Live Jesus! Pennsylvania 2024 Registration Form

Register for Live Jesus! Pennsylvania

An Exercise to Live the Salesian Now

I suggest this prayer exercise to help us live this Salesian Now. Each day make time to:

1. Use a comfortable space or go to your Prayer Place.

2. Light a candle or turn on a batteried candle.

3. Place your feet on the floor.

4. Become aware of your breathing:

• Breathing in God’s life-giving breath.

• Exhaling what is not of God: anxiety, stress, life-taking thoughts.

5. Think about where you’ve seen God.

• Picture that good and hold your heart to appreciate and thank God for it.

• Then place that thought in a gratitude bag or box, in your mind and heart, or in an actual bag or box that you create.

6. Think about any losses that you grieve.

• Picture that person or situation and hold your heart again, now for healing.

• Then honor each of these events and let them go.

• They will remain until you can honor them in new ways.

7. Now become aware of your breathing again.

• Thank God for your time together, or name whatever you are feeling.

• Ask God to help you live into each “Now” today.

Live Jesus! Virginia Speakers - 2024

“Bloom Where You Are Planted”

March 9, 2024

8:00 AM - 12:45 PM

Bishop Ireton Catholic High School, Alexandria, VA

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Speakers

Keynote Speaker - Rev. Kevin Nadolski, OSFS

Topic: “Life in God’s Garden”

Familiar with the expression, “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence,” we counter with a Salesian spirituality that beckons us to “bloom where we are planted.” We will explore the common sense and uncommon challenges that both St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal experienced in living the life of a Christian disciple. How can their wisdom ground us to live well in the places and spaces we find ourselves every day?

Fr. Nadolski serves as the Vice President for Mission, DeSales University

Rev. Matthew Hillyard, OSFS

Fr. Matthew Hillyard, OSFS

Topic: “Salesian Blooming: Here and Now”

Fr. Hillyard is Pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Vienna, VA

Ms. Kathleen McNutt

Topic: “Repotting to Bloom”

Sometimes we move, have life changes, or simply outgrow our current container! How can I thrive and bloom in different soil, different pots, and with different plants?

Ms. McNutt is the Head of School - Bishop Ireton Catholic High School, Alexandria, VA.

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Live Jesus! In the Words of Past Attendees

“This is my favorite day of the year. I feel so blessed to be part of an Oblate community.”

“Beautiful presentation with a practical approach to gentleness and simplicity.”

“Both speakers were spiritually maturing gifts. My hope and prayer is that the essence of their messages are tattooed on my heart and I act on them in true love.”

“Simple but profound definitions of gentleness, patience,and simplicity.”

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“I always come away with concrete actions to expand my faith and intellect.”

Thank You for Registering for Live Jesus! Delaware

Mark your calendar!

December 9th

8:00 AM - 12:30 PM

St. Margaret of Scotland Parish

Newark, DE

Live Jesus! Delaware 2022 Speaker Presentations

Last year, the Oblates hosted the first Live Jesus! Delaware at St. Margaret of Scotland Church in Newark.

“All through love, nothing through fear,” was the theme for Live Jesus! Delaware. Attendees enjoyed reflections from Father Joe Newman, OSFS, and Mrs. Diane Casey, a lifelong Salesian educator who worked at Northeast Catholic High School in Philadelphia until it closed in 2010.

Let us all Live Jesus!

Father Joe Newman, OSFS

Mrs. Diane Casey

Photos of Live Jesus! Delaware

Live Jesus! Delaware was held as a special Spirituality Day in honor of the Double Jubilee.

Live Jesus! Delaware 2023 Registration

Register for Live Jesus! Delaware

Live Jesus! 2023 "Be At Peace" - Ellen Hildenbrand

Good Morning.  I am so honored to be here to witness to my own Salesian journey and to join with you in yours.

Four years ago I came to Salesianum School in Delaware with an extensive background in Theology and education but, to be honest, relatively little acquaintance with St. Francis de Sales.

