4 min read
The Hidden Cost of Distraction: Don Bosco and the War for Our Attention
The Viral Claim vs. The Source
Just recently, there was a post circulating on social media of Don Bosco and his dream of little demons distracting children from Mass. The image that was used illustrated a scene where these demons were holding lanterns, and the beam of lights projected particular childish pleasures like toys or a child’s far off home. The message of the post interpreted Don Bosco’s dream foreseeing smartphones that children will have in the future. The post suggests how the light from the lanterns represents the light from the screens of phones and the images are what children will be scrolling through, distracting them from God. The message and image of this post is very impactful and alarming because that is exactly what children are doing today. Was Don Bosco in this particular dream prophesying to us?
Unfortunately, I have not been able to find this exact dream that was described to us in the viral post. There is a dream from Don Bosco called, Devils in the Church, that has demons distracting children with “toys, books, delicacies, scenes of home and whatever each boy had a particular liking for.1” There is not, however, any mention of lanterns with their light projecting these images. We are told that these devils showed the boys these things as they perched on their shoulders. Was this the dream that the post was describing, and it only comes down to a difference in translation? This is a possibility, but what both the post and this particular dream makes clear is Don Boscos’ message which is:
“I believe, my dear boys, that this dream showed me all the distractions you are subjected to by the devil at Mass.2”
Distraction as Disordered Love
To understand Don Bosco's warning, we must first ask a deeper question: What does it mean to be distracted from God? The answer is disordered love. Anytime we are turned from God, we are no longer ordering ourselves up to Him, but lowering our attention to something we find to be more pleasing or more deserving of our focus. When we are at Mass. This is a time for prayer, and St. Thomas taught how prayer is an "ascent of the mind to God." If we are distracted, we cannot ascend. This becomes clear in Don Bosco’s dream:
“As the bell signaled the Elevation, the boys bowed their heads and the devils disappeared. However, those lads who had devils on their shoulders turned their backs to the altar instead of adoring.3”
When the host is elevated, Christ is present, and those boys who were not distracted bowed their heads as their hearts were raised to God. The boys who were distracted turned away and their hearts remained focused on their distractions.
What Scripture Says
In Scripture we find clear messages about the nature of distraction. I will just mention a few here, but they are various biblical texts:
Luke 10:38-42 — Maybe the most known, the story of Martha who was “distracted with much serving,” while Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to His word. What did Jesus say about Mary? That she had “chosen what is better.” Martha’s work was not evil, but it became an excuse for harder work which is to listen and be changed. We distract ourselves so we do not have to face ourselves.
Mark 4:18-19 — We read that “others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." Distraction chokes us from God's word by competing desires and anxieties of the world. “Cares of the world” are not necessarily sinful, but can become idolatrous when they crowd out God in our heart.
Hebrews 12:1-2 — "Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith." This is a great image of distraction as a weight, that is, unnecessary burdens we carry that pull us down. Christ calls us just to pick up our cross. Anything else we pick up is a distraction.
I would recommend other verses like 1 Timothy 6:10, Matthew 6:33, and Proverbs 4:23 for prayer and meditation. I would also suggest as always to look to the saints. Here I will mention two:
The Saints on Distraction
St. Augustine taught that the divided will is the deepest form of spiritual distress. In his Confessions we find him describing his agony of desiring God while being pulled away from Him by disordered desires. What we learn from the Saint is this: distraction is not innocent wandering. It is us consenting that our soul be pulled away from its true end–God.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote extensively on the degrees of love. He taught that distraction is the consequence of a heart that is not yet fully in love with God. The Saint goes on to say that when the soul truly loves God, distractions fall away. This removal of distractions is no longer through force, rather love draws away the weight and gives all its attention toward God.
A Call to Custody of the Heart
Returning back to the dream and also to the social media post. The message for all of us is that we should not be distracted–if it is with technology, with our own thoughts or desires. What Scripture teaches us and what the Saints teach us is that we must have “custody of the heart” by giving it completely over to God. As Father Lorenzo Scupoli says in his book, The Spiritual Combat: If the worldly discourse reaches your ears, “at least let it not enter your heart.4” We must consciously seek out creating space for God so that we can ascend our mind to Him.
We at Acutis agree with Saint Don Bosco that distractions are a danger, and pray that technology is a tool we use to improve our relationship with God, but is never a distraction.
Joseph Daniels
Acutis AI writer
