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Absolutely amazing. Some of the dreams are really difficult to read without crying!! It really points out how important it is that we focus on eternity while we still can.
Gripping spiritual read to help you polish up your soul. Looking for a good spiritual read to get you motivated to do better?
This book will certainly make you want to make you pull up your spiritual bootstraps so to speak. St. John Bosco (1815-1888), founder of the Salesian order famed for taking care of and teaching poor and abandoned boys, was given the gift of prophetic dreams. His first prophetic dream happened when he was nine years old and it showed him his future vocation. From then on he Gripping spiritual read to help you polish up your soul.Looking for a good spiritual read to get you motivated to do better? This book will certainly make you want to make you pull up your spiritual bootstraps so to speak. St. John Bosco (1815-1888), founder of the Salesian order famed for taking care of and teaching poor and abandoned boys, was given the gift of prophetic dreams. His first prophetic dream happened when he was nine years old and it showed him his future vocation. From then on he would have many more throughout his life. We know at least 179 were published in the original Italian edition of the 'Biographical Memoirs of St. John Bosco'. Quite a number of his dreams were about the state of the souls placed under his care, namely, the boys of his oratory school, who were virtuous and on the path to Heaven, others and who were just bumbling by but not trying to become more virtuous, and what their particular vices were and how they could have avoided them. He was also shown prophetic events foretelling the future of his Salesian Order, what would hinder or protect it, and he also dreamed about the future of the Church. This book features a selection of 40 of his dreams, several of them about the spiritual states of the boys as they can also be applied to us and our spiritual life. However, some of these dreams might surprise and even shock you, for St. John also saw boys on the road to damnation. If you have ever seen pictures of St. John Bosco with the boys of his oratory and notice how young the boys were, (sorry, there are not any in the book, you'll have to Google them), you'll get spooked as you begin to wonder how such young ones could set themselves on the path to Hell so soon in life, especially when they had a saint to help them! It would make you stop and think that if children could become sinners on the path to damnation, and at such an innocent time on earth when they didn't have half the evils surrounding them like kids today, what is going to happen to the likes of us in our modern times if we don't really watch it? Definitely a good book for Lent. Here are a list of the 40 dreams: (1) The First Dream – The dream St. John had when he was nine about Our Lord and Our Lady showing him his future vocation and mission. This book, (TAN editions published 1969, reprint in 2014, ISBN: 9780895555977) also has in the back a list of other dreams that the editor / publishers says would be important for the Salesians to read and where to find them in St. John's Biographical Memoirs. If only they had them in the book too! This is the list they gave: The Wheel (about vocations and 'other matters') – A Walk to Heaven – Purgatory: Advice for all – The Saving Raft, war on sin – The Ten Diamonds – A Diabolical Council against the Congregation – The Third Missionary Dream – The Fourth Missionary Dream Again, I wish they had included them in the book, especially the first half – the one on Purgatory and the 'Saving Raft' sounds like it could have been useful for us too and not just the Salesians, especially as the one on Purgatory has 'advice for all' printed after it! I also would have liked to have read a 'Walk to Heaven'. The book would have received the full five stars from me, but because they have told us about these dreams and then did not include them is a major disappointment. I'm docking the book a star because of it. St. John and his dreams gets the full five stars from me of course! But, since it is the book that is under review too, and I like to tell people what they're getting in a book, well, the publishers goofed on this one in my view. There is also a chart in the back showing the references to where the dreams may be found in the original Italian addition of the Biographical Memoirs, what volume, the time period, the pages of each volume, the number of recorded dreams in each volume, the author and the year printed. A very good book to read to motivate you to scrub up your soul, but be advised, you may be seized with the desire to make a General Confession. ...more
Dec 19, 2013 Ange rated it it was amazing This book will have you doing a lengthy examination of conscience and then beating a path to your confessor. It is incredible, and a little terrifying but also full of so much love and hope.
