Advent Sunday 2

After another stormy night, Sunday dawned with blue skies and cold winds. As I usually do, I joined the student communities for the Sunday Eucharist. This time it was Fr Peter Gonsalves who was main celebrant. He shared some interesting experiences about preparing the way for Christ, and looking for Jesus who comes at Christmas. I say interesting, because he spoke of doing the quest for Jesus totally on the internet… and of finding many things connected with Christmas but very little connecting Christ to Christmas.

Is this only the fault of the search engines?

The story was humorous and thought-provoking.

At breakfast, I sat with a couple of African Salesians, and got more information about yesterday’s gathering. They were very happy with the outcome of the day, and are hopeful about the development of the Church and of the Salesian Society on their continent.

On the way back to the residence, I met up with a couple of European friends. They are less than hopeful. Europe is experiencing a drying up of religious vocations and, indeed, a denial of its Christian past. There are many solutions being proposed, but none really seem to remedy anything. Europe needs some soul searching with regard to his journey of faith.

So here are the ebbs and flows of faith around the globe. My African companions are most excited and hopeful; my European colleagues are discouraged and brooding. The feelings and expressions of those from Asia, Americalatina, and Oceania range between these two extremes on the continuum. All of which gives me much to contemplate on this second Sunday of Advent 2008.

Missions and Mission Procures

This morning the university was the site of a gathering of African Salesians who study or teach at the UPS and the Auxilium. They celebrated Natalino. The word literally means “Little Christmas” but really signifies a “Pre-Christmas Party”.

The gathering started with a welcoming and newsy talk by Fr. Guillermo Basañes, regional council member for Africa and Madagascar. Fr. Guillermo is one of the youngest members of the new council; he was born in Argentina in 1965, made first vows as a Salesian in 1986, and was ordained in 1995. He speaks Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and English. Perhaps now that he is regional, he is also working on French.

Guillermo Basañes

The talk was followed by a liturgy, followed by dinner. The enthusiasm ran high: we could hear the group singing during the mass across the piazza of the university! And at the end of the gathering, as they started to leave toward 15.00 in the afternoon, many lingered to socialize further.

As I watched the gathering of so many African Salesians who represented many different nations on that incredibly large continent, I could not help but reflect on the whole reality that Salesians called Project Africa. At the 21st General Chapter of the Salesian Society (GC24) in 1977-1978, the Salesians took up the call to make a concerted effort to help with evangelization on that, long neglected and exploited continent. When Project Africa was launched in 1980, we only had houses in Egypt, Ethiopia, South Africa and the Congo. But every province sponsored a mission, and now we are present in 42 nations. In 1980, only the Congo (Zaire then) was a province; the other works belonged to delegations of the Middle East (Egypt, Ethiopia) or Ireland (South Africa). Now there are 2 provinces, 9 vice-provinces, and one delegation, with 1271 Salesian brothers and priests, 93 novices, and 7 bishops. An incredible growth!

Novices from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria in Ondo, posted by ANS in November 2007

This is reflected at the UPS. When I was a graduate student here between 1990 and 1994, there were no African Salesians as students, and only 3 missionaries who came to do advanced studies. Now one-third of the Salesian students are Africans, not to mention the many from other religious communities and dioceses. Don Bosco’s mission in Africa has really experienced a rich blessing.

By total coincidence, I ran into an old friend as I was closing my office before dinner. This was Fr Mark Hyde, the new mission procurator from New Rochelle, New York. With him was one of the professionals who works with the Salesian Missions, Jaime Correa Montalvo, who is the officer for international programs.

Don Gianfranco Coffele was bringing them around the UPS when I ran into them. Gianfranco invited me to join them for dinner, and so we had some time to visit before their return to the Salesian general headquarters for meetings. A very interesting chat we had.

From what I understood, Fr Mark and Professor Correa are here for a gathering of the four major mission procures in the Salesian world. These four are New Rochelle New York (which is the oldest), Torino (which is centered at the Salesian mother house at Valdocco), Bonn and Madrid (the newest of the four centers). We did not discuss the agenda of the meetings, but from what I understood, the leaders from the four centers planned to discuss resources, outreach and communications among themselves and with Salesian headquarters.

Fr Marc Hyde (L) and Prof. Jaime Correa Montalvo (R) receive the Medal of the Salesian Pontifical University from Rector Magnificus don Mario Toso

As I said, Mark Hyde is new to this work. He has worked in youth centers and as pastor in Manhattan (Mary Help of Christians, 12th Street), and only came to the Mission Office on 1 September of this year. Jaime Correa, instead, has worked with the Mission Office for a number of years. Previous to that time he worked for the state department and taught at George Wasington University; he studied Economy and Commerce at the University of Bologna and so, besides speaking Spanish (he is a native of Puerto Rico) and English, he is also well versed in Italian and, I suspect, can defend himself in the other languages as well.

What neither seemed well versed in, however, was the Italian concept of midday dinner. They were ready for a little lunch; Gianfranco brought us to a Sardinian restaurant where the appetizers were abundant, the four types of pasta rich… and where the two had no room for the main course. However through the slicing of cheeses, the dishing up of mushrooms and roasted zucchini, the pouring of Sardinian red wine and Roman mineral water, they shared their hopes for making a new presentation of the needs of the missions in developing countries. It is crucial to do so as the economy becomes more stressed and the recession (spelled with a “d”) becomes more accute.

But please don’t quote me. Everything that was said was very informal, and we alternated important international topics with explanations of Sandinian specialities in roasting potatos and egg plant. More than anything else, it was a happy midday dinner, a total surprise and a total joy.

