THE SECURE PATH TO HEAVEN

The heavenly encounter of John Bosco with Domenic Savio

On the night of December 6, 1876, while in my room, asleep or not, I do not know, I found myself on a hill overlooking an immense plane. It was blue, like a calm sea, but not of water. It looked like shining crystal.

I saw large gardens of untold beauty. The grass, flowers, trees, and fruit were exquisitely beautiful. The trees had leaves of gold, trunks and branches studded with diamonds—everything blending in wealthy splendor. I saw buildings of such beauty and harmony, so exceptionally magnificent in shape, that not all the wealth of the world could construct even one of them! I was seeing only the outside of these buildings—how magnificent they must have been inside! “If only my boys could live in one of these mansions,” I said to myself, “how happy they would be! How gladly they would stay!” Then I heard music so sweet and rich in harmony that words cannot even describe it. A hundred thousand instruments were playing, and then a choir of voices joined them. There is nothing on earth to compare with it! I was enraptured.

A Group of Boys

As I listened in ecstatic wonder, I saw a group of boys, many of whom had been at the Oratory or at our other schools, but most of them I had never seen. They came towards me, and at their head was Dominic Savio.

“Am I asleep or awake?” I kept wondering. I even hit myself a few times to make sure everything was real!

A boundless joy sparkled in the eyes of those boys, reflecting in their face the inner peace that flooded their souls. Happy smiles played merrily on their lips. Dominic Savio stepped forward alone, coming so close to me that, had I stretched out my hand, I would have touched him.

How magnificent he looked! A snow white tunic, studded with diamonds and interwoven with gold, fell to his feet. About his waist was a wide crimson sash, embroidered with precious stones. About his neck hung a garland of wild flowers. Their petals looked like diamonds hung from golden stems, and they sparkled with a supernatural glory that outshone even the sun, with all its splendor of a spring morning. I almost lost my senses as I looked at him.

The rays from the flowers intermingled and played upon Dominic’s innocent, handsome face in a manner that defies description. Everything about him gave him such an attractive and enchanting appearance that he looked like...an angel.

Where Was I?

I kept staring at everything about me. “What does this mean?” I wondered, “And, how did I get here?” I still had no idea where I was. Stammering, I barely managed to ask, “Are you really Dominic Savio?” “Yes, I am! Don’t you recognize me?” Why are you here?” I asked, terribly confused. Dominic’s reply was reassuring.

I have come to talk with you. We often talked together on earth, and now God is allowing me to return your love for me.” I asked, “Am I in Heaven?”

He answered, “No. This is a natural place of happiness with temporal joys in a lofty degree; it is nature embellished and made so by God’s power. I said, “I thought that it was Heaven.” “No, of course not!” broke in Savio. “No mortal eye can see the eternal beauty of Heaven. Even the tiniest ray of Heaven’s light would strike a man dead, because the human senses cannot stand it.

“I gazed attentively at the heavenly “Is there any natural light lovelier than this?” Oh, yes! If you could only see a ray of sunlight just slightly more powerful than this, you would lose your senses!”

“Could I not look at just one tiny ray of such light?” “All right...but, look carefully at the horizon on the crystal sea.” I did so, and at that moment, far away, a fleeting streak of light, thinner than a thread, flashed across the sky—so brilliant, so penetrating that it burned my eyes. I shut them and screamed. That one streak was a hundred million times brighter than the sun, and its brilliance could have lit up the entire universe!

After awhile, I reopened my eyes and asked Dominic, “What was that—a ray of divine light?”

Savio answered, “It was not supernatural light, although it does surpass all the light of the world. It is nothing else than natural light, intensified by God’s power. Even an immense band of light equal in brilliance to the tiny ribbon which you have just seen, and encircling the entire universe, could not give you even a remote idea of the glory of Heaven!”

Then I asked Dominic, “Why are you wearing such brilliant garments?” Dominic was silent, and seemed to refuse an answer, but then I realized that the blood-red sash was a symbol of the many great sacrifices he had made, his violent efforts, the near martyrdom he had suffered to preserve the virtue of purity...and that to remain chaste in God’s eyes, he had been ready to give his life, should it have been necessary. At the same time, it represented penance, which cleanses the soul from guilt. His shining white tunic represented baptismal innocence retained.

