Fr. Fernando Peraza Leal, SDB (1927-2013)

Between 2001 and 2007 I made four trips to the Salesian's Regional Center for Ongoing Formation in Quito, Ecuador.  The first time was to attend a course for deacons preparing for priestly ordination, and in the other three I completed the three levels of Salesian studies.  In these courses we studied the life and work of St. John Bosco, so we could go back to our apostolates and share the spirit of our founder with our professed Salesians and lay collaborators.  In the Salesianity classes we were a mixed group of lay men, women and SDB's, as well as women religious from various branches of the Salesian Family.  I met many wonderful people who love Christ, and follow Him in the Spirit of Don Bosco.  The heart of the program was Fr. Fernando Peraza Leal.  To all who knew him and were touched by his life, he was simply "Abuelo."  Well, our spiritual Grandfather passed this Sunday.  He was a walking, talking library of the life of Don Bosco.  But he never taught in a dry, academic way.  He made you feel like you were there with Don Bosco and the boys in the Oratory.  

Here is the story from the Salesian News Service about this increadable Son of Don Bosco, who we pray is already enjoying his much earned rest in the Salesian Garden.

(ANS – Quito) – Fr. Fernando Peraza Leal, scholar, expert in and passionate follower of Don Bosco, passed away in the early hours of Sunday, February 10, in Quito. His writings and his presence were a strong support to the Regional Ongoing Formation Center.

Fr. Marcelo Farfan, provincial of Ecuador, informed the Rector Major by letter of the death of Fr. Peraza and how much he had meant to the Interamerica Region: “As you well know, for many Salesians, Salesian Sisters, Salesian Family Group members, young people, lay people, and especially the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, Fr. Fernando was a spiritual father, a secure guide, and a Salesian point of reference. In a very special way he was a Salesian who understood and loved Don Bosco deeply, and he had the insight to transform this love into an offer of formation for Salesians in the Americas by founding and leading the Regional Center for Ongoing Formation at Quito.”

In response to this communication, the Rector Major wrote from Guadalajara, Mexico, where he is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the erection of the province: “On Sunday I was awoken with an ‘Easter’ message regarding the death and resurrection of our beloved Fr. Fernando Peraza. The Lord – to whom Fr. Fernando had devoted his entire life and whom he served joyfully, enthusiastically, and with the dedication and conviction that stood out in him – today lets him take part in the glory of his resurrection. Today is a glorious day for the Congregation, which offers the Father, in the Son, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, an acceptable and mature offering, one made of Salesian holiness. It is true that the Congregation also feels sad of heart because Fr. Fernando has left us and for what his loss means in human terms, especially at the Regional Formation Center which he founded; but at the same time he has left us a most valuable legacy: the testimony of his complete life, totally dedicated and with immense generosity and not a little sacrifice, to studying Don Bosco, with a scholar’s mind and a son’s heart, so he could make him known and loved.”

Fr. Peraza was born October 21, 1927, at Tunja (Boyacá) Colombia. He made his novitiate, first vows, and perpetual vows at Usaquen, Colombia, between 1946 and 1949. He was ordained on December 7, 1954, in Rome. After serving since 1968 as provincial of Bogotá, on September 23, 1974, he was transferred to the province of Ecuador. Between 1985 and 1997 he was put in charge of ongoing formation for the Pacific-Caribbean Region, and from 1997 to 2002 led the Regional Center for Ongoing Formation. On June 23, 2010 Don Bosco University in San Salvador gave him an honorary doctorate in letters.

His remains are currently being kept at the Regional Ongoing Formation Center. The funeral Mass was celebrated on February 11 at the Church of Mary Help of Christians in El Giron, Quito. By his express request his remains will be cremated and buried in Agua de Dios, Colombia, where they will be placed beside those of Blessed Louis Variara and Fr. José Marmol. Regarding this the Rector Major added: “In a special way, his passion for the Institute of the Daughters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary led him to give his service in such a way that he ensured the Institute’s fidelity to its charism and mission. This is why it seems right and meaningful to me that he has chosen to be buried at Agua de Dios.”

The Rector Major then concluded: “From Mexico I join in this hymn of thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for the wonderful gift of Fr. Fernando Peraza, asking the Lord to continue to give us Salesians of such stature. To you, dear Fr. Marcelo, and everyone in the province in Ecuador to which he belonged, and his original province of Colombia-Bogotá, my heartfelt condolences and communion in prayer.”

Scattered Thoughts on Pope Benedict's Retirement

I was all set to move on a nice, light post about the baseball spring training camps opening up in Florida and Arizona, when the news hit about Pope Benedict's decision to step down at the end of the month.  My initial response, like almost everyone, was one of surprise, but I can't say that I was shocked.  The Holy Father had spoken of a potential retirement as not only possible, but as a moral imperative depending on the situation.

There are two different points of view on this.  One is that the Pope, like all bishops, is the spiritual father of his flock.  For a local ordinary it is his diocese, and for the Bishop of Rome, as successor of Peter, his paternity extends to the universal Church.  A father of the family doesn't stop being the father because of age or illness.  So it is with the Pope.  While John Paul II reputedly contemplated retiring around the year 2000, he didn't for this reason.  There was a time in the early years of the Church when bishops weren't replaced before death because, the thinking went, you couldn't have two fathers in the same household.  A successor was sometimes named ahead of time, but he didn't take possession of his local church until his predecessor was laid to rest.

The other line of thinking is that we live in a fast moving age, and the Church needs to respond quickly to events.  The Pope needs to have the energy and mental alertness to be effective.  As we live longer, it also means that more of us can expect to suffer the ravages of old like dementia and the many forms of cancer that seem to inevitably develop.  It only makes sense to have a mechanism in place that allows a pope to step aside to make way for a younger, more capable man.  Some would even say that there should be a mandatory retirement age, or at least firm mechanism in place to remove a pope who has become physically or mentally incapacitated.  

