Hospital of St Filomena, the mother house of the Sister of St Anne (all founded by the Marchesa Barolo), the Cottolengo, the Insane Asylum (where they tried to cart off Don Bosco, but he slammed the carriage door on the monsignori, and they ended up there instead), the Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, the main street of 19th Century Torino (Grosso Dora) and the path that Dominic Savio and John Cagliero used to take to get to school, the school where Savio, Rua, Cagliero, and classmates did their Middle School, the church of St Francis of Assisi, the City Hall, the church of the Dominicans where Don Bosco and the Oratory Boys ministered to the Cholera Victims in 1854…
Monument to St Joseph Cottolengo at the famous hospital that he founded
After mass and a quick lunch, we left Torino for the four hour bus ride to Annecy. Annecy is the home town of Francis de Sales. There were 57 of us on the bus (a bus which was designed for 40, but which has squeezed in more seats. It is not exactly American Airlines for leg room!) Then this evening, we started the retreat formally.
Friday, April 14, 2006
Good Friday
My thought had been to go to the Vatican today for the celebrations, but Fr Giuseppe Nicolussi asked me to preside at the Good Friday liturgy. The celebration was held in the "Gesù Maestro" community chapel. It was simple but complete. I think this was the second time that I have ever presided at Good Friday services. I also presided once at St Dominic Savio Parish when I was director of De Sales Hall, in my last year there (1990).
On the working front, today I completed the translation of all my Power Point presentations for the Francis de Sales course into Italian. Once that was done, I burned CD-Roms for all 21 students. The CD-roms contain copies of the 13 PowerPoint Presentations that I made during the semester, copies of their own Term Papers, a copy of the Group Discussions, which I had posted week-by-week on a blog for the class called "La Filotea e Noi", and finally some art work of Francis de Sales as culled from the sdb.org resource page.
With that, I've finished all my obligations to that batch of students. I just need to prepare two more classes for this semester's seminar on "Storytelling, John Bosco and Harry Potter". The big work is, of course, to complete my draft of my proposed book on "Francis de Sales: Story and Spirit".
Will I be able to do that? Not much time left.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Holy Thursday
Joined Albino Ronco and Christian Dubot for mass at the headquarters of the Sister Handmaids of the Sacred Heart. The community of Sisters has its origins in Peru, and they have been in Rome since 1910. They are located in a residential district that was built between 1918 and 1926. At one time they ran a school in their house; now they run an elder-care center, with about 50 elderly women. Many of these people, and many folks coming from the neighborhood came to this afternoon's service. The church was packed with the elderly, the sick, and a whole contingent of down children.
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Visitandines in Rome
With the Salesians Morand Wirth and Francis Desramaut, both Salesian scholars (Morand at Rome, Francis in Lyons), I went to the Visitation monastery this morning, in via Galla Placidia. It was the first time I've gone there.
The sisters welcomed us very warmly; it seems that Salesians visit often, ever since Don Bosco paid his visit to the Roman Visitandines in the 1860s. We met five different sisters, as they came in the little parlor to chat, but since it is Wednesday and spring cleaning, they
were moving in and out. I only managed to take a photo of two of the sisters: the superior with the convent historian.
The reason for the visit is that Morand wanted to give the sisters a copy of his new book, "Francis de Slaes and Education". The book appeared originally in French last September; the
Italian translation came out last week. He gave them the Italian version, with a signed dedication. The sisters looked through the table of contents right away, and a whole string of associations and stories came out. Wonderful conversation!
Then Morand asked the Sisters to show me two of the convent's prized relics. One is Francis de Sales watch; the second was the Ostensorium with a fiber of his heart that was presented to Pius IX in 1877 on the occasion of the declaration of Francis as Doctor of the Church. They
were happy to do so, but immediately said that there is a new treasure: an Ostensorium with blood and plasma from the heart of Francis de Sales. There is an amazing story behind this, but I'll save this for another time.
Both Morand and Francis know the Visitation communities in France, and Morand has been in Italy 10 years now, so know the community in Treviso and in Moncalieri as well. There are some things that I didn't understand -- juridical elements about structures etc, but the sisters told me that the bishops in Europe are not too interested in contemplative orders, and for some time there has been a priest who acts as an advocate for the communites with the bishops. I didn't catch the name of this office, but until now the priest has always been a Jesuit. Now that priest became ill one year ago, and has stepped aside. The Visitandines here in Italy have asked the Holy See that the next person be a Salesian. They have submittted three names (all of SDBs) and are hoping for a favorable reply soon.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Archival dust 2
Yesterday I finally got to examine some material in the archives of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints. I was able to examine the hand-written documentation taken from the notes of the original "process" for the beatification of Francis de Sales in 1627. Amazing! I suspect that it is a second copy because, while the questions of the panel are writtten in Latin, as I would have suspected, the testimony in these pages is recorded in Italian rather than French. For the last hundred years at least, testimony is always recorded in the language of the person giving it. But Francis de Sales is the first saint to go through the process of beatification… it could be that the canon lawyers and bishops on the commission were trying hard to make the process work. The fact is that they were all Savoiards, and the official language of the Duchy was Italian, as was the spoken language of Rome. Perhaps this is the reason. Anyway, I was totally excited, because it means that I can understand the testimony much more easily. The archivist only gave me two hours with the documents, and I was not allowed to make photocopies, because the documents are very fragile. She did tell me that I could take digital photos, however. I'll do that next time. Today I'll try to transcribe my notes to text, and go buy a digital camera. But seeing this material written five years after Francis de Sales' death, and being able to work with it, has made the whole trip to Rome very much worth it all the effort!
