Friday 22 December 1876

A plain like a perfectly calm sea, but made of shining crystal. The eye gets lost over the vast surface.

So many plants, grasses, flowers, vineyards, little woods, all kinds of flowers covering the surface. Wonderful lanes, magnificent buildings were an extra adornment. Everything was like on earth, but beautiful, unutterably so.

Instrumental music that sounded like thousands of instruments, each with a different sound, higher or lower, but all in perfect harmony. The same can be said for the voices. A huge number of people could be seen enjoying listening and taking part in singing and playing. The more one listened the more the desire grew to listen and everyone was yearning to hear more.

At a certain point all the music stopped and then many of the listeners turned to me. I was not on that marvellous plain, but nearby on a small hillock. I knew many of them. The ones who came closest were Dominic Savio, Fr Alasonatti, Fr Giulitto of whom I had thought much during the day.⁴ They were close enough to touch my hand. I was trembling and did not dare speak. The others looked at me with smiling faces as if they had wanted to say something, but nobody said a word.

Dominic Savio was dressed thus: a white tunic studded with diamonds covered him; a red sash edged in gold encircled his hips. His face was ruddy, shining, as beautiful as an angel's. In one hand he held a garland of flowers as if to give it away. I noticed a lily, rose, violet, sunflower, perennials, a stalk of wheat, gentian and others, but beautifully interwoven and of indescribable beauty.

With his free hand Savio made a sign for me to listen and began to speak like this:

“I am afraid of where I am and what I do not know; and I do not know what all this is or who I see”.

“The earth you are on now, if cultivated, will become a floor of precious stones in Heaven. These are the Lord's servants who had faith in him and now enjoy the fruits of their labour”.

“But why are you alone speaking and not the others?”

“Because I am the one who has been here longest”.

“What is this white tunic you are wearing?”

Savio went quiet and the others sang as a chorus: Dealbaverunt stolas in sanguine Agni, ideo sunt ante tronum Dei.⁵

“Why this sash?”

Fr Alasonatti, Fr. Chiala and others answered, singing: Habuerunt lumbos praecinctos, virgines enim sunt, ipsi sequuntur agnum quocumque ierit.⁶

“Is this garden the Heaven that you are enjoying?”

“Not at all. It is nothing other than material beauty; any mortal who saw supernatural light would fall dead. Would you like to see a small ray of supernatural light? Close your eyes then quickly open them again”.

As soon as I opened my eyes I saw a light from which a tiny ray like lightning flashed towards me, but so bright I cried out involuntarily as if my eyes had been pierced. A little later I opened my eyes and everything was as before. …

“But tell me why this visit of yours, and first of all tell me if I am awake or dreaming”.

“Neither one nor the other. You are about to receive a strict command from the Lord and woe to you if you do not put it into practice. Some things refer to the past, others the present, and not a few to the future. Regarding the past, it is lack of faith, being too timid. Look how many souls the Oratories have brought to Heaven and we can see multitudes of them. There would have been a hundred thousand more had you had the faith that the minister of the King of kings should have”.

“But this frightens me too much: tell me something of the present”.

“For the present you have here a bouquet of flowers; take it, and give it as a gift to your sons of any age and condition, and you will ensure the Kingdom of Heaven for them”.

“But I don't understand what this means”.

“I will give you a hint: the rose is charity; the violet humility; the lily is chastity; the sunflower obedience; the perennials are for perseverance; the ivy, mortification; the stalk of wheat is Holy Communion; the gentian is penance. Each of these things must be duly and fully explained, and you will give your Salesians a finite treasure that will lead them to an infinite reward”.

“Tell me something for the future”.

“I will not say more but, but the merciful God alone knows it and says this: Next year you will lose six and then another two people very dear to you; but they must be transplanted into a place of delight, the paradise of the Eternal One.

A bright dawn of glory will come forth from the Congregation to the four corners of the earth. Battles and triumphs there will be, but the soldiers will increase by many unless the leaders allow the chariot on which the Lord is seated to go off course. The time is near when good and bad alike will be astonished by the marvels that will quickly occur, but it is all mercy and everyone will be consoled”.

“What is the actual state of my boys?”

“You have to guide the children of God whom he entrusted to you and for which in time you will have to render account. Take these three sheets of papers and on each you will see what is needed”.

I took the sheets and on each of them was written as follows: Note those who are currently on the right path to heaven. And I saw many names I knew and many which in fact I did not know. The second was entitled: Vulnerati⁷ and it was a large number also; but not like the first. On the third one it said this: Lassati sumus in via iniquitatis.⁸

“You can see the names of the first two and they can be seen by the spirits. But not those of the third group. Those in Heaven, although pure spirits, would have to put up with an unbearable stench just seeing them. If you want to know the names and see them turn the page over”.

I turned the page and saw, not the names, but individuals, doing the most abhorrent things. There was a voice like thunder that deafened me: Execrabiles viae eorum coram Deo et coram omnibus viventibus.⁹

And just then with that noise, I awoke. I looked up, but everything had become dark, I could not see anyone and only then I realised I was in bed, but so battered and so worn out by that dream that I could neither rest, nor think of anything else but the dream, which still torments me day and night.