DON BOSCO'S MADONNA

2 3January 2018 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaJanuary 2018Fr. Ian Doulton sdb

From The Editor's Desk: Trust Godin All Things.. ........................3

Coping With Family Problems- Ian Pinto sdb.........................4

Youth on the Move: Help, My Son’s on the Cloud! - Ermete Tessore 8

Salesian Saint: Ven. Joseph Quadrio.......10

Vocation Story: Cl. Clarence Martis sdb...11

Witnesses In And For Our Times:Ven. Benedetta Bianchi Porro....t...12

Lectio Divina: Epiphany of the Lord- Cl. Ian Pinto, sdb................16

Quietspaces: He Who Intercedes onOur Behalf - Pope Francis.......18

Little Girl, Goodbye- Fr. Ian Doulton's Collection...20

Facets Of His Life: The Postal Systemin the 1800s - Natale Cerrato....24

Reflecting on Mary: Live the Eucharist With Mary - Silvio Longobardi 28

Walking With the Church: The True Cross, Missionaries Today.......31

Newsbits...............................................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 JANUARY 2018 vol.19 No. 9

TRUST GOD IN ALL THINGSWe don’t linger long at the manger, do we? Our hearts are still

aglow and our spirits animated with visions of shepherds tendingtheir flock, Wise Men who have journeyed from afar, and the HolyFamily - Mary, Joseph, and their Precious Child. And then, beforeyou know it, they’ve packed up and fled south to Egypt. I find it anirony of history that when Mary and Joseph came to Bethlehem theywere not met with any semblance of hospitality. And yet when theyventured into foreign territory, it’s apparent that somebody tookthem in and provided a hospitable place for them to dwell whilethey awaited Herod’s demise. Talk about trusting God in all things!How often we plan, make reservations, especially when we’re goinginto a city where we know no one. Or, we go with a group so wewon’t get lost and we’re sure that we’ll have an assured welcome.Again, talk about trusting in God!

The story of the Holy Family’s flight to Egypt comes to us as weenter a new calendar year. We who experience and celebrate theannual trek to Bethlehem and the joy of Christmas morning will soonhave everything packed up, prepared for our own journey to a newplace in time. Though there are no Herods in hot pursuit, ourthoughts are apt to touch on what must have been on the minds ofMary and Joseph as they headed into the unknown: the joy andsurprise of things new and different? Would there be joy? Wouldthey be constantly looking over their tired shoulders or would theyhave kept their ears pealed for the footfalls of Herod’s soldiers? Ifthey were directed to leave this place and go,’ it stood to reason thatthe One who ‘ordered’ them would order others in one-way-or-another to be there for this strange migrant couple from the ‘back-of-beyond.’ That’s trust!

We do not easily admit to weakness or being needy, but Christianmaturity embraces dependency on God. This is the nature of things.God has created all and provides for us out of all that is created. It’sworth noting that from time to time Jesus arranged for the earlydisciples to experience a healthy dose of being pushed beyond theirlimits (e.g. feeding the multitude when they had no food). It was inthese times they learned to trust God, to reach beyond knowing intothe realm of faith. So it is with us. Epiphany invites us into receptivityin the midst of those life and family experiences which pull us beyondthe limits of our own ability to cope and manage. The spiritualdiscipline here is for us to yield to the Spirit of Jesus who indwellsus, and call out to God: “Abba! Daddy!” Herein is freedom, freedomfrom our own self-imposed belief that we are supposed to be able, tobe competent. Freedom to be a child!

Grant we pray,that we may experiencethe intercession of herthrough whom we were

found worthyto receive the author

of life,Our Lord Jesus Christ!

(From the Opening Prayer of theMass of the Motherhood of Mary)

4 5January 2018 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaJanuary 2018

FFFFFAMILAMILAMILAMILAMILY ISSUESY ISSUESY ISSUESY ISSUESY ISSUES

COPING WITH FAMILY PROBLEMSCOPING WITH FAMILY PROBLEMSCOPING WITH FAMILY PROBLEMSCOPING WITH FAMILY PROBLEMSCOPING WITH FAMILY PROBLEMSIan Pinto, sdb

The family is the basic unit ofsociety. This sociological def-

inition is common knowledgeand is often quoted to define thefamily. Family is the microcosmthat reflects the larger macro-cosm: society. Family and societyhave a mutually influencingrelationship. The health andatmosphere of the family reflectsthe health and atmosphere ofsociety and vice versa. If familiesare divided, fragile, aggressiveand value-less, society is boundto be fragmented, hostile, des-tructive and ethically unsound.On the other hand, if families areunited, happy, peaceful, forgiv-ing and upright then society toowill be communitarian, peace-ful, tolerant and ethical. Whilefamilies influence society, societytoo influences the family. It isdifficult for a fruit-bearing treeto grow in the desert, you know?

Everybody’s Got ProblemsDespite any attempts to ro-

manticize the idea of family, it isbasically and fundamentally agroup of individuals who are tiedtogether by bonds of blood andkinship. These individuals sharemany things in common but alsodiffer in many others ways. Oneof the basic differences within afamily is personality. Each indi-vidual in the family is differentfrom the other, not only in phy-sical characteristics but also incharacteristics that are emotio-nal, mental and spiritual as well.Since no two people are the same,friction is bound to occur when

the rough edges of both rubagainst each other.

“My parents and I never reallysaw eye to eye about anything.When I was younger it was just thesimple stuff - the length of myskirt, how I chose to wear my hairor the movies I wanted to watch.But as I got older I found that therewas a lot more that we didn’tagree on - my choice of friends,what I wanted to study atuniversity, political issues or howI chose to spend my weekends.

“I left home at 17 to study at auniversity in another city. Mov-ing away from home has totallybroadened my outlook on theworld and has changed my opi-nion on lots of issues. Over thepast two years I’ve met the mostamazing people with the mostextraordinarily diverse experien-ces. My circle of friends includespeople with different religions,beliefs, values, cultures anddifferent ways of approachinglife. But the great thing is werespect each other’s opinions.I’ve learnt to question what I’ve

been taught and not alwaysagree just because that is what“everybody else” thinks.

“The first couple of times I wenthome to visit my parents I foundit really hard to cope. I found ithard to deal with not being ableto express my opinions as freelyas I did when I was away fromhome. My mum didn’t necessarilyagree with my upfront attitude tolife. While I was always out theretrying to get people to take me andmy beliefs and opinions seriously,her attitude was “why fight it...why not just go with the flow.” Itwas really frustrating. I used to getreally upset that my parentsdidn’t agree with what I wasdoing.”

When this young teen pennedthese words what she did was notonly put down her own lifeexperience of conflict and frustra-tion in family life but also, in away, she speaks about the exper-iences that everyone, I daresay,faces. The details may differ butthe underlying truth remainssteadfast, ‘Everyone faces prob-lems, difficulties, challenges, con-flicts, frustrations and failures!’There is no denying that fact.

Scott Peck in his bestsellingbook, The Road Less Travelled,begins with these astonishinglyplain yet insightful words: “Lifeis difficult. This is a great truth,one of the greatest truths. It is agreat truth because once we trulysee this truth, we transcend it.Once we truly know that life isdifficult — once we truly under-stand and accept it — then life isno longer difficult. Because onceit is accepted, the fact that life is

difficult, no longer matters. Mostdo not fully see this truth: thatlife is difficult, instead they moanmore or less incessantly, noisilyor subtly, about the enormity oftheir problems, their burdens,and their difficulties as if lifewere generally easy, as if lifeshould be easy. They voice theirbelief, noisily or subtly, that theirdifficulties represent a uniquekind of affliction that should notbe and that has somehow beenespecially visited upon them, orelse, upon their families, theirtribe, their class, their nation,their race or even their species,and not upon others.”

The family, which is a comm-unity of individuals, is not ex-empt from life’s difficulties.Problems, difficulties, challenges,conflicts and frustrations arebound to occur at one time oranother, in one way or another,so there is no need to be alarmedby it. What needs to alarm us,however, is how the family copeswith these setbacks.

Dealing with Family ProblemsEach family deals with its

problems in its own way. Whilethere is no ‘quick-heal’ method,there are productive and coun-ter-productive ways. How canyou know if a method is produc-tive or counter-productive? Sim-ple. Look at the outcome. If afamily member refuses to talk toanother because of a misunder-standing or a past hurt, then thatbehaviour is counter-produc-tive. Willing to listen and dia-logue with one another is a signof great maturity and a veryproductive way of resolving iss-ues. So often we find ourselves in


a clash of wills. How can we pro-actively deal with our problems?

A letter to a newspaper advicecolumn brought up an issue thatfrequently makes its appearancealbeit in different guises in suchcolumns: how to respond to diffi-cult people, particularly obnoxi-ous family members. A womanwrote, “My mother and I havehad a poor relationship for years.She is self-absorbed, demandingand consistently hurtful. Sheseems to find great amusement inupsetting me and takes every op-portunity to do so… This kind ofbehaviour is typical of her, and Iam tired of it. I have tried todiscuss it with her, and she refusesto accept that she has done any-thing wrong. I finally decided tosever all contact… The problemis that the rest of my family be-rates me for being “mean” to her.They expect me to maintain thisdestructive relationship.”

Many people seem to thinkthat such a situation can be dealtwith in one of three ways:1. Cut the offending familymember and his/her family all-ies completely out of your life.2. Grow a spine and fight back.3. Try to let it go in one ear andout the other.

The second and third solutionsseem to say, “Brave it out”. I’veheard many people doling outsuch advice in abundance. Doyou think that helps resolve theissue? Let’s suppose for a mom-ent that it does. Are you awareof the damage it does to thereceiver? Imagine being the buttof other’s anger, frustration, sar-casm, pessimism and gossip fora period of a week? Can you pic-

ture that scenario? How do youexpect to feel at the end of it?Now, multiply that by fifty years.That’s what the receiver is‘supposed’ to endure, just so thatthe conflict can be resolved!

