by Fr. Stephen B. Whelan, SDB
A previous issue of the Salesian Bulletin (Summer 1997) carried an article on the "preventive system" of St. John Bosco focusing on the first of the triad of "Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness." This method of education is a synthesis of humanism and Christianity and is characterized by familiarity, spontaneity, trust and joy, and a continuous presence of the educator among youth. This presence, known as "assistance," skillfully combines the educational and formative tools of work and study, religious practice and moral strength, and recreational activities such as games, sports, theater, music, and celebrations. It is an educational method which demands the total immersion of the educator in the lives of the young.
The second term of Don Bosco's Preventive System, "religion," is the soul and purpose of all his apostolic endeavors. Don Bosco was a man of faith, a minister of the Gospel and an apostle amid the turmoils of an age of revolution that was characterized by anti-Catholicism and anticlericalism. Youth were most susceptible to these "isms."
In mid-1800 Italy there was a cynicism toward and a ridicule of religious beliefs and practices. Such cynicism and ridicule, even if not consciously embraced, tends to rub off and leave one with a jaundiced view of the relevance of things religious. Don Bosco's humanism and practical common sense demonstrated how faith and its practice could ennoble and give purpose to human existence. He demonstrated Catholic teachings and practice in a way that could be understood by the adolescent. He joined religious instruction and devotion with games and theatrical performances. Religion was a joy for him and he exposed his boys to this joy through word, song and the full panoply of liturgical ritual. His enthusiastic preparations for feasts through novenas, days of recollections and exhortations raised his boys' expectations to fever pitch. Their participation was then rewarded with special treats, gifts and amusements.
Removed from Don Bosco's time and milieu, the Salesian today recognizes a need to reemphasize Don Bosco's educational method in secularist and non-Christian cultures.
Lands which have a long history of Christian influence have the advantage of familiarity with the Church's teaching. The Salesian can help the young discover the presence of the Savior through Jesus' word and his
sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation. The follower of Don Bosco's Preventive System, motivated by charity, witnesses to the faith and points to the true happiness of living life with a sense of purpose directed toward the here and hereafter.
The Salesian can apply "religion" in the most abject of human situations, not to have people passively accept and endure their personal tragedies, but to help them understand them, seek their causes and, where possible, do something about them
Conversely, in places where there is no established tradition of Christianity there is obviously a tradition of religious yearning and aspiration even though seemingly paradoxical or alien to Christian beliefs. In all the major religions of the world there is a common thread. We Christians are familiar with this common thread. It is found in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures--our Bible. God is the creator of all humankind. We, each in our own way, can be aware of the divine. This common thread is also found in the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu writings, the writings of Buddha, Confucius, Tao, and so many others. This is not to say that one religion is as good as another. That would be religious indifference. But the Salesian must demonstrate that Catholic Christianity strives to make sense of the temporal and eternal verities and that it best addresses universal religious and spiritual principles, as well as the fundamental questions of human existence.
Thus in cultures not founded on or familiar with Christianity, "religion" in Don Bosco's educational method is still valid because it speaks to humanity universally. It is to be found and practiced specifically in the individual Salesian. The Salesian living his or her faith, demonstrates where the finger of God is manifest and inspires the student, parishioner, neighbor or client to discover the divine reality within. The divine reality is thus incorporated into his or her life and daily activities, giving motive, reason, and purpose to one's desires and ambitions.
The "religion" of Don Bosco's Preventive System inspires the Salesian to seek and nourish the spark of truth deposited in every human heart, to foster the dialogue of life which has concern for the quality of human life, its dignity and, above all, its eternal destiny, which is the goal of all yearning.