St. John Bosco Today December 2019 - February 2020

, y l i m a F n a i s e l a S The y l i m a F y ar on i s s i M A St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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Contents St. John Bosco Today

Volume 49 I Number 3 | December 2019-February 2020

A Magazine of Information and Religious Culture of the Salesian Family in the Philippines Message of the Rector Major ...................................3 Editor’s Note .............................................................6

EDITORIAL TEAM Owner Salesian Society of St. John Bosco Printer Don Bosco Press, Inc. Publisher Don Bosco Press, Inc. Editor Fr. Bernard P. Nolasco, SDB Associate Editor Fr. Joel Camaya, SDB Copy Editor Fr. Mario Baclig, SDB Coordinators Fr. Keith Amodia, SDB (FIS) Sr. Rachel Flor, FMA & FMA Past Pupils, Sr. Sophia Akiko Oshita, SCG, Imelda Benitez-Domitita ASC, Dr. Victor B. Endriga DBAPNF, Maria Junifer Maliglig, ADMA, Evangeline Dolliente FADS Art Director Early Macabales Graphics & Design Studio DBPI-Creative Arts Section Circulation Commission on Social Communication For subscription, please contact Commission on Social Communication 3/F Don Bosco Provincial Office, Don Bosco Compound, C. Roces Ave. cor. A. Arnaiz Ave., Makati City, Philippines Tel (02) 893-8227 loc. 114 | Telefax (02) 892-8174 Annual subscription (4 issues) P300.00 Send your comments and suggestions to salesianbulletinphilippines@gmail.com Visit us at www.sdb.org.ph Copyright© 2020 by Don Bosco Press, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission from the publisher.

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SALESIAN MISSIONS A Missionary and a Pilgrim ......................................8 Pinoy Missionary in the Amazon ...........................10 The Heart of a Salesian: A Missionary Heart .................................................12 A Year of Grace .......................................................13 When God Closes a Door, He Opens a Window ................................................14 JUBILARIANS The Good Golden Priest .........................................16 Diamond Jubilee of Salesian Life ..........................20 Ruby and Golden Jubilees of Religious Profession ..........................................21 Salesians of Don Bosco: Silver Anniversary of Priesthood ...........................................................24 SALESIAN WORLD NEWS The 150th Salesian Missionary Expedition ............26 Salesians Celebrate the First Forty Years in Samoa ..................................................................28 The New North Vietnam Delegation ......................29 SALESIAN FAMILY NEWS Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards for Two Salesians ..........................................................30 ASC-FIN Holds Young Salesian Cooperators Encounter 2019 .......................................................31 The Papal Nuncio at the 30th Anniversary of Word & Life: Don Bosco is Present in Word & Life ..........................................................32 Congress on Youth ..................................................34 Synodo 3-Youth Festival ........................................36 One Million Children Praying the Rosary Campaign in Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati .......................................................39

St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

A Missionary Dream that Lives On

MESSAGE OF THE

RECTOR MAJOR

I have seen undertakings that bordered on the impossible: men and women giving their life every day in forests and terrible deserts or in peripheries torn each day by violence. Proclaiming Jesus with the Gospel, lived simply and quietly in daily life.

Friends of the Salesian charism, the missionary dream in our title is the great missionary dream of St. John Bosco. Right from the very first years of the foundation of the Society of St. Francis de Sales (the Salesians), then so small and fragile, he sent out his first missionaries to Argentina (1875), that they might care for the Italian immigrants who had reached those shores by the thousands. But deep down in his heart, there was the desire to go and evangelize the native peoples of Patagonia as soon as possible.

In one of his great and prophetic missionary dreams, St. John Bosco was guided by a shepherdess as he surveyed the world together with some of his young people. The young were calling out the markers of the

cities that unfolded before them: “Valparaiso, Santiago,” then “mountains, hills, seas, Peking!” They shouted all together.

“Good,” the shepherdess said. “Now draw a single line from one end to the other, from Santiago to Peking, with the center in the middle of Africa, and you will have an exact idea of how much work the Salesians should do.”

“But how can they all this?” St. John Bosco exclaimed.

“The distances are immense, the places difficult, and the Salesian few.” “Do not be afraid. All this will be done by your children, the children of your children, and their children.” We are these children, and this missionary dream is still alive, very much alive. In fact, we are now part of this dream.

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If St. John Bosco were physically present among us, he would be very happy. He would show us one big and unforgettable smile, seeing how his two great congregations (Salesians of Don Bosco and Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians) continue to be missionaries and go towards the horizons that he had only dreamed of, wave after wave, till the farthest shores. So many waves, such that this year, we are sending the 150th missionary expedition.

10,000 MISSIONARIES

Last September 29, during a most moving celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the Basilica of Mary, Help of Christians, the missionary crucifix was given to thirty-six Salesians and twelve Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, as a distinctive sign of being sent to four continents.

In my homily, I was able to share a curious fact that is of very great importance for the Salesian charism and identity. I shared that in the Department for the Missions, the Salesians have a record book in which are written the names of all the missionaries who have been sent in these 150 expeditions. The first name is that of then Father John Cagliero.

The total number of SDBs on the list from 1875 to

this date is 9,542. 9,542 missionaries. But we know that thousands of others have been sent under different circumstances without having received the missionary crucifix in Valdocco. I do not know the number of our FMA missionaries. This would certainly reach thousands.

Therefore, can there still be any doubt on the missionary charism of the two congregations so dear to St. John Bosco? None, most certainly. We are born as religious priests, brothers, and sisters for the young, for the children of the world, especially the poorest and neediest among them. But we are also born to be evangelizers and missionaries wherever we are needed Missionaries of Jesus wherever they are needed— our confreres and sisters who last month received the cross in Valdocco know this very well. This certainty draws to my heart so many faces and so many names of missionary confreres and sisters whom I have encountered around the world in these years. They are there, always in the midst of the poorest and lowliest of the six inhabited continents, always sharing their life and learning, and giving what they have and can give.

I have seen undertakings that bordered on the impossible: men and women giving their life every day in forests and terrible deserts or in peripheries torn each day by violence. Proclaiming Jesus with their words and much more often without any words because they are not free to speak, except with their lives, their exemplary witness, and the Gospel, lived simply and quietly in daily life.

I have met confreres and sisters who have been in various prisons for more than thirty or forty years on account of their faith. I have met confreres who were martyred for the faith in senseless and unjust deaths, such as the last two Spanish Salesian missionary martyrs, Father Cesar Antonio Fernandez and Father Fernando Hernandez, both slain in Burkina Faso.

Today, our confreres and sisters continue to be missionaries in all the Americas, in the Amazon, the Andean mountain ranges, in Africa, Mongolia, Eastern Europe, Nepal, in so many other places in Asia, and in almost the entire Oceania. Still, we continue to receive requests from all parts of the world for the presence of the sons and daughters of St. John Bosco.

Thank you for your affection, your sympathy, and your generosity whenever there is a need for something for the poorest ones. Together, we can help them all the more and widen further the range of our charity.

May the good Lord bless all of you.

With great affection,

Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, SDB Rector Major

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Gone to the Father Fr. Redentor Molina, SDB Born: November 2, 1962 First Profession: April 1, 1982 Ordained Priest: July 11. 1992 Died: October 28, 2019

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Dear Readers, This issue of St. John Bosco Today highlights the Salesian mission ad gentes, that is, to those who have not yet received the Good News. The Salesian Family in the Philippines is one with the universal Church in listening, discerning, and answering the call to bring the Gospel of the Lord Jesus to all the corners of the world. Already, a good number of the members of the Salesian Family have left the Philippines to heed the call to go to the missions, especially to places that are in great need of missionaries.

