Accepting God's Will

A few weeks ago, I visited one of our senior Oblates residing in a local nursing facility. Due to back issues, he cannot walk or stand for any time, he needs assistance with basic activities. He also has mild dementia.

As we spoke he surprised me, asking if he had any role in an upcoming Province Assembly scheduled for the end of June. Our Assemblies typically occur every June, and, health permitting, every Oblate in the Province attends. It is always a joyful time as men from different parts of the country come together, reconnect, share what has happened over the past year, pray, share meals, plan for our future, and generally have fun together. All of us look forward to this time.

I was surprised he made this request because the Assembly is a four-day event, that includes travel, and spending the nights on site. Indeed, it is well beyond what is reasonable for him due to his health issues.

Catching me by surprise, I blurted out, “Of course, you can be there. Please join us.” At this, he was so excited and happy that he began to cry, and I didn’t have the heart to tell him how difficult it seemed. I knew that this would be an almost impossible request to fulfill. I also knew as I watched him weep, that his heart belongs to the Oblates, and not attending the Assembly would be sad and a painful loss for him. Chickening out, I told him I’d look into the possibility and get back to him next week. I just couldn’t tell him the truth and bring that disappointment to him at that time.

On the following Friday, I revisited him. On my way there, I prepared my response informing him, as gently as possible, that attending and participating in the meeting would be impossible. I was dreading it. As I entered his room, and before I could even say hello, he said, “Jack, I have to tell you something.” I sat down and he said, “I know you were probably driving here struggling to find words to tell me I cannot attend the Assembly. I want you to know that I have come to that conclusion on my own.” 

He went on to say, “St. Francis de Sales teaches us to recognize and believe that God’s will is found in the ordinary stuff of our lives. Due to my health, I know that I will not be able to participate in the Assembly. I know that I am where I am because I need to be, and it is God’s will for me to find His embrace and place in His heart here. I spent last night praying about this and know this is the right decision.”

I can’t tell you how relieved I was and grateful for his beautiful insights and trust in God at that moment. His sacrifice in accepting this truth expressed his faith and deep immersion in our Salesian charism. We talked for quite a while following this exchange, and as I prepared to leave, he reminded me of the saying of Francis de Sales, “Why build castles in Spain when you have to live in France?” He said, “I guess my France is this nursing home. I don’t necessarily like it, but I know God’s embrace for me is here, and I will accept His will by staying here.”

For me, this was a spiritual and life lesson from a wonderful Salesian gentleman. 

Fr. Jack Loughran, OSFS

Provincial

Toledo-Detroit Province

Wise Spiritual Advice: St. Jane de Chantal

In a December 1626 letter to one of her sisters in charge of forming young Visitation sisters, St. Jane de Chantal gives some very wise spiritual counsel that speaks to how we ought to relate to one another in a Christ-like and Salesian manner.

She writes, “Try to foster a spirit founded on deep humility which results in sincere obedience, a sweet charity which supports and excuses all, and an innocent, guileless simplicity which makes us even-tempered and friendly toward everyone.”  

Jane’s own spiritual friend and mentor used to speak of the “little virtues” which everyone can practice frequently throughout the day in their relational lives with one another.  In this letter, Jane is underscoring some “little virtues” that speak directly to relationships in a religious community, but many of them speak just as well to our every relationship with family, friends, and all others.

Let’s start with “deep humility.”  Both Francis and Jane wanted every Christian to live Jesus by imitating the virtues that he himself loved and practiced: “Learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart.” For both Jane and Francis, humility is truth, the truth of who we are before God, that is, created, good, and loved.  This is the truth for every other human being as well.  Honoring and reverencing that truth in both ourselves and in others is the foundation for relating with ourselves and them in the gentle and welcoming manner and the way that Jesus himself related to people.  “Deep humility,” then, is the foundation and source of the Christian and Salesian manner of relating to others in the spirit of love.  

“Sweet charity” is how Jane describes the concrete love of neighbor in this letter.  The adjective, “sweet,” is key to appreciating the Salesian character of love of neighbor.  From the context of this letter and from the whole Salesian corpus, “sweet” means a genuine, gentle, unfeigned, and caring concern for others.   Thus, “sweet charity” does all in its power to support the other in his or her life journey to God, even to the point of “excusing” faults, foibles and failings, that is, in not permitting human weakness from supporting one another in our efforts to live Jesus and make our way to God.  Together, as a communion of hearts and lives, we make our way to God.

