Young and Alive

 21. DON BOSCO OUR MODEL

The Salesian spirit finds The Lord has given us Don Bosco as father and teacher.

We study and imitate him, admiring in him a splendid blending of nature and grace.  He was deeply human, rich in the qualities of his people, open to the realities of this earth; and he was just as deeply the man of God, filled with the gifts of the Holy Spirit and living "as seeing him who is invisible".
  

These two aspects combined to create a closely-knit life project, the service of the young.  He realized his aim with firmness, constancy and the sensitivity of a generous heart, in the midst of difficulties and fatigue.  "He took no step, he said no word, he took up no task that was not directed to the saving of the young... Truly the only concern of his heart was for souls."

10. Pastoral charity the centre of our spirit

Under the inspiration of God, Don Bosco lived and handed on to us an original style of life and action: the Salesian spirit.

It is summed up and centred in pastoral charity, characterized by that youthful dynamism which was revealed so strongly in our Founder and at the beginnings of our Society.  It is an apostolic impetus that makes us seek souls and serve God alone.

* Our Salesian call When we think of our call to the Salesian life, how many of us can say: “I decided to be a Salesian after going through a deep study of the Preventive System and the Salesian Spirituality”?  How many of us can rather say: “If I am a Salesian it is because of father or brother so and so … My vocational journey

Since this second alternative has been my experience I tend to think that the majority of the Salesians could say the same.

Models play an important role in the life of a person, especially at the early stages. 

A Spontaneous Expression

C 20: The Preventive System and Salesian spirit

Under the guidance of Mary his teacher, Don Bosco lived with the boys of the first Oratory a spiritual and educational experi­ence which he called the "Preventive Sys­tem".  For him this was a spontaneous ex­pression of love inspired by the love of a God who provides in advance for all his creatures, is ever present at their side, and freely gives his life to save them.

Don Bosco passes this on to us as a way of living and of handing on the gospel message, and of working with and through the young for their salvation. it permeates our ap­proach to God, our personal relationships and our manner of living in community through the exercise of a charity that knows how to make itself loved.

Many of us are familiar with the famous paint of Rembrandt reproducing the encounter of the Prodigal Son with his merciful father. Many of us did read the comment made by Henry Nouwen   in his best seller some years ago. In the introduction to the text he described how he discovered in that picture so many meaningful details just “contemplating” it day after day.

The same happened during these days. Several times I have read, studied and reflected on our Constitutions in personal meditation or in community meetings. Nevertheless in these days, while “contemplating” some articles, I found out a kind of newness, freshness and richness that filled my heart with gratitude and joy.

We are rich, we are very rich. We are children of a great rich spiritual family. And like children of rich families, we run the risk of not appreciating enough our richness, the precious heritage that was laid down for us. We do not explore it any more, we are satisfied for what we have learnt, and we think we have reached the saturation proverbial for a conceited lecturer.

The title of Art 20 “The Preventive System and Salesian Spirit” matches together two fundamental topics that usually are developed in separated books. Here they become two parts of a same book interweaving each other.

I can trace back the time in which the Preventive System was presented to us - young Salesians - as a “method of education”. Following the short outlines laid down by Don Bosco - “The Preventive System in the education of the young” - we learned about the difference between repressive and preventive system, “in what the preventive system consists”, its application and advantages. It was an approach that helped us to revisit the previous periods of our education in Salesian environments and find out many good examples of its application in the style of life of our educators. By expanding a little into psychological and pedagogical areas of studies we presumed to be fully equipped for the task of our practical training in the communities. Wonderful juvenile enthusiasm!

Along the years the Congregation elaborated a new inside of the Preventive System to become gradually not only a “method of education” but “a spirituality”, “the” Salesian spirituality. Therefore the GC 25 (N 57) invited the communities to give greater emphasis to the “understanding and appreciation of the preventive system as the way to Salesian holiness”.

In the art. 20, the first Oratory of Don Bosco is seen as a “spiritual and educational experience”. The preventive system is referred to as “a spontaneous expression of love inspired by the love of God”. And so “it permeates our approach to God, our personal relationships and our manner of living in community”.

As Circumstances Demand!

