st bosco dream part 3

 A Glimpse of Heaven given to Saint John Bosco:(part 3)

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Summoning my courage, I replied , " I am shaking because I don't know where I am ."

" You are in the abode of happiness," Savio answered," where one experiences every joy, every delight."

" Is this the reward of the just?"

"Not at all! Here we do not enjoy supernatural happiness but only a natural one, though greatly magnified."

" Might I be allowed to see a little supernatural light?"

"No one can see it until he has come to see God as He is. The faintest ray of that light would instantly strike one dead, because the human senses are not sturdy enough to endure it."

Here ends the narrative of Saint John Bosco's dream.

In this vision , the saint was only shown natural aspects of heavenly happiness. He was not able to contemplate the essence of heavenly happiness, which is the beatific vision. It is written that no man can see it until he has come to see God as He is. 

Prayer:

I love You , O my God, and my only desire is to love you until the last breath of my life.

I love You, O my infinitely lovable God, I would rather die loving You, than live without loving You.

I love You, Lord and the only grace I ask is to love you eternally.

My God, if my tongue cannot say in every moment that I love You,

I want my heart to repeat it to You as often as I draw breath."

St John Vianney.

Resolve: Pray the prayer Our Lady taught the children of Fatima to pray : Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy ."

st bosco dream part2

 A Glimpse of Heaven given to Saint John Bosco:(part 2)

continue...

One could tell from the expression of those happy faces that the singers not only took the deepest pleasure in singing, but also received vast joy in listening to the others. The more they sang, the more pressing became their desire to sing. The more they listened the more vibrant became their yearning to hear more....

As I listened enthralled to that heavenly choir, I saw an endless multitude of boys ( St. Bosco's students) approaching me. Many I recognized as having been at the Oratory and in our other schools, but by far the majority of them were total strangers to me. Their endless ranks drew closer, headed by Dominic Savio, who was followed immediately by Father Alasonatti, Father Chiali, Father Guilitto and many other clerics and priests, each leading a squad of boys...

Once that host of boys got some eight or ten paces from me, they halted. There was a flash of light far brighter than before, the music stopped, and a hushed silence fell over all. A most radiant joy aglow with happiness. They looked and smiled at me very pleasantly , as though to speak, but no one said a word.

Dominic Savio stepped forward a pace or two, standing so close to me that, had I stretched out my hand, I would surely have touched him. He too was silent and gazed upon me with a smile... 

At last Dominic Savio spoke, " Why do you stand there silent, as though you were most devitalized?" he asked. " Are not you the one who once feared nothing, holding your ground against slander, persecution, hostility, hardships and dangers of all sorts? Where is courage? Say something!"

I forced myself to reply in a stammer," I do not know what to say , Are you Dominic Savio?"

"Yes, I am . Don't you know me anymore?"

"How come you are here?"I asked still bewildered.

Savio spoke affectionately," I came to talk with you . We spoke together so often on earth! Do you not recall how much you loved me, or how many tokens of friendship you gave me and how kind you were to me? And did I not return the warmth of your love? How much trust I placed in you! So why are you tongue -tied?" Why are you shaking? Come ask me a question or two !"

Part 2 ends. continue....

st bosco dream part 1

 A Glimpse of Heaven given to Saint John Bosco:(part 1)

It suddenly seemed to me that I was standing on a small mound or hillock , on the rim of a broad plain so far-reaching that the eye could not compass its boundaries lost in vastness.

All was blue , blue as the calmest sea, though what I saw was not water. It resembled a highly polished , sparkling sea of glass. Stretching out beneath , behind and on either side of me was an expanse of what looked like seashore.

Broad, imposing avenues divided the plain into grand gardens of indescribable beauty , each broken up by thickets , lawns, and flower beds of varied shapes and colors.

None of the plants we know could ever give you an idea of those flowers , although there was a resemblance of sorts. The very grass, the flowers, the trees, and the fruit-----all were of singular and magnificent beauty. Leaves were of gold, trunks and boughs were of diamonds, and every tiny detail was in keeping with this wealth. The various kinds of plants were beyond counting.

Each species and each single plant sparkled with a brilliance of its own. Scattered throughout those gardens and spread over the entire plain I could see countless buildings whose architecture , magnificence, harmony , grandeur and size were so unique that one could say all the treasures of earth could not suffice to build a single one. If only my boys ( St. Bosco's students) had one such house, I said to myself, how they would love it, how happy they would be, and how much they would enjoy being there! Thus ran my thoughts as I gazed upon the exterior of those buildings , but how much greater must their inner splendor have been!

As I stood there basking in the splendor of those gardens, I suddenly heard music most sweet---- so delightful and enchanting a melody that I could never adequately describe it...A hundred thousand instruments played, each with its own sound, uniquely different from all others, and every possible sound set the air alive with its resonant waves.

I suddenly heard music most sweet.

Blended with them were the songs of choristers. In those gardens I looked upon a multitude of people enjoying themselves happily , some singing, others playing, but every note had the effect of a thousand different instruments playing together. At one and the same time if you can imagine such a thing, one could hear all the notes of the chromatic scale, from the deepest to the highest , yet all in perfect harmony. Ah yes, we have nothing on earth to compare with that symphony....

part 1 ends, continue...