“Innocent, guileless simplicity” is central to the Salesian character.  Simplicity implies a singleness of purpose, that is, a disposition that desires only whatever God wills or permits.   Here is how St. Jane once expressed this simplicity in another writing: “To be faithful, we must live simply. Then being free from attachments, we are possessed by nothing. We live in such absolute openness to Divine Love that whatever pleases God becomes our heart’s desire.”

The Creator is good, loving, and provident.  Trusting completely in God as good, loving, and provident is how we become like the children, the “little ones,” whom Jesus praises so highly in the Gospels.  They are innocent and guileless in their total surrender to the care and love of their parents.  A similar childlike simplicity toward a loving and provident God is what Jane is asking for here.

“Even-tempered and friendly toward everyone” Jane greatly appreciates the virtues of moderation, good balance, evenness of temper, and a friendly and welcoming disposition toward everyone.   This disposition is what “wins hearts” through love, never force.  This is how God wins the human heart and how we are to win the hearts of one another.  As Francis wisely notes, if you win the heart you gain the whole person.

All one has to do is look at the way Jesus interacts with others in the Gospels to see the profile of what St. Jane is asking for each of us in this letter.  It is her contribution to the Salesian invitation –and challenge-- to Live Jesus!

Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS

Provincial

Wilmington-Philadelphia Province

Meditation by Oblates: Sixth Sunday of Easter

Sixth Sunday of Lent: Jn 14:23-29

Jesus said to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words, yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me.

“I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name,
will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. You heard me tell you,
‘I am going away and I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father; for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it happens, so that when it happens you may believe.”

Quote

“Those who go stay, those who stay go.” ~ St. Francis de Sales

Reflection

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is telling his disciples that he will soon be leaving them. Yet, though he will be physically gone, he will still be with them because he will send them his spirit. Another way to think about this is that Jesus is giving them his presence and he will always be with them.

When someone whom we love leaves us, we too have the opportunity to receive their spirit — their presence — in a new and different way. They may be gone, but not forgotten and over time we can discern their continued presence in our lives in ways that we may never have imagined. In this way, they like the Spirit, are always with us.

Fr. Michael Newman, OSFS

Pastor, Holy Family Parish - Adrian, MI

Francis & Me: Ruth Lahnston, College Counselor

Francis & Me: Ruth Lahnston, College Counselor at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School

"Deal with one another, dear friends, with a care that is genuine, loving, and gentle." - St. Jane de Chantal

Helping students is my life's work, and I have never regretted choosing this field for a moment.  While I have worked with students in many different capacities including admissions, academic advising, and residential life, my time in college counseling has been the most rewarding. There is nothing quite as wonderful as meeting with a student during the spring of her junior year and seeing the possibilities that lie before her, through her eyes. They are filled with optimism, enthusiasm, (a bit of apprehension), and excitement about their goals and future. 

The path to college is unique for each student, and while it is paved with affirmation and successes, there can also be some disappointment. As I read through the passage from St. Jane de Chantal, I recognized the spirit of Visitation in her words. I see this passage come to life almost every day as I watch students gently support each other through the college process. It begins in our college counseling class as we work on each piece of the application, and it continues all the way through until the matriculated colleges are revealed on student kilts. It is the genuine, loving, and gentle care that the students share with each other that ensures a strong foundation and the tools the students take with them to the next exciting stage of their lives.

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Meditation by Oblates: Fifth Sunday of Easter

Jn 13:31-33a, 34-35

When Judas had left them, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and God will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another. This is how all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.”

Quote

 “Gentleness encourages hearts and makes them more receptive while harsh words only harden hearts.” - St. Jane de Chantal

Reflection

What Jesus says after Judas leaves sounds like a strange response to being betrayed. How can this moment of disloyalty be a moment of glory? But glorifying someone means recognizing them as God knows them and announcing it to the world. Who Jesus is was about to be clearly seen. Judas’ betrayal set it in motion.

Jesus took the gentle approach. St. Jane de Chantal wrote, “Gentleness encourages hearts and makes them more receptive while harsh words only harden hearts.” Jesus chose to draw the hearts of the disciples into the good at hand - the glory of God being revealed through him. That is the self-giving, self-sacrificing love of God in action. It’s the kind of love that Jesus calls us to live - and in doing that we Live Jesus.

