GRM 136.8
The Gospel as revealed to me
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Anne of Bethlehem
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GRM 207.8 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«But the day after? And then later?» many ask, amongst them the two Maries.
«The following day? Oh! very simple! I was the mother who nurses her baby, washes him and swaddles him, as every mother does. I used to warm the water of the stream on a fire lit out there, so that the smoke would not hurt His little blue eyes, and then in the most sheltered corner in an old tub I washed My Child and put fresh swaddling clothes on Him. I washed His napkins in the stream and hung them out in the sun… and then — and it was My greatest joy — I suckled Him and He sucked and became rosier and happier… On the first day, at the warmest hour of the day, I sat out there to see Him properly. The light glimmers in here, it does not come in direct and the lamp and the flame of the fire made things look strange. I went out there, in the sun… and I looked at the Incarnate Word. The Mother then became acquainted with Her Son and the handmaid of God with Her Lord. And I was a woman and a worshipper… Then Anna’s house… the days near Your cradle, Your first steps, Your first word… But that happened later, in due course… And nothing, nothing was equal to the hour of Your birth… Only when I return to God I will find that fullness once again…»
«But… why set out at the last moment! How unwary of You! Why not wait? The decree provided for an extension for special cases such as birth or disease. Alphaeus said so…» says Mary of Alphaeus.
«Wait? Oh! no! That evening, when Joseph brought the news, You and I, Son, leapt for joy. It was the call… because You were to be born here, and nowhere else, as the Prophets had foretold[2], and that sudden decree was as if merciful Heaven wanted Joseph to erase even the memory of his suspicion. It was what I was waiting for, for You, for him, for the Judaic world and for the future world, forever and ever. We decided. And we acted accordingly. Wait! Can the bride delay her nuptial dream? Why wait?»
«Well… anything might have happened…» says Mary of Alphaeus once again.
«I was not afraid of anything. I rested in God.»
«But did You know that everything would happen thus?»
«Nobody told Me. And I never thought of it, so much so that to encourage Joseph, I let him and you doubt that there was still time for the birth. But I knew, I really knew that the Light of the World was to be born during the feast of the Dedication.»
«And you, mother, why did you not go with Mary? And why did father not think of it? After all you were both going to come here! Did we not all come?» asks Judas Thaddeus sternly.
«Your father had decided to come after the Dedication and he told his brother. But Joseph would not wait.»
«But at least you…» insists Thaddeus.
«Do not reproach her, Judas. By mutual consent we decided it was just to lay a veil on the mystery of this birth.»
«Did Joseph know that it was to take place with those signs? If You did not know, how could he have known?»
«We knew nothing, except that He was to be born.»
«So?»
«So divine Wisdom guided us, as it was right that it should. Jesus’ birth and His presence in the world were to appear devoid of uncommon features, which might arouse Satan… And you are aware that the present bitter hatred of Bethlehem people towards the Messiah is a consequence of Christ’s first epiphany. Demoniacal hatred made use of the revelation to cause bloodshed, and thereby intensify hatred.»
Detail
The Virgin Mary has just recounted the birth of Jesus.
Annotation
The decree provided for a delay in exceptional cases, such as birth or illness. The census edict, see EMV 27.
And this unexpected decree was like an act of mercy from Heaven to erase even the memory of Joseph's suspicion. It was the one I was waiting for, for you, for him, for the Jewish world and for the world to come, until the end of the centuries. It was foretold. And it happened just as it was foretold. As in Micah 5:1-2.
Book of Micah 5, 1-2
Mi 5, 1-2 : And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the smallest of the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me the one who is to rule Israel. Its origins go back to ancient times, to the days of yore.