Dear Salesian Sisters and Brothers,

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1 USA West Province Newsletter San Francisco, California August 12, 2018 Dear Salesian Sisters and Brothers, This evening the provincial council and I begin our August meetings at Salesian High School and Novitiate Residence in Richmond. Please keep us in your prayers. We are all eagerly awaiting the Rector Major, Angel Fernandez Artime, visit to our country and, especially, to our Province. Although, we have encountered some complications with his visa and entrance into the United States, we feel that with the help of officials we will be able to proceed as planned. Please keep the Rector Major and his secretary, Horacio Lopez, in your prayers. The visit of the Rector Major, from Wednesday, September 12 to Tuesday, September 18, is a moment of animation and grace. Fr. Angel is the tenth successor of Don Bosco. For us Salesians, the Rector Major is the presence of Don Bosco among us. Much preparation has gone into his visit and many are making last minute adjustments to some details so that the visit might be a success. But, the success of the Rector Major s visit is not so much if all details and planned activities fall into place but rather, if our hearts are inspired and moved to follow Don Bosco s mission and spirit more fully and with greater devotion. Are we fired up with passion for young people, especially, those who are poor and disadvantaged, those most in need? Are we encouraged to grow more in the Da Mihi Animas of Don Bosco? Are we more committed to a life in the Spirit, a passion for God? Are we convinced of a fraternal life and family spirit that is welcoming, inviting, kind and open? Are we challenged to enter into a re-dimensioning attitude that includes working for vocations to our Religious life, to letting go of things that need to be let go and taking on ministries and attitudes that are a response to today s needs for the young? The young need and want our presence and keeping busy is not the best response. It might be our escape but it is not what the young are asking of us. Let us keep the success of Fr. Angel s visit in our daily prayers and open our hearts to what God AUGUST BIRTHDAYS Fr. John Lam...1 Br. Ernie Martinez,,...3 Br. Gustavo Ramirez...5 Fr. Paul Tran...5 No.Quang D. Ho...6 Fr. Joseph Paradayil...8 Fr. James Nieblas...8 Fr. Andrew Ng...9 Fr. Tuan Nguyen...10 Fr. Jerry Wertz...16 Fr. Adrien Mendoza...17 Fr. Ramon Zarate...18 Fr. John Roche...25 PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR SICK Fr. Lucian Lomello, SDB Br. Jerry Weirich, SDB Fr. Jesse Montes, SDB Br. Pat Maloney, SDB Fr. Armand Oliveri, SDB Fr. Arthur Lenti, SDB 1

2 is asking of us from this beautiful blessing and grace. These days many of our Schools are starting their scholastic year. It is a busy time for everyone, especially, in our schools. I wish to thank all of our administrators, teachers and staff who put so much dedication and work into their ministry. It is truly a ministry that touches the lives of the young in ways in which we are not always totally aware. Sometimes, we never see the fruit of the seeds we have planted. How many times, and I am sure this has happened to many of you, someone will happen to encounter me at some function and thank me for something I did or said which inspired them. I was totally aware I had done what they said I did. And, this could be years after the fact. And, yet that act of kindness, presence, words of wisdom and encouragement touched someone s heart and life in ways I was never aware. As we start our pastoral year around the province, let us take to heart the strenna given by our Rector Major for this year 2018: Lord, give us this water (John 4:15). Let us cultivate the art of listening and of accompaniment. The Rector Major, in his travels around the world, has been reminding us to listen and accompany the young. Using the Gospel encounter of the Samaritan woman found in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of John, Fr. Angel challenges us to make our encounters with others, especially, the young, meaningful. Our encounters should not be indifferent but close, compassionate and healing. Pay attention to the person, what is communicated and what they seek. Be open and caring creating the space for the person to want to share and open themselves up in trust and confidence. Sometimes we are so preoccupied with our own issues or anger or biases that we do not create the space for the other to open up. This requires a certain inner silence. Jesus gives us a beautiful model in the story of the Samaritan woman. Jesus puts behind him his culture s views of Samaritans, women, infidelity and those considered unclean by the spiritual leaders of his day. HE was interiorly free and possessed the inner silence needed. How about us? This coming week our two novices, Dan Glass and Tom Junis, will be professing their first vows at Stony Point, New York on Thursday, August 16th. This year Dan and Tom made their novitiate in Richmond. We wish to congratulate them and promise them our prayers. We also wish to thank Fr. Tom Juarez for his service as Novice Director. Fr. Tom will join the novices at their profession at Stony Point. As mentioned in previous InTouch letters, Fr. Tom has been assigned to San Luis Rey Parish in Laredo, Texas. We wish them all our best! une 11, 2018 August, SU-TU 14 TU 15 WE 25 SA 26 SU 30 TH We also wish to congratulate our prenovices who will begin their novitiate year on Tuesday, August 14th. Our four novices: Manny Diaz (SUE), Kris Tran (SUO), Leo Imbert (SUO) and Michael Pomo (SUO) will be inducted in a simple ceremony at the Novitiate residence. The new Novice Director, Fr. Joe Nguyen and the Director of the community, Fr. John Itzaina, will be installed at the same ceremony. Again we wish them our best and accompany them with our prayers. I will be in Los Angeles at the end of this coming week and will remain in Los Angeles for the next week in a half. After the Major Superiors gathering with Bishop Jose Gomez in Los Angeles on August 28, I will return to the Bay Area for the Directors/Pastors meeting and the meeting with our Presidents and Directors. As we celebrate the solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, let us ask our heavenly Mother for her intercession and protection. May we always remember, after the example of Don Bosco, our father and model, that she is our Mother and Teacher. She is always present among us. May she guide all our endeavors as we begin this new school year, celebrate the Rector Major s visit and entrust our young people to her maternal and loving care. With warm regards and gratitude, Fr. Ted Montemayor, SDB Provincial Council Meeting Salesian, Richmond Installation of Master of Novices; Admission to Novitiate, Richmond Assumption of Our Lady Blessed Maria Troncatti Blessed Zeffirino Namuncurá (Not Celebrated this Year) Directors, Pastors, PC: Meeting to begin Richmond September, 20 2

