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November 24, 2014
Marian Shrine E-Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 17
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Christian spirituality has been defined in many ways. In simple terms, it refers to the way a person lives as a son or daughter of God; his/her way of being a Christian in obedience to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. It begins when a person has a personal experience of God, undergoes an internal transformation and begins to allow the Lord to guide his or her life. From then on, such a person begins to 'put on the mind (and heart) that was in Christ Jesus' (Phil. 2:5). His way of viewing, relating and responding to God, self, others and the world steadily begins to be in conformity with his faith in Christ.
All the saints of the Church sought to enter into a conscious relationship with God as Creator and as loving Father, and allowed that experience to shape their lives and actions. In doing so, they were struck by a particular trait of God which stamped their mission in this world and which was shared with those who followed them. Hence, we speak of an Ignatian, a Franciscan, a Salesian spirituality.
The core of salesian spirituality, we know, is 'Pastoral Charity', i.e. the love of the Good Shepherd. It developed from Don Bosco's personal experiences of God. From a very young age, he was drawn to the person of Christ the Good Shepherd, and especially to his 'Heart'. In his dream, at the age of nine, he was told of his mission by Christ the Good Shepherd ('to turn wolves into lambs; to teach the young the ugliness of sin and the beauty of virtue') and the means he was to employ in fulfilling it ('not with blows, but with kindness'). Towards the end of his life, he spent a lot of time and energy on building the Basilica to the Sacred Heart in Rome. In his letter from Rome of 10 May 1884, he insisted that Salesians should make Christ, 'master of the familiar approach...your model.'
In imitation of Christ, Don Bosco's love expressed itself in his untiring work for the material and spiritual welfare of the young. For him, love of God and love of neighbor seemed to form one unit. His love for God, modeled on that of Christ, helped him to love his boys. In turn, his love for his boys spurred him on to love God. For this reason, we call ours an 'Apostolic Spirituality', i.e. we serve God in the young, we work untiringly to contribute to their salvation, with the characteristic 'loving kindness' (a love that never stops at words but moves immediately into action on behalf of their needs) and in the process, we attain our own sanctification. We have certainly heard it said that Don Bosco was not a saint who cared for youth, but a man who became a saint while caring for youth. This is the spirituality of apostolic religious!
We would do well to recall what we find in the first article of the Constitutions of 1858, written by Don Bosco, "The object and aim of this Society is to gather its members together...for the purpose of perfecting themselves by imitating the virtues of our Divine Savior, especially in works of charity for those who are young and poor."
Don Bosco summed up our spirituality in his motto, "Da Mihi Animas, Cetera Tolle" which has two distinct parts, namely 'Give me souls' (love for the young that manifests itself in a burning desire and untiring work to save their bodies and souls) and 'Take away the rest' (the ascetic aspect which expresses the preparedness of the apostle to sacrifice everything for their salvation).
This being the case, there should be no disharmony between our Service of God (Consecration) and our Service of Youth (Mission), between our being Religious and being Apostles, between our time for prayer and our time for work. We call this the 'Grace of Unity' which every salesian must attain to be true to our Founder.
Don Bosco counts on us! And so does the Lord who willed that our society should come into being to contribute to the salvation of youth! By carrying out this mission, we find our way to holiness! (C 2)
United with you in our common search for and efforts to grow in the spiritual life!
I remain,
Fr. Jim McKenna SDB
Director
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Walking with the Church
Why, in the Litany of Loreto, is Our Lady called 'Ark of the Covenant?' Thank you for your question. The Old Testament of the Bible tells us that Moses and the Israelite's built the Ark of the Covenant to house the tablets of the Decalogue, i.e. the tablets on which were written the ten commandments (Ex 25: 8-16). The Lord instructed His People to also place manna that He had given them in the desert on the Ark (Ex 16:32-35). Centuries later, when King Solomon built the Temple of Jerusalem, the Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Temple. The Ark of the Covenant signified the Presence of God. The Fathers of the Church, who were steeped in the Bible, after prayerfully reflecting on the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in salvation history, acclaimed her as the Ark of the Covenant. They saw the Ark of the Covenant in the Old Testament as a type of the Blessed Mother. The first Ark contained the Law of the Old Covenant and signified the presence of God for the Jewish People while Our Lady conceived, carried in her womb for nine months, and gave birth to her Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. God was present in her, just as God, for the Jews, was present in the Ark of the Covenant.
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 Squeeze the most out of your day
By Vicky Hitzges
About one hundred years ago, a man named Ivy Lee went to the president of Bethlehem Steel, Charles Schwab, and made a deal with him. Lee told Schwab he could increase Schwab's productivity as well as the workload of all his managers. What's more, Lee told Schwab he could help Schwab's executives produce a significant amount more if he could just spend fifteen minutes with each of them. To make the offer especially enticing, Lee told Schwab he wouldn't charge anything at all unless his advice worked. "Then, after three months," Lee told Schwab, "if my advice proves profitable, send me a check for whatever you think it's worth."
They struck a deal.
Here's how productive he was-Lee actually spent only ten minutes with each executive. Here's what he told them: "I want you to promise that for the next ninety days, before leaving your office at the end of each day, you'll make a list of the six most important things you have to do the next day and number them in their order of importance."