God’s Messenger

“I gazed attentively at the heavenly youngsters who followed him, and asked, “Tell me, Dominic, you are the youngest of all the boys who have died in our houses, so why do you precede these boys?” “I am the oldest of the Oratory boys, because I was the first to die and pass on into eternity. Besides, legatione Dei fungor—”I am God’s ambassador.” He was a messenger for God.

I asked, “Tell me about the past?” He replied, “Do you see that vast number of boys over there? What is written over the entrance to that garden?” “Salesian Garden,” I answered.

“Well,” Savio continued, “all of these people were either Salesians or were influenced by you. They were those saved by you and your priests and seminarians, or by those whom you guided into the paths of their vocation. Count them, if you can! But, they would be a hundred million times more numerous if you had only had greater trust and faith in the Lord!”

I sighed, not knowing what to say to this reproof, and inwardly resolved, “I’ll make sure that I have this faith and confidence in the future!” “How about the present?” I asked.

Dominic showed me a beautiful bouquet of flowers he had in his hands. There were roses, violets, sunflowers, gentians, lilies, and evergreens...with some ears of wheat. He gave them to me, and said, “These flowers represent the virtues that are most pleasing to Our Lord.”

“What are they,” I asked. “The rose is the symbol of Charity; the violet of Humility; the sunflower, Obedience; the gentian, Penance and Mortification; the ears of wheat, frequent Communion; the lily symbolized that beautiful virtue of which it is said, “They shall be as the Angels of God in Heav-en—Chastity. The evergreen tells you that these virtues must be lasting: Perseverance.”

The Most Important Message

“Well now, Dominic,” I said, “you practiced all of these virtues during life. Tell me, what gave you the greatest comfort at the hour of death?” “What do you think it was?” “Maybe preserving the virtue of purity?” “No, not that alone.” “Peace of conscience...obedience?” “That is a good thing, but it is not the best.” “Perhaps the hope of gaining Heaven?” “No, not that.” “Well, was it the treasury of good deeds you had stored up? “No, no!” “Then what did bring you your greatest comfort in that last hour?” I pleaded, embarrassed that I had not discovered the reason.

“What comforted me most at the hour of my death,” Dominic replied, “was the

assistance of the powerful and lovable Mother of God! Tell this to your boys, and to everyone. As long as they live, they are not to forget to pray to Her!”

“And, what of the future?” “As for your Congregation, if your priests guide it well and make themselves worthy of their lofty mission, the future will be resplendent, and an untold number of souls will be saved. But on one condition—that your sons remain devoted to the Blessed Virgin, and that they all keep the virtue of chastity, which is so pleasing to God.”

Out Of Body

“How about myself”? I asked. “Oh, if you only know what trials still await you! But, now, I have little time left to speak to you.” Quickly I stretched out my hands to grasp him, but he seemed immaterial, and I touched only thin air! Dominic smiled, and asked, “What are you trying to do?” “I am afraid that you will go away. Aren’t you here in your body?” “No, not in my body. Some day I shall take it back.” “Then what is this image that I see? Am I not gazing upon Dominic Savio?”

“When a soul is separated from its body by death and, with God’s permission, appears to a human being, it shows the exterior of the body to which it was united in life, with all its phys-ical characteristics greatly beautified. It does so until body and soul are reunited in the Universal Judgment. Then it will take its body to Heaven. That is why I seem to have head and hands and feet. This is why you can see me.” “I understand,” I answered. “But listen, one more question. Are all my boys on the path to salvation? Tell me how I can properly guide them?” Knowledge Of The State Of Souls

“The boys entrusted to you by Divine Providence can be divided into three groups. Do you see these three slips of paper?” and he handed me the first one.

I looked at it. It was entitled Invulnerati — unwounded—and contained the names of those lads whom the devil had been unable to harm, those boys who had retained their innocence unstained. They were many, and I could see them all. Some I knew, others were strangers, undoubtedly boys who were to enter our school in future years.