As we are inspired by the stories of our missionaries, let us also be inspired by the examples of fidelity of our jubilarians who thank the gracious and loving God for twenty-five, forty, fifty, and sixty years of religious life as Salesians of Don Bosco and as Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians. May their humble example of fidelity to their vocation encourage all of us to be faithful too to our respective vocations as religious or lay, single or married. In this way, we too shall respond to the Strenna of our Rector Major for the year 2020. He invites us to be upright citizens and good Christians in whatever state God calls us to live our daily lives.

Our big congratulations to the new Hanoi Delegation of the Salesian Vietnam Province. Congratulations, too, to the Australia Province for the forty years of Salesian presence in Samoa.

Kudos to Fr. Salvatore Putzu, SDB, and to Fr. Juvelan Samia, SDB, for garnering awards in the Liturgy and Theology categories of the prestigious Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards.

Congratulations, too, to Word and Life Publications on its thirtieth anniversary.

With these inspiring stories and wonderful blessings, we all have so many reasons to thank God and direct everything we do to his greater glory.

To everyone, a grace-filled celebration of Christmas and a New Year 2020 overflowing with God’s abundant blessings.

Fr. Bernard P. Nolasco, SDB Editor in Chief

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AM Missionary issionary and a Pilgrim

BY FR. EDGAR ANDREW CARBON, SDB

Let me begin by saying that a missionary is also a pilgrim.

Pilgrims are travelers who desire to respond to the meaning of their existence, a desire that pushes them to “leave their homeland” as Abraham did. Pilgrims are not satisfied with just living in the ordinariness of daily life. They need answers to their questions. This is the tension all humans are born with.

We need to find our identity on this earth, to find our own sacred land, and to find God eventually.

WE ARE NOTHING SPECIAL!

I never dreamed or even thought of becoming a missionary “ad gentes.” I guess, my confreres at that time also thought the same. “Gary is NEVER missionary material!” But it all started when I was in my third year of theological studies.

Reading and watching news from different parts of the world gave me a strong and “kind of a strange feeling” that I had to do something to put a little more joy and peace in this violent and suffering world. That was in 1992. With this strong urge and feeling I immediately wrote to the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr. Egidio Vigano, SDB. Surprisingly, I got a reply in two weeks (Fast at that time!). The summary of the whole letter told me that I had to finish my studies in earnest and prepare myself. Sure enough, in October of 1993, three months before my priestly ordination, I got my obedience from Rome, telling me that I was being sent to the China Province of Mary, Help of Christians.

I still remember. After our priestly ordination, final exams all done, and the school year at its end, Fr. Carlo Villegas, Fr. Edwin Genovia, and myself remained in the theologate to pack our things and leave the Philippines. It was an ordinary summer day. The three of us were in the kitchen, and one of our cooks asked us this question: “Fathers, what makes you different or special so as to become missionaries in other parts of the world? You must possess some special qualities to be chosen?” The three of us gave almost the same answer: “We do not possess any special qualities. WE ARE NOTHING SPECIAL. We are just like anybody else. Maybe we just have BIG hearts and a little more courage to take up the missionary challenge. We are nothing special.”

To have a big heart, to be generous, to be magnanimous—these, I believe, are important qualities of true missionary

HELPLESSNESS

“O LORD, you are my God, I extol you, I praise your name. For you have carried out your wonderful plans of old, faithful and true…

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ad gentes.

For you have been a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress. Shelter from the rain, shade from the heat.

When the blast of the ruthless was like a winter rain.” (Isaiah 24:1—4) After being a missionary for almost six years, Fr. Luciano Odorico, SDB, then the General Councilor for the Missions, called us, new missionaries, for a meeting and some reflection. At the beginning of the gathering, he asked: “What is your most significant or deepest experience so far?” It did not take me long to give and share my answer: “An overwhelming feeling of HELPLESSNESS.” Being a missionary, one has to hurdle and face many things: the language, the culture, a different lifestyle, a new environment, and so on. But these are not the difficult ones. The difficulty comes when you are subtly rejected or judged, simply because you are a foreigner, or someone coming from a “Third-world country.” Hence, you can never be like them. You find yourself helpless because you cannot change who you are. However, it is this kind of experience that makes missionary life more meaningful. We are forced to humble ourselves and strive to become more credible witnesses of the Gospel spirit.

A GREATER SHARE IN THE VICTIMHOOD OF JESUS CHRIST

As a missionary for twenty-five years now, living in Hong Kong for two years, a year in Israel, and twenty-two years in Taiwan (14 in Taipei, 2 ½ years in Pingtung County, 5 ½

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years in Tainan), I have been greatly enriched in my Salesian priestly life. I took part in the different services rendered to the mission territory entrusted to us. When I would be invited to go and help out on these “services and mission” trips alone, from time to time I would be faced with clear and imminent danger. Our very own Joseph Cardinal Zen of Hong Kong would sometimes jokingly tell us: “They know that we are close to one another and belong to the same group, so in case you encounter trouble and danger because of me, please do not blame me!” We would always respond with a smile. Being a missionary in this part of the world has its own share of dangers, troubles, and difficulties.

My very first parish assignment in the southernmost part of Taiwan was in a farming area, a very rural environment.

In my first Sunday Mass there, I had only eight parishioners, mostly old people. The Catholics of Taiwan are only 1.4% of the population. Many young (Filipino) missionaries gave up due to the difficulties in evangelization. But it is precisely because of this that missionaries must work and toil harder to build the Kingdom of God. Nothing glamorous and fancy about being a missionary. Rather, the spirit of victimhood in every missionary. Willing victims who sharing in the victimhood of Jesus Christ.

GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER!

“For God loves a cheerful giver. Moreover, God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work.”

(2 Corinthians 9:7—8) To have a big heart, to be generous, to be magnanimous—these, I believe, are important qualities of true missionary ad gentes. The Chinese would say: 寬宏大量 “kuan hong da liang,” which means being overly generous!

After twenty-five years as a missionary ad gentes, never did I have any regret of being one. Maybe, I dreamt of working in some other places, but as a whole, I have been happy that I have taken up the challenge and responded to this vocation. After being Rector and parish priest in Taipei City for nine years, I told my superiors that I would be ready to go to the other side of the globe for the missions and even learn another language.

I still consider myself very much a pilgrim, constantly travelling, constantly seeking. A missionary and a pilgrim can never be fully at home in one place. “In green pastures, he makes me lie down; to still waters he leads me; he restores my soul. He guides me along right paths for the sake of his name.”

(Psalm 23:2—3) St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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Pinoy Missionary in the Amazon

BY BR. JOSE MARIA CASTILLO, SDB

The Salesians have been present in the Amazon region of Brazil for more than 125 years now. The first missionaries contributed to the establishment of many Catholic communities which later on became municipalities, especially among the numerous indigenous inhabitants in the river systems of the upper Rio Negro along the borders with Venezuela and Colombia. Today, the Salesian Missionary Province of Amazonia celebrates sixty years as an independent province. It is present in three Brazilian states, Amazonas, Rondônia, and Pará. The Salesians journey with the young in the indigenous missions within the Amazon reserve, engage in urban and rural social work, basic and higher education, and the animation of agricultural and river Catholic communities. A big number of the Salesians are missionaries ad gentes.

This year 2019, I am assigned to the remote municipality of Manicoré, a Pinoy missionary in the state of Amazonas.

We are in the middle of a lush forest along the Madeira river system, around 450 kilometers from the capital, Manaus, where our provincial house is located. To reach our community, one needs to take a two-day river ferry or a 16-hour fast-craft boat. Since there is no paved-road access from the capital, the river is the only means to transport people and goods to and from the municipality. One may also fly in and land in a short air-strip for 15-seater propeller aero-taxis. During the dry season, there is an option to take a dirt-road and cut through the forest.