3 Rector Major s Visit September 2018 Provincial House, San Francisco Rector-Major s Visit 12 Rector-Major arrives, 11:14 AM Will Provincial House 9/ Fr. Angel meet w/ Provincial & 3:00 PM 13 Fr Angel visits Richmond and Berkeley 14 Fr. Angel visits Watsonville, School & Parish 15 Fr. Angel visits Corpus 12:30 PM Fr. Angel visits SS 2:00 PM and speaks to Northern SDB s 5:00 PM, SS Peter & Paul w/fr. Angel and Salesian Family (Reception, Dinner) 16 Fr. Angel flies to Long 8:54 am Will SJB 9/ South, 3:00 PM, St. Dominic Savio w/ Fr. Angel and Saleaian Family, Perpetual Vows for Br. Peter Le (Dinner & Reception) 17 Fr. Angel - St. John Bosco HS, School Assembly, 8:30 AM Fr. Angel Don Bosco Tech, School Assembly, Rosemead, 1:00 PM Fr. Angel speaks to Southern SDB s Don Bosco Tech 4:00 PM Fr. Angel speaks w/ SYM St. Joseph 6:00 PM followed by Dinner with SDB s, FMA s and Young People. 18 Fr. Angel departs SJB for Soto Street Fr. Angel Salesian HS, School Assembly, Los 9:00 AM Fr. Angel departs LAX in the AM. 22 Bl. Joseph Calasanz-Marqués and 3

