USA WEST PROVINCE NEWSLETTER • SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA JULY 24TH, 2019

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young religious and major superiors who will lead the discussion on the future of our witness in religious life.

I will return to Los Angeles for the profession ceremony of the first vows of Leo Imbert and Kris Tran which will take place on Thursday, August 15th, at 5:30 pm. Again, we congratulate our two brother novices who will make their first vows and be part of our professed family of SDBs.

In my homily for the FMA Jubilee Mass in San Antonio, I mentioned the story of Steve Jobs and his commencement speech made in 2005 at Stanford University. His address is quite simple and you can find it on YouTube. Steve reflects on his life and how he connected the dots of his life. But, you cannot connect the dots forward but only backwards. Steve Jobs talks about being adopted, his quitting college and the experiences that later turned out to be beneficial for his work in founding his company, Apple. He mentions building up his Apple company from his parents garage to a $2 billion dollar company with 4,000 employees. He was fired from his own company by the Board and speaks of his humiliation, his feeling lost and wondering what he would now do. But, he always followed his heart, his passion and his intuition and that saved him. He started anew. In this part of his life, looking back, Jobs reflected that if he had not been fired, he would never have started NeXT and Pixar, made Toy Story the first computer animated movie and would never have met the love of his life who later became his wife. He connected the dots backward and realized that he had been guided by some “divine source” (my words) which led him to discover new possibilities. Jobs also spoke of death and his cancer diagnosis and how facing death is the best tool for helping us strip ourselves of what is not necessary and accept the

final vows ceremony at the FMA Provincial House. The Mass for Sr. Sydney’s final vows will be on Monday, August 5th. We wish to congratulate Sr. Sydney on this very significant step in her religious life. May God continue to bless her with the grace of perseverance and fidelity. May she find happiness and fulfillment in her service to the young and to her sisters.

This year, CMSM (Conference of Major Superiors of Men) will host their annual conference in San Antonio, Texas. It turned out to be a blessing since I am able to participate in Sr. Sydney’s final vows ceremony and attend the Conference which begins that evening in San Antonio. Fr. Tim Zak, Provincial from the New Rochelle Province, will also be there. The theme this year will be “DISCERNING OUR COLLECTIVE WITNESS.” There will be a panel of

Dear Salesian sisters and brothers,

I am presently in Laredo, Texas for two days visiting my family and the Parish of San Luis Rey. I came to San Antonio, Texas last Friday, after our Board Meeting at Don Bosco Tech. The FMA Sisters had invited me to preside at their Jubilee celebration which took place on Saturday. I am grateful for the invitation and for the service of the Sisters celebrating their Jubilees. Tomorrow I return to Los Angeles.

This Sunday, we begin our second annual retreat at San Juan Bautista. Fr. David O’Malley will be preaching our retreat. We wish to welcome him to our province. Please keep in prayer our brothers in retreat. I will be also be there.

Next Saturday, August 3, I will fly back out to San Antonio for Sr. Sydney Moss,

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We pray for the sick and suffering in our province, that they will be restored to full health

Bless those who have grown old in your service and give them courage and strength in their faith

Be with us as we discern our life's work and guide us in the way we are called to follow in the footsteps of your Son.

We ask you this, that in everyone and in everything glory, adoration and love may be given to the Most High Lord of all things, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

important and meaningful values of our lives. Kiekegaard, a Dutch Philosopher once wrote: “we live our lives forward but understand backwards.” Just like Steve Jobs, we also look back at our lives and the many twists and turns our lives have taken and we see how God was always instrumental in guiding and leading us. There were times when we were not sure where we were going or how what we faced made any sense. God led others to guide us and be a sign of strength and encouragement.

I think of Don Bosco, when in the later years of his life, celebrating Mass, he stopped 15 times, moved with emotion, because he was connecting the dots. He saw his dream of nine and his encounter with Bartholomew Garelli at the Church of St. Francis on December 8, 1841, his encounters with men like Don Calosso, Don Guala, Don Cafasso, the influence of his Mother, Mama Margarita and many others. He learned to love and to come to the realization that God loved him unconditionally. He learned how to bring that love and sense of God’s gracious presence to the young, to be a

sign and bearer of God’s love to the young, especially, those who were poor and disadvantaged. In the end, Don Bosco saw that it was God and Mary who did it all. He finally saw what they had done through all the twists and turns of his life and the people God put in his path. And, he was filled with gratitude as he connected the dots. “She has done everything,” were his final words.

