Notes for this keyword
Reading comfort
GRM 9.5
Their Holy Daughter was praying before the Tabernacle of God for Her parents far away, whom She had postponed to God, Supreme Goodness, and yet She loved them, as the law and Her feeling commanded, with a perfect supernatural love.
Marie's feelings about her parents
GRM 10.1-7
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.
Then she calls Her: «Mary!» and the Girl turns around with a smile, a different one but still so beautiful and says: «Peace to you, Anna.»
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. I can only love Him Who loves Me, according to the spirit.
10.4 This is My destiny. The secular Law of Israel wants every girl to be a wife, and every wife to be a mother. But, while obeying the Law, I must obey the Voice that whispers to Me: “I want You”; I am a virgin and a virgin I shall remain, How shall I succeed? This sweet invisible Presence that is with Me will help Me, because it is Its desire. I am not afraid. I have no longer My father and mother… and only God knows how My love for whatever human being belonged to Me was burnt in that pain. Now I have but God. I therefore obey Him unquestioningly… I would have done so also regardless of My father and mother, because I have been taught by the Voice that whoever wishes to follow It, must go beyond father and mother. Parents are loving patrols watching the hearts of their children, whom they wish to lead to happiness according to their plans… and they are not aware of other plans leading to infinite happiness… I would have left them My dresses and mantles, to follow the Voice that says to Me: “Come, My beloved Spouse”. I would have left them everything, and the pearls of My tears, for I would have cried having to disobey them, and the instincts of My blood, because I would have defied even death to follow the Voice calling Me who, would have told them that there is something greater and sweeter than the love of a father and mother and that is the Voice of God. But now, by His will, I am free from this tie of filial love. In fact, it would not have been a tie. My parents were two just people and God certainly spoke to them as He speaks to Me. They would have followed justice and truth. When I think of them, I imagine them in the quiet expectation among the Patriarchs and I hasten with My sacrifice the coming of the Messiah to open for them the gates of Heaven. I am My own guide on earth, or rather God guides His poor servant giving Her His commands and I fulfil them because it is a joy for Me to obey. When the time comes, I will reveal My secret to the spouse… and he will accept it.»
«But, Mary… which words will You find to persuade him? You will have the love of a man, the Law and life against you.»
«I shall have God with Me… God will enlighten the heart of the spouse… life will lose the incentives of the senses and become a pure flower with the fragrance of charity.
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…»
10.6 «You ought to be the Mother of the Christ, since You love Him so much! Is that why You wish to remain a virgin?»
«Oh! No. I am misery and dust. I dare not lift My eyes towards the Glory. That is why, rather than the double Veil, beyond which I know dwells the invisible Presence of Jehovah, I love looking into My heart. Over there, there is the terrible God of Sinai. Here, within Me, I see our Father, a loving Face that smiles and blesses Me, because I am small like a little bird, that the wind sustains without feeling its weight and I am weak like the stem of a lily of the valley, that can only bloom and smell sweetly and can present no other force to the wind but its scented and pure sweetness. God, My loving wind! Not because of that. But because the Son of God and of a Virgin, the Holy of the Most Holy One, can but like what in Heaven He chose as his Mother and what on the earth speaks to Him of His Heavenly Father: Purity. If the Law pondered that, if the rabbis, who have complicated the Law with all the quibbles of their teaching, turned their minds to higher horizons and aimed at supernatural things, deserting the human and lucrative affairs which cause them to forget the supreme End, they should, above all, make Purity the main subject of their teaching, so that the King of Israel may find it when He comes. With the olive branches of the Peaceful One, with the Palms of the Triumpher, spread lilies, lilies, lilies… How much Blood the Saviour will have to shed to redeem us! How much indeed! From the thousands of wounds that Isaiah saw on the Man of Sorrows, a stream of Blood is falling, like dew from a porous vase. May this divine Blood not fall where there is desecration and blasphemy, but into chalices of fragrant purity that may receive it and gather it for the purpose of spreading it amongst the diseased and leprous souls and amongst those who are dead to God. Give lilies to wipe with their pure petals the sweat and the tears of Christ! Give lilies for His keen desire of Martyrdom! Oh! Where is the Lily that will bear You? Where is the Lily that will quench Your parching thirst, that will become red with Your Blood, will die for the pain of seeing You dying, and will cry over Your bloodless Body? Oh! Christ! Christ! My desire!…»
Mary is now silent, weeping and overwhelmed.
