Symposium on the Filotea

This morning at the UPS we celebrated the 400th Anniversary of the publishing of the Introduction to the Devout Life by St Francis de Sales (summer 1609) with a symposium.

Speakers at today's seminar: Eunan McDonnell, Valentín Viguera, Anne-Marie Baud, Joseph Boenzi, Eugenio Albuquerque, Moran Wirth, Aldo Giraudo

 It is almost two years ago that Aldo Giraudo and I began to speak of this and to plan for it. Originally my suggestion was for a scholars seminar, similar to what takes place in Stella Niagara every second year. Aldo and I contacted Salesians who study Francis de Sales and invited them to take part. We got a good response.

When the word reached the Formation Department at the Salesian General Headquarters, the formation councilor, don Francesco Cereda, invited all the formation houses of the Salesian family in Rome to attend. Thus, instead of a three day scholars' seminar, we were slated to give a one-day formation workshop with the scholars making their contributions.

And then… to complicate things a bit, the outgoing rector of the Salesian Pontifical University, don Mario Toso, was appointed secretary of the Vatican Commission on Justice and Peace, and named Archbishop. This afternoon is his ordination at St Peter's. This meant that we had to cut the seminar down to the morning.

Eight interventions in four hours? We did it, with over 300 people in attendance. It was all received very well, but of course we are all reeling from the intensity of it. At this point, most are hurrying off to St Peter's for an episcopal ordination. Aldo and I have just caucused to discuss publishing the Acts of this seminar… but we also intend just to bring some of the speakers into Rome this evening for a little tourist relaxation and a thank you supper in the old city.

Since it is all about the Introduction to the Devout Life, we will have to order something that is made with honey.

Duty to pray for the dead - visit to Genzano

Even though I have four courses to teach this semester, and these take a lion's share of my time, I've decided that I'm going to do what I can and then relax. Today I went with a group of professors to visit the "holy ground" (campo santo - cemetery) in the hill town of Genzano outside Rome. Over 30 deceased members from our university community are buried. My schoolmate from theology, Mario Toso, recently named archbishop for the Pontifical Commission of Peace and Justice, presided at the Eucharist and gave the homily (Italian cemeteries usually have a chapel on the grounds, and it is very common that people gather there for masses on the anniversary of the death of their loved ones, and in particular during the month of November). The liturgy was simple and heartfelt and quite moving really.

Following the mass, we went to the actual mausoleum where the Salesians are buried. There we were led in a prayer for our brothers and a blessing of their resting place. We then spent some time visiting tombs of some of the family members of Salesians. A group of townspeople joined us, as with 40 priests in albs and purple stoles, we could not be missed.

From the campo santo, we went down the road and into the heart of the town where we stopped on via Fratelli Cervi 33, at Ristorante Pizzeria Bernoni, owned by a Salesian past pupil from Genzano. There we gathered for a meal together and to enjoy the company of one another. The organizers of the day called this a merenda (a light snack), but it had all the makings of a dinner of appetizers, with prosciutto, salami, roasted zucchini and egg plant, mortadella, chestnuts (traditional for All Souls Day and commemorations in November) and two incredible wines from the Roman hills.

Professors and University Staff enjoy All Souls Day Merenda

Another banquet feature were the words of welcome at the beginning from the organizers and the restaurant owner, who told of his boyhood days with the Salesians in Genzano and how he and his school mates used to celebrate All Souls Day with a hike to the cemetery and a meal of cold cuts and chestnuts. At the end there were words of thanks by the provinical superior and the applause of allthe participants. In fact, we were gathered from five different communities of professors and student-priests and normally we do not have a lot of community time together. So this was a great moment of fellowship.

Rains begin on All Souls Day

They told me that there was rain before my arrival last week, but since I set foot in Rome, the skies have been a limpid blue, the air very fresh and at times icy, the sun bright. Today, however, there was a big change in the weather. The skies remained dark all morning, and by early afternoon we were treated to a storm. The rain continued to pour for the rest of the day, until well after nightfall.

This is All Souls Day. The day is observed with great seriousness each year, and at the University all the communities came together to pray for the dead in the evening at 19.15.

The prayer service consisted in a reading from Sacred Scripture and from the Constitutions of the Salesian Society, followed by a decade of the rosary with the Glorious Mysteries. A powerpoint gave the words for a hymn, and then with each Ave Maria, there was a slide with a photograph of a Salesian of the university who had died, beginning with don Ugo Gallizia, who died on 5 September 1963 while preparing to defend his doctoral thesis. He was to head up the Latin School at the UPS, but died before the university buildings were completed. After don Ugo, the names were presented one at a time, moving forward in time. This was repeated for each decade: Scripture, Constitutions, Hymn, decade of the rosary with the photographs of the deceased.

The first one that I knew was Signor Francesco Milani (†10 September 1991). His name came with the second Ave of the third decade. The Salesian from the first Ave of that decade — Bernardus Van Hagens — died on 25 September 1990 and was buried the day that I arrived as a graduate student in Rome, 27 September 1990.

