Homily for First Religious Profession

First Religious Profession of Sisters Sony, Smita, Munmun and Placiya as FMAs

First Religious Profession of Cls. Darryl, Joseph, Leroy, Mahesh, Pranit and Veenus as    SDBs

               

Dearest Sisters and Brothers we are blessed to be together this morning to take part in this Eucharist during which  four of our sisters - Sony, Smita, Munmun and Placiya – and six of our brothers –Darryl, Joseph, Leroy, Mahesh, Pranit and Veenus – will commit themselves to a deep relationship of love with Jesus through their religious profession as FMA and SDB respectively.

Over this last year or so, we – in fact the world as a whole – have been going through a particularly rough and difficult time. This Covid pandemic that has in a way turned our lives upside down by causing the death of so many people – many of whom we know, some of them perhaps even our loved ones – by keeping us confined to our homes for such a long period of time – thus causing fear, anxiety, depression, loneliness, joblessness, hunger, and a host of other problems – has in many ways robbed us of our hope and our confidence in the beauty and value of life.

Many today are questioning – and I think they have good reason to do so – does life have any sense or meaning? Is there any point in plans and projects if we really don’t know what is going to happen to us even tomorrow? Is there a God who cares for us or are we just vulnerable creatures subject to the whims/caprice of fate?

In a situation like this , gathering together to celebrate your religious profession is more than just opening a window to let in a gust of fresh air!! It is a celebration of our core belief that there is a GOD WHO LOVES US AND CARES FOR US!! It is a proclamation of our deep conviction that God’s love is unconditional and eternal and he is always present in our lives even though we may go through times when we may be tempted to doubt his presence and question his love because we do not totally understand his ways.

GOD IS ALWAYS AT WORK and while we in our pain and anguish and fear question him, we also surrender to him in faith hoping  that God will draw out something good for all that is happening.

In a few moments from now our dear sisters and brothers will kneel down before all of us and with the innocence and courage of youth will tell JESUS:   “ MOVED BY YOUR LOVE, .... I WITH COMPLETE FREEDOM” profess to live POOR, CHASTE and OBEDIENT    in communion with my sisters and brothers and sisters.... as an FMA ... as a SDB.  I want to assure you my dear young friends, that the LORD truly values and appreciates your self-giving to him. It was he who gave you the gift of life, it was he who blessed you with many gifts and graces... he gave you a heart of love and the grace of freedom.  He gave you the possibility to do anything you want with your individual lives. But you, young though you are, using your best judgement and guided by people whom you trust and love have reached this point where you profess to love God with your whole being and entrust your life into his hand to do his work, to be ministers/channels of his love to your brothers and sisters.  

We are proud of you and we wish you well. May God be with you always.  May his love fill your lives and become the air that you breath.

+ My dear sisters and brothers we need to remind ourselves though, much as we are in awe of the generosity of our young friends that it is not just them making a COMMITMENT this morning.

+ Just as our friends kneel before JESUS, Jesus kneels before them, and with all the tenderness and compassion and love in his heart he says to them, “ Dear Sony, Dear MunMun, Dear Pranit, Dear Mahesh...... I promise to love you with all my being, every moment of every day of your life. I promise to be true to you and faithful to you at all times.”   Remember my dear friends,  Jesus is not assuring you his love on the condition that you are good and faithful. He promises to love you as you are, at all times, even if you should fail him, even if you should fall, even if you should have the misfortune to be unfaithful.

My dear sisters and brothers today we celebrate the feast of MARY help of Christians. Mary for us is a beautiful example of what it means to give oneself totally to God in love, and what it means to allow God’s love to take possession of your life and being. It was God’s love that she breathed, it was God’s  love that nourished her and as a result it was God’s love that she proclaimed and continues to proclaim through all ages.

Look at our Holy Founders: Don Bosco and Mary Mazzarello – there is so much we can say about them and yet we can summarize their whole lives in a few words: it was in THE LOVE OF CHRIST that they lived and moved and had their being.... God’s love gripped them ...God’s love sustained them.. it was God’s love that they proclaimed...    

As we go through this challenging time.... I think their lives give us a cue of how we can cling to God and live in his love in spite of everything. It is significant that both Don Bosco and Mary Mazzarello had very overwhelming experiences of sickness/ill health right at the beginning of their lives of active ministry.

Don Bosco was still a young priest and had just begun his work with the youngsters on the streets when he fell gravely ill. It seemed like he would die and not get through his sickness. His boys were distraught and stormed heaven for his cure. Many of them offered their own lives – young though they were in exchange for his – and God heard them. Don Bosco realized that it was for his boys that God kept him alive and he promised to spend every moment of his life, his every breath, all his energies, all his resources, for the welfare of his boys. For the salvation of his boys he was ready to do anything......