The first Salesians arrived in 1962 to animate the parish community of Nossa Senhora das Dores (Our Lady of Sorrows). In 2005, the Centro Juvenil Salesiano, built through foreign benefactors, began offering professional training and values formation for adolescents and young people. The Salesian Sisters (FMA) and the Association of Mary, Help of Christians (ADMA) are also present.

In our Centro Juvenil Salesiano, of which I am the director, we accompany more than 300 young people, 12—18 years of age, from different walks of life and religious beliefs. We foster their human and spiritual formation by organizing various courses and activities. Hopefully they may grow up into upright citizens and good Christians, as St. John Bosco wanted them to be. Then they can be like salt and leaven in building a better society especially among the river

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dwellers. Among the young, we are more of living witnesses to Christ through our presence and friendship.

The center also collaborates with the local government in the healing and rehabilitation processes of minor offenders or minors-in-conflict-with-the-law. We serve a good number of young offenders who participate in our daily activities.

Because of improved behavior, their heavy sentences have been waived.

The mission of our Centro is difficult but when we see how the young people are transformed, we cannot but regain our motivation to overcome the worries, stress, and tiredness of the daily grind.

I was baptized and became a Christian. More than that, a missionary! To live the spirit of a missionary. To be a missionary is not a status. For me, it is a way of life. I am sent to proclaim the Gospel through my very life, my witnessing.

I am sent to stir up the longing in people to get to know Jesus and stay closer to him. As a Salesian missionary, I am challenged to invite more young people to know, love, and serve Jesus.

It is my love for Jesus that keeps me going despite all the challenges of language, culture, and values. Moments of difficulty give me reasons to give up. But God takes the first place in my life. His Son Jesus calls me to be a sign of his love in whatever context I am. His Holy Spirit guides me in my decisions and actions.

I remember the words of the Rector Major Fr. Angel Fernandez, SDB, to our batch, the 147th missionary expedition. He explained that we are not expected to build big structures or organize big events for young people.

Rather, we are sent to bear witness to Jesus and build our Salesian communities even in the humblest ways.

This year, there are reasons to celebrate, in particular, the Pan-Amazon Synod and the special month of the Missions which Pope Francis convoked. Please join us in praying for more missionaries, ready to give themselves for the frontiers of the Church. Please pray for us, missionaries ad gentes that we may remain faithful to our vocation, courageous and creative in facing challenges, and attentive and obedient to the voice of the Holy Spirit. May we carry out the mission that God has entrusted to us.

Da mihi animas, cetera tolle!

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As a Salesian missionary, I am challenged to invite more young people to know, love, and serve Jesus.

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The Heart of a Salesian:

A Missionary Heart

BY FR. DING CORTEZ, SDB

I want to reconnect with the spirit of our first missionaries, burning with love for God, St. John Bosco, and the young.

Every Salesian is a missionary at heart. This we have inherited from St. John Bosco who nourished in his heart the desire to go to the missions. The iconic photo of him handing the book of the Salesian Constitutions to the young and energetic Fr. John Cagliero captures his ardent wish to heed the call of missio ad gentes. That scene was just before the group embarked on its long journey to plant the seeds of Christianity in the mission land of Patagonia (now Argentina).

It was as if he was assuring his young missionaries that he was going with them to the missions through the Rule of the Society of St. Francis de Sales. No wonder, in the room of St. John Bosco, there is a globe that he must have consulted many times as the “missionary dreams” were revealed to him by our Blessed Mother. He must have planned and tried to go to these “mysterious” places but his health did not permit him.

I too kept in my heart a special place for the missions. I recall the meeting of the Provincials in our seminary in Don Bosco-Canlubang (Laguna). I was a seminarian then. We were all awe-struck with the very articulate and animated Provincial of Hong Kong, now Cardinal Zen. During their breaks, he would come to us, seminarians, and narrate to us his adventures, concluding always with a word on how they needed missionaries for China. He even asked us to sign up for their mission. I was one of those who signed my name.

Since then, when I would make my application letter for the different formation stages, I would always write that I want to become a “Salesian missionary priest.”

I recall too, then our Provincial, now Bishop Luciano

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Capelli, SDB, asking the post-novitiate brothers to go to the missions. When he approached me, I replied that I was still thinking about it. But deep inside, I was telling myself that if he were to come back and ask me one more time, I would go.

Unfortunately, I was not asked again. This same feeling came back to me again when on behalf of our Provincial I attended the episcopal ordination of Bishop Pedro Baquero, SDB, in Papua New Guinea. I was crying during the whole ceremony as I listened to the people singing their Pidgin songs. I could feel that God was there in our midst.

Animating the Province in mission work and mission life is a challenge. My one question to myself when asking others to go to the missions is always: “How about me? Am I challenging myself to heed also the call to embark for places where Divine Providence is leading me?” I want to hear once more the heart of our dear St. John Bosco calling me to serve young people who need most our Salesian charism and the life-giving message of the Gospel. I want to reconnect with the spirit of our first missionaries, burning with love for God, St. John Bosco, and the young.

I leave my future in the hands of our Blessed Mother.

Indeed, the call of Pope Benedict XV, one hundred years ago [November 30, 1919 Apostolic Letter Maximum Illud], still echoes today. The great call to the missions of Mark 16:15, to “go to the whole world and preach the Gospel to all creation,” is very much alive even today. With such a holy and momentous call, I want to declare: “Missionary abroad or at home, I will be with St. John Bosco! Pusong Salesyano, MISYONERO! (The Salesian heart: MISSIONARY)”

A Year of Grace

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BY JESSA MARIEL DELA PEÑA

Last May 2019, I celebrated my first year of ministry in the Salesian Vice-Province of Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. I celebrated my personal triumphs and successes in the ministry. I also reflected on my failures and looked back on the challenges that almost left me broken. All these made me realize that everything is grace, God’s grace.

Leaving home, leaving my support groups, and starting again from the ground up, have been a very challenging, humbling, but truly formative experience for me.

This year, I learned a lot about self-care. When I committed myself to serve the young people of Papua New Guinea, I realized that if I did not take care of myself, I would not be able to do what I should do. If I was giving myself truly to God, I might as well offer the best version of myself.

How could I keep up with the young people if I could not even literally keep up with their energy? Yes, I was stronger, mentally and emotionally, but I also had to make myself strong physically. Therefore, I started working out.

I had a lot of “I can’t” moments. I had a lot of “I don’t want to do this anymore” episodes. But I made sure that I did not stop. Till now, I have not. Over the past months, I started to feel good about myself. I started to see that I was capable of doing much more. I realized that working out, while very physically demanding, was more a mental exercise. I had to keep pushing myself a little more each time. That I was able to apply also to my ministry. Today, I wake up happier and stronger.

When I am asked how things are going here, I usually say that things are okay, because they are. Work is work, sometimes challenging, sometimes fairly easy, but that is how it usually is. More than the challenges in the ministry, what makes things very difficult for me is the loneliness of being far from family and friends. I have been homesick more times that I would like to admit. I miss my favorite Pinoy foods. I miss the people with whom I usually share these things. I realize how loneliness can really break a person.

I had to learn to do things on my own. I had to learn to be independent. Many times, I got frustrated. I almost gave up a lot of times. Then I asked myself: “Where is God in all these?”

When I reflected on this question, I realized that everything that was happening to me—my loneliness and my journey towards self-care—were manifestations of God working in me.

When I told God that I was going to the missions, I asked him to help me. God has been answering my prayer all the way. I have been here for a little over a year. This has been a year of grace. God has been gracious in giving me this opportunity. I do not think I would have learned this much if I had stayed in my comfort zone. I asked God to use me. He did, but only after breaking me and showing me how much I needed him. In my loneliest moments, in the times when I told myself I could not, in the times when I almost wanted to quit, God asked me not to forget him. He continues to remind me every day that with him I am capable of great things.

