Saint John Bosco

As we continue our observance of Catholic Schools Week, the Church gives us a wonderful example today in Saint John Bosco. His early years were the most difficult, so when he was ordained a priest, he dedicated himself to the education of the young, founding congregations which would instruct youth in both the arts and Christian life (Magnificat, 415-16). One commentary states, "Saint John Bosco devoted a great deal of attention to the question of how the young could be formed for a good, holy Christian life. He chose love rather than severity as his tool for teaching children to treasure God's will and promise" (413-14). We look to Jesus as our ultimate teaching example. Jesus says this in Mark's Gospel, "Let the children come to me; do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these"
(10:14). We are called to teach our young people the ways of faith. I remember clearly the last National Catholic Youth Convention that I went to in Kansas City in the late 1990's. An article in the daily paper published for the event talked about the youth being the future of the Church. Did the young people ever respond to that? They let everyone know that, yes, they are future leaders of the Church, but they are the Church of today. Yes, they are! As adults: parents, teachers, priests and religious, we have a duty to teach our young people. We need to keep them active in the faith today because that will help them in the future. The Church has a great responsibility when it comes to the teaching ministry. Let us always do our part and ask Saint John Bosco to intercede for us and may his prayers guide all of our teaching efforts. God Bless!!!