They were walking straight along a narrow path, in spite of arrows and daggers that were thrown at them from all sides. Indeed, these weapons formed a fence on both sides of the path, striking and tormenting them, but never inflicting a wound. Then Dominic handed me the second slip, entitled Vulnerati—that is, those who had fallen from God’s grace but, rising to their feet, had healed their wounds by repentance and Confession.

There were more boys on this second list than on the first. They had been wounded on their way of life by the enemy lying in wait for them. I read their names and saw them all. Many walked along with their heads bowed in discouragement.

Dominic still had a third piece of paper in his hand. I could see its title Lassti in via inquitantis—those who have collapsed in the way of sin. It contained the names of all those in God’s disgrace. I was anxious to know who they were and stretched out my hand, but Dominic interrupted quickly, “No, wait a moment listen to me! If you open this paper, such a stench will arise that neither you nor I will be able to stand it! The angels withdraw in horror and disgust, and the Holy Spirit, Himself, abhors the hideous odor of sin!”

“How can this be?” I asked. “Neither God nor His angels can feel pain. How can they smell a material stench?” “The better and purer a creature is, the more it resembles a heavenly spirit; but the filthier and more sinful one is, the father one moves from God and His angels, who in turn withdraw from him, who is an object of disgust and loathing.”

Then he handed me the paper. “Take it,“ he said, “open it and use it for the good of your boys. But do not forget the bouquet I have given to you. Make sure that everyone has it, and does not lose it!” Giving me the paper, he hastily withdrew to join his companions. I opened the paper. I saw no names, but in a flash, I saw all the boys who were listed on it. I saw them all! They were a sorry sight! Most of them I knew; they belong to the Oratory or to other schools. I saw some who seem to be good—even the best among all their companions, but they are not!

As I unfolded the paper, an unbearable stench was released—so much so that I got a violent headache, and such cramps that I thought I would die Darkness settled about me the vision with Dominic faded away and, to my sadness, nothing was left of that wonderful sight. Suddenly a bolt of lightning flashed with a crash of thunder so loud and frightening that I awoke in a cold sweat! It was a dream but I remembered everything!

That stench had penetrated the walls of my room, and even my clothing, so that I could smell it for days. So foul is even the name of the sinner before God! Even now, as I recall that odor, I get very nauseated and choke, and my stomach rebels.

I have already made inquiries of boys at Lanzo, and have found out that the dream was not misleading. It was totally true! It is God’s grace that has allowed me to know the state of souls...to help them. 

Solemnity of the Saint - The Patronage of Saint Joseph

(by Fr. Prosper Gueranger 1870)

The Easter mysteries are superseded today by a special subject, which is offered for our consideration. The holy Church invites us to spend this Sunday in honouring the Spouse of Mary, the Foster-Father of the Son of God. And yet, as we offered him the yearly tribute of our devotion on the 19th of March, it is not, properly speaking, his Feast that we are to celebrate today. It is a solemn expression of gratitude offered to Joseph, the Protector of the Faithful, the refuge and support of all that invoke him with confidence. The innumerable favours he has bestowed upon the world entitle him to this additional homage. With a view to her children's interests, the Church would, on this day, excite their confidence in this powerful and ever ready helper.

Devotion to St. Joseph was reserved for these latter times. Though based on the Gospel, it was not to be developed in the early ages of the Church. It is not that the Faithful were, in any way, checked from showing honour to him who had been called to take so important a part in the mystery of the Incarnation; but Divine Providence had its hidden reasons for retarding the Liturgical homage to be paid, each year, to the Spouse of Mary. As on other occasions, so here also; the East preceded the West in the special cultus of St. Joseph: but, in the 15th Century, the whole Latin Church adopted it, and, since that time, it has gradually gained the affections of the Faithful. We have treated upon the glories of St. Joseph, on the 19th of March; the present Feast has its own special object, which we will at once proceed to explain.

