DON BOSCO'S MADONNA LOVE IS AN ACT OF FAITHdonboscosmadonna.org/pdf/JAN2017.pdf · that love is an...

2 3January 2017 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaJanuary 2017Fr. Ian Doulton sdb

From The Editor's Desk: Love is anAct of Faith ...........................3

Dealing With In-Laws- Jeanette Brimner...................4

Youth on the Move:Eh, Don’t Judge Me! - Melanie D’Souza............8

Salesian Saint: Bl Bronislaw Markiewicz....10

Witnesses In And For Our Times:St Leonie Francis de Sales Aviat...12

Lectio Divina: Epiphany of the Lord- Cl. Ian Pinto, sdb................16

Quietspaces: Saved By A Child - Pope Francis.............................18

Strange Grows the Heart- Fr. Ian Doulton's Collection...20

Don Bocso’s Identity: Don Bosco’sPreternatural Gifts (22)

- Fr. Elias Dias, SDB..................24

Reflecting on Mary: A Poet Celebrates Mary’s Beauty - Ephrem the Syrian - Roberto Spataro...................28

Walking With the Church: Name ofJesus, Reserved Sin, Abortion......31

Newsbits...............................................32

In a Cheerful Mood.....................15The Devotion of

the Three Hail Marys............33Loving Children to their

Loving Mother.......................34They Are Grateful to

Our Lady & Don Bosco.........34Thanks to Dear

St. Dominic Savio..................35

CONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTSCONTENTS

DON BOSCO'S MADONNA Mumbai JANUARY 2017 vol.18 No. 9

LOVE IS AN ACT OF FAITHPaulo Coelho tells this story from Greek mythology: “Once upon a

time, there was a beautiful princess named Psyche. She was admiredby everyone, but no one ever dared to propose her for marriage.

Desperate, the king consulted god Apollo, who said that Psycheshould be left alone, in a mourning dress, at the top of a mountain.Before daybreak, a serpent would come to her and marry her.

The king obeyed, and throughout the night the princess waited,terrified and freezing, for the arrival of her husband. She ended upfalling asleep.

As she awoke, she was in a beautiful palace, transformed into aqueen.

Every night her husband would come to her and they would makelove. But he had just one condition: Psyche could have anything shedesired, but she should trust him completely and never see his face.

Psyche lived happily for a very long time as she had comfort,affection, joy and she was in love with the man who came to herevery night.

Once in a while, however she was afraid of being married to ahorrible serpent. One night, while her husband was asleep, sheilluminated the room with a lantern and found Eros, a man ofincredible beauty, beside her.

The light woke him up and he found out that the woman he lovedwasn’t able to fulfil his only desire, and disappeared.”

Every time I read this story, I ask myself: Will I never be able todiscover the face of love? It has taken me many years to understandthat love is an act of faith in another person, and her face shall staycovered in mystery. Each moment shall be lived and enjoyed, butwhenever we try to understand it, the magic disappears.

After I accepted this idea I allowed myself to be guided by a strangelanguage, the language of “signs.” All around me there are signs, asthe great Jesuit poet exclaimed: “The world is ablaze with the gloryof God.” I know the world is talking to me, and I need to listen to it,and if I do that, I will always be guided toward what there is of themost intense, passionate and beautiful.

Of course, it isn’t easy, and sometimes I feel like Psyche at the cliff,cold and terrified. Anything that is unfamiliar is awkward, to saythe least, but I’m learning that we have a God who is closer to usthan we are to ourselves and if I can only stop and listen to his breathin the breeze I might feel not nervous but reassured that he gentlyleads me and holds me close. (Is 40:11) So if I am able to overcome thatnight and surrender to mystery and to the faith in life, I always end upwaking up in a palace. All I need is to trust in love, even running therisk of erring. It is all about trusting that the Lord wants what’s bestfor us, our welfare in every sphere. Don’t try him, trust him!

Grant that we mayimitate the Holy Familyin practicing the virtues

of family lifeand in the bonds

of charity,and so, in the joy

of your house,delight one day ineternal rewards.

From the Opening Prayer of theSolemnity of the Holy Family

4 5January 2017 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaJanuary 2017

FFFFFAMILAMILAMILAMILAMILY ISSUESY ISSUESY ISSUESY ISSUESY ISSUES

DEALING WITH IN-LAWSDEALING WITH IN-LAWSDEALING WITH IN-LAWSDEALING WITH IN-LAWSDEALING WITH IN-LAWSJeanette Brimner

We hear many jokes aboutmothers-in-law and their

faults and foibles and once in awhile their positive points butfriction or good relations canalso exist between daughters-inlaw, brothers-in-law andfathers-in-law as well. Somemothers-in-law can beoverbearing and manipulativebut many can also be excellentgrandmothers and can get alongvery well with their in–laws.Some fathers-in-law can begrumpy and may ignore theirgrandchildren while others areeasy going and have fun withtheir children’s offspring.Likewise some daughters-in-lawand sons-in-law can be disres-pectful and demanding whileothers can be congenial andhelpful to their spouses’ parents.Genetics, family history,cultures and complex psycholo-gical dynamics all influence howextended families get along witheach.

In times of strife, when anxiety

is high, especially aroundholidays, friction can often exist

among members of the family.For instance, a friend who is adivorce lawyer confided to usthat his busiest time occursaround the Christmas holidays.Unfortunately when tragedystrikes a family, especially ar-ound a holiday season, unduestress can almost tear its mem-bers apart. Take for instance myclose friend Anna.

Two years ago Anna confidedin me what happened after herson’s suicide. There had been agreat deal of tension between herson, Brad, and his wife and theirson became very depressed.Anna and her husband dideverything they could to helpbesides storming heaven withprayers. They encouraged him totake the antidepressants hisdoctor had prescribed for him,they were supportive when hesought counseling and listenedto his attempts to express how hefelt. They even invited him toreturn home for several weeks sothat he would have more time tothink about some solutions to hisdifficulties and marital prob-lems. Since Brad had a preteenand teenager we felt that gettingaway would be a good idea. Thenshortly after, he had moved intoan apartment and his wiferefused to have him back; hekilled himself.

After his suicide Brad’s wifetook her anger out on her in-lawsand sent them horrible e-mailssaying very unkind things about

their son. To make things almostunbearable for the grievingparents their oldest son and hiswife abandoned them while theyeased their own grief by seekingcounseling. Thankfully theirdaughter and her husband andtheir remaining son and his wifewere very supportive.

Anna’s family is reconciled

now but will never forget theanguish they went throughwhile trying to deal with theirgrief.

Many people I have met have

in-laws who are kind andhelpful and some who aresometimes unkind and evendisrespectful. Whether they besons or daughters-in-law ormother or fathers-in-law theyeach have to learn to deal withnew members of the family andadjust to situations that candemand tolerance and well-honed people skills.

My sister’s daughter-in-law is

Persian and she highly valuesfamily closeness. When she andmy sister’s son visit she treatsthe family to delightful Persiandishes and entertains her in-laws with true tales includinghow her parents and her sistersescaped from Iran during a timewhen minorities werepersecuted. Her children whoare still in their teens areaccomplished violinists whospend many hours practicinginstead of watching TV or beingglued to video games or otherelectronic gadgets. My sister’sfamily is certainly an example ofhow an extended family can livein harmony with one another. A

friend of mine is estranged fromher daughter because herdaughter’s husband is verycontrolling and does not like hervisiting with family or friends.Because of this situation, Sylviaprays for her daughter often butit has been several years nowand nothing has changed. Yetshe gets along well with her otherin-laws and they have fun get-togethers at Christmas, Easterand other family get-togetherevents.

When I first met my father-in-law, he was very different fromanyone I had ever met. Hermwas outspoken and the oppositeof my dad who was well spoken,rather shy and a gentleman inevery sense of the world. Her-man had been brought up on afarm and our family livedin Toronto and attended con-certs and other cultural events.But as I began to know myfather-in-law I learned how kindhe was to others. For instance hevisited many elderly people andhe was a very good grandpa toour children. He may have beenrough around the edges but hegave up smoking and drinkingshortly after his wife left himand never had a smoke or drinksince then. That took a great dealof courage. When he died of


cancer he was stoic and nevercomplained and we will alwaysthink fondly of him.

A young couple said thatthings did not always go wellaround the holidays. The wife’sin-laws expected them to cometo their home to celebrateThanksgiving, Christmas andEaster and were hurt when theirdaughter-in-law wanted tospend time with her par-ents who lived 300 miles away.The family finally worked out asolution. Their son and his wifewould have their Christmas aweek ahead at his home andspend Christmas with his wife’sfamily on Christmas day. Theydid the same for Thanksgivingand Easter. Then everyone washappy.

Tina B. Tessina, a psycho-

therapist knows how difficult itis for a newly married couple toadjust to their in-laws. She offerssuggestions to couples to easethem through the transitionsuccessfully. She suggests thatcouples should try to get to knowtheir in-laws by learning abouttheir interests and opinions onvarious subjects. Being polite totheir in-laws and not takingoffense easily can help themblend in with their new family.As well, learning about their in-law’s family customs and whatsubjects they would enjoy talkingabout can enable them to feelmore comfortable at family out-ings and holiday celebrations. Ofcourse a sense of humour canmake all situations bearable.

Mothers-in-law and fathers-

in-law would be wise to try to

get along with their children’sspo-uses even if they find itdifficult to understand theirfamily backgrounds anddifferent beliefs and points ofview. My daughter-in-law wasreally shy when she met myhusband and me before shemarried my son. I was puzzledbecause she always wore sockswhen she came to visit. My sonfinally explained that she had atiny tattooed rose on her ankleand she was afraid we woulddisapprove.

