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Don Bosco Today Year 120 Issue 2

THE SALESIAN BULLETIN • YEAR 120 • ISSUE 2 • SUMMER 2012

Don Bosco Today

When I was involved in schools, many years ago, one of my most encouraging experiences was
to meet so many young inspirational teachers. Frequently, they would show an understanding
of the way to deal with young people in school that was truly impressive. I have a similar feeling
now when I read articles by our BOVA volunteers. Their generosity and bravery in spending
time in distant lands, in different cultures, in close contact with really needy youngsters seems
to have been rewarded with insights which fill me with admiration and amazement. For that
reason, I have included two articles about the involvement of young volunteers, working with
young people. Salesians have given much time and reflection in recent years to Project Europe
and we have been blessed by the influx of Salesians from other provinces. It seems to me that a
very powerful force for good in Project Europe is that group of volunteers who, after spending
time in distant lands, have not only benefitted themselves in terms of experience but have
returned with insights and enthusiasm which I’m sure will light the fire of faith again in our
own country.

One lesson young people can teach us is to welcome the digital world. I have been converted
to a realisation that to influence people today we must go digital. I am aware that as soon as I
mention that dreaded word digital many readers will switch off saying to themselves, Not for me!
I love books and for the past 15 years, through Don Bosco Publications, I have had the privilege
of encouraging many Salesian writers to write some excellent books. Some of these have been
best-sellers and no doubt have been an inspiration and consolation to many. However there is
a bigger world out there, which our printed books will never reach – too far away, too expensive
to post. For that reason Don Bosco Publications has moved into the realm of eBooks, so most of
our books are available to millions of readers throughout the world. Available is a weak word,
available means that these eBooks are there if you can be persuaded to buy them. That process
of persuasion is the key to selling eBooks. Those books are there along with millions; thEy
nEEd to stand out. They need positive reviews. Anyone with an email address can add a
review and a good review works wonders. try it and we will see the difference it can make.

In the last month we have made progress in a totally new world, the world which many of our
young people inhabit, the world of the Smartphone. We need to find a place there, otherwise
we are ignoring an opportunity to do good. In Don Bosco Publications, we have produced Shake
& Pray an application for the Smartphone (these applications are known as apps). It offers an
opportunity to make the phone into a prayer book. Let’s hope we can make a difference in this
exciting field.

Once again, I must thank your great generosity in supporting the work of Don Bosco,
your thoughtfulness continues to amaze me.

Sincerely

Tony Bailey SDB

a.bailey@salesians.org.uk

Editorial

Contacts & CreditsContents

4Missions

6Flame

Bosco Bear 9

Light the Fire 8

Shake & Pray 13

Fr John Bennett 19

BOVA 14

The Philippines 16

New Book 18

DON BOSCO PUBLICATIONS
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Fr Joe Brown SDB
2 Orbel Street
Battersea SW11 3NZ
Tel 020 7924 2733 Email: donbosco@btconnect.com

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Sister Helen Murphy FMA
Provincial Office
110a Alexandra Rd, Crosby,
Liverpool L23 7TG.
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The President of the United States, Barack Obama,
on a visit to Brazil on 19th and 20th March 2011,
in an address to business men, recalled Don Bosco’s
dream about the city of Brasilia. In concluding his
address which lasted about twenty minutes, Obama
referring to Don Bosco’s dream said:

Brasilia is a young city - it will turn 51 next
month. But it began as a dream more than a
century ago. In 1883, Don Bosco, Brasilia’s
patron saint, had a vision that one day, a capital
city of a great nation would be built between
the 15th and 20th parallels. It would be a model
for the future and ensure that opportunity was
the birthright of every Brazilian.

A SMALL DARK MAP OF THE WORLD
The most poignant object in Don Bosco’s rooms at
Valdocco is a small globe of the world, dark and
rather inaccurate. It is hard to make out the frontiers
between the countries and the world is strangely
fused together in a compact whole. Young Michael
Rua often heard Don Bosco exclaim:

Oh, how much good I could do if only I had
twelve priests at my disposal! I would send
them out to preach our holy Faith not only in
the churches, but in the streets as well!

Whenever he glanced at a world map he would heave
a deep sigh at seeing so many regions still lying in the

shadow of spiritual death, and he would eagerly long
for the day he could carry the light of the Gospel to
places not opened up by missionaries.

The apostolic zeal, acquired at the school of Don
Cafasso, led Don Bosco to identify his field of
action as the world of poor and abandoned youth.
This became the basis for his decision to open the
Salesian Family to the missions of the world. Don
Rua repeated it:

It was this need to save souls that made him
think that the old world was too narrow and
led him to send his sons to the far-off Missions
in America.

