Hajja Salesjana July September 2018

10 The Complexity of Don Bosco’s Praxis During Don Bosco’s time many youth had landed into the rapidly industrialising city of Turin, not only searching for a job, but also yearning for a caring adult. They were left to their own devices, faced with a tough struggle to survive. Don Bosco was totally committed to being a father, an educator, a friend and a spiritual director to these youths. While catering for the needs of his group of Oratory boys, Don Bosco still managed to maintain his one-to- one relationships with each and every boy. The Oratory became a home that welcomed them, a parish that evangelised them and accompanied them in their faith journey, a school that prepared them for life, and a playground where they could meet their friends and enjoy themselves. The following diagram exhibits the complexity of Don Bosco’s praxis. As illustrated in the diagram, the spiritual direction process practised and proposed by Don Bosco is a journey occurring simultaneously within the context of a group and on an individual level. This praxis is unique in the sense that spiritual direction is not merely limited to the periodical one-to-one meeting between the Spiritual director and the individual seeking guidance. Don Bosco managed to maintain a beautiful balance between the spiritual growth processes occurring on a group level and on an individual level. Furthermore, one observes that Don Bosco made use of various methods which could be categorised as formal and informal. This distinction deserves clarification. (1) The formal approach tends to be regular and is based on agreement. In this approach consent is given to be guided and it gradually develops over time. (2) Informal accompaniment tends to be based on the opportunity to seek or offer advice, for example, in the playground. Such accompaniment is irregular and may involve a variety of mentors. Conclusion The complexity of Don Bosco’s spiritual direction praxis deserves acknowledgement. It is a process which evolves within a faith community receptive to God’s grace. Within this faith community, one observes a natural interweaving of both the formal and informal approaches. The fruitfulness of the formal approach was very much down to the various informal interventions which together made a difference in the accompaniment of young people. Without the informal approaches, the efficacy of the formal moments would have been diminished. Both approaches are vital and complement each other. Such a holistic and complex praxis mirrors just how much Don Bosco dedicated every single moment of his time to accompany his youth and enhance in them spiritual growth. He passionately sought to create a holistic approach which incorporated the group and the individual through various formal and informal approaches within a specific environment. One could assert that Don Bosco’s expansion of his work, from the original oratory to the school, to the missions, was a concrete expression of this holistic approach. At each stage Don Bosco applied his method and style in a manner appropriate to that development, setting up a formative environment that suited that phase.