Surprise Sardinian dinner in Rome with (L-R) Gianfranco Coffele, Jaime Correa Montalvo, Mark Hyde and Joe Boenzi

∞

Library complications

Some of my students have been telling me that they cannot get the required books from the library. When I was a student I had run into similar difficulties, but with our new library, all these problems have been resolved, I was thinking. In any case, I made mention of this to Fr Juan Picca yesterday, and he told me that he would look into it. Juan Picca is the librarian.

But I ran into my own little crisis yesterday and today. When I asked for several books to continue to update my seminar on Storytelling the Spirit, I ran into several snags. First of all, it took the library staff four hours to retrieve the four books. When I went to check these volumes out last night, the library staff could not get the data from my library card. This despite the fact that I made sure to ask them to activate the card when I got to the UPS in October.

Obviously, the library assistant who had activated the card at that time (or who seemed to activate it), had missed a few important steps. This demanded that I fill out another form with my vital statistics. I was a bit miffed (not to say irritated) that I was asked to give this data, material that they certainly have since I have been using the library for 18 years. Of course, when I gave the form to the library assistant on duty, she told me that I was to return the following day. The reason for this was that she was not authorized to update my data. Those who were authorised would be working the next morning.

Don Bosco Library at the Salesian Pontifical University

And if they call in sick? … I wanted to ask. Luckily for me, no one called in sick today. So this afternoon, I was able to get the card upgraded, and finally to check out the four books.

It is a matter of cultural expectations, I suppose. For Americans, the library was created to serve the wide public; for Italians, the library was created as a depository for resources that are shared with professors and those who are very serious about research. As a child I used to go to the public library every week, and I kept up the practice all throughout my studies and beyond. Do Romans, in general, have this practice? It is difficult to say.

These were the things I was mulling over as I was exiting the library this afternoon with the four books that I had requested (all four of which I myself had purchased and given to the library two years ago, by the way). At the turn style I met Fr Juan Picca again. He told me that the students should have no trouble checking out the required books. They simply had to present themselves to the library assistants with the appropriate form and the books would be retrieved from the stacks for them. Very simple, he told me.

What could I say? It had been extremely difficult for me to get my card upgraded… The library is a great resource and very updated, but my sense is that many of the library staff do not watch out for details or explain procedures adequately, so that the students are often left without a way of getting their needed resources. “Come back tomorrow” is a phrase that one often hears. I heard it several times addressed to me this semester. But, in the end the right person was able to do the right procedure, and I have full access to the library and the resources that I need. I can only hope it will be simple for my students to have access to the books that they need.

Pizza for planning

Aldo Giraudo, Marco Bay and I went out to the Pizzeria Falco Matto for pizza last night. It is more than a month that we keep telling each other that “we need to get together and catch up on the news among us.”

Both Aldo and Marco have spent some time at Don Bosco Hall in Berkeley and are acquainted with the workings of the ISS, the DSPT and the GTU. Their interest goes beyond tourism, however. Aldo has been the one to push for the publication of Arthur Lenti’s monumental study of Don Bosco, and Marco has been the one to make set in motion our own ideas about distance learning. They have spoken; they have acted. All this interest needs to be reaffirmed with the serious planning for the future that can only take place while tasting bruschetta and sharing pizza. So, for the advancement of both the arts and the sciences, we braved the rain storm and the intense darkness, and made our visit to Falco Matto.

First on the agenda was a briefing on latest developments in our respective … um, respective? can I say departments? No, that is not right. Habitats? ummm… well, you work on the bruschetta for now and I will come up with the correct word. What I mean is, I let them know of the latest developments at the ISS and DSPT, and the concrete determination of both Gael Sullivan and Michael Sweeney to affiliate with the UPS through the School of Theology (facoltà di teologia).

Marco Bay surveys the Menu

Marco Bay spent the summer of 2000 at Don Bosco Hall, and has kept close ties with that community ever since. Last night he shared about his work in the School of Education in the area of adult learning packages, videocasts, and the steps he is taking to create distance-learning units for various courses and programs; clearly, Salesian spirituality is to be part of this, in Marco’s mind.

Aldo Giraudo on the terrace balcony of Don Bosco Hall: San Franciso Bay in the background

Aldo Giraudo visited Don Bosco Hall in 2003 and then again in 2006. He made his last visit to Berkeley in January of this year. Since then he has done a lot to talk up the ISS, even addressing the delegates of the General Chapter last March. As we nibbled on our mushroom salad last night, he told us of the developments at the Centro Studi Don Bosco, the courses for those doing spiritual theology with a specialization in Salesian Studies, and the final hurdles to clear for publishing the last three volumes of Arthur Lenti’s work on Don Bosco.

These three topics were nearly exhausted when the pizzas arrived.

Our conversation calmed for a few moments, as we cut into the hot pizza and took abundant care not to burn our mouths on the hot cheese. However, with heroic determination, we continued through our grueling agenda.

Aldo commented on how significant he found the symposium in 2007 on the motto of Don Bosco, Da mihi animas, coetera tolle. He had, in fact, been one of the participants in that week-long event organized at Don Bosco Hall by Ian Murdoch of Australia and Thomas Prendiville of San Francisco. Twenty Salesian scholars from Europe, Asia, Australia and America participated in the study symposium, and the acts were published. A follow-up should be taking place at Berkeley next summer, but Aldo also feels that we should plan an international, day-long seminar at the UPS. The theme of that could well be the Introduction to the Devout Life. The year 2009 will be the 400th anniversary of the publishing of that important work by Francis de Sales. This cannot be neglected, said Aldo.

As we waited for dessert, we brainstormed the names of Salesian scholars in Europe. Marco wrote down names and topics on a piece of the newsprint table cloth, and before we could spoon into the lemon custard, he was promising to enter all these names into his computer and email us with an outline of a proposal.

Espresso and a little glass of grappa ended the planning session. Ah, such rigor. With the second glass of grappa, we simply exchanged pleasantries, and ended the evening gathering… not without a lot of laughter.

