Prophecies of St. Don Bosco

As many of you may know, Pope Francis is set to consecrate the world to Immaculate Mary on this coming weekend (October 12/13^th, 2013). You may also be aware of the call by Our Lady of Fatima for the consecration of Russia that had been carried out by Pope Bl. John Paul II and therefore see the appropriateness of a similar undertaking by Pope Francis as well. What many may have not heard of (I myself had not till recently) are the prophecies of St. Don Bosco that do show significance relating to the role of Mary in solving this current crisis in the world. 

Now it is true that there are number of prophecies like that of the prophecy of St. Malachi that are hoaxes which seem to needlessly fascinate many in our times. But it is also true that there have been genuine prophesies by recognized saints in the Church that have come to pass as they predicted or helped the Church avoid a calamity. Therefore, to discard all prophesies as mere hoaxes would not be prudent. The prophesies today, though not new Divine Revelation, can be a sign to remind us that God has not simply abandoned the Church and the world but continues to use the saints to guide the Church through troubled times.

It is with this in mind that I want to look at the prophecies of St. Don Bosco (1815- 1888). St. Don Bosco was a priest who was very devoted to the Catholic Church. I will not say much more about his life but I do encourage the interested reader to definitely take a look at the life of this great saint and you can find a good start here. But in this post I would like to draw attention to his prophecies that seem to speak of events, some of which were seemingly fulfilled in the recent past,  present, and some that may happen in times to come. 

St. Don Bosco

One such famous prophecy of his known as the prophecy of two columns can be found in his Biographical Memoirs Volume VII (Pages 107-109). An excerpt is as follows (reproduced from here)

"In the midst of this endless sea, two solid columns, a short distance apart, soar high into the sky. One is surmounted by a statue of the Immaculate Virgin, at whose feet a large inscriptions reads:" 'Auxilium Christianorum' ('Help of Christians'). The other, far loftier and sturdier, supports a Host of proportionate size, and bears beneath it the inscription: 'Salus credentium' ('Salvation of believers').

"The flagship commander - the Roman Pontiff- standing at the helm, strains every muscle to steer his ship between the two columns, from whose summits hang many anchors and strong hooks linked to chains. The entire enemy fleet closes in to intercept and sink the flagship at all costs. They bombard it with everything they have: books and pamphlets, incendiary bombs, firearms, cannons. The battle rages ever more furious. Beaked prows ram the flagship again and again, but to no avail, as, unscathed and undaunted, it keeps on it course. At times, a formidable ram splinters a gaping hole in its hull, but immediately, a breeze from the two columns instantly seals the gash. 

"Meanwhile, enemy cannons blow up; firearms and beaks fall to pieces; ships crack up and sink to the bottom. In blind fury, the enemy takes to hand-to-hand combat, cursing and blaspheming. Suddenly the Pope falls, seriously wounded. He is instantly helped up, but struck a second time, dies. A shout of victory rises from the enemy, and wild rejoicing seeps their ships. But no sooner is the Pope dead than another takes his place. The captains of the auxiliary ships elected him so quickly that the news of the Pope's death coincides with that of his successor's election. The enemy's self-assurance wanes.

"Breaking through all resistance, the new Pope steers his ship safely between the two columns; first, to the one surmounted by the Host, and then the other, topped by the statue of the Virgin. At this point, something unexpected happens. The enemy ships panic and disperse, colliding with and scuttling each other.

"Some auxiliary ships, which had gallantly fought alongside their flagship, are the first to tie up at the two columns. Many others, which had fearfully kept far away from the fight, stand still, cautiously waiting until the wrecked enemy ships vanish under the waves. Then they too head for the two columns, tie up at the swinging hooks and ride safe and tranquil beside their flagship. A great calm now covers the sea."

As we can see, the prophecy suggests that our hope of weathering this current storm seems to be in how well we accomplish the reliance on the the Holy Eucharist and our Blessed Virgin Mary in the Church.

