SALESIAN

SPIRITUALITY
WHAT IS
SPIRITUALITY?

Spirituality is knowing
who you really are and
connecting with something
larger than yourself. Some
people believe it’s God or
Spirit or the Source of all
that is, and that it is outside
of you. Others feel
spirituality is inside of us. It
is both.
Spirituality often
involves looking beyond
the surface of things
and trusting the process
of how our lives unfold.
This can be particularly
useful when our lives
become challenged and
stressed. Oftentimes we
are comforted in having
a spiritual connection
during these times.
Our lives become more
meaningful and we feel
more peace when we
know that we are
supported and held in
times of difficulty and
ease. Part of why
people get stressed is
that they’re looking for
[an explanation] about
why these things are
happening to them.
Sometimes the
wisdom of ‘why’ is
only revealed later. A
spiritual outlook helps
greatly during these
times, helping to
increase our patience
in times of difficulty
and helping to bring a
sense of gratitude in
times of ease.
ARE THERE DIFFERENT SPIRITUAL
PERSONALITIES?
 Yes! Some people are kinesthetic.
(a body worker and a dancer). The
way she connects spiritually is
through the body. Some people are
scholarly, they [find their
spirituality] through information,
reading texts or scripture. Some
people are devotional, they [find
their spirituality] through service.
They don’t feel spiritual unless
they’re giving in their community
or through charity.
ARE THERE EXERCISES THAT YOU GIVE
PEOPLE TO HELP THEM DISCOVER THEIR
SPIRITUAL SIDE?
 Yes…it could be a heart meditation, a
mindfulness practice, setting an intention [for
your day], a prayer, creating a ritual to bring
more meaning [to your life], journaling—or
gardening. It’s about what brings more
meaning and purpose and value to you. What
brings you to that place of feeling more
connected. For most people it’s just getting in
touch with what you love, what you’re
passionate about, what lights up your soul—
getting lost in something. Spirituality has a lot
to do with letting go. There are certain things
we can and can’t control.
Salesian spirituality as we know it
today was shaped at different times
by four great saints, two men and
two women. The men were St
Francis de Sales (1567-1622) and
Don Bosco (1815-1888) and the
women were St Jane de Chantal
(1572-1641) and St Mary
Mazzarello (1837-1881). It has also
been deeply influenced by the
courageous and joyful inputs of an
increasing number of young people
including St Dominic Savio (1842-
1857) and Laura Vicuna (1891-
1904).
The Salesian tradition has produced many
saints over the years since then. It is a
spirituality that wants to let Jesus live in
every aspect of life, relationships and work,
and to do so in ways that are gentle, kind,
compassionate, cheerful and reasonable.
There is nothing complicated about Salesian
spirituality; it is as simple as it is profound.
From the start it was intended for everyone
regardless of their walk in life. The first book
St Francis de Sales wrote on spirituality,
what in his day was called devotion, was
written for a young married woman with a
young family! And Don Bosco wrote books
on spirituality for the young.
Ours is a way for anyone looking
for a spiritual path rooted in the
intentional practice of love,
gentleness of heart, poverty of
spirit, simplicity of life, kindness
and peace, qualities that lead to
freedom and are expressed in
cheerful good humor regardless
of how a day or a situation may
be.
Why? Because God is lovingly
present even in the dark, the cold
and the rain.
Such qualities are gifts of the Holy
Spirit but they are also the roots of
Salesian self-discipline and ethical
practice. Those on the Salesian
path come to know that everything
in creation reveals God; everything
is God directed; everything bears a
trace of God. That was one reason
why St Dominic Savio, himself a
young teenager, was able to tell a
new boy to Don Bosco’s outreach,
“Here we make holiness consist in
being cheerful.”
Salesian spirituality is above
all a spirituality of the heart
that reaches out to people in
practical life-supporting and
life-enhancing ways, especially
to the young, and among
them those most at risk. It is
at once contemplative and
active. Salesian spirituality
always seeks to recognize and
uphold the dignity and respect
due to all living beings
Anything less is considered a
failure of understanding, a failure
of spirit and heart. Tendencies to
blame and exclude are recognized
for what they are and are put
aside in favour of attitudes of
welcome and hospitality. Joy, like
compassion and a gentle spirit, is
intentional. There is no place here
for the regressive ways of
repression and violence, no place
for toxic harshness or the arrogant
selfishness of power.
Salesians believe that true
spirituality plants seeds of
integrity, care, compassion,
kindness and happiness in the
world and for the world. Ours
is a God of love, a loving
Creator God who created a
cosmos that is itself a breath-
taking icon of infinite love. We
see ourselves as part of that
loving act of creation and we
praise and honour God
because we see ourselves as
the work of God’s hands and
grace.
Each one of us has been
wonderfully restored in Christ.
More: we are awesomely and
wonderfully made (Psalm
139:14) and so is everyone we
meet along the way regardless
of their condition or state in life.
Because we know that we are
part of God’s creation our love
for God finds practical
expression in our active care for
the environment in which we
live and for all the living beings
that share it with us.
Salesians try to live fully in the
moment knowing that every
moment is full of
opportunities to let Jesus live,
to serve divine love and bring
its touch to the world. This is
our call, the call of the heart.
The challenge is to engage
with the ordinary things of
everyday with joyful attention
because the traces of God are
there.
Each moment is an opportunity to
express our intimacy with God in
prayer and in service. Wherever you
are, no matter how busy you are, no
matter the situation or the mood,
God is there and prayer can be
made flesh. Because we are realists
we know we meet God in the
messiness of life: there is no other
place. It is in the messiness we
experience the felt presence of the
risen Christ. Isn’t that wonderful!
That is why Salesian prayer
and meditation tends to be
simple and straightforward.
Salesian prayer is ever and
always the expression of an
open heart ready to build
bridges of love to God, to
honour and praise God in
the moment. It is always a
matter of heart and the
intuitions of compassionate
attention that surface in the
deep stillness of moments
given to God.
Salesian prayer is ever ready to reflect
on the challenges of life and discern
God’s call to compassionate service. It is
ever ready to open the scriptures and
take them to heart. Salesian prayer
loves the Eucharistic presence of Jesus
in the world. It is open to Mary as the
Help of Christians, open to the faith
community and its liturgy, and open to
contemplative action in and for the
world. Most of all it is open to the
young! Jesus says, Learn from me for I
am gentle and humble of heart
(Matthew 11:29-30). Let gentleness
confound a violent world! Let Jesus live!
What Is Salesian Spirituality?

Salesian Spirituality is
a practical everyday
spirituality for living in the
modern world as learned,
lived and shared by St. Francis
de Sales (1567-1622) and St.
Jane de Chantal (1572-1641),
spiritual friends. 
Blessed be God!