The goodness of God and our Redeemer's fidelity to His promises have ever kept pace with the necessities of the world; so that, in every age, appropriate and special aid has been given to the world for its maintaining the supernatural life. An uninterrupted succession of seasonable grace has been the result of this merciful dispensation, and each generation has had given to it a special motive for confidence in its Redeemer. Dating from the 13th century, when, as the Church herself assures us, the world began to grow cold (Frigescente mundo. Collect for the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis), each epoch has had thrown open to it a new source of graces. First of all came the Feast of the Most Blessed Sacrament, with its successive developments of Processions, Expositions, Benedictions and the Forty Hours. After this, followed the devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, (of which St. Bernardine of Sienna was the chief propagator,) and that of Via Crucis or Stations of the Cross, with its wonderful fruit of compunction. The practice of frequent Communion was revived in the 16th century, owing principally to the influence of St. Ignatius and the Society founded by him. In the 17th, was promulgated the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was firmly established in the following century. In the 19th, devotion to the Holy Mother of God has made such progress, as to form one of the leading supernatural characteristics of the period. The Rosary and Scapular, which had been handed down to us in previous ages, have regained their place in the affections of the people; Pilgrimages to the Sanctuaries of the Mother of God, which had been interrupted by the influence of Jansenism and rationalism, have been removed; the Archconfraternity of the Sacred Heart of Mary has spread throughout the whole world; numerous miracles have been wrought in reward for the fervent faith of individuals; in a word, our present century has witnessed the triumph of the Immaculate Conception, a triumph which had been looked forward to for many previous ages.

Now, devotion to Mary could never go on increasing as it has done, without bringing with it a fervent devotion to St. Joseph. We cannot separate Mary and Joseph, were it only for their having such a close connection with the mystery of the Incarnation: Mary, as being the Mother of the Son of God; and Joseph, as being guardian of the Virgin's spotless honour, and Foster-Father of the Divine Babe. A special veneration for St. Joseph was the result of increased devotion to Mary. Nor is this reverence for Mary's Spouse to be considered only as a just homage paid to his admirable prerogatives: it is, moreover, a fresh and exhaustless source of help to the world, for Joseph has been made our Protector by the Son of God Himself. Hearken to the inspired words of the Church's Liturgy: "Thou, O Joseph! art the delight of the Blessed, the sure hope of our life, and the pillar of the world (Caelitum, Joseph, decus atque nostrae; Certa spes vitae, columenque mundi. Hymn for Lauds of the Patronage of St. Joseph.)! Extraordinary as is this power, need we be surprised at its being given to a man like Joseph, whose connections with the Son of God on earth were so far above those of all other men? Jesus deigned to be subject to Joseph here below; now that He is in heaven, He would glorify the creature, to whom he consigned the guardianship of His own childhood and His Mother's honour. He has given him a power, which is above our calculations. Hence it is, that the Church invites us, on this day, to have recourse, with unreserved confidence, to this all-powerful Protector. The world we live in is filled with miseries which would make stronger hearts than ours quake with fear: but, let us invoke St. Joseph with faith, and we shall be protected. In all our necessities, whether of soul or body, in all the trials and anxieties we may have to go through, let us have recourse to St. Joseph, and we shall not be disappointed. The king of Egypt said to his people, when they were suffering from famine: go to Joseph (Gen. xli. 55.)! the King of Heaven says the same to us: the faithful guardian of Mary has greater influence with God, than Jacob's son had with Pharaoh.

As usual, God revealed this new spiritual aid to a privileged soul, that she might be the instrument of its propagation. It was thus that were instituted several Feasts, such as those of Corpus Christi, and of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. In the 16th century, St. Teresa, (whose Writings were to have a world-wide circulation,) was instructed by heaven as to the efficacy of devotion to St. Joseph: she has spoken of it in the Life, (written by herself,) of Teresa of Jesus. When we remember, that it was by the Carmelite Order, (brought into the Western Church, in the 13th century,) that this devotion was established among us, we cannot be surprised that God should have chosen St. Teresa, who was the Reformer of that Order, to propagate the same devotion in this part of the world. The holy solitaries of Mount Carmel, devoted as they had been, for so many centuries, to the love of Mary, were not slow in feeling the connection that exists between the honour paid to the Mother of God and that which is due to her virginal Spouse. The more we understand St. Joseph's office, the clearer will be our knowledge of the divine mystery of the Incarnation. As when the Son of God assumed our human nature, He would have a Mother; so also, would He give to this Mother a protector. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, these are the three whom the ineffable mystery is continually bringing before our minds.