In his years at the Ecclesiastical College, influenced
by his reading about the missions, Don Bosco had
fondly dreamed of joining the Oblates of Mary
Immaculate for the missions among the Indians in
North America. The decisive factor in accelerating
the development of the missionary vocation of the
young Congregation came with the First Vatican
Council (1869-70). Many bishops from America,
Africa and Asia, took advantage of their coming to
enlist clergy and sisters. They made contact with
Don Bosco, visited Valdocco and made suggestions
about possible foundations. He saw in this a sign of
God’s will and was enthusiastic. It is in this context
that the first missionary dream finds its place:

COMING TO KNOW DON BOSCO
A new model of Mission and of missionary

FR PASCUAL CHÁVEZ SDB

Don Bosco with the first missionary expedition 1875Don Bosco with the first missionary expedition 1875

I seemed to be in a wild region I had never
seen before, an immense untilled plain,
unbroken by hills or mountains, except at the
farthest end where I could see the outline of
jagged mountains. Then I saw a small band of
other missionaries, led by a number of young
boys, advance cheerfully toward those savages.
I feared for them, thinking: They are walking
to their death. When I looked closely at them I
recognised them as our Salesians. I personally
knew only those in front, but I could see that
the others too were Salesians.

Influenced by the spirit of his century, Don Bosco
thought of the missions in a romantic sense:
among cruel and savage peoples. His vision of the
Church as Catholic, sent to all peoples, also played
an important role. The principles of Missiology in
those days were of the transforming leaven, of the
struggle of conquest, of evangelical witness even to
martyrdom. The command, Go and teach all nations,
in his ears was like a command from the Church,
for this reason he sent his missionaries to Rome to
receive the Pope’s blessing.

THE VANGUARD OF A GREAT ARMY
Among the possible missionary countries, there were
reasons to prefer the Argentina option: thousands
of immigrants were heading there, his missionaries
would not find themselves isolated. There was a civil
society there ready to support the work; and there
too were the savages of his dreams. The letters and
news from Cagliero and the others about the real
Patagonia would have radically altered the romantic
vision of Don Bosco, always ready to adapt himself
to circumstances and to see the voice of the Lord in
them. The strategy changed: the founding of works,

colleges, parishes and oratories, which would be
places of formation for the transformation of the
new nations of Latin America and from there set out
for the missionary service in the missions among the
native peoples.

In this way the traditional model of the mission was
updated with elements taken from the oratory, which
gave great importance to the education and care of
the young. Even the organisational aspects changed:
the Salesian missionaries were not only witnesses and
apostles who left everything to proclaim the Gospel;
like the vanguard of a great army, they felt that they
were representing the whole Salesian Family which
was supporting them spiritually and materially, and
which shared their joys and sorrows, their successes
and difficulties.

Don Rua reminded the Cooperators:
The Salesians and the Daughters of Mary Help
of Christians, like the hosts of an army in the
field, will do their part, placing at the service
of God and of their neighbour their wills,
their health and their lives. The Cooperators,
on their part, will do what good fathers and
mothers of families do for their children when
they go to war.

The letters of the missionaries published in the
Salesian Bulletin spoke about every particular detail,
every project, every achievement, every success,
every suffering and every little difficulty. Everyone
would know about and share in the apostolic labours,
enjoy them, be proud of them, suffer with all of them,
support them with their prayers and collaborate
financially. The missionaries felt themselves part
of the great family of Don Bosco, appreciated,
supported, encouraged and loved.

Today’s Missionaries

In my first week, at my new post, as Salesian Youth
Ministry Animator, Fr Bob Gardner, with a telling
smile, gave me a gift. For your first task Sue, you just
have to sell these 500 tickets to young people for this
Catholic Youth Congress! He followed that good news
with, Good Luck!

That was back in September and now I can look back
with amazement at how the experience turned out
– it gives me goose pimples as I write! I promoted
the event at the Salesian Schools Conference, the
Parish Priests’ conference, and I hounded every
volunteer we had, as well as trying to build up new
relationships with these people in my new role. The
response from our Salesian Family was outstanding
and a real testament to what we can achieve if we
work together.

I had people writing to me who had worked with
Salesians in the past and wanted their young
people to experience the Salesian atmosphere.

St Kentigern’s Academy, West Lothian, Scotland
brought a staggering 53 people down to London to
be with us, as their teachers had worked and still do
work alongside VIDES. Great efforts were made by
every school, parish, retreat centre, youth group and
salesian volunteer to come together and say Salesians
are here and we’re in the middle of the youth ministry
in this country!