Fr. Patrick Kifolo, OSFS

Chaplain — Georgetown Visitation

Welcome, Joe!

First row- L to R: Oblate Fathers Dave Kenehan, Dcn. Joe Katarsky, Frs. Jack Loughran, Ken McKenna, Ed Ogden. Second row - L to R: Oblate novice Joe Kochendoerfer, Dcn. Craig Irwin, Oblate Fathers Ron Olszewski, Paul Dechant, John Crossin

The Formation Document for the American Provinces of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales articulates the purpose and process by which a young man prepares for Oblate life and ministry. The document quotes the Oblate constitutions: “The primary goal of a formation program is to help the candidate become fully absorbed in the love of God and neighbor and to progress in that love so that he can, as an Oblate, serve in the Kingdom of God on earth.” [C 44]

Becoming an Oblate is challenging and comprehensive, addressing the formation of the candidate in human, spiritual, intellectual, and ministerial dimensions. Accomplishing these goals requires the man to be open to those who mentor them in formation, an honest and continual reflection on his progress in the four areas mentioned, the mature ability to choose Oblate life and all that it entails, and a deep desire to serve God through the Church. 

Joe Katarsky is the most recent man to reach the benchmark of final vows and ordination, fulfilling all mentioned above. This past Saturday, Joe was ordained as a transitional deacon, entering his final formation stage. Joe was ordained at the Basilica at the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, with his family, friends, and brother Oblates in attendance. 

Joe has an exciting year planned as he heads towards his priestly ordination in June 2023. He begins working in youth retreats at the DeSales Center in MI, followed by several months of rural ministry in Alaska with the Jesuit community, and finally, six months as a deacon at the Oblate parish, Our Lady of Good Counsel, in Vienna, VA.

It was highly gratifying to be with Joe at his diaconate ordination. He has become all that we Oblates hope for through his years in formation and, in doing so, has found the happiness, excitement, and joy that should mark every Oblate ministering in the Church. If anything, being with Joe and seeing him mature into the man and the Oblate he is today affirms my Oblate vocation. It also encourages me to pray and work for vocations so that others may have this wonderful life we Oblates share. Please join me in this prayer and work to inspire other young men to consider this life. 

Fr. Jack Loughran, OSFS

Provincial

Toledo-Detroit Province

Francis & Me: Duncan Borland

Francis & Me: Duncan Borland, St. Francis de Sales High School, Class of 2022

As I reflect on my years at St. Francis de Sales High School, I see a lot of highs and lows in my time here. However, through it all, I see the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales and his many sayings, especially the admonition to “be who you are and to be that well.”

When I first came to St. Francis, I was nervous about starting a new school. My old school was toxic. I had few friends and especially lacked real role models. At St. Francis, I was challenged in my classes, continued running cross country, and started on the track team as well. I decided to experience new things and joined the school musical.

Soon I started making friends with the other members of the cast, it was a great group. ​The senior guys always looked out for everyone in the cast and made sure everyone was trying their best. It wasn’t until the end of the school year that I realized how much I looked up to them. I finally had guys to look up to and model myself after.

When the school opened again after Covid, I decided that I would strive to be my best and be that well. By living this way, I would hopefully give the younger guys someone to look up to just as I had in my freshman year. The musical started and I was surprised that my directors wanted me to take on a leadership role. Our choreographer had fallen seriously ill as we approached opening night. I wrote her a letter apologizing for not always trying my best, but she passed away before I could give it to her. I made a promise at that time that I would always try my best in everything I did.

I worked hard to balance my schoolwork, musical practice, and cross-country schedule. I was recognized by my castmates as someone they looked up to and admired. After the final show, two freshmen handed me letters they had written. Both letters included how I was a great example to them and always brightened up their days at rehearsals. I was happy because I knew I had made an impact on people in the cast in the same way those seniors had impacted me a few years earlier.

I have come to see that the teachings of St. Francis de Sales encapsulate my time in high school. I will always carry these lessons with me. I had struggled with role models all my life until becoming a Knight at St. Francis. I found good role models and I strived to be a good role model for others. Through my experience at St. Francis, I was able to embrace who I am. I challenge everyone to not be afraid to take risks. Put yourself out there, do everything with a smile on your face (if you can), and lead by example. Most of all take a look at yourself and visualize how to be who you are and to be that well. Try to be the best person God has made you to be.

