Saint John Bosco
Waldtraud
(1815-1888)
Saint John Bosco accomplished what many people considered an impossibility;
he walked through the streets of Turin, Italy, looking for the dirtiest,
roughest urchins he could find, then made good men of them. His
extraordinary success can be summed up in the words of his patron Saint,
Francis de Sales: "The measure of his love was that he loved without
measure."
John's knowledge of poverty was firsthand. He was born in 1815 in the
village of Becchi in the Piedmont district of northern Italy, and reared on
his parents' small farm. When his father died, Margaret Bosco and her three
sons found it harder than ever to support themselves, and while John was
still a small boy he had to join his brothers in the farm work. Although his
life was hard, he was a happy, imaginative child. Even as a boy, John found
innocent fun compatible with religion. To amuse his friends he learned how
to juggle and walk a tightrope; but he would entertain them only on
condition that each performance begin and end with a prayer.
As he grew older, John began to think of becoming a priest, but poverty and
lack of education made this seem impossible. A kindly priest recognized his
intelligence, however, and gave him his first encouragement, teaching him to
read and write. By taking odd jobs in the village, and through the help of
his mother and some charitable neighbors, John managed to get through school
and find admittance to the diocesan seminary of nearby Turin. As a
seminarian he devoted his spare time to looking after the ragamuffins who
roamed the slums of the city. Every Sunday he taught them catechism,
supervised their games and entertained them with stories and tricks; before
long his kindness had won their confidence, and his "Sunday School" became a
ritual with them.
After his ordination in 1841, he became assistant to the chaplain of an
orphanage at Valocco, on the outskirts of Turin. This position was
short-lived, for when he insisted that his Sunday-school boys be allowed to
play on the orphanage grounds, they were turned away, and he resigned. He
began looking for a permanent home for them, but no "decent" neighborhood
would accept the noisy crowd. At last, in a rather tumbledown section of the
city, where no one was likely to protest, the first oratory was established
and named for Saint Francis de Sales. At first the boys attended school
elsewhere, but as more teachers volunteered their time, classes were held at
the house. Enrollment increased so rapidly that by 1849 there were three
oratories in various places in the city.
For a long time Don Bosco had considered founding an Order to carry on his
work, and this idea was supported by a notoriously anticlerical cabinet
minister named Rattazzi. Rattazzi had seen the results of his work, and
although an Italian law forbade the founding of religious communities at
that time, he promised government support. The founder-priest went to Rome
in 1858 and, at the suggestion of Pope Pius IX, drew up a Rule for his
community, the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (Salesians). Four years
later he founded an Order for women, the Daughters of Mary, Help of
Christians, to care for abandoned girls. Finally, to supplement the work of
both congregations, he organized an association of lay people interested in
aiding their work.
Exhausted from touring Europe to raise funds for a new church in Rome, Don
Bosco died on January 31, 1888. He was canonized in 1934 by Pope Pius XI.
The work of John Bosco continues today in over a thousand Salesian oratories
throughout the world. No modern Saint has captured the heart of the world
more rapidly than this smiling peasant-priest from Turin, who believed that
to give complete trust and love is the most effective way to nourish virtue
in others.
Source: Lives of the Saints for Every Day of the Year. (Reprint of the work
of John Gilmary Shea, with Appendix including recently canonized Saints)
(Benziger Brothers: New York, 1955. Third Edition: Tan Books and Publishers:
Rockford, Ill., 1995).
Spiritual Bouquet: Do not give to dogs what is holy, neither cast your
pearls before swine. St. Matth. 7:6
Longer version at:
http://users.erols.com/saintpat/ss/0128.htm
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Other Martyrs of the Faith
.At Rome, on the Via Portuensis, the holy martyrs Cyrus and John, who after
many torments were beheaded for Christ.
At Alexandria, St. Metranus, martyr, under the Emperor Decius. When he
refused the command of the pagans to utter impious words, they beat his
entire body with clubs, and bored through his face and eyes with sharp
stakes. Then driving him out of the city with fresh tortures, they stoned
him to death.
In the same city, the holy martyrs Saturninus, Thyrsus, and Victor.
Also at Alexandria, the holy martyrs Tharsicius, Zoticus, Cyriacus, and
their companions.
At Cyzicus in the Hellespont, St. Triphenes, martyr. She endured various
torments and was at last killed by a bull, thus meriting the palm of
martyrdom.
At Modena, St. Geminianus, bishop, famous for the glory of miracles.
In the province of Milan, St. Julius, priest and confessor, in the time of
the Emperor Theodosius.
At Rome, St. Marcella, widow, whose excellent praises Jerome has written.
Also at Rome, blessed Louisa Albertoni, a Roman widow, of the Third Order of
St. Francis, renowned for virtues.
On the same day, the transferal of (the body of) St. Mark the Evangelist.
His holy body was brought from Alexandria, which was then occupied by the
barbarians, to Venice, and was there honorably buried in the great church
dedicated to his name.
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A prayer to St. John Bosco:
O glorious Saint John Bosco, who in order to lead young people to the feet
of the divine Master and to mould them in the light of faith and Christian
morality didst heroically sacrifice thyself to the very end of thy life and
didst set up a proper religious Institute destined to endure and to bring
to the farthest boundaries of the earth thy glorious work, obtain also for
us from Our Lord a holy love for young people who are exposed to so many
seductions in order that we may generously spend ourselves in supporting
them against the snares of the devil, in keeping them safe from the dangers
of the world, and in guiding them, pure and holy, in the path that leads to
God. Amen.
Traditional indulgence of 300 days, once a day. Plenary on usual
conditions, if recited for one month.
Imprimatur: Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, May 30, 1951.
Thus saith the Lord: Stand ye on the ways, and see. And ask for the old
paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it, and you shall find
refreshment for your souls. Jeremias 6:16
Fr Corey Blake
hmm, I thought he invented chocolate syrup.