The day when...

Today is the day! Well, it was anyway since most of you will probably be reading this tomorrow, which is now today. Odd how that works. But I will now digress.

Today (yesterday) is (was) the day when application letters were due for us here in Orange, NJ. We were to write our letters of application for pre-novitiate, novitiate, and renewal of vows.

The reason we write out our letters is to ask for admittance to the next level of formation. Now, it is not just a formality. It is not some right of passage. It is a task that is undertaken that has to be deeply reflected upon and discerned. One must approach their director and confessor and ask for their permission if they think that it is a good idea for the writer to apply for this next stage. One's letter is then voted upon. To give a sample of what a letter looks like, I have attached a copy of my letter.

Another reason we write these letters is to reflect upon our motives for wanting to go to the next level of formation. To be admitted to the next level of formation one must show some growth in certain areas of their life.

For me personally, I want to serve God as the best Salesian as I can be. (No Army reference intended) The main reason that I want to be a Salesian is because I believe that Don Bosco (St. John Bosco) has made a clear path to holiness for his Salesians and the mission that Don Bosco entrusted to the Salesians is one that I personally believe in to be the best. Da Mihi Animas, Ceterra Tolle; Give Me Souls, Take Away the Rest


God Bless!
Br. Adam

Serve Him while we wait!

Last night, I had the opportunity to help out with Thursday night youth center. Typically, I work Friday nights, but one of the other guys in formation was unable to go so I was able to help out! I loved how different it was! It's kind of like this: you ever take more than one trip to the same place, and you realize that each time was a completely different experience? That's what it felt like!

The interesting dynamic of Thursday night youth center is that is typically a young adult crowd, and this group of persons is made up mostly of Hispanics or Haitians. It just so happened that the weather has been getting pretty beautiful outside. Thus, a lot of the guys prefer to play soccer outside rather than coming play inside our youth center. So, in true Don Bosco fashion, one of our brothers decided that if they weren't going to come to us, we were going to go to them. And he let me tag along!

It was amazing to see the way they react to those who show a general interest in what they do and what is going on in their lives. It's like Don Bosco said: "Learn to love what the young love, and they will learn to love what you love."

And I find that this truly makes up what Salesian life is. We wake up each day, waiting for the Lord to surprise us. For no matter how much we schedule, He will always bring people and events into our daily lives that we weren't expecting. And we are overjoyed to accept His gifts! How great it is to serve the Lord in openness!

Tonight, I challenge you to empty yourself out to the Lord so that you might be fully open to whatever He decides to surprise you with tomorrow. Sounds easy right? Give it a try!

Sing to God with your life!

     As a small gift from the Lord, our apostolates at Our Lady of the Valley were cancelled last Sunday because of the federal holiday on Monday. So the Lord chose to bless me in other facets:

#1 - Mass at Blessed Sacrament / St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church with Post-novice Brother Jared Anderson.

     Coming from a very lively city of New Orleans, I was so pumped to throw myself into the Catholic liturgy of the large African American community there. The choir, the participation of the congregation, the holiness with which the priest proclaimed the Word of God...all of it was incredibly beautiful. It had moved us so much so that by the end of the Mass when the visitors were asked to stand, we remained sitting. We turned toward each other and said: "When's the next holiday? We are definitely coming back here."

      Though I was very emotionally moved through this experience, a part of me couldn't help but wonder why every Sunday shouldn't be this way? What if all communities celebrated the Holy Sacrifice with such fervor?! So, my message is this: Sing your hearts out. Sing from your soul. Sing with your life. And God will never allow you to lose your voice.

#2 - Nets Basketball Game field trip with 20 young persons from the Don Bosco Youth Center.

     Of the amazing generosity of a recently graduated Don Bosco Prep student, we were able to accompany 20 students of our Friday Night Youth Center to the Nets Game. It was so awesome to see the excitement of the kids to be out and having fun together away from the youth center. They were truly able to enjoy themselves. It just so happened that two of the guys in formation attend the same gym as most of the entertainers at the game. So, the maskot paid a special visit to the kids towards the end of the game. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful evening. Thank you, Jay-Z, for your monetary investments in the Nets.

