CAPG's Blog: Don Bosco, Priest

Don Bosco, Priest

by VP

Posted on Wednesday January 31, 2024 at 12:00AM in Saints

Don Bosco la Torino in 1880

"At Castelnuovo, where there was a family gathering and great rejoicing, his mother said to him, what he calls "these memorable words": "You are a priest. In saying Mass henceforward you are then nearest to Jesus Christ. Remember, however, that to begin to say Mass means to begin to suffer. You will not realize it at once, but little by little you will see that your mother has told you the truth. I am confident that every day you will pray for me, whether I am living or dead: that is enough for me. Henceforward, think only of the salvation of souls, and don't be troubled in mind about me." Source: R.F. O'Connor Venerable Don Bosco The American Catholic Quarterly Review ..., Volume 46 1921

"Only two means are left to save Her (the Church) amidst so much confusion: Frequent Communion and Devotion to Mary most holy, making use of every means and doing our best to practice them and having them practiced everywhere and by everybody."

"When speaking of public scandals: Don’t be surprised at anything. People and waywardness go hand in hand. The Church has nothing to fear because even if all were to conspire to overthrow Her, the Holy Spirit would still uphold Her."

Don Bosco, Apostle of the Papacy:

"Let us start first by mentioning a booklet of the Catholic Readings of January 1868. Its title was: "The Popes from St. Peter to Pius IX - Facts of History". It was not the first time that Don Bosco published something on the Papacy; but because it gives us a comprehensive view of his mind on the subject we must mention it first. This book endeavors to throw light upon the great actions of the Papacy; the zeal and heroism of the Popes in enduring the persecution of the pagans; in spreading the light of the Gospel throughout the world; in combating heresies; in checking, civilizing, and converting barbarous peoples; in defending nations against their oppressors; in founding and supporting in every part of the world innumerable works of charity for every kind of distress; in proclaiming the crusades against the Turks; in patronizing science, literature, the arts, and industry; in fighting against the revolutionary spirit that overturns all moral, religious and civil order; in defending the legitimacy and inviolability of the temporal power.

"The Pope!", says Fr. Lemoyne, biographer of Don Bosco, "there is the theme that Don Bosco wished to develop without ceasing, in order that the supremacy and the glory of the Vicar of Jesus Christ might stand uppermost in the mind of the faithful." The American Ecclesiastical Review, Volume 147 edited by Herman Joseph Heuser 1962

Prayer for Imploring Holy Popes

Kyrie eleison! Christe eleison! Kyrie eleison! Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Good Shepherd! With your almighty hand you guide Your pilgrim Church through the storms of each age.

Adorn the Holy See with holy popes who neither fear the powerful of this world nor compromise with the spirit of the age, but preserve, strengthen, and defend the Catholic Faith unto the shedding of their blood, and observe, protect, and hand on the venerable liturgy of the Roman Church.

O Lord, return to us through holy popes who, inflamed with the zeal of the Apostles, proclaim to the whole world: “Salvation is found in no other than in Jesus Christ. For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which they should be saved” (see Acts 4:10-12).

Through an era of holy popes, may the Holy See—which is home to all who promote the Catholic and Apostolic Faith— always shine as the cathedra of truth for the whole world. Hear us, O Lord, and through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of the Church, grant us holy Popes, grant us many holy Popes! Have mercy on us and hear us! Amen.

+ Athanasius Schneider Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana

SPIRITUAL, MORAL AND EDUCATIONAL ASPECTS (Don Giovanni Bosco as an Educator By Carola E. Kopf-Seitz 1926)

"Among all the means which Don Bosco used in education, by far the most important is religion. Even at the Sunday-Oratories so great a part of the time was given to religious exercises that one might feel inclined to think that Don Bosco required more than might be justified. On the other hand, the continual increase in the number of those coming to the Oratory from all quarters showed that the time given to religious exercises was not considered excessive by his auditors, especially since Don Bosco knew how to make them always attractive and entertaining.

In the institutions, the whole life of the community came under the influence of religion. Don Bosco taught the children to offer the first moment of the day to God. After the morning prayer all assisted at Holy Mass during which, besides other prayers, the rosary was to be recited. At every Mass, the children were to have an opportunity for confession and communion. Every task during the day was to be begun and ended with prayer. Special value was placed upon an occasional visit, some time during the day, to the Blessed Sacrament. No day was to pass without spiritual reading. To avoid distractions during the sermons, these were to be short, practical and rich in illustrations. Don Bosco admonished the children never to leave after a sermon without having made some firm resolution which could be carried out during the occupation which followed. He also considered the short address, given in the evening just before retiring, of great importance. Evening prayers in common concluded the day.

Monthly pious exercises, such as the exercise of a holy death on the first Sunday of each month, the solemn celebration of the feasts of the Church, processions and the like, were used by Don Bosco to accustom the children to the frequent reception of the Sacraments and to inspire them with renewed zeal. Frequent confession and communion were in his eyes probably the most important of all the factors of education. In spite of this, probably just because of this, he did not want to see constraint used under any circumstances. In order that the children, in receiving the Sacraments, might obtain their full benefit, he urged them to select a constant confessor to whom they might reveal every corner of their heart.

In order to keep alive the zeal of the children, and in a sense to organize the exercise of their good works, he established several fraternities, for example, the fraternity of St. Aloysius and the Sodality of the Immaculate Conception, in the latter of which only the best and most deserving boys could be received. For the St. Aloysius fraternity, he himself drafted the constitutions, in which he urged upon the members chiefly: frequent communion, the avoiding of evil companions, mutual encouragement to piety, a zeal for duty, obedience towards parents and superiors, and the practice of charity towards neighbors.

By teaching and example he sought to awaken and to cultivate in his protégés a love of prayer; he warned them against listless or inattentive prayer, saying it would be better not to pray at all than to pray poorly. He also warned them of "too much prayer"; they should not take up new devotions without the permission of their father confessor and should go by the words of St. Philip Neri: "Non vi caricate di troppo divozioni, ma siate perseveranti in quelle que avete prese." ( Do not burden yourselves with too many devotions, but be persevering in those you have taken.)

The importance attached by Don Bosco to the religious life, as a factor of education, is evident also from the fact that he added to his Regolamento a special chapter about conduct in the house of God, that he appointed a special catechist to supervise the religious exercises of the students and that he specified at length in the Regolamento the duties of this office."

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