DB and Bible 4%2C Writings of DB


DB and Bible 4%2C Writings of DB

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DON BOSCO AND THE BIBLE
Part IV
Source:
La Bibbia con don Bosco, Una lectio divina salesiana, 1. L’Antico Testamento, Morand Wirth.
TOPICS:
• The Bible in the Writings of Don Bosco
• Don Bosco’s “Sacred History” Was Meant to Popularize the Science of the Holy Bible
• The Catechism is the Bible of Young People
THE BIBLE IN THE WRITINGS OF DON BOSCO
Biblical
allusions and
citations
Don Bosco has published around 150 books and pamphlets. A significant
number of his writings (a collection of his writings has been published and
consists of no less than 38 volumes of about 500 pages each) make references
to the Bible. It is true that one can not find there an exposition properly
speaking of Holy Scriptures, and not even a commentary of a book of the
Bible. However, one can identify in them a great deal of biblical allusions or
citations. According to a calculation made by Fausto Perrenchio, one can
count 6,000 of them, 2,000 from the Old Testament, 2,000 from the Gospels,
and another 2,000 from the rest of the New Testament.
Sacred history
Church history
History of Italy
In the category of school textbooks we find besides Sacred history Church
history (1845) which has the New Testament for its roots. Even the History
of Italy does not forget to point some contacts with biblical and gospel
history. Regarding the latter Don Lemoyne ventured to say that “almost all
the chapters close with a sentence from the book of Proverbs” (MB V, 496).
This assertion, while it does not reflect the literal truth, does reflect the
sapiential character of the book and the frequent reminder of the law of
retribution even during one’s earthly life.
Biographies
Don Bosco wrote a good number of biographies that may be categorized as
educative or edifying. He used the Bible to highlight the model he intended
to propose for imitation or to show how he was true to the gospel as we see
in the Life of Louis Comollo (1844) and later in the Lives of Dominic Savio
(1859), of Joseph Cafasso (1960), of Michael Magone (1861), of Francis
Besucco (1864) and of Luigi Colle (1882).
We should not also forget the biographies of the deceased Salesians whose
exemplary life was summed up with a sentence taken from the Bible.
Lives of Saints
Don Bosco was also an avid reader and an author of the lives of the saints.
Writing in 1848 a book entitled “The Spirit of San Vincent de Paul” he almost
copied entirely a French author, “inserting only some saying from Sacred
Scriptures on which the maxims of St. Vincent were founded”. This
amounted to 213 biblical citations or allusions.
The Live of St. Martin (1855) sought to connect the many miracles of this
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saint to their biblical origin. Biblical allusions and citations to Sacred
Scripture appear also in the lives of St. Pancratius (1856), of Blessed Caterina
De-Mattei (1862), of Blessed Maria degli Angeli (1865) and of the drama
dedicated to Saint Alexis (1866).
Devotional and
instructional
writings
The Bible is clearly present in his devotional or instructional writings such as
“The Devotion to the Guardian Angel” (1845), “The Exercise of the Devotion
to the Mercy of God” (1847), “Companion of Youth” (1847), the
corresponding female edition, “The Well-Provided Christian Daughter”
(1878), “The Key to Paradise” (1856), “The Month of May” (1858), the
pamphlet “Bring it with You, O Christian” (1858), and above all, “The Well-
Provided Catholic for the Practices of Piety” (1868).
This latter is a thick compilation of prayers and exercises of devotion made
by Fr. John Bonetti, published under the control of Don Bosco. It contains
about 400 biblical references.
Writings for
entertainment
We should not be surprised if there are only few biblical references in those
writings meant for entertainment such as “A Pleasant Short Story of an Old
Soldier of Napoleon I” (1862) or in theatrical presentations such as “The
House of Fortune” (1865).
Apologetics
After the liberal revolution of 1848, Don Bosco’s preoccupation was the
defense of the faith and of the Catholic Church. His strategy was to prove
that the Catholic religion was founded on the Bible.
In 1853 with the support of the bishop of Ivrea, he launched a periodical
entitled “Catholic Readings (Letture Cattoliche)” whose goal was to
maintain and clarify the faith of the ordinary people and of the youth.
The handbook of Christian formation etitled “The Catholic Instructed in his
Religion”, appeared in 1853. It contained at least 390 biblical citations, a
perfect illustration of his strategy. The book was divided into two parts. The
first part shows a father of the family explaining to his children in the course
of numerous family gatherings the biblical foundation of the Catholic
religion. The second part deals with the true Church of Jesus Christ.
Even the “Il Galantuomo (The Gentleman)”, an almanac offered to the
readers of Letture Cattoliche” usually contains some allusion or citation
from the Bible.
Other writings of an apologetic nature likewise contain references to
Scriptures such as: “Contemporary Facts” (1853), “The Unhappy Life of a
New Apostate” (1853) whose attribution to Don Bosco is uncertain, but
which has many points of contact with “The Instructed Catholic”, “The
Collection of Curious Contemporary Events” (1854), “The Jubilee” ( 1854),
“The Two Conferences about Purgatory” (1857), and “Maximinus or The
Encounter of a Youth with a Protestant Minister (1874).