“Of course we don’t!” we

assured her and from then onshe became much more relaxedwith us. In fact we tease her abo-ut tarts she made. That pastrywas so hard we kidded her aboutdonating them to the juniorhockey team in our town to beused as hockey pucks. She teasesme about my untidiness andkids with my husband about hisability to lose things includinghis glasses and keys. We laugh sohard sometimes that our sideshurt.

She and my son help us with

household chores which requirestrength since I have arthritis inmy shoulders and spine and myhusband has trouble walkingwithout a cane. They bring their

two boys over to visit quite oftenand we always enjoy eachother’s company. I mentionedbefore how we tease each otherwith anyone taking offense andtheir help over the years hasbeen a Godsend.

Mothers and fathers-in-law

have to resist the temptation togive advice when it hasn’t beensolicited. Praising and encou-raging their in-laws enablesthem to feel they are really partof the family and are valued.Our son-in-law takesprofessional photos and since hespecializes in environmentalscience he has framed many ofhis photos of exotic, lovelycolored mushrooms, other wildplants and sea creatures that heand my daughter have spottedduring their travels. I havesuggested that he use some of hisphotos to make note cards andmy daughter agrees.

God wants us to have peace infamilies and having good rela-tionships with in-laws often req-uires a delicate balance. Amother-in-law admitted thatalthough she was intelligent shewas also a know-it-all. When herson and his spouse were consi-dering separating she went totheir home with a long list ofthings to do to make their

marriage work. It made thingsworse and now when she istempted to give advice she asksGod to guide them and realizesthat she no longer has control.

If a son-in-law or daughter-in-law is disrespectful or sayshurtful remarks regarding ourgrand-parenting skills it’s wiseto not try to defend ourselves butgive our hurtful feelings to Godand try not to fret about the waywe have been treated. One of mydaughters-in-law once said thatI hardly did anything for mygrandchildren or for them butmy journal contradicted herwords. I had helped them move,babysat their children morethan she realized, came to helpwhen my son was very ill andalways sent them birthday cardswhich I still do. But if I arguedwith her I would only be makingthe situation worse.

If each one of us tries our bestto be kind and tolerant to peoplewho enter our family structure,then holidays will be moreenjoyable, relationships will bemore rewarding and frictionwill be minimal. And whenarguments and problems occurwe always have Jesus who willlisten to our heartaches and dealwith situations over which wehave no control. But most of allwe must love ourselves beforewe can really love others inclu-ding in-laws. As writer EdaLeshan states, “When we trulycare for ourselves, it becomespossible to care far more prof-oundly about other people .Themore alert and sensitive we areto our own needs, the moreloving and generous we can betoward others.” And that, ofcourse includes our in-laws!


“EH, DON’T JUDGE ME!”“EH, DON’T JUDGE ME!”“EH, DON’T JUDGE ME!”“EH, DON’T JUDGE ME!”“EH, DON’T JUDGE ME!”Melaine D’Souza

Yes, we never stop growing,never tire of learning. Each

year that passes by, you probablybelieve you will have become ahundred percent more self-actu-alized than the year before.Phew! If only that were comple-tely true – life would be boring!

Speaking of learning, I’d loveto share with you somethingthat 2016 taught me aboutmyself. And I am sure that if youthink harder, you’ll remembersomething new you learnt aboutyourself – be it a positivecharacter trait, something youcould improve on, somethingthat is characteristically you.

Judgement: I learnt that Icould be less judgmental.Shocking, knowing that I alwaystry my best to put my father’swords into practice - “Giveothers the benefit of doubt”. Yetfrom time to time, I’d findmyself quick to judge, andthereafter, quick to anger. Fromsomething a friend said, to theway a co-worker dressed, to theoutput of a fellow classmate, I

found myself always second-guessing the actions of others.

What did I learn in theprocess? I’ll urge you to turn tothe start of 1 Cor. 4 - whether youhave a Bible or a computer oryour smartphone nearby. Howlovely if we could try to adoptPaul’s attitude here: He couldn’tcare less for the judgement of ahuman court – but he tells hisaudience plainly, “It is the Lordwho judges me”. This doesn’tmean we take on an anarchistavatar but it just advocates thefact that there is ultimately astronger, higher Power thattakes our actions into account. Itreminds me all the more that weare human and it is not our placeto judge when we are living withmercy – again, another lessonfrom last year – the Year ofMercy.

As 2016 flit by and I foundmyself increasingly more consc-ious of my quick-and-easy judg-mental behaviour, I expressedthe same to friends who haddifferent things to say. Somewould say, “Yep, that you are,

Mel”, while others would say.“Nah, people need to be showntheir place” or “No you’re al-right – I thought that was stupidof them too.” Eventually I knewI had to stop looking for answersin a human court and soon eno-ugh I found my critically think-ing twin in Nathanael, a discipleof Jesus (John 1:45-51).

When Apostle Philip calledNathanael to see Jesus of Naza-reth for the first time, he imme-diately commented, “FromNazareth? What good can comefrom that place?” Of course,once he met Jesus, he didn’tthink that way for too long. Nodoubt that at that point in time,Nathanael was right to think ofNazareth as a back-of-beyondplace. But what I’d love toappreciate is that he didn’t let hisprejudice of Nazareth interferewith his meeting with Jesus!

I cringe to think that I mayhave missed out similarexcellent opportunities by mysheer attitude of skepticism. Ajob opportunity in a city wehaven’t heard great thingsabout, a mutual friend we’veseen despicable Facebookpictures of - these instances allshow us that skepticism andimproper judgement can be adangerous thing simply withhow we let them populate ideasin our head without trying themout. After all our enemies aren’tjust people, but attitudes as well.

But, wait a second. Rightjudgement is a gift of the HolySpirit- for us to use.

Like some of us, I am un-fortunately guilty of getting intoFacebook disagreements on

sensitive topics – and I am get-ting better at ignoring or leavingthe conversation early. The samecould apply for importantdecisions you make at school orcollege for group projects or inthe workplace. Let’s think of itas us giving ourselves, notothers, a second chance. Asecond chance at givingourselves as well as the time togrow, think and learn frommistakes.

And then we can walk awaywith the gift of right, slower andmore meaningful judgement –where we don’t let our own andothers’ opinions deter us fromdiscovering what God has tooffer, and to eventually see, whatlove can do.

Have a good year!

We’re all young - but wow, can we just appreciate how far we’ve come?Next stop: Kindergarten 2017.


SALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTS

Bronislaw Markiewicz wasborn on July 13, 1842 in

Pruchnik in Polond, which istoday in the Latin archdiocese ofPrzemysl. He was the sixth ofeleven children of JohnMarkiewicz, mayor of the cityand Marianna Gryziecka. In theconfines of his family he receiveda solid religious formation.However, by the time he was inhigh school in Przemysl, his faithwas shaken in part due to theanti-religious atmosphere thatprevailed in the school. Hemanaged to overcome this trialsoon enough and regained hisserenity and inner peace.

After earning his high schooldiploma the young Bronislawentered the Major Seminary ofPrzemysl in 1863 feeling calledby God to the priesthood. Havingcompleted his regular course ofstudies he was ordained a prieston September 15, 1867. After sixyears of pastoral work in theParish of Harta and theCathedral of Przemysl, hewanted to further equip himselfto be able to work with young

people. He studied pedagogy,philosophy and history for twomore years at the Universities ofLviv and Krakow. In 1875 he wasappointed Parish Priest at Gaéand then in 1877 he moved toBlazowa. In 1882 he wasappointed to teach PastoralTheology at the Major Seminaryof Przemysl. Feeling called to thereligious life in November of1885 he left for Italy and joinedthe Salesians. He had the joy ofmeeting Don Bosco and it wasinto his hands that he made hisreligious vows on March 25,1887. As a Salesian he wasassigned by the superiors tovarious positions where heserved with dedication and zeal.Due to his spirit of austerity andthe changes in the climate, in1889 Bronislaw took seriously illwith tuberculosis and was evenclose to death. He recoveredthough from his illness while

remaining all the time in Italyuntil March 23 1892. With thepermission of his superiors hereturned to Poland where heassumed the position of a ParishPriest at Miejsce Piastowe in thediocese of his origin, Przemysl.

Besides his regular parishministry, Bronislaw Markiewiczdevoted himself, in the spirit ofDon Bosco to the formation ofpoor and orphaned youngsters.He opened an institute for themat Miejsce Piastowe where heoffered them material andspiritual support. He preparedthem for life by openingprofessional trade schools. In1897 he decided to found tworeligious congregations inspiredby the spirituality of Don Bosco,adapting his rules to the specificnature of his charism. He waswelcomed back among the clergyof the diocese of Przemysl andcontinued his activity as ParishPriest and director of theinstitute to which he gave theprogramme of Work andTemperance (1898). He soughtthe approval of his congregationunder the protection of StMichael the Archangel, withmale and female branches. Theapproval came only a few yearsafter his death: in 1921 to theCongregation of St Michael theArchangel (Michaelites) and in1928, the Congregation of theSisters of St Michael theArchangel (Michaelites).

Father Bronislaw always wentahead with the approval of hisbishop, Joseph Sebastian Pelczar,as the director of youngsters,orphans and the abandoned,

using the help of hiscollaborators who he himselfprepared. He had already beguntraining hundreds of boys inMiejsce Piastowe. Eager to domuch for them, in August 1903Father Markiewicz opened anew house in Pawlikowice nearKrakow where more than 400boys could find a home and thepossibility for professionaltraining as well as spiritualdirection.

