Monday, January 31, 2022

 Memorial of Saint John Bosco, priest

(II Samuel 15:13-14.30, 16:5-13; Mark 5:1-20)

Teen suicide worries many today with good reason.  Its incidence has increased dramatically over the last couple of decades.  Adolescents are experiencing much more anxiety in this era of instant communication.  They appear in some respects like the demoniac in today’s gospel.

Whatever the demon is, it is torturing the man it possesses.  Mark describes the man as “crying out and bruising himself with stones.”  The people may have feared him, but Jesus does not recoil in a confrontation.  Jesus is in such control that he extracts the demon’s name.  From that point on, the demon submits to Jesus’ authority.

Today’s patron, St. John Bosco, possessed a similar control over adolescents.  In his day they may not have had great anxiety issues but faced their own challenges.  John Bosco urged that his followers always treat youth with patience and understanding.  He realized that children are never bad but need adult guidance to grow in the right ways.

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