don bosco's madonna easter mumbai april 2018 … · april 2018 2 don bosco’s madonna april...

2 3April 2018 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaApril 2018Fr. Ian Doulton sdb

From The Editor's Desk:Easter....................................3

God And the Family - Ian Pinto, sdb 4

Youth on the Move: What is Shared is Multiplied - Giuliano Palizzi.....................8

Salesian Saint: Ven. August Hlond 10

Vocation Promotion: Cl. Sachin Tribhuvan sdb........12

Witnesses In And For Our Times:St Isidore of Seville.................13

Lectio Divina:Jesus Appearedto Them - Ian Pinto, sdb.........16

Quietspaces: God of Surprises- Pope Francis......................18

The Destiny is ‘Yes.’- Fr. Ian Doulton's Collection...20

Don Bosco And His People:Thrift and Frugality- Natale Cerrato.....................24

Reflecting on Mary: Authentic Marian Devotion - Bernardina do Nascimento...27

Walking With the Church: Elderly Care, Sunday Mass, etc. St Martin’s Messenger..........29

NewsBits...................................31

In a Cheerful Mood...................32The 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 APRIL 2018 vol.19 No. 12

EASTEREaster! This single day in the history of Creation is the reason for our

faith. It was the triumph of Easter morning that gave birth to thehope, dreams, beauty, and self-giving love that we know asChristianity, but we still have difficulty explaining what Easter meansto those who have not recognized the gift of Easter in their own lives.

Mr. Holland’s Opus is one of my favourite movies. It is the story of anaspiring musician. This young man was captivated by the dream ofbecoming a professional jazz musician, and of composing one trulymemorable piece of music. Like many young people who aspire tobecome professional musicians or actors, Glenn Holland earned ateaching certificate along with his degree in music. At some point inhis young life he married and found it necessary to take a “day job” asa high school music teacher to support his family. As the years wentby, Mr. Holland became more and more distressed with the contrastbetween his dream and his life. Every school year his responsibilitiesbecame greater at home and at work, until finally it appeared that hewould never attain what his heart told him he could become. As eachnew class came and went, it felt as if opportunity and time were slippingaway. Toward the end of the story Mr. Holland loses his job. If I wereto offer an interpretation of this story, it was at this point that Eastercame to Mr. Holland.

The reason the Easter Vigil contains a series of readings that retellthe story of God’s original acts of Creation is because Easter isconsidered the eighth day of Creation. Genesis tells the story of howGod created the cosmos and humanity in six days, and on the seventh,God rested. The Biblical account of the time between the seventh dayand the first Easter morning is the story of a creation waiting andlonging in its imperfection for its completion. That completion arriveson Easter, the eighth day.

The resurrection of Jesus on the first Easter morning was the day onwhich all that had passed before was given its meaning. Every humanheart has been born with dreams. These dreams are as unique as eachindividual child. Yet, somewhere between birth and Easter, allhumanity has shared something of Mr. Holland’s sense of loss andfrustration. Life seems to take its own direction. The dreams a personfollows (or not) and those not of our choosing, seem to become ourdestiny. The gift of Easter is this. Our past, our present, and our futureshave been embraced by God in the one redeeming act of Jesus. It wasthe discovery of the empty tomb that gave the first disciples new hopein the face of death. They gained an understanding of how all they hadexperienced tied together to bring them to that moment. In somemysterious way, God has given meaning and purpose to each of ourlives. Mr. Holland discovered the meaning of his life in one expressionof love. I pray that we discover a little more of ours this Easter season.

Turn thenthose eyes

of mercy towards usand

after this our exileshow unto us

the blessed fruitof thy womb

Jesus

4 5April 2018 Don Bosco’s Madonna Don Bosco’s MadonnaApril 2018

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GOD AND THE FAMILYGOD AND THE FAMILYGOD AND THE FAMILYGOD AND THE FAMILYGOD AND THE FAMILYby Ian Pinto, sdb

Awoman was asked by a full-time volunteer to join an

organization. “I am sorry,” shereplied, “but I don’t have thetime.” “Are you that busy?” shewas asked. “As a matter of fact,I belong to another group and amCo-President along with myhusband, and I take care of mostof the work, and my work doesn’tleave me any free time.” “Really,and what’s the purpose of your or-ganization?” “Its sphere of activi-ty is very great: it is devoted tothe promotion of Christian life,the rearing and training of child-ren, their subsistence and hyg-iene, the spread of culture andother related goals.” “What’s thename of that organization,”came the response, with a deepsense of admiration, “I’ve neverheard of it!” “That’s quitepossible” said the woman, “It’scalled the family.”

THE CHRISTIAN FAMILYThe genesis of a family, within

the Christian context, is when aman and a woman unite them-selves in marriage. What distin-guishes Christian families fromother families and characterizesthem, is the Christian spirit. Onlythe family that is formed andnurtured according to the teach-ings and example of Jesus Christand of His Church can be descri-bed as a Christian family.

The Old Testament begins withthe story of a family, the story ofGod creating the family of Adamand Eve. The first two chapters

of Genesis which speak of theCreation of human beings up-hold the greatness and dignity offamily life. “Let us make man inour own image and likeness…He created them male and fe-male… and blessed them… befruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:26-28); these statements regardingthe creation of human beingsclearly asserts that the family isdivinely instituted. God not onlycreates and unites man andwoman but blesses their familylife and commissions them tofruitfulness. God created thefamily in His image and likeness.The image and likeness of God islove (1 Jn 4:10). Then the basis ofthe family must also be love.

Pope John Paul II, in his Apos-tolic Exhortation, Familiaris Con-sortio, writes, “God created manin His own image and likeness:calling him to existence throughlove, He called him at the sametime for love… Creating the hu-man race in His own image andcontinually keeping it in being,God inscribed in the humanity ofman and woman the vocation,and thus the capacity and res-

ponsibility, of love and comm-union. Love is therefore the fun-damental and innate vocation ofevery human being” (FC, 11).

The Holy Family of Nazarethstands at the centre of the NewTestament. The covenant in theOld Testament is made to thefamily of Israel and it is to thisfamily that the Messiah is pro-mised. God chose to incarnatehimself in order to save theworld and be born in a simple,ordinary Jewish family. Jesus be-gan revealing the immense loveof God the Father through afamily. He lived in the family,obedient and submissive to Hisown parents. Under their care helearnt human values and grewup in wisdom and stature. Pos-sibly, he even learnt about theDivine at the knees of his par-ents. The Holy Family was de-vout followers of God, as is vis-ible from their lifestyle describedby the Gospel writers.

The Church in the New Testa-ment began and grew up in thefamily. It is in families that theearly Christians gathered for thebreaking of the bread and sharing(Acts 2:46; 5:42; 12:12). So it isplausible to state that the earlyChurches were the families andthe houses of early Christians(Acts 16:15; Rom 16:5; Philem 2;Col 4:15).

GIVING GOD TO KIDSHelping children from the very

earliest years to develop a reallymeaningful relationship withGod is not only important butalso vital. As per Canon Law, itis the obligation of parents toeducate their children in thefaith (Canon 226.2). It states: “Itis therefore primarily the res-

ponsibility of Christian parentsto ensure the Christian educationof their children in accordancewith the teaching of the Church.”The Church emphasizes the im-portant role of parent’s vis-à-vistheir children. They are primar-ily responsible not just for thechild’s physical and spiritualneeds but also her/his cultural,social, intellectual and otherneeds.

A mother was teaching therudiments of religion to her fourchildren. One day, at the end ofthe lesson, she said to them withprofound tenderness: “Howhappy I would be if one of youwould become a saint!” Theyoungest threw himself into hismother’s arms, and said: “Don’tworry, mother. I’ll be a saint.”The child kept his word; he be-came a great Pope and a greatsaint: Saint Peter Celestine. Oneof the best gifts parents can givetheir children is the gift of faith.

Spirituality comes naturally tomost kids. From a young age,they feel a connection to otherliving creatures. They have notrouble believing in things theycan’t see, and they’re intriguedby God and religion. Preschoo-lers think it’s fun to say gracebefore a meal, and grade-schoo-lers eagerly speculate about whe-ther their favourite cartoon cha-racter will go to heaven whenhe/she dies. But that doesn’t


mean kids really understandwhat religion is all about. “Youneed to bring spirituality intoyour everyday life, not just checkit off your list when you dropyour kid off at Sunday school,”says Mimi Doe, coauthor of 10Principles for Spiritual Parenting.Centuries of experience haveshown that a strong spiritualfoundation can be central to ahappy, purposeful, and ethicallife.

PICTURING GODGod must not be presented as

a bearded Santa Claus who giftseverything and anything we askfor; neither must He be seen as adespotic father, waiting to po-unce on any wrongdoing. Godmust be presented in terms oflove, mercy, joy, understanding,warmth, beauty and peace. Chil-dren must be reassured thatthough God cannot be seen, Heis there all the time, assisting,caring, listening and co-oper-ating with us. Children must alsobe shown that God needs us. Thisis a wonderful and inspiring tho-ught to develop. A young motherwas once asked by her daughter:“How could God need me, hasn’the got everything he wants?”And she narrated the prayer ofSt. Theresa of Avila: “Christ hasno body now on earth but yours,no hands but yours, no feet butyours. Yours are the eyes throughwhich his love looks out on theworld. Yours are the feet withwhich he goes about doing good.Yours are the hands with whichhe blesses men now.”

God loves people through me.He may want very much that

someone be loved today. I canrefuse to let him work throughme today since he respects myfree choice. What a tremendousresponsibility I have, being ableto love as Christ loved, and alsobeing in the position that I canrefuse the commands of theCreator of love. Parents who talkto their children like this caninspire in them feelings of thetremendous possibilities inher-ent in each human being. Eachone can change the world and alittle love can make everythingbetter.

