Spiritual Talk – Fr. Ho talks about St. John Bosco (4)

by Kenny Cheng
2016-09-24

When St. John Bosco was a child, his mother Margherita taught him an important lesson: think things carefully before acting. Once, John Bosco stood on a chair to grab a wooden ball on top of the kitchen cabinet. However, it is too tall for him and after a clumsy grab, he accidentally shatters a bottle of oil. He tries to mop up the mess but his efforts only strengthen the oily scent. He is mortified – not because he will be yelled at by his mother, but because of the suffering he will cause her. When Margherita returns home, he has already cut a cane with his pen-knife and dejectedly asks her to beat him with it. Knowing that her son had not broken the bottle on purpose, Margherita forgives him but warns him to think before acting. In another incident, John Bosco was looking after turkeys with his brother Giuseppe. Noticing the young boys and thinking they would be easy to trick, a man asked to buy a turkey for five soldi. Ecstatic to see so much money, the two boys agree and proudly tell their mother about the exchange. On hearing this, Margherita bursts into laughter, as a turkey was worth at least 4.5 lira, 18 times their selling price! Ashamed, John Bosco and Giuseppe try to find the man to no avail. On returning, Margherita scolds them for abandoning the other turkeys in their haste and for foolishly trying to confront the fraudster. Again, Margherita imparted a valuable teaching which allowed John Bosco to avoid many unfortunate incidents and even offending God as an adult.

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