10.7 Anna is also silent for a little while and then with her clear voice of a deeply moved old woman, she asks: «Have You anything else to teach me, Mary?»
Mary rouses. She must think, in Her humbleness, that Her teacher is reproaching Her and She exclaims: «Oh! Forgive Me! You are My teacher. I am nothing. But this voice comes from My heart. I watch over it, to avoid speaking. But like a river that under the fury of water breaks its embankment, it has now overcome Me and overflowed. Please pay no attention to My words and chastise My presumption. Words of mystery should remain in the depths of one’s heart, which God helps in His goodness. I know. But this Invisible Presence is so sweet that I am filled with joy… Anna, please forgive your little servant!»
Anna embraces Her while tears shine on her old wrinkled and trembling face. The tears run along her wrinkles, like water along an uneven ground that becomes a trembling swamp. But the old teacher does not arouse laughter, on the contrary her crying stimulates the deepest respect.
Mary is clasped in her arms, Her little face against Her teacher’s breast. And it all finishes in this way.
GRM 10.8
10.8 Jesus says:
«Mary remembered God. She dreamt of God. She thought She was dreaming. She was only seeing again what She had seen in the splendour of God’s Heaven, in the instant She was created to be united to the body conceived on the earth. She shared with God one of God’s properties, although in a lesser degree, as was fitting.
GRM 10.10
10.10 Mary was full of Grace. The whole One and Trine Grace was in Her. The whole One and Trine Grace prepared Her like a Bride for the Wedding, like a Nuptial Bed for the Offspring, like a Divine Person for Her Maternity and mission. She closes the cycle of the Prophetesses of the Old Testament and opens the period of the “spokesmen of God” of the New Testament.
True Ark of the Word of God, looking into Her immaculate heart, She discovered the words of eternal knowledge, which the finger of God had written there, and She remembered, as all saints do, that She had already heard them when Her immortal soul was being created by God the Father, the Creator of all living beings… And if She did not remember everything of Her future mission, the reason is that God leaves some gaps in every human perfection, according to a Law of divine prudence, out of goodness and as a reward to creatures.
Mary, the second Eve, had to achieve Her part of merit in being the Mother of Christ, with a faithful goodwill, that God expected also from His Christ to make Him a Redeemer.
The spirit of Mary was in Heaven. Her morale and Her body were on the earth and they had to tread on the earth and on the flesh to reach the spirit and join it to the Spirit in a fruitful embrace.
GRM 11
Chapter title: Mary confides her vow to the High Priest.
Date of vision: Sunday, September 3, 1944
Calendar:November 7 (Elul 3754).
Location (map): Jerusalem
Cycle: Marriage to Joseph
Summary: Mary returns to her cell with other virgins. Just as she is about to enter her room, a mistress tells her that the High Priest wants to see her. So she goes, and discovers not only the priest, but also Zechariah and Anne of Phanuel. Simon ben Boethos tells her that he knows of her holiness, and would like her to stay in the Temple and pray to the Lord every morning. But the Law says otherwise, and she must marry. He reassures her by saying that he has not forgotten that she is of the line of David, and as she knows no one, they will rely on God to choose her husband. Mary then confided her vow of virginity to the high priest, who asked her when she had fulfilled it. The Mother of the Lord plunged into her memories to answer him. She tells him that she is not opposed to marriage, but still wants to remain a virgin. The high priest declares that God will give her a husband, who will be holy because she has entrusted herself to the Most High. She will tell her future husband about her vow.
Chapter contents: 11.1: Maria Valtorta is delighted by Mary's smile in the midst of a bombardment. 11.2: Mary returns to her cell with the virgins. 11.3: The Pontiff reminds her that she must marry. 11.4: But Mary has promised herself to the Lord and tells how. 11.5: You will tell your husband your vow.
