The Virgin Mary and animals

« I would also like to be a sinner, a big sinner, if I were not afraid of offending the Lord… Tell Me, mummy, can one be a sinner out of love of God?»

«But what are You saying, my dear? I don’t understand You.»

«I mean: to commit a sin in order to be loved by God, Who becomes the Saviour. He who is lost, is saved. Isn’t that so? I would like to be saved by the Saviour to receive His loving look. That is why I would like to sin, but not to commit a sin that would disgust Him. How can He save Me if I do not get lost?»

Anne is dumbfounded. She does not know what to say.

Joachim helps her. He has approached them walking noiselessly on the grass, behind the low hedge of vine-shoots. «He has saved You beforehand, because He knows that You love Him and You want to love Him only. So You are already redeemed and You can be a virgin as You wish» says Joachim.

«Is that true, daddy?» Mary embraces his knees and looks at him with Her clear blue eyes, so like Her father’s and so happy because of this hope She gets from Her father.

«It is true, my little darling. Look! I was just bringing You this little sparrow, that at its first flight landed near the spring. I could have left it there but its weak wings did not have enough strength to fly off again, and its tiny legs could not hold onto the slippery moss stones. It would have fallen into the water. But I did not wait for that. I took it and now I am giving it to You. You will do what you like with it. The fact is that it was saved before it fell into danger. God has done the same with You. Now, tell me, Mary: have I loved the sparrow more by saving it beforehand, or would I have loved it more saving it afterwards?»

«You have loved it now, because you did not let it get hurt in the cold water.»

«And God has loved You more, because He has loved You before You sinned.»

«And I will love Him wholeheartedly. Wholeheartedly. My beautiful little sparrow, I am like you. The Lord has loved us both equally, by saving us… I will now rear you and then I will let you go. And you in the forest and I in the Temple will sing the praises of God, and we shall say: “Please send the One You promised to those who expect Him”. »

• Anne of Aaron (mother of the Virgin Mary)
• Birds
• Character prophecies in the EMV
• Fishermen
• Immaculate Conception
• Joachim of David (father of the Virgin Mary)
• Love of the Virgin Mary
• Marie as a child
• Sauveur
• Sin
• The Virgin Mary and animals
• Words of the Virgin Mary

19.2 They close the door of the house and start off. It is daybreak, for I can see the rosy dawn in the east. Nazareth is still asleep. The two early travellers meet only a shepherd who is pushing forward his sheep, which are trotting along, one against the other, jammed in close flock. They are all bleating. The little lambs with their shrill sharp voices bleat more than the others, and want their mothers’ breasts even while moving. But the mothers are hurrying towards the pastures and with their louder bleatings they urge the little ones to follow them.

Mary looks and smiles and since She has stopped to let the herd go by, She bends on the saddle and caresses the mild little beasts that pass near Her donkey. When the shepherd arrives carrying a newly-born little lamb in his arms and he stops to speak to Mary, She smiles and caresses the pinkish little face of the lamb, that is bleating desperately and She exclaims: «It’s looking for its mother. Here is your mother. She won’t leave you, of course she won’t, little lamb.» In fact the ewe rubs herself against the shepherd, then stands up on her hind legs and licks the face of her little one.

The herd passes by making the noise of water drops falling on leaves. Behind it there is the dust raised by the trotting feet of the sheep and the patterns of their footprints on the dusty road.

• The Virgin Mary and animals

22.5 Mary caresses and comforts her and in order to divert her attention, she invites her to take a little walk in the sunny garden.

They walk under a well cultivated pergola, as far as a little rustic tower, in the holes of which doves have nested.

Mary scatters the birdseed laughing, because the doves have rushed on Her, cooing loudly and flapping noisily, forming iridescent circles around Her. They alight on Her head, shoulders, arms and on Her hands, stretching their rosy beaks to snatch the grains from Her hands, gracefully pecking the Virgin’s rosy lips and Her teeth that shine in the sun. Mary takes the golden corn from a little sack and She laughs in the middle of that game of intrusive greed.

«How fond they are of You!» points out Elizabeth. «You have only been here a few days and they love You more than me, although I have always taken care of them.»

They continue walking until they reach an enclosure, at the end of the orchard, where there are about twenty goats with their little kids.

«Have you come back from the pasture?» Mary asks a little shepherd, caressing him.

«Yes, because my father said to me: “Go home, because it is going to rain shortly and there are some sheep about to lamb. Make sure they have dry grass and litter”. There he is, he is coming.» And he points to the wood, whence a continual trembling bleating can be heard.

Mary caresses a little kid, as fair as a child, which rubs itself against Her, and together with Elizabeth She drinks some new milk that the little shepherd offers them.

Then the sheep arrive led by a shepherd as hairy as a bear. But he is obviously a good man because he is carrying a groaning sheep on his shoulders. He puts her down gently and explains: «She is about to lamb. She can only walk with difficulty. I put her on my shoulders and I hurried all the way to get here in time.» The sheep, still limping painfully, is led into the fold by the boy.

Mary is sitting on a stone and is playing with the little kids and the lambs, offering clover flowers to their pretty rosy little faces. A black and white kid puts its little hooves on Her shoulder and smells Her hair. «It is not bread,» says Mary laughing. «I will bring you some crumbs tomorrow. Be good, now.»

Once again cheerful, Elizabeth also laughs.

• The Virgin Mary and animals

• The Virgin Mary and animals