The executives were shocked that that was all they were asked to do.
"That's it," Lee said. "Scratch off each item after you finish it. Then go on to the next item on your list. If something doesn't get done, put it on the following day's list."
Each Bethlehem executive agreed to follow Lee's instructions. Three months later, Schwab studied the results. He was so pleased, he sent Lee a check for $35,000! (That may or may not seem like a lot of money to you, but this was one hundred years ago. At the time, the average United States worker made $2.00 a day or $4,000 a year. Thirty-five thousand dollars was a LOT of money! Even today, imagine if you spent a few minutes with a group of executives and gave each one the same, simple tip and got $35,000 for it. You'd be thrilled!)
Many people follow Lee's advice today. The founder of the $2.2 billion direct sales cosmetics company Mary Kay praised Lee's idea when she wrote the book You Can Have It All: Lifetime Wisdom from America's Foremost Woman Entrepreneur. Mary Kay Ash boasted that she herself followed Lee's advice. After all, she reasoned, Schwab was one of the smartest business professionals of his day. If he felt that bit of advice was worth paying $35,000, she ought to try it, too. So, each night she made a list of things to do the following day. But, she added a twist to it. She didn't just number the tasks in order of importance. She always put the hardest or most unappealing task at the top. "This way," she wrote, "I tackle the most difficult item first, and once it's out of the way, I feel my day is off to a good start."
Follow Lee's advice! Before you go to sleep tonight, figure out what you need to do tomorrow. Write down the six most important things you need to accomplish. Not only will you start tomorrow ready to go, but subconsciously, you'll also be working on those six projects while you sleep. Then, follow Mary Kay's advice and knock those tasks out from hardest to easiest.
Don't let your time get snuffed out by what appears to be an innocent killer! Stand guard. When you guard your time, you guard your life. For time is the stuff that life is made of.
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 Laughter the best medicine
Rustic Dining
As a trail guide in a national park, Danny ate with the rest of the seasonal staff in a rustic dining hall, where the food left something to be desired. When they were finished with their meals, they scraped the remains into a garbage pail and stacked the plates for the dishwasher.
One worker, apparently not too happy after his first week on the job, was ahead of Danny in line. As he slopped an uneaten plate of food into the garbage, Danny heard him mutter, "Now stay here this time."
Store Safety
While attending college, I worked evenings at a retail store. On slow nights my co-worker Susan would often sing along with the radio while we did paperwork or restocked merchandise.
One evening as the manager was leaving I expressed my concern to him about our safety, being two women working alone at night.
"Oh, you'll be fine," he said, waving of his hand. "If you see anybody who looks suspicious, just warn him that Susan knows karaoke."
Finally
As a professor at the Air Force Institute of Technology, I taught a series of popular courses on software engineering. The program was highly competitive and difficult to get into, but one student made our decision whether to accept him quite simple.
When asked to fax over his college transcript, the student told me, "Well, I would, but it's the only copy I have."
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 Devotion of the THREE HAIL MARY'S
The devotion of the THREE HAIL MARYS is a very simple yet most efficacious devotion.
Everyday, recite Three Hail Marys, adding the invocation: "O Mary, My Mother, keep me from mortal sin." Many people recite the Three Hail Marys as part of their morning and night prayers. To practice this devotion in time of danger, stress, special need or temptation, is a sure means to obtain Our Lady's help.
My belated and most sincere thanks to our dearest Jesus and Mother Mary for helping my son to achieve success in his studies, for curing my husband of his fractured arm and for the innumerable other favors and graces received. Do continue to keep us in your care. Barretto, SC On September 13th we were out shopping by car. Suddenly a car came from the opposite direction and collided with us flipping our vehicle. By God's grace we were both safe. We are most grateful for the protection of Almighty God and his Blessed Mother. Tony and Flaviana, ME We are most grateful to Our Lady for guiding us through the time of waiting and for the gift of twins Yohan and Simone. Elvis and Chhaya Traynor, NY | |
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In Closing
Dear devotees of Our Lady and Don Bosco, If you have received a miracle through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother, we would like to hear from you. Email us at MaryShrine@aol.com. Bookstore hours: Monday - Saturday - 10 am to 5 pm, Sundays: 12 - 4 pm Weekday Masses: 12 noon. Confessions on weekdays begin at 11.30 am. Sunday Masses: 11 am and 12.30 pm Other activities: Weekend retreats, Don Bosco Summer Camp, Rent Lomagno Hall, Eucharistic Adoration, Friday night Lenten Dinners, 50/50 raffle, 350 club, Rosary Madonna Statue. MEMORIES Remember a Loved One: Engrave plaques on Wall of Memories, adopt a Tree, Engrave blocks on Walk of Honor, All Souls, All year Candle lighting, Holiday (Christmas and Easter), Flowers, Schedule a Mass, Bell Chimes. MASS INTENTIONS To offer a mass intention, please write to Fr. Jim McKenna SDB 174 Filors Lane, Stony Point, NY 10980 mckennasdb@yahoo.com.
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