The words of St. Teresa are as follows: "I took for my patron and lord the glorious St. Joseph, and recommended myself earnestly to him. I saw clearly that he rendered me greater services than I knew how to ask for. I cannot call to mind that I have ever asked him at any time for any thing which he has not granted; and I am filled with amazement when I consider the great favours which God hath given me through this blessed Saint; the dangers from which he hath delivered me, both of body and soul. To other Saints, our Lord seems to have given grace to succour men in some special necessity; but to this glorious Saint, I know by experience, to help us in all: and our Lord would have us understand that, as He was Himself subject to Him upon earth, for St. Joseph having the title of father, and being His guardian, could command Him, so now in heaven He performs all his petitions. I have asked others to recommend themselves to St. Joseph, and they too know this by experience; and there are many who are now of late devout to him, having had experience of this truth. (The Life o St. Teresa:--Translated by David Lewis. 1870: page 34)"

We might quote several other equally clear and fervent words from the writings of this seraphic Virgin. The Faithful could not remain indifferent with such teaching as this. The seed thus soon produced its fruit; slowly, it is true, but surely. Even in the first half of the 17th century, there prevailed amidst the devout clients of St. Joseph a presentiment, that the day would come, when the Church, through her Liturgy, would urge the Faithful to have recourse to him as their powerful Protector. In a book published in the year 1645, we find these almost prophetic words: "O thou bright sun, thou father of our days! speed thy onward course, and give us that happy day, whereon are to be fulfilled the prophecies of the Saints. They have said, that in the latter ages of the world, the glories of St. Joseph will be brought to light; that God will draw aside the veil, which has hitherto prevented us from seeing the wondrous sanctuary of Joseph's soul; that the Holy Ghost will inspire the Faithful to proclaim the praises of this admirable Saint, and to build Monasteries, Churches and Altars in his " honour; that, throughout the entire kingdom of the Church Militant, he shall be considered as the special Protector, for he was the Protector of the very founder of that kingdom, namely, our Lord Jesus Christ; that the Sovereign Pontiffs will, by a secret impulse from heaven, ordain that the Feast of this great Patriarch be solemnly celebrated through the length and breadth of the spiritual domain of St. Peter; that the most learned men of the world will use their talents in studying the divine gifts hidden in St. Joseph, and that they will find in him treasures of grace incomparably more precious and plentiful, than were possessed by every the choicest of the elect of the Old Testament, during the whole four thousand years of its duration. (La gloire de saint Joseph; par le P. Jean Jacquinot, de la Compagnie de Jesus. Dijon: 1645)"

These ardent wishes have been fulfilled. It is now more than a century ago, that the Carmelites sought and obtained the approbation of the Holy See for an Office in honour of the Patronage of St. Joseph. A great number of Dioceses obtained permission to use it. A Sunday was selected for the celebration of this new Feast, in order that the Faithful might be, in a way, compelled to keep it; for the Feast of St. Joseph in March is not a day of obligation for the universal Church, and, as it always falls during Lent, it cannot be kept on a Sunday, since the Sundays of Lent exclude a Feast of that rite. That the new Feast might not be attended with the same risk of being unnoticed, it was put upon a Sunday, the third Sunday after Easter, that thus the consolations of such a solemnity might be blended with the Paschal joys. The new Feast went on gradually spreading from one diocese to another; till at last, there was unexpectedly issued an Apostolic Decree, dated September the 10th, 1847, which ordered it to be kept throughout Christendom. The Church was on the eve of severe trials; and her glorious Pontiff, Pius the Ninth, by a sacred instinct, was prompted to draw down on the Flock intrusted to him the powerful protection of St. Joseph, who, assuredly, has never had greater miseries and dangers to avert from the world, than those which threaten the present age.

Let us then, henceforth, have confidence in the Patronage of St. Joseph. He is the Father of the Faithful, and it is God's will, that he, more than any other Saint, should have power to apply to us the blessings of the mystery of the Incarnation, the great mystery whereof he, after Mary, was the chief earthly minister.