[Thomist-in-Training]

If you haven't seen the film from 2004--US release 2007, I think--it's fantastico! I just finished watching it. I found it at the public library thanks to my mother. In a book I just bought (Modern Saints, published by TAN) Don Bosco seemed to know everyone famous and holy of the nineteenth century. I know he had prophetic dreams too. I knew the one-sentence description of the Salesians before, but now I'm interested to know more about what they're doing today and about Don Bosco's life. Everyone? :cool:

[laetitia crucis]

That's definitely one of my absolute favorite saint movies! (Love that "Modern Saints" book you have, too!)

Unfortunately, I cannot add anymore than this as I don't know much about the Salesians today.

Oh, but here's a random thing about John Bosco -- his birthday is really August 16th, not August 15th as his baptismal certificate says. (I read this in his "Memoirs of the Oratory" last summer.) :)) We have the same birthday. Hee. :D

Thomist-in-Training, on Jun 25 2009, 06:45 PM, said:

If you haven't seen the film from 2004--US release 2007, I think--it's fantastico! I just finished watching it. I found it at the public library thanks to my mother. In a book I just bought (Modern Saints, published by TAN) Don Bosco seemed to know everyone famous and holy of the nineteenth century. I know he had prophetic dreams too. I knew the one-sentence description of the Salesians before, but now I'm interested to know more about what they're doing today and about Don Bosco's life. Everyone? :cool:

[stlmom]

We have at least two PM'ers associated with the Salesians--Philosobrat and Irish Salesian. I think one of their professed sisters used to post here a while back, too. Philosobrat is going into the novitiate this August; not sure about what's going on with Irish Salesian.

I think the Salesians are one of the largest active international religious communities in the Church if you count all the religious and their lay associates.

Maybe one of them will read this thread and come aboard to post more. :saint:

[TeresaBenedicta]

I have a film on Don Bosco-- it's originally in Italian, so I don't think it's the same one-- but I love it! St. Dominic Savio is my confirmation saint, so I have a special love for Don Bosco as well!

[dominicansoul]

I've only read his biography. Do you know of the incident with "el greggio?" Apparently, God sent an angel in the guise of a grey dog to protect him from assasins!

[loveletslive]

that is one of the better saint movies.

PLUG: i just watched the movie "Karol" about JP2, it was EXCELLENT! you should all go watch it. my library had it (surprise!)

[Thomist-in-Training]

TeresaBenedicta, on Jun 25 2009, 07:17 PM, said:

I have a film on Don Bosco-- it's originally in Italian, so I don't think it's the same one-- but I love it! St. Dominic Savio is my confirmation saint, so I have a special love for Don Bosco as well!

Yeah, the one I checked out is in Italian. It's 200 minutes long and goes up through the foundation of the SDB but doesn't cover the Sisters.

The only only thing that made me sad was a few of the chapel scenes; for some reason, in the oratory they had an altar with a tabernacle but the boys just got up out of the pew and left without genuflecting, and at his first Mass when giving Holy Communion to his mother, he said "Corpo di Cristo" in Italian rather than saying "Corpus Domini Nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam." That last part was really odd, but perhaps the directors were either non-Catholic or didn't realize that in 18__ they weren't using the New Mass... This is small because I don't want to complain, yet I wanted to put it here lest future film watchers be confused.

The costumes are fine and it definitely seemed to show realistically the heart-breaking setbacks that you'd have to deal with from Church, State, and the facts of working with boys who've been raised as criminals and don't always act the way you're trying to teach them. And happiness too of course!

[VeniteAdoremus]

loveletslive, on Jun 26 2009, 06:56 AM, said:

that is one of the better saint movies.

PLUG: i just watched the movie "Karol" about JP2, it was EXCELLENT! you should all go watch it. my library had it (surprise!)

The part with the Mass ad orientem on a canoe! I want to see that!

Yes, it's a fantastic movie!

I hope to see the Don Bosco one once, the sisters do watch movies from time to time :)

[Don John of Austria]

dominicansoul, on Jun 25 2009, 09:43 PM, said:

I've only read his biography. Do you know of the incident with "el greggio?" Apparently, God sent an angel in the guise of a grey dog to protect him from assasins!