If I was giving myself truly to God, I might as well offer the best version of myself.

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“When God Closes a Door, He Opens a Window.”

BY FR. RAMON BORJA, SDB

After more than two years in the Kuching (Malaysia) mission I have heard this saying a number of times before, but only now have I so strongly and so personally experienced it to be so true. In my case, it sounds more like: “When God still keeps the door closed, he opens a window.” The door of having a Salesian school of our own here in Kuching remains closed, but God has opened a window for us to serve full-time in the Youth Commission of the Archdiocese.

How can we not say “Terima kasih, oh Tuhan (Thank you very much, oh Lord)!”

We, the first (I use the adjective ‘first’ because I am very sure that we would be followed by more.) SDBs sent to Malaysia, in the Archdiocese of Kuching in Sarawak, have been here for more than two years now with the plan of putting up a skills-training vocational school and boarding house. We want to offer Catholic education and formation in the Don Bosco way for the poor youth of the city and of the surrounding provinces. This institution would actually be owned by the archdiocese but managed by us, Salesians.

Up to now, this big and noble plan remains a dream.

We and the other stakeholders are doing our share in working for the realization of this significant endeavor, but because of several factors, we still cannot make it materialize. Among these factors is the land allocated for the project. It still needs to be placed under the name of the archdiocese and, for some reasons, this is taking a very long time. This door, a school for us Salesians, remains still unopened.

This makes me think sometimes that maybe God is not yet answering my ardent prayer, that he still wants to purify me and deepen my faith in him, that my devotion to Mary, Help of Christians, and St. John Bosco and my love for the Church and the young must grow stronger. If only I have faith like that of a mustard seed. But as I said, God is making me realize that indeed, “when He keeps a door closed, He also opens a window.” Since April 2019, the Archbishop of Kuching, Most Reverend Simon Poh, has entrusted to us, Salesians, the animation of the Youth Commission in the whole of this big archdiocese. We now run an office in the Archdiocesan Curia and Cathedral Pastoral Centre (ACCPC) with two very dedicated full-time youth ministers (Mariamella Will and Julian Christian Sim) and a good number of youth volunteers from all the parishes, chapel communities, schools, and campuses.

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We have been doing a lot of “journeying with the youth” here in the archdiocese through a variety of youthful pastoral activities like Holy Masses, confessions, recollections, youth camps, Taize moments, praise and worship, formation sessions and, of course, a lot of bonding moments with them with or without mugs of coffee or milk tea but always with smiles and kindness.

Last August 31 to September 2, the Youth Commission organized a big gathering of around five hundred youth, servants, and delegates from all the parishes and campuses, in celebration of the Kuching Archdiocese Youth Day 2019 with the theme “SERVE… Thy word be done!” #KAYD19serve.

You could see them all having fun and formation, watch them pray and praise in silence and in songs and shouts, witness them growing in friendship with one another and with Jesus and Mary, look at them serve with zeal and joy, hear their laughter, listen to their cries, and feel their love.

During those three grace-filled days (and the months and weeks and days prior to that, with all the servants doing all the tedious preparations) you could really say that those young people were on fire! They were aflame with God’s love!

We, SDBs here, have been co-journeyers and witnesses to these. What a wonderful window all these have been! For this we say: “Puji Tuhan (Praise the Lord)!”

P.S.

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God is making me realize that indeed, “when He keeps a door closed, He also opens a window.”

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The Good Golden Priest

BY CLERIC PAUL DUNGCA, SDB

He proves through his way of living that God is truly good and providential.

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“Goodness is abstract,” our professor once insisted. I, then, nodded as a sign of agreement. For I could not see goodness walking around, running and jumping in the corridors. I had never touched or smelled it.

Today, I no longer agree, after an encounter with a good golden priest!

Fr. Jess Tayag, SDB, is the good golden priest. Firstly, he sees every SDB-confrere in the community as good. He receives each one with a smile, blurting out his watermarked greeting “Good morning, my good brother!”

In his old age this priest is beaming with goodness—almost literally. “Has this person ever experienced anything untoward in his life?”

I furtively grumble to myself.

It was during his first meeting with us that we realized that all of our companions in the youth center were foreigners. At least for a year, both of us would be working during weekends with brothers who could not speak the native language. I was anxious.

He was not. His first words to us during the orientation reverberate in my ears even until now: “Let goodness ripple!” He assured the brothers that language would never be a barrier for a Salesian, especially in his encounter with the young. All a Salesian had to do was to allow the fragrance of goodness to spread.

How could this man, formed in foreign lands, proclaim such a dictum? How could this erstwhile missionary, who once experienced imprisonment, assert it as a belief? How could this simple old man utter a mantra with so much conviction?

GOLDEN JUBILARIAN

GOOD BY BIRTH, BETTER WITH FORMATION

Born on March 28, 1941, “Jess,” as he was fondly called at home, was the twelfth in a family of fourteen siblings. The rather huge family would gather around their altarina every evening to pray the Angelus and rosary together in Spanish. All the children were born in the town of Santo Cristo, Tarlac. But after their father Fernando passed on, they moved with their mother Regadala to San Miguel. He was a finance administrator in Hacienda Luisita and got a stroke while doing the auditing. “The family struggled from then on,” Fr. Jess recounted.

On hindsight, Fr. Jess remembers very vividly one afternoon, when, before taking his siesta, his father asked him if he wanted to become a priest. The young Jess gave his father an answer without a second thought. “No!” His father went for his afternoon nap. The question however haunted him from home to school. Jess studied in a well-respected Catholic school in their province: the College of the Holy Spirit. It was in this institute that he met the Salesians who were celebrating Masses for the sisters. In the eyes of the young Jess, foremost was Fr. Fels. This priest invited his friends to go for a discernment orientation. Jess, young as he was and afraid of being left out, asked if he could join this orientation. Eventually, he went to the aspirantate in Don Bosco Victorias, Negros Occidental, eight hundred and fifty kilometers away. A boy who simply wanted to be with his friends deepened his faith in a land surrounded by sugar cane. This was the sweet beginning of his priestly journey.

He did his year of novitiate in Muntinlupa, Rizal. Here he first donned the cassock and pronounced his vows to God as a young Salesian cleric on May 24, 1959. A year later, he was sent to Hong Kong for philosophy. Three Christmases later, he was back in the Philippines, specifically in Don Bosco Boys Town, Cebu City, for his first year of practical training. The second and third years were spent in Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati.

He used to greet our Lady in Spanish as a boy but never imagined that he would learn to celebrate the Holy Mass in Spanish. God chose to engage him in a forward-backward tango dance and welcomed him in Seville, Spain, a city popular for its flamingo dancing. There he completed his theological studies. He was ordained a Salesian priest in the Cathedral of Saint Mary, Seville, on April 12, 1969—exactly fifty years ago.

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To the surprise of everyone, their batch chose “Vivir es morir” as the theme of their ordination. It was a Spanish phrase that meant “To live is to die.” To the first listener, it seemed to propose the meaninglessness of life, that death was the ultimate essence of life. But this was very far from the original intention of those brave young deacons. “Vivir es morir” summed up for them the life of Christ as a martyr for all. With much looking-beyond, one could understand and live this aphorism, as if to set free stunning words trapped in ink and paper. Indeed, the death of many is once, but the death of a priest is daily.

A GOOD SALESIAN PRIEST

His dying as a priest began in Don Bosco Mandaluyong, where Fr. Jess was Spiritual Moderator from 1969 to 1971. He took the same role for two years in a place already familiar to him, Don Bosco Boys Town, Cebu City. To this day, he is well-remembered as the “priest of the youth center.” He reached his prime as the director of the Youth Center in Don Bosco Makati from 1973 to 1981. He founded the Friends of Don Bosco and made booklets for youth-groups and youth centers for the benefit not only of Salesian settings but also of the Philippine Church.