When I was young, these All Souls Day prayer services, even back in my parish at Savio in Bellflower, were poignant, but more a curiousity for me. Now that I know 34 Salesians of this university who have died and whose photos I saw presented as we prayed… well, it takes on a more personal tone. And of course I thought of the Salesians of my own province, all of whom I know either from personal contact since I was 4 years old, or from the stories told to me by my teachers and pastors during my boyhood years. I pictured them as well as my deceased family members and friends in my mind as the university community prayed and sang tonight.

Sigh. But if we have all of November to remember those who have died, tonight's service was a beatiful motivator to do just that.

Don Bosco coming to California in 2010

The committee for the pilgrimage of Don Bosco's relics to California is now up and running… well, maybe not running. Today I met with Frank Lavin and Al Baccari at Capurro's Restaurant at Fisherman's Warf. It was a dinner meeting, and quite productive. We have now a general outline of what can take place in California. We need a similar committee in Los Angeles, and we will get one going.

Details of what arrival and departure dates are about all we have at this point. The relics will be delivered to us on Saturday, 11 September 2010; we must make sure that they are delivered to the New Rochelle province on Sunday, 19 September 2010. At this point there would be a lot to say, but I just put down in point-form what we discussed today at noon.

A view of the kitchen of the Bosco family home at the Becchi (Castelnuovo Don Bosco) dressed up as it would have appeared during Don Bosco's boyhood (Photo by Teresio Chiesa, Elledici, Leumann-Torino)

Goals:

1. Evangelization, Catholic faith: gospel, family, justice, especially for God’s “little people.”
2. Acquaint all Christians with Don Bosco
3. Celebrate the last 150 yrs.; look towards the next 150 yrs.
4. Vocations

• extend an invitation to all SF Arch pastors
• invite religious congregations
• invite other Christians, and non-Christians
• invite local civic officials
• promote education
• story-telling- the Salesian story
• build a festival around it
• SSPP ground zero
• vocations
• selling Catholicism
• sports, arts, academia, history to be celebrated
• Kevin Starr
• demonstrate the Salesian movement within the church, especially as it applies towards families and young people
• we need an extraordinary writing team
• educators
• Salesian speakers
• civilian (laity) committee as well as Salesian religious committee needs to be formed
• same structure for LA
• make it a civic event
• relic as a rallying point
• answer- “How did he become a saint,” What was his relationship w/the Lord nad how did it get manifested in his life?”
• evangelization and education
• university radio: life of DB; Arthur Lenti interview
• Catholic SF paper, Italian Hour Radio and secular press
• what is a relic and why do we venerate it?
• church bulletins- DB Story as a Man of Action
• adoration before arrival; tied to the Eucharist.
• Blessed Mother sodalities- rosaries prayed
• Joe Lockwood, SDB, will be LA point man

Guwahati

Arrived in Guwahati today with the provincial Fr Joe Almeida and the provincial secretary and the director of the new Don Bosco University. The trip took four hours from Shillong.

Guwahati is very different from Shillong. I am told it is an ancient city and the gateway to Northeast India, but its downtown has a contemporary business feel. The racial makeup is decidedly more mixed than Shillong, with more people from south India and Bangladesh than what I saw in Shillong. Then again, Guwahati has a population of 1.5 million and hosts the capital of the newer state of Assam, which is more industrialized than the state of Meghalaya.

It is also much warmer and more humid.

I visited three Salesian centers today in addition to the provincial house: the Tepesia Tea Gardens that are the site of the new Don Bosco University at Guwahati; Snehalaya (a recovering project and home for street children) with the founder and director Fr Lukose Cheruvalei; Don Bosco Institute, on the banks of the mighty and majesty Brahmaputra River where I met the director Fr V. M. Thomas and my own community companion from Don Rua Rome 1990, Fr Francis Fernandez.

Some of the boys of Snehalaya

Each of these works is radically forward looking and prophetic. I am deeply impressed by the initiative of the Salesians and the spirit among the young people that I met in the various centers… but then that has been my feeling in every place of this province that I have visited.

On the Road to Shillong

Early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise…

Oh, you know that little proverb popularized by Benjamin Frankin and Poor Richard, do you? Yes, well I don't know about wealth or wisdom, but I severely doubt that getting up so early helps ones health. Here we are at the eastern edge of the Indian time zone and so the sun rises at 4.10 am. We were up before then. Anthony Valluran decided last night that we should celebrate mass at 5.00 am and get an early start. I could barely believe it, but everyone got up. The young people from the girls boarding and the boys boarding joined the Salesians for prayers and Eucharist, as they did yesterday. But it was all an hour earlier. Yesterday I merely concelebrated; today I was main celebrant. How do you preach at 5.00 in the morning? What is astounding to me is that all the young people prayed with us and knew all the responses for the mass, even though more than half are Hindus and Moslems.

"There is no hesitation to join in prayer here", Anthony pointed out to me. "India's tribal people are all very religious. The conflict between Hindus and Catholics, or between Moslems and Christians -- or even among the different Christian churches is something dreamed up by the politicians. The people overwhelmingly accept one another".

