St. John Bosco, who was known for receiving many visions, had one in which he saw the future of the Church. As it was revealed to him, the greatest trials of the Church were to come in the future, and in this vision he saw a great ship which was being violently thrashed by waves. There were other ships, but they all eventually sank. The great ship was being lead by the Pope, and she was anchored between two columns, one being the Eucharist, and the other the Blessed Virgin, which enabled her to survive the great storm.
Don Rua answered: “It seems to me that the Pope’s ship might mean the Church, of which he is the head: the ships, men; the sea, this world. Those who defend the big ship are the good, lovingly attached to the Holy See; the others are her enemies, who try with every kind of weapon to annihilate her. The two columns of salvation seem to be devotion to Mary Most Holy and to the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. ”
Don Rua did not speak of the Pope who fell and died, and Don Bosco also was silent about him. He simply added: “You are right! Only I ought to correct one expression. The enemy ships are persecutions. The most serious trials for the Church are near at hand. That which has been so far is almost nothing in the face of that which must befall. Her enemies are represented by the ships that tried to sink the principal ship if only they could. Only two means are left to save her amidst so much confusion: DEVOTION TO MARY MOST HOLY and FREQUENT COMMUNION, making use of every means and doing our best to practice them and having them practiced everywhere and by everybody.” (Don Bosco did not give any other explanations.) (source, source)
The vision is not for dispute as neither is the sanctity of St. John Bosco. These have already been established as true, and if one denies them, that is strictly an individual problem.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary is synonymous with devotion to the Holy Rosary. For those who are unfamiliar or wish to know more about it one can read here, but the short answer is that the Rosary was given to St. Dominic, founder of the Dominican order in 1214. The Blessed Virgin is regarded as the greatest of all saints and who is synonymous with the destruction of heresy as she bore the Incarnate Word who is the perfection of truth. Devotion to the Rosary is regarded as one of the highest and most beneficial forms of prayer in the Church and is only surpassed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
A talk by Fr. Chad Rippberger about the importance of the Holy Rosary
The Rosary can be said anywhere at any time. But what is to be said of devotion to the Eucharist?
One can and must go to mass, but sometimes going to mass is hard or simply not logistically possible when one considers the many responsibilities of modern life and the distance that one has to travel to go to mass. Somebody in a major city may have an easier time getting to a church, but this is not always the case. For people living in surburbia or the country, it can be a genuine challenge that requires a lot of sacrifice.
If one cannot get to a mass, then one may want to consider Eucharistic Adoration, which is simply being in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist. One can pray or do something else, but the basic idea is to set one’s mind on God and have this guide one’s thoughts and life. However, since the Eucharist is in a Church, and one cannot simply take the Eucharist with him (nor should he for moral reasons), then one finds himself in the same situation as with not being able to get to a mass.
However, the Internet has provided a solution to this problem.
Many people say that the Internet has brought many evils, and it has. The most obvious and blatant example of this is the sin of lust through pornography, where not people not only can watch moral filth, but they can watch it live and even have live porn custom made for them broadcast right where one has his computer. The entire “webcam” industry has allowed one to turn wherever one is into one’s own personal brothel.
But let’s take the same example above, and consider the opposite. Could one take the same principle- that of a live connection to a series of events, in the above case being immoral ones -and make it a path to sanctity instead of perdition? Could one turn one’s own computer into a miniature “church” or sanctuary by having Christ present on one’s screen?
I assert that the answer is yes, and the path to holiness may just begin for some at Youtube.
If you have not tried this yet, go to YouTube and type in “adoration” in the search box. Then press enter. After you do this, you can also click on the icon on the upper left corner and select “live” to see live broadcasts.:
These are the results I obtained:
I also tried putting into the Spanish language equivalent of “adoracion”:
The same was tested with the Polish language “adoracja”:
Here one can see what are dozens of YouTube channels broadcasting live Eucharistic adoration on the Internet that one can watch, or simply to have on in the background on another screen while one works.
We live in the age of the Internet, where information comes quickly and in a quantity that has never before been seen. A man in the rocky mountains of Afghanistan, a man in the deepest jungles of Cameroon, a man in an office in London’s financial district, a teenager in his bedroom in Tokyo, a farmer in the fields of Iowa, having never met each other before, can meet online on a board or a chat room and become friends, discuss politics, argue, or share experiences from their locations as though they were present in person. It is an amazing time to be alive.
When one looks at these technological developments, and remembering that they are but tools to realize ends that are good or evil, then one realizes how prophetic the times of today are. Never have there been such quick and methodical means for sending a man into hell, but never also have there been such means for bringing a man to heaven or rescuing a man from the sickness of his personal sins.
Can one imagine if a saint had access to perpetual adoration on his computer or phone? It would be his dream come true.
Many people worry about the “end times.” While it is important to be wary of the signs of the times, one must remember that one’s life ends at death, of which the time is known to God alone, and at which point a man will be judged. God is VERY patient and merciful, but He is also just and will not be dishonored. He has given the human race tools that have never before been seen in the history of man, and they can be used for good or for evil. The “end times” for every man will be at death, after which comes judgement, and then one’s final destination, known as the four last things- Death , Judgement, Hell, and Heaven.
My question is, what is stopping you right now, no matter where you are, from turning on one of these “live” adoration channels, and just having it in the background while you work? Indeed, the very presence of Christ being broadcast live into your computer will have spiritual effects- positive ones -even if one is just in silence or the background. If one is having personal problems with sin, regardless of the sin, it is all the more reason to put it on just as it is to say the Rosary, for by anchoring oneself between the Eucharist and Mary, just as St. John Bosco saw, one will be able to use these Heaven-sent tools to secure oneself against the tides of sin and error that are drowning the world.
This is just one example. It does not include the numerous good books, live Catholic masses (look for them on Youtube, as I can count at least two that are offered regularly), and other things that build the soul of a man instead of tearing him down.
Indeed what excuse does one have when such tools are available but one refuses to use them?
May God truly have mercy on us.
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