121. Apparitions of Louis Colle, 1881
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On April 3, 1881, the young Luigi Colle died a saintly death, when he was only 17 years old. He was the son of two very close friends of Don Bosco: Count Luigi Colle and Madame Maria Sofia. These two spouses were for many years wonderful benefactors of our Saint and of the Salesian works. Don Bosco wrote them 75 letters and loved them as if they were his own parents. Their first meeting was as follows: In February 1881, while our Saint was in Marseilles, a parish priest from the city of Toulon came to ask him to go to that city to give a blessing to a young man so that he could be cured of a serious illness. The Saint told him that he could not go, and he did not go. Eight days later the parish priest came back to beg him to go to that city to bless the sick boy, and he told him how good and holy the Colle couple were. Don Bosco (perhaps because he knew that the young man was not going to be cured of this illness) told him that he did not go to a city to cure a sick person. He told them to organize a conference for Salesian cooperators and that after giving the conference he would bless the sick person. And so he did.
When he arrived at the sick man's house, he was waiting for him with great fervor and joy. He was in the last stages of a terrible tuberculosis. Don Bosco realized that this young Luigi Colle was another St. Louis, and seeing that he was well prepared to go to paradise, he dedicated himself to prepare him to die well. He marveled at how well he accepted at such a young age of 17 years to have to die, and how he did not ask in his prayers for health but that the most holy will of God be fulfilled in him.
The young Luigi Colle, on April 3, shortly before his death, and after having received Holy Communion, said to his parents and relatives: "I am going to paradise. This is what Don Bosco told me.
The memory of such a saintly young person remained in his mind, and then he wrote the biography of such a virtuous friend.
And Louis Colle appeared to him many times, as our Saint tells us in the letters he wrote to his parents.
Let us hear how he narrates it: On the same day, April 3, while I was going to confession, I suddenly saw Louis in a beautiful garden, where he was joyfully enjoying himself with some companions. He seemed to be completely happy. This convinced me that he was already in paradise.
On May 27, the feast of the Ascension, at one moment, during Holy Mass, I saw Louis surrounded by a sea of light, looking very beautiful, very happy, with shining clothes and adorned with gold. And I asked him: "Dear Luis, are you happy? - I enjoy the most perfect happiness.
- And do you lack nothing? - I only lack the presence of my parents.
- And what shall I tell your parents? - May they shine with the light of good example, and may they be filled with works and friends for Heaven.
Then, on June 21, St. Louis Day, I saw Louis Colle again for a few moments. He was shining like the sun and told me: "St. Louis has showered me with favors and benefits.
Then, on August 25, for a few moments during Holy Mass, I saw Louis glowing in a beautiful garden and sang with many of his companions: "O Jesus, the reward of those who preserve purity, blessed are you".
Louis' face looked very beautiful and he seemed totally happy.
On December 4, Don Bosco wrote to Colle's parents: "I have seen again Louis, our dearest friend, surrounded by light, dressed in a splendorous way, so beautiful that it is impossible to describe him".
The Heart of Jesus.
Then I saw him drawing water from a fountain to send to the world. I asked him what that meant and he replied: "It is a matter of obtaining favors from the Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who is like an inexhaustible fountain of grace, and the more treasures of mercy one obtains from Him, the more and more gifts He has left to distribute.
Referring to the brief apparitions of Louis during the Holy Mass, Don Bosco declared: - They are very short, because if they were longer I would fall to the ground fainting, for not being able to resist this encounter with the supernatural.
Something real and true.
And to Colle's mother, the Saint wrote: "I have seriously reflected on these apparitions and I am convinced that it is not a deception or an illusion but an authentic reality. I believe that Louis is enjoying paradise. And he appears to me to instruct me, and he has taught me truths of science and theology that were before completely unknown to me.
Difference between the natural and the supernatural.
Another time Louis appeared to me and showed me a rose and said: - Do you want to know the difference between the natural and the supernatural? Look at this rose. Take a good look at it.
And the ordinary rose became a flower brighter than a diamond refracting the sun's rays.
Then he pointed out to me a very ugly mountain, full of mud and caves. And from one moment to the next the mountain became a marvelous mountain and instead of mud there were precious stones everywhere.
At a banquet.