For the defense of the Church and of her institutions, Don Bosco wrote “The
Life of St. Peter (1856), and the Life of St. Paul (1857), where we find an
abundance of references to the New Testament. Meanwhile the Lives of the
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Popes of the first three centuries only occasionally recalls facts or
expressions from the Bible.
Publications on
Mary Help of
Christians
Publications related to Mary Help of Christians increased beginning 1864,
the year when the construction of a church in her honor began in Valdocco.
These publications made wide use of Sacred Scriptures, but interpreted in an
allegorical or figurative sense and directed at exalting the image of the
Virgin, as it appears particularly in the “Marvels of the Mother of God
Invoked under the Title of Mary Help of Christians” (1868) or in the
“Remembrance of a Solemnity in Honor of Mary Help of Christians” (1868).
Other writings
The last category of writings of Don Bosco is about the Oratory, the
Congregation and the Salesian Works, correspondence, circulars, articles
appearing in the Salesian Bulletin, conferences, and dreams. They contain
either references or allusions to the Bible. There are abundant biblical
references in the Introduction to the Constitutions and some of his letters.
Good books
Don Bosco valued the press in view of the propagation of good books. But
what are good books? In circular of 1885, he wrote that good books are those
whose thoughts, principles and morals derive from the apostolic books and
tradition.
“I do not hesitate to call this means (good books) divine for God himself saw
them useful for the regeneration of man. They are books inspired by him
and which brings to the whole world the right doctrine. He willed that in all
the cities and in all the villages of Palestine there might copies of these books
and that every Saturday in their religious assemblies they might be read. In
the beginning these books were the patrimony only of the Hebrew people,
but with the tribes having been sent in exile into Assyria and Chaldea, the
Bible came to be translated into Syro-Chaldean and thus, all of Central Asia
came to possess it in their own language. With the rise of Greek power, the
Hebrews established colonies in every corner of the earth and through the
colonies, they multiplied to infinity the Holy Books, and the Seventy with
their version of the Septuagint really enriched with these the libraries of
pagan peoples.€ Thus, the orators, poets, philosophers of those times drew
from the Bible not a few truths. God, principally through these inspired
writings, prepared the world for the coming of the Savior.”
DON BOSCO’S “SACRED HISTORY” WAS MEANT TO POPULARIZE THE
SCIENCE OF THE HOLY BIBLE
The beginning
of the teaching
of Sacred
History at the
Oratory
The systematic teaching of Sacred History at the Oratory started with the
definitive foundation of the Oratory at Valdocco in 1846.
Don Bosco wrote about the change in the religious program of Sundays and
Holy Days in the Memoirs of the Oratory: “Having finished the Mass and
having taken away the paraphernalia, I mounted a low desk in order to
explain the Gospel which was then changed in order to give way to the
regular re-telling of Sacred History. The re-telling was simple and popular in
form, with costumes of the times and places, using the geographical names.
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Publication of
“Sacred
History”
Originality
Purpose
Method
Divisions
This was very much liked by the boys, the adults and even the priests who
were present” (MO, 138).
In 1847 he was in the position of publishing a Sacred History for use in
schools. This book saw 19 editions or re-prints while the author was still
alive.
What is Sacred History? According to the “Preliminary Notes” is the history
contained in the Bible. It is the history of the people of God. In the preface,
Don Bosco wrote that his aim was to “popularize as much as he can the
science of the Bible which is the foundation of our holy religion”, and for
this reason “no other teaching is more useful and more important than this.”
To write his “Sacred History” Don Bosco read about a dozen similar works.
But its originality was described in the following words by Don Lemoyne:
“What is so fruitful in this book is its pedagogical method with which he
was able to draw from a scriptural fact an educative maxim and express it in
a way adapted to youth” (MB II, 394).
Why did Don Bosco write this book? “I studied how to compile a course on
Sacred History which while containing all the very important information of
the Sacred Books but without the danger of evoking inopportune ideas,
could present anything to a youth by saying to him: take and read. To
succeed in this endeavor I narrated to a number of young people of every
level all the facts of the bible one by one, noting minutely what impression
the narration made on them and the effect it produced afterwards. This
served as a norm for omitting some biblical facts, for just hinting at some
others and further explaining others with their respective circumstance. I
have also before my eyes many limitations of history and I draw from each
what seems to me to be opportune.”
The Sacred History of Don Bosco is divided into seven periods:
1. From creation to the great flood
2. From the great flood to the call of Abraham
3. From the call of Abraham to the exodus from Egypt
4. From the exodus from Egypt to the Temple of Solomon
5. From the Temple of Solomon to the exile to Babylon
6. From the return to the birth of Christ
7. From the birth of Christ to his ascension into heaven
Appendices
Appendices were added to successive editions: dictionary of words related
to geography; offices and rites that were frequently used in Sacred History;
money, weights and measure used by the Hebrews and their comparison to
the metric system; and the geography of the Holy Land.
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Theater
Summary of
Sacred History
In order to popularize Sacred History, Don Bosco also used other means
such as the theater. The Biographical Memoirs of Don Lemoyne has
preserved the program of a presentation on August 15, 1848 entitled “The
Test of the Sons of the Oratory of St. Francis de Sales on the History of the
Old Testament”.