Monday, April 10, 2006
First time this year
Went to the Vatican this morning, after mass with a small community near Porta Pia… I had an appointment at the archives of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints at 10.00. When I got to St Peter's Square at 9.10, I found that the line to get into St Peter's was moving very quickly, so I joined the line, and made it into St Peter's at 9.25. This was the first time I got inside St Peter's this year. The lines have been long and slow all year, and I would give up after a few moments.
Most of the people are lining up to see John Paul II's tomb, so once you get through the metal detectors, you can move quickly to the basilica, if you dodge the tourists…
And going through St Peter's today I realized that few of these people are pilgrims. They are bona fide tourists. I had to wonder if this is a good thing.
One of my purposes was to see the tomb of John XXIII. His urn is not in the basilica proper, just around the pillar from the statue of St Peter and the potrait of Pius IX. There was a small group of pilgrims there (and I say pilgrims, because they were not snapping photos but praying).
After seeing John XXIII, I wandered around for a few moments, reflecting on what I'd show my brother and nephew when they come to Rome. I will need to contemplate how to get them to see the Vatican and the Vatican museums without putting them through the torture of the long lines. Yes, I'm going to have to plan this whole thing very carefully!
Most of the people are lining up to see John Paul II's tomb, so once you get through the metal detectors, you can move quickly to the basilica, if you dodge the tourists…
And going through St Peter's today I realized that few of these people are pilgrims. They are bona fide tourists. I had to wonder if this is a good thing.
One of my purposes was to see the tomb of John XXIII. His urn is not in the basilica proper, just around the pillar from the statue of St Peter and the potrait of Pius IX. There was a small group of pilgrims there (and I say pilgrims, because they were not snapping photos but praying).
After seeing John XXIII, I wandered around for a few moments, reflecting on what I'd show my brother and nephew when they come to Rome. I will need to contemplate how to get them to see the Vatican and the Vatican museums without putting them through the torture of the long lines. Yes, I'm going to have to plan this whole thing very carefully!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Palm Sunday
Today I did get over to the local Salesian parish (Santa Maria della Speranza - Our Lady of Hope) and help out for a couple of masses with confessions. The church has been filled to beyond capacity all during Lent, and today there was a definite element of festivity with Palm Sunday.
Okay, they call it Palm Sunday, but in Rome people do not carry palm branches but olive branches in the procession. In fact, I noticed that everyone held their olive branches throughout the entire reading of the Gospel, which of course was that of Mark's Passion of the Christ. As the masses ended, everyone greeted friends and neighbors -- a lot of kissing on both cheeks -- before leaving the church. As a couple of people told me: "Palm Sunday is a very special day, a day to pray for and work for peace. This is why we carry these olive branches to our homes".
With all the stress in today's families, the longing for peace is more acute than ever. I pray these Romans may find some peace this week.
Okay, they call it Palm Sunday, but in Rome people do not carry palm branches but olive branches in the procession. In fact, I noticed that everyone held their olive branches throughout the entire reading of the Gospel, which of course was that of Mark's Passion of the Christ. As the masses ended, everyone greeted friends and neighbors -- a lot of kissing on both cheeks -- before leaving the church. As a couple of people told me: "Palm Sunday is a very special day, a day to pray for and work for peace. This is why we carry these olive branches to our homes".
With all the stress in today's families, the longing for peace is more acute than ever. I pray these Romans may find some peace this week.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Busy week
These days have been busy. I spent Monday and Tuesday preparing for class… On Wednesday a group of students came to my office to speak to me about one thing or another, mainly looking for help figuring out their workload… and today I met Fr Luke Buckles from DSPT but who is now teaching at the Angelicum here in Rome. I brought him over to UPS. He was amazed and happy to see this different style of Rome than what he's used to. The Dominicans have their university in a facility built in the 1500s, within sight of the Presidential Palace (the Quirinale), the Roman Forum, the Jesuits' Gregorian University, the Altare della Patria, and all the major tourist sites. This was Luke's first time in a residential, working-class neighborhood. And he met a lot of the SDBs and a lot of students too. It was a good day…
One more day of school and then the Spring Break for Holy Week and Easter Week. I've been going down to the Vatican to the Archives, and hope that the school break will give me a chance to wrap up some research there (the process of beatification of Francis de Sales). Then it will be May… then it will be June…
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Rome crowded for anniversary of John Paul II
Tomorrow will mark one year since the death of Pope John Paul II. Twice this week I have had to go down to the Vatican, including this morning. There are tens of thousands of pilgrims; the area is completely crowded, and the line-up to get into the basilica of St Peter's, or rather, to the grotto to visit the tombs of the popes is very long. In fact, I have not gone into St Peter's yet this year, because I haven't had the time to wait in line for two hours.
