Saint John Bosco

[martin]

Patricia that's some food for thought... The power of the Hail Mary comes to mind..
Holy Mary mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death.

Was it St Theresa who revealed to another saint that she would willingly return to earth and suffer every imaginable affliction till the end of time, for the privilege of being permitted to say one more Hail Mary for the extra glory it would merit her in heaven?

[Brigid]

I have another one on death and I will post it in the Guardian angel thread.   You know, each one of us is going to go through the last hour ( whether we like to think of it or not )  and it is going to be difficult.  We must begin praying right now while we are in our senses that grace may be given us in our last hour to sustain us and not let us fall into despair.

I was thinking about this only yesterday and continue today. It is a sobering thought and I am so glad that we have recourse to Our Blessed Lord's mother. Although a mere creature like us, she was elevated to the heights of Her Son to be the channel through which Our Lord delivers graces, as St. Alphonsus taught.

[Patricia]

Excerpt from ' Don Bosco '  By Teresio Bosco

Seven Resolution

After Mass unexpectedly, Fr. Cinzano asked John to accompany him to Bardella, where they were celebrating the village feast.

    I went half-heartedly, so as not to hurt him. I felt out of place, a sort of newly dressed puppet.  I had prepared myself so much for the day, and there I was sitting at lunch among people who had gathered to laugh, chatter, eat, drink and enjoy themselves.  What could they have in common with one who, only a few hours before, had donned a habit of sanctity meaning to give himself totally to the Lord ?
     On my way back, the priest asked me why was I so pensive.  I answered him frankly that the ceremony of the morning clashed glaringly with what had followed.  Seeing priests playing the clown among the guests, half-tipsy, had disgusted me.  " Rather than becoming a priest like that, I would prefer to give up my habit immediately. "


     The parish priest saw that the young cleric was right.  He wriggled out of the situation by resorting to cliches.  " That's how the world is made," he said.  " We have to take it as it is.  Evil has to be seen to be avoided."
     John spent the last four days before entering the seminary in silence and recollection, and wrote down seven resolutions that signaled a ' reversal ' in his style of life:

     1. I will not go to dances, plays, and public shows.
     2. I will not perform sleight-of-hand tricks and acrobatics, or go hunting.
     3. I will observe temperance in eating, drinking, and sleeping.
     4. I will read only spiritual literature.
     5. I will shun all thoughts, conversations, words and readings contrary to chastity.
     6. I will make some meditation and spiritual reading every day.
     7. Everyday I will tell stories or share ideas that may do good to others.

     " I went before an image of the Blessed Virgin and made a formal promise to observe these resolutions at any cost of any sacrifice, " he writes. 
     He would not always succeed, because he too was made of flesh and blood like the rest of us.  But he had certainly set himself on a firm course.
     John was due to enter the seminary on 30 October.  The night before, he was packing the things Momma Margaret had put together for him.

     My mother kept looking at me as if she had something to say.  Suddenly she took me aside and said:
     " John, you are wearing the cassock now.  I am as happy as a mother can be.  But remember that it is not so much the habit that makes you a priest, as your virtue.  Should you ever have doubts about your vocation, for God's sake do not dishonour the habit.  Lay it aside at once.   I prefer to have a poor farmer for a son rather than a priest who neglects his duties.  When you were born, I consecrated you to love the Madonna.  When you began to study, I recommended you to love this good Mother of ours. Now I urge you to belong entirely to her. "
     By the time she had finished speaking my mother was moved, and I was crying.
     " Mother, "  I answered, " I thank you for all you have done for me.  I will never forget your words. "
     Early next morning I went to Chieri, and on the evening of that same day I entered the seminary.



     The first thing that met John's eyes in the seminary was a sundial upon a whitewashed wall.  Below the dial was the inscription:  Afflictis lentae, celeres gaudentibus horae-------" Time flies slowly for the sad, but quickly for the cheerful."   It was a good piece of advice for a young man about to begin six long years within those walls.
     In the chapel the seminarians knelt in perfect order.  The organ attacked the majestic notes of the Veni Creator.  The new academic year began with a three day retreat in perfect silence.

[martin]

How inspiring and moving just reading that Patricia.
And how quickly time passes. In reality all our trials will be over in a blink of an eye when considering eternity.
Dear Lord, help us not to waste this time. 

[Brigid]

I

will not perform sleight-of-hand tricks and acrobatics,

 

[martin]

I

will not perform sleight-of-hand tricks and acrobatics,

 

It seems he didn't think these types of tomfoolery fitting for a priest.

[Patricia]

This was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalized and still others to hope for God's mercy. And so he bade us to be gentle and humble of heart.

