Hajja Salesjana July-September 2019

13 H AJJA S ALESJANA 3. In which way are you part of the Salesian Family? I form part of the Salesian Family as a Salesian priest who presently works in Ireland on Maynooth’s University campus. 5. Who is Don Bosco for you and what strikes you most about him? St. John Paul II, in his letter on Don Bosco for the centenary of his death, said that the Church is “ an expert in humanity ” and " the way of the Church passes through the heart of man. ” What strikes me most in Don Bosco is his capacity to connect with young people who on their part responded to him from the heart. In St. John Bosco we see how the Church reaches out to the young precisely through their hearts; Don Bosco frequently used to say that ‘Education is a matter of the heart’ and that ‘a child’s main joy is to know that he is being loved.’ I think that Don Bosco’s Preventive System is most relevant today, in a world that is fast becoming more cosmopolitan, for it is capable of creating spaces of encounter where the young fromdifferent backgrounds feel welcomed. Here in Ireland, where I am presently exercising my ministry, the Church needs a new form of outreach to the young and reconnect with them. I firmly believe that Don Bosco’s system of education is very much relevant for the Ireland of today. What message would you like to pass on to the readers of Óajja Salesjana? We must remember that Don Bosco does not just belong to us Salesians, but rather he also belongs to the whole Church! We may be custodians of his rich heritage, but we have an important duty to ensure that his style and spirit of being with young people continues to be a vibrant reality not only in our Salesian Houses but more also in the life of the Church today. 6. 4. Is there a phrase or a sentence from Don Bosco that inspires you in your life? It is not so much a phrase that Don Bosco said but rather a gesture that he did. One day his mother Mamma Margareta came into his office all exasperated and angry after the boys had trampled on her precious vegetable garden as they were playing at war-games. Don Bosco listened to her dumbstruck as she fumingly told him she has had enough and that she was going back to the country to spend her last days in peace. When she had finished, Don Bosco said nothing. He simply pointed his finger to the cross that was hanging in the room. Mamma Margaret looked at the cross, bowed her head, put back on the apron and went back to the kitchen, never to complain again. Don Bosco still points to the cross to us today, and indeed the Salesian vocation is marked by so many hidden sacrifices. But one of his phrases that gives me inspiration is “I always went ahead as the Lord inspired me and as circumstances demanded,” which he used to say whenever he needed to adjust his plans due to some unforeseen circumstances. Indeed, rather than being discouraged he would still forge ahead – ‘Sempre avanti’ . As he would say.