The proverbs of Signor Pio… continued

Signor Pio dal Pozzolo

This morning at breakfast Signor Pio dal Pozzolo again had a proverb. It goes with today’s saint, the Roman virgin and martyr Saint Bibiana. She also known as “Vivian” or “Vibiana”, and according to the legend, died during the paganizing persecutions of Julian the Apostate (361). She is the patroness of those suffering from mental illness and is associated with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles; her relics are preserved in the basilica of Santa Bibiana in Rome, and in the cathedral of Los Angeles (if it is the same Bibiana).

Well, back to Signor Pio dal Pozzolo and his proverbs. The rhyme in Italian goes like this:

Santa Bibiana:
Quaranta giorni e una settimana!

Literally, the proverb translates as follows:

Saint Bibiana
Forty days and a week.

What does that mean? It means that whatever the weather is on St Viviana's day (2 December), that will give the weather pattern for the next seven weeks. If there is sun today, the winter will be clear. If there is rain today, the weather will be wet. If there is cold today, the winter will be a bitter one. Saint Viviana's feast bring forty days like it and a week besides!

Well the day started out dark, and then there was rain… and then there was hail… and thunder… and lightning… and more rain.

Does that mean we are in for a miserable winter here in Rome?

Actually, it has been raining every third day since I arrived at October’s end. If the proverb proves a true forecast this year, we can expect seven more weeks of it. Yet, there were some moments of daylight and sunshine too this morning… will Santa Bibiana have seen the sun and endorsed that?

December crashes in…

It rained again all night. Several times I was awakened by the sound of the wind, of the rain against the window, by thunder and lightening. With daybreak, however, we were treated to a most beautiful morning.

After my usual caffé latte for breakfast, I took a little walk around campus. The grass and foliage was amazingly bright and the air fresh and cool. It was very enjoyable to walk around and review my plan for lessons this week in my head before actually going to my office to work on the class preparations.

As I walked around the grounds, I discovered that the booms and crashes that I had heard in the night were not imaginary. Yes, another tree fell down during the night. This tree was not close to any of the buildings, but was close the the playing fields of the old youth center located behind the Philosophy and Classical Languages schools. It crashed into the wire fence that borders the soccer pitch.

This is the fourth tree to fall since I arrived 5 weeks ago. If this type of weather continues, there will be many more trees crashing down as well. But the real problem at the UPS is maintenance. The building of the university in the 1960s and its completion in 1965 was a major accomplishment for the Salesian Society. Unfortunately, the buildings and grounds have been very difficult to maintain. Many of the materials used at the time were already obsolete, but because they could be bought at a great discount, they were used. Now, after 43 years, the bulk of the infrastructure is coming apart.

Several areas have been renewed, it is true. These include the two student-priest communities (Don Rua and Don Bosco), the kitchens, and the Education School. A new library has been added as well, of course, and one floor of offices has been installed for the Theology Faculty. Yet, most of the university is coming apart at the seams. Funds will be needed, but also a comprehensive plan is mandatory. All this when money is tight, when professors are aging, and when the student body has switched from Europeans to many students from developing countries who cannot contribute to the financial stability of the institution.

Well, the solutions will be coming soon. Hopefully not too many trees with come crashing down before then.

Advent begins

Storm Clouds over the UPS

The last day of November, and this is the first Sunday of Advent. Again I joined the Don Rua Community for the morning liturgy and breakfast. The conversation centered on the latest terrorist attack in Mumbay. Political groups use religion to fuel unrest so that they can seize power: this seems to be the tactics behind all the recent violence in India, according to some of the Indian Salesians with whom I spoke at table.

At this point I do not know what to think of all this. Still, I need to be more aware of what is happening in India, since yesterday I received an invitation from Fr Joe Almeida, provincial of the Salesians in Guwahati, to come next summer and facilitate three retreats. I need to respond to that invitation… I'll do this in the next couple of days, as soon as I am sure of my calendar and commitments for 2009.

In the meantime, I continue to reflect on the recent presentations that I have been making: in Malta, and yesterday with the Comunità Don Rua. Salesians, young and old, are anxious to receive more input on the Salesian spirit and charism. This is the area that we have worked on for many years at Berkeley and at the Spirituality Institute here at the UPS. I often think that the whole world is immersed in this… but then I find out that very few are hearing these instructions. More outreach is needed.

And since I am part of a group that is deep into all the Salesian sources and traditions, it is imperative that I and all those others who are doing Salesian research respond to those who are asking for more.

This is also why it is very important that we form a team of younger scholars to take up the research and the study. The Salesian world is vast, but too few are engaged in this study and teaching of the charism. We risk losing touch with our roots, losing sight of our goals, losing vigor to serve.

Those were the thoughts coming to me after these interventions. Rain continued to pour today in the morning. This weather keeps us close to home.

Retreat day with Don Rua Community at Sacrofano

The new director of Don Rua Community, Fr Jose Chunkapura, invited me to facilitate the trimester retreat for his community today. The retreat day was held at Sacrofano, at the Fraterna Domus. This was my third trip to this center.

Fraterna Casa preserves the natural environment to offer a place for prayer, reflection, study and fellowship as an innovative retreat center

The Fraterna Domus is called a Casa dell’Accoglienza (a hospitality house) rather than a retreat center. In reality, it is like an entire village. As usually happens, we left the UPS at 8.30 and reached Sacrofano by 9.00. The director had asked me to give a conference in the morning on Don Bosco in the Salesian constitutions. I gave this talk in the morning. That was followed by quiet time, adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at 11.30, dinner at 13.00, group sharing at 15.00, Mass at 17.00, followed by evening prayer.

