St. Francis de Sales and Don Bosco: Evangelizers

Jan 30

St. Francis de Sales lived two hundred years before Don Bosco but was admired tremendously by him. Why? Because of his zeal for souls! Don Bosco made De Sales’ motto his own – Da Mihi Animas Caetera Tolle – Give me souls, take away the rest. It was the tremendous passion for helping people love Jesus deeply, avoid sin and acquire virtue, and set their eyes firmly fixed on Heaven that was the great gift that both Saints brought to the Church. They were zealous evangelizers.

The Feast of St. Francis de Sales is coming up on January 24. The Feast of Don Bosco is coming up on January 31. Francis was a holy bishop who won people of all ages over toward Jesus and the Catholic faith during the time of the Reformation in Europe. Bosco was a holy priest who spent his life working with boys and young men to win them over toward becoming men of virtue and faith who would live productive lives as good Christians and good citizens. Both men were given a charism by the Holy Spirit and commissioned by God to spread it. They opened their hearts to receive the gifts of kindness, joy, optimism, teaching, preaching, love of the Sacraments and Our Lady – and a tenacious drive for the work of evangelization.

Regarding evangelization, one thing that stood out about St. Francis de Sales was his ability to take risks in order to save souls and to preach, teach and convert people for Christ. He spent his entire life as a priest and a bishop reaching out to others instead of waiting for people to come to him, walking through the country villages and dialoging with people who were skeptical and confused about religion – particularly Catholicism. Francis de Sales was a creative evangelizer with a missionary heart! He did things that were truly novel compared to his contemporary clergymen:

He wrote booklets and pamphlets and distributed them door-to-door
He spent long hours giving spiritual direction and advice
He opened up his parish church for Q&A time on Sunday afternoons

Don Bosco gathered young people informally on weekends and created an environment of faith and fun. Through his presence with them, his care and compassion for their situation of poverty and their need for formation arose and he got busy educating and evangelizing them:

He provided an oratory with an open door where they felt at home
He gave catechism lessons and Sacraments to boys who otherwise would not go to church or attend their parishes
He provided job and work skills training so they could get jobs and be employed
He identified and invited the boys who showed leadership potential to get involved in leading his ministry

In the Church today we are very much in need of zealous evangelization. Fear prevents risk. Laziness and telling God “get someone else” isn’t going to build the Kingdom of God here on earth. You and I need to step up as evangelizers. Imagine how our Church can move forward today and how we can promote lives of faith and virtue amongst the people we encounter. It could happen – if each and every one of us considered ourselves zealous evangelizers who are willing to go out and live our baptismal call to be missionaries of Jesus Christ and the Gospel. It could happen. And it starts with us accepting our own call to holiness and nourishing our relationship with God so that we might share his love with others.