November 3, 2019
BELLFLOWER - St. John Bosco High School held its annual Alumni Memorial Mass today--and, as in past years, it was a solemn remembrance of those Braves who have returned home to God.
Fr. Mel Trinidad, S.D.B., President and Director of St. John Bosco High School, presided at the mass with many parents, families. and alumni in attendance as they remembered their children, brothers, and classmates respectively.
During his homily, Fr. Mel spoke about three promises Don Bosco made to those who followed him within his Salesian community: bread, work, and paradise.
As an animator during the Industrial Revolution in Italy, Don Bosco not only offered to satisfy young people's physical hunger but also their spiritual hunger. Through the development of the Salesian Oratory (Home, School, Church, Playground), Don Bosco in the 1840's created a space for the young people he served to be fed both physically and spiritually ("bread") and to be gainfully employed ("work") by encouraging them to work hard and well despite the existence of sweatshop factories with hazardous machinery and poor wages.
The third promise Fr. Mel spoke of was paradise. He emphasized that those Braves we were remembering today are together in paradise--a place which is a by-product of the motto Don Bosco and his fellow Salesians relentlessly advocated "Give Me Souls, Take Away The Rest" (Latin: Da Mihi Animas Caetera Tolle).
For many of those who gathered today in the St. John Bosco school chapel, the pain of their loss is still difficult to bear--especially for the parents of Bosco students and/or alumni who lost a child to an early death. As any parent worth their salt would say, an unimaginable and seemingly unbearable loss is the loss of a child.
During today's mass, the experience of loss most likely returned to many in attendance--especially the parents of young Braves. However, one consolation is the solidarity each family experiences sitting side-by-side with others who may have experienced a similar loss. The community that is created when you realize you are not alone in your experience can sometimes be comforting and provide some healing.
One of the special moments of today's mass was the "Litany Of Deceased Alumni" which is a reading of the names of alumni (see list of names in the program below...pages 1,2, and 3 of 5).
(list of names continued below...pages 4 and 5 of 5)
As the names were being read (accompanied by a photo of each alumnus), the church was captivated by a reverence and solemnity by those present. During this litany, you could hear a respectful silence amid tears of remembrance.
Much gratitude to the Alumni Memorial Mass Committee (Steven Fillet '80, Carmen Gonzalez Flores, Amy Krisch) and the leadership of its Chairman (Joe Eno '73)