Solution 1 seems easier and farless painful, but again, how pro-ductive does it prove to be? Di-vorcing yourself from your fam-ily is going to leave a scar whe-ther you like it or not. Every-onedevelops emotional bonds withother family members no matterhow ‘good’ or ‘bad’ they mightbe. Severing these bonds mayproduce a short-term solutionbut has long-term effects. Psych-ological studies show that unres-olved dysfunctional family rela-tionships quite frequently affectone’s relationships with one’sown children. Some abused chil-dren become abusive parentsthemselves, while others go tothe other extreme and end upsmothering their children withparental care and guidance. Thelater pattern sometimes results ina generation of, say, alcoholicsbegetting a generation of uptightteetotalers who then begetanother generation of alcoholics.

Since none of these three proveto be productive, we are still leftwith the question: How can weconstructively deal with familyproblems? Allow me to offer afew tips. These tips are not fool-proof and don’t guarantee succ-ess but they have been tried andtested and found to be helpful.You may find that the tips off-ered are directed to the indi-vidual even though they can alsobe applied to the family as awhole. This is because change

often begins with an individual.Families that come together in anenvironment of openness to dis-cuss its problems and collectivelycome up with a solution are theideal. But since most families arenot anywhere near that ideal, theoption to bring about changefrom the level of the individualis the most viable.

The first thing I believe weought to do is pray. Now you maywonder how prayer is going tohelp, but trust me, it does. Prayermay not change the situation orthe person but it will definitelychange you! Your problems maynot go away after your prayersbut you will receive the graceand the strength to face yourproblems and come up with ami-able solutions. Prayer will rem-ind you that you do not have toface your problems alone; God isthere to support you. Surrender-ing your difficulties to God willrelieve you from your pain,stress and anxiety, and help yousee things differently.

We could seek help from com-petent or trustworthy people; itcould be a psychotherapist,counselor, priest or even a goodfriend. Sharing your problemswith someone wise could help

you experience freedom fromyour troubles. They can help yousee things in a new light. Exp-ressing your feelings and work-ing with them could help youdevelop strategies for coping.When you talk to someone else,he/she can help you see the otherside of the story. You perhapsmay be able to step into the otherpersons’ shoes.

There is nothing like forgive-ness to give you peace of mind.Often enough, people hear thedevastating words, “I never wantto see you again!” from a parent,a sibling, or a child, and we allknow what a devastating feelingthat is. What happened to this fa-mily relationship? Where did themarriage or family unity go?Sometimes people would ratherfight than make love! Or keep agrudge rather than forgive! Youcould go on suffering from theside-effects of a broken relation-ship or you could step up andforgive. I know that this is easiersaid than done, but hey, isn’t thatwhat Jesus commanded us to do?

“This I tell you: love your ene-mies, and pray for those whopersecute you, so that you maybe children of your Father inHeaven. For he makes his sunrise on both the wicked and thegood, and he gives rain to boththe just and the unjust. If youlove those who love you, what isspecial about that? Do not eventax collectors do as much? Andif you are friendly only to yourfriends, what is so exceptionalabout that?... be righteous andperfect in the way your heavenlyFather is righteous and perfect”(Mt 5:44-48).


HELP, MY SON’S ON THE CLOUDHELP, MY SON’S ON THE CLOUDHELP, MY SON’S ON THE CLOUDHELP, MY SON’S ON THE CLOUDHELP, MY SON’S ON THE CLOUDErmete Tessore

One question that – as a Sale-esian who works in high

schools – I am frequently askedthese days is: “Father, but, what’sgoing in our children’s heads?”That’s a question as old as hu-mankind. The adolescent worldhas always raised doubts andanxieties in the minds of adults.

Youngsters are riding on thistumultuous advancement oftechnology and we should alsoget up on to that i-cloud to pre-vent what these new ways ofcommunicating are doing to in-gratiate their lives, their hopes,their values, and their faith.

Just think of the storms gen-erated in society by the studentmovement in the mythical nine-teen sixties. Today’s fears are in-flated by the fact that youngstersare more deft at handling thesemodern technologies while we,educators and parents seem dis-oriented and distressed in theface of these digital platforms.Our children perceive our un-conscious inferiority complex be-cause of our mental stereotypeswhen we try to give outdated res-ponses to their questions aboutwhat really matters.

Even traditional ways of hand-ing on the Faith proves increa-singly inadequate. The world of

the web, i-pods, smartphones, i-pads, chat, Face Book and Twit-ter are slowly raising walls thatmake intergenerational dialogueincreasingly problematic. Youngpeople are sprinting while adultsare plodding along. In the case ofthe former, they remain withoutreal role models to emulate whilethe latter feel more and moreinadequate, almost ready tothrow in the towel and relin-quish their duty of educating. Inmy opinion, the question weheard at the beginning should bereversed. It should read: “What’sgoing in in the heads of a consi-derable number of parents andeducators today?”

WHEN SHOULD WE SPEAK?A youngster wastes so much

time riding the tumultuous pro-gress of technology. They are de-veloping new behaviours: newlifestyles that sweep away

everything that smacks oftradition: values, emotions,relationships, religion, sensitivi-ty, languages and sensibilities.

The way the youngster facesthe day is astonishing. It startswith the i-pod that blares musicinto the ears of youngstersaccompanying them to breakfastwhich is consumed in religioussilence and then on the way toschool. In fact, crossing them onthe public transport or in thestreets they seem like perfectmonads, technologically armedin their isolated rapport withmusic. Once in school their i-pods are replaced by the smart-phone and they begin chatting,messaging, photographing, surf-ing the web to check how auth-entic the teacher’s lecture iswhile reassuring their mothersthat they love them using sweetwords…but only virtually. Allthis is done beneath-the-bench toavoid the unnecessary barbs ofthe professors. After school in thecompany of the ever-faithful i-pod the youngster reaches hisroom only to jump into the armsof the laptop. Emails are readand responded, friends onFacebook are updated, Twitter isactivated as also little peeks intoporn sites, pirated movies andsongs are downloaded avoidingcopyright… and what of theadults? They are in the livingrooms, kitchens, or in the studyworking and wondering what’shappening in their youngsters’rooms. Lunches and dinners failto break these stereotypes. Laterthe television takes the place ofthe computer…the only thingthat remain constant…is non-communication.

I-pod, smartphones, i-pads,

Facebook and Twitter are raisinghigh walls that risk compromi-sing inter-generational dialogue.

“CONNECTED” PARENTSFaced with this reality, a bit

exaggerated but nonethelessrealistic, what do you do? Verysimple, abandon all fear, get ridof that psychological subjuga-tion complex regarding thesenew tools of communication andbegin studying them to enableyou to use all these digital plat-forms and start surfing thedigital world to meet your child-ren once more. Only connectedto their world will we be able tore-establish new educative rela-tionships. We must even go ontothe i-cloud to prevent the super-servers like Apple, Google andFace Book etc. from influencingtheir lives, hopes, values andfaith. It is a task that no one canescape from. Without digitally-educated parents and educatorson the cloud, they will nevercome close to God but remain ata distance from themselves andfrom real life, slaves of a coldvirtual reality, efficient butheartless.


SALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTS

JOSEPHJOSEPHJOSEPHJOSEPHJOSEPHQUADRIOQUADRIOQUADRIOQUADRIOQUADRIO1921 - 19631921 - 19631921 - 19631921 - 19631921 - 1963

PRIEST, VENERABLEPRIEST, VENERABLEPRIEST, VENERABLEPRIEST, VENERABLEPRIEST, VENERABLE

Joseph Quadrio was born inVervio in the province of Son-

drio on November 28, 1921 to Au-gustine Quadrio and GiacominaRobustelli: a peasant family richin the Christian life. God’s gracehad already taken possession ofthe child’s little heart so that at theage of eight he had come up witha serious rule of life which con-cluded with the words: “I shallstrive to become a saint.” Havingread the life of Don Bosco whichwas given to him by his parish pri-est, he felt drawn to join the Sal-esian family. In 1937 he became aSalesian and was chosen to attendthe faculty of philosophy at theprestigious Gregorian Universityin Rome. Already at 20 years, hereceived his license with flying co-lours and began to teach philoso-phy at Foglizzo to the student cle-rics with clarity and depth. In1943 he began attending coursesin Theology at the Gregorian Uni-versity while staying in the Com-munity of the Sacred Heart (SacroCuore).

His inner life and his Salesianloving kindness were developingand manifesting themselves moreand more. In 1946, in the presenceof nine cardinals and also thefuture Pope Paul VI, he solemnlydefended the theological disputeconcerning the dogmatic defini-tion of the dogma of the Assump-

tion of Mary into Heaven. Thisdissertation brought great honourto the Church and to the Congre-gation. He was ordained a priestin 1947 and graduated in theologyin 1949 and in that same year hebegan teaching at the Theologatein Turin where his incisiveness lefta deep impression on numerousstudents at the Pontifical SalesianUniversity. In 1954 he was named“dean” of the faculty of Theology.In 1960 he was detected with amalignant lymphogranuloma.Fully aware, he continued as longas he could to teach and partici-pate in community life. At thehospital he exuded such wa-rmthand kindness to everyone. “Thegreat miracle that Fr Ruamiworked – he wrote a few monthsbefore the end – was an unmeritedand soothing peace that renderedthese days of waiting most thebeautiful and happy days of mylife.” He died on October 23,1963.

CL. CLARENCE MARTIS, SDBA Salesian Student of Theology at Don Bosco, Koregaon Park, Pune

VOCATION PROMOTION

Ibegan my journey with DonBosco when I entered DonBosco Matunga in Std. 8 as a

boarder. I loved the life in theboarding, which was filled withactivities, entertainment, as wellas studies and a good focus onthe spiritual life. But the idea ofa life as a priest did not appealto me, so much so, when theRector, Fr. Ronnie (of happymemory) asked me if I wanted tobecome a priest, I said NO.