Of the statistics that I have heard: the normal amount of visitors to the tombs of the popes has been between 150 and 300 persons a day. Since the burial of John Paul II, the number on weekdays has averaged 15,000 people, while on weekends it has gone up to as many as 20,000 people. In fact, today there were many Italians in the lines. It seems that Italians are also making St Peter's the goal of pilgrimage again: to remember the "papa polacco", who won their affection, and to see "Papa Ratzinger", who speaks simply and seems to have won their respect as well. And that is a more interesting feat, since many Italians have still not gotten over the sufferings of the Second World War at the hands of the German Nazis after the fall of Mussolini's Fascist government.
So, it will be an interesting week ahead for the amount of pilgrims and visitors. To all appearances, the flood of pilgrims will continue through the Spring. In short, there have been as many visitors to St Peter's during this year since John Paul's death and Benedict's election as during the Great Jubilee of 2000.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Saturation
Hmm… at this point I guess that I've reached the saturation point myself. For the last couple of weeks I've been a little too washed out to care.
On Thursday, however, I got some good feedback on my writing, and so am setting to revise my manuscript for the Francis de Sales book. Hopefully I can get my mind focused on this.
Time changes tomorrow in Europe -- Spring Ahead!
Friday, March 24, 2006
Pizza induced musing
Finally, after months of saying we'd do it, I went for Pizza with Mario Llanos and José Luis Plascencia. We had worked together during the long summer of 1999 when we all served on the international commission for the updating of the formation plan for the Salesian Society.
One of the issues we talked about over mushrooms and mozzarella was that there are folks who are trying to close ranks around our young adults in initial formation -- that is, if I can express it -- give them a fullproof, protective, closed environment. This refers to their living arrangements, but also to their course work. Solid, foundational theology courses are being diminished as courses in so-called "Salesian topics" are being increased. Instead of the traditional four-year course of theology, they are being put through a three-year program. Of course the plan is that they continue for a two-year licentiate, but the fact is that many provincials withdraw their students from the university (and the formation house) when they are deacons or when they are newly ordained priests, insisting that they attend courses but live and work in active communities. The arrangement works for about a month. In the end, these newly ordained are so taken by the "apostolate" that they never complete their theology studies beyond the first cycle "STB" (Bachelor in Sacred Theology).
Last week while I was at the Crocetta I heard the same conversation taking place. My old friend and ex-preside of the Crocetta Sabino Frigato told me that, at the Crocetta, they have had to cut part of their programs because the provincials don't want to let the newly ordained finish their theology studies. There too program has been changed from five years to three-plus-two years, with diaconate at the end of the third year, and priesthood at the end of the fourth… and then provincials are bringing the newly ordained back to the provinces so that they never get their licentiate.
Bishops are doing the same thing. We've got a group of newly ordained who commute to the UPS once a month and try to finish their course work and theses… but it takes them five years instead of one, if they do it at all. Great foresight on the part of the provincials and bishops!
The result is that the UPS faculty now wants to cram more courses into the three years, because they know that otherwise the clerics-to-deacons-to-priests will not have completed all their theology requirements otherwise. The Crocetta faculty is more cautious, but the result is that their students do not finish either, and three-years is too little.
Are we facing the dumbing down of the congregation and of the Church?
One of the issues we talked about over mushrooms and mozzarella was that there are folks who are trying to close ranks around our young adults in initial formation -- that is, if I can express it -- give them a fullproof, protective, closed environment. This refers to their living arrangements, but also to their course work. Solid, foundational theology courses are being diminished as courses in so-called "Salesian topics" are being increased. Instead of the traditional four-year course of theology, they are being put through a three-year program. Of course the plan is that they continue for a two-year licentiate, but the fact is that many provincials withdraw their students from the university (and the formation house) when they are deacons or when they are newly ordained priests, insisting that they attend courses but live and work in active communities. The arrangement works for about a month. In the end, these newly ordained are so taken by the "apostolate" that they never complete their theology studies beyond the first cycle "STB" (Bachelor in Sacred Theology).
Last week while I was at the Crocetta I heard the same conversation taking place. My old friend and ex-preside of the Crocetta Sabino Frigato told me that, at the Crocetta, they have had to cut part of their programs because the provincials don't want to let the newly ordained finish their theology studies. There too program has been changed from five years to three-plus-two years, with diaconate at the end of the third year, and priesthood at the end of the fourth… and then provincials are bringing the newly ordained back to the provinces so that they never get their licentiate.
Bishops are doing the same thing. We've got a group of newly ordained who commute to the UPS once a month and try to finish their course work and theses… but it takes them five years instead of one, if they do it at all. Great foresight on the part of the provincials and bishops!
The result is that the UPS faculty now wants to cram more courses into the three years, because they know that otherwise the clerics-to-deacons-to-priests will not have completed all their theology requirements otherwise. The Crocetta faculty is more cautious, but the result is that their students do not finish either, and three-years is too little.
Are we facing the dumbing down of the congregation and of the Church?
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Letter to a young pastor
The young pastor of Corpus Christi parish in San Francisco wrote to ask my opinion on placing the people in lines for the reception of Communion. It seems that he and the older associate pastor had a disagreement on the point.
Here is how I have responded.
Rome, 22 March 2006
Monza carissimo:
thanks for your note; I'm glad to know that "Boschetto's Dream" has been well used. Sr Kathleen Gibson was able to get some more information from the author's husband that the book's price is greatly reduced, from $15 that it was orginally to $6 now. So if there are groups that are interested, Sr Kathleen will know where to get more copies.
