To the Prefect of Nichteroy (Brazil) Fr Carlo Peretto

E IX,4312

“Do not think that you are so far away that I cannot be with you at certain moments. And when evening comes and I rest for a few moments in the semi-darkness, I review you all one by one, I see you in my mind's eye, I seem to hear your voices, I am moved and I pray for you, oh! With such affection, with such fervour!”

Turin, 5 February 1886

My dear Fr Peretto,

Your letter gave me great pleasure: thank you very much. Please also thank all my dear children for the affection they show me and for the prayers they say for me. All the other Superiors join me in saying the same thing to you.

If I were twenty years younger, how quickly I would make that trip to America! But while there is a remedy for everything, there is none for the passing of the years: so patience.

But do not think that you are so far away that I cannot be with you at certain moments. And when evening comes and I rest for a few moments in the semi-darkness, I review you all one by one, I see you in my mind's eye, I seem to hear your voices, I am moved and I pray for you, oh! With such affection, with such fervour!

And then I bless you as if you were all before me... as you were on the day of departure! In those moments, the vast ocean that separates us is no more than a drop of water; Brazil, Patagonia, Buenos Aires, Montevideo are no more than a step away from my chair. But what saddens me is to hear that your health is somewhat precarious.

Take care of yourself and, above all, trust in Mary Help of Christians. She will obtain health for you if it is useful for the good of your soul, or rather, ever greater strength and courage (which you already have by the grace of God), mirroring the lives of the saints, and of our Saint Francis de Sales in particular.

May the Lord pour out his most chosen blessings upon your head and upon all these dear children of mine; pray with them always for me and for the other Superiors, and I am always your

Most affectionate friend in Jesus and Mary,

Fr John Bosco