After all those years, his secret desire was finally answered. He was assigned in 1982 to Don Bosco Tondo, Manila. He recounted how, as a young Salesian, he would always pray that he be assigned to a very poor and depressed area. This, he was hoping, would give meaning to his ordination slogan. The sacrifice of dying unexpectedly doubled owing to the situation of the country which was then under martial law. Despite these hardships, the Holy Spirit demanded even more from Fr. Jess. After the snap elections in 1986, he was led to the missions ad gentes.

From 1987 to 1989, he was a missionary in Iran, where he had to drink the cup of bitter wine. He was imprisoned.

To be a stranger in a foreign land was already very challenging. To be placed behind bars in a place totally unfamiliar was a true-to-life story that no one would ever want to retell. He was arrested because of several decisions he had to make as a Salesian pastor, ultimately, because he was doing ministry outside his defined territory. After his release, he was transferred to Ethiopia.

In 1989, Fr. Jess came back to the Philippines to be the parish priest of the Immaculate Concepcion Parish in San Jose, Nueva Ecija. He was requested by Bishop Leo Drona, SDB, DD to take care of this church for three years.

Then, he moved on to the Salesian Hostel in Sta. Mesa, Manila, and to Don Bosco Tabor.

His longest assignment was in the Bicol region—twelve years in the land of hot chili pepper. He was one of the pioneer Salesians in the Lady of Carmel Parish, Carolina, Naga, Camarines Sur. He recounted those early beginnings

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DIAMOND JUBILARIAN

GOODNESS CONTINUES

Today, Fr. Jess resides among the young confreres who are preparing themselves for priesthood. He is in the Seminaryo ng Don Bosco in Paranaque City, forming the future priests for eleven different nations. He instills in them the value of work and prayer. He radiates the virtue of faith. He proves through his way of living that God is truly good and providential. But one thing remains established in his heart—poor young people.

In spite of his age, Fr. Jess serves the children and young people of a poor village near the seminary. He oversees the youth center where the young gather every Sunday for the Holy Mass, games, and formation. Tirelessly, he looks for and provides scholarships for many of the young. On top of it all, he represents the community in its ministry for victims of drug addiction. He attends to their pastoral needs of confession and Holy Mass every Saturday and Sunday in a nearby rehabilitation center.

His confreres are witnesses of how Fr. Jess continues to live his life according to the vows he made a long time ago.

This is not a eulogy but an honest observation. He now lives a life closer to God. Every Sunday afternoon, he is there in front of the Blessed Sacrament just before the youth center opens. One can simply surmise that he is offering the young people to God. as terribly challenging. The Salesian residence then meant piles of galvanized roofing sheets leaning against the wall of the sacristy. Lunch and dinner were in a benefactor’s house two kilometers away, on foot. They had practically nothing but the company of each other and of God. Through years of perseverance and resourcefulness, even to the extent of depositing not money but fresh vegetables in the bank, he built the chapel and community of Pacol, a few kilometers down the road to Naga City.

Here too Fr. Jess was a witness to St. John Bosco’s vision of Salesian complementarity. Already, his priestly ministry had been very much influenced by the lay Salesian brothers. Their hidden generosity edified Fr. Jess, and he too wanted to offer everything that he had. In Bicol, he lived and worked hand in hand with Bro. Luigi Parolin, SDB, who was pioneering the training center in Bankerohan, Legazpi City, Albay.

After those tough years, he was assigned to Don Bosco Tabor House, Laguna, to take care of the aging confreres.

But his goodness did shine in youth centers and parishes, where most of his years and energy—more than half of his priestly life—were devoted.

He proves through his way of living that God is truly good and providential.

I once heard it said that God is a gold-miner. A good miner hopes to find gold; hence, he digs. He is not discouraged by the bulk of rocks he has to dig through.

Rather, his mind is filled with the thought of that good piece of gold he hopes to find. Fr. Jess lives a vibrant life in our community. He strives to notice everyone and encourage them through his “grandfatherly” affection. Like God, Fr. Jess is finding gold in every person he encounters.

Hence, he deals with all with much goodness that they too may encounter the goodness of God, no less.

Now I can say, that in Fr. Jess, this good golden priest, I see goodness walking around and running and jumping along the corridors. I touch and smell goodness. I see goodness beaming all around.

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ILARIAN

D JUB DIAMON

Diamond Jubilee of Salesian Life

Fr. Joseph Fernandez, SDB FIRST RELIGIOUS PROFESSION - MAY 14, 1959

Da mihi animas, cetera tolle.

nb. A special feature on Fr. Joe’s vocation story was published in the December 2018 – February 2019 Issue of St. John Bosco Today when he celebrated his 50th anniversary of Holy Priesthood.

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RUBY & GOLDEN JUBILARIANS

RUBY AND GOLDEN JUBILEES OF

RELIGIOUS PROFESSION

BY SR. DEBBIE PONSARAN, FMA

The Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, (Philippines and Papua New Guinea) celebrated the anniversaries of religious profession last August 4, 2019, at Don Bosco School, Sta. Mesa (Manila). These are the jubilarians: 50th Anniversary: Sr. Teresita Mislang, FMA; Sr. Maria Adelaida Villanueva, FMA; and Sr. Nanny Zamora, FMA. 40th Anniversary: Sr. Sarah Garcia, FMA; Sr. Jacinta Inguillo, FMA; Sr. Merlinda Meneses, FMA; Sr. Carmencita Rodriguez, FMA; and Sr. Patrizia Wong Fung Yee, FMA (from Hong Kong).

Several priests concelebrated with Fr. Gerardo Martin, SDB, Provincial Superior of the SDB-FIN). Sr. Mabel Pilar, FMA, Provincial Superior, crowned the jubilarians with ruby and golden flower crowns symbolizing the renewal of their consecration to Christ.

Sr. Nanny Zamora, FMA Eldest among the seven children of Crispin and Amparo Zamora, Sr. Nanny was born on June 4, 1942, in EB Magalona (Negros Occidental). From her parents, all seven siblings learned how to pray, have devotion to Mary, and be kind to others. Her brother, Oscar, became a Salesian priest and her sister, Zenaida, an FMA. Instead of pursuing a secretarial course at the College of Negros Occidental, she joined the Sunday oratory of the FMAs and learned sewing. She was attracted by their joy, simplicity, and loving concern. She became a member of the Marian Club and the choir and helped in various tasks in the church.

She entered the convent on May 14, 1964, and had her formation, profession, and juniorate in Italy. She returned to the Philippines in 1970, ever faithful and generous, simple and happy, in her consecrated life.

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Sr. Teresita C. Mislang, FMA

Sr. Adelaida Villanueva, FMA

Born to Pedro Mislang and Maria Claveria on March 10, 1943, in Sampaloc (Manila), Sr. Teresita was the eldest of nine children. Respect for elders, honesty, obedience, work, and compassion for others were inculcated in them by their parents. With a Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education, she taught in Don BoscoMandaluyong and was a member of the Assumption Presidium of the Legion of Mary in San Felipe Parish.

There she met Paulina “Poleng” Vicencio, Sr. Gloria Vicencio’s younger sister, who led her to the FMAs. Thus began the fulfillment of her childhood desire to become a sister. She entered the convent in Canlubang (Laguna) on June 30, 1965. A year after, she flew to Italy for five years of formation. Upon her return to the Philippines in 1971, she served the Lord tirelessly, joyfully, and faithfully in various communities in the province.