Roman woods at Sacrofano

As I just said, I gave the morning talk. I also facilitated the group sharing, and presided and preached at the mass, which was the liturgy of the last Saturday of the liturgical year.

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament: Don Rua Community at Prayer

In my talk I centered on Don Bosco’s efforts to give the Salesian Society the constitutions in accordance with the standards and demands of the Church during the years of the founding experience. The fact that he had to revise the constitutions repeatedly became a learning process for him. He began to realize that the norms were important, but that it was crucial to name the spirit that animated his emerging community. This experience was similar to that of all the great founders, and in a particular way, to that of Francis de Sales who gave the first community of the Visitation of Holy Mary not only the constitutions but also the directory.

Village of Sacrofano. In the distance you can see Roma. The minaret of the Great Mosque at Parioli and the cupola of St Peter’s Baslica stand out… okay, you need extremely good eyes!

Don Bosco’s original purposes risked dissolving when the revision of Canon Law in 1917 meant a more juridical interpretation of religious documents such as constitutions and regulations. The call of Vatican II to religious and consecrated persons to “return to the spirit of the founder” offered the Salesians the opportunity to rethink the constitutions. The re-writing of these moved them away from language of dry demands to become an exhortation. In fact, there is more of Don Bosco to be found the constitutions today than in the official text between 1917 and 1971.

Roman pines and park within the grounds of Fraterna Domus

In my mind, these are all known facts. However, the bulk of the Salesian priests on this retreat were born in the 1970s. The only constitutions that they have ever known are those approved in 1984, which are the fruit of the long effort to renew religious life in the spirit of Vatican II. They did not know the history, and they did not know the stories of what Don Bosco went through to found the Salesian Family, and what the Salesians have gone through to faithfully bring the Salesian Family into changed times and new cultural realities.

Fraterna Domus is built as a series of buildings of various sizes, with rooms for hospitality, for group work, for conferences, and for worship. Each has its own character

At this point, I do not yet know how all this was received by the Don Rua community. They seemed happy and were certainly responsive. Yet, since the day was spent in silence, it is hard to tell what they really felt about it. On the other hand, I was happy to have the down time too. It rained off and on most of the day, but I wandered around the grounds of Fraterna Domus, through the woods and around the porticoes. I listened to podcasts from Vatican Radio, and let my imagination flow.

Don Albino Ronco, Paul Rabha (India) and Paolo Liu-Qing-Chun (China) in group sharing

Following the Eucharist we celebrated the Evening Prayer. We could not integrate them into the mass because we did the Saturday liturgy, but with Vespers we move to the opening of the next day… that is Sunday… and the first Sunday of Advent. The prayers were well done; the music helped involved everyone, and we ended the day with the sun down and hearts at peace. The return trip to Rome and the UPS went very well, in spite of the rain.

And at the evening meal with my Gesù Maestro community, I heard thay they enjoyed their retreat day at Salesianum, in via della Pisana. We can now turn our thoughts toward Advent and the Christmas season.

Padre Rafael Montenegro (Venezuela) chats with director Fr Jose Chunkapura (India) over a cup of coffee before leaving Sacrofano after the retreat day.

Salesians who try to finish degrees

Sinval Marques Pereira takes notes

Today I thought I would be simply preparing my classes for next week and correcting assignments that have come in to me… but I had the visit of several students who asked me to help them with the preparation of their thesis proposals.

Working on the thesis for the licentiate is always daunting, but I see that they are making headway. Some spoke to me a month ago, and already they are making breakthroughs. They are less “lost” than they seemed a few short weeks ago. In other words, I feel that enthusiasm is maturing in many of these students, and capacity as well.

What they need to keep in mind is that completing the degree is an honor but urgent. Qualifications and training at this level is vital, not only for themselves, but for their provinces and the young people that they educate. Once they have their degrees and qualifications, they will have learned the method to train and form others. They will then be able to better equip others to share in the Church’s mission.

Of course it is not easy. Every one of us would rather be directly involved in the work of education and evangelization. We would rather be right there with the people and with the young. When I was 29, I worked with 110 teenagers in a special education situation. There was a lot of satisfaction to that. I felt I was making a difference in the lives of young people who needed real help. Now, at 59, I rarely spend time with teenagers directly. However, I work with 78 adults who will be working in education, or in the missions, or faith formation. My students come from many different countries and from every continent. I am just one of many teachers that follow them up… but my hope is that I can help them to strengthen their own response and to become more qualified, more capable, more zealous in the mission to which they are called.

Yes, in my youth I imagined that I would spend my whole life working with kids-at-risk… That would have brought a lot of joy to me: a lot of satisfaction that I was making a difference. Things have not turned out that way. Yet my hope is that, in strengthening the vocation of young adults given to the mission of education, my contribution will make a difference in the lives of many more young people than the original 100 to whom I was dedicated back in the day.

Thanksgiving reflections from Italy

Today is Thanksgiving Day in the USA. It is not Thanksgiving Day in Italy.

This may seem obvious, but I have been surprised by how many of my friends in the USA have asked me, «How do the Italians celebrate Thanksgiving Day?».

Italy does not have this holiday tradition. Oh, this does not mean that Italians do not have a tradition of pilgrims! The difference is that pilgrims here were not Calvinists or Separatists from England who left from the Netherlands to arrive in North America at Plymouth Rock. Pilgrims here make the journey on foot, to shrines and sanctuaries and holy places, in prayer and penance, as individuals who build community along the way. They live the journey in all simplicity, and are welcomed by families and communities who provide space and nurture for them as they make their way to the holy place. The tradition is centuries old, and not particularly Italian. It has grown up in Christian Europe, but has its roots in ancient Israel and before.

But that is a topic for a later reflection… and I just put it to say that the American reference to “The Pilgrims” is to a group that has historic import to British North America. Italy does not share this history.

