SAINT JOHN BOSCO
Psalm 103, Verse 11
For as the heavens tower over the earth,
so his mercy towers over those who fear him.
The
earth is indeed blessed among all the planets in our solar system because of
our heaven. As the heavens have made the earth a garden rich with life like so
is God grace over those who are faithful and love Him.Never forget our Lord
asked Peter if he loves Him three times.
One time for each of the times Peter denied our Lord on the eve of His
crucifixion thus nullifying Peter’s denials and restoring him. Christ asks
Peter with each affirmation to 1) feed His lambs 2) tend His sheep and 3) feed
His sheep.
First
Christ
asked Peter if he loves Him more than the others thus establishing Peters
leadership on love. Next Christ tells Peter to feed His lambs to give them a
core of strength. If we wish to develop strength in ourselves and others it is
imperative that we give hope, confidence, a work ethic, resilience,
self-control and courage to the lambs in our charge.
Secondly Christ asks Peter
to “tend His sheep” or that is to give a firm purpose to direct their efforts
to create the Kingdom of God.
Lastly
Christ
asks Peter to “Feed His sheep” by having an understanding heart and to
be compassionate, faithful, merciful, tolerant, forgiving and generous.
1. God pardons (v.3) leaders must push past shame or blame.
2. God heals (v.3) they must become healthy and be liberated from
old wounds.
3. God redeems (v.4) they see
their abilities and personality redeemed.
4. God crowns (v.4) they are
given gifts and a place to serve.
5. God satisfies (v.5) they
feel satisfied and fulfilled as they live out their role.
Natural
Leadership vs. Spiritual Leadership
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Natural Leader
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Spiritual Leader
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1. Self-Confident
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1. Confident in God
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2. Knows Men
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2. Knows God
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3. Makes own decisions
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3. Seeks to find God’s will
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4. Ambitious
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4. Self-Sacrificing
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5. Originates own methods
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5. Finds and follows God’s methods
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6. Enjoys commanding others
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6. Servant of all
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7. Motivated by self-interest
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7. Motivated by love of God and Man
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8. Independent
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8. God-dependent
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9. Gets power through personality
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9. Empowered by the Holy Spirit
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10. Cowboy driving the herd
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10. Shepard leading the flock
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Jesus led his disciples from being natural leaders to
being spiritual leaders who were not afraid
of asking questions and or the answer they may get. As a result, they
transformed the earth through good works and humility:
Jesus said to his disciples,
"Pay attention to what I am telling you. The Son of Man is to be handed
over to men." But they did not understand this saying; its meaning was
hidden from them so that they should not understand it, and they were afraid to
ask him about this saying.
St. John Bosco was the founder of the Salesian
Society, named in honor of St. Francis de Sales, and of the Daughters of Mary,
Help of Christians. His lifework was the welfare of young boys and girls, hence
his title, "Apostle of Youth." He had no formal system or theory of
education. His methods centered on persuasion, authentic religiosity, and love
for young people. He was an enlightened educator and innovator. Don Bosco decided
to go ahead fearlessly with his educational mission stating,” “Timid souls
refrained from making any kind of fresh start for fear of the coming storm.”
Things to
Do
- St. John
Bosco at a young age learned how to juggle and do other tricks to attract
children to him. This provided opportunities for him to give catechesis to
these children. Think of different activities that you could do to attract
children—perhaps juggling, putting on puppet shows, storybook time—and use
that opportunity to teach a virtue, catechism lesson, or just to be a good
example. Good clean fun or a wholesome activity is a lesson in itself in a
world where there is so much corruption.
- If you feel
brave, try cooking the stuffed raw peppers suggested for today. Mama
Margaret probably cooked Peperoni farciti à la Piemontaise (peppers
stuffed with boiled rice), a speciality from Turin, for St. John Bosco's
boys.
- Read this
article from Catholic Culture's library, Don Bosco, Seeker of Souls.
Marian Consecration of your Home
141. This is a true story of faith, obedience,
Mary’s intercession and God’s grace. Dare we hope that our faith and obedience,
Mary’s intercession and God’s grace can work a miracle again today amid our own
pervasive culture of death and divided families? I invite you to dare with me.
142. Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of
America, and of the Diocese of Phoenix. Her intercession for our families is
key to winning the spiritual battle again in our time. My dear sons and
daughters, if you haven’t done so already, invite Our Lady to dwell with you
through consecrating your home to Jesus through her Immaculate Heart. I ask
every family in our Diocese to place an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in a
special place, perhaps your prayer space, in your home. You can make of it a
special occasion, and perhaps invite a priest or a deacon to bless the image
while he also blesses your home.
143. According to Fr. Michael Gaitley, an expert on
the history of Mary’s rare but real miraculous appearances on the earth, the
second largest consecration to Our Lady in history is taking place here and
now, in the United States, and I am greatly encouraged by this fact. The last
nation our Blessed Mother brought this close to her Son was Poland in the 20th
Century, which despite much suffering, gave us a constellation of saints made
up of Maximilian Kolbe, Faustina Kowalska, and the Pope of the Family, John
Paul II.
144. “The only failure in life is not to become a saint.” This is true.
This is indeed true for every member of your family, and we need all the help
we can get. Our Lady will help us to the halls of Heaven with her prayers.
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
In the deep pit opened by your
humility, let penance bury your negligences, offences and sins. Just as the
gardener buries rotten fruit, dried twigs and fallen leaves at the foot of the
very trees which produced them. And so, what was useless, what was even
harmful, can make a real contribution to a new fruitfulness. From the falls
learn to draw strength: from death, life.
Daily Devotions
FEBRUARY
Soil
under our feet goes unnoticed, though this first foot of soil is where most
living organisms’ dwell. The health of the fragile skin of our earth is of
utmost importance. Humility comes from the Latin word for soil,
"humus." From and unto dust is the humbling message to each of us.
Soil is rich and fertile but also prone to erosion and pollution.
Overview of February
The
month of February is dedicated to the Holy Family. This year the entire month
of February falls within the liturgical season of Ordinary Time
which is represented by the liturgical color green. Green, the symbol of hope,
is the color of the sprouting seed and arouses in the faithful the hope of
reaping the eternal harvest of heaven, especially the hope of a glorious
resurrection. The month of February is traditionally dedicated to the Holy
Family. Between the events which marked Christmas and the beginning of Christ's
public life the Church has seen fit to recall the example of the Holy Family
for the emulation of the Christian family. The Feast of the Presentation (February 2) or Candlemas forms a fitting transition
from Christmas to Easter. The small Christ-Child is still in His Mother's arms,
but already she is offering Him in sacrifice. The saints that we will focus on
this month and try to imitate are St. Agatha (February 5), St. Paul Miki & Companions (February
6), St. Jerome Emiliani
and St. Josephine Bakhita (February 8),
Our Lady of Lourdes
(February 11), Sts.
Cyril and Methodius (February 14), St.
Peter Damian (February 21), Chair of St. Peter (February 22) and St. Polycarp (February
23). The feast of St. Blaise
(February 3), St. Scholastica
(February 10) and the Seven
Founders of the Orders of Servites (February 17) will not be
celebrated this year because they are superseded by the Sunday liturgy.
Though
the shortest month of the year, February is rich in Liturgical activity. It
contains a feast (Presentation of our Lord) that bridges two other seasons (Christmas
and Easter)! In addition, the faithful may receive in February two of the four
major public sacramentals that the Church confers during the liturgical year:
blessed candles and the blessing of throats. The Solemnity of the Presentation of the Lord
on February 2nd harkens back to the Christmas mystery of Light except that now,
Christ, the helpless babe, is “the Light of Revelation to the Gentiles who will
save his people from their sins.” Candles, symbolizing Christ our Light, will
be carried in procession this day, as will be the Paschal candle during the
Easter Vigil Liturgy. "The Light of Revelation" shines more brightly
with each successive Sunday of Ordinary Time, until its magnificence – exposing
our sinfulness and need for conversion – propels us into the penitential Season
of Lent. We prepare to accept the cross of blessed ashes on Ash Wednesday in
March and plunge ourselves into anticipating the major exercises of Lent –
fasting, prayer, almsgiving – laying our thoughts and prayers on the heart of
our Mother Mary. She, who offered her Son in the temple and on the Cross, will
teach us how to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow after her
Son. https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/overviews/months/02.cfm
[1]John
Maxwell, The Maxwell Leadership Bible
[3]https://family.dphx.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-Complete-My-Joy-Apostolic-Exhortation-English.pdf
[4]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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