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
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.