In any case, I did send greetings to many of my family members and friends through e-mail and other electronic means. There was news this morning of an attack against Americans in India (Mumbai and other places: a coordinated, simultaneous massacre). I wondered it that attack was timed to coincide with Thanksgiving. I’m sure it was. So my thoughts and prayers go out to all those persons and families hurt by this evil event.

With that news in front of us today, it seems banal to make other reflections on the little stories of daily life. It seems to me that chatter comes to a halt when we see such evil. We stunned by the malice of it all, and need to ponder what it all means.

But this is all the more reason to call down the blessings of God on one another: that the feast of Thanksgiving may be a time for cherishing loved ones, remembering the good that God and others have done for us, and reflecting on how we may offer these gifts back to humanity for the good of all.

Buona festa di Ringraziamento: Happy Thanksgiving.

Class discussions and computer issues solved

Yesterday’s class began with the worrisome sign that the cord of the computer had become too hot and begun to melt. That was on my mind from the time I woke up today, but only to work out a strategy for purchasing that same part as soon as possible. However, for today's classes, I did not need any electronic resources. This was to be an interactive day in our class.

English-speaking Asia-Asian Pacific Group

There was no need to use Power Point this morning in my Youth Spirituality course. Today was the day we had already set aside for group work on chapter two of the text by Jacques Schepens, who taught the course for 20 years before I took it up last year.

Polish-speaking Euro-Africa Group

In the beginning of the term I had expressed my hope that the students would work in groups according to the languages in which they felt most comfortable speaking. The last time we did this, some went to the Italian speaking groups because they wanted to improve their command of this language. The result was that they could not speak, and the Italians themselves were inhibited from sharing because they had to accommodate those who struggled with the tongue.

English-speaking Africa-Asia Group

After that experiment in free organization, I decided to become quite direct both yesterday and today. The point of the group discussion is that everyone have a chance to speak and to listen, I stressed. Even if people are of the same language, the variety of experience because of country of origin and apostolate mean that there will still be an opportunity to see how others work in other parts of the world.

Arabic-speaking Group (Egypt, Lebanon, Syria)

Now this little but insistent introduction had its effect. When I sent them go into groups, they did divide by languages. Two Brazilians and two Congolese joined with Italians, but that was fine since they all have been in Italy for some time and command the language very well. For the rest, we ended up with one Spanish-speaking group, two English-speaking groups, two Italian-speaking groups, one Polish group and one Arabic-speaking group. And did they ever talk! Wow! The discussions were very animated!

Italian-speaking Group (Italy-East Asian Pacific)

The class broke into seven groups today. As I say, the discussions seemed quite lively. The topic comes from the second chapter of Fr Jacques Schepens presentation on youth spirituality. That chapter, which he calls Spirituality in the Context of the Christian Religion. This is an interesting chapter, considering that he spends most of this unit on the search for God in a secularized, post-modern environment. Specifically, he examines some of the major literary and philosophical figures of the 20th century… figures such as Simone Weil (1909-1943) and Etty Hillesum (1914-1943), neither of whom entered the Church but who came to know God intimately as the Transcendent, or as vertical transcendence. The unit goes on to look at the search for transcendence (horizontal transcendence) but philosophers such as Albert Camus, Luc Ferry and André Comte-Sponville. While these and other search for Transcendence (if not meaning) in life, they also open the door to new ways of thinking of the Sacred. They are at home with Religiosity without the Church, or even of Religiosity without God. Where does that leave the Church? Where does that leave Christian educators?

Italian-speaking Group (Brazil, Congo, Ivory Coast, Romania, Italy)

The groups all grappled with these and similar issues. As the groups discussed, I went from group to group to listen in… and sometimes even to share my thoughts, when asked by the group to do so. I had no problem joining in or at least listening to those groups speaking Italian, Spanish or English. With the Polish group and the Arabic-speaking group, I simply listened to catch the expression in the voices, and watched the expression on the face of each speaker. While I did not spend a long time with each group, I saw enough to realize that each and every person participating today had read with discernment, and was ready to pronounce their considered opinion on the issues at hand.

Spanish-speaking Group (Spain & Latin America)

When the time came to cease discussion and give some feedback to the wider group, there were some who went on discussing. It was as if I was cutting them short. They got over it, and shared their impressions of the process. All seemed quite happy to go through this sharing with others. Some affirmed that these were topics that demanded a deep participation, and others noted that hearing the impressions of other readers, who may have come from a different part of the globe, was quite stimulating.

As soon as the bell rang, I was ready to dismiss the students… but a few wanted to speak with me as we left the classroom… so much so that I had to hurry to a meeting of the professors of the Spirituality Institute. We were having our monthly meeting today during the last morning class period. The entire length of the meeting was dedicated to approving (or not) thesis proposals. We have more students than professors to follow them up… but that is a chapter for another day.

A quick bite to eat, and then headed down to city center, to find the Mac store. I brought along the ruined power pack, plugged in my iPod, and caught the 90 bus for Stazione Termini. From there I walked to St Mary Major, where I found via Merulana… and then walked down the street in search of the Macstore, which is called Futura Grafica (Future Graphics).

This was the store where I purchased that last powerpack when in May 2007 I had a similar problem. When I showed the burned powerpack to the Macstore employees, they did not seem surprised. Within 30 seconds they pulled a new one from the shelf. In my conversation with them, I discovered that this is a common problem.

Well, this is the fifth time that I have had a problem with my present laptop… Damage to the hard disk has been covered by the guarantee, but as of August, the extended guarantee has run out. I need to make plans to get a new laptop in the coming year. With this in mind, I browsed through the computers on display at Futura Grafica. I purchased an upgrade of the Operating System for my desktop (Mac Leopard). A new OS is planned for 2009 (snow leopard), but no one knows when that will become available.