I'm afraid that I would be the wrong person to ask about any notion of the "orderly reception of communion". I agree with Don Bosco that enforced lines and directives from ushers are to be totally avoided at that time of the liturgy. If people naturally put themselves into line, that is great; they should not be placed into lines by others, in Don Bosco's thinking.
Note that this is not a cultural issue, Monza. Don Bosco was in fact very counter-cultural when it came to this point because he operated from a pastoral concern. And his concern, as Fr Pestun has said, was that every person, especially the young, be free to approach the sacrament or be free to NOT approach it. In fact, in Turin as in much of Europe people received communion in a very orderly fashion, and everyone could see who went to communion and who didn't. In parishes there were let out by rows… in monasteries of sisters or in convents of friars, the superior received first, and then every sister or confere by rank in office and order of profession.
Don Bosco absolutely wanted to avoid any formality at this point, and so he invited the boys to come up spontaneously but respectfully. To "cover the noise" of the shuffle and also to invite a type of spiritual recollectedness, he instituted the custom of singing a hymn during Communion, and not waiting, as was the custom, for the Post-Communion for a choral piece from the choir. The Communion songs were rehearsed before mass so that everyone could learn the simple refrain and join very easily in the singing. It was the most participated song during the 11:00 High Mass, and was always sung during the 8:00 Low Mass when the boys otherwise prayed the rosary together.
This practice at the Oratory of Valdocco became Salesian practice in all of our houses, and in all the houses of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. It was a Salesian practice, and we were looked down upon for not insisting on orderliness during Communion time in our schools, oratories, and in our parishes (when we took up this ministry rather late in our history). However, the Salesians always insisted on this practice and for pastoral reasons. No one, young or old, should be forced to feel inadequate because he or she is not ready to approach the Sacrament of the Eucharist. No child should feel that his or her parents are unworthy or sinful if they do not approach the Sacrament (and there are many cases where divorced and remarried parents, struggling to right their situation, give up on church rather than face the embarrassment of not being able to join the Communion Line).
Is the practice out-dated? I don't think so. I have never felt comfortable with ushers directing people; I feel even less comfortable with the directives of Cardinal Mahoney for the communion lines… and while I have voiced my concerns, I have not been attached to parishes and so I have never pushed these considerations unless asked. And since you asked, Monza, I say that Don Bosco did not disregard lines for cultural reasons but our of pastoral considerations; he stressed prayer and insisted that Salesians follow the liturgical norms (and rubrics are really are addressed to the priest/celebrant and not to the people), he cultivated artists and musicians who could render prayer times and liturgies more beautiful and participated, and he continually invited people to frequent the sacraments, making himself available as a confessor and a preacher. He was criticized for this too: people complained that Don Bosco's boys prayed the rosary too often (daily); local priests complained that Don Bosco had too many kids in the choir (but the people loved to hear the young people sing with devotion, and many vocations came from those choirs in the singers and the listeners). And he asked that lines not be regimented by authorities, but that the people be free to approach the Sacraments as they felt ready.
Rather than simply pastoral, then, Don Bosco's teaching on this point is charismatic and moral. No one should ever be forced or conditioned to practice the faith out of fear or human respect. He never forced kids into prayer times at the Oratory; he never wanted anyone to be forced to receive the sacraments out of fear that someone would have motive to judge them badly if they did otherwise. In fact, from this point of view, to force young people or adults to go Communion by strongly conditioning them through administrative tactics is an abuse of the person.
The way to move toward a more reverent reception of Communion, it would seem, would grow out of "preaching the beauty of virtue" and instructing the people of the loving presence of Christ who invites and who is merciful, and in making the other sacrament, reconciliation, readily available… but that is another discourse. In any case, Monza, I'm sure you and Fr Pestun and the others will continue to search for a solution in keeping with Don Bosco's pastoral compassion and by being true to his charism.
Yours,
Joe
Here is how I have responded.
Rome, 22 March 2006
Monza carissimo:
thanks for your note; I'm glad to know that "Boschetto's Dream" has been well used. Sr Kathleen Gibson was able to get some more information from the author's husband that the book's price is greatly reduced, from $15 that it was orginally to $6 now. So if there are groups that are interested, Sr Kathleen will know where to get more copies.
I'm afraid that I would be the wrong person to ask about any notion of the "orderly reception of communion". I agree with Don Bosco that enforced lines and directives from ushers are to be totally avoided at that time of the liturgy. If people naturally put themselves into line, that is great; they should not be placed into lines by others, in Don Bosco's thinking.
Note that this is not a cultural issue, Monza. Don Bosco was in fact very counter-cultural when it came to this point because he operated from a pastoral concern. And his concern, as Fr Pestun has said, was that every person, especially the young, be free to approach the sacrament or be free to NOT approach it. In fact, in Turin as in much of Europe people received communion in a very orderly fashion, and everyone could see who went to communion and who didn't. In parishes there were let out by rows… in monasteries of sisters or in convents of friars, the superior received first, and then every sister or confere by rank in office and order of profession.
Don Bosco absolutely wanted to avoid any formality at this point, and so he invited the boys to come up spontaneously but respectfully. To "cover the noise" of the shuffle and also to invite a type of spiritual recollectedness, he instituted the custom of singing a hymn during Communion, and not waiting, as was the custom, for the Post-Communion for a choral piece from the choir. The Communion songs were rehearsed before mass so that everyone could learn the simple refrain and join very easily in the singing. It was the most participated song during the 11:00 High Mass, and was always sung during the 8:00 Low Mass when the boys otherwise prayed the rosary together.
