Skip to content

Notes for this theme

Major prophets

Page 1 of 4

Reading comfort

Aa

GRM 7.3-4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

7.3 Mummy, will you tell Me another story?»

«Oh, my dear! Which story do You wish to know?»

Mary is thinking, deeply absorbed in Her thoughts. Her expression should be immortalized in a portrait. The shadows of Her thoughts are reflected on Her childish face. There are smiles and sighs, sunshine and clouds, thinking of the history of Israel. Then She makes up Her mind: «Once again the story of Gabriel and Daniel, where Christ is promised.»

And She listens, with Her eyes closed, repeating in a low voice the words Her mother says, as if to remember them better. When Anne finishes She asks: «How long will it be before we have the Immanuel?»

«About thirty years, my darling.»

«Such a long time! And I shall be in the Temple… Tell Me, if I should pray very hard, so hard, day and night, night and day, and I wanted to belong only to God, for all My life, for this purpose, would the Eternal Father grant Me the grace of sending the Messiah to His people sooner?»

«I do not know, my dear. The Prophet states: “Seventy weeks”. I do not think a prophecy can be wrong. But the Lord is so good» she hastens to add, seeing tears appear on the fair eyelashes of her child, «the Lord is so good that I believe that if You do pray very hard, so hard, He will hear Your prayer.»

A smile appears once again on Her little face, which She has lifted up towards Her mother and the rays of the sun, filtering through the vine branches cause Her tears to shine like dew-drops on very thin stems of alpine moss.

7.4 «Then I will pray and I shall be a virgin for this.»

«But do you know what that means?»

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

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

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

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

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

Detail

Mary is with her mother, and she asks her to tell her a story from Scripture.

Annotation

"Again Gabriel's word to Daniel, the one where Christ is promised to us." Daniel 9:20-27. This word of prophecy will be interpreted in EMV 10.5 and EMV 41.3/4.

Book of Daniel 9, 20-27

Dan 9:20-27: I was still speaking, praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, laying my supplication before the Lord my God, for the holy mountain of my God; I was still speaking in my prayer when Gabriel - the being I had seen at the beginning of the vision - approached me in swift flight at the hour of the evening offering.

He instructed me, saying: "Daniel, I have gone out now to open C89ton your understanding. From the very beginning of your supplication, a word has arisen, and I have come to announce it to you, for you are loved by God. Understand the word and seek to understand the apparition.

Seventy weeks have been set aside for your people and your holy city, to put an end to perversity and put an end to sin, to atone for guilt and bring about eternal justice, to fulfill vision and prophecy, and to consecrate the Holy of Holies.

Know and understand! From the moment the order to rebuild Jerusalem was given until the coming of a messiah, a leader, there will be seven weeks. For sixty-two weeks, the squares and walls will be rebuilt, but it will be in the distress of the times. And after the sixty-two weeks, a messiah will be removed. The people of a future leader will destroy the city and the Holy Place. Then, in a flood, its end will come. Until the end of the war, the devastations decided upon will take place. For a week, this ruler will strengthen the covenant with a multitude; for half the week, he will cause the sacrifice and offering to cease, and on one wing of the Temple there will be the Abomination of Desolation, until the decided extermination grounds the author of this desolation."

GRM 7.9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

« Mary was not only the Pure, the new Eve created for the joy of God: She was the super Eve, the Masterpiece of the Most High, She was Full of Grace, the Mother of the Word in the mind of God.

Jesus Ben Sirach says: “Source of Wisdom is the Word”. Will the Son therefore not have put His wisdom on His Mother’s lips?

If the mouth of a Prophet was purified with embers, because he had to repeat to men the words that the Word, the Wisdom, entrusted to Him, will Love not have cleansed and exalted the speech of his infant Spouse Who was to bear the Word, so that She should no longer speak as a little girl and then as a woman, but only and always as a celestial creature melted in the great light and wisdom of God?

The miracle is not in the superior intelligence shown by Mary in Her childhood, as afterwards it was by Me. The miracle is in containing the Infinite Intelligence, that dwelled there, within suitable bounds, so that crowds should not be startled and satanic attention should not be awakened.

I will talk again about this subject which is part of the “remembrance” which saints have of God.»

Annotation

Book of Ben Sira the Wise 1, 1-8

Si 1, 1-8 : ALL WISDOM comes from the Lord, and abides with him forever. The sand of the seas, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity, who can count them? The height of heaven, the breadth of earth, the depth of the abyss, who can estimate them? Wisdom was created before all things, and the depth of intelligence has always been there. The source of wisdom is the word of God in the highest heaven. Its paths are the eternal commandments. The root of wisdom, who has had the revelation, and its subtleties, who has had the knowledge? The science of wisdom, to whom was it manifested, and who profited from its great experience? There is but one wise and most formidable being, He who sits on His throne. He is the Lord (...).

Book of Isaiah, 6, 6-7

Is 6, 6-7 : One of the seraphim flew to me, holding a burning coal which he had taken with tongs from the altar. He brought it close to my mouth and said, "This has touched your lips, and now your fault is removed, your sin is forgiven."

A prophet commissioned to speak the words that the Word (...) inspired in him, i.e. Isaiah, as we see in Isaiah 6:6-7. This fact is cited several times in "The Gospel as it was revealed to me", whether in direct form (as here and, for example, in EMV 166.8 and EMV 626.2) or indirectly (as in EMV 364.8). But it is above all the Messianic prophecies that are recalled (see notes at EMV 561.11 and EMV 577.4).