One day, while I was invited to a luxurious banquet, in the middle of lunch, I saw Luis Colle appear to me and say: "These expenses are too much. So many exquisite meals and so many luxuries, and meanwhile so many people are starving to death. We have to fight against these exaggerated expenses in food and luxuries.
Meanwhile the others exclaimed: - Don Bosco, Don Bosco, why don't you answer? The saint, writing to Louis' parents to tell them about his apparitions, told them: "These favors of God are so extraordinary that it is frightening because of the responsibility that one acquires in receiving them, since I have the obligation to correspond to so many graces that the Lord grants me.
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News.
On March 4, while I was traveling in the train, I saw Louis appear to me, and he communicated to me data and news about astronomy, which I was unaware of. Then he pointed out to me some regions of South America where it is very necessary to send missionaries. Then he added: "It is necessary that the young people receive communion frequently. Admit them early to the first communion. God wants them to be nourished by the Holy Eucharist. And make them become very devoted to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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The gulf and the sea.
And pointing to a gulf coming out of the sea, he added: - Do you see that gulf coming out of the sea? The waters of the ocean fill it continually, and the sea never diminishes. Such are the favors that we receive from the Heart of Jesus: it is easy to receive them; it is enough to ask Him with faith.
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Later, in dream 125 we will narrate the famous trip in which Don Bosco accompanied by Luigi Colle toured the future works of his community in South America.
When the young man was asked: "What are you doing in Heaven? He answered: "In Heaven I always repeat: Glory to God, thanks be to God, thanks and praise to Him who created us and who is the master of life and death! Thanks and praise be to God, Alleluia, Alleluia, Glory to God forever! Alleluia!
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122. The dream of diamonds, 1881
In the month of September 1881, Don Bosco had one of his most important dreams in which he was presented with the future that awaited his Congregation and the extraordinary growth that it was going to have, and at the same time he was made aware of the dangers that would threaten to destroy it if he did not proceed to fight in time to avoid these dangers.
The things the Saint saw and heard in this dream so impressed him that he did not content himself with narrating it by word of mouth but wrote it down. And these are his words: - May the grace of the Holy Spirit enlighten our senses and our hearts. Amen.
The following is for the teaching of the Salesian Community.
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On September 10, 1881, while I was sleeping, I thought I was walking in a great hall when a personage of such a majestic aspect appeared that I could not fix my eyes on him. He was dressed as follows:
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First part:
A rich mantle covered his body. On the mantle he wore a band with this inscription: The Salesian Community as it should become.
The personage's mantle had ten diamonds of extraordinary size and splendor.
On his chest he wore three diamonds: one was called FAITH. The other was called HOPE. And the one above the heart was entitled: CHARITY.
On the right shoulder he wore a diamond called WORK, and on the left shoulder another one called TEMPERANCE.
On the back the mantle also had five diamonds.
On the top three: the one in the center was written OBEDIENCE and was the largest and the most brilliant of the five. Next to the right shoulder there was a diamond called VOW OF POVERTY, and next to the left shoulder another one called: VOW OF CHASTITY.
Below these last two were two others: the one on the right was entitled PRIZE and the one on the left MORTIFICATION.
From the FAITH diamond came these phrases from Sacred Scripture: "Arm yourselves with the shield of faith so that you may be able to resist the attacks of the enemies of the soul" (Ephesians 6:16). "Faith without good works is dead faith" (James). It is not those who hear the good message, but those who fulfill it, who will possess the Kingdom of God".
From the diamond called CHARITY came rays of light with the following phrases: "Let each one help others to carry his own burdens, and thus the law of Christ will be fulfilled" (St. Paul Gal. 6,2). Love and you will be loved. But first of all we must love our own soul and the souls of others. Let the Holy Mass be devoutly celebrated. Let the Psalms be prayed with fervor. Let everyone visit frequently Jesus in the Sacrament in the Temple.
From the diamond of WORK came out rays with the following phrases: "This is a good remedy to dominate the passions and concupiscence. It is a powerful weapon against the attacks of the devil.
In the diamond of TEMPERANCE the phrases were: "If you remove the fuel the flame will be extinguished. Make a pact with your eyes not to see what does not suit you. And make a pact with gluttony not to eat or drink more than you should. Make a pact with sleep not to be overcome by laziness. Alcoholic beverages and purity cannot live together".
