(ANS – Rome) – At the conclusion of Solemn Vespers celebrated in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at Castro Pretorio, the Rector Major, Fr. Fabio Attard, addressed the traditional Good Night to the Salesians, members of the Salesian Family, and friends present, offering a profound reflection on the theme: “Gratitude and Appreciation in the Salesian Tradition.”
On June 24, the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist—a date deeply rooted in the Valdocco tradition—the Successor of Don Bosco recalled that this is not “just any date,” but a day rich in memory, affection, and spiritual meaning. It was precisely on June 24 that the young people of the Oratory spontaneously expressed their gratitude to Don Bosco in a truly family spirit.
Gratitude: A Spiritual Dimension of the Preventive System
The Rector Major emphasized that gratitude is not an incidental or merely emotional element of Salesian spirituality, but lies at the very heart of the charism. It is a true spiritual, educational, and pastoral dimension, to the point that the Preventive System can be understood from within precisely through gratitude.
“To be grateful,” he explained, “means recognizing that one’s vocation springs from a history of grace. The charism is not a possession, but a gift received and entrusted to our responsibility. No one is the owner of the Salesian charism: we are all debtors to it.”
Gratitude thus becomes an “act of truth”: acknowledging that one’s life has been accompanied by people, encounters, interventions, and even trials through which the Lord has shaped both personal and communal journeys.
Don Bosco: A Son Before Being a Father
Reflecting on the figure of Don Bosco, Fr. Attard highlighted an often-overlooked aspect: the Saint of Youth allowed himself to be formed. From Mamma Margaret, Fr. Calossoy Fr. Cafasso, he learned a style of humble openness to God’s action.
“There is no charismatic fruitfulness without filial humility,” he said, “nor true spiritual fatherhood without first accepting that we are children. Grateful remembrance of those who brought us into our vocation safeguards the truth of our mission.”
Don Bosco, he added, responded faithfully to Providence’s initiative: he did not build a work based solely on human strategy, but read reality with spiritual eyes, seeing in young people not a problem, but a call.
Gratitude That Becomes Action
Gratitude is not nostalgia or sentimentality—it is generative. When authentic, it becomes commitment.
Don Bosco did not simply teach young people to say “thank you,” but created an environment where gratitude became a way of life and an educational principle. Those who were loved learned trust; those who were respected learned respect. Ingratitude, by contrast, closes the heart in self-centeredness and extinguishes wonder.
Maturity, the Rector Major emphasized, does not mean being independent of others, but freely recognizing the good received and transforming it into shared good.
Gratitude as a Style of Leadership
A significant part of the reflection focused on authority. Gratitude, he said, must characterize the Rector Major and all those in leadership roles.
Without gratitude, authority risks losing its Gospel identity. It reminds leaders that they are servants of a gift received, not owners of something they have produced. Authentic authority arises from entrustment, not possession.
Gratitude, in practice, translates into a leadership style marked by listening, respect, discretion, the ability to correct without humiliating, and firmness without rigidity. It makes authority both humanly credible and evangelically authentic, modeled on Don Bosco’s fatherly style.
A Culture of Gratitude and Gospel Simplicity
The Rector Major also emphasized gratitude toward benefactors who share in the Salesian mission. Such gratitude is not diplomacy, but spiritual justice.
At the same time, it fosters sobriety and responsible stewardship of entrusted resources: those who recognize a gift do not waste it, but protect it for the service of young people and the poor.
“We All Belong to Don Bosco”
In conclusion, Fr. Attard recalled Carlo Gastini’s well-known expression: “We all belong to Don Bosco.” This phrase expresses not only emotional belonging, but a deeper spiritual awareness: Salesian identity is the fruit of a gift, a living tradition, and a grace that spans generations.
June 24, therefore, is not simply a name day, but the celebration of a relationship that has spread from Valdocco across the world. In an age marked by individualism and distrust, gratitude can become a true educational and spiritual path capable of fostering a more human, free, and joyful society.
With his Good Night address, the Rector Major offered the Salesian Family not only a reflection for the feast day, but also a direction for the journey ahead: to live the mission as a grateful response to grace received.