His absolute dedication toyoungsters, his heroic self-denialtook its toll of Father Markiewiczundermining his health whichwas already affected after hissickness in Italy. All thishastened the end of his earthlypilgrimage which took place onJanuary 29, 1912.

Blessed Bronislaw Markiewiczwas distinguished by his greatlove for God and his neighbour,especially in the poor, theneglected, the orphaned and theabandoned to whom he gavehimself entirely. He was alwayseager to accommodate as manyyoungsters as he could in hishouses eager to offer them thehuman warmth that theylacked. This deep desire wasexpressed in his own words: “Iwould like to help millions ofabandoned youngsters and allkinds of people, by feeding themand clothing their bodies andtheir spirits.” He remainedfaithful to this commitment oflove which was expressed in hisbold option for the poor, until hedied heroically while acceptingall the consequences that flowedfrom such choices.

BRONISLAWBRONISLAWBRONISLAWBRONISLAWBRONISLAWMARKIEWICZMARKIEWICZMARKIEWICZMARKIEWICZMARKIEWICZ

1842 - 19121842 - 19121842 - 19121842 - 19121842 - 1912

PRIEST, BLESSEDPRIEST, BLESSEDPRIEST, BLESSEDPRIEST, BLESSEDPRIEST, BLESSED


ST LEONIE FRANCIS DE SALES AVIAT(JANUARY 10)

PROFILES

St Léonie Francis de Sales Aviatdevoted herself to bringing

them back to Christ in their livesand work of the people of France.She was canonized on November25, 2001.

Léonie Aviat was born in Séz-anne, France, on Sept 16, 1844, andwas baptized the following day.Her father ran a store whose signread, “Seeds, hemp and linen, hab-erdashery, grocery: wholesale andretail.” A good customer base pro-vided the family with a comfor-table living. Leonie was elevenwhen her parents took her to theboarding school at the Monasteryof the Visitation in Troyes, entrus-ting her to the superior, MotherMarie de Sales Chappuis, whomeveryone called “the Good Mo-ther.” Of this Mother a priestwrote, “She runs the convent inTroyes with admirable wisdomand the most abundant blessingsfrom Heaven.”

An intelligent and lively girl,Leonie decided to reform herproud temperament according toSaint Francis de Sales’ advice.Mother Chappuis, a true “Mistressof souls,” taught the girls to de-velop the virtues they would need

in the world. She knew the pot-ential impact that a young womanwho was truly Christian and fullyliving her vocation as wife andmother could have on society andon the Church. Aware of the soc-ial condition of factory workers inthe region, Leonie wrote, “I feelmore joy in climbing a little win-ding staircase to comfort thosewho are overwhelmed by sorrow,

than in being at one of the mag-nificent parties” organized to ra-ise money for the poor. In 1860,she completed her studies at theVisitation boarding school. Beforeleaving, she revealed her desire toenter religious life to MotherChappuis, who advised her towait.

A reversal of fortuneLéonie’s return to Sézanne

delighted her parents – cultured,accomplished in piano, andpainting, she nevertheless didnot disdain the ordinary choresin which her practical sense wasrevealed. Mr. Aviat proposed anadvantageous marriage to hisdaughter. But a financial reversalof fortune ruined Mr Aviat andthe suitor vanished. Leonie wasfree, and she decided to enter theVisitation. “Wait a bit longer –what God has destined you foris not quite ready,” MotherChappuis told her. Soon after,Father Brisson (her spiritualdirector and a friend of thefamily) decided that the mom-ent had come to reveal what heexpected of her.

Mysterious CallFather Brisson had created a

youth club and reception centrefor young factory girls on the Ruedes Terrasses. To supervise them,he had to find full-time femaleassistants, which wasn’t easy -he would need souls dedicated toGod. When Leonie visited thehouse with him, she received aninterior enlightenment that sho-wed her that her place was there,in the midst of these youth, somestill children. She revealed thismysterious call to her spiritualdirector who was amazed at

what she said – finally, here wasthe person who could be thefoundation stone for the institutehe wished to establish! On April18, 1866, following an eight-dayretreat under the supervision ofMother Chappuis, the two foun-ders of the new congregationmoved into the house on Rue desTerrasses where Father Brisson’scenter was located. The youngestworkers were quickly won overby these two young women,distinguished yet as open as bigsisters.

Mother Mary de Sales Chappuisoften received the two pioneers inthe Visitation’s parlour and for-med them in religious life. “Fornow you are not called to chant theOffice,” she told them; “your prim-ary occupation is work. Give yoursel-ves up to it as graciously as possi-ble...your work is for you a continu-ous prayer.”

For me? Why?On October 30, 1868, the first

two Sisters of the Congregationof “Oblate Sisters of St. Francisde Sales” received the religioushabit. Leonie become SisterFrancis de Sales, and Lucie be-came Sister Jeanne-Marie. Thesebeginnings were disrupted bythe war that broke out on July19, 1870 between France andPrussia. Factories stoppedrunning and workers lost theirjobs. Sister Francis de Sales madegreat efforts to keep them busy.On October 11, in the companyof Sister Jeanne-Marie, she madeher vows before Monsignor deSegur, who said to them, “Mydear children your relations withGod must be characterized by agreat tenderness, your love forHim must be more gentle, more


IN A CHEERFUL MOODJust no time for sight-seeing

A farmer who went to a largecity to see the sights, engaged aroom at a hotel and before retiringasked the clerk about the hours formeals.

“We have breakfast from 7 to 11,dinner from 12 to 3, and supperfrom 6 to 8,” explained the clerk.

“Look here,” inquired thefarmer in surprise, “what time amI goin’ to see the town?”

Not so convenientThe country lad who had “made

good” in New York asked his oldmother to come to the metropolis.He gave the old lady the bestroom in the hotel - one with aprivate bath adjoining.

The next morning the boy asked:“Did you have a good night’srest?” “The room was alright, andthe bed was pretty. But I couldn’tsleep very much, for I was afraidsomeone would want to take abath, and the only way to it wasthrough my room.”

Just when?The sad-looking man had been

waiting for a long time for hisorder. Finally his waiterapproached, and said: “Your fishwill be coming in a minute or twonow, sir.” The sad man lookedinterested. “Tell me,” he said,“what bait are you using?”

Even better at the job“Why didn’t you deliver that

message as instructed?” a manasked his servant.

“I did the best I could, sir.”

“The best you could! Why, if Ihad known I was going to send adonkey, I would have gonemyself.”

Politely refused“I desire no remuneration for

this poem,” said the office visitor.“I merely submit it as acompliment.” “Then, my dear sir,allow me to return thecompliment,” replied the editorwith true journalistic courtesy.”

Making it quickAddressing the new class

concerning the merits ofshorthand, the instructor said:

“It is a matter of record that ittook the poet Thomas Gray sevenyears to write his famous poem,Elegy in a Country Churchyard. Hadhe been proficient in stenography,he could have done it in sevenminutes. We have had studentswho have written it in that lengthof time.”

Quite unearthly“She sang that song in a

haunting manner.”“Do you think so?”“Yes, there was just the ghost of

a resemblance to the originalpiece.”

Never out of company“Have you ever wondered why

you are so popular in yourneighbourhood?”

“No, except that I told myneighbours that I have alwaysplayed the saxophone when I feltlonely.”

noble, more tender than in anyother religious order...”

A mysterious unctionA ceremony of religious

clothing and profession wasprepared for January 29, 1873,the feast of Saint Francis deSales. However, one of the pos-tulants suddenly was struckwith an abscess in her heel bone,which made her suffer terriblyand kept her from receiving thehabit. A novena to the Saint wasbegun. The evening of February9, Mother Francis de Sales app-lied a second class relic of SaintFrancis de Sales to the sick foot.The pain finally subsided and theyoung Sister went to sleep. In adream, she saw a venerable pre-late who applied an unction ofoil on her foot. She was amazedwhen she awoke – she was infact cured...

My little wayOne day, coming across a

young sister in difficulties, SisterFrancis de Sales told her, “I amgoing to have you take advan-tage of my little experience. Godhas allowed us, Sister Jeanne-Marie and me, to have the mostopposite temperaments that youcan imagine. And yet here wehave been on good terms formany years, haven’t we? Well, ifI have been able to manage it, it’sbecause I’ve made it a habit tonever approach my neighbourwithout glancing at Our Lord.Try my little way - I can assureyou that it is good.”

“Win them over!”In the following years, Mother

Francis de Sales travelled frequ-ently to consider setting up the

new foundations that were beingasked of her all over Europe.When her Daughters spoke toher of difficulties raised by thechildren, she told them, “Winthem over!” meaning love them,support them, pray for them.Nevertheless, a wind of persecu-tion was blowing in France, andreligious Congregations werebeing suppressed. From 1901 to1904, all the Oblates’ houseswere closed. Mother Francis deSales decided to transfer theMother House to Perugia, Italy.Taking advantage of her stay inItaly, she approached Pope SaintPius X to obtain final approba-tion of her Institute’s Constitu-tions. These steps would come toa successful conclusion in April1911. In the meantime, onFebruary 2, 1908, Father Brissondied peacefully. Informed intime, Mother Francis de Saleswas able to be at his bedside.When she returned to Perugia,she told a Sister one day, “Oh,how I would love to become asaint! I desire this greatly! I amgoing to start today!” OnDecember 26, 1913 a fever senther to bed. Her conditionworsened, and on January 9, shereceived Extreme Unction, thenHoly Communion. The 10th, alittle before 6 o’clock in themorning, she died peacefully,surrounded by her Daughters.

