Daily readings with reflections

Readings & Reflections: Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time & St. John Bosco, January 31,2020

Readings & Reflections: Friday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time & St. John Bosco, January 31,2020

John Bosco was born in 1815 A.D. in Turin, Italy. Industrialization and rapid growth characterized life in 19th century Turin, Italy. Moved by the needs of indigent boys in the city, the young priest John Bosco founded the “Oratory.” His “total dedication” program brought the boys together for Mass, games, and nature study on Sundays. He founded night classes to give them work.  John Bosco’s approach, based on love and not corporal punishment, anticipated twentieth-century developments in child psychology. “I have promised God that until my last breath I shall have lived for my poor young people. I study for you. I work for you, I am also ready to give my life for you. Take note that whatever I am, I have been so entirely for you, day and night, morning and evening, at every moment.” With the help of his mother, he took in six homeless boys in 1857 A.D. By 1862, he was providing accommodations for 600. He raised funds tirelessly, and promoted dedication to the Sacred Heart. By the time of his death in 1888, the order he founded to continue his work, the Salesians, had 768 members. Today, it is a worldwide congregation. He was canonized in 1934 A.D.

“In parables Jesus is talking about himself;… the ‘kingdom’ and Jesus’ own person belong together” (Pope Benedict XVI). Out of the nothingness of something as meager as a mustard seed, greatness springs. Out of David’s sin will sprout one of the most profound expressions of sorrow for sin ever written, Psalm 51, the Miserere.

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Lord, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory.” In your Mighty Name, I pray. Amen.

Reading I
2 Sm 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17

At the turn of the year, when kings go out on campaign,
David sent out Joab along with his officers
and the army of Israel,
and they ravaged the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah.
David, however, remained in Jerusalem.
One evening David rose from his siesta
and strolled about on the roof of the palace.
From the roof he saw a woman bathing, who was very beautiful.
David had inquiries made about the woman and was told,
“She is Bathsheba, daughter of Eliam,
and wife of Joab’s armor bearer Uriah the Hittite.”
Then David sent messengers and took her.
When she came to him, he had relations with her.
She then returned to her house.
But the woman had conceived,
and sent the information to David, “I am with child.”

David therefore sent a message to Joab,
“Send me Uriah the Hittite.”
So Joab sent Uriah to David.
When he came, David questioned him about Joab, the soldiers,
and how the war was going, and Uriah answered that all was well.
David then said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and bathe your feet.”
Uriah left the palace,
and a portion was sent out after him from the king’s table.
But Uriah slept at the entrance of the royal palace
with the other officers of his lord, and did not go down
to his own house.
David was told that Uriah had not gone home.
On the day following, David summoned him,
and he ate and drank with David, who made him drunk.
But in the evening Uriah went out to sleep on his bed
among his lord’s servants, and did not go down to his home.
The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab
which he sent by Uriah.
In it he directed:
“Place Uriah up front, where the fighting is fierce.
Then pull back and leave him to be struck down dead.”
So while Joab was besieging the city, he assigned Uriah
to a place where he knew the defenders were strong.
When the men of the city made a sortie against Joab,
some officers of David’s army fell,
and among them Uriah the Hittite died.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 51:3-4, 5-6a, 6bcd-7, 10-11

R. (see 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
I have done such evil in your sight
that you are just in your sentence,
blameless when you condemn.
True, I was born guilty,
a sinner, even as my mother conceived me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Let me hear the sounds of joy and gladness;
the bones you have crushed shall rejoice.
Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my guilt.

Gospel
Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – Build today with God’s word

What are we sowing today? What are we building today? Are we planting the seed of salvation from where people will draw their life, their strength and their salvation? Are we building God’s very own church or is it our own personal legacy we are setting on center stage?

The life each one of us is presently living is the harvest of the choices we made some months or years ago except that we may not have realized at the time that we were making such choices. That’s why it’s so important to realize that as servants of the Lord we must be aware of what we are sowing in peoples’ hearts. The way we relate and minister to peoples’ needs is not only something we will have to live with but something we have to answer to our Lord.

Our words and deeds are what we sow and they can be a cause for our Lord’s harvest to be either, beautiful and sweet or be bitter. As God’s servants, whatever we sow in His Name, that is what He will reap.

Are we going to give our God the best harvest ever?

We ought not to compromise our Lord and our work for Him as they will never amount to anything. To be authentic disciples of Christ, we must draw out the lines of the choices we are making. The choices we make today for God’s very own could be the turning point in their walk with the Lord.

Where will our actions, our words, our lives bring God’s flock? Will our witnessing draw more people to God or are we causing them to drift farther away from Him?

Someday we will all be living in what we have built today. Thus we have to build something that is founded on God’s Word, according to His will, as His word and His will shall never return to us void but will always accomplish its original intention. God’s Word works in every man’s heart and produces the desired fruit. When we sow His Word in people’s hearts, we can be assured that it will grow as it is Him Who will water it, nurture it and bring more life into it.

Building the Kingdom of God in His Name by using His Word is building something that will last, something we know will bring us closer to Him and be with Him forever, a kingdom, so big and great for all His loyal people! “It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”

*******

Rebuilding Community

Rebuilding community is a major task as we need to open the doors of community to new developments, new perspectives, new approaches and opportunities to serve God’s people.

Not long after the birth of a vibrant and spirit filled community, families were found flocking into God’s fold as God enabled His vessels and instruments to touch His people through the gifts which were poured on the fellowship and which since inception have been faithfully and generously shared with everyone. After years of evangelic work, the community found itself deeply entrenched in the local area. What started as a flock of encountered couples has grown to include the whole family.

The thrust to win territories for our Lord has allowed the community to bring the joy of being with the Lord to countless souls. Along with it came innumerable lessons about peoples, relationships, living faith amidst adversities and building God’s church. People were blessed with a full realization that sharing Christ with others is one best way of having more of Him as He comes back to those who respond to His call, a thousand fold, through God’s people themselves. The more Christ was shared, the more Christ was in each one!

Rebuilding necessitated a re-design of the community vision and to plan how to achieve set goals and mission. The work of rebuilding community is not for a plan to accommodate growth in terms of new communities and new outreaches but one that would bring about change in the way affairs, programs and missions are conducted.