After having completed mySSC with a distinction, I gotadmission to the stream of mychoice – Commerce. A fewmonths into my college life, aneed arose at Don BoscoMatunga for a boarding master.I was asked if I was interestedand I said YES. It was during thefive years as a boarding masterthat I came in close contact withthe Salesian brothers and fathersand I believe the seed of apriestly vocation was sown andbegan to grow from then on. Andthe day came when I was in myS.Y.B.Com and I plucked up thecourage and went to Fr. Ronnieand told him that I wanted to

become a Salesian.

During these years of studyingand living out my vocation Ihave experienced the love of Godthrough various situations, life-events and people who havecome into my life, especiallythrough my brother Salesians.

Looking back at my vocationjourney, I have learnt that Godloves us so much that he gives usmany opportunities to realizeour vocation. We only need to beaware of His calling and respondwith a determined YES.

Lord, help me to be like you,give me the grace of tendernessin the most difficult circumstances

of life,give me the grace of closenessin the face of every need,of meekness in every conflict.

A PRAYER OF POPE FRANCIS


VEN. BENEDETTA BIANCHI PORRO

PROFILES

One day in the summer of1955, at the faculty of medi-

cine in Milan, a female studentshowed up for a difficult exam atthe end of her second year.Without warning, the professorcalled on her for the oral exam. Atfirst, she didn’t respond, then sheblushed and shyly explained,“Professor, I am undergoingtreatment for a disease of the ner-vous system—I can’t hear any-thing, I hope to be healed. Pleasehave patience with me. Could youask me the questions in writing?”The students in the room began tolaugh. Believing this to be a badjoke, the professor yelled, “Pat-ience, patience! What’s this? Whoever heard of a deaf doctor?” Ashe threw the confused and humil-iated young woman’s grade bookagainst the wall, she murmured,“I beg your pardon. I didn’t meanto offend you.” The professorremained unyielding. Havingbeen failed, the student left theroom and told a friend, who hadseen everything and was crying,“It does not mean anything.Listen—don’t say anything to mymother for now; I will tell hertomorrow.” And it was she whosought to excuse the professor toher mother. This student never

earned a medical degree, buttoday, from Heaven, she teachescountless “patients” the art ofsuffering well.

Benedetta (Benedicta) BianchiPorro was born on August 8, 1936in Dovadola, a village in theprovince of Forli, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy.Her mother had a deep faith thatshe strove to pass on to her six chil-dren. As an infant, Benedetta wasstruck by polio. The disease wasstopped, but her right leg was toremain shorter than the other.One day, during a game in the

schoolyard, a boy whom the littlegirl had bothered shouted to her:“Oh! The cripple!” Her brotherGabriel took it badly, leading to afist-fight between the boys. Themothers ran to separate them. ButBenedetta did not take offense:“He called me ‘the cripple’—whatis wrong with that? It’s the truth!”These words reconciled the twoboys, who resumed their game.

The great desires of a teenage girlIn 1942, the Bianchi family

moved to Sirmione, on the shoreof Lake Garda. In 1946, Benedet-ta began to confide her thoughtsin a diary, in which the child oftenrecorded her faults: “Mama toldme that I am unbearable, I am ill-mannered and naughty.” In 1949,she had to start wearing a corsetto avoid becoming hunchbacked.She wrote that day: “I cried! Thecorset squeezes so hard under thearms! Before, I was carefree andfelt almost like the others. Now,what a gulf separates us! But inlife, I want to be like the others, alittle more, perhaps. I want to beable to become someone.” Inschool, the girl earned outstan-ding grades. In 1953, she noted,“Today is Easter. How I would liketo rise from my sins and live onlyfor God! Today, Gabriela and Iphilosophized a little about Godand the immortality of the soul.What fools men are when they areashamed to speak of theseimportant things!”

On February 15, 1953, quest-ioned by her teacher in a Latinclass, Benedetta was unable tohear the questions. This hearingtrouble happened again. Shecommented in her diary: “Whatdo I look like when this happens?But what does it matter? Maybe

one day I will no longer under-stand anything that other peoplesay, but I will always hear thevoice of my soul, and that is thetrue guide that I must follow.” InOctober, by dint of hard work, shereceived her high school diplomawith honours. She then enrolled inthe faculty of medicine in Milan.Her goal was to “Live, struggleand sacrifice myself for all men.”

However, threatened withdeafness, Benedetta experienced aperiod of discouragement. She feltthe vertigo of nothingness. Shewrote to her closest friend at thetime: “You know, Anna, it seemsto me that I am in an endless andmonotonous swamp, in which Iam sinking slowly, slowly, with-out pain or regrets, unaware ofand indifferent to what willhappen to me, even when the lastray of light from the sky disap-pears and the mud closes overme” “I am very often filled withdoubts and I sink into the deepestskepticism.”

Struggling with stoic determi-nation against her handicap,Benedetta successfully pursuedher studies. She learned to readlips; in oral exams, she answeredquestions in a flash, without let-ting on that she was deaf. InNovember 1955, she received per-mission to retake the oral examfrom the summer before. Thistime, she was given the questionsin writing, and she passed withexcellent grades. But that veryevening, she got a migraine andsuddenly, her field of visionnarrowed. She immediately had apremonition: “No, my God! Notmy eyes!” One evening in 1956,the student showed a friend amedical treatise, saying, “This ismy disease.” She showed her the


photo of a patient stricken withneurofibromatosis (also known asvon Recklinghausen disease). Thisextremely rare and incurable con-dition forms small tumors on thenerve centres, progressively dest-roying them. The auditory nerveis the first to be damaged, fol-lowed by the optic nerve and theother senses, and finally there isprogressive paralysis. After exam-ination, the dismayed doctorsconfirmed Benedetta’s diagnosis.Then began a long series of hos-pital stays and operations inten-ded to slow down the terribleprocess.

“A docile sheep in His hands”On June 27, 1957, Benedetta

underwent an operation on herhead. Looking death in the face,she confided to her mother: “Howhappy I am, Mama, to be pure as Igo to the Lord, without a mortalsin.” The words of Saint Francisthat she so loved came to hermind: “Praised be You, my Lord,for our sister bodily death, whomno living man can escape. Woe tothose who die in mortal sin, bless-ed those whom she will find inYour most holy will, for the seconddeath will not harm them” (SaintFrancis of Assisi, Canticle of theCreatures).

As they were shaving her head,she felt humiliated, but had re-course to prayer: “While they we-re shaving me, I felt like a lambbeing sheared. I asked the Lordthat I might become a docile sheepin His hands.” As soon as shecame out of anesthesia, shetouched her face: “They cut myfacial nerve.” The left half of herface was now paralyzed. Thesurgeon did not know how to askher forgiveness for this profess-

ional error; she simply told him:“You did what you could; take myhand and be at peace! It wassomething that could happen—you are not the Eternal Father!”

From this time on, Benedettareceived suffering less as a burdento be heroically carried, than asthe mark of divine favour. Jesuscalled her to share His cross sothat she might identify herselfwith Him. She let herself go, andfound her strength in the Gospel,which she read every day, in SaintPaul, and in the psalms.

“Speak to the Madonna!”In May 1962, Benedetta left for

Lourdes in a train specially out-fitted for the transport of the dis-abled. At the hospital, in the bednext to hers was a 22-year-oldwoman, Maria, paralyzed like her.In a situation that was, humanlyspeaking, materially and morallyhopeless, Maria had come toLourdes to ask the ImmaculateConception for a mir-acle. Sheprayed constantly, but nothinghappened. The day be-fore theywere to leave, the two invalidsfound themselves side by side atthe Grotto. Maria was sobbing.Benedetta took her hand andpressed it in her own hands, asthough to pray in her place.“Maria, the Madonna is here,looking at you! Speak to her, to theMadonna!” And all of a sudden,Maria rose from her stretcher. Shegently took a few steps, stillincredulous. And then, deliriouswith joy, she made her way amongthe wheelchairs, weeping withemotion and gratitude. Benedetta,happy for this miracle, neverthe-less felt a pang of sadness in think-ing that it was another who hadbeen its beneficiary. Then she

regained her peace and abandon-ed herself into the hands of Mary.One year later, she would returnto Lourdes, from where she wouldwrite, “I feel the sweetness ofresignation. For me, that was themiracle of Lourdes this year. TheMadonna gave me everything Ihad lost. She repaid all that hadbeen taken from me, because Ipossess the richness of the HolySpirit.” On August 20, 1963, anurse found the patient in ecstasy.Benedetta would confide to herthat she had seen the BlessedVirgin, adding, “How beautifulthe Madonna is!”

Meanwhile, Benedetta under-went several operations on herhead. Before the last of these, onFebruary 27, 1963, Benedetta ad-mitted her fear to Maria Grazia,who reminded her of this passagefrom Diary of a Country Priest, anovel by Georges Bernanos: “If Iam afraid, I will say withoutshame, ‘I’m afraid,’ and the Lordwill give me the strength.” For along time, Benedetta softly rep-eated this phrase, and bit by bit,peace took hold of her. She than-ked her friend effusively. The dayafter the operation, she announ-ced that she was now blind, butshe asked that no one tell the sur-geon, so as not to sadden him. Sheaccepted this cross of blindnessthat in 1955 had terrified her, andher soul was at peace: “There isnothing to do but trust in God,with eyes closed. I am in the pro-cess of living simplicity, that is, thestripping of the soul.” How beau-tiful it is! One becomes so light andfree!”

On January 21, 1964, feelingthat the definitive meeting withJesus her Spouse was very near,Benedetta made her confession

and received communion. Du-ring the night of the 22nd, sheasked her nurse to remain closeby, because Satan was temptingher: “Emilia, tomorrow I will die.I feel very ill.” In the morning,her mother noticed that a whiterose had opened in the garden.A rose in bloom, in January! Sheannounced her discovery toBenedetta, who replied, “This isthe sign I was waiting for!” Shethen reminded her of a dreamshe had had on the previous AllSaints’ Day: she went into thefamily burial vault and saw itdecorated with a white rosedazzling with light. A little later,stricken by a hemorrhage, shedied at the age of twenty-seven,murmuring, “Thank you.”