As time went on CYMFed asked for members to
offer some activities for the lunch break to entertain
the young people. Once again Salesians came
together and we provided five activities thanks to
Brettargh Holt, VIDES, BOVA, Savio House and our
own Youth Ministry Team. Fr Dominic Howarth
the co ordinator of FLAME wrote afterwards, The
Piazza Moment at lunchtime was one of my personal
highlights. In among the young people, bathed in the
sunshine and drenched from the fountains, we saw the
various different offerings from the activities you had
prepared.

Wembley Arena – 24th March

Salesians were first to buy the event tickets from
CYMFed and as a result we had front seats! I had
also had the idea of getting scarves for the event,
so as we sang along to the theme there was a sea of
scarves – once again showing that Salesians are still
around.

Salesians wrote afterwards that this event was, in so
many ways, a fantastic experience and a wonderful
opportunity for catching up with friends from the

past. For me, personally, it really blew me away and
gave me great hope for the future. Special thanks
must go to Fr Martin Coyle for the vision he had
when he trusted and bought those 500 tickets. Also
I’d like to now smile back at Bob and say, Bob, it was
an absolute pleasure to take this on as my first task
with the Salesians of Don Bosco.

Sue McDonald

Salesian Youth Ministry Animator

We left Brettargh Holt in the morning on Friday
23rd March, ready for a five-hour trip to London by
car. As we said a prayer for safety, I realised that we
had began our pilgrimage to CYMFed Flame Con-
gress 2012. I didn’t know what to expect from the
day ahead, but could think only of the Papal Visit in
2010, and the way I felt then was very similar, that of
excitement and anticipated happiness.

When we got to London, we went to the Salesian
Sisters’ house in Battersea and we were introduced
to their community. This was the first time I had
met these sisters and felt so welcome and at home
straight away. We were taken into their chapel and
were led in prayer by Sister Kathleen. We prayed
for our communities and for the success of the next
day. In the evening we enjoyed a meal together as a
community and tried to get in an early night. The
next morning we woke up, everyone was buzzing
and it was a beautiful sunny day. We
walked to the train station, then to
the tube. I noticed people carrying
World Youth Day bags and got
chatting to a group on the tube.

When we arrived at Wembley
we were greeted by even more
people and a few familiar faces.
When the doors were opened
and we found our front row
seats, we were all given our
Salesian scarves and the arena
started to really fill up. There
were cameras filming the crowds
and it was amazing to see the
hundreds of Salesians waving their

scarves and enjoying every second. The atmosphere
in the arena was incredible, everyone was smiling
and happy and full of anticipation of what was to
come. Throughout the day we were introduced to so
many people that had achieved so much, amazing
speakers, athletes and young people too.

What really stood out to me was David Wells’ speech
on young people in today’s society. The way he spoke
was very inspirational and what he said still stays
with me today. I loved seeing Abdi from Kenya talk-
ing about his karate and what CAFOD has done for
him, especially because I knew about him and did
not know he would be there. We spent some time in
absolute silence during a liturgy and it was so still
and quiet you could have heard a pin drop. I have
never felt the way I did during that silence; you could
literally feel the prayers in the air and all around you.

It was such an amazing day, and I will always re-
member it, as I felt truly strong and as-

sured in my faith and so close
to God.

Siobhan Garth

A Volunteer reflects on the Day

One of the many who listened

I'm Anita and I'm a BOVA volunteer who spent
five months with Salesian communities in India last
year. On returning from my trip, I knew I wanted
to stay involved with working with youth and the
Salesians, and to help inspire them to be involved in
social justice causes. So I volunteered to help BOVA
run youth activities at CYMFed Flame. I've always
been inspired by CYMFed gatherings, never really
knowing what to expect, but always leaving them
with a renewed energy. I couldn't have imagined
how the day was going to take shape, with over 8000
young Catholics gathered together. But hearing
stories of inspiration, perseverance and hope from
men and women in sport definitely ignited a spark
in me.

What struck me most about the event was that
young people, in great numbers, were ready to listen
and to respond through participation. For me it’s
central to my faith to respond through social justice
participation. The great thing about having such a
responsive audience is that people are ready to take
action. So over the lunch break we had a number
of groups taking part in BOVA's development
awareness game. They were encouraged to think
about some of the things we take for granted such as
the clean water that's available to us, or being able to
spend money on things we like. In the space of ten

minutes we were able to note the things we take for
granted, think about inequality and how people live
lives of poverty, and decide on a list of things that we
were going to do.

Soon we are able to listen, think and decide to
respond, then we, as young Catholics, have all the
rest of our lives to continue responding. Based on
my volunteer experiences with BOVA and other
development organisations, receiving, reflecting and
responding is my motto when it comes to issues of
social justice.

