DON BOSCO'S MADONNA DRY TIMES, GROWING TIMES Mumbai ...donboscosmadonna.org/pdf/NOV2017.pdf · I...

2 3November 2017 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaNovember 2017Fr. Ian Doulton sdb

From The Editor's Desk:Dry Times, Growing Times.......3

When Tragedy Strikes- Jeanette Brimner...................4

Youth on the Move:Youth and Religion - Ermete Tessore...................8

Salesian Saint: Ven. Margaret Occhiena (1788 -1856)...........10

Vocation Promotion: Cl. Bosco Carvalho sdb...........12

Witnesses In And For Our Times:St. Leonard of Port Maurice.....13

Lectio Divina: The Parable of theTalents- Ian Pinto sdb......................16

Quietspaces: On the Day of Justice - Pope Francis.....18

The Pearl of Great Price- Fr. Ian Doulton's Collection...20

Facets of His Life: Don Bosco and the“Gangs” - Natale Cerrato............24

Reflecting on Mary: The Mystery of Mary’s House at Ephesus - Roberto Spataro...................28

NewsBits.....................................30

Walking With the Church: Coming back, capital Punishment, Second Coming.............31

In a Cheerful Mood......................32The Devotion of

the Three Hail Marys.............33Loving Children to their

Loving Mother........................34They Are Grateful to

Our Lady & Don Bosco..........34Thanks to Dear

St. Dominic Savio...................35

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

DON BOSCO'S MADONNA Mumbai NOVEMBER 2017 vol.19 No. 7

DRY TIMES, GROWING TIMESThe year is winding down pretty quickly and I am wont to think of

my life of prayer especially since we’ve opened this month withthe solemn feasts of All Saints and the Commemoration of theFaithful Departed and somehow I keep asking myself how often doI remember these ‘Holy Souls’ and does my ‘remembering’ entail‘praying’ for them…and then I get to that point where I ask thatvery crucial question: ‘what does ‘praying’ mean to me?

I occasionally (actually pretty often) come upon times wheneverything within me seems flat and I just don’t feel like I’m really‘praying’ effectively. Sincerely, I sometimes feel stuck or tired or justnumb. Usually, however, these times make me uncomfortablebecause I get the impression that being a Christian, I’m a sorryspecimen of one; if I am unfaithful to my daily prayers and I have tofrantically try to correct this state-of-affairs or dive into self-pity orjust for the time being, give up praying altogether and get on withthe business of living.

I’ve realised that one of our main struggles in prayer is the waywe measure our effectiveness or our progress, forgetting that themain purpose of prayer is a relationship with God, no matter wherewe happen to be.

This roller-coasting in prayer happens pretty often…we go throughcycles sometimes feeling excited or warm and consoled while at othertimes feeling dry and chewed up like so much straw in summer.Perhaps it’s a little of both.

Sometimes I do feel I have grown, while at other times I lie fallow.Overall, there seems to be forward progress but certainly all of uskeep coming upon those same times of dryness seasonally.

The secret of not giving in to discouragement is to accept suchtimes in obedience rather than bucking against them in panic.

Perhaps I’m resting after a spurt or perhaps I am being assigned aSabbath of sorts where I am called to be still for a while. But perhapsthere’s a purpose even in the dryness. I’m possibly being asked toconsider just what it is I value more: the presence of God or my ownperceived growth.

Spiritual growth and spiritual flatness (as I call it) mean simplybeing disciplined to accepting these phases as they come. This callsme to offer to the Lord each day the person I am and be open to Hispresence and teachings. I can pray through such times and offerthem to God. God asks for faithfulness more than he asks for progress.

Whether we are sick or well, happy or sad, growing or standingstill, alive or dead, God is God and you’ve got to know that…”He’sgot the whole world in His hands.”

So I pray that your sights be lifted higher than your own life andmay God be glorified above yourself in all the moments of the lifeHe gives you.

O God, who chosethe Blessed Virgin Mary,foremost among the poor

and humble,to be the Motherof the Saviour,

grant we pray, that,following her example,we may offer you the

homage of sincere faithand place in you all

our hope of Salvation.

From the Commonof the Blessed Virgin Mary

4 5November 2017 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaNovember 2017

CEL SERIESCEL SERIESCEL SERIESCEL SERIESCEL SERIES

WHEN TRAGEDY STRIKESWHEN TRAGEDY STRIKESWHEN TRAGEDY STRIKESWHEN TRAGEDY STRIKESWHEN TRAGEDY STRIKESJeanette Brimner

Coleen was one of our formerprayer-group members. She

was always full of fun and herwell-honed sense of humour keptus laughing while we had refresh-ments following each meeting.She was in her early seventiesand had five grown childrenwho treated her well. In turn shewas ready to babysit or help themwhenever they asked, even on thespur of a moment. But behindher beaming smile was hiddenthe grief which scarred her soul.Long ago one of her son’s drow-ned when he was only five andanother son died in a car acci-dent when he was a teenager. Butshe kept her faith!

Barbara de Angelis wroteconcerning tragedy and hard-ship: “We don’t develop courageby being happy every day. Wedevelop it by surviving differenttimes challenging adversity.”

Susan Spencer-Wendel was anaward winning journalist withgrowing children and a thought-ful, sensitive husband. But thentragedy struck when an illnessbegan robbing her of her mobi-lity. She was diagnosed withA.L.S. an illness referred to asLou Gehrig’s Disease after a fam-ous baseball player. He died ofthe disease several decades ago.A.L.S. is a neuromuscular dis-order which causes the nerveswithin the muscles to atrophy.Then the muscles themselves dieas well in a progressive fashion.Research is trying to find outmore about this devastating

disease which is thankfully notconsidered to be inherited.

Susan eventually sought medi-cal help after unusual symptomsof the illness began to occur, butshe was determined to accepteach symptom as it arrived withdignity. She continued to livewith a joyful spirit and gratefulattitude. Susan travelled withher family while also writing alegacy titled: ”Until I SayGoodbye, …My Year of Living withJoy.” her book is so popularbecause it is both inspiring andencourages readers to live lifewith a sense of aweand gratitude for the positivethings in their lives. Her bookwhich is laced with humourmakes it clear that our attitude,no matter what the circumstan-ces, determines how we handlethe crises and tragedies in life.She also teaches us to never takelife for granted but to make themost of our gifts and talentswhile we have the time.

My brother-in-law was struckwith an incurable disease whenhe was in his early forties. In hisspare time he tutored prisoners

in writing and did other volun-teer work until his symptomsbegan to interfere with his dailylife. Learning about his illnessdid not stifle his good nature orhis witty sense of humour. Withhis strong faith and trust in Godhe continued to live his life withhope and a stoic optimism. Aftershowing him some of my writingsamples he encouraged me tokeep writing which gave me theconfidence to send my work tonewspapers and magazines whowere interested in publishing myarticles and poems. Without hisencouragement I doubt that Iwould now be a professionalwriter.

We never know how we willaffect other peoples’ lives. Hispositive attitude, as his illnessprogressed, had a profound im-pact on every person he knew.Thank God that he did not bel-ieve in euthanasia which is be-coming more prevalent today.

Terminal illness of a familymember is only one of the trage-dies that can happen to a family.One morning when I was feelingparticularly chirpy, the phonerang just as I was getting out ofbed. Since I don’t normally get acall at eight in the morning I feltuneasy as I picked up the phone.It was a friend of ours, Anna whotold me that her husband, Jake,had suddenly been killed in ahelicopter crash. The news wasso devastating that my husbandand I were in shock. Anna andJake were such good friends andwe were expecting them to visitthat weekend. Jake was a cropduster and had flown thousandsof miles without a mishap. At the

small airport where he was sta-tioned, the Company had askedhim to travel to California to pickup a brand new helicopter recen-tly purchased.

Jake’s brother-in-law asked togo along for the ride. When theyreached their destination wherethe helicopter was waiting, theyhad no idea that they had onlyseveral minutes to live. After ad-miring the machine they settleddown in the cockpit and took off.But after flying for a while thehelicopter stalled and plungedinto the desert below. Both menwere killed.

Anna’s strong faith in Godeased her through that heart-breaking tragedy. Then severalweeks later her sister was killedin a car crash. The next year herdaughter Jen who had threesmall children found out that herhusband had been seriouslyinjured when his car skidded onan icy road. Since then Anna hasbeen helping her daughter bringup the children because her son-in-law suffered such severe da-mage to the brain that he mustnow stay in an institution. I askedAnna a few weeks ago how shehas dealt with so much hardshipwithout becoming bitter “I askJesus to give me strength whenthings become unbearable,” shereplied. She keeps busy leading


the church choir and participa-ting in other activities.

Grief counseling has also hel-ped her and when my son com-mitted suicide almost two yearsago she urged my husband andme to get help from a profess-ional grief counselor to deal withour over whelming grief. My sonbecame seriously depressedseveral months before he took hisown life. Our family tried to helphim by listening to him and byurging him to take the anti-depressants that his doctor hadprescribed. My daughter evenaccompanied him to a psychia-trist to seek help and he wasgoing to a therapist regularly. Butbecause his marriage was deeplytroubled he put an end to his lifewhen we least expected it. Atfirst my husband and I were an-gry at God because we had beenpraying so hard for him to getwell. We even had him stay withus for a few months to help himwith his mood disorder. But wesoon learned it was not God’sfault, or our family’s fault. Therewas nothing more we could havedone to prevent the terrible tra-gedy. People like Anna and oth-ers who have experienced grief,have helped us deal with ouragonizing loss and only our faithand trust in God has helped usto handle our mourning. Scott’s

siblings as well as his wife andhis two girls are all suffering andI pray for all of us that God willkeep helping to ease our grief.Several months have passed. Butwe realize that we will alwaysfeel our loss even though thepain, with time, becomes easierto bear.