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Shrine Restoration

Our beloved shrine to Our Lady along I-95 near Elkton, Maryland will be reimagined this spring! New plantings, enhanced lighting, a restored sign, grading, and better irrigation are key elements of the restoration plan.

Our Lady of the Highways, April 2022

RESTORATION PLANS

The sign will be completely cleaned, the letters repainted, and the missing letters replaced. Colorful perennials will be added to the landscape to draw attention to the shrine.

The greenery behind the shrine will be moved to address dead trees and to call more attention to the statue of Our Lady from the highway. The statue will also be cleaned to remove algae.

Landscape designer Bill Bathon and Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS, discuss improvements to the shine’s sign.

The late Very Rev. John J. Conmy, OSFS, blesses the statue with Rev. John J. Fuqua, OSFS, beside him. They are joined by novices and brothers of the novitiate in 1972. This effort helped launch the Mary’s Travelers Program.

Traveler's Prayer to Our Lady of the Highways

Do you want to be part of a spiritual community dedicated to Mary and her special intercession?

Mary's Travelers is a community of others who invoke Mary’s protection, share prayers, and journey together. Find out more!

Mary's Travelers

A spiritual community dedicated to Mary and her special intercession!  Mary’s Travelers invoke the protection of Christ's Mother on all our journeys.

We are a community united in devotion to Mary and call on her to keep us, our loved ones, and all travelers under her divine protection.

Membership Benefits:

• Exclusive access to Mary's Travelers Facebook Group for prayers and to support fellow travelers

• Membership card with travel prayer

• Remembrance by Oblates in special Masses throughout the year

• Invitation to the Annual Oblate Memorial Mass 

• Mary's Travelers Newsletter  

• Discounts on Salesian books and artwork 

• Mary’s Travelers car decal

Why Join?

Members of Mary’s Travelers promote devotion to the Mother of God as a way to encourage careful and prayerful journeys.  Members strive to make the ordinary, routine activity of travel -  physical or spiritual -  an act of love for God.

In the tradition of St. Francis de Sales, travelers make their journeys “holy” by doing it in a spirit of love, always being mindful of others. 

• Share in the mission of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.

• Place yourself and your loved ones under Mary's protection!

• Be part of a spiritual online community: Share travel recommendations and stories, submit prayer requests, pray for others, and more!

• Bond with others through the love of Mary, faith, and travel!

Mary the Traveler

Mary, our Blessed Mother, was always a traveler. She traveled to visit Elizabeth, to Bethlehem to give birth to her son, to Egypt to protect her family, to Calvary, and finally to heaven.

Some of Mary’s travels were planned and safe, others were more dangerous. Mary understands and protects her followers through all of life’s journeys.

How Mary’s Travelers Began…

After a tragic automobile accident on Interstate 95 in the late 1960s, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales erected a shrine named Our Lady of the Highways.  Thus began a spiritual movement that asks Mary, the Mother of Jesus, to intercede and protect travelers all over the country. This became known as Mary’s Travelers and is a way the Oblates and their supporters have helped people on the road of life for more than 50 years. 

Eric Stocklin Photography

Francis & Me: Paula M. Riley

Francis & Me: Paula M. Riley, M.S.

Francis’ Mother’s Day Gift

On Mother’s Day this Sunday, I will get love from my four teenage children.  Their Mother’s Day gifts age as quickly as they do. Gifts have graduated from hug coupons and handpainted flower pots to name brand clothing and fine jewelry. 

Though not as hastily wrapped as the kids’ gifts, there will also be a gift from St. Francis de Sales. This is one I receive every day when I reflect on his teachings. 

Francis’ instruction to “Be who we are and be that well” is my most treasured gift from him and it’s what I employ in my role as a mother every day.  There are many dimensions to being a mother in today’s environment. Societal pressures, competition, and comparisons can lead to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity.  

His words support me; they remind me that I get to define what it means to be a mom, I choose how I engage with my kids, I choose when work takes priority over a game, or when an infraction is punished or ignored. “Be who I am.” Francis tells me that God just wants me to do the best I can, the best way I know how as I use God’s gifts. 

Francis’ words encourage me to ignore other moms’ Facebook posts, discussions on the “best colleges,” details of exotic family vacations, spotless homes, and church attendance.  I celebrate my fellow moms’ successes and joys but Francis remains, perched on my shoulder, reminding me that what I am doing is good enough. I can hear him gently whispering in my ear, “Just be who you are Paula.” 