In canonizing Mother Francisde Sales Saint John Paul II said:“The resolution which disting-uished Mother Aviat so well,“Forget oneself completely,” isalso for us an appeal to goagainst the current of egotismand easy pleasure and openourselves to the social andspiritual needs of our time.”


THE EPIPHANY OF THE LORDCl. Ian Pinto, sdb

History and MeaningLike many of the most ancient

Christian feasts, Epiphany wasfirst celebrated in the East, whereit has been held from the beg-inning, almost universally, onJanuary 6. Today, among bothEastern Catholics and EasternOrthodox, the feast is known asTheophany—the revelation ofGod to man. Epiphany originallycelebrated four different events, inthe following order of imp-ortance: the Baptism of the Lord;Christ’s first miracle, the chang-ing of water into wine at thewedding in Cana; the Nativity ofChrist; and the visitation ofthe Wise Men or Magi. Each ofthese is a revelation of God to man:At Christ’s Baptism, the HolySpirit descends and the voiceof God the Father is heard,declaring that Jesus is His Son; atthe wedding in Cana, the miraclereveals Christ’s divinity; at theNativity, the angels bear witnessto Christ, and the shepherds,representing the people of Israel,bow down before Him; and at thevisitation of the Magi, Christ’s

divinity is revealed to theGentiles—the other nations ofthe earth.

What is Epiphany?Epiphany comes from the

Greek word epiphaneia, fromwhich “Epiphany” is translit-erated, meaning “manifestat-ion”. Epiphany has a number ofmeanings as given in the dic-tionary: (1): A church festival incommemoration of the coming ofthe Magi as the first manifes-tation of Christ to the Gentiles orin the Eastern Church in comm-emoration of the baptism ofChrist; (2): an appearance ormanifestation especially of a di-vine being (3): A sudden manifes-tation or perception of the ess-ential nature or meaning of some-thing; (4): an intuitive grasp ofreality through something (as anevent) usually simple and strik-ing; (5): an illuminating disco-very, realization, or disclosure; (6): Arevealing scene or moment.

As the dictionary definition of“epiphany” suggests, there is atension between the non-

religious use of the word and themeaning of the Christian obser-vance of Epiphany: the origins,associations, and essential theo-logical meaning of the feast andensuing season of the Christianyear are not easily perceived orintuitively grasped in a “simpleand striking” manner. Epiphanyis a season of variable length(depending on the date of Easter)that begins on January 6 andextends to the beginning of Lent.It was celebrated as a commem-oration of the baptism of Christbeginning in the third century,but by the fourth century in theWest it also became associatedwith the manifestation of Christto the Gentiles in the persons ofthe Magi.

Significance of the FeastThe Feast of Epiphany comes

not long after the great feast ofChristmas and perhaps for goodreason. At Christmas we standin awe at the kenosis (self-emp-tying) of God, who willingly be-came man. The grandeur of theIncarnation is often overlookedand seldom relished in a worldthat has so commercialized thefeast so as to obliterate its truesignificance and value. The feastof the Epiphany on the otherhand is often written off as lessimportant. This is the case becausethe true significance of the feasthas not been understood.

Epiphany and Christmas are infact, two sides of the samecelebration. After contemplatingthe staggering fact that God hasbecome a human child, we turnto look at this mystery from theopposite angle and realize thatthis seemingly helpless Child is,in fact, the omnipotent God, the

King and Ruler of the universe.The feast of Christ’s divinitycompletes the feast of Hishumanity. It fulfills all our Ad-vent longing for the King “whois come with great power andmajesty.” We see that whereasChristmas is the family feast ofChristianity, Epiphany is thegreat “world feast of the CatholicChurch.”

The feast unites three events inthe life of Christ when Hisdivinity, as it were, shines thr-ough His humanity: the adora-tion of the Magi; the baptism ofChrist in the Jordan; and the firstmiracle at the wedding feast ofCana. Moreover, at Epiphany theChurch looks forward to themajestic coming of Christ whenHis manifestation as God will becomplete. Epiphany marks theend of Christmastide, whichbegins with the revelation ofChrist to Israel in His Birth andends with the revelation ofChrist to the Gentiles at Epi-phany. The feast invites us toremember the dual nature ofChrist, namely, his humanityand his divinity and focuses onhis divinity so as to avoid lettingus lose sight of this fact in thecelebration of the birth of thebaby.


SAVED BY A CHILDSAVED BY A CHILDSAVED BY A CHILDSAVED BY A CHILDSAVED BY A CHILDIn the Holy Father’s Christmas reflection on Wednesday 30 December 2015, he invited the faithful gathered in St Peter’sSquare for the last General Audience of 2015, to “look to the lives of children” in order to learn to welcome and love Jesus.

God too “was a child,” he said. The Pope also address a special thought to the victims of natural disasters that recentlystruck the Americas and Great Britain. The following is a translation of the Pope’s address which he delivered in Italian

Brothers and Sisters, Good morning!In these days of Christmas, the Child Jesus is placed before us. I

am certain that in our homes many families still have a nativityscene arranged, continuing this beautiful tradition brought aboutby St Francis of Assisi which keeps alive in our hearts the mystery ofGod who became man.

Devotion to the Child Jesus is widespread. Many saints cultivatedthis devotion in their daily prayers, and wished to model their livesafter that of the Child Jesus. I think in particular of St Thérèse ofLisieux, who as a Carmelite nun took the name Thérèse of the ChildJesus and the Holy Face. She is also a Doctor of the Church whoknew how to live and witness to the “spiritual childhood” which isassimilated through meditation, as the Virgin Mary taught, on thehumility of god who became small for us. This is a great mystery.God is humble! We, who are proud and full of vanity, believe we aresomething big: we are nothing! He, the Great One, is humble andbecomes a child. This is a true mystery. God is humble. This isbeautiful!

There was a time in which, in the divine-human Person of Christ,God was a child, and this must hold a particular significance forour faith. It is true that his death on the cross and his Resurrectionare the highest expressions of his redeeming love, however let usnot forget that the whole of his earthly life isrevelation and teaching. In the Christmas seasonwe remember his childhood. In order to grow infaith we will need to contemplate the Child Jesusmore often. Certainly, we know nothing of thisperiod of his life. The rare indication that wepossess refer to the imposition of his name eightdays after his birth and his presentation at theTemple (cf. Lk 2:21-28); in addition to this, the visitof the Magi and the ensuing escape to Egypt (cf.Mt 2:1-23). Then, there is a great leap to 12 yearsof age, when with Mary and Joseph he goes inpilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover, and insteadof returning with his parents, he remains in theTemple to speak with the doctors of the law.

As we see, we know little of the Child Jesus, but

we can learn much about him if we look into the lives of children. Itis a beautiful habit that parents and grandparents have, that ofwatching what the children do.

We discover, first of all, that children want our attention. They haveto be at the centre – why? Because they are proud? No! because theyneed to feel protected. It is important that we too place Jesus at thecentre of our life and know, even if it may seem paradoxical, that it isour responsibility to protect him. He wants to be in our embrace, hewants to be tended to and to be able to fix his gaze on ours. Additionally,we must make the Child Jesus smile in order to show him our love andour joy that he is in our midst. His smile is a sign of the love that givesus the assurance of being loved. Children, lastly, love to play; playingwith children, however, means abandoning our logic in order to entertheirs. If we want to have fun it is necessary to understand what theylike, and not to be selfish and make them do the things we like. It is alesson for us. Before Jesus we are called to abandon our pretence ofautonomy – and this is the crux of the matter: our pretence of autonomy– in order to instead accept the true form of liberty, which consists inknowing and serving whom we have before us. He, the Child is theSon of God who comes to save us. He has come among us to show usthe face of the Father abounding in love and mercy. Therefore let ushold the Child Jesus tightly in our arms, let us place ourselves at his

service. He is the font of love and serenity. It will bebeautiful today, when we get home to go to thenativity scene and kiss the Baby Jesus and say: “Jesus,I want to be humble like you, humble like God”, andto ask for this grace.

May the icon of the nativity scene which wecontemplate in these days help you, dear youngpeople, to imitate the Holy Family, model of truelove. May it sustain you, dear sick people to offeryour suffering in union with that of Jesus for thesalvation of the world. May it encourage you, dearnewly weds, to edify your household on the rock ofthe Word of God, rendering it, on the example ofthat of Nazareth, a welcoming place, filled withlove, understanding and forgiveness.


STRANGE GROWS THE HEARTSTRANGE GROWS THE HEARTSTRANGE GROWS THE HEARTSTRANGE GROWS THE HEARTSTRANGE GROWS THE HEARTFrom Fr. Ian Doulton's collection of stories

Suffering, pain, they fall uponour days like night that shuts outthe sun of all happiness. But if weare patient, if we wait, we beginto see a meaning in the shadows.Often in our darkness, we receive– like a candle – the power tounderstand that this suffering ofthe body is blessed; sometimes itis necessary to prevent an evengreater tragedy.

This happened to FranHarrison as she tells it in herstory. Her husband Kurt is in hos-pital. He’s been there threemonths. When people come tovisit her they say things like:“How terrible!” Then they lookat her strangely and she knowsthey’re wondering why she’s notupset, why she can even smile,and she couldn’t explain to them.She knew what was the worstthing in the world for Kurt, andthat was not it. There was a realtragedy once. This was how sherecalled it: “I thought I knew theman I married. I didn’t expectKurt to be perfect; I didn’t thinkthat I was. To me his occasionalstubbornness showed a manlyindependence and his blunt wayof speaking came from hiscomplete honesty.