Estrangement of one familymember in a family can causehardship in the family especiallyon holidays where their presenceis especially missed. A friend ofmine was stunned when after se-veral years of marriage shefound out that that her husbandhad a sister she had never met.His parents were angry becausetheir daughter married aman they did not approveof and told her she was no lon-ger welcome to come home everagain. What a tragedy! The grand-children would never get to knowtheir grandparents, uncles andaunts and cousins. If the parentswere truly Christian they wouldnever expel their daughter fromthe family but would accept herand her husband with uncon-ditional love. But I should not beso judgmental. Only God knowstheir hearts.

Gerard Groote in the classic,“The Imitation of Christ,” wrote

‘Is there anyone who has every-thing as he wishes? There is noone, be it the Pope or king whodoes not suffer trials or anguish.Who is the better off then? Surelyit is the man who will suffersomething for God…”

Every time we read the news-paper or listen to the news we seefamilies suffering from terror-ists’ events such as the Lorryplunging through a crowd cele-brating Bastille Day in Paris andthe terror attack in Mumbai,weather events including floodscaused by torrential rain, torna-does and blizzards and gunmassacres in the United states.

Divorce is a tragedy when weconsider how it affects the child-ren. My daughter, after attend-ing a Christian weekend, wasamazed that most of her friendshad broken homes. “It seems asif you and dad and my bestfriend’s parents are the only oneswho have a happy marriage“ shestated when we were discussingher experiences. Violence in a fa-mily, or emotional or sexual ab-use is another adversity that canbe passed on from one genera-tion to another.

The older we become the morewe realize that although thingsmay be going well at the time,calamities, trials and problemsare inevitable as we pass throughlife. We can use a tragic event tohelp ourselves and our familiesto come closer to God as we leanon Him for strength, enduranceand guidance. In my own case myhusband and I are happily mar-ried so together we were thereto comfort the other familymembers when our son chose to

end his life. By praying for eachother, talking about our loss andleaning on each other when ourgrief becomes too hard to handle,we have grown closer. We had amemorial service on Scott’sbirthday and let balloons floatinto the air which travelled to-wards heaven. Since Scott wasvery ill when he shot himself, ourpriest has assured us that Godwill have mercy on his soul,especially when I have prayedfrom the time our children weresmall that they would eventuallybe with God for eternity.

When my trust begins to ebband I have a wave of grief thatthreatens to drown me, I think ofverse 4 from the 23rd Psalm (TheNew Catholic Answer Bible) whichis so comforting: ”Even when I walk through a dark valley, I fear no harm, for you are at my side; Your rod and your staff give me courage.”


YOUTH AND RELIGIONYOUTH AND RELIGIONYOUTH AND RELIGIONYOUTH AND RELIGIONYOUTH AND RELIGIONErmete Tessore

Modern psychology sup ported by some veryrecent neuro-scientific dis-coveries affirms withouthesitation that humans areborn with an innate naturalpredisposition to believe.The brain seems to havebeen shaped by evolution tograpple with problems thatgo beyond mere biology.Doctors for their part arguethat a genuine faith livedcoherently and freely, is a greathelp and support in a variety oftherapies, prevention and thecure for various illnesses. Socio-logists of religion argue that aplethora of beliefs have alwayspervasively crowded the historyof humanity. These beliefsheavily influence for better orworse, every individual, creatingempathic relationships infusedeither positively or triggeringreal storms of aggressivenesspregnant with hatred and des-tructive violence. No humanbeing ever completely loses theinfluence of some religious beliefor other, and that’s a fact. But itis equally true to say that in

As modern science argues that we are born to believethat young people are increasingly moving away from

any experience of a lived faith.

many Western-evolved orWestern-influenced economiesbelief seems to be fading amongmodern teenagers.

GREAT ABSENCESIn fact, young people are cons-

picuously absent at religiouscelebrations held in temples,churches, synagogues or mos-ques in those countries wheresocial pressure is felt less. It is astriking but inescapable fact thatreligious ceremonies, places ofworship and various faith cele-brations leave the majority ofyoung people completely indiff-erent. Described as fragile, disori-ented, despondent about the

future, they seem to be determi-ned and united in refusing anyapproach that smacks of religion.Their world consists of textmessages, tweets, instant comm-unication, bulimia, a network ofcontacts, seething emotions inthe shadows of a fleeting mom-ent. The networks distributeinformation, news but no emo-tions or values. Young computersurfers have no time to deal withtheir true selves. They are cons-tantly catapulted into the virtualworld where everything is en-hanced, enlarged and exagger-ated, drawing them to lose touchwith the real world. Captivatedby a technological consumerismwith strong neurotic connota-tions they are alienated thus be-coming victims of their dreamsand fantasies. Gradually thisnirvana of the web builds a con-crete wall around the young-sters unconsciously isolatingthem from all traditional civicand religious institutions. Theydo not reject anything a priori,they just simply reject everythingthat smacks of tradition andinstitutionalism. Religion orpolitics don’t interest them sothey don’t engage with them.

OTHER CAUSESThey profess their fascination

with Jesus as the communicatorof an overwhelming message butthey absolutely reject anything todo with worship, participation,or aggregation. Their faith con-sists of emotions experienced ina brief moment in time with over-whelming enthusiasm – the vari-ous World Youth Days testify tothis. Soon, however, everythinggets stored in the memory as a be-autiful moment of times gone bybut has no power to affect the yo-ungster’s conduct. It is diffi-cultfor young people to create aro-und themselves that indispen-sable climate of silence that alonecan turn superficial emotions in-to deep sentiments that wouldlead to a modification in one’sbehaviour thus opening their li-ves to new horizons. If we addto this the mediocrity and the co-unter-witness of so many allegedbelievers, with the lack of witnessof members of the clergy then we

can hazard a guess eventhough we may be hardlywilling to admit it, that thereason why our youngpeople are conspicuouslyabsent in our churches, isthat their lives are runningmore and more on tracksparallel to ours, leaving usworried but without ans-wers or solutions to bringthem back to us.


SALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTS

MARGARETMARGARETMARGARETMARGARETMARGARETOCCHIENAOCCHIENAOCCHIENAOCCHIENAOCCHIENA1788 - 18561788 - 18561788 - 18561788 - 18561788 - 1856

On the charming hills of Asti,more precisely in the little

town of Capriglio d’Asti, Marga-ret Occhiena was born on April 1,1788, a year after the outbreak ofthe French Revolution. She wasthe sixth child that God loved intolife and was bestowed to MelchiorOcchiena and Domenica Bossone.She was baptized on the same dayand given the name Margaret,which means a “precious stone.”Margaret was born at a timewhen young Napoleon Buonapar-te had invaded the Piedmontesecountryside, waging war and des-truction even in the province ofAsti. Despite these sad timesMargaret lived a happy child-hood. She never went to school butthe first words that she learnedfrom her mother were The HailMary. A well-known biographerG. B. Lemoyne in a few lines givesus a precise and careful descrip-tion of the personality of MammaMargaret: “Nature endowed herwith a resolute will which wasaided with tremendous commonsense and divine grace whichenabled her to overcome all thosematerial and spiritual obstaclesshe would encounter later in life.Because she possessed an uprightconscience, both in her affectionsand her thoughts she was able toprudently assess people andsituations. Being self-possessed inher dealings and frank in speech,

she was not known to hesitate,and being poor she could see in thepoor the face of God.”

A young widower named Fran-cis Bosco aged 27 of the canton of“Becchi” in the hamlet of Mori-aldo, approached Margaret’sfather to ask for her hand inmarriage. She was 24 years oldwhen she consented. The mar-riage was celebrated on June 6,1812 at the parish church of Cap-riglio. To Francis, her husband, hismother Margaret Zucca, who wasparalyzed and to Anthony, Fran-cis’ son by his previous marriage,Margaret came as a blessing fromthe Lord. Like any couple Marga-ret and Francis had plans anddreams to accomplish. On April18, 1813, their first son Joseph wasborn and two years later, August16, 1815 John entered the world.

1817 was a turning point forMamma Margaret: her husband

Francis, returning from the fieldssoaked in perspiration wentdown into the underground coldcellar. He was attacked by a vio-lent fever which was undoubt-edly pneumonia. It was a Fridayin May and Francis passed awayat the age of 33. Margaret wasnow a widow at 29. Being a wo-man of great faith, she rolled upher sleeves and got down to work.

Don Bosco would write in hisMemoirs: “Her greatest care wasgiven to instructing her sons intheir religion making them valueobedience, and keeping thembusy with tasks suited to theirage.” Despite being illiterate shetaught her sons the catechism thatshe had learned from her motherand prepared them to receive thesacraments of Confession, Comm-union and Confirmation.

The year 1824 would be a “pro-phetic” year. One morning Johnnarrated to his mother, his grand-mother and his two brothers adream that would remain engra-ved in his mind for the rest of hislife. He approached his motherwho made this wise remark: “Whoknows, perhaps you might be-come a priest.” On the evening ofOctober 30, 1835 John wouldenter the seminary and MammaMargaret did not hesitate to givehim some invaluable advice.Exactly six years later on June 5,1841, Don Bosco was ordained apriest in Turin: the great sacrificesof John and his mother Margarethad borne fruit.

1846 was another decisive tur-ning point in Margaret’s life. DonBosco asked his mother toaccompany him to the oratory tobe the “mother to those poorboys.” That was how MammaMargaret began to realize her

“second vocation,” to become themother of so many poor children,making them her second family.

In the years that followed shesaw many boys, among themMichael Rua, the first successor ofDon Bosco and John Cagliero, thefirst Salesian Missionary to Ar-gentina and later the first Salesianbishop and cardinal, but she didnot hesitate to intuit the extraor-dinary sanctity of the youngDominic Savio who came to theOratory on October 29, 1854. Oneday she told her son Don Bosco:“You have so many good boys butnone possesses a soul as beautifulas that of Dominic Savio.”