By 7:00 we had said goodbye to all the young people and to the Salesian staff of Don Bosco Conference Centre. We were on the road north to Shillong.

Don Bosco Centre in Silchar - a decade of efforts for the poor.

Now in Silchar, I need to say something about this center.

Anthony Valluran is the founder of this school and center. It is amazing really to see all he has done. I will post some photos and try to describe the work with them. This will make it easier.

In the year 2000 this area was nothing but swamp and field. The Salesians were interested in developing a presence for youth here for several reasons. One is that they had become aware that Silchar and the villages surround it were beginning to grow, thanks to an influx of immigrants from Bangladesh. Secondly, the province of Guwahati had outposts with missions in Misoram state and in Tripura and in the hills of Meghalaya, but these were very distant from one another. Silchar was between them. Having centers there could help the communication and travel between the mission stations and Salesian schools.

For this reason, Anthony Valluran, who had been instrumental in developing the Salesian works in Misoram, was asked to set up some new presence in the area of Silchar.

The work that Anthony developed is quite complex, as I hinted yesterday: a center for training teachers that can also serve as a retreat and conference center; a trade-training center for young men and for young women, specializing in the kinds of trades that are both needed and marketable; a school for local children that begins with elementary and continues into secondary; a boarding or youth hostel for young men (ages 17 to 22); a boarding or youth hostel for young women (ages 18 to 22). Both hostels cater to youth who come to learn trades, or English, or both. There are plans to transform the main building of the center to include accommodations for young teachers in the very near future.

Don Bosco School

Don Bosco School

Don Bosco School (or St John's School) begins with the primary grades and continue until grade 10, which is the last year of mandatory schooling according to Indian law. In the near future the Salesians plan to expand to include grades 11 and 12, which are a pre-university type of structure and, in many places, can stand alone. Years 11 and 12 do not receive the full government funding that years 1-10 do, and until now, very few in the area of Silchar ever dreamt of university education for their children. Don Bosco School is changing all that.

Inner patio of Don Bosco School, where the younger children play; older children play in the field behind the school building.

As soon as years 11-12 are functioning, the school will add a kindergarten and pre-K program. As it is now, the school functions in levels. The primary and elementary grades operate on the ground level; the middle and superior grades operate on the upper levels. A library is being developed that will serve all levels of the school, as well as a computer learning lab for the older children.

Don Bosco Technical Training Centre

Don Bosco Technical Training Centre

Don Bosco Technical Training Centre is more than a trade school: DBTTC includes a youth hostel for boys, shops for carpentry and welding, training in building contracting, language laboratory for English, a kitchen and dining facility for day students and hostel youth. The young men staying there showed us around the facility, beginning with their dormitory, where their bunks are clustered together in an airy upper storey room. They proudly explained their programs and told us of their hopes of future job opportunities, speaking to us in English as best they could. Some have only begun to learn English in the last two months, and we were impressed by their progress.

Don Bosco School and Training Centre seen side by side

There is a long pond between the school and the training center. This is not by design, but because one of the landowners refused to sell the parcel. He is not developing it. Everyone thinks that he sees the opportunity to let his land increase in value to sell it later to the Salesians… Little does he realize what a hand-to-mouth operation Don Bosco really is.

Don Bosco Conference Centre

The main building of the campus is Don Bosco Conference Centre. The Salesians live here in this building, although I am told that this is a temporary arrangement. On the ground floor there are dining rooms and a central kitchen, a library/resource center and a computer lab. Upstairs there is another dining room for the Salesians, a community chapel, a meeting room, laundry and residents for the Salesians. The plan is to amplify this facility so that it can house visiting teachers. The Salesians will be housed in a different structure.

Don Bosco Conference Centre (soon to expand to Teacher Training Centre)

Immediately adjacent to Don Bosco Conference Centre is what is now called the Girls Boarding. This residence can accomodate young women who sleep four or six to a room, and is similar to the boys' boarding across the campus. Since many of the primary teachers are women, the hope is that, as the Conference Centre develops, this facility may serve as housing for women who will frequent the short courses that will be put on offer. For the time being, however, the Girls Boarding welcomes young women (teens and early twenties) who enroll in computer, music and courses in Spoken English.

Don Bosco Girls Boarding, with girls participating in English-language courses this summer. Fr Anthony Valluran poses with the group.

View of the Girls Boarding as seen from the Teacher Training Centre

All in all, Don Bosco Silchar center is both complex and totally amazing.

Traveling eastward

Salesian Provincial Headquarters on Choudhury Road in Kolkata

It is Sunday and my time in Calcutta has come to an end. After joining the provincial community for mass this morning at 7:00 am (evidently sleeping in on a Sunday is not a tradition here), I repacked my things and spent some time visiting with the Salesians of the house.