These days, as we attend a retreat, take some days of rest or prepare for the feast of the Assumption, let us take time to connect the dots and be grateful for all God has done. Like Don Bosco, may we also say, “She has done everything.”

With warm regards and gratitude,

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The 2019 Provincial Chapter took place June 16-21 in the little town of Three Rivers, CA near the entrance to Sequoia National Park. Twenty-four delegates and invited guests answered the general question of General Chapter 28, “What Kind of Salesians [are needed] for the Youth of Today?” At the conclusion of the Provincial Chapter a delegate and substitute were chosen to attend General Chapter 28 in 2020 that will be held in Turin for the first time in 60 years!

This general question, “What Kind...?” was divided into three topics: 1) Priority of the Salesian Mission among today’s youth; 2) Profile of the Salesian among today’s youth; and 3) Evaluation of the Salesians’ relationship with the laity. From September to May, the ten Salesian communities studied earnestly these three topics using questions gleaned from the Convocation letter of the Rector Major, Fr. Angel Fernandez Artime. The Rector Major insisted that the topics be studied with an age-old methodology of SEE, JUDGE, and

team or system approach to ministry

The committee concluded: “We are called to network with existing neighborhood civil and ecclesial organizations, which are ministering to the young, especially the poorer, at risk and marginalized in today’s society. In light of present realities in the province, there is need for a deeper involvement with youth culture today by initiating a process of restructuring and re-signifying the works. We need to form fraternal communities living a life centered on social justice and genuine care of the members for one another. Finally, we must renew our vocation ministry, increase our ministry to immigrants, enhance the development efforts of the province, and raise the consciousness of Pope Francis’ encyclical, Laudato Si.” This conclusion called for all to follow our two province documents, the Organic Plan and Pastoral Plan that deal with a planning mentality, help and assistance to the poor, create a youth-centered culture, and adhere to a plans already in existence.

Topic Two dealt with the profile of the Salesian modeled after Don Bosco and based on a formation that

By Fr. John Itzaina, SDBProvincial Chapter Moderator

Provincial Chapter2019 Results

ACT, couched in contemporary terms as Listening, Interpreting, and Choosing

Three topic committees that had been formed gathered the data sent in from the communities, divided it into manageable portions according to listening, interpreting, and choosing, analyzed the data, and made strategic choices for our province.

Topic One looked primarily at the needs of young people in the light of the present general cultural and Church situation. They found that young people seek accompaniment and support from Salesians to be true protagonists in the world in which they live. This world in which they live is profoundly affected by the digital revolution, climate change, increasing violence, and exploding migration around the world. Many young people have committed themselves to these pressing world issues and have created remarkable hope-filled projects and given imaginative answers to these pressing needs. They ask the Salesians to support their efforts, mentor them in the Salesian way by planning, reflection, and evaluation and by a

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takes into account consecrated life as sent to the young, in community, following Christ. Despite the problems of ageing and the dwindling number of Salesians and resistance to change, and dealing with a society that is more interested in career choices than vocation commitment, there is a deep commitment to be Salesians modeled after Don Bosco as men of holy and wholesome relationships, capable of interpreting life through the eyes of faith, adept at critical thinking and discernment skills, sustained by constant union with God, contemplative yet able to welcome young people where they are, sensing their struggles and dreams, and joyfully accompanying them to be “good Christians and honest citizens.”

Still, this is not enough. There must be a change in mentality to a shared mission and charism, to on-going formation, to trying new approaches to go beyond the status quo or mere maintenance of our works. Formation of the province and the individual Salesian in the province is necessary. It begins with the cultivation of the love of learning in initial formation and continues throughout a Salesian’s life. His ongoing formation must make reference to provincial and general

chapter deliberations. All the elements of formation must include the integrated dimensions of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and the pastoral.

This process and change in mentality must be backed up by the creation of effective formation teams by identifying Salesians for training and through life witness and the support of the whole community of formation. Our formation houses must be adequately staffed and show how Salesian priests and Salesian coadjutors, can live and work together.

Topic Three might seem as an add-on to mission priorities and the Salesian formed for Mission, but the partnership of the Salesians with the laity is essential for the vitality of the Salesian Mission. The laity since Vatican II have taken their rightful place in the mission of the Church, and so too in the Salesian Mission.

There are some obstacles to partnering with the laity: reluctance of some Salesians to work effectively with the laity, especially when a lay person is in charge; deep-seated clericalism, the prevailing structure of parish ministry, and the abuse scandal that does not want to go away.