GRM 11.2-5
11.2 Mary is still in the Temple. She is now coming out with other virgins from the inner part of the Temple.
There must have been a ceremony because there is the scent of incense in the air of a red sunset. It must be late October, because the sky, already calmly restful as is usual in clear October days, is bending over the gardens of Jerusalem, where the yellow ochre leaves about to fall add gold red spots to the silvery green of the olive-trees.
The crowd, or rather the host of white dressed virgins, crosses the rear yard, then climbs the steps, goes through a porch and enters another square yard, not quite so splendid, without any other door except the one leading into it. It must be the yard allocated to the small dwellings of the virgins assigned to the Temple, because each girl moves towards her cell, like a little dove to its nest. They look like a flock of doves that separate after gathering together. They are all speaking in low but joyful voices, before separating. Mary is silent. Before leaving the other girls, She bids them goodbye affectionately and then goes to Her little room in a corner on the right hand side.
11.3 One of the teachers, an elderly lady, but not so old as Anna of Phanuel, joins Her. «Mary, the High Priest wants to see You.»
Mary looks at her somewhat surprised, but does not ask any question. She only replies: «I will go at once.»
I do not know whether the large hall, which She enters, is the house of the High Priest or whether it is part of the dwellings of the women assigned to the Temple. I know it is wide and bright, tastefully arranged. In addition to the High Priest, a stately man in his robes, there are also Zacharias and Anna of Phanuel.
Mary bows down on the threshold and does not enter until the High Priest says to Her: «Come in, Mary. Do not be afraid.» Mary looks up again and slowly moves forward, not because She is unwilling, but because of a somewhat unintentional seriousness, which makes Her look more of a woman.
Anna smiles at Her to encourage Her and Zacharias greets Her: «Peace to you, cousin.»
The High Priest observes Her very carefully and then he remarks to Zacharias: «She is obviously of the stock of David and Aaron…»
«My child, I am aware of Your grace and goodness, I know that every day You are growing in grace and knowledge before God and men. I know that the voice of God whispers His sweetest words to Your heart. I know that You are the Flower of God’s Temple and that a third Cherub is before the Testimony since You were here. And I would like Your perfume to continue to rise with the incense every day. But the Law says differently. You are no longer a girl, but a woman. And every woman must be a wife in Israel to bear a son to the Lord. You shall follow the commandment of the Law. Do not be afraid, do not blush. I am aware of Your royalty. The Law that prescribes that each man is to be given a woman of his own stock will protect You. But even if that were not the case, I would do so, so that Your magnificent blood might not be corrupted. Don’t You know anyone of Your stock, Mary, who might be Your husband?»
Mary lifts Her face full of blushes. Her eyes are shining with tears which begin to appear and with a trembling voice She replies: «No, nobody.»
«It is not possible for Her to know anyone, because She came here in Her childhood and David’s race has been struck too severely and scattered too widely to allow the various branches to gather like foliage around the royal palm» says Zacharias.
«We shall then leave the choice to God.»
11.4 The tears that Mary had restrained so far, gush out and fall on Her trembling mouth. She looks imploringly at Her teacher.
«Mary has consecrated Herself to the Lord for His glory and for the salvation of Israel. She was but a little child just learning to read and write and She had already made Her vow…» says Anne, helping Her.
«Is that why You are crying then? Not because You wish to resist the Law?»
«Just for that… nothing else. I shall obey you, Priest of God.»
«This confirms what I have always been told of You. How long have You been consecrated to the Lord?»
«I have always been, I think. I was not yet in this Temple, and I had already given Myself to the Lord.»
«But are You not the little one who came twelve years ago and asked me to be allowed to enter?»
«I am.»
«Well, then, how can You say that You already belonged to God then?»