To effect legitimate change in community, everyone needs to pray incessantly and practice mortification for the benefit of the communion. All must pray for the leaders that they widen their perspectives to see the beauty of God’s plan for community. Everyone ought to ask God for His grace so that community may continue to burn with a missionary spirit and expand its wings not only in terms of new bodies, new communities, new outreaches but through the poorest of the poor, to proclaim the gospel as “there is no other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

It is only self-sacrifice and a firm resolve to give more of self that will rebuild God’s community. To honor our Lord and remain under His blessing, His plan for us should be set at center stage. We must not only seek change in our ways according to the character of Christ, but rebuild the affairs of our communion and be one in our vision and charism and remain united in mission for the poor!  Let it be seen in our deeds more than what our words have shared with the world!

Direction

Build God’s church with His Word. Build today with God’s Word for tomorrow’s harvest of eternal life!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me build my life today according to your Word so that it may partly build your kingdom here on earth, so that I may reap a life with You forever. In Jesus, I pray. Amen.

Reflection 2 – Sin may delay but not destroy the Kingdom

It has been said that the shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story. Jesus seemed to think so. Much of his teaching was couched in parables. His disciples were puzzled by his methodology. “Why do you speak to them in parables?” His response was even more puzzling. “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you but not to them.”

Was Jesus playing games? Was his message reserved for a select few? No, he was not playing a game; he was not limiting revelation. Rather, Jesus was insisting that there are many who see and hear but do not understand because they fail to be open and enter fully into what he was to say.

Jesus often uses paradox: If you want to be leader you must be the servant; if you want to live you must die. These seeming contradictions reflect the countercultural and perhaps even counterintuitive character of what he had to say. He began his public preaching with, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” To repent means to rethink. To find heaven one must look beyond the earth.

David was distracted from his commitment to the Lord; he sinned. The disciples listened to Jesus’ parables and did not understand. In today’s Gospel Jesus assures his disciples that the kingdom is growing even if they cannot see it. Further the kingdom will be greater than they can imagine.

By means of parable Jesus reveals what many people fail to see, and they fail to see because they do not think if through. The Gospel requires some cooperation from those who hear it. Today’s liturgy of the word is a wake-up call. Are we cooperating? The shortest distance between a human being and the truth is a story. (Source: Norman Langenbrunner. Weekday Homily Helps. Ohio: St. Anthony Messenger Press, January 29, 2010).

Reflection 3 – The seed and the Kingdom of God

What can a mustard seed teach us about the kingdom of God? God’s kingdom works in a similar fashion with the seed. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God’s word. How does it work in our lives?

Let me tell you about the story of Leon. Leon was a young man, growing up in Poland during the Second World War. Leon and his family were Jews. He had seen his parents and his other relatives and friends killed or hauled off to the concentration camps by the Nazis. Little Leon fled to a nearby farm and hid there. Somewhere along the line he had to reveal himself or he would die. And so one day he introduced himself to the farmer. The farmer and his wife happened to be very sensitive people, very good Catholics, and they hid Leon for years. They fed him and clothed him and took care of him even though, had they been caught doing so, they would have been instantly executed.

Well, after the war Leon grew up and moved to the United States. He went to school, was a brilliant student, and became a rabbi. To this day, Leon, as an older man now, tells his story of his childhood and the people who saved him and shares with his Jewish friends his great appreciation and empathy for the Catholic church because those Catholics of long ago were so good and gracious to him. And what happened to him so long ago operates every day in an ongoing ecumenical reach-out.

I mention Leon’s story because, as you listened to the Word of God today, you notice it is precisely about these little things that the gospel speaks. What did Jesus say? The reign of God is like a seed. That seed is the kindness we do, the worship we share in, the conversation around the dinner table, the soup to the sick neighbor, the decisions to put the family first. The seed is being sensitive to minorities, to restrict television in order to stem the flow of consumerism to your children’s souls. The seed is making your children bring back the little things they’ve stolen, and apologize. The seed is having them catch you at prayer. The seed is your being here.

I like the seed symbol, mostly, because it fits me. I can handle a seed. We seldom have the opportunity, or even the courage, to do the big things, the really big, heroic things. But every day we all have the opportunity to do the small ones that display our values and the values of Jesus; values, perhaps, small as a seed, but seeds that will bear fruit thirty, forty, fifty years from now. Are you ready to let God change you by his grace and power? When we yield to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

Reflection 4 – What the kingdom of God is like

What can mustard seeds teach us about the kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God’s kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God’s word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within. Just as a seed has no power to change itself until it is planted in the ground, so we cannot change our lives to be like God until God gives us the power of his Holy Spirit.

The transforming power of the Word of God
The Lord of the Universe is ever ready to transform us by the power of his Spirit. Are you ready to let God change you by his life-giving Word and Spirit? The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to the Lord Jesus and allow his word to take root in us, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells within us. Paul the Apostle says, “we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?

The cross of Jesus is the Tree of Life
Peter Chrysologous (400-450 AD), an early church father, explained how the ” tree of the cross” spread its branches throughout the world and grew into a worldwide community of faith offering its fruit to the whole world:

It is up to us to sow this mustard seed in our minds and let it grow within us into a great tree of understanding reaching up to heaven and elevating all our faculties; then it will spread out branches of knowledge, the pungent savor of its fruit will make our mouths burn, its fiery kernel will kindle a blaze within us inflaming our hearts, and the taste of it will dispel our unenlightened repugnance. Yes, it is true: a mustard seed is indeed an image of the kingdom of God. Christ is the kingdom of heaven. Sown like a mustard seed in the garden of the virgin’s womb, he grew up into the tree of the cross whose branches stretch across the world. Crushed in the mortar of the passion, its fruit has produced seasoning enough for the flavoring and preservation of every living creature with which it comes in contact. As long as a mustard seed remains intact, its properties lie dormant; but when it is crushed they are exceedingly evident. So it was with Christ; he chose to have his body crushed, because he would not have his power concealed….Christ became all things in order to restore all of us in himself. The man Christ received the mustard seed which represents the kingdom of God; as man he received it, though as God he had always possessed it. He sowed it in his garden, that is in his bride, the Church. The Church is a garden extending over the whole world, tilled by the plough of the gospel, fenced in by stakes of doctrine and discipline, cleared of every harmful weed by the labor of the apostles, fragrant and lovely with perennial flowers: virgins’ lilies and martyrs’ roses set amid the pleasant verdure of all who bear witness to Christ and the tender plants of all who have faith in him. Such then is the mustard seed which Christ sowed in his garden. When he promised a kingdom to the patriarchs, the seed took root in them; with the prophets it sprang up; with the apostles it grew tall; in the Church it became a great tree putting forth innumerable branches laden with gifts. And now you too must take the wings of the psalmist’s dove, gleaming gold in the rays of divine sunlight, and fly to rest for ever among those sturdy, fruitful branches. No snares are set to trap you there; fly off, then, with confidence and dwell securely in its shelter. (SERMON 98)