It is also good to help them seethe small ways in which they canbring God’s love to other people.Everybody can play a part increating God’s Kingdom of lovehere on earth. Simple things likehelping your brother or sister getready for bed; bringing daddy’sslippers to him when he comeshome tired from work; helpingmommy set and clear the tableat meal time; sharing your tiffinwith a classmate who didn’tbring anything; befriend the girlwho is unpopular at school be-cause everyone thinks she is fatand dull.

Children must know that lov-ing is hard and it takes troubleand sacrifice to do things for thepeople we love. They must alsoexperience the happiness ofdoing so. Pain and self-sacrificecan be fruitful and sweet whenthey are made part of love. Whena mother comes home from theshopping and finds the tea readyand the kitchen tidy and clean,she smiles and hugs her childrenand tells them how much sheappreciates their love for her,and how really good it makes her

feel to see them turning out to besuch caring people. Her warmappreciation more than repaysthem for the trouble they wentthrough.

PRAYING TOGETHEROne of the basic requirements

of Christian life is prayer. St Paulinvites us to “pray without ceas-ing and give thanks to God atevery moment” (1 Thess 5:17-18). Prayer should never beturned into a formality or a chore.It is the glue that keeps a familyunited and the instrument ofblessing and sanctification. Jesus,who has promised to be presentwhen two or three gather inprayer in His name, enters intoevery family and sanctifies itwhen they pray together. “Farfrom being a form of escapismfrom everyday commitments,prayer constitutes the strongestincentive for the Christian fam-ily to assume and comply fullywith all its responsibilities as theprimary and fundamental cell ofhuman society. Thus the Christ-ian family’s actual participationto the fidelity and intensity of theprayer with which it is unitedwith the fruitful vine that isChrist the Lord” (FC, 62).

It’s important for every mem-ber to learn to be cheerful, spon-

taneous, and relaxed in the pre-sence of God. If a family kneelsdown in the evening, there couldbe a formal prayer to start with,and then each member of thefamily could, if he/she wished,say aloud his own personal pra-yer, a simple talking to God,thanking him for the good thingsof the day, asking him for theneeds of tomorrow, requestinghis grace or healing on certainindividuals, and telling him ofspecial plans. This is a wonderfulplatform to encourage childrento develop a familiar relation-ship with God. When I look backat my life, I realize that it wassuch prayer that helped me de-velop a healthy relationship withGod that eventually blossomedinto a religious vocation and vo-cation to the priesthood.

Endless are the opportunitiesfor bringing God to children, andchildren to him, but it is our ownwitness more than our words, orown obvious love of God and ofour neighbor, more than the ruleswe make, which are the mostworthwhile contribution to thefaith of today’s young people. Ifa family is living in the presenceof God there need not be formalprayer everyday for the membersto encounter God. It is possibleto meet God in each other.


WHAT IS SHARED IS MULTIPLIEDWHAT IS SHARED IS MULTIPLIEDWHAT IS SHARED IS MULTIPLIEDWHAT IS SHARED IS MULTIPLIEDWHAT IS SHARED IS MULTIPLIEDby Giuliano Palizzi

You remember that wonderfulpassage we call “the multipli-

cation of the loaves and the fish”?I think it’s the episode that is mostnarrated by the evangelists ascompared to others that have beenmentioned by one or other ofthem. For example, the washingof the feet is mentioned only by St.John but this story is furthermentioned twice in Luke and ag-ain in Mark! That means it’s beenmentioned totally six times! It co-uld certainly be because the inci-dent means to give us a precisemessage beyond the simple extra-ordinary fact of the multiplicationof the bread and fish that’s notjust enough for everyone butthere’s still an abundance leftover.

THE PROBLEM OF HUNGERThe various texts don’t speak of

“multiplication” but what is saidthat it’s a moment of great“sharing.” It’s important to graspthe difference. To say that there’sbeen a multiplication means thatsomeone has finally solved theproblem. To say that there’s beena moment of great sharing meansthat someone was invited to takecharge of the problem. To say thatthere’s no solution is a way of say-ing that no one wants to get invol-

ved. The apostles (that’s all of us)have a lot of doubts of how to dealwith the problem. Philip says:“Two hundred denarii would notbuy enough bread for each of themto have a piece.” The twelve cameto him and said: “Send the crowdaway to go into the villages andsurroundings to find food. We’rein a lonely place.” In short, theyseem to tell Jesus that the problemof hunger was not their problem.It had nothing to do with faith.Don’t we think in the same waytoo? Faith is: believing in God,praying, going to Mass, not doingthis or that… it’s the politiciansand the professionals who have toresolve this hunger issue, orshould all of us get involved!

JESUS’ SOLUTIONJesus says the Kingdom of God

is not “somewhere else.” Paradiseis not something separate fromconcrete everyday life. It is not a‘point of arrival’ because “thekingdom of God is at hand, thetime has come, repent and believein the Gospel!” We must stop ma-king little sacrifices to go to hea-ven. We should take care to buildHeaven – the Kingdom of God –by doing all we can to feed thosewho are hungry or give drink tothose who are thirsty, clothe those

who are naked, care for the sick,welcome migrants whatever theircolour. Because in the end we’llhave to give an account of this;and if we fail, (Lord, when did wesee you hungry, naked, a migrant?)nothing we say will be able to saveus. We can’t bring to our defense thefact that we attended Mass onSundays…or some story like that.We’ve got to answer just one ques-tion. Did we recognize Jesus everytime we met someone who could notlive with dignity because of mat-erial, mental or moral problemsbecause we reduced the Gospel tosomething that looked forward tothe future but ignored the pre-sent? The Kingdom of God is athand… the time has come… so?

BLESSED ARE THE POORIt is clear that Jesus isn’t worried

about the hunger for bread that iswhy he offers us a very differentkind of bread from the manna ofMoses. “I am the bread of life.Though your ancestors ate themanna in the desert, they died. Buthere you have the bread whichcomes down from heaven so thatyou may eat of it and not die. I amthe living bread that has comedown from heaven; whoever eatsof this bread will live forever. Thebread I shall give is my own fleshand I will give it for the life of theworld.” After the resurrection thedisciples were afraid at first if they

would be able to act like Jesus. Petersaid: “I have neither silver nor gold,but what I have I give you; in thename of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,stand up and walk!” Having noth-ing is poverty but giving everythingis sharing. One day Mother told ajournalist who asked her if she tho-ught about solving the problem ofpoverty in India. She replied thatshe was just a drop but if many dr-ops came together they would be-come an ocean and there wouldbe enough for everyone. Blessedare the poor in spirit. The moreone is – really speaking – evangeli-cally poor, the more one lives ev-eryday sharing so that everyoneeats and then you collect the left-overs and fill twelve baskets withthe fragments of the five barleyloaves left by those who hadeaten.

“Jesus reasons according to thelogic of God which is the logicof sharing. How many timeshave we turned away fromsomeone so we don’t see abrother in need? We’ve lookedsomewhere else and in ourwhite gloves we’ve said: “lookafter yourselves.” This is not likeJesus: This is selfishness.”

Pope Francis,Angelus 3.8.2014


SALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSALESIANSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTSSAINTS

AUGUSTAUGUSTAUGUSTAUGUSTAUGUSTHLONDHLONDHLONDHLONDHLOND

1881 - 19481881 - 19481881 - 19481881 - 19481881 - 1948August Hlond was born at

Brzeczkowice, in Poland onJuly 5,1881 to Jan a railway workerand Maria Imiela. He was the se-cond of eleven children of whofour became Salesians. His pa-rents gave him a firm foundationin the Faith and inculcated in hima filial love for Our Lady. At 12,attracted by the fame of Don Bo-sco, he followed his elder brotherand went to Italy to consecratehimself to the Lord in the SalesianSociety. August was accepted atthe college at Lombriasco to com-plete his secondary studies. Afterthis he proceeded to the Novitiateand received the cassock from Bl.Michael Rua (1896). Havingmade his religious profession, thesuperiors sent him to the Gregor-ian University in Rome for Philo-sophy where he graduated. Hereturned to Poland after that andhad his first taste of the Salesianapostolate at the Salesian collegeof Oswiecim.

He completed his theologicalstudies while frequenting theUniversity of Krakow and Lviv inthe Faculty of Letters (1905). Hewas ordained in Krakow by Arch-bishop Nowak. In 1907 he was ap-pointed rector of the new house ofPrzemysl (1907-09), from wherehe moved on to Vienna (1909-19).Here his talent and his personalabilities had an even greater reachconsidering the particular diffi-culties where the institute was

located. Fr. August Hlond’s holi-ness and his kindness were quick-ly able to remedy not only the ec-onomic situation but also to en-liven the Salesian youth workwhich earned him the admira-tion of people from all walks oflife.

In 1919 the development of theAustro-Hungarian province wasadvised about a proportionatedivision houses. Superiors appoin-ted Fr Hlond as Provincial, entrus-ting him with the care of the Ger-man and Hungarian confrereswith his seat in Vienna (1919-22).Within two years the young Pro-vincial led the province to esta-blish ten new communities, guid-ing them according to the trueSalesian spirit and thus attractingmany vocations.

He was elected bishop and con-secrated by the Archbishop ofWarsaw Cardinal Kakowski inthe presence of ten bishops andpolitical, civic and military digni-

taries. There was great joy in allthe dioceses because in the threeyears that Monsignor Hlond wasadministrator he had visited allthe parishes, administered confir-mation everywhere where therehad been no confirmation for over20 years. On June 24 of that sameyear Pope Pius XI promoted himto become the Archbishop of Gni-ezno and Poznan and appointedhim primate of Poland. The fol-lowing year on June 20th he wascreated cardinal and awarded thetitular see of Santa Maria dellaPace.

