Life in London can be tough for families. The pressures on domestic space as families crowd together for longer periods is often quoted as a major cause of increased tensions. There are also worries about finances, unrealistic expectations, and daily pressures that can increase tension.
The home challenge in this crisis at Christmas is not just to ease the economic pressure or to manage expectations. The key challenge is to raise self-awareness but also to improve the skills of managing the shadowy side of our emotions which we all carry every day.
Don Bosco 1815 - 1888
These were the same challenges that Don Bosco faced when he invited large groups of youth to share his oratory experience in industrial Turin. Towards the end of his life Don Bosco said that he had never had to resort to physical punishment in his decades of face to face work with the young. Amazing! What was the secret of his approach? Firstly, he said, let young people know that you love them. Let them experience your affection, respect, and appreciation. Secondly, make the rules simple, reasonable and apply them consistently. Behind the simplicity of this approach lies a wisdom and a spirituality that can rescue families. Those tensions involve not only the young people but also the parents and the many generations of adults that surround our blended families.
For more reflection on this approach for families, watch the video attached. It is prepared for parents in Salesian schools and continues Don Bosco's approach into the family environment.
Fr David O’Malley SDB
SJBC School Governor
Ruah and family life
Lord, help us to see your image in the faces of everyone in our home. Help us to look at each other with loving kindness even when we annoy and ignore each other at times. We are all growing up together, even the adults. We will all make mistakes but your loving kindness hidden inside each of us is bigger and stronger and longer lasting than anything that divides us.
So Lord, help us to look at each other with the eyes of love today. AMEN