Of course I had heard of him – the gentleman saint – and of the Oblates, but I confess I had little knowledge of the particulars of Salesian spirituality or the charism of the Order, but I knew I would be brought up to speed quickly and I was eager to learn.

A little context may be useful here:  familiarity with religious orders and communities came naturally to me .  As a child I was educated by the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  (I affectionately acknowledge that they formed a large part of the village that helped to raise me.) 

 My high school, SMG, had many religious sisters on staff including Franciscans, SSj’s SND’s and Sisters of Mercy as well as still more IHM sisters.

At Villanova I was educated by and with Augustinians and my brother spent 30-some years with the Jesuits at BC High while my daughter attended and later worked at Fairfield University, so I could hardly escape Jesuit influence.

In my own teaching career, I have worked with SND’s IHM’s, Sisters of Mercy, Augustinia ns and Pallottines.

Whew!  So I am very familiar with how a religious community’s charism impacts an educational institution – hence, I wanted and needed to learn all about the Oblates and SFdS.

It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship for me.

You see, Francis’ idea of universal holiness – that we are all called to be holy – wasn’t new to me.  Jesus told us all to go out and proclaim the Kingdom, I knew that it wasn’t only up to those in clergy or consecrated religious life. I am a married, female Catholic theologian who knows that we should all aspire to be the saints we are all called to be.

So what did my eager study of Francis de Sales bring to me?  

In all honesty, my research yielded little in comparison with  what immersion in the Salesianum School brotherhood gave  to me.  

Each and every day, each and every member of the Sallies community is challenged to live Jesus through humility, patience and tenacity.  Gentle reminders are present in every class and every activity, walking through the halls, surrounded by reminders of the Salesian virtues we seek to practice, one can hear the students calling each other to behavior befitting a Salesian gentleman.  

From my earliest days at Salesianum, I was captivated by the obvious commitment to the virtues of St. Francis de Sales that I saw, literally, everywhere.  The students seemed to genuinely take pride in their formation and it mirrored the commitment of the Oblates and the faculty at large.  The Direction of Intention was clearly held dear and the motto of Tennui Nec Dimittam was an obvious source of empowerment for all.

And let’s not forget “be who you are and be that well”!  

Could there be a better quote to drive the work of education?  As we all know, in Catholic education, that means we are fostering in the students the realization that they are made in the image and likeness of God and are, therefore, born to be holy.  And, as you may know, St. Francis de Sales proclaimed that knowledge is the 8th sacrament of the Church.  (I have heard that he addressed that point specifically to priests, but its universality seems very clear to me, as an educator!)

As I live out my vocation as a Catholic school religion teacher and, I admit, a lifelong aspiring saint (I think I can say it to this crowd) -  the example and teachings of St. Francis de Sales have added a beautiful, gentle perspective to the work, especially helping me to meet the challenges with intention (what many today are calling mindfulness) and tenacity – in fact, I promise this to God repeatedly each day as I recite the Direction of Intention with the Salesianum community.

Personally, too, apart from my work at school, the influence of St. Francis de Sales is with me.  Let’s face it:  words are powerful and living each day immersed in the Salesian atmosphere at Salesianum has had a profound effect on my personal life as well.

I believe I have tried to live Jesus all my life, but singing about “Jesus whom I love” with the Oblates and experiencing daily reminders over the PA from the students keep me focused on the all-important  awareness of the presence of God at every moment and the promises I have made.

Gentleness, patience, tenacity, gratitude and accepting all the difficulties now form the soundtrack in my moments of reflection. 

When we pray “I give you my soul, my heart, my understanding and my will”  each day at Salesianum, I re-commit myself to the truest most enduring vocation I have ever known – the vocation to try, every day and in every situation to be my best self in order to give glory to God.

So, I resolve, every day and in every situation, to recognize my dependence on God’s grace, to offer any good I do to God, and accept, with patience and tenacity, any difficulties or frustrations that come. 

