50. The Ten Hills, 1864
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Narrated by Don Bosco on October 22, 1864: "I dreamed that I was in a vast valley populated by thousands and thousands of young people.
They were so numerous that I had never imagined that there could be so many young people in the world. There were the students of this year and the students that our works will have in the years to come. Mixed in with them were priests and clergymen.
At the end of the valley there was a most high mountain and a voice said to me: - It is necessary that you and your disciples go up to the top of the mountain.
Then I gave the order to that multitude of young men to set out on the way to the top of the mountain. The priests marched ahead and to the sides, encouraging everyone to climb to the top. They lifted up those who fell, and carried on their backs those who were no longer able to walk because of fatigue. Father Miguel Rua, with his cassock rolled up, worked harder than all the others, encouraging those who climbed and many were lifted up in the air and were thrown upwards and fell on their feet and continued climbing enthusiastically.
Father Cagliero and Father Francesia would go through the ranks shouting: - Courage, forward! Courage, forward! After a little more than an hour we all reached the top of the mountain, and then a voice shouted from Heaven: - You must go on immediately to the other ten hills that are in front of you.
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I answered, "But how can we make such a long journey with so many young people, and some of them so small and so weak? And the voice answered, "He who cannot walk on his feet shall be carried.
And immediately there appeared at the end of the hill a chariot so beautiful, that it is impossible to describe how beautiful it was.
And on the chariot was a large sign saying, "INNOCENCE," and the following sentence: - "You have the help of the Most High God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit."
The chariot, all covered with gold and emeralds and diamonds, advanced towards the young people, and 500 children climbed on it. Only 500 among so many thousands, still preserved their innocence.
Then another road full of thorns appeared with this sign: "PENITENCE", and six young students of ours, already dead, appeared dressed in white to lead those who wanted to travel on that road. The young men carried a beautiful banner with that motto: "Penance", and they placed themselves at the head of that huge group of disciples to undertake the journey. And immediately the starting signal was given.
I looked back and felt a deep sadness because I saw that a large number of young people had been left behind and many had turned back. I wanted to turn back to encourage them to continue climbing, but I was forbidden to turn back.
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- But if I am not going to encourage them, they could definitely get lost.
- Let them take responsibility, they have already been advised and warned. Now let each one bear his own responsibility.
I wanted to answer, but a voice said to me: "You must also obey! And we continued our journey.
Then I saw another pitiful scene: of the 500 who were in the carriage of innocence, many fell to the ground and only 150 remained in the carriage. Many of those who fell from the carriage of innocence went to join the group of those who were following the flag of "Penance".--
I felt a great sadness to see that there are so many who do not want to climb the mountain of sanctity and I proposed to do everything possible to ensure that none of my disciples would remain half way or turn back from the path of sanctity. And I proposed to invite everyone to go to confession and to continue on the path of penance.--
We continued walking and so we went up until we reached the eighth hill. There we found houses of a beauty and richness that no one can imagine here. And there was an enormous number of trees so full of beautiful flowers and tasty fruits that we were all amazed, and the young people spread out all over the field to taste such rich fruits.
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- But if I am not going to encourage them, they could definitely get lost.
- Let them take responsibility, they have already been advised and warned. Now let each one bear his own responsibility.
I wanted to answer, but a voice said to me: "You must also obey! And we continued our journey.
Then I saw another pitiful scene: of the 500 who were in the carriage of innocence, many fell to the ground and only 150 remained in the carriage. Many of those who fell from the carriage of innocence went to join the group of those who were following the flag of "Penance".
I felt a great sadness to see that there are so many who do not want to climb the mountain of sanctity and I proposed to do everything possible to ensure that none of my disciples would remain half way or turn back from the path of sanctity. And I proposed to invite everyone to go to confession and to continue on the path of penance.
We continued walking and so we went up until we reached the eighth hill. There we found houses of a beauty and richness that no one can imagine here. And there was an enormous number of trees so full of beautiful flowers and tasty fruits that we were all amazed, and the young people spread out all over the field to taste such rich fruits.
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And there was a detail that made me strange; and that is that I noticed that my students were no longer young, but were full of gray hair and very old. And the voice said to me: - It is that the time they have spent in climbing these hills is not hours but years and years. And if you want to know how your own face looks, look at yourself in the mirror.
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I then looked at myself in a mirror and saw that I had become a completely old man and full of wrinkles (and I was no longer the 49 year old man of that date).
We continued on our journey and some of my disciples wanted to stay on the road, amused by what they saw there, but I encouraged them by saying: "Courage, let us go on without stopping to walk on the road".
And the tenth hill appeared in the distance and on it a light so extraordinarily beautiful, and music so infinitely beautiful that, out of pure emotion... I was awakened.
