January 31—St. John Bosco, Priest

Fr. Flanagan dedicated his life to helping orphaned boys to become good men:  “There are no bad boys. There is only bad environment, bad training, bad example, bad thinking.”  He may have taken his inspiration from St. John Bosco, an Italian priest who died in 1888.  St. John Bosco also went around Turin and gathered boys after their days in the factories to his night schools to teach and train them in the basics of the faith.  He faced many obstacles, including opposition from the community and even an attempt to commit him to a mental institution.  Nonetheless, he persevered and was able to open a home for the boys, technical schools, workshops, and even a church to supply for their needs.

St. John Bosco founded an Oratory, or a place of prayer, and a religious order, the Salesian Society, named after St. Francis de Sales.  The purpose of the Oratory was to teach the boys about God.  He would use many techniques to gain their attention:  games, juggling, tricks or walks to various places around town.  On Sundays he would say Mass, teach them about the Gospel, give them breakfast, and play games.  On Sunday afternoons he would lead them in prayer, teach them a lesson from the Catechism, and pray the Rosary.  The Salesians would continue his methods and spread the faith throughout the world.  There are more than 20,000 Salesians in over 2700 houses.  It is the third largest missionary order.  The Salesians’ mission is “the Christian perfection of its associates obtained by the exercise of spiritual and corporal works of charity towards the young, especially the poor, and the education of boys to the priesthood.”

Fr. Flanagan once said:  “A boy or girl given the proper guidance and direction – kept busy and constructively occupied during their leisure or free time – will prove my statement that there is no such thing as a bad boy or girl.”  St. John Bosco would have been proud.

December 6—St. Nicholas, Bishop

“Ho!  Ho!  Ho!  Merry Christmas!”  “Santa Claus is coming to town!”  “Jolly old St. Nicholas, lean your ear this way….”  All of these are familiar to us this time of year, but few know about the real Santa Claus, St. Nicholas of Myra.  St. Nicholas was a bishop of Myra, located in present-day Demre, Turkey in the fourth century.  He was a participant in the Council of Nicea, which declared that Jesus is consubstantial with God the Father, as we recite every week in mass. 

 

However, he has become more known as Santa Claus through the efforts of Clement C. Moore’s “‘Twas the Night Before Christmas” and the Dutch name for St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas.  The reasons for St. Nicholas’s transformation do indeed come from legends about the real St. Nicholas.  One legend has him throwing three bags of coins into the house of a poor man with three daughters to allow them to be marriageable.  He was also known as a “wonder-worker” due to miracles attributed to him.  Nonetheless, he has become the patron saint of children and is one of the few saints that are greatly venerated in both Eastern and Western churches.

Is there a Santa Claus?  If you mean a person who lives at the North Pole with elves and magical flying reindeer, only in the hearts of children and the child-like.  He is a representative of the spirit of gift-giving, which is a good thing.  But is there a St. Nicholas?  Absolutely!  He is one who loved Jesus while on earth and is alive in heaven singing praises to God.  He is more than a spirit of giving; he is one who gave himself to others because of his love for Jesus.  We too, can be modern-day Santa Claus’s as well as St. Nicholas’s.