As the autumn of the year 1856came around, Mamma Margaretgrew unusually tired. She had de-veloped a persistent cough thatcompelled her to take to her bed.She did not even take up her need-le and thread. Don Bosco askedthe doctor to visit her and thediagnosis he gave was: pneumo-nia. The news was a heavy blowto everyone at Valdocco. By theend of her life, as the diseaseprogressed, she was still able tosay these words to Don Bosco:“God knows how much I haveloved you and I hope I can loveyou even more from a blessedeternity…my conscience is atpeace. I have done my duty as bestI could…” After a long pause shecontinued, “Remember that thislife consists of suffering. Truehappiness will come in eternallife…” God came to take her at 3am on November 25, 1856. Twohours later Don Bosco went to theShrine of Our Lady of Consolationto celebrate Mass in the crypt andhe said to the Madonna: “We arewithout a mother, you be ourmother!”


PROFILES

ST. LEONARD OF PORT MAURICE(NOVEMBER 27)

CL. BOSCO CARVALHO, SDBA Salesian Student of Theology at Don Bosco, Koregaon Park, Pune

VOCATION PROMOTION

I grew up in a family feelingloved and respected. It was at

home that I learnt to share, tosacrifice and to pray. Beinginvolved in Church and itsactivities gave me immense joy.

I trace the beginnings of myvocation journey to a tick-markthat I put next to the option‘priest’ in my school aptitude test.Fr. Ronnie Menezes, sdb, thenRector of Don Bosco, Matunga,singled me out, visited my familyand encouraged them to allowme to attend the Don Boscosummer camps. At the GujaratMission camp and LonavlaVocation camp, I was at homewith the people, and I felt I couldbe a part of the mission that thedynamic Salesian priests andbrothers were into. My familyrespected my decision to enterinto Salesian life and they haveactively supported me till date.

I completed my junior collegeat Don Bosco, Lonavla where Idiscovered my talents and apassion for the Salesian life. Atthe pre-novitiate at Kudal, Itasted the sweetness of prayer,the ups and downs of stayingtogether, loads of creativeactivities and I discovered myinner self. I had to make adecision. I believe I heard thevoice of Jesus in my heart callingme to the Salesian mission whileworking in the field oneSaturday. On that day I haddecided to be a Salesian priestand live for Jesus and for youth,

jab tak he jaan. I continued myreligious formation: one year atthe novitiate, followed by myfirst religious profession, fiveyears of study at thephilosophate, three years ofregency at Lonavla and Nasikafter which I made my finalprofession to the Lord. At presentI am pursuing my Bachelor’sDegree in theology at Pune.

In all these years of Salesianlife, the prayers of my family, thesupport and inspiration of mycommunity and friends, mypersonal relationship with Jesusand my devotion to Mary havestrengthened me in the high andlow moments of my life. For me,to live is to live as a Salesian,being with the youth andoffering them all I am and all Ihave. I pray that youth remainclose to the Church and itsactivities, because God wants touse them to bring His Kingdomon earth.

If we are convinced and havecome to experience that without

Christ life lacks something, thatsomething real – indeed, the mostreal thing of all – is missing, wemust also be convinced that wedo no injustice to anyone if we pre-sent Christ to them and thus grantthem the opportunity of findingtheir truest and most authenticselves, the joy of finding life. In-deed, we must do this. It is ourduty to offer everyone this possi-bility of attaining eternal life”(Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, March21, 2009). Saint Leonard of PortMaurice stands out among thepreachers who have taken serio-usly this duty of preaching salva-tion to all.

On December 20, 1676, in PortoMaurizio, on the Ligurian coast innorthern Italy, a little boy wasborn who, at his baptism, was pla-ced under the patronage of SaintsPaul and Jerome. He would latersay that he had the grace of havingvery good parents. His was an ex-emplary youth – he easily led hiscompanions to pray and do goodworks. One of his favourite spiri-tual authors was Saint Francis deSales, whose book Introduction tothe Devout Life was always withhim. On holidays, he roamed the

streets and squares of Rome and,braving scorn and insults, exhort-ed all who would listen to go tothe sermons in the churches.

Words that go straight to the heartPaul Jerome felt called to the re-

ligious state. His confessor encou-raged him to intensify his life ofprayer and penitence to obtain thegrace to know God’s will. One day,as he saw two monks shabbilydressed and of modest manner,Reformed Friars Minor of the Re-treat of Saint Bonaventure, he


suddenly felt in him the desire toembrace their way of life. Enteringthe monastery church just as theBrothers had begun to chantCompline, he heard these words:“Convert us, O God, Our Saviour!”These words went straight to hisheart, and he decided to ask to join.Admitted into the novitiate, hereceived the habit and the nameof Brother Leonard on October 2,1697. He loved to say, “If, whilewe are young, we set little store bysmall matters and pay them littleheed, when we are older and havemore freedom, we will allowourselves liberties on the mostimportant points.”

Zealous for religious studies, heinsisted that it was necessary tocontinue to learn in order to ob-tain the glory of God and the sal-vation of souls. After his ordina-tion, he was appointed as a pro-fessor of philosophy. But he fellgravely ill. The young priest thenbegged the Virgin Mary to obtainfrom Her divine Son robust hea-lth, which he would dedicate togaining souls for Heaven. Hisprayer was heard – the illness hehad been suffering from comple-tely disappeared.

In 1708, not far from PortoMaurizio, Father Leonard preach-ed his first “popular mission,”and traditionally, the preachertook as his theme the necessity ofconversion to the Lord so that onemight lead a truly Christian lifeand ultimately obtain salvation ofone’s soul.

True happinessConsideration of the final ends

was at the heart of Father Leo-nard’s teaching. “Consider,” hewrote, “how important it is foryou to achieve your final end. That

is everything for you: for if you ac-hieve it, you are saved, you are et-ernally happy, showered with allthe benefits for your soul and bo-dy. If, on the contrary, you fail toachieve it, you are lost, body andsoul, you lose God and heaven,you are eternally miserable, dam-ned forever“(Meditation on the endof man).

The obstacle to get rid of“Before beginning a task, we

must get rid of the obstacles thatstand in the way of its completion.Here is how Father Leonard usedto address his listeners on thistopic: “Oh! How Saint Augustinehad good reason to complain ab-out the strange blindness that callsevil good, and good evil, accor-ding to the words of Isaiah (5:20):Woe to those who call evil goodand good evil! “In this lies the ori-gin of so many falls, and the rea-son so many souls trip up, andhurl themselves into an abyss ofiniquity. They do not consider theevil they do when they commit amortal sin” (Sermon on the evil ofmortal sin). So prepare for a goodge-neral confession, to put an endto this life full of disorders thatyou are in.” (Invitation to penance).

The cureBut Father Leonard did not con-

tent himself with castigating evil.He also gave the cure for it – to letoneself be won over by the Lord,who offers His mercy to all: “Con-sider that if God’s justice is infinitewith respect to obstinate sinners,His mercy is no less infinite for pe-nitent sinners. The greater yoursins, the greater still the triumphof the goodness, charity, and cle-mency of this God Who is infini-tely rich in mercy” (Meditation on

God’s mercy).Having become a master in the

art of guiding souls, Father Leo-nard often had experience of thevalue of certain devotions in help-ing souls to convert and retain thestate of grace they had re-found.First, there was the practice ofsaying three Ave Marias (HailMary’s). This practice originatedwith the German Benedictine,Saint Mechtilde. Saint Leonardpropagated the devotion, advis-ing the recitation of these threeAves in honour of Mary’s privile-ges: “Every morning upon wakingand every evening before going tobed, the soul devoted to Mary willask for its holy Mother’s blessing;and will not fail to recite three AveMarias, in honour of Her stainlesspurity, offering Her its senses andall its powers of soul, so that shemight guard them as things thatbelong to Her and that are devotedto Her honour, and the soul will askHer for the grace not to fall into sinthat day (or that night)».

The trumpet of the last dayThe saint also promoted this

short invocation: “My Jesus,mercy!” He related a missionary’swords: “When I return some-where I have already given amission, it often happens that pen-itents come to me and begin theirconfession with these words: ‘MyFather, I am a libertine who, a fewyears ago, came to unload at yourfeet a sack of iniquities. I do notknow if you remember me, but,thanks to God, since the mission,I have no longer committed a sinof impurity or any mortal sin.’‘How did you do it?’ the mission-ary asks. ‘Ah, my Father, I haveput into practice the great resolu-tion you so strongly instilled in us,

to commend ourselves often toGod with this pious invocation:“My Jesus, mercy!” I have done itevery day, morning and night,and especially during tempta-tions, I have frequently imploredGod’s help by saying, “My Jesus,mercy!”

The practice of the Stations ofthe Cross – which consist in follo-wing Jesus through the principalevents of His Passion – already ex-isted at the time, but were littleused outside the Franciscan order.Single-handedly Father Leonardwould erect 572 Stations of theCross.

The sun of ChristianityHaving left after the Jubilee of

1750 for a new round of missions,the Father was soon called back toRome by the Pope. In a spirit ofobedience to the Vicar of Christ,he set out on his way but he fell illas he left Tolentino.

Father Leonard was reciting theTe Deum and was helped downfrom the carriage with difficulty– he was so weak that his pulsecould no longer be felt. Scarcelyhaving arrived at the infirmary,he confessed and received the lastsacraments, after having said withsurprising force the acts of faith,hope, and charity. He was offered adrink, which he accepted, and thensaid, “I have no words to thank Godfor the grace He has granted me inallowing me to die in the midst ofmy confreres.” Shortly after recei-ving Extreme Unction, he passedaway peacefully. It was Friday,November 26, 1751. He was can-onized by Blessed Pius IX, andPope Pius XI declared him “Theheavenly patron of priests devo-ted to the preaching of missionsto the people.


THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTSby Ian Pinto, sdb

The parable of the talents (Mt25: 14-30) paints a picture of

the afterlife. It is inclined towardsjudgment. The Church incorpora-tes in its catechism knowledge ofthe last four things. These are:Death, Judgment, Heaven andHell. Most people have absolutelyno trouble believing with the first,death. But what of judgment, helland heaven? Do they really exist?Does a good and loving God judgepeople scrupulously? Aren’t hea-ven and hell made-up myths to in-still fear in gullible people? Obvi-ously Jesus doesn’t think so. Heemphasizes judgment, hell andheaven in chapter 25 of Matthew.

A cursory reading of the chap-ter will reveal the connectionsJesus makes with Judgment, Helland Heaven.

The parable of the talents is aninteresting parable. It tells us thestory of a master who was goingaway to a far off country and whogave a part of his wealth to threeof his servants for security. Eachreceived according to his ability.After he had settled his affairs hedeparted. The first servant, “went

at once to do business with themoney, and gained another five.The one who received two talentsdid the same, and gained anothertwo. But the one who received onetalent dug a hole, and hid hismaster’s money” (v. 16-17).

All three servants knew theirmaster very well. Yet, the first tworesponded in a similar mannerwhile the third did so very differ-ently. The first two knew that theirmaster was a wealthy man and heprided himself on his ability toamass wealth so, he was willingto entrust a part of that vast we-alth to them despite their capaci-ties. He promoted them frommere servants to stewards. Thusfar they had done the work assign-ed to them but now, they weretheir own bosses. When the mom-ent arose the first two stewardsstepped into the shoes of theirmaster and busied themselveswith making profits. The third ste-ward, on the other hand, was af-raid. He knew all too well that hismaster was “a hard man”, whoreaped what he did not sow andgathered what he did not scatter

(v. 24). Evidently, he only saw apart of the master’s character andwas overwhelmed. He missed thebigger picture. How often are welike this third steward? We arecontent with knowing little aboutour Heavenly Master. We haveconstructed an image about Himby the experience we have had ofHim. We haven’t really mademuch effort to get to know Himbetter.

Hugh Welchel, in an articlepoints out five lessons we can takeaway from this parable:1. This parable teaches us thatsuccess is a product of our work.

In the book of Genesis Adam isplaced in the garden to work andtake care of it. We were made towork. Every human being has theright and duty to work. We are towork, using our talents to glorifyGod, serve the common good, andfurther God’s kingdom.2. The Parable of the Talents tea-ches that God always gives useverything we need to do whathe has called us to do. A talentwas a measure of money that waseither of gold or of silver. Someauthorities say that the talent typ-ically weighed about 33 kg vary-ing from 20 to 40 kg. In February,2016, the international price ofgold was about US$1190 per troyounce. One gram costs about $38.At this price, a talent (33 kg) wouldbe worth about $1.25 million.

We are tempted to feel sorry forthe servant who received only onetalent, but in reality he receivedas much as a million dollars fromthe master and buried it in hisback yard.

Just so, God expects us to do thesame with the gifts God has givenus.3. The Parable of the Talents teach-

es that we are not all created equal.The master gives to each servant

talents, “…each according to hisability.” The master understoodthat the one-talent servant wasnot capable of producing as muchas the five-talent servant. Wewant to protest this as unfair. Yetwe know this is true from our ownexperience. There is equalityfound in the Parable of the Ta-lents. It comes from the fact thatit takes just as much work for thefive-talent servant to produce fivemore talents as it does the two-talent servant to produce twomore talents. This is why the re-ward given by the master is thesame. The master measures succ-ess by degrees of effort.4. The Parable of the Talents teac-hes that we work for the Master,not our own selfish purposes. It isthe quality of their stewardshipthat the master seeks to measure.

We should maximize the use ofour talents to honour God and weshould feel satisfaction and joyfrom doing our best with whatGod has given us in the placewhere his providence puts us,seeking to succeed in order tohonor him.5. The Parable of the Talents showsthat we will be held accountable.

The Parable of the Talents is notabout salvation or works of right-eousness, but about how we useour work to fulfill our earthly call-ings. It is about whole-life ste-wardship. The unfaithful stewardin this parable didn’t so muchwaste the master’s money – hewasted an opportunity. As aresult, he was judged wicked andlazy. We are responsible for whatwe do for God with what we havebeen given, and one day we willbe held responsible.


ON THE DAY OF JUSTICEON THE DAY OF JUSTICEON THE DAY OF JUSTICEON THE DAY OF JUSTICEON THE DAY OF JUSTICEOn the morning of November 22, 2016, the Holy Father celebrated Mass Casa Santa Marthae.

The following is the edited English text of the Pope’s homily which was delivered in Italian.

The world “does not like to think” about the ultimate reality, butthis is part of human existence. And if we live “in fidelity to the

Lord”, after our bodily death, “we will not be afraid” to presentourselves before Jesus for His judgment. Following the path of the“last week of the liturgical year”, Pope Francis dedicated his homilyat the morning Mass he celebrated in Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday,22 November, to a reflection on the end times: “On the end of theworld, on the end of history; on the end of each one of us, becauseeveryone will have his end”.

It is a topic which might “sadden someone’s day”, the Pope said,because “he does not like to think about these things” or to takeaccount of the fact that “when one of us is gone, the years will passby and after a long time hardly anyone will remember us”. However,he added, “it is the truth. This is what the Church tells us: we will allhave an end”. It is a truth which we are called to confront. In thisregard, the Pope revealed: “I have a list, a diary which I write inwhen someone dies – a friend, a relative – I write their name there,and every day I see, on that day, the anniversary of their death: ‘Hehas been dead for twenty years! Time passes so quickly! And thisother person, thirty years; how quickly time has passed!’”. Thisreality is common to everyone, Francis said, and it “obliges us tothink about what we leave behind, about the mark our lives leavebehind”.

The first reading of the day, taken from the Book of Revelation (14:14-19), focuses on this theme. We read of “reaping, theharvest, the crop”, but also of “testing the quality ofgrain, of the grapes”. Namely, the Pope explained,“after the end there will be judgment. We will all bejudged, each one of us will be judged”. Therefore, “it isgood for us to think: ‘What will that day be like when Iam before Jesus, when the Lord will ask me for anaccount of “talents that he gave me”, or “how my heartwas when the seed fell?”. Recalling the “parables ofthe Kingdom of God”, the Pontiff proposed somequestions to ask ourselves: “How do I receive theWord? With an open heart? Do I let it grow for thegood of others or keep it hidden?”. This examinationof conscience is good and useful, because “we will allbe judged” and everyone will find himself “in front

of Jesus”. We do not know the date, but “it will happen”.

Even in the Gospel, taken from a passage of Luke (21:5-11), wefind advice in this regard from Jesus himself, who exhorts: “Do notbe deceived!”. What deception is he refering to? It is the “deceptionof alienation”, the Pope explained, “and that of estrangement”: thedeception for which “I am distracted, I do not think, and I live as ifI were never going to die”. However, he asked, “when the Lordcomes, who will come like lightning, how will he find me? Waitingor in the midst of so many disposals of life, deceived by things thatare superficial, which have no transcendence?”.

We are therefore faced with a real and true “Call from the Lord tothink seriously about the end: about my end, the judgment, aboutmy judgment”. In this regard, the Pope recalled how when we arechildren we go “to catechism” class, and are taught “four things:death, judgment, hell or glory”.

Of course, some might say: “Father, this frightens us”. However,Francis replied: “It is the truth. Because if you do not take care ofyour heart”, and “you always live far away from the Lord, perhapsthere is the danger, the danger of continuing in this way, far awayfrom the Lord for eternity. This is very bad!”.

This is why, the Pope concluded, “today it will be good for us to thinkabout this: what will my end be like? How will it be when I find myself

before the Lord?”. And to come to meet those whomay be frightened or saddened by this reflection,the Pope recalled the passage in the Gospelacclamation taken from the Book of Revelation(2:10): “Be thou faithful unto death”, says the Lord,“and I will give you the crown of life”. Here is thesolution to our fears: “fidelity to the Lord: this doesnot disappoint”. Indeed, “if each one of us is faithfulto the Lord, when our death comes, as shall we saywhat St. Francis said: ‘sister death, come’. It will notfrighten us”. And even on the day of judgment, “wewill look to the Lord” and we can say: “Lord I havemany sins, but I tried to be faithful”. And since “theLord is good”, the Pope assured, “we will not beafraid”.


THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICETHE PEARL OF GREAT PRICETHE PEARL OF GREAT PRICETHE PEARL OF GREAT PRICETHE PEARL OF GREAT PRICEFrom Fr. Ian Doulton's collection of stories

Our story begins in St Eliza-beth’s Home for Unwed Mo-

thers. Sister Pauline, the directorof the home is walking to the doorwith Mrs. Louise Baker.

“It was certainly kind of you tobring us all those lovely things,Mrs. Baker.”

“But don’t thank me, sister. Ihad nothing to do this afternoon,so it was no trouble.”

“Since this is your first visit tothe home, and you’re not in ahurry, let me show you around.”

“Oh, no, no thank you sister, I’lltell you the honest truth. I’d rathernot; places like this depress me. Idon’t even like to think they exist.”

“Nobody does, but they are nec-essary and we have to face thefacts.”

“I just can’t imagine what kindof a girl would deliberately dosomething like this and day afterday. New ones coming all the time,it’s just so…sordid and ugly.”

“Yes, in itself it is. But when itcomes to the girls, there are somany things behind it. Some-times it’s hard for me to under-stand but at those times, - there’sa picture of one particular girlthat always comes to my mind.Her name was Margaret.

Walking to the parlour the twoladies sat down and Sister Paulinewent on: “I’d like to tell you abouther. I think you’d understandmore about the home and whatwe’re trying to do.”