“So, we were married – thefirst month was wonderful andthen weeks of fun as we house-hunted together. I thoroughlyenjoyed trying to decide betweenthe English cottage and the ultra-modern bungalow. Then in themidst of all the excitement, Kurtcame home one evening andstarted pulling suitcases out ofthe closet. He urged me to start

packing; hoping that if wepacked all night we could makeit. I was wondering what this wasall about. “Kurt, where are wegoing?” I asked. His reply cameback like a shot: “To our house,where do you suppose?” Icouldn’t believe that! What did hemean “our house?” Then he toldme that he had bought a housein the country and even thoughit was rundown and that the realestate agent discouraged us fromtaking it – he could have it fixedup in no time. It didn’t seem tomatter very much to Kurt. We’dbeen planning all this together andnow suddenly he’d gone andbought a house. It felt like beingshoved into a house, like it or not.Kurt simply said, and ratherfirmly too: “I know what I’mdoing, you leave this to me. I’mpaying for the house…” And hepassed me a suitcase to startpacking.

I cried when I saw the house, apile of clapboards sprawled in atangle of weeds. But in a month,Kurt had the place shining insideand out. He gave me everythingI wanted for myself and thehouse. He was even religious – atleast he went to church faithfullyevery Sunday. Still I felt vaguelyunhappy without knowingexactly why. Perhaps becauseKurt always spoke of the place as‘his’ farm, ‘his’ house; heblueprinted the future in hismind and nothing I said everchanged a line of his plans.

The third year we were marr-ied, we had a baby. I thought thathere at last there would some-

thing that would be ‘ours.’ Butfrom the time Peter was in thecradle he was mine only to feed,dress and bathe. He was Kurt’sto spoil and turn into a stubborn,defiant little boy expert at gettinghis own way with his father andKurt boasted: like father, like son.

When Peter was five years andthree months old, Kurt came infrom the fields one day. “Where’sPeter?” he asked. I told him thathe was in the orchard with MrHanley’s boys. But he wasn’tthere. Kurt shook his head andsmiled. He would have to go andlook for this son he adored. I wasupset that I didn’t know where hewas, but I followed Kurt. Kurtthought nothing of it, he evencommented: “It’s good for him togo off by himself, it toughenshim. Then I suggested: “The firstplace to look is where I told himnot to go: down in the duck pondand all that mud.” We headedthat way as we noticed hisfootprints. He had come thatway. Then all of a sudden Ilooked ahead at the duck pondand I shrieked as I saw his littlebody, face down in the pond.Kurt found him in the pond. Hewasn’t breathing andKurt worked on him foran hour before wecould call a doctor. Thedoctor said that Petermust have been deadwhen Kurt broughthim out but Kurtwouldn’t believe it, heworked for almostanother hour. He keptpraying: “God…. God….” But at the funeralhe gave no sign of grief.The next Sunday, when

I was ready for church, I missedhim. I found him out at the duckpond. He was draining it. Hisface was gaunt and he didn’t lookup but asked in a low voice:“You’re going to church Fran?”I knew he was hurting. He told meto go ahead and that Mr Hanleywould drive me. I asked when hewas going and once more camethe cold and bitter reply: “WhenGod gives me back my son.” Iwas shocked and he went on…”Ifthis is what he calls a squaredeal…” It was difficult to reasonwith Kurt but I tried to tell him thatthere were always reasons forthings like this but Kurt refused toeven give it a thought. He fixed mewith his cold stare and simplysaid: “Look, I did my part…thisis what I get…I’m through.From now on I’m not asking andI’m not giving.”

He never set foot in churchagain. He never prayed. When hehad our farm running smoothly,he bought another rundownplace, and a third. He made mostof the repairs himself and he wasaway from the house for weeksat a time. He worked in his ownworld alone while I circled the


outside trying to break through.One evening a light plane landedin our meadow. I ran to look andKurt stepped out of the plane.“Hey, I rented it for crop-dustingand why not, that’s why I’vebeen taking flying lessons again!”He was doing everything byhimself, though he could affordhelp. But he helped no one andasked no one to help him. He waseven possessive of those whoworked for him. They were to listenonly to him. He was upset withHanley: “I hire a man and heputs a chicken house where youtell him to?” No amount ofreasoning mattered. There wasbitterness writ large across his face,in the tone of his voice and in everydecision he took.

One evening after dinner Inoticed Kurt in the study goingover the books. Recently he wasworking late into the night. Ithought I could give him a handbecause before we were marriedI kept books as a kind of part-time job. The reply I got at myoffer was: “No thanks, I don’tneed any help.” As I was goingout he looked up and remindedme to call George Greenwood totell him that he didn’t have timeto attend any meeting. I thoughtit was a good idea to meet with theother farmers and offer them thepossibility of a cooperative, theywould appreciate his expertiseimmensely but he simply replied:“It doesn’t mean a thing to me. Itake care of myself, they could dothe same.” They were simplycountry folk who worked hard butdidn’t have the breaks that Kurthad: “Luck is what you make it”was all he said.

He didn’t seem to need or

want even my love, and still Ikept hoping until I saw thedigger at the end of the gardenwhere I had planted a gardenwhere the duck pond had been.Kurt thought it was the best soilfor corn and that was what hewas going to do as he hoistedhimself into the digger. To me itwas the place where our son haddied. It held special memories forme, for us, I thought. I realised thatit was not so for Kurt. There was tobe no special memory of thattragedy. He simply added coldly:“That’s what it should not have.What’s past is past. There’s novacuum in my life. I outgrew thatyears ago.” I blurted out: “Kurt,what about me…Kurt, whatabout me?” He started up thedigger and shouted with abitterness I had never seen in hisface before: “Go ask God nextSunday.”

I ran back into the house asKurt fought another battle in hiswar against God. He would thinkhe had won at last, this man whohad shut out faith and friend,even the memory of his child;and now his wife. I couldn’t stayany longer in this house where Iwas a servant with no right togive or receive a gesture of love.To live in a house with one whois a stranger to your heart isloneliness worse than beingalone. I decided to leave in hisway: without discussion or tears.Sunday would be the best day.Kurt would think I was goinginto town to church.

It was Friday afternoon andKurt had been crop-dusting allmorning already. Mr Wallace,the new handy man and I were

standing on the porch watchingthe red plane dip up and down.It was quite a sight to see theplane make its manoeuvreswhile Mr Wallace said: “Ah, he’sgot her under control alright.”Then all of a sudden there wasan explosion. I screamed: “Theplane… the motor’s missing…it’s on fire…” The next thingwe saw was Kurt runningtowards the house but hestumbled in the field he had justploughed the previous day. Hewas one ball of fire. Mr Wallaceshouted: “Mrs Harrison, get backinto the house and call the doctor.Get back!” I tried to follow himand he kept shouting: “No,no…he doesn’t need you, heneeds a doctor!”

They let me see Kurt the thirdday. He was covered withbandages except for his eyes andhis mouth. He looked up at meand then turned his head. Everyday I came and sat in the roomas long as they’d let me. He gaveno sign… nothing till the fifthday. Then he asked me: “Did youtalk to the doctor?” I told himthat I did and I said that thedoctor said that he would bealright. Bitter as he still was, outit came: “All crippled andscarred, if I ever use my legs andarms again. I didn’t think you’dtry any lies.” He knew me too well;he could see that I hadn’t told himeverything. Then I went on:“Alright, the doctor said hedidn’t know how bad or howlong.” Kurt was discouraged andpainfully he tried to turn as hemuttered: “Go home!”

So he lay for three days more.The nurses said he never asked

for anything. He had to be fed,washed, turned in bed…hecould move less than a new bornbaby. But he would never ask forhelp. On the ninth day he was ina pensive mood. He looked upand whispered: “You’ve comeeveryday…why?” I said simply:“You’re my husband.” Then heshook his head and told me thatthe accident came so suddenly.He was flying so smoothly whensuddenly everything gave way.Then he looked at me and said:“…the same way it happenedwith the boy.” I had to tell him:“We never know, Kurt. We neverknow when…” I could see tearsat the corner of his eyes fallingon his pillow: “…will you…willyou…will you give me a drink ofwater?” I couldn’t believe myears. He asked me for a drink ofwater and then: “Now will youkiss me?” I was so overwhelmedwhen he began weepingunashamedly: “Fran…Fran…”

He cried. I held him in my armslike a child. I kissed him like alover lost and found. Like ahusband who has returned. Iwish I could explain somethingof this to people who think thatbeing shattered physically is theworst thing that can happen to aman. Kurt’s body may be inbandages, but his spirit is healed.Only a blow like this could makehim realise the truth that our lifelies entirely in the hands of God.Someday he will get well, butalready he is gentle. He has founda peace which he never knew inthe pride of his sound body. NowKurt and I both thank God thatthis thing happened. That by theroad of pain he has come back tohappiness.


DON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SDON BOSCO’SPRETERNATURALPRETERNATURALPRETERNATURALPRETERNATURALPRETERNATURAL

ABILITIESABILITIESABILITIESABILITIESABILITIES2222222222

by Fr. Elias Dias

Don Bosco evoked around hima supernatural atmosphere

which caused those around himto live in a climate of eager expec-tation. Stories of a mysterious dogwhich protected him, the abilityto communicate with preternat-ural phenomena, reading consci-ences and predicting events, beingpresent in two places at the sametime or see things happening inthe distance (clairvoyance), wereGod’s gifts to His faithful servant.