A particular special moment for me during the day
was joining in the worship songs. No, I'm not one for
waving my hands in the air, during songs, but there
is something about seeing almost 500 people waving
scarves in the air to the beat, it just makes you want
to be a part of it (particularly if you are holding
one of the Don Bosco scarves). For me, this simple
gesture of solidarity, reminded me that we are part
of a big movement and there's a desire within us to
be part of it – not the ones standing on the outside.
The same applies when I think about being part of a
global movement and striving for justice and peace.
If we work in solidarity we can make sure that no
one is left on the outside.

Anita Morais

THE BEAR FACTS
Hi Children,
Do you like flying? The first time my Grandma and Grandad flew anywhere was only about
30 years ago. Mum and Dad went to the airport to wave them off as they were all so excited!
A friend of mine was a pilot. He told me that his instructor joked that pilots should always
try to keep the number of landings they made the same as the number of take-offs! Good
point!
I like flying. I sit by the window and look down at the tiny roads and countryside. Snow-
covered mountains look superb from the sky.

IN DREAMS
Bosco Bear and his friends, Molly Magpie, Suzi Squirrel, Rio Rabbit and Harold Hare were
on a jet flying to Italy. I’m looking for something when I get there, but I don’t think it’s something
you can see, said Bosco, mysteriously. What can it be? The others were lost in their own
dreams of Italy. Suzi saw herself meeting Victoria Beckham in a fashion show in Milan,
Harold was driving a Ferrari, Rio was enjoying spaghetti and ice cream. Molly was hoping to
see the famous painting The Mona Lisa, by Leonardo da Vinci.

Italy’s a romantic country, isn’t it?
beamed Suzi, and Verona’s a beautiful
city where Shakespeare set his great love
story of Romeo and Juliet. The friends
were looking up at the Balcony from
where Juliet made her famous speech.
If you go up there Suzi, suggested Rio,

we can act out the scene.

GLADIATORS
The colossal Colosseum, in Rome, loomed
up in front of them. What a magnificent
building: but it does send a shiver down
my spine, Harold gasped.

It’s like a 2,000 year old Wembley
Stadium except people didn’t come
here to watch a football match….they
came here to watch other people and
animals be killed!
I think I would have been a great
gladiator,
boasted Harold’s friend, Rio.
I’d have been called
Rious Rabbitus!

Wouldn’t you have been afraid?
questioned Suzi.

No….those lions wouldn’t
have stood a chance with me!

NESSUN DORMAA LOVE STORY

Molly took some photos
as Suzi and Rio

became Romeo and Juliet.
Rio, Rio wherefore art thou Rio?

wondered Suzi in her most dramatic voice.

There aren’t any roads in Venice, explained Bosco to
Harold, as they sailed on a gondola along the canals.
I love it! exclaimed Harold.
Did I tell you about the time I rowed for Oxford ……
or was it Cambridge? The friends were settled into
their velvet seats as they glided along the Grand
Canal and under the Bridge of Sighs.

BECCHI
I’ve still not found the Mona Lisa, sighed a disappointed Molly.
I’m not surprised, replied Bosco. I’ve been meaning to tell you that the Mona Lisa
is in a museum in France, not Italy!
They were in a small village, near Turin, called Becchi where Bosco’s patron
saint, Saint John Bosco, was born.
Bosco looked around the village… smiled …and nodded his head, slowly.
This is it, he said.
We’ve been all round Italy but THIS is what I’ve been looking for.
What is? asked a mystified Molly.
Home, replied Bosco.

NESSUN DORMA

This makes me want to sing, announced Bosco.
What was that Luciano Pavarotti song called?
Nessun Dorma, replied Molly.
Bosco put all he had into it.
Vincerò! Vincerò! Vincerò!
Bravo! Bosco! Bravo! applauded the others.

FEELING GOOD
Someone asked Rio Rabbit, Where do you come from?
He replied, England. The person then asked, Which part?
To which Rio responded, All of me!
John Bosco was born, in Italy, nearly 200 years ago.
He grew up amongst many, many poor people.
He wanted to help them. He just FELT for them.
Feelings are very important and can be very strong. My family tell me that they love me. You
can’t see love; you can’t touch it ; but you can definitely feel it. Where do feelings come from?
What are they made of ? These are very difficult questions.
Some people today say, You can only help the poor if you have plenty of money. Others say, Forget
the poor, just look after yourself. John Bosco wouldn’t have agreed with that. He didn’t like what
he saw in Turin and decided to do something about it. It’s called fellow-feeling – caring for
other human beings. You could say it’s what Christianity is all about.
SUMMER 2012 COMPETITION
When the friends were travelling they were thinking about things which reminded them of
Italy like spaghetti, fashion, and Ferraris.