Today, on this first Friday of the Lenten season, my challenge to you remains the same as mentioned above: Sing your hearts out. Sing from your soul. Sing with your life. And God will never allow you to lose your voice.
For we need not wait until Easter to proclaim His Greatness. We know He is resurrected. Let us live accordingly!

Michael Magone and Swearing

Do you know what living on the street does to you?

Perhaps your response might depend on what kind of street is under scrutiny, and you would be right. Well then, imagine one. Forge it with old stones and primitive cement. Then make it dirty and poor. No, not poor. More like penniless, impoverished. Color the air above it with dust and smoke. Scatter some thieves, pickpockets and other street urchins on the corners, and you have before you something like this:

Bonus points if you did in fact imagine it black and white

What do you think living in a street like that does to you? Certainly, the first thing is that it will make you aware of your first and cardinal instinct: survival. Live in it long enough, and it will make you hyper-conscious of your need to eat, drink, and sleep. It will slowly force you to abandon unnecessary principles like manners and ethics. It will make you devious, creative. It will make you tough.

If you understand all of that, then congratulations: you pretty much have this one street-kid Michael Magone all figured out. Before Don Bosco brought him to his oratory, that is more or less what Magone had to deal with on a daily basis.

That's this guy, right here

But you're probably like, "Wait, THAT guy's a street-kid?! Oh, come now. He can't be. He looks too happy, too playful, too innocent. Street-kids are filthy, rude, scanty, and above all, vulgar! And... I mean... Just look at him."

Look. At. Him!

Well, I'm sorry to break it to you, but what you see is more like an aftermath. When Michael Magone came into the oratory, he played rough; he swore a lot; he picked fights; he swore a lot; he distrusted people; I think he also swore a lot too.

But here's the kicker: Michael hated all of that. He hated being a street-kid. He hated having no self-control. He hated his gut instinct of throwing hooks and jabs. And he hated swearing. He hated it all so much that he contrived to do what no other street-kid before him dared to do: Michael Magone was planning on getting holy.

We imagine him donning this shirt at his moment of resolution

And do you know how he fixed up to do that? He planned to do the other thing that no other street-kid before him dared to do: he was going to quit swearing.

 

Do you see the harebrained nonsense Michael was proposing? A born and raised street-kid was going to stop using unpleasant language. That's going against his own nature; it's the logical equivalent of slamming a revolving door. It's impossible! You don't do that jazz unless you're Chuck Norris! But moreover and worse, do you grasp the natural consequences that follow if he actually succeeds? If a teenage street-kid proposes (and thereafter manages) to accomplish the preposterous goal of staying a near-genetic and built-in vulgarity: it means that we have to stop too.

OH SNAP!!!

That's it. We'd be done. I quit. Game over. When a street-kid who swears like he breathes metaphorically decides to "stop breathing," we are straight up out of excuses. Unless you don't care that a poor, dirty, uneducated skid like Michael makes a better Christian than you, that is... but in any event, it's probably a good thing that he never actually pulled it off, right?

"Unfortunately, this tongue of mine has not always performed as it should have; at least it is in my power to correct it for the future!" ~Michael Magone (14)

... oh.

One Mission.

Today is the feast of:

St. Jerome Emiliani.

     It may be good for us to remember on this day that many different persons are indeed called to the same mission. In our case, the mission is to bring God's Providence to the poor and the youth.
St. Jerome may not have been associated with:

St. John Bosco.

He may not have studied with the:

Salesian Seminarians and Formation Staff.

     But this does not mean that he did not love and serve God through his ministry with the poor and the youth! For many are called to similar missions in many different ways. For instance, under the Salesian name, there are many different works: Lay missionaries, Salesian Cooperators, religious sisters, religious brothers, religious priests and bishops and cardinals, teachers, youth ministers, and many other works. There are many ways of giving oneself to a particular mission.