“I will no longer be alone with fear”After her death, Benedetta

Bianchi Porro’s influence hasonly grown. Countless people fa-ced with suffering find strengthand courage in reading the storyof her life and her letters. LikeMaria Grazia, they can say to her:“I will no longer be alone withfear, for you have taught me thevalue of prayer.” On December23, 1993, Pope John Paul II appro-ved the decree of the heroicity ofher virtues. The recognition of amiracle obtained by her intercess-ion is now required for VenerableBenedetta to be proclaimed“Blessed.”

On May 24, 1963, Benedettaconfided, “I want to say to thosewho are suffering, to the sick,that if we are humble and docile,the Lord will do great things inus.” Following her example, letus ask Jesus to make each one ofus “a docile sheep in Hishands.”


SEEKERS OF TRUTHCl. Ian Pinto, sdb

“What are you looking for?”This is a deep question that

is bound to startle the listener andthrow anyone off especially if theone asking that question is some-one you look up to as a model oran inspiration. Some may ventureto ask a favour or an interview.John the Baptist pointed out Jesusto his disciples and solemnlyproclaimed, “There is the Lamb ofGod” (Jn 1:36). In effect, what hewas saying was, “there is the greatone, the hero”.

John was a legend in his ownright. He was extremely austere inhis manner of living and had thepower to convince people with hislife-inspired rhetoric. For many, hewas a great prophet bearing theword of God to the people of Isra-el. Some even thought of him asthe Messiah, the hero who wouldsave them from their troubles andestablish a new state of justice,peace and prosperity. Instead ofbasking in the glory of the people’sadoration John was humble eno-ugh to step away from the lime-light and direct the attention to thereal hero – Jesus. Great people

usually do not regard themselves ashighly as others do. They are able tosee themselves for what they are:people who are not perfect.

Until the arrival of Jesus on thescene, John was the celebrity. Peo-ple came in droves to listen to hispreaching and to be baptized byhim. So much so, the religious andpolitical leaders began to takenotice. He could sway public opin-ion. But John was not interestedin the name or the fame. He fran-kly revealed himself as “the voiceof one crying out in the wilder-ness: Make straight the way of theLord” (Jn 1:23). His only concernwas to fulfill his vocation, his call-ing – to be the herald of the Mess-iah or Christ and this he did to thevery end.

When John revealed that onegreater than himself had arrived(Mt 3:11), naturally many of hisfollowers turned with interest tosee who it was that their masterspoke so highly about. The Gospelaccording to John tells us thatimmediately after John singledout Jesus as the “Lamb of God”,two disciples followed him. When

Jesus turned and saw themfollowing him he posed the start-ling question: “What are you look-ing for?” (Jn 1:38). Jesus’ questionis interesting. He does not askthem why they were followinghim which seems like the more ob-vious though impersonal quest-ion. He rather asks them a verypersonal question: “What are youlooking for?” If he had asked themwhy they were following him theywould have probably said some-thing vague like John the Baptistspoke highly of him or somethingalong those lines but the answerJesus was looking for was some-thing deeper and more personal.Jesus was interested in knowingtheir disposition in following him.He wanted to know whether theywere mere fans looking for some-thing to cherish and boast aboutor were they seeking to be discip-les.

Their reply showed that they in-deed sought to follow him and be-come his disciples (Jn 1:38). Jesuswelcomed them and they readilyaccepted his invitation. In John’sgospel, this is Jesus’ first call to hisdisciples. If you carefully read thepassage you will discover that itwas not Jesus who called them butthe disciples who came to him.John the Baptist was a signboardshowing the way to Jesus and hisdisciples were quick to follow hisdirection.

The two disciples of John whofollowed Jesus are the chief char-acters in the drama. Their behav-iour reveals aspects of disciple-ship that we can reflect upon andlearn from. The disciples were see-kers. They were disciples in thereal sense of the word. The worddisciple has roots in the Latinword discere which means to lis-

ten and the corresponding agentword, discipulus which means lis-tener. The disciples were earnestlisteners as they were attentive tothe teachings of John the Baptistand took his cue to follow Jesuswho was greater than John andwho would instruct them furtherin the way of truth. They were op-en to learning and were honest intheir search for God. When Johnexpressed his incapacity to takethem very far and they followedJesus on the word of John who ass-ured them that he was in a betterposition to lead them to God.

Once they met and experiencedJesus they were eager to sharetheir experience with others. Theyrealized that all that John had saidabout Jesus was true. They did nothave to rely on the witness of Johnanymore, they had seen, heardand experienced Jesus firsthand.Besides being honest seekers theywere also enthusiastic about theirspiritual life. After they had bene-fited from Jesus they wished thattheir friends and relatives coulddo so as well. Therefore they bro-ught along others who they belie-ved were also seeking God andwho could benefit from encoun-tering Jesus (Jn 1:41).

The disciples stand out as exam-ples of individuals who honestlyand sincerely seek God. Their des-ire to grow spiritually led them toleave John the Baptist who wastheir mentor for Jesus who wasthe Son of God. They were willingto take the risk of follow Jesus with-out knowing what was in store forthem. They did not stop there, af-ter they had encountered Jesusand experienced him they were in-spired and bold enough to sharetheir experience with others andinvite them to experience Jesus.


HE WHO INTERCEDES ON OUR BEHALFHE WHO INTERCEDES ON OUR BEHALFHE WHO INTERCEDES ON OUR BEHALFHE WHO INTERCEDES ON OUR BEHALFHE WHO INTERCEDES ON OUR BEHALF

Jesus saves and Jesus intercedes: these are the two key words tounderstanding the essential point that is most important for our

life. This is the truth of faith that Pope Francis reaffirmed in the Massat Santa Marta on Thursday morning.

Present at the celebration were representatives of Rome’s Slovakcommunity. Welcoming them at the beginning of Mass, the Pontiffexpressed closeness to the “courageous Slovak Church, which at thismoment, at this time, is fighting to defend the family. Continue withcourage!”.

Meditating on the ministry of Jesus, the Pope turned to the day’sGospel passage (Mk 3:1-12), noting the repetition of the word“multitude”. The passage tells us, he explained, that “the People ofGod find hope in Jesus because his way of acting, of teaching, touchesthe heart, reaches the heart because it has the power of the Word ofGod”. And that “the people feel this and see that promises are fulfilledin Jesus, that in Jesus there is hope”.

After all, Francis added, the “people were rather bored with the wayof teaching the faith by the doctors of the law of that time, who loadedthem down with many commandments, many precepts, but did notreach the people’s heart”. This is why, “when they see and hear Jesus,his proposals, the Beatitudes, they feel something moving inside — it’sthe Holy Spirit that causes this — and they go to look for Jesus”.

But Mark the Evangelist, according to Francis, “wants to explainwhy so many people come to Jesus”. The Gospel tells us that “He speakswith authority, He doesn’t speak like the scribes, the Pharisees, thedoctors of the law”. Then “Jesus heals people” who, in any case, are“in search of self goodness”. After all, the Pontiff acknowledged, “weare never able to follow God with purity of intention from the start”,as they are instead “partly for us, partly for God, and the path is forpurifying this intention”. Thus, “the people go, seeking God, but alsoseeking health, healing”. And for this reason “they threw themselvesat Him, to touch Him, so that power would come out and heal them”.

“Jesus is like this”, Francis explained. “And this is a moment whichrecurs in Jesus’ life”. However, “there is something more importantbehind this”. In fact, what is truly “most important is not that Jesusheals”, which is also “a sign of another healing”. Nor that “Jesus utterswords that reach the heart”, even though “this helps us to go on God’spath”.

To better comprehend “what is most important in Jesus’ ministry”,Francis returned to the message of the First Reading (Heb 7:25; 8:6),

This was a morning homily that Pope Francis gave on Thursday January 22, 2015at the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae.

where, he indicated two fundamental words: “Brothers, Christ ‘is ablefor all time to save’, in a perfect way, ‘those who draw near to Godthrough him, since he always lives to make intercession for them”.Thus, he said, “Jesus saves and Jesus intercedes. These are the two keywords”.

Yes, the Pope repeated, “Jesus saves!”. And “these healings, thesewords that reach the heart are the sign and the beginning of salvation”.They are “the way to salvation for many who begin to go to hear Jesusor to ask for healing and then turn to Him and feel salvation. See then,Francis said, the more important thing is not that Jesus heals and tea-ches, but that He saves. For “He is the Saviour and we are saved thro-ugh Him”. This is “more important” and it “is the strength of our faith”.

The second key word is “intercede”. Indeed, the Pope recalled, “Jesushas gone to the Father and from there He still intercedes, every day, atall times for us”. And “this is something current: Jesus before the Father,who offers his life, the redemption, showing the Father his wounds,the price of salvation”. And like this, “every day Jesus intercedes”.This is why “when we, for one reason or another,” feel “a little down,let’s remember that it is He who prays for us, intercedes for us con-tinuously”. However, he noted, “we often forget this”. But Jesus didnot “go to heaven, send us the Holy Spirit, end of story! No! Presently,every moment, Jesus intercedes”.

In this regard, Francis suggested that we pray with these simplewords: “‘Lord Jesus, have mercy on me’. Intercede for me”. It’s impor-tant, he continued, “to turn to the Lord asking for this intercession”.The crucial point is what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews writes,reminding us that we have “such a grand high priest, one who is seatedat the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven”. This is “thecrucial point: that there, we have an intercessor”. And the Pope saidnot to forget “that the Lord is the intercessor: the saviour and theintercessor”, adding that “it will do us good to remember this”.

In conclusion, the Pontiff continued, “the multitude seek Jesus”,trailing “that scent of hope of the People of God who await the Messiah,and they try to find in Him health, truth, salvation, for He is the saviourand as saviour He still today, at this moment, intercedes for us”. Francisended with the hope “that our Christian life may be ever more confidentthat we have been saved, that we have a saviour, Jesus, at the righthand of the Father, who intercedes. May the Lord, the Holy Spirit, enableus to understand these things.