A scene from the prophecy of two columns

 

To appreciate this prophecy more, and to answer the question whether this prophecy had already been fulfilled, it is worth looking at another prophecy by St. Don Bosco. I quote the relevant text from it in this post but the interested reader can read it in its entirety here. 

"Things follow too slowly upon each other, but the great Queen of Heaven is at hand; the Lord's power is Hers. Like mist She shall scatter Her enemies. She shall vest the Venerable Old Man with all his former garments.

"There shall yet come a violent hurricane. Iniquity is at an end, sin shall cease, and before two full moons shall have shone in the month of flowers, the rainbow of peace shall appear on the earth.

"The great Minister shall see the Bride of his King clothed in glory.

"Throughout the world a sun so bright shall shine as was never seen since the flames of the Cenacle until today, nor shall it be seen again until the end of time."

The "Queen of Heaven" is a reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary and we also see the reference to a "hurricane" which may suggest the same scenario mentioned in the first prophecy under which the Pope was struggling to moor the ship. The reference to 'cessation of iniquity' did not happen in the time of St. Don Bosco or years leading up to now. So we can be assured that if this prophecy were to ever come in to fulfillment, it is yet to happen. (In case one is wondering when the next two full moons occur in the month of flowers (possibly referring to May), it will be in 2026 and 2045) 

Then there is the matter of whether all the details in these prophesies will ever come to pass. As you were reading the first prophecy, we are inclined to think of the first Pope in the prophesy as a reference to Bl. John Paul II who was critically wounded by an assassin on 13^th May 1981 (feast of Our Lady of Fatima). The fact that his life was spared can be seen as due to the intervention of our Blessed Mother as Pope Bl. John Paul II himself had acknowledged. (In my personal opinion, it maybe that the sudden resignation of Pope Benedict XVI takes the place of the sudden death of the Pontiff and the triumphant attitude of the world over what they thought to be a Church in ruins. The subsequent quick election of Pope Francis in a way that was unexpected to the world may also parallel that of the prophecy. This would suggest that Pope Francis is the Pope to finally get the ship between the two columns! Since I am not a specialist on this topic, do take these speculations with a grain of salt)

In the words of St. Don Bosco, it is not necessarily true that the prophesied events will come to pass. Some of the events may be given as warnings by God that is contingent upon our actions. So if we were to pray and act faithfully to the teachings of the Church, these events may not come to pass (like the calamity proclaimed to the city of Nineveh by the Prophet Jonah) or decrease in its severity. On the other hand, if we do not pray the rosary and neglect the Blessed Sacrament, it may also be that a time of peace may never come to pass or be delayed further than necessary as well.

So I suggest we can take away the following from these prophecies

1. We must pray our Rosary more frequently and often for the conversion of sinners
2. Approach the Eucharist with reverence and devotion
3. Not shy away from Marian devotions and rediscover the tested approach to Jesus through Mary
4. Whatever happens,  stay in communion with the successor of St. Peter and in the Catholic Church (be on the right ship!!!)

St. Don Bosco had written to one of his colleague "When we were born Europe was settling down to peace after long years of war. May we dare hope to see peace in the world and the Church's triumph before the end of our lives? We could then sing our Nunc dimittis. However, may God's will be done in all things.”

May we pray with confidence to the Blessed Virgin Mary for the conversion of the world (as well as our own protection from both spiritual and temporal enemies) and dare to hope the same!

(Aside: while there are iniquities in Russia, it must be said that today she stands as the only State that stubbornly and openly opposes activity that is outright contrary to the Christian faith. It also remains the only State in recent memory where the head of the country had openly said that he wishes to defend the Christian values of the nation (whether for deceit or out of honesty). When considering the journey from staunch atheistic communism to what Russia is today within such a short time, it seems to be nothing short of a miracle that can be attributed to the consecration by Pope Bl. John Paul II, in this writers humble opinion!)