Nativity of Jesus Christ

«That’s enough!» says Elizabeth. «You will become too tired.»

«Your time is approaching, Elizabeth. I want to prepare for your child clothes worthy of him who will precede the King of the House of David.»

Zacharias writes: «Of whom will He be born? And where?»

Mary replies: «Where the Prophets said, and of whom the Eternal Father will choose. Whatever our Most High Lord does, is well done.»

Zacharias writes: «Well, in Bethlehem then! In Judah. We shall go and worship Him, woman. And You will come to Bethlehem, too, with Joseph.»

And Mary, bowing Her head over the loom says: «I will come.»

The vision ends thus.

• Nativity of Jesus Christ

28.1 I see a main road which is very crowded. Little donkeys, loaded with goods and chattels or with people, are going one way. Other little donkeys are going the opposite way. The people are spurring their mounts and those on foot are walking fast because it is cold.

The air is clear and dry. The sky is serene, but everywhere there is the sharp atmosphere common to winter days. The barren country seems vaster, the short grass in the pastures has been nipped by the winter winds; on the grazing ground, the sheep are looking for some grass and they are also looking for some sunshine, as the sun is rising very slowly. They are standing very close together one against the other, because they also are cold, and they bleat, lifting their heads and looking at the sun as if they were saying: «Come quick because it is cold!» The ground is undulating and its undulations are becoming clearer and clearer. It is a really hilly place. There are valleys and slopes covered with grass, and ridges. The road runs through the centre and goes south-east.

Mary is on a little grey donkey. She is wrapped in a heavy mantle. In front of the saddle there is the fitting already seen in Her journey to Hebron, and on it there is the little trunk with basic essentials.

Joseph is walking on the side holding the reins. «Are you tired?» he asks Her now and again.

Mary looks at him smiling and replies: «No, I am not.» The third time She adds: «You must be tired walking.»

«Oh! Me! It’s nothing for me. I was only thinking that if I had found another donkey You would have been more comfortable, and we could have travelled faster. But I just could not find another one. Everybody needs a mount nowadays. But take heart. We shall soon be in Bethlehem. Ephrathah is beyond that mountain.»

They are both silent. The Virgin, when She does not speak, seems to concentrate on internal prayer. She smiles mildly at one of Her thoughts and if She looks at the crowd, She does not seem to see it for what it is: a man, a woman, an old man, a shepherd, a rich or a poor man, but only for what She sees.

«Are you cold?» asks Joseph when the wind starts blowing.

«No, thank you.»

But Joseph is not too happy. He touches Her feet, which are shod in sandals and are hanging down along the side of the donkey and can hardly be seen coming out from under Her long dress, and he must feel them cold, because he shakes his head and takes a blanket, which he has across his shoulders, and wraps Mary’s legs in it and he spreads it also on Her lap, so that Her hands may be kept warm, being covered by the blanket and Her mantle.

28.2 They meet a shepherd, who cuts across the road with his herd, moving from the grazing ground on the right-hand side of the road to the one of the left-hand side. Joseph bends down to say something to him. The shepherd nods in assent. Joseph takes the donkey and drags it behind the herd into the grazing ground. The shepherd pulls a coarse bowl out of his knapsack, he milks a big sheep with swollen udders and hands the bowl to Joseph who offers it to Mary.

«May God bless you both,» exclaims Mary. «You for your love, and you for your kindness. I will pray for you.»

«Are you coming from far?»

«From Nazareth,» replies Joseph.

«And where are you going?»

«To Bethlehem.»

«A long journey for a woman in Her state. Is She your wife?»

«Yes, She is.»

«Have you got a place where to go?»

«No, we haven’t.»

«That’s bad! Bethlehem is overcrowded with people who have come from all over to register there, or are on their way to register elsewhere. I don’t know whether you will find lodgings. Are you familiar with the place?»

«Not really.»

«Well… I will explain it to you… for Her… (and he points to Mary). Find the hotel, it will be full. But I will tell you just the same, to guide you. It’s in the square, in the largest one. This main road will take you to it. You can’t miss it. There is a fountain in front of it, it is a long and low building with a very big door. It will be full. But if you do not find room in the hotel, or in any of the houses, go round to the back of the hotel, towards the country. There are some stables in the mountain, which are used sometimes by merchants to keep their animals there, on their way to Jerusalem, when they don’t find room in the hotel. They are stables, you know, in the mountain: they are damp and cold and there are no doors. But they are always a shelter, because your wife… She can’t be left on the road. Perhaps you will find room there… and some hay to sleep on and for the donkey. And may God guide you.»

«And may God give you joy,» answers Mary. Joseph instead replies: «Peace be with you.»

28.3 They take to the road again. A wider valley can be seen from the crest they have climbed over. In the valley, up and down the soft slopes surrounding it, there are many houses. It is Bethlehem.

«Here we are in David’s land, Mary. Now You will be able to rest. You look so tired…»

«No. I was thinking… I think…» Mary gets hold of Joseph’s hand and says to him with a blissful smile: «I really think that the time has come.»

«O Lord of mercy! What shall we do?»

«Don’t be afraid, Joseph. Be steady. See how calm I am?»

«But You must be suffering a lot.»

«Oh! No. I am full of joy. Such a joy, so great, so beautiful, so uncontainable, that My heart is thumping and thumping and it is whispering to Me: ‘He is coming! He is coming!’ It says so at each beat. It is My Child knocking at My heart and saying: ‘Mother, I am here and I am coming to give You the kiss of God’. Oh! What a joy, My dear Joseph!»