Salesian Spirituality teaches us that when we live our ordinary lives in an extraordinary way we are serving God. We are being holy.  There is so much “ordinary” in being a mom - completing school forms, purchasing groceries, matching socks, carpooling.  Yet, Francis’ direction has helped me bring meaning to these acts.  He encourages me to 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 soccer sidelines on a cold, blustery day. 

Each and every moment I am a mother to these children I know am engaging in a holy act.   That is what I have learned from Francis, this is his gift to me.  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 tedious tasks of caring for children and running a household. 

The world will and has acknowledged what I have achieved in my career. Fewer official accolades, however, come from being a mother. Francis comforts me as he tells me that whoever I am and whatever I am doing, when I am using my God-giving gifts that I’ve so generously been given, I am doing His will.

*This is an excerpt from Paula’s reflection shared at Live Jesus! Retreat in March 2022. Watch the full speech here, along with other Live Jesus! 2022 speakers.  Look for announcements for Live Jesus! Retreats in Delaware in December and Virginia &  Pennsylvania in Spring 2023.

Paula M. Riley, M.S.

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Carrying Christ

In one of his sermons, St. Francis de Sales speaks of three ways of carrying Christ: on our tongues, in our hearts, and in our arms.  In his view, the first two ways mean very little if the third way is missing.  Let me explain.  

Carrying Christ on our tongues

Francis describes this way of carrying Christ as “recounting his marvels and praising Him with great ardor.”  Tele-evangelists, preachers and spiritual writers are often quite effective in conveying the wonderful things God has done for us, his people.  Indeed, especially tele-evangelists often shout out their praise of God in loud voices and with much vigor, hand movements, and ardor. This has a powerful way of captivating the listener and moving them toward God. This is good but not enough for Francis.

Carrying Christ in our hearts

Francis describes this way of carrying Christ in these words: “Others carry Him in their hearts with tender and loving affection, which becomes part and parcel of their lives, thinking of Him and speaking to Him.”  Such people have learned to see the Lord, often through prayer, in the center of their hearts. They love him there and sense him as intimately present to them in their very being.  This, too, is good even beautiful but not enough for Francis.

Carrying Christ in our arms

Here is how Francis speaks of this third manner of carrying Christ: “But these two ways of carrying the Lord do not amount to much if the third element of carrying Him in their arms by good works is missing.”

In this Sermon, Francis is making abundantly clear that there must be an unbreakable bond between the first commandment, love of God, and the second commandment, love of neighbor.  As the familiar song has it, “you can’t have one without the other.”

It is good to ask ourselves, honestly and before the Lord, if we separate the two loves in any way.

(See Sermons 2, Oeuvres IX, p 22; also see February 1 in Everyday with Saint Francis de Sales)

Rev. Lewis S. Fiorelli, OSFS

Provincial

Wilmington-Philadelphia Province

Meditation by Oblates: Fourth Sunday of Easter

Fourth Sunday of Easter: Jn 10:27-30

Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Quote

“Prayer is called mystical, because of the hidden nature of the conversation: God and the individual speak heart to heart, and what passes between them can be shared with no one else.” 

(Treatise on the Love of God, Book 6, chapter 1) 

Reflection

The deeply personal union between God and humanity is described in this Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of St. John (10:27-30). The metaphor of a shepherd who intimately knows his sheep describes the close relationship we have with Jesus. God the Father and God the Son are one, and thus, the Divine knows us and draws us into an eternal union. God truly gets us, but how do we get to know God? Saint Francis de Sales reminds us in his Treatise on the Love of God (1616) that through prayer, the intimate “heart to heart” communication between the individual person and God is fostered. The closest of friends or lovers know each other – their thoughts, their (re)actions; likewise, humanity and God can be just as close through prayer. 

Brother Dan Wisniewski, OSFS 

Provost, DeSales University 

DeSales World: Archives

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A Cue From Christ

Spring seems late in coming this year. Perhaps nature is mirroring our messy world. Christians worldwide celebrated the rising of Christ from the dead with shocking images of death on the streets of Ukraine and frightened people held captive by an invading army. We celebrate the rising of Christ, aware the fullness of Christ's reign continues to be beyond the grasp and even the imagination of many. We may find this frustrating, sad, and even depressing.