Unfortunately the SecondWorld War disrupted his pastoralplans. Poland was indeed invadedand the Cardinal was one of thefirst victims of the Nazis. Theyfound him a fearless and influen-tial defender of human rights, thefreedom of the fatherland and theChurch. Then began his Calvary:he was forced into exile till the endof the war. Persecuted step bystep, he escaped with the diploma-tic corps and crossed the border.He first headed for Rome and wasreceived by Pope Pius XII. Afterthis he began a courageous defen-se of his country which intensifi-ed; while in France where he tooksanctuary in Lourdes. There hestrengthened the organization ofthe resistance. The Nazis internedhim first in Lorraine and then inWestphalia. During these years offorced exile in France (1939-1944)Cardinal Hlond raised his voicerepeatedly in favour of the Jewishpopulation in Poland who wereseverely tested by the Nazi occu-pation, especially after the adop-tion of the “final solution of theJewish problem” (extermination)by the authorities of the ThirdReich.

Finally with an advanced sur-prise attack the Allied troops ma-naged to free him. He was takento Paris and then to Rome wherehe received a most joyful wel-come. After an audience with theHoly Father, he returned to Po-land to the See of Warsaw wherehe was first appointed archbish-op, maintaining his old seat of Gni-ezno. With pastoral vigour he de-fended his faithful from Bolshe-vik atheism, striving to protect theoppressed, advocating the solu-tion of social issues and comfor-ting the hungry and the homeless.He died in Warsaw on October 22,1948 and his funeral was anapotheosis.

In the history of the PolishChurch, Cardinal August Hlondwas one of the most outstandingfigures because of his religious lifeand witness, the extent, varietyand originality of his pastoral mi-nistry and for the suffering he en-dured with intrepid Christian for-titude for the Kingdom of God,making one of the most heroicperiods in the life of the Polishpeople shine with brilliance. Hislife intimately intertwines boththe spiritual values and the secularsituations of the life of the peopleentrusted to him and whom heloved and served as a true shep-herd and father. As Cardinal Ste-fan Wyszynski, the Primate of Pol-and and successor to CardinalHlond said: “He was, without adoubt, a man of State! But whatstands out in the life of CardinalHlond was his religious soul, hisprofound faith, a sincere soul likethe people of Silesia, perhaps hardas coal, the fruit of the land, butburning with the simplicity of hisdeep faith and his total dedicationto God.”


PROFILES

ST. ISIDORE OF SEVILLEApril 4

Mario Scudu

CL. SACHIN TRIBHUVANA Salesian Student of Theology at Don Bosco, Koregaon Park, Pune

VOCATION PROMOTION

I am from Don Bosco ParishSavedi, Ahmednagar. I have twobrothers (Nitin and Pramod)and loving parents. I learnedmany of my religious habitsfrom my mother. She would al-ways pray to Jesus, MotherMary and to St. John Bosco. Forthe family, espe-cially for meand for my broth-ers, themorning prayers and the familyRosary in the evening werecompulsory. Even today if I gohome I do the same thing.

I finished my Primary educa-tion at the Government School.Fr. Thomas D’costa, sdb was theRector, Parish Priest and thePrincipal of Don Bosco Savedi,Ahmednagar. Under his guid-ance I was admitted in Class 5at Don Bosco School, Savedi.There I completed SSC. Duringthose years Fr. Thomas guidedand inspired me to join Don BoscoLonavla in order to become a pri-est. I finished my board exams in2006. In the month of April I wasfree and had forgotten aboutgoing to Lonavla. Fr. James Nig-rel, sdb was visiting the housesof the parish and when he cameto my house he advised me to gofor the Lonavla camp. Since Iwas free I said to myself “let’s goand have some fun.” I went for thecamp and was amazed by theSalesians who were playing,praying and studying so well.

In 2006 I joined Lonavla. Theone who had sown the seed of avocation in me was already theRector of the house of Lonavlaand therefore I felt at ease.

On the way I met many Sales-

ians who became my friends andwho supported me in my voca-tion. My parents were my great-est support and even today theysupport me. The last two yearsof Practical training were verysignificant for me because thatwas the time when I actually feltdriven to go ahead and to sayYes forever to Jesus. I was inJhabua (MP) for my PracticalTraining where Fr. ChristopherValentino and Fr. Pratap Damorreally gave me space and time tothink and reflect. They gave methe taste of Salesian life. It’salways difficult to prepare forone’s Final Profession but thefathers shaped and moulded mein such a way that today I’mreally convinced about mySalesian vocation.

I made Final Profession on May24, 2017 at Don Bosco Shrine Ma-tunga, Mumbai. Presently, I’mdoing my first year of Theologyat Koregaon Park Pune, Maha-rashtra. I hope that Jesus, MotherMary and Don Bosco will conti-nue to bless me in this journey oflife.

When many Christians thinkof the saints they are still

obsessed with an establishedstereotype that saints are peoplewho endure lengthy penancesand say long prayers andperform great works of charity.This is true, but a bit simplistic.Saints are all the above but notonly that. There’s no need toscroll through the lives of saintsto prove this. Just consider St.Isidore for example. He was, formany years, the zealous bishopof Seville, but he was also a manof culture, a great scholar,perhaps the most learned man ofhis time. Thanks to his works, heenjoyed unquestioned authorityon many subjects and his workswere studied in many schools oftheology. In fact, he was calledthe ‘Teacher of the Middle Ages.’

He founded a school that hada profound influence on theculture and teaching practices ofWestern Europe. His writingsconcerning Spain of his time andthe Barbarian Invasions arebelieved to be reliable even today.But the work (among many) thatmade him most famousthroughout Europe is the

Etymologiae, a work of greaterudition. It contains subjectssuch as grammar, rhetoric,mathematics, medicine andhistory, information concerningreligious practices and theology.Today, thanks to him, this workis considered the first realencyclopedia of knowledge.

The writings of Isidore not onlyhave historical value but alsoshow a man deeply interested inculture in general and spiritualsubjects. He was eager to educatenot only the clergy but thefaithful too. He gave greatimportance to the study ofScripture. In fact he said: “If aman wants to be always in God’scompany, he must pray regularlyand read regularly. When wepray, we talk to God, when weread, God talks to us.”


In iconography he is depicted(mostly in León) as a bishopholding a book and a pen in hishand. St. Isidore’s symbolhowever, is a beehive, for hisincredible effort in puttingtogether ancient doctrine.

Another detail: Blessed JohnXXIII was inspired by the portraitof the saintly bishop of Seville.Isidore wrote in De OfficiisEcclesiasticis: “He who is giventhe authority to educate andinstruct people must, for theirsake be holy and blameless in allthings. (...) Every bishop shoulddistinguish himself as muchthrough his humility as throughhis authority… He should alsocherish that charity that sur-passes every other gift and with-out which all other virtues haveno value.” Didn’t Isidore unin-tentionally pen his own spiritualportrait?

Our little brother IsidoreThere is no precise information

about Isidore’s infancy andchildhood. His Father Severianocame from Cartagena and was ofnoble Hispano-Roman extrac-tion. When the Visigoth invasionwas about to take place thefamily, to escape the horror anddevastation, moved to Sevillewhere Isidore was probablyborn. He was already precededby his brothers (St.) Leandro,(St.) Fulgentius and Florentina(also a saint). He was orphanedbut his brother Leandro espec-ially took care of his education.

This was what Leandro wrotein the epilogue to the Rule pre-pared for his sister Florentina anun, “Finally, I beg you, my dear-est sister, to remember me in pr-ayer and not to forget our little

brother Isidore; because ourparents, leaving him under theprotection of God and of hissurviving brothers, quietly andwithout concern for his tenderage, fell asleep in the Lord. As Itruly consider him a son… Idedicate myself entirely to lovehim and pray for him with muchaffection as if he were tenderlyloved by our parents.”

He probably frequented theschool at the cathedral of Sevillefounded by his brother Leandroand whom he later succeeded asbishop (601). Isidore alsoinherited a rich library. By nowan intellectually mature man, hewas already writing works ofgreat erudition always moved bypastoral zeal.

Isidore was not only a man ofculture he was also an effectivepastor of souls. He was so re-nowned and esteemed that otherbishops came to consult him andrequest his intervention on ecc-lesiastical and even civil matters;also to organize local synods andcouncils.

Isidore and the “Filioque” question

Isidore also deserves a place inthe history of the Church forpresiding over to two Councils:the first was the provincial coun-cil in Seville and the second wasthe national council in Toledo in633 (the IV Council). Both contri-buted to promote and implementrelevant decrees and in bothcases Isidore stood out beforeeveryone as an administratorand an intellectual.

But his most important contri-bution was at Toledo. In fact, theCreed drafted there was based onthe theology of the Trinity and

the Incarnation and was accep-ted as a correct definition of thefaith even by the councils thatfollowed. In particular he is adm-ired for being able to get the so-called Christological issue of theFilioque accepted also in the West.In this Council an agreementwas also reached among thebishops for a liturgical uniform-ity throughout Spain; it was animportant step given that thediscrepancy in the liturgy was asource of continual doctrinaldiatribes among the clergy. Eachdiocese would have to start aschool for the formation of theclergy modelled on the onealready present in Seville.

An important detail relevanttoday: the Council decided thatnone of the Jews, and there weremany in the territory, should beforced to become Christian.

The Exercise for a Happy DeathAlso worthy of note was his

strategy of dealing with the issueof preparation for death. In facton his journey to God there is adetailed account which criticsjudge reliably reveal the depth ofhis sanctity and how much hewas esteemed.