«If I look back, I find I was consecrated… I do not remember when I was born, neither do I remember how I began to love My mother and to say to My father: “Father, I am your daughter”… But I remember that I gave My heart to God, although I do not know when it started. Perhaps it was with the first kiss that I was able to give, with the first word that I learned to say, with the first step that I took… Yes, I think I find My first recollection of love with My first steady step… My house… near the house there was a garden full of flowers… and there was an orchard and some fields… and there was a spring of water at the rear, under the hill, and the water gushed out from a hollow rock that formed a grotto… it was full of long and thin herbs that hung down forming small green waterfalls everywhere and they seemed to be weeping because the thin little leaves, that seemed an embroidery work, had tiny little drops of water on them and when the drops fell they tinkled like little bells. Also the spring seemed to be singing. And there were birds on the olive and apple-trees above the spring and white doves used to come and wash in the clear water of the fountain… I was no longer thinking of all that, because I had put all My heart in God and, with the exception of My father and mother, whom I loved in life and in death, every other worldly thing had disappeared from My heart… But you have made Me think of it… I must find when I gave Myself to God… and the things of My first years come back to My mind… I loved that grotto, because I heard a voice sweeter than the song of the water and the warbling of the birds say to Me: “Come, My Beloved”. I loved those herbs covered with tinkling and sparkling diamond drops, because I could see in them the sign of My Lord and I used to say to Myself: “O soul of Mine, see how great Your God is, He Who made the cedars of Lebanon for the eagles, has also made these little leaves that bend down under the weight of a little mosquito and He made them for the joy of Your eyes and as a protection for Your little feet”. I loved that silence of pure things: the light breeze, the silvery water, the purity of the doves… I loved the peace that hovered over the little grotto, and descended from the apple and olive-trees, now full of blossoms, then laden with beautiful fruit… And I do not know… the voice seemed to be saying to Me, yes, just to Me: “Come, specious olive; come, sweet apple; come, sealed spring; come, My dove”… Sweet is the love of a father, sweet the love of a mother… sweet their voices calling Me… but this, this one! Oh! in the earthly Paradise I think that she, who became guilty, heard it thus, and I do not understand how she could prefer a hiss to this voice of love, how she could desire any other knowledge that was not God… With My lips which still tasted of My mother’s milk, but with My heart full of celestial honey, I then said: “Here I am. I am coming. I am Yours. No one will have My body, but You, My Lord, neither will My soul have any other love…” And while saying so, it seemed to Me that I was repeating things already said and that I was fulfilling a rite already fulfilled, and the chosen Spouse was not a stranger to Me, because I already knew His ardour and My sight had been formed at His light and My capacity for loving had been fulfilled in His embrace… When? I do not know. Beyond life, I would say, because I feel I always had Him, and that He always had Me, and that I exist because He wanted Me for the joy of His Spirit and Mine…
11.5 Now I obey you, o Priest. But please tell Me how I am to behave… I have neither father nor mother. Please be My guide.»
«God will give You Your husband and he will be a holy man, because You have entrusted Yourself to God. You will tell him Your vow.»
«And will he agree?»
«I hope so. Pray, my child, that he may understand Your heart. Go now. May God always accompany You.»
Mary withdraws with Anna. Zacharias stays with the High Priest.
The vision ends in this way.
GRM 12
Chapter title: Joseph chosen as the Virgin's spouse.
Date of vision: Monday, September 4, 1944
Calendar:Friday, December 23, year -7
Location (map): Jerusalem
Cycle: Marriage to Joseph
Summary: The high priest gathered the men of the tribe of David at the Temple. We learn in this chapter that he asked everyone to bring an almond branch. It is from this group that the Virgin's husband will be chosen. Everyone is curious, and Zachariah is present. The high priest finally arrives and reveals that one of the branches has blossomed in the middle of winter, and that this is the one who will marry Mary. Joseph is chosen as the lucky one and the high priest sends for the future Mother of Christ. Meanwhile, Simon ben Boethos reveals that Mary has made a vow. Joseph must help the All-Pure to tell her. When she arrives, everyone withdraws and the two fiancés get to know each other. Joseph speaks of the house of Nazareth, of Anne, of Joachim, and this gives the Virgin confidence. Her husband reveals to her that he is a Nazir, and this encourages her to tell him her vow, which he accepts: he even asks her to unite his vow with hers. Finally, St. Joseph affirms that he will take care of the house in Nazareth until Mary leaves the Temple for good.
