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Father Barberis asked Don Bosco:
“Then this means that you can tell which path each one should take, that is, you know the vocation of each one of us, how we shall end up, and which path we shall follow?”
Don Bosco replied:
“No. It would not be wise to tell each one which path he will follow or how he will end up. No good will result from telling a boy: "You will take the path of wickedness." This would only frighten him. What I can say is this: "If one follows a certain path he may be sure that he is on the road to Heaven, on the road, namely, to which he has been called; and, if one does not follow that road, he will not be on the right path." Some roads are narrow, uneven and strewn with thorns; yet, take heart, my dear children, with the thorns there is also the grace of God, and so much happiness is in store for us at the end of our journey, that we shall soon forget all our pain. Honestly, I would like all of you to remember this: This was a dream and no one is obliged to believe it. I have noticed, however, that those who have asked me for explanations have accepted my suggestions in good part. Nevertheless, do as St. Paul says: Test all things; hold fast that which is good (1 Thess. 5, 21). Another thing that I would not want you to forget is to pray for your poor Don Bosco lest the words of St. Paul: After preaching to others, I myself should be rejected (1 Cor. 9, 27), may apply to me. That is, after preaching to you I may end up with the damned. I am doing my best to warn you I worry about you and give you advice, but I fear I may be acting like a brooding hen that hunts for crickets, worms, seeds, and other food for her chicks while she herself may die of hunger unless she gets some good nourishment. Therefore, pray to God for me that this may not happen, but that instead, I may adorn my heart with many virtues and be pleasing to God, so that one day all of us may go to Heaven to enjoy Him and glorify Him.”
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Thank you to Salesiana Publishers for their kind permission to use the English translation of The Biographical Memoirs of Saint John Bosco by Fr. Giovanni Battista Lemoyne et al. (New Rochelle, N.Y.: Salesiana Publishers, Inc., 1964-2003).
For further reading on Saint John Bosco: tinyurl.com/SalesianMissions