Contents:
- Following Jesus Christ
- Don Bosco, apostle of the Oratory
- Prophetic example of his youth
- Father and Founder
Joseph Boenzi – What is salesian in Don Bosco?
Joseph Boenzi writes of the many times that the figure of St. Francis de Sales enters into the life and ministry of Don Bosco. The final word may never be written on why Don Bosco chose Francis de Sales as the patron of his Congregation but What is Salesian in Don Bosco? throws light on the subject.
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Michael Mendl – New information on the salesians’coming to New York
Fr. Michael Mendl, in his research has discovered “a long missing letter” that states Don Bosco’s refusal to send Salesians to New York in 1848. This letter completes Michael Mendl ‘s article in the Journal on founding Salesian work in New York. (Vol. XI, No. I, Spring 2000).
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John Dickson – An introduction to Don Rua’s letters to England
Michael Rua (1837-1910) was a pupil, then the lifetime collaborator and finally, the first successor of St. John Bosco as Rector Major of the Salesian Society (1888-1910). During his Rectorate the Salesians grew from 1030 members in 64 houses to 4420 confreres scattered across the globe. Don Rua’s letters to England offer the reader a glimpse of the character of their writer and of the pastoral care he took of a small group of relatively insignificant Salesians in what was very often the inhospitable atmosphere of the British empire at the height of its power.
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Michael Mendl – “The zeal of the salesians is just the thing”. Founding of the salesian work in New York
Over one hundred years ago, on November 28, 1898, three Salesians arrived in New York to initiate a Salesian apostolate among the Italian immigrants of that metropolis. In March of the previous year four of their confreres had undertaken a similar mission in San Francisco.
Giovanni Bosco – “Memoirs of the oratory”
Written over several occasions between 1873 and 1875, the manuscript of the Memoirs of the Oratory remained unpublished by Don Bosco’s explicit will. However Fr John Bonetti drew on it abundantly for his History of the Oratory of St Francis de Sales, (which found its way into English under a different title Don Bosco’s Early Apostolate) published as a series in the Salesian Bulletin between 1879 and1886. And Fr John Baptist Lemoyne included it in its entirety in the first volumes of the Biographical Memoirs, adding in other information and anecdotes drawn from other witnesses. The first complete edition of the Memoirs appeared in 1946. The decision to put the book in the public domain in its entirety was motivated by the universal dimension that the Saint has taken on, as Eugene Ceria wrote in the presentation: “Today Don Bosco has become part of history and also been listed among the saints.”
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Giovanni Bosco – Zeal for the salvation of souls Don Bosco’s models
Efforts to reform society along Christian lines, undertaken in the Turin diocese after the fall of Napoleon’s Empire, in addition to taking up systematic parish catechesis once more, fostering popular missions, the Forty Hours and retreats for all kinds of groups, focused above all on reform of the clergy, beginning with more careful selection of candidates for the priesthood and diligent care in their preparation. With this in mind diocesan authorities first reorganised the seminary in the capital (1819), strengthening disciplinary and spiritual aspects, and encouraged the initiatives of Fr Luigi Guala, approving the Rule for the Pastoral Institute [Convitto ecclesiastico] (1821), then extended the seminary at Bra (1824-1825), and finally set up a new seminary in Chieri (1829) in the old house which belonged to the Oratorians (St Philip Neri’s priests), putting trusted formators in charge. The model of formation espoused by the archbishop, the Camaldolese Colombano Chiaveroti (1754-1831), drew its inspiration from priestly ideals belonging to post-Tridentine Catholic tradition, with a strong emphasis on apostolic charity and pastoral sacrifice (the priest had to be a “victima charitatis”). Meanwhile groups of generous clergy, supporting his reform efforts, made themselves available for preaching to the people, the ministry of confessions and spiritual direction, along with some orders and congregations that had been set up once more after the suppression in the French era.
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Michele Rua – Lo spirito di D. Bosco – Vocazioni.
Lo zelo fa concepire a D. Bosco il desiderio di fornire ad ogni parrocchia abili cantori. Egli gusta ed ama ardentemente la musica, eppure ha una predilezione pel canto gregoriano. Mi è dolce ricordare i loro sforzi, coronati da splendidi risultati, per insegnare colla musica sacra il canto prettamente ecclesiastico, sia in Italia come in Francia. Don Michele Rua si compiace nel pensiero che i Salesiani furono considerati da vari Vescovi e ragguardevoli personaggi quali strumenti per rialzare il decoro delle sacre funzioni, e furono sempre chiamati a cantare nelle più grandi solennità. Lo zelo dei maestri in varie case si comunicò agli alunni, che presero a coltivare il canto gregoriano con non minor gusto ed impegno che la musica. Si ebbero quindi esecuzioni di canto ecclesiastico nelle grandi funzioni, che poterono star a petto della più bella musica. Continue reading “Michele Rua – Lo spirito di D. Bosco – Vocazioni.”
Paolo Albera – Le strenne per l’anno 1921
Indice:
- Emozioni e proponimenti pel 1931
- La nomina del Card. Cagliero alla sede di Frascati
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Michele Rua – La Povertà.
La povertà in se stessa non è una virtù; essa una legittima conseguenza della colpa originale, destinata da Dio all’espiazione dei peccati ed alla santificazione delle anime. E’ quindi naturale che l’uomo ne abbia orrore, la consideri come una sciagura, e faccia quanto sta in lui per evitarla. La povertà diventa una virtù solo quando è volontariamente abbracciata per amor di Dio, come fanno coloro che si dànno alla vita religiosa. Continue reading “Michele Rua – La Povertà.”
Paolo Albera – Consigli ed avvisi per conservare lo spirito di D. Bosco in tutte le Case
In questa lettera, il Rettor Maggiore Paolo Albera scrive a riguardo dello spirito di Don Bosco da conservare nelle case salesiane, delle costituzione e della spiritualità salesiana.