Don Bosco and Holiness

            During the canonization process of Don Bosco, a cardinal objected saying, ‘When did Don Bosco pray?  The answer of the pope was a counter question, When did he not Pray? Most people know Don Bosco as a ‘Man of Activity’. The mere look at the life of Don Bosco reveals one side that he did always work. But, the fact is that there is the other side ‘Holiness’ to Don Bosco. The holiness of Don Bosco was characterized by his perfect example of contemplative in action, apostolic interior life, pastoral zeal and loving kindness. The holiness of Don Bosco became crystal clear in his undertaking of works, in his zeal for winning souls for Christ, in his sprit of sacrifice, humility, simplicity, love for purity and poverty, continuous union with God and in his unlimited service to the poor and abandoned youngsters. The holiness of Don Bosco is certain because many of his pupils reached the height of sanctity. The words of Philip Rinaldi, proves the above point, “Let the Holiness of sons be the proof of the holiness of their father.” His oratories had become factories of saints. Don Bosco started a school of sanctity, he created in Valdocco an environment where sanctity could blossom. It started with Saint Dominic Savio and there were numerous other members and boys. Don Bosco is holy not because of the practice of the way of life through consecration but spirit with which he lived his consecration. The holiness of Don Bosco is marked by; 1) holiness sprang from his ordinary life 2) holiness sprang from his consecration 3) holiness sprang from his union with God.

Holiness Sprang from His Ordinary Life

            Don Bosco was an ordinary, simple but profound person. He never did anything extraordinary in his life but he did everything with extraordinary zeal. The incident of Don Bosco with Dominic Savio is worth remembering. Dominic Savio desired to become a saint. He was mortifying himself with all the extraordinary means to become a saint. Don Bosco knew it and summoned for Dominic Savio. Don Bosco gave him a golden advice to become saint, ‘Do ordinary things of life in an extraordinary way.’ This advice brought about a total transformation in the life of Dominic Savio. Don Bosco was an ordinary priest who himself a full-time priest, even in his dreams and in his sleep, a priest in the confessional and when he celebrates mass, a priest with his boys in the playground and at his desk when he writes books or answers his correspondence, a priest when he travels or preaches or sits at the table of a benefactor.  He is above all a priest with intimate conviction that he is an instrument in the hands of God. He distinguished himself by his zealous apostolate among the poor young with the motto, “Give me Souls and take away the rest.” In whole of his life, he never worked for his own glory, popularity and self-love but did everything for the love of God. It is this motivation that pushed him to practice brotherly charity by working for the salvation of the young.  In a word, ‘He did everything for the glory of God.’

Holiness Sprang from His Consecration

            Don Bosco was fully convinced that his consecration was a response to the call of God. Through the consecration he willingly dedicated himself totally to him and he sacrificed his whole life. His consecration was not to command but to practice charity towards neighbour for love of God, not to live in comfort and ease but to be poor with Jesus Christ, to suffer with Him on earth and to become worthy of his glory in heaven. He made the world of the young his own through his consecration. He placed himself totally in the hands of God and worked totally for the salvation of the whole world. He lived a simple yet a profound life as a sign of poverty, committed and worked always to fulfil the will of God as a sign of obedience, manifested unconditional love to all as a sign of Chastity. His consecration can be summarized in the statement, “He said no word, and he took up no task that was not directed to Salvation of Youth.”He was a consecrated person through his work and union with God.

Holiness Sprang from His Union with God

            Don Bosco was attracted to God as iron is attracted to the magnet. He cultivated this aspect of holiness from his childhood. In other words, holiness was his childhood dream. The words of Mamma Margaret to Johnny Bosco ‘God Sees You’ left an indelible impression in the whole life of Don Bosco. Although, Don Bosco was devoured by the flame of external activity, he rooted himself in the source of that activity. Even in the inexhaustible activity, he always longed for prayer and for conversation with God. He strongly believed that he was always in continuous union with God. The whole life of Don Bosco was marked, dominated and possessed by God. God has conquered the soul of Don Bosco to accomplish his own work on earth. In a word, “Union with God is the breath of the life of Don Bosco.”

            Don Bosco, the saint- that is what should inspire us. He is no more with us but he left a great legacy; a legacy of love, a legacy of apostolic zeal, a legacy of fidelity to God, and a legacy of contemplative in action, a legacy of working for the Salvation of Souls. Thus, Don Bosco becomes a model of holiness.

