\nlike a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest
\nof all the seeds but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and
\nbecomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n
Because today is a Sunday, the Church does not observe the feast of Saint John Bosco, known also as Don Bosco. However, in the Salesian family, Don Bosco’s it is a feast day. My encounters with members of the Salesian family<\/a> have been few so I’ve poked around their website to learn a little more of the spirit of Don Bosco. T<\/font>he From the letter of Don Bosco<\/i>: <\/p>\n By How many conversions have been brought about by a <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches. … Continue reading Saint John Bosco<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1710],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25294"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25294\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/font><\/p>\n![\"St](\"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/St%20John%20Bosco.jpg\")
\nparagraphs are excerpts of a May 10, 1884 letter by Saint John Bosco,
\nconsidered by some to be the “Magna Carta” of Salesian Education. It
\nis included as an appendix to the Constitutions of the Salesian Society, and
\ngiven to members of the Salesian Family. In the USA the Salesians are not as
\nknown as in other parts of the world. Here, their educational system was
\nperceived to be competing with the Jesuits, and Salesians could not compete.
\nThe Jesuits have about 47 high schools in all the major cities. Be that as it
\nmay, Saint John Bosco provides for us an insight into effective pastoral
\nministry. The Salesians of Don Bosco are influential in various sectors of the
\nChurch, primarily in education and with the youth. The reasons for this fact are evident in the letter below. If you are interested in the Salesian priests and sisters, visit their website<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\na friendly informal relationship with the boys, especially in recreation<\/span>. You
\ncannot have love without this familiarity, and where this is not evident there
\ncan be no confidence. If you want to be loved, you must make it clear that you
\nlove<\/span>. Jesus Christ made himself little with the little ones and bore our
\nweaknesses. He is our master in the matter of the friendly approach. The
\nteacher who is seen only in the classroom is a teacher and nothing more; but if
\nhe joins in the pupils’ recreation he becomes their brother. If someone is only
\nseen preaching from the pulpit it will be said that he is doing no more and no
\nless than his duty, whereas if he says a good word in recreation it is heard as
\nthe word of one who loves.<\/p>\n
\nfew words whispered in the ear of a youngster while he is playing<\/b>. One who
\nknows he is loved loves in return, and one who loves can obtain anything,
\nespecially from the young. This confidence creates an electric current between
\nyoungsters and their superiors. Hearts are opened, needs and weaknesses made
\nknown. This love enables superiors to put up with the weariness, the annoyance,
\nthe ingratitude, the troubles that youngsters cause. Jesus Christ did not crush
\nthe bruised reed nor quench the smouldering flax. He is your model<\/b>. Then you
\nwill no longer see anyone working for his own glory; you will no longer see
\nanyone punishing out of wounded self-love; you will not see anyone neglecting
\nthe work of supervision through jealousy of another’s popularity; you won’t
\nhear people running others down so as to be looked up to by the boys: those who
\nexclude all other superiors and earn for themselves nothing but contempt and
\nhypocritical flattery; people who let their hearts be stolen by one individual
\nand neglect all the other boys to cultivate that particular one. No one will
\nneglect his strict duty of supervision for the sake of his own ease and
\ncomfort; no one will fail through human respect to reprimand those who need
\nreprimanding. If we have this true love, we shall not seek anything other than
\nthe glory of God and the good of souls. When this love languishes, things no
\nlonger go well. Why do people want to replace love with cold rules? Why do the
\nsuperiors move away from the observance of the rules Don Bosco has given them?
\nWhy the replacement little by little of loving and watchful prevention by a
\nsystem which consists in framing laws? Such laws either have to be sustained
\nthrough punishment and so create hatred and cause unhappiness or, if they are
\nnot enforced, cause the superiors to be despised and bring about serious
\ndisorders. This is sure to happen if there is no friendly relationship. So if
\nyou want the Oratory to return to the happiness of old, then bring back the old
\nsystem: let the superior be all things to all, always ready to listen to any
\nboy’s complaints or doubts, always alert to keep a paternal eye on their
\nconduct, all heart to seek the spiritual and temporal good of those Divine
\nProvidence has entrusted to him. Then hearts will no longer be closed and
\ndeadly subterfuge will no longer hold sway<\/span>. The superiors should be unbending
\nonly in the case of immoral conduct. It is better to run the risk of expelling
\nsomeone who is innocent than to keep someone who causes others to sin.
\nAssistants should make it a strict duty in conscience to refer to the superiors
\nwhatever they know to be an offence against God.<\/p>\n