31 Jan – Memorial for St. John Bosco, priest
St. John Bosco (1815-1888) was the son of Venerable Margaret Bosco. His father died when he was just two years old, and as soon as he was old enough to do odd jobs, he did so for extra money for his family. Bosco would go to circuses, fairs, and carnivals, practise the tricks he saw the magicians perform, and then present one-boy shows. After his performance, while he still had an audience of boys, he would repeat the homily he had heard earlier in church.
He worked as a tailor, baker, shoemaker, and carpenter while attending college and the seminary. He was ordained in 1841. He was a teacher, and he worked with youth, finding places where they could meet, play and pray. He taught catechism to orphans and apprentices, and was chaplain in a hospice for girls.
He wrote short treatises aimed at explaining the faith to children, and then taught children how to print them. He was a friend of St. Joseph Cafasson, whose biography he wrote. He was confessor to Blessed Joseph Allamano. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB) in 1859, a community of priests who work with and educate boys, under the protection of Our Lady, Help of Christians, and St. Francis de Sales. He founded the Daughters of Mary, Help of Christians, in 1872, and the Union of Cooperator Salesians in 1875.
- Patron Saint Index
2 Sam 24:2,8-17
Mk 6:1-6
“This is the carpenter, surely, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joset and Jude and Simon?”
Today, we celebrate the feast day of St John Bosco. As I read his story, I wondered about the connection with today’s readings. One thing I found interesting was that he knew magic and in his earlier years, he used it to entertain kids he played with and would even work it into the homily he heard that day. I also realised that he’s the patron saint of editors and publishers, as he established the Society of St Francis de Sales, the patron saint for all writers.
Like the gospel today, people called Jesus by many different names. He’s a carpenter, son of Mary our Queen Mother, which then makes him the king. He’s also known as rabbi or teacher, the Messiah and, above all, Son of God. Who do you say Jesus is to you? For me, he’s many things and he’s my all. Does it matter that he was the son of a carpenter, that he was born human but is also divine? Trying to find a single label to associate him with is just far too limiting. Similarly, St John Bosco was once a magician, but later became a teacher and missionary. In life, we all wear several different hats to perform our said duties.
I for one, am a mother, daughter, sister, wife, an educator, mentor, and above all, a child of God. What this means is that we can use our many different roles and experiences to bring the word of God to others, just as St John Bosco did with his magic, to bring the Word to the children. What a wonderful use of our gifts and talents! Today, I am also a writer and I use my past experience as an editor to put my writing into better use. A friend once said to me, “I’ll bet you’re enjoying writing now (as I often share my spiritual reflections in Facebook) much more than before”, and she was so right. How I see it is that the years as a journalist have trained and taught me to be a better writer (for God). Whatever we have done or learnt, are not wasted at all. His plan is always an amazing one. For those of us serving him and working closely with God, helping to build his kingdom that is, we will be able to see that he certainly prepares each of us in whatever he wants us to do. He uses all of our experiences to help do his work.
I am now slowly piecing together all the dots. The first ministry that I served in was catechism, and I thought I really sucked at being a catechist. I had no knowledge of teaching nor imparting the faith to the youths. In a roundabout way, I went through life as a journalist then an educator. Now that I am in the RCIA ministry, I realise that all I’ve done was actually to prepare me for this very important role. God is truly an amazing planner.
(Today’s OXYGEN by Cynthia Chew)
Prayer: Dear Abba, you are the potter of our fragile lives. Often, we do not see or understand the cracks that make us whole, the longer routes we take, the seeming meanderings of our journey that have been carefully mapped out for us. Help us to see and trust in your great plan for each one of us.
Thanksgiving: Thank you Jesus, for all your sacrifices, the hurts, the abuse, the thorns you bore for us. May we be able to recognise you in every twist and turn as you walk this journey with us.
OXYGEN 
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