Mary Mazzarello, we are told, was a strapping young girl, who could match them men and even outwork them when working in the vineyards. But when there was a kind of cholera epidemic in his district and many of her own relatives were ill, she went out of her way to serve them, unmindful of her own health. Finally she herself fell seriously ill and many thought she would not survive. But she pulled through. However, she realized she did not have her old energy and strength anymore. She could no longer take pride in being able to work twice as hard as those around her....

Both Don Bosco and Mary Mazzarello had to go through this experience of self-emptying before they were able to serve the Lord as completely and as generously as they did. My dear sisters and brothers consecrated life is not so much a question of doing great things for God but of allowing God to take possession of your life, with your strengths and your weaknesses, your talents and your shortcomings. Let God work in you!

Before I conclude I want to tell our young friends making their profession, that we your companions and seniors are not here just as spectators gathered to witness something beautiful, instead we are here as people who love you to assure you of our support and encouragement, our prayer and [should I say] guidance as you join us as our younger sisters and brothers in our respective congregations. We care for you and love you and want you to be truly happy. We feel blessed that you are part of our family and we know that your goodness, generosity, spirit of sacrifice and enthusiasm will do much to sustain us as we go through the journey of life together.  

Prayer and the Fidelity to our Salesian Vocation

The 28th General Chapter ended before time and some might be tempted to think that it is unfortunate that those at the chapter did not have sufficient time to reflect  at greater depth on this crucial question that was placed before all of us “What kind of Salesian for the youth of today?” Yes perhaps it would have been nice if the chapter had all the time that was scheduled and perhaps that would have enabled the ‘chapter  fathers,’ if we can call them so, to give the congregation a well worked out , cohesive document addressing this question  in a holistic, integrated, insightful and radical manner. 

While I was not witness to the discussions and reflections that made the chapter the event it was, I think one wouldn’t be wrong if one said that the Holy Spirit has worked and in the curtailed time that the members had they have given us something substantial to not only reflect on but also act upon.  The Acts of the General Chapter will be shared with us soon and surely all of us as individuals and also as communities and provinces will have must to reflect on and act upon. Hopefully we will do that with enthusiasm and with the sincerity, honesty and spirit of self abnegation that any substantial change calls for.

That said, it needs to be acknowledged that it is rarely  lack of knowledge that has kept people from making the changes they need to make in their lives. Most often it is lack of will! We very often know what to do. The question is ‘do we want to do it?’ Are we willing to make the changes that this renewal requires of us, even if it costs us?’ I for one was very fascinated by the quality of the interventions make right at the very beginning of the chapter and each time, i found myself saying ‘we do not need anything else’. Everyone of those who spoke, in their own way, touched up the core of the salesian life, on the heart of our Salesian identity; the only thing we need to do perhaps is to open our hearts, our ears, listen with live and sincerity, decide and then do [or act]!!

I want to highlight in this reflection one particular intervention entitled ‘Profile of Today’s Salesian’ made by Fr. Eunan McDonnel.  The first thing he says, giving us the example of Theresa of Avila, is that we Salesians need to value and treasure the  ‘friendship of the heart’ with Christ that contemplative prayer makes possible and nurtures. Both Francis de Sales and Don Bosco are shining examples of what this friendship can do in our lives. He need to kindle the flames of this friendship though time spent with Him who loves us and seek to share this friendship with the young.  Just like Theresa did in her time and Francis de Sales and Don Bosco after her, we can counter the fire of division, hate, exploitation of the earth,  loneliness, loss of the sense of God, and meaninglessness that surrounds us by lighting a fire of our own, viz. The Fire of God’s Love.

Drawing our attention to Don Bosco’s dream at the age of nine,  Fr. McDonnel reminds us of what little Johnnie  was told “you will have to win over these friends of yours, not by blow, but by gentleness and love”.  He suggests that we need to ask ourselves as Salesians, have we perhaps lost touch with the importance of these words to Johnnie and through him to all of us. We should not forget, he says, that the choice of Francis de Sales as our patron was not an arbitrary choice. Don Bosco wanted that the charity and affability of the saintly bishop of Geneva should be the trademark of every Salesian. Besides he points of that Don Bosco explicitly  resolved in  his pre-ordination  resolution: “may the charity and gentleness of St Francis de Sales guide me in everything.”  Fr. McDonnel goes on to explain that Salesian gentleness draws its inspiration from the gentleness of Christ who is ‘gentle and humble of heart’. He explains that as far as we care concerned, we need to take to heart Francis de Sales’ insightful words ‘there is nothing is ‘nothing as strong as gentleness and nothing as gentle as real strength’. This gentleness is not a matter being nice and agreeable; rather it is the gentleness that is rooted in the spirit of the beatitudes.  It is a gentleness that demands a lot from us – self mastery, patience, discipline and humility. Francis de Sales tells us that this gentleness is not available to those whose lives are not grounded in great prayer. 