That's it, then. I spent 30 minutes in a different world, that of computers and technology… with my mind on things besides theology and culture. Then I started back home, anxious to catch the 90 bus before nightfall. That put me back on via Merulana, toward S. Maria Maggiore… There she was: right at the center of things. The sight of this church was enough to bring me back out of MacWorld and into Roma Caput Mundi. The trip home was relaxing and happy… It was not so bad after all that my powerpack burned the cord, because I had a little outing to a beautiful part of the city.

Santa Maria Maggiore, seen from the via Merulana

Computer issues … again

When I tried to plug in my computer in the classroom this morning, so that I could show a powerpoint, there was no connection. I thought the electricity in the room was out. Then I noticed that the cord of the power-pack was damaged… slightly burned, really.

With a bit of care, I was able to get it to work. This was important, since the material that I was presenting in the Youth Spirituality course (TA2160: Spiritualità Giovanile) was all new. It is not contained in the classnotes that I had printed and distributed to the class at the start of the term.

Happily, my computer and I made it through the double class period. Still, it is very risky. I absolutely need to buy a new cable for the computer. It is the second time that this has happened with the cable while in Rome (the last time was in May 2007). I don't know if Macintosh is ready for the extreme conditions that electricity in Italy tends to exhibit. It means that I will need to make a trip to the Apple Store tomorrow. I cannot do it today, because I have another a triple class period this afternoon with those in my seminar on Salesian storytelling.

Classes? They are going well. I'll bring this all up-to-date soon, if my computer survives.

Formation issues over coffee

My return flight to Rome yesterday was the same as that booked by Paul Formosa, who has come to Italy for a series of formation meetings in Turin. I met Paul at his house — St Alphonsus — at 7.00… and after a quick cup of coffee, Eric Cachia brought the two of us to the airport.

Paul Formosa, Salesian leader of Malta

Malta's airport is stupendous: open spaces, a great atrium, marble floors, spacious areas for clearing security… and there it was basically empty when we got there. So we had a chance to have another cup of coffee as we waited at the gate. How cool is that? Instead of tight chairs crowded in the gate area, Malta's departure lounge if filled with tables and chairs. There are diners and cafes here and there, and you can sit at a table and chat with friends while you wait for your flight to be called. Amazing, really.

Paul and I reviewed the events of the last few days before he went on to speak of his purpose in coming to Italy. Malta has two young Salesians in the second year of theology at the Crocetta in Turin, and one novice at Monteoliveto in Pinerolo. There are consultations these days of all the provinces that have young people in these formation programs, and Paul wanted to arrive early so he can speak personally with the two Maltese theology students before the meetings take place.

The problem of choosing the right formation program is felt very acutely by the Maltese Salesians. They are too small to have their own novitiate or theology school, so they must send their novices to other provinces. In the past they have sent them to England, to Ireland, to Sicily (for novitiate) to Rome, to Ireland, to Israel (for theology). Now they are choosing formation houses in the environs of Turin. This is where Don Bosco started… where the Salesians started. It is not a glamorous place, as Maynooth, Rome, Bethlehem or Jerusalem would be. But, do you know what? The young Maltese in formation really like these communities (Monteoliveto and Crocetta).

Salesian house at the Crocetta in the 1970s

What is wrong with the program in Jerusalem or Rome or All Hallows in Ireland? Great programs, all of them, but they leave a feeling of discomfort for the Maltese Salesians, says Paul. The Salesians in Malta live in environments that are small and very personable. Rome is big and dispersive. All Hallows has a great academic program in pastoral theology, but Ireland itself has no young Salesians, so to study there is to forego a peer group. Jerusalem is … well, besides being a bit dangerous at the present time, is not as organized as it could be. It offers a program in English, but all the resources remain in Italian.

It may seem strange to say that formation in Turin is more on the small, personable side which appeals the the Maltese. Turin has a population of two million people, but there is a small town feel to it.

This comes through with the theology program at the Crocetta. It is community based. Studies in theology are done in an environment of discernment, vocational and personal. The community is international, with about 60 students, but everything is oriented to the same goal. This differs from Rome, where each person works out his own program in a university setting. Rome stresses degrees; Crocetta stresses preparation for a life of ministry in community.

So this was the gist of the discussion between Paul and I. We spoke of all this and more over coffee, and during that time several people came up to greet him… several of them cousins, actually. At 9.10 we began to the boarding process for our flight to Rome, and continued the discussion of formation, of youth ministry, of education and catechesis, of the life of the Salesian Family in Malta, in Ireland, and a few English-speaking countries where we have common friends. 

Once we arrived in Rome, Paul continued to Torino for his week of meetings, and I took the local train to Rome's northern end. I got off at Nuovo Salario and walked back to the University. It was clear, sunny, windy, wonderful. It took me 20 minutes to make the uphill trek, and I had just enough time to clean up for the mid-day meal: Sunday dinner. For the rest of the day I washed clothes and got nostalgic for Malta.

Oratorian heart of Don Bosco - model and criteria for Salesian apostolate

The theme of the Salesian Family Symposium at Sliema this year is Educating with the heart of Don Bosco. When Paul Formosa invited me to speak at the conference, he spoke about giving the audience some historical perspective on Don Bosco and his preventive system of education with some applications to the contemporary situation of young people, their families and educators.

At first I worried that I would not have anything to say, and that I should turn this down… but I had turned down other invitations to come to Malta in the past couple of years because of the costs of travel or the time ot the year. I did not want to tell the Salesians in Malta again that I was not able to come. So I thought of building my talk around recent teachings of Pascual Chavez as well as delving into the famous Oratory Criteria for Salesian spirit and mission as outlined in the Salesian constitutions.

