Don Bosco used to attribute to
the Sacraments the efficacy of his work amongst youth. He would try his best to
make the boys go for Confession regularly and often, but no pressure was
brought to bear on them. He would just exhort them and have them encouraged to
go to Confession, but he would never compel them. Though he sat at his
Confessional every morning, and great though was the boys' desire to go to him
so that time was wanting to satisfy them, yet he wanted outside Confessors to
be at the boys' disposal. Especially at feasts and vigils he would allow the
greatest freedom. He would never permit any comment as to who went to him and
who went to others for Confession. Years afterwards he gave this rule to one of
his priests: "never give any sign of partiality or preference to those who
come to you for their Confession." Likewise he never gave way but firmly
forbade that on days of general Communion boys should be orderly marched bench
by bench to the Communion rails. This he did to prevent those who were not
prepared for Holy Communion from being overcome by human respect Better freedom
at the cost of a little confusion was his principle. At every day's Mass
Communions were so numerous that often visitors would ask what feast was going
on. Indeed they were under the impression they were watching a feast day
celebration.
The good that Don Bosco did
through Confession was so great that we would dub him the "Apostle of
Confession." He used to instill such tranquility and trust in God and in
His mercy that many, on leaving the Oratory would find it difficult to approach
other confessors. He used to tell his penitents the words of St. Philip Neri:
"Peccati e malincolia - non voglio in casa mia" ('I do not wish sin
and sadness in my house') meaning thereby that they should fully entrust their
eternal salvation to him.
Frequency in receiving the
Sacraments was the main spring that set all the Oratory boys on the way of
obedience with peace and joy. Consequently the striking note of the Oratory was
a noisy light-heartedness; lively games and at the same time a great piety and
purity of life together with the greatest earnestness in the fulfillment of
duty. A great number of excellent boys, real models for their companions, were
the impressive index of these virtues. Hundreds of old boys, both laymen and
priests, stand witness that in their times not a single serious disorder had to
be regretted.
Canon Ballesio writes: "the
change from rejecting evil and striving for good, our joy and contentedness,
the order of our house, our success in study and work, all this was fruit of
reason and of that piety that the Saint used to instill into us with his
examples, his sermons. He would encourage us often to receive the Holy
Sacraments (an unusual thing in those times). Moreover he would enkindle in us
the love for virtue, for sacrifice and obedience. He would dispel the cloud on
our souls with a word, with a nod, with a look.
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