God wants us to know that hell is real, even if we are frightened by the idea of it. For many souls, fear of God is the first step to loving Him with all their heart. This is why, in addition to His warnings in Scripture, God has permitted many holy men and women to experience hell and to record these experiences for future generations.
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Faustina Kowalska, Sr. Lucia of Fatima, and others have left us remarkable accounts of what they experienced. But one particularly vivid description comes from St. John Bosco, who was shown hell in a dream.
Don Bosco spent his life ministering to vulnerable and troubled boys, many of whom were in danger of falling into crime and serious sin. It seems his frightening dream was not given to satisfy curiosity about hell. It gave him something he could use to warn the young souls God had entrusted to his care.
Many concerned the young men God had entrusted to his care. But one of the most disturbing took him somewhere none of us would ever want to go.
Hell.
Don Bosco spent his life ministering to vulnerable and troubled boys, many of whom were in danger of falling into crime and serious sin. In one famous dream, God permitted him to see the terrible consequences of souls continually rejecting His grace.
Bosco described crossing the threshold of an enormous cavern:
“As soon as I crossed [hell’s] threshold, I felt an indescribable terror and dared not take another step.”
He saw an immense cave filled with a terrible fire. Then he watched as boys began hurtling into it.
Horrified, Bosco asked his guide:
“When these boys come dashing into this cave, don’t they know where they are going?”
The answer may be the most important part of the entire dream:
“They surely do. They have been warned a thousand times, but they still choose to rush into the fire because they do not detest sin and are loath to forsake it. Furthermore, they despise and reject God’s incessant, merciful invitations to do penance.”
Notice those last words: God’s incessant, merciful invitations.
It’s easy to read St. John Bosco’s dream and come away frightened by the fire. But perhaps we should be more struck by the invitations.
God had not abandoned these souls. He had called them again and again.
So why doesn’t God just show all of us hell?
If seeing hell would scare us into changing our lives, why doesn’t God simply show everyone what St. John Bosco saw?
Our Lord gave St. Bridget of Sweden a remarkable answer:
“I could also open up hell so that everyone may see its torments, but this would not be justice, since all men would then serve me out of fear, when they should serve me out of love.”
—The Revelations of Saint Bridget of Sweden
God warns us about hell because he gave us free will. Jesus Himself spoke about hell. The Church certainly doesn’t pretend it isn’t real. But God doesn’t want a relationship with us based solely upon terror.
He wants our love.
St. John puts it beautifully:
“Perfect love casts out fear.”
—1 John 4:18
That is the part of Don Bosco’s frightening dream that we should remember. Hell wasn’t chasing those boys. God was chasing them.
He was warning them, calling them to repentance, offering grace, sending people such as Don Bosco into their lives, and giving them opportunities to turn around.
They remained free to say no. And so do we. But we are also free to say yes.
St. John Bosco's dream can remind us not to ignore those quiet invitations God places before us every day: go to Confession, forgive someone, turn away from a particular sin, pray when we’d rather scroll, make the sacrifice, begin again. (Discover other mystics' visions of Hell in the Good Catholic series, The Four Last Things.)
St. John Bosco’s vision reminds us that the spiritual battle is real. But it shouldn’t leave us frightened or preoccupied with the devil. It should make us more determined to stay close to Christ.
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