Let’s start off with a little quiz…. When I say “Religious Community” what do you think of? If I say “Prayer” what comes to mind? What do you associate “Work” and “Study” with? I am willing to wager that you said Religious Community is quiet. I bet that when you read “Prayer” you thought chapel. And when your eyes scrolled across the words “Work” and “Study” you immediately thought of it being stressful and burdensome. None of these presumptions are incorrect. For Salesians however, these stereotypes are altered. With this in mind I would like to welcome to a day in the life of a Salesian Candidate.
The Salesian Spirituality is different then most religious orders. We are not quiet, unless it is called for, Prayer is not reserved for just the Chapel but is evident in everything we do, and Work and Study is a major part of the Salesian life. In fact as a Candidate, I am asked to divide my energy as 90% towards studies, and 10% towards my apostolic work.
An average day starts at 6:10 am, rising before the sun, I know it sounds rough but it’s not so bad. Morning Prayers start at 7:00 am immediately to be followed by Mass. Though it is early morning, a great amount of energy is put towards our Praise and Worship of God as we say the Prayers of the Church, and attend the celebration of the Mass. The Readings are PROCLAIMED each and every morning from a tired-eyed lector, and the Homily is UPLIFTING and motivating. It is spiritual nourishment for all that is to come in the day. Every spiritual nourishment should be accented by physical nourishment, thus right after Mass the community proceeds to breakfast. The usual breakfast includes a wide variety of delectable cereals, and a wonderful array of different milks. However we only have orange juice to supplement our juice category.
Following the delectable cereal, many of us go to Seton Hall University for classes. With the obvious assumption of schooling, and receiving an education, Seton Hall also offers a time for community growth as we partake in various recreations such as Racquetball or Frisbee. Many of us even eat lunch together and discuss our day.
Magically seven hours pass and we are back at the Don Bosco Residence. Here we have Evening Prayer, Spiritual Reading, and recitation and meditation of the Rosary. It all brings about a balance to the day. Evening Prayer is a nice way to reflect on all that God has done for our day thus far, and also gives us a chance to talk with God. Spiritual Reading is some more nourishment that aids in our growth. It allows the opportunity to grow deeper in our discernment. The Rosary is recited several ways. Some remain in the Chapel and recite it silently, others recite it in the stillness of their rooms, and others walk as they meditate on the mysteries.
At the end we reconvene for dinner. Personally, dinner is where it’s at. It’s time to unwind, enjoy a good meal, as well as each others company. The conversations vary from philosophical debates about “The Game” to questions on religion to talk of our families. Really any topic is bound to rise up.
Most of us perform our daily chores after dinner. It is necessary for a smooth running of the house. After that we are free for the most part. Obviously there is work to be done both for school and for our various apostolates, but the evenings are mostly up to us to plan. Some days we have our evenings filled with Adoration, or conferences, but overall it’s our time to plan and use where we see fit.
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