19.   Initiative and flexibility

 The Salesian is called to be a realist and to be attentive to the signs of the times, convinced that the lord manifests his will also through the demands of time and place.  Hence his spirit of initiative and apostolic creativity:  "in those things which are for the benefit of young people in danger or which serve to win souls for God, I push ahead even to the extent of recklessness".

Timely response to these needs requires him to keep abreast of new trends and meet them with the well-balanced creativity of the Founder; periodically he evaluates his work.

There is a  story of Don Bosco which I always find  quite powerful and challenging, just as I did  when I first heard it. Even though it belongs to that apocryphal collection of stories which inevitably tend to accumulate in the life of saints, yet I find that it really captures his spirit and drive.

It concerns  a Salesian confrere who went to lament to don Bosco when he was on a visit to one of the houses. “Ah, these young people today, they are not what they used to be”, he moaned, “they are fickle and easily get distracted with these modern day innovations.” He proceeded to tell him how the numbers of those attending the oratory had dwindled drastically.

When don Bosco asked him as to the reason why this might be so, the confrere explained: “It’s these latest inventions that are leading them astray. This thing called Bicycle – they are all getting a bike and they prefer going off to different places rather than come to the Oratory.”

“Well then,” Don Bosco promptly replied, “learn how to ride the bicycle and go run after them.”

I think it is a lovely example  of how Don Bosco got his priorities right: his heart was for the young and they were the main objective of his concern and endeavours. Everything else was a means to this end, the welfare of youth. Therefore in a situation where society and young people are always changing and developing, one has to be able not only to read the signs of the times but also to have the ability to adapt. This inevitably requires one to be flexible as well as to have a creativity in one’s pastoral outreach.

“I push ahead to the extent of recklessness” where no mere idle words and he often took many risks.  The amount of work he did was phenomenal and the different initiatives he undertook were incredible, very often breaking new ground. “ When it comes to progress”, he once said to a young visiting priest who eventually became Pope Pius XI, “I want to be in the vanguard.”

“Ecstasy of Action”

18.  Work and temperance

"Work and temperance will make the Congregation flourish",¹ whereas the seeking of an easy and comfortable life will instead bring about its death.²

The Salesian gives himself to his mission with tireless energy, taking care to do everything with simplicity and moderation.  He knows that by his work he is participating in the creative action of God and cooperating with Christ in building the Kingdom.

Temperance gives him the strength to con­trol his heart, to master himself and remain even-tempered.

He does not look for unusual penances but accepts the dally demands and renunciations of the apostolic life.  He is ready to suffer cold and heat, hunger and thirst, weariness and disdain whenever God's glory and the salvation of souls require it.³

We dedicate this day to our brother martyrs St Luigi Versiglia and St Callistus Caravario as living examples of work and temperance; indeed their martyrdom  has made “the Congregation flourish”. To remember them is to renew our missionary commitment, a commitment that is disposed of laying down our lives for the Glory of God and the salvation of souls.

These two particular qualities of work and temperance that go hand in hand are mention in the dream of the Ten Diamonds which has a particular significance for our Province. Fr Wade, the first Salesian to arrive in Nigeria , had a special devotion  for  this dream,  following the words of the young visionary in Nigeria who on being asked what advice did our Lady have for them, she replied to be faithful to the dream of the diamonds .

In the letter which the Rector Major wrote in March reflecting on the significance of the 150^th anniversary of our Congregation, he makes particular reference to the dream presenting it as a important aid in our renewal process:  “It ought to be the guideline for our life and the subject of our meditation, so as to walk in the spirit of ‘Salesian consecrated persons.’”

This is not the first time the Rector major makes reference to this dream and he  seems to attach particular importance to it.  When he preached the retreat to the Rectors around the different regions, one talk was dedicated entirely to the dream. 

It is good to see what  the Rector Major himself  had to say on these tow qualities when he gave the retreat to the Rectors.

Let Nothing Disturb You.

C.17 OPTIMISM AND JOY

The Salesian does not give way to discouragement in face of difficulties, because he has complete trust in the Father. "Let nothing upset you", Don Bosco used to say.¹

Inspired by the optimistic humanism of St Francis de Sales, he believes in man's natural and supernatural resources without losing sight of his weakness.

