austraLasia #2372


Don Bosco History and Spirit Volume 5 now available

ROME: 6th March 2009 -- It was only a few days ago that we made it known that Volumes 1-4 of the Lenti series Don Bosco History and Spirit has been reprinted in India and made available to our region at lower prices.  Now, by LAS in Rome, Volume 5 has been published for the first time: 'Institutional expansion' is its sub-title. It retails at €23.50.  Quite possibly the Indian Salesians who are officially reprinting these items will wait until the final two of the series are published before completing their task.
    Volume 5 tackles development in Don Bosco's ever-widening perspective and response to needs of Church and world. This volume is limited to that perspective within what we now call 'Italy', but its chapters deal with topics of particular interest to the wider Salesian world today.
    There is a chapter on Don Bosco's growing commitment to schools, and his penchant for the Boarding school (collegio) in Italian. It's a pity Arthur Lenti did not have on hand one tiny little example of the impact of this development for Italy as a whole. He points out that boarding schools were a time-honoured institution already, and the reasons for Don Bosco's readiness to develop his response to the salvation of souls, especially of the young, through this means.  The Vocabolario Illustrato Della Lingua Italiana, a Readers Digest selection under the editorship of G. Devoto and G.C. Colli, a two volume dictionary very well accepted in Italy, has the following comment amongst other on its entry for 'collegio': 'comunità scolastica organizzata nell'ambito di un convitto.... c. gestito da Salesiani.....
    There are chapters on Don Bosco's use of two Marian symbols - Immaculate and Help of Christians, and on the founding of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians. There is another chapter on Don Bosco's unofficial mediations between the Holy see and the Italian Government as regards the appointment of bishops
    Another chapter I personally found very interesting and useful is chapter 6 on the Salesian Brother and the Salesian lay vocation.
    As always with these books, given the paucity of thoroughly developed studies material in English, there is a wealth of information, and despite the scholarly nature of the subject, Fr Lenti manages to keep it very readable indeed.
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Title: australasia 2372
Subject and key words: SDB General - Don Bosco History and Spirit V. 5
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2372