Sister Pauline began telling Ms.Baker about Margaret who wasone such girl, exceptionally prettyand the girl knew it. Besides shewas willful and impetuous. Shelived on a farm outside the city

with her parents. Being very feistyshe longed to go to the city and en-joy the company of the youngstersher age. She was very warm-hear-ted and had a great capacity foraffection. She couldn’t get alongwith her stepmother. And so, atseventeen, things came to a headone morning:

“Father, why can’t we move in-to town? It would be so wonder-ful living in town. There’s so muchto see.”

Her mother Laura was very up-set and accused her of wanting toflaunt herself before the boys.

Margaret’s father a serene andserious country gentleman simplyadded: “Now Laura, Margaret’syoung and she’s entitled to somegood times.”

Laura was very upset. She seem-ed to think that her husband wastaking Margaret’s side.

Margaret was determined tofind a way to get round her fatherand go to the city. Her motherwouldn’t think of it. She turned toMargaret and screamed: “Youwant to go into town so you canbe with that Orsini boy! Oh, don’ttry to look innocent. I know you’vebeen sneaking off to see him.”

Margaret wasn’t aware that hermother even suspected her but shewas brave and she boldly went on:“And what of it? He comes fromthe best family around here.”

They screamed at each otherand suddenly Laura slapped Mar-garet across the face. This had ne-ver happened before. She turnedhot with rage and through herclenched teeth she said: “You’llnever touch me again! You hateme. You’ve always hated me. I’m

leaving this house and I’m nevercoming back.” As she left the roomshe heard her mother scream: “Goon, get out, see how far you’ll get.Someday you’ll come crawlingback.”

She found her way to town andmet Robert Orsini, the boy of herdreams and told him she wasn’tgoing back at all and she wantedRobert to marry her immediately.He couldn’t be seen with Marga-ret and yet Margaret could not gohome. As they stood among thesecluded trees on the edge of townhe seemed to be thinking of some-thing.

Margaret was insistent thatRobert marry her but he smiledhad said: “There’s nothing I’d likebetter, if only my parents weren’tso difficult. They’ll come roundbefore long to the idea of marryingsomebody I choose but just now,we can’t let them know.”

Then suddenly he had an idea.One of their maids had left andthere was a vacancy in the house-hold. Margaret could fill that vac-ancy as the new maid. It would bethe perfect solution, so Robert tho-ught: “So, then, trust me, sweet-heart. With you as a maid, we’llbe in the same house; we’ll seeeach other every day. Think of allthe times we can be together.”

A year and a couple of monthswent by and Margaret suddenlyrealized that she was carryingRobert’s child. She was gettingnervous. It would soon begin toshow. She kept insisting thatRobert think of something: “Now,Margaret…I told you, I have tohave time to think.” She was wor-ried: “But with the baby coming Ican’t stay here any longer.”

Robert also realized that itwould not be advisable. The fami-ly had a hunting lodge in the mo-untains which was rarely used. Ithad staff all its own and it wassecluded. No one ever went there.Robert smiled and cupping hercheek in his hand, he looked intoher eyes and whispered: “You cango there…you’ll live like a queen.You won’t be a maid any longer,you’ll have servants of your own…everything you want.”

She was so happy with Robert’sdecision; she hurriedly packed.Robert, having made the excuses,took her to the hills. On the wayshe told Robert that the only thingshe really wanted now was to bemarried to Robert. She didn’t wantto walk around town as an ‘unwed’mother. She turned to him, took hishand and said: “Don’t you love meanymore, Robert?” He drew herclose and whispered: “Come here,kiss me… now can you ask methat?”

Then she ruminated aloud:“Why do I love you so much? I pra-yed not to.” Robert seemed puzzled.Margaret went on: “I know it’swrong… it’s wrong. When I’malone, I pray God to save me. WhenI was young I prayed for love. Ithought that was the only happi-ness. I never dreamed that it couldbe such a torment.”

Robert’s brow wrinkled and hesaid: “Is there torment in this?”

Margaret exclaimed: “I’ll goanywhere, do anything you say.Alright, Robert, I’ll go and stay atthe lodge.”

About three years went by andeverything at the hunting lodgewas serene and perfect. Therecould now be heard the shrillvoice of a child on the property


amidst the chirping of the birds…everything was just as it shouldbe…or so it seemed till one morn-ing. The elderly valet Theodorecame in asking if Robert hadn’t ta-ken their hound Hector and goneout into the hills behind thelodge… “Yes, of course.” Margar-et said: “For three years we’vebeen at the lodge he never goeshunting without that dog.”

Suddenly Paul – her little soncame in: “Mummy, Hector justcame back and daddy’s not withhim.”

Theodore noticed that Hectorwas whining outside the door.When he was let in he ran to Mar-garet and whined to her, takingher skirt in his teeth and pullingher out of the house as if askingher to follow him. She came out-side and asked Theodore to comewith her while she told Paul to stayin the house. As they walked thro-ugh the brush and the bushes theywatched Hector make his way toa copse of trees. Theodore keptshouting: “Master Robert… Mas-ter Robert…” Then all of a suddenthere was silence and Theodoreturned facing Margaret and hesaid in a whisper: “Master Robert…dead, stabbed in the back.” Shelet out a wail which resounded inthe hills and all was silent again.

Margaret and Paul had to leavethe lodge. They couldn’t stay thereany longer. Paul was finding itdifficult to walk. He yearned forhis bed at the lodge and all Mar-garet could say was: “We couldn’tstay, Paul. We couldn’t stay. Thisis home here…this is our littlehouse.”

They walked out of the town,mother and son…no one lookedat them. Margaret was a known

face by now…and the town gos-sip had caught up with the latesttragedy. She now decided to makeher way to her father’s house. Per-haps she could find some sympa-thy from him.

She came to her house in the cou-ntry and knocked on the door andwaited. Her father opened thedoor. He was shocked to see Mar-garet. He looked down and sawthe little boy behind her. She couldonly whisper that Robert wasdead – which he already knew andso she had to come home. Herstepmother came to the door andshe screamed: “You had your flingand now that it’s over, you comecrawling home. I always said youwould.”

Margaret looked down – tearsstreaming down her cheeks and shewent on: “I knew it was wrong. Iused to cry over it. I wanted to leavebut I couldn’t. I loved Robert toomuch. I loved him more than God.I knew I was to blame as much ashe. So I’m going to spend the restof my life making up for what I’vedone.”

She pleaded with her father totake her in but Laura, her step-mother screamed: “If that girl setsfoot in this house, I leave.”

Margaret begged for forgivenessbut her stepmother wouldn’t bemoved: “Go back to where youcame from. You made your bed…now lie in it.” With those harshwords ringing in her ears Marga-ret turned around and taking herson’s hand, they moved away…into the darkness.

They eventually reached a town,not familiar but they were tired.They couldn’t go any further. Itwas Cortona. Both she and thelittle boy were thirsty and tired.

“I’m tired…where are we going?”He whined. “Just a little way...”Margaret tried to console himthen she prayed in a soft voice:“God, where are we going? Whatcan I do? God, help me!”

It was getting dark and thelamps in the houses were lit andpeople moved along the streetslike shadows. Suddenly someonecaught her elbow: “What’s thehurry madam? Say, I like yourlooks.” She soon realized that itwas someone easy and ready fora good time. She said her husbandwas dead: ”Oh, that’s too bad…you know the minute I laid eyeson you I said to myself: Now here’sa lady that needs cheering up,she’s lonesome. I’m lonesome too.So how about having dinner withme…so we can talk…”

Margaret pulled away and hur-ried along with the man callingafter her. She pulled her boy alongand they suddenly heard thechurch bells ringing. It was timefor Vespers and people were goingin. Paul noticed it: “All the peopleare going in. Is that where we’regoing? “Why don’t we go in? It’spretty inside.”

Margaret thought she couldn’tdare to go inside. She stood by thesteps sobbing. Paul tugged at herskirt: “Why are you crying moth-er? Where are we going now?”

Suddenly she heard a voice nearher: “Can I help?” A lady she didnot know approached her with akind smile: “You seem to be trou-bled. Is there something I can do?”Paul piped in: “I’m hungry. I wanta drink of water.”

She invited the two of them toher home. Margaret was surprisedanyone would do such a thing:“No, I couldn’t. You don’t knowme.” A very confident reply came:

“Yes, I know you. You’re Marga-ret from the Orsini place.”

Margaret was shocked: “You’llstill let me into your house?”

Of course they would be wel-come. As she gently led the moth-er and child in the direction of herhome she added: “Because, what-ever you’ve done, you belong toGod and you’re in need. You weregoing into church when I saw youI realised you haven’t forgottenGod.”

“Oh, I never! I want to comeback.”

“And you want to make up forthe past.” “What can I ever do forhim?”

The good lady continued: “Don’tworry, he’ll tell you in his owntime. He may even have greatthings for you to do.”

So, Mrs. Baker, that’s how itstarted. The rest of the story you’llfind in the history books. Marga-ret, like the kind woman whohelped her, spent her life takingcare of the sick and the poor. Shelived more than 800 years ago butshe is still remembered. She is St.Margaret of Cortona. In fact, herbody is enshrined incorrupt at thealtar of the church she once fearedto enter.

“Well, I know of St. Margaret ofCortona, but I just thought of heras a saint.”

“It was that one act of kindnessthat saved Margaret and pro-duced all the good she did later.Just because one woman couldn’tturn her away... When I amworking here with the girls at St.Elizabeth’s Maternity Home wealways try to remember that.

“Oh, thank you Sister, and I’llremember too.”


DON BOSCO ANDDON BOSCO ANDDON BOSCO ANDDON BOSCO ANDDON BOSCO ANDTHE “GANGS”THE “GANGS”THE “GANGS”THE “GANGS”THE “GANGS”

by Natale Cerrato

The “gangs” of TurinIn Turin, during the first twenty

years of Don Bosco’s ministry, thatis from 1840-1860, gangs of youn-gsters and delinquents just out ofthe prisons were called “cacca.”The term, which has nothing to dowith cocaine, is not really easy totranslate. In some places it was aslang that came to be used spon-taneously for those associatedwith a particular “gang” or cli-que. It was also derived from aterm that meant ‘fun-loving’ butin the conventional sense it meanta gang of clowns. For the peopleof Turin however, it was associa-ted with criminality.