But Joseph is not joyful. He is thinking of the urgent need to find a shelter and he quickens his pace. He goes from door to door asking for a room. Nothing. They are all full. They reach the hotel. Even the rustic porches surrounding the large inner yard are full of campers.

Joseph leaves Mary on the donkey inside the yard and he goes out looking in other houses. He comes back thoroughly disheartened. He has not found anything. The fast winter twilight is beginning to spread its shadows. Joseph implores the hotel-keeper. He implores also some of the travellers. He points out that they are all healthy men, that there is a woman about to give birth to a child. He begs them to have mercy. Nothing.

There is a rich Pharisee who looks at them with obvious contempt and when Mary goes near him, he steps aside as if he had been approached by a leper. Joseph looks at him and his face blushes with disdain. Mary lays Her hand on his wrist to calm him and says: «Don’t insist. Let us go. God will provide.»

28.4 They go out and they follow the wall of the hotel. They turn into a little street that runs between the hotel and some poor houses. They then turn behind the hotel. They look for the stables. At last, here are some grottos, a kind of cellar, I would say, rather than stables, because they are so low and damp. The best have already been taken. Joseph is utterly disheartened.

«Ehi! Galilean!» an old man shouts. «Down there, at the end, under those ruins, there is a den. Perhaps there is nobody in it yet.»

They hurry to the «den». It is really a den. Among the ruins of an old building there is a hole, beyond which there is a grotto, an excavation in the mountain, rather than a grotto. It seems to consist of the foundations of the old building, with the roof formed by rubble supported by coarse tree trunks.

There is hardly any light, and to see better Joseph pulls out tinder and flint and he lights a little lamp that he takes out of the knapsack he is carrying across his shoulders. He goes in and is greeted by a bellow. «Come in, Mary. It is empty. There is only an ox.» Joseph smiles. «It’s better than nothing!…»

28.5 Mary dismounts from Her donkey and goes in.

Joseph has hung the little lamp on a nail of one of the supporting trunks. They see the vault covered with cobwebs, the soil

— stamped ramshackle earth, with holes, rubbish, excrement — the soil is strewn with straw. In the rear, an ox turns its head round and looks with its large quiet eyes while some hay is hanging from its lips. There is a rough seat and two big stones in a corner near a loop-hole. The black remains in that corner is a clear sign that a fire is normally lit there.

Mary goes near the ox. She is cold. She puts Her hands on its neck to feel its warmth. The ox bellows but does not stir. It seems to understand. Also when Joseph pushes it aside to take a large quantity of hay from the manger and make a bed for Mary, the ox remains calm and quiet. The manger is a double one: that is, there is one out of which the ox eats, and above it there is a kind of shelf, with some spare hay, which Joseph pulls down. The ox makes room also for the little donkey that, tired and hungry as it is, starts eating at once.

Joseph discovers also a battered bucket, turned upside down. He goes out, because he saw a little stream outside, and he comes back with some water for the little donkey. He then finds a bunch of twigs in a corner and he tries to sweep the floor with it. He next spreads the hay and makes a bed with it near the ox, in the most sheltered and dry corner. But he realizes that the poor hay is damp, and he sighs. He then lights a fire, and with the patience of job, he dries the hay, a handful at a time, holding it near the fire.

Mary is sitting on the stool, She is tired, She watches and smiles. The hay is now ready. Mary sits down more comfortably on the soft hay, with Her back leaning against one of the tree trunks. Joseph completes… the furnishings by hanging his mantle as a curtain on the hole that serves as a door. It is a makeshift protection. He then offers some bread and cheese to the Virgin, and he gives Her some water out of a flask.

«Sleep now,» he says. «I will sit up and watch that the fire does not go out. There is some wood, fortunately, let us hope that it will burn and last. Thus I will be able to save the oil of the lamp.»

Mary lies down obediently. Joseph covers Her with Her own mantle and with the blanket that She had around Her feet earlier.

«But you… you will be cold.»

«No, Mary. I’ll be near the fire. Try and rest now. Things will be better tomorrow.»

Mary closes Her eyes without insisting. Joseph creeps into his little corner, sits on the stool, with some dry twigs near him. They are very few. I do not think they will last long.

They are placed as follows: Mary is on the right hand side, with Her back to the… door, half hidden by the tree trunk and the ox which has lain down on the litter. Joseph is on the left side, towards the door, and since he is facing the fire, his back is turned towards Mary. But he turns round now and again to look at Her, and he sees She is lying quietly, as if She were sleeping. He breaks the little sticks as quietly as possible and throws them one at a time onto the little fire, so that it may not go out and may give some light and yet make the wood last longer. There is only the dim light of the fire: at times bright at times very faint. The lamp in fact has been put out and in the half light only the whiteness of the ox and of Joseph’s hands and face can be seen. All the rest is a confused mass in the dull dim light.

28.6 «There is no dictation,» says Mary. «The vision speaks for itself. It is for you to understand the lesson of charity, humility and purity emanating from it. Rest. Rest watching, as I used to keep watch waiting for Jesus. He will come to bring you His peace.»

• Bethlehem donkey
• Bible - Gospel of Luke
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Nativity of Jesus Christ
• Rosary
• The Virgin Mary

29.1 I still see the inside of the poor stony shelter, where Mary and Joseph have found refuge, sharing the lot of some animals.