Write down any 10 things which make you think of the country YOU live in.
Name of Country……
and LIST. 1……2……3……4……5……6……7……8……9……10……
Name
Age
Address
Please send to : Don Bosco Publications

Thornleigh House
Sharples Park
Bolton
BL1 6PQ

SPRING COMPETITION 2012
MY FAVOURITE DAY OUT
The winners of this competition are:
Phoebe (aged 5) from Worcester and Rebecca (aged 7) from Oldham. Congratulations!
They will receive their prizes soon.

For many young people today their smartphone is their
link to the world. It is their TV, their video player, their
games console, their diary, their best friend and their
confidante. In fact it is their playground. We must find
ways of meeting them there, where they are. One way is
the Smartphone application, known as an app. The Shake
& Pray app offers young people a way of making their
smartphone their prayer book.

Attention should be paid to the various types of websites,
applications and social networks which can help people
today to find time for reflection and authentic questioning,
as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer,
meditation or sharing of the word of God. In concise
phrases, profound thoughts can be communicated, as long
as those taking part in the conversation do not neglect to
cultivate their own inner lives. Pope Benedict’s Message
for the 2012 World Day of Communications.

Shake & Pray
Our New App

for iPhone & Android

13
13

The giving of the Spirit, the dwelling of God in our
hearts, calls all of us to live out that same universality
of reaching out a touch of love to those on the
margins. Pentecost is a time to remind ourselves
that our call is not to build walls that exclude, but to
draw circles which include: and if there are people
who seem a long way away from our experience, our
world view, our comfort zone, then the call is not to
hide in the upper room, but to make our circles wider.

As part of the English programme, we asked all the
junior students to write their own autobiography.
It was a project which seemed to really capture
their imagination and I was impressed (and I
acknowledge mildly surprised) by the enthusiasm
with which they set to work. The final copies, for the
most part showed a huge amount of effort had gone
into both the writing and the presentation of their
books, and I am delighted that they now all have a
beautiful keepsake of their life so far. Reading them,
I was touched by the openness and honesty with
which they wrote. I had suggested that to make their
autobiographies interesting, they should include
thoughts, feelings and reflections: and they did. In
most cases, what they wrote was an honest and frank
account of their ups-and-downs, their successes
and failures, their pleasure and pain, their loves and
fears, their joys and their sorrows. They were happy
to share all of that with me.

Much of what they wrote spoke clearly of the
universality of the experience of childhood and
adolescence: lessons they loved and hated, games,
parties and excursions, the shifting parameters
of relationships with parents, the importance
of friendships and the highs and lows of dating
featured prominently among their stories. Amidst
the mundane stories of day-to-day teenage life, there
were plenty of parts that were hard to read, because
they also wrote with searing honesty of the struggles
and challenges of living with poverty: of not seeing
parents who were forced to work away, of dropping
out of school when there was no money for the
transport to get there, of experiencing the bottom
dropping out of their world when a parent lost a job
and there was no safety net to catch them, of watching
their parents in tears because of financial problems,
of feeling hungry and not being able to eat. They may
just be like any other teenagers, but some of them
have experienced things no one of any age should
ever have to, and I feel extremely privileged to have
had such a personal insight into their lives. Thank
you to all the juniors.

Dreaming of distant shores
For our students, the skills and qualifications they
receive are a route out of poverty. Being able to earn
a better living is undoubtedly a key motivation for all

Reflections of a BOVA Volunteer

Pentecost is a celebration of many things, but for me, I think it is mainly a celebration
of universality; it is about the possibility for all to experience the touch of a loving
God: a God who reaches out to those on the edge, who unlocks doors of fear and
hesitation, who breaks down walls of hatred and division, who overturns the tables of
our preconceptions, who challenges power and authority used to oppress, who stands
against exclusivity to preach an inclusive message of love.

of them. Often their desire to earn more is not
entirely self-centred: one recurring theme among
the students here is their desire, by completing
their studies, to assist or support their families. For
many, the idea of travelling abroad to work is an
important part of this dream. For most, they don’t
have a specific destination in mind: anywhere where
their skills will earn them higher wages than they
can hope for at home, and from where they can
send money back to help their parents or younger
siblings to have a better life. With thousands, maybe
millions, of Filipinos working abroad in every
corner of the world, for some, this may well become
a reality. While I in no way wish to criticise our
students for their aspirations, nor cast judgement on
their actions, there are two things which sadden me
about this dream.

