31 January. St John Bosco.   SEE:  St John Bosco was a saintly man called to a concern for youth and street kids in particular. He founded congregations of priests, brothers and sisters, the Salesians and Daughters of Mary, to care for boys and girls.  In his own way he was creating a new, substitute, community family for them.  The wider Salesian “family” has grown into one of the largest religious congregations in the world.  As a small human, domestic church family we could end this month on a note of thankfulness, thanking God for whatever experience of family life we do have. Thank God too for those who give themselves to the care of those less privileged, mainly youth, but there is also a concern for the environment and how that is suffering.   

JUDGE, reflect and share:  Scripture: Whatever things are true, honourable, chaste, praiseworthy, think about these things. These you have learned and made your own and have heard and seen in me.   From Phil 4:4-9 Pope Francis:  St Thomas Aquinas pointed out that the precepts of Christ and the apostles to the people of God are very few.  Citing St Augustine, he noted that the precepts subsequently enjoined by the Church should be insisted upon with moderation so as not to burden the lives of the faithful and make our religion a form of servitude, whereas God’s mercy has willed that we should be free.  EG43.  Pope Leo: In the 19th century, also in France, Saint Marcellin Champagnat founded the Institute of the Marist Brothers of the Schools. “He was sensitive to the spiritual and educational needs of his time, especially to religious ignorance and the situation of neglect experienced in a particular way by the young.” He dedicated himself wholeheartedly to the mission of educating and evangelizing children and young people, especially those most in need, during a period when access to education continued to be the privilege of a few. In the same spirit, Saint John Bosco began the great work of the Salesians in Italy based on the three principles of the “preventive method” — reason, religion, and loving kindness.  DT7.                   

ACT: Decide on possible appropriate action.  Conclude with prayer.