And my heart is full of gratitude.

This is my expression of Salesian Spirituality.

Thank you and God bless you all.  Live Jesus.

Live Jesus! 2023 "Be At Peace" - Paula M. Riley

Like many of you, I have been blessed to play various roles in my life: mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend, professor, businesswoman, neighbor, parishioner, volunteer. 

These wonderful roles offer opportunities to encounter so many people in different contexts. The people and these situations present great joy and also great conflict.   Salesian Spirituality is a wonderful tool to help me find peace in my life. 

For some of us, it is in the closest of our relationships where we feel least at peace.  Lying in bed at the end of the day beside my husband, in the stillness of the night can be the most intimate moment and yet, when there is conflict between us, these can also be the absolute loneliest. For those who know us best, those closest to us, the ones we are journeying through life beside us, are often the ones with whom we do not seek peace.

Sometimes we become accustomed to the gaps, we accept the divisions between as just another aspect of the relationship.  We wait with uncertain anticipation of when that which divides us will again be brought up, the argument replayed, the divide forge deeper. 

 Saint Francis tells us to “Be who we are and be that well.”  But, to do so, I believe we must let others, especially those closest to us, ‘Be who they are today.’  Not who they were when we met them, not who they were last Christmas, not the sister who hurt us deeply years ago or husband who made the parenting choice that still angers us. 

 I think a contemporary interpretation of Saint Francis’ popular maxim for relationships is “Be who we are and leave our baggage at the door!”

That, I believe, is how we can bring peace to relationships that are most intimate, and most important to us.  

It is so easy to keep bringing up the pain, either in deed or in words, with our loved ones.  It’s convenient to draw upon that transgression in arguments.  Whether we are the offended or the offender, when we do this, we cannot move forward.  We cannot feel peace that loving relationships require. 

In my own experience with such conflict I try to take a slow, deep breath, set my intention and draw upon the little virtues that St. Francis espouses - patience, humility, and gentleness.  

Our patron saint tells us we must be patient with others but most patient with ourselves.  We must recognize how hard it is to keep our mouths shut and stop dwelling about past conflicts.   Saint Francis tells us that conflict is important for growth and relationship, but in facing such conflicts we must bring more to the table than the infraction, we must bring these little virtues if we want to achieve true peace. 

A favorite song of mine by The Divine Comedy “Don’t Mention the War” has a great line about conflict:  

“Come and forget all the 

your wrongs and my wrongs

Live and let live

and let bygones be bygones”

How do we do this?  How do we really allow bygones to be bygones?  Francis helps us with this.  Bygones become bygones when we honestly and humbly recognize that we stand with stones in our hands, ready to throw them at those closest to us. 

 Saint Francis, echoing Jesus’ own suggestions, reminds us to drop the stone, set our pride aside, and humbly acknowledge our weaknesses.  There’s no use keeping score in relationships but, reminding ourselves that we are the creators as much as the recipients of pain may help us let bygones truly be bygones. 

In the context of seeking peace in relationships, I believe Francis’ instruction on humility is most insightful.  He suggests that a good beginning for learning humility is simply to bend to the will of others when we are not required to.  Our patron saint affirms this when he writes, “Blessed are the hearts that bend, for they shall never be broken.”

In bending to the will of others, we recognize that we are all broken, we are all sinners who can forgive and be forgiven, who can be broken and be healed.

Our loved ones want to be forgiven as much as we do, they want to be accepted and loved for who they are today, not reminded of their worst moments or greatest sins.  

The same can be said about work relationships..  Similar conflicts arise at work when our colleagues make mistakes or when we treat them based upon their behavior of the past.  Of course, we must address errors and poor judgment at work, but we can also forgive.  Truly forgive.  

Forgiveness is not something reserved for family and or church only.  Francis calls us to live our ordinary lives, in an extraordinary way. By bringing the Salesian little virtues to our offices, our boardrooms and our classrooms, we can do just that.  We can even bring these to our volunteer and parish activities.