The first is that they feel this is the only option. The
only way to leave poverty is to leave the Philippines.
With stories of higher wages abroad and surrounded
by the evidence of those who are reaping the
financial rewards of working away it is easy to see
why this is their dream. There is little debate about
the truth of their belief that going abroad offers
more opportunities for financial gain than staying
here. But in a culture where family and connections
are so important and the students talk about close
relationships and their love of their families and
communities, it seems sad that in order to help those
very people, they feel they have to go so far away
from them. The evidence of the wealth generated
by Filipinos working abroad is everywhere here,
but there is also plenty of evidence of the damage
to social fabric and family relationships. When the
children from the main school are discussed, many
of the discipline issues come down to students
whose parents are abroad, sometimes for years at a

time. Abroad, possibly, to give their children a better
chance and better education: but is leaving them
without parental care really giving them the best
hope for the future? What a choice to have to make.

The second is that while the students talk about
their desire to travel, the only motivation to do so
that they ever mention is the desire to earn a better
living. I have heard no student speak of wanting to
see different environments or experience a different
culture, to see the sights or to meet different people.
I have not heard them speak of lessons to be
learned, nor (even less) of what they have to offer
and give to other countries, other than their hours
of labour. I feel hugely privileged to have travelled
to many different places and met many different
people, and I in no way want to suggest the students
I work with shouldn’t be able to do the same; nor
am I suggesting that those who go abroad will not
take part in important cultural exchanges, both
giving and receiving, and making many new friends.
But it is sad that this aspect of the benefit of travel
isn’t even on their radar. I sincerely hope that all our
students have the opportunity to live a better life as a
result of their training and if, for some, that involves
going abroad, I hope it is a fruitful and life-giving
experience. But I mourn for a world, where some can
choose to travel to make new friends, and others feel
forced to travel leaving friends and family behind;
where for some, myself included, travel is an exciting
opportunity to discover the world, while others live
lives so damaged and limited by poverty they can see
no other reason than financial gain.

Steph
For more information on volunteering with
Bosco Volunteer Action (BOVA), please see

www.boscovolunteeraction.co.uk
Steph and Matt Neville, a young married couple, have been
volunteers in Cebu in the Philippines since October 2011. The
extracts below come from Steph's blog. If you would like to read
more of their reflections please visit

www.stepsadventures.blogspot.co.uk
www.matthew-neville.blogspot.co.uk

Just before Easter I returned to Bollington in
Cheshire, from the Philippines, a change in
temperature from thirty five degrees to minus two. It
was a welcome change! I’d spent the second semester
of the academic year, a period of five months, at the
Don Bosco Centre of Studies in Paranaque City, one
of the 17 cities which form the densely populated
conurbation of Metro Manila. It proved to be a
fascinating experience. I stayed with the Rinaldi
Salesian community; they were extremely kind,
supportive and welcoming. My main purpose was to
do some lecturing in scripture.

A couple of days after arriving, I was asked if I’d
like to help out on Sundays by celebrating Mass in
two shopping malls, Shopwise and Molito. That was
different! At Shopwise the Mass was at eight in the
morning, just as the mall was opening; at Molito, a
recently-built store, it was at 10am. At both venues

things were well-organised, including music. Usually
about 120 people attended, and the atmosphere
was prayerful and devout. I was told that they liked
my Harry Potter English! The Philippines is a very
Catholic country; parish Masses are frequent and
packed. I was impressed by the genuine spirituality
of so many people. On the First Friday of the month
I celebrated Mass on the 9th floor of a multi-storey
bank for about 35 of the workers, during their lunch
break. Much is made of the nine days of preparation
for Christmas. A long tradition entails a Rooster
Mass at 4.30 or 5am each day. By 4 am, it was standing
room only!

After Christmas, I joined the four Salesians of the
retreat centre for an expedition to Mount Pinatubo,
a few hours drive north of Manila. This volcano last
erupted in 1989, causing much damage. For the next
five years, as a result of the rain affecting the thick
layer of volcanic ash, there were devastating flows
of lahar – a landslide of wet volcanic debris on the
side of a volcano – which engulfed many villages,
including the Salesian school. We parked our vehicle
in the village of Barangay O’Donnell, and then had to
proceed for an hour in a four by four, a hair-raising
experience, traversing miles of hard and not-so-hard
lahar, and crossing the fast-flowing river several
times. Then we walked for two and a half hours to
reach the rim of the volcano, an awesome sight. It
was possible to walk down to the level of the crater
lake, and take a rowing boat to the other side, where
the water was still very hot. I wondered at the power
and the resilience of nature.