The presentation consisted of the six periods of the Old Testament and a
questioning on how to learn Sacred History.
The intermissions were dedicated to the singing of the hymns to the glory of
God, of the Virgin, of St. Aloysius, and in honor of Pope Pius IX and of King
Charles Albert. There was even a hymn exalting wine! The presentation
ended with the giving of prizes (MB III, 428).
In 1855 Don Bosco also published a summary of Sacred History entitled “An
Easy Way to Learn Sacred History” Its aim was “to point out how many
truths professed by Catholics but negated by the enemies of our religions are
contained in the Bible”.
At the end of the booklet 27 moral maxims taken from the Bible were added.
THE CATECHISM IS THE BIBLE OF YOUNG PEOPLE
Don Bosco’s
work as a
young priest
Oratory of St.
Francis de
Sales
Brief history
Don Bosco was ordained in Turin in 1841. He gave himself to the ministry of
boys whom he met on the streets, in prison, in construction sites, in offices
and in workshops of craftsmen.
He gave them religious instruction, led them to religious practices, without
forgetting their material needs and their love for games and recreation
which attracted them to gather every Sunday and holy days.
In the 16th century during the time of St. Philip Neri they called “oratory” all
the activities carried out for the welfare of youth assembled in the same
place, possibly a church or chapel.
In 1844 Don Bosco placed his oratory under the protection of St. Francis de
Sales, the apostle of charity and patience, the inspiration of his educative
method which he later called the preventive system.
1846. The oratory found its permanent home in Valdocco.
1847. Don Bosco opened a boarding house, and began to open small
workshops and schools. The oratory grew until it was able to accommodate
800 students and artisans.
1859. Don Bosco founded the Salesian Society in view of the education of the
young and the promotion of ordinary people. It began to expand in
Piedmont and elsewhere.
1872. The Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians was born.
1875. The Salesian work began to spread in Europe and in America,
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beginning in Argentina.
1876. The Union of the Salesian Cooperators was established.
1877. He launched the Salesian Bulletin, a magazine to inform and support
the Salesian works.
The Catechism
and the
Salesian
Society
Speaking of the beginning of the Oratory and the birth of the Society of St.
Francis de Sales, Don Bosco said one day: “This Society in its beginning was
simple catechism” (MB IX, 61).
Every Sunday and holy day time was set aside for the explanation of the
Gospel, as it was then called and which was curiously scheduled after Mass.
It was really a catechism lesson with examples drawn principally from
Sacred Scriptures.
Don Bosco’s
ideas about the
catechism
The catechism
and the Bible
One day Don Bosco said: “For the young the little catechism should be like
the Bible or St. Thomas for the theologians. It is the synopsis of knowledge
adapted to their age” (MB VI, 838).
Although he implicitly acknowledged that the Bible has become a sort of
substitute for the Bible, a book inaccessible to the youth being catechized, he
has affirmed the importance of the Bible and its value as source and point of
reference.
He himself wrote in 1855 a “Brief Catechism for Children for Use of the
Diocese of Turin” and preceded it with “A Summary of Sacred History”.
Don Lemoyne assures us that when he taught catechism or held religious
instruction, Don Bosco drew from Sacred History, because he was “in love
with everything related to it and with great pleasure talked about it” (MB II,
349).
He spent a lot of time “recounting stories from Sacred Scriptures with much
gusto and reverence, citing the Sacred Books in order to reason out using the
same Word of God” (MB VI, 204-205).
Companion of
Youth
In 1847 Don Bosco published a “way of Christian life” which he called
“Companion of Youth” (literally, “The Youth Provided for the Practice of his
Duties, and of the Exercise of Christian Piety, for the Recitation of the Office
of the Blessed Virgin and of the Principal Vespers of the Year”).
Much later he declared this book as “a book suited to the young, appropriate
to their religious ideas, based on the Bible, and which explains the
foundations of the Catholic religion” (MO, 148).
The insistence on the biblical basis of this work which enjoyed great success,
merits being pointed out.
Quotations
along the
porticoes
In order to complete the catechetical instruction and to render it visible, Don
Bosco decided to decorate the walls and arches of the Oratory with wrtings
taken from Scriptures.
In the building constructed in 1856 he had 28 citations from the Bible to be
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written on the walls of the porticoes. These were related to confession and to
the ten commandments. As his biographer wrote, Don Bosco “wanted that
even the walls of his house might speak of the necessity of saying one’s
soul”, and justifying this initiative, he said: “Under these porticoes the
young at times stay awhile tired from playing or just passing through.
Strangers, who come for various affairs at the Oratory, stop here waiting for
their appointment. One or the other seeing the inscriptions are drawn by
curiosity to read, or just to escape boredom, and behold a good thought
which touched them, can in due time produce good fruits” (MB VI, 948-949).
In the building constructed in 1861, he had 7 new quotations from the Bible
to be written. They deal particularly with adolescence. Finally, four other
quotations were added in 1864 to recall the importance of the salvation of
the soul, of prayer, of song and of confession (MB VII, 426).
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