Prayer of the Virgin Mary

10.1 Only yesterday evening, Friday, I began to see. I saw nothing but a very young Mary, twelve years old at the most, Her face no longer roundish, as is typical of children, but already showing the future outlines of a woman in a perfect oval. Also Her hair is no longer falling loose on Her neck in soft curls, but it is plaited and two thick braids fall over Her shoulders down to Her waist. Her hair is a very pale gold colour, so light that it seems to be blended with silver. Her face is more pensive and mature, although it is the face of a young girl, a beautiful and pure girl, all dressed in white. She is sewing in a very small room, which is also completely white, and through the wide open window one can see the imposing central part of the Temple, the flights of steps of the yards and porches. Beyond the enclosure wall also the town can be seen with its streets, houses, gardens, and in the background the humped green top of the Mount of Olives.

Mary is sewing and singing in a low voice. I do not know whether it is a sacred song or not. It says:

«Like a star in clear water

a light is shining within My heart.

It has been with Me since My childhood

and it guides Me tenderly with love.

In the depths of My heart there is a song.

Where does it come from?

Man, you do not know.

It comes from where the Holy One rests.

I look at My clear star

And I do not want anything,

Not even the sweetest and dearest thing,

Except this sweet light that is all Mine.

You brought Me down from the Heavens above,

O star of Mine, into the womb of a mother,

Now You live in Me, but beyond the veil

I see Your glorious face, Father.

When will You grant Your servant the honour

Of being the humble maid of the Saviour?

Send us the Messiah from Heaven,

Accept, Holy Father, the offer of Mary.»

10.2 Mary is now quiet. She smiles and sighs, then She kneels down in prayer. Her little face is shining brightly. She is looking upwards, towards the clear blue summer sky and Her face seems to be absorbing and then radiating all the brightness in the air. Or rather, it looks as if from within Her a hidden sun is radiating its rays and lighting up Her face, colouring Her snow-white flesh with a light rosy hue. And the light from Her face spreads out towards the world and the sun shining on the world: a blessing and a promise of much good.

While Mary is getting up after Her prayer, with ecstatic brightness still on Her face, old Anna of Phanuel enters the room. She stands still, amazed or at least wondering at Mary’s attitude and appearance.

• Prayer of the Virgin Mary

10.3 «Were You praying? Are Your prayers never enough for You?»

«My prayers would be enough. But I speak to God. Anna, you cannot imagine how close I feel Him. More than close, within My heart. May God forgive Me for My pride. But I do not feel lonely. See? Over there, in that House of gold and snow, behind the double Curtain, there is the Holy of Holies. Nobody is ever allowed to look at the Propitiatory, on which the glory of the Lord rests, except the High Priest. But My worshipping soul does not need to look at the embroidered Curtain, which quivers at the songs of the virgins and Levites and is scented with precious incense, as if I wanted to pierce its fabric and see the Testimony shine through it. I do look at it! Do not think that I do not look at it with worshipping eyes like every son of Israel. Do not think that pride blinds Me making Me think what I will now tell you. I look at it and there is no humble servant amongst the people of God that looks more humbly at the House of the Lord than I do, because I am convinced that I am the least of all. But what do I see? A veil. What do I think there is behind the Veil? A Tabernacle. What is in it? If I listen to My heart, I see God shining in His loving glory and He says to Me: “I love You” and I reply to Him: “I love You” and I die and I am recreated at each beat of My heart in this mutual kiss… I am amongst you, My dear teachers and companions. But a circle of fire isolates Me from you. Within the circle, God and Myself. And I see you through the Fire of God and so I love you… but I cannot love you according to the flesh, neither shall I ever be able to love anyone according to the flesh, neither shall I ever be able to love anyone according to the flesh. I can only love Him Who loves Me, according to the spirit..

• Love of the Virgin Mary
• Places - Jerusalem Temple
• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• Temple Veil

16.2 Mary begins to sing in a low voice, then She raises Her voice slightly. But She does not sing loudly. Still, it is a voice vibrating in the little room and one can perceive the vibration of Her soul in it. I do not understand the words as they are spoken in Hebrew. But as now and again She repeats «Jehovah» I realize that it is a sacred song, perhaps a psalm. Mary is probably remembering the songs of the Temple. And it must be a happy memory because She lays Her hands in Her lap, while still holding the yarn and the spindle, and lifts Her head leaning against the wall: Her face is beautifully flushed and Her eyes are lost behind… I wonder what sweet thought. Her eyes are shining with tears, which appear but do not overflow and they make Her eyes look larger. And yet those eyes are smiling, they are smiling at a thought they can see and by which Mary is abstracted from the earthly world. Mary’s face, flushed and girded by the plaits She wears rolled up like a crown around Her head, seems a beautiful flower, as it emerges from Her plain white dress.