One of the great Filipino religious festivals takes
place annually on the island of Cebu, in mid-
January. It is called Santo Nino. It attracts millions of
devotees, and this year that included me, along with
two BOVA volunteers working with the Salesians
there. The Santo Nino is a statue of the Child Jesus,
rather like the Infant of Prague, which was given by
the first Spanish invaders to the newly-converted
Queen of the area in 1521. So the festivity, religious
and cultural, is the celebration of the coming of
Christianity to these islands. There is a flotilla of
decorated boats on the river, beginning at 6am. We
joined the Salesian parish boat. The boats converge a
few miles upstream, awaiting the arrival of the boat
carrying the statue. Then the procession heads back to

The Philippines

Fr Michael T Winstanley SDB

the city. On arrival, the statue is carried for several
hours through the city until it finally reaches the
Cathedral for evening Mass. Many of the people
bring their own Santo Nino. Our parish is situated at
the seaboard, so on arriving back we had a two hour
procession through the narrow, packed streets of the
parish. Later, after a couple of hours rest, we joined
the big procession for an hour, before taking a short
cut to the Cathedral for the Mass. The crowd made
it impossible to enter through the door, so I joined
a group of 5 priests who got into the sacristy by
climbing through the window! Whilst processions,
crowds, dancing aren’t quite me, especially in that
heat, I found the whole experience of such deep faith
very moving.

My one regret is that, for various reasons, I didn’t
succeeded in visiting Tuloy Don Bosco until a week
before returning home. This is our project for
street children, initiated about 17 years ago by Fr
Rocky Evangelist, who was a companion of mine
for four years, as students, in Rome. I was invited
to give an afternoon of recollection for the lay-staff,
and immediately fell in love with the place. It has
developed into a children’s village, with 200 resident
street-children. A further 600 poor children join
them each day for school. The children were so
friendly and welcoming; the atmosphere was one
of joy and contentment; the facilities were excellent
– a beautiful church, massive gym, classrooms and
offices, residential quarters, a new building for

cooking and hotel craft. A couple of the children
introduced me to the aquaponics centre, explaining
very clearly the processes involved. In the evening
they gave me a little concert, and I had to oblige
with a song. Fr Rocky invited me back for lunch the
following Sunday. To my annoyance I then realised
that Tuloy Don Bosco was only a 5 minute walk
from Molito. Had I known I could have spent every
Sunday with the children.

That Sunday was a special celebration, held in
the hotel/cookery centre. I arrived as Mass was
concluding, and was amazed at the quality of the
music provided by the children. For lunch we moved
into the dining area, prepared like a first-class hotel.
The meal was prepared and very professionally
served by the children, and these children had spent
years in dreadful situations before being rescued by
Fr Rocky and his staff. Now they had a home, dignity
and a future. The young man who finally drove me
home to Paranaque as the official driver, told me
that he was one of the first street children when
the project started. Now he was a qualified car and
coach driver, employed by Tuloy. Some of Fr Rocky’s
stories were heart-rending. Others reminded me of
Don Bosco’s experiences, as, when in desperate need
for money for his boys, someone would turn up with
an envelope containing just the amount needed.
The whole project depends on charity to survive, or,
putting it another way, on God’s providential care for
young people in desperate need.

The present book by Michael Cunningham
is a welcome addition to the Salesian
literature which has steadily grown in
these last few years. In view of 2015, the
second centenary of the birth of Don Bosco,
Michael’s reflections will enrich all those
among us who, through these chapters,
can deepen the spirituality of Don Bosco
in today’s post-modern context.
Michael is no newcomer in the field of
spiritual reflection. This book is a gift that
benefits from his years
of ministry, retreats and
spiritual direction, and
also his writing. So it is
with great joy that I offer
the following reflections.
There are two things
which stay with me
after reading the diff-
erent chapters. The first
one is the way Michael
presents the mystical
experience as central
to our faith life. The
recovery of the mystical
experience is going to
determine our future
and it will shape, in
a profound way, our
ministry. The references
to the stages of the
history of the Church,
necessarily brief but
effective, strengthen the conviction that,
unless we recover the centre, we will lose
our identity and the power to bring light
and hope to the young.
At the centre, lies the experience of God’s
love, the personal encounter with a God
who reaches us and embraces us, in the
person of Jesus. Don Bosco is an icon and
a shining example of someone who has
experienced God’s divine love within his
own story. Making this experience central
to his existence, Don Bosco made sure
that his experience became that of many.
Mary Mazzarello, in her own unique way,
takes up this story and develops it, for the

benefit of many. Each one of us, in her
and his own way, is also invited to make
sure to enter this second phase of mystery:
where the human story opens itself up to
God’s mystic love.
The second aspect, which I appreciated
when reading this book, is the way Michael
combines the heritage of the Salesian
tradition, constitutions, and letters by
the various successors of Don Bosco and
Mary Mazzarello. He unfolds this treasure

in a way that the central
theme becomes even
more Salesian with
every page. I believe that
this exercise is also a
lesson for us all: that is,
to discover the value of
our Salesian tradition in
the various reflections
offered to the Salesian
Congregation, especially
those contained in the
letters of our last three
Rector Majors.
The insights and re-
flections offered in
these pages carry a
certain vitality which
Michael has beautifully
presented in a unified
manner. May this effort
encourage each one
of us not only to be

happy with our heritage, but to promote
it when so many young people are looking
for wisdom and friendship through our
educative ministry.
I would like to thank Michael for this
work. May God bless his ministry and the
ministry of all those who, like him, as good
disciples of the kingdom have the gift of
bringing out treasures of wisdom.

