St John Bosco

The heavenly vision of St John Bosco

We celebrate today the feast of St John Bosco, the founder of the Salesian Order. He lived in Italy between August 16, 1815, and January 31, 1888. He worked tirelessly with children and the youth to bring back some of the dignity they may have lost as street children. He introduced the preventive method of education, emphasizing goodness and rewards for good deeds done, instead of punishment. Among the children he helped was St Dominic Savio. The Salesians’ main focus is on the education of children and producing audio-visual material as well as printed material. He had an interesting vision of heaven with a big ship heading towards us and arriving between two pillars. On the ship, one can see the Pope, Cardinals and other prelates. Other boats with people are seen being tossed around in the raging waves. As long as the Church was tethered between the pillar of Mary, Help of Christians, and the pillar of the Eucharist, the Church would survive. He wrote, “Only two things can save us in such a grave hour: devotion to Mary and frequent Communion. Let us do our very best to use these two means and have others use them everywhere.”
Below is a prayer attributed to St. John Bosco directed to Mary, Help of Christians, that reflects this belief and places a person within the powerful protection of the Virgin Mary against all evil forces acting in the world:
O Mary, powerful Virgin, you are the mighty and powerful protector of the Church; you are the marvelous help of Christians; you are terrible as an army in battle array; you alone have destroyed every heresy in the whole world. In the midst of our anguish, our struggles, and our distresses, defend us from the power of the enemy and at the hour of our death, receive our souls in paradise. Amen.