From humiliations to teasing. A hard battle between the saint and Satan.
Saint John Bosco and the devil. There are countless episodes in which Don Bosco confronted Satan: encounters, struggles, exorcisms.
1 – Carluccio and the Auxiliary Virgin
Carluccio, the son of an honest man was “student” of Don Bosco. The boy, 15 years old, transmitted devotion. When the young man became ill, the priest was out of town and could not confess. The illness worsened and Carluccio died.
Don Bosco arrived; the mourning family told him how his Carluccio had turned off. Don Bosco approached the deceased young man and began to call him: “Carluccio! Carluccio! … ” The dead man opened his eyes and sat on the bed. “Oh, Don Bosco, I was calling him a long time because he wanted to confess me well. I confessed confusedly with another priest and I could not confess well. “
Don Bosco sent everyone out of the room for a moment. He told Carluccio. “Poor thing, what happened to you?”
“Look,” replied the boy, “as soon as the soul left my body, he met Christ the Judge, but Mary Help of Christians asked his Son to suspend the trial a little. I was terrified. I saw a huge abyss of fire on the side. ” Demons everywhere. “It was then that Mary Help of Christians, present there, told the demons:” Do not touch him, he has not been judged “.
At that moment Carluccio recalled hearing the voice of Don Bosco and regaining consciousness. Don Bosco, after having acquainted the relatives who returned to the room, finally said to the young man: “Carluccio, do you prefer to be still in this world of temptations and dangers, or go into the arms of Mary Help of Christians?” The young man replied: “I prefer to go to the arms of Mary Help of Christians.” Then – continued the saint – go in peace and pray to the Virgin for us “. He dropped on the pillow and died.
2 – The devil’s taunts
We read in the life of Don Bosco that the devil, angry because the saint was stealing souls, sought in every way to hinder him. Satan rumbled in the attic, it seemed that stones fell with hellish rumble.
While the saint stretched the Rule of the Salesians on the table, that animal spilled the ink on the manuscript. When he was overwhelmed by sleep, he would remove the blankets from the bed, mocking him. Often, under the aspect of tiger, and other fierce beasts, or horrendous monsters, he would raise the bed.
3 – The blessing
In Rome, on April 3, 1880, Don Bosco was taken to a demon possessed woman, to be blessed.
During the blessing it seemed that the demon was drowning his poor victim. The evil one said that it was called “Petrus” and that for two years he had lived in that person.
“What are you doing here?” Don Bosco asked him.
“I am the guardian of Santa” (as he called the possessed)
“Where were you before?”
“In the air. You have to fight a lot against me. “
“Why do not you want to leave? Do not you see that you increase your sorrows, your evil? “
“I want evil.”
The solemn exorcism was not possible, because Don Bosco was missing the permission of the vicar cardinal, who was not in Rome. A man who did not believe in the devil, seeing the scene and hearing the words of the devil, was convinced of the existence of the devil (esorcismo.altervista.org).
4 – The Marquise victim of a possession
Don Bosco had gone to celebrate mass in the house of the Marchioness of Comillas, when a possessed woman appeared who, when she saw him, threw herself to the ground as if she were fainting, sucking foam from her mouth, struggling and contorting like a snake. He told her to invoke Maria, she instead shouted: “No, I do not want to leave! I do not want to leave! “
As the wretched girl was called Maria, Don Bosco called her: “Mary, take this medal”; but she did not show signs of understanding. Finally, Don Bosco blessed her. The young woman got up, took the medal that Don Bosco offered her, kissed her, went into the church and heard the mass. He seemed healed: in fact he had breakfast quietly, and all this in the presence of many people. Those who accompanied her said that they had not seen her that quiet for a long time and were surprised. And returned home consoled.
5 – The annoyances of the bear
Don Bosco suffered severe diabolical sensations every time he was about to undertake some important work for the greater glory of God. One morning one asked him if he had rested at night, he replied: “Not much, because I was bothered by an ugly animal, in the form of a bear, which was put on my bed, and tried to drown me.” This fact did not happen once: and Don Bosco clearly said what the hellish annoyances were like.
The night in which Don Bosco finished writing the first Rules of the Pious Salesian Society, fruit of much prayer, meditation and work, while he wrote the conclusion sentence: ” Ad maiorem Dei Gloriam” , the devil appeared, the table moved , the inkwell fell, while there were such strange cries that they could instill profound terror; and finally everything was so dirty that the manuscript was no longer legible, and Don Bosco had to start his work again.
6 – The tightness in your stomach
On February 12, 1862, Don Bosco said: “The night of the sixth or seventh of this month I had just gone to bed, and I was already beginning to fall asleep, when I feel that they grab me by the shoulders and shake me so hard that I got very scared. “Who are you?” I shouted, turned on the light, and dressed, looked at the bed, and in every corner of the room, to see if someone was hidden, and was the cause of that joke. But I did not find anyone. I looked at the door of my room and it was closed. I also looked at the library door; everything was closed and quiet. “
Don Bosco then remembered having gone back to bed. “I had barely numbed, when I felt another jolt that disturbed me. I wanted to ring the bell and call. “But no,” I said to myself, “I do not want to disturb anyone,” and then I went to sleep on my back; When I felt an enormous weight in my stomach that oppressed me, almost preventing me from breathing. I could not help but shout: “What’s wrong?” And punch out: but I did not touch anything. I got on the other side, and that oppression came back. In that miserable state I spent all that night. “
7 – TOC .. TOC … TOC …
On February 5, 1862 Don Bosco said: “The other night I went to the room and saw the nightstand dance and hit: knock, knock, knock …” Oh, this is good, “I said, and I went and asked : “What do you want?” And it continued: toc, toc, toc. I went through the room and kept quiet; I approached, and it danced and hit. I assure you that if I had heard this story that I have seen, I would not have believed it. Do not you think you are hearing the stories of the witches that our grandmother told us? “
8 – The tail of the devil
On February 17, 1862: “Yesterday night I went to bed, when I felt a cold brush pass over my forehead, manipulated slightly. Then I took off my nightcap, but that mysterious hand was brushing my nose and mouth bothering me, making me unable to sleep and close my eyes for a single moment. That happened to me other times, it’s more, instead of a feather, it seemed to me that it was such a stinking tail that I woke up with a start. “
9 – The afflicted woman
In 1872 in Mathi Toriense there was a certain Maria Sopetti, who suffered diabolical vexations. Monsignor was informed Gastaldi, who suggested that Don Bosco bless her. The woman went to Turin on November 30. When it was time to enter, he began to shout: “No, no …” a hundred times. Finally he entered and with many efforts he was forced to kneel.
Don Bosco gave him the blessing. This one, meanwhile, put her hands to her ears so as not to hear, and tried to do crazy things and strange faces because she felt suffocated.
He growled like a pig and meowed like a cat.
With incredible efforts, she was able to kiss the medal of Mary Help of Christians. When the blessing was over, he calmed down immediately.
He left the room, and it was quiet. Don Bosco assured him that, when he went to Lanzo, he would come to see her in Mathi, or at least ask for her. He told him to kiss often the medal of Mary Help of Christians and to pray the Hail Mary, that the Lord gave him with such humiliations a means to make many merits. He followed from time to time going with Don Bosco and on January 2, 1883 he was almost completely free.
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