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Humility of the Virgin Mary

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GRM 7.4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

7.4 «Then I will pray [for the coming of the Messiah] and I shall be a virgin for this.»

«But do you know what that means?»

«It means that one does not know human love, but only the love of God. It means that one has no other thought but for the Lord. It means to remain children in the flesh and angels in the heart. It means that one has no eyes but to look at God, and ears to listen to Him, and a mouth to praise Him, hands to offer oneself as a victim, feet to follow Him fast, and a heart and a life to be given to Him.»

«May God bless You! But then You will never have any children, and yet You love babies and little lambs and doves so much… Do You know that? A baby is for his mother like a little white and curly lamb, he is like a little dove with silk feathers and a coral mouth to be loved and kissed and hear the words: “Mummy!”»

«It does not matter. I shall belong to God. I shall pray in the Temple. And perhaps one day I will see the Immanuel. The Virgin who is to be His Mother must be already born, as the great Prophet says, and She is in the Temple… I will be Her companion… and maidservant. Oh! Yes. If I could only meet Her, by God’s light, I would like to serve Her, the Blessed One. And then, She would bring Me Her Son, She would take Me to Her Son, and I would serve Him too… Just think, mummy!… To serve the Messiah!!» Mary is overcome by this thought that exalts Her and makes Her totally humble at the same time. With Her hands crossed over Her breast and Her little head slightly bent forward and flushed with emotion, She is like an infantile reproduction of the Annunciation that I saw. She resumes: «But will the King of Israel, the Lord’s Anointed, allow Me to serve Him?»

«Have no doubts about that. Does King Solomon not say: “There are sixty queens and eighty concubines and countless maidens?” You can see that in the King’s palace there will be countless maidens serving the Lord.»

«Oh! You can see then that I must be a virgin? I must. If He wants a virgin as His Mother, it means that He loves virginity above all things. I want Him to love Me, His maiden, because of the virginity which will make Me somewhat like His beloved Mother… This is what I want… »

Detail

Mary as a child and her mother talk about the Emmanuel who is to come, and Mary makes a firm decision.

Annotation

With her hands folded across her chest and her head slightly bent forward, carried away by emotion, she looks like a childlike reproduction of the Virgin of the Annunciation I've seen. Maria Valtorta lived in Florence after finishing school. It was there, moreover, that she was the victim of the attack that gradually left her bedridden. Maria Valtorta's remark is interesting from two points of view: firstly, because the Virgin Mary, in a catechesis on December 28, 1947, confirmed that this miraculous portrait is the closest thing to reality on earth. Secondly, because Maria Valtorta is buried in a cloister in this basilica. Maria Valtorta refers to it again in EMV 27.1.

GRM 8.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Mary had deserved that “Wisdom should precede Her and show Itself to Her first”, because “from the beginning of Her day She had watched at Its door, and wishing to be taught, out of love, She wanted to be pure to achieve perfect love and deserve to have Wisdom as Her teacher”.

In Her humility She did not know that She possessed Wisdom before being born and that the union with Wisdom was but the continuation of the divine pulsations of Paradise. She could not imagine that. And when God whispered sublime words to Her in the depths of Her heart, in Her humility She considered them thoughts of pride and raising Her innocent heart to God, She besought Him: “Lord, have mercy on Thy Servant!”

Oh! It is true that the True Wise Virgin, the Eternal Virgin, had only one thought from the dawn of Her day: to raise Her heart to God from the morning of life and to watch for the Lord, praying before the Most High, asking forgiveness for the weaknesses of Her heart, as Her humility convinced Her, and She was not aware that She was anticipating the request for forgiveness for sinners, which She would later make at the foot of the Cross, together with Her dying Son.

