Good Companions
Practices of Piety
Amongst the members of our Society of Joy I discovered some who were truly exemplary. Worthy of mention are William Garigliano from Poirino and Paul Braje from Chieri. They were always ready for some good recreation, but only after they had done their homework. Both were reserved and pious, and they gave me plenty of good advice. On feast days, after the practices of piety in common at the college, we used to go along to St Anthony’s Church, where the Jesuits gave marvellous catechetical instructions with plenty of stories that I still recall.
During the week, the Society of Joy used to meet at the home of one of the members to talk about religious matters. Anyone was welcome to come to these gatherings. Garigliano and Braje were amongst the most conscientious. We entertained ourselves with some pleasant recreation, with discussions on religious topics, spiritual reading, and prayer. We exchanged good advice, and if there were any personal corrections we felt we should hand out to each other, whether these were our own personal observations or criticisms we had heard others make, we did that. Without realising it, we were putting into practice the excellent adage, Blessed is he who has an advisor; and that saying of Pythagoras, If you have no friend to tell you your faults, pay an enemy to do it. Besides these friendly activities, we went to hear sermons and often went to Confession and Holy Communion.
Here it is good to recall that in those days religion was a basic part of the educational system. A teacher faced instant dismissal should he make any statement unbecoming or irreligious. If this was the way teachers were treated, you can imagine how severely pupils were dealt with for any unruly conduct or scandal.
We went to Holy Mass every morning; classes began with the devout praying of the Actiones and the Ave Maria; they ended with the Agimus and an Ave Maria.
On feast days all the pupils attended the college church. Before Mass we had spiritual reading, followed by the chanting of the Little Office of Our Lady. Then came Mass and the explanation of the gospel. In the evening we had a further catechetical instruction, Vespers, and another sermon. Everyone was expected to approach the holy sacraments; to prevent the neglect of this important obligation, once a month the students had to present a card to prove that they had gone to Confession. If one fell down on this, he was barred from end-of-year examinations, no matter how good he was at studies. This strict training produced marvellous results. Many years went by without any swearing or unbecoming words being heard. The pupils were as docile and respectful at school as they would have been at home. And it often happened that in very large classes everyone won promotion at the end of the year. This was the case with my own classmates in the third class, humanities, and rhetoric.
I had the great good fortune of choosing as my regular confessor Doctor Maloria, canon of the chapter in Chieri. He always had a warm welcome for me. Indeed, he encouraged me to go to Confession and Holy Communion more often, advice not too commonly given in those days. I do not remember that any of my teachers ever advised me along these lines. Those who went to Confession and Holy Communion more than once a month were considered very virtuous; and many confessors would not permit it. Consequently, I have to thank my confessor if I was not led by companions into certain unfortunate pitfalls that inexperienced boys in large schools have to regret.
During these two years, I never forgot my friends at Murialdo. I kept in touch with them and sometimes went to visit them on Thursdays. On autumn weekdays, as soon as they got wind of my arrival they ran to meet me and always made a big fuss over me. A branch of the Society of Joy was started amongst them, too. Those whose good conduct throughout the year recommended them were enrolled. Bad conduct – especially swearing or evil talk – warranted expulsion from the club.