don bosco's madonna ashes to glory mumbai february … · ashes to glory it is the beginning...

2 3February 2020 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaFebruary 2020Fr. Ian Doulton sdb

In a Cheerful Mood.....................32Thanks to Dear St. Dominic Savio...................34Loving Children to their

Loving Mother.......................34The Devotion of the Three Hail Marys..................35They Are Grateful to Our Lady & Don Bosco......... ..................35

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

DON BOSCO'S MADONNA Mumbai FEBRUARY 2020 vol.19 No. 10

ASHES TO GLORYIt is the beginning of February and as I looked at my calendar I

realize that February 26th will be Ash Wednesday. I’m sure youwill receive this issue well before that. But I thought it best to get ahead start. Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent, a day that is namedafter its primary symbol. Nowadays Christians of every stripe, not justCatholics, crowd the churches for the imposition of ashes. This cus-tom of ashes goes back over a thousand years and has its antecedentsin Hebrew Scripture.

It’s a very ancient ceremony. Yet in today’s world, ashes are hardlyirrelevant. The entire world seems covered with ash. It is envelopingus in a mood of uncertainty and threat, like ash blanketing the land;ashes everywhere. Somehow the ashes have silted into our very heartsand souls. In an age of fear and anxiety, of greed and ambition, of ag-gression and hostility, ashes are an apt and horrible symbol. The colourof modern life must be grey.

With hearts strained under the ashen weight of this world’s painand terror, one might be inclined to say, “No, thank you,” and yet wecome, drawn by this powerful symbol which speaks volumes. AshWednesday challenges us to real honesty.

In the ash of so much destruction, so much life burned up, AshWednesday challenges us to admit to our complicity in the world’sbrokenness. Each day’s morning paper places horrible images of rage,greed, selfishness, negligence and death right on our doorstep.

Another word of truth Ash Wednesday declares is that life is fragile.A mere puff of wind will easily blow away the ashes in those littledishes that sit on the altar on Ash Wednesday. Into the richness andpleasure of living comes the chilling reminder, “Remember that you aredust and to dust you shall return:” the shortness and uncertainty of hu-man life.

In these perilous days, Ash Wednesday comes, bringing promise, notthreat. Ash Wednesday, that most honest of days, tells us the truthabout the worst of human kind and the best of God. We are told theglorious truth that “God loves us,” seeks us out, forgives us, restoresus and makes us new. We are told the amazing truth that nothing - nodisaster, no tragedy, no disappointment, no sin can snatch us out ofGod’s loving arms.

It is fairly obvious that the service that includes the Imposition ofAshes differs in any number of ways from our usual celebration of theEucharist. One difference is so obvious as not to be noticed. Observethat we approach the altar twice. The first time, for the ashes, sign ofour mortality and sin, sign of our deep nothingness without God. Thesecond time we come to receive Christ’s Body and Blood, promise ofGod’s loving presence and power in our daily lives. Here is food forthe journey as we make our pilgrimage from ashes to glory, from sin toforgiveness, and from Lent to the glory of Easter and beyond.

From The Editor's Desk:Ashes to Glory.........................3

The Best Form of Friendship- Gianpaolo Dianin...................4

Everyday, A Gift to be ‘Unwrapped’- Maria Chiara Bregolin............6

Feast of the Month: In The Arms of OldSimeon - Don Chino Biscontin.....7

Youth on the Move: One Chance To Live Life - Anastasia Dias.............9

Great Bible Heroes: Nicodemus - Ian Pinto, sdb..................11

Witnesses In And For Our Times:St. Peter Damian................13

Lectio Divina: Free To Choose the Good- Don Carlo Broccardo.........16

Quietspaces: Do Not Delay Conversion- Pope Francis........................... 18

The King’s Crown- Pierluigi Menato...................20

Fioretti of Don Bosco - 13 - Michele Molineris.............24

Salesian Saints: - Eusebia Palomino Yenes 27

Reflecting On Mary: Mary At Cana: “They Have No Wine” - Don Giorgio Chatrian....28

Newsbits..................................31

Hope: - Vivian Boland OP.........33

To Our Lady of GracesO Mary of every Grace

intercede for us,that we may receive the outpouring

of God’s love as you did.You were chosen by Godand received his blessing

in those wondrous words:“The Lord is with thee...”

Share, O Mary that blessing with usthat we too may know

the power of those words:“The Lord is with thee...”

Help us realize thatwe have nothing to fearfor the Lord is with us.

O Mary of all Graces we greet youas the Father, Son and Holy Spirit

greeted you:“The Lord is with thee...”

Pray for us O Holy Mother, nowand at the hour of our death. Amen

(Fr. Gabriel Harty, OP)

4 5February 2020 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaFebruary 2020

REFLECTIONS ON AMORIS LAETITIAREFLECTIONS ON AMORIS LAETITIAREFLECTIONS ON AMORIS LAETITIAREFLECTIONS ON AMORIS LAETITIAREFLECTIONS ON AMORIS LAETITIA

THE BEST FORM OF FRIENDSHIPTHE BEST FORM OF FRIENDSHIPTHE BEST FORM OF FRIENDSHIPTHE BEST FORM OF FRIENDSHIPTHE BEST FORM OF FRIENDSHIPby Gianpaolo Gianin

O nce he defined and de-scribed conjugal charity,

Pope Francis highlighted a par-ticular aspect of the spousalbond stating that marital love is“the greatest form of friendship”(AL 123) because it contains, sus-tains and at the same time ex-ceeds all the characteristics ofthe friendship bond: altruism,reciprocity, intimacy, tender-ness, stability and a similaritythat is being formed through ashared life. See the intense wordswith which the philosopherLewis describes friendship:“Friendship binds two peoplefor a corporeal interest, for onepurpose. Hence true friendshipis the least jealous of loves [...]indeed it loves to widen the circleof friends. Camaraderie is thematrix of friendship, but itshould not be confused withwhat comes when two compan-ions discover a common idea, aninterest that others do not share.If lovers love to be alone, friendsopen the circle willingly to thosewho share the same thing. Infriendship “do you love me?”means “do you care about thesame truth?” There are peoplehungry for friends, but they can’tfind themselves because you canhave friends only if you wantsomething besides friends.”(C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves).

The other person is the gift of God to me, and love is the experiencethat allows me to get to know the beauty, the uniqueness and the many

hidden features and treasures that only an intimate relationshipwill be able to open and reveal

These beautiful statements canalso be good for spouses, al-though their relationship hasother characteristics. How beau-tiful it is that a couple is open toothers and yet live in a cozyhome! How can we not thenthink that what unites twospouses is a shared life-plan, acommon idea, as Lewis writesand not to presume that “do youlove me” also includes the com-mon search for another goodthat is the ‘truth.’ And it is truethat marriages can grow and en-dure over time if we don’t juststop with the other or with thecouple’s relationship but whenthey open themselves to what isbeyond: our children, life and inthe end, God himself.

Lewis goes on to speak offriendship in these words:“People find in a friend an ally;friendship is free, the gift of oneto the other made freely, with-out constraints. In a group offriends each one is simply him-self and we come to know thingsincidentally. This is the regalnature of friendship: in it wemeet as sovereigns of indepen-dent states on neutral ground. Afriend recognizes him not be-cause he looks directly into hiseyes like a lover does, but be-cause we fight together, discuss

with each other and pray to-gether.”

Here too we can recognize thatconjugal love contains, inte-grates and exceeds these charac-teristics, but without denyingthem; spouses simply live themdifferently. How can I forgetthat both spouses are in leaguewith each other, capable of giftand gratuity? How can we for-get that between the two of themthere is one true faith that doesnot need to become an inquisi-tion to stifle the freedom of thebeloved? And it is true that themarital bond does not eliminatethe singularity of each of them.If it is true that the two spouseslook into each other’s eyes andlove each other, it is also truethat together they fight, argueand pray.

“Friendship,” Lewis continues,“is not the reward of discern-ment and good taste that wehave shown to possess, by find-ing each other. It is the instru-ment through which God re-veals to everyone the beauty ofthe other, which is surely, supe-rior to the beauty of a thousandpeople. Through friendship Godopens our eyes to them.”

Here Lewis touches the sum-mit of the friendship relation-ship and also the spousal rela-tionship. The man and thewoman do not deserve a prizefor being good hunters who haveconquered excellent prey. Cer-tainly there is truth in this be-cause every lover struggles toseduce his beloved and conquerher, but what Lewis says is alsotrue: the other is the gift thatGod gives me and love is the ex-perience that allows me to know

the beauty, the uniqueness andthe many hidden features andtreasures that only that intimaterelationship can open up andreveal.

Conjugal love, writes the Pope,is “the best form of friendship,”because it can make all the quali-ties of this awesome feeling itsown and at the same time bindthe two in a special way. Conju-gal love turns friendship into aunique, but not exclusive rela-tionship; indissoluble, but nevera static bond; passionate but al-ways a respectful and creativebond because it adds to the fruit-fulness of each friendship, thegift of a third: the child, the fruitof love. But we will talk of thatnext time.


STSTSTSTSTAAAAAYING YING YING YING YING TTTTTOGETHEROGETHEROGETHEROGETHEROGETHER

EVERYDAY, A GIFT TO BEEVERYDAY, A GIFT TO BEEVERYDAY, A GIFT TO BEEVERYDAY, A GIFT TO BEEVERYDAY, A GIFT TO BE ‘UNWRAPPED’ ‘UNWRAPPED’ ‘UNWRAPPED’ ‘UNWRAPPED’ ‘UNWRAPPED’by Maria Chiara Bregolin

What kind of friend am I tomy husband? Pope Francis

invites us to look at our lives asspouses as the highest form offriendship. He tells us in AmorisLaetitia that the two dimensionsthat characterize the depth ofconjugal love are: the tendernessof friendship and erotic passion.