He died in 636 and this waswhat was reported by one of hisdeacons. “Realizing that his endwas approaching, he opened his

hands, always generous, but theneven wider and for the next sixmonths or more, everyday hedistributed his wealth to the poor(…). When his stomach diseasebecame acute he called two of hisbishops to assist him in his lasthour. They took him from hispalace to the basilica of St.Vincent. A great multitude ofpoor people, clergy and religiousand the citizens of the city weptloudly as they accompanied him.

In the basilica he was placed inthe middle of the choir, near thegate where he made his Confess-ion. Then he asked one of thebishops to dress him in sackclothand the other to cover him withashes. Then raising his hands heprayed…” He asked pardon ofthe bishops and the lay peoplepresent and received theEucharist. Four days later, onApril 4, 636 he died.

Two more important dates: Atthe Council of Toledo in 653,Isidore was declared “distingui-shed doctor, the most recentglory of the Catholic Church.”

The second was in 1063: hismortal remains were transferredto León where they remain to thisday. This transfer was providen-tial because it is easier for count-less pilgrims to visit them as theyjourney to Santiago de Compos-tela.

We, as Catholics are not permitted to believe anything of our own will,nor to choose what someone has believed of his.We have God’s apostles as authorities,who did not themselves - of their own wills- choose anything of what they wanted tobelieve, but faithfully transmitted to thenations,the teachings of Christ.”

- Isidore of Seville


JESUS APPEARED TO THEMby Ian Pinto, sdb

The Resurrection is the foun-dational to Christianity. It is

so important that the entire Chris-tian religion rests on its truth. St.Paul eloquently and candidly sta-tes, “If Christ has not been raised,our preaching is empty and our beliefcomes to nothing. And we become fal-se witnesses of God… if Christ hasnot been raised, your faith gives younothing, and you are still in sin” (1Cor 15:14-17). Paul wrote this torefute the claims that some peo-ple were making that the Resur-rection was simply a hoax. He an-swers, “If the dead are not raisedthan neither has Christ been raised.Also those who fall asleep in Christare lost” (1 Cor 15:16, 18). Thepoint of the Resurrection is to pro-vide hope – hope of things tocome. Paul mentions it in verse 19,“If it is only for this life that we hopein Christ, we are the most unfortu-nate of all people.”

What sets Jesus apart from anyother famous religious persona-lity? It’s his Resurrection. No oth-er religious leader can boast of dy-ing and rising. On the other hand,the evidence for the resurrectionof Christ is undeniable. Scholars

and historians have come to theconclusion that Jesus did indeeddie on a cross, lay buried in a tomband rise to life again. The famousatheist turned theist, AnthonyFlew had this to say about the res-urrection, “The evidence for the Re-surrection is better than for claimedmiracles in any other religion. It’soutstandingly different in qualityand quantity…”

Did the Resurrection Really Happen?Skeptics down the ages have as-

ked for proof of the Resurrectionand recent studies have shownthrough modern techniques of in-vestigation that the Resurrectionwas a fact. One of the standard ru-les of evidence is consistent eye-witness from multiple crediblewitnesses. This serves as a verystrong form of evidence and sincethe resurrection is an event so farin the past, credible eye-witnes-ses accounts are the best bet. In 1Corinthians 15:3-6, Paul establis-hes the following: “I have passedon to you what I myself received thatChrist died for our sins, as Scripturesays; that he was buried; that he wasraised on the third day, according to

the Scriptures; that he appeared toCephas and then to the Twelve. Af-terwards he appeared to more thanfive hundred brothers and sisters to-gether; most of them are still alive,although some have already gone torest.”

Manuscript studies indicatethat this was a very early creed ofthe Christian faith, written withina few years after the death of JesusChrist. Therefore, Paul was notsimply writing a concocted storythat was making the rounds inearly Christian circles rather hewas quoting from an early source.It is also intriguing to note that hementions “most of them are stillalive”. In other words, he was invi-ting his readers to check the factsfor themselves. If they didn’t bel-ieve him, they could ask any of the450 plus eye-witnesses about theresurrection of Jesus. He wouldn’thave included a statement likethat if he was trying to hide some-thing like a conspiracy, hoax,myth or legend.

The resurrection of Jesus wasalso declared in numerous otheraccounts, including the appear-ance to Mary Magdalene (Jn20:10-18), to other women (Mt28:8-10), to the disciples on theway to Emmaus (Lk 24:13-32), toeleven disciples and others (Lk20:19-23), to the apostles (inclu-ding Thomas) (Jn 20:26-30), toseven apostles (Jn 21:1-14), to thedisciples (Mt 28:16-20), and to theapostles on the Mount of Olives(Lk 24:50-52 and Acts 1:4-9). Theultimate test of credibility for theseeye-witnesses was that many ofthem faced martyrdom for theireye-witness testimony. This is as-tonishing! These witnesses knewthe truth. They were followers ofJesus who chose to die rather than

give in to lies, for a historical event– the resurrection that establishedJesus as the true Son of God.

Jesus Appears StillWhile there are numerous ac-

counts of Jesus appearing to peo-ple immediately after his death,there are also accounts of indivi-duals who claim that Jesus appea-red to them. Some of the well-known ones are St. Margaret MaryAlacoque, who spread devotion tothe Sacred Heart of Jesus, and St.Faustina, who spread devotion tothe Divine Mercy. Even till the pr-esent day, there are individualswho claim to have seen Jesus. Per-haps some of you have also hadthat experience. Such experienceshelp to back the belief that JesusChrist is alive. The best proof, acc-ording to me, that someone hasencountered Jesus is to check theirlifestyle.

Those who encountered the re-surrected Christ, were not thesame people who saw the mortalChrist. St. Paul is a powerful ex-ample in this regard. Nearly everyone of the disciples who claimedto have ‘seen’ Jesus post-mortem,were ready to go to their deathrather than recant their witness.They were bold enough to standfor the truth. They were unlikelyto give in to their past weaknesses.They had to struggle to live holylives but their focus sharpened.Many of us perhaps, have neverhad the experience of seeing Jesusbut we have experienced Hispresence and His power in ourlives, that’s why we still believe.What if somebody closely obser-ves our lifestyle? What will theyfind? Are we different peoplebecause of Jesus or are just peoplewith a Christian name?


GOD OF SURPRISESGOD OF SURPRISESGOD OF SURPRISESGOD OF SURPRISESGOD OF SURPRISESPope Francis’ homily (edited) at Domus Sanctae Marthae on Monday, May 8, 2017

Peter had the courage to be surprised by the novelty of the HolySpirit, to break the rigid response of “this is the way it has always

been done”. He was not afraid of creating “scandal” or of notfulfilling his mission as the “rock”. He had the freedom not to hinder“God’s grace”, and not to “silence the din that the Spirit makes whenhe comes to the Church”. Pope Francis invited the faithful to askthe Father for the “grace of discernment”, and urged them not tocommit the “sin of resisting the Holy Spirit”.

“In these chapters that we have read in the last few weeks fromthe Acts of the Apostles” (11:1-18), the Pontiff began, “we can seethe Christian community is moving; and what moves the communityis the Holy Spirit”.

“The Spirit is the gift of God”, the Pope explained, “of this God,our Father, who always surprises us: the God of surprises”. This is“because he is a living God, a God who abides in us, a God whomoves our heart, a God who is in the Church and walks with us;and he always surprises us on this path”. Thus, “just as he had thecreativity to create the world, so he has the creativity to create newthings every day”, the Pope continued. He “is the God whosurprises”.

“Before the Lord’s many surprises — after this, the Apostles haveto meet and discuss and reach an agreement in order to take thestep forward that the Lord wants — before so many things”, theHoly Father had “two words” in mind: resistance and closure.

“Always, since the time of the prophets until today, there has beenthe sin of resisting the Holy Spirit: resistance to the Spirit”, PopeFrancis stated. “This is the sin for which Stephen scolds the verymembers of the Sanhedrin: ‘You and your fathers have alwaysresisted the Holy Spirit’”. This resistance can also be expressed bysaying: “No, this is the way it has always been done”, almost as if tosay: “do not come with these novelties: Peter, calm down, take a pillto calm your nerves, keep calm”, the Pontiff added.

But this is actually “closure to the voice of God”, Pope Franciswarned. “In Psalm 95[94], the Lord tells his people: harden not yourhearts as your fathers did at Meribah”. Instead, “Seek the Lord’swill, the Lord’s voice, what the Lord wants”, the Pontiff stressed.“What the Lord wants is other people; we heard this in the Gospel:‘I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also,and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, oneshepherd’” (Jn 10:11-18). Instead, the Gentiles were judged, as if“condemned”, and even the “proselytes, the Gentiles who became

believers” were seen as “second class believers; no one said it but infact”, it was so, Francis explained.

“Closure, resistance to the Holy Spirit”, the Pope continued, alsooccurs through “that phrase that always closes, that stops you: ‘Thisis how it has always been done’”. However, he pointed out that thisway of doing things “kills; it kills freedom; it kills joy; it killsfaithfulness to the Holy Spirit who always moves forward, leadingthe Church forward”. After all, the Pontiff continued, “how can Iknow whether something is of the Holy Spirit or of worldliness,whether of the spirit of the world or of the spirit of the devil?”.

The only way is “to ask for the grace of discernment”, Pope Francisexplained. “The instrument that the Spirit himself gives us isdiscernment: to discern, in any case, as one must do”. Indeed, “thisis what the Apostles did. They met, they spoke and they saw thatthis was the path of the Holy Spirit”. On the other hand, “those whodid not have this gift, or who had not prayed, so as to ask for it,remained closed and still”. Christians “must know how to discern,especially at a time with so much communication, with so manynovelties, to know how to discern: to discern one thing from another,to discern which is the novelty, the new wine that comes from God;which is news that comes from the spirit of the world and which isnews that comes from spirit of the devil”.

