

Divine Secrets (Part III)
By: Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS The Divine Secret 2: allow for a season of the blues. Embracing grief without losing hope leads to the second “divine secret,” letting our seniors’ grief be expressed and run its course. The wisdom of Julie-Allyson Ieron’s book on “The Overwhelmed Woman’s Guide… Caring for Aging Parents” gives us another wonderful suggestion in her Divine Secret. Divine Secret … Continue reading Divine Secrets (Part III)

Provincial Letter: June 17th, 2022
Dear Salesian Family and Salesian Young People: A lot of things happening but it is so good to be home for a few days in cool and breezy San Francisco. Last weekend I was in Los Angeles and the weather was unbearably hot. Driving up from Southern California I stopped at Camp St. Francis in Aptos on Tuesday, June 14, to preside at the Final … Continue reading Provincial Letter: June 17th, 2022

Divine Secrets (Part II)
By: Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS Can you recall the Divine Secret in coping with grief from Julie-Allyson Ieron’s book on “The Overwhelmed Woman’s Guide… Caring for Aging Parents”? The Divine Secret 1 is to embrace grief and that Christians can experience the range of emotions – with the exception of hopelessness. This week, let us look at the second secret: The Divine Secret … Continue reading Divine Secrets (Part II)

Provincial Letter: June 3rd, 2022
Dear Salesian Family and Salesian Young People: On June 1st, on a beautiful clear evening, I found myself on the 61st floor of the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. A former student who works for the Bar Association of San Francisco invited me to an event at the Ohana Floor overlooking the City by the Bay. What an amazing structure, the tallest in the city … Continue reading Provincial Letter: June 3rd, 2022

Provincial Letter: May 27th, 2022
Dear Salesian Family and Salesian Young People: “Do all through love, nothing through constraint.” These words from St. Francis de Sales make up our strenna for the year 2022. We have been reflecting on these words for many months now. But another tragic mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24 jarred our minds and our hearts; the killing of 19 elementary school children and … Continue reading Provincial Letter: May 27th, 2022

Homeless Outreach on Skid Row: A different way of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus
By: Luis ChaconProvince Coordinator for Volunteers On Sunday, April 17, some of the Salesian presences in the Los Angeles Area decided to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus in a different way: bringing not only food and clothing to our homeless brothers and sisters on Skid Row, but also moments of prayer and letters (with blessings and motivational messages) written by the young people of the … Continue reading Homeless Outreach on Skid Row: A different way of celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus

Congratulations Fr. Vien Nguyen, SDB!
Our Vocation Director, Fr. Vien Nguyen, SDB received his Masters degree in Theology from the Dominican School of Philosophy & Theology this past Saturday. Fr. Vien’s thesis was on Saint John Bosco through the Eyes of John Paul II within the Context of the Iuvenum Patris. First and foremost, I am grateful to the province for supporting me in my studies. The community of Don Bosco Hall … Continue reading Congratulations Fr. Vien Nguyen, SDB!

Divine Secrets (Part 1)
By: Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS Julie-Allyson Ieron’s book on “The Overwhelmed Woman’s Guide… Caring for Aging Parents” gave me many good tips on how to care for seniors and how to take care of caregivers. Many of the chapters are what I considered my survival guide. The following is her chapter on how to show seniors adjust to change. She called it the … Continue reading Divine Secrets (Part 1)

Provincial Letter: May 20th, 2022
Dear Salesian Family and Salesian Young People: Greetings from the Provincial Office, where I have been self-quarantined for over a week now. I had COVID symptoms and tested positive on Friday, May 13. Feeling better after at least five days of self-quarantine I again got tested on Wednesday, May 18. Lo and behold, I am still positive. For those who heard and have reached out, … Continue reading Provincial Letter: May 20th, 2022

Helping Seniors Cope with Losing Friends and Family
By: Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS My father migrated from Macau and joined me in Los Angeles when he was 70 years old. He was very active in his volunteer work in Chinatown at the Senior center. He promoted exchange of cultural events by sponsoring Cantonese Opera to perform here. He also taught the younger folks in the community how to organize the cultural … Continue reading Helping Seniors Cope with Losing Friends and Family

Salesian Family Youth Center at the Kindness Carnival
On April 30th (Kindness Day), West San Gabriel Valley Boys & Girls Clubs and East Side Clubs, led by JR Dzubak, invited the Salesian Family Youth Center to their first annual Kindness Carnival. The event took place from 11:00AM to 5:00PM near Boyle Heights City Hall. This Kindness Carnival came about as a response to many children and young people feeling alone and lost due … Continue reading Salesian Family Youth Center at the Kindness Carnival

Provincial Letter: May 6th, 2022
Dear Salesian Family and Salesian Young People: Today I affectionately greet you a “Happy Feast Day of St. Dominic Savio!” The month of May is special to us as Salesian Family because of the many liturgical celebrations of Salesian saints and of the Feast of Mary Help of Christians on the 24th of May. May 6, today, is the Feast of St. Dominic Savio, a … Continue reading Provincial Letter: May 6th, 2022

Summer Assignments 2022
Dear All, I greet you with fraternal affection in this month of May, the month of our mother, Mary Help Of Christians,hoping that all your communities, families and pastoral activities bear excellent fruit. I am writing to all of you at this time to communicate and share with you the assignments for this summer 2022.This process was carried out, considering the evaluation made last year … Continue reading Summer Assignments 2022

Reflecting on Mother’s Day
By: Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS With Mother’s Day approaching this Sunday, I thought it would be appropriate to gather some random thoughts on this international event. As everyone knows, this is the day to honor your mom and her contribution in your family and perhaps in the society. After being a mom for 51 years, I have come to the conclusion that I … Continue reading Reflecting on Mother’s Day

Annual Salesian Easter Retreat 2022
Three Rivers, California – The annual Salesian Easter Retreat took place from April 18th – 22nd at St. Anthony’s Retreat Center in Three Rivers, California. The retreat was led by Dr. Wendy Wright, professor of Theology at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Thank you for all your prayers during this time of reflection and meditation for our Salesian brothers and priests! Photo(s) credit: Fr. Tho Bui, SDB Continue reading Annual Salesian Easter Retreat 2022

Updates from the Salesian Family Youth Center!
Channel 62 visited our youth center and created this video shown on local TV. They compared our Clubhouse with an oasis! The news is only two minutes long and expresses who we are and what we do for the children of our community. I hope you enjoy this small video. Taking young people to visit the Universities in Northern California. The Salesian Family Youth Center … Continue reading Updates from the Salesian Family Youth Center!

Caring for seniors Part III
By: Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS Abstracted by Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS From The Overwhelmed Woman’s Guide to … Caring for Aging Parents By Julie-Allyson Ieron Helping the seniors feel trustworthy and valuable are not the only tools we can deplore to work with grumpy old men and women. What if no positive talk or loving action can help? That’s when another … Continue reading Caring for seniors Part III

Easter at Saint Mary’s Parish and the Salesian Family Youth Center
By: Luis ChaconProvince Coordinator for Volunteers Saint Mary’s Parish and the Salesian Family Youth Center are a combined Youth Ministry operating under the leadership of CYM Miriam Hernandez. For the second year during Holy Week St. Mary’s hosted Pascua Juvenil ( Youth Lenten Retreat). The theme was “I Choose to be Holy” and was led by a young adult ministry Heaven Bound and other lay … Continue reading Easter at Saint Mary’s Parish and the Salesian Family Youth Center