If God is for us, who can be against us?
“Amen, I say to you,
no prophet is accepted in his own native place. “
Luke 4:21-30
4th SUN ORDINARY TIME
Don Bosco succeeded to found the Salesian Congregation to work for the poor and abandoned youth in his time. A lot of people helped him like Pope Pius IX. But he had also a lot of enemies who opposed him. There was his own bishop who blocked the approval of the Salesians even to the point of suspending him from confession. There were his fellow priests who attempted to lock him in an asylum because he was entertaining rowdy street urchins instead of preaching from the pulpit. There were the rich people who saw him as a competitor with the boys he rescued from hard labor in their factories. There were the rebels who were deprived of possible recruits for their revolution because of the oratory. They all liked to have Don Bosco eliminated.
Much like in the gospel, Jesus was doing immense good with His words and works. He captivated 5,000 people with His sermon on the mount. His teachings were different from the teachers of the law. They were new and refreshing. His miracles were equally attractive. He drove away demons who all acknowledged Him as sent by God. He raised back from the dead His friends Lazarus, Jairus’ daughter, the son of the widow at Nain. He was more popular than the Pharisees, Sadducees, the lawyers and the whole Sanhedrin. They were blind to Jesus’ goodness and wanted to kill Him.
Jesus affirmed their evil intent when He said; “I am rejected today by you my own countrymen. But know that God has rejected you first when He sent Elijah to feed the widow at Zarephath and Elisha to cure Naaman the Syrian.” Hearing this they wanted to throw Him over the cliff.
People who hated Don Bosco in their desire to kill him, hired assassins to attack him on the streets and even to shoot him in his own oratory. Fortunately there were the oratory boys who stood as his bodyguards. God sent an angel from heaven in form of a vicious wolf whom Don Bosco nicknamed “Grigio” because of its grey fur.
Definitely if God sends us to do His bidding, He will equip us with everything in order to succeed.
Disclaimer: This section of the website is a personal creative writing of the author and does not necessarily reflect the official views, opinion, or policies of the Salesians of Don Bosco – Philippines South Province. For concerns on the content, style, and grammar of this piece, please contact us.
