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André (apostle)

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GRM 45

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

John baptizes at the Jordan. Maria hears him preach to the crowd. Meanwhile, Jesus arrives in a very simple way, without showing himself to his Forerunner. But the Forerunner seems to sense something, and turns to face his cousin. He immediately goes to his Lord, and proclaims that he is the Lamb of God. Everything then happens as the Gospel relates. Jesus then gave dictation, saying that John needed no signs. Nevertheless, there was a series of Christic manifestations, so that his nature as God-Man could not be denied by his contemporaries.

GRM 48

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

John is by the lake, in Bethsaida. James is with him. He calls Peter and Andrew, who are returning to the shore, for they are in a boat. When they get close, Andrew asks why they haven't come and John asks why they haven't accompanied them to see the Master. Peter grumbles, not at all convinced that it's Christ, but John insists, even saying that it's the Messiah and that he knows everything. James intervenes and repeats Jesus' words to him; John then jumps in, and Peter has the kind of turnaround we love: he wants to go and see the Lord. He even reproaches Andrew for not accompanying them, even though he saw Christ at John's baptism. They put everything back in place and leave, but suddenly Peter is worried: if Jesus knows everything, he'll know that Simon almost called him a liar. But John reassures him that the Savior is very good. He even tells him that Jesus already knew about his reactions last night, and yet encouraged him to come, because he is a man of good will.

Peter is pleased, and asks about Jesus. He learns that he is a craftsman from Nazareth and that, when John and James wanted to give him some denarii, as was the custom, he gave them directly to the poor. This further reassures good Simon, who wants to go and see the Messiah.

GRM 48.2-3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Why did you two not come?» asks Andrew. Peter, sulkily, does not say a word.

«And why did you not come with me and James?» John replies to Andrew.

«I went fishing. I have no time to waste. You disappeared with that man…»

«I beckoned you to come.

48.3 It is Him. You should hear His words! We stayed with Him all day until late at night. We have now come to say to you: “Come”.»

«Is it really Him? Are you sure? We only saw Him then, when the Baptist pointed Him out to us.»

«It is Him. He did not deny it.»

Detail

André is fishing with Pierre. They return to the shore when Jean calls and André questions him.

GRM 48.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«And you, silly Andrew, why did you not go with them?!…»

«But… Simon! You reproached me because I did not persuade them to come with me… You have been grumbling all night, and now you reproach me because I did not go?!»

«You are right… But I did not see Him… you did… and you must have seen that He is not like us… He must have something compelling!…»

«Oh! Yes.» John says. «His face! His eyes! What beautiful eyes, aren’t they, James?! And His voice!… Oh! What a voice! When He speaks, you seem to be dreaming of Heaven.»

«Quick, quick. Let’s go and see Him. And you, (addressing the other fishermen) take everything to Zebedee and tell him to do as he thinks best. We will be back this evening in time to go fishing.»

They all get dressed and set out.

Detail

John and James of Zebedee talk about their encounter with Jesus. Skeptical at first, Peter becomes increasingly convinced and tells his brother:

GRM 49

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Maria sees John of Zebedee. He sees the Master and calls out to him. The two men talk. Jesus was praying and thinking about what he was going to say to the synagogue, but seeing spiritually that John was looking for him, he went to meet him. The son of Zebedee asks him if Jesus loves him, and Christ returns the question. John then reveals that he loves him very much, that his soul, according to him, had always been looking for him. When the Savior asks him what he will do if he has to leave his father, mother, brothers and sisters, as well as life, wife and love, John replies that Christ's love will take the place of father, mother, brothers, sister and wife. When Jesus speaks of his death, John doesn't want that to happen at all, and asks him for permission to love his Lord. Jesus grants it. James' brother is happy.

They then talk about Andrew and Peter, and Jesus heads for the synagogue. On the way, he comforts the child James, who is about to cry because he ran too fast. They talk briefly about the children of the Exodus and Limbo, and the boy is promised that he will go straight to Heaven when he dies, if he is good. This gives John the opportunity to ask the Master about his parentage. He confirms that he has no nephews, brothers or sisters, only cousins and his Mother. Finally, Jesus goes to preach in the synagogue.