Listening and interpreting the signs of our times, our specific choices to move forward are the following: delegates and coordinators in our province must meet regularly with province leadership; laity who share in the Salesian mission must be formed in the Salesian mission and spirit together with Salesians; this also means a province-wide sharing of resources, personnel, and even calendars. Following upon the acceptance of the revised Salesian School Standards and Benchmarks, the chapter called for a revision of the 1995 standards for parish and youth centers.

When all the topics were successfully voted upon, the last task of the 2019 Provincial Chapter was to elect a delegate and his substitute to General Chapter 28. Br. Al Vu was elected as delegate, as he was in 2014, and Fr. Joseph Nguyen, novice master, was elected his substitute.

Changes inYouth Ministry DepartmentBy Gina RoblesYouth Ministry Associate

changes, we have brought on our new Office Support Assistant, Marisol Becerra. You read a little about her in last week’s Intouch. In the next few weeks I hope to introduce Marisol to the many members of the Salesian Family in the province so she can get acquainted with you.

I look forward in working alongside each of you in this new role. Please continue to pray that the Spirit may inspire us this year and may our Blessed Mother, Mary Help of Christians, guide us!

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This new upcoming pastoral year will be filled with many exciting changes in the Province Youth Ministry Department and Office.

We are excited to have Bro. Al Vu return as Province Youth Ministry Delegate while still taking on his role as Province Coordinator of Schools. We want to thank Fr. Mel Trinidad for his leadership this past year as the Province Delegate.

Over the past 21 years I have been working for the province in various capacities. In 1998 I was hired to be the secretary for the Province Vocation Office under Fr. Ted Montemayor, who was serving as the Province Vocation Director. Eventually I assumed responsibilities under the Province Youth Ministry Office. Throughout these years, I have grown in my various roles and deepened my love of the Salesian mission. All of this helped me discern and ultimately commit my life as a Salesian Cooperator this past Spring.

I am grateful to the many SDBs and Salesian lay people who have accompanied me in these years. I am incredibly grateful to Fr. Ted and the

Provincial Council for having the confidence in me and giving me the responsibility of Province Youth Ministry Associate. Under this role, I will be assisting the Province Delegate for Youth Ministry in animating and coordinating the many youth ministry initiatives in the province. I am excited to help move our province’s vision of youth ministry forward and work collaboratively with the many leaders and administrators in our local communities.

In order to help run our office smoothly with all of these new transitions and

Gina Robles (center) and her two daughters, Amanda (left) and Justine (right)

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Congratulations to our Sister Jubilarians who celebrated their anniversaries Tuesday in San Antonio! Sr. Rita Bailey, Sr. Rita Fantin, and Sr. Mary Tamayo

celebrated 70 years of profession, Sr. Lena Pinto 50 years, Sr. Theresa Jones and Sr. Lucy Yuen 40 years, and Sr. Tuyet Nguyen 25 years.

Thank you for your many years of service to the Church and to the young!

If sugar is so bad for uswhy is the sugar in fuirt okay?By Sheila Kun RN, BA, BSN, MS, FCCPSalesian Cooperator

The topic of eating less sugar is not new. We have been told to pay attention to the sugar content of our intake to make sure we consume the appropriate amount of sugar. Louis, my husband, teaches the grandsons to read the label; any food that contains more than 4 grams of sugar they should consider how much to eat. This is a healthy practice to ensure the right choice of food intake. What always puzzles me is: “If sugar is so bad for us, why is the sugar in fruit okay?”

I finally found my answer from reading the article from “The Conversation” authored by Ms. Kacie Dickinson, an accredited practicing dietitian; lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, Finders University and Ms. Jodi Bernstein, PhD Candidate in Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto. Their article, entitled as above, gives us some insight in the sugar in fruit. Let me abstract their conversation for you this week and next week.

We hear regularly from health organisations and experts that we should eat less sugar. But

we’re also told we should eat more fruit.

All types of sugar will give us the same amount of calories, whether they are from fruit or soft drink. But the health risks of eating sugar are related to consuming too many “free sugars” in the diet, not from eating sugars that are naturally present in fruits or milk.

Types of sugar in food

Sugar in food and drinks comes in various forms. Sugar molecules are classified as monosaccharides (single sugar molecules such as glucose and fructose) and disaccharides (more complex structures such as sucrose and lactose).