Do you allow the seed of God’s word to take deep root in your life and transform you into a fruit-bearing disciple of Jesus Christ?

“Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory.” – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2020/jan31.htm

Reflection 5 – Lessons of the Seeds

There is the famous story about the Lord’s Store. A man had a dream. He saw himself walking on the streets of the city. He was moved to tears and disgust when he saw so many people living in poverty and destitution. He longed to help them but he did not know how. As he walked farther, he saw a big store. He walked towards it and entered its large door. To his pleasant surprise, he saw Jesus behind the counter. The Lord gave him a wide and warm smile and said, “Welcome to my store! This where you will find whatever you need. You may look around now, and just list down whatever you need. Everything is free. When you finish, hand me your list.” The man looked around the store and true enough, all the things needed to solve the problems of the world were there: food that will put an end to hunger and poverty, justice for all, medicine to heal all diseases, peace for the world, love and harmony in the family, and many more. He hurried back to the counter with his list. Jesus looked at it, and pulled out small packets from the large drawers at the back of the counter. “Here,” he said. “Take these with you.” “What are these?” the man asked. Jesus explained, “By the way, my store is different. I do not offer finished products here. These packets contain the seeds of everything on your list. You have to plant these seeds and make sure to nurture them until they grow and bear fruits.”

In the Gospel, Jesus gives us two parables of the seeds to describe the reign of God. The first is the Parable of the Growing Seeds. It tells us that God’s kingdom, like the seed, will definitely come, regardless of any human intervention. The second is the Parable of the Mustard Seed, “the smallest of all the seeds on the earth”. Yet when it is sown, it grows and become the largest of plants.

Why did Jesus use the image of the seed in these parables? Certainly, the seed has significant qualities that will help us understand the mystery of the kingdom of God.

First, the seed is small and, in the eyes of most people, insignificant. Only farmers truly appreciate its value. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus pictured God as the farmer who sowed seeds on the ground. And that is precisely how God works – always from humble and small beginnings: from the manger in Bethlehem to the carpenter’s shop in Nazareth and to the cross in Calvary; from twelve unlettered disciples in Galilee to the great forums of Rome and throughout the whole world.

This teaches us the lesson on humility and littleness. Fallen human nature tends to seek for recognition and appreciation. Hence, people aspire to become big – rich, famous, and powerful. But experience tells us that this is not the way to true greatness and happiness. The seed is a reminder that being little does not mean being powerless or insignificant. In fact, as shown by the example of God, it is the way to true greatness. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A great man is always willing to be little.” In other words, it takes a lot of greatness to become little. The way of God is humility; the way of the devil is pride.

Second, the seed grows slowly. It follows the process of nature, which is gradual and slow. There is no shortcut to growth and development. This is the way the Kingdom of God unfolds. Unfortunately, many people nowadays do not subscribe to this truth anymore. Being used to the comforts and convenience in this age of technology, they think that success can be achieved quickly and easily. Everybody is in a hurry and impatient. They hate to wait. But the seed teaches us that the way to greatness and success is a long and painstaking process – “first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” Again, this is clearly illustrated in the life of Jesus. He has come to save the world. But he had to undergo the complete process of birth, growth and maturity. He had to patiently wait for thirty-three years before he stretched his hands on the cross to fulfill his mission. Indeed, as the famous director, Mario Puzo, said, “Great men are not born great, they grow great.” 

Have we ever thought why during these times there are so many people afflicted with cancer? I will try to give my own reflection on this. Most of these cancer cases, apart from heredity, are caused by the food we eat. In the recent past, people raise chicken and hogs in their backyards that feed on organic grains, fruits and vegetables. Fish are caught in the seas. Cancer was almost unheard of. Nowadays, poultry, fish and meat products are farmed and raised artificially, with the use of chemical-laced feeds so that they grow fast. Even fruits, vegetables and rice are genetically engineered and bombarded with fertilizers and chemicals for fast growth and maximum harvest. All these are done for only one obvious reason: huge and quick profits. This greedy human intervention invariably results in the unprecedented rise in the number of cancer victims and the emergence of many other diseases. Blessed Pope John Paul II is perfectly right when he declared, “The greatest misfortune of this age is that people consider money as the highest good.” This sad reality teaches us the lesson, not only on the evil of greed, but also on the need to obey the laws of nature, and on the value of patience as we wait for the slow but sure unfolding of the Kingdom of God in our midst.

Third, the seed is totally dependent, not on the power of any human being, but on the providence of God. It is God who supplies the minerals and nutrients in the soil, and sends sunshine and rainfall on the seed until it grows and bears fruits. Again, this truth does not resonate with people nowadays. Progress in the fields of technology and science has made people think they can be self-sufficient, and can now conveniently put God aside. Pope Benedict XVI made this apt observation: “The crisis we are living through carries with it signs of the exclusion of God from people’s lives, a general indifference to the Christian faith, and even the intention of marginalizing it from public life.” It is best, therefore, to remind us of the Lord’s words: “I am the true vine, you are the branches; apart from me, you can do nothing.”