“Some may wonder”, the Pope suggested: “if these Gentiles weresinners and were damned and then they changed, then does faithchange?”. The answer is “no”, the Pope responded. “Faith never chan-ges. Faith is the same, but it moves; it grows; it broadens”, he explained.“Saint Vincent of Lérins, an elderly monk from the 5th century, saidthese words: ‘the truths of the Church go forward’; ‘ut annis consolidetur,dilatetur tempore sublimetur aetate’” . That is, Francis explained, “theystrengthen with the years, develop with time and become deeper withage”. That is, “they become stronger with time, with the years; theybroaden with time and grow with the age of the Church”. This is theway, he stressed. “It is the same truth, but it helps us understand better”.Jesus’ words come to our aid: “there shall be one flock”. In fact, “thedisciples did not understand what Jesus was trying to say”, whichwas: “the Gentiles will also receive the Holy Spirit”.

The Pontiff ended by inviting the faithful to ask “the Lord for thegrace of discernment so as not to take the wrong path and not to fallinto idleness, into rigidness, into the closing of the heart”.(by L’Osservatore Romano, Weekly ed. in English, n. 21, 26 May 2017)


THE DESTINY IS ‘YES’THE DESTINY IS ‘YES’THE DESTINY IS ‘YES’THE DESTINY IS ‘YES’THE DESTINY IS ‘YES’From Fr. Ian Doulton's collection of stories

Imagine you’re on the seashore,with the wind your hair, the

smell of sea salt in your nostrilsand the sound of ocean surfroaring defiance leaping uponthe land where man clings to hisbit of solid earth; his brain baffledby a power which it can nevercontrol. This is a force that holdsman at its mercy; vainly he bran-dishes his little sword of science;the power of the deep snatchesit out of his hand and leaves himhelpless: the sea, the strong evermoving sea. If in place of soundit uttered words it might say:“When I am angry I make alli-ance with the wind. I swallow thegreatest of ships. I reach to thesky and pull down flames. WhenI am in the height of my fury Idash on to the land and I tearaway houses and in the frenzy ofa single tidal wave I smash entirecities. Man may use me butnever rule me; never for aninstant curb my ebb or my flow.”But then he has to be reminded:“Yes, but once you did knowcomplete submission. For onemoment, you, the unconquer-able obeyed.” He has to admit itbut it was a long time ago and forone moment only.

Then I go on: “Remember thatnight on the sea of Galilee, whenyou began to trouble a boat thatcarried twelve men…and oneother?”

In the pitch darkness Peterlooks out and feels the windrising. It seems to come uponthat boat all of a sudden. It wasdead calm when they put outfrom the shore. The Master wasfast asleep in the stern. It had

been a tiring day for him as it wasfor all of them. They could all dowith a few hours of peace. As hewas musing the water seemed toget rougher and the waves seemto be rising higher. “We’re in fora storm!” Peter exclaimed. Therewas nothing they could do, theycouldn’t turn back now. They justhad to run for it. They couldn’timagine how the Master couldsleep through this. Their littleboat began taking on water.Now there was panic writtenlarge on Peter’s face and he scr-eamed: “James, James stop bail-ing…the rest of you try and helphim. Andrew, Andrew head tostarboard…get the bow into thewind.” All of a sudden they real-ized they were breached. Ano-ther wave could simply topplethem over. They would flounderat any minute. Peter turnedaround: “Look at the Master,he’s still sleeping. How can he?We’re sinking!” Water hadentered the boat and any timenow they would go over. Petershouted to John: “Wake theMaster, John, wake him.”

John went to the stern. Shakingthe Master by the shoulder heshouted: “Master, master…Lord,don’t you see, we’re going todrown! Lord save us, we’reperishing.”

The Master simply sat up,looked around and raised hishand: “Peace, be still.” Then heturned back and lay down again.

All of a sudden there was adead calm…they were astoun-ded. He just spoke and there wasnot a breeze on the horizon! Itwas so still they would have to

take to the oars. Peter startedgiving orders: “James…all ofyou, start rowing.”

When you walk into the foyerof any hospital you’ll hearmoans and groans of pain…I amdisease …those are the voices ofmy victims. I stalk man from hisfirst breath to his last. From thean-cient times he’s warredagainst me struggling to learnthe secrets of my power. Sciencepromises to conquer me…in awhile…in a little while. But stillI slow man’s footsteps, cripplehis hands, fasten him into wheel-chairs, throw him groaning on tohis bed.” Then once more he hasto be reminded: “But there wasonce when you bowed to amaster.” He had to admit: “Therewas, a long time ago.” Then Iwent on: “He had the power torelease your prisoners.” Diseaseresponded weakly: “Yes.” “Andhe did. Do you remember thetime outside a certain townwhen he and his friends saw oneof your victims creeping towardhim?”

I took him back to the scene ofthat defeat. There was a crowdmilling around the village walland suddenly there was atinkling sound and a weak reedyvoice pleading: “Unclean…unclean…” There was hush anda stir. Peter noticed the leper andhe had come so near the townand he was walking directlytowards Peter and his compan-ions still trying to loudly scream:“Unclean…unclean.” He was soclose to them that the foul stenchnow seemed so repugnant.People were covering their faces…but not before they noticedthat the poor leper had no toes

or fingers. His face too seemed tohave been devoured by thedreaded disease. The Master wasstanding there looking at himand not moving at all. The lepermade his way toward the Masterand the Master placed his handon Peter’s shoulder andwhispered: “Peter stay here;”and he moved toward the leper.

The leper crawled right up toJesus’ feet and his stubby handbarely brushed the Master’s feet.The Master in turn touched him.He put his hand on the leper’sshoulder and he heard the leper’sheartfelt plea: “Lord, Lord, if youwill, you can make me clean.”The Master immediately whis-pered: “I will, be made clean.”

There was complete silence allaround as the crowd watched inhushed amazement. The leperlooked at himself, his hands…hisfeet…then he screamed asloudly as he could: “I am clean! Iam clean…!” He was so unrecog-nizably disfigured…and nowthere was not a trace…of thedreaded disease! He was cured.

All is quiet in the little sleepytown and then above the chirp-ing of the birds and lowing of thecattle can be heard the mournfulsound of the church bell. “Neversend to know for whom the belltolls. It tolls for thee.” Then Ipause and I hear deep within me:“This is my word to every man,for I am death. When I call, mancomes; when I knock all doors flyopen. However science maywork to spin out the thread ofhuman years there comes alwaysa point at which I say: ‘stop!’ Anda life ends. In all the world thereis no power that can stay myhand.”


But that can’t be! I pluck upcourage and contest his boasting:“But even you met one who wasyour master.” And he replies: “Iwalk the earth and lay my handon every man.” I know my Scrip-tures and so I retort: “But youhave bowed to one stronger thanyou.” Then he had to admit:“Yes, once.”

I recall it in his hearing: “Yes, ina town called Nain where you hadlaid your hand upon a young manand now the litter-bearers werecarrying his body out to the tomband they ask people to step asideto let the funeral pass. Someoneasks in a whisper: “Who is it youare burying good woman?” “Theson of Anna, Jacob’s widow’s onlyson;” the only son of a widow…what a blow! Death is cruel… Iwatch her as she comes pastsobbing her heart out. She’s allalone in the world. Then all of asudden someone halts theprocession. That never happens.The funeral procession makes itsway to the burial ground asswiftly as possible…I’ve neverheard of such a thing. Then Irecognize him: It’s Jesus, thecarpenter from Nazareth. He goesup to the body and says, loudenough for everyone to hear:“Young man, I say to you, arise!”To the shock of everyone, the mansits up as if he’s been woken froma deep sleep. He turns around andlooks for his mother. Jesus helpshim alight from the bier and leadsthe lad to Anna his mother.“Mother, here is your son,” hewhispers.

That’s another feat…I feel quitebold…even proud that Christ hassuch power the wind and the sea,disease and death itself; Christgave orders and they obeyed. Then

I hear a whisper rather shrewdsounding: He had command overthe strongest of forces exceptme…” I ask: And who are you?”“The will of a man,” he replies.“He did not command mebecause he would not. Of God’sown choice he made me and leftme free. I am the most powerfulof all created things because Ialone can say ‘no’ to God. He doesnot force me even when I am thewill of a man named Judas. Evenwhen he knew that I had settledfor the thirty pieces of silver hecould only reveal to me that heknew that I wanted some revengefor the three years I had wasted.He would never restore the king-dom. I had to get something outof this for myself. Thirty pieces ofsilver that was small exchange fora throne but it was better thannothing. He could only warn methat he knew. He said once: “HadI not chosen you twelve and one ofyou has a devil?” And the last timethe eleven and I ate with him hekept referring to what only he andI knew. First he washed our feet; afine thing for a leader to do Ithought. And I was gladder thanever that I was finished with him.Throughout the meal he keptmaking remarks that only I under-stood.” Then the Lord spoke:“Amen, amen I say to you, the one ofyou who eats with me shall betrayme. The hand of him who betrays meis with me at the table.” “Is it ILord?” “Lord is it I?” “The Son ofMan indeed goes his way as it iswritten of him but woe to him bywhom the Son of Man is betrayed. Itwould be better for that man had henever been born. “Is it I Master?”“Yes, it is you. What you are set ondoing do quickly.”

Judas went on: “My mind was

made up. His words couldn’tstop me. To the very last he triedto change me with words; evenwhen I led the mob into the gar-den…” “The one whom I kiss,that is he. Arrest him and lead himaway carefully.” Jesus heard mecoming and looked at me: “Friend,why have you come here?” I said:“Hail, Master!” He shook his headregretfully: “Judas, do you betraythe Son of Man with a kiss?”

It hit me only later and I feltawful. Afterwards when I wasgoing out to hang myself I couldhear him saying ‘it would bebetter for that man had he neverbeen born. And I wished I hadnever been born. I wish I hadbeen a dumb beast with no mindof its own. It’s better to have nowill.