Friendship in the context ofmarriage seeks consent, mutuallove and loyalty. And to thesecharacteristics he adds the passionof physical union and a perspec-tive of the eternal. Very clearly,this particular kind of friendshipcan celebrate something that othertypes cannot!

Being ‘married’ friends meansrecognizing each other as equals,desiring the good of the other morethan anything else and seeing thewonder, uniqueness, and mysteryin the being of the other. Beingable to count on the friendship ofone’s spouse means to ‘unwrap’every day the gift that God givesus as we live with the person welove the most.

Being ‘married’ friends seemsanachronistic, let’s face it. We livein a society where love is pre-sented to us in a way that is veryfar from this definition. Isn’t ittrue? Love is proposed to us asattractive, as sensual and posses-sive. Tenderness and friendshipare concepts that probably don’tsell when it comes to love. Andyet, if marriage can rely on a solidfriendship between spouses, it canaspire to last forever and canpoint to happiness.

Can I count on the support onmy spouse, his ability to listen,and for support? Can he count onmy collaboration? Do we havecommon interests? Shared lifeplans? From the most resilient andenduring relationships of couplesaround me, I seem to identify somecommon characteristics: mutualconsent, sharing of values and pri-orities, personal freedom, self-re-alization, obviously physical attrac-tion despite the passing of years andthe constant and continuous com-mitment to make each other feelheard, accepted and loved.

Finally, let me add one last thing:the role of humour! In thesecouples, the ability to laugh to-gether and to laugh at themselves,to have fun together always playsa fundamental role and this lastcomment only reassures mewhen I hear my husband snortand cite that passage from theGospel in which Jesus says:“When they rise from the dead,they will neither marry nor begiven in marriage, but will be likethe angels in heaven” (Mark18,25)!

FEAST OF THE MONTH

It is understandable that quitea few Christian feasts origi-

nated because of events narratedin the Gospels. This is also trueof the feast of the Presentation ofJesus in the Temple. According tobe book of Numbers, every first-born male belonged to God(Num. 18, 14-18), so the parentshad to redeem him, taking himto the Temple forty days after hisbirth and offering a lamb in ex-change or if the family was verypoor, a pair of doves. The offer-ing was also meant for the “pu-rification” of the mother.

In Jerusalem, already in thefourth century, forty days afterthe feast of the Epiphany (in theEast this was celebrated as thebirth of Jesus), this event wascommemorated by a solemn pro-cession at the Basilica of the HolySepulchre. The feast was cen-tered on the recognition of theMessiah by two qualified wit-nesses, Simeon and Anna, repre-senting the people of the Cov-enant.

Towards the second half of theseventh century, the feastreached Rome where, having es-tablished the birth of Jesus onDecember 25, forty days laterwas February 2. Here it becamethe memory of Mary’s purifica-tion. And, what surprises us to-day that it had a penitential tone:the Pope and the deacons woreblack vestments. The processionstarted at the church of St.

IN THE ARMS OF OLD SIMEONIN THE ARMS OF OLD SIMEONIN THE ARMS OF OLD SIMEONIN THE ARMS OF OLD SIMEONIN THE ARMS OF OLD SIMEON

God entrusts his Son to humanity, stripped of his glory,power, totally defenceless. A tremendous risk

justified only by an infinite love

Adrian at the Forum and endedat the Basilica of St. Mary Major.The candles used for the proces-sion were brought home by thefaithful.

The texts and hymns used forthe feasts however, were trans-lations of those used in the Eastso when the celebration spread

Don Chino Biscontin


throughout the West towardsthe 11th Century, it regained itsfull significance and the newborn Christ Child became its cen-tre, even today it continues tohave a Marian connotation.

The touching image full of sym-bolism continues to be repeatedin Christian art; that of oldSimeon and the little Child in hisarms. A beautiful oriental anti-phon exclaims: “You look at theearth and it trembles: how can atired old man hold you in hisarms?” Yet, that is what hap-pened. God entrusts his Son tohumanity, stripped of his glory,power and totally defenceless; atremendous risk justified only byan infinite love. In fact, we can-not forget that some thirty yearslater, and not far from theTemple Mount, once again, Marywill hold in her arms her Son, butwith his hands and feet piercedby nails and his heart piercedwith a lance when he is takendown from the cross.

The procession with the blessedcandles warrants us to recall thelong years of waiting for the com-ing of the Messiah that Simeonand Anna lived through; the trustof God who gives his Son, ismatched by the trust of Simeon

and Anna who firmly believed inthe fulfilment of the promises.And while Simeon takes Jesus inhis arms, we who celebrate thefeast receive the consecratedBread, Jesus with us, becominglike Mary. The Son of God whoasks to be our son, asks us to ex-press ourselves through our hu-manity, our Christian commu-nity, transfigured by his grace tobecome the Body of Christ.

To me, already an elderly man,that procession makes my jour-ney towards the end of myearthly life, and the encounterwith the Lord beyond thatthreshold: an encounter in whichI hope with all my strength, notfor my merits, but by virtue ofthat promise: “Let not your heartbe troubled. Trust in God andtrust in me. In my Father’s housethere are many mansions. If itwere not so would I have toldyou ‘I’m going to prepare a placefor you?’ When I have gone andprepared a place for you, I willcome again and take you withme, for where I am you will alsobe” (Jn 14:1-3) The positions arereversed: we no longer welcomeJesus, but it is Jesus who wel-comes us. “Lord, let your servantnow go in peace…”

In the late 19th century, an American tourist went to the city of Cairoin Egypt to visit an old man who was renowned for his wisdom. Thetourist was surprised to find that this wise man lived in a very simpleroom. Apart from his books the only items in the room were a bed, atable and a chair. “Where is your furniture?” asked the tourist.Quickly the old man replied, “And where is yours?” The tourist,obviously taken aback, said “Mine? But I am only a tourist, I amonly passing through here.” The old man replied, “It is the samewith me. I am only passing through life. We are on a journey to God.Material possessions can take over our lives, blind us and tie us downso that we cannot see the way to God nor enjoy the freedom to liveand love, which God gave us.” The tourist went away a wiser man.

PASSING THROUGHPASSING THROUGHPASSING THROUGHPASSING THROUGHPASSING THROUGH

ONE CHANCE TO LIVE LIFEONE CHANCE TO LIVE LIFEONE CHANCE TO LIVE LIFEONE CHANCE TO LIVE LIFEONE CHANCE TO LIVE LIFEby Anastasia Dias

February 14th was a cold morn-ing. One could see a crowd of

young people in college waitingfor the right moment to exchangeflowers and gifts. The idea ofValentine’s Day had always seemedstupid to me - one particular day todeclare your love and shower yourloved ones with gifts and affectionsounded ridiculous and expensive.

Out of the blue, my classmateJohn walked up to me and asked:‘Anne, do you mind accompany-ing me to pick out a few flowersto gift someone?’ John and I hadnever really spoken before; he wasvery quiet and always sat at oneend of the classroom – I hesitantlynodded.

So, John and I went together topick out a huge bouquet of redroses. Thinking my job was done,I was prepared to leave. John sur-prised me, asking: ‘Would youcome with me to give these rosesto my Valentine?’ I was reluctantbut John looked at me with plead-ing eyes.

We drove across town and tomy surprise John stopped at thelocal cemetery. He got out of thecar with the bouquet of red rosesand a letter that had “Mummy”written on the envelope. I sawhim walk up to her grave withtears in his eyes. Standing at her

grave he prayed for a while.It tore my heart to see John

standing there in tears. But in hisplace, all I could see now was alittle boy whispering a prayer forhis mum, wishing she would comeback and hold him again.

After a while, Johnny came upto me, his eyes moist with tearsand said: ‘I lost my Mum to can-cer when I was 7. She’s been myValentine every year, since then.’

I put an arm around Johnny fora moment and then we drovehome in silence. That was the be-ginning of a very special friend-ship for both of us. I was begin-ning to understand Johnny better.The silent guy in class visited can-cer patients and worked with sur-vivors after class. He visited hos-pitals, spent time speaking to vic-tims of all ages, assuring themthat they weren’t alone in thebattle.

One day, I volunteered to go


GREAT BIBLE HEROES

Nicodemus was a Phariseeand a leader of the Jewish

people (Jn 3:1). His elevated so-cial standing allowed him to puthis education to good use andgarner the respect and admira-tion of the people. Surprisingly,Nicodemus wasn’t like otherPharisees. He was humble. Hedidn’t let his knowledge andpower go to his head. He wasperhaps the only Pharisee in theBible to have the courage to goto Jesus and clarify his ideas (Jn3:1 onwards). Even when theChief Priests wanted to arrestJesus while he preached in theTemple, Nicodemus took thecourage to point out that the Lawdidn’t allow for anyone to be con-demned without a proper hearing(Jn 7:50-52). Thus, Nicodemuscomes across as a man who washonest, fair, humble and open. TheBible doesn’t say much about hispersonality but it could be de-duced that he was probably likedby the people. After all, whodoesn’t like an honest andhumble leader?

If there is one thing leader’stoday lack, it’s humility. Theirpower makes them arrogant.Despite being chosen by thepeople, after a while, they beginto think it was Divine Will ortheir own merit that put them inoffice. Therefore, they see them-selves as being entitled to privi-leges and the respect and admi-ration of the people! PopeFrancis in his recent apostolicexhortation, Gaudium et

Nicodemus Meets Jesus

Exsultate makes reference tosuch an attitude. He points outthat such an attitude is a modernform of an ancient heresy calledPelagiansim. Pelagianism givesemphasis to the human will overand above the grace and mercy ofGod. People who fall prey to thisheresy forget that everything “de-pends not on human will or exer-tion, but on God who showsmercy” (Rom 9:16) and that “hefirst loved us” (1 Jn 4:19).

