Don Bosco Deeply Human Deeply Holy (Book Review)

Don Bosco Deeply Human Deeply Holy, Peter Brocardo, translated by Abraham Kadaplackel, Don Bosco Publications, Madras, Pp. 172.

I have read quite some books on Don Bosco but this one appealed to me in a unique way. The book deals with the personality of Don Bosco viewed under specific headings. Reading this book has helped me arrive at a better understanding of Don Bosco, the man and the saint.

The author introduces Don Bosco as a saint. Firstly, he was a saint of his times and represented what is known as “the Turin School of Sanctity”. Secondly, he is viewed as a saint for all times. Thirdly, Don Bosco was an active saint, meaning that, it is through work that Don Bosco found his way to God. In him we see a splendid blending of work and prayer, which Fr Egidio Vigano refers to as “grace of unity”.

The book is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the ‘characteristics’ of Don Bosco while the second part deals with his ‘essential traits’. Each part consists of eight chapters and addresses a variety of characteristics exemplified by Don Bosco. The first chapter deals with his ‘struggle to become a saint’. Don Bosco was not born a saint rather, he became one by abandoning himself to the power of the Holy Spirit. He had a difficult temperament and strove to control his impulses. The second chapter is entitled ‘Deeply Human’. Here we are exposed to the human qualities of Don Bosco like his indomitable but flexible will, loving and demanding fatherliness and his sensitivity and strength.

The third chapter displays him as a complete saint. His sanctity is presented in two sections: Hidden and Manifest. Don Bosco’s sanctity is hidden in as much as he never spoke about his intimate religious sentiments. To most, he appeared an ordinary priest. Despite his attempts to conceal his better self, sanctity penetrated the whole of his person like a ray of light and was manifested for all to see. Cardinal Vives y Tuto, postulator of the cause commented, “I have studied so many processes of the cause of canonization, but have never found one where the supernatural abounds so much.” Chapter four is titled, ‘Wonder-Worker Who Does Not Cause Fear’. Don Bosco wielded Divine Power but remained humble. He was content to be the unworthy instrument of God. Chapter five presents Don Bosco as a saintly founder. His work began in difficult circumstances but guided by the Spirit and the Virgin Mary, he pressed on with determination. All through his life he faced various trials but he believed that God is in control and abandoned himself into His hands.

Chapter six interestingly presents Don Bosco as a ‘shrewd saint’. He had a reputation for being a saintly cunning priest. He advocated shrewdness as a way of overcoming difficulties and opposition; a tool for acquiring what one wants, not whimsically but genuinely. Shrewdness was for him a means to sanctity. Chapter seven, ‘A Cheerful Saint’, beautifully presents the way of life of Don Bosco. He was filled with a deep joy and spread that joy wherever he went. He urged his boys to be cheerful and taught them how it could help them become saints. The final chapter of the first part points out some ‘unsaintly traits’. Don Bosco was human and he too made mistakes. At times he would exaggerate while speaking of his works and projects to impress the minds and imagination of his hearers and win them over to his cause.

The second part gives us insight into the spirituality of Don Bosco. The first part focused on the ‘Humanness’ of Don Bosco, the second part focuses on his ‘Holiness’. The first chapter elaborates his motto: “Give me souls”. It encompasses his identity and permeates his every thought, word and deed. It reflects his preoccupation: the salvation of souls and reveals the underlying thrust of his educative system. The second chapter is dedicated to his ‘colossal activity’. Work was his banner. He sanctified himself through work and much work. He made it his “mystical ladder to God”. Chapter three deals with his prayer life. Amidst the enormous activity of Don Bosco it is easy to lose sight of his interior life. A strong question raised during the cause of beatification was “When did Don Bosco pray?” Facts prove that though qualitatively and quantitatively different, the prayer of Don Bosco was not less real and profound. It found expression in perhaps, ways that were not conspicuous. Prayer was constant and set the tenor of his life.   

Asceticism, the focus of chapter four, found place in the life of Don Bosco. His asceticism is expressed in two inseparable words: Work and Temperance. This is the heritage he left to his sons. All testimonies are unanimous in saying that there were no extraordinary fasts and penances in him: all nevertheless stress his habitual extraordinary sobriety and temperance. Purity and continence shine remarkably in his life. Chapter five touches upon his devotion to the Blessed Virgin. He was her ardent devotee and immortalized his devotion and love for her through the construction of the Basillica of Mary Help of Christians and founding the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians.

Chapter six traces the role of the theological virtues of faith, hope and charity in the life of Don Bosco. He appeared immersed in a network of affairs and activities, but faith was the soul of everything: he was able to sort out the invisible in the visible, he was cooperating with the Risen Lord for the spread of the kingdom, for the salvation of souls. Don Bosco reveals himself a man of great hope because he was able “to hope against all hope” to attempt the humanly impossible trusting in the power of God. He is a great lover of God and of his neighbour in whom he saw the permanent revelation of God. His charity is pastoral and pedagogical and finds its source in Christ, the Good Shepherd.

The seventh chapter delineates the connection between prayer and activity. Don Bosco’s work is apostolic, as it shares in the salvific work of Christ. It also allowed him to access God and fostered advancement in personal holiness. Between a pressing, charitable and humanizing apostolic activity and prolonged prayer, the charism of Don Bosco led him to choose the former, in which he discovered the definite will of God. The final chapter talks about his ‘higher gifts’. The first among these is his intense pastoral charity that enabled him to go out of himself and expend all his energy for the good of his boys. Don Bosco also had moments of ecstasy associated with the mystical state. In contrast to the contemplative mystics, Don Bosco is an active mystic. It is this divine energy that flowed through him that allowed him to go beyond his personal strength and capacity.

The book is useful for those wanting to know the person of Don Bosco. There are many quotations and testimonies which shed light on the various qualities being discussed. They help come to a greater appreciation of Don Bosco and inspire reverence. It is a must read for all aspiring to become Salesians and for those who desire to know Don Bosco, the man and the saint.