St. John Bosco Quotes

The article deals with St. John Bosco quotes. St. John Bosco, or Don Bosco as he was and is popularly called, was an Italian priest who singularly devoted his time, energy and resources for the care and education of children who are poor, disadvantaged, orphaned and lacking in guidance for the sake of Christ.

“I have not found any other firm basis for education than frequent confession and communion.” – St. John Bosco

“The primary happiness of a child consists in knowing that they are loved. The young must not only be loved, but they must know they are loved.” – St. John Bosco

“The world will always welcome us as long as all our concern is for the under-developed peoples, for poor children, for those members of society most in danger. This is our real wealth which no one will envy and no one will take from us.” – St. John Bosco

“Remember that education is a matter of the heart, of which God is the sole master….” – St. John Bosco

“Just as the manna was the daily nourishment of the Hebrews in the desert, so Holy Communion should be our support and our daily nourishment.” – St. John Bosco

“By ‘detachment from the things of earth,’ I mean detachment from unlawful pleasures, from too sentimental friendships, and from foods and beverage which can occasion gluttony.” – St. John Bosco

“Rather than make remarks about what others do, let each one take the greatest care to fulfill the duties entrusted to him.” – St. John Bosco

“I wish you would imitate fledgling birds as they prepare to leave the nest. They perch at its edge, flap their little wings, and try to rise. They test their own strength. Do the same; flap your wings and try to rise to heaven. Don’t try it from the top of a tree; you might plunge to the ground. No, start with little things, with those things that are necessary for your eternal salvation.” – St. John Bosco

“I want you to make use of two spiritual wings – devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and devotion to the Blessed Virgin.” – St. John Bosco

“The music of the young should be listened to with the heart and not with the ears.” – St. John Bosco

Don Bosco Quote: The Primary Happiness of the Child

Don Bosco Quote: God as the Sole Master

“My friends, I love you with all my heart, and your being young is reason enough for me to love you very much. You will certainly find books written by persons much more virtuous and much more learned than myself; but I assure you, you would be hard put to find anyone who loves you more than I do in Jesus Christ, or who care more about your true happiness than I do.” – St. John Bosco, Letter to the Young

“‘Honour your father and your mother,’ says Our Lord, ‘that you may have long life upon the land.’ But in what does this honour consist? It consists in obeying, respecting, and assisting them.” – St. John Bosco

“A body without food gets sick and dies, and the same thing happens to our soul if we do not give it its food. The Word of God is food, nourishment for the soul….” – St. John Bosco

“Give me an obedient child and he will be a saint. Otherwise, he will be lacking in every virtue.” – St. John Bosco

“A school without music is a school without a soul, for music aids education.” – St. John Bosco

“Frequent confession, frequent communion, daily Mass: these are the pillars which should sustain the whole edifice of education.” – St. John Bosco

“As well as the usual morning and evening prayers, I also urge you to spend some time reading some books dealing with spiritual matters, like the Imitation of Christ, the Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales, the Preparation for Death by St Alphonsus, Jesus at the Heart of the Young. If you read some parts of these books indicated above you will find they are of great advantage to your souls. You will have twice the merit before God if you recount what you have read to others, or you read it in their presence, especially if someone cannot read.” – St. John Bosco

“He has a particular love for the young… God loves you… He loves you, because you are natural, humble and innocent; in a word, because you have not yet fallen a victim to the snares of the devil.” – St. John Bosco

“Pay attention and you will understand who they are. All those boys who are not ashamed of using obscene language in your company, or dubious or scandalous words, murmuring, lies, perjury, curses, blasphemy, or try to keep you away from church or ignore your duty - these are bad companions, ministers of Satan whom, you should avoid like the plague and the devil himself. Ah my dear friends, I beg you with tears in my eyes to flee and abhor companions like these!” – St. John Bosco

“I know there are many bad companions and that is precisely why I am so warmly recommending your flee them. And if that means you have to be alone to avoid them, well, lucky you. You will have Jesus Christ, the Blessed Virgin, your guardian angel as company.” – St. John Bosco

Don Bosco Quote: The Word of God as Nourishment for the Soul

Don Bosco Quote: The Pillars of Education

“Our Lady wants us to honor her with the title of Mary Help of Christians. The times are so sad that we need the Holy Virgin to help us preserve and defend the Christian faith.” – St. John Bosco

“If you keep guard over such a beautiful virtue [purity] you will be very like the angels in Heaven, and your guardian angel will regard you as his brother since he will enjoy your company so much.” – St. John Bosco

“Idleness is the principle snare the devil puts before youth, and a sorry source of all other vices.” – St. John Bosco

“… man was born to work and when he ceases to do so, he is off-centre and runs a great risk of offending the Lord.” – St. John Bosco

“There is nothing that torments the damned in hell more than having spent the time God gave them to save themselves in idleness. On the contrary there is nothing that consoles the blessed more in heaven than the thought that a little time spent for God has earned them an everlasting good.” – St. John Bosco

“Do not grieve over my death. This is a debt we must all pay; but afterwards, every fatigue sustained for the love of our Master, the good Jesus, will be greatly rewarded.” – St. John Bosco

“Bear in mind, my dear children, that we were created for Heaven.” – St. John Bosco

“Consider, my son, that this body of yours, this soul of yours were given to you by God without any merit of yours, creating you in his image. He made you his child by holy baptism. He loved you and does love you as a tender father, and the only purpose for which he created you is to be loved and served in this life, to then be happy in heaven. You are not in the world only to enjoy, become rich, to eat, drink and sleep, like the animals but your purpose is to love your God and save your soul.” – St. John Bosco

“Remember that it will always be a red-letter day when you are able to win over an enemy or make a friend by charity.” – St. John Bosco

“Two sources of grace for us are: recommending every occasion we can and in good time that our young pupils approach the sacraments or perform some work of piety in honour of Mary.” – St. John Bosco

Don Bosco Quote: We are Created for Heaven

Don Bosco Quote: Charity Makes for a Red-Letter Day

“An oratory without music is like a body without a soul.” – St. John Bosco

“Have faith in the Blessed Sacrament and Mary Help of Christians and you will see what miracles are.” – St. John Bosco

“God found a way of giving our souls suitable and spiritual food, that is, His very Divinity.” – St. John Bosco

“If you cannot receive, make at least a spiritual Communion. This means that you should arouse in yourself an ardent desire to receive Jesus in your heart.” – St. John Bosco

“The most effective work for obtaining pardon for sins and being sure of eternal life is charity given to little children.” – St. John Bosco

“I do not want you to thank me when I offer charity to your poor boys; I should be thanking you for asking me. It is a fact that the Lord gives me in this life a hundredfold for what I give out of love for him.” – St. John Bosco

“I’d like to become a priest. I’d like to attract my companions, to talk to them, and teach them their religion. They’re not bad, but they become bad because there is no one to guide them.” – St. John Bosco, Aged 11 

“Mary, Help of Christians, is the one who accomplishes great things.” – St. John Bosco

“I leave you here on earth, but only for a short time. I hope the infinite mercy of God will enable us all to meet one day in Heaven. There I await you.” – St. John Bosco

“Adieu, dear children, adieu. I wait for you in Heaven. There we shall speak of God, of Mary, the Mother and support of our Congregation.” – St. John Bosco

Don Bosco Quote: Spiritual Communion, A Real Desire for Jesus

Don Bosco Quote: I’d Like to Become a Priest