{"id":2888,"date":"2020-04-23T18:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-04-24T01:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/?p=2888"},"modified":"2020-04-23T15:10:03","modified_gmt":"2020-04-23T22:10:03","slug":"provincial-letter-april-23rd-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/2020\/04\/23\/provincial-letter-april-23rd-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Provincial Letter April 23rd, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear Salesian sisters and brothers,<\/p>\n

I send my greetings from the Provincial House in San Francisco, where like most of you, I am sheltered-in place.\u00a0 These weeks have been challenging for all of us as we try to navigate the Coronavirus crisis.\u00a0 Every week brings new changes and challenges .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Again, I wish to congratulate and thank all of you, especially our school, parishes and youth center administrators, employees and volunteers for the fantastic job in continuing to reach out to our young people and those entrusted to our care.\u00a0\u00a0 You continue to teach, to minister and to accompany so many people.\u00a0\u00a0 THANK YOU! <\/strong>\u00a0You are in my prayers and I ask that Mary Help of Christians continue to bless and protect you all.\u00a0\u00a0 We give thanks to God that to this date, no SDB has been tested positive with the Covid-19 virus.\u00a0\u00a0 I have not heard of any of our employees and collaborators in our province who may have tested positive to this virus.<\/p>\n

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Here at the provincial house we continue to live our regular rhythm of Salesian life.\u00a0\u00a0 We have our regular rhythm of prayer and meals.\u00a0\u00a0 Everyone continues to fulfill their normal duties and run errands as needed.\u00a0\u00a0 The big difference is that four of the confreres take turns in cooking at different times and days;\u00a0 the rest of us help where we can.\u00a0\u00a0 And, we have limited our outings and times of going out.\u00a0\u00a0 I do try to take some extended walks in the evenings, with protective gear and keeping my distance from anyone I may encounter on our nearly empty streets.<\/p>\n

We are navigating uncharted waters.\u00a0\u00a0 No one knows what this will mean for our future or how our future will look.\u00a0\u00a0 I doubt that we will simply return to a pre-Covid-19 world.\u00a0\u00a0 For us who have faith and hope, we see a bright future but one that will mean venturing into a new future.\u00a0\u00a0 As we try to combat and conquer this virus, and we look at safe ways to return to some normalcy, we also realize that the future will be different.<\/p>\n

After 9\/11 we were encouraged to return to a \u201cpre-9\/11 America.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As we know, we rebounded and we grew strong, but we also had to make many changes to our lives in order to keep safe and protect ourselves from future terrorist attacks.\u00a0 We became accustomed to long lines, security check points, metal detectors and greater intrusion into our private lives by government agencies . \u00a0\u00a0While unnerving to some, it did bring greater security and a feeling of being safe.\u00a0\u00a0 We got used to going to concerts, athletic events and large gatherings which would demand that our bags be checked and our phones and portable technology be screened and scanned.\u00a0 We made the necessary changes and life as we knew it before 9\/11 never returned.\u00a0\u00a0 It made an impact on our lives and psyche forever.\u00a0 But, we are a resilient people and adapted.<\/p>\n

After Covid-19, whenever that will be, we will also change our lives in order to survive and prevent future pandemics.\u00a0\u00a0 We will probably be more conscious of cleanliness and what we touch and where we go.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps, the handshake or hugs will disappear or return only after a long time of keeping a distance and feeling safe again.\u00a0\u00a0 Pope Francis also reflects and projects what a Covid-19 future might mean for us. \u00a0In his reflection, Pope Francis tells us that this time in isolation and quarantine can help us enter more deeply into what is important in our lives and what are our important values as human beings and Christians.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps, we will find that we don\u2019t need to hoard as much as we did before.\u00a0\u00a0 We can try to live more simply.\u00a0 We might find that spending more time with loved ones and friends is something we have learned to do better (and, personally, I do hope the handshake and hugs do come back).\u00a0\u00a0 We will learn the importance of technology for connecting, teaching, learning and entertaining ourselves in a healthy way.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Hopefully, we will learn to reverence nature and give it the respect it deserves rather than simply raping the land for our own comfort and wealth.\u00a0\u00a0 We will hopefully learn the meaning of community and how much we really do need each other.\u00a0\u00a0 We will learn to pray at home and gather the family for prayer as many of you have done.\u00a0\u00a0 We will have learned the importance of first responders and medical personnel and how they really do sacrifice themselves for the wellbeing of those who are sick and who are suffering.\u00a0\u00a0 We, hopefully, will learn to be humble and not feel we are \u201cgods and self-sufficient.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 And, we will learn that we miss the young and, hopefully, they miss us.<\/p>\n