GRM 10.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

10.5 The Law… Anna, don’t call Me a blasphemer. I think the Law is about to be changed. By whom, do you think, if it is divine? By the Only One Who can change it. By God. The time is closer than you think, I tell you. Because when I was reading Daniel, a great light came to Me from the depths of My heart and I understood the meaning of the enigmatic word. The seventy weeks will be shortened because of the prayers of just people. Does this mean that the number of years is being changed? No. A prophecy is never wrong. But the measure of the prophetic time is the course of the moon, not of the sun. Therefore I say: “Near is the hour when the Baby born of a Virgin will be heard crying”. Oh! Since this Light that loves Me tells Me so many things, I wish it would tell Me where the happy mother is, that will give birth to the Son of God and Messiah of His people! Barefooted I would travel all over the world, neither cold nor frost, neither dust nor heat, nor wild beast nor hunger would prevent Me from reaching Her and I would say to Her: “Grant Your servant and the servant of the servants of Christ to live under Your roof. I will turn Your millstone and Your press, use Me as a slave to work Your millstone and to watch Your herds, make Me wash the napkins of Your Child… I will work in Your kitchen, at Your oven, wherever You wish…. but receive Me. That I may see Him! And hear His voice! And receive His glance!” And if She did not want Me, I would live at Her doorstep like a beggar, in cold and hot weather, just to hear the voice of the Child Messiah and the echo of His laughter, and see Him passing by… And perhaps one day He would offer Me a piece of bread… Oh! If I were dying with hunger and I were fainting because of extensive fasting, I would not eat that bread. I would hold it close to My heart like a bag of precious pearls and I would kiss it to scent the perfume of Christ’s hand and I would never be hungry or cold, because its touch would give Me ecstasy and heat, ecstasy and food…

Detail

Mary spoke to Anne of Phanuel and said to her:

Annotation

As I read Daniel, a great light dawned on me; it came from the depths of my heart, and my intelligence grasped the meaning of these secret words. The seventy weeks will be shortened thanks to the prayers of the righteous. Will the number of years be changed? No, prophecy does not lie. But the measure of prophetic time is not based on the course of the sun, but on that of the moon. That's why I say: "The hour is near when the son of a virgin will be heard to wander. "See Daniel 9:23-27.

Ah, if only this Light that loves me would tell me - since it tells me so many things - where is the happy virgin who will bear a son to God and the Messiah to his people! These sentiments are attested to in the revelations made to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-1231). Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875), Abbot of Solesmes, mentions it in his Année liturgique, on December 9: "Aged only three, she (the Virgin Mary) was already initiated into the secrets of divine love. I always got up in the middle of the night," she herself said in a revelation to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, "and went before the Altar of the Temple, where I asked God to observe all the precepts of his Law, and I begged him to grant me the graces I needed to be pleasing to him. Above all, I asked him to show me the time when this most holy Virgin, who was to give birth to the Son of God, would live. I begged him to preserve my eyes to see her, my tongue to praise her, my hands to serve her, my feet to walk at her bidding, my knees to adore the Son of God in her arms".

St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus alludes to this in her letters: "Once, in your humility, you wished one day to be the little handmaid of the happy Virgin who would have the honor of being the Mother of God" (Letter to Céline, October 19, 1892, on her feast day(LT 137).

Book of Daniel 9, 23-27

Dn 9, 23-27 : From the beginning of your prayer, a word came forth, and I have come to make it known to you, for you are a man favored by God. So pay attention to the word and understand the vision. Seventy weeks have been determined upon your people and upon your holy city to shut up prevarication, to seal up sins and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in eternal righteousness, to seal up vision and prophet and to anoint the Holy of Holies. Know therefore and understand: from the going forth of a word commanding Jerusalem to be rebuilt until an anointed one, a leader, there are seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks; she will be rebuilt, places and pregnant, in the distress of times. And after sixty-two weeks, an anointed one will be cut off, and no one for him. And the people of a ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end will be in the flood, and to the end there will be war, which is decreed touching the devastation. He will make a firm covenant with a great number for a week; and in the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and on the wing of abominations will come a destroyer, and that until the destruction and what has been decreed is poured out on the devastated.

