his story reminds me of my friends reactions when I told them that I
was leaving a great, well paying, promising career to be a youth
minister.
John Bosco lived in the latter part of the 19th Century. He was a
priest.
When he was nine years old he started having strange dreams. He
dreamt that the was in the middle of a group of unruly boys. They
were cussing and fighting. Then a man with a face that gleamed like
the sun and who a white mantle came and told John that he would lead
these boys. He would lead them with his gentleness and kindness.
John kept having these dreams. His brothers made fun of him. His
friends thought that he was nuts.
Eventually he had the opportunity to share them with Pope Pius. The
pope immediately knew what John was to do, he was to work with
"wayward" boys.
John spent the remainder of his life doing just that. He worked with
the boys that no one else wanted, that no one else thought was worth
the time. He learned to juggle. He would entice the boys with his
skills and then lead them to mass. Other priests would come to help
him, but get frustrated in a short time, not John. He was determined
to help these young boys grow into men with meaningful and
faithfilled lives.
How often do you remember you dreams? I used to keep a dream
journal. I looked for recurring themes and feelings. (Once when my
sister was on a diet she dreamt that Father was handing out Big Macs
at communion!) Seriously though, dreams can provide clarity to
obscure situations, if you take the time to look deeply. Try keeping
track of your dreams and see what you uncover.
Prayer: St John you reached out to the children that needed help
despite much ridicule and insults.
Help us to reach out to those in need. Help us to me less concerned
with the laughter of others and more concerned with the joy of the Lord.
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