(by L'Osservatore Romano, Weekly ed. in English, n. 5, 30 January 2015)


LITTLE GIRL, GOODBYELITTLE GIRL, GOODBYELITTLE GIRL, GOODBYELITTLE GIRL, GOODBYELITTLE GIRL, GOODBYEFrom Fr. Ian Doulton's collection of stories

Every father and mother andeach one of their children will

eventually go through an exper-ience very similar to the one Jim,Eleanor and their daughter Vir-ginia lived through. I’d like tobring it to you in the words of thefather.

When it comes to growing up,some kids can be pretty, prettysneaky: my daughter Virginia forinstance. It can’t be more than acouple of years since I brought herhome from the hospital in myarms all wrapped up in a shawland bonnet. My wife Eleanorinsists it’s been fifteen years! LastSunday, the three of us weredriving home from church whenthe news was fed to the ‘father.’

Eleanor told me that we weregoing to have dinner early thisafternoon since Virginia was go-ing out on a date… I was surpri-sed that Eleanor allowed her to go.

She said: “Well, of course, she’sa big girl now. A little movie datewon’t hurt her. Ah, don’t worry,we’ve had talks.” She soundedconfident and in control. Wedrove back home in silence.Virginia said nothing but as soonas we arrived she dashed out ofthe car telling me that she had toget her hair ‘done.’ That – for me– was a shocker. Why, it wasbarely a year ago we had to get herout of shorts and into a dress. First,she was going to be a nun whenshe grew up. Then she was goingto buy a ranch with a certain H.Cassidy and chase rustlers andnow it was boys!

My wife practically helped meout of the car and up to the front

door which was opened by theother fourth of the family: LittleGayle. When the time comes forher for her first date we’ll beworried about the boy.

Gayle gave me one look andasked: “Pops did you haveanother flat tire?”

Eleanor told the two us to set thetable while she was going up tohelp Virginia dress up. This madelittle Gayle look confused. Wasthere something she had missedout? Was there some secret theyshared that she didn’t knowabout? I felt sorry for the little girland I told her: “Oh, Virginia has adate.” “Eh? What’s that?”

I said: “Virginia’s going outwith a boy.”

Curious as she was she askedagain: “What’s his name?”

“Well, they forgot to tell me.”I was tense and tired and I

simply said: “I don’t know…nowwill you be quiet for a minute?”Then I relented and tried in myown amateurish way to explainwhat a ‘date’ was and this washow the conversation went:“Believe me kid, she’ll listen today.It’s part of the plot, a plan…Yousee, women plot to trap a man.They are setting the trap rightnow, your mother and Virginia.All I know is that today the cocoonopens and out comes a beautifulbutterfly.” Gayle giggled and said:“Oh, pops…you talk funny.” “Ifeel funny” was all I could reply.

We had just finished dinnerwhen the doorbell rang. It’s as-tounding what the sound of adoorbell can do to people in ourhouse. Virginia was standing inthe downstairs hall in her bath-

robe trying to learn to put on lip-stick smooth and even. In a veryaudible whisper Eleanor calledVirginia upstairs. That left me toface the boy. But I sat transfixedin my chair. It was Gayle wholeaped to the door. She led in athin red haired youth most ofwhose face lay behind glasses andblack frames. He sat on the edgeof the chair. I knew just exactlywhat he was going through. Thisis the on-guard stage: keep theconversation neutral. Rememberit’s her old man. He was a littleshifty and kept looking at hiswatch: “I’m a little early…” I triedto calm his nerves and told himthat it was Virginia who was late…and he agreed. Then whatfollowed was equally nervous forboth of us: “That’s right, she is.” Ibroke the awkward silence: “Well,how do you like the Giants thisyear, I think they’re going to begreat?” He agreed too. Then Iwent on: “Yeah, think the Dodgerswill take the pennant?” He added:“They could…”

This was getting interesting: “Iwould like to see the Dodgers beatthe Yanks.” Surprisingly, he add-ed: “I would too.” Then I thoughtthis was going pretty far so I triedto round off the conversation:“But I always get a thrill when theYanks win…” to which, he added:“Me too…” Then I realized that Ididn’t know what to call him:“Say, what’s your name…”“Eddie.”

Silence and a lot more of thesame and then we heard a noiseat the stairs. We looked up toge-ther. It was Virginia. She descen-ded as slowly and as elegantly asa girl who has received last minutesignals from her mother. The boyhelped her on with her coat and

we all said: ‘Good bye.’He had a car out front. I say a

car. It was actually four fenderssagging against metal and glass.The car shuffled off slowly in acloud of blue smoke and Gaylewanted to know where Eddie wastaking her big sister. “Oh, to themovies,” I said…trying to hide mynervousness. Gayle went on: “OhI know that, but which movie…we’ve got fourteen in town.”

My nervousness was turning toirritation again: “I don’t knowwhich movie.” Just then Eleanorcame down to tell us that she hadwatched the young pair take offand she concluded: “He lookedlike a very nice boy.” I was not sosure but I added: “Yeah, verysweet.” “What’s his name?” Iasked. “Eddie,” she said and thenI went further: “So he told me, butEddie what?” Then we realizedthat neither of us knew his sur-name. I became a little concernedthat we didn’t know much about‘Eddie.’ I was getting irritated:“Our precious daughter goes outon her first date and we don’teven know the boy’s name.”Eleanor sounded casual addingthat his name was ‘Eddie-some-thing-or-other.’

Both of us looked at ourwatches. The show was just start-ing so we had some time to workout our confusion. But I was stillrather disturbed and even anxi-ous: “In case they don’t come backwe can always explain to the po-lice that you not I let our child goout to some movie with a boywhose name is Eddie something-or-other… by the way…wheredoes he live.” I asked only to findout that Eleanor was as clueless asI was: “Frankly, I don’t knowexactly where he does live … well,


it’s somewhere around here…”That was not funny and I waseven more anxious: “Good, good,very good, and his name is Eddieand he lives somewhere in thiscounty. This county has onlyseventy two towns so it should beeasy to run him down.”

Eleanor seemed to keep her cooland tried to be real. It was themiddle of the afternoon and theywere at a movie. They left in a carand neither I nor Eleanor knew themake of the car. Was it a Chevvy,or an old Plymouth or…

I went out into the kitchen andgot a beer. I had a kind of a miser-able feeling that nothing but acold bottle would help. Then Iwent back to the front room withEleanor and Gayle. We waited…people walked by in front of thehouse. Boys and girls passed armin arm on Sunday afternoonstrolls…only our child steppedinto a strange car and disappear-ed. Only ours! The hands of theclock moved reluctantly fromminute to minute.

It was suddenly five-fifteen andI was nervous. Eleanor was sittingreading her book when I looked upand asked: “The show should beover by now. Where did she meethim, Eleanor?” “At the drugstore…he works behind the sodapop counter. He’s really a verynice boy. I suppose you can tellthat from his name…” I was edgyand I couldn’t stem my irritability.Eleanor was still her patient andcomposed self. She simply tried tobe rational. The movie was justover and they couldn’t fly homein five minutes. There must havebeen traffic and they were sloweddown. I got up from the couch andwent to the window overlooking

the front gate: “If this is ever goingto happen again we’re going toknow what movie, where he lives,and what’s his first, last, andmiddle name.”

Gayle who came in exclaimed:“Pops, it’s a quarter to six andVirginia isn’t home yet.”

“Gayle, your mother and Iknow perfectly well, how to telltime.” I snapped at her. Now Isensed that Eleanor seemed to geta bit worried: “Jim, you don’tsuppose they had some troublewith that car of his.” Then both ofus began to worry that perhapsthey were in an accident; eitherthey had been run in by someoneor Eddie was not a very gooddriver and he had run into some-one. When everything was quietagain, uncomfortably too quiet Iblurted out: “Which one of four-teen movies have they gone tosee?” It seemed too quiet and som-ber and edgy: “Then maybe youcan tell me why we’re sitting aro-und as if we’re at a funeral?” Ele-anor knew and so did I. This wasa kind of funeral. The life of a littlegirl had ended here this afternoon.We’d lost something priceless thatwe’d had for fifteen years. Untilthis afternoon, our child’s present,and her future lay in our hands.From now on, she would face alife of her own in a world which,even at its best, is cold, hard andfull of strangers. The break had tocome but was Virginia ready forit, ready in heart and soul? I knewher mother was wondering thesame thing. Underneath all thekidding and the concern about carwrecks we were making anexamination of conscience. Godhad entrusted Virginia to us. Hehad given us fifteen years inwhich to prepare her to face life

on her own. If anything wentwrong at the beginning it wasbound to be our fault.

It wasn’t just this boy or his carthat we worried about; it wasVirginia’s future which had to bebuilt on the foundation we hadlaid. Was it strong enough?Would she remember to say aprayer when something thatlooked like fun dropped its maskand turned out to be sin? Hermother and I were old fashionedenough to believe that the mostprecious thing Virginia ownedwas that cleanness of heart whichwould one day make her a happywife and mother. Had we taughther everything necessary to guardher future without spoiling herpresent? If we had failed in thisresponsibility, we would have toanswer to God someday for….

Suddenly the doorbell rang andjerked us all out of our stupor.Everybody leaped for the door atonce. Gayle had a slight lead.Eleanor was the first: “OhVirginia…”

She seemed so unruffled andcomposed: “Hello mother! Hipops?” Eddie looked ratherapologetic: “We’re a littlelate…we stopped to have a soda.”As usual Eleanor tried to smoothout the edginess of the moment:“Oh, you’re not late at all…won’tyou stay and have supper, Eddie?We’re just getting ready to eat andwe’d love to have you.”

“Thanks a lot but I’ve got to gethome for supper. I’m late now…”And he turned to go.