Suddenly some else spoke: “Noit isn’t.” I asked: “Who areyou?” “A thief,” I was shocked:“A thief?” He went on: “Yes, atthe time this man was hanginghimself other men were hangingme on a cross on Calvary. I hadit coming, I’d led a rotten life andI knew it, but I didn’t know whatto do about it now. They crucifi-ed three of us on that day: me an-other thief and Jesus of Naza-reth. I was surprised to see himthere with us. I’d always heardthat he was a good man – a kindof a prophet, some people saidbecause he could cure the sickand even bring the dead back tolife. Now he was in the same fixI was and it didn’t seem right.There was a whole mob aroundhis cross jeering at him andyelling but he never answeredthem. All he said was: ‘Fatherforgive them, they know notwhat they do.’ I put everythingtogether; the way he called God

his Father; the things I’d heardabout him, the way he was takingthis now; and I knew I had achoice to make. I could hang onto my old life with its sins; diehard as I had lived, the way theother thief was doing or I couldaccept the grace that was stirringwithin me. I could surrender thefew minutes left out of a rottenlife to my Lord and Master. Theother thief started screaming:“Save yourself and us if you’rethe Son of God.” I shouted back:“Don’t you even fear God, seeingthat you’re under the samesentence? We’re getting what wedeserve but this man hasn’t doneanything wrong.” Then I turnedto him: “Lord, Lord, rememberme when you come into yourkingdom.”

He turned to me and verycalmly said: “This day you shallbe with me in Paradise.” And so,when I died, I went with him toParadise.

I’m glad I was born a man eventhough it meant I could makemistakes. I could still changethings with my last breath. AndI tell you, Paradise is worth athousand, thousand times theagony of the hardest choice.

Our free will is the strongestpower in God’s creation becauseGod himself will never force it,never overrule it. This is our keyto destiny. This is our claim toglory, that we who can sin, donot or if we have sinned, we whocould have despaired like Judashave not. We use our freedom tocry: ‘Lord remember me, Lordforgive me.’ And our choice isrewarded with his answer.“Come possess the kingdomprepared for you from thefoundation of the world.”


FRUGALITYFRUGALITYFRUGALITYFRUGALITYFRUGALITYAND THRIFTAND THRIFTAND THRIFTAND THRIFTAND THRIFT

by Natale CerratoDon Bosco’s Appeal

Don Bosco, always short of mo-ney to feed and clothe his largefamily at Valdocco, found him-self particularly distressed in1868 when he discovered a newexpense that would further de-plete his meagre resources. Theintimation regarding the landtax would force him to sacrificeto the government a sizableamount of the money he had re-ceived in charity. So he procee-ded to petition the Ministry togrant him a waiver. We foundthis petition in his correspond-ence addressed to the Minister ofFinance, Quintino Sella on Aug-ust 15, 1870:“Excellency,

The predicament faced by theyoungsters lodged at the house ofthe said Oratory of St. Francis diSales urges me, the undersigned,to resort to your Excellency’sconsideration. In all our institu-tes together they number around1200. The decrease in charities,

the increase in taxes and thecrowds of abandoned childrenfrom all over Italy who ask forshelter, leads us to hope for atotal if not at least for a partialreprieve of the state tax on flourwhich exceeds 12000 francs.

This is the plea that this appli-cant makes in the name of thesepoor children and which hehopes will receive a sympatheticconsideration in this exceptionalcase.

With gratitude to Your Excel-lency, Your humble applicant,Father John BoscoTurin, 15 August, 1970

The reply communicated toDon Bosco by the Tax agent ofTurin on September 17, said;

“The Minister of Finance hasdecided to reject the request.Although the economic condi-tions of the Oratory are to be de-plored. However, it is not in thepower of this executive to remitthe taxes established by law andto grant. Knowing the not-so-prosperous condition of the

exchequer the aforesaid Ministrycannot accede to the request.”

Therefore, the Minister consi-ders it unlawful and impossibleto exonerate Don Bosco and soimpose the burden on the wholenation.”

QUINTINO SELLAQuintino Sella (1827-1884)

belonged to a family of woolmerchants. A mineralogist, alpi-nist and a well-known politicianknown as “a soldier of theRight.” He was thrice Minister ofFinance: in the government ofRattazzi (1862), the governmentof Lamarmora (1864-65) and thegovernment of Lanza (1869-73).

The chronic state deficit, thescary debt and the monetarycrisis of the 60’s threatened toparalyze the economy of thecountry. Because of the loss ofcredit on the internationalmarkets it became indispensiblethat the citizens within thenation make sacrifices and findthe necessary resources to pre-vent financial collapse. QuintinoSella was a man with “econo-mics in his blood.” He looked atexpenditure with “a miser’slens” and renounced any kind ofpopularity regarding measuresthat he took, auctioning state-owned and church property andintroducing tax hikes. Amongthe latter, the most discussed andopposed was the tax on flourwhich was nothing new in Italy.This tax which he proposed in1865 was one of the causes of thefall of the Lamarmora Ministry.The law was hastily promul-gated at Cambray-Digny Fin-ance. The quick collection oftaxes hurt everyone since every-one consumed bread but those

who most resented it were thepoor, especially in the country-side. Agitations and revolts fol-lowed. That was how Lanza andhis government fell. In December1869 Lanza was called to form anew government. Sella wascalled once more to the Financeministry where he remained till1873 bringing his ingenuity andexpertise and a real moralcrusade to save the situation. Hedid not abolish the tax on flourbut adjusted it without removingthe penalty.

It is not our task to judge thefiscal policy of Quintino Sella.But we know that he did to try tosquare the circle, and we alsoknow that he was a man of moralintegrity. He chose severe re-forms for everyone with the solepurpose of saving the countryand, after many efforts hemanaged to achieve a balancedstate budget. He worked silentlythrough enormous administrat-ive and financial setbacks. Hehimself recalled that in 1880,those difficult years of the landtax, he said: “We have only onedesire and it is that this instru-ment be sent to the museum ofantiquity to remember a periodof history where we resorted tomost serious and severe meansjust to provide for the needs ofthe fatherland,” and he conclud-ed by assuring all that he haddone “everything, so that in thefuture it would not be necessaryfor another Sella to do so again;which would be far worse thanthe unhappy situation we arenow have” (63). Through his ex-ample and his rigour he made It-alians aware of the need to save.He instituted, among otherthings, postal-savings banks,


giving added incentive to a cam-paign for building the economy.He shouted “down!” whichbecame the object of caricaturesagainst him. There were causticanecdotes written about him.Among other things people saidhe extinguished can-dles in thecorridors of the Min-istry; hetravelled only in economy classand ate only a loaf of bread withsalami he had brought from home.But through his relentless labourshe contributed immen-sely to thedevelopment of Italy. Faithful tohis conviction, even in death hewanted to be buried like apauper, without any civic cere-monies in the mountains ofOropa.

PIEDMONT AND PARSIMONYThe sense of saving was not

specific to Piedmont of the timeof Quintino Sella; it was theresult of a centuries-old tradi-tion. The Piedmontese, through-out their troubled history weredriven to parsimony and a senseof thrift.

In those days, a farmer, with allthe risks he faced, was forced toput aside what he had saved thro-ugh the sweat of his brow and toconsume less in his family and toalways spend in great modera-tion. The frugality at table was an-other aspect of this same attitude.An ordinary meal consisted ofbread, soup and wine. A few oni-ons and peppers were served onthe side.

In the municipal archives onecan still find inventories of agri-cultural and household itemsvalued as testamentary provis-ions. Every corner of the houseof the deceased was scoured, dra-wers were opened and with the

help of a notary every tiny littlething of value was listed and val-ued including empty bottles, potsand ladles, even tea towels. Indi-cative in this regard was the in-ventory of Francis Bosco. Whatwas listed were: “three to-wels ofa lire each, two brass lamps and asmall dish rag, a hundred byseventy-five” (64).

From his childhood, Don Boscobreathed the atmosphere of fru-gality and thrift. In his Memoirsof the Oratory, speaking of his pa-rents he described them as “pea-sants who worked honestly andearned their livelihood thr-oughtheir hard work and thrift” (65).In the same Memoirs, ref-erring tothe terrible famine of 1817 he ma-kes a note of his mother’s effort tofeed her family through the crisis:“tireless work, constant economy,care for the most minute things”(66). He always kept before himthe lifestyle of his mother.

Don Bosco a rigorous saver wasfaithful to the practice of spend-ing what was only strictly neces-sary. He used to say: “If we saveeven a cent, when we don’t real-ly need to spend it, Divine Provi-dence will always be extremelygenerous with us” (75).

A benefactor brought to Val-docco some new shirts for DonBosco. On Saturday night theguest-master placed one of themon Don Bosco’s bed but to hissurprise he found them in thesame place the following morn-ing. He asked Don Bosco aboutit, and Don Bosco replied: “Arethese shirts given to a poor pri-est?” To which the guest-masterreplied: “If I don’t give them toyou, then to whom should I givethem?” “Give them to those wholove to enjoy life!” (73).

AUTHENTIC MARIAN DEVOTIONAUTHENTIC MARIAN DEVOTIONAUTHENTIC MARIAN DEVOTIONAUTHENTIC MARIAN DEVOTIONAUTHENTIC MARIAN DEVOTION

It is good to dwell briefly on themeaning of real, genuine

Marian devotion, lettingourselves be guided by the saintsand by Vatican II. Today we havethe impression, in fact, that theuncritical adherence to many ofthe messages to many wonderfulsouls by alleged seers or by thepreaching of exalted prophets,lay and clerical, have sadlypolluted and dimmed the simpleevangelical witness of Mary ofNazareth.

