Spring V+J Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Toledo-Detroit Province. Oblates In India

Transcription

1 Spring 2016 V+J Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Toledo-Detroit Province Oblates In India

2 BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine HAPPY EASTER! The lead article is about the Oblates in India who celebrate their 25th anniversary of foundation. Toledo-Detroit Oblates who helped them in the beginning include Oblate Fathers Tony Ceresko, Mike Moore and John Graden. As this issue of Bondings arrives, the Church celebrates the great feast of Easter. It is the center of the Church s liturgical year and the center of our lives as Christians. If Christ did not die and rise for us then our faith, as St. Paul says, is useless and our preaching is in vain. Everything in Scripture, the Sacraments and our spiritual lives flows from the Lord s Resurrection. Pope Francis in his 2013 Easter Vigil homily spoke of the women at the tomb: For them and for all humanity, nothing remained as it was before. He goes on: Jesus does not return to life, rather he is life itself because he is the Son of God. The Holy Father urges us: Let the Risen Jesus enter your life. Welcome him as a friend, with trust: He is life itself. May the blessings of this holy season come to you and your family in abundance! Editorial Staff Cover: Oblate Fathers Sleeva Raj Kala and Ken McKenna in front of the Taj Mahal in Agor, India Mission Statement The mission of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales of the Toledo- Detroit Province is to Live Jesus according to Salesian spirituality in our personal and communal lives, and to share this spirituality with the People of God. Bondings Bondings is published regularly for the members and friends of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, Toledo-Detroit Province. Its purpose is to enhance and develop the bond we have through our common faith in Jesus Christ and Salesian spirituality. Bondings is free of charge to anyone on request. Send your name and address (or that of a friend) to the Provincial Office or call Provincial Office 2043 Parkside Blvd. Toledo, OH Editorial Staff Father Roland Calvert, OSFS Father Tom Helfrich, OSFS FAITH Catholic 1500 E. Saginaw St. Lansing, MI Chairman Rev. Dwight Ezop President and CEO Patrick O Brien Editorial Director Elizabeth Martin Solsburg Graphic Designer Janna Stellwag 2

3 T Oblates In India he Indian Mission of the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales celebrated its 25th anniversary in December Four North American Oblate priests comprised the formal delegation that joined the festivities: Father Ken McKenna, Provincial of the Toledo-Detroit Province, Father Jim Greenfield, Provincial of the Wilmington-Philadelphia Province, Father Barry Strong and Father Jim Hillyard. Father McKenna stated that he was amazed and impressed by the scope and beauty of the events. Staff of Catholic Social Service Center, Diocese of Gwalior Fathers Greenfield, McKenna and Hillyard visiting Bangalore Spring

4 BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine Fathers Raj, McKenna and Bandanadam at Hindu temple Theologate decorated with V+J for Anniversary 4 Construction of Our Lady of Fatima, an Oblate church in Diocese of Guntur

5 St. Paul Catholic School in Gwalior School for Deaf and Blind Installation of new Delegate Superior Oblate scholastics at Samarpanaram in Bangalore Spring

6 BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine Retirement: A Salesian Journey by Father Jim Cryan, OSFS M idway through the journey of my life I found myself in a dark and tangled wood with no clear path before me On retiring, I felt the intensity of this ominous opening of Dante s Divine Comedy: Yet, two verses later he adds, but of the good which there I found, I ll speak of what I discovered. 6 My discovery began with a broken leg that sent me to Rosary Care Center in Sylvania for three months. Most of the residents are sisters my age, and all of them had distinguished themselves in active ministries for many years. What was most evident is that they had not retired from religious life. Their life s journey was not moving towards an elusive horizon. The mysterious journey they started out on years before had simplified itself into cordiality, looking out for others. They live simple lives, yet look beyond themselves, even often using their pin-money to help in apostolates. Religious orders frequently began as an experience of the laity. High spirited men and women who were very much at home in the world had a persistent feeling to pursue what they felt as something that is yet more. For some, that quest was for making a difference in the world through the works of mercy. For others, it was pursuing a vision of what the world could become when one is deeply in love with the holy mystery we call God. In time, this attracted many to bond with them and ask to share their quest. From this came universities, hospitals, social activist centers and houses of prayer. The great discovery was the value of the present moment, quite a Salesian virtue. Retirement is challenging. It means