In the face of this, we are the ones commissioned by Christ to proclaim a message of victory and hope. In the scriptures, between Easter and Pentecost, we hear the last will and testament of Christ. He gives us his word that he will remain with us and in us. He promises that we are one with the Father in our union with him.

Christ leaves us the mission to live out hope, joy, and faith. We are to image the lives of those men and women who left that upper room and dared to speak something essential and life-giving to non-believers, those who scoffed and persecuted, and those who believed without seeing. Finally, Christ left us his own Spirit to guide and inspire us in this mission.

Spring is taking its time here in my part of the Northern Hemisphere, and our world is tragically worse than just messy. Regardless, we can take to heart the wisdom of St. Francis de Sales: "Let the world turn upside down, let everything be in darkness, in smoke, in uproar - God is with us."

We take our cue from the Risen Christ and become a word of hope, faith, and love. Listen carefully to God's word proclaimed each Sunday and pray you may be inspired and courageously respond to the command of Jesus to "go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature." The first disciples did this; we can do it too. We can build the Reign of God with the Easter faith we share. Christ reigns in us. Live Jesus!

Fr. Jack Loughran, OSFS

Provincial

Toledo-Detroit Province

Meditation by Oblates: Third Sunday of Easter

Jn 21:1-19

At that time, Jesus revealed himself again to his disciples at the Sea of Tiberias. He revealed himself in this way.
Together were Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, Zebedee’s sons, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We also will come with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. When it was already dawn, Jesus was standing on the shore; but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, have you caught anything to eat?” They answered him, “No.” So he said to them, “Cast the net over the right side of the boat and you will find something.” So they cast it and were not able to pull it in because of the number of fish. So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea.
The other disciples came in the boat, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards,
dragging the net with the fish. When they climbed out on shore, they saw a charcoal fire with fish on it and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you just caught.” So Simon Peter went over and dragged the net ashore full of one hundred fifty-three large fish. Even though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come, have breakfast.” And none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they realized it was the Lord. Jesus came over and took the bread and gave it to them, and in like manner the fish. This was now the third time Jesus was revealed to his disciples
after being raised from the dead…Read More

Quote

“Have patience with all things - but first with yourself.  Never confuse your mistakes with your value as a human being.  You are a perfectly valuable, creative, worthwhile person simply because you exist.  And no amount of triumphs or tribulations can ever change that.” - St. Francis de Sales

Reflection

The Gospel narrates the apostles returning to their former jobs as fishermen.  They probably felt ashamed and unworthy of Jesus’ love or being His followers after they abandoned and denied him during His passion.  To their astonishment, Jesus still demonstrates great affection and care by helping them catch fish, preparing breakfast, and eating with them.  We, too, can feel unworthy of God’s love or being Jesus’ disciple because of our sinfulness, failings, weak resolutions, and so on.  Yet, our denial of Him does not result in His denial of us.  Our disobedience does not stop God from loving us or annul His invitation to be His disciples.  Why? Because we are His beloved creatures created in His own image.  

Fr. Michael Depcik, OSFS

Chaplain for Deaf Catholics Archdiocese of Detroit

Eastpointe, MI

Francis & Me: Richard Leonard

Richard Leonard: Eighth Grade Teacher at Our Mother of Consolation, Parish School, Philadelphia, PA 

Richard Leonard

A nun once praised me in eighth grade for being a perfect gentleman.  I was happy there was no one else around.  Growing up in Philly in the 70s was no place for a gentleman.  It was a word that wore a powdered wig or threw its coat over mud puddles for rich ladies.  

My name’s Richard Leonard.  Since the 1980s, I’ve taught seventh and eighth graders in Catholic schools all over Philly.  Whether you’re teaching a boy from North Philly or Manayunk, asking him to behave like a gentleman is still a hard sell.  Stealing a line from Kiss of the Spider Woman, I got further by offering this definition:  A man never lets the people around him feel degraded.  Successful men in America have never been held to this standard.

I now teach at Our Mother of Consolation School (OMC), run by the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales.  De Sales was the Gentleman Saint.  Over the last fourteen years, I’ve begun to see the word gentleman in a more Salesian light.  I was bobbing to the surface from one school closing after another when I met St. Francis de Sales.  When I interviewed with OMC’s pastor, Oblate Fr. Bob Bazzoli, I asked about the monogrammed letters on his shirt pocket.  I must’ve missed something because I told him my parish priests were also Franciscans.  Today I’d be armed in these situations with Salesian wisdom:  “Nothing is more like a wise man than a fool who holds his tongue.”  