Everybody started sayinggoodnight to somebody. Virginiagot a nudge from her mother. Itwas gentle enough to move aroad-roller uphill and Virginia

immediately thanked Eddie forsuch a nice afternoon. Eddie saidhe should thank her…and finallywhen he got that over with…hewent home. Eleanor and Virginiawent off some place and I retiredto the kitchen and I hunted upanother bottle of beer which Ineeded very badly. At the kitchentable I ruminated which means Idrank it slowly and did a lot ofthinking.

There was a collective sigh ofrelief and we all went our waysgetting ready for supper whenVirginia came in: “Oh, there youare pops…” She was ratherruffled and upset: “What’s thematter Virginia…you look veryexcited.” “Well, its mother, shesays she’s practically a nervouswreck because I was late cominghome. That’s so silly, becausethere was nothing to worryabout.”

“No?” I looked up at her.“Pops, don’t tell me you were

worried?” She was surprised.“Virginia, you do know how touse a telephone.” I said. Shethought it was ‘kid’s stuff.’ Then Itried to explain to her: “Look, wewere timing you for a movie, nota movie plus a soda. Don’t youthink a quick change of plansneeds some announcement? Itwould save your mother and mea few extra grey hairs.”

Virginia began to notice theworry written large across myface: “Oh I’m sorry Pops, I justnever thought. I’ll phone you nextweek if we have a soda… becauseEddie wants to take me to a shownext week too can I?”

“I’ll say yes, but you go and askyour mother. She has a littlequestionnaire we’d both like youto fill up in advance…”


THE POSTALTHE POSTALTHE POSTALTHE POSTALTHE POSTALSERVICE OF 1800’SSERVICE OF 1800’SSERVICE OF 1800’SSERVICE OF 1800’SSERVICE OF 1800’SPIEDMONT ANDPIEDMONT ANDPIEDMONT ANDPIEDMONT ANDPIEDMONT ANDDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’S

CORRESPONDENCECORRESPONDENCECORRESPONDENCECORRESPONDENCECORRESPONDENCEby Natale Cerrato

Postal Service in 1800’s Piedmont

Postal service in Piedmont inthe first half of the 19th Centurywas already the monopoly of theKingdom of Sardinia and wascarried out by means of couriers.

On December 13, 1818 a decreehad established a new system forthe dispatch of letters which req-uired that 5, 25, and 50 cents bepaid as stamp duty. These stampswere popularly defined by theillustration on them depicting“the horses of Sardinia.”

In 1831, the cities and townswith offices or postal distributioncentres in Piedmont amounted to155 and the total number in theentire Savoy states amounted to227. Within these states the sendercould post an un-franked letter ina post box at hand or he could goto the nearest post office and haveit franked or maybe registered. Itmust be noted that corresponden-ce was a practically a practice ofthe elite.

From 1836 postal rates werecalculated in 5 cent slots based onthe distance travelled. It began tobe calculated on the distance acrow flies from the post office oforigin to the destination. After1840 the system established inEngland was accepted. This heldthat within the boundaries of thestate the same tariff should cor-respond to the same weight reg-ardless of the distance travelled.

In the Cavourian (Sig. Cavour)decade the postal service advan-ced greatly. From 1851 postalstamps came into force in Turinand in the rest of the states. Allletters had to have postage stam-ps affixed: 5 cent stamps wereblack in colour, 20 cent stampswere orange; 40 cent stamps werepink. From 1861 the currentdenomination was accepted.

During this time the firstrailways gradually replacedstagecoaches. Since municipaldistribution systems would neverbe adequate to reach the outlyingvillages, from January 1, 1857 arural postal service was estab-lished to reach the most remotefarmsteads.

In the 1860’s in Turin, postoffices other than the central postoffice opened many suburbanbranches. There was no lack ofsmaller post offices along thesame railway routes. Thecollection of letters took place fivetimes a day and all correspon-

dence was received at the centraloffice or on the railway station be-fore 11am in the morning so itcould reach the first trains on thefollowing morning.

Foreign correspondence forsome time followed a differentsystem depending on the destina-tion country. Generally the senderhad to pay for handling en routeto the border while the postagefrom the border to the stated coun-try was paid by the recipient. Thepostal system functioned in thisfashion: postal vessels and post-bags were taken on by “vapori”from various countries. The ship“Mino” for example, which sailedfrom Lisbon in 1877 and whichtook the Salesian missionaries toAmerica carried Royal Britishmail.

Don Bosco’s CorrespondenceFor about half a century Don

Bosco maintained corresponden-ce with his collaborators, benefac-tors, ecclesiastical and civic auth-orities and people of every classfrom the King and the Pope to hisboys at Valdocco. His letters werecasual and straightforward; somewere written to encourage thereader, others to conduct business,to solicit funds, to attend to businessmatters; some were petitions to theHoly See and to the Government.They were sober and clear, in goodhumour at times but deeply spiritualwith no frills or abstractions. Severalthousands have been collected butmany more are most certainly partof family archives, in dioceses andcommunes of Italy and abroad andmany more will have been lostforever.

It should be pointed out thatmuch of Don Bosco’s correspon-dence was hand-delivered but in

the cases that we cite, letters wereregularly dispatched by post also.

Don Bosco wrote to Don Rua onDecember 19, 1864 at the SalesianHouse of Mirabello (a town 13kmfrom Casale, and in turn 75kmfrom Turin):

“I’ll leave for Casale at three;and seeing that it will be difficultto reach Mirabello, may I suggest,if it’s possible, take a little walk sowe can meet. I’ll be there till 6 inthe evening…” (E 379)

You will notice that Don Boscowrites from Turin to Don Rua whowas at Mirabello, on December 19that he was coming to Casale andwould remain there till 6 in theevening. He requested Rua tocome to Casale. If you can makethe calculations, the letter couldnot have arrived at Mirabello inless than 24 hours.

On December 19, 1866 DonBosco writes from Bologna to DonRua who is in Turin: “I am in Bolo-gna, this evening, I’ll be in Guast-alla, and I’ll leave in the eveningfor Turin ‘if God wills it’ (E 520).The letter naturally had to reachbefore his return to Turin; so, thatmeans in less than 24 hours fromBologna.

On July 1, 1871 Don Bosco wri-tes from Rome to Don Rua who isstill in Turin:

“This evening I’ll leave forFlorence where I’ll stopover fortwo days to try and collect somemoney if possible... Greet our dearyoungsters and tell them I’m eagerto see them. I hope to be withthem on Tuesday…When I reachFlorence I’ll let you know the timeof my arrival” (E 916).

So, Don Bosco writes from Romeon Saturday July 1, saying thathe’ll stop in Florence for two daysand hopes to be in Turin on July 4.


He’ll let them know the exact time(of his arrival) when he reachesFlorence. From this it is evidentthat Don Bosco presumes that theletter will arrive in Turin in threedays at the latest. If in two dayshe would write once more fromFlorence, what can we deduce?

Yet once again: On September 6,1871 Don Bosco writes as usual toDon Rua from Sestri Ponenteabout 20km beyond Genoa:

“God-willing I will be in Turinat 11.20 in the morning. I believethat we are going to Magna Felici-ta for lunch in anticipation of thefeast of Our Lady… where wemight have a little chat” (E 938).

In this case, the post must havearrived at its destination within24 hours. For those who mightwant to know who Magna Felici-ta was: she was an old maid whoworked in the laundry at the Ora-tory. Her name was Felicita Orselliwho came to be called “Magna”(= aunt). Old spinsters in Pied-mont were addressed thus.

We will let readers prudentlymake their own deductions regar-ding the postal services in the timeof Don Bosco.

Don Bosco’s Prolific Letter-Writing

Don Bosco wrote with great spe-ed and responded to everyoneeven the littlest youngster. To readall the letters that came to himevery day without being disturbedhe would retire after lunch to theConvitto on Via S. Francis of Assisior sit in a café near the shrine ofthe Consolata from where hewouldn’t move till every letter andpiece of paper had been gonethrough. Then, when he returnedhome, he would spend perhapshalf the night writing replies. This

went on for about 20 years. Andwhen he could no longer do this,his secre-tary Don Joaquim Berto,left only the most important lettersto Don Bosco whose handwritinghad become so illegible that onlyDon Berto could decipher it. In aletter to Mother Cristina Gazzelli,of the Sisters of the Sacred Heart,Don Bosco admitted:

“Apologies for this poor hand-writing of mine; at 67 I’ve not yetlearned to write. I don’t knowwhen I’ll learn to write a littlebetter (E 2338).

But there’s little need topreoccupy ourselves with DonBosco’s handwriting; there’s lessneed to look for his literary styleor for treatises on pedagogy or as-ceticism. His letters reflect dailylife and everyday problems, andhis many engagements and aboveall the early years in Piedmont. Itis sufficient to peep into a letter hewrote to a merchant in Castelnu-ovo d’Asti on September 9, 1853to acknowledge what the latterhad requested:“My dear Sig. Conti,Everything is ready for ourPaolino; come when you can.1. bring a note, as brief as possible;2. the books he has already beenusing in school;3. a good dose of a willingness tostudy and live a good Christianlife.Since I am up to my neck inexpenses, bring whatever moneyyou can. We’re going ahead withthe help of the Lord, as Fr. Cafassosays.The Lord bless you and yourfamily,Truly yours,Affectionately, Fr. John Bosco.”(cf. La stampa, 2 giugno 1929, p. 3)

As one can see, Piedmontese

abounds in his letters but topicsare dealt with clarity and brevitybut his style would be streamlinedover time. Don Bosco’s use ofPiedmontese in his writings wasgradually Italianized over timeand the saint never made anyeffort to conceal his deep Pied-montese emotions in his letters.

Don Bosco’s Letters to hisSalesians and the Benefactors

But Don Bosco betrays his emo-tions in his letters to his sons andto the benefactors about his work.It was his custom to write perso-nal letters every year to his Sales-ians in America, the priests, cle-rics and coadjutors, leaving out noone. He wrote to each one accor-ding to his needs and abilities. Ty-pical is the letter he addressed tothe Coadjutor Sappa on January31, 1881. He was a gardener andjokingly he played on the Pied-montese meaning of his surname(Sapa = hoe) and he wrote:

“My dear Sappa,Strive, my dear, to learn to know

your name that you are not to hoebut to do all things well. I haveheard often from you. Do as muchgood as you have done in the past.Work and obedience will be ablessing to you. God help you al-ways to give good example. Prayto God for me and I will pray foryou too that we should be withJesus Christ forever.Your affectionate friend,Fr. John Bosco.Turin 31.1.1881. (E 2136).

