Beatitudes Imitating Christ

 For Salesians around the world, May 6^th is one of those days with a special meaning.  It is the feast day of one of St. John Bosco’s most memorable students from the Oratory, Dominic Savio.  Though his time in the Oratory and with Don Bosco was a brief one, Dominic Savio’s experiences and willingness to be a servant of God left a lasting impact on Don Bosco’s heart and on Salesian life.
 Prior to joining the oratory, there’s an incident that characterizes Dominic’s disposition for peer relations when he was a student at Mondonio.  In the absence of their teacher, two classmates stuffed the iron stove that heated the room with snow and debris.  The two feared they would be kicked out of school and blamed the affair on Dominic.  The teacher, Fr. Cagliero proceeded to rebuke Dominic publically in front of the class while Dominic took it silently.  The next day, the real pranksters were discovered.  When Dominic was asked about his silence, he pointed out that he was willing to take the scolding over the thought of his classmates being expelled.  Further, Dominic said that he was imitating Jesus who remained silent when he was judged unjustly in the trial that led to his Passion.  

This school incident showed Dominic’s demeanor to live out the Beatitudes early on.  He tried to envision how Jesus would want him to live, especially in peer relations.  By frequenting the sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation, Dominic put on an attitude of Christ and by carefully choosing his peers, an alliance of discipleship was formed.

Living out the Beatitudes radically transforms our lives to be united with Jesus in the breaking in of the kingdom for the here and hereafter.  Fr.  Rafael Borges, SDB framed that living as beatitudes has five requirements which can be recited with the fingers on one hand—Always  Be Joyful, With Christ, For the Church, In the World.

• Always practice simplicity of life like Mary who pondered Christ in her heart (Luke 2: 51)
• Be Joyful in the Lord always, for “this is the day the Lord has made” (Psalm 118:24)
• With Christ, we listen for what God desires to make of us (John 2: 1-5)
• For the Church, we live as a community of believers as The Body of Christ
• In the world, we prepare to be  good Christians and  honorable citizens