One of the traits of St. John Bosco’s religious order is the preeminence of the community. The Salesians are not supermen like Jesuits; they’re average Joes who work together as a team. For a Salesian, it is better to achieve only 80% when you work with the community than to get 100% by doing it alone. It's called "In unum locum, in unum spiritum." or "in one place and one spirit".
All the religious orders have community life but the Salesians live theirs differently – the difference is the “Family Spirit”. And it is not just a generic family, but an Italian family. I don’t know if I should bring up the Sopranos or Godfather here but, there is that tight cohesion that is absent from those families where the children fly off the nest as soon as they turn 18.
I try to instill the same spirit at home by asking my kids to help each other with their chores. While they have their assignments, they’re not allowed to say, “That’s not my job.” I set the example by helping my them myself.