The song changes into a prayer: «Most High Lord God, do not delay any longer in sending Your Servant to bring peace to the world. Grant us the favourable time and the pure and prolific virgin for the coming of Your Christ. Father, Holy Father, grant Me, Your servant to offer My life for this purpose. Grant Me to die after seeing Your Light and Your Justice on earth and after knowing that our Redemption has been accomplished. O Holy Father, send the Promise of the Prophets to the earth. Send the Redeemer to Your maidservant, so that in the hour of My death, Your abode may be opened to Me, as its gates have already been opened by Your Christ for all those who have hoped in You. Come, come, O Spirit of the Lord. Come to the faithful who are expecting You. Come, Prince of Peace!…» Mary remains absorbed in this way…

• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• Words of the Virgin Mary

18.1 The little house of Nazareth appears to me with Mary in it. Mary, a young girl, as when the Angel of God appeared to Her. This simple sight fills my soul with the virginal perfume of the house. The scent still remains in the room where the Angel gently waved his golden wings. That divine perfume was all concentrated on Mary to make a mother of Her and it now emanates from Her.

It is evening, because shadows begin to invade the room into which so much heavenly light had descended.

Mary is kneeling near Her little bed and is praying with Her arms crossed over Her breast and Her face bowed down very low. She is still dressed as She was at the moment of the Annunciation. Everything is exactly as it was then. The flowery branch is in its vase, the furniture in the same position. Only the distaff and the spindle are now leaning in a corner, the former with its flax, the latter with its bright thread wrapped around it.

Mary stops praying and stands up, Her face is flushed as if it were lit up by a flame. Her lips are smiling, but Her eyes are shining with tears. She takes the oil lamp and lights it with a flint. She checks that everything is in good order in the room. She straightens up the blanket on the bed as it had been displaced. She adds some water to the vase containing the flowery branch and She places it outside, in the cool of the night. She then comes back in. She takes the folded embroidery from the bookcase and the lamp and goes out closing the door. She takes a few steps in the little kitchen garden, along the side of the house and then goes into the little room where I saw the parting goodbye of Jesus and Mary. I recognise it although some pieces of furniture which were there previously are now missing.

Mary disappears into another small adjoining room, taking the lamp with Her, and I am left alone in the company of the embroidery work laid on the corner of the table. I can hear Mary’s light steps moving to and fro, She then makes a noise with water as if She were washing something. Then there is the noise of broken sticks and I understand that She is lighting the fire.

Then She comes back and goes into the little garden. She comes in once again with some apples and vegetables. She puts the apples on the table, on an engraved metal tray, possibly made of copper. She goes back into the kitchen, (the kitchen is definitely over there). Now the flames of the fireplace are merrily casting light through the open door into this room and make dancing shadows on the wall.

Some time goes by and Mary comes in with a small brown loaf and a bowl of hot milk. She sits down and dips some small slices of bread into the milk. She eats them slowly. Then leaving half of the bowl of milk, She goes into the kitchen and comes back with the vegetables on which She pours some oil and She eats them with the bread. She quenches Her thirst with the milk. She then takes an apple and eats it. The meal of a little girl.

Mary eats and thinks and She smiles at some inner thought. She looks up and all around the walls and seems to be telling them a secret.

Mary eats and thinks and She smiles at some inner thought. She looks up and all around the walls and seems to be telling them a secret. Now and again, She turns serious, almost sad. But soon Her smile is back on Her lips again.

• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary

They get on their donkeys again and Joseph goes with Mary as far as the Gate (it is not the one they entered but a different one) and they part there. Mary proceeds with the little old man who is as chatty as Joseph was silent and takes an interest in many things. Mary answers him patiently. In front of the saddle She now has the little trunk which Joseph’s donkey had carried earlier and She is no longer wearing the large mantle. Neither is she wearing the shawl, which is folded on the trunk, and She is really beautiful in Her dark blue dress and white veil that protects Her from the sun. How beautiful She is!

