Today I end a week with the novices of the two American provinces. I was invited to Rosemead to give a mini-course on Saint Francis de Sales. We began on Monday morning and ended yesterday afternoon, and we spent an average of 2.5 hours in the mornings and 1 hour in the afternoons.
Well it seemed to have gone well. I had asked them to read the Introduction of the Devout Life ahead of time, and during the week I presented some of the main points of the teachings of the saint each morning. Each afternoon we had a discussion on one part of the Introduction to the Devout Life (as there are five parts). The five young men seemed to participate well in the discussions.
One of the things that I pointed out to the novices, as I do, now, with most Salesian groups is that we Salesians have lost touch with the teachings of St Francis de Sales. In the first decades of the Salesian Society, the life and teachings of this saint were much discussed and absorbed, so to speak. However, once Don Bosco was beatified (1929), we let Francis de Sales slip into the background as we stressed Don Bosco's life and teachings more. That was natural, I suppose. It was important to come to know the new contributions of the new saint. But if we want to go back to the sources (as Vatican II called religious to do), then it is important to gain a deeper understanding of Don Bosco's model for the evangelization and education of the young, St Francis de Sales.
That is a tall order, but at least five more young Salesians have a better insight into who Francis was and why he appealed to Don Bosco.
Well it seemed to have gone well. I had asked them to read the Introduction of the Devout Life ahead of time, and during the week I presented some of the main points of the teachings of the saint each morning. Each afternoon we had a discussion on one part of the Introduction to the Devout Life (as there are five parts). The five young men seemed to participate well in the discussions.
One of the things that I pointed out to the novices, as I do, now, with most Salesian groups is that we Salesians have lost touch with the teachings of St Francis de Sales. In the first decades of the Salesian Society, the life and teachings of this saint were much discussed and absorbed, so to speak. However, once Don Bosco was beatified (1929), we let Francis de Sales slip into the background as we stressed Don Bosco's life and teachings more. That was natural, I suppose. It was important to come to know the new contributions of the new saint. But if we want to go back to the sources (as Vatican II called religious to do), then it is important to gain a deeper understanding of Don Bosco's model for the evangelization and education of the young, St Francis de Sales.
That is a tall order, but at least five more young Salesians have a better insight into who Francis was and why he appealed to Don Bosco.
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