GRM 17.13

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

17.13 I went along the road of the two sinners, but in the opposite direction: I obeyed. I obeyed in every way. God inspired Me to be a virgin. I obeyed. When I loved virginity that made Me as pure as the first woman before she met Satan, God asked Me to get married. I obeyed, elevating marriage to the degree of purity intended by God when He created the First Parents. I was then convinced that My destiny was solitude in marriage and the contempt of people because of My holy sterility, when God asked Me to be a Mother. I obeyed. I believed that it was possible and that the word came from God, because I was filled with peace when I heard it. I did not think: “I deserved it”. I did not say: “Now the world will admire Me, because I am like God, creating the flesh of God”. No, I did not. I lowered Myself in My humbleness.

Detail

Mary describes the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Then she declares:

GRM 18.8-10

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

But now, how could I tell him that I was a Mother? I endeavoured to find suitable words to give him the news. A difficult task, as I did not want to boast of God’s gift and on the other hand there was no way of justifying My maternity without saying: “The Lord has loved Me amongst all women and has made Me, His servant, His Bride”. Neither did I wish to deceive him by concealing My condition from him.

And while I was praying, the Spirit of Whom I was full, said to Me: “Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You with Your spouse”. When? How? I did not ask. I had always relied upon God, and I had always allowed Myself to be led by Him exactly as a flower is led away by running water. The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far. It would do so also now.

18.9 O My daughter, how beautiful and comforting is faith in our Eternal Good God! He holds us in His arms as in a cradle, like a boat He steers us into the bright harbour of Goodness, He warms our hearts, comforts and nourishes us, He bestows rest and happiness, light and guidance on us. Reliance in God is everything, and God grants everything to those who trust in Him: He gives Himself.

That evening I elevated to perfection My reliance as a creature. Now I was able to do so, because God was in Me. Before I had the confidence of a poor creature, such as I was: a mere nothing, even if I was so much loved as to be the Faultless One. But now I had a divine confidence, because God was Mine: My Spouse, My Son! Oh! What a joy! To be One with God. Not for My own glory, but to love Him with a total union and say to Him: “You, only You are in Me: please assist Me with Your Divine perfection in everything I do”.

If He had not said to Me: “Be silent!”, I would probably have dared say to Joseph, with My face bowed to the ground: “The Spirit has penetrated Me and now the Embryo of God is in Me”, and he would have believed Me, because he held Me in high esteem and because like those who never lie, he could not believe that others lied. Yes, to avoid hurting his feelings in the future, I would have overcome My reluctance to praise Myself. But I obeyed the divine command. And for months after that moment, I felt the first wound pierce My heart.

It was the first pain in My destiny of Co-Redeemer. I offered and suffered it to repair and to give you guidance for similar circumstances in life, when it is necessary to suffer in silence for an event that casts a bad light on you in relation to those who love you.

18.10 Entrust God with the protection of your reputation and affections. If you deserve God’s protection with a holy life, you can proceed safely. Even if the whole world is against you, He will defend you with regard to those who love you and will cause the truth to be known.

Now rest, My dear, and be more and more My dear daughter.»

Detail

Mary experienced the Annunciation and speaks of Saint Joseph.

GRM 20.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Please note that not even I, although I had the Eternal God in Me, not even I felt exempted from respectful homage to the Temple. The deepest holiness does not exempt anyone from feeling a mere nothing with regard to God and from converting such nothingness into an endless hosanna to God’s glory, since He allows us to do so.

GRM 24.4-5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

24.4 Zacharias comes in, and closes the door. He looks at Mary with his eyes full of tears. He wants to speak. Then he is silent. He moves forward. He kneels down in front of Mary. «Bless the poor servant of the Lord,» he says to Her. «Bless him, because You can do so, since You are carrying Him in Your womb. The word of the Lord was spoken to me when I admitted my error and I believed everything I had been told. I see You, and Your happy destiny. I adore the God of Jacob in You. You are my first Temple, where once again a priest, I can pray the Eternal Father again. You are blessed because You obtained grace for the world and You are now bringing the Saviour to it. Forgive Your servant if he did not see Your majesty before. When You came here, You brought us all the graces, because everywhere You go, o Full of Grace, God works His miracles, and holy are those walls which You enter, holy become the ears which listen to Your voice, and holy the flesh You touch. Holy the hearts, because You grant Grace, Mother of the Most High, Virgin of the Prophets, expected to bring the Saviour to the people of God.»

