On March 13, 2020, I remember sitting in my family room and watching the news. I was starting to make a list of things I was going to have to do over the next few months for life, both here and at home. That list contained 10 things, in no particular order: Formal, Senior Week, Orientation, my parish executive board,
In response to the amazing grace of God that creates us and provides with the countless gifts of family, faith, community, talents, work, and love, we return thanks. Back in mid-March, we were all sent home with an uncertain future at DeSales. For myself, a place that has become a second home for me and my family over the last
A chief devotion of St. Francis de Sales was his affection for and trust in the Providence of God. This high regard can be seen in his maxim: Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you
Released over the weekend, Pope Francis’ latest encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, addressing human fraternity and social friendship, is rich in Salesian themes. This section, titled “Shameless Aggression,” echoes DeSales University’s core value of gentleness (nos. 44-46). Even as individuals maintain their comfortable consumerist isolation, they can choose a form of constant and febrile bonding that encourages remarkable hostility, insults, abuse, defamation
Our belief is that the universe shows forth God’s glory. That means each of us is made in God’s image, that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, that the food we eat is sacramental, and that in our work and in our sexual embrace, we are co-creators with God. In Christianity “the word becomes flesh”, God enters into
I have found our ongoing faculty and staff reflections particularly helpful for provoking deeper thought about our reinvigorated mission statement, emphasizing transformation. It was, therefore, fortuitous when I stumbled upon a definition of transformative learning through a Chronicle of Higher Education article: Transformative learning (Mezirow, 1991, 1995, 1996; Cranton, 1994, 1996) is the process of effecting change in a frame of reference. Adults
As our nation experienced another week of racial turmoil, we share this reflection from Dr. Diana Hayes, a Black Catholic theologian and scholar. It was originally sent from the Center for Action and Contemplation on September 15, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. May our shared worship of the one, true God lead us to deepening our commitment
Anyone who knows me knows how much I thrive on being able to do the work that I do here at DeSales. Sometimes folks from my home town in New Jersey, or a cousin of mine I haven’t seen in awhile, are horrified by my career choice. “Isn’t that scary, isn’t it hard asking people for money?” Well, sometimes scary,
The virtue of wisdom is one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Think of Solomon in 1 Kings, when in a dream God asked him what he wanted, Solomon asked for wisdom. And God was pleased because he did not ask for self-serving rewards, or the death or ill-fortune of his enemies. Wisdom is a holy gift that
Over the years, I have collected quotes from a variety of sources. Whenever I come across one, I write it down (well, type it in my phone). I keep them and turn to them whenever I need a little motivation or a reminder of those things that are important to me. Having spent the last 15 years as a member