The old man must be somewhat deaf, because Mary, Who normally speaks in a very low voice, had to speak loudly to make Herself heard. And now he is tired. He has finished with all his questions and news and is dozing on the saddle, led by the donkey that is familiar with the road.

Mary takes advantage of this respite to collect Her thoughts and to pray. It must be a prayer that She sings in a low voice, looking at the blue sky, with Her arms crossed over Her breast, while Her face is bright and happy because of some internal emotion.

I see nothing else.

• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• Words of the Virgin Mary

You are blessed amongst all women! Blessed is the Fruit of Your womb! (She says exactly that: two clearly separate sentences). How did I deserve that the Mother of my Lord should come to me, Your servant? There, at the sound of Your voice, the child leaped out of joy in my womb and when I embraced You, the Spirit of the Lord whispered deepest truths to my heart. You are blessed, because You believed that it was possible for God even what does not appear possible to the human mind! You are blessed, because by Your faith You will accomplish the things the Lord predicted to You and the Prophets foretold for our times! You are blessed for the Salvation You have brought to the house of Jacob! You are blessed for the Holiness You have brought to my son, whom I feel leaping with joy, like a happy little kid, in my womb, because he feels free from the burden of guilt, and is called to be the Predecessor, sanctified before Redemption by the Holy One Who is growing within You!»

Mary, with two tears that run down like two pearls from Her sparkling eyes to Her smiling lips, with Her face raised to heaven and also Her arms raised up, in the position that Her Jesus will often take on, exclaims: «My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord» and She continues the canticle as it has been handed down to us. At the end, at the verse: «He has come to the help of Israel his servant etc.», she puts Her hands on Her breast, kneels down stooping to the ground, adoring God.

• Magnificat of the Virgin Mary
• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• Words of the Virgin Mary

The two women slowly go back into the house. Elizabeth withdraws to her rooms. Mary, a capable and provident woman, gives the necessary instructions, prepares everything that may be necessary, and at the same time, She comforts Zacharias who is worried.

In the house that is sleepless that night, and where one can hear the unfamiliar voices of women called in to help, Mary is watchful like a lighthouse on a stormy night. The whole house rotates around Her, and She sees to everything, smiling sweetly. And She prays. When She is not called for this or that matter, She concentrates on prayer. She is now in the room where they always gather for their meals and to work.

Zacharias is with Her, and he sighs and walks up and down uneasily. They have already prayed together. Then Mary has continued to pray. Even now that the old man, tired, has sat down on his big chair near the table, and is quiet and sleepy, She prays. And when She sees him sleeping with his head resting on his arms crossed on the table, She takes Her sandals off to make no noise and walks barefooted and, making less noise than a butterfly fluttering around the room, She takes Zacharias’ mantle, and lays it on him so gently that he continues to sleep in the comfort of the woollen cloth that protects him from the cold air of the night that comes in, in gusts from the door, which is very often open. Then She starts praying again, and She prays more and more intensely, kneeling down, raising Her arms, when the painful cries of Elizabeth become louder.

• Charity of the Virgin Mary
• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

23.5 Sarah comes in and invites Her to go out. Mary goes out barefooted into the garden. «My mistress wants You,» she says.

«I am coming.» And Mary walks along the house, goes upstairs… She looks like a white angel, wandering in the peaceful starry night. She goes into Elizabeth’s room.

«Oh! Mary! Mary! What pain! I can’t stand it any longer, Mary! How much pain one must suffer to be a mother!»

Mary caresses her lovingly, and kisses her.

«Mary! Mary! Let me put my hands on Your bosom!»

Mary takes the two wrinkled and swollen hands, and lays them on Her round abdomen, pressing them tightly with Her smooth, slender little hands. And She speaks in a low voice, now that they are alone: «Jesus is here, and He hears and sees you. Have faith, Elizabeth. His holy heart is beating more strongly because He is acting for your good. I can feel it throbbing as though I were holding it in My hands. And I understand the words that My Child says to Me. He is now saying: ‘Tell the woman not to be afraid. Only a little more pain. And then, with the first rays of the sun, among the many roses awaiting the morning’s rays to open out on their stems, her house will have the most beautiful rose, and it will be John, My Predecessor’.»

Elizabeth now also presses her face against Mary’s bosom, and weeps gently.

Mary stands for some time in that position because the pain seems to ease giving a moments relief. And she beckons everybody to be quiet. She remains standing, beautiful and white in the pale, faint light of an oil lamp, like an angel near a person who suffers. She is praying. I can see Her moving Her lips. But even if I did not see them move, I would understand that She is praying from the enraptured expression on Her face.