The little fire is dozing together with its guardian. Mary lifts Her head slowly from Her bed and looks around. She sees that Joseph’s head is bowed over his chest, as if he were meditating, and She thinks that his good intention to remain awake has been overcome by tiredness. She smiles lovingly and making less noise than a butterfly alighting on a rose, She sits up and then goes on Her knees. She prays with a blissful smile on Her face. She prays with Her arms stretched out, almost in the shape of a cross, with the palms of Her hands facing up and forward, and She never seems to tire in that position. She then prostrates Herself with Her face on the hay, in an even more ardent prayer. A long prayer.

Joseph stirs. He notices that the fire is almost out and the stable almost dark. He throws a handful of very slender heath on to the fire and the flames are revived, he then adds some thicker twigs and finally some sticks, because the cold is really biting: the cold of a serene winter night that comes into the ruins from everywhere. Poor Joseph must be frozen sitting as he is near the door, if we can call a door the hole where Joseph’s mantle serves as a curtain, He warms his hands near the fire, then He takes his sandals off and warms his feet. When the fire is blazing gaily and its light is steady, he turns around. But he does not see anything, not even Mary’s white veil that formed a clear line on the dark hay. He gets up and slowly moves towards Her pallet.

«Are You not sleeping, Mary?» he asks.

He asks Her three times until She turns round and replies: «I am praying.»

«Is there anything you need?»

«No, Joseph.»

«Try and sleep a little. At least try and rest.»

«I will try. But I don’t get tired praying.»

«God be with You, Mary.»

«And with you, Joseph.»

Mary resumes Her position. Joseph to avoid falling asleep, goes on his knees near the fire and prays. He prays with his hands pressed against his face. He removes them now and again to feed the fire and then he resumes his ardent prayer. Apart from the noise of the crackling sticks and the noise made now and again by the donkey stamping its hooves on the ground, no other sound is heard.

29.2 A thin ray of moonlight creeps in through a crack in the vault and it seems like a blade of unearthly silver looking for Mary. It stretches in length as the moon climbs higher in the sky and at last reaches Her. It is now on Her head, where it forms a halo of pure light.

Mary lifts Her head, as if She had a celestial call, and She gets up and goes onto Her knees again. Oh! How beautiful it is here now! She raises Her head, and Her face shines in the white moonlight and becomes transfigured by a supernatural smile. What does She see? What does She hear? What does She feel? She is the only one who can tell what She saw, heard and felt in the refulgent hour of Her Maternity. I can only see that the light around Her is increasing more and more. It seems to come down from Heaven, to arise from the poor things around Her, above all it seems to originate from Herself.

Her deep blue dress now seems of a pale myosotis blue, and Her hands and face are becoming clear blue as if they were placed under the glare of a huge pale sapphire. This hue is spreading more and more on the things around Her, it covers them, purifies them and brightens everything. It reminds me, although it is somewhat softer, of the hue I see in the vision of holy Paradise, and also of the colour I saw in the visit of the Wise Men.

The light is given off more and more intensely from Mary’s body, it absorbs the moonlight. She seems to be drawing to Herself all the light that can descend from Heaven. She is now the Depositary of the Light. She is to give this Light to the world. And this blissful, uncontainable, immeasurable, eternal, divine Light which is about to be given, is heralded by a dawn, a morning star, a chorus of atoms of Light that increase continuously like a tide, and rise more and more like incense, and descend like a large stream and stretch out like veils…

The vault, full of crevices, of cobwebs, of protruding rubble balanced by a miracle of physics, the dark, smoky repellant vault, now seems like the ceiling of a royal hall. Each boulder is a block of silver, each crack an opal flash, each cobweb a most precious canopy interwoven with silver and diamonds. A huge green lizard, hibernating between two stones, seems like an emerald jewel forgotten there by a queen: and a bunch of hibernating bats is like a precious onyx chandelier. The hay from the upper manger is no longer grass blades: it is pure silver wires quivering in the air with the grace of loose hair.

The dark wood of the lower manger is a block of burnished silver. The walls are covered with a brocade in which the white silk disappears under the pearly embroidery of the relief, and the soil… what is the soil now? It is a crystal lit up by a white light. Its protrusions are like roses thrown in homage of the soil; the holes are precious cups from which perfumes and scents are to arise.

29.3 And the light increases more and more. It is now unbearable to the eye. And the Virgin disappears in so much light, as if She had been absorbed by an incandescent curtain… and the Mother emerges.

Yes. When the light becomes endurable once again to my eyes, I see Mary with the new-born Son in Her arms. A little Baby, rosy and plump, bustling with His little hands as big as rose buds and kicking with His tiny feet that could be contained in the hollow of the heart of a rose: and is crying with a thin trembling voice, just like a new-born little lamb, opening His pretty little mouth that resembles a wild strawberry, and showing a tiny tongue that trembles against the rosy roof of His mouth. And He moves His little head that is so blond that it seems without any hair, a little round head that His Mummy holds in the hollow of Her hand, while She looks at Her Baby and adores Him weeping and smiling at the same time, and She bends down to kiss Him not on His innocent head, but on the centre of His chest, where underneath there is His little heart beating for us… where one day there will be the Wound. And His Mother is doctoring that wound in advance, with Her immaculate kiss.

