Don Bosco, a tireless apostle of Marian devotion, emphasised the role of the Blessed Virgin for salvation of the individual in the Companion of Youth: she is the mediatrix of graces, defence against the assaults of evil, support in living a Christian life and on the way to holiness. These are things he draws from St Alphonsus Liguori: true devotion expressed through a life of virtue above all guarantees the most powerful patronage one could have in life and in death.
The years of foundation and consolidation of the Salesian Society and the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians are ones where Don Bosco’s horizons expanded in an impressive manner. The priest of Valdocco, ever more aware of having received a divine mission, feels that he has been transported into a huge field of activity, given a charism that makes him father and founder of a movement of apostles, consecrated men and women who are destined to spread over space and time. His spiritual magisterium deepens, his proposals become more radical, all-embracing.
These brief items of correspondence, written in familiar tone, contain simple advice on spiritual life. Don Bosco knew those he wrote to, their character, defects, the circumstances in which they worked. In a practical way he invited them to focus on concrete attitudes essential for nurturing their attachment to their Salesian vocation, constantly keeping their hearts leaning to God and charity.
As an introduction to the first Italian edition of the Salesian Constitutions, published in 1875, Don Bosco wrote a wide-ranging letter To the Salesians, to guide them in interpreting the rules and to infuse in them a correct idea of religious life. He later refined and extended it with the help of the master of novices, Fr Barberis, for the third Italian edition of the Constitutions (1885). It is a relevant document from a spiritual point of view. “One can think of it as a brief summary, the most complete one, of what could be called Don Bosco’s theology of religious life. Ideas flow together in it which had matured in him little by little, beginning from when he wrote the history of the Church and the Popes, then as he drew up the Constitutions and documents written to gain approval, further enriched by local and general conferences, instructions given at retreats in the late 1860s and early 1870s, and expressed in individual letters and circulars and in private advice.”
Christian education of youth in popular works with a markedly missionary character like the Oratories on the outskirts of Turin, frequented by boys who were mostly abandoned and uneducated, required processes that were gradual and geared to each one’s possibilities. The Companion of Youth offered a complete but essential proposal adapted to everyone. Starting with this, Don Bosco used the sacrament of penance, personal chats, suggestions of optional and practical devotions and offered books to read and meditate on. He set up personalised processes which were more adapted to youngsters who were more capable of greater moral and ascetic effort. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Sodalities and spiritual friendships” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected works””
St John Bosco’s correspondence mirrors his manifold activities as a promoter of educational and welfare type work, publishing and missionary enterprises. Also documented is the broad network of relationships he had built up. His letters are those of a man of action, the tireless organiser, avid communicator, religious founder and a passionate animator of Catholic initiatives. Little space is given to spiritual aspects which he prefers to deal with in preaching, personal talks or in the context of the Sacrament of Penance.
The first edition of Il giovane provveduto (in English The Companion of Youth) appeared in 1847 and was Don Bosco’s greatest publishing success. The year he died it had reached its 119th edition. It was reprinted with minor adaptations until 1961. It is also the book which Don Bosco most liked and constantly recommended.
Written over several occasions between 1873 and 1875, the manuscript of the Memoirs of the Oratory remained unpublished by Don Bosco’s explicit will. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Memoirs of the oratory” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected Works””
The biographical profiles of Louis Comollo (in the 1854 edition), Dominic Savio, Michael Magone and Francis Besucco are among the spiritual and pedagogical documents which are most representative of Don Bosco’s outlook. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – “Exemplary biographies” in “Salesian Sources 1. Don Bosco and his work. Collected Works””
L’estratto discute della salesianità di Don Bosco in relazione a San Francesco di Sales, evidenziando la dipendenza della spiritualità di Don Bosco da quella del Salesio. Continue reading “Eugenio Valentini – “La salesianità di don Bosco” in “Rivista di pedagogia e scienze religiose””
Il testo inizia richiamando l’importanza della penetrazione e del potere sintetico del pensiero umano. Esplora il concetto di inculturazione come incarnazione del messaggio cristiano in una specifica area culturale, motivata dall’esigenza emersa dai giovani. Continue reading “Autori Vari – Inculturazione e formazione salesiana. Dossier dell’incontro di Roma (12-17 settembre 1983)”
Il testo delinea tre questioni contemporanee e cosa i Salesiani possono imparare da esse attraverso questo documento classico ricco di ispirazione e saggezza. Le questioni affrontate sono: la relazione tra tradizione e novità, la carità pastorale e la disciplina ascetica, e la spiritualità e l’azione. Continue reading “Autori Vari – Memoirs of the oratory of Saint Francis de Sales, from 1815 to 1855: the autobiography of Saint John Bosco”
Il testo esplora la figura di don Giulio Barberis nel contesto della sua importanza all’interno della Congregazione Salesiana, particolarmente come primo maestro dei novizi e autore del Vade mecum dei giovani salesiani. Continue reading “Mario Fissore – Identità carismatica e formazione salesiana attraverso l’opera e la riflessione di Don Giulio Barberis negli anni 1874-1906”
Il testo descrive la vita di D. Rua, un seguace del Venerabile D. Bosco, che dedicò la sua vita a imitarlo. Il suo zelo per la gloria di Dio e il desiderio di salvare anime lo distinsero particolarmente, e anche durante la sua malattia continuò a esortare gli altri con saggi consigli. Continue reading “Autore non indicato – Lettere circolari di Don Michele Rua ai salesiani”
ll giovane provveduto è libro di don Bosco che ebbe il maggior successo editoriale. L’anno della sua morte venne stampata la 119a edizione. Se ne fecero ristampe, con pochissimi adattamenti, fino al 1961. Continue reading “Giovanni Bosco – Il giovane provveduto”
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