Today is my anniversary, but I am not speaking of marriage. Nine years ago, on this day, I was received into the Catholic Church. I have spoken elsewhere of my conversion story.
Don Bosco (if you cannot tell from his face plastered all over my blog) is a really important person in my life. I feel that I owe my conversion to Catholicism, my subsequent experience of Salesianity, and my sense of Christian humanism to his influence and that of Salesians whom I have known. Don Bosco is not simply someone who once lived and whom I hallow the memory of; Don Bosco lives.
The story about how I came to know Don Bosco is one which I rather share in person, so if any of you ever meet me, just ask and I would be happy to share it, but with the blog world in general, I have this to say about Don Bosco:
- I love Don Bosco and he loves me. There are a lot of saints to whom I am devoted and they come in many different “flavors” (Carmelite, Passionist, Franciscan…) but Don Bosco is my favorite saint, and it could not be otherwise. Meeting Don Bosco as a teenager gave me great hope because I learned from him that young people have innate worth, are capable of great things, and worthy of esteem. That was not the message that I was getting from the mainstream culture. In fact, Don Bosco completely revolutionized the way that I looked at life in general.
- Don Bosco adopted me. In my search for a copy of the life of St Dominic Savio, God arranged that I should have contact with the SDBs (Salesian priests and brothers) and that that would begin a process of finding myself through their guidance. The Salesian brothers, in particular, really took me into their care and helped to guide my fledgling faith in Catholicism. What I am today I owe in large part to the Salesian brothers. Through their influence I became a Salesian Cooperator, began working on computers (they gave me my first one) and discovered many talents which I did not know that I had. There were many wonderful Salesian priests that I have known over the years, as well. I’d love to give all of my good Salesians a shout out by name, but I would fear forgetting someone, so I thank everyone in general!
- Don Bosco is a humanist and believes that God loves us where we are at. In contrast to the spirituality of Jansenism that ran rampant in so many circles, Don Bosco’s formation at the Convitto Ecclesastico (which was Liguorian) and the influence of St Joseph Cafasso helped to shape Don Bosco into protagonist of an authentic youth spirituality of optimism within his era. He believed that holiness was possible for everyone, even (and especially!) young people, and that God was a merciful Father, who was always ready to welcome His children back. To fulfill our humanity, for Don Bosco, was to live a life of relationship with God. Friendship is as much a part of faith as creeds are. We can state all that we believe, but if we do not live in communion with God with the conviction of those beliefs, then where does that leave us? The image of the Good Shepherd is very strong in Salesianity, for it shows us a model of the kind of accompanying, present, understanding, and guiding icon of Christ that we must be. We love the “sheep” where they are at, but strive to guide them along the right path.
- Don Bosco was “union with God“. He believed deeply in the mercy and compassion of the Emmanuel (God with us), and that prayer was not simply an experience best kept to someone’s bedroom or chapel. For Don Bosco, a Salesian is a mystic of the streets who is able to find God and detect his movements in the ordinary experiences, struggles, and joys of everyday life. I believe I have discussed this elsewhere, but when Don Bosco’s cause for canonization was being examined in Rome, the “devil’s advocate” objected that Don Bosco had not prayed enough. Exteriorly it seemed true, for he had a dispensation to not have to pray all the prayers required of most priests each day, and there were very few moments when he was even given a chance to think about praying. Don Bosco simply did not appear to pray as much as other priests of his era. Yet the answer that was given to the devil’s advocate was in the form of another question, which pretty much summed up Don Bosco’s spirituality: “When did Don Bosco not pray?” The truth is that he made everything he did into a prayer, an encounter with God, an experience of the immanence of the Emmanuel. He was “union with God”; and we Salesians are called to be as well.
- Don Bosco had a lot of chutzpah (courage/guts). There were several assassination attempts on his life, his friends tried to have him committed to the insane asylum, and most of the projects he undertook began with only a few dollars in his pocket (if that) and a prayer. That takes chutzpah of the highest degree; he had to be “union with God” to follow the Master along such a bumpy path!
This is but a short list of why Don Bosco is my hero, but if you want to read more, check out Sean’s blog, because he gave me the idea for the topic and has some great thoughts about why Don Bosco is his hero.
