By Bro. Raffy S. Besonia, SDB

Manila, Philippines, November13, 2015 - Many people either do not understand or misunderstand the lay brother vocation. Who are they anyway? They are not noticeable, they are always in the back seat, and they work in the very ordinary and usual things. I heard a story about one Salesian brother who really has inspired me in many ways. This lay brother attended a priestly ordination, he sat in a pew with the label Salesian Lay brother but a lady came to him and told him “Sir, this pew is reserved for the Salesian brother. The lady wasn’t able to recognize him as a Salesian lay brother. So, this Salesian brother simply transferred at the back without any complain coming from him. I could say that because of the ordinariness of the lay brother, they are always mistakened because they do not have special external signs aside from their lives.

Over my stay here in postnovitiate, I am always mistaken, it was last year that some of the confreres and I went to the Professional Regulatory Commission to register for the teachers’ board, while standing at the side near the staircase, one applicant approach me and ask “sir what is the next step after this? I smiled at her realizing that she mistook me for a PRC personnel guide, I told her, “Sorry miss, I am also an applicant here as well.” Again in Mandaluyong last year we had our recollection. While I was fixing the prayer of the faithful in the sacristy, one Salesian approach me and ask “Are you the sacristan here? Where are the stoles?” I told him, “I’m sorry, Fr. I am also not sure.” Then in the grade school one day during the salesian assistance a grade two student looked at me anxiously so I smile at him and greeted him hello and he came to me and extended his hand and look at my I.D and said “I thought you’re a security guard.” Finally, recently in one park, while walking and looking for the Don Bosco football team, two young boys and a girl walked together with me as I was looking around a young boy look at me and said “Mister, there’s the ball!” I was trying to reconcile the relationship between me and the ball. Then he asked me “Are you the one who is supposed to pick the ball?” I told myself, this happens all the time.

Today we commemorate the feast of Blessed Artemides Zatti, simple and humble man, I met Blessed Zatti for the first time when I was having my pre-aspirantate in Don Bosco Training Center in Mati. Blessed Zatti was once mentioned to me by Br. Tena. He shared that his sister accidentally slipped on a shower room and needed to be operated. One time I met Br. Tena in the convent, and he was very happy. The operation for his sister was successful and he said it was because of the intercession of Blessed Artemides Zatti. For that reason I printed a personal image of Zatti as a doctor.

After profession I took Blessed Zatti as my co-journeyer in my Salesian Brother Vocation to take care my health. Moreover, if there were sick members of the family, I never hesitated to pray to Blessed Artemides Zatti for his intercession. One experience when I asked for the intercession of Blessed Artemides Zatti was on the month of May before the renewal of profession; my tooth was swelling and aching. So I went to the dentist for checkup. She asked me to have a Periapical X-ray. On the following day I went for an X-ray. Then, in the morning one dentist advised me to have the Panoramic X-ray so that we can see entire mouth area, since in the Periapical X-ray they cannot see the root of the tooth. The same day after the X-ray, I immediately brought the result to the dentist for her perusal. The same day in the afternoon she sent a message that we need to extract the tooth as soon as possible. That was my unforgettable experience about tooth extraction. I was suffering from severe pain. From more than thirty minutes. The anesthesia could not penetrate because the instrument cannot reach the very root. Dr. Leni injected thrice in different time duration but none of which had an effect. So Dr. Leni decided to put a little force, that is, a stronger force. She pulled the tooth left and right pull down and twisted it clock wise and vice versa and pulled it again. So I felt the great pain that I called saints and blesseds. Honestly, the last name that I mentioned is the name of Blessed Zatti since I have his personal image as a doctor. Finally it was removed. We could imagine that because of severe pain my tear flowed from my eyes that Dr. Leni told me “it’s okay to cry, to cry is free.” The tooth was measured 30 mm or 3 cm long.

I have the chance to read again the life of Blessed Artemides Zatti. Since before I try to reflect until now, what is the work of the lay brother that clerics cannot do? Work in the shop? Assist in the dormitory 24/7? Work in the administration? I could say that the clerics can do everything what the lay brothers do. Even people outside, the social workers, can work better than lay brothers. The lay brother vocation is simple and very ordinary. What makes them persevere? And I quote Fr. Patrick Villasanta in his homily during the All Saints Day. What makes us saint is to be with God. I could say what makes the lay brothers remain in their vocation is their call to this work: doing the ordinary and usual thing with God. As our Father Don Bosco always encourage us “Do ordinary duties extra ordinarily well”. I could say that very ordinary things if we do it with act of charity and with the presence of God they become extraordinary thing. In the autobiography of Blessed Artemides Zatti “Once he had attended a function given in his honor by the town notables, he did not speak except to say word of thanks, and when it was over he went straight to the hospital kitchen to help with the dishes. Whenever he saw that a room needed cleaning, he would take up the broom and start sweeping. He would not yield the broom to anyone who thought that such a task was beneath Don Zatti” (Zatti a Biography, 46).

Moreover, I was inspired how Zatti did his work with love of his neighbor and with God. There was an unfortunate man whose entire body was covered with maggots, Zatti never hesitated to perform the act of charity. “Patients with gangrenous sores, boils or wounds with pus were usually left to Zatti. Zatti taking care the patient’s physical health and also spiritually, as after the treatment he would tell the patient “Why don’t you go to the priest and he will take care of the inside?” During the time of Zatti there was a time that he was in charge of the hospital, there was a time that they were buried in debts, yet he still have accepted patients. The sick and poor people are not burdens; he considered them blessings from the Lord. “To him they were all children of one Father. Zatti accepted them in a way which must have made them love Him. Do we have room for the Good Lord who has come to bless our hospital? He would asked the infirmarian. If there were poor and sick people who come to ask for help. He will say, “Do we have a coat or a pair of pants for “Our Divine Savior” represented in the person of the some starving man.” Today we thank God for giving us Blessed Artemides Zatti in the Congregation who responded to the call of God as a Lay Brother. He showed us how to live our vocation with love and to be with God in everything that we do. Today let us also pray for all the Salesian brothers that they may be faithful in their vocation where God calls them to follow Christ.

Blessed Artemides Zatti… Pray for us