Come and See Canada, A Discernment Weekend Experience

    The work of Salesian vocations is alive and well in Canada, and we could not be more overjoyed. The Salesians of St. Benedict Community recently hosted five young adults on a Come and See Discernment Weekend at Etobicoke, Canada from October 16-18.  The participants included Myrick Rodrigues, David Andrews, Avery Burrows, Steve Polo, and Ivan Skokos.  Fr. Jim Zettel and Fr. Jim Berning facilitated the weekend program as they worked together to accompany these young men into understanding Salesian religious life and their own vocation callings. 

    The activities of the weekend took place both at the parish setting where the Youth Group was in operation and at Don Bosco Residence where many of the presentations and discussions occurred.  A discernment journal was used throughout the days so that the participants could understand how God’s presence was threaded throughout their entire lives and how God has been calling them to discern His plan for their future         

    A true beauty of the weekend was how welcoming and encouraging the parishioners of St. Benedict were as they hosted us and even prepared the meals for the occasion.  The St. Benedict community created an environment of familiarity, welcome, and home that brought the participants to feel a real attraction to Salesian life.  In the weeks ahead, let’s include these vocations in our intentions so that they continue to be seekers, and that they have the courage to surrender themselves to God’s plan.  

Lowly Porter of Mount

While in Montreal last week, I was able to visit St. Joseph’s Oratory on Mount Royal. This is the shrine where St. Joseph came to be honored through the ministry of Br. Andre Bessette.  The magnificence of the shrine is certainly contrasted with the small stature of Br. Andre, the lowly porter, who referred to himself as the dog for St. Joseph. 

At Andre’s birth, the midwife, recognizing the poor health and frail condition of the infant’s health, performed an emergency baptism.  His ailing health would follow him throughout his entire life, as many feared and doubted his abilities at many things. At the end of his novitiate, the superiors declined to approve him for first profession.  Andre accepted this as God’s will, but made it known that happiness had pervaded his life in the novitiate, where he felt alive and content through the practice of hard work and prayer.  He was given the concession to continue with an extended novitiate.  Six months later he professed and despite his frail health, he would be strengthened through prayer and hard work to live for ninety-two years. 

For sure, everything at the shrine shows God’s power being channeled through the lowliness of a porter which echoes Mary’s Magnificat from the gospel of Luke: “God looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness…the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name” (1: 48).   Four sure, God’s healing presence was revealed to many by simply touching the hands of Br. Andre, the humble servant of Mount Royal, whose whole life drew from the patronage of St. Joseph.