He reads from the Book of Jeremiah, addressing the people of Israel who are weeping because of foreign occupation. Some say they still have the Temple, but the Lord reminds them that prayer is only holy if we have love for our neighbor. The rich who make great offerings, but are hard-hearted, are not accepted by God. So Christ urges them to be of good will, to be sincere and kind. He reminds us that the Law is simple, if we give the Commandments the light of love. After alluding to the Eucharist, he encourages souls to love.

Having finished his speech, he returns to Peter and Andrew. Jesus states Peter's character: he is a man who should refrain from judging without first informing himself, but he sincerely acknowledges his wrongs. The Master also asks Andrew why he didn't come earlier, and Peter confesses that it was he who held him back. The fisherman also confesses his weaknesses, and Jesus already gives him some initial advice. For the moment, God is not asking him to tear out his heart and separate himself from his most holy affections, but he is asking him to practice justice, love mercy, and apply himself totally to following his God. This pleases Peter. Andrew says nothing, but the Lord promises that he will become a lion. The Galileans leave him, but John wants to follow him to Jerusalem. Simon of Jonah encourages him to go and see Christ, and Jesus agrees to let John accompany him.

Jesus ends with a dictation on John's humility. He is the one who brings Peter to the Savior, but since the son of thunder knew Andrew's shyness, and John was just, Andrew fades into the background of his Gospel and lets people believe that Andrew is the Lord's first apostle.

How many, by comparison, proclaim themselves to be great apostles when their success comes from a combination of things, not only holiness, but also human audacity, luck, the fact that some people are less bold than we are, but perhaps holier than we are.

Christ encourages us not to glorify ourselves when we act well: we must always have a clear eye and "give to whom it may concern the praise that is due to him". We need to recognize the apostles through whom we can do our work effectively. We must be able to say: "I am the active instrument, but this one has more love than I do, prays better than I do, and it's thanks to him that I have the strength to act.

John is the favorite, he is the pure, the loving, the obedient, and he is very humble. Jesus mirrored himself in him, and his Mother felt as if she had a second son.

GRM 49.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

49.7 Jesus goes out onto the little square. On the doorstep there are John and James with Peter and Andrew.

«Peace to you» says Jesus and He adds: «Here is the man who in order to be just must not judge before knowing. But he is honest in admitting he is wrong. Simon, you wanted to see Me? Here I am. And you, Andrew, why did you not come before?»

The two brothers look at each other embarrassed. Andrew whispers: «I did not dare.»

Peter blushes, but does not speak. But when he hears Jesus say to his brother: «Were you doing any wrong in coming? One must not dare do only evil things» he intervenes frankly: «It was my fault. He wanted to bring me to You at once. But I… I said… Yes, I said “I don’t believe it”, and I did not want to come. Oh! I feel better now!…»

Jesus smiles, then He says: «And because of your sincerity I tell you that I love you.»

«But I… I am not good… I am not capable of doing what You said in the synagogue. I am quick-tempered and if anyone offends me… eh!… I am greedy and I like money… and in my fish business… eh!… not always… I have not always been honest. And I am ignorant. And I have little time to follow You to receive Your Light. What shall I do? I would like to become as You say… but…»

«It is not difficult, Simon. Are you acquainted a little with the Scriptures? Are you? Well, think of the prophet Micah. God wants from you what Micah said. He does not ask you to tear your heart apart, neither does He ask you to sacrifice your most holy affections. He does not ask you for the time being. One day, without being requested by God, you will give God your own self. But He will wait while the sun and the dew turn you, a thin blade of grass as you are now, into a sturdy, glorious palm tree. For the time being, He asks you only this: to be just, to love mercy, to take the greatest care in following your God. Strive to do that and Simon’s past will be cancelled and you will become a new man, the friend of God and of His Christ. No longer Simon, but Cephas, the safe rock on which I lean.»

«I like that! I understand that. The Law is so… is so… that is, I cannot comply with it any longer, as the rabbis have made it. But what You say, yes,… I think I will be able to do it. And You will help me. Are You staying in this house? I know the owner.»

