(ANS – Rome) – Yesterday morning 20 January in the context of the Spirituality Days of the Salesian Family, Fr Bruno Ferrero gave a talk “Thinking like Don Bosco”. Greatly appreciated by the audience, the talk focused on the charism which the Salesian Family has inherited from Dom Bosco in all its current relevance.

Fr Ferrero – the author of  a number of books, former Director of the Elledici in Turin and at present the Editor of the Italian Salesian Bulletin – traced the figure of Don Bosco, discovering in it novel features - in accordance with one of the aims of these Days of Spirituality: to contribute to spreading a more intimate and profound knowledge of Don Bosco and his life story in view of the celebration of the Bicentenary of his birth.

The very attractive presentation - without claiming to be exhaustive given the limited time available – of the spiritual riches of a saint such as was Don Bosco, at least in their essentials. His premise, which also summed up the whole of the talk was: “Salesian spirituality means seeing life as Don Bosco did. It is not like looking at a medal or a picture, or a person from the past. It means asking ourselves: What would the world be like without Don Bosco? Or: What would Don Bosco do? What would he say to us today?”

Using a variety of historical references and bibliographical quotations and metaphorical accounts and anecdotes to be reflected on, Fr Ferrero focused on some key aspects of the life of  Don Bosco: in the first place his great strength - which lay in his having a great dream and his ability to involve others in making it come true. Then, his educational approach based on cheerfulness and love which did not make him afraid of “enjoying” being together, nor of saying “I love you”; and his close personal friendship with Mary and with God, which arose from a great faith and resulted in not a few miracles.

Others included  his prophetic vision, capable of seeing beyond the present  reality in order to build the future he wanted; the persistence and the humility of Don Bosco, values which came from his countryman’s background  and which the saint cultivated throughout his whole life after in his dream at 9 years of age the Madonna told him: “Make yourself, humble determined and strong”; certainty in Paradise, a support in difficult times; and the deep and simple spirituality of someone who after having spent his whole life for a dream, at the end, succeeds in understanding the plan God had carried out through him.

The complete text of Fr Ferrero’s talk is available, in the various languages on the site devoted to the Spirituality Days.

Published 21/01/2012