 Taking his reflection forward Fr. McDonnel says that the question ‘What kind of Salesian..?’ is not one addressed only to the individual Salesian but also and in fact, more specifically to us as Salesians living, working and praying together in community. This question is not one seeking definition of who an ideal Salesian is but instead it is an invitation to all of us to strengthen the bonds of mission and love that bind us as we serve to serve and love the Lord and the young with one heart and soul. 

Fr. McDonnel points out that the question that we have placed before ourselves has three elements – Salesians – young people – today.  In our attempt to answer this question we have asked young people about how they would like us to be, we have perhaps even asked our confreres and collaborators as we sat down to reflect together, but the crucial question is did we at any time ‘ask God’. We need to, if we have not already done so, ask the question ‘Lord, what kind of Salesians for the young people, today?’The focus now is no longer on ourselves but on God and we need to listen and ponder like Mary, so ‘as to be taught by him.’ Fr. McDonnel points out that we are not expected to come up with an theoretical answer, rather like Mary we must receive our mission from the Lord who calls us. This can only happen in a true climate of prayer where we listen quietly to the Lord and allow ourselves to be surprised by him. 

Like little Johnnie Bosco who was shown the field of his work by the Lord, we too must allow the Lord in our prayer to show us our field of mission. Before we hear his answer we need to hear his invitation to us, “come to me”. Only if we go to him and experience his compassion and rest will we experience yet another invitation that takes us deeper into his love, ‘stay with me’. And only after we have heeded this second invitation will we be in a position to hear and to experience the realization of his promise to us ‘you will be my disciples and bear much fruit.’. 

Fr. McDonnel points out to us that biblically, it seems imperative, that before one is able to see God’s wonderful works one must be open to listen to Him. In order to do this we need to do two things [1] become like little children [2] go to sleep. This might seem strange but Fr. McDonnel explains to us that Jesus himself tells us that ‘unless you  become like little children..’.  We should not only adopt the attitude of trust and wonder of a child but must also see in the young a privileged ‘place’ in which to encounter the Lord. So also we see in scripture many of those who heard the Lord speak were able to do so when or precisely because they were asleep [St. Joseph for example]. Perhaps when we are asleep we are not talking and offer the Lord less resistance. 

Just like Solomon who asked for ‘a listening heart’ from the Lord and like Mary who was ‘listener par-excellence’ we must pray for this gift so that we may be able to discern God’s plan for us. This discernment cannot happen if we are not willing to wait. There is no discernment if it is not ‘prayerful discernment’. This constant spirit of a ‘discernment made possible by waiting’ is amply clear in the most significant choices, decisions and events in the life of our father Don Bosco. 

Sharing his own personal experience Fr. McDonnel suggests that many of us Salesians are people who want to make things happen, we are busy and uncomfortable if we are not. Perhaps in our relationship with God we are more like ‘dogs pulling on the leash’ with their owners struggling to hold on rather than ‘sea gulls who have caught the breeze and glide effortlessly along’ the path that God wants us to take. We need to ask ourselves are we people who ‘want God’s will to be done’ or are we people ‘rushing ahead and expecting the Lord to follow us?’ We need to move according to God’s rhythm and wait  by God’s time. We need to shift from analysis mode to awareness mode. A ‘listening heart’ is ultimately a gift from God but we can prepare ourselves to receive it through meditation and contemplation. All of us need this time. If Jesus needed it in his ministry we cannot think ourselves above this need. Fr. McDonnel introduces us to Francis de Sales’ practice of ‘sacred sleep’ so as to listen to the heartbeat of God. He told his collaborators that those who served the Lord needed at least half an hour of meditation, and those who were very busy needed double that time. This was very true of Don Bosco’s life, he was able to communicate God’s love to the young and those around him so effectively because of his deep interior friendship with God sustained by a spirit of constant prayer. He was able to carry on the ‘work of Martha with the heart of Mary’ precisely because of this communion he enjoyed. 