Finally, the seed, though nurtured by nature and God’s providence, still needs the caring hands of the farmer. God seldom operates directly in the affairs of the world. As a rule, He always uses the instrumentality of human beings who cooperate in His plan to bring about His Kingdom in the world. When people obey God’s will, the advent of His kingdom is hastened: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” God gives only the seeds of peace, progress and salvation. And He expects us to plant and nurture them to full fruition. This we do by faithfully obeying His will. Ultimately, it is God who brings about His kingdom, and He invites us to join Him in building it here on earth until it reaches perfection and fullness in heaven. (Source: Fr. Mike Lagrimas, Santa Lucia Parish, J.P. Rizal Street, Bgy. Sta. Lucia, Novaliches, Quezon City 1117).

Reflection 6 – What surprises are you growing?

[ Listen to the podcast of this reflection ]

“This is how it is with the reign of God,” explains Jesus in today’s Gospel passage: We scatter our faith around like seeds by interceding for others, by doing God’s will, and by sharing our faith stories with those who will listen. Since we cannot make these seeds sprout and grow (only God can), we’re taken by surprise when we walk into the field and run smack into full-grown cornstalks.

As Christians who accept the mission that Christ has given to us, we are in partnership with God. That’s what the reign of God is. We sow, God makes it grow. However, if we forget that it’s a partnership, or if we doubt that God cares more about the crop than we do, or if we take full credit for what we do, God’s reign comes by surprise.

In whatever difficulty you’re enduring, have you been asking God to help you? Then he is! What have you learned that’s improved your holiness and increased your trust in God? These are a few of the seeds you can scatter. Often, we’re so busy staring at the dirt that we neglect to see what’s sprouting from the seeds we’ve been sowing.

Everything that grows is a miraculous intervention of God. We could water and fertilize and pull weeds for a million years and nothing would grow unless God gets involved. But the greatest surprise is that the very thing we dislike most about our difficulties is exactly what God uses as fertilizer — which produces a wonderful harvest. (Think of the material that natural fertilizer is made from. That dirty, smelly stuff is very useful!)

As today’s first reading points out, “Remember the days past when you endured great suffering.” Although we must do everything possible to stop abuse, when we handle difficulties with Christ-like love, it produces great fruits. Don’t look for short-cuts or try to veer away from the unpleasant paths on which God is leading you. A greater value lies ahead!

God’s help comes to us at the earliest possible best moment, not a moment sooner regardless of how much we beg for a quick end to our trials. The question is not: “Why me? How much longer must I suffer this way?” Rather, the real question is: “How can this be used to help others?” This is how curses become blessings and misery becomes joy.

God is producing a crop of new knowledge and healing and holiness in you that he will use as food for others. Maybe you’ve been hoping that sugar cane will grow from your corn. Surprise! You’ve got a silo overflowing with corn. This is your gift to a spiritually starving world. – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2019-02-01

Reflection 7 – Recognizing the seed within us

“When I say the dignity of a Christian, I mean the great dignity that you have acquired, when, through baptism, you had been received into the arms of our mother, the Church. Baptism opened the doors of the Church to you and delivered you from evil. At the very moment of your baptism, God gave his amazing love to you. In your heart, he deposited faith, hope, and charity. Having become a Christina, you can lift your eyes to heaven and cry: “The God of heaven and earth is also my Father. He is my Father, he loves me, he asks that I call him by this name: Our Father, who art in heaven.”

“Jesus the Savior calls me his brother and, as his brother, I belong to him. I share his merits, passion, death, glory, and dignity. He even wants to give me God as a Father, the Church as a mother, and the Word as a guide.” (Source: St. John Bosco, +1888 A.D., Magnificat, Vol. 21, No. 11, January 2020, p. 437)

Reflection 8 – St. John Bosco (1815-1888 A.D.)

John Bosco’s theory of education could well be used in today’s schools. It was a preventive system, rejecting corporal punishment and placing students in surroundings removed from the likelihood of committing sin. He advocated frequent reception of the sacraments of Penance and Holy Communion. He combined catechetical training and fatherly guidance, seeking to unite the spiritual life with one’s work, study and play.

Encouraged during his youth to become a priest so he could work with young boys, John was ordained in 1841. His service to young people started when he met a poor orphan and instructed him in preparation for receiving Holy Communion. He then gathered young apprentices and taught them catechism.

After serving as chaplain in a hospice for working girls, John opened the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales for boys. Several wealthy and powerful patrons contributed money, enabling him to provide two workshops for the boys, shoemaking and tailoring.

By 1856, the institution had grown to 150 boys and had added a printing press for publication of religious and catechetical pamphlets. His interest in vocational education and publishing justify him as patron of young apprentices and Catholic publishers.

John’s preaching fame spread and by 1850 he had trained his own helpers because of difficulties in retaining young priests. In 1854 he and his followers informally banded together, inspired by St. Francis de Sales [January 24].

With Pope Pius IX’s encouragement, John gathered 17 men and founded the Salesians in 1859. Their activity concentrated on education and mission work. Later, he organized a group of Salesian Sisters to assist girls.

Comment:

John Bosco educated the whole person—body and soul united. He believed that Christ’s love and our faith in that love should pervade everything we do—work, study, play. For John Bosco, being a Christian was a full-time effort, not a once-a-week, Mass-on-Sunday experience. It is searching and finding God and Jesus in everything we do, letting their love lead us. Yet, because John realized the importance of job-training and the self-worth and pride that come with talent and ability, he trained his students in the trade crafts, too.

Quote:

“Every education teaches a philosophy; if not by dogma then by suggestion, by implication, by atmosphere. Every part of that education has a connection with every other part. If it does not all combine to convey some general view of life, it is not education at all” (G.K. Chesterton, The Common Man).

Patron Saint of: Boys, Editors, Youth

Read the source:   http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1277

SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. Click here to receive Saint of the Day in your email.

Related Article click below:

ST. JOHN BOSCO’S VISION OF HELL: Impurity, disobedience and pride send the greatest numbers to Hell http://www.pagadiandiocese.org/2018/01/31/st-john-boscos-vision-of-hell-impurity-disobedience-and-pride-send-the-greatest-numbers-to-hell/

The Magic and Spirituality of St. John Bosco

Don Bosco was deeply imbued with God’s love and inspired by His mysteries
BY Angelo Stagnaro

Da mihi animas caetera tolle (Give me souls, disregard the rest.) — St. Don Bosco

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. —1 Corinthians 12:4-6

During the latter half of the 19th century, as Europe’s poor were suffering from the effects of industrialization, St. John Bosco saw how most of the children in his village remained uneducated and without faith in God. John grew up poor, but whenever he had an extra penny, he would go to the many circuses and fairs that visited his region of Italy. He watched in rapt attention when magicians performed the impossible. Being a precocious child, he reasoned some tricks out. Sometimes he would beg magicians to teach him. With this knowledge, he put on free magic shows for the village children. Being devout, he would take the opportunity to repeat the homily he heard at church on the previous Sunday to his audience.