THE TESTIMONY OF THE SAINTSAll the saints were in love with

the Mother of Jesus. I shall limitmyself to presenting what Teresaof Lisieux, doctor of the Churchand a passionate devotee of theVirgin wrote. These are wordsthat should always be kept inmind, especially by guides andpastors of the faithful. Teresawrote: “You should not allow im-probable things to be spoken aboutOur Lady in the church. A sermonon the Blessed Virgin, in order tobear fruit, should reveal her truelife, that which has been left to usin the Gospel, not an imagined life.Yet it is well understood that this

life of hers, in Nazareth and later,must have been quite ordinary.”The miracles of Grace thatYahweh wrought in the heart ofthat Jewess who was chosen toexperience the Incarnation didnot exempt her from experien-cing in her flesh all the emotions,fears, labours and the lonelinessthat every mother experiences.The spiritual graces bestowed byGod are never anti-suffering, oran elixir of longevity and happi-ness. To recognize Mary as amodel means to be willing tofollow her example always andeverywhere, in silent solidar-ity,in discreet prayer and docility.Mary is a masterpiece of grace,not a “freak.”

TEACHING OF THE COUNCILFifty years after its conclusion,

we would do well to re-readwhat Lumen Gentium says inChapter VIII. The Council Fath-ers recognized in the Madonna“truly the Mother of God andMother of the Redeemer.” Forthem she “is the beloved daugh-ter of the Father and the templeof the Holy Spirit.” Through thegrace of God “she far surpasses

by Bernardina do Nascimento


all creatures, both in heaven andon earth.” “Because she belongs tothe offspring of Adam she is onewith all those who are to besaved,” “and is hailed as a pre-eminent and singular member ofthe Church, and as its type and ex-cellent exemplar in faith andcharity.” The witness that the Vir-gin presents to us is anchored inthe most radical existential con-sent to the Word; a total offeringof herself as a servant to theperson and the work of her Son.Her life is like a kerchief in thehands of God. Her amazing do-cility was never at the expense ofher intelligence or her freedom.There was nothing ‘fideistic’(blind faith) about her. She poss-essed a transparent spirituality

and a rock-solid obedience. Shewas not a ‘whiner,’ she was a st-rong woman. Even at the foot ofthe cross her excruciating sorrowleft no room for despair orfunereal hysterics. In an attemptto contextualize her life with thereality of her times it is impor-tant that we be guided by num-bers 56-59 of the document. Herassumption was not the result ofsome magic trick of fate. It wasnothing more than the testim-ony to her complete attachmentto her Son (the Conqueror of sinand death). Number 61 marvel-ously synthesizes the essence ofthe life and the “core” of our dev-otion to her. “She conceived, bro-ught forth and nourished Christ.She presented Him to the Fatherin the temple, and was unitedwith Him by compassion as He di-ed on the Cross. In this singularway she cooperated by her obed-ience, faith, hope and burningcharity in the work of the Savi-our in giving back supernaturallife to souls. Wherefore she is ourmother in the order of grace.”The task of any true Marian spiri-tuality is to teach us to recognizeher as a mother who follows uswith the same solicitude, perse-verance, restraint and care as shewatched over Jesus. Our Lady isnot a deity, but an incarnate be-ing as anyone of us; she knewhow to respond fully to divinegrace. So, there is nothing ‘de-monic’ if we engage even moredeeply to very respectfully knowher socially, humanly and cul-turally like all the people of herday and how she learned to live,to face reality and to be contin-uously aware that she was only“the humble servant of theLord” nothing else.

Silence, Praying for Others, Offering MassesFrom St. Martin’s Messenger, Ireland

Q. My uncle is a bachelor in his latesixties living alone. He is in badhealth although he is not house-bound. However, he has not atten-ded Mass, gone to Confession orreceived Holy Communion for overtwenty years. He can be very con-trary and rude at times so I am rel-uctant to ask a priest to visit him. Iam concerned that if he were to diesuddenly without him having achance to repent for his turningaway from God – would he still beconsidered a Catholic? Could youalso give me some advice and tips onhow he could be encouraged to returnto God – bearing in mind that he isnot a very cooperative person.

A. Thank you for your question.Like your uncle there are manybaptized Catholics who, forreasons known only to them-selves and God – perhaps a rowwith a priest or in recent times thescandals in the Church or what-ever – do not go to Mass or Comm-union. It does not mean that theyhave turned away from God ordisowned God. I would venture tosay that most, if not all of them,still have faith in God.

Faith is nourished and deep-ened by our participation in theMass and the reception of the Sac-raments. So the faith of those who

for their own reasons do not go toMass or receive the Sacramentsmay be weak and their relation-ship with Christ (whom we meetin all the Sacraments) not very st-rong, but that does not mean theyhave rejected Christ. They havenot turned into non-believers, andour hope in a loving God tells usthat in His great love for all of usHe will find a way to nourish andkeep alive their faith and leadthem safely to final union withHim.

It is not always easy to speak topeople like your uncle but, shouldhe become housebound, youmight ask if he would like to see apriest. Sometimes it is better to saynothing but rather continue to doour best to live a good Christianlife ourselves – giving witness inthat way to our own strong belief.Very often silent sincere witnessto our faith can influence peoplefar more than hours of conver-sation. Our sincere prayers are al-ways answered, so keep prayingfor your uncle entrusting him toGod’s merciful love.

Q. Are Catholics still bound toattend Mass on Sunday?

A. Yes they are. The Catechismstates that ... ‘on Sundays and


NEWSBITS

ROME/SANTIAGO FLIGHT“The fruit of war...”. To the

journalists who accompany himon his flight from Fiumicino toSantiago de Chile, the first stop ofhis apostolic journey to Chile andPeru, the Pope wanted to distri-bute the photo of the child who,after the atomic bombardment ofNagasaki, in 1945, is carrying hisdead brother on his shoulders to acrematorium.

A brutal image taken by Amer-ican photographer Joseph RogerO’ Donnell, that the Pope alreadywanted to be printed and distri-buted at the end of this year. Hisbit-ter caption were the words,“The fruit of war”. Followed byanother caption in Spanish thatemphasized the despair of thechild “in his gesture of biting thelips that ooze blood”. Finally, hissig-nature: “Franciscus”.

A strong message from the Popeto denounce the devastating res-ults of the conflicts - of every con-flict - and his concern for this“piecemeal Third World War”that today, as he has said onceagain, is unsettling our world.

(Andrea Tornielli)

JORDANCatholic Churches in Jordan mar-

ked on Friday, January 12, 2018 the18th Christian and national pilgri-

mage day to the Baptism Site whi-ch is located on the eastern bankof the River Jordan. This traditionhas been followed since 2000. Itis the most prominent Christianreligious site in Jordan.

During a press conference whi-ch was organized by the CatholicCentre for Studies and Media(CCSM), Most Rev. ArchbishopPierbattista Pizzaballa, ApostolicAdministrator of the Latin Patriar-chate of Jerusalem, highly valuedthe pioneering role played by Jor-dan in maintaining common liv-ing among its citizens. He alsothanked His Majesty King Abdul-lah II Ben Al Hussein for suppor-ting the Christians in Jordan andPalestine and for his role in theHoly City.

The Apostolic Administrator ofthe Latin Patriarchate also exp-ressed appreciation for the effortsexerted by His Majesty the Kingfor the Holy City, according towhich Jerusalem became themost outstanding issue in the re-gion in the past days. He alsoreiterated that the Church viewsJerusalem as a mother for all andthat it cannot be confined to onepeople. He also stressed the im-portance of having the Israelisand the Palestinians reach agree-ment on the future of Jerusalemthrough negotiations.

other Holy Days of Obligationthe faithful are bound to parti-cipate in the Mass.’ (CCC 2180).In recent years as we all knowonly too well attendance at Sun-day Mass has declined. In someparts of the world, especially thelarger cities, the drop in atten-dance has been quite high.

But because we are a comm-unity, meeting other Christiansand sharing our faith with themat Sunday Mass is helpful to allof us. We support one another.We need that support. If we areisolated from one another wewill find it very hard to remainChristian in today’s secularworld. We need the strong faithof the community gatheredtogether in worship to carry usalong when our own faith isweak.

May we always use the Sundayas a day for giving more atten-tion to God and to share more ofourselves.

Q. Is the last day a totally fixeddate? Can it be speeded up?

A. The Church has no teachingwhatsoever about the specifictime of the second coming ofChrist - which we believe her-alds the end of the world. How-ever the end of the world forwhich Jesus asked us to be readyand to prepare carefully for, isnot the day the world ceases toexist for whatever reason, butthe day each of us leaves it.About that day Christ tells us tobe prepared “because we knownot the day or the hour.”

Q. I recently read that science hasexploded many Bible statements.How true is this?

A. This is a brief resume of whatyou wrote. The document ofVatican Council II on Divine Re-velation (paragraph eleven)says that “all the Books of Scrip-ture must be acknowledged asteaching solidly, faithfully, andwithout error “the Truth whichGod wanted to put into the Sac-red Writings for the sake of oursalvation.”

The Bible teaches us how to goto heaven and not how the hea-vens go. We do not look for bo-tany, astronomy, zoology, medi-cal lore, anthropology or anyother science. The TRUTH the Bi-ble gives us is the meaning thatthe sacred writers intendedwhen they wrote that particularpart of scripture. To grasp thattruth we must discover whetherthe writer offers us history,poetry, fable or moral lesson, orthe accumulated wisdom of apeople in proverb form. May theHoly Spirit breathe on us andlead us into all Truth.

Q. How old was Mary when shedied?A. The answer to this is verysimple. We do not know and wehave no way of finding out. Wedo not even know if she died.When defining the dogma of theAssumption of Our Blessed Ladyinto Heaven. Pope Pius XII didnot say whether she died or wasassumed while still alive.