The first characteristic thePope makes regarding Pelagian-ism is that it is “A Will LackingHumility.” The Pope talks ofPelagianism within the Catholiccontext and says that we couldbe very effective preachers ofthe Word of God, we might evencomfort and counsel people inthe name of God but all the whilewe could subtly be pushing ourown agenda (GE 49). “The lackof a heartfelt and prayerful ac-knowledgment of our limita-tions prevents grace from work-ing more effectively within us,for no room is left for bringingabout the potential good that is

A GENUINE SEEKER

Ian Pinto, sdb

with Johnny after class. I wasaghast when I saw little children,young boys and girls, mothers andfathers, people from all walks oflife lying on beds with heads be-reft of hair. I thought it unfair thatanyone should suffer like this.When I started talking to them, Igot a completely new perspectiveon life. Instead of bitter peoplewho had lost so much, I found hu-man beings with hope – hope forthe future. People there wanted tolive; they had a purpose, a moti-vation and a drive. They didn’twant to give into their disease,they fought it valiantly.

A young mother, who had beendiagnosed with Stage-2 breastCancer told me: ‘I was a very an-gry woman when I was diagnosed.I questioned God, my family,friends, everyone. Then I came to aconclusion – I had two choices: Icould be crabby or face the situa-tion with courage. I chose the lat-ter. And today, I can say I’m grate-ful for all that has happened; forevery day and every moment I amalive. I have to live, at least for mykids. They’re my reason for living.’

Johnny and I continued ourregular visits. Day by day, I beganto rediscover the true meaning oflife. I had been ungrateful for somany things. I had taken my par-ents for granted. There were timeswhen I felt like everything wasover and all that was left was togive up. And, here, before my eyeswere people battling cancer, striv-ing to spend a little more timewith their loved ones. I began see-ing the world with a completelynew perspective.

Six months later, I got the shockof my life when Johnny was diag-nosed with Stage-3 leukemia. Themonths following his diagnosis

were terrifying. He was dying alittle each day, yet giving life, hopeand joy to everyone around him.One could always see him smiling,talking to everyone who visitedhim. He advised parents to be pa-tient with their young ones andspend as much time as they couldwith them, because life was tooshort to be wasted on spanking orscolding. He understood this bet-ter than anyone, having knownand felt the loss of his mum eachday.

Johnny passed away, threemonths later. He seemed blissfuland at total peace. Little Johnnyhad been reunited with hismother and he taught me that Ihad to be grateful for whatever Ihad and live each day as if it wasmy last. My life now got a wholenew meaning, when I addedmeaning to the lives of others.Johnny was gone, but his life-les-sons are still with me.

On the 14th of February, I visitedJohnny’s grave, right next to hismother’s. I laid down two bou-quets of red roses: one for the boywho had become an elder brotherand friend to me over the last yearand the other for his beloved“Mummy.”

I prayed just as Johnny had, ex-actly a year ago. Standing here, Iwas grateful for the gift of life andeven though I missed Johnny ter-ribly, I know he is at peace.Johnny’s voice echoes in my ears:‘Anne, worry less, smile often,make others around you smile, fillthe world with sunshine. Remem-ber true happiness is not found inthe greatest achievements but inthe smallest acts of kindness.’

Valentine’s Day last year taughtme about life, love, loss and anotherchance at living and loving.


ST. PETER DAMIANBISHOP, DOCTOR (AD 1072)

(FEBRUARY 21)

PROFILES

part of a sincere and genuinejourney of growth. Grace, pre-cisely because it builds on na-ture, does not make us superhu-man all at once. That kind ofthinking would show too muchconfidence in our own abili-ties… Unless we acknowledgeour concrete and limited situa-tion, we will not be able to seethe real and possible steps thatthe Lord demands of us at everymoment, once we are attractedand empowered by his gift” (GE50).

What is applicable to leadersis also very relevant to priestsand Church heads. Priests, whoare called to be pastors, andother Christian leaders, who aresupposed to be servant leaders,often turn into hard nuts! Theyappear, at times, unwilling tolisten to others while pushingtheir own agenda and even re-sorting to throwing tantrumswhen things don’t go their way.If the first case is sad, this is sad-der still. Not only have suchpeople soured the Church andmade it off-putting for thosewho frequently attend, theyhave also succeeded in ruiningthe desire of others who wouldlike to have come to Church!This kind of behaviour is typicalof another serious malady thatPope Francis alludes to, and thatis Gnosticism. Taking a clue fromits name, Gnosticism can be de-fined as the heresy of the head.An individual who attributesundue importance to knowledgeover and above experience andrevelation, can be called a Gnos-tic (cf. GE 39-42). Priests andother religious leaders are moresusceptible to fall into this trapbecause of the long years they

spend studying about faith andreligion. At the end of it all, theycould come out of it with an ‘I-know-it-all’ attitude. Such anattitude is not only detrimentalto themselves and their relation-ships with others but negativelyinfluences the Church too!

Nicodemus is presented in theGospel (Jn 3) as a sincere seekerof truth. Notwithstanding his el-evated social and religious posi-tion, he is humble enough to rec-ognize the veracity and power ofJesus’ message and make at-tempts to understand it. His dia-logue with Jesus elicits from theLord some of the most profoundtruths of our faith. For instance,Nicodemus spurs Jesus to utterthe words that are regarded asthe summary of the Bible and theChristian faith: “God so lovedthe world that he gave his onlySon that whoever believes in himmay not be lost, but may haveeternal life” (Jn 3:16).

Nicodemus teaches us thevalue of humility especiallywhen it comes to the spirituallife. We might be CEO’s, officers,entrepreneurs, accountants,teachers, clerks or any other po-sition of authority in our work-place but in the Church and be-fore God, we are all children. ForGod there is no high or low,smart or dumb, rich or poor; itdoesn’t matter much who we arein the outside world, we aren’tgoing to take all that wealth andglory anywhere, what matters iswho we are on the inside andthat is a child of God. The soonerwe realize this, the better. It ischildlike love and faith that Goddesires (Mt 18:3-4) and only agenuine seeker will be able tooffer it to Him.

St. Peter Damian was born atRavenna and was the young-

est of many children, and, losinghis father and mother veryyoung, he was left in the handsof a brother who was married, inwhose house he was treatedmore like a slave, or rather like abeast, than one so nearly related;and when he grew up, he wassent to keep swine. One day hecame to reveive a sum of moneywhich, instead of using for him-self he chose to bestow in almson a priest, desiring him to offerup his prayers for his father’ssoul. Another brother, who wasarchpriest of Ravenna, took pityon the neglected lad and under-took to have him educated. Hav-ing found a father in this brother,Peter appears to have adoptedhis name Damian for his sur-name, though he often styledhimself the Sinner out of humil-ity. Damian sent Peter to school,first at Faenza, afterwards atParma, where he had Ivo for hismaster. By the means of goodnatural talents and close appli-cation, it was not long before hefound himself able to teach oth-ers, which he did with great com-

petence, and was paid well forhis professorship. He had earlybegun to take to fasting, vigilsand prayer, and wore a hair shirtunder his clothes to arm himselfagainst the allurements of plea-sure and the artifices of the devil.At night, if any temptation ofconcupiscence arose, he got outof bed and plunged himself intothe cold river. After this he vis-ited churches, reciting the psalter


which he performed till thechurch office began. He not onlygave much away in alms, butwas seldom without some poorperson at his table, and he tookpleasure in serving such, orrather Jesus Christ in their per-sons, with his own hands. Butthinking all this to be removinghimself from the deadly poisonof sin only by halves, he resolvedentirely to leave the world andembrace a monastic life and dis-tance himself from his owncountry, for the sake of meetingwith the fewer obstacles to hisdesign.

While his mind was full ofthese thoughts, two religious ofthe order of St. Benedict, belong-ing to Font-Avellano, a commu-nity at the foot of the Apenninesin Umbria, happened to call athis place and being much edifiedat their disinterestedness, hetook a resolution to embracetheir institute soon after. Thishermitage had been founded byblessed Ludolf, about twentyyears before Peter came there,and was then in the most fa-mous. The hermits here lived inpairs together in separate cells,occupied chiefly in prayer andreading. They lived on bread andwater four days a week: on Tues-days and Thursdays they atepulse and herbs, which everyone prepared in his own cell. Ontheir fast days all their breadwas given them by weight. Theynever used any wine, (the com-mon drink of the country) exceptfor Mass or in sickness; they wentbarefoot, used disciplines, mademany genuflections, struck theirbreasts, stood with their armsstretched out in prayer, each ac-cording to his strength and de-

votion.He now devoted considerable

time to sacred studies and be-came as well versed in the HolyScriptures as he formerly hadbeen in profane literature.

His superior ordered him togive frequent conferences to thereligious and as he had acquireda very great character for virtueand learning, Guy, the abbot ofPomposia begged his superior tosend him to instruct his monas-tery, which consisted of a hun-dred monks. Peter stayed theretwo years, preaching with greatfruit, and was then called backby his abbot, and sent to performthe same function in the flour-ishing abbey of St. Vincent nearthe mountain called PietraPertusa, or the Hollow Rock. Hislove for poverty made him ab-hor and be ashamed to put on anew habit, or any clothes whichwere not threadbare and mostmean. His obedience was so per-fect, that the least word of anysuperior, or signal given, ac-cording to the rule of the house,for the performance of any duty,made him run that moment todischarge, with the utmost ex-actness, whatever was enjoined.Being recalled home sometimeafter, and commanded by hisabbot with the unanimous con-sent of the hermitage, to takeupon himself the government ofthe community after his death,Peter’s extreme reluctance onlyobliged his superior to makegreater use of his authority tillhe acquiesced. Wherefore, at hisdeath in 1041, Peter took uponhim the direction of that holycommunity which he governedwith the greatest reputation forwisdom and sanctity.