The Salesian Provincial Headquarters are interesting. Besides a large residence for the Salesians and administrative offices, the compound hosts a huge center with services for Youth Counseling. Immediately adjacent to the Salesian compound is a school run by the Loretto Sisters. This is the group of religious to which Mother Teresa of Calcutta belonged when she first first arrived in India, and it was by working with the girls of this same school that she became aware of the horrendous poverty of the area — the realization that prompted her to leave Loretto and form a new community: the Missionaries of Charity. The Salesians bought the property for their Calcutta provincial center from the Loretto Sisters. In fact, this is the first of the Salesian provinces in India and goes back to 1926 (the same year that the San Francisco province was formed). The Salesian moved their headquarters to the present site in 1973.

I quickly understood that Salesian action in this quarter is extensive, but I did not have much time to explore. After an early lunch, Thomas and his driver took Anthony, George and me to the airport. We had to catch a 1:05 pm flight on Indian Air to Silchar.

The 60-minute flight took us over Bangladesh to land us in India’s northeast region. Anthony explained to me that the name Silchar means "field of rocks" and the city is nestled among the rocky hills in the southern part of the state of Assam. Until recently Silchar was not much more than a village. Recent development is due to the town's central location so that it has become a trading center for agriculture and light industries.

The Salesians have only been in Shilchar a few short years. Anthony Valluran is the founder of the work here. He arrived alone in the year 2000. In 2003 the first phase of the complex opened and two other Salesians moved in with Anthony. In 2005 Don Bosco at Ramnagar became a canonical community, with an elementary school, non-formal trade school, teacher training center and hostels for young women and young men who arrive for professional training and language study.

Extensive ponds and rice paddies: view from the Salesians' dining room at Don Bosco Shilchar

On the drive over from the airport, Bro. Regy Cherukunnel explained to me that the Don Bosco center has really been a boon to the area. In fact, what was only swamp a decade ago is now becoming populated as people establish their homes and shops close to the Salesian complex. What is more, interest in the Catholic faith is growing, thanks to the presence of the Salesians here. There is talk of creating a diocese soon for this region.

Anthony Valluran, famous for planting roses in Berkeley, poses in the flower garden that he planted at the boys hostel at Don Bosco Shilchar.

It got dark fairly soon after we took afternoon tea. I was able to see the boys' hostel and trade school. Anthony promises to show me more tomorrow.

Salesian educators in West Bengal

Last night we were met at the provincial house by Fr Anthony Valluran and a classmate of his by the name of Fr George Ukkran, who is from the Chennai province and works in formation. Both Anthony and George joined Thomas and I in a little tour of Calcutta surroundings today.

In the morning we visited the Don Bosco school at Park Circus.

Don Bosco Park Circus is the first school built by the Salesians in this area of the country. It is an English-medium school, and includes academic and trade sectors for children, teens and young adults. The new programs for job preparation are attracting a whole new clientele and the school is under expansion, which is incredible to me in this day and age when money is scarce. Still, from all appearances, the Salesians and their collaborators are moving ahead with great enthusiasm and solid support.

Fr Anthony Valluran (Guwahati province) and Thomas Kayyalackel (Kolkata province) both participated in the ISS at Berkeley in this past year (2008-2009)

Classes were not in session because the students were on their June break, we were told. However, the school grounds were filled with students playing organized games of football (soccer) and cricket (India is a leading country for this game, of course). As we toured the plant, however, I realized that there were a number of students still at work. Those enrolled in the trade-training programs were preparing for examinations. Passing these exams would land them placement in the job market of Kolkata and surroundings, if not across India. To have a Don Bosco diploma is credential enough for those in the trades.

Don Bosco Park Circus, Calcutta: cricket for the youngsters from the neighborhood and boys from the school.

Shortly before noon we arrived at the Marian Shrine of Bandel. This shrine, situated in the Hoogly district, goes back to the 17th century and centers around the recovery of a statue of the Virgin Mary that was originally placed in a Portuguese chapel 1599, but which was recovered from the river after the siege of Hougly in 1632. She is called Our Lady of Happy Voyage, and the original statue is today situated in a niche high up in the bell tower of the church built by the Christians in the 17th century.

Façade of the Basilica of Our Lady of Bandel

The shrine was made a basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1988 and so is known as the Basilica of Our Lady of Bandel. It is the oldest church in Bengal, and the Salesians have ministered here since 1928. As part of the shrine apostolate, the Salesians have created a retreat center out of the original Augustinian priory, and this attracts groups and individuals almost every day of the year for directed and group experiences. There is also a junior seminary as part of the complex, and a parish as well which is growing each year.

Frs Thomas continued to guide us through the Shrine, which neither Fr Anthony nor Fr George had ever visited before (and of course, this was my first visit as well). We met a lot of pilgrims who came to pray: religious women and men, laity, youth and young adults, families. There were many non-Christians who came to visit the shrine as well and they did so with great devotion.

Frs Thomas and Anthony and George at Marian Shrine Bandel

The church carries all the beauty of a Portuguese mission church. In fact, the church does not look too different from what you might find the Spanish mission churches in California, New Mexico or Texas. The exterior of the church is vested in granite and stone, but this is not original. The Salesians who came from Italy had all the exterior walls completed this way, not so much in imitation of the churches in Italy, but as a way to cut down on maintenance. What a good idea!