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.

IN A CHEERFUL MOODGender EconomicsThe difference between a manand a woman is that the man willpay two dollars for a one dollaritem while a woman will pay onedollar for an item she doesn’twant.

Lapse of TimeA sad faced man came into aflower shop early one morning.The clerk was ready to take hisorder for a funeral piece, but heguessed wrong. The customerwanted a basket of flowers sentto his wife for their anniversary.“And what day will that be?”Glumly the man replied,“Yesterday.”

A Fatal Bet“If any man here,” shouted thetemperance speaker, “can namean honest business that has beenhelped by this club, I will spendthe rest of my life working for theliquor people.”A man in the audience arose, “Iconsider mine honest,” he said,“and it has been helped by theclub.”“What is your business?” askedthe orator.“I, sir,” replied the man, “I aman undertaker.”

Trial by JuryJudge: “Do you challenge any ofthe jury?”Defendant: “Well, I think I couldlick that little fellow on the end.”

Perfect FitThe second grade teacherstrained to help a pupil don hisrain shoes. After five minutes of

grunting and struggling, the boypanted. They were hard to get onbecause they’re not mine.In despair, the teacher struggledto get them off, the boy said,“They’re my brother’s, but I wearthem because I don’t have any.”

A Matter of Opinion“All really intelligent men areconceited” decided a girl.Her boyfriend shrugged hisshoulders. “Oh, I don’t know -I’m not.”

In the Nick of TimeBarber: “Your hair is turninggrey, sir.”Customer: “I’m not surprised,hurry up.”

Hatch Matched“But darling,” said the prospec-tive bride, “If I marry you I’ll losemy job.”“Can’t we keep our marriage asecret?” asked her fiance.“But suppose we have a baby?”“Oh we’ll tell the baby, ofcourse.”

Short-Age“There was a JapaneseMillionaire whose cheque wasreturned from the bank, marked:“Insufficient funds - not you, us.”

Excellent ReturnsThis is a country of faith. On theinstallment plan you can buywhat you can’t afford. On thestock market you can sell whatyou don’t own, and on the taxform they take away what youhaven’t borrowed yet.

I thank you most Sacred Heart of Jesus and Our BlessedMother for the countless blessings received and for the

favours granted. Antonieta SimoesMy heartfelt thanks to the Lord Jesus and Mother Mary. We prayed thepowerful three Hail Marys to secure the job for our son Joshua and for anew job for our daughter Samantha and son-in-law Erwin and our prayerswere heard. Our dear Lord and our Blessed Mother please keep us inyour care always. Daisy D’Souza and Family, MumbaiDear Jesus, Mother Mary and Don Bosco...thanks to our devotion to thethree Hail Marys for so many years now (I’m 65 years old) I was sufferingfrom blood in my stools and the doctor told me that the treatment wouldcost me 3 to 4 lakn rupees which I could not afford. I began praying thethree Hail Marys earnestly at any time of the day. My dear Mother heardmy prayers. I am much better now. The bleeding has decreased and Ifeel better now. I am unable to do all my house work. I still ask mother toshower her graces on me and heal me completely of my sickness as Ilive alone and take care of myself by taking tuition. I thank Our BlessedMother for blessing me in so many ways and keeping me under herprotection always. A DevoteeOn October 27, 2015 at about 1 pm my husband, daugther, grand daughterand I were on our way home from hospital after consulting a cardiologistconcerning my sickness. We made some purchases on the way. Mydaughter was driving the car, my husband was seated in front, my grand-daughter and I were seat behind. Suddenly the door near my grand-daughter swung open and she was thrown out. Using all my strength Ipulled her in. There were many speeding vehicles behind us. Had I notacted in time it might have been a fatal accident. We were all shocked fora moment. We all thanked Mother Mary who was definitely there. Wealways recite the 3 Hail Marys at night and on our journey. D. JosephA very big thank you to Our Lady. My brother was diagnosed with dengueand his platlet count was 36,000. The next day when he did the blood testit had droppped to 28,000 which was very alarming. We are devoted toOur Lady and we kept reciting the 3 Hail Marys. After three days anothertest found that the platlet count jumped from 28,000 to 82,000. We aregrateful to Our Lady for her constant intercession. R. Poppen, Mumbai


APOSTLESHIP OF PRAYERAPRIL 2018

THANKS TO DEARST. DOMINIC SAVIO

LOVING CHILDREN TOTHEIR LOVING MOTHER

THEY ARE GRATEFUL TOOUR LADY AND DON BOSCO

For Those who have Responsibility in Economic MattersThat economists may have the courage to reject any economyof exclusion and know how to open new paths.

My sincere thanks to the Most Holy Trinity, Mary Help of Christians,the saints for healing me of vertigo, sciatic pain and injuries froma fall. I am now 90 years old. Mrs. Marie Pearce, Mira Road, MumbaiMy sincere thanks to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mother Mary andall the saints for healing my leg pain; for my daughter’s success inher mid-term exams, for helping her find accommodation and agood room mate; for summer academic activities for my children;for healing me and giving me hope; for helping me in writing myassignments; for my husband’s job; for Viyana’s health, smile andblessings; for Sonia’s safe delivery; for healing Amini and uncleand Penama, uncle Kunjamom; for Hemant’s job, fellowship andawards. P. Samagond, USAThanks dear Mother Mary and all the saints for favours grantedthrough their intercession. Continue to bless our family. Mrs. KathrinaMy daughter in Canada suddenly got “Bella Palsy” and her facewas disfigured. The Mercy of Jesus and Our Mother Mary healedher within 15 days. I’m very grateful. My grandson Roger Guerramet with a serious accident but Mother Mary saved him. He had aconcussion and several complications but he has recovered thanksto Our Blessed Mother. Mrs. C.E.Wasdell

I am 89 years old and I am a diabetic. In Marcy 2017 I went for acomplete check up. It was discovered that I had a tumor. I wasoperated and the tumor removed and sent for a biopsy. It wasfound to be malignant. I was recommended a long course ofradiation but a friend of mine immediately arranged for anappointment the next day with one of India’s leading cancerspecialists. The good doctor taking into consideration my old ageand that I could not walk without assistance ruled out radiation andput me on a course of medication. On completion of the course inOctober 2017 when I went for a check up it miraculously showedthat the cancer had been cured. I thank the Lord Jesus and ourbeloved Mother Mary and the good doctors who attended on meand cured me of my cancer giving me a new lease of life. “Morethings are achieved by the power of prayer and the mercy ofGod.”

Alan Cardoso, MumbaiWe are grateful that we found the Rosary of my late husbandGerald Traynor in tact when his remains were transferred to aniche. It certainly showed us that Our Lady was there watchingover my husband. Thank You Blessed Mother for your constantreassuring presence. Mrs. Colleen Traynor, Mumbai

My grateful thanks to the Sacred Heartof Jesus, Mother Mary, St. John Boscoand St. Dominic Savio and all the saintsin heaven for helping my son Ryan PeterGonsalves to pass his chief mate’sexamination in the UK and also belatedthanks for helping my son and daughterto find good life partners in their marriedlives. Guide and protect us always.

Cedric Gonsalves, GoaMy sincere thanks to Our Lord Jesus,dear Mother Mary and Dominic Saviofor the gift of a healthy second child, ababy boy. Bless our family. Maria Pontis, Mumbai

My sincere gratitude to the Lord Jesus Christ, Mother Mary, St. DominicSavio and all the saints for answering my prayers at each time I callfor help. Violet, MumbaiMy sincere and heartfelt thanks to the Holy Trinity, Mary Help ofChristians, Don Bosco and Dominic Savio and all the saints for curingme of a severe attack of colitis, urinary tract infection and grant meand my family many other favours. May they continue to bless meand my family always. Mrs. Philomena D’Souza, GoaThank you Mother Mary and St. Dominic Savio for the gift of twinbaby girls. Tina and Leeon Coelho, MumbaiOur sincere thanks to Our Blessed Lord, Mother Mary, Don Boscoand Dominic Savio for graces and favours received by my family.

Marie D’Souza, MumbaiOur sincere thanks to Our Lady, through the powerful intercession ofthe three Hail Marys and St. Dominic Savio my son completed hisSSC and his graduation; and for the gift of a son. Belinda FerreiraMy grateful thanks to Mary Help of Christians, Don Bosco, DominicSavio for granting me the favours I asked for. A. SerraoThank you Abba Father, dear Jesus, Mother Mary and St. Dominic Saviofor gifting a baby boy to Elroy and Roseline. Guide and protect themevery step of the way. We have named him Evon Ezekiel Pereira.

36April 2018 Don Bosco’s Madonna

Regd RNI no. 9360/57;Postal Regn. MH/MR/North East/089/2018-2020posted at Mumbai Patrika Channel Sorting Office

on 1st & 2nd of every monthSubs: (one copy Rs. 20/-); Inland Rs. 200p.a; Airmail: Rs 500 p.a.

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]

On July 11th, my husband and I weretaking our son (19 months old) for ashort walk in his stroller. Suddenly myhusband moved the stroller awayfrom me and he shouted: ‘move.’Before I could react I was hit by a carfrom behind and was flung onto apatch of grass nearby. The impact alsomade the stroller fall onto the road. Ilay on the ground in pain and shock.Thankfully, a few people came to helpus and called 911. They also tried tokeep me conscious by talking to me.My son got a few minor bruises, whileI suffered minor injuries. We havemade close to a full recovery. It is onlybecause of the hand of protection ofour Lord Jesus and Mother Mary thatwe are safe today. I remember sayinga small prayer and three Hail Mary’sbefore we left on our walk that dayand we are so grateful for this protec-tion. Libereta Dalgado-D’Souza,Canada

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