Page 6 - Salesian Bulletin 2016 [01] January-March

In the Church’s Year of Mercy, a reminder for the Salesian OFamily of a core value for Pope Francis and Don Bosco ...
Blessed are the merciful... (Mt 5, 7)
n 13 March 2015, in the boarding school in which he aimed to Basilica of Saint Peter in educate the pupils to be honest Rome, during a Lenten citizens and good Christians. He also
penance service, Pope Francis established a new religious announced to the world: “I have congregation that he named the
decided to call an extraordinary Jubilee that is to have the mercy of God at its centre. It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (cf. Lk 6:36)”
Society of Saint Francis de Sales, after his patron saint famed for his tenderness and compassion. This also expressed his mercy and compassion towards the young!
He announced that
commence “on the coming Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and conclude on Sunday , 20 November 2016, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and living face of the Father’s mercy”.
A SIMILAR SPIRITUALITY
The Pope’s intention in calling the Jubilee was to underline that mercy is an act of love towards the whole person, body and soul. Mercy is of the very essence of the teaching of the Gospel. The Holy Father invites everybody to be merciful.
homeless. He talks to the poor and the sick and listens to them. This is the Gospel in practice. “Blessed are the merciful...”
DON BOSCO
Don Bosco worked to develop his pupils’ faith and worked with them. He fed them and prayed with them. He heard their confessions and helped supply the needs of their poor families. Pope Francis does the same. He meets with the poor and eats with them. He prays for them and visits them in different places, in hospitals and other centres for the poor and
We are invited to live the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy with love and prayer in our hearts. We are called to act with mercy towards all people because we are all God’s children. We can learn to be merciful from both Don Bosco and Pope Francis. They teach us how to put into practice the merciful message of the Good News. Their example reminds us – “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
Saint John Bosco lived during the 19th century in Italy. He was merciful and showed mercy to poor boys and orphans. In his compassion for them, he founded his Oratory and built churches. He founded and directed a
6 SDB
—Damian Okroj SDB.
the Y ear would
Don Bosco worked with the poor. Pope Francis encourages us to be merciful towards the poor, the sick and the homeless. The spirituality of Don Bosco and Pope Francis are very similar. Clear words and deeds give good testimony to the Gospel and present Jesus as merciful. The life and work of Don Bosco and Pope Francis show that the world always needs mercy and love, always desires Jesus who is Love!