Main altar and sanctuary, with statue of Our Lady of Bandel

The church's interior is like a jewel box. It is cool and dark, and pilgrims remove their shoes, in typical Asian style, when they enter. The sanctuary of the church follows the Portuguese style, with the statue of Our Lady of Bandel at the center above the tabernacle. Processional statues decorate side altars, and the church invites recollection and devotion.

Journey to India - Kolkata

Arrived this morning in Calcutta, after a long journey that took me from San Francisco (SFO) to Washington (IAD)… to Dubai (DBX) on United Airlines… to Calcutta (CCU) on Air Emirates. Okay, officially it is Kolkata, but so far everyone who is from here is saying "Calcutta" to me. Interesting.

On my arrival at the international airport in Kolkata, Thomas Kayyalackel met me. Thomas did this past year in Berkeley for the ISS at Don Bosco Hall. His mother's failing health necessitated his early departure during Holy Week. It was a loss for us at Don Bosco Hall, but did a world of good to his mother, whose health immediately recovered.

Thomas has a driver, and he picked me up in a landrover right from the arrivals lane at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (CCU). It was about 10.00 when we arrived at the Salesian Provincial Headquarters in town, and after a quick shower and change of clothes, I was able to meet members of the provincial staff there in this very busy center. I joined the community for lunch and in the afternoon Thomas took me into the city, directly to the house founded by Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta.

Mother Teresa's founding center is in a very busy area of the city. One still sees street people and children begging… although the heavy traffic makes the area so noisy that it is very difficult to hear what people are saying to you. When we stepped out of the landrover, it was immediately obvious that here was a European and several children approached me asking for alms. I had no rupies with me. In fact, I had not even brought my wallet. Thomas took care of giving them something as he led me into a side alley and into the entrance of Mother Teresa's house.

We visited the care center, the children's hostel, and of course the rooms that were inhabited by the saint. A few of the sisters recognized Thomas, and invited us to stay for the Eucharist at 5.00 in the afternoon. We did stay and were able to concelebrate at the mass celebrated with over 100 people at Mother Teresa's tomb.

Of course I had brought my camera with me but was unable to take any photos of Mother Teresa's house. To my horror, I discovered that I packed the wrong batteries for my camera. I had brought akaline batteries. They did not work with the camera. Whoa!

Thankfully, Thomas had a contact who has contacts, and we went into a place into a popular shopping area filled with booths and stalls. What I needed were lithium batteries, and after conveying the concept in Bengali, we bought rechargeable lithium batteries and a recharger. Now we're in business.

Buying lithium batteries and a recharger on a Calcutta sidestreet… Frs Thomas and Augustine.

Aside from almost getting hit by a speeding bus, the trip around the streets of Kolkata was enlightening in itself.

Ending three semesters

Today the course on ecclesiology came to an end at DSPT. That is to say that we finished the sessions, did the wrap-up, had a chance for evaluation… A lot of things happened during this course and I think in some ways this influenced the mood.

What happened?

For one, two of the students had their laptops stolen and one suffered a major setback when the motherboard burned. In fact, one of the students suffered the theft yesterday, so you can imagine that we took 10 minutes to process the feelings at the start of today's class. Not very conducive to concentrating on content.

One of the students participated in the RCIA program and made the profession of faith as a Catholic during the Easter Vigil.

One of the students moved toward solemn profession as a Dominican, with all the stress such discernment entails.

And there were techincal difficulties. I was never sure whether the media connections in the Smart Classroom would work, and so had to be prepared for other stategies to get across the materials.

Still, all of these elements helped to create a very human environment. In all my classes I found I was giving more input here, but the exchange among the students was also continuous and profound. They read, they worked, they shared their findings. I suppose that is what it is all about in the end. Through all of this we spoke of our very different experiences of Church, and therefore of our very different expectations for Church. We used Avery Dulles' book, Models of the Church, as the basis for a lot of our study, and the student assignments brought in other works as well, both scholary and popular. The discussions were rich, thoughtful and thought-provoking.

With all of this, in spite of the stolen and burnt iBooks, I come away from this ecclesiology course quietly satisfied with what we were able to accomplish.

On another front – in a land far, far away, my nephew Salvatore Boenzi graduates from the University of Arizona School of Music. I thought that the date is 16 May… but the invitation says 14 May… so today? Well a three-day graduation is not something totally unusual. He has had a very strenuous course of studies (education and music) and has done student teaching this last semester. Needless to say I am very happy for him and proud of his accomplishments.

Sal has said that he wants to spend a year or so abroad, perhaps in Italy. He would go to deepen his knowledge and capacities in music (as well as his cultural parameters). Certainly, I wish him all the best in this project and hope he finds the means to pull it off. I have known many students who have done something similar. There is much to gain if one finds the right program, enough funding, and the support of family and true friends.

But let him get through his graduation first. Good luck, Salvatore!