The reader should distinguishbetween two very different typesof “cacca” (ruffians) of Turin ofthose days: there were bands of in-solent ruffians, ready to pick afight under any pretext and therewere the really secretive gangsheaded by a ‘boss’ who had in-disputable powers. These gangswere prepared for any crime, fromarmed robbery to premeditatedmurder. Sadly it was to the lattercategory that the “Còca dei Gam-ber” gang belonged. Then therewas “Còca del Balan” of BorgoDora and “Còca del Moschin” ofBorgo Vanchiglia. To get a betteridea of these gangs, reading thehistorical novel ‘Còca Gamber’ byLuigi Pietracqua would be advi-sable (Ed. Viglongo, Torino).

The most notorious “cocche”which for many years had terror-ized the people of Turin were sup-pressed by then, if not completelyobliterated thanks to some famous

arrests, trials and even some deathsentences.

Two of the trials were unforget-table: one against il Gercio called“Menichin” and his companions;they were hung on April 18, 1850.The other was the trial of Cibollaand his gang which ended onSeptember 11, 1861 with the deathsentence pronounced on LuigiGervasio and heavy sentences onhis accomplices. The bubble burstwhen after twenty years of forcedlabour they revealed the names ofthe accomplices which includedeven three officials from the PoliceDepartment!

We will rather dwell on the firstkind of “crooks,” who probablychanged and who are mentionedin the Biographical Memoirs.

The ‘crooks’ of ValdoccoAt the beginning of his ministry

in Valdocco, Don Bosco foundhimself in the unlikely position ofhaving to traverse between tworival gangs. He tried to get themto suspend their activities remin-

ding them of their earlier days inincarceration, having seen someof them in prison. Naturally heran these risks, tolerating their in-sults and vulgar jokes but wasnever discouraged:- How are you? What are youdoing? Are you crazy?- What do you want with us? Getout of the way, be off!- Oh look! I believe I’ve madesome friends!- We? Friends with priests? – Justshut your chatter or someone willtake your hat off.

Others who knew Don Boscowould defend him in their ownway by getting knives out of theirpockets and brandishing them,shouting: “Hideous rascals, don’tyou know that he is Don Bosco? Ifyou say anything more to him, I’llcut your throats.” (cf EBM 17, 140)

At another time the gang ofPorta Susa attacked the gang ofBorgo Dora. Don Bosco ran out ofthe house and saw the gruesomescene…two of them at each otherknife in hand. Then one of themshouted: “This will finish you”and he saw the other fall to theground with a wound in his abdo-men, bleeding profusely. The mur-derer disappeared while the un-fortunate victim was carried tothe nearby hospital screaming:“When I’m well, you’ll pay forthis.” Don Bosco tried to calm himdown. Then, grasping the serious-ness of the situation he urged theyoungster to forgive his murderer.When he calmed down Don Boscoconvinced him to make his confes-sion. Sadly the unfortunate youn-gster passed away the followingday (cf EMB 3, 233-234).

On another occasion a largenumber of boys got the mad ideaof fighting a pitched battle near

the Oratory. Seeing that his wordswere useless he plunged into thethick of the barrage clouting rightand left. They were throwing rockslarge enough to kill anyone. Hewas fortunate nothing really hap-pened to him except that he wasonce struck in the face with awooden clog, and bore a scar forseveral months (cf EBM 3, 234).

Scenes like this were repeatedon the playgrounds of Valdocco,at the market of Porto Palazzoand on the banks of the Dora. Littleby little he came to be known byeveryone in the suburbs:- “It’s Don Bosco! It’s Don Bosco,”they shouted on seeing him, “Getout of here.” But not everyonemade off. There were those whohung around knife in hand orstones which they dropped. ThenDon Bosco always found the rightwords, careful not to offend them,or just his facial expression wouldmelt them and he would takethem to the Oratory.

Very quickly the various gangsvanished. People began to breatheeasy. The police simply shook theirheads and said: “What kind ofman is this priest?” The Vicar ofthe city was cautious and watchedall this from a distance.

The Gangs of VanchigliaIn 1840, Fr. John Cocchi, famous

in Turin for his social apostolatestarted a festive oratory at BorgoVanchiglia which today would beon the left bank of the river Pobounded on one side by St. Mau-rice Road, and the other by QueenMargaret Road.

It was called the Oratory of theGuardian Angels and it was thefirst Oratory in Turin similar tothose which Don Bosco wouldstart a few years later at Valdocco


and Porta Nuova. Sometime later,in the autumn of 1849, Fr. Coc-chi’s oratory came into the care ofDon Bosco and would remain sotill 1866 when the new church ofSaint Julia opened its parish ora-tory with the same name.

A small house with a couple oflittle rooms came into Don Bos-co’s possession after paying a rentof 900 lire a year. He asked hisfriend and collaborator GiacintoCarpano and later Fr. Peter Ponte,the theologian John Vola andothers who would later find thecompany rather unbearable.

The old Borgo Vanchiglia, withits infamous reputation of theMoschini was a cluster of shacks,dens of dirt, vice and crime andthere this gang reigned supreme.

In this locality one could hardlyimagine the youngsters being asmalleable as wafer-flour: theywere unruly, rude and boisterous.It was only the patience of thecollaborators of Don Bosco thatwas able to subdue these livelyyoungsters and bring them tocatechism and prayer.

Don Bosco sent to them the bestboys he had at his disposal: theyoung Michael Rua, the ‘com-mando’ Joseph Brosio and others.

“The first troubles came fromthe youngsters for whom the Ora-tory was opened. They were unap-preciative, disobedient, going sofar as even to insult and threatenthe priest in charge. They were nobetter than their parents. Theywere wild and rough at their ga-mes. The few who had been coax-ed into church clowned aroundduring the sermon and catechismclasses and scoffed at the goodadvice given them. Yet, Christianlove was to triumph in the end. Byignoring their insolence, by dint of

unwavering kindness, by occa-sional gifts and new games, by cel-ebrations, free meals, and refres-hments, and by cultivating themore receptive boys, the oratoryworkers managed to control theyoungsters.

One Sunday, about forty of themarmed with stones, sticks, andknives showed up to force theirway into the Oratory. JosephBrosio decided to meet themhead-on because they would havebeen done, for if they (theruffians) had sensed the fear of theboys. He got the bigger boys to-gether, divided them into squads,handed out wooden drill riflesand ins-tructed them that, if the“cocca” members should break in,he would give the signal and theyshould attack from all sides andpound them without mercy. Afterherding all the little boys into thechurch, he stood guard at themain gate to see whether it wouldhold out against the vigorouspushing.

Meanwhile the doorkeeper andother people in the street, whooverheard the “cocca” membersboasting of what they were goingto do to the boys, had run to callthe cavalry troops from the nearbybarracks. A squad came withdrawn swords, along with fourcarabinieri; the “cocca” membersimmediately scattered.

The incident served to changethe minds of several of the scoun-drels and even to steer some ofthem to the Oratory. But thingsdidn’t end there.

One Sunday, a catechist whohad foolishly forgotten DonBosco’s many warnings to thecontrary, punched a member ofthe gang. In a matter of momentsthe whole gang, en masse, stormed

into the playground in search ofthe catechist who, luckily, hadbeen able to hide. To forestall re-prisals, new catechists and assis-tants came the following Sunday.

They were celebrating the feastof St. Aloysius. During theservices the boys were raising aracket inside the chapel andnothing could be heard. Shortlyafter the services, a crowd oftoughs came along and began tosaunter about the playgroundprovokingly kicking the gamesaround; several women in thenearby houses leaned out overtheir windowsills and exchangedobscenities with the invaders.

The rector decided to confrontthem in person. They were itchingfor a fight but he decided to trickthem. They had questioned him inPiedmontese. He replied to themin Italian to make them think hedid not understand their dialect.After a vulgar outburst of laugh-ter they finally gave up.

So the trick ended in jest and thepriest who made the best of a badsituation invited everyone to playa game of barra rotta that thearsonists accepted while the morestubborn left the premises withoutfurther damage.

After the game when practicallyall had left, four of the leadersaccompanied the priest into thedoorkeeper’s quarters and shareda glass of wine with him. Theywere impressed with his cordialityand the meeting ended with a kindof flourish (cf EBM 3, 394-397).

The Scoundrels and the“Barabitt”

What Don Bosco managed to dowith the gangs of Turin, transfor-ming them from wolves in hisdream to lambs, served as an

example to the Salesians.In Seville, Spain, towards the

end of the 1800’s, in the neigh-bourhood called Trinidade, thestreets were infested with gangsof ruffians armed with slingshotsready for any kind of mischief,even targeting street-lighting andlamp posts. They created a nui-sance to pedestrians and launchedinto street scuffles with rivalgangs which became their dailyfare.

But behold, here come theSalesians to Seville to found anOratory! Among them was a dis-tinguished young cleric “donPedro” who, not for nothing borethe name of Ricaldone. Armedwith zeal and courage he con-fronted the young scoundrels andstole their hearts as he led themto the Oratory and there, little bylittle turned them into smart andgenerous young lads. One beauti-ful day, all the slings were placedat the feet of the Madonna and theex-scoundrels of that area lit themup in a bonfire to the greatapplause of the crowd.

And not so many years ago the“barabitt,” Milanese for toughs:misfits living in families amongan affluent society, but nowreduced to poverty, vagrancy,theft and drugs, found a friendlyvoice that they could trust at theSalesian centre of Arese. Theydefined that “house” with no barson the windows, in a res-pectableneighbourhood, with elderbrothers with the heart of DonBosco: “House of Hope.”

