Saint John Bosco

[Patricia]

It is amazing how one mother can have totally opposite children in terms of temperament and piety. Her older son was mean spirited, ignorant and would beat up Don Bosco, so much so that Bosco had to be sent away from  home.   

[odhiambo]

It is amazing how one mother can have totally opposite children in terms of temperament and piety. Her older son was mean spirited, ignorant and would beat up Don Bosco, so much so that Bosco had to be sent away from  home.   

Wow, that goes beyond mere sibling jelousy.
Is there such a thing as being born bad and being born good?
These two boys shared the same environment and the same genetic constitution and yet one was a saint, the other, well, human 
If indeed he was born that way, can we blame him?

[Shin]

" 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. "

It's the truth!

The brothers remind me of Cain and Abel!

[Patricia]

His brother did however change his ways later . He stopped bothering John Bosco when he was ready to be settled and married and realized that John Bosco's schooling and  seminary expenses would not be his burden to carry. 

[Shin]

That's good to hear! 

[odhiambo]

His brother did however change his ways later . He stopped bothering John Bosco when he was ready to be settled and married and realized that John Bosco's schooling and  seminary expenses would not be his burden to carry. 

That is one brother I would prefer not to have.
Our eldest brother and sister for that matter, took over responsibility for us younger ones as soon as they started earning.
Father had so many children to raise, he could hardly cope. Not only his children that were many enough,( He was a polygamist), but also those of relatives who were less advantaged.

[Patricia]

Grigio  Excerpt from Teresio Bosco's Don Bosco


     The frequent attempts on my life prompted me not to go out alone into the city. [ Between the Oratory and the city, in those days, there was a broad stretch of fields covered with bushes and acacias.]
     One dark evening I was returning home all alone, not without some misgivings, when all of a sudden a huge dog came up to me. At first I was frightened, but when I patted him as if I were his master, he soon became friendly and accompanied me as far as the Oratory. This happened several other times. I can say that Grigio [ 'I Gris, as Don Bosco called him in the Piedmontese dialect] did me great service. What I relate here about him is pure truth.

Towards the end of November 1854, one rainy and misty evening I was returning from the city alone. All of a sudden I became aware of two men walking a short distance ahead of me. They fitted their gait to mine, slowing down or hurrying up accordingly.  I tried to turn back, but was too late. Jumping towards me, they silently threw a mantle over my head. I tried to break free and shout, but did not succeed. At that very moment Grigio appeared. Howling, he savaged the face of one, while sinking his fangs into the other.
     
"Call the dog away!" they began to shout.
"Only if you leave me alone," I answered.
"Call him at once!" they pleaded.

     Grigio continued howling like a mad wolf. They took to their heels, while Grigio, walking by my side, accompanied me home.
     Whenever I went out alone, as soon as I entered the bushy patch, Grigio would appear. The boys of the Oratory saw him enter the courtyard many times. On one occasion two boys, frightened, wanted to throw stones at him, but Butzzetti intervened:
     " Leave him alone, he is Don Bosco's dog."
     They began stroking him and brought him to the refectory where I was having my supper with some seminarians and my mother. They all looked at the dog, astonished:
     " Don't be afraid," I said, " he is my Grigio, let him come."
     He went all round the table and stopped by me, wagging his tail happily. I offered him food, but he would not touch it. He rested his head on the table as if he wanted to say good night, and then went to the door and was let out by the boys. I remember that on that particular evening I had been very late, and a friend of mine had reached me home in his carriage.

     Charles Tomatis, who was a student at the Oratory in those years, testified: " He was a formidable looking dog. More than once Mamma Margaret was heard exclaiming: " What a frightful animal!" He looked more wolf than dog, with his long snout, straight ears and grey coat. He was almost a metre in height. "
     Michael Rua saw the dog twice. He testifies that one evening Don Bosco has to go out on business, but found the dog sprawled across the threshold.  He tried to walk over him, to push him aside, but the dog would not budge and would push him back.
     Mamma Margaret, who by now knew the dog, told her son:
     " If you do not want to listen to me, at least listen to the dog: don't go out! "

     On the following day, Don Bosco came to know that a man with a pistol had been waiting for him at a bend of the road.
More than once Don Bosco thought of finding out where the dog was coming from, but he never found an answer. As late as 1872, Baroness Azelia Fassati asked him what he thought of that dog. Don Bosco smiled and answered:
     "To say that it was an angel would make one laugh. But neither can we dismiss him as just an ordinary dog."