Good Friday reflections

This afternoon I walked to the Newman Center to participate there in the Living Stations of the Cross and the Reconciliation Service. As usual there was a good turn out and I found the enviorment helpful for reflection, self-examination, prayer.

On the walk home I decided to stop for a haircut and then to buy some Easter cards. As soon as I find the top of my desk, I will write them out.

Five days after the earthquake in L'Aquila, the rescue operations are at an end, and the bodies all recovered. Today, Good Friday, was the day of the funeral. By radio, podcasts and internet I am doing all that I can to continue to follow the news. It shocked me that the only thing that I was able to find on the New York Times was an article about damaged art works. 289 people have died, and the New York Times is concerned about the art works.

This reminds me of the words of Luigi Barzini in reaction to the may British who used to holiday in Italy after World War II. Barzini said that these upper-class visitors were never interested in the people, but only in the monuments. "The only Italians that they care about are the dead ones," observed Barzini, meaning Cicero, Caesar and Virgil. Well, it looks to me like the New York Times is not even interested in the dead Italians.

REUTERS PHOTO 10 April 2009/Giampiero Sposito (ITALY DISASTER)

But today the funeral was celebrated in L'Aquila - a state funeral with President Napolitano, Prime Minister Berlusconi, the armed forces, and presided by the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. Numerous bishops concelebrated with our Salesian cardinal in what has to be one of the saddest Good Fridays. I have followed these events as best I could, still struck by the terror and tragedy of this disaster.

So I end this Good Friday afternoon, praying for the victims in L'Aquila, as well as the victims of human wrath in our cities and in the wars that continue to rage… and pray too for those who are trying to rebuild the lives of so many hurting people, again in our cities but especially at L'Aquila and all the surrounding towns.

DSPT in a good position by default

Crisis at the GTU! The schools that were most solid two years ago (PSR, SFTS) are now in peril. These are the schools that are the best endowed, but the endowments have diminished by 46%. The Presbyterian School (SFTS) has 19 fulltime professors, and they must immediate reduce the full-time faculty to 13 by next Fall. The Jesuit School (JSTB) will have the gradual retirement of three Full Professors with no plan to replace them.

All of this came out during our faculty meeting this afternoon. Fr Michael Sweeney reported to us the needs of the school in terms of advertising and increasing our donor base, but then he spoke frankly of the general difficulties being faced by the GTU and the other member schools. The situation is dire.

Michael Sweeney, OP, President of DSPT, speaks during an all-school meeting

DSPT has always struggled for finances, but in the struggling has not lost the money of investments and endowments that it never had. Suddenly we find our struggling school in a better position than most of the others of the GTU. It is not that our fortunes have reversed. What has happened is that the wealthy cannot attract the foundation dollars that they once did and their stock portfolios are a fraction of their former value. DSPT has never had any of this, so in maintaining its usual struggling fiancial position, the school actually comes out ahead. So much so that we are talking about making a hire (possibly two) for the new academic year.

If nothing else can be said, we can at least affirm that this is an interesting turn of events.

Earthquake

This morning I awoke to the radio news of an earthquake in Italy. The epicenter was l'Aquila. At 5.30 this morning I heard that there were 9 dead… by 6.00 the news was 30 confirmed dead… by 7.30 there were 72, and the death toll rising. I was able to download news from the internet and the photos from Reuters and Associated Press. These I pasted on my laptop for a slideshow when my students came in for the 8.10 class. None of them had heard yet of the earthquake. We offered our start-up prayer for the victims, and I have to say that the thought of this disaster has been with me all day.

Checking with family and friends in Rome, where they felt the shake intensely, all the people that I know are safe. Thanks be to God, the five Salesians and the 100 university students who lodge with them in the student hostel that is Istituto S. Giovanni Bosco at L'Aquila are all safe. As soon as the first shock hit, the entire community rushed out into the inner courtyard of the Institute, and they remained there until morning light. Only then did they chance to go back into the building. The building sustained grave damage, but not one of the educators or university students were the least injured. By afternoon, all the students had left to return to their homes.

So the Salesians at the epicenter are all safe. I wonder at this point how my friends in Rome are doing. L'Aquila is only about 80 km from Rome. The quake was strongly felt there too, but I have not heard if there has been damage. I am anxious to hear.

Now we pray and we wait. Rescue workers have been busy since the first quake, and they continue now to extract the injured. Italians are ready to volunteer but the rescue is very much under control. All that has been asked now is that people donate blood to the Red Cross.