Chapter contents: 12.1: A gathering of men in festive dress. 12.2: Joseph speaks with an old man. 12.3: A Levite brings a bundle of dry branches with a flowering branch. 12.4: Joseph is designated Mary's husband thanks to the miraculously flowering branch. 12.5: The Pontiff presents Joseph to Mary. 12.6: Joseph is a Nazirite. 12.7: Mary entrusts her consecration to God to Joseph, who accepts it. They will live in chastity. 12.8 : In Nazareth, the couple will live separately, with Joseph taking care of everything.
GRM 12.5
There is no flower in Israel as beautiful and pure as She is.
GRM 12.6-8
12.6 The betrothed are now facing each other. Mary, full of blushes, is standing with Her head bowed. Joseph, who is also red in the face, looks at Her and tries to find the first words to be said. He eventually finds them and a bright smile lights up his eyes. He says: «I welcome you, Mary. I saw You when You were a little baby, only a few days old… I was a friend of Your father’s and I have a nephew, the son of my brother Alphaeus, who was a great friend of Your mother. He was her little friend, because he is only eighteen years old, and when You were not yet born, he was only a little boy and he cheered up Your sad mother who loved him so much. You do not know us because You were only a little girl when You came here. But everyone in Nazareth loves You and they all think and speak of Joachim’s little Mary, Whose birth was a miracle of the Lord, Who made the barren old lady blossom wonderfully… And I remember the evening You were born… We all remember it because of the prodigy of a heavy rain that saved the country and of a violent storm during which the thunderbolts did not damage even a stem of heather and it ended with such a large and beautiful rainbow that the like has never been seen again. And then… who does not remember Joachim’s happiness? He dandled You showing You to his neighbours… As if You were a flower that had descended from Heaven, he admired You and wanted everyone to admire You, a happy old father who died talking about his Mary, Who was so beautiful and good and Whose words were so full of wisdom and grace… He was quite right in admiring You and in saying that there is no other woman lovelier than You are! And Your mother? She filled Your house and the neighbourhood with her songs and she sang like a skylark in springtime when she was carrying You, and afterwards when she held You in her arms. I made a cradle for You. A tiny little cradle, with roses carved all over it, because Your mother wanted it like that. Perhaps it is still in the house… I am old, Mary. When You were born I was beginning to work. I was already working… I would never have believed that I was going to have You as a spouse! Perhaps Your parents would have died a happier death if they had known, because they were my friends. I buried Your father, mourning over his death with a sincere heart, because he was a good teacher to me.»
Mary raises Her face, little by little, taking heart, as She hears Joseph speak to Her in this way, and when he mentions the cradle She smiles gently and when Joseph speaks of Her father, She holds out Her hand to him and says: «Thank you, Joseph.» A very timid and gentle «thank you.»
Joseph holds Her little jasmine hand in his short and strong hands of a carpenter and he caresses it with an affection that expresses more and more confidence. Perhaps he is waiting for more words. But Mary is silent once again.
He then goes on: «As You know, Your house is still intact, with the exception of the part that was demolished by order of the consul, to build a road for the waggons of the Romans. But the fields, what is left of them — You know that because of Your father’s illness much of the property had to be disposed of — have been rather neglected. For over three years the trees and the vines have never been pruned and the land is untilled and hard. But the trees that saw You when You were a little girl are still there, and if You agree, I will at once take care of them.»
«Thank you, Joseph. But you have your work…»
«I will work in Your orchard in the morning and in the evening. The days are getting longer and longer. By springtime I want everything to be in order for Your happiness. Look: this is a branch of the almond tree near the house. I wanted to pick it
— the hedge is so ruined that one can enter anywhere, but I will remake it solid and strong — I wanted to pick it, because I thought that if I should be the chosen one, You would have been pleased to have a flower from Your garden. But I was not expecting to be the chosen one as I am a Nazirite[1] and I have obeyed because it is an order of the Priest, not because I wish to get married. Here is the branch, Mary. With it I offer You my heart, that, like it, has bloomed up till now only for the Lord and is now blooming for You, my spouse.»