When we humbly step out of the limelight and let others shine.  When we patiently deal with that overzealous co-worker.  When we graciously and humbly promote ourselves on LinkedIn.  When we gently offer feedback and modestly accept criticism.  When we do all this, we are living these virtues and, in doing so, we achieve unity that can foster meaningful relationships as well as professional growth and financial gain. 

What makes bringing peace into my own life so challenging is that like you, I have so many meaningful relationships I must nurture.  So, just when I feel peace with my husband and seven siblings and all is well at work and in the volunteer world,  there are still kids to deal with and one of them will tap a nerve, set a spark, and that uneasy feeling of conflict arises again.

And, this happens pretty much every day.  How can it not? 

 I am mother to four children, three teenage boys and a 20 year old daughter. I think my kids  are incredible.  (They are kind and, loving.  They live to the fullest and know who they are.)  But day in and day out, our house is a loud, chaotic, place where schedules are crossing, moods intersecting, and conflicts abound.  Every.  Single.  Day.  

We  live in our lovely, but small, Philadelphia rowhouse that seems to be shrinking in size and increasing in stress. The boys are all bigger than me, my front door is a revolving one of their friends, and there never seems to be a moment of silence.  

My oldest is in  college in NY but she come home so much you’d think she was just down the road.  So much for leaving the nest!  

What I have found in two decades of parenting is that the older my kids get, the harder it is to maintain peace in my home.  I always thought that once they were independent and self-sufficient mini-adults I could step back and breathe a sigh of relief.  Boy was I wrong. Dead wrong. 

The conflicts we experience are much  more complicated and seem to have deeper consequences than teaching them to share toys or not fight over who gets the top bunk. 

Mostly, we argue over their choices… I am realizing that I may have taken efforts to raise self-directed children just a bit too far!  

We argue abot where and how they spend their Saturday nights; what’s appropriate behavior with their girlfriends; and why their every moment does NOT need to be documented on TikTock.  Conflicts arise over about friend choices, alcohol use, what they watch on you tube  and why curfews are imposed, even at the ripe old of 15!

 I have developed a keen radar for when these arguments will begin. Tomorrow I expect I’ll awake to whining about attending Mass, and finishing homework before midnight.  

In my role as mother, again, I seek solace, comfort and guidance in the words of Saint Francis and direction from the Oblates.  I draw upon Francis’ call to try to live a life of gentleness.  

When my kids test my greatest limit, when I want to scream at them, when they make those dangerous choices, and when they do exactly what I told them not to do, I try to remember Francis’ words: “When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time.” 

“Bending but not breaking” is such a wonderful image for finding peace in parenting.  Being an engaged parent is such a precarious role as at any point you say the wrong thing, respond without gentleness, and that’s it.  You’ve lost that moment.  And then you must patiently find your way back. 

Saint Francis states that it is easier to be patient with those whom we do not greatly esteem, because we do not expect great charity from them.  In family relationships, the proximity and familiarity make it easiest for them to hurt us.  In these exchanges, we often need to demonstrate the most amount of patience. 

In all family relationships – partner, parent, siblings - I believe Francis’ greatest lesson is that it’s only through a calm and still heart will we achieve real peace – peace of mind, peace of spirit.  When our hearts are collectors of wrongs, when we remind our spouse and children of their failures instead of their successes, then we remove any opportunity for us, our relationship, our family or our home, to experience true peace. 

This lack of peace also derives from insecurity and fear.  Our imaginations can take us down dark paths of worry and pain.  We send out kids off to the bus stop, parties, the prom, big games, to college, and each time they walk out that door we launch them into a world full of drugs, bullying, social media, stress, pressure, and so much more.  We embrace their growth but with each step they take, our anxiety can grow, and we can miss the chance to be fully present for them and for ourselves.

Again, I look to Saint Francis who comforts us with his insight and words: 

“Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow.  Our Father will either shield you from suffering, or He will give you strength to bear it.” 

