Sunday, February 2nd.

Sunday was the public Centennial Mass for the Parish of Saints Peter and Paul. Fr. Vecchi was the main celebrant and homilist. With him was Archbishop Adam Exner and Frs. Schafer and Ploch, Provincials of the San Francisco and New Rochelle Provinces respectively.

The liturgical feast was that of the Presentation of the Lord in the temple. This Mass had special importance in that it was televised live to Europe and South America. Mother Angelica's station Eternal Word Television Network [EWTN] also carried it for the American audience. It will shown several times, so if you get EWTN, look for it. The whole ceremony was narrated in English, Italian and Spanish.

Feb. 2nd: Fr. Vecchi, Rector Major during his homily.

Again the liturgy was moving and uplifting with its pomp, setting and music: a feast for eye, ear and spirit.

Fr. Vecchi's homily honored the past efforts of the Salesian pioneers and their collaborators and the reasons to look forward to and be hopeful for the future: the second century and the third millennium.

Fr. Vecchi presented Don Bosco as one who "offered himself to the Lord for the young when he said: 'I have promised God that I would give of myself to my last breath for my poor boys.'" St. John Bosco's program was "to rescue [poor boys] from delinquency and wretchedness and prepare them for life; but especially to reveal to them the fullness of the life to which God was calling them. Nothing in the life of Don Bosco can be explained without this first and fundamental reference.

"Sanctity or holiness may not be words that we are accustomed to use very often. Certainly they are not found with any frequency in the mass media. But when a holy person appears, the world sits up and takes notice... Don Bosco's holiness had a particular characteristic: he showed it, and others felt it, through a humanity which was welcoming, affable and productive of friendship. To be with him was a pleasant experience....the Salesians have expressed this in a wonderful way in their Constitutions: 'He was deeply human, rich in the qualities of his people, open to the realities of this earth, and he was just as deeply the man of God, filled with the gifts of the Holy spirit and living as though seeing him who is invisible.'

"Humanity and holiness made easy for him the road to the young; they willingly opened their hearts to him and gave him their willing collaboration; he became an accepted part of a society which always considered him as a friend, a committed citizen, an open-minded priest. Never one without the other. Never holiness without its human countenance. Never a smiling face unless it was founded on a solid spirituality. He was a messenger of the Gospel speaking with the appropriate language, the right means and images well suited to people of today and of all time."

The Salesian Centennial continues for sixteen months until May, 1998. During that time each Salesian work will have its own particular celebration. There will be the Centennial of the founding of Corpus Christi Parish in San Francisco next year; there will be a major youth rally at St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, California on April 13, 1997; and then there will be the concluding ceremonies in New York City in May, 1998. During this time, as we look to the accomplishments of the past 100 years, we must urge ourselves to do more and better in the coming years. It will be especially important for the laity to be involved with the Salesians as part of the ever-expanding "Salesian Family" to which any and all may belong. Let us pray for the well-being of youth around the world and particularly in our own country. Let us pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life of dedicated men and women donating themselves for youth. Let us pray and work for the greater participation and involvement of men and women of all walks of life and of any age to be guides and mentors for the young.