The ox, woken up by the dazzling light, gets up with a great noise of hooves and bellows, the donkey turns its head round and brays. It is the light that rouses them but I love to think that they wanted to greet their Creator, both for themselves and on behalf of all the animals.

29.4 Also Joseph, who almost enraptured, was praying so ardently as to be isolated from what was around him, now rouses and he sees a strange light filter through the fingers of his hands pressed against his face. He removes his hands, lifts his head and turns round. The ox, standing as it is, hides Mary. But She calls him: «Joseph, come.»

Joseph rushes. And when he sees, he stops, struck by reverence, and he is about to fall on his knees where he is. But Mary insists: «Come, Joseph» and She leans on the hay with Her left hand and, holding the Child close to Her heart with Her right one, She gets up and moves towards Joseph, who is walking embarrassed, because of a conflict in him between his desire to go and his fear of being irreverent.

They meet at the foot of the straw bed and they look at each other, weeping blissfully.

«Come, let us offer Jesus to the Father,» says Mary. And while Joseph kneels down, She stands up between two trunks supporting the vault, She lifts up Her Creature in Her arms and says: «Here I am. On His behalf, O God, I speak these words to You: here I am to do Your will. And I, Mary, and My spouse, Joseph, with Him. Here are Your servants, O Lord. May Your will always be done by us, in every hour, in every event, for Your glory and Your love.»

Then Mary bends down and says: «Here, Joseph, take Him», and offers him the Child.

«What! I?… Me?… Oh, no! I am not worthy!» Joseph is utterly dumbfounded at the idea of having to touch God.

But Mary insists smiling: «You are well worthy. No one is more worthy than you are, and that is why the Most High chose you. Take Him, Joseph, and hold Him while I look for the linen.»

Joseph, blushing almost purple, stretches his arms out and takes the Baby, Who is screaming because of the cold and when he has Him in his arms, he no longer persists in the intention of holding Him far from himself, out of respect, but he presses Him to his heart and bursts into tears exclaiming: «Oh! Lord! My God!» And he bends down to kiss His tiny feet and feels them cold. He then sits on the ground, and holds Him close to his chest and with his brown tunic and his hands he tries to cover Him, and warm Him, defending Him from the bitterly cold wind of the night. He would like to go near the fire, but there is a cold draft coming in from the door. It is better to stay where he is. No, it is better to go between the two animals which serve as a protection against the air and give out warmth. Thus, he goes between the ox and the donkey, with his back to the door, bending over the New-Born to form with his body a shelter, the two sides of which are a grey head with long ears, and a huge white muzzle with a steaming nose and two gentle soft eyes.

29.5 Mary has opened the trunk and has pulled out the linen and swaddling clothes. She has been near the fire warming them. She now moves towards Joseph and wraps the Baby with the warm linen and then with Her veil to protect His little head. «Where shall we put Him now?» She asks.

Joseph looks around, thinking… «Wait,» he says. «Let us move the animals and their hay over here, we will then pull down that hay up there and arrange it in here. The wood on the side will protect Him from the air, the hay will serve as a pillow and the ox will warm Him a little with its breath. The ox is better than the donkey. It is more patient and quiet.» And he bustles about, while Mary is lulling the Baby, holding Him close to Her heart, and laying Her cheek on His tiny head to warm it.

Joseph makes the fire, without economy this time, to have a good blaze, and he warms the hay and as it dries, he keeps it near his chest, so that it will not get cold. Then, when he has gathered enough to make a little mattress for the Child, he goes to the manger and sorts it out as if it were a cradle. «It is ready,» he says. «Now we need a blanket, because the hay stings, and also to cover Him.»

«Take My mantle,» says Mary.

«You will be cold.»

«Oh! It does not matter! The blanket is too coarse. The mantle is soft and warm. I am not cold at all. Don’t let Him suffer any longer!»

Joseph takes the wide mantle of soft dark blue wool, he double folds it and lays it on the hay, leaving a strip hanging out of the manger. The first bed for the Saviour is ready.

And the Mother, with Her sweet, graceful gait, moves to the manger, lays Him in it, and covers Him with the strip of Her mantle. She arranges it also around His bare head, almost completely covered by the hay, from which it is protected only by Mary’s thin veil. Only His little face, the size of a man’s fist, is left uncovered. Mary and Joseph, bending over the manger, are blissfully happy watching Him sleep His first sleep, because the warmth of the clothes and of the hay has appeased His crying, and made Him sleepy.

• Bible - Gospel of Luke
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Nativity of Jesus Christ
• Rosary
• The Virgin Mary

Rest your soul in the light of this dawn of Jesus, to gain strength for the future crucifixions which will not be spared you, because we want you here and one comes here through pain, because we want you here and the higher one comes the more one has suffered to obtain Grace for the world.

• Nativity of Jesus Christ
• Noël
• Obtaining a pardon
• Pain and suffering
• Rosary
• Sacrifice and immolation
• The fruitfulness of suffering

30.1 Later I see a very wide country. The moon is at its zenith and it is sailing smoothly in a sky crowded with stars. They look like diamond studs fixed to a huge canopy of dark blue velvet and the moon is smiling in the middle of them with her big white face, from which streams of light descend and make the earth white. The barren trees seem taller and darker against so white a ground, whereas the low walls, which rise here and there on the boundaries, look as white as milk and a little house far away seems like a block of Carrara marble.