He also founded five otherhermitages in which he placedpriors under his own general di-rection. His chief care was to fos-ter in his disciples the spirit ofsolitude, charity and humility.

He was for twelve years muchemployed in the service of theChurch by many zealous bish-ops and by four popes succes-sively, namely Gregory VI,Clement II, Leo IX, and Victor II.Their successor, Stephen IX, in1057, prevailed with him to quithis community and made himcardinal bishop of Ostia. Butsuch was his reluctance to thedignity that nothing less thanthe pope’s threatening him withexcommunication, and his com-mands, in virtue of obedience,could induce Peter to submit. Hissuccessor, Alexander II, out ofaffection for the holy man wasprevailed upon with difficulty toconsent, but reserved the powerto employ him in church mattersof importance, as he might here-after have need of his help. Thesaint from that time consideredhimself dispensed not only fromthe responsibility of governinghis see, but from the supervisionof the various religious settle-ments he had controlled and re-duced himself to the condition ofa simple monk.In this retirementhe edified the church by his pen-ance and compunction andlaboured by his writings to en-force the observance of disci-pline and morality. His style wascopious and vehement and thestrictness of his maxims appearsin all his works, especially wherehe treats of the duties of clergy-men and monks. He severely re-buked the bishop of Florence forplaying a game of chess. That

prelate acknowledged hisamusement to be a faulty slothin a man of his character, andreceived the saint’s remonstra-tion with great mildness and sub-mitted to his injunction by wayof penance, namely to recitethree times the psalter, to washthe feet of twelve poor men, andto give to each a piece of money.

Whatever austerities he pre-scribed for others, he practisedhimself, remitting none of themeven in his old age. He used tomake wooden spoons and otherlittle useful things that his handsmight not be idle during the timehe was not at work or at prayer.When Henry, Archbishop ofRavenna, had been excommuni-cated for grievous enormities,Peter was sent by Alexander IIas legate to settle the troubles.Upon his arrival at Ravenna hefound that the prelate had justdied, but he brought the accom-plices of his crimes to a sense oftheir guilt and imposed on themsuitable penance. This wasDamian’s last undertaking forthe Church. As he was returningtowards Rome he was attackedby an acute fever in a monasteryoutside Faenza, and died on theeighth day of this illness, whilstthe monks were reciting Matinsround about him, on February22, 1072.

St. Peter Damian was one ofthe chief forerunners of theHildebrandine reform in theChurch. His preaching was mosteloquent and his writing volu-minous, and he was declared adoctor of the Church in 1828.

(Edited and adapted from: Butler’sLives of Saints, ed. MichaelWalsh.)


VOICES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

We read this way back in2017 when we were read-

ing the Old Testament and wehave not yet paused to go deeperinto a single page of the book ofSirach! I would say that the timehas come for us to attempt this.If you hear (or have heard) thispassage from chapter 15 on Feb-ruary 16, as the first reading; letus study it together.

First of all get this: it’s not ourfault! I mean it’s not our faultthat we haven’t read Sirach yet;it’s not an easy book to read andwe’ve always struggled to readit. It was written in Hebrewaround 180 BC by a man named“Jesus ben Sirach, the son ofEleazar of Jerusalem (we findthis quote – which is his signa-ture – in Sirach 40:27; the nameJoshua/Jesus was widespread atthe time). Some years later it wastranslated into Greek by one ofhis nephews. He immediatelyexerted a certain fascinationamong some readers but the Jew-

FREE TO CHOOSE THE GOODDon Carlo Broccardo

ish communities never consid-ered his writings “sacred,” or“inspired.” In other words, thebook never entered into the offi-cial canon of biblical books. Itwas preserved because we Chris-tians continued to read the Greektranslation but the Hebrew origi-nal was lost. In 1886 some ar-chaeological discoveries foundsome pieces but not the wholebook.

The book of Sirach belongs tothat group of Old Testamentbooks, called “sapiential” bookswhich contain reflections andteachings on many aspects oflife, from the most practicalthings (advice about not beingtoo naïve when making a con-tract) to deep truths of the faith(such as reflections on the mean-ing of life and death, God andevil).

The sapiential books – citing abeautiful definition by thebiblicist Luis Alonso Schockel(1920-1998) – is “an offer of sig-

nificance”; in our case, this wiseman of the 2nd century BCthought of putting into a book –Sirach – all the reflections that hehad throughout his life fromwhere those who want to candraw on its wisdom to live bet-ter lives. It is not obligatory, it isjust a proposal.

We can also understand thestyle of today’s reading: “If youwant to, you can keep the Lord’scommands;” he does not say ‘youmust keep the Lord’s commands,they are obligatory!’ There are nothreats: if you don’t, who knowswhat will happen to you! No onewill do anything to you if youdon’t observe them but knowthis, if you learn them and putthem into practice they will pro-tect you; that is, live with faithand you will live better lives.“He has placed fire and waterbefore you; reach out and takewhichever you want;” if youstretch out your hand over thefire you will burn yourself; if youstretch out your hand towardsthe water, you may draw it upand drink and so quench yourthirst, it is a free choice. No oneis forced to do good but if wechoose it, it will, first of all, begood for us.

The rationale is simple andstraightforward: since God seeseverything, he knows the work ofmen and knows just what weneed. Trusting his word is like lis-tening to the suggestions of anexpert guide: surely they willtake us to our destination by thebest way. Because, just like thelast words of our passage state,not every path is good, and notevery behaviour is like water toquench your thirst. “God hasnever commanded anyone to be

wicked or given anyone permis-sion to commit sin,” the fact thatGod leaves you free to choosedoes not mean that everything isequally good, as if he has givenyou permission to sin withoutbatting an eyelid – so you haveto decide. You have to decidewhat you want to do, not whatis good.

It might seem a bit too simplis-tic as an argument, and indeedit is. In fact, very often in life it isnot very clear whether the wordwe’d like to say or that actionwe’d like to do is good or bad, isit water or fire? Sometimes wehave to try and if we realize thatwe’ve been mistaken we shouldfix it. At other times, maybe weunderstand what is good, but wecannot do it because maybe weare conditioned or we are weakand give in to the temptation.

It is true: this passage fromSirach does not give us all thenuances of reality but it shows ustwo tracks we may follow, twoclear directions that will lead usto a better life. The first is thatour good and that of others arealso in our hands; of course, thereare many things in life that do notdepend on us, but there are alsoseveral things that do depend onthe choices we make day afterday. We can make this world abetter place by making the rightchoices!

The second line of thought isthat faith is a proposal, no oneforces us to believe; it makes nosense to force (or to threaten)someone to announce the gospel.But if everyone sees that wefreely chose to listen and live thegospel, we’d be betterpeople…surely that would bequite something.

This passage of Sirach (15:16-21) tells us of this binary that helps usto live better lives: First: our wellbeing and that of the others

is in our hands; Second: faith is a proposal


DO NOT DELAY CONVERSIONDO NOT DELAY CONVERSIONDO NOT DELAY CONVERSIONDO NOT DELAY CONVERSIONDO NOT DELAY CONVERSIONPope Francis at Mass at Domus Sanctae Marthae on Thursday, February 23, 2017

Pope Francis’ reflection at Santa Marta on Thursday morningfocused on the “sin” of those who profess to be Christians and then

show their true colours by living a life that is not at all Christian, andthe counter-testimony of those who “exploit” and “destroy” the livesof others while pretending to be good Catholics. Commenting on theharsh words used by Jesus in the Gospel, he called on those living a“double life” to convert.

The Pontiff’s homily was inspired by Psalm 1, which reads: “Blessedis the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands inthe way of sinners, (...) and on his law he meditates day and night.”The Bible, Pope Francis explained, was referring to men who find their“strength” in the Lord, and “who feel little, who know that withoutthe Lord they can do nothing”. This man is “blessed by the Lord,” thePope said.

Further on, Pope Francis continued, the Psalm also suggests the “con-trast between those who follow the Lord’s law and those who are ar-rogant, evil.” This same contrast can be found in the day’s Gospel (Mark9:41-50), he explained. In that passage too, “there are good people andbad people.” One can perceive behind Jesus’ words “the image of thesejust people who feel they are little but whose trust is in the Lord,”Francis said. He pointed out that the word “sin” comes up four timesin the passage and that the Lord is “very harsh” in using it. “Whoevercauses one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would bebetter for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and hewere thrown into the sea,” Jesus says. In fact, the Pontiff explained, forthe Lord, sin is the same as destruction, thus Jesus advises that it isbetter to destroy yourself than to destroy others. “Cut off your hand,cut off your feet, pluck out your eye, throw yourself into the sea,” Francissaid, but do not cause the “little ones, that is, the just ones, those whotrust in the Lord, who simply believe in the Lord,” to sin.

At this point, the Holy Father asked: “what is Sin?” The answer, hecontinued, affects every person’s actual life: “sin is saying one thingand doing another; it is a double life.” He then offered an example, “Iam very Catholic, I always go to Mass, I belong to this association andanother; but my life is not Christian, I do not pay my employees fairly,I take advantage of people, I play dirty in business, I launder money.”This is a “double life”, he stressed, adding that unfortunately there are“many Catholics who are like this and they cause sin.”

These are clear words which bring each of us to reflect back on ourdaily lives. “How many times have we heard, in our neighbourhoodor elsewhere: ‘better to be an atheist than to be a Catholic like him’;this is sin” which “destroys”, which “wears us down,” Pope Francis

said. “This happens every day: just watch the television news or readthe newspapers. There are many scandals in newspapers, and there isalso great publicity of scandals. And scandals destroy.”

