The Dream of the Three Stops

I read this this morning and thought how wonderful our Lord is... He speaks to us in so many ways. Dreams are a strong way of communicating, giving us hope... I remember so many of my dreams where hope was given to me, hope that gave me the strength, the guidance to move on with my life.

On the second Sunday of October of that year (1844), I had to tell my boys that the Oratory was to be transferred to Valdocco. But I was really uncertain and puzzled about the how and the who of the new location. The night before, I went to bed with a troubled heart. That night I had another dream, which seems to complement the one I had in Becchi when I was about nine years old. (...)

I saw myself in a dream among a multitude of wolves, goats and kids, lambs, ewes, sheep, dogs and birds. Together they made so much noise, such a terrible racket, or rather, such an infernal roar to inspire terror in the bravest. I wanted to flee, when a Lady, beautifully dressed with the appearance of a shepherdess, beckoned me to follow and accompany that strange flock, while she walked on ahead.

We went wandering through various places, and we made three stops: at each stop many of the animals changed into lambs, whose number was constantly swelled. After walking for a long time, I found myself in a meadow, where the animals hopped about and ate side by side, without attempting to bite each other.

Thoroughly exhausted, I wanted to sit down beside a nearby road, but the shepherdess invited me to continue on. After walking a little further, I discovered a large courtyard surrounded by a covered gallery at the end of which was a church. There I found that four fifths of the animals had now become lambs. Their number kept increasing considerably.

At that moment, several young shepherds came to watch them, but they remained just a short time and left at once. Then something wonderful happened. Many lambs turned into young shepherds who, now in greater number, were now taking care of the others. The number of shepherds kept increasing greatly, so they parted, and went elsewhere to shelter other strange animals and guide them to other sheepfolds. (...)

I wanted to ask the shepherdess what she wanted with this journey, with all the stops (...)

"You will understand everything," she replied, "when you see with your eyes of flesh the reality that you now only see with the eyes of your mind."

Don Bosco

Memorie dell'Oratorio

“A Moment with Mary”... http://www.mariedenazareth.com

Blessings,
Elizabeth

http://www.trustiam.com