2. "For you I study": an indispensable element of the mission to the young

A renewed love for cultural commitment and dedication to study are recommended by the Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata to all religious, as an integral part of the experience of life in the Spirit and the condition for apostolic efficacy. It is a question of applying the whole of one’s being to welcoming God’s mystery, and of reading intelligently and objectively in the light of faith its traces in nature and its presence in human history.

The text has been frequently quoted, but it will do no harm to hear it again: "In addition to the service of others, within the consecrated life itself there is need for a renewed and loving commitment to the intellectual life, for dedication to study as a means of integral formation and as a path of asceticism which is extraordinarily timely, in the face of present-day cultural diversity. A lessened commitment to study can have grave consequences for the apostolate, by giving rise to a sense of marginalization and inferiority, or encouraging superficiality and rash initiatives"

The recommendation does no more than endorse a tradition of Institutes of consecrated life, whose communities are always constituted as designs of spiritual life, full of meaning from a human point of view, and also as places of education and culture in line with the particular charisms. The experience of God has always been thought of also as a wisdom which sheds light on individuals and on humanity as a whole, not only by moral example, but also with regard to the world, thought and word, even though in a simple fashion.

Some may think that this is a theme difficult to associate with the tireless activity and ready initiative characteristic of our spirit; a theme somewhat new as regards a certain image of the Salesian and of our communities as always available, and constantly at grips with new projects.. It is in fact a trait characteristic of the figure of Don Bosco who, moved by Da mihi animas, offered his life in the service of the young, of the Church and of society; but we also see him attentive to the youth situation and the social and ecclesial circumstances of his time, open to ever broader horizons, and able to grasp the implications of phenomena which have an influence on individual and collective life (the press, emigration, new laws, the spreading of culture, the Italian unification and Risorgimento, etc.).

In the chapter of the Constitutions dealing with the salesian spirit there is an article which characterizes our kind of pastoral charity. "Our vocation – it says - is graced by a special gift of God: predilection for the young. (…) For their welfare we give generously of our time, talents and health". And the assertion is immediately illustrated by Don Bosco’s expression: "For you I study, for you I work, for you I live, for you I am ready even to give my life"

The growing emphasis of words and actions emphasizes the totality of the life put at the disposition of the young. But it is evident that it is not by mere chance that ‘study’ has found a place in the list of expressions. A series of elements in the biography of our Father leads us to give it a specific value: the importance that love of study had in the crowning formation of the three years at the Ecclesiastical Institute after priestly ordination for an updated knowledge of moral theology and for the direction of souls; the space given to study in his educative program, in the synthetic formulations of which it is always mentioned ("health, study, piety"); his idea of the educator and the priest which always combine loving kindness with the ability to enlighten, teach and guide; the frequent references to wisdom in his maxims and also the enlightening role attributed to faith and reason.

Expressed in a context of cordiality and affection for his boys, in an "exchange of gifts", the expression recalls some of his preferences and attitudes which converge without detriment on the central experience of his life: to be completely for the young. Study, not to be reduced to just ‘studies’, is therefore for Don Bosco an indispensable part of our donation to the young, of our fatherly concern to understand them and communicate to them faith, knowledge and the experience of life.

A few facts reveal the real content this expression had in his life. Recall his ability to look at reality, that of the young in the first place, but also the vicissitudes of the Church and the situation of the Country, without getting lost or becoming conditioned, careful to evaluate the whole picture from the educative and pastoral standpoint proper to his own vocation. Recall his readiness for finding adequate responses to problems; providing easily understood messages, using every means at his disposal; committing himself to the diffusion of sacred history, of the history of Italy, of Christian truth and a form of popular literature, all of which involved him in a great deal of personal work in compiling and editing.

"For you I study" recalls the patient effort of elaborating an "original educative system" from pre-existing material, his own intuitions, the contributions of contemporaries and original syntheses. It reminds us also of the launching of a work-project in line with the times. He followed up its functioning and drew up intelligent and practical norms and guidelines with attention to the style in which he wanted them to be expressed and the attainment of his objectives. He was able to share his ideas, to make comparisons, to dialogue with people of widely differing experiences and competence, with leaders in the fields of thought, politics and social life.

Also the well thought out formulation of an experience of life in the Spirit, with spiritual processes for young people and adults, presented in words and writing, implied the mental application expressed in the phrase "for you I study". It meant learning from life, reflecting on educative experience, an openness to verification, without being satisfied with what had been done before or falling into repetition. It was the desire and patient acquisition of "wisdom" ("Sapientiam dedit illi…"), indicated in his first dream as a characteristic of his life, which he learned at the school of the Good Shepherd and Mary the Teacher, in availability to the Spirit, in harmony with the Church; and it was expressed in the discernment of events, in the worth in God’s eyes of spiritual experiences, in the understanding of situations and in the service of the orientation and guidance of others.

"For you I study": it makes us think also of a Don Bosco who could seek times and places which foster active solitude, recollection and planning. They were his times for prayer, the annual spiritual retreat, certain pauses which allowed him greater concentration, but also his desk-work which gave rise to voluminous correspondence, ideas for new projects and the production of a quantity of writings far from negligible.

Charity and competence, study and work, activity and reflection were blended together by the grace of unity for the good of the young. It is an integration not easily brought about, frequently threatened by schizophrenia in the activity or in the mentality to which are exposed those who live a style of life and work where "there is no time" for reflection or comparison; there is the risk that the latter will become disjoined from the pastoral objectives and will end up in line with the principle that a well ordered activity of study and thought does not befit a Salesian.

And yet I would say that, just as without prayer our activity risks contributing nothing to the mission ("work and prayer"), so without "study", without wisdom and competence, it will be difficult for our works to reach the goal prefigured for our educative and pastoral service.

"Study and piety will make you a true Salesian", wrote Don Bosco to a confrere. This phrase was put at the beginning of the Motu Proprio Magisterium Vitae, with which Pope Paul VI in 1973 conferred on the Salesian Pontifical Athenaeum the title of Pontifical University, as though to repeat at the highest possible level: "Culture and spirituality will make of you an authentic educator and pastor of the young". Both in fact are necessary for the translation of salesian pastoral charity into a life experience and mission projects. It is not therefore a matter of something marginal which touches only certain moments of our lives or is of concern to those committed on only certain frontiers of the mission. It can take on various forms and expressions according to personal aptitudes and gifts, but will always be one of the conditions for the embodiment of that love of the young which gives significance to our whole existence.