This practice at the Oratory of Valdocco became Salesian practice in all of our houses, and in all the houses of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. It was a Salesian practice, and we were looked down upon for not insisting on orderliness during Communion time in our schools, oratories, and in our parishes (when we took up this ministry rather late in our history). However, the Salesians always insisted on this practice and for pastoral reasons. No one, young or old, should be forced to feel inadequate because he or she is not ready to approach the Sacrament of the Eucharist. No child should feel that his or her parents are unworthy or sinful if they do not approach the Sacrament (and there are many cases where divorced and remarried parents, struggling to right their situation, give up on church rather than face the embarrassment of not being able to join the Communion Line).
Is the practice out-dated? I don't think so. I have never felt comfortable with ushers directing people; I feel even less comfortable with the directives of Cardinal Mahoney for the communion lines… and while I have voiced my concerns, I have not been attached to parishes and so I have never pushed these considerations unless asked. And since you asked, Monza, I say that Don Bosco did not disregard lines for cultural reasons but our of pastoral considerations; he stressed prayer and insisted that Salesians follow the liturgical norms (and rubrics are really are addressed to the priest/celebrant and not to the people), he cultivated artists and musicians who could render prayer times and liturgies more beautiful and participated, and he continually invited people to frequent the sacraments, making himself available as a confessor and a preacher. He was criticized for this too: people complained that Don Bosco's boys prayed the rosary too often (daily); local priests complained that Don Bosco had too many kids in the choir (but the people loved to hear the young people sing with devotion, and many vocations came from those choirs in the singers and the listeners). And he asked that lines not be regimented by authorities, but that the people be free to approach the Sacraments as they felt ready.
Rather than simply pastoral, then, Don Bosco's teaching on this point is charismatic and moral. No one should ever be forced or conditioned to practice the faith out of fear or human respect. He never forced kids into prayer times at the Oratory; he never wanted anyone to be forced to receive the sacraments out of fear that someone would have motive to judge them badly if they did otherwise. In fact, from this point of view, to force young people or adults to go Communion by strongly conditioning them through administrative tactics is an abuse of the person.
The way to move toward a more reverent reception of Communion, it would seem, would grow out of "preaching the beauty of virtue" and instructing the people of the loving presence of Christ who invites and who is merciful, and in making the other sacrament, reconciliation, readily available… but that is another discourse. In any case, Monza, I'm sure you and Fr Pestun and the others will continue to search for a solution in keeping with Don Bosco's pastoral compassion and by being true to his charism.
Yours,
Joe
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
The country and raising kids
As a contrast, I spent the day with one of my past pupils in Turin yesterday. He was a kid at the Oratory when I was a theology student and "assistant". He has two sons. The oldest was born when they had a small condominium-apartment in the city of Chieri. The second one is growing up in the country since they bought a home in the area of Moncucco (where John Bosco was a cow-hand at the ages of 11 to 13).
The son from Chieri is 14, and when he comes home from school he goes up to the boys' bedroom, to his desk, does his homework. He walks directly to and from places, and seems to draw an invisible boundary around himself so that he doesn't venture past it. The second son from Moncucco, age 5, runs and jumps through the fields, has a hundred questions for the farmers, climbs trees and rocks, has built a "fort" in the forest, and never watches TV or plays electronic games. Here is the story of the City Cousin and the Country Cousin, except they are brothers. I wonder if in southern California we have built our perfect homes in perfect communities where kids can no longer roam or explore -- and these homes are so expensive that we can't afford not to work 10 hours a day to pay for them… and our kids have become timid, unnoticed, confined.
The son from Chieri is 14, and when he comes home from school he goes up to the boys' bedroom, to his desk, does his homework. He walks directly to and from places, and seems to draw an invisible boundary around himself so that he doesn't venture past it. The second son from Moncucco, age 5, runs and jumps through the fields, has a hundred questions for the farmers, climbs trees and rocks, has built a "fort" in the forest, and never watches TV or plays electronic games. Here is the story of the City Cousin and the Country Cousin, except they are brothers. I wonder if in southern California we have built our perfect homes in perfect communities where kids can no longer roam or explore -- and these homes are so expensive that we can't afford not to work 10 hours a day to pay for them… and our kids have become timid, unnoticed, confined.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Need for pastoral formation
If there is something that I notice among most of the young Salesians who are students here at the UPS, it is that they long for practicality and pastoral rootedness. I am not sure that they find it here. Let me explain what I'm picking up in my conversations and in observing the student priests in the communities of Don Rua and Don Bosco.
While it sounds like the plan to centralize is well thought-out, I continue to wonder if it comes out of a lopsided cultural-awareness. I do not see the Salesians from new environments (Eastern Europe, Eastern Asia, Africa) having an easy time of adapting to European-based studies. Many find it very difficult to learn the Italian Language, and by the time they are able to communicate, their two year licentiate course is over. There are many of these same students who tell me that they find the studies here generally very abstract or very idealistic or both. Instead, if given the choice, they would opt for something that is more concrete – something that allows them to explore their Salesian vocation and heritage while helping them examine the real world of the youngsters and people among whom they have or will work.
