"Don't let go!"
This story from the biographical memoirs of St. John Bosco (Vol. VII, pages 143-145) may forever change the importance you place on saying the Rosary. It sure did for Dom Bosco and his boys.
For 60 years, St. John Bosco had many vision-like dreams that foretold the extraordinary mission God had for him and guided him as it came to fruition. Fr. Bosco shared the dreams with his boys, for in them they faced tremendous challenges, and at times the state of their souls were revealed.
The remarkable dream/visions continue to provide us in the modern era with important lessons and insights as we grow in sanctity and fulfill our purposes in life. One particular dream had two parts. In it, St. John Bosco "received yet another proof of the devil's unceasing, devastating attacks against souls and of the need to repel him constantly and free his victims." 1
In the dream, Fr. Bosco and his boys were at his brother's house in Italy. As the boys played, a stranger came up to Fr. Bosco and asked the priest to accompany him. They arrived at a meadow alongside the playground, where the stranger pointed to a huge and ugly snake that was coiled in the grass. The snake was over twenty feet long.
Fr. Bosco was afraid and wanted to flee, but the stranger restrained him and said, "Get closer and take a good look."
He balked of course, but the stranger told him to not be afraid. He told Fr. Bosco to stay where he was and went to get a rope.
The strange man asked Fr. Bosco to take one end of the rope and grip it tightly in both of his hands. The stranger held the other end, and together they were going to dangle it over the snake.
Fr. Bosco recalled saying, "You must be crazy; the snake will leap up and tear us to pieces."
The stranger assured him all would be well, and again Fr. Bosco attempted to flee. However, the stranger assured him that there was nothing to fear because the snake would not harm him. His argument was so convincing, that Fr. Bosco remained and agreed to do as he said.
The stranger then went to the other side of the "monster." They stretched the rope and snapped it across the back of the snake. It immediately sprang up and struck at the rope, but in doing so ensnared itself as if in a noose.
The stranger yelled to Fr. Bosco to hold on and not let go, then ran to a pear tree nearby and tied his end of the rope to it. Next he went to Fr. Bosco and tied his end of the rope to the iron grating of a window in a house.
Fr. Bosco watched as the snake struggled with rage to free itself. Instead, it tore itself to pieces and scattered its flesh all over the area. Eventually it slashed itself against the rope until it was just a skeleton.
Then, the most incredible thing happened. The stranger untied the rope and coiled it up, and as he placed it in a box, told Fr. Bosco to watch carefully. He closed the box. By this time, the boys from the Oratory had gathered around Fr. Bosco. They all watched as the stranger opened the box. The rope was shaped into the words Ave Maria, or "Hail Mary."
Fr. Bosco asked how that happened.
The stranger explained that the snake is a symbol of the devil, and the rope represents the Rosary, which is a succession of Hail Marys with which we can strike, conquer and destroy all of hell's demons.
Fr. Bosco concluded by telling his boys that he would leave the second part of the dream for the next night.
I followed suit and did the same, and here it is for you: The Anvil and The Hammer +
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Source:
1. From the Biographical Memoirs of St. John Bosco, Compiled and Edited by Fr. J. Bacchiarello, S.D.B., Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco (Rockford, IL: Tan Books And Publishers, Inc., 1969), p. 108.