     St. Jerome Emiliani is a wonderful example of how one does not need to be a Salesian to serve the youth. Yet he shares in a very similar ministry.

     We, ourselves, choose the mission of Don Bosco to serve the poor and the youth. This is not necessarily what we always desired, but Our Lady--Mary, Help of Christians--has a way of bringing those she loves to the places she desires them the most. And for us, it is here that she desires us to be. So, in giving our lives completely to the Blessed Virgin Mary, we give our lives completely to the youth and the poor we serve.

     Today, let us follow Mary's example and ponder these things in our hearts.

In Memoriam:

     Today, as Salesians, we remember the lives of all those Salesian confrere (Salesian priests and brothers, those of our Salesian family) that have left this world and have been born into eternal life. We offer our prayers and our Holy Mass up for their repose and their intentions. But, at the same time, we are incredibly mindful of their strong intercession on our behalf. So, today especially, we are reminded to constantly pray to them for our own holiness and for faithfulness to follow the Lord's will. What a blessing we have as Salesians, as Catholics, to recognize the ability of our loved ones to intercede for us after they have passed on.

     May this become our prayer today:

O deceased Salesians, who enjoy the pleasure of eternal happiness beside Mary, Help of Christians and Saint John Bosco, be our aid in bringing Eucharistic joy to the poor and the youth we serve. May we continue to look through the lens of our Holy Founder in bringing life to a world of darkness. Come, O Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful! Come, and nothing shall ever be the same!

Keepin' It Real

     Hi, my name is Joshua Sciullo. I just recently moved into a house in NJ. However, this is not just an ordinary house.  This is a house full of men studying to become priests and/or brothers. All I want to talk about is my journey into community and brotherhood.

     On August 12, 2011 I entered Don Bosco’s Salesian House of Formation. I really did not know what I was getting myself into, I remember saying to myself “How is this going to work out?” Well, anyhow I learned very quickly how to live with these men. I now no longer view them as simply men from across the world, but as my brothers. We do everything together, just as brothers would. We eat, go to school, pray, lend aid and prepare. We may at times annoy or tick each other off, but we always find a way to fix it, since we are brothers. We joke around often and simply love to live with one another.

I remember seeing a random guy messing with one of our guys; even though it was similar to how we would mess with each other, they still defended our brother and told the other guy to back off charitably. Not only do we see each one of us as Brothers in Christ, but we see each other as who they really are; either way it always breaks down to the purest brotherly love imaginable.  All that could be said of us is that we are young Catholic men following God’s will to minister to the youth.  In all simplicity, we are Salesian Seminarians.

God Bless                                                   By Joshua Sciullo

Give thanks!

Be thankful. Today be thankful for all of the wonderful blessings that you have in your life. Be thankful to God who has made it all possible. Be thankful to your parents, relatives, friends, neighbors or strangers who have helped you along the way at some point to allow you to be able to receive those blessings.

Last night I was at Mary Help of Christians Academy for adoration. There was a talk given by a student on the theme of being thankful. She had been in a serious car accident the month prior to this talk and one point that she spoke on was in particular striking to me. Be thankful now. You don't always know if you'll have tomorrow to be thankful for.

With today being Veteran’s day as well as the feast of St. Martin of Tours, we celebrate and remember our soldiers. St. Martin was a soldier himself. When St. Martin was riding on his horse he came upon a poor man. The man was cold and shivering. St. Martin took his sword and cut his heavy military cloak in two and gave the poor man one part of his cloak. A few days later St. Martin had a dream. It was Jesus. He told St. Martin that whatever he did to the least of his brethren you do for me.

Today we can thank our service men and women for their sacrifice. Because of them we have certain freedoms that allow us to, among other things, practice our faith. Our faith is a God send, literally. Because of these brave men and women we are able to practice faith openly, freely, and with great joy.

The joyous occasion to pray for and give thanks to the wonderful men and women who sacrifice so much, and sometimes give the ultimate sacrifice is a truly wonderful grace and a very happy obligation for us. I wish to offer every man and woman who has ever or will someday wear a uniform of our Armed Services a heartfelt thank you and I will be praying for you and your safety. May God Bless all of you!

