The Light of the World

Today’s reading:

Mark 4: 21-26

“Is a lamp brought in under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand?”

A reading to reflect on is Luke 13:3 which states,
“Go on your way, behold I am sending you, like lambs among wolves.”

            Life as a Christian is rough. Even if it means pouring out your love for God, God expects everything out of you. So what does he expect when you are a Salesian? Now that’s a question I think some of us have pondered upon when we became a Salesian. Don Bosco truly wanted his boys to be apart from the rest of the youth of the age, he wanted them not to be bound by strict orders and functions; his most fundamental motive for his boys was that they be treated with an abundance of love, a family to love. Some of the boys were orphans and some rowdy and raucous, tough to handle. If it is through the eyes of Christ, that Don Bosco was given the dreams even as a child to change the boys to the sheep of his flock; how much more does our dear Lord expect of each and every one of us to be? He expects us to be tender and calm to others, so we can proceed in his mission to fulfill that love that the hungry of the world so beg for.

            Quite honestly there’s no way we can actually replicate the events of Don Bosco’s life of that to ours in approximation because, that would be quite ludicrous. His Life was of his age and time, and the youth of this age is far more different than in the past. As straightforward and simple as this statement is to understand, many of us usually tend to for some reason replicate it as close as possible and it just seems a bit too much. The second reason why it cannot be possible is because the youth of this age are driven by the force of materialism and narcissism. The problems that the youth in Turin felt back in the day has nothing to do sometimes with what the youth in today’s day and age face. But does that mean that Don Bosco’s life can only be told as a tale to entertain? No, of course not. His life and his aptitude in working with the youth must be our major purpose. Our goal must be in working with and educating the youth of this age and time.

            We as Salesians are asked to lead, we are asked to be that person that represents another Christ. We are all like lamps of light. Lamp that is visible to every youthful eye in the darkness of the world today. We are brought into the church upon the hill of speculations, doubts, hatred and defilement. Christ himself says that “Behold I am sending you, like lambs among wolves”(Luke 13:3). Why would our dear Lord who loves us so much be willing to send us to a place where there are wolves there to devour us? It is truly because we as Salesians are called to do something great: Fill the hearts of the generation of tomorrow with his good news. We as Salesians are to do that mission on the frontlines of the spiritual battlefield. Don Bosco always says, “To gain souls for God I push ahead even to the point of rashness”. Even if it means for the salvation of the youth of this age, we must do everything we must to ensure their hearts are content with the love that God is willing to offer them. Sometimes we must also be willing to tear down the brick walls of cold-heartedness and dismay, doubt and abandonment with love. But to do this, we must lead by example as “the Salesians”(as obscure as that sounds like a superhero), and we must be pure in our hearts in whatever we do. We cannot be insincere in our faith; we don’t have time for that. Just as Don Bosco was willing to place himself as a father for his boys, we too are called to be a family to the youth who are hungry for his love.