While it sounds like the plan to centralize is well thought-out, I continue to wonder if it comes out of a lopsided cultural-awareness. I do not see the Salesians from new environments (Eastern Europe, Eastern Asia, Africa) having an easy time of adapting to European-based studies. Many find it very difficult to learn the Italian Language, and by the time they are able to communicate, their two year licentiate course is over. There are many of these same students who tell me that they find the studies here generally very abstract or very idealistic or both. Instead, if given the choice, they would opt for something that is more concrete – something that allows them to explore their Salesian vocation and heritage while helping them examine the real world of the youngsters and people among whom they have or will work.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Numbers game: Rome vs Berkeley
Jacques Schepens told me that he notes a trend to centralize all formation: large studentates with all the teaching of first cycle theology (STB or MDV) under Rome’s direct control. By extension, the teaching of Salesian Studies (education, spirituality, history) is also thought to need centralized control, since those who study these sciences will work in initial formation … in the large studentates… supervised tightly by Rome.
In hearing this, my thought has been that it is increasingly difficult to dialogue with anyone with regard to formation in the provinces because they have all memorized the refrain “all roads lead to Rome” – beginning with Francesco Cereda. In other words, whereas the third edition the Ratio was put together between 1999-2001 with the idea of decentralization and of ensuring that throughout the congregation formation took place on the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral level, the thinking today has shifted. There are forces in the congregation that are endorsing the large group and studentate once again.
Why the centralized studentate? The reasons are based on demographics. While there are upward of 500 novices in the congregation this year (similar to vocation numbers before the 1950s), these new recruits come from many far-flung provinces, many of which are mission territories or Eastern European foundations where Catholic and Salesian traditions are very limited. A second consideration is that these 500 young-adult novices, divided among 90 provinces and 130 countries, often are found in small units, as opposed to the large numbers of teenaged novices of the 1940s that came half of the 40 provinces in existence in that era. In other words, while we have the same number of novices as in the building years of the 1930s and 1940s, we in fact have a much smaller number with respect to the huge number of provinces and apostolic presences now in existence. Outside of a few countries, therefore, the numbers of novices average between 2 and 6 per nation.
Follow this group of novices through the years of vocational journey and, by attrition, the number of theology students is smaller and much more scattered. In practice, this means that, if left in their own national environments, many theology students would remain isolated. Instead, the general councilor for formation reasons, it would be better if these young Salesians were formed in peer groups where they can receive good instruction, careful accompaniment, and consistent experiences in Salesian-style apostolic, human, spiritual and intellectual formation. Centralized, international, interprovinical studentates would respond to the needs of the isolated young Salesian in formation at this stage of his vocational itinerary.
As I say, there is something of a "numbers game" at play here that results from the new Salesian demographics. The fact that the congregation is large but spread very thin means that many provinces do not have enough personnel to carry out formation work – work that demands intense dedication even if there are only a few novices and young confreres on the local scene. It also means that formation has been seen as meager until now, especially in those areas of the world where the congregation is growing rapidly (India, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Timor-Indonesia, Africa). The concern, therefore, is to train young Salesians in Salesianity (which includes spirituality, but also other studies). With limited trained personnel across the provinces, and indeed very few trained in Salesian sciences, education and spirituality, the thought is to bring all the experts together to one center – Rome – and offer a quality training to all those whom the provinces will send.
As a theory, this would make a lot of sense to me. I question whether this is what happens in practice. Had the leaders of formation in the several regions been called to consider the problems and find solutions together, the distribution of theology students and formators might have conformed more closely to local needs and realities. Instead it seems to me that the dicastery alone is surveying the situation and coming up with its own assessment and unilateral solutions. The result is that many young confreres come to the studentates and find themselves on a great adventure in a foreign country, but risk losing a sense of their own local realities.
As if to bear this out, the student priests from Santo Domingo who are here at the UPS have told me that their theology students are in three or four large centers, and a high percentage reach ordination, but when they get back to their province they fall into three categories. Those who studied in Tlaquepaque are activists; those who studied in the Holy Land are hermits; those who studied in Rome are “men about town” (borghesi). All of them have difficulty readjusting to the realities of Santo Domingo.
Of course, the big problem is that many of the clerics have a hard time learning the new language, and spend half of their three-years of MDV/STB work just trying to understand Italian (or in Jerusalem now, English). Since native speakers are rare in either place, no one really learns the idiom well. And after the first semester, where 10 out 22 people in my course did not understand Italian, I just wonder what anyone is really learning. They will return to their countries with half-an-idea, and will be considered experts because they studied in Rome. Many of the professors here are recognizing the same problem, but when I tried to bring this to the attention of Cereda, he brushed it aside. Evidently, he has no problem with languages, so he doesn’t quite see that anyone else might have a problem.
Our formation for theology students at Don Bosco Hall must sustain an added weight. Constant complaints by other provinces about Berkeley – too worldly, or too secular, and therefore a place of good information but not of good formation – has worked to our disadvantage. Juan José Bartolomé’s hunch is that once the current group of our three clerics finish at Berkeley, no one else will be allowed to do their first cycle (MDV) studies there, unless we can get a group of at least 20 clerics.