The heart of young people canunleash immense possibilities forgood and Don Bosco knew that!The birichin of Turin, the ruffiansof Seville, and the barabitt ofMilan bear witness to that.


THE MYSTERY OF MARY’S HOUSETHE MYSTERY OF MARY’S HOUSETHE MYSTERY OF MARY’S HOUSETHE MYSTERY OF MARY’S HOUSETHE MYSTERY OF MARY’S HOUSEAT EPHESUSAT EPHESUSAT EPHESUSAT EPHESUSAT EPHESUSby Roberto Spataro

The city of Ephesus, in modernTurkey has a small comm-

unity of Christians and is surroun-ded by a sea of Moslems. The latterhowever, who also venerate the“Mother of Jesus,” go there to askfor favours and often receivethem. According to tradition, thissmall shrine contains the remainsof the house where Mary livedwith John the apostle whom theSon had entrusted to her beforehis death on the Cross.

It was discovered by archaeo-logists in the late nineteenth cen-tury on the basis of the descriptionof a German mystic, an Augusti-nian nun, Blessed Anne CatherineEmmerich who lived between1774 and 1824 and who spentmost of her life confined to herbed. She fasted totally and forlong periods of time she was nou-rished only on the Eucharist. Shereceived the stigmata to relive thePassion of Jesus in the flesh.

MARY AND THE DEATH OF JOSEPHHer secretary, Clemens Bren-

tano, recorded all Blessed Emmer-ich’s visions, noting in particulardetail various episodes of the ear-thly life of Jesus and the Madonna.So books came to be published thathave helped several souls to relivethe Passion of Christ intensely andwith love.

Therefore, reading the pages ofthese texts nourishes one’s faithintensely and from the sincere fer-vour of this woman who loved tosay: “All of us also carry the suff-erings of others” – we learn somedetails of the life of Our Lady, ofwhich we might not historically becertain. For example, in her vis-ions, Catherine sensed the tender-ness with which Mary assisted herhusband Joseph: “When Josephwas dying, Mary sat at the headof his bed, holding him in herarms. Jesus stood just below hernear Joseph’s breast.” It was a mo-

ment of extraordinary grace. Infact, she reports: “The whole roomwas brilliant with light and full ofangels.”

MARY AT THE WEDDING OF CANAThere is no lack of theological

insights pertaining to Catherine’sMarian visions such as her des-cription of the miracle of Cana inGalilee. In fact, she explains thatJesus called Mary “woman” – att-ributing to her a title that is deeplybiblical which recognizes her di-vine maternity. We all wonderedwhy at Cana, Jesus used an appar-ently harsh expression whenaddressing the Madonna: “’Wo-man, be not solicitous! Trouble notthyself and Me! My hour is not yetcome.’ These words were not utt-ered in harshness to the BlessedVirgin. Jesus addressed her as“Woman,” and not as “Mother,”because, at this moment as theMessiah, as the Son of God, Hewas present in divine power”Catherine explains. Exegeteshave written rivers of words toexplain the reason. But BlessedCatherine, who also had the sen-sory perception of that dialogue,reports that the tone of Jesus wassweet and agreeable and that, inthose words there was only vener-ation and love for the Mother.

JESUS IN MARY’S ARMS AT THEFOOT OF THE CROSS

The vision which represents thescene when the battered body ofJesus is taken down from the crossis undoubtedly touching. It is veryprobable, our mystic contendsthat Our Lady performed thosegestures: “I saw the Holy Virginwash the head and face andsoaked the dried blood from hishair with sponges. As the washing

proceeded, the awful cruelties towhich Jesus had been subjectedbecame more apparent and rou-sed emotions of compassion, sor-row and tenderness as she wentfrom wound to wound. With asponge and a little linen over thefingers of her right hand, shewashed the blood from the wo-unds of the head, from the brokeneyes, the nostrils, and the ears.With a little piece of linen on theforefinger, she purified the half-opened mouth, the tongue, theteeth and the lips. She divided intothree parts the little that rem-ained of His hair. One part fell oneither side of the head, and thethird over the back. The front hair,after disengaging and cleansing it,she smoothed behind His ears.When the sacred head had beenthoroughly cleansed, the BlessedVirgin kissed the cheeks andcovered it.” These visions also in-spired the famous director MelGibson when he was producingthe film that has touched millionsof viewers: The Passion of theChrist.

Ephesus, Loreto, Nazareth andJerusalem: these are very signi-ficant places of Marian piety.They are places where, with rea-sonable certainty, we know thatMary was historically presentbefore she assumed into Heavenand reigns gloriously caring forher pilgrim children on earth. AtEphesus, in particular, accordingto Catherine there was a scenewe may have never thought of,in which we are invited to medi-tate: “John rose and took out ofa metal box a little white folderthat contained the Holy Euch-arist. Then he solemnly uttered afew words and gave Mary HolyCommunion.”

Catherine was a German mystic who lived two centuries ago (1774-1824). She was declared blessed by Pope Saint John Paul II in 2004.

In her visions she contemplated on Mary at the death of Joseph,the wedding at Cana and the Passion, after Jesus

was taken down from the cross.


NEWSBITS

Coming back, Capital Punishment & The Second ComingFrom St. Martin’s Messenger, Ireland

Q. I am away from Mass and theSacraments for years. I hardly everpray. Is there any point in startingagain?A. The rest of your life startstoday. The mere fact that youwrote this letter means you aresearching for God.The momentwe start to search for Him wehave found Him. If you are stilluncertain and need help - anypriest will be willing to help you.

Q. I spent some years in the UnitedStates during which time a numberof convicted criminals were executed.I don’t believe in Capital Punishment.I think it is barbaric and should neverbe considered as a punishment forcrime. What is the position of theCatholic Church on the deathpenalty?A. In recent years the Church hasmoved to a position of near-totalopposition to the death penalty.Pope St. John Paul II speakingabout it in an encyclical letter (theGospel of Life) wrote: “There is agrowing tendency, both the Chu-rch and in civil society, to demandthat Capital Punishment beapplied in a very limited way oreven that it be abolished comple-tely.” The Catechism of the Catho-lic Church points out that thepurpose of punishment is to pres-erve public order and rendering

the aggressor unable to inflictharm. It is not a question of ‘get-ting even’ or ‘being revenged.’ Ifthat purpose can be served by“bloodless” means, “then publicauthority should limit itself tosuch means.”(Nos 2266, 2267)/Hopefully the day will arrivewhen the death penalty will nolonger be used as a means of pun-ishing crime in any part of theworld. Life is sacred from thewomb to the grave.

Q. How sure are we that there willbe a Second Coming of Christ to theworld?A. Our belief in the Second Com-ing of Christ is founded on themany places in the Bible whichtell us that Jesus will come again.Jesus speaks about the certaintyof His coming when He says,“And if I go and prepare a placefor you, I will come again andwill take you to myself, so thatwhere I am, there you may bealso” (John 14:3). “This Jesus,who has been taken up from youinto heaven will come in thesame way as you saw him go intoheaven.” (Acts 1:11) “For theSon of Man is going to come inthe glory of His Father with Hisangels; and when he does he willreward each one according tohis behaviour.” (Mt 16:27)

LUBUMBASHIIf he hadn’t had the gift of pat-

ience, Father Eric Meert wouldnever have been a missionarypriest. Because taking kids off thestreet and reintegrating them intoa family can be a long and tediousprocess that involves the weakerperson (the child) and a constantdialogue with the parents. Everyday at Lubumbashi, there aremany children and young peoplewho ask for help to the OeuvresMaman Marguerite, a networkdedicated to Don Bosco’s motherand, since 2001 coordinated byFather Eric. It was created in 1994and counts 13 foster homes. Onthe one hand, there is a family-ori-ented pedagogy while schooling isprovided for the young along withartisan and professional trainingfor the older kids (shoe repair,welding ...).

“Every year we welcome bet-ween 500 and 600 children of whichabout 250 are brought back to familylife. One hundred are fostered in ourfacilities, which provide hospitalityand schooling. We are just trying toconvey humanity starting withrespecting every single story. It juststarts with a simple “hello”. Our

goal is that little by little and withthe help of educators and supportof the social worker, every childbuilds a positive image of themsel-ves.” A change of heart is alwayspossible. A situation is never irre-versible; everyone can change.With favourable conditions, boththe child and the family can chan-ge the way they see each other.”However, relapses are around thecorner.

In the Democratic Republic ofCongo “the opposition is angryand people are tired. There is a bi-ting social crisis and numerous fa-milies live in misery as they stru-ggle to get to end of the month.” Theillegal market is flourishing as wellas corruption and violence”. In theregion of Kivu, decades-long clashescontinue among armed groups aspeople are forced to flee.

Fr. Meert is responsible for theBakanja-villas, a home for child-ren and young people. Alongsidepatience, there is another typically“missionary” virtue that cannotbe forgotten: hope, i.e. the abilityto never despair. In our mission,this virtue is indispensable. “Youmust also know how to forgive.“ “Pope Francis is asking us to

go beyond the bo-undaries and lim-its of our society.We want to getclose to our broth-ers and show mer-cy. Through sim-ple acts of affect-ion, we are creat-ing a new futurein which they canhope to have anew life.”