On my right I see a place enclosed by a thorn-bush hedge on two sides and by a low rugged wall on the other two. The wall supports a kind of low wide shed, which inside the enclosure is built in masonry and part in wood, as if in the summer the wooden part should be removed and the shed should become a porch. From the enclosure intermittent short bleatings can be heard now and again. It must be the little sheep which dream or perhaps sense that it is almost daybreak because of the very bright moonlight. The brightness is intense to an excessive degree and it is increasing more and more as if the planet were coming near the earth or were sparkling because of a mysterious fire.

30.2 A shepherd looks out of the door, and lifting one arm to his forehead to shield his eyes, he looks up. It seems unlikely that one should protect one’s eyes from moonlight. But the moonlight in this case is so bright that it blinds people, particularly those who come out from a dark enclosure. Everything is calm. But the bright moonlight is surprising.

The shepherd calls his companions. They all come to the door: a group of hairy men of various ages. Some are just teenagers, some are already white haired. They comment on the strange event and the younger ones are afraid. One in particular, a boy about twelve years old, starts crying, and the older shepherds jeer at him.

«What are you afraid of, you fool?» the oldest man says to him. «Can’t you see that the air is very quiet? Have you never seen clear moonlight? You have always been tied to your mother’s apronstrings, haven’t you? But there are many things for you to see! Once, I had gone as far as the Lebanon mountains, even farther. High up. I was young, and walking was a pleasure. And I was also rich, then… one night I saw such a bright light that I thought Elijah was about to come back in his chariot of fire. And an old man — he was the old man then — said to me: ‘A great adventure is about to take place in the world’. It was for us a misadventure, because the Roman soldiers came. Oh! Many things you will see, if you live… long enough.»

30.3 But the little shepherd is no longer listening to him. He looks as if he is no longer frightened, because he leaves the threshold and steals from behind the shoulders of a brawny herdsman, behind whom he had previously sought shelter, and goes out onto the grassy fold in front of the shed. He looks up and walks about like a sleep-walker or one hypnotised by something that compellingly attracts him. At one point he shouts: «Oh!» and remains petrified with his arms slightly stretched out.

His friends look at one another dumbfounded.

«But what is the matter with the fool?» says one.

«I will send him back to his mother tomorrow. I don’t want mad people as guardians of the sheep,» says another.

And the old man who had spoken earlier says: «Let us go and see before we judge him. Call also the others who are sleeping and bring your sticks. It might be a wild animal or some robber…»

They go in, they call the other shepherds and they come out with torches and clubs. They join the boy.

«There, there,» he whispers smiling. «Above the tree, look at that light. It seems to be walking along the ray of the moon. There it is, it is coming near. How beautiful it is!»

«I can only see a rather brighter light.»

«So can I.»

«So can I,» say the others.

«No. I see something like a body,» says one whom I recognise to be the shepherd who gave the milk to Mary.

«It is… it is an angel,» shouts the boy. «Here he is, he is coming down, he is coming near… Down! On your knees before the angel of God!»

A long and venerable «Oh!» comes from the group of shepherds, who fall down face to the ground and the older they are, the more they appear to be crushed by the refulgent apparition. The young ones are on their knees, looking at the angel who is coming nearer and nearer, and then he stops mid-air above the enclosure wall, waving his large wings, a pearly brightness in the white moonlight surrounding him.

«Do not fear. I am not bringing you misfortune. I announce a great joy for the people of Israel and for all the people of the world.» The angelic voice is the harmony of a harp and of singing nightingales.

«Today, in the City of David, the Saviour has been born.» In saying so, the angel spreads out his wings wider and wider, moving them as a sign of overwhelming joy, and a stream of golden sparks and precious stones seem to fall from them: a real rainbow creating a triumphal arch above the poor shed.

«… the Saviour, Who is Christ.» The angel shines with a brighter light. His two wings, now motionless, pointed upright towards the sky like two still sails on the sapphire of the sea, seem like two bright flames ascending to Heaven.

«… Christ, the Lord!» The angel gathers his sparkling wings and covers himself with them as if they were a coat of diamonds on a dress of pearls, he bows down in adoration, with his arms crossed over his heart, while his head bent down as it is, disappears in the shade of the tops of the folded wings. Only an oblong bright motionless shape can be seen for a few moments.

But now he stirs. He spreads out his wings, lifts his head, bright with a heavenly smile, and says: «You will recognise Him from the following signs: in a poor stable, behind Bethlehem, you will find a baby in swaddling clothes, in a manger for animals, because no roof was found for the Messiah in the city of David.» The angel becomes serious, almost sad, in saying that.

30.4 But from the Heavens many angels — oh! how many! — come down, all like him, a ladder of angels descending and rejoicing and dimming the moonlight with their heavenly brightness. They all gather round the announcing angel, fluttering their wings, exhaling perfumes, playing notes in which the most beautiful voices of creation find a recollection, but elevated to uniform perfection. If painting is the expression of matter to become light, here melody is the expression of music to give men a hint of the beauty of God. To hear this melody is to know Paradise, where everything is harmony of love which emanates from God to make the blessed souls happy, and then from them returns to God to say to Him: «We love You!»

The angelical «Glory» spreads throughout the quiet country in wider and wider circles and the bright light with it. And the birds join their singing to greet the early light, and the sheep add their bleatings for the early sun. But, as previously in the grotto for the ox and the donkey, I love to believe that the animals are greeting their Creator, Who has come down among them to love them both as a Man and as God.

