The students arrived in the Bronx on August 24. Of the seven, three are new this year - two from the Denver Province (Dominick and Andrew) and one from the Baltimore Province (Son).
After a day to unpack and begin to settle in, we were off to San Alfonso in Long Branch, NJ for our beginning-of-semester retreat from August 26-29. We were blessed to have the retreat led by our own Bishop Bruce Lewandowski. What a privilege and source of grace for us as we were invited to claim our rights and responsibilities as children of God.
As an aside during those days, we were able to share in Fr. Gene Grohe’s 97th birthday celebration. Since Cardinal Tobin also came for the evening, we shared with the “Redemptorist Caucus of the USCCB.”
Reality crept in as we returned to the Bronx with its varied sights and sounds – and classes at St. John’s University. Most classes are in person this semester. This called for a few tweaks to our weekly schedule, as we had to calculate time for travel.
We are grateful for the continued collaboration of Sr. Maco Cassetta, CND, this year. She comes twice monthly for sessions with the students. Together they treat various themes related to human development, community life, and mission.
Sunday, September 5, was the farewell Mass and get-together in Brooklyn for Fr. Joseph Hung who would be leaving for a pastoral assignment in Dominica. The students were able to share in the celebration/cultural experience.
On September 8, the formation community went to Philadelphia to participate in the memorial Mass for our deceased confrere, Fr. Jacky Merilan.
A definite high point for us was the “Come and See” weekend ofSeptember 23-26. There were eight young men who came as “inquirers” about our way of life together with their respective vocation directors – a total of 12 to share the weekend’s activities. It was a packed schedule that included Mass and meals together, aHoly Hour, visit to St. John’s, meeting with formators, cookout, and a visit to Manhattan.
Then on Saturday, our 12 visitors joined us for our monthly retreat day at San Alfonso. Fr. Ed Faliskie presented some sobering reflections about the time we are given by God and the decisions we make regarding its use. The day concluded with an ice cream cake and charades as we celebrated the birthday of one of the young inquirers. After Sunday morning Mass and breakfast, we returned to the Bronx and our visitors went their separate ways.
The quality of our liturgical celebrations has improved since we now count on the talents of our new community members as well as our “veterans” from last year. There is also a noticeable joy and sense of fraternity within the group this year. This is evident in the various moments of collaboration among the students whether studying together, helping one another prepare for tests, sharing house responsibilities, or even the variety of our Sunday evening community recreation moments.
The present finds the community in the throes of mid-term exams and looking forward to participating in the upcoming Mass of ordination for our two Vietnamese confreres in Philadelphia next month. We hope to see you there!