Continuing his explanation, the Pontiff spoke about a recent factregarding “an important company” that was “on the verge of bank-ruptcy.” Since the authorities “wanted to avoid a strike which wasjustified but which would have resolved nothing,” they tried to get intouch with the company’s director. But where was this person whilethe “company was failing” and people “were not receiving wages fortheir work?” This manager, who said he was “a very Catholic man,”was “on a beach in the Middle East having a “winter holiday.” Thisfact “never made it to the papers”, but “people found out,” he ex-plained. These “are the sins, the double lives” and Jesus asks thosewho behave like this not to destroy the little ones who believe in him,with their double lives, he said.

Paraphrasing another passage of the Gospel, the Pontiff imaginedthe moment in which the sinner knocks on Heaven’s door: “It is I, Lord!”— “Don’t you remember? I used to go to Church, I was close to you, Ibelonged to this and that association, I did this ... do you not recall allmy offerings? ‘Yes I remember. The offerings I remember: all of themdirty. You steal them all from the poor. I do not know you.’”

The Holy Father explained that the problem begins from an attitudewhich is well described in today’s first reading (Sirach 5:1-8): “Do notset your heart on your wealth, nor say ‘I have enough.’ Do not followyour inclination and strength, walking according to the desires of yourheart.” Thus, he continued, a double life “comes from following yourheart’s desires, the capital sins which are the wounds of the originalsin.” Those who create scandal follow these desires even if they con-ceal them. Scripture admonishes those who, even while recognizingtheir errors, nevertheless rely on the fact that “the Lord is patient, hewill forget...” Indeed, Scripture cautions us: “do not delay” conver-sion.

The Pontiff echoed this invitation to every Christian. “It will be goodfor each one of us to think about whether there is a double life withinus: to appear just, to appear as good believers, good Catholics, but toreally be doing something else,” he said. It is a case of trying to under-stand if our behaviour is that of someone who says, the “Lord willforgive me everything, but I will continue...”, and despite being awareof his mistakes, repeats: “Yes, this is no good. I will convert, but nottoday. No: tomorrow.” Pope Francis ended by calling for self exami-nation in order to experience conversion in our hearts, beginning byacknowledging that “sin destroys.”


THE KING’S CROWNTHE KING’S CROWNTHE KING’S CROWNTHE KING’S CROWNTHE KING’S CROWNBy Pierluigi Menato, Tr. Ian Doulton sdb

As soon as the guards realizedthat Colin O’Donnell had es-

caped from prison, the prosecu-tor ordered that the house of thejudge who had sentenced him bepatrolled night and day by thepolice.

***“Good evening, judge!”Despite the prosecutor’s

promptness, Colin had reachedthere before anyone. It was reallyby a whisker in spite of the po-lice arriving on two speedingbikes. Now he faced the judge,gun in hand.

“Say your prayers, your timehas come!”

Outside, the police hadmounted guard and they couldsee only a light coming from thejudge’s large study. But what

they did not know was that in-side a terrible dialogue had be-gun:

“Judge, I told him that youwould pay for my sentence withyour life.”

“Colin O’Donnell, I passed sen-tence according to my con-science!”

“That’s not true I was and aminnocent... She knew it. I neverkilled anyone, your honour. I amColin, called the “King” of theport: I stole, I cheated, sure…butwhen that policeman was founddead on the pier, I was in bedwith a fever!” Then with a smirkhe went on: “Colin, the ‘King’would never have done some-thing so stupid.”

“Colin, death is not somethingstupid!”

Colin didn’t even understand

the judge’s last sentence. Hismind was far, far away…

“I have saved up quite afortune...I promised myself thatI would buy a peerage…. I wouldhave really been a “king”! Every-one would have turned theirheads and pointed at me saying:“That’s Colin, the “king” whohas the title of count or baron ormarquis… But instead your sen-tence judge, has destroyed mydreams…my life.”

Colin had finished. His tensionsnapped, it seemed to vanish andhe was suddenly confused: in aflash, he slipped off the safetycatch and fired.

The police outside heard theshot and rushed in. They saw ashadow jump out of the window;they dashed there and fired des-perately.

Then all was quiet again: therewas a death in that house.

***“Go and see who it is, Brother

Lucian,” said the Prior, the soundof the bell still echoed in the air.Brother Lucian left his hoe in thecentre of the flowerbed andmoved as fast as his 110 kiloscould carry him.

When he reached the door helooked through the peephole butsaw no one. That must have beenthe usual joke played by the ras-cals in the neighbourhood butthen on second thought, he care-fully opened the door and saw aman lying on the ground.

Brother Lucian shook him gen-tly by the shoulder, turned himover and then decided to hoisthim on his broad shoulders andtake him into the priory.

As he reached the Prior whowas waiting for him, he said:“He was just outside the door, onthe ground…seems to be dead.”

“Don’t jump to conclusions,Lucian...he must just hurt...buthe’s still alive.”

“Follow me quickly.”He placed him on the little cot

hoping he would regain con-sciousness eventually. The Priorwashed his wounds and care-fully disinfected them, but hestill continued to bleed.

“Call the doctor, BrotherLucian. Go quickly…”

Colin had been hit. He hadwandered around all night alongthe narrow streets by the harbourand then he made his way up thehills behind the village in a des-perate attempt to get away. Be-fore the town could wake up atdawn he came to the little prioryand knocked on the door: now hewas confined to thisbed…delirious with fever thatdanced inside his head, torment-ing him.

“I’ll kill you, judge, I’ll getyou!” He muttered in his de-lirium.

The Prior was startled. Colinhad spoken and only words ofdeath.

“Shh! Don’t upset yourself…!”he murmured, lost.

“I’m the “king” I want thecrown!”

Brother Lucian was on his wayback and he stopped on thethreshold, struggling with a feel-ing of surprise. What kingdomwas he talking about, that poorunfortunate man?

“I’ll kill all the others, judge


after I’m done with you!”“Father Prior...” Brother

Lucian’s eyes grew large, and thistime he was even afraid.

“Yes, Brother Lucian: have youcalled the doctor?”

“Certainly, but wouldn’t thisbe a case for the police?”

“Our Lord prayed for sinners.”“But he is more than a sinner!”“Our Lord died even for him,

Brother Lucian!”The Prior resumed cleaning

Colin who was moaning on thebed; attending to his wounds,disinfecting them and trying tostop the bleeding. More than thatwhat could the poor friar do? Atother times death came to thepriory placidly almost very se-renely. This time instead, it cameviolently and almost shrouded inhatred and the blood kept ooz-ing out red and hot…

“Let me handle this FatherPrior,” said Brother Lucian. Andhe started cleaning the woundswith fresh gauze andwater…then as if he had done

nothing else all his life, he ban-daged the flesh quite skillfullyand the bleeding finally stopped.

Colin had not yet regained con-sciousness. The blood that he hadlost during his escape hadthrown him into a state of vio-lent delirium. But memories ofthe past, his escape, the murderof the judge were all a muddle inhis mind with the force of a night-mare. Colin was now afraid.

“Enough!” he shouted with hiseyes shut and his large hands try-ing desperately to grasp the spec-tre that was haunting him andtearing it to pieces. His face wastwisted in a painful grimace.Looking at him, Brother Luciancould only make the sign of thecross.

“Brother Lucian, pray forhim”, said the Prior.

Brother Lucian crouched in acorner and began to pray theRosary, taking the olive-woodbeads from deep within his habitpocket. Never did prayer rise toHeaven with more fervent ac-cents than his and all the while

Colin only grew worse.Colin dreamed of being a king.

He dreamed of greatness andglory and honour: he dreamedlike a simple hungry soul dreams,the soul of a poor humble manwho peeps through an open doorat a great banquet. Delirium cando such strange things; so muchso that Colin lived in this kind ofdream world that had been thegreatest illusion of his life.

That was what made Colinsmile.

“Thank you Lord, that he’s nolonger swearing,” muttered thePrior has he looked at the youngmonk with eyes glistening withemotion. The childlike devotionof the monk was so tender!

“Behold the King!” interruptedColin. The delirium returned forthe last time.

“Make way for Colin, the‘King!’ Give him the chest of dia-monds and gems, the red velvetcloak and the crown, the goldcrown, a crown fit and grandenough for Colin…”

“Brother.... and where did Ikeep my crown?” Brother Lucianwas upset once more and didn’tknow what to do.

Then as if as an afterthoughtthe fugitive said feebly: “Therewill be no need, Brother... Thispoor king still has need of yourprayers more than the crown…”

Thus the prayers of the humblefriar and the yearnings of ColinO’Donnell rose from that poorcell to heaven; perhaps both werevery gladly accepted by the Lord.

“Lord, have mercy on us...”“Oh, my golden crown! Where

is my golden crown?”

Brother Lucian tried to comfortColin: “Forgive us O Lord for ourshortcomings... Father Prior saysthat most of the time we committhem without knowing what wedo…”

Just then the doctor arrived: intime to grab Colin under his arm-pits and holding up his head.Then he laid him gently on thecot and closed his eyelids.

“I’ve reached here verylate...he’s dead.”

It was 3 pm on Good Friday:the same day and the same hourwhen the “King of Heaven andEarth” Our Lord Jesus Christdied on the cross.

At the door the doctor met thepolice hot on the trail of the fu-gitive.

“Go in.”And they entered.“We’re looking for a fugitive,

an assassin...” they said to thePrior.

“He rests in peace.”The police didn’t hear the last

words; they dashed forward withtheir pistols drawn. In the cellBrother Lucian was disturbed bythis commotion. He looked up atthe officers.

“Put those arms away!”“That man is dangerous!”“That man is dead!”They entered the cell with

heads bowed and their weaponsin their holsters.

