Saint John Bosco lived a life of great virtue and patience.
The Church celebrates his feast day on January 31.
According to Catholic News Agency,
“At age nine, he had a prophetic dream in which a number of unruly young boys were uttering words of blasphemy. Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary appeared to John in the dream, saying he would bring such youths to God through the virtues of humility and charity.Later on, this dream would help John to discern his calling as a priest. But he also sought to follow the advice of Jesus and Mary while still a boy: he would entertain his peers with juggling, acrobatics, and magic tricks, before explaining a sermon he had heard, or leading them in praying the Rosary.”
He spent much of his time on earth ministering to young people, which quickly earned him the title of patron saint of youth after the Catholic Church declared him a saint.
Saint John Bosco, founder of the Salesian Society, truly had a magnetic personality and zest for life.
Here are four timeless bits of wisdom from the amazing Saint John Bosco:
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP
1) “Your mortification should be your diligence in doing your duties and in putting up with the annoyances of others.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP
2) “Carry your cross on your back and take it as it comes, small or large, whether from friends or enemies and of whatever wood it be made.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP
3) “Do not put off till tomorrow the good you can do today. You may not have a tomorrow.”
Caroline Perkins, ChurchPOP
4) “Guard your eyes since they are the windows through which sin enters the soul.”
Here’s a novena prayer for his intercession:
Father and teacher of the young,
In need of special help, I appeal with confidence to you, Saint John Bosco, for I require not only spiritual graces, but also temporal ones, and particularly…
(Add your personal intentions here.)
May you, who on earth had such great devotion to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary Help of Christians, and who always had compassion for those who were suffering, obtain from Jesus and His Heavenly Mother the grace I now request, and also a sincere resignation to the Will of God.
(Recite the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be.)