Sr. Adelaida is the third of the thirteen children born to Timoteo Villanueva and Consolacion Sebog of Silay (Negros Occidental). They passed on to their children the values of honesty, industriousness, and the fear of God. She and her sisters were invited to the oratory by the FMAs in Victorias, where she helped teach catechism in the dialect to younger children and animate the Little Angels’ group. She also attended and later assisted in the dressmaking and embroidery courses which the Sisters offered. She was attracted by their family spirit. She was in the third group sent to Italy in 1966 for formation, profession, and the juniorate. Upon her return to the Philippines, she accompanied girls in the initial stage of formation to the religious life. She takes confidence in being grafted to the One Vine. This strengthens her faith and love as she continues to live her consecration each day.

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St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

RUBY & GOLDEN JUBILARIANS

40th Ruby (left to right) Sr. Sarah Garcia, FMA , Sr. Carmencita Rodriguez, FMA, Sr. Jacinta Inguillo, FMA, and Sr. Patrizia Wong Fung Yee, FMA, and Sr. Merlinda Meneses, FMA

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Fr. Noel S eb

etero, SD

April 09, 1

994

Fr. Lamberto Paradiang, Jr., SDB December 08, 1994

B

SALESIANS OF

SILVER ANNIVERSARY O

B tura, SD a S o n a i 94 Fr. Adr r 08, 19 Decemb

24

e

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Fr. Joel Jurao, S DB Decem ber 08, 1994

Fr. Rog e

r Tama

Fr. Exequiel Veloso, SDB

April 0 9

April 09, 1994

res, SD B

, 1994

DON BOSCO

F HOLY PRIESTHOOD

SDB Fr. Ferdinand Camilo, December 08, 1994

, SDB Fr. Stephen Placente December 08, 1994

Fr. Renan Michael La Guardia, SDB December 08, 1994

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SALESIAN

EWS WORLD N

THE 150 SALESIA th

BY FR. GIANNI ROLANDI, SDB (ANS - Turin) - 29 September, 2019, the Rector Major of the Salesians, Fr. Ángel Fernández Artime, presided at the Eucharistic celebration of the 150th Missionary Expedition during which he consigned the missionary cross to 36 Salesians and 13 Daughters of Mary Help of Christians in the presence of his Vicar, Fr. Francesco Cereda, of the General Councilor for the Missions, Fr. Guillermo Basañes, the Mother General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Yvonne Reungoat, and Sr. Alaíde Deretti, Councilor for the Missions.

In front of the statue of Don Bosco in the courtyard of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians, the Rector Major, together with the 36 new SDB missionaries of the 150th Expedition, began to prepare the ground to launch the 2019 missionary appeal, which he will do, as every year, for the feast of the Immaculate, December 8th. Surrounded by the Salesian missionaries of the 150th Expedition, the Rector Major wished to make the appeal to all the Salesians in the world from this very courtyard that saw the beginnings of our family and the consolidation of the Salesian charism.

Taking place immediately preceding this moment, in the theater of the Oratory of Valdocco, was the very youthful and media-savvy presentation of the 12 new FMA missionaries, by Sr. Alaíde Deretti, Councilor for the Missions, and of the 36 new SDB missionaries, by Fr. Guillermo Basañes, General Councilor for the Missions, in three groups of “12 apostles”. The recorded interviews of several missionaries are lively and definitely worth seeing. The event was broadcast live by Rete 7 and on various Facebook channels.

In the Eucharistic celebration, during the homily, the Rector Major emphasized the fact that today is a day of great celebration for the Congregation, the Institute and for the Church, in what is this 150th Missionary Expedition, 144 years after the first expedition of 1875, without interruption, even during the two terrible world wars.

Fr. Á.F. Artime highlighted an interesting point. In the office of the Councilor for the Missions, there is the Book of Missionaries, which records 9,542 Salesian missionaries sent by the Rectors Major from this Basilica in the 150 Expeditions.

It seems that the real total number of those sent is more than 10,400. Our Congregations are recognized for the education and evangelization of the young, and with these numbers, we can safely say we are indeed and truly a missionary Institute and Congregation. The fire of love for Jesus has not allowed us to remain closed within four walls; on the contrary. The most important point is precisely that Jesus is at the center of our lives: God calls us and sends us to share life, to give, to witness Jesus with life, with the example of charity, with great respect for the diversity of each and every one.

The Salesian response to the extraordinary missionary month - October 2019, launched by Pope Francis - is this

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missionary sending, to enrich the presence of Jesus in all continents, except Australia this time. The Rector Major, during the homily, then presented three examples of particular witnesses, since the world wants witnesses and not teachers / professors.

Monsignor Marcello Melani, Italian of origin, missionary for many years in Argentina. Once he finished his service as bishop in Patagonia (diocese of Neuquén), he returned to the province to which he belonged and served as parish priest and catechist. He felt ready to answer to the call of the Pope and the Rector Major, and his availability was accepted. He will go to Peru.

Fr. Bashir Souccar: Syrian, 71 years old, expert in running the oratory with Muslims. From the MOR Province he made himself available and will go to Tunisia ... to bring the joy of the oratory, especially among young Muslims.

Fr. Germain Plakoo-Mlapa, Togolese, he was present at the martyrdom of both Fr. César Antonio Fernández (February 2019) and of Fr. Fernando Hernández (May 2019), which took place in Burkina Faso; he was next to both and does not know why he was not killed too. Now he is here, recovering, and his heart is full of serenity and peace because he knew how to forgive and continues to live with the heart full of Jesus and his love.

Here is the testimony of life beyond words.

AN MISSIONARY EXPEDITION.

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SALESIAN

EWS WORLD N

SALESIANS CELEBRATE THE FIRST FORTY YEARS IN

SAMOA

ANS - Alafua - Archbishop Alapati Lui Mata’eliga of Apia celebrated the Eucharist last August 31, 2019, at the Parish of St. John Bosco in Sinamoga on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary of the Salesian presence in Samoa. Concelebrating were Fr. William Matthews, Superior of the Australia-Pacific Province, Fr. Peter Carroll, Provincial Economer, Fr. Vito Pau Petelo, Provincial Delegate of the Pacific, diocesan priests, and a good number of Salesians. Fr. James Adayadiel and Fr. Sebastian Chacko, the Salesians who first arrived in this Pacific paradise forty years ago, were also present. Many more young people from the Salesian schools and parishes added a touch of youthful joy to the celebration.

In his homily, Archbishop Alapati Lui Mata’eliga encouraged the adults and parents to love and educate their children and young people, inviting them to always treat children as their peers.

After the Eucharist, Fr. Will Matthews, together with Sr. Edna Mary MacDonald, FMA Provincial, blessed a new statue of St. John Bosco, strategically placed near the community chapel, right at the entrance of the Don Bosco Technical Institute of Alafua. The celebration ended with the Samoan traditional festival, “fiafia,” at the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Alafua. It was enriched with traditional songs, food, and dances.

At present, there are ten SDBs in Samoa. In Alafua they take care of the pre-novitiate, the center for vocational and professional training, the oratory, and the parish. There are twenty-two educators, two staff members, five Salesians, and 198 students, forty-seven of whom are freshmen—a 74% increase over the previous year’s enrollment.

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SALESIAN WORLD NEWS

THE NEW NORTH VIETNAM DELEGATION Hanoi, Vietnam. The second Delegation in the Salesian Province of Vietnam (The first was the Mongolia Delegation, in 2009.) was inaugurated last September 7, 2019, within the Eucharist in the Parish Church of St. Peter in Van Phuc (Hanoi).