«I am staying here. But I am going to Jerusalem and after I will preach throughout Palestine. I came for that. But I will often be here.»

«I will come to hear You again. I want to be Your disciple. A little of the light will enter my head.»

«Your heart, above all, Simon. Your heart. And you, Andrew, have you nothing to say?»

«I am listening, Master.»

«My brother is shy.»

«He will become a lion. It is getting dark. May God bless you, and grant you a good haul. Go now.»

«Peace be with You.» They go away .

Annotation

John 1:39-42:

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two disciples who had heard John's word and followed Jesus. He first found Simon, his own brother, and said to him: "We have found the Messiah" - which means Christ. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said: "You are Simon, son of John; your name shall be Kephas" - which means: Peter.

GRM 49.9-11

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

49.9 With regards to the previous vision, this morning, the 14th of October Jesus says to me:

«I want you and everybody to consider John’s behaviour: particularly one point that always escapes everybody’s notice. You admire him because he was pure, loving, faithful. But you do not notice that he was great in humility as well.

He, the first one responsible for Peter’s coming to Me, was modestly silent about that detail. The apostle of Peter, and consequently the first of My apostles, was John. First in recognising Me, first in speaking to Me, in following Me, in preaching Me. And yet, see what he says? “Andrew, Simon’s brother, was one of the two who had heard John’s words and had followed Jesus. The first person he met was his brother Simon, to whom he said: ‘We have found the Messiah’ and he took him to Jesus”.

Besides being good, he is just, and since he knows that Andrew is distressed because of his shy and reserved disposition, and that he would like to do so much, but does not succeed in doing it, he wants the acknowledgement of Andrew’s goodwill to be handed down to posterity. He wants Andrew to appear as Christ’s first apostle with Peter, notwithstanding that Andrew’s shyness and uneasiness with his brother have been the cause of the failure of his apostolate.

49.10 Amongst those who do something for Me, who can imitate John, instead of proclaiming himself an unexcelled apostle, without considering that his success depends on a multitude of things, which are not only holiness, but also human daring, luck and the occasional chance of being with other people less daring and less lucky, but perhaps holier?

When you succeed doing some good, do not boast about it, as if the merit were entirely yours. Praise God, the Lord of the apostolic workers, and have a clear eye and a sincere heart to see and give each the praise they deserve. A clear eye to discern the apostles who sacrificed themselves and are the first real incentive for the work of the others. Only God sees them: they are timid and seem to be doing nothing, whereas they draw from Heaven the fire that urges daring workers. A sincere heart in saying: “I work. But this fellow loves more than I do, he prays better than I do, I am not able to sacrifice myself as he does and as Jesus said: ‘… in your private room with the door closed pray secretly.’ Since I am aware of his humble holy virtue, I want to make it known and say: ‘I am an active instrument; he is a power that inspires me, because, joined as he is to God, he is a channel of celestial energy for me’”.

And the Blessing of the Father, that descends to reward the humble man, who secretly sacrifices himself to give strength to the apostles, will descend also on the apostle who sincerely acknowledges both the supernatural and silent help of the humble one, and his merits that superficial men do not notice.

It is a lesson for everybody.

49.11 Is he My favourite? Yes, he is. Does he not resemble Me also in this? Pure, loving, obedient, but also humble. I looked at Myself in him as in a mirror and I could see My virtues in him. I therefore loved him like another Self. I could see in him the glance of My Father, Who considerd him a little Christ. And My Mother would say to Me: “I feel as if he were My second son. I seem to be seeing You, reproduced in a man”.

Oh! How well the One Full of Wisdom knows you, My beloved! The two celestial blues of your pure hearts mingled into one veil only to form a protection of love for Me, and they became one love only, even before I gave My Mother to John and John to My Mother. They loved each other because they realised they were alike: children and brothers of the Father and of the Son.

Annotation

John 1:39-42:

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two disciples who had heard John's word and followed Jesus. He first found Simon, his own brother, and said to him: "We have found the Messiah" - which means Christ. Andrew brought his brother to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said: "You are Simon, son of John; your name shall be Kephas" - which means: Peter.