Yes and Greggio showed up more than once. I just fighured he got a particulalry cool guardian angel.

[philosobrat]

laetitia crucis, on Jun 25 2009, 05:50 PM, said:

That's definitely one of my absolute favorite saint movies! (Love that "Modern Saints" book you have, too!)

Unfortunately, I cannot add anymore than this as I don't know much about the Salesians today.

Oh, but here's a random thing about John Bosco -- his birthday is really August 16th, not August 15th as his baptismal certificate says. (I read this in his "Memoirs of the Oratory" last summer.) :)) We have the same birthday. Hee. :D

You read the "Memoirs of the Oratory"? Wowza! Yeah DB liked to associate his life with the Blessed Mother, so sometimes he moved the dates around slightyl!

Salesians are still awesome..... :lol_roll:

If you love "Modern Saints" by Ann Ball, try the "Faces of Holiness" series by Joan Carroll Cruz. Also a fav of mine. :saint:

stlmom, on Jun 25 2009, 06:36 PM, said:

We have at least two PM'ers associated with the Salesians--Philosobrat and Irish Salesian. I think one of their professed sisters used to post here a while back, too. Philosobrat is going into the novitiate this August; not sure about what's going on with Irish Salesian.

I think the Salesians are one of the largest active international religious communities in the Church if you count all the religious and their lay associates.

Maybe one of them will read this thread and come aboard to post more. :saint:

Trying to entice me out of hiding, eh?

Irish Salesian is becoming a pre-novice this year. Its equivalent to our postulancy. There is another FMA (Salesian Sister) in training on here, as well, but she lurks. :topsy:

dominicansoul, on Jun 25 2009, 09:43 PM, said:

I've only read his biography. Do you know of the incident with "el greggio?" Apparently, God sent an angel in the guise of a grey dog to protect him from assasins!

Il Grigio - the grey one.

Thomist-in-Training, on Jun 26 2009, 12:14 AM, said:

Yeah, the one I checked out is in Italian. It's 200 minutes long and goes up through the foundation of the SDB but doesn't cover the Sisters.

The only only thing that made me sad was a few of the chapel scenes; for some reason, in the oratory they had an altar with a tabernacle but the boys just got up out of the pew and left without genuflecting, and at his first Mass when giving Holy Communion to his mother, he said "Corpo di Cristo" in Italian rather than saying "Corpus Domini Nostri Iesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam." That last part was really odd, but perhaps the directors were either non-Catholic or didn't realize that in 18__ they weren't using the New Mass... This is small because I don't want to complain, yet I wanted to put it here lest future film watchers be confused.

The costumes are fine and it definitely seemed to show realistically the heart-breaking setbacks that you'd have to deal with from Church, State, and the facts of working with boys who've been raised as criminals and don't always act the way you're trying to teach them. And happiness too of course!

Yeah I was bummed it omitted the Sisters. I hope they do one on our co-foundress, St Mary Mazzarello. The last one made about her was from the 1930s... and rather amusing by today's standards.

Regarding the Mass/Chapel issues... DB had a huge devotion to the Eucharist and I believe those were accidental on the director's part. Also, if you put the language of the film into English and the Subtitles into English, you will get 2 similar, but different expressions! I found the subtitles to be more faithful to the Italian than the English dubbing.

Don Bosco met the boys in prison because that was the work that his friend, St Joseph Cafasso was doing. He knew quite a few saints, like someone said... St Leonard Muraldo, Bl Aloysuis Guanella and Orione were Salesian novices before founding their own orders.... and we have quite a few, if anyone wants to see the list.

Anywho, must run. I am on my home visit with my family and trying to pack for the novitiate!

[loveletslive]

VeniteAdoremus, on Jun 26 2009, 05:31 AM, said:

The part with the Mass ad orientem on a canoe! I want to see that!

my parish priest had Mass on a canoe last fall! my town has this 1800s re-enactment thing and for some reason he went to the re-enactment place and said Mass :) father called the altar and "altaroo" haha

here's a picture of fr. setting up the altaroo
http://photos-b.ak.f..._148121_402.jpg