The Encyclopedia Of Demons And Demonology

John Bosco 131
only devoutly faithful—were able to cast out demons,
then holy men of the Church everywhere had the same
power to exorcise in the name of the Lord.
Jesus exorcizing demons from a young man (AUTHOR’S
COLLECTION)
Behold, I gave given you authority to tread upon serpents
and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and
nothing shall hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice in
this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice that
your names are written in heaven.”
After Jesus’ death, the power of his name grew, and
exorcists used it to quell demons. However, the name of
Jesus was not always a guarantee of success, as demonstrated
in Acts 19:13–16:
Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook
to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who
had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom
Paul preaches.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named
Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them,
“Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” And
the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped upon them,
mastered all of them, and overpowered them, so that
they fled out of the house naked and wounded.
This example shows the dangers of exorcism to the
exorcist. It also drove home the power of Jesus’ name,
influencing some to burn their books of “magical arts.”
These stories in the Gospels provided proof to medieval
thinkers that Satan not only was real, but took possession
of innocent souls at will. If not only Jesus Christ
but his disciples—even those not specifically chosen but
John Bosco (1815–1888) Saint and founder of the
Society of St. Francis De Sales, known as the Salesians.
John Bosco was known as the “Dreaming Saint” because
of his frequent lucid dreams, more like out-of-body travels,
in which he encountered angels, JESUS, Mary, and
other religious figures and journeyed to heaven and HELL.
His visit to hell was particularly detailed, and he used
this and other lucid dream experiences to teach his students
religious lessons. At the request of Pope Pius IX,
he kept detailed records of his dreams.
Bosco was born in Becchi, Piedmont, Italy, to a peasant
farmer family. His father died when he was two, and
he was raised by his mother. He had his first lucid dream
when he was about nine years old, in which a man, possibly
Jesus, and a woman, possibly Mary, revealed his life
purpose and destiny. He dedicated himself to his spiritual
work with great and unwavering seriousness. His lucid
dreaming increased in frequency as he grew older.
At age 16, he began studying for the priesthood and
was ordained on June 5, 1841, at age 26. He went to Turin
and enrolled at the Convitto Ecclesiastico, a theological
college that trained young priests for the pastoral life. He
began a Sunday catechism for poor boys and soon was
taking in and housing them. He constructed a church,
placing it under the patronage of his favorite saint, Francis
de Sales. By 1856, he had 150 resident boys, plus four
workshops and some 500 children in oratories. This became
the Society of St. Francis de Sales in 1859. John died
on January 31, 1888, and was canonized in 1934 by Pope
Pius XI. The Salesians work around the world.
Dreams
John’s unusual dream life attracted the interest of Pope
Pius IX, who instructed him to record his dreams. More
than 150 of John’s unusual dreams were collected and recorded
by his followers. Many of the dreams were prophetic
and concerned his boys and the Salesian order.
Other dreams were in harmony with his religious training
and beliefs, couched in symbols of his religious life,
and concerned the need to follow Catholic doctrine in order
to attain salvation.
John’s lucid dreams were quite long and involved
much specific detail. Unlike most ordinary dreams, they
were logical and followed a complete story line from beginning
to end. He was usually accompanied by a guide
figure, either an angel, St. Francis de Sales, St. Dominic
Savio, or a mysterious man he referred to as “the man
with the cap.” The dreams seemed more like real experiences
than dreams. His sensory impressions were so
strong that sometimes he would clap his hands or touch
himself in the dream to try to ascertain whether he was
dreaming or was awake. This is a technique used today by
lucid dreamers to verify that their experience is real.