Don (Fr.) John Bosco

Yesterday was the feast of Don Bosco, Catholic priest & founder of the Salesians. His father died when he was 2. As a priest he had great concern for the orphans of Torino, IT. He did everything he could to care for them, spiritually & physically.

In a letter to those in his order about how they are to act toward those orphans they cared for he said the following: "Let us regard those boys over whom we have some authority as our own sons. Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume an attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better."

In this day & age when the focus is on those small percentage of priests who have been unfaithful to their vows & done harm to young boys it is good for us to remember that most priests have not harmed any children. & even more important to honor the memory of Don Bosco who did all they could to make their lives better. He is a shining example of what an ideal priest should be like. May Jesus raise up a legion of priests like him.

Here are a couple other quotes from Don Bosco to ponder:

Enjoy yourself as much as you like -- if only you keep from sin.

Do you want our Lord to give you many graces? Visit him often. Do you want him to give you few graces? Visit him seldom. Visits to the Blessed Sacrament are powerful and indispensable means of overcoming the attacks of the devil. Make frequent visits to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and the devil will be powerless against you.