[odhiambo]

Fascinating!
Thanks Patricia 

[Patricia]

Excerpt from Teresio Bosco's 'Don Bosco'

The Societa dell Allegria


     "During my first four classes," writes Don Bosco, " I learned how to stand up to my companions."
     Despite the severe Christian discipline imposed by the school-----pupils had even to show the 'receipt' of their monthly confession---some among the students were very bad. " One was so shameless as to suggest that I steal a valuable object from my landlady."
     At first John kept away from these boys, so as not to end up like a mouse in the paws of a cat.  But soon his success at school enhanced his prestige and placed him in a different position. Why not make use of it for their good?
     " The boys who wanted to lead me astray were among the worst in their studies," he remembers, " They began approaching me for help with their homework."
     He helped them, perhaps too much, even circulating complete translations during exams. At the finals of 1833 he was caught red-handed, and was saved only because of his friendship with the professor, who made him repeat the test.
     " In this way I gained the good will and affection of my companions. They began looking for me during their free time to get help for their studies, then to hear my stories, and finally for no particular reason at all."
     They felt happy together. They formed a kind of gang which John baptized Societa dell Allegria.  He drew up a simple code of conduct for them:
     1. No actions and no words unbecoming of a Christian.
     2. Fulfill one's scholastic and religious duties.
     3. Keep cheerful.
   
     'Cheerfulness' would become one of Don Bosco's 'fixed ideas'.  Dominic Savio, his best pupil, would put it like this. " Here we make sanctity consist in being cheerful. We try to avoid sin which robs our hearts of joy."  For Don Bosco, cheerfulness is the deep satisfaction that is born of the conviction that one is in God's hands, and therefore in good hands. It is a simple word that indicates the great virtue of Christian hope.
     " By 1832 I had become like the captain of a little army of friends."  They played quoit, walked on stilts, jumped and ran. Competition was heated and full of fun. When they were tired, John would entertain them with his magic tricks on a table set on the grass.
     " I would extract scores of coloured balls from a dice box, and dozens of eggs from an empty can. I would gather marbles from the noses of spectators, guess how much money they had in their pockets, and with the touch of a finger reduce to powder coins of any denomination."
     As at Becchi, all the fun used to end with a prayer.
     " On feast days we would go to the Church of St Anthony, where the Jesuit Fathers conducted wonderful catechism classes. I still remember some of the stories they used to tell."

[Shin]

No words unbecoming a Christian.. it seems so far away, but it is so possible for everyone who chooses to do it.

[Patricia]

The Devil in the Loft

     One autumn evening Johnny and his mother were at Capriglio, visiting the grandparents. The whole family was gathered around the table for supper. The room was dark, lighted only by a small oil lamp. Suddenly a suspicious noise was heard above their heads----once, twice, and again and again. All looked up, holding their breath.  A short pause and the mysterious noise started once again, followed by a long, muffled drag. The women made the sign of the cross and the children clung to their mothers.
     An old crone began to narrate, guardedly, how in times past they used to hear long cries, groans and terrifying howls from the loft.
" It was the devil. And now he is back," she said, crossing herself.
     John broke the silence.
     " It's only a bird, and not the devil," he said.
     They silenced him as an impertinent fool. Just then a loud thud and a long dragging sound seemed to prove their fears. They all looked up, terrified, at the wooden ceiling of the loft where the farm products and utensils were kept.
     John got up.  " Let's go up and see," he said.
     " You are mad," they exclaimed , " Margaret, stop him! You can't play about with the devil."
     But the boy had already lit a lamp and gotten hold of a stick.
     " Why not wait for the morning? " his mother suggested.
     " Mamma, are you afraid too?"
     " No, I'll come with you."
     They climbed up the wooden ladder. The others also joined them, with lanterns and sticks. John pushed open the door of the loft and held up the lamp.
     " Look there, in the corner," came the muffled cry of a woman.
     They all looked : an upside down grain basket was moving and advancing towards them. John took a step forward.
     " Be careful! It's bewitched !" they shouted.
     John got hold of the basket and pulled it up. A big hen bolted away squawking.
     Everyone started laughing heartily, relieved. The devil was only a hen after all. The basket had been leaning against the wall. The hen, trying to get at the grains caught in the wicker-work, must have brought it down on itself.  Tired and hungry, the poor creature had been trying to get out, pushing the basket here and there, banging against other things in the loft and causing thumps and long dragging sounds on the floor.

[odhiambo]

 
Well, it could still have been the devil, after all they can take any form.

[Patricia]

Well, it could still have been the devil, after all they can take any form. Grin

Ha ha ha!!

[CyrilSebastian]

        The Salesian Society, founded by Saint John Bosco, takes its name from Saint Francis de Sales.

[CyrilSebastian]

                    On April 18, 1869, one year after the construction of the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin, John     
                      established the Association of Mary Help of Christians.

[CyrilSebastian]

Saint John Bosco was a devotee of Mary, Mother of Jesus, under the title of Mary Help of Christians.