THE DEVOTION OF THE THREE HAIL MARYS

The devotion of the THREE HAIL MARYS isa very simple yet most efficacious devotion.Everyday, recite Three Hail Marys, adding theinvocation: "O Mary, My Mother, keep me frommortal sin." Many people recite the Three HailMarys as part of their morning and night prayers.To practise this devotion in time of danger, stress,special need or temptation, is a sure means toobtain Our Lady's help.Due to Stress I was getting severe cramps and painin my head. I prayed to Jesus and Mother Mary to

give me the right doctor (Neurologist). I was healed, I pray the threeHail Marys everyday.As my husband was shifting the bed he lost control and fell to thefloor. I was scared he had suffered a fracture because he couldn'tget up. I prayed the Three Hail Marys and told Jesus to pour hisprecious blood on him, after five minutes he could get up and walk.My Heartfelt Thanks to Jesus and Mother Mary. Monica FernandesOur sincere gratitude to Our Lady, through our devotion to the ThreeHail Marys my son secured a good percentage in his board examsand we are also grateful for numerous other favours. I Pacheco, GoaMy sincere thanks to Our Blessed Mother, Don Bosco and St. DominicSavio for healing my niece in Dubai from a serious stomach ailment.I started reciting the three Hail Marys as she was taken for a test andthe reports came out normal and a surgery was averted. Liguetta D’Costa,USAMy sincere thanks to the Holy Trinity and Mother Mary for saving usfrom a mishap which occured while travelling by car from Mapusa toMadgaon and we were totally safe and without any injury. Mr. & Mrs. Chougle, MumbaiMy sincere thanks to Mother Mary for the grand success of my grandnephew, Leron Patel, Hyde Park,in his SSC Exams and for manyother favours granted through her intercession. Gomal Kolge,ThaneMy son who is an engineer in Canada had to pass an exam to continuein his current job. He failed in his first attempt. I fervently prayed theThree Hail Marys several times for his success. In the month of Augusthe gave his second attempt and was successful. I am immenselygrateful to Mother Mary for granting my request. Jessymal, KeralaOur heartfelt thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary Help ofChristians for granting our wish of a full-fledged Catholic weddingand no other ritual of our son Melroy who married a non-Christian.Thank you Jesus and Mother Mary for this favour for whichwe prayed earnestly for such a long time. Mr.& Mrs. Edward and Alphonsa O’Connor,Hubli

IN A CHEERFUL MOODExampleTwo friends were discussingtheir motor car troubles.“What model is your car?” askedone.“It isn’t a model” retorted theother.“It’s a horrible example.”

Too RiskyA man went to an insuranceoffice to apply for life insurance.The insurance agent inquired:“Do you drive a car?”“No,” replied the applicant.“Do you fly?”“No.”“Sorry,” said the agent curtly,“but we don’t insure pedestriansanymore.”

What’s in a nameWhen the defendant’s name wascalled in court, to everyone’samazement, he stood up in thejury box.“What are you doing there,”barked the clerk.“I was called to serve on thejury” came the meek reply.“But you must have known,” theclerk snapped, “that you couldnot sit on a jury and judge yourown case.”“Well, I suppose not,” the defen-dant admitted.“I did think it was a bit of luck.”

Perfect TimingHis car was in the garage forrepairs, so Jim Brown told his wifeto take a taxi to work.Mrs. Brown, nearly late for work,phoned for a cab and when the carturned up into her driveway, she

rushed out, got in, and told thedriver hurriedly where shewanted to go.On arrival, she asked how muchshe owed for the ride.“Lady, you don’t owe me a thing,”said the driver. “I was just turningaround in your driveway.”

Prompt ServiceAs the train pulled into thestation, the porter knocked onthe compartment door.“Chicago,” he announced.“Shall I brush you off, madam?”“Certainly no,” said the ladyicily.“I’ll descend in the normal way.”

TragedyDid you hear the sad story of thetwo red corpuscles who loved -in vein?

Vain EconomicsIn a supermarket the other day,I heard a wife remark philoso-phically to her husband, “Look atit this way, dear - the more itcosts the more discount stampswe get.”

Simple IntelligenceSmall boy scowling over hisreport card said to his dad: “Nat-urally I seem stupid to my teach-er; she’s a college graduate.”

Street SmartBeggar: “Will you give me arupee for a cup of coffee?”Pedestrian: “No, I don’t givemoney to people on the street.”Beggar: “What should I do, openan office?”


APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYERNOVEMBER 2017

THANKS TO DEARST. DOMINIC SAVIO

LOVING CHILDREN TOTHEIR LOVING MOTHER

THEY ARE GRATEFUL TOOUR LADY AND DON BOSCO

Christians in AsiaThat Christians in Asia, bearing witness to the Gospel in wordand deed, may promote dialogue, peace, and mutual understanding,especially with those of other religions.

Thank you Mother Mary and St. DominicSavio for the gift of twins after 13 years.

Regina and Daniel PereiraOur grateful thanks to Mother Mary, DonBosco and Dominic Savio for a safe andnormal healthy child through a normaldelivery. Mr.& Mrs.Chougle, MumbaiThank you dear Dominic Savio for a safedelivery of a child and for keeping hersafe from all illness. Jeney GeorgeThanks to Jesus, his most belovedMother Mary and St. Dominic Savio andall the saints for the favours granted tome and my family. Mrs. C. D’Souza, Mumbai

A sincere thanks to Our Dear Mother Mary, St. Anthony and St.Dominic Savio for all the graces bestowed on us and for protectingour precious daughters Cabrini and Atira; for success in their exams;forthe good health and well-being of our parents, siblings and their familiesthrough the faithful recitation of the Three Hail Marys. Mrs.Rowena & Mr.Jude Fugle,Mangalore

Thank you Mary Help of Christians and Don Bosco for protectingme from a serious accident after I was thrown down by a reclkessscooterist on a busy road. Rose Martins, MumbaiI am grateful to Our Lady and Don Bosco for healing my brokenbones as I prayed at the casket of Don Bosco when it came toMargao. Savia Furtado, GoaMy sincere thanks to Don Bosco and St. Rita of Cascia for themany gifts bestowed, visible and invisible. A DevoteeMy grateful thanks to Mother Mary and Don Bosco for healing myson George, my grand daughter Meghna who passed her examsand healing my grand daughter Abigail. E. SantoshiI am very grateful to Our Lady and Don Bosco for my son’ssuccessful career. H.Lewis, SecunderabadOur sincere thanks to Jesus, Mary Help of Christians and DonBosco for my successful operation, the doctor’s normal fees andmany other favours received. Dora D’SouzaMy sincere and heartfelt thanks to the Triune God - Father, Sonand Holy Spirit and Our Lady, Mary Help of Christians for hearingmy prayers and granting my husband clear medical tests. Veronica Mascarenhas, Goa

Our grateful thanks to Jesus and Mary for helping my sons securejobs. My younger son got his job after a month, but my elder son waswithout a job for more than a year. We were all so worried and prayedeveryday. At last our prayers were heard. Thank you Jesus andMother Mary for hearing our prayers and for all the favours received.

Mrs. H. Pope, PuneI would like to offer my sincere thanks to Jesus and Mother Mary forthe gift of my second child after having many complications duringmy pregnancy. Please continue to protect and bless my two girls.

Mrs. Amanda Fleming,PuneMy heartfelt thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mother Mary forgranting Mira and Maya admissions; for restoring my failing health;for my children’s academic success; for keeping my mother safe; forhelping me secure a job close to home; for my husband’s safe travels;for helping me financially; for helping me be a blessing to all.

Mrs. Pushpalata SamagondA million thanks to the Divine Mercy and Mary Help of Christians, forblessing my daughter and helping her to get her admission to a B.Edcourse. Edna Paes, GoaMy fervent thanks and heartfelt gratitude to Jesus and Mary Help ofChristians for a successful total knee cap replacement. B.Abraham, Vizag.

Turn to Nature

I knew a woman who was widowed at a youngage. She was left with three small children and

a farm to run. I asked her what she did when sheheard the news of her husband’s immanent death.She said, “I put on my coat and walked throughthe fields. It was spring and in those fields I founda new courage, a new hope, and I was able topray.”

If you find when things are very bad and youare full of fear that you are too angry with God topray, sometimes it helps to turn, as this womandid, to nature; for in nature we can often find therelease that renews hope.

Sr. Stan Kennedy in Gardening the Soul

36November 2017 Don Bosco’s Madonna

Regd RNI no. 9360/57;Postal Regn. MH/MR/North East/089/2012-2014posted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office

on 1st & 2nd of every monthSubs: (one copy Rs. 20/-); Inland Rs. 200p.a; Airmail: Rs 500 p.a.

MARY WAS THERE

Don Bosco's Madonna, has developed to its present form from a folder published in 1937,by late Fr Aurelius Maschio, on behalf of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Bombay.

The magazine is sent to all who ask for it, even though there is a fixed subscription(Rs 200/- India & Rs 400/- Airmail)). We trust in the generosity of our readers/benefactors.Whatever you send us will help cover the expenses of printing and mailing; the surplus ifany, is devoted to the support of orphans and poor boys in our schools and apostolic

centres.To help a poor lad to reach the priesthood, is a privilege

You can help by establishing a Perpetual Burse with:Rs 5000/-, 10,000/-, 15,000/- for a boy studying for the priesthood;But any amount, however small, will be gratefully received.

Send your offerings by Payee cheque or Draft on Mumbai banks;MO/PO/INTL MO/BPO/Bequests, Wills, Perpetual Burses, all favouring Don Bosco'sMadonna or Bombay Salesian Society or Rev. Fr. Edwin D'Souza, (Trustee).Please address all correspondence to:

Rev. Fr. Edwin D'Souza, sdb.,SHRINE OF DON BOSCO'S MADONNA,Matunga - MUMBAI - 400 019 - INDIA

Phone/Fax: 91-22- 2414 6320, email: [email protected]

Everytime we undertake ajourney we start with theRosary. On 1/2/2017 as wewere returning to Mumbai bycar, after my son’s wedding inGoa, the tire of our vehicleburst and the car rolled overthrice. I was thrown out of thecar about 5 metres away, mydaughter-in-law sustainedcuts on her forehead and face,my son and my husband weretrapped inside. My son cameout safe but my husbandsuffered a collar bone fracture.We thank Mother Mary forprotecting us from a fatalaccident. Maria C. D’Cruz, Navi Mumbai

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