This is the sentence that came from the diamond of OBEDIENCE: "This is the foundation on which spiritual building and holiness are based".
From the diamond of POVERTY came these phrases: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven". Riches are thorns. Poverty does not consist in words but in living poorly, and it will open to us the Kingdom of Heaven and we will enter it.
From the diamond of CHASTITY came forth luminous rays with the following words: "All good things came to me with it". "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God".
The diamond called PRIZE had these signs: "If you are attracted by the great prizes that await you, do not be afraid of the many labors you have to do". Passing is what we suffer on earth. Eternal is what will make us rejoice in Heaven.
On the diamond called MORTIFICATION were written phrases: "This is a very powerful weapon against the attacks of the devil. It is a defense for all the virtues". "Certain unclean spirits are not driven away except by prayer and mortification." (Heavenly Mother 9.29).
On the borders of the mantle there were also some phrases: for example: "Let these virtues be the subject of preaching very often. Whoever despises the little things will fall little by little".
And a voice added: "Charity understands all things, excuses all things, hopes all things, endures all things" (1 Cor 13:7). Let us always preach this by word and deed.
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Second part:
Then the light disappeared and darkness surrounded us. We knelt down and prayed the hymn: "Come Creator Spirit" and we prayed Psalm 129: "From the depths I cry to You Lord" and we prayed the short prayer : "Mary Help of Christians, pray for us".
And a sign appeared saying: The Salesian Congregation as it is in danger of becoming.
Then the personage appeared again, but with a sad look, as if he was about to start crying. The mantle, once so beautiful, was now faded and destroyed. Where each diamond had once been, there was now a large tear, and the moth was destroying the fabric.
Where it had once said, "FAITH," it now said, "DREAM AND LAZINESS."
Where it once read: "HOPE", it now read: MOCKING AND DISRESPECT.
In the place where formerly was written: CHARITY, now were seen these words: NEGLIGENCE IN PRAYER. THEY SEEK THEIR OWN INTERESTS AND NOT THE INTERESTS OF JESUS CHRIST.
Instead of TEMPERANCE, we now read: GULA: HIS GOD IS HIS BELLY.
Where it used to read WORK, it now read: DREAM, WASTING TIME, TAKING AWAY THE OTHERS.
Where once there was the diamond called OBEDIENCE, now there was only a large tear.
Instead of the diamond called CHASTITY there was now a sign with these words: CONCUPISENCE, EXCESS OF THE EYES, PRIDE OF LIFE.
The diamond of POVERTY had been replaced by these words: LAZINESS IN THE BED, EXCESS IN DRINKING AND EATING, LUXURY IN DRESSING, PILING UP MONEY .
Where it used to read REWARD, now it was written: OUR REWARD SHALL BE ONLY THE THINGS OF THE EARTH.
Where the word MORTIFICATION had been, now there was nothing, just a big tear.
When Father Lasagna saw this, he fainted and Father Cagliero became very pale and exclaimed: - Is it possible that we have reached such a frightful extreme? At that moment a young man dressed in a white tunic embroidered with silver and gold appeared and said to us: - Servants and instruments of Almighty God: what you have just seen and heard is a warning from Heaven to meditate on and to teach to others. Let this be spoken much in your preaching. Let them not get tired of preaching on these subjects, but let their preaching be accompanied by the light of their good example of life. Let the meditation be many times about how important it is to fulfill the Regulations and one's own duties. If this is done, the help of the Almighty will not be lacking, and the community will be the admiration of the world and of the angels, and the glory of the community will be the glory of God. And those phrases of the Psalm will be repeated: "It is the Lord who has done this and we are glad. Not to us Lord, not to us but to Your Name be given the glory".
It is necessary to be prudent in the acceptance of the novices: to put them to strong tests; to accept only the good ones. Dismiss the fickle, light and voluble ones.
When I heard these words, I woke up and immediately got up and wrote down all these messages so that I would not forget them. And I became convinced that Our Lord has great mercy towards us and that our community is very blessed by Heaven, but that God wants us to cooperate with Him properly. The evils that appeared in place of the diamonds threaten us and are dangerous, but we can ward them off if we preach a lot about this and if everyone strives to practice the opposite of every vice.
Many thorns await us, but also many consolations and great triumphs. "O Mary Help of Christians, pray for us." May none of us be robbed of any of those diamonds.