23.6 Some time goes by, and Elizabeth is in labour once again. Mary kisses her again, and goes out.

• Charity of the Virgin Mary
• Elizabeth of Hebron (mother of John the Baptist)
• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• Sarah of Hebron - Servant of Zacharias and Elizabeth
• The Virgin Mary
• Words of the Virgin Mary

23.6 Some time goes by, and Elizabeth is in labour once again. Mary kisses her again, and goes out. She goes downstairs very quickly in the moonlight, and goes to see if the old man is still sleeping. He is sleeping, and moaning in his sleep. Mary makes a gesture of compassion, and starts to pray once again.

More time passes. The old man awakes from his sleep and lifts up his head, and he is confused, because he does not recollect why he is there. Then he remembers, makes a gesture, and utters a gutteral exclamation. He then writes: «Is he not born yet?» Mary shakes Her head in denial. Zacharias writes: «How much pain! Oh my poor woman! Will she manage without dying?»

Mary takes the hand of the old man, and reassures him: «At dawn, in a short while, the baby will be born. Everything will be alright. Elizabeth is strong. How beautiful this day will be

— it will soon be daybreak — how beautiful this day will be when the child sees the light! It will be the best day of your life! The Lord has kept aside great graces for you and your child is the announcer of them.»

Zacharias shakes his head sadly, and points to his dumb mouth. He would like to say many things, but cannot.

Mary understands, and replies: «The Lord will complete your joy. Believe in Him completely, hope in Him indefinitely, love Him totally. The Most High will grant you more than you dare hope for. He wants this total faith from you, to wash out your past mistrust. Say in your heart with me: ‘I believe’. Say it with every beat of your heart. The treasures of God are opened for those who believe in Him and in His powerful bounty.»

• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• Prescience of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary
• Words of the Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

The light begins to filter in through the partly open door. Mary opens it. Dawn makes the dewy earth completely white. There is a strong smell of humid earth and grass, and the first chirping of the birds, calling one another from branch to branch, can be heard.

The old man and Mary move towards the door. They are pale because of the sleepless night, and the light at dawn makes them look even more pale. Mary puts on Her sandals, and goes to the foot of the staircase and listens. A woman looks out, nods, and then goes back in. Nothing yet.

Mary goes into the room, and comes back with some warm milk which She gives to the old man. She goes to the doves, comes back, and disappears into the same room. Perhaps it is the kitchen. She moves around attentively. She looks as though She had slept the most perfect sleep, She is so quick and serene.

Zacharias is walking up and down the garden very nervously. Mary looks at him compassionately. She then goes again into the usual room, and kneeling near Her loom, She prays intensely, because the cries of Elizabeth are becoming sharper. She bows down to the ground imploring the Eternal Father. Zacharias comes back in, and seeing Her in this prostrate state, the poor old man cries. Mary gets up and takes him by the hand. She is so much younger than he is, but She looks as though She were the mother of the poor old desolate soul, and She consoles him.

23.8 They are standing thus, one beside the other, in the sun that makes the morning air rosy, and it is then that the joyful news reaches them: «He is born! He is born! It’s a boy! Happy father! A boy as beautiful as a rose, as beautiful as the sun, as strong and good as his mother! Joy for you, father, blessed by the Lord Who gave you a son that you may offer him to the Temple! Glory to God, Who has granted posterity to this house! Blessed are you, and your son who was born to you! May his offspring perpetuate your name for centuries, from generation to generation, and may his descendants always be in union with the Eternal Lord.»

Mary blesses the Lord weeping for joy. Then the two receive the little one, who has been brought to the father, so that he may bless him. Zacharias does not go to Elizabeth. He receives the child, who is screaming desperately, but he does not go to his wife.

Mary instead goes, carrying with love the little one, who turns quiet, as soon as She takes him in Her arms. The woman who is following Her notices this, and she says to Elizabeth: «Woman, your child turned quiet immediately, when She took him. Look how peacefully he is sleeping, and only Heaven knows how restless and strong he is. But look now! He seems a little dove.»

Mary lays the creature near his mother and caresses her, tidying up her grey hair. «The rose is born», She whispers in a low voice, «and you are alive. Zacharias is happy.»

«Does he speak?»

«Not yet. But hope in the Lord. Rest now. I am staying with you.»

• Charity of the Virgin Mary
• Prayer of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)