In 1835, St. John Bosco decided to study for the priesthood. Before entering the seminary, he attended a ceremony to don the seminarian’s cassock. Afterwards, his proud mother told him, “Remember, John: I would rather have a poor farmer than a rich and irresponsible priest as a son.” When John Bosco entered the seminary, he used every available free time to read, not merely to satisfy his curiosity, but to obtain knowledge. He was thorough in his reading, and would study the table of contents and preface to glean the author’s meaning. The seminarians would often play cards and John Bosco became very good at winning. But once he realized that his winnings were causing financial difficulties to the other seminarians, and the games were distracting him from prayer and studies, he stopped altogether. At the seminary, there were good and bad people; as always, John Bosco carefully only selected good friends and avoided bad people. In the seminary, he used his time well to help others and progress in holiness.
Spiritual Talk – Fr Ho talks about St. John Bosco (28)
