Six Young Salesians Renew Their Profession

By Fr. Mike Mendl, SDB

(Stony Point, N.Y. – August 19) – On August 14-15, six Salesians renewed their temporary religious profession at three locations.

Concluding their annual retreat at the Don Bosco Retreat Center in Haverstraw, N.Y., Bros. Carlos Cerda, Lorenzo D’Alessandro, and Jieo Tecson renewed their vow of chastity, poverty, and obedience in the Salesian Society for one year during Morning Prayer in the presence of Fr. Dominic Tran, provincial, and about 25 of their confreres and the Salesian Lay Missioners.

A day earlier, Bros. Pascal Mukuye and John Taylor renewed vows for another year at Archbishop Shaw High School in Marrero, La., in the presence of Fr. Stephen Ryan, director of the Salesian community there, and of their confreres and Shaw’s students and staff.

A little later on August 15, Bro. Nicholas Jandernoa renewed his vow for a year in Ecuador, where he’s taking an intensive course in Spanish.

In his homily, Fr. Dominic linked our joy at the Assumption of the Virgin Mary with the joy we experience in our brothers’ response to God’s initiative in calling them to follow Christ. He connected that response to what the confreres had heard on their retreat: after Jesus’ disciples had fished all night and caught nothing, the Lord took the initiative of preparing breakfast for them on the lakeshore and inviting them to partake and to bring some of the fish he’d just provided for them to catch. We bring the Lord our little bit in response to his great initiative in providing what we need, and we rejoice in what he does.