Colin O’Donnell was waitingfor them. He had a crown alrightbut not on his head but wovenbetween his fingers: it was theolive-wood Rosary of BrotherLucian.


by Michele Molineris

FIORETTIFIORETTIFIORETTIFIORETTIFIORETTIOF DON BOSCOOF DON BOSCOOF DON BOSCOOF DON BOSCOOF DON BOSCO

1313131313

42. Lottery Numbers (1850) (Continued)

A pastor from Turin, FatherDominic Muriana, of the Churchof Saint Teresa and former pupilof the Oratory, also went to seekadvice from Don Bosco. He hadfound himself in great financialtrouble because of the debts lefthim by his predecessor. He hadgone to see the saint immediatelyupon being assigned to the parish,to ask him what he ought to do inorder to conduct his ministryproperly. He had been given thethreefold advice the Saint usuallygave in similar instances: takecare of the children, the sick, andthe older people. At this time thesaint asked him whether he haddone as he had advised. FatherMuriana said yes, and added thathe was very pleased, for he sawhow fond the population was ofhim.

“As to the debts, there is a veryeasy solution,” Don Bosco said.“And what can that be?” “Play thelottery.” “But shall I win?” “Mostcertainly you will win.” “If that isso, complete your advice and tellme what numbers to…play.”

“Look, I will give you three num-bers, but listen to me and under-stand Faith, Hope and Charity.But do not act the way someonedoes who, after getting these threewords out of me, goes to a fortuneteller to find out the relative num-bers.”

“Did the numbers come up?”“Not even one! You play these

three virtues properly and youwill pay off all your debts.”

* * *A Salesian remembers having

heard several times from FatherGiuseppe Bruschi (who died in LaSpezia on June 2, 1901) anotherversion of the previous episode.Father Bruschi claimed that hedid not invent anything and heardit directly from the lips of DonBosco.

One day a distraught and hun-gry cobbler came to Don Bosco,begging him, in his charity, to givehim three good numbers to playthe lottery. At first Don Bosco be-came defensive and gave himsome alms; then, attempting toput in a good word said to him:“Well, play these three numbers:faith, hope, charity.

Very happy, the cobbler ran tothe nearest lottery booth and con-sulted the lists for the three corre-sponding numbers. But the nightbefore he had had a dream whichcreated such a deep impression onhim that he seemed to be moreconvinced about what Don Boscohad said. “How should I do this?”he thought. “I’ll play the firstnumber that I saw in the dream,because that must be flawlessthen the last two of the three thatDon Bosco gave me.” And so hedid.

At the following draw: it wasand it was not; the numbers thatwere suggested to him by DonBosco came out first...and none ofthe others. Desperately the poorcobbler came back to Don Boscoand told him what had happenedand begged him to give him threemore numbers to give him a littleluck, promising that he wouldnever change them.

Don Bosco couldn’t help laugh-ing and with his usual goodhumour and before he sent him onhis way said: “My friend, hold onto the faith, otherwise you willlose everything else forever. (B.S.,Nov. 1918, 219).

* * *The Chevalier Gorla, a Salesian

alumnus, one day some time ago,while reading the newspaperlearned that the priest FatherBartholomew Fascie, the Council-lor General of Studies of theSalesian Society, on January 31,1937 after preaching of the gloriesof Don Bosco with great unctionand profundity, on his feast dayin the Basilica of Mary Help ofChristians in Turin, descendedfrom the pulpit showing signs ofunusual discomfort. It was 11o’clock. He died around 2 pm.

It was such sad news concern-ing the affectionate alumnus, re-flecting on the peculiarity of hisdeath. The idea materialized, al-though strange, that he had com-plied with the playing of threenumbers provided by that pain-ful circumstance: 11 – 14 – 31.

The following Sunday ChevalierGorla, while listening to the radiodistractedly, heard the announce-ment of the lottery draw: one af-ter the other, the three numbersmentioned above. His throat wentdry!

To the pleasant surprise of theChevalier, (concerning this singu-lar and significant incident), thealumnus seemed to feel very closeto the beautiful soul of FatherFascie, for whom he had a Masscelebrated. At the same time hehad two Salesian niches con-structed in his garden: one withthe statue of Mary Help of Chris-

tians and the other that of DonBosco.

We wanted to recall the curiousorigin of these two niches due tothe fact that they now have be-come a place of pious pilgrimagefor the people around on their re-spective feast days. Of particularsignificance is the feast of MaryHelp of Christians. On that day, aSalesian celebrates Mass beforethe niche of the Virgin Mary be-fore crowds of devotees who par-ticipate in the celebration invad-ing and overrunning the wholegarden. But for the heavenly Ma-donna that is alright! Andthroughout that day the house ofthe Chevalier becomes everyone’shome because the goings and thecomings of people lasts until latein the evening as they come andgo after praying to the Madonnaof Don Bosco who was placed inthe niche and who had obtainedfrom the Lord some special gracesfor them.

Thus devotion to Mary Help ofChristians and Don Bosco came toCassano Magnago through theintervention of an alumnus (StJohn Bosco in the memory of the PastPupils, 298) who won the lottery,we might add.

43. Like mountian pipes (1852)In 1852 all Turin began to flock

to Piazza Castello to watch theshows conducted by a well-knownand elegantly dressed charlatan.Through his revelations and pre-dictions he had acquired a greatfollowing. One day, after severaldemonstrations he had receivedtremendous applause, he had aclairvoyant take sealed lettersand read them aloud. At this pointDon Bosco pushed his waythrough the crowd.


SALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTS

EUSEBIAPALOMINO

YEÑES1899 - 19351899 - 19351899 - 19351899 - 19351899 - 1935

Daughter of MaryDaughter of MaryDaughter of MaryDaughter of MaryDaughter of MaryHelp of Christians,Help of Christians,Help of Christians,Help of Christians,Help of Christians,

BlessedBlessedBlessedBlessedBlessed

Eusebia Palomino Yeñes wasborn on December 15, 1899,

literally the twilight of the nine-teenth century in Cantalpino, asmall town in the province ofSalamanca (Spain) into a familyas rich in faith as it was scarce inmeans. Papà Augustìn, a hugelykind and gentle man worked asa seasonal labourer in the serviceof the landowners in the areawhile Eusebia’s mother JuanaYeñes took care of the house withher four children.

At the age of twelve she wentto Salamanca with her elder sis-ter and was employed at thehomes some families as a nannyand a house-help. On Sunday af-ternoons she frequented the fes-tive oratory of the Daughters ofMary Help of Christians. Theydecided to employ her in thecommunity. Eusebia more thanwillingly (and immediately) ac-cepted and set to work: helpingin the kitchen, carrying wood,cleaning the house, doing thelaundry in the large courtyard.She accompanied the students tothe state school and ran othererrands in the city.

Eusebia’s secret desire was to

consecrate herself entirely to theLord. The visiting superior, towhom she confided her desire,welcomed her with motherlykindness and reassured her:“Don’t worry about anything,”and willingly, on behalf of MotherGeneral, she decided to admit her.

On August 5, 1922 she beganher novitiate in preparation forher profession and in 1924 shepronounced her religious vows.She was assigned to the house ofValverde del Camino, a town ofaround 9000 inhabitants in theextreme south-west of Spain, inthe mining district of Andalusiaclose to the border with Portugal.The young girls at the school andthe oratory, when they first mether, did not hide their disap-pointment: the newcomer lookedrather insignificant, small andpale, not in the least bit beauti-ful, with large hands and an un-seemly name. The following

“There’s a priest who wants totalk to you,” someone yelled to theman. “Please come forward Fa-ther,” he replied. Don Boscostepped forward into the openspace in front of the clairvoyantwho was seated and blindfolded.Don Bosco took out a sealed letterreceived that very day from Arch-bishop Fransoni. “What may I dofor you, Father?” asked the char-latan. “I would like the clairvoy-ant to read this sealed letter,” DonBosco replied. “That’s easy,” theman remarked. Then he turned tothe woman and imperiously toldher: “Read it!”

The woman hesitated as ifthings were not going accordingto plan. The inflection of the voicecommanding her had not givenher any clue as to what she shouldanswer. Forced to say something,she exclaimed: “I see it! I see it all!”“What do you see?” the manasked. “I cannot say.” “Whynot?” “Because the contents can-not be revealed.” “Why not?”“The letter is sealed.” “That ex-plains it,” said the man to thecrowd. Then, turning to DonBosco he added: “She is right;sealed letters are inviolable!” “Ifthat’s the case, there’s an easy so-lution,” replied Don Bosco. So say-ing, he broke the seal.

“Excellent; now the letter maybe read,” the charlatan said to thewoman. “I still can’t read it,” shereplied. “Why not?” The clairvoy-ant, now obviously annoyed, an-swered: “Because…because asI’ve already told you, I can’t op-erate with priests around.” Thenshe uttered a terrible blasphemy.On observing this fiasco, thecrowd broke into derisive laugh-ter and quickly dispersed, mak-ing caustic comments. (EBM IV,

p. 504-505)

44. A sorcerer unmasked (1852)Another swindler named Dr.

Giurio opened a studio in ViaSanta Teresa that featured aclairvoyant called Brancini. Thedoctor claimed that by simplyexamining these objects in con-sultation with his clairvoyant, hecould diagnose the patient’s sick-ness. The lamentable moral andspiritual consequences that hadresulted from similar setups inother places clearly indicatedthat these consultationssmacked of diabolical interven-tion.

Don Bosco after watching sev-eral demonstrations asked thedoctor to put him in communi-cation with the clairvoyant. Thedoctor agreed to do so with greatself-assurance.

Don Bosco began to ask ques-tions and then took out a lock ofhair he had been given and askedthe woman to diagnose the illnessof the person to whom it belonged.“Poor boy! How greatly he mustbe suffering,” the woman mur-mured. Don Bosco interruptedher, saying: “This hair doesn’t be-long to a boy. Can you tell mewhere this person lives?” “Yes,yes. I see that person in Via dellaZecca.” “Wrong,” commentedDon Bosco. “That person is notthere,” exclaimed Don Bosco.“Now, tell me what this person’sillness is.” “Epilepsy.” “Wrong!”