Don Bosco and Mary

           In his Spiritual Testament to his Salesians, Don Bosco wrote, “The Blessed Virgin will certainly continue to protect our congregation and our Salesian works if we maintain our trust in her and promote devotion to her.” For Don Bosco, Mary was more than an object of veneration.  Mary was for him a living person.  He felt her presence in every moment of his life. He emulated in her the virtue of sensitivity, her obedience to the will of God, and her commitment and fidelity at the hour of the cross. From the very beginning of his life, she showed him the way, inspired his actions, sustained his strength and helped him to obtain his purpose, even in extraordinary ways.  For Don Bosco ‘Mary did it all!’  Don Bosco’s mother Mamma Margaret cultivated in him devotion Mother Mary from his childhood. I quote the words of Mamma Margaret to Johnny Bosco on the occasion of his vestition, “When you were born, I consecrated you to the Blessed Virgin; when you began your studies, I advised you to have devotion to this good Mother.  At this point I recommend you to be totally hers.  Love companions who are devoted to her, and if you become a priest, always recom­mend and propagate devotion to Mary.  John, after listening to his mother, in tears, thanked his mother and said: These words will not be said for nothing, I will treasure them all my life. Don Bosco

First Encounter with Mary

            The first meeting of Johnny Bosco with Mary happened in his dream at the age of nine.  It was Jesus himself who tells him that Mary is to be his guide: “I will give you a Teacher, he said, un­der her guidance you can become wise; without her all wisdom is foolishness.”  At this juncture, Don Bosco narrates: “At that moment I saw a Lady standing near Him… she took me kindly by the hand.  ‘This is the field of your work.  Make yourself humble, strong and robust… What you see hap­pening to these animals is what you must do to my children’ (the wild animals then turned into lambs). At that point I began to cry.  I begged the Lady to speak so that I could understand.  She placed her hand on my head and said: ‘In good time you will understand everything.’ “

            It is this dream that made him realize the importance of Mary in his life as a Mother, Teacher and Guide. From then on, Don Bosco never left Mary and Mary too, never left him.

Mary as Mother

            Don Bosco firmly believed that Mary is present in all the activities as a Mother. She always came to the aid of Don Bosco when he was deeply in trouble and infused a ray of hope in times of discouragement. In many of his dreams, Mary appeared as a loving mother. She was a mother who looked after the needs of all his works. She provided him with financial and spiritual help. In all his problems, he felt her presence concretely. Mary took care of all the boys in the oratory. She protected them from all the dangers of all life. As an example, we see Mary’s care for the boys of Don Bosco in his dream of the elephant.  There is an elephant in the playground and the boys are unaware of the danger.  Mary notices it and she shouts to the boys to come under her mantle – Mary not just calls the boys, she shouts, she is exhausted from shouting, she is red in the face and out of breath, says the dream. Don Bosco acknowledges it in his testament when he said, ‘The God of mercy and his Holy Mother came to our help in our needs.  This was especially true when it was a case of providing for poor and abandoned boys, and even more when their souls were in danger.’  He also believed that, Mary takes special care of every youngster on entering the Salesian house and provides them with bread and means to study, by endless graces and wonders. Whoever came to Don Bosco with any kind of problem, he just directed them to the loving mother and whoever came to her in the name of Don Bosco she never refused to be their caring mother.

Mary as Guide

            Don Bosco was a man of dreams. In other words, he saw the vision of his life in his dreams. He saw Mary in all his dreams. It is a mistake to think that Don Bosco easily believed his dreams. But, he started believing when one by one he saw them being realized in his real life.  He also asked guidance from Father Cafasso, but later on he will say: “The Virgin Mary had in dreams indicated the field in which I was to work.  I therefore had the design of a complete, pre-studied plan from which I did not wish to depart.  I was made totally responsible for the success of this plan.  I had a clear idea of the lines I had to follow, and therefore I would not risk to spoil the plan by submitting it to the judgment and will of others” (MB III).  Thus, Don Bosco became a firm believer in the guidance of Mary and the two worked together.  At times Mary took the initiative; at times it was Don Bosco that had recourse to her for help – it is impossible to keep an account of all the favors Don Bosco received as a consequence of his prayers. But, he was convinced that “Mary was always his guide,” and “She is his protector and treasurer.” He was absolutely sure of her help, even when the Government threatened to close the Oratory.  “Poor people, said Don Bosco, they are mistaken.  They will not succeed.  They think they are dealing with Don Bosco only, they don’t know that they have to do with one much more powerful, with the Blessed Virgin, even with God himself who will shatter their plans.  No, they will not succeed to close the Oratory!” Indeed, they never succeed in closing any of the works of Don Bosco.