As Don Bosco (“Don” is an Italian honorific equivalent to “Sir” or “Mister”) grew up, he chose to became a priest. He was ordained in 1841 and dedicated his priesthood ministry to teaching and working exclusively with the poor children and youth in the city of Turin. He served as chaplain for a hospice for wayward girls and feeding and clothing the poor was his main concerns. Once accomplished, he turned his attentions to their spiritual development. When Don Bosco became a priest, he dedicated himself to helping children. He needed a way to get kids to church, back in school and accepting the aid he offered. He remembered his early success with the children in his village and realized magic would best catch the kids’ attention. He used to perform a trick where he turned three separate ropes into a single rope to illustrate the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He also would pull coins from ears and change pebbles into candy, delighting the children in his care. It’s not a great stretch of the imagination to understand why magicians consider Don Bosco their patron saint.

Don Bosco’s efforts at teaching spiritual values with magic tricks was the beginning of the birth of what magicians refer to as “Gospel Magic” — the tailoring of a magic performance so that it can be used to teach catechism. Magic is an excellent means by which to get across a point, including religious ones.

Don Bosco wasn’t merely a magic dilettante who did a card trick here and there. He was Master Magician who invented many tricks, several of which very few professionals still understand.

In his diary, he described performing the classic tricks like the Cups-and-Balls. He vanished coins, read minds and knew the exact amount of money in a volunteer’s pocket. He was able to fool volunteers into mistaking black for white. He would multiply balls and eggs, change water into wine, and kill and chop up a rooster before bringing it back to life again so that it crowed better than before.

Don Bosco’s spirituality centered around an educational system of joyful hope. To him, education was a means to direct oneself toward God. He begged his children to be joyful and to exult in the Lord. In many ways, his spirituality of joy is reminiscent of his fellow countryman, St. Francis of Assisi. Both taught the giving over oneself to the unmitigated happiness of experiencing God. Don Bosco was the antithesis of a Jansenist schoolmarm. He wanted Christians to delight in the Lord and to take to heart Christ’s admonition that we should all become “as small children.” (Matthew 18:1-4)

As we read Scriptures, wherever Christ was, those around Him were joyous:

  • The Magi who visited Him when He was an infant. (Matthew 2:9)
  • The angel that announced His birth prophesized that it would bring great joy to the world. (Luke 2:10)
  • The Apostles visiting His tomb were similarly joyous when they found it empty. (Matthew 28:8)
  • It is the Spirit that produces this in our hearts. (Romans 14:17, 15:13, Galatians 5:22)
  • Similarly, Christ describes the Kingdom of Heaven as a man who finds a great treasure in a field who sells all that he has to purchase the field (Matthew 13:44)
  • Or a shepherd who delights at locating a lost sheep (Luke 15:3-7)
  • Or a woman who spends nine silver coins and an evening’s worth of lamp oil to throw a coin finding party. (Luke 15:8)
  • It is the same joy that awaits us in heaven. (Luke 6:23, 1 Peter 1:8, 4:13, Hebrews 12:2, Revelation 14:13, 19:9, 22:14)

It’s little wonder that Don Bosco would look upon a field of children playing and see God’s promise played out before him. He believed children’s entertainment was how they celebrate the life that God gave them. It was how children experience the joy of the moment; how they live fully in God. To become too serious about work or religion or even studies would not be appropriate. He sought balance in all things and certainly in the lives of the children in his care. It’s not strange to think that he chose magic to reach kids.

Don Bosco was deeply imbued with God’s love and inspired by His mysteries. When he considered the minds of the children around him, certainly Don Bosco saw how much more accepting of God’s mysteries they were than adults. He must have often wished to be converted and become as the children in his care so that he too might enter into the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:3) It’s not so strange to think that Don Bosco responded to God’s mysteries with mysteries of his own.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bosco  
“Don Bosco” redirects here. For other uses, see Don Bosco (disambiguation).
“St John Bosco” redirects here. For colleges of that name, see St John Bosco College.
SAINT JOHN BOSCO
Don Bosco @ Torino, 1880 (original).jpg
PRIEST, CONFESSOR, FOUNDER,
“FATHER AND TEACHER OF YOUTH”
BORN 16 August 1815
Castelnuovo d’Asti, Piedmont,Kingdom of Sardinia
DIED 31 January 1888 (aged 72)
Turin, Kingdom of Italy
VENERATED IN Roman Catholic Church
Anglican Communion
BEATIFIED 2 June 1929[1], Rome by Pius XI
CANONIZED 1 April 1934, Rome by Pius XI
MAJOR SHRINE Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, Italy
FEAST 31 January
PATRONAGE Christian apprentices, editors, publishers, schoolchildren,young people, magicians, juvenile delinquents

Saint John Bosco (Italian: Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; 16 August 1815[2] – 31 January 1888[3][4]), popularly known asDon Bosco[ˈdɔm ˈbosko], was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the effects of industrialization and urbanization, he dedicated his life to the betterment and education of street children, juvenile delinquents, and other disadvantaged youth. He developed teaching methods based on love rather than punishment, a method that became known as the Salesian Preventive System.[5]A follower of the spirituality and philosophy of Saint Francis de Sales, Bosco dedicated his works to him when he founded the Salesians of Don Bosco, based in Turin.[6] Together with Maria Domenica Mazzarello, he founded the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, a religious congregation of nuns dedicated to the care and education of poor girls.

In 1876 Bosco founded a movement of laity, the Association of Salesian Cooperators, with the same educational mission to the poor.[7]In 1875 he began to publish the Salesian Bulletin.[8][9] The Bulletinhas remained in continuous publication, and is currently published in 50 different editions and 30 languages.[8]

Bosco established a network of organizations and centres to carry on his work. Following his beatification in 1929, he was canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius XI in 1934.

