SAINT JOHN BOSCO TEACHINGS ON SPIRITUAL LIFE An anthology Introduction and notes by Aldo Giraudo LAS – ROME Introduction Aldo GIRAUDO, sdb Which of his writings best portray Saint John Bosco as a teacher of inner life and give us, if not all of his “spiritual doctrine",1 at least the most characteristic features of his spirituality, that fertile flow of good fruits we think of as a “school of holiness valid for every state of life”?2 The question is pertinent since not only did Don Bosco, like St Alphonsus, not leave behind pages revealing the intimacy of his being; he also did not consider bringing together a systematic picture of a spirituality, as we would call it today, or an ascetica, as he would have called it in his era: a harmonious set of spiritual reflections. Certainly he gave us splendid testimonies, few and modest as they were, of the spiritual life of others. He saw them in action and was himself a concomitant factor for them: Louis Comollo, Dominic Savio, Michael Magone, Francis Besucco.3 Though in narrative form and written to edify, these documents do highlight inner experiences and essential features of Christian spirituality as proposed for young people. A study of these biographical sketches, the inner pursuits of their youthful characters, and the general atmosphere of growth and development in the educational setting, in the community which was the context in which their spiritual adventure unfolded, allows us to garner the essential features of a model of youthful holiness, and the salient principles of a vade-mecum of ascetics comparable with the Introduction to the Devout Life by St Francis de Sales. Not so much because they offer, like the Introduction did, an articulated directory of inner life, but because they outline the basic attitudes of a holistic Christian existence in a concrete state of life (the time of growing up) and in a process that fully expresses the threefold way: purgation, illumination, union. Behind the simple anecdotal style the attentive reader can discover an essential and complete spiritual journey. It begins with the initial opening of the heart to the action of grace under the delicate guidance of parents and attentive educators (who are also passionate witnesses of Christian life), then becomes a process of interiorisation and appropriation, arriving finally at unconditional gift of self to God and generously undertaking one's baptismal commitments. All of this is expressed in absolute obedience to the Holy Spirit given every occasion offered by daily existence. This work of cooperation with sanctifying grace which the lad willingly puts into effect step by step in his concrete state of life, in the spontaneity of his being, gives rise to profound resources and generates tranquil, fascinating and strong human and spiritual personalities. 1 An expression used in the years following Don Bosco's canonisation to systematically describe what we term “spirituality” (cf P. SCOTTI, La dottrina spirituale di Don Bosco, Torino, Società Editrice Internazionale 1939). 2 Cf J. AUBRY, La scuola salesiana di don Bosco, in E. ANCILLI, Le grandi scuole della spiritualità cristiana, Roma-Milano, Pontificio Istituto di Spiritualità del Teresianum-Edizioni O.R. 1984, pp. 669-698. 3 [G. BOSCO,] Cenni sulla vita del chierico Luigi Comollo morto nel seminario di Chieri ammirato da tutti per le sue singolari virtù, scritti da un collega, Torino; Tipografia Speirani e Ferrero 1844 (more significant is the second edition for the additions Don Bosco included with the idea of offering a spiritual model to young people at the Oratory: G. BOSCO, Cenni sulla vita del giovane Luigi Comollo…, Torino, Tipografia P. De-Agostini 1854); G. BOSCO, Vite di giovani. Le biografie di Domenico Savio, Michele Magone e Francesco Besucco, Roma, LAS 2012. All these paths are sketched out in an essential but clear-cut way. In the three 'Lives' we find a journey of prayer proceeding from the humble recitation of the prayers of the good Christian and simple devout practices, moving gradually to fervent intimacy of a more moving prayerfulness. It becomes a spirit of prayer, which then results in a state of permanent loving union with God. We see the demanding path of purification and perfection through daily examination of conscience, thanks to which the lad is led to a gradual self-awareness, and awareness of his moral activity, and is educated to contrition and good resolutions and guided towards the regular and fruitful practice of the sacrament of penance. Here, under the fatherly and balanced guidance of the director, he learns creaturely detachment and how to focus on God, how to rectify his intentions, discipline his senses and affections through 'natural' mortification – fulfilment of duty and putting up with the small adversities of daily life, accepted out of love of God – and through the practical exercise of little virtues by happily