1. As has been indicated by Fr Prellezo, it is very difficult (sometimes impossible) to separate Don Bosco's writings of a pedagogical and educational nature from those which are more markedly pastoral and spiritual. Don Bosco has an all-embracing Christian view of education: for him the religious factor is an essential part of a process of formation involving the whole child. This is why he employed the threefold “Reason, Religion, Loving kindness” to describe his “system”, both when presenting it from the point of view of the educational relationship, method and approaches, and when he is looking at the goal of education: “the good Christian and upright citizen". So in categorising the texts we followed an empirical criterion, one that looked at the prevailing emphasis. On the one hand there are texts where the prevailing attention is that given to education; on the other hand there are writings which are explicitly focused on religious and spiritual topics. This is what led us to add a fourth part with the lives of the three boys (Dominic Savio, Michael Magone and Francis Besucco), and the Memoirs of the Oratory, which are all testimonies of narrative spirituality and pedagogy, a manifesto on Christian education.

2. Secondly, regarding the third part dealing with spiritual life, given the quantity of material, we were forced to choose examples from it either by selecting them on the basis of the importance the documents had in Don Bosco's or the early Salesians' formative practice (for example the Companion of Youth, reprinted hundreds of times and used right up until the beginning of the Second Vatican Council), or by considering the topics involved, to offer a complete picture of the spiritual and ascetic elements dear to Don Bosco, without there being too much repetition.

The third part (Writings and testimonies of Don Bosco on spiritual life), involving 120 documents (nos. 184-304) is divided into 6 sections:

1. Guidelines for the spiritual life of young people (The Companion of Youth; a selection of letters to young people containing spiritual advice; The Regulations for the Sodalities; a choice of sermons, goodnights and dreams);

2. Material on spiritual life addressed to the Salesians and the FMA (The introduction to the Constitutions; the early SDB and FMA constitutions; a selection of circular letters; a selection of personal letter; some conferences and dreams told to Salesians);

3. Guidelines for consistent, active Christianity, which includes a selection of examples of Don Bosco's “spiritual” texts addressed to Christians in general or Cooperators (lay and clerical);

4. The Marian dimension of Salesian spirituality (some texts that point to Don Bosco's 'Mariology');

5. Don Bosco's reference models (St Joseph Cafasso and St Philip Neri as presented by Don Bosco)

6. His spiritual testament (texts drawn from the note book known as the “Spiritual testament”)

In the fourth part, as well as the Lives (Savio, Magone and Besucco) and the Memoirs of the Oratory, we have included Don Bosco's first book, the life of Louis Comollo, in its second edition (1854), the one which Dominic Savio read, noting in italics the many parts that Don Bosco added in compared to the first edition, to show how Don Bosco's thinking and formative practice was maturing over the first ten years of spiritually directing young people.

The third paragraph of the general introduction attempts to locate Don Bosco in the context of the spirituality of his time and note the characteristic features of this (pp. xxxviii-lvii).

1. Above all we highlight the factors which strongly conditioned 19th century religiosity: romantic sensitivity and the impact of historical events on the Catholic soul. These factors are essential to an understanding of Don Bosco's mindset and the reason for some of his choices and spiritual emphases. Just the same, taken alone they are not enough to fully explain the features which set his charism apart, and that make him one of the most significant figures in the panorama of 19th century holiness and spirituality. Just as it is also not enough – to understand his spiritual proposal – to simply identify the sources or authors he referred to (St Alphonsus, St Francis de Sales, St Vincent, St Philip Neri or Jesuit literature). We need to consider other aspects too, such as his personality and story, the settings his formation took place in, the culture and popular religious substratum he came out of, the mentality and yearnings of the youth sector amongst whom he carried out his ministry and the ever-expanding ecclesial and social horizons into which he projected his apostolate and mission.

2. Critical to understanding the spiritual proposal he made to young people is the view he had of Christianity as a following of Christ in the concrete fabric of daily life and human history, beginning with the radical decision at baptism to give oneself fully to God, who is to be loved above all else, and to distance oneself from sin and from selfishness. Only on these conditions can God take possession of our hearts and go to work with his sanctifying grace. As part of this movement of conversion, giving of oneself, following Christ, and holiness, all the other factors dear to him need to be considered, such as the central role of the sacraments of Penance and Eucharist, devotion to Our Lady, exercising virtue, espeically active charity, the ascetics of duty, apostolate, fervour in piety and prayer, the effort towards perfection.

3. Just as important for understanding his spiritual and practical view of the Salesian religious (male and female) and the committed lay person, and his subsequent emphasis on ascetics and apostolate, is to consider the model of the pastor he was formed in at the Pastoral Institute (aka the Convitto Ecclesiastico): everything was dedicated to the mission, forgetting oneself, modest lifestyle and readiness for sacrifice, animated by zealous, tireless and creative charity, being constantly immersed in the midst of his flock as father, teacher and brother. Don Bosco adds three of his own features to this, profoundly human ones such as joy and love of life, capacity for friendship, affectionate relationships, personalised care given to individual boys, a taste for beauty and cheerfulness. But also a view of the future marked by hope, universality, zealous hard work and the desire for eternity.