After being impressed by St. John Bosco, the elderly priest Fr. Giuseppe Melchiorre Calosso accepted him into his house, teaching him Italian, Latin, and ministry work. John Bosco flourished under Don Calosso’s fatherly care and made rapid progress in his studies. But on November 21, 1830, the 70-year-old priest was struck by apoplexy and, on his death bed, gave John Bosco the key to his safe. Unable to speak, he indicated through hand gestures that he was not to give it to anyone else. Don Calosso passed away later that day, and the medical personnel were undecided whether the contents of the priest’s safe belonged to John Bosco. Hesitating a while, John Bosco eventually decided to relinquish any claims to the safe, saying, “I would rather become a poor man than to enter hell because of worldly riches!” John Bosco remained steadfast in his decision, even after the box was revealed to contain a hefty 6000 lira and the priest’s nephew offered all the money to him. In the end, John Bosco accepted the nephew’s gift of clothing in memory of Don Calosso. John Bosco grieved much for Don Calosso, until he dreamt that God chastised him for being overly attached to worldly people; for the rest of his life, he prayed daily for the soul of his priestly mentor.
Spiritual Talk – Fr Ho talks about St. John Bosco (17)