doing his duty according to his state of life and in relationships with others. And it is especially translated into a life permeated by charity, enlightened by sanctifying grace, making progress in perfection, and becoming a mature and very solid virtuous being. And finally, we find a well-defined vocational journey through community service in humble little matters and charity which is the generous gift of self and the offering up of one's life to the divine will, which is a salvific will. The Memoirs of the Oratory too, re-reading them from the faith perspective of a personal story and an oratorian vocation, highlight spiritual attitudes and virtuous habits, indicate inner movements essential for those called to dedicate themselves to the salvation of the young, especially by stripping away selfishness and faithfully entrusting oneself to Providence in order to give oneself unconditionally to God's will. Along with these masterpieces of narrative spirituality, we find other material by Don Bosco conceived as practical aids for the Christian upbringing of the young and the people, and from these we can gain useful pointers for reconstructing his spiritual approach: the Companion of Youth above all, perhaps his most beloved and carefully edited item; The Exercise of Devotion to God's Mercy; The Key to Paradise; The Month of May; The Catholic Companion. Together with the Regulations (of the Oratory, the Houses, the Sodalities), his correspondence and the vast array of bits and pieces of documentation offer us his daily pastoral activity (preaching, brief evening talks, conferences, stories). They are texts which allow us to identify characteristic points of the Saint's spiritual magisterium or authoritative teaching, and his specially favoured topics. The most pointed documentation from a spiritual point of view is certainly that produced by Don Bosco as the founder of religious congregations, and as a formator and leader of communities of apostolic and consecrated life. These were years when his horizons were broadening in an impressive way. This priest from Valdocco, concerned with saving and safeguarding poor and abandoned youth on the outskirts of Turin, offering “a short and easy, but adequate way of living” leading to their being “the consolation of your families, an honour to your country, good citizens here on earth and then one day the fortunate inhabitants of heaven”,4 now is led by God to a vast field, and is invested with a charism that makes him the father and teacher of a movement of consecrated educators and apostles extending through space and time. His spiritual 4 [G. BOSCO], Il giovane provveduto per la pratica de’ suoi doveri degli esercizi di cristiana pietà per la recita dell’ufficio della beata Vergine e de’ principali vespri dell’anno coll’aggiunta di una scelta di laudi sacre ecc., Torino, Tipografia Paravia e Comp. 1847, p. 6 (OE II, 186). teaching widens and deepens, his proposal becomes more radical, all-embracing. But it is precisely in this broadening and deepening that he accentuates the absolute primacy of God and the demands of the sequela Christi to the point of conforming oneself to the Christ who is offered up, immolated, that the real substance of this “easy” way emerges as an essential spiritual proposal offered to young people at the primitive Oratory. In fact the core is the same, even though expressed in the simplicity of unadorned, everyday language: fervent charity expressed in the unconditional offering of self which becomes an active and unifying strength. This anthology – which is but a specimen, a selection of the vast quantity of material of the kind, all of it meaningful – aims to put the reader in touch with that atmosphere, allow him or her to enter into Don Bosco's horizons, become familiar with his language and vision. It is not a systematic presentation of his "spirituality", but an account of his “teachings” on how to live as good Christians and good Salesians in a sound way. This is spiritual life in the sense which St Francis de Sales intended the “devout life” to be. This book has four parts: 1. Don Bosco as a spiritual guide for the young; 2. Indications for a consistent, active Christian life; 3. Consecrated to God for His glory and the salvation of the young; 4. A father's final recommendations, and a founder's concerns. 1. Don Bosco as a spiritual guide for the young The first part contains a selection of texts drawn from printed works like the Companion of Youth, the Regulations for Salesian educational settings and the Epistolario, (Collected Letters), but also from archival documents, especially the cronachette (diaries or written notes), where Don Bosco's spoken interventions were often written down (instructions, Good Nights, accounts of his dreams) which give us his praxis as a formator, his system and the stimulating, fervent and industrious setting that he provided for his boys.