He is able to make his own what is good in the world and does not bewall his own times; he accepts all that is good,² especially if it appeals to the young.

Because he is a herald of the Good News he is always cheerful.³ He radiates this joy and is able to educate to a christian and festive way of life: "Let us serve the Lord in holy joy".

Young people can see the world with a mixture of feelings but above all else with a sense of joy and optimism, Don Bosco too emphasised the need for optimism and joy and reminded us of St Francis de Sales advice that we should not bewail the times we live in.

Young people are the growing hope of society and they have within their hands a future that belongs to them. As Salesians we too need to become explorers in their journey of faith, finding new ways to connect the older wisdom of the Gospel to the wide range of options that the young people are facing today.

Young people don't need us to make their world safe, but they do need us to give them some sort of compass as they move into an unknown future. For Salesians that compass is the experience of Gospel love, "young people need to know that they are loved"; “education is mainly a matter of the heart” said Don Bosco.

Don Bosco was convinced that education must be a joyful experience and he strove always to create an ambient in which young people could grow in a spirit of spontaneity, and joy and laughter; in an ambient in which he felt very much at home. This was possible because deep down Don Bosco was an optimist. For Don Bosco there was not place for discouragement in the face of difficulties, but a calm and serene acceptance of whatever is good.

We can say that Don Bosco more than an optimist, was a man of faith. He was convinced that there was someone greater than him was in charge, someone greater than everyone and everything in this world. Someone who cared for and loved, young people in particular, in an intense and personal way. Don Bosco saw himself as being only a humble, unworthy servant of this great and loving God. It was this faith that kept him going, that gave him the strength to carry on in spite of everything.

Family.

16.  Family spirit

Don Bosco wanted everyone to feel at home in his establishments.  The Salesian house becomes  a family when affection is mutual and when all, both confreres and young people, feel welcome and responsible for the common good.

In an atmosphere of mutual trust and dally forgiveness, the need and joy of sharing everything is experienced, and relationships are governed not so much by recourse to rules as by faith and the promptings of the heart.

This is a witness that enkindles in the young the desire to get to know and to follow the Salesian vocation.

It has been the desire of Don Bosco to make his establishments a home and a family. That is to say, a place where everyone feels both welcomed and accepted, with his strength and weaknesses. Who is able and responsible to bring this vision and desire into the reality? The answer is, all. To make a community into a home, it involves all of us. No one should expect a family to exist in a vacuum. Everyone must help to make the community a home, or family.

 

To Love Willingly

15. Salesian Loving-kindness

Sent to young people by the God who is 'all charity',¹ the Salesian is open and cor­dial, ready to make the first approach and to welcome others with unfailing kindliness, respect and patience.

His love is that of a father, brother and friend, able to draw out friendship in return;  this is the loving-kindness¹ so much recom­mended by Don Bosco.

His chastity and well-balanced attitude open his heart to spiritual fatherhood and give transparent witness to God's anticipating love.

It is interesting that among the 12 articles which explore different elements of the Salesian Spirit, it is only in this article  that the word ‘Salesian’ is used in the title to describe this particular quality:  Salesian loving-kindness. It seems to affirm that  the secret handed over to us here is so original and characteristic of don Bosco’s spirit that it cannot but be ‘Salesian’, typically his, a charism within our charism.

It has been a great blessing for me in so many ways to journey for many years with young people aspiring  to remain with don Bosco and make their first steps in our Congregation in West Africa. I always treasure the sharing which each novice makes at the beginning of the year to all the community about the spark which first ignited his interest in Salesian life: what made this very path more attractive, more appealing than many other possible options?

For the large majority of the novices,  what enkindled the desire to follow don Bosco was the loving kindness of the first Salesians they ever met, “open and cordial, ready to make the first approach and to welcome with unfailing kindness, respect and patience”.

Our ‘Burning Bush’

14.  Predilection for the young

Our vocation is graced by a special gift of God: predilection for the young: "That you are young is enough to make me love you very much". This love is an expression of pastoral charity and gives meaning to our whole life.