We Salesians need to be able to communicate Christ to the young in a credible way and for us to be able to do that we must be willing to make this journey into the depths of our being towards a relationship of friendship with Christ through the practice of prayer, meditation and contemplation. ‘The spiritual life is not so much about doing as letting be done, letting God act in us and through us’. Don Bosco’s life makes it clear to us that it is only union with God nourished by contemplative prayer that will make it possible for the Spirit to form in us [like he did in the case of Don Bosco] the heart of a father and teacher willing to give ourselves for the young till our last breath. 

Article written for Province Magazine SDB West June 2020

Formation through Personalization and Immersion [Written for SDB west Province Magazine January 2011]

Formation is a topic that always generates a lot of heated debate. The recently held Seminar on the Personalization of Formation is a tangible testimony of this truth. It was wonderful and heartening to see how  passionately and enthusiastically different confreres expressed their views about the current state of formation and what needs to be done to set things right.

One viewpoint that comes up repeatedly whenever formation is discussed, be it in a formal setting like that of a seminar or at  informal table conversations, is the one that holds that the current crop of young Salesians is just not up to the mark. There seems to be something lacking in them and they don’t simply match up in terms of commitment, hard work, love for the young, spirit of self sacrifice, openness to learning, care for the community , good manners, and spirit of faith. Those who express this view may have good reasons to do so but letting our experience of  a few young Salesians colour our attitude to all of them does not help us. This attitude is neither Salesian nor helpful. Surely, we have got to be honest but that doesn’t mean that we must let ourselves become slaves of pessimism. Salesian honesty is an honesty that is backed by a strong faith, not only in God but also in our confreres, especially our young confreres. If we believe in their goodness and help them believe in their own potentialities we can make things happen; we can bring about not only change but revolution.

When it comes to formation, as we can only expect, there are many different approaches. We are all Salesians and share in the same charism but as human beings we have our own temperaments, our sensibilities, our perspectives on life, and our own particular relationship skills.  These particularities are bound to show up in the way we approach formation. Yes, there is the Ratio to guide us but all directives need to be interpreted and given flesh in real life situations. In the attempt to do so differences are bound to arise. They are not altogether unhealthy provided, of course, we do not work at cross purposes. Provided we do not seek to dismantle, because of our own pettiness, what has been built up in some previous stage.

One approach to formation is the top-down, “Do as you are told” approach. In this approach the formators have the central place. They know what is good for those in formation. They have the overall vision and they give directions which the one in formation is expected to follow. Here the focus is on conformity, on following directives to the letter, on obedience, on accepting without asking too many questions. In theory, very few see virtue in this approach, but in practice, this approach is quite popular. It is an approach that both formators and those in formation are quite comfortable with. Provided formators are not too whimsical and inconsistent, this approach has the advantage of clarity. Those in formation know clearly what is expected of them. Formators too have clear criteria on which to evaluate those in formation.

Another approach to formation is one that seeks to test “gold in fire”. The logic is that in order to get people to grow we need to keep them on their toes and call a spade a spade. Salesian life is not easy after all and if we can toughen up our young Salesians early in life then by the time there are in active ministry hopefully they will have it within them to face the challenges of the aposolate. This approach does strengthen some, but when taken to the extreme, breaks some others. Of those who are broken, some opt out of the Salesian life, while others stay but they tend to be bitter and carry their bitterness into all their relationships and into everything they do.

Yet another approach is one that seeks to create a “loving supportive family” in which the young Salesian feels affirmed and accepted and helped to grow. Understood wrongly, this approach could do a great deal of harm. Excessive mollycoddling and treating young Salesians with kid gloves may only serve to weaken them and insulate them from the real world. Overprotection from the challenges and crosses of life may end up creating big babies who need constant and excessive affirmation to be able to do anything. If not constantly acknowledged these young Salesians could begin to sulk and act like victims. Love and affection must foster freedom and responsibility. Love that smothers and creates narcissists is something we need to be wary about.

A fourth approach is that which makes the “rule supreme”. Every initiative, every decision, every strategy is guided by the rules. The mantra is “fit in or ship out”. The young Salesian is evaluated on his ability to follow rules, or more precisely on how adept he is at not breaking them. While it is true that rules are for our good and they ensure to a certain extent fidelity to our charism, an approach that deifies rules ends up producing Salesians who are either too rigid or too smart for their own good and the good of the province and its apostolate.

One could speak of other approaches as well, but we could bypass them for now and go right away to consider two approaches which are very much the need of our times. One that stresses ‘personalization’ and the other that seeks to foster ‘integrated immersion.’ Both these approaches go hand in hand. In fact, one calls for the other and vice versa.

