Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco: The Apostle of Youth by St. John Bosco

(Charlotte: TAN Books, 1996), 225

  • God spoke to Don Bosco in dreams (xi)
  • "When something turns out to the good of our souls, it certainly comes from God" (xii)
  • Prayer and mortification are the means necessary for preserving God's grace in the soul (1)
  • Deadly Nooses (22-24):
    • First noose: conceal sins in confession
    • Second noose: confess without true sorrow
    • Third noose: keep from making a firm resolution and carrying out their confessor's advice
  • "This quail tells you that gluttony is more deadly than the sword, and is the fountainhead of most sins." (28)
    • "gluttony kills vocations"
  • "Don't you know that where purity is concerned, non datur paravitas materiae—'there is no matter that is not considered to be grave'?" (34)
  • Connection between purity and fasting on 35
    • "By prayer I mean your morning and night prayers devoutly said, meditation and Holy Mass, frequent Confession and Communion, sermons and exhortations, visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary and your school duties." (36)
  • "A very bad night is usually a forewarning that Our Lord is about to reveal something to me." (44)
  • "A great mistake which boys make is that of thinking that penance must be practiced by sinners only. Penance is necessary also in order to preserve innocence...Therefore, without penance, innocence cannot be preserved." (82)
    • In confession: "for the love of your soul, do not be afraid to tell the truth" (84)
  • "To enjoy good health and live a long life you need four things" (117):
    1. A clear conscience when you go to bed at night
    2. Moderation in eating
    3. An active life
    4. Good companions (flee from those who are corrupt)
  • He always stresses: Frequent and sincere Confession, frequent and devout Communion." (124)
  • "When you are playing, the devil has no chance to harm you, no matter how hard he tries." (125)
  • "There are two things the devil is deadly afraid of: fervent Communions and frequent visits to the Blessed Sacrament...Visiting the Blessed Sacrament is essential, my dear boys, if you want to overcome the devil. Therefore, make frequent visits to Jesus. If you do that, the devil will never prevail against you." (126)
  • Program for the salvation of boys (146):
    • "They have their superiors: let them obey them."
    • "They have rules: let them observe them."
    • "They have the Sacraments: let them frequent them."
  • "Bad companions, bad books, and bad habits are mainly responsible for so many eternally lost." (154)
  • "Warn them against idleness. Because of idleness David fell into sin. Tell them to keep busy at all times, because the devil will not then have a chance to tempt them." (165)
  • Letter on Education:
    • "Let them love what the boys like, and the boys will come to love what the Superiors like." (218)
    • "If his heart is not at peace with God, he will be uneasy and troubled, intolerant of obedience, easily upset over nothing at all; everything seems to be against him and as he himself feels no love, he will draw the conclusion that the Superiors do not love him." (222)
    • "Tell all, young and old, that they are the sons of Mary, Help of Christians." (223)

Topic: St. John Bosco

Source:

Created: 2019-06-17
Updated: 2023-01-25-Wed