Hajja Salesjana October-December 2019

13 H AJJA S ALESJANA 3. In which way are you part of the Salesian Family? Before I answer this question I would like to relate to you how God acts in strange ways to draw us to Him. I entered the Dockyard as an adolescent, at 14. Who has worked in such an environment knows how many different characters one meets and the dangers one encounters. The establishment appointed a welfare officer to follow the young apprentices. I still remember his name, Mr. Lyons. He was a tall, fair, gentle person. Every time he came to visit me at work, he always whispered to me: ‘Victor you are wasting your time here why don’t you become a priest?’ I assure you it had never crossed my mind and often asked myself: ‘Why is he telling me this?’. It is with hindsight that you recall what happened and say that God was using him to get through to me. To answer your question, I form part of the Salesian Family as a Salesian priest. 5. Who is Don Bosco for you and what strikes you most about him? He is a giant of a saint, to quote what someone told me once. When you get to know him well you realise that he was an ordinary human being, facing the ups and downs of life, being misunderstood, he was humiliated by his own companion priests, sometimes treated as a lunatic, but because he was convinced that what he was doing would be of huge benefit for young people, he did not let anything discourage him, he forged ahead. What message would you like to pass on to the readers of Óajja Salesjana? At the very beginning of his mission Don Bosco was given a guide, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Often he used to say; ‘She did everything’. He also used to say: ‘I always went ahead as the Lord inspired me and as circumstances demanded’ . Inspired by St. John Bosco make these statements your own and you will share the richness of the Salesian way of life. 6. 4. Is there a phrase or a sentence from Don Bosco that inspires you in your life? When one gets to know Don Bosco and his way of acting there isn’t any particular phrase or a sentence that surprises you. His whole life is an inspiration. One only needs to read his Biographical Memoires, the ones he wrote himself and the lives of the young people which he presented as models for the young, Savio, Besucco, Magone, to not only admire but feel compelled to imitate him.