The anvil and the hammer.St. John Bosco had many very significant dreams throughout his lifetime. They began when he was a child and continued for sixty years.
God spoke to him, and speaks to us, through the dreams.
Some of them are parables, others are prophetic, and others are instructional. They involved nations, the Salesian Congregation, missions, the Oratory, and the Oratory boys.
St. John Bosco usually had a guide and interpreter in the dreams. Often he was able to see the state of the Oratory boys' consciences, which he considered to be an extraordinary grace that was granted for their benefit.
He shared his dreams with the children of the Oratory, and residents eagerly anticipated news of yet another one. The dreams contained clear and exact revelations, and the residents of the Oratory witnessed many of the events come to pass. Fr. Bosco was said to narrate his dreams humbly, always with the spiritual benefit of his listeners his primary concern. The sharing of the dreams led to a greater horror for sin, better and more frequent Confessions, and more frequent Communion. He referred to the dreams as "The Devil's Bankruptcy." 1
One particular dream is called The Snake and the Rosary. The first part of that dream was retold in a previous posting: The Snake And The Rosary, Part I
In the second part of thedream, Fr. Bosco turned around as he was talking to the stranger about the symbolism of the snake and the rope. He saw boys picking up pieces of snake meat and eating them. As soon as they swallowed a piece of the snake, they crumpled to the ground, their bodies swelled, and then turned as hard as stone. To his horror, more and more boys kept eating the meat!Fr. Bosco shouted at them and tried to physically restrain them from eating the meat, but he was unable to stop them. Every time a boy fell to the ground, another one took his place. Fr. Bosco called to the clerics for reinforcements to help stop the boys from eating the snake meat, but not only did that not work, but some of the clerics began to eat the snake meat, too! They fell to the ground as well.
Fr. Bosco recalled that he was nearly out of his mind at seeing so many of his boys lying around him in that terrible state. He asked the stranger why the boys ate the meat when they knew it would kill them.
"Because 'the sensual man does not perceive the things that are of God' That's why!" was his reply. 2
And then Fr. Bosco asked a very important question. He asked if there was some way to save the boys.He was told that yes, there was a way to save them!
"Anvil and hammer."
Anvil and hammer, to put the boys back in shape. Now this is a lesson for every one of us, so pay attention.
The stranger explained that the anvil and hammer are symbols for Holy Communion and Confession.
He was clear: "These are the remedies you must use."
So Fr. Bosco "went to work" and found the prescribed treatment was very efficacious. However, while most of the boys who ate the snake meat were restored to life and recovered, a few did not.
Why? Because they made bad confessions.
Further, "The prayers and sacrifices of the just must first ask that God's grace warm hardened hearts and soften them, so that the Sacraments of Penance and Holy Eucharist may exercise their divine efficacy...thus, the hammer's blows and the anvil's support bring about the cure of an ulcer-ridden but now docile heart. As the sparks fly, the heart is reconditioned." 3
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Sources:
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)
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. xii.
2. 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. 112.
3. 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), pp. 112-113.
