From the Tridentine Documentary's Marian Part 6, courtesy of another epic Saturday night into Sunday morning dream, for every soul. "Apart from the cross there is no other ladder by which we may get to heaven." ~ Saint Rose of Lima
THE MYSTERIOUS LADDER IN THE DREAM OVERNIGHT
This dream is a metaphor, a parable, containing multiple vital lessons for every soul.
You suddenly found yourself inside a place that appeared unfamiliar and yet familiar, standing on the second floor of a large home and by a wooden staircase that led to the first floor.
The distance between the second floor and the first floor was farther than found in the natural; farther, as in extremely dangerous and potentially fatal.
Standing close to you was your daughter who is now an adult.
In the dream overnight she was very young, about two years old.
Also standing close to you was your late sister.
A little farther removed but also present on the second floor, to the left and a little farther from the wooden staircase, was your daughter's paternal grandmother.
All of a sudden, your daughter expressed the desire to go downstairs to the first floor.
You told her to wait so she would not fall down the stairs, and were about to start descending the wooden staircase first to protect her in case she fell on her way down.
However, before even descending down the first stair, the wooden staircase transformed into a wooden ladder.
THE PERILOUS DESCENT
"The ascent to Heaven is nothing else but by humility in our actions." ~ Saint Benedict
Your immediate thought upon seeing a wooden ladder in place of the wooden staircase is that the situation had suddenly become much more dangerous.
So while following along with such awe and with wonder, you turned to face the three other people on the second floor and began very carefully and very slowly climbing down.
After descending the first few rungs, you were about to reach out to take hold of your daughter and carry her down the ladder, but somehow she had fallen right in front of you and on the other side of the ladder.
A BRIEF RESCUE
"Our Lord and Savior lifted up His voice and said with incomparable majesty: 'Let all men know that grace comes after tribulation. Let them know that without the burden of afflictions it is impossible to reach the height of grace. Let them know that the gifts of grace increase as the struggles increase. Let men take care not to stray and be deceived. This is the only true stairway to paradise, and without the cross they can find no road to climb to heaven.'
"When I heard these words, a strong force came upon me and seemed to place me in the middle of a street, so that I might say in a loud voice to people of every age, sex and status: 'Hear, O people; hear, O nations. I am warning you about the commandment of Christ by using words that came from His own lips: "We cannot obtain grace unless we suffer afflictions." We must heap trouble upon trouble to attain a deep participation in the Divine nature, the glory of the sons of God and perfect happiness of soul.'
"If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess Divine grace, how beautiful, how noble, how precious. How many riches it hides within Itself, how many joys and delights! No one would complain about his cross or about troubles that may happen to him, if he would come to know the scales on which they are weighed when they are distributed to men." ~ Saint Rose of Lima
Suddenly, your precious little girl was suspended by a piece of her clothing and was hanging high above the ground way below.
Your late sister, her maternal aunt, had quickly reached down and was able to grab hold of a piece of her garment.
THE DEADLY FALL: SACRIFICIAL POVERTY AND THE WEDDING PARABLE
"Poverty is that heavenly virtue by which all earthly and transitory things are trodden under foot, and by which every obstacle is removed from the soul so that it may freely enter into union with the eternal Lord God." ~ Saint Francis of Assisi
Knowing that the grip would not last long and that sure death was certain to follow, you immediately reached out to grab hold of her with both hands but she slipped from your late sister's hand and began falling.
You watched your little girl fall the great distance to the ground and then impact it, knowing that she could not survive the fall.
Despite the horror and the seeming futility of the situation, you felt a peace that defies all human understanding.
"I am the vine: you the branches: he that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without me you can do nothing." ~ John 15:5
After the little girl named after Our Lady crashed into the ground, thanks be to and by the Divine power of God she was completely unharmed.
"Humility is like a pair of scales: the lower one side falls, the higher rises the other. Let us humble ourselves like the Blessed Virgin and we shall be exalted.” ~ Saint John Vianney
NO SOUL LEFT BEHIND  |