For their welfare we give generously of our time, talents and health: "For you I study, for you I work, for you I live, for you I am ready even to give my life".

  

Predilection for the Young” is a beautiful phrase which I think captures that particular quality, that “Special Gift of God”, which gives that distinctive characteristic to our Salesian vocation and makes it quite unique. It is a quality which makes us feel completely at home in the midst of young people. Don Bosco’s phrase is very much our own, “Here in your midst I feel completely at home; my life is to be spent here amongst you.”

  

I am sure that the phrase “preferential option for the poor” is one we have come across before – it is a phrase used often by the Church after Vatican II, especially in Latin America. The growing awareness of the Church’s role in promoting social justice as a dimension of its evangelizing mission has led it to express its commitment and solidarity with the poor. Perhaps the life of Bishop Oscar Romero, who was shot in El Salvador for his vocal support of the poor and his denunciation of the authorities, is the best illustration of the martyrdom that such a stand could demand. The phrase speaks of a choice that is made after consideration and deliberation of different options.

Predilection is different! It comes not so much from deliberation but is rather a spontaneous response which comes straight from the heart.  It implicitly presumes a relationship which is a source of joy, of delight and implies an eagerness to be in the company, in the presence of the beloved. “Where the heart is, the feet will follow,”  and this is what happened to Don Bosco. He simply could not be go to the young.

Arise and Walk

13.  Sense of the Church

We all know the special love that Don Bosco had for the Holy Father and the Church in general, a love which we have inherited. It is therefore appropriate in the light of this article to listen to what the Bishops had to say in the recent Synod on Africa.  Here are a few excerpts from their final message to the people of God.

  

Our love for Christ necessarily gives rise to our love for his Church, the People of God, the centre of unity and communion of all the forces working for the Kingdom.     

We feel ourselves a living part of her, and we cultivate in ourselves and in our communities a renewed ecclesial awareness. This we express in an attitude of filial loyalty to Peter's successor and to his teaching, and in our efforts to live in communion and collaboration with the bishops, clergy, religious and laity.

We educate young Christians to an authentic understanding of the Church and to work assiduously for its growth.  Don Bosco tells us:  "No effort should be spared when the Church and the Papacy are at stake".

 

“15. All over the continent [of Africa], the Church will continue to march in solidarity with her people. The joys and sorrows, the hopes and aspirations of our people are our own too (cf. GS,1). We are convinced that the first and most specific contribution of the Church to the people of Africa is to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. We are therefore committed to pursuing vigorously the proclamation of the Gospel to the people of Africa, for “life in Christ is the first and principal factor of development”, as Pope Benedict XVI says in Caritas in veritate (CV, 8). For a commitment to development comes from a change of heart, and a change of heart comes from conversion to the Gospel. In this light, we accept our responsibility to be instruments of reconciliation, justice and peace in our communities, “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Cor 5:20), who is our peace and reconciliation. (…)

Be Saints!

Art  12 Union with God

As he works for the salvation of the young, the Salesian experiences the fatherhood of God and continually reminds himself of the divine dimension of his work: “Apart from me you can do nothing”.

He cultivates union with God, aware of the need to pray without ceasing in a simple heart-to-heart colloquy with the living Christ and with the Father, whom he feels close at hand.  Attentive to the presence of the spirit and doing everything for God’s love he becomes like Don Bosco a contemplative in action.

The Salesian, while engaged in work for the salvation of the young, feels his need of God.  God is at the beginning of his vocation; the Salesian experiences God not only as his Father, but also as the Father of the boys to whom he is being sent; Jesus is his  Leader and Saviour with whom the Salesian  wants to join in his work of Salvation,  while the Holy Spirit is experienced as the love and the life that gives him meaning and unites  us with the mystery of the Trinity.

From the very first letter that he wrote to us, Fr. Chavez is  persistently calling us to return to the roots of our vocation which is none other than holiness. His initiative really started from the invitation of Pope John Paul II when he addressed the Capitular members : “My dear Salesians, be saints”.

O Come Emmanuel

11.  Christ of the Gospel
the source of our spirit

The Salesian spirit finds its model and source in the very heart of Christ, apostle of the Father.