In the meantime, I heard from my geologist cousin Salvatore, who writes today:

ENNESIMO LUTTO IN ITALIA. SONO VICINO ALLE FAMIGLIE TERREMOTATE. MA PERCHE' IN ITALIA NON C'E' PREVENZIONE? PERCHE' NOI GEOLOGI NON SIAMO INTERPELLATI? NON MI RIFERISCO ALLA POLEMICA DIVAMPATA RIGUARDANTE IL DOTT. GIULIANI, LA SUA TEORIA NON E' ANCORA RICONOSCIUTA DALLA COMUNITA' SCIENTIFICA INTERNAZIONALE. I TERREMOTI CON LE NOSTRE CONOSCENZE SCIENTIFICHE NON SI POSSONO PREVEDERE. MI RIFERISCO AL CONTROLLO PUNTUALE DEL TERRITORIO. I SOLDI CHE SONO STANZIATI PER L'EMERGENZA PERCHE' NON SONO STANZIATI PER LA PREVENZIONE? NOI GEOLOGI GRIDIAMO TUTTO' CIO' DA ANNI MA SIAMO IGNORATI, LA NOSTRA E' UNA CATEGORIA DI PROFESSIONISTI CHE PER INTERVENIRE FA' SPENDERE SOLDI PER PREVENIRE LE CATASTROFI E QUESTO I POLITICI NON LO AMMETTONO. PER LORO E' TEMPO E DENARO SPRECATO.

What can I say? I agree with him.

75th and 25th Anniversary

Today is the 75th anniversary of the canonization of St John Bosco. Yes, that's right! 75 years ago today, on Easter Sunday, 1 April 1934, Pope Pius XI ended the Jubilee of the Resurrection with the solemn rite of canonization of St John Bosco. It was the only time in history that a canonization was held on Easter, but then, Pius XI wanted as big a gathering of bishops and dignitaries as possible for the day that he raised his own friend Don Bosco to the honors of the altar.

Don Bosco's beatification, on 2 June 1929, had been the first to take place after the reconciliation between Italy and the Holy See (Lateran Pacts: 11 February 1929). Pope Pius XI (Achille Ratti) was celebrating his golden jubilee of priesthood that year, and opened the celebration on 2 June with the beatification of the man who had saved his own vocation when, as a young priest, he was filled with fervor and doubt. As pope, Pius XI Ratti presented his friend Don Bosco as the icon of the priest who was active in promoting good citizenship, but who remained loyal to the pope and to the church.

The apostle of youth was to become a symbol for a new style of Catholic Action for young and old, for laity and the ordained, and so Pius XI timed his canonization for the conclusion of the special Jubilee Year of the Redemption (from Ash Wednesday 1933 to Easter Sunday 1934). A priest like Don Bosco, who was the father and teacher of young people… who was a son of the common people that rose to leadership in the Church and Society… offered the Church a strong example of the meaning of truth and freedom against the claims of the totalitarian regimes then gaining power. The Jubilee Year, in fact, concluded with Don Bosco's canonization: he was held up as the icon to seminarians and priests, for a new, apostolic style of priesthood.

That was Rome, 1 April 1934. But we are in Berkeley on 1 April 2009. We are not in the public eye, even though life here is not less complicated.

At Don Bosco Hall we proceed one step at a time, but it dawned on me during mass this morning that Autumn 2009 will be the 25th anniversary of the ISS. During breakfast I told Gael and Marc that we need to think about having a celebration. No, I don't mean a party. I mean a relaunch, an outreach, a fundraiser… in short, all those things that are part of such celebrations. And the fact of the matter is that we are expecting some very big changes as John Roche and Gael Sullivan and Marc Rougeau work as the new team and develop new programs, courses, concepts.

Yes, a 25th anniversary will be important.

The just shall flourish like the palm tree

St Joseph has always been an important saint in my family. My paternal grandfather and grandmother were both named for St Joseph and 19 March was always the occasion for my father to take us all to their home, armed with le zeppole di san Giuseppe (a special southern Italian pastry made only for the feast of St Joseph). My grandparents celebrated this day more than their birthdays (which they really did not celebrate) and, since I was named for them, this was the day that I celebrated. I soon figured out that St Joseph was worth a lot more than my birthdate, and so this day became special to me.

In all the years that I passed this feast in Italy, it was always a very important feast day. For Italians, it is Fathers Day. For the Salesians, it is the feast of the lay Salesians… On this feast in 2007, there were 8 of us in the Gesù Maestro community that celebrated this day as our own. The memory of it keeps me glowing still.

So this year at Don Bosco Hall, we celebrated the day in great style… and there are three of us with the name. I had the sense that it was like my birthday also because the wishes were directed toward me. I am grateful for it all…

St Francis de Sales not only had special devotion to St Joseph; he was one of the first, along with St Teresa of Jesus, to promote this devotion. Since I was the principal celebrant at the community mass this morning, I was looking for some words from our St Francis about St Joseph. Only later in the day did I find something that a friend sent to me. It comes from the Spiritual Conferences.

In Conference XIX, St. Francis de Sales made the following observation about the virtues of St. Joseph:

St. Joseph is most justly said to resemble the palm tree, for he was always constant, persevering, strong and valiant. There is a distinction to be made among these virtues. We call people constant when they remain firm and are prepared to suffer the assaults of the enemy, without surprise or loss of courage during combat. Perseverance has chiefly to do with a certain weariness of mind which comes upon us when we have suffered a long time, and this weariness is as powerful an enemy as we can meet: perseverance enables us to disregard this enemy by a continual calmness and submission to the will of God. Strength makes us vigorously resist the attacks of our enemies, and valor is a virtue that makes us not only hold ourselves in readiness to fight or to offer resistance when the occasion presents itself, but also to attack the enemy at the moment when our adversary least expects it.