7 Dante and the Three Kingdoms, 1465, Oil on canvas, Museo dell Opera del Duomo, Florence navigating uncharted waters, as all senior citizens know. It s a time when we finally realize that all we have in life is the present moment and we must make the best of it. Years ago I had a sabbatical on E. 46th St. in NYC near the United Nations. Visitors usually asked what I saw when I looked out on the city under the night sky. Energy? Vitality? I always answered the same: I see a million windows, and behind every one there are stories of death and resurrection. Some are aware of it and they get on with the adventure. Some put it on hold, but it patiently waits. This is true for all of us, laity, religious and clergy. What we do with the present moment, this now, is our response. And if we saw all the stories at once, we would die of happiness because this is, after all, a divine comedy. God has made it His own story. Many self-help books offer Spring

8 BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine 8 suggestions for managing this time of life. Laity, religious and clerics sometimes find release from administrative constraints enhancing their journey. A realistic discernment includes growing in friendships. We discover time now to truly listen to people. Pastoral ministry takes on a new dimension, a deepening of empathy. Someone s physical and spiritual issues may be a little different from our own, but we hear them as we hear our own heart. This provides for the third discovery, what Salesian spirituality calls the direction of intention. How do I intend to direct this hour, this conversation, this activity of any sort, even the most ordinary and menial: How do I intend that this advance Christ s blessed hold on the universe? The fourth discovery is indifference not meaning carelessness. De Sales borrowed this phrase from Loyola. The quest for God means years of discernment and decision making. But it is God we seek, not our earnest planning. He is the yet more, beyond our categories and I see a million windows, and behind every one there are stories of death and resurrection. understanding. Aging, physical condition, obedience and circumstances beyond our control define for us what the now is, what He in love has chosen to attract us. I find this most strongly at Communion. Francis de Sales borrows Augustine s mystagogy. The bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ, and so are the recipients. Sometimes, I sit within the congregation. They have become my brothers and sisters. Over the years I ve gotten to know these people, their joys, victories and matters they struggle with; their disappointments and, at times, the seasons when they seem to have given up. Married, single or separated; retired and the young active, somehow that haunting quest for the yet more has brought them forward for transubstantiation, to be transformed into the body of Christ. I watch them approach the altar. I stand to join them wonderfully and it happens. Together we are transformed into the body of Christ. May God be blessed.

9 F Falling in Love with God by Father Michel Tournade, OSFS Book Review by Father Roland Calvert, OSFS ather Tournade, a member of the French Oblate Province, has rewritten De Sales most popular work, the Introduction to the Devout Life. He uses a modern idiom designed to appeal to young people today. He calls this an adaptation and not a translation. Janet Gowey has contributed a smooth, readable translation. Interestingly, it was road tested by students in New York taught by Father Tom Ribits, OSFS. As the chapters were produced, they read them and made their suggestions for improving the text. This is a very reader-friendly book. The Introduction was first published in More than 400 years later, Francis advice remains completely relevant, but two aspects of the book have posed problems for some modern readers. The first is the Baroque writing style, which can seem flowery at times. Secondly, Francis employs many nature examples from Pliny that are clearly fanciful. Father Tournade s more modern language deals with the first objection. Then he drops some of the Pliny examples. He includes others but with the comment that they are clearly unscientific. On page 113, he quotes the example of white rabbits in the mountains whose color, supposedly, came from eating snow. He acknowledges that the example isn t true but the image is much too beautiful for me to resist using. The author adheres closely to the original message of each chapter. But the examples are contemporary: computers, video games, films, TV soap operas, joints, pep pills and other modern items. They are the kind of examples Francis would surely use if he were alive today. Some of the chapter titles are definitely not in the original ( What about flirting? ) but capture the essence of Francis ideas. The Introduction is not a book designed to be read from beginning to end all at once. It is better read a chapter or two at a time followed by a period for reflection. Father Tournade has kept most of the sage advice of the saint but allows it to be assimilated in modern, accessible language. The book can be used beneficially for retreats, discussion groups or individual spiritual reading. It could indeed help us fall more deeply in love with our God each day. This book is available from Embraced by God ( resources@embracedbygod.org; telephone: ). Spring

