St John Bosco – Communio

Saint John Bosco

Today we have the liturgical memorial of Saint John Bosco. Prayers of gratitude for his witness and that of the Salesians.

“Do you want our Lord to give you many graces? Visit him often. Do you want him to give you few graces? Visit him seldom. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament are powerful and indispensable means of overcoming the attacks of the devil. Make frequent visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the devil will be powerless against you.”

“There must be no hostility in our minds, no contempt in our eyes, no insult on our lips. We must use mercy for the present and have hope for the future, as is fitting for true fathers who are eager for real correction and improvement.”

“It is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself, and to threaten a boy than to persuade him. Yes, indeed, it is more fitting to be persistent in punishing our own impatience and pride than to correct the boys. We must be firm but kind, and be patient with them.”

St. John Bosco, pray for us!

Saint John Bosco

The liturgical memorial of Saint John Bosco is prayed today. Bosco, one of the most influential saints in the modern era, has taught us how to be a mentor and friend to young people struggling to be healthy, holy, and happy. For me, it is a Benedictine monk who has re-introduced Bosco’s good example and modus vivendi in his teaching high school that makes sense for today.

From the Office of Readings, we read, [Jesus] put up with [the apostles] ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalised, and still others to hope for God’s mercy. And so he bade us to be gentle and humble of heart.

[In correcting] mistakes we must lay aside all anger and restrain it so firmly that it is extinguished entirely.

There must be no hostility in our minds, no contempt in our eyes, no insult on our lips. We must use mercy for the present and have hope for the future…

In serious matters it is better to beg God humbly than to send forth a flood of words that will only offend the listeners and have no effect on those who are guilty.

Saint John Bosco, teach us to love…

Saint John Bosco

O God, who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco as a father and teacher of the young, grant we pray, that, aflame with the same fire of love, we may seek out souls and serve you alone.

The devotion to Saint John Bosco is not as known on these shores as it ought to be. He was a brilliant, loving and insightful man. Bosco’s confidence in God’s ways is a tremendous consolation: he helps me to recognize the signs God places in front of me with clarity.

The Salesian congregation of priests, brothers and sisters is better known in other parts of the world than in the USA. Some say that the popularity of the Jesuits here made covered over the charism of Bosco and the schools his order administered. Not completely sure that is the reason but what is clear to me that not to know about Bosco is an impoverishment. One thing I heard from a Benedictine friend who has taken a shining to Bosco tells me that Bosco’s “success” is that if you want to positively affect the lives of students then you have to be involved in the lives of the students. The ivory tower approach is not going to work.

May the Apostle of the Youth, pray for us.

Saint John Bosco

O God, who raised up the Priest Saint John Bosco as a father and teacher of the young, grant, we pray, that, aflame with the same fire of love, we may seek out souls and serve you alone.

Saint John Bosco is for me, an important model and patron of ministry. Thanks to my friend Dom Paschal of Portsmouth Abbey, Bosco’s values of loving kindness, religion and reason are front-in-center of my own ministry and have become the basis of pastoral care be it mission work, education, the healthcare apostolate or parish life.

Saint John Bosco’s final words were recorded as “Love each other as brothers. Do good to all, evil to none.”

Indeed, let’s follow Don Bosco.

Don Bosco’s relic comes to New York City

A relic of Saint John Bosco, patron of youth, is visiting New York City on Friday, October 1. The relic’s pilgrimage is in preparation for the saint’s 200th anniversary of birth. Being in the USA is only one of 130 nations that the relic is visiting.

Don Bosco’s relic will be at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, NYC. Veneration of the relic will be 10 am until 11 pm. Mass will be celebrated by Archbishop Timothy Dolan at 7 pm.

More info can be found here (this is an excellent website!)

Saint John Bosco

born 1815

died 1888

canonized a saint 1934

the Salesians of Don Bosco, the religious order founded by the saint can be seen here.