Zabenthung Dominic

As I reflect on the life and legacy of Don Bosco, especially on this, his 209th birth anniversary, my heart is deeply moved by the intensity of  love that drove him. Here was a man who, from his earliest years, felt a divine call – an irresistible pull towards the young, the lost, the forgotten. His heart, full of God’s love, became a sanctuary for countless boys who had nowhere else to turn. His life was a reflection of the Gospel words: “Greater love has no one than to lay down his life for his friends.”

Don Bosco laid down his life, not in a single moment of martyrdom, but in the countless small sacrifices he made every day. Every sleepless night spent in prayer, every hour he devoted to teaching, counseling, and loving those who had been abandoned by the world, was a step closer to his final exhaustion. He did not fear fatigue; rather, he welcomed it, knowing that it was the cost of true love. His body grew weary, but his spirit never faltered, driven by the same love that led Christ to the cross.

As I ponder this great man’s life, I am compelled to ask myself: What drives me? Is it the same boundless love that consumed Don Bosco, that urged him to give everything, even his last breath, for the sake of the young? Or do I sometimes hold back, afraid of the cost, of the fatigue that inevitably follows a life of total dedication?

Don Bosco’s life challenges me. It calls me to examine my own heart and to let it be filled with the same divine fire that drove him. It calls me to a deeper commitment, a more radical love, and a dedication to those whom God has placed in my care.

To follow in Don Bosco’s footsteps is to be driven not by duty, but by love – a love that mirrors Christ’s own, a love that gives until there is nothing left to give, and then gives even more. It is to see every young person not as a burden, but as a blessing, an opportunity to pour out the love of Christ in a world so desperately in need of it.

Today, as I remember Don Bosco, I pray for the grace to be driven by the same love that drove him. May I, too, find joy in the sacrifices, strength in the exhaustion, and peace in the knowledge that I am dedicating my life for my friends, just as he did. For there is no greater love, and no greater calling, than this.