Response of Don Bosco to Infinite Love of Mary

            Don Bosco responded to the Love of Mary by spreading devotion to her. One of his main devotions to the Our Lady was recitation of the rosary daily in the oratory. On one occasion, minister Ratazzi demanded him to stop the recitation of the rosary in the oratory. His answer was a firm ‘No’. He was even ready to undergo any problem and suffering in spreading devotion to Mary. He exhibited an extraordinary love for Mother Mary all his life. He made sure that the Marian feasts are celebrated with due solemnity and reverence in the oratory. His whole aim was to cultivate in the heart of every youngster the love, respect and admiration towards Mother Mary.

            Why this predilection of Mary for Don Bosco? First and foremost it was not a predilection for Don Bosco: rather, it was Jesus’ and Mary’s predilection for the young.  Mary took pity on her children far from home, abandoned in the big city, marginalized, hungry, without employment and in danger of corruption.  A mother cannot see this misery.  What Don Bosco did was the work of Mary, it was her initiative, he was told to do it with her method of gentleness and kindness. The first article of our Constitutions affirms: ‘Through the motherly intervention of Mary, the Holy Spirit raised up Saint John Bosco to contribute to the salvation of youth.’  Don Bosco himself tells us that every youngster that enters our houses is sent to us by Mary.  If we keep this in mind, if we give ourselves at Mary'’ disposal to do her work, then we too can count on her special help.  The time of miracles is not yet over!

Don Bosco and Prayer

Introduction

            Don Bosco was a man of prayer. He felt the need of God in his apostolic initiatives and commitments. His whole life though characterized by enormous activity was made holy by constant and continuous prayer (Article 85). To speak metaphorically, till the day mankind succeeded in going to the moon, we only knew one face of it, the face tuned towards the earth; the other face remained unseen and unknown.  Something similar can be said about our knowledge of Don Bosco.  Till Don Bosco was declared a Saint we know him as a man of activity.  We did not know him as a Saint. We did not realise that all this activity was the outcome of his intimate union with God. His much-admired activity was the result of a life of prayer. Thus, Don Bosco and prayer form one unity in his life. It is indeed a mistake to differentiate the activity of Don Bosco and Prayerful moments of Don Bosco. It is because, Don Bosco, docile to the Holy Spirit, lived an experience of humble, trusting and apostolic prayer in which prayer and living were spontaneously united (Art 86).

 

Don Bosco and Prayer

     The secret of Don Bosco’s success is his constant union with God.  Other saints, united to God, would go into ecstasy, a state that takes them out of the world and immerses them into the things of God.  Don Bosco’s ecstasy consists in immersing himself in work for the glory of God and for the good of his boys.  His union with God in prayer does not suffer because of his work, but it remains uninterrupted and continuous as it is the outcome of his participation in the divine love. Every act even microscopic impressed and energized the heart of every Salesian and youngster. The nearer people came to Don Bosco, the more they had a chance to peep into his personal life, and the greater veneration they had for his person.  In the bold testament of Don Rua, “I lived at Don Bosco’s side for more than 37 years.  To observe even the minutest actions of Don Bosco made a greater impression on me, did me more good, than to read or meditate any pious book.”

Don Bosco- A Man Continually in Prayer

     Don Bosco’s enormous activity and continual union with God never ceased till the end of his life. They were intertwined each with the other and made him a perfect blend of nature and grace. A man who was constantly at work is likely to be agitated, tense, impatient and nervous, especially when disturbed.  Nothing like that in Don Bosco: ‘He had peace in his mind and in his heart for anyone who was to come to him, at any time, when busy with any work.’  Pius XI admired his ‘supreme composure, a mastery of time, by which he gave his attention to all who came, with such a calm tranquillity as if he had nothing else at hand.’ It is to be noted that Don Bosco’s calm did not leave him even in the most difficult moments, when he had no bread for his boys, when the building that had cost him so much collapsed, when for 10 long years he lived in conflict with his Bishop and even when there was no enough money to build the Sacred Heart Basilica.  Never a bitter word or an expression of rebellion – at times one could notice that he felt the blow but immediately he recovered his calm, and more than that, his joy and cheerfulness. While not denying the fact that Don Bosco lost his serenity, calm and peace. He lost his calm, became serious, when he was confronted with an offence of God.  Don Bosco is personally affected by sin.  The man who is so patient, so calm and indulgent, always the master of himself, that same man feels his blood boil when he is faced with sin and scandal.