The Provincial of Vietnam, Fr. Joseph Nguyen Van Quang, SDB, presided over the celebration. Present were forty Salesian priests and a group of Salesian brothers, FMA sisters, Salesian cooperators, and VDB. Also installed for a three-year term as parish priest of Van Phuc was Fr. Thomas Aquinas TRAN Quoc Tuan, SDB. Before the Mass, representatives from the ten Salesian presences in the northern part of Vietnam gathered for a short meeting, to understand the Delegation Statutes approved by the Rector Major in July 2019. His wish was to establish firm roots for more effective Salesian animation. The confreres raised many questions: “What is the Delegation?” “What is the role of the Delegate?” “How do we establish new Salesian works when we are based mainly in diocesan parishes under a short-term agreement?” Fr. Vaclav, SDB, EAO Regional Councilor, replied to the questions, with the assistance of the first Secretary of the delegation, Fr. JB Tran Van Hao, SDB. In his homily, Fr. Vaclav expressed gratitude to everyone who contributed to the birth of the Delegation, especially to the Salesian confreres, lay mission partners, and benefactors over the past twenty-five years. He took the inscription in the Salesian house of Van Phuc, “Do not be afraid,” words of faith of Pope St. John Paul II, to prepare the confreres for the many

challenges on the way. He also expressed the need for a common vision in the rapidly changing situation of the youth and society.

At the end of the Eucharist, the newly installed Delegate, Fr. Thomas Aquinas TRAN Quoc Tuan, shared his vision for next six years. To lay solid foundations for the Vice-province, he invited everyone to focus on community-building and the formation of the Salesian Family (particularly, Salesian Cooperators, alumni, and ADMA) and to work wholeheartedly for the total development of the youth in the specific culture of North Vietnam. The new Delegate also highlighted the specific need to work for vocations through the committed witness of religious life and invited all the confreres to foster a stronger sense of belonging to the local SDB community, to the Delegation, and to the whole Vietnam-Mongolia province.

St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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Y NEWS SALESIAN FAMIL

CARDINAL SIN CATHOLIC BOOK AWARDS

FOR TWO SALESIANS

SMX, Pasay City, Philippines. The much-awaited 13th Cardinal Sin Catholic Book Awards opened the 40th Manila International Book Fair last September 11, 2019, at the SMX Convention Center-Manila. Two Salesian priests were recognized in their respective categories. Fr. Salvatore Putzu, SDB, Editor of Word and Life Publications, received an award in LITURGY for his “Exploring God’s Word;” Fr. Juvelan Paul Samia, SDB, Animator of the Salesian Youth Movement (FIN) and Pastoral Affairs Head of the Grade School department of Don Bosco Technical Institute (Makati City), in THEOLOGY for his book “Tayo na sa Antipolo.”

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St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

“Exploring God’s Word” is a periodical published by Word and Life Publications. It helps in the preparation of liturgies by offering ideas and reflections on the themes of the Bible readings of Sundays and major feast days. “Tayo Na Sa Antipolo” is a theo-dula of the Alay Lakad sa Antipolo that focuses on this annual expression of Filipino popular religiosity during Holy Thursday as a theological locus.

Our congratulations to Fr. Sal and Fr. Juvelan!

SALESIAN FAMILY NEWS

ASC-FIN HOLDS YOUNG

SALESIAN COOPERATORS ENCOUNTER 2019

Makati City, Philippines. A total of 130 young people composed of young Salesian Cooperators and aspirants from different local centers joined the Young Salesian Cooperators Encounter last September 21, 2019 at the Bosco Hall of Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati City. The theme chosen for the event was: “Towards a More Meaningful Lay Vocation.” It was the first-ever gathering of young Salesian Cooperators. It became a real opportunity to promote the ASC vocation among young people, most especially those already active in Salesian youth ministry. The ASC Provincial Council spearheaded this event through the ASC Youth Council.

St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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WS SALESIAN FAMILY NE

THE PAPAL NUNCIO

AT THE 30th ANNIVERSARY OF WORD & LIFE:

Don Bosco is present in Word & Life

BY MS. GLADY RAMOS

At the 30th Anniversary of the Catholic publisher, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, His Excellency, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, DD, said that Don Bosco is, in a way, present in Word & Life Publications. St. John Bosco, the founder of the Salesians, heeded the call of Jesus to help people know him and go to him. In the same way, the Papal Nuncio explained, “Word & Life has, as its origin, this desire that people can know Jesus, that people can go to Jesus to find consolation, to find hope, strength, courage, guidance, and inspiration.”

In his homily at the Thanksgiving Mass held at the St. John Bosco Parish in Makati on October 11, 2019, the Papal Nuncio assured Word & Life, and all the Salesian Family, of the gratitude, blessings, and support of Pope Francis, whom he represents.

Also present at the celebration were Bishop Roberto Mallari, DD, Chairman of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, Msgr. Gabriel Viola, First Councilor of the Apostolic Nunciature to the Philippines, and Fr. Gerardo Martin, SDB, Provincial of the Salesian North Province.

GOD’S INSPIRATION

Reflecting on the contributions of Word & Life, the Papal Nuncio remarked, “This small seed that was planted 30 years ago has become a big tree.” He added that this “initiative that was started many years ago, in very difficult conditions, without any means, has really become a tool not just for this parish, not just for the Salesians, but for all the Church in the Philippines.”

The Nuncio asked who could have imagined then what Word & Life Publications would be or could do. But he explained, “God reveals to us our possibilities – that shouldn’t be measured with our meager (imagination) but with the imagination of God.” So he thanked Fr. Salvatore, who was also celebrating his 81st birthday, “because he was listening to the inspiration – following the dream like Don Bosco – of something good for the Church, for the people here in the Philippines.”

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His Excellency, Archbishop Gabrielle Caccia, DD and Fr. Salvatore Putzu, SDB during the WLP 30th Anniversary Thankgiving Mass at the St. John Bosco Parish Church, Makati City

SALESIAN FAMILY NEWS

The Word & Life Family with His Excellency, Archbishop Gabrielle Caccia, DD, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Bishop Roberto Mallari, DD, the Head of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education, and Fr. Salvatore Putzu, SDB.

CATECHETICAL SUPERPOWER

Fr. Sal, giving his inspirational message during the 30th Anniversary celebration of WLP at DBTI Makati JOY Center.

The lay-mission partners of Word and Life Publications making the renewal of their commitment to WLP Mission in front of Archbishop Caccia and Fr. Putzu.

In response, Fr. Sal unveiled his new dream: to see the Philippines really become the leader in evangelization and catechesis in Asia – a challenge previously given by Popes Paul VI, John Paul II, and Francis, when they visited the country. Fr. Sal explained, “We are the third largest Catholic population in the world. We should become a catechetical superpower. Then we’ll see. Miracles will happen!” This is the work he sees not only for Word & Life but for the whole of the catechetical ministry. He concluded, “We will look forward with assuredness because this is the work of God. Let us pray and do it that it may become a reality. The dream has to become a reality.”

Dondy Dag uio, (26 years), re the longest serving WLP ceived his Ce lay mission partner rtificate of Re cognition.

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H T U O Y N O S S E R G N O C Makati City, Philippines. October 24, 2019, a day dedicated to Mary, Help of Christians, unfolded in an extraordinary way for the Salesian FIN Province.

It marked the opening of the Congress on Youth.

This Congress was the culmination of the synodal process that the Salesians undertook with lay adults and youth during the Philippine Year of the Youth.

The process—SYNODO—bannered the theme: “Salesians and Youth, journeying together, forging relationships.”

The Congress began with the Holy Eucharist at the St. John Bosco Parish Church, Makati City.

The Salesian Bishop, Patrick Buzon, SDB, DD, of the Diocese of Bacolod, Negros Occidental, presided over the celebration. In his homily, Bishop Buzon congratulated the FIN Province for its unique way of celebrating the Year of the Youth. More than organizing a festival of only one day, the SDBs harnessed the momentum of the Year of the Youth and went through a more serious year-long discernment process leading to the radical renewal of Salesian youth ministry and of the youth ministers (SDBs, members of the Salesian Family, lay mission partners, youth leaders). This, in the encouraging words of the bishop, was the best gift the province could offer to the young people of today.