In hearing this, my thought has been that it is increasingly difficult to dialogue with anyone with regard to formation in the provinces because they have all memorized the refrain “all roads lead to Rome” – beginning with Francesco Cereda. In other words, whereas the third edition the Ratio was put together between 1999-2001 with the idea of decentralization and of ensuring that throughout the congregation formation took place on the human, spiritual, intellectual and pastoral level, the thinking today has shifted. There are forces in the congregation that are endorsing the large group and studentate once again.
Why the centralized studentate? The reasons are based on demographics. While there are upward of 500 novices in the congregation this year (similar to vocation numbers before the 1950s), these new recruits come from many far-flung provinces, many of which are mission territories or Eastern European foundations where Catholic and Salesian traditions are very limited. A second consideration is that these 500 young-adult novices, divided among 90 provinces and 130 countries, often are found in small units, as opposed to the large numbers of teenaged novices of the 1940s that came half of the 40 provinces in existence in that era. In other words, while we have the same number of novices as in the building years of the 1930s and 1940s, we in fact have a much smaller number with respect to the huge number of provinces and apostolic presences now in existence. Outside of a few countries, therefore, the numbers of novices average between 2 and 6 per nation.
Follow this group of novices through the years of vocational journey and, by attrition, the number of theology students is smaller and much more scattered. In practice, this means that, if left in their own national environments, many theology students would remain isolated. Instead, the general councilor for formation reasons, it would be better if these young Salesians were formed in peer groups where they can receive good instruction, careful accompaniment, and consistent experiences in Salesian-style apostolic, human, spiritual and intellectual formation. Centralized, international, interprovinical studentates would respond to the needs of the isolated young Salesian in formation at this stage of his vocational itinerary.
As I say, there is something of a "numbers game" at play here that results from the new Salesian demographics. The fact that the congregation is large but spread very thin means that many provinces do not have enough personnel to carry out formation work – work that demands intense dedication even if there are only a few novices and young confreres on the local scene. It also means that formation has been seen as meager until now, especially in those areas of the world where the congregation is growing rapidly (India, Eastern Europe, Vietnam, Timor-Indonesia, Africa). The concern, therefore, is to train young Salesians in Salesianity (which includes spirituality, but also other studies). With limited trained personnel across the provinces, and indeed very few trained in Salesian sciences, education and spirituality, the thought is to bring all the experts together to one center – Rome – and offer a quality training to all those whom the provinces will send.
As a theory, this would make a lot of sense to me. I question whether this is what happens in practice. Had the leaders of formation in the several regions been called to consider the problems and find solutions together, the distribution of theology students and formators might have conformed more closely to local needs and realities. Instead it seems to me that the dicastery alone is surveying the situation and coming up with its own assessment and unilateral solutions. The result is that many young confreres come to the studentates and find themselves on a great adventure in a foreign country, but risk losing a sense of their own local realities.
As if to bear this out, the student priests from Santo Domingo who are here at the UPS have told me that their theology students are in three or four large centers, and a high percentage reach ordination, but when they get back to their province they fall into three categories. Those who studied in Tlaquepaque are activists; those who studied in the Holy Land are hermits; those who studied in Rome are “men about town” (borghesi). All of them have difficulty readjusting to the realities of Santo Domingo.
Of course, the big problem is that many of the clerics have a hard time learning the new language, and spend half of their three-years of MDV/STB work just trying to understand Italian (or in Jerusalem now, English). Since native speakers are rare in either place, no one really learns the idiom well. And after the first semester, where 10 out 22 people in my course did not understand Italian, I just wonder what anyone is really learning. They will return to their countries with half-an-idea, and will be considered experts because they studied in Rome. Many of the professors here are recognizing the same problem, but when I tried to bring this to the attention of Cereda, he brushed it aside. Evidently, he has no problem with languages, so he doesn’t quite see that anyone else might have a problem.
Our formation for theology students at Don Bosco Hall must sustain an added weight. Constant complaints by other provinces about Berkeley – too worldly, or too secular, and therefore a place of good information but not of good formation – has worked to our disadvantage. Juan José Bartolomé’s hunch is that once the current group of our three clerics finish at Berkeley, no one else will be allowed to do their first cycle (MDV) studies there, unless we can get a group of at least 20 clerics.
Friday, March 10, 2006
More on Francesca Romana
Yesterday was the feastday in Rome of Francesca Romana, and many Romans made their way to visit her tomb in the church of Santa Maria Nova, which overlooks the forum. The church is also know as the Basilica of Santa Francesca Romana.
Why the two names?
Here is the story.
When Francesca Romana died, her body was brough to the church of Santa Maria Nova, which overlooks the forum. She used to go to that church regularly; it was attached to a monastery of Olivetan Benedictines, who were a stricter branch and very new at the time. They wear white habits instead, and have a strong contemplative tradition. Francesca's community felt that it would be difficult to have mourners come to view the body in the convent chapel of the Oblates, and everyone in Rome knew that Francesca was part of the parish of Santa Maria Nova.
Well, to make a long story short, instead of burying her the next day, they had to postpone burial because so many people came in a constant procession to see her body and pay their last respects. The lines continued day and night for seven days (not even that many people came to see John XXIII or John Paul II). In the end, it was decided to bury her in the church of Santa Maria Nova. People continued to come to the church to pray near the tomb, and to leave flowers.…… I say "near the tomb" because she was buried in the floor of the nave of the church before the altar, but the floor was not marked so people weren't really sure where the tomb was. But the impact was there. The people of Rome forget the original name of the church and started to call it "Francesca's church".