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Explanation: Don Bosco told the young people that the ten hills are the ten commandments that must be fulfilled in order to ascend to Heaven. Those who fall from the carriage of innocence and join the group of penance are those who commit faults but repent, confess and propose amendment.
Don Bosco's disciples believed that when Don Bosco stopped on the eighth hill and saw himself already very old, it could have been a warning from Heaven so that when he reached the eighth decade of his life he would prepare himself to fly to Heaven. And in fact, when he was beginning his eighth decade, the Saint died at the age of 72.
Father Rua, Father Cagliero and Father Francesia, who appear in the dream encouraging the young people, were three very faithful collaborators of Don Bosco.
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51. The partridge and the quail, 1865
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On January 16, 1865, Don Bosco spoke to his pupils as follows: "I want to tell you about a dream I had the day before yesterday: I seemed to find myself on a journey with all my present pupils and with many more who will come to our works in the future. We arrived at a field full of fruit trees and the students scattered all over the field in search of fruit. Some were eating figs, others grapes, some were eating peaches and others plums. I was in the middle of them, cutting bunches of grapes and distributing them among them.
We left that field and began a very difficult road to walk. It was full of very deep ditches and sometimes we had to climb up, sometimes we had to climb down and often it was necessary to jump. The stronger ones managed to jump but the weaker ones fell into the deep farm. I wanted to look for another way but the next path was full of stones, thorns, mud and holes and it was impossible to travel that way.
Then the guide said to me: "Continue on this difficult path, but let the strongest carry the weakest".
We continued along the difficult path and at the end we found a fence full of thorns.
With difficulty we made our way through it. Then we came to a valley that had very beautiful trees and grasses, and was green and pleasant.
When I arrived in the valley I saw two young men, former students, and one of them said to me, pointing to two birds they were holding in their hands.
- Look at these beautiful birds! - And what birds are those? - A partridge and a quail - And what does partridge [PERDIZ in Spanish] mean? Well, the partridge has the meanings of its letters:
P: Perseverance in doing good.
E: Eternity. To think of it.
R: Each one will receive according to his deeds.
D: To despise what is worldly and materialistic.
I: Shall each one go to the place he has attained by his works. And the: Z: Is the last letter: to think of the last thing that awaits us.
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Then he introduced me to the quail and said to me: Remember that the quail is that bird that came in flocks of thousands and thousands to the desert where the people of Israel were murmuring against God because He did not send them meat to eat. And they flew so low that they were able to shoot down with sticks. And the people ate so much of gluttony those meats that many died, because "gluttony kills more than the sword" (Exodus Ch. 16). (Exodus Ch. 16). This animal signifies the great danger to people in eating of gluttony or drinking of gluttony.
The quail was outwardly beautiful, but when I lifted up its wings I saw that it was covered with sores, and it became so ugly and disgusting and gave off such an unbearable stench that it made one want to vomit.
Then flocks of partridges and quails began to appear in the field, and the young men began to hunt them. And I saw that all those who ate partridges became stronger (because they practiced what their letters meant: to think of the eternity that awaits us and to despise what is worldly and evil) and on the other hand, those who ate quails remained halfway and did not follow me anymore (because they dedicated themselves to eat of gluttony or to drink of gluttony or to commit impurity).
After this I saw two young men carrying a purple ribbon of those that are placed on the deceased and they extended it, and immediately one of my disciples appeared lying dead. But I could not recognize who it was.
I asked the two young men who the deceased was, but they would not tell me his name. Then several other students appeared and said to me: "Don Bosco, one of your disciples has died.
I asked them who the dead one was but no one would tell me his name. And at that moment I woke up. I was totally tired as if I had traveled all night.
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Explanation: On January 18, Don Bosco said to his students, "Several wish to know the meaning of the dream I told you last time. Well, I tell you that the partridge is the representation of virtue and good conduct and the quail represents vice and bad behavior. And notice well that the quail looked very beautiful on the outside but inside under its wings it was full of sores and smelled very bad. It is the representation of those who commit impure sins. On the outside they look like good people, but their soul is filthy and disgusting.
And I noticed that some of them could eat quail, but they did not want to accept it. They are those who have occasions to be vicious, but do not accept to commit sins. Others, on the other hand, alternated, one time they ate partridge and another time quail. They are those who at times dedicate themselves to being good, and at times they are bad. Several have come to ask us in which of the groups I saw them and I have told them. The others who want to find out in what state I saw their souls can come these days and I will answer them with pleasure.
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The disciple of Don Bosco who was going to die soon and whose name nobody wanted to tell, was Father Rufino, a virtuous priest, pure as an angel and highly esteemed by the Saint, who in those days was in perfect health but who died suddenly on July 16. His name was not announced to Don Bosco so as not to torment him beforehand, because he loved him very much.
Will our spiritual life be like the quail in the dream: beautiful external appearance and rotten in the internal reality? God forbid that it should be like that!