The singing slowly fades away, as well as the light, and the angels ascend to Heaven…

30.5 … The shepherds come back to reality.

«Did you hear?»

«Shall we go and see?»

«And what about the animals?»

«Oh! Nothing will happen to them! We are going to obey God’s word!…»

«But where shall we go?»

«Didn’t he say that He was born today? And that they did not find lodgings in Bethlehem?» It’s the shepherd who gave the milk, who is speaking now. «Come with me, I know where He is. I saw the woman and I felt sorry for Her. I told them where to go, for Her sake, because I thought they might not find lodgings, and I gave the man some milk for Her. She is so young and beautiful, and She must be as good and kind as the angel who spoke to us. Come. Let us go and get some milk, cheese, lambs and tanned hides. They must be very poor… and I wonder how cold He must be Whose name I dare not mention! And imagine! I spoke to the Mother as I would have spoken to a poor wife!…»

They go into the shed and they come out shortly afterwards, some with little flasks of milk, some with little nets interwoven with matureed containing small whole round cheeses, some with baskets, each containing a little bleating lamb and some with tanned hides.

«I am taking them a sheep. She lambed a month ago. Her milk is very good. It will be useful if the woman should have no milk. She seemed a young girl to me and so pale! A jasmine face in moonlight,» says the shepherd who gave the milk. And he leads them.

30.6 They set out in the moonlight aided by their torches, after closing the shed and the enclosure. They go along country paths, among thorn-bush hedges stripped by winter.

They go round Bethlehem. They reach the stable not the way Mary came, but from the opposite direction, so that they do not pass in front of the better stables, instead they find this one first. They go near the entrance.

«Go in!»

«I wouldn’t dare!»

«You go in!»

«No.»

«At least have a look.»

«You, Levi, who saw the angel first, obviously because you are better than we are, look in.» Before they said he was mad…. but now it suits them if he dare what they do not.

The boy hesitates, but then he makes up his mind. He goes near the hole, pulls the mantle a little to one side, looks… and remains enraptured.

«What can you see?» they ask him anxiously in low voices.

«I can see a beautiful young woman and a man bending over a manger and I can hear… I can hear a little baby crying, and the woman is speaking to Him in a voice… oh! what a voice!»

«What is She saying?»

«She is saying: ‘Jesus, little one! Jesus, love of Your Mummy! Don’t cry, little Son’. She is saying: ‘Oh! If I could only say to You: «Take some milk, little one». But I have not got any yet’. She says: ‘You are so cold, My love! And the hay is stinging You! How painful it is for Your Mummy to hear You crying so, without being able to help You!’ She says: ‘Sleep, soul of Mine! Because it breaks My heart to hear You crying and see Your tears!’ and She kisses Him, and She must be warming His little feet with Her hands, because She is bent with Her arms in the manger.»

«Call Her! Let them hear you.»

«I won’t. You should call Her, because you brought us here and you know Her!»

The shepherd opens his mouth, but he only utters a faint moaning noise.

30.7 Joseph turns round and comes to the door. «Who are you?»

«Shepherds. We brought you some food and some wool. We have come to worship the Saviour.»

«Come in.»

They go in, and the stable becomes brighter because of the light of the torches. The older men push the young ones in front of them.

Mary turns round and smiles. «Come,» She says. «Come!», and She invites them with Her hand and Her smile, and She takes the boy who saw the angel and She draws him to Herself, against the manger. And the boy looks, and is happy.

The others, invited also by Joseph, move forward with their gifts and they place them at Mary’s feet with few deep-felt words. They then look at the Baby Who is weeping a little and they smile moved and happy.

And one of them, somewhat bolder than the rest, says: «Mother, take this wool. It’s soft and clean. I prepared it for my child who is about to be born. But I offer it to You. Lay your Son in this wool. It will be soft and warm.» And he offers the sheep hide, a beautiful hide, well covered with soft white wool.

Mary lifts Jesus, and puts it around Him. And She shows Him to the shepherds, who, kneeling on the hay on the ground, look at Him ecstatically!

One of the boldest says: «He should be given a mouthful of milk, better still, some water and honey. But we have no honey. We give it to little babies. I have seven children, and I know…»

«There is some milk here. Take it, Woman.»

«But it is cold. It should be warm. Where is Elias? He has the sheep.»

Elias must be the shepherd who gave the milk. But he is not there. He remained outside and is looking from the hole, but he cannot be seen in the dark night.

«Who led you here?»

«An angel told us to come, and Elias showed us the way. But where is he now?»

The sheep declares his presence with a bleat.

«Come in. You are wanted.»

He enters with his sheep, embarrassed because they all look at him.

«It’s you!» says Joseph, who recognises him, and Mary smiles at him saying: «You are good.»

They milk the sheep and with the hem of a piece of linen dipped into the warm creamy milk, Mary moistens the lips of the Baby Who sucks the sweet cream. They all smile, and even more so, when Jesus falls asleep in the warmth of the wool, with the little bit of linen still between His lips.

30.8 «But You can’t stay here. It’s cold and damp. And… there is too strong a smell of animals. It’s not good… it’s not good for the Saviour.»

«I know,» replies Mary with a deep sigh. «But there is no room for us in Bethlehem.»

«Take heart, Woman. We will look for a house for You.»

«I will tell my mistress,» says Elias. «She is good. She will receive You, even if she had to give You her own room. As soon as it is daylight, I will tell her. Her house is full of people. But she will find room for You.»