At this point the woman be-came angry and uttered such anobscene and insulting word thateveryone present was shockedand immediately left. Obviously,it was either a fraud, or else thedevil was afraid of good priests.(EBM IV, p. 506)


MARY AT CANA: “THEY HAVE NO WINE”MARY AT CANA: “THEY HAVE NO WINE”MARY AT CANA: “THEY HAVE NO WINE”MARY AT CANA: “THEY HAVE NO WINE”MARY AT CANA: “THEY HAVE NO WINE”by Don Giorgio Chatrian

morning the little nun was at herworkplace: a multi-faceted jobengaged her in the kitchen, at theporter’s desk, in the laundry,tending the small vegetable gar-den and assisting the small girlsin the festive oratory. The littleones were soon captivated by herability to tell missionary stories,narrate the lives of saints orMarian episodes or anecdotesfrom the life of Don Bosco.

Everything in Sister Eusebiareflected the love of God and herstrong desire to make him loved:her busy days were alwaysflavoured with her favouritethemes and her conversationsconfirm this: first of all the loveof Jesus for everyone demon-strated through his passion whichhas saved us all.

The other ‘pole’ of Sister Euse-bia’s devotion consisted of the“True Devotion to Mary” taughtby the famous Frenchman LouisM. Grignon de Montfort. Thiswould be the soul and the weaponof Sister Eusebia’s ministrythroughout her brief life. The ben-eficiaries were girls, youngsters,mothers of families, seminariansand priests.

In the early 1930’s when Spainfelt the convulsions of the revo-lution caused by the rage of thedestruction of religion, SisterEusebia did not hesitate to bringto bear the extreme conse-quences of that principle of her“availability,” literally beingready to be stripped of every-thing. She offered herself to theLord as a victim for the salvationof Spain, for the freedom of reli-gion. Her sacrifice was acceptedby God. In August 1932 sheshowed the first signs of a sud-den illness. Then the asthma,

which at various times had dis-turbed her, now began to tor-ment her to levels of intoleranceand these were aggravated byvarious other insidious substi-tutes.

At this time visions of bloodgrieved Sister Eusebia evenmore than her inexplicable sick-nesses. On October 4, 1934 whilesome sisters were praying withher in her room of sacrifice shestopped and said: “Pray a lot forCatalonia.” It was the beginningof the workers’ uprising inAsturia and Catalonia andBarcelona (October 4-15, 1934)which were in their early stages.The vision of blood was concern-ing her beloved superior SisterCarmen Moreno Berutez whowould be shot with another sis-ter on September 6, 1936. Hermartyrdom would be recognizedand she would be declaredblessed in 2001.

Meanwhile Sister Eusebia wasgetting worse: her doctor admit-ted that he did not know how todefine her disease; asthma to-gether with a shrinking of herlimbs. Those who visited her weremorally strengthened by the radi-ance of the sanctity that emanatedfrom those aching limbs and thetenderness of her emotions whichwere absolutely exemplary. Tothose sisters who assisted her shepromised: “I’ll be back to strollwith you.”

In the night between 9 and 10February 1935 Sister Eusebiaseemed to sleep peacefully. Thefollowing day her frail remainswas draped with flowers and vis-ited by the whole population ofValverde. All who came out ofher room had the same commentto make: “A saint has died.”

During the wedding celebration at Cana, Mary noticed

that the wine was running out andshe said to Jesus: “They have nomore wine” (Jn 2, 3). She went onto tell the servants: “Do whateverhe tells you” (Jn 2, 5).

How many miss out on the feastof life...without the reassuringwine, without the Eucharist…that strengthens them for theirdaily struggles...

Without realizing it we simply“do what (he) tells us” but we’renot listening to Jesus. Our subtlebut very effective teachers havebecome the TV, singers and an-chors, trendsetters, popular opin-ion or advertising.

“Be it done to me according toyour will!”

I remember that day when I wasinvited to the wedding and I wentto the celebrations with Jesus andhis disciples, I was so happy. Theywere dear friends and the celebra-tions were going really well. At acertain point I noticed some com-motion among the servants. It isindeed a great gift that you, O Fa-ther, gave us women: a glance isenough and we immediately

grasp the core of the problem. Weknow how to read non-verbal ges-tures or simple silences and almostalways, we have a solutionreadily on hand.

What happened at Cana? Thewine ran out! A wedding celebra-tion without wine, unthinkable!

And so, having approached mySon I immediately warned him ofthe scenario that was unfoldingand almost ordered him to use hispower. Jesus’ reply didn’t hurt me,as a woman and a mother my eyesopened and I thank you, O Fatherfor that. With that request, I real-ized that I wanted to be at thehelm of affairs to feel like the pro-tagonist.

But this is earthly reasoning:using a miracle in our favour;wanting to bend Jesus’ will whichis basically yours, to ours... Jesusmade me understand the impor-tance He placed the things of yourKingdom and doing your will, Fa-ther or it would benefit no one.

In short, I had forgotten whatJesus had told Joseph and mewhen, after a long and anguishedsearch, we found our twelve-year-old Jesus in discussion with thedoctors in the Temple: he was sent


NEWSBITSto take care of your affairs Father,and so he behaved accordingly.

Perhaps those long years ofdaily life made up of work, fam-ily, prayer and friends in Nazarethgave me the impression that I hadJesus at my disposal.

At Cana I realized that this wasnot the case. Jesus is your Son,ready to follow your will, to be asign of your Fatherly love which,thanks to him, floods the worldwith the coming and the buildingup of your Kingdom.

Amazingly I realized that eventhough I suggested that the ser-vants do what He would tell them– from my point of view I wantedit to be His will not mine. So themiracle took place and the feastwas even more grand much to thesurprise of the guests who did notexpect the best wine at the end ofthe banquet! It had to be that way.

That strong and sparkling winewas Christ, your Son, who rein-vigorated the water of the OldCovenant with the freshness andrichness of the New Covenant. Or,as he would say later, he replacedthe old wine with new wine,much more appreciated becauseit gave new life to the people.

Then let’s throw away the oldbottles and barrels! In short, onlyChrist can satisfy the thirst thatburns the throats of those, espe-cially young people, seekingmeaning in life and he alwayspours wine on the wounds ofthose who bruise themselves inthis quest. It is he who transformsprojects watered down by con-formism or illusion trying to do ittheir way with their own insipidwine of hope.

O Father, only in the last dra-matic week of His life did I fullyunderstand what had happened

in Cana; when Jesus, on thatevening opened his heart to thetwelve before that final drama,taking some wine and saying thatthat was his Blood, my heart sank.His hour was near, the hour whenhe would offer himself by yourwill for all the victims to save theworld. And within a few hours Itoo was crucified with him at thefoot of the cross on which he wasnailed... And while He shed hisblood giving His life out of love, Ijoined in that sacrifice to becomeJohn’s mother and in him, Motherof all believers.

On Calvary seriously and with-out any hesitation or calculation Idid your will O Father, with yourSon and I also shouted with himon the Cross when he experiencedthat heartbreaking sensation ofbeing abandoned by you. Andhere (at Cana) his glory was mani-fested which would then reach itsfulness in the resurrection.

O Father, I pray that everyonemay themselves find – in the wordsof the centurion – at the end of thatcrude but never desperate spectacleof the crucifixion – that indeed Hewas just and truly the Son of God!

One of the first manifestationsof that final and definitive glorywas already seen at Cana and truefaith in Him was consolidated inme and also in the disciples. To-gether we experienced “the powerto become children of God” (Jn1:12) and me, actually, to be theMother of Jesus, your Son.

Accept, O Father, my sincerethanks: it is the thanks of all thepoor who say: “Let your will bedone” and then… they do it!

With your help they will neverbe discouraged because the musicof hope will accompany them alltheir days.

ITALYO.R.I, the non-profit association,

Ospitalità Religiosa Italiana is anassociation that provides over-night accommodations in con-vents, monasteries, sanctuaries,parish houses, hotels, camp-grounds, and hostels (among oth-ers) made available by ReligiousInstitutes in Italy, and every year,5.6 million tourists (of which 3.3million are foreigners) make theunlikely choice to stay in one ofthese religious structures “for aholiday characterized by a spiri-tual experience”.

There are 3,500 accommoda-tions available for guests to choosefrom, including convents, hermit-ages, monasteries, alpine houses,bed and breakfasts, apartments,hotels, and hostels. Across thecountry, that’s a total of 232,000beds in locations that vary fromthe high mountain ranges of theAlps to the most sought-afterrivieras; from art-filled cities tobreathtaking landscapes im-mersed in nature. Each of theselocations are managed by par-ishes, dioceses and congregations,or some religious figure of thecommunity, and “entrusted to thelaity”.

These spiritual hotels empha-size “family hospitality” and that“they’re places where one can iso-late themselves in a ‘spiritualdesert’ and relax”. “There is noobligation to participate in com-munity life,” assures Rocchi, butonly “the invitation to discover anenvironment that is not limited tohanding over the keys”.

Elsewhere, in Cogoleto (Genoa)in a typical Ligurian village be-

tween Arenzano and Varazze, wearrive at Villa Divin Redentore,which is located on a hillside in theBeigua Park, near the sea, with anextraordinary view and a “relax-ing atmosphere”. Immersed in alush garden of olive trees, palms,and roses, it is “an ideal place forfamilies, especially grandparentswith grandchildren, and couplesof all ages,” stresses Sister Sara.She adds that the guests enjoy at-tending Mass in the morning, andthe presence of priests with whomthey can talk to on vacation. “Thepriests that stay here often holdtheir own sermons during the day,usually before dinner,” she says.

And for those who can’t affordit, ORI offers free stays: The initia-tive is called “Merciful Hospital-ity”. The idea was born three yearsago on the occasion of the Extraor-dinary Jubilee of Mercy and wasmuch appreciated by PopeFrancis.