Characteristics of Don Bosco’s Prayer

                  Article 86 of Salesian constitutions says that “Salesian prayer is joyful and creative, simple and profound.  It lends itself to community participation, is drawn from life and flows back to it”. It clearly expresses the attitude and the characteristics of Don Bosco’s own prayer. Thus, Don Bosco’s Prayer is characterized by: 1) A Prayer of Easter Joy 2) A Creative Prayer that sprang from his Commitment 3) A Profound Sacramental Prayer 4) A Simple Prayer 5) A Marian Prayer.

A Prayer of Easter Joy

What I want to say is this:  Don Bosco’s prayer is steeped in Easter joy – the joy of ‘serve the Lord in gladness unconditionally’.  Don Bosco was convinced that it is good to be near the Lord, that true joy is found in Him, that prayer is a source of inspiration and happiness.

Evidently, the joy of the Christian, just be­cause it is a participation in the joy of Easter, proceeds from the participation in the suffering and death of Jesus. In this sense, Don Bosco was an Easter man who was never afraid of the crosses that life gave him but willing carried them even not counting his death.   

A Creative Prayer that Sprang from His Commitment

            Prayer for Don Bosco was not a show of emotions but an outflow of his creative commitment to God. ‘Here is a life’ said the Pope Pius XI ‘that we have been able to admire from nearby, a life that was a true and great martyrdom, a life spent in such a colossal activity that anyone else would be discouraged just by seeing it.’ Don Bosco prayed everywhere as he was not bound by place and time. For him, ‘Everything was Prayer.’

A Profound Sacramental Prayer

            Don Bosco’s prayer is sacramental because his enormous work, activity and union with God aimed at saving souls. In this context, the words of Piux XI are very touching, “There is indeed a secret, and Don Bosco revealed it continually, maybe without noticing it himself.  It is the motto which he so often repeated in his words and in his writings: Give me souls – take away the rest!  Not a programme or a slogan, but an ever-present desire, a constant invocation, a continuous prayer – a prayer immediately translated into action, in work!

            Don Bosco was at the same time priest and educator: a priest who found in education the possibility of fulfilling his priestly mission, and an edu­cator who found in his priestly ministry a help towards education. Don Bosco’s educational system was founded on the ‘Frequent confes­sion and frequent communion and daily mass. Through this he brought his boys into contact with God, and that is what the sacraments achieve.

A Simple Prayer

Don Bosco’s prayer is simple. It does not mean that it is superficial. His simplicity in prayer emerged from his outpouring simplicity in life. He learnt this from his mother Mamma Margaret who told to little Johnny “God Sees You”. This statement of his mother made him to be always in union with God. He never sat in the church for long time but he always spoke of prayer to his boys. His whole system of education is geared to giving the boys a taste for prayer; he looks for favourable occasions to pro­mote prayer, he speaks of the importance and value of prayer, but he makes sure that everything is done with the utmost liberty and spontaneity.

Don Bosco did not want to prescribe special prayers for the Salesian, nothing but the ‘ordinary prayers of a good Christian.’ They were Simple in number: not too many, not too long, not tiring or boring. He firmly believed that nobody must go to prayer unwillingly, those who are fervent can al­ways do more. Simple in style: not the prayers of an elite, not also a prayer that fuels the emotions, but ‘easy things, done with perseverance.’

A Marian Prayer

Don Bosco entrusted himself totally to Mary. He never did and said anything without invoking Mary. Mary as a mother holds a unique place in the life of Don Bosco (Art 8). She was always present in the life if Don Bosco. It all began with a dream that he had at the age of nine. In is first dream Johnny Bosco received Mary as his teacher: under her guidance he would be wise, and without her all wisdom turns to foolishness. Don Bosco had immense trust and faith in Mary. Don Bosco saw the in Mary a model of prayer and pastoral love and the teacher of wisdom. Mary is not just one element of our Don Bosco’s spiritu­ality: she is at the heart of his spirituality.

Conclusion

            The first monks called prayer the ‘work’ of prayer, because they undertook the labour of prayer as a contribution to the salvation of the world.  In today’s busy world, a religious or a priest cannot have a satisfactory spiritual life unless he gives a long time to prayer. We must learn from the world around us. In our very busy world, people give importance to the week-end, far away from their business, to have a day of rest and recreation. It is also same be with the prayer. We easily understand that focusing on work can distract us from attention to God – but it is the same with prayer.  Many people just recite formulas with their attention elsewhere or value their prayer according to the emotions they experience, but their prayer does not influence their life.  Prayer should feed our piety, but our union with God (Don Bosco called it ‘piety’) is not measured by the length of our prayer.  What is essential is not that we spend a lot of time in church, but that our prayer makes us ready for sacrifice and for work, ready to do our duty.  I conclude with the words of Don Bosco: ‘Prayer that does not help us to correct our defects is not pleasing to God’.