Life[edit]

John Bosco was born in the evening of 16 August 1815 in the hillside hamlets of Becchi, Italy. He was the youngest son of Francesco Bosco (1784–1817) and Margherita Occhiena. He had two older brothers, Antonio and Giuseppe (1813–1862).[10] The Boscos of Becchi were farmhands of the Moglian Family. John Bosco was born into a time of great shortage and famine in the Piedmonteses countryside, following the devastation wrought by the Napoleonic warsand a drought in 1817.[11]

When he was little more than two years old his father Francesco died, leaving the support of three boys to his mother, Margherita.[1]She played a strong role in Bosco’s formation and personality,[12]and was an early supporter of her son’s ideals.[13]

In 1825, when he was nine, Bosco had the first of a series of dreams which would play an influential role in his outlook and work. This first dream “left a profound impression on him for the rest of his life”, according to his own memoirs.[14] Bosco apparently saw a multitude of very poor boys who play and blaspheme, and a man, who “appeared, nobly attired, with a manly and imposing bearing”.[14] The man said to him: “You will have to win these friends of yours not with blows, but with gentleness and kindness. So begin right now to show them that sin is ugly and virtue beautiful.”[14]

When the traveling entertainers performed at a local feast in the nearby hills, John watched and studied the jugglers’ tricks and the acrobats’ secrets. Then he would put on shows of his skills as a juggler, magician and acrobat[15] with prayers before and after the performance.[16]

Poverty prevented any serious attempt at schooling. John’s early years were spent as a shepherd, and he received his first instruction from a parish priest.[1] His childhood experiences are thought to have inspired him to become a priest. At the time, being a priest was generally seen as a profession for the privileged classes, rather than farmers, although it was not unknown.[17] Some biographers portray his older brother Antonio as the main obstacle for Bosco’s ambition to study, as the brother protested that John was just “a farmer like us!”[18]

On a cold morning of February 1827, John left his home and went to look for work as a farm-servant. At 12, he found life at home unbearable because of the continuous quarrels with Antonio. Having to face life by himself at such a young age may have developed his later sympathies to help abandoned boys. After begging unsuccessfully for work, Bosco ended up at the wine farm of Louis Moglia.[17] Although Bosco could pursue some studies by himself, he was not able to attend school for two more years. In 1830 he met Joseph Cafasso, a young priest who identified some natural talent and supported his first schooling.[19] In 1835 Bosco entered the seminary at Chieri, next to the Church of the Immacolata Concezione.[20] After six years of study, he was ordained priest on the eve of Trinity Sunday by Archbishop Franzoni of Turin.[1]

Priesthood and first apostolates[edit]

Don Bosco

John Bosco was first called as the chaplain of the Rifugio (“Refuge”), a girls’ boarding school founded in Turin by theMarchioness Giulia di Barolo. His other ministries included visiting prisoners, teaching catechism, and helping out at country parishes.

Adulthood[edit]

At that time, the city of Turin had a population of 117,000 inhabitants. It reflected the effects of industrialization and urbanization: numerous poor families lived in the slums of the city, having come from the countryside in search of a better life. In visiting the prisons, Don Bosco was disturbed to see so many boys from 12 to 18 years of age. He was determined to find a means to prevent them ending up here. Because of population growth and migration to the city, Bosco found the traditional methods of parish ministry inefficient. He decided it was necessary to try another form of apostolate, and he began to meet the boys where they worked and gathered in shops and market places. They were pavers, stone-cutters, masons, plasterers who came from far away places, he recalled in his brief Memoires.Memories

The Oratorio was not simply a charitable institution, and its activities were not limited to Sundays. For Don Bosco, it became his permanent occupation. He looked for jobs for the unemployed. Some of the boys did not have sleeping quarters and slept under bridges or in bleak public dormitories. Twice he tried to provide lodgings in his house. The first time they stole the blankets; the second they emptied the hay-loft. He did not give up. In May 1847, he gave shelter to a young boy from Valencia, in one of the three rooms he was renting in the slums of Valdocco, where he was living with his mother. He and “Mamma Margherita” began taking in orphans. The boys sheltered by Don Bosco numbered 36 in 1852, 115 in 1854, 470 in 1860 and 600 in 1861, 800 being the maximum some time later.[21]

Bosco and his oratory moved around town for a number of years; he was turned out of several places in succession. After only two months based in the church of St. Martin, the entire neighborhood expressed its annoyance with the noise coming from the boys at play. A formal complaint was lodged against them with the municipality. Rumors also circulated that the meetings conducted by the priest with his boys were dangerous; their recreation could be turned into a revolution against the government. The group was evicted.[22]

Work with apprentices[edit]

In the archives of the Salesian Congregation is a contract of apprenticeship, dated November 1851; another one on stamped paper costing 40 cents, dated February 8, 1852; and others with later dates. These are among the first contracts of apprenticeship to be found in Turin. All of them are signed by the employer, the apprentice and Don Bosco. In those contracts, Don Bosco touched on many sensitive issues. Some employers customarily made servants and scullery-boys of the apprentices. Don Bosco obliged them to agree to employ the boys only in their acknowledged trade. Employers used to beat the boys. Don Bosco required them to agree that corrections be made only verbally. He cared for their health, and demanded that they be given rest on feast days, and that they be given an annual holiday. But in spite of all the efforts and contracts, the situation of the apprentices of the time remained difficult.[21]

One influential friend was the Piedmontese Justice Minister Urbano Rattazzi. He was anticlerical in his politics, but he saw some value in Bosco’s work.[23][24] While Rattazzi was pushing a bill through the Sardinian legislature to suppress religious orders, he advised Bosco on how to get around the law. He found a religious order to keep the oratory going after its founder’s death.[23] Bosco had been thinking about that problem, too, and had been slowly organizing his helpers into a loose “Congregation of St. Francis de Sales”. He was also training select older boys for the priesthood. Another supporter of the idea to establish a religious order to carry out Bosco’s vision was the reigning pope, Blessed Pius IX.[25]

