October 1 Teresa of the Child Jesus

 “The Saint of Resilience and Persistence”

Today, we celebrate the memorial of Therese of the Child Jesus, who loved despite struggling with depression.  There were two depressive bouts that Therese encountered in her childhood.  The first was the trauma of losing her mother to cancer.  The second occurrence took place when her sister Pauline joined the Carmelites.  Feeling the pangs of loss one again, Therese became severely depressed and the doctors gave up all hope of her recovery.  Her sister Celine came to visit Therese who was confined to bed and unresponsive.  Seeing Therese so young and in the grips of such depression, Celine began sobbing and quickly exited the room.  Hearing Celine’s anguish and being moved by the experience, Therese made a resolution to allay her sister’s anguish.  Slowly the health of Therese improved and she developed a sense of resiliency when confronted with depression. 

Later as a young adolescent,  she decided to join her sisters Pauline and Celine who were Carmelites, however, the superior and the  pastor would not hear of it since she was too young.  But Therese was determined and making a pilgrimage to Rome, she requested from the pope that she be  allowed to enter the Carmelites, however she was “shooed” away.  Therese persisted and pressing the issue for another year on the home front,  she persuaded the superior and entered Carmel at fifteen.

Therese's saintly character of resilience and persistence became her spiritual way to approach life.  While the depression continued, especially after learning that her father had taken on a stoke, she used the experience to write “The Dark Night of the Soul”.  Therese joined her sufferings with Christ's to be in concert with the Paschal mystery and plan of redemption.  

Vine and the Branches

The vine and the branches (John 15: 5) image connects us with our Judeo Christian heritage. In his adept work with the Gospel of John, Daniel J. Harrington, SJ relates how Israel is identified as God’s vine which is historically traced from the Exodus to the Exile.  God always desires to love and be there for Israel, even when they are not faithful, like a shepherd who always stays with the flock. 

As Salesians, the vine and branches image brings us to be united and rooted in love with Jesus so that we can in turn be there for the young in the situations they find themselves in.  The Salesian way links together dual images, the vine and the branches with that of the good shepherd.  The more John Bosco united himself with God, the more he was able to spend himself on the young.  Further, being united with Jesus meant that through temperance, he needed to do some pruning.  Early on, through a close adolescent friendship with Luis Comollo, John learned the value of temperance by pruning away his tendencies of haste.  Through temperance, the good shepherd image irrupted in Don Bosco, and fueled by fraternal living in community, the young experienced Jesus’ compassion and mercy.

Sun Fest, Camp Don Bosco, Orange NJ

Discernment weekend at Mary Help of Christians, Tampa Florida

Fifteen participates gathered from July 11-13 at Mary Help of Christians in Tampa, Florida for a discernment weekend.  Some who attended were already staffed or campers at Mary Help of Christians Camp, while others travelled in from a distance, but all had been familiar with the Salesian charism.  

The participants experienced a sense fellowship and camaraderie and appreciated getting to know others who also were discerning a vocation.  The meals, presentations, discussions, prayer, a barbecue with the Salesian community, and a soccer game offered to these young men a genuine Salesian oratory experience.

Each participant received a personal plan of Life (PPL) to help them navigate through the discernment process.  As these young 75 men continue discerning, let us be mindful of their intentions so that they can make a lived faith response that helps them to find their heart’s desire in Jesus.   

30,000 attend Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta, Georgia

Brother Stephen Eguino and I attended the Eucharistic Congress at the Archdiocese of Atlanta from June 20-21.  The theme was “Go and make disciples”.  The Congress was attended by 30,000 participants and included two masses, Eucharistic adoration, confessions, and break-out sessions.

In the young adult track, Fr. David Dwyer’s, CSP (Busted Halo) presentation invited participants to integrate Pope Francis’ apostolic letter, Evangelii Gaudium (EG) into their lives.  Fr. David stressed that we all need to develop a capacity to forgive (EG 24), something that is made real and in our reach in the story of the prodigal son.  When the lost son returns home after squandering his inheritance, his father looks to the horizon for his son’s return (Luke 15: 20-21).  And once they encounter each other, the father takes the first approach by sweeping his son up in a compassionate embrace.  “Being agents of forgiveness unveils God’s mercy and compassion to make real the tender horizon of God’s love”. 

                                                                                                                           -Fr. Jim Berning