But a letter of particular signi-ficance and one which was leftun-posted and was destined forthe benefactors who supportedthe Salesian works and it said:“My dear Benefactors,

I feel the end of my life appro-aching, and that the day is near athand when I will have to pay thecommon toll to death and descendinto the grave.

Before leaving you forever hereon earth, I have to pay a debt thatI have with you and thus gratifya great desire that I have in myheart.

The debt I must pay is one of gra-titude for all that you have done…we have founded many schoolsand hospices…With your charity,we have established missions…with your charity we have set upprinting shops…we have erectedmany chapels and churches wherefor centuries and centuries until theend of the world, the praises of Godand of the Blessed Virgin will be sungevery day and many souls will besaved…

Although I am weary and drai-ned of strength, I wish I could goon talking forever. I recommendmy boys to you, for I am about toleave them. Yet now I must stopand lay down my pen…

Farewell, my dear benefactors...Salesian Cooperators, farewell!”(EBM 18,529-530)

This letter was not sent and it re-veals the 50 years of the corres-pondence of Don Bosco and hisheart.

Don Bosco wrote many letters,most to his benefactors


LIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH MARYLIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH MARYLIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH MARYLIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH MARYLIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH MARYby Silvio Longobardi

That Night in BethlehemTo speak of Jesus in the Eucha-

rist, we should begin from thatbright night when the Wordappeared in flesh; that night whenMary “gave birth to her firstbornson and wrapped him in swadd-ling clothes and laid him in amanger” (Lk 2:7). Till then onlythe angels were able to contempla-te the mystery of God made man.

That night, the human eyes ofthe Virgin were the first of all hu-man creatures to see the divinelight hidden in the fragile human-ity of only a little newborn baby.

“Tell us, Mary what did you seealong the way?” are words fromthe Paschal sequence. That is thesame question we can ask theVirgin of Nazareth: “Tell us, Marywhat you saw that night? Whatwent through your mind whenyou held your little boy in yourarms? Did you hear the choir ofangels? Did you see the myster-ious light that God had promisedthrough the prophet Isaiah (Is 9,1)? And what did say to your childwhile he suckled at your breastand took in the milk of life? Youdid not know it, O Mary, but thatnight the Eucharistic ministry of

the Church began; that ministrythat has been practiced throughthe centuries. We thank you, Omost pure and beautiful mother,because you are full of grace andwe ask you to turn your gaze fullof love and rapture also to us.”Christian spirituality has stressedthe intimate connection betweenthe ministry that Mary lived andthe Eucharistic experience. Theliturgical sequence of “CorpusChristi” invites us to sing along:“Hail true body born of the VirginMary!” “Yes, the consecratedBread that we receive through theChurch is the icon of that Bodythat God gave to the world thro-ugh the Virgin Mary. In the encyc-lical “Redemptoris Mater” (1987)John Paul II writes that the moth-erhood of Mary “is particularlyfelt by the Christian people at theSacred Banquet – the liturgicalcelebration of the mystery of re-demption – in which Christ ismade present in his real body,born of the Virgin Mary (n. 47). Sowe ask that the Virgin sustain ourfragile faith.

MARY, THE EUCHARISTIC WOMANIn the encyclical “Ecclesia de

Eucharistia,” (2003) the last one ofhis long pontificate, John Paul IIdedicated an entire chapter toMary, entitled “the Woman of theEucharist” (nn. 53-58). The Virginof Nazareth, the Pope writes,“can guide us to this Blessed Sac-rament because she has a prof-ound relationship with him” (n.53). He points out three stages oftransition: the first step takesplace at Nazareth when in fact,she accepts the annunciation, shereceives and protects the Son ofGod in her womb, becoming thefirst tabernacle; then she bringsJesus to the house of Zechariah,here Mary appears as the ark ofthe New Covenant, a covenantnot written in stone but in the re-cesses of her heart. And finally, onthat night in Bethlehem, the younggirl of Nazareth gives Jesus to theworld, revealing him to the shep-herds, as the first monstrance.These stages take place in quicksuccession in the incident of theWedding at Cana in Galilee. Thatday Mary was the protagonist ata very embarrassing incidentwhen she said: “they have nowine” (Jn 2, 3).

The mother asks Jesus to inter-vene and give the new wine, thewine of joy and fidelity. Withoutknowing it, without being fullyaware, her request anticipatesthe hour of the Passover, theannoun-cement of the newcovenant and the new life thatGod wants to give to everyonethrough his Son. Cana is theforetaste of the Eucharist. AtCana Mary seems to say: “Do notwaver, trust in the words of mySon. If he was able to changewater into wine, he can also turnbread and wine into his body andblood, and through this mystery

bestow on believers the livingmemorial of his Passover, thusbecoming the ‘bread of life’”(John Paul, Ecclesia de Eucharis-tia, 54).

TO LIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH MARY

At the beginning of the thirdMillennium John Paul II proclai-med a Marian Year, the Year ofthe Rosary (2002-2003). And im-mediately after that he called fora Eucharistic Year (2004-2005).The chronological sequence re-calls that the ancient adage isstill valid: “per Mariam ad Iesum”(To Jesus through Mary). Wecome to Jesus through Mary.Therefore if we wish to nourishour love for the Eucharist wemust go through Mary. We go toMass with Mary, the Mother ofJesus and we live this entirecommunion with her.

Mary is the creature who“found favour with God.” (Lk 1,30) That is why she teaches us towalk in the paths of grace, tolive every Eucharist as an evernew gift of Providence.


The True Cross, Missionaries TodayFrom St Martin’s Messenger, Ireland

NEWSBITS

Q. I believe the cross on whichChrist was crucified was found atsome time in history. What is thestory behind the find finding of thecross?

A. There are various versionsconcerning the finding of thetrue cross. The most commonlyrepeated version is the oneconcerning Helena, the motherof Constantine the Emperor. Sheis reported to have been sent byher son, the Emperor, to look forthe true cross. She uncoveredthree crosses at the site of theHoly Sepulchre, over which hadbeen built a pagan temple. Sheassumed them to be the crossesof Jesus and the twowrongdoers. A dying womanwas brought in and she wastouched with each of the threecrosses. The third one cured herand that cross was proclaimedthe cross of Christ. A portion ofthe true cross was kept in the newbasilica built over the sepulchre,in Jerusalem. Other pieces weretaken elsewhere. There were somany supposed splinters of thetrue cross at one particularperiod of history, that no onedoubts that most of these werefake. When Jerusalem wascaptured in 612, the conquerorwho was the King of Persia, tookwith him that section of the cross

which had been carefullyguarded in Jerusalem. Some 15years later it was brought backto Jerusalem after the PersianKing was defeated in battle. Therelic was returned on or aboutthe 14th September and so wecelebrate the Feast of theTriumph of the Cross on thatday.

Q. I know that in the pastmissionaries went to ‘foreign’countries to preach the Gospel. Dothey still do that?

A. At one time a big part of thechallenge for a missionary wasleaving one’s own country andculture to go and live in foreignlands. Today, they still crossborders. It is still a basic part ofthe missionary activity. But thereis an ever growing awareness ofnew boundaries which are nolonger just geographical. Thenew boundaries may beanywhere in the world; withyouth, the poor in large cities,migrants, refugees, victims ofwar and long-term conflict,indigenous peoples, margin-alized women and children. Allof these are crying out for theGood News if the Gospel to bebrought to them. This is the bigchallenge for today’smissionaries.

BENINExactly one hundred years havepassed since the famous experie-nce that took place during the lastMarian apparition of Fatima, on13 October 1917, when immedia-tely after the three shepherdesseshad seen Our Lady, a crowd of sev-enty thousand people flocked tothe Cova di Iria during a violentrainstorm and witnessed the "mir-acle of the sun”, as they watched,with their naked eye, the star thatseemed to come closer, change co-lour and dance around the sky.Several non-believers also witnes-sed that "miracle", such as the newsreporter of a professed secularistnewspaper. Now something simi-lar seems to have happened inBenin City, Nigeria, on the occas-ion of the re-consecration of the co-untry wanted by the bishops. Incommunicating the decision, thebishops recalled that Nigeria isgoing through "a period marked bytensions, unrest and a generalsense of despair and dissatisfac-tion". There are institutional prob-lems, “cases of selective applica-tion of the rule of law”, as well asunequal distribution of resources,corruption and impunity.

On the morning of October13th, at the re-consecration cere-mony, led by the Archbishop ofJos, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama, presi-dent of the Nigerian EpiscopalConference, 53 bishops took parttogether with more than 1000priests, 2000 religious and about 55thousand faithful. In the afternoon,after the celebration, the witnessestell us, there was a heavy down-pour followed by the appearanceof the sun changing colour and

"dancing". According to FatherChris N. Anyanwu, director of soc-ial communications - this unusualphenomenon gladdened the heartsof the pilgrims present at the cele-bration and many of them haveattested that what they saw, recallsthe experience of Fatima in 1917.Certainly, the great joy of the parti-cipants in seeing these signs show-ed through the enthusiasm oftheir faith that Nigeria will nolonger be the same".