When I look at my role of mother, it is Francis’ direction, more than anything else, that has helped me enjoy, celebrate, and truly treasure the opportunity to change a messy diaper, sit through a painful piano recital, comfort a child after a loss, make dinner for six, or stand at the sidelines on a cold, blustery day.  

Each and every moment I am allowed to be a mother to these children I am engaging in a holy act.   That is what I have learned from Francis.  That is what the Oblates taught me:   that in the simple, ordinary acts I perform every single day, I am living Jesus.  

There is true beauty and grace in the mundane tasks of caring for children and running a household. The world will, and has acknowledged, what I have achieved in my career as a business owner, professor and consultant.  Fewer accolades however come from being a wife, a mom, a sister.  Francis tells me that whoever I am and whatever I am doing, when I am using the gifts that I’ve so generously been given, then I am holy.  I am doing God’s will. 

I will close with a humble directive:  If you want to be at peace, seek Francis.  Read his teaching, subscribe to the Oblate newsletter DeSales Weekly, start your day with an Oblate reflection.  Since first being introduced to Salesian Spirituality two decades ago, I’ve had my fair share of conflict where I needed support.  I needed gentleness.  Above all I needed peace  – with myself, my family, and my God.  Francis’ teachings soothed, comforted, and inspired me.  They continue to teach me the real power of patience, humility, and gentleness. 

We have spent much of this morning reflecting on the power of Saint Francis’ words and how they have inspired, comforted and led our lives.  Despite the conflicts, and perhaps in unison with those conflicts, his lessons are alive in my busy home. 

My children console one other by saying “Just be who you are,” and they understand that setting the table for our family dinner is a holy, meaningful and critical act in the course of our day. Mostly Francis has taught us to live today well.

Francis’ teachings and his many maxims are powerful calls to live with and through Jesus.  They encourage us to seek peace.  They support us when we do so.   And so, I say to you all, when you want to find peace in your lives; find Francis and he will show you how to  Live Jesus!

Live Jesus! Pennsylvania 2023 - Speakers

Brother Dan Wisniewski, OSFS, Ph.D., is the Director of Oblate Education for the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Prior to ministering in this position, Brother Dan served at DeSales University for over two decades, most recently as Provost and a tenured Associate Professor of Mathematics. As Director of Oblate Education, he supports the faculty, staff, and administration of educational institutions staffed by or associated with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Supporting internal education is another important aspect of Brother Dan’s role, by which he is a resource and coordinator of personal, academic, and professional development opportunities for his fellow Oblates, from those in formation to men in retirement. Brother Dan earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from Bryn Mawr College, an M.A. in mathematics from Villanova University, an M.A. in Christian Spirituality from The Washington Theological Union, an M.Ed. in Academic Standards & Reform from DeSales University, and a B.S. in mathematics from The Catholic University of America. He has been published in multiple journals and his research interests include number theory, mathematics education, the preparation of future teachers, and a variety of Salesian topics such as friendship and grief.

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Ellen Kemeza Hildenbrand, is Religious Studies Department Chair at Salesianum School, Wilmington, DE.

She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies and an M.A. in Theology - both from Villanova University, as well as a M.S. in Instructional Technology from St. Joseph's University.  

Before coming to Salesianum, she taught at The Academy of Notre Dame in Villanova, Bishop Eustace Preparatory School in New Jersey, and as an adjunct in the Religious Studies Department at Villanova University.  

Ellen is married to Jim, whom she met when they were introduced to each other by an Augustinian at Villanova. She has two grown daughters, including one who now, also, works at Salesianum.

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Paula M. Riley, M.S., is a communications consultant and adjunct professor at Saint Joseph’s University. Paula earned her Master of Organization Science with a concentration in Human Resouces from Villanova University and a Bachelor of English from the University at Albany, State University of New York. She fills the role of professional, mother, wife, daughter, sister, friend and volunteer.