St. John Bosco is an amazing saint. Definitely one of the coolest. Lots of scary dreams and reality that illustrate the importance of a good confession, frequent communion, and frequent visits to the blessed sacrament. If you aren't Catholic and read this book and do not convert because of the wild dreams, there is nothing to save you lol. St. John Bosco is an amazing saint. Definitely one of the coolest. Lots of scary dreams and reality that illustrate the importance of a good confession, frequent communion, and frequent visits to the blessed sacrament. If you aren't Catholic and read this book and do not convert because of the wild dreams, there is nothing to save you lol. ...more
Just as the title says: “Forty Dreams of Saint John Bosco”, this book is a collection of several of his dreams. Quite sobering and very much rich in symbolism. Even though most of the dreams mentioned in this book pertained to how he can help the boys under his care go to heaven, anyone who reads this will benefit from the spiritual wisdom and advice.
94/100 (= 5.6/6) ≈ 5 Stars ----------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------
Apr 10, 2011 Teresa rated it it was amazing
This book is incredible for Lent!!! It really makes you look at your own life and see how attached you are to sin. The dreams of St. John Bosco help you realize just how pleasurable the littlest sin is to the devil.... Excellent, excellent book!
Feb 14, 2011 Luellen rated it it was amazing I am reading this book and it has been one of the most profound
books on dreams I have ever read. While the prophetic dreams of St. John Bosco happen around 1846 they are more revelant today than ever. If you like reading about dreams get this book, it is excellent.
I have seen individual dreams of St John Bosco floating around the internet, so I knew that I loved this dear saint even before I started the book. It is not fiction, but it reminds me of the idea that
if a protagonist is extraordinary and the things happen to him/her are extraordinary, that fiction will be a flash in the pan. But the story is about an ordinary person, who happens to encounter extraordinary things, if it is done well, it will become enduring. Don Bosco complains. He argues. He's Don Bosco complains. He argues. He's afraid. He is all manner of things human. But because he eventually comes around and obeys, sucks it up, and even stands up against hell
(especially when the boys under his care are involved), these foibles actually add to his eventual greatness. It's thoroughly a story about a man who conquers himself and becomes a saint, not about a saint who was clearly going to conquer all from the get go. His boys would get excited and look forward to the talks when it was announced that he had another dream to share with them. I can understand that. I found myself looking forward to getting back to reading when I needed to go do other
things. That usually doesn't happen when I am reading religious material. It's good for me, and I am grateful to be in the habit of it, but more like grateful in the sense of having got my vegetables in. This was easy to read, and once I got into the groove, it was hard to put down. But it is not only a good read. The point of St John Bosco's supernatural life is to prick the consciences of those who hear about it. He was trying to help many of the roughest boys of his time, and some of
them were on the path to hell. But one doesn't have to be a street person to get convicted in a lot of his words. I took notes and am trying to implement change--not just say, oh, yeah, that is really bad. The passage that has stuck with me with the greatest horror was when St John Bosco forced a demon to admit how effective his traps truly are. "With these nooses I drag ninetenths of mankind into Hell.” Bosco, St. John. Forty Dreams of St. John Bosco: The Apostle of Youth (p. 23). TAN
Books. Kindle Edition. That was a hundred and sixty years ago, give or take. That same demon is out there, and I suspect that his tactics have only worked better over time. Overall this was a fabulous book. The revisionists make movies about him in their own image, but St John Bosco was ever so much more than that. I both recommend it and plan to read it again many times in the future.