While I'm not sure I am in favor of some sort of mandatory papal retirement age, I think that the Holy Father knows what he's doing.  He's been in the Chair of Peter long enough; he knows the demands and if can meet them.  It is a loss for the Church, to be sure.  But I have faith the Spirit will give us a Pope we need right now.

So, what next?  My guess is that every move that Benedict makes in the next two weeks, leading up to his retirement, will be carefully chosen, because they will be setting the precedence for future pontiffs who make the same decision.  The Holy Father is a man keenly aware of Church traditions, and has spent his ecclesiastical career "looking to the sources."  It is now a bit ironic that he will be paving a new road for others to follow.

Will he go back to being a cardinal?  I've seen two different reports, one saying yes, the other saying he is going to have to be re-appointed to the Sacred College.  Stay tuned.

Will he retain papal infallibility?  No.  That is a grace of state attached to the office of pope.  His successor will have a distinct advantage over other popes who have reigned in the last 600 years, because for the first time in modern times there will be another man alive who knows what he is going through, and he would be wise to seek his predecessor's advise.  But it is the pope, and only the pope, by the grace of the Spirit, who exercises such authority.

Who will the next pope be?  I've been asked that question a lot, and I am sure I don't have the slightest idea.  It's best to ignore the prognosticators.  The rule of thumb is that the cardinal that goes in the conclave a favorite comes out a cardinal.

I will be writing more about this, obviously, as more is know about why the pope made this decision, and the conclave to choose his successor approaches.

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Random Notes From The Road: Back Home

Unlike my trip to Mexico a couple of years ago, which was primarily an R and R mission, my trip to Chicago over the weekend was a working holiday.  I thought I might be able to check in every so often, like I did on that previous journey, but things were pretty tightly scheduled once the parish retreat got going.  Sorry for no play by play descriptions of things, but here are a few scattered reflections.

St. John Bosco Parish, in the Belmont-Cragin section of Chicago, was not my first assignment after ordination, but it is the place that I was the longest in my Salesian life so far.  I transferred to New Rochelle in 2007 after five years as parochial vicar there.  I filled in for a few weeks in the summer of '08, but haven't been back again until now.  I'm grateful to Fr. Tim Zak, SDB, the pastor, for inviting me back to give the monthly retreat for the parish volunteers. 

What impressed me the most was that this very active parish has suffered the same personnel down-sizing as many other places (there are simply not enough priests and brothers to fill the various jobs that need to be done) but has still maintained a high level of programing and has deepened it's Salesian identity since I left.  Part of this can be credited to Fr. Tim and the other three Salesians who serve there.  Part of it is the Salesians who came before and laid the foundations (The Salesians first came to the parish in 1998).  But a big part of it is the people of the parish themselves.  They have embraced the Salesian spirit and made themselves a vital part of the Salesian Youth Movement.

At the core of this deepening of the Salesian identity at SJB is the presence of the the Salesian Cooperators.  They are an association of lay Catholics (though diocesan clergy can join too) in the style of a third order dedicated to spreading the Salesian charism of Don Bosco in the Church and the world.  In fact it is one of the three branches of the Salesian family, along with the Salesians of Don Bosco and the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, founded by Don Bosco himself.  The Chicago Unit was a small, fledgling group when I left in '07, but are now deeply involved in the parish's mission, as well as that of the Salesian Province (Marshal Gomez, an old friend from my SJB days, is the current Provincial Coordinator of the Cooperator's Council).  To return and see so many people I knew from the old days still involved, and in some cases more involved than before, and many new faces who have come into the parish, all in love with Christ, following Him in the spirit of Don Bosco, was gratifying and encouraging to me.  

It's also proof that in the end it's the Holy Spirit doing it all.  If we are faithful, doing what we are supposed to do, the Lord will bless us with an abundance of His grace, and the work will flourish.

It's good to be back in Elizabeth, and am looking forward to a great 2013.  May the Salesian Spirit continue to grow here and throughout the world.

Random Notes From the Road- Day One

I'm sitting in Newark (Liberty) waiting for breakfast and my flight to Chicago. I'll be checking in periodically as I journey to Chicago to help with a retreat for volunteers at St. John Bosco Parish.

Hobbits Revisited

I took a break from retreat prep to scratch an itch of sorts. I saw the Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in the much debated high frame rate format. I had a mixed reaction to it. It was hardly the unmitigated disaster some have made it out to be, but it is still a novelty. I agree with Matt Atchity of Rotten Tomatoes and What the Flick that if Peter Jackson was going to experiment he should have done it on a lesser project.

From a technical stand point, the problems I found with the standard projection really had to do with the fact that The Hobbit was meant to be seen at 48 fps, and transferring it to 24 frames is similar to showing a wide screen movie on an old LD, small screen TV. Much of the detail is lost and images become obscured. To make another comparison, it's kind of like listening to a symphony on a mono transistor radio.

That said, should the movie have been made this way to begin with? Like I wrote, it's a mixed bag. The scenes with Gollum are truly frightening, and the final confrontation was better for the high clarity. But other times the action looked like it was ripped from a video game. Sometimes this shift between hyper real and super fake happened within the same scene.

In the end this use of high frame rate was a bit of a misguided move. This is a sweeping epic that deserves a big screen presentation, but the intended viewing experience makes this too much of an uneven ride. While even the standard format has its problems, I'd stick with it until the movie guys figure out what they're doing in 48 fps.

We're almost ready to board. More when I get to Chi-town.

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