Faithful Steps During Holy Week

The Lenten journey brought the Salesian office of vocations to a very moving and rewarding Holy Week. As the Church set out to engage in the most holy days of the year, the vocations team offered a group of faithful young men the opportunity to journey with Christ as they discerned their vocations. The second round of discernment days offered in March brought together Jerry Rice and Mathew Rueda from Mary Help of Christians in Tampa, FL; Daniel Korenchan from the University of Illinois in Champaign, IL; and Ben Russo from Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, LA at Don Bosco Residence in Orange, NJ from March 24-27 during the Easter Triduum.  Fr. Dennis Hartigan and Br. Bernie Dube served as members of the team helping me to facilitate the vocation discernment presentations and discussions. 

During the Triduum, we attended several services at the following in communion with the greater Church to reflect on and honor the tremendous love of Christ’s sacrifice. Our group was fortunate enough to participate in the Mass of the Lord’s Supper at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Orange, NJ; the Good Friday Liturgy at St. Mary’s Abbey in Morristown; and the Easter Vigil at St. Joseph Provincial Center with the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. The ability to spend those holy days in many beautiful places of worship allowed our group to physically and symbolically travel with Christ as He was on his loving journey for our salvation. We also made time to bond with the Salesian community in Orange to fully experience what communal religious life is all about.

For participants who were still around on Easter Sunday, we celebrated with local members of the Salesian family a festive meal  prepared by Br. Juan Pablo. Ben Russo, who was still with us on Easter Monday, participated in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy by walking through the holy door at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, NJ.

These sacred days provided the means for the discernment participants to experience our family spirit while communally preparing for the Easter event. Having celebrating the Paschal Triduum with them, let us pray during the Easter season, that they may entrust themselves to the Risen One and serve the Lord with joy! May they, and all of us, continue taking faithful steps as the Easter people we are called to be.

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.