Don Bosco's Spiritual Path

We have come to the feast of St. John Bosco, which we celebrate tomorrow.  There is so much I could say about him; his childhood in Becchi spent struggling to get an education, his vocational path that led to the priesthood and later to dedicate his life for the salvation of the young.  We could talk about his struggles with both the government and the Church as he worked to get the Salesian Society off the ground and approved.  We could examine his dreams and other manifestations of the supernatural in his life.  But since Don Bosco was a practical man, I'll keep it short (or as short as I know how) and to the point, focusing on one aspect of his life: his spirituality.

Don Bosco adopted St. Francis de Sales (1567-1621) as the patron for his religious family, which is why we are called Salesians.  Some question how much Don Bosco really knew of the gentleman bishop and his spiritual doctrine; while he most probably read de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life at some point in his formative experience, there's no proof he delved deeply into the saint's other writings.  But the move made sense; he was a popular saint in Piedmont, Don Bosco's home region, one of the priest's major promoters had a strong devotion to him, so it seemed very practical to choose him as patron.  All this may be so, but the Holy Spirit has reasons that practicality can't explain. 

Spiritual writers before the Counter Reformation period usually spoke of holiness as something achieved by escaping the temptations and distractions of the earthly city.  In other words the truly devout life was for monks and nuns living in monasteries and cloisters.  Francis de Sales was arguably the first to spell out a way of holiness designed specifically for lay people.  He also meant it, by extension, for diocesan clergy who did not live a monastic life, but were busy in the midst of the world.  His basic message was that holiness was possible for everyone, not just for a particular class of Christian.  Don Bosco knew that his Salesians, while religious with vows, would be so occupied with the mission for the young that the traditional prayer life of a monk or a friar would be next to impossible.  In Francis de Sales he saw a practical (there's that word again) way of achieving union with God.  This is why I would say that the Holy Spirit guided Don Bosco in his choice of a spiritual father, not simply human expediency.

This growth in holiness is achieved by prayer that is frequent, but short.  We may not have hours to spend in the chapel, but we can take a few minutes at various times through the day to lift our minds and hearts to God.  We can make a conscious effort to say morning prayers when we get up and night prayers before bed (Don Bosco recommended three Hail Marys before retiring). Maybe we can pray a decade of the rosary on the bus or read one of those minute meditation books on our lunch break.  There are CD's of religious music or of spiritual talks we can listen to in the car.  In these and other ways we can continually raise our minds to God throughout the day.

In a special way Don Bosco stressed three particular devotions: to the Pope, to the Blessed Mother and to the Eucharist.  If we stay close to the Church and faithful to Her teachings entrusted to the Holy Father, trust in the Virgin Mary, imitating her virtues and unite ourselves with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament we have a sure path to holiness.

Prayer is the first step, what follows is a growth in virtue that prompts "us to do the well carefully, diligently and promptly,"  as Francis de Sales put it.  Devotion is not just a matter of reciting prayers, but of becoming united with the One we worship and following His will in our lives by loving God and neighbor.  For Don Bosco this took concrete form in his mission to young people.  In that work the Salesian finds God, whose image the young are created in, and also His will for us.  God speaks to us in the chapel, yes, but also on the playground and in the classroom; wherever the young are found. 


In the end, Don Bosco would say that being a saint was easy.  All we have to do is the ordinary things in an extraordinary way.  If it's time to study, we study.  If we have to do our chores at home, we do them.  If we have to go to work, we work hard for the money we earn.  We do theses and all the everyday things with joy, especially when we don't feel like it.  In Don Bosco we see the things that are more traditionally thought of as spiritual (prayers, meditation, sacraments) and connects them to our everyday life.  Being holy can happen in the course of our busy lives if we are conscious of God's presence all around us and seek to live in His name in whatever situation of life we find ourselves in.

As we celebrate the the feast of our founder and father, St. John Bosco, may we grow in love of Christ and rededicate ourselves to a life of holiness.