Catholic Dads

Family Spirit of St. John Bosco

February 3rd, 2010

One of the traits of St. John Bosco’s religious order is the preeminence of the community. The Salesians are not supermen like Jesuits; they’re average Joes who work together as a team. For a Salesian, it is better to achieve only 80% when you work with the community than to get 100% by doing it alone. It’s called “In unum locum, in unum spiritum.” or “in one place and one spirit”.

All the religious orders have community life but the Salesians live theirs differently – the difference is the “Family Spirit”. And it is not just a generic family, but an Italian family. I don’t know if I should bring up the Sopranos or Godfather here but, there is that tight cohesion that is absent from those families where the children fly off the nest as soon as they turn 18.

I try to instill the same spirit at home by asking my kids to help each other with their chores. While they have their assignments, they’re not allowed to say, “That’s not my job.” I set the example by helping my wife. When I come home and the house is filthy, I don’t complain. When I see my wife reading a magazine, I don’t resent that dinner is not ready. Instead, I sauté some meatballs then mix it with tomato sauce while boiling the water for the noodles – still in my work clothes. I know how it feels to stay home with 4 kids because I do it every Saturday when she works. And it helps. My wife feels loved and she continues to pass that to the kids. It’s like Reagan’s trickle down economics, but I digressed.

This is not me. But the recipe is close enough.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJFBXHtxKIc or click here