Sacrifice

On hearing someone complaining of some affliction, too much work or the like, Don Bosco would cheer him up, saying, "Remember that you are working for a good MasterGod. Work and suffer for the love of Jesus Christ, who worked and suffered so much for you. A piece of paradise will make up for everything." If he was told of some difficulty or of some personal opposition, he would say, "This won't happen in paradise." If someone mentioned long summer vacations, he would say, "We shall take our vacations in paradise." When he returned home from town, tired from begging, and his secretary would advise him to rest a while before getting to his desk or to the confessional, he would answer. "I will rest in paradise." After some protracted dispute, he would conclude, "We shall have no controversies in heaven. We shall all be of the same opinion." He assured us that he had asked for and obtained from Our Lord, through Our Lady's intercession, a place in heaven for hundreds of thousands of his sons. Incessantly he raised his pupils' minds to heaven, instilling into them a most firm hope of one day being there with him. But he would always add, "Woe to him who does not keep this appointment! It may happen if we are not faithful to our religious duties." At other times, wishing to inspire confidence in Our Lady, he would end his advice with, "Do this in Mary's honor, and you will be pleased." He often said to each of us, "If you are good, I will save you a. place in heaven." And this he stated with such confidence as almost to make us believe that he had received a revelation from God. BM chap.37, p. 200

Keep in mind that Don Bosco was a man of passion and work. He never gave up when it came to saving souls and working for the Kingdom. This spirit lives on until today. As a Salesian, do not get tired of your work. Make this as your daily offering to God, and a pure sacrifice of love and gratitude.

Article 78: Work “Unremitting and self-sacrificing work is a characteristic left us by Don Bosco, and is a concrete expression of our poverty. In our daily labors, we are at one with the poor who live by the sweat of their brow, and we bear witness to the human and Christian value of work.”