10 BONDINGS The Quarterly Oblate Magazine Father Alfred J. Russell Father Al Russell, better known by his nickname Rufus, died after a bout with cancer on Jan. 16 at the Outer Banks Hospital in Nags Head, N.C. Rufus served for many years as an Oblate priest. At a later date, he was incardinated in the Diocese of Kalamazoo, Mich. He was buried in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Cemetery at Childs, Md., the site of his former novitiate. 10 Father Russell s funeral Mass in Nag s Head, N.C. was celebrated at Holy Redeemer by the Sea Parish. Most Rev. Michael Burbridge, bishop of Raleigh, presided and Father Fred Smuda, OSFS, Al s ordination classmate, offered the homily. An additional memorial Mass was celebrated in Lockport, N.Y., Al s hometown, where he was born in Feb A funeral Mass was offered also at Gesu Church in Toledo, Ohio with Father Tom Helfrich, OSFS as presider and homilist. Father Al served for many years both as a teacher and parish priest. He held several leadership positions in the Oblates as Provincial and Superior. He was notable for his colorful personality, his keen intelligence, and his gift for gab. From the Funeral Homily of Father Smuda in North Carolina: I met Rufus some 60 years ago in a place called Childs, Md. Wow! It seems like a long time ago. I do remember getting jealous of him. I was in biology class at Catholic University with him and Ivan Cendese. There was one difference they were better students than I and, for that matter, the rest of the class, and so one or both of them didn t take the final exam. I was jealous! I passed but I really had to study. Like all Oblates, our lives took different turns and sometimes classmates lose touch with one another. Time moved on and 37 years later, I bumped into Father Rufus when I came to the Outer Banks. Rufus house was the first house off the island and his home was a free bread and breakfast when it was too late for me to travel back to my parish on Hatteras Island. He used to say Hi, Fred. Come on in. From his perch, we had a bird s eye view of everyone who came to Nags Head. Rufus was a good listener, a good talker and confessor. I went to confession just before he went to Chapel Hill. He talked quickly, as always, but this time he asked me if I understood him. I told him I didn t understand the

11 penance because I was still translating what he wanted to say to me before the penance. His home was a place where the mercy of God was found. Rufus made me welcome as God makes everyone welcome. I thank God for his gifts and there were many, especially the priesthood. Rufus we will remember you in your life, death and now resurrection. From the Funeral Homily of Father Helfrich in Toledo, Ohio: Al was only six years old when his mother passed away. It seems he s been searching for his home ever since. It s a search we might all recognize as our own, and one the Gospel makes clear will end only with the fulfillment of Jesus promise, I am going to prepare a place for you, and then I will come back to take you with me, that where I am you also may be. (John 14:3) After learning of Al s passing, a parishioner back home at St. Rita sent a note sharing this reflection of his impact on her and her family: I read of Father Russell s death in the bulletin and your request that we recall the good he did for us. I remember his spiritual direction, his remembrance of our dead, his counseling of my daughter before her marriage, his baptizing of my twin grandsons, his saying, The worst sin of the flesh is the sin of the tongue. He said that on the occasion of a deacon being found guilty of a sin of the flesh. He was a priest of brevity of speech that contains much wisdom. If Al was looking for a home all his life, he certainly did a good job of welcoming those on the same quest. I remember well the time when I was far from home myself, teaching high school in Rochester, N.Y. Al was our Oblate provincial then and one afternoon he simply showed up, unannounced, to see how things were going. What a gift... Jesus made it clear he came not to call the righteous, but sinners. We are a Church of sinners trying to become saints. Al certainly found a home in the Church, but more than that, he welcomed us all to find our true home in the Church. From the Eulogy delivered by Robert Bingle in Toledo, Ohio: I remember that Al was as amiable a man as I ve ever known. He was just nice and agreeable. There was a distinct gentle kindness about his approach to life. I m sure Al could be provoked (or be provoking), but there wasn t much that rattled the Al I knew. And there was a delightful, impish, almost childlike smile that could fill his face at times. That is what I remember about my friend, Al Russell: his warmth, his caring, his humor, his smile and a zest for discourse. I also remember that he was my best friend when a senior (me) at St. Francis struggled mightily with the sudden death of a beloved father. I will always be grateful to him for that. Spring

12 V+J Oblates of St. Francis de Sales Toledo-Detroit Province 2043 Parkside Blvd. Toledo, OH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID LANSING, MI PERMIT NO. 689