IN A CHEERFUL MOODHorticultural CharityA rather stupid young fellow sawa sign which read: “Ring the bellfor the gardener.” He walked upand pulled the cord. A red facedman soon appeared and inquiredwhat he wanted. “Are you thegardener?” asked the youngman. “Yes, what do you want?”“I saw the sign there, so I rangthe bell and now I’d like to knowwhy you can’t ring the bellyourself?”

Hair-raising GuaranteeClient: “Do you give a guaranteewith this hair-restorer?Barber: “Guarantee, sir? Why,we give a comb free with everybottle.”

Tools of the TradeThe family and their guest hadjust steated themselves at table.“Susie?” said the mother, “Whydidn’t you put a knife and forkat Mr. McKlunk’s place?”“He didn’t need any, mother,”replied Susie. “You said he eatslike a horse.”

Air of ConfidencePilot: (after landing in a tree)“Sorry, but I was trying to makea new air record.”Farmhand: “Well, you certainlydid; you’re the first person toclimb down that tree withoutclimbing up it.”

Celestial TherapyA pianist who was undergoingan operation asked the doctor ifhe would be able to play thepiano when he recovered.Doctor: I won’t guarantee that.

Pianist: Why?Doctor: Because the last fellowthat underwent this operationwas playing the harp twenty-four hours later.

Verbal CommunicationFirst Student: “Our Economicsprofessor talks to himself. Doesyours?Second Student: “Yes, but hedoesn’t know it. He thinks we’relistening.”

Fatal CuisineA tourist entered a restaurant inChina, and ordered a dinner. Hewas served a large plate of stew,which he enjoyed immensely.When paying the bill, he jokinglyreferred to the stew.“I hope you didn’t kill a dog tomake it,” he said laughingly. TheChinaman looked horrified. “Oh!No sir, we no killee dog,” he said.“We find him dead!”

Cold FactsTeacher: “Name a liquid thatdoes not freeze.”Jack: “Hot water, sir!”

The Spirit of LifeTwo soldiers were carrying astretcher with a wounded manon it.Bill: “I say, Joe, how did youmanage to keep him alive?”Joe: “Brandy!”Bill: “What! Don’t you know thatthe doctor said you were not togive brandy to any of thewounded?”Joe: “I didn’t! I promised himsome.”

‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast’, wrote the

poet Alexander Pope. Wherethere’s life, there’s hope, we aretold. Human beings survive enor-mous difficulties still ‘nursing theunconquerable hope’. Hope seemsto be natural to the human being.Perhaps that is why we find sui-cide so shocking that a humanbeing should take his or her ownlife.

Its capacity for hope is the qual-ity that makes the human speciesso adaptable and so successful atsurviving, dreaming, planning,anticipating and coping with fail-ure if this is necessary.

Psychologists and philosopherspoint out that this is somethingthat marks the human being offfrom the rest of the natural world.

Hope is strong in both the OldTestament history of God’s deal-ings with Israel, and in the NewTestament revelation of God inthe teaching and example of Jesus.It has a special relationship to thefuture but hope means how werelate to the past and also to thepresent.

Take the example of Moses’ ex-perience of the presence of Godthat is recounted in Exodus 3. TheGod who appears to him in theburning bush identifies himself asthe God of his ancestors, the Godwho was present with Abraham,Isaac and Jacob, the God whopromised great things in the pastand fulfilled those promises.

‘I am well aware of your suffer-ings’, God says to Moses, reassur-ing him that God has not aban-doned his people, that He is awareof their difficulties and that He is

preparing to do something to help.And so, God promises Moses, ‘I

will deliver them out of the handsof the Egyptians and bring themto a land where milk and honeyflow’. Because of what God hasdone for his people in the pastMoses places his confidence inGod’s promise for the future.

God is faithful to his promisesThe basis for this hope is that our

God is who he is. He is a God whois faithful to his promises. This isthe meaning of the personal nameby which he identifies himself toMoses. ‘I am who I am’: I am the onewho is present, with his people.

God is patient, realising that forhuman beings things take time.Love takes time, forgiveness takestime, but God is patient with us.We must be patient with ourselvesand with others, giving the ‘fig-tree’ another chance, anotheryear, more time.

Hope is a quality of how I livenow. Because a person’s trust andconfidence in God is strong, he isfree to involve himself totally inthe tasks of this world, in build-ing a kingdom of justice, love andpeace here on earth. God is withus. He will be with us in the fu-ture. This is the basis for my hopefor the future and for my hope inthe present.

St. Martin’s Messenger - Jan. 2014

CHRISTIAN HOPECHRISTIAN HOPECHRISTIAN HOPECHRISTIAN HOPECHRISTIAN HOPEVivian Boland OP


THANKS TO DEAR ST. DOMINIC SAVIO

LOVING CHILDREN TOTHEIR LOVING MOTHER

Thank you Mary Help of Christians for all the favours granted tome. Sherwina J SoaresI had this itching problem all over my body since the last 35 years.Medicines and creams were of no use as I found no relief inthem. On July 14, 2019, I attended a prayer service in Mumbaiand found that I was healed on the first day itself. Till today, therehas been no itching on my body. The Lord has healed mecompletely. Praise the Lord. Jubel D'Cruz, MumbaiMy sincere thanks to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and theBlessed Virgin Mary for having helped me do very well in mygraduation examinations and thank you to all the angels and saintsof God for your guidance and protection. A DevoteeMy grateful thanks to Almighty God and our Blessed Mother forbeing blessed with the gift of a baby girl after four and a halfyears. Mrs. Bapsy D’Souza, Uttan, BhyandarThank you Jesus and Mother Mary for all the favours receivedthrough your intercession, especially for the success in getting astudent visa for Canada for my daughter. S. Braganza, Goa

Our heartfelt and grateful thanks to dear Mother Mary,Help of Christians, St. Dominic Savio and St. JohnBosco for the much awaited gift of a granddaughter tous and daughter to our son Adrian & daughter-in-lawSoumya on 17 July 2019. Peter & Jennifer LopesThank St. Dominic Savio for the miraculous healing of atumour on the thigh which was first diagnosed asmalignant but on a second biopsy resulted miraculouslyin being declared benign and did not need to be treated.

F. DeSouza, LondonThank you, dear Lord, Mother Mary, St. Dominic Savio and St. Mother Teresafor blessing my daughter with a precious and healthy baby girl and for hersafe delivery. Please continue to bless my family. R. Vaz, MumbaiI had a fall two or three years ago and hurt myself but none of my bones werebroken. I was in terrible pain. I prayed to my dearest Jesus, Mother Mary, DonBosco and St. Dominic Savio and the pain disappeared. I also prayed thatmy nepnew get a job and my prayer was heard but I neglected to publish it.

Josephine David, PuneOur sincere thanks to the Infant Jesus, St. John Bosco, St. Clare, St. Gallini,St. Chavara, St. Anthony, St. Jose Vaz, St. Damien and Mother Teresa for allthe graces and favours received through the powerful intercession of thesesaints whenever I invoked their intercession during the span of our fourdecades of our happy married life in the midst of our beloved children andgrandchildren. We implore their continued blessings on our family.

Mr. and Mrs. DAG, Mumbai

THEY ARE GRATEFUL TOOUR LADY AND DON BOSCO

APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYERFEBRUARY 2020

Listen to the Migrants’ CriesWe pray that the cries of our migrant brothers and sisters, victimsof criminal trafficking, may be heard and considered.

Thank you Jesus, Mother Mary, Don Bosco and all the saints forall the favours received. Flavia, Mumbai

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.I had a severe back ache for many years and feared itcould be very serious. I did not take any kind of treatment

but 'doctored' myself to no avail. Since my own medication did not work, Itook to prayer earnestly and spent quality time before the BlessedSacrament, recited the Rosary and the 3 Hail Mary's and also sought theintervention of St. Pio for a very special healing touch of my God. One dayin the most mysterious circumstances and quite unexpectedly, I heard thetangible voice of the Lord instructing me to apply a balm that I had in mypossession on the affected and painful area and I felt relief in a few daysand as I continued with the balm, my pain left me completely. Thank you,My Lord. Maureen de Zilwa - Sri LankaDue to sinful habits I fell prey to a sexual weakness and inability to have anormal sexual life. I prayed to Mother Mary to be healed of this on Saturdaynight with devotion. After attending the Sunday Mass I realised that I wastotally healed. I want the world to know about the miraculous healing throughthis prayer. Elvis Terrance PinkMy heartfelt thanks to our dear Mother Mary for the gift of a beautiful babygirl Angelina Karkera and for my safe and normal delivery. Also thank youMother Mary for granting me many favours through the recitation of theThree Hail Mary's. Mother Mary, continue to bless us. T. Karkera, MumbaiI am grateful to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the success granted me throughher intercession. Mrs. R. Fernandes

36February 2020 Don Bosco’s Madonna

Regd RNI no. 9360/57Postal Regn. MH/MR/North East/089/2018-2020

WPP License no. MR/Tech/WPP-72NE/2018posted 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]

It was a Tuesday afternoon, when Ireceived a message from my son inUS that his wife was in a critical con-dition and that a caesarean was in-evitable to save the lives of motherand the child. After his consent, thedoctors successfully removed thebaby but due to persistent flow ofblood, doctors lost hope. Her situationbecame very complicated. We calledour Divine Mother; along with myfriends and neighbours we continuedto storm heaven. At the time of ourprayer, I received a message from myson stating that the blood flow wasabruptly stopped and she was out ofdanger. We praised God and MotherMary for her timely intervention. Ourgrateful thanks to Almighty Father,for giving us a wonderful Motherwho is always ready to help her chil-dren. Francis Xavier and Philomena Francis, Pune

don bosco's madonna ashes to glory mumbai february … · ashes to glory it is the beginning...

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