Here in our community we have learned to cook new dishes and share the responsibility of keeping a house clean, washing our clothes and pitching in for different responsibilities.\u00a0 But, most importantly, we have learned the need we have to connect with each other.\u00a0\u00a0 This is a witness of what the world should look like, what the Kingdom of God would look like and what fraternal life should look like.\u00a0\u00a0 We are far from that ideal but the world would be a better place if we take some of these lessons to heart.\u00a0\u00a0 We need each other in the world community.\u00a0\u00a0 We may be very powerful as a country and have great capabilities, but we need other countries and they need us.\u00a0\u00a0 If we shut our borders to the outside world and simply aspire to return to the world of selfish capitalism and \u201clet\u2019s grow rich\u201d mentality without any responsibility for the care of our earth and the care of those who suffer, we have learned nothing from this virus and we are apt to experience it all over again.<\/p>\n

We are not done with the virus.\u00a0 We are still learning more and more about it and its effects.\u00a0 We are not sure what the future will look like, but we must trust and be open.\u00a0 We must continue to dialogue with one another and care for each other.\u00a0 We must be creative as we minister to the young.\u00a0 And, we must be people of faith and deep reflection, convinced that God will never abandon us!<\/p>\n

During the General Chapter, Masses were celebrated according to languages.\u00a0\u00a0 I mostly attended the Spanish speaking Masses which were attended primarily by members of our Inter-America and Cono-Sur Regions and Spain.\u00a0\u00a0 Occasionally, I would go to the English ones.\u00a0\u00a0 Fr. Pascual Chavez presided at one of the Masses in English.\u00a0\u00a0 I happened to attend that morning.\u00a0\u00a0 In his homily based on the Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 5, verse 20, the gospel writer spoke of the need of going deeper in our spirituality, deeper than that of the scribes and Pharisees.\u00a0\u00a0 It is not enough to simply \u201cnot kill\u201d as our commandments dictate. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We must look within and see the anger inside our hearts which kills with words, with thoughts, with revenge and anger.\u00a0 Fr. Pascual had this to say:<\/p>\n

“Anyone who is angry with his brother …” We note the insistence: brother! The other is someone who belongs to you, so you can\u2019t disregard him. You kill your brother in the heart with hostile thoughts, harsh feelings or even simply with indifference. The brother can be killed with insulting and contemptuous words. Today it is fashionable to speak violently, vulgarly. Based on the climate of the society in which we live, this habit can also penetrate environments that consider themselves Christian, but it is completely anti-evangelical. It is said: “Tongue kills more than the sword”; but the thought kills even more than the tongue, because not all bad thoughts come to the lips … They remain inside fostering bitterness and sometimes hate! \u201cWhich SDB for the young people today?\u201d A very gentle, kind, compassionate, merciful person, a man of communion, community, fraternity, friendship!\u201d<\/p>\n

As I listened to his homily that morning, I was deeply touched by that last sentence. \u00a0So simple and so basic and yet that is what our young people need and want.\u00a0 That is what our world desires.<\/p>\n

As we reflect on what our post Covid-19 world will look like, as we reflect from the theme of our last Chapter 28, \u201cWhat kind of Salesian for the young people today?,\u201d I am moved by the words of our Rector Major emeritus:\u00a0\u00a0 The kind of Salesian for today: \u201ca very gentle, kind, compassionate, merciful person, a man of communion, community, fraternity, friendship.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 That is not what we see from some of our government officials and leaders.\u00a0\u00a0 But, as Pascual says, behaviours of anger and insult are anti-evangelical.\u00a0\u00a0 Perhaps, the answer is too simple.\u00a0 But, it is Evangelical and it is Salesian!\u00a0 As we vision toward the future, however that might look, may it always be: gentle, kind, compassionate, merciful, people of communion, community, fraternity and friendship.\u00a0\u00a0 Let us pray for such a future!\u00a0 It is also the legacy we leave to the young of today and tomorrow!<\/p>\n

With warm regards and gratitude ,<\/p>\n

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Dear Salesian sisters and brothers, I send my greetings from the Provincial House in San Francisco, where like most of you, I am sheltered-in place.\u00a0 These weeks have been challenging for all of us as we try to navigate the Coronavirus crisis.\u00a0 Every week brings new changes and challenges .\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Again, I wish to congratulate and thank all of you, especially our school, parishes and … Continuar leyendo Provincial Letter April 23rd, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":10336596,"featured_media":2866,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20310044],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-province-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/salesianbulletin.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/img_3112-preview.jpg?fit=3024%2C4032&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p59ePG-KA","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10336596"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2891,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2888\/revisions\/2891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/salesianbulletin.org\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}