And what are the Oratory criteria? Briefly we can speak of them with four phrases. The Salesian educative and pastoral environment, intentionally and charismatically, needs to become:

A home that welcomes

A school that educates

A church that evangelizes

An open space where friends can meet and grow together

The «oratory criteria», outlined in chapter 40 of the Salesian constitutions, are perhaps a more complete way that the traditional labels of «preventive system» with «reason, religion and kindness».

In article 40 of the Salesian constitutions we read:

Don Bosco lived a pastoral experience in his first Oratory which serves as a model; it was for the youngsters a home that welcomed, a parish that evangelized, a school that prepared them for life, and a playground where friends could meet and enjoy themselves.

As we carry out our mission today, the Valdocco experience is still the lasting criterion for discernment and renewal in all our activities and works.

These statement — the oratory model — formed the core of my thought in developing the presentation for the Salesian Family in Sliema yesterday.

Photos: 1) Zambia camping trip, 27 August 2006 [Swavek]; 2) Children missionaries to their peers, San Pedro Carchá, Guatemala, 13 September 2004 [ANS]; 3) Salesian Youth Movement prayer experience, Brazil, 7 September 2008 [ANS]; 4) Zambian youth dance by tradition, 9 December 2006 [Swavek].

Malta: Salesian Family Day

Salesian Family Symposium 2008: Educating with the Heart of Don Bosco… this was the main activity of this day. Interaction with the Salesians and others continued throughout the day, however, and what I learned from many conversations and contacts helped me to shape my presentation at the Symposium.



As I had done yesterday, this morning I woke up early and joined the mass at St Patrick's church, at the entrance of the school. Fr Joseph Cini, who was already chaplain when I visited in 1997, continues in that post and celebrated the morning Eucharist. Then, after a quick breakfast with the Salesians of St Patrick's, I returned to Number 10 Downing the Street (as they joke about the delegation house and its address) to work on notes for this evening's Salesian Family Symposium. In fact, the reason for my coming to Malta this week has been to make a presentation to the members of the Salesian Family in Malta gathered for this Symposium.

Tonight's event was the Third Annual Salesian Family Symposium (but really the fourth such gathering) for Malta.

The first symposium was held in 2004 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the canonization of St Dominic Savio. The second was held in November 2006, in the year of Mamma Margaret and at the time that she was declared Venerable. In 2007 the theme was Return to Don Bosco and the Oratory spirit.

All these Salesian Family Days have tried to develop the yearly themes of the Salesian Family as given by the Rector Major in the strenna, so it is no surprise that this year's theme is Educating with the Heart of Don Bosco.

The keynote for this year's presentation is assigned to me. It is a bit daunting, really. There are posters of the even all over the island. I have seen my name in print more in the last two days in Malta than during my whole life in California or elsewhere. And when I introduce myself to people here, they all recognize the name because, of course, they have seen it on the poster and, they tell me, they are looking forward to this evening's events. If I was not already prone to have butterflies in my stomach before speaking, this would have put a whole garden of butterflies inside my gut.

After two days of listening to the Salesians here, I re-worked my presentation through most of the morning today. With the assistance of powerpoint, I presented the story of how Don Bosco began his mission of evangelization and educative among the young of Turin in the 1840s… and how from experience he became more aware of new needs and new challenges.

My talk was followed by a question and answer period. Then two young people gave testimony. They were Dorothy Bugeja and John Caruana.

Dorothy is a leader of the SPYS program, well-known throughout the entire country for youth empowerment. She spoke of how she came to know the Salesian way through her involvement in Youth Ministry. She did not know of Don Bosco or the Salesian way before joining SPYS, but she found herself at home with the style and spirit, and it has transformed her life.

John is a Science and Physics teacher at Savio College in Dingli. He only met Don Bosco and the Salesians during his last year of university when doing his student teaching practicum. He did this at Savio College, and enjoyed the experience so thoroughly that when the course was completed, he submitted his résumé for a position as a physics teacher at the school on a permanent basis. In fact, he turned down higher paying positions to do this. Now, he is in his second year at Savio College, and speaks of Don Bosco as his "second father. The interventions by both young people were outstanding.

At 20.00, the assembly moved across the street to St Patrick's chapel for the Sunday liturgy of Christ the King. Fr Paul Formosa presided and 8 priests concelebrated. Music was led by the young adults of Savio College Formation Group, and young people from SPYS, the Oratory and St Patrick's had leading parts to play in the liturgy. The evening ended formally with the mass, but many stayed around to visit in the vestibule after the liturgy.

At this point the impressions are very great and I still need to process the event. It has been a full and wonderful day.

Malta: Salesians try something new

Trip to Senglea

At 10.00 in the morning I met Paul Formosa at his house, St Alphonsus, on Triq Carm Galea. Besides being provincial delegate of the Maltese delegation, Paul is rector of this community which celebrates 100 years this year. I had a cup of coffee with Paul and with Eric Cachia, the community and delegation financial administrator. Then Paul drove me to the bay town of Senglea, which is one of the poorest areas of the nation.

Entrance to St Alphonsus Community on Triq Carm Galea

The Salesians have been wanting to work in this area of the country for years, but there never seemed to be an opening. Last year, however, the Jesuits moved out of a "house" where they had been working for 50 years, and the Archbishop offered the house to the Salesians. Two ex-provincial delegates are working there and forming the first community as of last month, October. They are Victor Mangion (rector) and Alfred Sacco. They are joined by the only Brother of the delegation, Emanuel Gatt.

As we neared the town of Senglea, Paul pointed out the dome of the parish church. That church, baroque in the style of the 1500s, is a beauty to behold. But we are not in the parish. We have our own house, he said, and pointed to another dome. We got closer and I realized that the house is a convent -- a huge one at that.

"The Jesuits could not longer carry forward their mission here," Paul told me, "so this is why we have the opportunity. But the house needs a lot of work."

