Hajja Salesjana

Above his bed are essential expressions of his spirituality: a crucifix, images of St. Francis de Sales and St. Joseph (the Congregations primary and secondary patrons), and a small framed poster that reads, “Only one thing is necessary: to save your soul”. What he taught the Oratory boys with the motto da mihi animas, caetera tolle (Give me souls, take away the rest), he lived himself, always focused on eternity as the inspiration for his sacrificial self-giving to the young. The sofa, far from being a home décor fashion statement, recalls Don Bosco’s painful final years. Warn out and thrown out by a wealthy man, the Salesians retrieved this sofa and refurbished it for an elderly Don Bosco who, because of his swollen and painful legs could no longer sit on a regular chair. Resting on the sofa he could manage to read and write on the makeshift table that was crafted at the Oratory woodshop for his use. Even when Don Bosco was clinically blind in his right eye and suffered excruciating migraines, Michael Rua Help of Christians, as well as his fundamental texts of salesian spirituality, such as the Memoires of the Oratory and his Spiritual Testament. Upon the rickety shelving unit was a limited but essential collection of theological and spiritual classics from which Don Bosco drew inspiration. From the little cubby holes flowed a tsunami of correspondence from paupers and prelates, devotees and donors to which he conscientiously sent a hand written reply, often on the back of Mary Help of Christians prayer cards. The bed, with its straw-filled mattress, is where Don Bosco slept an average of five hours per night, until his health deteriorated. Between these sheets is where he had many of his prophetic dreams that inspired, guided and deepened his mission. 23 Lulju - Settembru 2023