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7 New missionary in Samoa T he Vietnamese have a proverb "Thời gian vun vút như thoi đưa" (Time flies). Yes, time passes without waiting for anyone and it never comes back. I have now spent almost two years in the missions. Many things were strange to me at the beginning, but now I am getting used to missionary life here in this beautiful country, Samoa. I first set foot on this soil on November 13, 2016, after a flight from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and transiting through Hong Kong and Fiji. From up in the sky you can see that this is a beautiful land, God s own creation: two large islands surrounded by the Pacific Ocean. At close range, it is easy to see the waves that hit the coral reefs that surround the islands, making the scene extremely beautiful. Samoa has an area of 2,842 km2 (very small land), with about 200 thousand inhabitants. Agriculture and tourism are the two main pillars of the economy. Catholics form 19% of the population. To start with, I was more than a little surprised by some habits here. First of all, the community usually spends at least 30 minutes before dinner talking to each other and discussing all the events of the day. Secondly, when you visit people's homes, they are usually very hospitable and invite you to have a meal with their family. Before the meal they give the guests a bowl of water to wash their hands with. Guests are honoured by being invited to sit at the table with the parents while the children eat at another table. During the meal, one person is there only to serve the food. Someone else fans fresh air on to the guests and parents. After the meal they provide another bowl of water to the guests to wash their hands with. They have a variety of dishes, but the "Talo" is the staple food. We have two communities in Samoa. One is on the island of Upolu. Six confreres take care of a professional school of about 300 students and a parish with three churches. The other community is on the island of Savaii. The four confreres are in charge of a high school and a vocational centre with about 300 students and a parish with three churches. I spent my first two months in Upolu and then I moved to Savaii Island where I am now. My main responsibility last year was to teach computer science to 9th grade students. I also took care of the computer lab and saw to the school bulletin board. I am very happy to have the opportunity to work directly with the students. They are very good and honest. They have a good attitude towards their teachers. They always carry out enthusiastically any chores that the school or community entrusts them with. I am very happy in this mission and I would like you to be happy too! Peter Nguyen Minh Duc Vietnamese missonary in Samoa Witness of Salesian Missionary Sanctity Fr. Pierluigi Cameroni SDB, Postulator General for the Causes of Saints Servant of God, Constantine Vendrame ( ), a missionary in North East India. This August 27th is the 125th anniversary of his birth. His Argentinian voice echoed over hundreds of people in squares and meadows. They listened to his message of Christ with great eagerness. External show runs the risk of being mere straw fires if it is not accompanied by serious work. Don Vendrame did not wait for the pagans to come to him. After preaching "from the rooftops", he went looking for them, moving from hut to hut, and teaching them in their own homes. For the Salesians in Oceania Salesian Missionary Intention So that the Salesian Family may be able to witness to and proclaim the Gospel of the Family in Oceania. Cultural, economic and political elements greatly influence the lives of families in Oceania, as anywhere else in the world. There is a great need to protect the treasure of the institution of the family, as the foundation of all Christian values and a school of humanity. 7

8 Simple Vegetables for the Summer Appetite By Sheila Kun, Cooperator There is a trend in my office; many of my colleagues are staying away from processed food and meat products. Hence it is really difficult to throw an office party with considerations for all. Even those who eat meat would stay away from processed meat like ham and or canned products. In a way, I like the choice of having simple food that is easy to make. It is better to prepare in a simple dish with preservation of its original taste in a natural way. So for this week, I thought of sharing how to cook vegetables that are nutritional but are often mostly served over-cooked. I cannot stand mushy vegetable; I don t care how nutritional they are! By sharing their simple preparation, I hope you will eat these vegetables more often. Broccoli: A very easy way to cook broccoli is as follows: 1) Make a pot of hot water (enough to cover the cut broccoli) 2) Once the water is boiled, add pinches of sugar and one teaspoon of oil in it. 3) Drop the broccoli into the pot and let it cook for one to two minutes. This little trick of adding sugar and oil helps to make the broccoli stay green. The short cooking time makes it crispy. Now, if you have seniors in your household, you can remove your portion first and let is cook just a little bit longer for the senior. You can add more flavor by serving with Oyster sauce on the side of the dish (available at any Chinese market). If you prefer the Western taste, you can pre-heat a can of Campbell mushroom or chicken soup and use it as a dip. Your broccoli would be more palatable by knowing these few enhancement tricks. By the way, if you decide to make a salad out of the broccoli, just simply chop it into small pieces. Mix it with walnut or pine nut, add cubes of apple or pear, and spice it up with a dash of chopped purple onion. This is another way to take advantage of the vitamin rich broccoli. Cauliflower: Cauliflower can be cooked the same way like broccoli. To enhance its relative sweet taste, we have tried to sprinkle Chinese sausage or bacon on it. Or should you decide to eat it raw, you can dip into yogart or other dips. Be creative, you want to experiment the many faces of these wonderful vegetable. One special tip on cleaning broccoli or cauliflower; because the flowers are very crowded, one way to get rid of bugs or pesticide is to submerge them in salty water for 10 minutes. (Add a teaspoon of salt to the water.) For better cleansing, do cut the broccoli or cauliflower into bite size first. Next week, we will introduce simple ways of cooking egg plants another vegetable that can be made simple. Wishing you a healthy summer from the Care Ministry The Care Ministry welcomes your comments/suggestions: kunlouis@gmail.com 8

9 So that the Salesian Family may be able to witness to and proclaim the Gospel of the Family in Oceania. SALESIAN MISSIONARY INTENTION IN THE LIGHT OF THE HOLY FATHER S PRAYER INTENTION For the Salesians in Oceania 9