«For My Child, at least. Joseph and I can lie on the floor. But for the Little One…»

«Don’t worry, Woman. I will see to it. And we will tell many people what we were told. You will lack nothing. For the time being, take what our poverty can give You. We are shepherds…»

«We are poor, too. And we cannot reward you,» says Joseph.

«Oh! We don’t want it. Even if You could afford it, we would not want it. The Lord has already rewarded us. He promised peace to everybody. The angels said: ‘Peace to men of goodwill’. But He has already given it to us, because the angel said that this Child is the Saviour, Who is Christ, the Lord. We are poor and ignorant, but we know that the Prophets say that the Saviour will be the Prince of Peace. And he told us to come and adore Him. That is why He gave us His peace. Glory be to God in the Most High Heaven and glory to His Christ here, and You are blessed, Woman, Who gave birth to Him: You are holy, because You deserved to bear Him! Give us orders as our Queen, because we will be happy to serve You. What can we do for You?»

«You can love My Son, and always cherish the same thoughts as you have now.»

«But what about You? Is there anything You wish? Have You no relatives whom You would like to inform that He has been born?»

«Yes, I have them. But they are far away. They are at Hebron…»

«I will go,» says Elias. «Who are they?»

«Zacharias, the priest, and My cousin Elizabeth.»

«Zacharias? Oh! I know him well. In summer I go up those mountains because the pastures are rich and beautiful, and I am a friend of his shepherd. When I know you are settled, I will go to Zacharias.»

«Thank you, Elias.»

«You need not thank me. It is a great honour for me, a poor shepherd, to go and speak to the priest and say to him: ‘The Saviour has been born’.»

«No. You must say to him: ‘Your cousin, Mary of Nazareth, has said that Jesus has been born, and that you should come to Bethlehem’.»

«I will say that.»

«May God reward you.

30.9 I will remember you, Elias, and every one of you.»

«Will You tell Your Baby about us?»

«I certainly will.»

«I am Elias.»

«And I am Levi.»

«And I am Samuel.»

«And I Jonah.»

«And I Isaac.»

«And I Tobias.»

«And I Jonathan.»

«And I Daniel.»

«And I Simeon.»

«My name is John.»

«I am Joseph and my brother Benjamin, we are twins.»

«I will remember your names.»

«We must go… But we will come back… And we will bring others to worship Him.»

«How can we go back to the sheep-fold, leaving the Child?»

«Glory be to God Who has shown Him to us!»

«Will You let us kiss His dress?» asks Levi, with an angelic smile.

And Mary lifts Jesus slowly, and sitting on the hay, wraps the tiny little feet in linen, and offers them to be kissed. And the shepherds bow down to the ground and kiss the tiny feet, veiled by the linen. Those with a beard clean it first; almost everyone is crying, and when they have to go, they walk out backwards, leaving their hearts there…

The vision ends in this way, with Mary sitting on the straw with the Child on Her lap and Joseph who, leaning with his elbow on the manger, looks and adores.

• Bible - Gospel of Luke
• Nativity of Jesus Christ
• Rosary
• Saint Gabriel Archangel
• Shepherds of the Nativity

«The man you sent me told me that you were homeless when He was born. You must have suffered a lot.»

«Yes, quite a lot. But our fears were greater than our discomfort. We were afraid the Child’s health might be injured. And we had to stay there for the first days. We lacked nothing, for ourselves, because the shepherds gave the good news to the people of Bethlehem, and many of them brought us gifts. But we had no house, not even a decent room, a bed… and Jesus cried so much, particularly at night, because the wind was blowing in from all directions. I used to light a little fire. Only a little one, because the smoke made Jesus cough… and it was still cold in any case. Two animals do not give out much heat, especially when the cold air comes in from all directions! We had no warm water to wash Him, nor dry clothes to change Him. Yes, He suffered quite a lot! And Mary suffered seeing Him suffer. I suffered.. so you can imagine His Mother’s anguish! She fed Him with milk and tears, milk and love… Now here it is much better. I had made such a comfortable cradle for Him and Mary had fitted it with a soft little mattress. But it is in Nazareth! Ah! If He were born there, it would have been different!»

«But Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. It was prophesised.»

• Jesus as a child
• Nativity of Jesus Christ
• Rosary
• Shepherds of the Nativity
• Suffering and pain of the Virgin Mary

Gamaliel, surrounded by a compact group of disciples, is speaking of the coming of the Messiah, and founding his observations on Daniel’s prophecy, he states that the Messiah must have already been born, because the seventy prophesied weeks, from the time the decree of the reconstruction of the Temple was issued, expired some ten years before. Shammai opposes him stating that, if it is true that the Temple has been rebuilt, it is also true that the slavery of Israel has increased and the peace, which He Whom the prophets called «Prince of Peace» was to bring, is quite far from being in the world and in particular is far from Jerusalem. The town is in fact oppressed by an enemy who is so bold as to exert his domination inside the enclosure of the Temple, dominated by the Antonia Tower, full of Roman legionaries, ready to put down with their swords any riot that may break out for the independence of the country.

The dispute, full of captious objections, is dragged on endlessly. All the doctors show off their learning, not so much to beat their opponents as to display themselves to the admiration of the listeners. Their aims are quite obvious.