Fr Fabio Attard SDB
Councillor for Youth Ministry

GENERAL COUNCIL OF THE SALESIANS

Michael J Cunningham SDB

SALESIANS
CONTEMPLATIVES

IN ACTION

D
on

B
os

co
P

ub
lic

at
io

Salesians – Contemplatives in Action

John Joseph Bennett, was born in 1917 and grew up in
the Lancashire town of Radcliffe. At the age of eleven
he became a pupil at the recently-opened Thornleigh
Salesian College, and within a short space of time
he felt so much at home with his Salesian teachers
that he decided to become a Salesian himself. It was
during his novitiate year (1933-1934), and especially
during the celebrations marking the canonisation of
Don Bosco, that John volunteered to be a missionary
somewhere in the ever-expanding Salesian world.

His offer was accepted and in the autumn of 1934,
after bidding farewell to his family and Salesian
companions, he set sail for India. His final destination
within that country was the Salesian house of studies
at Shillong, 6000 feet up in the hill country of Assam
and close to the borders of Burma and Nepal.
There, besides wrestling with the different tracts of
philosophy, he also had to face the
even-greater challenge of adapting to
a totally different culture and way of
living. These must have been some of
the hardships that – following in the
footsteps of St Paul – John had to face
and to live through as he prepared
himself to proclaim the Good News
of Jesus Christ. But his resolve never
faltered and eventually, with three
years of philosophy behind him, he
began his years of practical training.

These years of practical training
behind him, John returned to Assam
to study theology and to continue his pastoral
work – work that now included ministering to the
increasing number of Allied troops caught up in the
war in South-East Asia. Ordained to the priesthood
in January 1944, John spent the first three years of
his priestly ministry in India, and then in February
1947 he returned home to England. His family were
delighted to have him back in their midst, and it
was those long years of separation that undoubtedly
deepened the love he already had for them – a love
which never left him and which his family returned
in abundance right up to the last moments of his
life. From 1947, for over 50 years – John immersed
himself fully in the life and mission of our province.

He spent periods of time in most of our communities
and accepted a whole range of responsibilities –
rector, bursar, head teacher, catechist, working in our
Mission Office. Each of these was taken on with his
customary dedication and generosity. One confrere

recalls: Whenever I needed help in some practical way
with some extracurricular activity with the boys, the
one person I knew would be willing to help was John.
If I needed transport to take myself and a group of
boys to a certain place, from which we were to make
our way back to the house on foot, John was always
available. He taught me a very valuable lesson about
how to live in community.

He was immensely proud of his Salesian vocation and
of being part of the Salesian family; and through his
kindness, care and practical helpfulness he brought
Don Bosco alive for numberless young – and not so
young – people. And like Don Bosco the priesthood
and his life of prayer were at the centre of all he was
and all he did. Don Bosco once remarked: A priest
is always a priest, and should be seen as such in his
every word. To be a priest means to be obliged to keep

always in mind the great interest of
God, which is the salvation of souls.
Those words always rang true for
John and he was never happier than
when he was exercising his priestly
ministry.

In 1998 John returned to Bolton
as one of the founder-members in
the newly opened St Joseph’s home
for older Salesians. He was retired
but certainly not inactive. One
confrere remembers: He served at
table in the dining room, supervising
the tables like a Salesian assistant

in the refectory. As his care needs increased, John
eventually moved to St Joseph’s, the Little Sisters of
the Poor Home in Manchester, where he spent the
final two years of his life. He was always full of praise
for the care he received there. I am in Paradise, he
would always declare whenever we visited him.
Even in his final hours in hospital, as his strength
was failing, John maintained his kindness, patience
and gratitude, responding as well as he could to
the prayers and blessings he received and ready to
raise his hand in blessing in return. Wherever he
had been, his presence helped to transform a house
into a home. We pray that, now he has reached his
homeland in heaven, he will rapidly be transformed
into the likeness of the glorious body of Jesus Christ.

Fr Hugh Preston SDB

Rector

Fr John Bennett SDB 1917-2012

Their flame revives
The charcoal of our lives.

The light in their eyes
Shines to inspire.

Let their vitality
Our inspiration be.
Let our blessing be

Encouragement.