The ‘personalization’ approach is one that places first responsibility for formation on the young Salesian himself. No one can form him; at best formators and others can contribute to creating an ambient conducive to personal responsibility and formation.  But it is the young Salesian who in the ultimate analysis has to take personal responsibility for his growth and life understood as ‘discipleship’;  as a close following of Jesus Christ. The presupposition here is that the one in formation may be young but he is not a child incapable of making decisions or taking responsibility for his growth. The formators do have an important role in this approach but not as people who have the difficult task of taking care of irresponsible and malicious boys. Instead formators are called to see themselves as  mentors entrusted with the delicate task of guiding conscientious and  motivated young men eager to live the Salesian life to the full and give themselves wholeheartedly to the mission.  In the personalization approach the young Salesian is helped to view himself as one who is called personally by the Lord. This call is one that invites a personal ‘yes’ on the part of the young Salesian. No one else can say ‘yes’ to the Lord in his stead. The ‘personalization approach’ focuses on the inner world of the young Salesian.  The one in formation is helped to look inside himself, to accept himself honestly, to work on his weaknesses and immaturity, to build up his convictions, to strengthen his conscience, , to act with personal convictions and to assume responsibility for his own growth.

The “Immersion ‘approach is one that requires a close inter-collaboration between formation guides and those in formation. Going beyond concepts of ‘us’ and ‘them’, formation guides introduce those in initial formation to concrete life experiences that expose them to the pains and difficulties of the poor and the young, that challenge, that raise questions, that call for a response on our part as Salesians. This could happen through means of study seminars, symposiums, exposure camps, live-in experiences, etc. during the years of formal studies in the initial years of formation. Village or slum experiences are not something new. They have great formative value,  provided however, they are followed by formal moments of reflection and introspection. An experience that is not backed by reflection is not an experience at all. When reflection is absent, formators and those in formation tend to make the mistake of thinking that because they have spent a few days in villages or slums they really know what the poor are going through. Without reflection these experiences become just another ‘feather in our caps’ or a ‘trophy in our cupboards’. 

In the ‘immersion’ approach to formation care is taken not to insulate the one in formation [in our case the young Salesian] from the cares and the vagaries of life. Formal formation structures are required and serious study may also require a certain isolation from the hustle and bustle of the street. But immersion would require that the young Salesian is abreast with what is happening around him, in the state and the country. He needs to know not only what is happening to young people but also to all categories of people in general. Sometimes, the extent to which not only our young Salesians but also we who are older are oblivious of what is happening in the world around us is really alarming. In our formation settings especially, we have got to foster good habits  of keeping in touch with the news in the papers, television and other contemporary media. We have got the encourage the habit of serious reading, not only on issues of academic interest but also those that have political, social, religious and ethical  significance. I am of the view that the ‘immersion approach’ needs that our young Salesians are given the reasonable opportunity to manage finances  - both their own and that of the house they belong to. They need to know that money does not come easy and that rising costs usually mean a decreased spending capacity. If they are really given the opportunity to be involved in the budgeting of limited resources in a house and making decisions on how to spend money, I am sure we would have less wastage of food, better care of community belongings and greater conscientiousness when it came to personal expenditure.  

In addition to what has been said so far, I think, the ‘immersion approach’ to formation would require that young Salesian be given not only information about but also  the actual possibility of participating to the extent possible in the whole gamut of initiatives characteristic of  the apostolate of our province. The Salesian apostolate has undergone an evolution over these years in terms of the people we reach out to and also in the kinds of work we are involved in. But many view, practical training for example, as a time of assisting boys in the dormitory, study hall and at games in a boarding setting. Assisting, understood as ‘being qualitatively present’ is something that our charism demands not only from the practical trainee but from all of us. And if our charism has evolved to included settings that go beyond the almost mandatory boarding in each Salesian house of the past days then formation at the stage of practical training but include experiences besides that of keeping the order in formal boarding setups.

By way of conclusion, I would just like to say a few words on the rationale behind the ‘immersion approach’. The ‘immersion approach’ draws its inspiration from the great truth of the incarnation. Out his great love for us, Jesus the son of God, chose to become one like us. Instead of loving us from afar, he immersed himself totally in the drama of human life. This immersion expressed itself in his amazing ability to sense what exactly was happening in people’s hearts, his sensitivity to their anxieties and struggles and his immense compassion for the last and the lost. Formation that combines ‘immersion’ with ‘personalization’ would make a deep impact not only in the lives of our young Salesians but also on the quality of the life and apostolate of the province as a whole.