Bosco disliked the ideals that had been exported by revolutionary France, calling Rousseau and Voltaire “two vicious leaders of incredulity.”[26] He favoured anultramontane view of politics that acknowledged the supreme authority of the pope. In 1854, when the Kingdom of Sardinia was about to pass a law suppressing monastic orders and confiscating ecclesiastical properties, Bosco reported a series of dreams about “great funerals at court”, referring to politicians or members of the Savoy court.[27]

In November 1854, he sent a letter to King Victor Emmanuel II, admonishing him to oppose the confiscation of church property and suppression of the orders, but the King failed to respond.[28] His actions, which had been described by Italian historian Erberto Petoia as having “manifest blackmailing intentions”,[29] ended only after the intervention of Prime Minister Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour. The king’s family suffered a number of deaths in a short period. From January to May 1855, the king’s mother (age 54), wife (32), newborn son (Vittorio Emanuele, Count of Genoa; nearly four months old), and his only brother (32) all died.[27][28]

Opposition to Bosco and his work came from various quarters. Traditionalist clergy accused him of stealing a lot of young and old people away from their own parishes. Nationalist politicians (including some clergy) saw his several hundred young men as a recruiting ground for revolution. The Marquis de Cavour, chief of police in Turin, regarded the open-air catechisms as overtly political and a threat to the State, and was highly suspicious of Bosco’s support for the powers of the papacy. Bosco was interrogated on several occasions, but no charges made. Closure may have been prevented by orders from the king that Bosco was not to be disturbed.[30]

Several attempts were also made on Bosco’s life, including a near-stabbing, bludgeoning and a shooting. Early biographers put this down to the growing influence of the Waldensians in opposition to Catholic clergy.[22]

Foundation of the Salesians of Don Bosco[edit]

Basilica Don Bosco in Castelnuovo Don Bosco, Asti.

St. John Bosco Parish Church,Makati, Philippines.

 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please helpimprove this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Some of the boys helped by Don Bosco decided to do what he was doing, that is, to work in the service of abandoned boys. And this was the origin of the Salesian Congregation. Among the first members were Michael Rua, John Cagliero (who later became a Cardinal), and John Baptist Francesia.[21]

In 1859, Bosco selected the experienced priest Vittorio Alasonatti, 15 seminarians and one high school boy and formed them into the “Society of St. Francis de Sales.” This was the nucleus of the Salesians, the religious order that would carry on his work. When the group had their next meeting, they voted on the admission of Joseph Rossi as a lay member, the first Salesian brother. The Salesian Congregation was divided into priests, seminarians and “coadjutors” (the lay brothers).

Next, he worked with estarino, Mary Mazzarello and a group of girls in the hill town of Mornese. In 1871, he founded a group of religious sisters to do for girls what the Salesians were doing for boys. They were called the “Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.” In 1874, he founded yet another group, the “Salesian Cooperators.” These were mostly lay people who would work for young people like the Daughters and the Salesians, but would not join a religious order.[31]

The first Salesians departed for Argentina in 1875. After his ordination, Bosco himself would have become a missionary had not his director, Joseph Cafasso, opposed the idea. He nevertheless eagerly read the Italian edition of the Annals of the Propagation of the Faith and used this magazine to illustrate his Cattolico Provveduto (1853) and his Month of May booklets (1858).

When Bosco founded the Salesian Society, the thought of the missions still obsessed him, though he completely lacked the financial means at that time. Bosco claimed he had another dream[citation needed] where he was on a vast plain, inhabited by primitive peoples, who spent their time hunting or fighting among themselves or against soldiers in European uniforms. Along came a band of missionaries, but they were all massacred. A second group appeared, which Bosco at once recognized as Salesians. Astonished, he witnessed an unexpected change when the fierce savages laid down their arms and listened to the missionaries. It seems the dream made a great impression on Bosco, because he tried hard to identify the men and the country of the dream – and for three years collected information about different countries. A request from Argentina, turned him towards the Indians of Patagonia, and a study of the people there convinced him that the country and its inhabitants were the ones he had seen in his dream. Towards the end of 1874, John Bosco received letters from the Argentine consul at Savona requesting that he accept an Italian parish in Buenos Aires and a school for boys at San Nicolas de los Arroyos.[citation needed]

Bosco regarded it as a sign of providence and started to prepare a mission. Adopting a way of evangelization that would not expose his missionaries to wild, “uncivilized” tribes, he proposed setting up bases in safe locations which missionary efforts were to be launched. Negotiations started after Archbishop Aneiros ofBuenos Aires had indicated that he would be glad to receive the Salesians. In a ceremony held on 29 January 1875, Bosco was able to convey the great news to the oratory. On 5 February he announced the fact in a circular letter to all Salesians asking volunteers to apply in writing. He proposed that the first missionary departure start in October. There were many volunteers.[citation needed]

Statue of Saint John Bosco, Ronda, Spain

Statue of Saint John Bosco,Makati City, Philippines.

Statue of Saint John Bosco at the Diocesan Shrine of Mary Help of Christians, Canlubang, Calamba City, Philippines.

Preventive system[edit]

 This section needs additional citations for verification. Please helpimprove this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2012)

Bosco’s capability to attract numerous boys and adult helpers was connected to his “Preventive System of Education”. He believed education to be a “matter of the heart” and said that the boys must not only be loved, but know that they are loved. He also pointed to three components of the Preventive System: reason, religion andkindness. Music and games also went into the mix.

Bosco gained a reputation early on of being a holy man and miracleworker.[citation needed] For this reason, Michael Rua, Giuseppe Buzzetti, Giovanni Cagliero and several others chronicled his sayings and doings. These are preserved in the Salesian archives. Later on they were combined into 77 scrapbooks with oral testimonies and Bosco’s own Memoirs of the Oratory. His aim was to write a detailed biography. This project eventually became a nineteen-volume enterprise, carried out by him and two other authors. These are the Biographical Memoirs.

