Last Friday I attended the Salesian Youth Rally with the 3rd through 8th grade students from Christ the King, St, Joseph, and Villa Madonna. In all, there were over 500 students joyfully celebrating Don Bosco's life and Salesian legacy. I am often asked to explain what it means to be Salesian.
There are many books that explain in much better detail who Don Bosco was and what he did for the young and poor of Italy in the 1800's. To put it simply, though, Giovanni Bosco (often called "Don" which is Italian for "Father") was a Catholic priest who saw a need in the children of Italy, who were being exploited during the Industrial Revolution. He worked primarily with boys and started oratories where they could learn about academic subjects, life skills, and Jesus.
At the youth rally, Fr. Steve Ryan, a priest from the Society of Don Bosco, summed up for the children what it means to be Salesian using the analogy of a hand: the pinky represents Joy in all things; the ring finger represents Jesus, which makes sense since it is connected to the pinky, because you can't have Joy without Jesus; the middle finger represents devotion to Mary, her example being at the center of our lives; the index finger stands for kindness reminding us to point our hearts towards kind actions; and finally the thumb, which helps us complete our work, stands for doing the right thing, the best way we can, for the love of God.
Those five principles, Joy, Jesus, Mary, Kindness, and Service are what it means to be Salesian. My Salesian challenge and Peace mission to our students this week is to pick a different Salesian practice each day and live it. I think our students are up for the challenge, are you? If we can incorporate just a little bit of the Salesian Spirit into our daily lives I think we will all find more Peace.
If you still need some clarification, I think the picture below sums up what it means to be a Salesian today.
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