Bishop Buzon also emphasized how the young people of today, given the right motivation and conviction by adults accompanying them, can be very radical in fighting for what is right, even to the point of giving their lives for the causes they believe in. He showed that this runs contrary to how some sectors in society describe the youth of today as a lazy and narcissistic bunch of individuals. He challenged the

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Salesians to discover, through the congress, how to become authentic witnesses of their vocation to the young, so as to inspire them to accept the message of the Gospel in their lives and in turn be radical disciples of Christ, fighting not only for temporal causes but for truths that are directed to eternal life.

After the Holy Mass, the assembly proceeded to the Joy Center of the adjoining Don Bosco Technical Institute.

Fr. Joebeth Vivo, SDB, head of the FIN Commission on Youth Ministry, welcomed all the participants by allowing them to look back at the series of events that led to the Congress on Youth, the first part of SYNODO 3. He explained that the main objective of SYNODO was the renewal of Salesian youth ministry. He described how the SDBs, Salesian lay

SALESIAN WORLD NEWS

“Christ is the one we love and the one we belong to.” mission partners, members of the Salesian Family, and the young people listened to each other and discerned together, confident that the guidance of the Holy Spirit would lead to a clearer understanding of the vision toward which the gracefilled Year of the Youth was leading them and of the mission what God was entrusting to them.

Fr. Renato De Guzman, SDB, a member of the World Synod on Youth held in Rome in 2018, presented the working paper of the congress with the synodal process as its guiding framework. He oriented the whole assembly on the flow of the congress, especially for each working group. The participants were divided into thirteen working groups for the thirteen specific areas of concern in youth ministry. Each group was asked to identify one strategic direction and two or three concrete lines of actions that are innovative and relevant.

The second day of congress, October 25, Friday, focused on the outcome of the group discussions that took place the day before. Each group presented to the plenary assembly their strategic direction and lines of action, allowing the participants to scrutinize them. The work of the thirteen groups formed the content of the congress document, that was approved and submitted to Fr. Provincial and his council.

At the closing Eucharistic celebration, Fr. Gerry Martin, SDB, the FIN Provincial Superior, shared his deep conviction: what defines a person is what each one loves, and what each one loves is what that person chooses to belong to.

He applied this to the grand objective of renewing Salesian youth ministry. Thus, he challenged everyone to ensure that this renewal of youth ministry would be rooted in the renewal of one’s vocation, for “Christ is the one we love and the one we belong to.”

St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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SYNODO 3-YO

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St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

UTH FESTIVAL

SALESIAN FAMILY NEWS

BY FR. DRANS NOLASCO, SDB The SYNODO 3—Youth Festival took place last October 26, 2019. From the different Don Bosco schools and TVET centers of the Philippines – North Province (FIN), around 1, 800 Salesians of Don Bosco, Salesian lay mission partners, and Bosconians gathered in Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati City.

The spirit of St. John Bosco, Father and Teacher of youth, was the inspiration of the three-phased SYNODO process, which culminated with the SYNODO 3—Youth Festival. The first phase of the process called for listening together to the context, to the young, and to each other. The second phase moved to discerning together, interpreting the context, and identifying goals and objectives. The third and final phase led all those sharing in the mission and charism of St. John Bosco to commit themselves to the lines of action and activities called for by the first two phases.

SYNODO, in its three phases, was the proactive response of the SDBs to the Year of the Youth of the Philippine Church.

Its fitting conclusion—the Youth Festival—brought together the youthful hearts of all, proclaiming their commitment to holiness of life, family love, and ecology.

The morning began with the youthful celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Fr. Gerardo Martin, SDB, the FIN Provincial Superior, presided over the celebration. In his homily, Fr. Eli Cruz, SDB, a former Provincial, challenged the young people to be proactive influencers of their fellow youth—influencers

who persuade others to be more productive citizens and apostolic Christians by their creativity and credibility. This was an echo of Jesus, who commanded his followers to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth—influencers indeed! At the end of the Eucharist, Fr. Juvelan Samia, SDB, Salesian animator of the Salesian Youth Movement in the FINprovince, presented the ONE-SYM Primer as a concrete Yearof-the-Youth gift to the young people of the SDB and FMA provinces.

After the morning break, the participants found themselves entertained by a short theater play entitled “Memoirs.” The story revolved around a young person, Ana, and her struggles with the issues of her inner self, her family, and her schoolmates. Songs, dances, and a “sabayangbigkas” rendition were creatively integrated into the play, thus deepening the message of the story. The show by professional St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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magicians and the talk of Fr. Ronnie Urbano, SDB, made “Memoirs” unique yet meaningful.

The afternoon was highlighted by “Bosconvergence,” three simultaneous conference workshops. The resource persons, Mr. Jerome Ilaga n, the Climate Change Commission Policy Research and Development Division Chief, Mr. Obet Cabrillas of the FEAST Movement, and Mr. Bernard Canaberal of Radio Veritas, moved from one venue to another to interact with the participants. They facilitated discussion on three topics: “Ecology-Climate Chan ge” (Mr. Ilagan), “Family and Love” (Mr. Cabrillas), and “Vocation to Holiness of Life” (Mr. Canaberal). Dyad sharing enabled the participants to discuss their proactive and responsible stand on ecology and clima te change in response to the questions given by Mr. Ilagan.

Folding heart-shaped origami paper followed the input of Mr. Canaberal; the participants wrote their perso nal commitments to holiness and posted them on one big expression wall. The talk of Mr. Cabrillas on famil y and love was followed by yarn-knotting to form bracelet rosar ies that were blessed in the evening session.

The closing activity took place in the Magone Dom e.

Selected Bosconians went on stage to read aloud their personal commitments. The rest read their own from their places. Then, Fr. Provincial gave the traditional Sales ian “Buona note,” or “goodnight talk,” as St. John Bosc o always did in his Valdocco youth center. Fr. Provincial challenged the Bosconians to love God and to belon g to God; only then can they deserve their identity as “Bosconians.”

The SYNODO 2019 activities may have ended.

But the Salesian spirit that brought together SDBs , lay mission partners, and young people will live on. The road stretches far and beyond, for Salesians and young people, journeying together on a common mission inspired

by St. John Bosco’s “Da mihi animas, cetera tolle. ”

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St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

One Million Children Praying the Rosary

SALESIAN FAMILY NEWS

Campaign in Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati

BY FR. JUVELAN PAUL N. SAMIA, SDB Makati City, the Philippines —On October 25, 2019, the elementary students of Don Bosco Technical Institute, Makati, led by their Rector Fr. Jose Favie Faldas, SDB and their Principal Mr. Dondon Buensuceso, PhD., prayed the Holy Rosary together with other children from different parts of the world.

They participated in the campaign entitled “One Million Children Praying the Rosary” for unity and peace in the world organized annually by the Aid in the Church in Need (ACN).

The “One Million Children Praying the Rosary Campaign” takes its inspiration from St. Pope Pius IX who said “give me one million families praying the Rosary and the world is saved.”

The event was made more special by the presence of the Papal Nuncio, His Excellency Gabrielle Caccia, who gave a short catechesis on the Rosary to the children and joined in the prayer. Other important visitors were also present for the occasion, among them are the following: Henrietta T. De Villa, Chief Executive Officer of ACN, Philippines, Mrs. Delza V. Lazatin, CFO, ACN, Philippines, Fr. Reynaldo Romero, Ecclesiastical Assistant, ACN, Philippines, and Mr. Jonathan Luciano, National Director of ACN, Philippines.

The prayer experience concluded with the “Children’s Consecration to our Lady” and the Apostolic Blessing from the Papal Nuncio.

VIVA MARIA!!!

St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020

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St. John Bosco Today | December 2019-February 2020