THE APOSTLE OF YOUTH
CHAPTER IV
A TYPICAL SUNDAY. OPPOSITION AND TRIAL. VALDOCCO. ILLNESS OF DON BOSCO
A personal relation by one of the actors in these Sunday dramas tells its own story of the happiness and the potent moral influence which these red-letter days brought into so many young lives. I am sure my readers will find it of interest.
"At the end of each meeting, before separating, the good Father always told us the excursion for the next Sunday; the road, program and hour; gave advice as to our conduct and asked us to be as numerous as possible. 'If you have any comrades, invite them for me; the more the merrier.' The walk for the next Sunday was a topic of conversation during the week in our workshops and families; it exacted more attention, obedience and application to duty so as not to incur the punishment of being kept at home. The chief walks, carefully varied, were: The Mont des Capucines; Notre Dame des Champs; Pozzo di Strada; and Notre Dame des Lacs d'Avigliano. Those happy days are engraved in our memories; piety and joy reigned among us and influenced our future lives. Arrived at some church in the precincts of a town, Don Bosco asked leave to celebrate Mass, a permission always granted; at a signal the noisy band gathered together to
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