HEROES
- Rev Ryan EY Peter Vergouw sdb
reflects on Our Father and Teacher - Don Bosco
Micah, Niki, Nathan, Peter, Noah, Claire, Hiro, Mohinder, Matt,
Sylar. Are they familiar to you? Perhaps they are. They are the
characters in the TV series which is very famous world wide, He-
roes. Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series
created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from
September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the
stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and
how these abilities take effect in their lives. They became famous
not only because of their abilities but also on how they make use of
their powers, especially for the sake of the others. We have also our
heroes in our Church. They are willing to sacrifice their lives for the
sake of their faith. We honor their memories, seek their prayers, and
we recommit ourselves to the imitation of Christ following the ex-
ample these heroes have left us. One of these heroes is our father
and teacher, Don Bosco. He was a hero for the young people of his
time, but also today, and even in the future. His love for the young
is a symbol of the unconditional love of our God.
Let us go back to the early mission of our hero. Like all the
characters in „Heroes‟, Don Bosco also has superhuman abilities.
His abilities function as a bridge, to bring young people toward
sanctity. He is just an ordinary priest in the diocese of Turin but
becomes extraordinary because of his untiring zeal for young peo-
ple. It is not common during Don Bosco‟s time that priests hangout
with a big group of young lads. It seems like wasting time, but it is
a noble way to bring their souls to heaven. It was not easy for Don
Bosco to pursue his mission. There were so many people against
him - from the government officials to people inside the Church.
At times, there were moments of frustrations and disappointments,
but once again his love for the young diminished them. As a very
qualified priest there were so many offers from different people for
his ministry which would have given him a comfortable life, but he
refused them all. This is because Don Bosco saw the needs of the
young people. He reached out to them and befriended them. So
many times he had dreams that inspired him in the discernment of
his vocation and mission. As a child when he was nine years old, he
dreamt that someone who seemed like an angel told him: “You will
have to win these friends of yours not with blows but with gentle-
ness and kindness. So begin to show them that sin is ugly and virtue
beautiful”. This is the nucleus of the “Preventive System”. A sys-
tem which uses three pillars: reason, religion, and loving kindness.
A unique way of dealing with the young based on love not on pun-
ishment. Don Bosco knew this and he lived it out. Not only that, he
love those young people, and those young people knew that he
loved them. For them Don Bosco was their hero, he was the one
who made them aware of their dignity as children of God and put
them back on the track of God‟s original plan, not only in spiritual
matters but in the material and physical as well. The story
continues even today. Yes, Don Bosco is at the heart of
every Salesian. For sure, each one of us here is normal,
unlike some characters in Heroes. We don‟t have supernatural
and extraordinary powers. But let me share with you some-
thing:
“Once upon a time I met one missionary priest in
Jakarta from the CICM congregation, and to my surprise he
mentioned that he came from a Salesian school in Belgium.
“Why you did not join Salesians?”, I asked him. “Frankly”,
he said, “I admire all Salesians. When I was still in the board-
ing house, they were working 24 hours for us, boarders. I
think I cannot do what a Salesian does, total presence the en-
tire day. It is very difficult and tiring, and that is why I finally
chose to enter CICM”.
Yes, my dear confreres, Salesian assistance is one of
the most precious things we have received from Don Bosco.
That is what makes us different from the others. Don‟t lose it,
and be proud of it, but the most important thing is, let us live
it in every house that we have. This is our service to make our
world a better place. A service which is applicable wherever
we are, and that is the reality – our presence in 131 countries.
Now the question is, how can we make this service
which is already our trademark, present in our work among
the young people? Without Don Bosco‟s spirit our service
will be the same as the others, no more Don Bosco‟s flavor in
our work. The clear portrait of it was when Fr. Monch shared
with us in our Salesianity, that what makes our DBYC differ-
ent from another Youth centre
is not our facilities, but more
the physical presence of the
Salesians in our youth centre.
Our young people can‟t find it
in another youth centre. There-
fore, my dear confreres let us
make Don Bosco present once
more through our presence
among the young, so that the
story of Heroes continues until
the end of time. If the TV se-
ries „Heroes‟ has only 4 sea-
sons, I believe our work as
Salesians will be present in and
out of season, it will last for-
ever. Let us give of our best
and God will do the rest.
TAVUR—The newsletter of the Salesian delegation of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands
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