What first drew me to Francis de Sales wasn’t his wisdom, it was his example.  It wasn’t just that he never let anyone around him feel degraded.  He pushed further.  He let everyone know they were indispensable to Christ, particularly those with whom society was quick to dispense.  A woman too old or sick to be welcomed as a Bride of Christ in other orders was always in demand at his Visitation Community.  He spent months spelling out the sacraments for a deaf man who wanted to know Christ – while many saw this as beneath his office as Bishop of Geneva.  The Jesus that Francis de Sales lived was kind, not judgmental.  How else would he restore 70,000 fallen-away Catholics to the faith?

Images and sayings of Frances de Sales appear all over the campus of Our Mother of Consolation – in the school, the church, the rectory.  I reflect on many of these as I travel from my eighth-grade class to the room where my wife teaches Pre-K 3.  (We are the gatekeepers of the school).  By her door, a sign says “Worry prevents us from doing well the very things about which we were worried…”  

I flashback to the winter of 2010 when I was in and out of the hospital for a benign brain tumor.  Before my first operation, I’d told my ten-year-old son that the difference between prayer and worry is that only one of them can change anything.  He replied that worry can change things too:  for the worse.  (He was always scary smart).  I wound up deaf in one ear, with balance issues and an anxiety disorder.  During my absence from school, an Oblate would check in on me.  He talked me through this total nervous breakdown.  When he first called, I shared my rigid plan of saying the rosary every day until I started improving, admitting it wasn’t my favorite way to pray.  He told me just to take time to be present in the moment with God.  I’d like to make that a life-long practice.

Every January, the eighth grade plans the liturgy for the Feast of Francis de Sales.  Through art, poetry, and film, we trace the ripples of Francis’ life outward from Jane de Chantal to Don Bosco and his Salesians.  To Louis Brisson and his Oblates.  To all of us who aspire to follow in the humble, inclusive spirit of Francis de Sales.  

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time we all knew our value.  We’re all indispensable to Christ.

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Francis & Me: Patrick Lonergan

Patrick Lonergan: Father Judge High School, Class of 2022

Every saint has some significance to Christians as a guide or patron. Francis de Sales is a saint whose life and legacy are valued by Father Judge High School and so he continually reminds me of my school community and our values. St. Francis unites our school and challenges us to follow his advice and teachings in our everyday lives. 

We are often told to “be who you are and to be that well.”  At Judge, this seems to be the most well-known and favorite quote of our patron.  Our teachers constantly call us to be “Salesian Gentlemen” and “Judge guys.”  Both phrases are based on the teachings and spirit of St. Francis. Everything about my school and our community is modeled around his life and legacy. From Salesian banners and sayings to images and statues scattered around the school, his impact can be seen everywhere in the hallways and in the classrooms.  During school events, games, and at the start of every class, we ask St. Francis to pray for us.   In almost every classroom an image of our patron or a quote can be seen on the walls.  The “Salesian Seven” is a code of student behavior based on the little virtues of St. Francis.  

Since I started at Father Judge, each theology class has taught me more about the life and legacy of St. Francis DeSales.   During my grade school visitation, I did not know what a “Salesian Gentleman” was. However, once I began classes and experienced life at Father Judge, I learned what all of these phrases and quotes meant.  In theology classes and school assemblies we learned about the Salesian Seven: respecting yourself and others, recognizing our unique gifts and talents, being patient with ourselves and others, being gentle in all we do, being grateful in life, being positive as we go throughout the day, and being confident in ourselves. Some classes focused on one virtue while other classes focused on all of the virtues.   At Judge, we learn to apply these teachings to our personal lives. 

Through our Christian Service program, I learned the value of the saying “nothing is small in the service of God.”  This is a core concept of Salesian Spirituality.  It also gave me the opportunity to be gentle with others. Thus, all these Christian Service events led me back to Salesian Spirituality. So, within these four years, I not only learned what the many Salesian quotes meant but I also learned how to follow Jesus by living like St. Francis De Sales. To summarize my experience as a student at Father Judge High School, the gentle bishop of Geneva is the foundation for everything in our school.

St. Francis de Sales, pray for us!

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Our Lady of the Highways Dedication

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Rededication of Our Lady of the Highways Shrine

Childs, Maryland

July 16th 1:00PM

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