Preternatural refers to pheno-mena that are beyond what is nat-ural or normal and is inexplicableby natural means.

Our purpose is not to prove theirvalidity or make the reader a vic-tim of make-believe but to appre-ciate and cherish all that helpedDon Bosco carry out his apostolateeffectively for the welfare of theyoung.

Cleric John Bosco in his Memoirssummarized his first year in theSeminary as follows: “My stay inthe seminary was pleasant andfruitful, and I enjoyed the friend-ship of both my companions andsuperiors”. It was at this time thatJohn became a good friend of theCleric Louis Comollo. He was awonderful friend of John Bosco.They shared their lives andaspirations. The friendship ledJohn to lead a more austere life.

At the beginning of the schol-astic year 1838-39, Comollo sen-sed that his life was coming to aclose, and he confided this to John.

After a brief illness, Comollo died.Hardly had Comollo been bur-

ied than he appeared again in adormitory full of seminarians.Here is how Don Bosco describedthis astonishing event: “Louis andI were close friends. One daywhile recalling what we had readin the lives of some saints, weremarked, half-jokingly and half-seriously, that it would be a greatcomfort indeed if the one of usfirst called to eternity were toreturn to give news of himself tothe other. I was not fully aware ofthe importance of such a promiseand must admit that we actedvery rashly. We renewed it againand again especially duringComollo’s last illness. Comollo’slast words and his last look at mehad assured me that he wouldkeep our agreement. It was thenight between April 3 and 4, thenight after his burial; I wassleeping with twenty other stud-ents of theology in the south

dormitory facing the courtyard. Iwas in bed, but not asleep and Iwas thinking about our promiseas though I had a premonition ofwhat was about to take place, Iwas strangely afraid.” A strangesound became stronger and vio-lently shook the dormitory. All inthe dormitory were startled butnobody dared say a word. In thisatmosphere of awe, a light shoneand I heard Comollo”s voice,“Bosco! Bosco I am saved!”

John was so shaken and fright-ened that he fell so ill, that he al-most reached death’s door, leav-ing him weak for several years. Atthe end, still in poor health, Johnleft for home for a vacation. Thisincident had a great influence onthe life and ministry of Don Bosco.

Don Bosco wrote and publishedthe biography of Comollo in 1844while he was at the Convitto. It iscertain that by imitating Comollo,a young man could become vir-tuous and a seminarian could be-come exemplary, and a worthyminister in the Church.

One night in January 1886, DonBosco appeared, while in Italy, toFr. John Baptist Branda, theDirector of the Salesian house ofSarrià, Barcelona in Spain. FrBranda was sleeping peacefullywhen he heard someone call him,“Wake up!” He clearly heard DonBosco’s voice. “Father Branda getup and come with me.” FatherBranda thought that he was drea-ming and went back to sleep. Heslept and did not give heed to thevoice until the octave of the Feastof St Francis de Sales.

Then, during the night ofFebruary 6th, while he was sleep-ing, he heard another summon:“Father Branda, Fr. Branda!” Itwas Don Bosco’s voice again. He

wore an expression of paternaltrusting affection. He showed himthings that he least expected. FrBranda went into the dormitorywith Don Bosco. They saw boyssleeping. He pointed out threeboys hideously disfigured. He saidto him: “Do you know these threeboys? You will never believe whocorrupted them unless I come totell you. They are the victims of acoadjutor who led them astray.”Fr Branda heard the names andwas dumbfounded. Don Boscotold him to send them away.

Fr. Branda did not have anyexterior evidence. Don Boscoordered him to send them awayimmediately. At the end of thetrip, they saw the three boys andthe coadjutor hanging their headsin shame. There were others alsowho were involved in such cases.Father Branda did not know howto execute the orders. He was up-set at the prospect of having to ex-pel confreres. He heard an innervoice that kept on repeating “Act!Act!” He summoned the prefectof the house Father AnthonyAime and the assistant and urgedthem to keep an eye on thosepersons.

While he was in this state ofmind he received a letter fromFather Michael Rua in Turinwhich said, “I was walking withDon Bosco this evening and hetold me he had paid you a visit.But perhaps you were asleep atthat time.”

A few days later after thedream-vision, Fr. Branda went tocelebrate Mass in the home ofDorothy de Chopitea Villota.Before the Mass she said to him,“Do you know what? I dreamt ofDon Bosco last night!” Fr. Brandawas keener on celebrating the


Mass. As he began his Mass, hewas seized with fear and tremb-ling. Within a voice resounded“Do at once what I have told you.Otherwise, this is the last Massyou will celebrate.”

They took the drastic step anddismissed the boys and later theSalesian. Father Branda told them,“Don Bosco came in person to tellme!” Later when Don Bosco visi-ted Barcelona, Fr. Branda told himabout his decision and heapproved of it.

Don Bosco was endowed withthe charism of bilocation. He wason retreat at St Ignatius. OneSunday during afternoon churchservice, two Oratory boys wentsecretly to bathe in the DoraRiparia River near the arsenal.After splashing about in shallowwater, they stretched out on thesand. Suddenly they felt a sharpslap that left a mark on theirbacks. Exclaiming that it musthave been Don Bosco, they scram-bled into their clothes and racedback to the Oratory. Pale andfrightened, they sneaked throughthe church door and hid in adormitory.

Once Don Bosco asked a boy,“Don’t you recall being slapped byan invisible hand one day?” Quitesurprised the lad admitted it.“And what were you doing thattime?” The boy turned red. DonBosco took him aside and whisp-ered something into his ear andthat solved the problem.

Don Bosco was most certainly inTurin on October 14, 1878. Yet thatvery day an unknown French-speaking priest who refused togive his name was the guest ofAdele Clement at Saint-Rambertd’Albon, in the department ofDrome. Giving in to the lady’s

insistent questions as to hisidentity, he replied “A few yearsfrom now my name will be prin-ted in books, and these books willcome into your hands. Then youwill know who I am.”

The lady’s husband who was amerchant noticed that the priestwas weak and plodding alongwith difficulty. He told the lady’shusband, the merchant, that hewalked a long way. The merchantoffered him a lift in his old cart.Though the priest sat in the cartnobody paid attention to him.

When he arrived home Mon-sieur Clement helped the priest toalight and requested him to stayfor dinner. His wife complainedabout the poor health of her infantson. The priest told her “Keeppraying, Madame and your pray-ers will be answered.” After themeal the priest told them to keepa jar as a present in his memory.”

After the meal the priest said tothe lady, “I must leave for someimportant work.” He left and theycould not trace him. They weresurprised to know that he wentand cured the child of a nurse whowas living at Coinaud, a villageabout two miles from Saint-Rambert. Seven years later,someone who was present whenhe cured the child of the nurserecognized him seeing the pictureon a book. This is the priest whohealed your child.”

Don Bosco loved people butthere were some who were aga-inst him because of his sup-portand defence of the Church. Inaddition, he fought against theWaldensian errors. The grey dogGrigio was the topic of manyconversations and many wantedto know about this dog. Layingaside the fantastic stories, which

are told of this dog, Don Boscoplainly tells us the truth (MO, p240).

Don Bosco was aware that hislife was constantly in danger.Listening to his friends’ recom-mendations he did his best to av-oid being on the streets afterdark.

One dark evening, rather late,he was making his way homewith some trepidation when ahuge dog appeared beside him.At first sight, the dog gave hima start, but then he seemedfriendly and even nuzzled himas if he was his master. Theyquickly became friends and heaccompanied him as far as theOratory. Many other times thatevening’s experience reap-peared. Indeed he might sayGrigio did him valuable service.

During dangerous periods ofhis life Divine Providence senthim Grigio for his protection andhis defence. The grey dog oftenappeared in the Oratory and theboys treated him well for theyknew that it was Don Bosco’sdog. Mama Margaret wasfrightened of it. The dog wouldnot do any harm to anyone in theOratory but was always ready toassist Don Bosco.

The last time Don Bosco sawGrigio was in 1866 when hewent to Becchi with a group ofboys for the feast of the HolyRosary. One night he went tovisit his friend Louis Moglia atMoncucco. Two farm house dogsfuriously went at Don Bosco. Heexclaimed, “How I wish Grigiowere here. He would get me outof this mess!” Instantly Grigioappeared from nowhere andtook them on and so badlymauled them that they had to

retreat with painful howls.Grigio appeals to our curiosity

in a unique way and makes usask about his origin. Don Boscoremarked, “It sounds ridiculousto call him an angel, yet he is notan ordinary dog. He believedthat he was really providentialfor him on many occasions whenhe found himself in danger.

Extraordinary phenomenaafter Don Bosco’s death: Thefamily of Count Cravosio wasone of the many Patricianfamilies of Turin where DonBosco was always wholehear-tedly welcomed. The Count’sdaughter Rosa who had seen himmany times became a nun andtook the name of Philomena. Asthe Mother Superior of theconvent of Garessio she wassuffering greatly from spiritualtorments and physical infirmi-ties. On January 31, 1888 at daybreak after a sleepless night, thenun fell into a daze and beheldDon Bosco standing at the footof her bed, wearing his usualcape. Seeing Don Bosco the nunexclaimed, “Oh Don Bosco! Didmy mother tell you about me? Iam upset for I can no longer doanything worth-while.” DonBosco replied “I know yourmother was supposed to come tosee me but she was unable to dothat. You see, while I was in thisworld, I was able to do littlethings for you and your family,but now that I am in Heaven Ican do a lot more.” She asked hisblessing and Don Bosco assuredher all God’s help in her life.