While everyone in Rome considered her a saint, she was not canonized until 1608. Several years after the canonization the Olivetan Benedictine monks needed to repair the foundations of the church (it has been built in the 1200s). In so doing, they discovered the remains of Francesca. After 200 years her remains were intact. The sanctuary of the church was revamped, and her tomb was placed below the altar, so that it was visible from the church, and so that people could walk beneath the altar and see her remains close up. The remains have since deteriorated, so that all that is left is her skeleton, which is clothed in her widow's garments and her white mantle. The first time I saw her was 30 years ago, and I was very surprised… but I have since been to visit her tomb many times. It is a serious but joyful experience.
Debate: University or Studentate
There is a huge discussion going on here at the UPS, and particularly among the professors of the School of Theology, over directives that Pascual Chavez gave last Spring. At that time the rector major asked the UPS to give up the notions of being a major studentate and to give itself completely to recognize its identity as a university. This means that while the UPS attends to intellectual formation and scientific research (as do all universities), religious formation will need to be carried out in formation communities. The university must concentrate on academic excellence, not only in the areas of education and communications, but also in the areas of philosophy, canon law, and theology.
This sounds like a no-brainer, but the significance of the remark is that the university has to become competitive. Salesians who enroll in university programs must seriously do the work of intellectual formation, and become truly competent in their fields. As for the other concerns of formation (human, spiritual and pastoral), the local and smaller formation communities need to be proactive in resourcing to the young Salesian in these sectors.
This sounds like a no-brainer, but the significance of the remark is that the university has to become competitive. Salesians who enroll in university programs must seriously do the work of intellectual formation, and become truly competent in their fields. As for the other concerns of formation (human, spiritual and pastoral), the local and smaller formation communities need to be proactive in resourcing to the young Salesian in these sectors.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
The house of Francesca Romana
Before it slips out of my memory, I want to record something about a little expedition that a number of us SDBs and FMAs took on Sunday, March 5th.
It was a simple thing, really: after dinner (Romans have their main meal at mid-day), a small group of us caught the bus to downtown Rome and met a group of FMA at the Tomb of the Unknowns (L'altare della patria) in Piazza Venezia. From there we rounded the corner, moving to the right of the monuments of the unknowns (20th Century), past the Ara Coeli (a church of the 4th Century built on the remains of a temple dedicated by Caesar Augustus 15 years before the birth of Christ), past the Capidoglio (the municipal center of Rome, designed by Michelangelo in the 16th Century), to a monastery built at "Tor de' Specchi" by a widow named Francesca de' Leoni Ponziani in 1425.
This widow is known to the Romans as "Ceccolela", but to the rest of the world as Francesca Romana (or in English: "St Frances of Rome"). I found this painting (at right) of her by Gentileschi (painted in 1615). Although she lived to a ripe old age, she is always depicted as a young woman.
Ceccolela gathered a group of women at the time of the plagues and organized relief for the poor and sick of the city of Rome when civic and church leadership was too inept to do anything. She also created a community of women that included widows and mothers of families who acted as a support group to one another and to their families in the years of chaos that was the 15th Century. The group of laywomen prayed the liturgy together, and eventually became a semi-religious community, but with the freedom of the women (who were all called "mothers" and not "sisters") to care for their families whenever needed. St Frances of Rome's feastday, by the way, is tomorrow: 9 March.
But why did we go to see the house of Ceccolela? Because in 1878-1879, when Don Bosco was visiting Rome to try to complete the regulations and gain approval for the Salesian Cooperators, he found lodging in a house owned by the "mothers" of St Frances of Rome, right across the street from the monastery of the "Oblates", as they are also called. He went there because the Oblates of Frances of Rome had heard about his work among the street kids of Turin as early at 1850, and they had been instrumental in getting support for him from many parts of Italy. So, on the feast of St Francis de Sales, in January 1879, the first ever meeting of the Salesian Cooperators took place -- and it took place in the chapel of the monastery built by St Frances of Rome, in the presence also of her community.
From that experience, Don Bosco not only launched the Cooperators in their organizational structure, he also launched the Cooperators on the national scene in Italy, and on the international scene, since a number of ambassadors to the Holy See and the Cardinal Vicar of Rome also participated in that first "Conference of St Francis de Sales".
The house where don Bosco stayed later became the first residence of the Salesians, who came to Rome permanently two years later. That same house, by the way, was also the place where St Francis de Sales and his brother stayed on their first visit to Rome in 1599. Unfortunately, the house no longer exists. Mussolini tore it down to beautify Rome and liberate area around the Roman Forum so that archeologists could do their work. The only thing that remains of the house is the front steps, which were incorporated into a stair that climbs the Palotine Hill. But the monastery of "Tor de' Specchi" remains…
Okay -- too long a post, but tomorrow is the feast of St Frances of Rome. In Rome it is very festive in spite of Lent. On this day it will be good to remember that the Cooperator Salesians got their start in the house of his mighty widow and mother and mystic who not only gave herself to save the poor, but organized a great force of laywomen to make a social and religious impact on their ancient city that was falling into ruin. It seems to me that her family concerns and lay activisim inspired Francis de Sales and Don Bosco both in their own missions; and in their admiration for her, they make her a model of Salesian laity and family people.
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