Fruit contains natural sugars, which are a mix of sucrose, fructose and glucose. Many people have heard that sugar is bad, and think that this must also therefore apply to fruits.Fructose is only harmful in excess amounts, and not when it comes from fruit. It would be incredibly difficult to consume excessive amounts of fructose by eating whole fruits.

It’s much easier to consume excess sugar from foods and drinks that contain “free sugars”.

Free sugars include these same sugars (fructose, glucose, sucrose), but in this case they have been removed from their naturally occurring source (rather than being eaten as natural parts of fruits, dairy products, and some vegetables and grains). This includes sugar that is added to food and drinks by food companies, cooks or c o n s u m e r s .

Health risks come from free sugars, not fruits

Evidence shows that the health risks from sugars, such as tooth decay and unhealthy weight gain, are related to consuming too many free sugars in the diet, not from eating sugars that are naturally present in fruits or milk.

For this reason it is recommended that no more than 10% of your daily calories come from free sugars. For the average adult, this is about 50g or only slightly more than the

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amount of sugar in a can of regular soft drink or soda. It’s estimated that Australians get around 60% (65g) of their sugar intake from free sugars.

Foods that are sources of free sugars, such as juices, soft drinks, biscuits and lollies, are often high in calories and have little other nutritional value. It is often easy to consume more of them compared with fresh fruit and they also may be replacing other nutritious foods in the diet.

Consider a bottle of fruit juice – you would have to eat six whole oranges to get the same amount of sugar you consume

in the juice. And because the fruit is in juice form, it counts towards your daily limit of free sugars.

Calories from drinks that contain sugar often become an addition to the calories you are eating from food, which may lead to weight gain over time.

Eating large amounts of dried fruit is also not a good idea if you are limiting your sugar intake. Through the process of removing water from the fruit, nutrients are concentrated, such that dried apricots, for example, contain about six times as much sugar (40g per 100g) as fresh apricots (6g per 100g).

The take home lessons I have from the above reading is this: 1) There is a huge difference in the sugar content between fruit and free sugar added to our soft drinks or food. 2) Beware of dried fruit as it might contain much higher concentration of sugar than when they are fresh.On a personal note, if you are like Louis, he pays attention to whether the fruit is too ripe. The sugar content in a green banana is less than a ripe one.

Your homework assignment from the Care Ministry this week:

Identify the possible sources of free sugar in your food/drink.

The Care Ministry welcomes your comments/suggestions: kunlouis@gmail.com

chapter deliberations. All the elements of formation must include the integrated dimensions of the human, spiritual, intellectual, and the pastoral.

This process and change in mentality must be backed up by the creation of effective formation teams by identifying Salesians for training and through life witness and the support of the whole community of formation. Our formation houses must be adequately staffed and show how Salesian priests and Salesian coadjutors, can live and work together.

Topic Three might seem as an add-on to mission priorities and the Salesian formed for Mission, but the partnership of the Salesians with the laity is essential for the vitality of the Salesian Mission. The laity since Vatican II have taken their rightful place in the mission of the Church, and so too in the Salesian Mission.

There are some obstacles to partnering with the laity: reluctance of some Salesians to work effectively with the laity, especially when a lay person is in charge; deep-seated clericalism, the prevailing structure of parish ministry, and the abuse scandal that does not want to go away.

With praise and thanksgiving to Almighty GodTHE ARCHDIOCESE OF LOS ANGELESjoyfully announces and cordially invites you to

THE DIACONATE ORDINATIONS OF

MR. FILIBERTO CORTEZMR. DANIEL GARCÍA CASTROMR. MICHAEL SAMUEL MESA

MR. JONATHAN DAVID NESTICOMR. JUSTIN JOONSUK OH

MR. THOMAS PARKMR. LOUIE GIRARD ISON REYES

through the imposition of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit

by His Excellency,THE MOST REVEREND MARC V. TRUDEAU, D.D, V.G.,

Auxiliary Bishop of Los AngelesSan Pedro Pastoral Region

+

on Saturday, August 10, 2019 The celebration will begin at 9:00 AM at

CATHEDRAL OF OUR LADY OF THE ANGELS555 West Temple StreetLos Angeles, CA 90012

Tickets are not required

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

First Religious Profession

invite you to share in the

and to witness the

of

on Thursday, the f i f teenth day of August In the year of our Lord two thousand nineteen

at five o’clock in the evening

Saint Dominic Savio Church 13400 Bellflower Blvd., Bellflower, Cali fornia

T T

The Salesians of Don Bosco of the Province of Saint Andrew

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