The Venerable Don Bosco, the Apostle of Youth/Chapter IV
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 attend with a celerity and unanimity which amazed the bystanders. Catechism followed, then breakfast; the grass or the rocks supplied the place of tables, forks were unnecessary; as for wine, the rivulets or fountains supplied what was needful; those who had too much shared with less fortunate boys; and Don Bosco fed those who had none. It is true, bread failed now and then; but gaiety and a good appetite never. Continuing our walk, we stopped somewhere to chant Vespers, the itinerant Oratory already possessing a good choir: catechism was heard a second time; the rosary was recited while walking; and at sunset we marched again into Turin, fatigued, but with light consciences and contented hearts."
A beautiful picture, that might have been drawn by a hundred thousand boys and more since those early days of test and trial. Trial—yes, for God's works are built on a foundation of pain. It was in keeping with the divine plan that harsh and severe criticisms of Don Bosco and his work began to be circulated; the clergy of Turin complained; the civil authorities saw danger lurking in those large gatherings; persecution set in from all sides; and Don Bosco's friends at last said: "Give up the boys! You can't fight against all this prejudice and opposition; no one will rent you a house for them; the authorities are against you; even good people are down on you. Give it all up, in the name of God!"
"God's mercy has sent me these boys," answered Don Bosco heroically; "I shall not give one up; if I cannot hire a house I shall build one; and I tell you that one day, with God's help and the protection of His Blessed Mother, these children and a great many more will have a house, workshops, a college, a church and their own professors," and his eyes glowed with a supernatural light as he raised his hands toward Heaven.
No more was said and his friends left him free, rather awed at his sublime faith and hope, though many wise people thought him mad.
Just then, when all seemed lost, a man named Pinardi, offered Don Bosco a lease for some years of an old, neglected house, surrounded by a large field, in Valdocco, a suburb of Turin. Valdocco is very celebrated in Salesian annals, for there Don Bosco settled on Easter Sunday, 1846, and began his permanent work. A poor, broken-down house indeed it was; but there were playgrounds and plenty of room to build for the five hundred children that had to be sheltered there. The government was still obstinate in its opposition. King Charles Albert, however, made investigations, became convinced of the good and lasting results of Don Bosco's work and extended to him his approval and assistance. Among these orphans and waifs were found many with latent and extraordinary talents; these were educated to their capacity by the holy director himself, aided by the Abbé Borel, his devoted friend, and other good priests, who often went to help him in his arduous labors; and in their turn these boys became teachers of lower classes.
God is jealous of His elect and would have them like His Son in suffering; on the bed of pain He holds long and serious and loving commune with the soul, and the light of His Holy Spirit shines in its secret places uniting it more closely to the Adorable Trinity during this enforced solitude. Don Bosco was to be His victim for a while; he fell ill with bronchitis, accompanied with a violent cough and dangerous inflammation, and in eight days he was at death's door. With heavenly resignation he received the Last Sacraments, amid the tears of his friends, and to the indescribable grief of his boys of the Oratory, whose prayers and Communions were fervently offered for his recovery. "Some watched in prayer through the night; others vowed to say the Rosary daily, some for a year, and not a few for their whole lives. Many fasted on bread and water, and promised to fast for months or years if Our Lady would restore their beloved Don Bosco to health." Father Borel was watching at midnight by his side expecting at any moment to receive his last sigh, when suddenly he felt inspired to ask the dying man to pray for his recovery.
"Let us leave God to do His Holy Will," was Don Bosco's reply.
"Say at least, Lord, if it be Thy Will, let me recover." But Don Bosco was silent.
"Grant me this favor," pleaded his friend. "Say only those words and say them with your whole heart."
Don Bosco yielded and in a weak voice said: "Yes, Lord, if it so please Thee, let me recover."
The prayer was heard; and the next morning the doctors to their astonishment found him, not dead, but out of all danger. Joy flooded every heart, and the universal gladness was still more pronounced when Don Bosco was able, supported by a cane, to be among his dear children again cor the first time. A year of rest was prescribed; but after three months spent with his own family at Castelnuovo, where the boys and those of the neighboring villages formed a new Festive Oratory every Sunday around him, his heart was moved by the entreaties and affectionate letters of his Turin disciples, and he turned his steps again to Valdocco, where he was to refrain from teaching, preaching or hearing confessions!
"At first," he said years after, "I certainly intended to obey and keep my promise; but when I saw that Abbé Borel and the other Fathers were unable to attend to all the boys, and that on feast-days many of them were without confession or instruction, I could no longer remain idle. So I took up my wonted occupations again, and for upwards of twenty-five years I have had no further need of doctors or medicine. This has made me believe that after all methodical work does not injure bodily health."
The First Oratory, Turin, from 1841 to 1852
DOMINIC SAVIO
"Death rather than Sin!"
Born April 2, 1842. Died March 9. 1857.
One of Don Bosco's first Pupils
His Cause of Canonization was introduced February 11, 1914.