“It is not with blows, but with charity and gentleness that we draw others to the path of virtue.” St. John Bosco
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We heard Jesus today explaining a parable to a crowd about how God builds his kingdom among us. God cast seeds. Some seeds grow to become defective. Others bloom, like St. John Bosco for example, whom we celebrate today.
A story is told of an exchange John Bosco witnessed where an adult dismissed a teenager who lacked the ability to learn how to serve mass and understand what he was being asked to do. John Bosco pulled him aside and offered to teach him. The boy returned and brought other street kids with him. These seeds would become one of the largest religious orders of men throughout the world, the Salesians.
Let us pray for families and the mission they have to plant seeds of charity and gentleness in their children. Pray that families will be mindful of Jesus’ words to let the children come to him, do not prevent them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
For additional reading: Seed Grows of Itself and The Mustard Seed