24.5 Mary smiles, full of humbleness and She speaks: «Praise be to the Lord. To Him only. From Him, not from Me, comes every grace. And He grants it to you, that you may love Him, and that it may help you to reach perfection in the following years to deserve His Kingdom that My Son will open to the Patriarchs, to the Prophets, to the just of the Lord. And since you can now pray before the Holy, please pray for the maidservant of the Most High, because to be Mother of the Son of God is blissful, to be Mother of the Redeemer must be a destiny of deepest sorrow. Pray for Me, because I feel My weight of sorrow increasing from hour to hour. And I shall have to bear it all My life. And even if I do not see the details, I feel that it will be heavier than if the whole world were placed on My shoulders of a woman, and I were to offer it to Heaven. I, I alone, poor woman! My Child! My Son! Ah! Your son no longer cries if I lull him. But shall I be able to lull Mine, to soothe His pain?… Pray for Me, priest of God. My heart shudders like a flower in a storm. I look at men, and I love them. But I see the Enemy appear behind their faces, and make them enemies of God, and of My Son Jesus…»

And the vision ends with the paleness of Mary and Her tears, that cause Her eyes to shine brightly.

Detail

Zechariah has just discovered that Mary is the All-Holy One, the one who bears the Savior.

GRM 26.4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

26.4 But why, Mary, have You been so humble as to conceal Your glory from me, Your spouse, and thus allow me to suspect You?»

Joseph is not on his knees, but he is bent so low that he is as good as kneeling down, and Mary lays Her tiny hand on his head and smiles. She seems to be absolving him. And She whispers: «If I had not been humble in the most perfect manner, I would not have deserved to conceive the Expected One, Who is coming to pay for the sin of pride that ruined man. And then I obeyed… God had requested such obedience. It cost Me so much… because of you, because of the pain that you were to suffer. But I could but obey. I am the handmaiden of the Lord, and servants do not discuss the orders they receive. They fulfil them, Joseph, even if they cause bitter tears.»

Mary weeps quietly while speaking. So quietly that Joseph, bent down as he is, does not notice it until a tear falls on the floor. He then lifts his head and — it is the first time I see him do this — he presses Mary’s little hands in his dark strong ones and he kisses the tips of the rosy slender fingers that protrude like fresh buds of a peach-tree from the circle formed by his own hands.

Detail

Joseph asks Mary why she hid from him the fact that she was the eternal Virgin, the one who would give birth to the Savior.

GRM 26.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

26.7 Had I not been humble to the very extreme limit, as I told Joseph, I would not have deserved to bear within Me Him Who was lovering Himself, God, to the humiliation of being a man, in order to make reparation for the pride of the human race.

GRM 29.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

29.8 By deeply humiliating Myself, I defeated pride.

I abased Myself before everybody. I am not referring to My humility towards God. Such humility is due to the Most High by every creature. Even His Word had it. It was necessary for Me, a woman, to have it. But have you ever considered what humiliation I had to suffer from men, without defending Myself in any way? Even Joseph, who was a just man, had accused Me in his heart. The others, who were not just, had committed a sin of murmuring with regards to My condition, and the rumour of their words had come like a bitter wave to break up against My humanity. And they were the first of the infinite humiliations I was to suffer in My life as Mother of Jesus and of mankind. Humiliations of poverty, of a refugee, humiliations for reproaches of relatives and friends who, being unaware of the truth, judged Me a weak woman with regard to My behaviour as a Mother towards Jesus, when He was a young man, humiliations during the three years of His public life, cruel humiliations in the hour of Calvary, humiliation in having to admit that I could not afford to buy a place and the perfumes for the burial of my Son.