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. 

* From the Constitutions 

 “The Salesian spirit finds its model and source in the very heart of Christ, apostle of the Father”. (C11)

“We study and imitate him (Don Bosco)”. (C21)

“Our living rule is Jesus Christ… whom we find present in Don Bosco who devoted his life to the young”. (C196)

“The first Salesians found their sure guide in Don Bosco. Living at the very heart of his community in action, they learned to model their own lives on his. We too find in him our model”. (C97)


* A reflection in 3 points

1. Looking at the model “The Lord has given us Don Bosco as Father and Teacher”. Before being Father and Teacher of the youth, Don Bosco is OUR Father and Teacher!

As a father Don Bosco reflects in a special way the “fatherhood’ of God. All his life he displayed a father’s heart. He said to his Salesians: ”No matter in what remote part of the world you may be, never forget that here in Italy you have a father who loves you in the Lord”.

As a teacher Don Bosco reproduces some features of the Divine Master, Jesus Christ, who has been his guide from the first dream at the age of nine. Of Jesus Don Bosco incarnated certain aspects: gratitude for the gift of vocation, predilection for the little ones, zeal in preaching and saving, the gentleness and self-giving attitude of the Good shepherd. (C11)

Before being a teacher, Don Bosco is a good disciple! He reflects Jesus in his life and points to Jesus as the perfect model: “He will always be our Master, our Guide , our Model”. Don Bosco is there with all his “splendid blending of nature and grace … deeply human and deeply the man of God … with a closely-knit life project, the service of the young”.

Is this model constantly present in my life? Is Don Bosco only on my T-shirt or in my heart and mind? Am I concerned to know him more so as to love him more?  When looking for orientation in my life do I turn to him?

2. Modeling myself after him When I hear people saying of somebody: “I admire him!”, my spontaneous reaction is: “And do you imitate him?”.

Don Bosco is there not to be admired only, but to be imitated!

All Don Bosco’s rich gifts of nature and grace placed him at the service of a unique mission: the salvation of the youth! He is a man with a fixed idea always in mind, which accompanied him from the age of nine to the end of his life: save the young, and especially the poorest of them.

The great imitator of Don Bosco is Don Rua, “the most faithful son of Don Bosco”. The closeness to the master for many years helped him “to enter into Don Bosco’s ideas, to give up his own views, his own opinions, to be conformed” to Don Bosco’s ways of seeing things. The expression “At Mirabello I shall try to be Don Bosco” sums up all his effort to copy the model. And the result is immediately seen. After few months it has been written that “Don Rua at Mirabello is behaving like Don Bosco in Turin. He is always surrounded by boys attracted by his friendliness...”

To Don Rua apply the very words he said of Don Bosco: “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”.

Don Bosco remains still the guide who can enlighten our choices today, the model against whom we can measure our fidelity. His example is an invitation to us to be resolute in our commitment, to unify all our thoughts, strength and all we are in one and the same direction, a stimulus to fidelity until death.

3. Becoming a model  - 18 December 2009: renewal of profession by all of us Salesians.

Today is the culmination of the spiritual and pastoral journey of this 150^th Anniversary of the founding of our Congregation.

Today we are given the opportunity to “start afresh from Don Bosco”, Founder of our Congregation, of the Salesian Family and of the vast Salesian Movement. It is a question of taking to heart our identity as consecrated persons, dedicated by vow to the primacy of God and the following of Christ obedient, poor and chaste, totally at the disposal of the Spirit, and precisely on account of this totally dedicated to the young. It is an identity to be lived with joy and to be visibly demonstrated in evangelising zeal, in love for the salvation of souls, in pastoral enthusiasm, that draw their inspiration from Don Bosco’s plan of life “da mihi animas, cetera tolle”. Our identity therefore ought to be clearly seen in the fire of apostolic passion and in our pastoral charity with its youthful dynamism. 
 
During the course of this year we have gone over and re-discovered the goals of holiness traced out in our Rule of Life, now the renewal of profession on 18 December is the fruit of a process of conversion and the starting point for a renewed offering of our lives to God for the young. 

It is a way to become models to the young who are looking for direction in life, a way to be Don Bosco today wherever we are, in AFW Vice-Province.

Fr Riccardo -  Provincial

Lord, we thank you for Don Bosco.

You have given him to us as our Father and Teacher.

In him we celebrate the wonders of your love,

A splendid blend of nature and grace,

And an original style of life and action in the service of the young.

Grant, we pray you,

That following his teaching and example

And modeling ourselves after him

We may bring him to life today in ourselves

By dedicating ourselves to you and to our fellow men

In faithful service given to young people.

Amen.