-- Saint John Bosco

[Patricia]

Miraculous cure and conversions after praying to St. Don Bosco relic in India

SHILLONG, (Abp Dominic Jala SDB) – The birthday of Don Bosco, 16 August, Larisuk Khongsit was baptised as Larisa Mary Khongsit. The baptism ceremony took place at the shrine of St. John Bosco, Cherrapunjee, where during the visit of the Relic of Don Bosco, this bed-ridden girl had a miraculous healing after praying to Don Bosco.

Twenty three young people and children from families that have been drawn to the faith through the healing of this 11 year old child also received baptism, at a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Dominic Jala SDB, of the archdiocese of Shillong.

Larisuk Khongsit has been baptised as Larisa Mary Khongsit. She herself decided to have a new name at baptism. The old name meant, nurtured in peace. Her new name means I/we/they have Rejoiced. A fitting name for one who has been touched through the intercession of Don Bosco.

Larisuk is the sixth of nine children from a family that follows the Khasi traditional religion, and lives in a small house in Thiep Twa locality, Cherrapunjee. She had been unable to stand or walk for the past four years.

It all happened in 2007 while playing with her friends she fell and injured her right leg. The wound festered and she spent three months in the Civil Hospital Shillong, 50 km away from her home. This brought little relief and at a certain point the doctors advised amputation to save the then 7 year old child.

It was on 19th June 2011, when the Relic of Don Bosco was in Sohra that she persuaded her mother to take her to the prayer session for healing being held on the grounds of the Parish. She said a simple prayer: Don Bosco please give me healing; I want to go to school again.

Two days later alone in her hut, she suddenly felt the urge to get up and walk and went to fetch her mother who was washing clothes at a nearby stream. Since then the foul smelling puss stopped coming out of the wounds and the rotting flesh slowly came off leaving place for new flesh. On 17th July, a piece of bone just dropped out of the little opening that was a large wound on her leg. Larisa keeps in mind all these important dates and has reason to rejoice and the whole community has reason to rejoice too.

The baptism of Larisa and 22 others was celebrated in the Don Bosco Shrine, Sohra/Cherrapunee on 16th August, 2011, the birth day of Don Bosco, the day the Salesian Congregation is launching a four year journey to the bicentenary of his birth. The older members of the families will probably be baptised around Christmas 2011.

[odhiambo]

God is great!
Saint John Bosco,
Pray for us!

[Patricia]

Excerpt from ' Don Bosco' by Teresio Bosco

" My Mother taught me to pray"

Charity, at Beechi, did not arise from philanthropic or sentimental feelings. It was rooted in the love of God. God reigned in the house of Beechi. Margaret was illiterate, but she knew by heart long passages of sacred history and of the gospel. And she was convinced of the necessity of prayer: one needed to speak to God in order to find the strength to live well and to do good.
     " From my earliest years," writes Don Bosco, " she would teach me the prayers herself. She would make me kneel with my brothers, and all together we would recite the morning and night prayers."
     The nearest priest was far away, and Margaret did not expect him to find the time to teach catechism to her children. Here are some questions and answers from the Compendum of Christian doctrine that Margaret had learnt as a little girl, and that she taught her sons John, Joseph and Anthony:

Q What should a good Christian do as soon as he gets up each morning?
A. The sign of the cross.
Q What should he do after rising and dressing?
A  He should kneel down if he can before some holy image, and renew from the heart the act of faith in the presence of God and say devoutly: I adore you, O my God and I love you will all my heart.
Q What must one do before work?
A  Offer one's work to God.

     One of the first practices of piety John learnt with his family was the recital of the rosary. At that time the rosary used to be the usual evening prayer of all Christians. Repeating the Hail Mary fifty times, the peasants of Beechi spoke to Our Lady, seeing her more as a mother than as a queen. Repeating the same words fifty times was not nonsense to them. They were used to hitting the hoe hundreds of times, and they knew that this was the secret of good harvests. As they fingered the beads, their thoughts went to their children, to their fields, to life and to death.  This is how John began to converse with Our Lady, and he knew that she as looking at him and listening to him.
     
     In his Memoirs, Don Bosco remembers also his first confession. " It was my mother who prepared me. She accompanied me to church. She went to confession before me and introduced me to the confessor. Later she helped me make an act of thanksgiving."

[Patricia]