The testimonies have been re-ported on the Facebook page ofthe Episcopal Conference and thishas led to the thought of an expli-cit form of recognition of the event.However, that web space cannot beconsidered an official expression ofthe episcopate and there are no sta-tements in this regard. The bish-ops took note of the account of thefaithful and saw them rejoice fortheir experience. At a time whenonly negative news arrives fromNigeria - from the scourge of fun-damentalist Islamist terrorism toabductions such as that of Italianpriest Maurizio Pallù, who hasbeen recently released - the solarphenomenon at the end of thestorm has drawn attention to theact of consecration to Marydecided by the bishops of thecountry. (La Stampa. 22/10/2017)


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.In July 2016 I suffered a blackout and was uncon-scious for quite some time. After a while I regained

consciousness and was helped to my bed.I was rather stunned as towhat caused me to fall and I suffered memory loss for those few moments.My family Doctor was contacted and explained the symptoms.He advisedimmediate hospitalisation. I was taken to hospital and all relevant testswere carried out. Aparrently it was diagonised that that there was atemporary blockage of the artery connected to the brain which causedthe "blackout." After three days and conducting of various tests I wasdischarged.Fortunately I suffered no harm to myself when I fell.I owe thisgood fortune to our dear Mother Mary to whom I have the devotion ofreciting the Three Hail Mary every morning and night.Thank you dearMother Mary. WJGIn 1952, I was a small boy and in school. My dad started the the devotionto Our Lady of the Rosary, to Don Bosco and Dominic Savio, our threegreat patrons. Since then we have continued this ardent devotion to thepresent day without fail and we have received innumerable favours, bigand small. I used to walk to the end of the hill, pray earnestly and patientlynon-stop where my petro-chemical plant was in Chembur, Bombay. Icould see the statue (above the Shrine) very clearly whether in the dayor the night and I would pray the three Hail Marys either in the day or thenight. I was working shifts. I also asked her a great favour: Mother pleasetake me to Canada. It took a long time; maybe it was a test but I didn’tgive up. She heard my humble and fervent prayer. Finally today, I amliving in the best country in the world, living peacefully and happily withmy family. A million thanks to the “Trio”. I confidently say: Pray with faithand believe you will receive. Francis (Frank) Fernandis, Halifax, CanadaMy sincere and heartfelt thanks to Jesus, Mother Mary and all the saintsfor the many favours received through the recitation of the three HailMarys, and especially for the gift of a job for my son. Sweet Mother keephim always under your mantle of care. A. Lobo, MumbaiEver grateful thanks to Mother Mary for sorting out the house, propertyand work related problems and saving my mother from the serious effectsof a brain stroke. MHDSDC

IN A CHEERFUL MOODMedical DestinationLady: “Well, Doctor, was myoperation a success?”Man: “I’m not your doctor, I’m St.Peter.Painful PleasuresBus Driver: “Madam, are these se-ven children yours or is it a picnic?”Busy Mother: “They’re all mineand I assure you it is no picnic.”Multi-PurposeFarmer: “You must be brave tocome in a parachute in a hundred-mile gale like this.”Stranger: “I didn’t come down ina parachute. I went up in a tent!”Real ConcentrationA veteran colonel always closedhis eyes when he took a drink.When questioned concerning thishabit he readily explained:“The sight of good lickah, suh,” hesaid, “always makes my mouthwatah, suh, an’ I do not like todilute my drink, suh.”Drastic MeasuresWhen a doctor called at a houseto attend a confinement had beenupstairs a few minutes,he camedown and asked for a corkscrew.The anxious father-to-be gave himone, and he went upstairs. A fewminuteslater he came down againand asked for a screwdriver. Hewent back with it and left the headof the house chewing his nails. Onthe third trip, he asked for a chiseland mallet. “Good heavens, Doc-tor,” the worried husband said, “iseverything alright?” Is it a boy ora girl?” “Don’t know yet,” repliedthe doctor. “Can’t get my medi-cine case open.”

A Word EdgewiseWife: “What’s the idea? Youyawned four times while I wastalking to you.”Hubby: “I wasn’t yawning, I wasjust trying to say something.”

Settling scores“Well, Pat,” said a friendly visitorat the bedside of a dying man,“have ye made peace with Godand denounced the devil?”“Shure,” said Pat, “I’ve made pea-ce with God but I’m in no positionto antagonize anybody.”

Two for OneA gentleman came into a Parisbarbershop with a small boy oneday and explained that since hehad an appointment in the neigh-bourhood he would like his ownhair cut first.This accomplished,he handed the boy up into thechair, urged patience upon him,and departed. When the boy’s haircut was finished, the gentlemanhad not returned, and the barbertold to boy to wait. A half hourpassed. “Don’t worry,” said thebarber reassuringly. “I’m sure yourfather will be back soon.“ The boylooked startled. “He isn’t my father,“ he said. “He just came up to me inthe street and said, “Come along,let’s both get a hair cut.”

Grass MiscalculationAt the circus in Madras last yeara man was observed near thecamels. He picked up a straw, pla-ced it squarely on the camel’s backand waited. Nothing happened.“Wrong straw,” he muttered, andhurried off.


THANKS TO DEARST. DOMINIC SAVIO

LOVING CHILDREN TOTHEIR LOVING MOTHER

THEY ARE GRATEFUL TOOUR LADY AND DON BOSCO

JANUARYReligious Minorities in Asia

That Christians, and other religious minorities in Asian countries,may be able to practise their faith in full freedom.

My sincere thanks to the Divine Mercy, the Blessed Virgin Mary andSt. Antony for helping to vacate the tenants from my son's flat. I alsothank Mother Mary for granting me many other favours. AgnesIt was August 24, 2017 when I was taken to Holy Family Hospitaloperation theatre at 8 am. I began the Holy Rosary and prayed toMary Help of Christians and Don Bosco till I came out of the hospitalon September 4. Today thanks to Our Lady’s blessing I had asuccessful heart operation. All praise to Jesus and Mary. Edgar D’Souza, MumbaiThank you Mary Help of Christians, St. Dominic Savio and St. JohnBosco for giving my daughter-in-law Edna a safe and normal deliveryand the gift of a healthy baby boy. Mrs. Lourdes Alvares, MumbaiThank you Jesus, Mother Mary, the Holy Spirit and the GuardianAngels for good health and happiness; for my grandchildren’s successin their exams and many favours received. Special thanks for keepingmy daughter and her family from unknown calamity. Fernandes, MumbaiThank you Lord Jesus and our Beloved Mother Mary Help ofChristians for helping my sister Grace and for the miraculous curefrom a severe allergy. Bless and protect us always. Rosie de Souza, Goa

I had a very bad fall from a bench while trying to fix a chart on theclassroom board. Miraculously I escaped with mild bruises but nobroken bones. Praise and thanks to Jesus and his beloved MotherMary for saving my life and sparing me from any fractures.

Mrs. Sharon CastelinoMy sincere thanks to Mary Help of Christians for helping my sonto get a new job. Also for his successful surgery and for manyother favours. Mary was always with us. A DevoteeMy dearest Mother Mary, when I write this thanksgiving my eyesare filled with tears and my heart full of gratitude. Thank you mymother for helping my son pass at IIT Kharagpur at the first attempt.He passed with an excellent rank. My elder son is doingexceptionally well in his engineering studies. I am equally thankfulto you Mother for blessing me with a wonderful family, a lovinghusband, happiness and above all the excellent behaviour of mysons. Whenever I went to my Mother she was always there forme. I continue to implore your protection and guidance and askyou to keep us under your mantle. Mrs. Shanti Rose Thomas, KeralaHeartfelt thanks to Mary Help of Christians for the successful operationof my son-in-law Peter Geudens. Philomena Ferro, Mumbai

Thank you Mary Help of Christians andSt. Dominic Savio for granting my great-grand-daughter-in-law a safe and normaldelivery and the gift of a baby boy. Mirs Piedade Gomes, MumbaiMy sincere thanks to Mother Mary, DonBosco and Dominic Savio for grantingme many blessings, especially for thegift of a healthy baby boy after a sevenyear gap of a girl and many otherblessings for which I am grateful. Minella Lobes, GoaMy special thanks to Mother Mary, Helpof Christians and St. Dominic Savio for

a safe and normal delivery of a baby boy. Lucia Remedios, GoaThank you dear Blessed Mother Mary and St. Dominic Savio forblessing my daughter with a baby boy after five years. Mrs. Antoneth Coutinho, MumbaiI am grateful and thankful to the Most Holy Trinity, Our Lady, all theangels and saints in heaven and my dearest Dominic Savio forprotecting my sons and my family from all evils in this modern world.I am equally grateful for helping my son pass his IIT entranceexamination at the first attempt itself with an excellent rank. He ispresently studying at IIT Kharagpur. My elder son is doing exceptionallywell in his engineering studies. Dear St. Dominic Savio please continueto bless our happy family. Mrs. Shanti Rose Thomas, KeralaMy deep gratitude to the Infant Jesus of Prague and Our BlessedMother and St. Dominic Savio for the safe delivery and the gift of ababy girl to my daughter. Mother Mary give them good health andkeep them always in your care. A. Lobo, MumbaiThank you, Our Lady and Dominic Savio for the gift of a lovely babygirl Caitlyn to my cousin and for many other favours received. Lalita Valles, MumbaiOur belated but sincere thanks to the Infant Jesus and Mother Maryfor saving us from accidents twice on the Nasik Highway and backfrom the Infant Jesus shrine. Thank you Divine Mercy, St. Anthony,St. Dominic Savio and Mother Teresa and all the saints for the manyfavours and blessings we received. The D’Cunhas

36January 2018 Don Bosco’s Madonna

Regd RNI no. 9360/57;Postal Regn. MNE/89/2018-2020

License to post without prepaymentposted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office

on 1st & 2nd of every monthDate of Publication: 1st of every month

Subs: (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]

My granddaughter Anjali wassuddenly hospitalized with a life-threatening blood clot right beforeher final exams last year. By the graceof God and the intercession of ourBlessed Mother the surgeons wereable to remove the clot and she wasable to successfully complete herexams. A million thanks from thebottom of my heart to the InfantJesus, Mary Help of Christians, Sts.Jude and Anthony for hearing myprayers. A nerve was accidentallydamaged that left one leg paralyzed.All the neurologists thought chancesof recovery were slim. In a secondmiracle she has regained nervefunction and is able to walk withoutcrutches and brace with a month.Thank you so much dear Jesus andMary! Mrs. L. Fernandes, USA

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