12.7
Mary takes the branch. She is moved and looks at Joseph with a face that has become more and more confident and bright. She feels certain of him. When he says to Her «I am a Nazirite», Her face becomes bright and She takes courage: «Also I am all of the Lord, Joseph. I do not know whether the High Priest told you…»
«He only told me that You are good and pure, that You wish to inform me of a vow, and that I must be good to you. Speak, Mary. Your Joseph wants You to be happy in all Your desires. I do not love You with my body. I love You with my soul, holy girl given to me by God! Please see in me a father and a brother, in addition to a husband. And open Your heart to me as to a father and rely on me as on a brother…»
«Since My childhood I have consecrated Myself to the Lord. I know this is not the custom in Israel. But I heard a voice requesting My virginity as a sacrifice of love for the coming of the Messiah. Israel has been waiting for Him for such a long time!… It is not too much to forgo the joy of being a mother for that!»
Joseph gazes at Her as if he wanted to read Her heart, then he takes Her tiny hands which are still holding the branch in blossom and he says: «I will join my sacrifice to Yours and we shall love the Eternal Father so much with our chastity that He will send His Saviour to the world earlier, and will allow us to see His Light shining in the world. Come, Mary. Let us go before His House and take an oath that we shall love each other as the angels do.
12.8
Then I will go to Nazareth to prepare everything for You, in Your house, if You wish to go there, or elsewhere if You wish so.»
«In My house… There was a grotto down at the bottom… Is it still there?»
«It is, but it is no longer Yours… But I will build another one for You where it will be cool and quiet during the hottest hours of the day. I will make it as similar as possible to the older one. And tell me: whom do You want with You?»
«Nobody. I am not afraid. Alphaeus’ mother, who has always come to see Me, will keep Me company during the day. At night I prefer to be alone. No harm can befall Me.»
«And now I am there, too. When shall I come and get You?»
«Whenever you wish, Joseph.»
«Then I will come as soon as the house is ready. I will not touch anything. I want You to find it as Your mother left it. But I want it to be bright and clean, to welcome You without any sadness. Come, Mary. Let us go and tell the Most High that we bless Him.»
I do not see anything else. But I feel in my heart the sense of confidence that Mary feels.
GRM 13
Chapter title: Marriage of the Virgin with Joseph, instructed by Wisdom that he would be the guardian of the Mystery.
Date of vision and dictation: Tuesday, September 5, 1944
Calendar: March 6 A.D.
Location (map): Jerusalem
Cycle: Marriage with Joseph
Summary: Joseph and Mary are engaged at the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary looks beautiful in her bride's trousseau. The virgins around her are ecstatic at her beauty, and it's her mistresses who come to their protégée's rescue. The maidens leave, and Elisabeth arrives. She tells her about Anne's wedding trousseau, and then the Virgin speaks of Joseph, who is described as a young saint. The bridegroom arrives, and the two fiancés meet again. Joseph is superb, and confides that he has been thinking about the Virgin's vow. He understands it and joins her in a perpetual naziréat. The high priest then betroths them. After this, Mary and Joseph leave Jerusalem for Nazareth... Jesus then gives a dictation about his putative father.
Chapter contents: 13.1: Mary's beauty in her bridal attire. 13.2: Her companions admire her. 13.3: Your clothes are your mother's caress. 13.4: Joseph arrives in his best clothes. His welcoming speech. 13.5: Joseph speaks of the vow of absolute chastity. 13.6: The Pontiff presides over the wedding. 13.7: The bride and groom leave in a chariot with Zechariah and Elizabeth. 13.8: Praise for Wisdom. 13.9: Joseph, guardian of the Bride and the Son of God. 13.10: Joseph, a new Aaron who believed without seeing. 13.11 : Joseph, a co-redemptive example of purity, fidelity and perfect love.