“This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”


--John 15:12-13

Salesians: Contemplatives in Action

In my previous blog post I spoke about our induction into the pre-novitiate. I also mentioned how we go on “outings” weekly as a group, and that the Thursday blog posts will be dedicated to speaking about these outings. Well…………that will not be the case this week.

This Wednesday we did not go on an outing, because we are preparing for a week long excursion next week to Chicago and Indianapolis. We will be leaving this upcoming Sunday afternoon, and driving to Chicago through the night, visiting St. John Bosco Parish in Chicago for a time, and then leaving on Wednesday to drive to Indianapolis for the NCYC. Look forward to next week’s Thursday blog post for updates on our trip.

Now to the title of this blog! What does it mean to be a “contemplative in action”. For us as Salesians, we are always working. Even for us in formation, though we are not involved in any set daily apostolate (teaching at a school, running a daily youth center), we are always busy with our studies or travels. So when do we pray?

We need not look any further than Don Bosco. It is interesting to know that when Don Bosco’s cause for canonization was under scrutiny, there were many objections that Don Bosco prayed very little. He was so caught up in work that he never took significant time aside to pray. But a Cardinal answered this objection by saying this: “It is not true that Don Bosco prayed very little, but the truth is, his whole life was a prayer!”

Every moment of our lives we are in God’s presence. He is a part of our world, and His Spirit is always moving, if only we listen and are open to it. In this way, for us as Salesians, we recognize this presence, and are always mindful, just as much as we would be in Chapel and prayer. And when we do this, our action becomes our prayer! Therefore the title: Active contemplative. Always working, but always praying!!!!

Lord, help me to always be aware of your presence in my life. May I work with tireless zeal for whatever you call me to do in my life right now. May I listen to your call for where you want me to go. Help me to always know you are with me. Guide my feet!

St. Leo the great, pray for us.

Communal Life and Mission

37. Vocational guidance

We educate the young to develop their own human and baptismal vocation by a dally life progressively inspired and unified by the Gospel.

The family atmosphere of welcome and of faith, created by the witness of a community which gives of itself with joy, is the most efficacious setting for the discovery and guidance of vocations.

This work of collaboration with God's design, the crown of all our educational and pastoral activity, is sustained by prayer and personal contact, above all in spiritual direction.

   Here in Orange, NJ we have 23 students for religious life. There are two Theologians, 5 post novices, 6 pre-novices and 10 Candidates. The men we have are from all over the country from very different backgrounds. There are some guys who aren’t even from the United States but from some other Latin American countries. Now, one might ask how can 23 guys from different countries and different cultures live and work together. The answer to that question is easy, love.

   We have many personalities living under one roof. We operate like any normal family would. We wake up every morning and start with Morning Prayer at 7am. We have Mass shortly after that and then we continue on to breakfast and they are on the road for school. We stay at the school taking classes on theology and philosophy as well as some other classes that fit into our subject matter(s).

   Each person who comes to any Salesian Formation House is greeted and welcomed as a member of the family, because they are loved. Don Bosco, our founder, said that “..it is enough that you are young for me to love you.” It is with this in mind that we welcome and nurture vocations. We want people who have a passion for evangelization and education, in Don Bosco’s method, for the youth of the world. Our mission is that of the Church’s--to save souls.

   The mission for us is laid out by Don Bosco as Da Mihi Animas, Ceterra Tolle, translated as, Give me souls, Take away the rest. Our way as students in living out this mission of Don Bosco is to study. By studying we are expounding our intellects so that we can better educate and evangelize the young that we are sent to.

   We do all of this as a community. A community made up of many individuals that are acting as one cohesive unit. This unit is one that is part of a larger community, the Salesians of Don Bosco. There are close to 16,000 members of the Salesians of Don Bosco in over 130 countries. This mission and community has over 150 years of existence and practice and has proved that it is a worthy way of life, a proven way to holiness. Would you like to be part of this mission?