The Lord of wonders endowedDon Bosco with all kinds of giftsand talents and he used themsolely for one purpose: To savesouls and to serve God alone.


A POET CELEBRATES MARY’S BEAUTYA POET CELEBRATES MARY’S BEAUTYA POET CELEBRATES MARY’S BEAUTYA POET CELEBRATES MARY’S BEAUTYA POET CELEBRATES MARY’S BEAUTYby Roberto Spataro

Dante, Petrarch, Boccacio,Manzoni, Testori and a long

list of poets have praised theMadonna in their compositions.Who won’t recall the inspiredwords of Dante in the prayer thatSt Bernard says in Canto XXXIIIof the Paradiso which begins withthe words: “Virgin Mother, dau-ghter of your Son”? It seems thatno great poet in the history of Ita-lian literature has been able toresist praising the Madonna. It isnot surprising. Poetry is a transla-tion into words of the facets ofbeauty that the poet, who is inspi-red, manages to put together. Inthis case, it is the Madonna whois a creature in whom the fullnessof beauty resides.

The First Poet of MaryOne of the Church Fathers, who

lived in the fourth century, is,chronologically speaking, the firstMarian poet; one who (one mightsay) opened the way to many oth-ers, of all ages and languages. ThisFather of the Church was calledEphrem. It’s an unusual name. Infact, he’s Syrian, a native of Nibisi,an ancient city now thought to bein Iraq. Christians in Syria and

those of Mesopotamia havealways held him as a great doctorof the Church and still do to thisday. Even amidst the great diffi-culties that they face, they vene-rate him with great devotion. His

compositions amount to aroundthree thousand verses, rich inmystic harmony. He has beencalled “the lyre of the Holy Spirit.”If all Ephrem’s poems are so beau-tiful those in which he speaks ofthe Madonna are extremely fasci-nating because they spring froma tender filial heart and that waswhy he was rightly accorded thetitle of “Mary’s Bard.” Ephrem isnot a speculative theologian look-ing for new ideas. He, instead,dwells on the traditional contentof faith, especially Bible storieswhich he adorns with lyrical ima-gery and in this lies his expertise.

All in me and everywhereYou might, or might not know,

but there were already otherChristian writers before Ephrem,like Justin or Irenaeus, for instancewho likened Mary to Eve in orderto show, by contrast, the role thatthe Blessed virgin Mary played inSalvation history. Ephrem takesup the same theme but dresses itup with truly inspired poeticimagery: “Look at the World: ithas two eyes. Eve, the left eye,that’s blind; Mary, the seeing eye,on the right. The left is the eye ofthe guilty world which remains inthe dark. But because of Mary, theright eye illuminates the worldwith heavenly light that dwellswithin her and all who are unitedto her.” When he wants to assertthe virginity of Mary, an article offaith that the Church has alwaysadhered to, Ephrem does not prof-fer arguments to refute his oppo-nents, he sings this great mysteryemploying poetically biblicalimagery, such as the burning busythat is not consumed, “Just like atSinai, I was alight but not consu-med by the flames.” Perhaps, am-

ong Christians, there is no morejoyful celebration than Christmas.We are all drawn to the mangereven the most hardened, and vio-lent. Naturally, this also happensto our Syrian poet Ephrem, whowhile contemplating the eventsunfolding at Bethlehem is trans-ported through his religious andpoetic fervour to put into themouth of the Madonna these ver-ses, a kind of lullaby, that theMother of God sings to the Son ofGod, her Child: ‘Mary gives ventto the sentiments of her heart asshe sings this cradle song: “Whoever allowed this solitary little girlto conceive and give birth to him,at the same time, one and many,little and grand, all within me andeverywhere? The day Gabrielcame to poor me, in an instant hemade me a lady and a handmaid.Who am I a handmaid of yourdivinity but also mother of yourhumanity, O Lord, and my Son?”

Co-participant in glorySometimes, Ephrem puts in

details that are not contained inthe Gospels. We could say that hepermits himself some “poeticlicense.” One of these that is trulydelightful and reasonably true, isthe belief that the Risen Lordappeared first to his Mother. Eph-rem writes: “Go, tell my brothers:“I am ascending to My Father andYour Father.” Mary, as she waspresent at the first miracle, alsoexperienced the first fruits of theRisen One from the underworld.”Several saints and other mysticshave also confirmed this opinionwhich is deeply rooted in popularpiety which holds that as Maryparticipated in the pain of theCrucifixion, so she must havebeen the first to rejoice at the joy

Saint Ephrem the Syrian is the greatestpoet of the patristic era. In his poeticcompositions, he made use of a par-ticular form that was especially con-genial: metric prose (memre). He wasa follower of the theological school ofAntioch. He wrote much to defend thefaith from the attacks of the Gnostics.


of the Resurrection. Sometimespoets are great theologians andEphrem is one such example.

Your Mother, a prodigy!Strumming the cords of his

heart, that never seem to tire ofcelebrating the beauty and gran-deur of Mary, he senses a prof-ound similarity between the Mad-onna and the Church. Both areunited in multiple ways. As al-ways, Ephrem expresses theseconcepts artfully, delicately yet ro-bustly at the same time, steepedin Biblical overtones. “The Chu-rch has given us the Living Breadin place of the unleavened breadthey ate in Egypt. Mary gives usthe bread that truly nourishes us,

in place of the hard bread that Evehad given us.” A distinguishedscholar of Ephrem and of ancientChristian literature in the Syriaclanguage (very similar to the lan-guage Jesus spoke, Aramaic) hassaid that for this Father of theChurch, the Holy Virgin is a per-son to whom he feels intimatelyconnected and towards whom hefeels bound by an immense debtof gratitude for the contributionthat she made toward the sal-vation of humankind. Ephrem isdrawn to the Madonna. The mys-tery that emanates from her per-son fills him with admiration andwonder: “O Lord, no one knows howto address your mother. If she iscalled Virgin, there is the presenceof the Son; if she is called bride, sheadmits that she has never knownman. Your Mother is a prodigy!Your mother’s womb has upset theorder of everything; the Creator ofall things entered it rich and cameout a beggar. There is a baby in thewomb and seal of virginity remainsintact. What a great portent!”

Ephrem, while speaking withutmost respect, turns to her witha trust from which comes thisconfident prayer as we end ourpresentation of the Mariologicalthought of Ephrem the Syrian,which seems to anticipate centu-ries of other heartfelt prayers tothe Mother of God composed byother saints: “O Mary, our media-trix, in you the human race finds itsjoy. From you, we seek protection.Only in you we seek refuge. Andbehold, even I come fervently to you,because I do not dare approach yourSon: I therefore implore your inter-cession to seek salvation, O you whoare compassionate, you who are theMother of the God of mercy, havepity on me.”

As Mary was present at the firstmiracle so she had the privilege tobe the first to see the risen Christwhen he rose from the dead

The Name of Jesus, Reserved Sin & AbortionFrom St Martin’s Messenger, Ireland

Q. Every day I hear the name ‘Jesus’being used in a profane manner.You hear it on TV especially on theplays/soaps, and in conversationsin pubs and on the streets. It painsme a lot to hear it as the Lord is ourSaviour and to use his name in thisway seems to me to be a seriousirreverence. Please let me knowwhat you think about this?A. Thank you for your questionand for bringing to our attentionthe frequent misuse and thedisrespect for the name ‘Jesus.’Sadly you hear it misused quiteoften in present day society.Some people seem to be unable tocomplete a sentence without theuse of the Holy Name or someswear word or other. The secondcommandment prescribes res-pect for the Lord’s name,’ youshall not take the name of the Lordin vain.’ Respect for his name isan expression of the respect owedto Jesus Christ himself. And theCatechism of the CatholicChurch states: The holiness of theDivine name demands that wedo not use it for trivial matters.’You will, as you say, hear it usedin plays, on TV, radio, or theatre.Producers of these plays explainthe frequent use of the HolyName in their productions bysaying that the plays etc. are aportrayal of the real world wherethe use of the Holy Name is part

and parcel of everyday conver-sation for many people. What-ever be the reason given mostpeople still feel offended whenthey hear it used disrespectfully.We pray that people everywherewill grow in their respect for thename of the Lord and use italways with reverence.

Q. What is reserved sin?A. A term used for sins whoseabsolution is not within thepower of every confessor, butreserved to himself by thesuperior of the confessor. ThePope alone can make reserva-tion for the whole Church andthe Bishops can do the same fortheir diocese only.

Q. Why is abortion forbidden bythe Church and has it always beenso?A. Since the first century theChurch has affirmed the moralevil of every procured abortion.This teaching has not changedand remains unchangeable. Thisis an essential tenet of Catholicteaching based among otherthings on the lovely words ofPsalm 22:10-11 “Before I form-ed you in the womb I knew you.’It is a tea-ching which forms thebedrock of Catholic Moral Lawand which the Church holdsacred and inviolable.


THE DEVOTION OF THE THREE HAIL MARYS

The devotion of the THREE HAIL MARYS isa very simple yet most efficacious devotion.Everyday, recite Three Hail Marys, adding theinvocation: "O Mary, My Mother, keep me frommortal sin." Many people recite the Three HailMarys as part of their morning and night prayers.To practise this devotion in time of danger, stress,special need or temptation, is a sure means toobtain Our Lady's help.