I looked at the main entrance, and recognized the statue of St Philip Neri. "So, the Oratorian Fathers were here first?" I asked.

Paul looked surprised. "Yes! How did you know that?"

"The statue of Filippo Neri. Who else would put that at the entrance?" My response made Paul laugh… and we walked up the short way from where we parked on the street to enter by the open door, under the guardianship of St Philip Neri, who was distracted obviously, because he was looking out over the roofs at the sea.

Victor was in his office, waiting for us, and Alfred came up the corridor almost immediately. There were workmen everywhere, plastering, painting, sanding… well, workmen and their adolescent sons who worked beside their fathers in the trade. I could not help but reflect how when most people move, they remodel their homes so that they can get a higher value for the sale. This place has been neglected for years. It isn't that the Jesuits got old and could not maintain it. They came 50 years ago, and the last attempt to clean the facility goes back before their arrival. How sad.

We walked from room to room on what I thought was the ground floor… and until we went down a flight of stairs… and saw another door out to the ground… More rooms, high ceilings, and two or three entrances. "This is the part we will give over to the young people for their games," said Fr Victor. "The real idea of the center is to reach out to the poor of this area," he continued. "At this point we are making contacts… but mainly we are cleaning up this old monastery.

Succession seen in Senglea:
Paul Formosa, at center, with his two predecessors as provincial delegates,
Alfred Sacco (L) and Victor Mangion (R).

On the lower floor there was one door locked. Victor pulled out his huge keyring and unlocked it, and accompanied us inside to the convent library. As with most of the building, the room was covered with a layer of dust, but this was the convent treasure. The books went back to the 1600s and 1700s. I recognized the style of binding, since I had worked in a library through high school and college. There were books on pastoral life and preaching, as well as on arguments of Christian teaching. This was the formative resource of generations of Oratorians who had ministered on the island of Malta, and now these books all rested quietly on open shelves, waiting to be rediscovered by scholars. All the books that I looked at were written in Latin. It would have been wonderful to work through a few shelves and see what was really there, but there was no time. Our tour continued.

We climbed the stairs again, and then went into what I thought was a side room. Instead, it was the entry to the room. From here we could see two bays, with ocean liners and fishing fleets. The bay of Valletta, and the Mediterranean Sea beyond.

Cruise ship moving docked at Valletta

We could also see the parish church, which was barely a five-minute walk on the street. Victor explained that the parish church (The Nativity of Mary) was bombed by the Germans during World War II, as were many other churches, and the docks and ports. But this convent was never bombed. This was not a miracle, but a practical matter for the Germans. From the air they used to spot the dome of this convent church, and the dome would guide them into the harbor, where they would make their attacks. Just as they did with London, the Germans bombed Malta continuously during 1941, for this was an important port for the British. And just as in London, the people of Malta courageously rode out the bombings.

Red dome of the convent church makes the it highly visible

The parishioners took advantage of the sad situation, and moved everything into the convent. It housed people and was the church for the duration of the war. Only after the war did they rebuild their church of the Nativity of Mary. They rebuilt it according to the style and specifications of the original 1580 structure, and in 1956 this parish and national shrine to the Virgin Mary was completed and consecrated. It had been declared a basilica by Benedict XV in 1921, and it looks every bit that today.

Relevant to the Salesians is that the convent and church that they have taken over last month actually belongs to the parish ever since the Oratorians left. So, all the expense for the renovations are paid for by the parish.

To get a better look, we climbed up to the next level of roof – the roof of the convent church. It is dedicated officially to St Philip Neri, but the people of the region and the sailors and fishing population call it "Our Lady of Good Port". When from the sea they see the red dome and the massive doors of the Church, they know they can turn into the safe harbor. So not just the Germans used the church as a guide into Malta's harbors; the people have done it for four centuries.

View of the entrance of the bay into the Mediterranean Sea from church roof

We climbed up to the roof of the church by means of the bell tower. The view was even more complete that that which we had seen from the roof of the convent. It was also evident that, except for a row of homes immediately in front of the church, the majority of the dwellings in the neighborhood are poorer… especially as the stretch away from the convent. "This will represent a new kind of work for us," Paul explained to me. "We are not going to set up a new structure here, like a school or a hostel. Instead our plan and hope is to work with existing agencies: to bring our sensibilities to people already working for the poor of Senglea.

This sounded interesting. It is something that, in our own province, we have been trying to do in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles. Of course, we do not have a 17th-century shrine to work from, I thought. This does have the advantage of adding visibility to the Salesians who will engage in this outreach mission.

After a good look around, the four of us climbed back down through the belltower and followed into the church. The church is bigger inside that I had suspected from the outside or even from the roof. Or maybe this is illusion. In any case, the worship space is perfectly baroque (and I love baroque). There was evidence of a lot of cleaning and polishing going on in these days. The people who are attached to this church as their woship community are getting the church ready for the visit of the Rector Major, Pascual Chávez, on 9 December, when he will celebrate a mass here.

Will that mass be a way to launch the mission? Will it just be a stop-over of sorts? This is an important question. The risk of the new presence in Senglea is that people may expect the Salesians to become curators of a 16th-century convent and church… museum curators. Instead, they have come to Senglea to make a contribution to the poor families and the young. They are hoping to to really work for the human development of these families. Quite a proportion of Salesians in Malta are trained psychologists, social workers and counselors. They are attracting a number of young adults to the community who are already trained in these skills. Hopefully, the mission at Senglea can be shaped by this expertise and awareness.

This was the gist of our conversation as we walked through the convent, and as Paul and I drove back to Sliema. New challenges demand new expertise and innovative approaches, but in the same spirit of the Salesian charism. And the new challenges, represented by Senglea offer new hope to the Salesians in Malta.