Death and legacy[edit]

Bosco died on 31 January 1888. His funeral was attended by thousands. Soon after there was popular demand to have him canonized.[citation needed] The Archdiocese of Turin investigated and witnesses were called to determine if Bosco was worthy to be declared a saint. The Salesians, Daughters and Cooperators gave supportive testimonies. But many remembered Bosco’s controversies in the 1870s with Archbishop Gastaldi and some others high in the Church hierarchy thought him a loose cannon and a “wheeler-dealer”. In the canonization process, testimony was heard about how he went around Gastaldi to get some of his men ordained and about their lack of academic preparation and ecclesiastical decorum. Political cartoonsfrom the 1860s and later showed him shaking money from the pockets of old ladies or going off to America for the same purpose. These cartoons were not forgotten. Opponents of Bosco, including some cardinals, were in a position to block his canonization. Around 1925 many Salesians feared that they would succeed.

Pope Pius XI had known Bosco and pushed the cause forward. Bosco was declared blessed in 1929 and canonized on Easter Sunday of 1934, when he was given the title of “Father and Teacher of Youth”.[32]

While Bosco had been popularly known as the patron saint of illusionists, on 30 January 2002, Silvio Mantelli petitionedPope John Paul II to formally declare St. John Bosco the Patron of Stage Magicians.[33] Catholic stage magicians who practice Gospel Magic venerate Bosco by offering free magic shows to underprivileged children on his feast day.[citation needed]

Bosco’s work was carried on by his early pupil, collaborator and companion, Michael Rua, who was appointed rector major of the Salesian Society by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.

Bosco was the subject of the 1935 biopic Don Bosco directed by Goffredo Alessandrini. He was played by the actor Gian Paolo Rosmino.

References[edit]

Citations
  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Saxton, Eugene. “St. Giovanni Melchior Bosco.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 9 Feb. 2014
  2. Jump up^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, 1815 – 1840, p. 26
  3. Jump up^ Coulter, Myers & Varacalli 2012
  4. Jump up^ Saint of the Day, 31 January: John Bosco SaintPatrickDC.org. Retrieved 2012-03-09.
  5. Jump up^ Morrison 1999, p. 51
  6. Jump up^ Farmer 2004, p. 121
  7. Jump up^ “Salesian Cooperators”. Salesians of Don Bosco, Province of Mary Help of Christians, Melbourne. Retrieved 9 March 2012.
  8. ^ Jump up to:a b “The Salesian Bulletin in the World”. Eircom.net, Dublin. Retrieved 2 May2010.
  9. Jump up^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume XIII (1877–1878), p. 191
  10. Jump up^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 3, pp. 20–28
  11. Jump up^ The Piedmont drought lasted from 1817 to 1819. See The Majesty of Charleston by Peter Beney, p.64, 2005 edition.
  12. Jump up^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 7, pp. 44–49
  13. Jump up^ “Venerable Margaret Occhiena”. Salesian Society of Don Bosco. 8 February 1995. Retrieved 17 May 2010.
  14. ^ Jump up to:a b c Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 15, pp. 95–96
  15. Jump up^ Willey, David, “Magician priest wants patron saint of magic”, BBC News 2 June 2002
  16. Jump up^ 31 January: Saint John Bosco Magnificat.ca. Retrieved 2012-03-09.[dead link]
  17. ^ Jump up to:a b Lemoyne et al. 1965, Volume I, Chapter 22, pp. 142–152
  18. Jump up^ “Don Bosco, Friend of the Youth”. Salesians of Australia. Retrieved 30 May2010.
  19. Jump up^ Lemoyne, Amadei & Ceria 1965–1988, Volume I, Chapter 24, pp. 159–163
  20. Jump up^ Now hosts an exhibition dedicated to the San Giovanni Bosco.
  21. ^ Jump up to:a b c “Don Bosco’s Story”, ewtn
  22. ^ Jump up to:a b Charles D’Espiney, Don Bosco: A Sketch of His Life and Miracles, 1884
  23. ^ Jump up to:a b Craughwell, Thomas J. This Saint’s for You!, pp. 156–157, Quirk Books, 2007
  24. Jump up^ Jestice, Phyllis G., Holy People of the World, p. 138, ABC-CLIO, 2004
  25. Jump up^ Villefranche, Jacques-Melchior, The Life of Don Bosco: Founder of the Salesian Society, pp. 15–16, Burns & Oates, 18??
  26. Jump up^ Giovanni Bosco: « Storia ecclesiastica ad uso delle scuole », in Giovanni Bosco: Opere edite. Prima serie: Libri e opuscoli, vol. 1 : 1844–1855, Rome, Editrice LAS, 1976 (37 vol. : 19600 p. ), p. 496
  27. ^ Jump up to:a b Mendl, Michael “The Dreams of St. John Bosco”, Journal of Salesian Studies 12 (2004), no. 2, pp. 321–348.
  28. ^ Jump up to:a b Memoirs of the Oratory of Saint Francis de Sales 1815 – 1855: The autobiography of Saint John Bosco Translated by Daniel Lyons, SDB, with notes and commentary by Eugene Ceria SDB, Lawrence Castelvecchi SDB, and Michael Mendl SDB, Ch. 55, fn. 802
  29. Jump up^ Petoia, Erberto (June 2007). “I sinistri presagi di Don Giovanni Bosco”.Medioevo: 70.
  30. Jump up^ Butler 1999, Volume I
  31. Jump up^ “Saint John Bosco”. Saints.SQPN.com. 12 August 2010. Retrieved 9 March2012.
  32. Jump up^ Matz, Terry (2000). “St. John Bosco”. Catholic Online. Retrieved 9 March2012.
  33. Jump up^ Magicians Want Don Bosco Declared Their Patron2002-01-29 Zenit News Agency
Bibliography
General
Publications of the Holy See
Publications of the Salesians of Bon Bosco
  • Lemoyne, Giovanni Battista; Amadei, Angelo; Ceria, Eugenio (1965–1988). Borgatello, Diego, ed. Biographical Memoirs of St. John Bosco. New Rochelle, New York: Don Bosco Publications. Translation and adaptations of the Italian Memorie Biografiche di San Giovanni Bosco, 19 volumes: Vols. 1–9 by Lemoyne); 10 (1939, by Amadei); 11–19 (1930–1939, by Ceria) [1]
  • Morrison, John (1999). The Educational Philosophy of Don Bosco (Indian ed.). Guwahati, India: Don Bosco Publications. ISBN 81-87637-00-5.

Further reading[