41.4 From the close group of the believers the clear voice of a boy is heard: «Gamaliel is right.»

There is a stir in the crowd and in the group of doctors. They look for the interrupter. But it is not necessary to search for him, because he does not hide. He makes his way through the crowd and goes near the group of the «rabbis». I recognise my Jesus adolescent. He is sure of Himself and open-hearted, His eyes are sparkling with intelligence. (...)

«On what do You base Your certainty?» asks Hillel.

(I will now put the names in front of the replies for the sake of brevity and clarity.)

Jesus: «On the prophecy which cannot be wrong about the time and the signs which took place at the time it came true. It is true that Caesar dominates us, but the world and Palestine were in such peace when the seventy weeks expired, that it was possible for Caesar to order the census in his dominions. Had there been wars in the Empire and riots in Palestine, he would not have been able to do so. Just as that time was completed, so the other period of sixty-two weeks plus one from the completion of the Temple is also being completed, so that the Messiah may be anointed and the remainder of the prophecy may come true for the people who did not want Him. Can you doubt that? Do you not remember the star that was seen by the Wise Men from the East, which stopped over the sky in Bethlehem of Judah and that the prophecies and the visions, from Jacob onwards, indicate that place as the one destined as the birthplace of the Messiah, son of the son of Jacob’s son, through David who was from Bethlehem? Do you not remember Balaam? ‘A Star will be born of Jacob’. The Wise Men from the East, whose purity and faith opened their eyes and ears, saw the Star and understood its Name: ‘Messiah’, and they came to worship the Light that had descended into the world.»

41.5 Shammai, glaring at Him: «Do you mean that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem-Ephrathah at the time of the Star?»

Jesus: «I do.»

Shammai: «Then he no longer exists. Don’t you know, Child, that Herod had all the born of woman, from one day up to the age of two years, slaughtered in Bethlehem and surrondings? You, Who are so wise in the Scriptures, must also know this: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah… it is Rachel weeping for her children’. The valleys and the hills in Bethlehem, which gathered the tears of the dying Rachel, were left full of tears, and the mothers have wept again on their slaughtered children. Amongst them, there certainly was the Mother of the Messiah.»

Jesus: «You are wrong, old man. The weeping of Rachel turned into a hosanna, because there, where she gave birth to ‘the son of her sorrow’, the new Rachel has given the world the Benjamin of the Heavenly Father, the Son of His right hand, Him Who is destined to gather the people of God under His sceptre and free it from the most dreadful slavery.»

Shammai: «How can that be, if He was killed?»

Jesus: «Have you not read about Elijah? He was carried off by the chariot of fire. And could the Lord God not have saved his Emmanuel so that He might be the Messiah of his people? He, Who parted the sea in front of Moses, that Israel might walk on dry ground towards its land, could He not have sent His angels to save His Son, His Christ, from the ferocity of man? I solemnly tell you: the Christ is alive and is amongst you, and when His hour comes, He will show Himself in His power.» Jesus, in saying these words, which I have underlined, has a sharp sound in His voice which fills the air. His eyes are brighter than ever, and with the gesture of command and promise He stretches out His right arm and hand and lowers them as if He were swearing. He is a boy, but is as solemn as a man.

• Bible - Book of Daniel
• Biblical prophecies
• Locations - Antonia Tower (fortress)
• Nativity of Jesus Christ

«I am Jesus of Joseph of the House of David, I was born at Bethlehem Ephrathah, as was promised, named Nazarene, because I live at Nazareth. And that according to the world. According to God I am His Messenger.

• Nativity of Jesus Christ

«Here, Master, the official.»

«Peace be with you. I ask to teach Israel, amongst the rabbis of Israel.»

«Are You a rabbi?»

«Yes, I am.»

«Who was Your teacher?»

«The Spirit of God Who speaks to Me in His wisdom and enlightens every word of the Holy Scriptures for Me.»

«Are You greater than Hillel, since You say You know all doctrines, without a teacher? How can one be formed if there is no one forming him?»

«As David was formed, an unknown little shepherd, who became a powerful and wise king by God’s will.»

«Your Name?»

«Jesus of Joseph of Jacob of the House of David, and of Mary of Joachim of the House of David and of Anne of Aaron. Mary, the Virgin married in the Temple by the High Priest, according to the law of Israel, because She was an orphan.»

«Who can prove that?»

«There must still be some Levites here who will remember the event and who were the same age as Zacharias of the class of Abijah, My relative. Ask them, if you doubt My sincerity.»

«I believe You. But who will prove to me that You are capable of teaching?»

«Listen to Me and you will judge for yourself.»

«You are free to do it… But… are You not a Nazarene?»

«I was born at Bethlehem of Judah, at the time of the census decreed by Caesar. Banished by unfair orders, the children of David are now everywhere. But the family is of Judah.»

«You know… the Pharisees… all Judaea… throughout Galilee…»

«I know. But be reassured. I was born at Bethlehem, at Bethlehem Ephrathah, whence My family comes; if now I live in Galilee, it is only to fulfil the given sign…»

The official goes away a few yards, hastening to where they call him.

• Biblical prophecies
• Hillel
• Holy Spirit
• Kinship of Jesus Christ
• Nativity of Jesus Christ

«There is David’s Tower. The Eastern Gate is near.»

«Are we going out through it?»

«Yes, Judas. We are going to Bethlehem first. Where I was born… You ought to know… to tell the others. That also is part of the knowledge of the Messiah and of the Scriptures. You will find prophecies written in things not as prophecies but as history.»

• Nativity of Jesus Christ