GRM 50.5-6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

An elderly man goes near the group, inquisitively. Jesus turns around to caress a child who is pulling His mantle and sees him. He stares at him, intensely. The man blushes and greets Him, but does not say anything else.

«Come! Follow Me!»

«Yes, Master.»

Jesus blesses the children and walking beside Philip, (He calls him by his name) He goes back home. They sit in the little kitchen garden.

«Do you want to be My disciple?»

«Yes, I do… but I dare not hope for so much.»

«I have called you.»

«Then I am Your disciple. Here I am.»

«Did you know about Me?»

«Andrew spoke to me about You. He said to me: “The One you were pining after has come”. Because Andrew knew that I yearned for the Messiah.»

«Your expectation has not been disappointed. He is in front of you.»

«My Master and my God!»

«You are a well-intentioned Israelite. That is why I am manifesting Myself to you.

50.6

Another friend of yours is waiting, he is a sincere Israelite, too. Go and say to him: “We have found Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph of the House of David, Him of Whom Moses and the Prophets have spoken”. Go.»

Jesus remains alone until Philip comes back with Nathanael-Bartholomew.

«Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no fraud. Peace be with you, Nathanael.»

«How do You know me?»

«Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig-tree.»

«Master, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel!»

«Because I said I saw you, while you were meditating under the fig-tree, you believe? You will see greater things than that. I solemnly tell you that Heaven is open and because of your faith you will see angels descending and ascending above the Son of man: that is above Me, Who am speaking to you.»

«Master! I am not worthy of such a favour!»

«Believe in Me and you will be worthy of Heaven. Will you believe?»

«I will, Master.»

Annotation

John 1:43-51:

The next day, Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. He found Philip, and said to him, "Follow me." Philip was from Bethsaida, the village of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, "We have found him, as it is written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets, Jesus son of Joseph of Nazareth. Nathanael replied, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip replies, "Come and see." When Jesus sees Nathanael coming to him, he declares of him, "Behold, an Israelite indeed: there is no guile in him." Nathanael asks him, "How do you know me?" Jesus replies, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you." Nathanael said to him, "Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!" Jesus continues: "I tell you that I saw you under the fig tree, and that's why you believe! You will see even greater things. And he adds, "Amen, amen, I say to you: you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending above the Son of Man."

GRM 50.9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

50.9 «Well, tomorrow morning at dawn, I will leave with John.»

«Master…»

«Yes, Simon, what is it?»

«Master… are You going to Jerusalem?»

«You know I am.»

«I am going at Passover too… and also Andrew and James.»

«Well?.. Do you mean that you would like to come with Me? And your fishing? And your profit? You told Me that you like to have money, and I will be away for many days. I am going to My Mother’s first. And I will go there on My way back as well. I will stop there to preach. How will you manage?…»

Peter is perplexed, undecided… then he makes up his mind: «I think… I will come. I prefer You to money!»

«I am coming, too.»

«And so am I.»

«We are going too, aren’t we, Philip?»

«Come, then, you will help Me.»

«Oh!…» Peter is more than excited at the idea of helping Jesus. «How shall we do that?»

«I will tell you. To do good, all you need do, is do what I tell you. He who obeys always does good. We will now pray and then each of us will go and perform his duties.»

«What will You do, Master?»

«I will continue to pray. I am the Light of the world, but I am also the Son of man. I must, therefore, draw from the Light, to become the Man Who redeems man. Let us pray.» Jesus says a psalm. The one beginning: «He who rests in the help of the Most High, will live in the protection of the God of Heaven. He will say to the Lord: “You are my protector and my shelter. He is my God, I will hope in Him. He rescued me from the snares of fowlers and from harsh words” etc.» I find it in the fourth book. It is the second psalm in book four, I think it is number 90, (if I read the Roman number correctly).

The vision ends in this way.

Detail

Jesus declares to the disciples present (Philip and Bartholomew, James of Zebedee, Andrew and Peter):