Here I am, Lord in “Hoosier” Country

What comes to mind when you think of the word “Hoosiers”?  Perhaps it is the movie with Gene Hackman wherein  a small-town high school basketball team was led to a championship that seemed against all  odds, or maybe it’s a March Madness game that you watched featuring the Hoosiers of the University of Indiana, or maybe it’s the colorful way that the commentators of the Indy500 referred to the big event. Either way, the term Hoosiers has been a long standing word that seems at the core of the state of Indiana; and it recently also took on a special meaning of faith and evangelization. 

The National Catholic Youth Conference was held this past weekend in Indianapolis where 25,000 faith participants gathered for faith, fun, and fellowship.  This year’s conference was held from November 19-21 at the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium which is also the home of the Indiana Colts.  The theme “Here I Am Lord-Aqui Estoy Señor” challenged young people to make themselves available as God’s agents in order to expand the kingdom of God.
 

One of the keynote speakers, Dr. Carolyn Woo, president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services spoke about her lived-faith journey that brought her to leadership in the international humanitarian network.  After being raised in Hong Kong, she immigrated to the United States and attended Perdue.  At the onset, Carolyn only had one year to attend college, so she accumulated a total of forty-two credits.  Through the encouragement of a mentor, she applied for and was granted a scholarship enabling her to continue her college education.  At the core of Dr. Woo’s story of faith was her trust in God’s plan and her determination.  She shared how difficult it had been being an immigrant from a foreign culture trying to live in another culture that was far removed from her own in southeast Asia.  With the help of professors and others, she was able to be enculturated into American society.  In all these experiences that shaped her life, Dr. Woo offered us five practical ways to live for the sake of the kingdom:

 1.      Although we like to see “results” in life, we need to recognize that things will eventually work out according to God’s own plan.
2.      When the “door” of opportunity opens for us, it opens through mentors who help us find our way to God.
3.      Even if we do not feel a sense of “belonging” in a certain situation, there is still something we must learn and contribute in that situation.
4.      God is always with us and will not leave us as “orphans” (John 14:18).
5.      Always “desire” to be part of a solution even when you haven’t glimpsed the solution.

Another highlight to the experience was getting to be in the presence of Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez. Cardinal Rodriguez was ever present to all of the young people,  especially our many Salesians in attendance.  He brought a message of “mentoring” and it’s crucial importance for shaping ourselves vocationally.   Cardinal Rodregiez emphasized in his homily at the Salesian Family Mass during the convention that Fathers John Borel and Joseph Caffaso played a significant role in the pastoral development and mentoring of Don Bosco.  These skills equipped Don Bosco to meet the demands of shepherding masses of young displaced in the urban situation.

We, too, can profit by recalling those who have been instrumental in our own development.  Our very lives have been shaped by the reserves of faithful accompaniment offered to us by educational and pastoral mentors.  Coming on the heels of the bicentennial celebration, let us remember the vast reservoirs of faith that erupted in Don Bosco and have passed on to us to expand the kingdom of God for the young. 

Faith, Family, Food, Fun, and Good Night

 A parish truly alive for Christ and in the mission of St. John Bosco will be as such through rain or shine, and that is exactly what the community at Our Lady of the Valley Parish in Orange, NJ did to celebrate the 200^th birthday of St. John Bosco. OLV made the best of their annual picnic by celebrating the Bicentennial of St. John Bosco’s birth on October 4 with a festive liturgy, a carnival, and  luncheon despite having less than favorable weather to deal with. It was enriching to see so many members of the church community come out for this celebration of the parish and of Don Bosco.  Bishop Manuel A. Cruz, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Newark who con-celebrated the Mass, was so enthusiastic in his homily that he asked for an invitation to return for another liturgy.  Being a native of the area, he was moved by the ethnic diversity of the parish community and the number of youth that were represented.   All parishioners of OLV gathered for this Mass in order to experience as a  family the presence of Bishop Manuel and the  joy of the Salesian spirit as it was felt in celebrating the bicentennial of St. John Bosco’s birth.

                After the liturgy, the children of the parish enjoyed a carnival in the gym put on by volunteers of the parish and members of the Don Bosco Residence. To say that a good time was had by all would not be truly capturing the happiness of the day.

The day was closed with the Good Night in true Salesian fashion. The community at OLV was fortunate enough to have this particular Good Night offered by one of its own young people, Jackie Rivas. Jackie is a young adult in the parish who has spent much of her life growing up in the parish and being involved in a lot of the work with the Salesians. This past August,  Jackie was able to attend the Bicentennial Pilgrimage in Italy in celebration of St. John Bosco’s birthday. She expressed just how much her life was changed by that experience, but even moreso just how much working with the Salesians has impacted her life. As she gave her first Good Night, it was beautiful to see Don Bosco’s work and spirit alive in Jackie as she spoke. She is always the first to say how much the tradition of the Good Nights has formed and shaped her to be a follower of Jesus  since joining the OLV youth group as an eighth grader.  Those formative encounters with Jesus through the years led her to do “bang-up job” as they say in Bronx, NY as she gave her own Good Night.  For sure, the Good Night’s have brought Jackie closer to the person of Jesus, and by delivering the Good Night to her parish community, she brought them closer to Christ. She challenged us all to think about how we’re called to enjoy life and work in the service of others.  As Jackie puts it in her Good Night:

“… As a teenager I was hungry for food, but now as a young adult I’m hungry to help those in need, especially the youth. It’s what being Salesian is all about. Now let me ask, what are you hungry for?”

New York Catholic Youth Day 2015

As Salesians, we often say that faith and fun can happen as one to many of the young people that we work with and pray with daily. That was certainly the case this past weekend when 1,600 young people gathered together for prayer, music, fun, games, breakout sessions, a holy hour, and reconciliation service at the New York Catholic Youth Day hosted by the Dunwoody Seminary in Yonkers, NY.  Deacon Mike Eguino and I worked the vocation booth which was flanked by the Salesian Office of Youth Ministry Office booth and the Salesian Sisters Vocation Office. This created a welcoming presence to all of the participants to stop by and get to know the Salesian Family and what we do. Needless to say, there was a steady flow of participants that checked out the Salesian booths all day. It was reenergizing to see young people on fire for Christ and willing to spend their Saturday in learning and growing in their faith. Deacon Mike served as a great Salesian that day, speaking to everyone who stopped by and teaching them about Don Bosco with enthusiasm.

The Keynote speaker, Mr. Doug Took from the Diocese of Helena, spoke about how everyone was broken in some way and that God desires that we deal with that brokenness so that we can give more of ourselves to the saving plan of God. 

Presiding at the closing Easter liturgy for Divine Mercy Sunday, Cardinal Timothy Dolan addressed the recent heroic martyrdom of 21 Coptic Christians who were beheaded in Egypt because they would not renounce their Christian faith.  Each prayed with the same words “God save me” before they were slain by the jihadists.  In the aftermath, the jihadists snickered among themselves “Where was God to save them”.   Cardinal Dolan pointed out that God saved them through the blood of the Lamb in Jesus Christ.  In closing, everyone was encouraged to heed the psalmist’s words, “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, his mercy endures forever” (Ps 118: 1).  As the day came to a close, it was a great reminder that the work that we do as Salesians is done in the name of our founding father, but also through Christ who gives us strength!