(ANS – Roma) – Fr Pierluigi Cameroni, Postulator General of the Salesian Family, introduces the figures of Salesian holiness who are remembered in the month of May.

6 May: St Dominic Savio
Dominic Savio is a saint particularly loved by many children and young people, and by mothers who are expecting a child or hoping to have one. One day Don Bosco wanted to give a sign of particular affection to the boys of the house, and he asked them to write on a piece of paper whatever they wanted, promising that he would give them what they asked for, if at all possible. It is not hard to imagine some of the extravagant requests that were made! Dominic took a piece of paper and wrote on it only five words: “I want to become holy”. Don Bosco gave him the formula for holiness – three ingredients to be blended: Joy – anything that disturbs or takes away our peace is not from the Lord.  Study and prayer – do your duty well. Do good to others. Dominic followed this formula recommended by his father and teacher, and in a very short time he became a saint.

13 May: St Mary Domenica Mazzarello, Co-foundress of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians
The figure of Mary Mazzarello serves as a reminder to us all that holiness is possible, that it is part of daily life, and that we can live and bear witness to a life of faith. The saints were not born saints. They had to become saints, by responding to God’s grace, listening to the people he sends our way, and speaking to God in prayer. She was a woman of great faith, capable of recognizing Jesus in the Eucharist, and in the faces of the poor, of the girls she was educating, and of the sisters, exhorting them to love, not only by her words, but by her deeds and her example. In the community led by Mary Mazzarello, there was always a climate of acceptance and genuine humanity, together with a simple and profound faith in the presence of God, that permeated the entire atmosphere. In a letter written from Mornese, Don Bosco described that spiritual atmosphere very accurately, when he said, “Here they enjoy a pleasant freshness, even though there is the great warmth of the love of God.”

16 May: St Louis Orione, founder of the Little Work of Divine Providence
Louis Orione was a boy who grew up at the Oratory in Valdocco. Don Bosco observed his good qualities and counted him among his favourites. He assured him, “We will always be friends”. As a young man Louis was familiar also with the works of charity of St Joseph Benedict Cottolengo, close to the Salesian Oratory. Louis Orione was the living incarnation of the charism of love for the poor, seeing in them the face of Jesus and serving them in holy joy. He lived a life of penance and poverty and, even though his health was poor, he organized popular missions, living cribs, processions and pilgrimages, convinced that faith must penetrate every area of life. He was convinced also that the greatest good was to live in the presence of God and to believe in his Divine Providence. His constant refrain was,“More faith! More faith, brothers! We need more faith! Our faith is our most powerful weapon in every battle, the greatest comfort in our human life, the highest source of inspiration of every value, of heroic sanctity, of every good thing that does not die, of all true greatness, moral, religious and civil.”

18 May: St Leonard Murialdo, founder of the Congregation of St Joseph
Leonard Murialdo was another saint from Turin, who grew up in that great nineteenth century tradition of holiness. His was a message of faith and joy. As a teenager he went through a deep spiritual crisis which led him to give up his studies in Turin and go back to his family. His “return to the light” came about through the grace of a good confession in which he rediscovered God’s infinite mercy. At the age of 17, he decided to become a priest, in response to the love of God which had conquered him. It was at that time, while he was working as a catechist at the Oratory of the Guardian Angels, that he got to know and appreciate Don Bosco who persuaded him to become Director of the Oratory of St Aloysius at Porta Nuova. There he came in contact with the problems of the poorer classes. He visited them in their homes and developed a strong social, educative and apostolic awareness which led him to devote himself to numerous initiatives in favour of the young. Catechesis, schools, and recreational activities were the basis of his educative method in the Oratory.

29 May: Fr Joseph Kowalski, martyr
Born at Siedliska in Poland, in 1911, Joseph Kowaski entered the Salesians in 1927 and became a priest in 1938. He was highly regarded as a lecturer. Following the charism of Don Bosco he devoted himself to education, especially through music. He became director of a Youth Choir. His ministry in the Parish of St Stanislao Kostka of Dębniki (Cracovia) was interrupted on 23 May 1941 when the Nazis arrested him along with 11 other confreres. He became prisoner no. 17,350 in Auschwitz. In 1942, because he refused to trample upon his rosary beads, he was sentenced to cruel hard labour. He was later tortured and drowned by Nazi guards in a ditch at the extermination camp. Among his notes we find written, “Jesus, I want to be truly faithful and to serve you faithfully […] I dedicate myself totally to you […]. Grant that I may never be parted from you, that I may be faithful to you until death, and that I may keep my oath: to die rather than offend you with even the least sin […]. I must be a holy Salesian as my father Don Bosco was holy.”

The high point of the month of May is the Feast of Mary Help of Christians, which is of great importance in our Salesian tradition. ANS will pay particular attention to preparation for this feast.

Further information and resources on the Salesian saints are available in the section of sdb.org dedicated to holiness.

Published 01/05/2013