Don Bosco
Our Lady’s Wonder-Worker
by Susan Vennari
 
“It is time to think of the sacraments,” the doctor said to the fifteen-year old Charles, who lay on his bed, dying. The son of a Turin innkeeper, Charles frequented the Oratory of Don Bosco. Thus, he now begged his family to send for Don Bosco. But to his disappointment, Don Bosco was out of town. The parish priest was called to administer the sacraments to the dying lad. After the priest left, however, Charles continued to call for Don Bosco until his death the following day.
When Don Bosco re-turned later that same day and heard the story, he set out at once to see the boy. A house servant greeted him, “You are too late, Father. He died ten hours ago.” Don Bosco responded, “Come now, he is only asleep.” The servant protested that the death certificate had already been signed, but he admitted the priest to see the boy’s grieving family.
Don Bosco entered the death chamber, and as he approached the bed, was assailed by the thought, “Who can say whether his last confession was a good one?” He asked that the other mourners leave the room, while only Charles’ mother and aunt remained. Uttering a silent prayer, he blessed the corpse, then called twice, “Charles, Charles, arise.”
The corpse trembled. Don Bosco tore away the shroud and veil which covered the boy’s body and face. As if awakening from a deep sleep, the boy looked around with confusion at the funeral arrayments. Then he saw Don Bosco and sat up, crying, “Oh, Don Bosco! If only you knew how I waited for you! How I needed you! God has granted me a great favor to see you.”
“Speak, Charles. I am here for you only.”
“Father, I should now be in hell!” the boy began. “Two weeks ago I was with a bad companion who led me into sin and at my last confession, I was afraid to tell everything. Now I’ve just had a horrible dream: I dreamt that I was standing on the edge of a fiery furnace. A band of demons was chasing me. They were about to throw me into the fire when a beautiful Lady appeared and stopped them. ‘Let him alone,’ She told them, ‘He has not yet been judged.’ And at that moment, I heard you calling my name, and I awoke. Oh, Don Bosco, will you please hear my confession?”
The astonished mother and aunt were excused from the room, but when the confession was over, all the mourners at the house were readmitted. “Oh, mamma,” the boy exclaimed, “Don Bosco has saved me from hell!” Charles recounted to all present the same story, always expressing amazement at having awakened to find himself dressed for his own funeral.
During the two hours of rejoicing that followed, only a few mourners noticed that the whole time, Charles’ body was as cold as marble. Finally Don Bosco spoke again. “My dear people, God has been kind to all of us today by showing us the importance of a good confession.” Turning to the boy, he continued, “Charles, now that the gates of Heaven lie wide open for you, would you rather go there or stay here with us?”
A hush fell over the room as Charles looked away, then looked back again, his eyes filled with tears. “Don Bosco, I’d rather go to Heaven.”
Don Bosco nodded a farewell, and the boy lay back on the bed. As the amazed mourners looked on, Charles’ body returned to the immobility of death.

[Shin]

It's such a moving story, and shows how desperate our salvation can be. . .

"Don Bosco, I'd rather go to Heaven."

Charles, pray for us...

[Shin]

Thank you Patricia! 


'Accept afflictions with patience. Silently endure cold and heat, wind and rain, fatigue and all the other discomforts that God may deign to send you.'

St. John Bosco

 

[odhiambo]

The excerpts are wonderful Patricia. Are there more?

[Patricia]

Two Seeds and Four Ears of Corn  Excerpt from Teresio Bosco's  ' Don Bosco'


     Old Joseph, Mr. Moglia's uncle, was returning from the fields one day, hoe on his shoulder and dripping with sweat. It was noon and from the belfry of Moncucco came the sound of the bell. The old man, dead tired, sat on some hay trying to catch his breath.  A little way off he saw John on the hay too, but kneeling. He was reciting the Angelus, as his mother Margaret had taught him to do.
    Joseph, half serious, half joking mumbled:
    " Bravo! The owners wear themselves out from morning to night till they drop dead of exhaustion. But the boy takes it easy and spends his time praying. "
     John replied in the same vein:
     " When it is time to work, Uncle Joe, you know I never shirk. But my mother taught me that when we pray, two seeds yield four ears of corn, and if we do not pray four seeds will give us only two ears of corn. It would do you good to pray too. "
     " Evviva!" laughed the old man, "Now we have  also a preacher in the house."
     In summer, the stable boys had to take the cows out to pasture. They had to watch lest they trespassed into the fields of others, ate wet grass or broke their horns.  Sitting under a tree while the cattle grazed, John found some time for his books too. Louis Moglia did not complain, but was curious:
     " Why do you read so much?"
     " Because I want to become a priest."
     " But don't you know that to study, nowadays you need nine or ten thousand lire?  Where will you find all that money? "
     " If it is God's will, someone will provide."
     Anna too used to come out sometimes into the fields to play. She was the first daughter of the Moglias, and was 8 years old. She saw John intent on his books instead of taking interest in her games, and resented it:
     " Oh, stop all that reading, John."
     " But I want to become a priest, and will have to preach and hear confessions."
     " Yes, a priest!" teased the girl, " You'll be tending cows all your life."
     One day John told her very seriously:
     " Anna, you are pulling my leg now, but one day you'll come to me for confession."
     Anna eventually married and settled in Moriondo. She often narrated this episode to her children. Four or five times a year she used to visit the Oratory at Valdocco, to make her confession to Don Bosco. He always received her like a dear sister.
     
     

[odhiambo]

John's Mom played a really big role in his spiritual growth.
Quite a woman that Margaret.