Homily for the Memorial of Saint John Bosco

January 31, 2026
Theological College
Washington, D.C.

Philippians 4:4-9
Psalm 103:1bc-2, 3-4, 8-9, 13-14, 17-18
Matthew 18:1-5

Today the Church offers us this liturgical Memorial of Saint John Bosco, a saint of the nineteenth century who was renowned for his humble dedication to the care and education of orphaned and abandoned boys and adolescents. He and his brother Salesians accepted the responsibility of care for these young men whom the world considered to be a burden on society.

Saint John writes to his fellow Salesians, “Let us regard these boys over whom we have some authority as our own sons. Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume as attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of serving them better.”

In our Gospel today Jesus sets the example that Saint John Bosco so faithfully followed. He presents a child to the Apostles in their midst. He does so at a time when the Apostles are concerned with fears of their own self-worth and have fallen into arguments about pride of place in Jesus’ organization. Jesus presents the child in their midst, as one belonging to Him and to them, and not simply before them as an object. The child is not used by Jesus as a model for replication but clearly is loved by Jesus amidst His followers who include the Apostles.

The child is in a state of total dependence. This would be an unbearable state were the child also not in a state of total trust. The child is able to trust only because the child believes that he is loved and belongs to Christ.

A story is told about a man who is a husband and also a father. He works two blocks from his home, so he is able to walk to and from work. One evening, while walking home at the end of the day, he turns down his street and sees his home on fire. He runs to the house before the firetrucks urgently arrive. He looks up and he sees his youngest son in the upstairs window calling for help. The smoke begins to become overwhelming as the fire rapidly spreads. The father, standing beneath the window, yells to his son to jump that he might catch him. The son responds, “I can’t see you!” The father replies, “It’s ok, I can see you!”

Such is the trust we are to have in God because of God’s initiative in establishing a relationship of communion with Him through the gift of His Son who offers Himself. In their journey to Jerusalem with Jesus, to His Passion, His Death, His Resurrection, and Ascension, after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, the Apostles came to trust Jesus because of His love for them. We see this by their many exiles, sufferings, and martyrdoms.

If we also stay close to Jesus, we can come to believe that we are loved and as the child in the Gospel we can become vulnerable and trust; we can become receptive of Grace and friendship, and we can even become willing to be corrected. At some point in our lives, we can love God in return by surrendering ourselves and abandoning our self-will that is steeped in fear. We can give our total selves to Him who gave Himself totally for us.