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 two of their teachers once again brought pain and sadness and anger to our world. As a nation we are obviously not doing enough. As the tragic loss of lives keep piling up we can no longer stand on the sidelines and wait for politicians and other leaders to do something. The divide in our government and in our society, including our church, has left our nation paralyzed.

But I encourage you to keep the faith because God has not abandoned us. We do not need to be paralyzed. The first reading today, on this Friday of the Sixth Week of Easter, is from the Acts of the Apostles Chapter 18, verses 9-18. Verse 9 says: One night while Paul was in Corinth, the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you.’ The Lord Jesus was with Paul, and he is with us. We cannot be afraid. We cannot be silent. We need to speak and act, with love and through love. It is only through love, and it starts with us, that things around us will change for the better.

Don Bosco said, “Whoever feels loved will love.” The journey to peace in our nation and in places like the Ukraine and other parts of the world is long and arduous. But we need to take them one step at a time. I invite you and challenge you to be part of this journey to peace, sharing love one person at a time.

On another note, I want to share with you some of the assignments and movements we have made in the province for the year 2022-2023. Here they are listed below.

• Fr. Jim Nieblas has been reappointed Director of Los Angeles for another three years.
• Fr. Luis Oyarzo has been appointed Associate Pastor at St. Mary’s/Santa Isabel.
• Fr. Ramon Zarate has been appointed Associate Pastor at San Luis Rey, Laredo.
• Fr. Kristian Laygo has been reappointed Director of the Candidacy and Pre-Novitiate programs.
• Fr. Tuan Nguyen has been assigned Treasurer of Don Bosco Hall, Berkeley.
• Bro. Steve Standard has been assigned Treasurer of Bellflower Community.
• Bro. Quang Nguyen has been assigned to Sts. Peter & Paul, San Francisco.
• Bro. Larry King, because of his health, is moving to the Bellflower community so that he can receive better care from the caregivers.
• Fr. Luis Flores has gone back to Chile, his home province, after four years of missionary service in our Province.

Please keep all of the Salesians mentioned above in your prayers. Keep also our Province and all our ministries in your prayers. Thank you and may God bless you all.

Sincerely in Christ and in Mary,