Wishing one and all a very happy feast of St Joseph (buona festa di papà).

Had to do it finally

My third visit to Dr Gary Hale in five weeks -- two more fillings (instead of the originally planned 4). The visit began with the doctor's assistant making casts of my teeth so that the famous night-guard can be made for me. I will have to return next week for that piece. Then the work on drilling and fillings. The pain killer (with the disinfectant tasting like piña coledas) did its trick. I had no idea what the doctor was doing in my mouth. I just tried to comply as best I could, mourning the fact that now, at age 59, I have fillings for the first time. Still, I did not have time to think about that. My preoccupation was not to choke while he was working on me.

The trip to and from the dental office was made pleasant by the podcasts of Vatican Radio. They are transmitting some wonderful programs for the start of Lent. I'm so pleased by the iPod technology which allows me to have this immediate contact with Italy with the daily downloads of mp3 files. This was something unheard of even 5 years ago. Now it is part of my daily experience.

So, my Roma bocca della verità is a mouth (bocca) that is materially a little far from Roma and host to six fillings…

Better news; better mood

Made my return visit to Doctor Khun Huang this morning. The analysis of my blood yielded more favorable results than last August, but varies with that of October. My blood sugar is slightly up over October, but low compared to August. The bad cholesterol is down respect to both August and October, and the good cholesterol is up (for the first time in a year). But I am still on the borderline for diabetes, or pre-diabetes.

The medication that I have been taken has left me weak, do Dr Khun is putting me on a new prescription. Now I just have to find a pharmacy, since my favourite place, Elephant Pharm, closed down a month ago.

Throughout the day I have gotten encouragement from friends. Terence, my former student, who has a similar condition, put it into words: “This is great news!! Coping with Diabetes means knowing about it!!”

All in all, it is good news and I am in a better mood tonight than I have been all month.

Some ways that the young make a difference

My friend and companion of ordination, Michael Gergen, is spending this year in Guadalajara. We have been in-touch over the last few months, and I note how he is enjoying his stay among Salesians of a very different cultural and spiritual context. It is exciting to see his enthusiasm, really.

Mike writes today in an email you said that this is the first time in decades that you are in a Salesian setting where there are many young Salesians. Being in a province where there are young Salesians is a great encouragement. You are filled with hope and a sense of the future. You can also become more aware of new ways of responding to the gospel and to Don Bosco's call for youth because the young Salesians bring fresh voices to the tradition.

This is what experienced in 1990-1994 when I was at the UPS working on my licentiate and doctorate. I was 40 when I was sent to Rome for advanced studies; the majority of those from other provinces were between the ages of 31 and 33. Most thought that I was younger than I was because of other factors, but I really appreciated those younger Salesians who were still very full of the first joy of their apostolic lives. Just being with them changed my understanding of a lot of aspects of the Salesian vocation.

Sadly, our province never had time for young Salesians even when, in our youth, there were many of us. We were more work oriented than mission oriented, I feel. I say after thinking about it, pondering it for the last 18 years. We never made much space for young Salesians. The kids, yes yes of course -- but young Salesians? Not really.

Now there are just a few… but my effort is always to make space for them: to hear their ideas, to share stories, to let them take leadership. We have some interesting prenovices this year too, and they have a lot to offer. Some of us are trying to give them opportunities and encouragement to do so… This may be the last chance.

Excuse my ranting, please. This is not said as a complaint against the province. My intent is to try to understand how we have worked hard in the USA but been unable to flourish. I say it with with a hope that we may respond more fruitfully in the near future.

Damian the Leper

Received the news today that Father Damian the Leper will soon be canonized a saint. I was able to see the beatification of Fr Damian when I was living in Europe in 1995. John Paul II beatified him during at trip to Belgium.

Josef Damian de Veuster (1840-1889) is one of the most famous heros of the United States. He was Belgian by birth: a missionary of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts who was sent to work in the Hawaiian Islands. After various initial apostolates, he was sent to work among the lepers of Molokai. He not only served the people, but he identified closely with them. In the end he contracted the disease. His last years were captured on film, and became instrumental in helping medical science find treatment for the disease. But great men of letters, such as Robert Louis Stevenson, also chronicled his life and made him known to the world beyond the confines of the leper colony of Molokai. This too became a way for Fr Damian to fight the injustice perpetrated against the poor and the undesireables of the Islands and of the world.

There are great studies done on Fr Damian. He was controversial in life and after his death… but he remains a hero despite the attempts of many to "debunk the Damian myth". In these years he is held up as a model of compassion and care for those who serve people living with HIV/AIDS.

So, the announcement came out of the Vatican yesterday. It has been announced that the canonization will take place on 11 October 2009. I might anticipate my return to Italy, but I am not sure if I can. The news is encouraging, certainly.