Sep 10, 2018 Vincent rated it really liked it The book has some very good moral lessons on confession, temptation, and striving to lead a holy life. This materialistic world that we live in, has infected our minds so much that we discount spiritual realities to some extent due to our lack of faith. Through his dreams, St. John Bosco make these spiritual realities become concrete. The devil is as real as a wild
animal and the threat he poses is deadly as a mountain lion is deadly. My favorite dream, the one that stands out the most, was not a This materialistic world that we live in, has infected our minds so much that we discount spiritual realities to some extent due to our lack of faith. Through his dreams, St. John Bosco make these
spiritual realities become concrete. The devil is as real as a wild animal and the threat he poses is deadly as a mountain lion is deadly. My favorite dream, the one that stands out the most, was not a warning but an invitation to be holy. It involved Dominic Savio in a quasi-heavenly place, but as Savio informs the priest, is not heaven exactly. The imagery in this scene fills you with wonder and is truly awe-inspiring. With all this being said, about halfway through the book, I began each new chapter with a subtle dread, because the moral lessons started getting redundant, where the devil is some cat/elephant/snake/dog/horse, or some other thing, and some boys succumb to the evil thing and some don't. I breezed through the last half of the book because, at least for my part, I felt the lessons were learned. Overall, I recommend this book to get a taste of what St. Bosco was all about. This method of lessons involving turning abstract spiritual ideas into concrete imagery, will absolutely help your faith. This book is also a source of inspiration. St. John Bosco is an important and holy saint to know about and his body is numbered among the incorruptible saints. ...more
Oct 10, 2021 Corp rated it it was amazing A wonderful read about my confirmation saint. It has many great lessons for Catholics, and throughout it, two primary and simple messages shine through: visit and receive the Eucharist often, and make frequent and good Confessions. There are also countless beautiful insights about obedience, mortification, devotion to Mary, and other important topics. A great read for any Catholic!
Jul 26, 2021 Andrea rated it really liked it Very interesting! The dreams don't reveal anything different than what we know but are great reminders to be watchful and to be ready because we don't know when it will be time for our judgment. I got to get a glimpse of how much St. John Bosco cared for "his boys" and their salvation. Very interesting! The dreams don't reveal anything different than what we know but are great reminders to be watchful and to be ready because we don't know when it will be time for our judgment. I got to get a glimpse of how much St. John Bosco cared for "his boys" and their salvation. ...more
Jul 20, 2022 Matt marked it as to-read 7/20/22 recommended by Patrick Madrid, talked about one of the dreams being how some things seem nice and rosy but slowly cause you to go downhill where you can’t return and will bring you to hell. He read it as a ~14 year old boy.
Some incredible prophecies Some of the prophecies clearly appear to be foe our time. Also shows the great love St John Bosco had for his boys and for the Blessed
Virgin Mary
Jan 07, 2022 Susan rated it liked it First book down in my plan of reading more writings from Saints this year. Don Bosco is the patron Saint of our homeschool, so it seemed fitting to start with him.
An amazing collection of visions. I found it very thought - provoking, especially about topics such as purity, the reality of Hell, and how little it takes to get a start down the path to Eternal Damnation. I highly recommend it, especially for Catholic teens.
Great one to read to kiddos on a campout.
Saint John Bosco (Italian: Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco), popularly known as Don Bosco, was an Italian Roman Catholic priest, educator and writer of the 19th century. Related ArticlesAnne Lamott, the beloved writer of memoirs including Bird by Bird and Traveling Mercies, once said, “You own everything that happened to you.... “To enjoy good health and live a long life you need four things: 1. A clear conscience when you go to bed at night; that is, no fear of eternity. 2. Moderation in eating. 3. An active life. 4. Good companions, that is, fleeing from those who are corrupt.” — 1 likes “Satan exists, Hell exists. The mission of Jesus Christ is an all-out war against the Power of Darkness.” — 1 likes More quotes…Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. How many dreams did St John Bosco have?Here are a list of the 40 dreams: (1) The First Dream – The dream St. John had when he was nine about Our Lord and Our Lady showing him his future vocation and mission. (2) The Monthly Test - prophetic dream preparing him for a Latin test at school.
At what age John had a dream?At the age of nine, John had a mysterious dream which led him to his future mission.
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