On Saturday 22nd November eleven of us gathered together at Savio House for a day of Salesian Spirituality on the life of Mama Margaret.

Sue McDonald and Jessica Wilkinson lead the group through the story of Mama Margaret's life, from her childhood right through to her final hours.

We began the day hearing words from the 2006 Strenna where the then Rector Major FrPascual Chavez SDB talked about Mama Margaret embodying 'values of courage, hardwork, duty, moral strength, honesty, truth, and respect for the elderly'. As the story of her life unfolded it became apparent that these strong values existed from an early age in her relationships with her family, into her marriage, through raising her own family and through raising Don Bosco's boys who became her own.

Many of the group found the day to be an enriching experience and came away with a deeper understanding of the role Mama Margaret in relation to Don Bosco and the beginnings of the oratory, and indeed her relevance in the way we work today. The 'Don Bosco-Mama Margaret' tag team seemed to capture the perfect blend of dreaming big and practical action and from this the importance of relationship and teamwork in Salesian spirituality really came to light.

Over the last year there has been much interest, particularly amongst Salesian Youth Ministry members, to go deeper into their own Salesian spirituality and days like this are just one of the many opportunities put on by the Youth Ministry office in order to meet that need.

Photos courtesy of Josh Cashmore (Savio House Volunteer)