NEWSBITS

It was December 2015 and I was faced with a difficultsituation to handle alone. I began to pray the 3 Hail Marys and throughthe intercession of Mary I received help. Thank you, dear Mother foryour constant help. Mrs Imelda Fernandes, MumbaiMy husbsand and I were to travel to Norway on March 8, 2016, to visitour daughter. Just 3 days prior to our travel my husband had mouthulcers and was in severe pain. We went to our family doctor and hegave him some local application. The pain did not subside and therewas a swelling on his face. The 8th March being Sunday there wereno doctors available and we were supposed to travel that night. I justkept praying to Jesus and Mother Mary and proceeded with my travel.To our surprise while we were in a queue for boarding his blistersburst and the swelling began to subside. We reached Norway and theswelling and the pain both vanished. My grateful thanks to Jesus andMother Mary for answering my prayers and protecting my family always.Thank you Mother for all the blessings you showered on my famiilyand me through the faithful recitation of the Three Hail Marys as partof our daily prayers. Ninfa Britto, MumbaiThanks dear Mother Mary for curing a family member’s health problem.

TheresaThank you Mother Mary and St. Anthony: I left my wallet at an ATMkiosk in a rural area. After 30 mins I realized it was not with me. I wentback to the ATM and saw it wasn’t there but a CCTV camera showedus the face of the person who entered the ATM a second after we did.A police complaint was made but I knew they would do nothing. It wasnot the wallet but the ID proofs that were the concern. We know howdifficult it is to get these done. I prayed to St. Anthony and said I said9 Memorares and prayed to Mother Mary to help me get at least the IDcards and my license back. It was time to leave and guess what! Toour surprise we were contacted by the same person on the CCTVcamera and I got the whole wallet back. It was a miracle, Mother Maryand St Anthony heard my prayers if not I wouldn’t have never got thewallet. Thank you Jesus for being with us. Astrid Ferreira, Mumbai

BUDAPEST

The Hungarian governmenthas established an office to assistpersecuted Christians.

“Hungary considers itselfChristian, and is interested in thesituation of Christians all aroundthe world,” Eduard von Habs-burg, the ambassador of Hun-gary to the Holy See, said of thedecision to establish the sub-secretariat, which has a $3.35-million budget.

“Somehow the idea ofdefending Christians has acqui-red a bad taste in Europe, as if itmeans excluding other people,”he added. (Crux)

CHINABishop Vincent Zhu Weifang of

Wenzhou, China, who spentmore than 20 years in prisoncamps, died at the age of 90.

After years serving the "under-ground" Church, Bishop Zhufinally received official recogni-tion from the government in2010. But his conflicts with thegovernment continued, as hedenounced a campaign to des-troy crosses on church buildings.

Bishop Peter Shao Zhumin, thecoadjutor bishop of Wenzhou,

President Viktor Orban meetingPope Francis in Italy

was designated to succeed Bis-hop Zhu. But as the elderly bis-hop's health deteriorated, in lateAugust police took Bishop Shaointo custody and removed himfrom the province - appar-entlyto ensure that he would notpreside at Bishop Zhu's funeral,and perhaps in order to installanother government-appointedbishop in the diocese in defianceof Rome.

Despite this there have been aseries of attempts towards re-conciliation. Two priests (under-ground) of the diocese of Wen-zhou, interviewed by AsiaNews,express their respect for thedeceased bishop and describeMsgr. Zhu Weifang as a man offaith, committed to evangeli-zation, attentive to mendingrelations between official andunderground. (AsiaNews)


THANKS TO DEARST. DOMINIC SAVIO

LOVING CHILDREN TOTHEIR LOVING MOTHER

THEY ARE GRATEFUL TOOUR LADY AND DON BOSCO

THE POPE’S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR 2017ENTRUSTED TO THE APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYER

Starting in 2017 the Pope will present only one prepared prayerintention per month, rather than the two presented before thisyear. He plans, however, to add a second prayer intention eachmonth related to current events or urgent needs, like disaster relief.The urgent prayer request will help mobilize prayer and action relatedto the urgent situation. The Apostleship of Prayer will publish theseurgent prayer intentions on their website as soon as we receivethem from the Vatican.(www.apostleshipofprayer.org)What is the process in the preparation of the prepared prayerintentions? The faithful from around the world suggest papal prayerintentions to the international office of the Apostleship of Prayer inRome. Through prayerful discernment the Apostleship selects alarge number of them and submits them to the Vatican for furtherselection, with the Pope making the final selection. The Vaticanthen entrusts to the Apostleship of Prayer the official set of monthlyprayer intentions, which the Apostleship then translates into themajor world languages and publishes in print and digital formats.

JANUARYChristian Unity

That all Christians may be faithful to the Lord’s teaching by strivingwith prayer and fraternal charity to restore ecclesial communion andby collaborating to meet the challenges facing humanity.

Thank you Our Lady of Carmel for hearing my request. TheresaThank you Holy Spirit, Jesus and Mother Mary for numerous favoursreceived. H.M.V. MumbaiBelated thanks to the Divine Mercy and Our Lady for saving mefrom a serious stroke. I didn’t know what was happening to me. Iwent on praying for 15 to 20 minutes - ‘Jesus help me.’ Suddenlythis sensation stopped and I began crying bitterly and I smiled andsaid ‘Thank you Jesus. I was all alone, I called up my daughterand my friend. They took me to the doctor and I was admitted tothe hospital and remained there for 10 days. I had lost my balancebecause of which I couldn’t walk but Jesus and Mother Mary helpedme. It was a miracle and I can now walk and do all my work.

Angela Pinto, ThaneI had rheumatoid arthritis and suddenly developed excruciatingpain and at the same time my son developed an eye infection. Ibegan a novena to Our Lady of Valankanni during which I alsoprayed for my daughter-in-law’s safe delivery. On the 6thtday ofthe 2nd novena the pain in my leg disappeared my son’s eyes werehealed and my daughter-in-law had a safe delivery. Mama Mary,protect us always and thank you for your miraculous cures. Mrs Ellerena Peters, Chennai

I am grateful to St Dominic Savio for asafe delivery and for the gift of a sweetsecond baby girl after 13 years. I dailyrecited the prayers to St Dominic Savioand wore the scapular throughout thepregnancy. Thank you dear Mother Maryand St Dominic Savio. Sharlet Barnes, MumbaiThank you Jesus, dear Mother Mary andSt Dominic Savio for keeping us safe andhealthy. A DevoteeThank you, dear Mary Help of Christiansand St Dominic Savio for the manyfavours received and for helping mygranddaughter in her Std IX exams.

Joan and Eric Peters, PuneMy grateful thanks and praise to Mother Mary, Don Bosco and DominicSavio for keeping my daughter safe during her pregnancy and forthe birth of her healthy twin babies. Jean Mathias, Mumbai

Our grateful thanks to Mother Mary, Don Bosco, Dominic Savio andall the saints for curing me from hernia. A DevoteeA million thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mary Help of Christians,St. John Bosco, St Dominic Savio and all the saints for (1) My daughterand son-in-law for having secured a PhD degree and for a gainfulemployment; (2) Protecting my husband after a fall - all the tests arenormal; (3) Countless blessings and favours received.

Mrs Karis Rodrigues, BangaloreMany thanks and praise to Jesus, Mary Help of Christians and DonBosco for answering our prayers and the marrow bone report of myniece-in-law was shown as normal against the prediction of the doctors.

Effie, GoaMy sincere and a million thanks to Mary Help of Christians and DonBosco for granting my prayers and giving a life partner to my boss’daughter after 14 years. P. GomesWe thank our loving Mother and her dear son Jesus, St John Boscoand St. Dominic Savio for their manifold blessings. Our Lord JesusChrist saved my nephew Angelo from two major accidents. My niecewas also saved when she had a fatal fall from the bike and hurt herhead. Thank you, dear Mother, if it was not for your help, both mynephew and niece would not have been saved. A million thanks toyou, our loving Mother. Ms. S. Arputhaswamy

36January 2017 Don Bosco’s Madonna

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License to post without prepaymentposted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office

on 1st & 2nd of every monthDate of Publication: 1st of every month

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MARY WAS THERE

Don Bosco's Madonna, has developed to its present form from a folder published in 1937,by late Fr Aurelius Maschio, on behalf of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Bombay.

The magazine is sent to all who ask for it, even though there is a fixed subscription(Rs 200/- India & Rs 400/- Airmail)). We trust in the generosity of our readers/benefactors.Whatever you send us will help cover the expenses of printing and mailing; the surplus ifany, is devoted to the support of orphans and poor boys in our schools and apostolic

centres.To help a poor lad to reach the priesthood, is a privilege

You can help by establishing a Perpetual Burse with:Rs 5000/-, 10,000/-, 15,000/- for a boy studying for the priesthood;But any amount, however small, will be gratefully received.

Send your offerings by Payee cheque or Draft on Mumbai banks;MO/PO/INTL MO/BPO/Bequests, Wills, Perpetual Burses, all favouring Don Bosco'sMadonna or Bombay Salesian Society or Rev. Fr. Edwin D'Souza, (Trustee).Please address all correspondence to:

Rev. Fr. Edwin D'Souza, sdb.,SHRINE OF DON BOSCO'S MADONNA,Matunga - MUMBAI - 400 019 - INDIA

Phone/Fax: 91-22- 2414 6320, email: [email protected]

It was on 7th October 2014, thefeast of Our Lady of Rosary. As Iwas returning home from themarket a stationary car suddenlytook off and hit my bike. I fellunder the bike and when I waslifted up by the passers-by I couldstand on my feet and ride thebike. Except for the damage to theback panel of the bike I got out ofthe accident without any injury. Ialways recite the Rosary at nightand on the way to daily Mass. Mybelated but grateful thanks to OurLady of Rosary for protecting mefrom this accident.

A devotee, Goa

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