Reading the Gospel we become more aware of certain aspects of the figure of the lord:  gratitude to the Father for the gift of a divine vocation offered to all men; predilection for the little ones and the poor; zeal in preaching, healing and saving because of the urgency of the coming of the Kingdom; the preoccupation of the Good Shepherd who wins hearts by gentleness and self-giving; the desire to gather his disciples into the unity of brotherly communion.

This article is extremely rich in its content and this short reflection will not do it the justice it deserves since it will not be able to explore fully all the dimensions that it touches on. However, the article is making an overall important point, not to be lost sight of. Namely that  our Salesian Charism, with  its rich different aspects, has only one ‘source’  and that is nobody else but Christ himself, ‘the apostle of the Father’. Don Bosco himself acknowledges this when in his spiritual testament he affirms that our superior is Jesus himself. “He will always be our Master, our Guide, our Model.”

Our particular way of life as outlined in our Constitutions has its roots in nothing else but the Gospel. If in this time for renewal a lot of emphasis is being place on the person of Don Bosco, it is because he himself was rooted in Christ. Don Bosco could equally say with St Paul, ‘ It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me’ [Gal 2:20]

In these days as we are preparing ourselves to renew the commitment we made on the day of our Religious profession, we will also be starting the Christmas Novena. The novena helps us to keep our focus on Jesus, especially with its beautiful ‘O’ Antiphons that take prominence in advent as we come close to Christmas. The first of these antiphons speaks of Christ as the Wisdom that comes from God.

Can You Whistle? Evangelizing by Welcoming.

The feast of the Immaculate Conception is very special for us as a Salesian Family for it marks the beginning of Don Bosco’s mission amongst the young, a mission which we have inherited as his spiritual sons.

In that first meeting which Don Bosco had with Garelli we already see different quality which were to develop into the different elements of his Salesian Spirit and Preventive system. One of these key qualities is the quality of WELCOME. Every person felt welcomed by Don Bosco and his Oratory.

The reflection below illustrates how a warm attitude of welcome is fundamental in our evangelizing mission to the young

A young lad of sixteen was thrown out of the church, out of the sacristy because he was ignorant, did not know how to serve Mass and just did not fit! But he was lucky, for there was someone to reach out to him: ‘Ignorant?! – But he does know how to whistle; and he is my friend! Come in. Welcome’.

A simple welcome was to change the life of that young lad, and the lives of so many young people for that matter. A welcome that was the seed that bloomed into who we are today! Is not the most popular photo of Don Bosco the one that greets us with his welcoming eyes and smile?

‘We Evangelize by welcoming, we welcome by Evangelizing’! Maybe this could be a good way of rephrasing a familiar saying for us Salesians. This brings us right into the heart of Christianity.

It takes a village to raise a … Vocation!

Philip Rinaldi first met Don Bosco as a child when the saint visited his village Lu and was given accommodation in their house. The following write up speaks of how in this village there was a strong vocational culture especially amongst the mothers. An African proverb says that It takes a village to raise a child. Equally can be said about a vocation, for each vocation is born within that small Church we call family.

"The little village of Lu, northern Italy, with only a few thousand inhabitants, is in a rural area 90 km east of Turin. It would still be unknown to this day if, in the year 1881, the family others of Lu had not made a decision that had “serious consequences”. The deepest desire of many of these mothers was for one of their sons to become a priest or for a daughter to place her life completely in God’s service.

Under the direction of their parish priest, Msgr. Alessandro Canora, they gathered every Tuesday for adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, asking the Lord for vocations. They received Holy Communion on the first Sunday of every month with the same intention. After Mass, all the mothers prayed a particular prayer together imploring for vocations to the priesthood.

Through the trusting prayer of these mothers and the openness of the other parents, an atmosphere of deep joy and Christian piety developed in the families, making it much easier for the children to recognize their vocations."

"Did the Lord not say, “Many are called, but few are chosen” (Mt 22:14) ? In other words, many are called, but only a few respond to that call. No one expected that God would hear the prayers of these mothers in such an astounding way. From the tiny village of Lu came 323 vocations!: 152 priests (diocesan and religious), and 171 nuns belonging to 41 different congregations. As many as three or four vocations came from some of these families.