GRM 10.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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

Detail

Mary spoke to Anne of Phanuel and said to her:

Annotation

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

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

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

Book of Daniel 9, 23-27

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

GRM 41.3-5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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.

Annotation

Daniel 9, 21-27: I was still speaking in prayer when Gabriel - the being I had seen at the beginning of the vision - came swiftly to me at the hour of the evening offering. He instructed me, saying: "Daniel, I have come out now to open your understanding. From the very beginning of your supplication, a word has arisen, and I have come to announce it to you, for you are loved by God. Understand the word and seek to understand the apparition.

Seventy weeks have been set aside for your people and your holy city, to put an end to perversity and put an end to sin, to atone for guilt and bring about eternal justice, to fulfill vision and prophecy, and to consecrate the Holy of Holies. Know and understand! From the moment the order to rebuild Jerusalem was given until the coming of a messiah, a leader, there will be seven weeks. For sixty-two weeks, the squares and walls will be rebuilt, but it will be in the distress of the times. And after the sixty-two weeks, a messiah will be removed. The people of a future leader will destroy the city and the Holy Place. Then, in a flood, its end will come. Until the end of the war, the devastations decided upon will take place.

For a week, this ruler will strengthen the covenant with a multitude; for half the week, he will cause the sacrifice and offering to cease, and on one wing of the Temple there will be the Abomination of Desolation, until the decided extermination grounds the author of this desolation."

GRM 41.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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.

Annotation

Jeremiah 31:15: "Thus says the Lord: A cry goes up in Ramah, a lamentation and bitter weeping. It is Rachel weeping for her sons; she refuses to be comforted, for her sons are no more."

Book of Exodus 14, 21-22: Moses stretched out his arm over the sea. The Lord drove out the sea all night with a strong east wind; he dried up the sea, and the waters parted. The sons of Israel entered the middle of the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall on their right and left,

Second Book of Kings, 2, 11-12: They were walking and talking when a chariot of fire, with horses of fire, separated them. Then Elijah went up to heaven in a hurricane. Elisha saw him and cried out: "My father!... My father! Chariot of Israel and his horsemen!" Then he stopped seeing him. He grabbed his clothes and tore them in two.

GRM 41.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Be consoled, my people. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of service is ended… A voice cries in the wilderness: ‘Prepare a way for the Lord… then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…»’

Shammai: «See that, Nazarene. It refers here to an ended slavery, but never before have we been slaves as we are now. And there is the mention of a precursor. Where is he? You are talking nonsense.»

Jesus: «I tell you that the admonition of the Precursor should be addressed to you more than anyone else. To you and those like you. Otherwise you will not see the glory of the Lord, neither will you understand the word of God because meanness, pride and falsehood will prevent you from seeing and hearing.»

Annotation

Isaiah 40:1-5: Comfort, comfort my people," says your God, "speak to the heart of Jerusalem. Proclaim that her service is accomplished, that her crime is atoned for, that she has received double for all her faults from the hand of the Lord. A voice proclaims: "In the desert, prepare the way of the Lord; make straight, in the dry lands, a road for our God. Let every ravine be filled in, every mountain and hill lowered! Let the escarpments be turned into plains, and the peaks into broad valleys! Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and every being of flesh will see that the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

GRM 49.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus begins His lesson.

He says: «The Spirit makes Me read the following things for you. At chapter seven of the book of Jeremiah, we read: “Yahweh Sabaoth, the God of Israel, says this: ‘Amend your behaviour and your actions and I will stay with you here in this place. Put no trust in delusive words like these: This is the sanctuary of Yahweh, the sanctuary of Yahweh, the sanctuary of Yahweh! But if you do amend your behaviour and your actions, if you treat each other fairly, if you do not exploit the stranger, the orphan and the widow, if you do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow alien gods, to your own ruin, then here in this place I will stay with you, in the land that long ago I gave to your fathers forever’”.

Listen, Israel. Here I am to illuminate for you the words of light, which your dimmed souls can no longer see or understand. Listen. There is much weeping in the land of the People of God: old people cry remembering past glories, adults cry because they are bent under the yoke, children cry because they have no prospects of future glory. But the glory of the earth is nothing compared to a glory which no oppressor, except Mammon and ill will, can take away.

Why are you crying? Because the Most High, Who was always good to His people, has now turned His face elsewhere and no longer allows His children to see His Countenance? Is He no longer the God Who parted the sea and made Israel cross it and led the people through the desert and nourished them, and defended them from their enemies and, that they might not lose the way to Heaven, He gave a Law for their souls, as He had sent them a cloud for their bodies? Is He no longer the God that sweetened the waters and sent manna to His worn out children? Is He not the God Who wanted you to settle in His land and made an alliance with you as Father with his children? Well, then, why has the foreigner struck you?

Many amongst you mumble: “And yet the Temple is here!” It is not enough to have the Temple and to go and pray God in it. The first temple is in the heart of every man and that is where holy prayers should be said. But a prayer cannot be holy unless the heart first amends its way of living and with his heart man also amends his habits, affections, the rules of justice towards the poor, servants, relatives and God.

Now look. I see rich hard-hearted men who make rich offerings to the Temple, but they never say to a poor man: “Brother, here is a piece of bread and a penny. Take them. From man to man, and let not my help discourage you as my offering may not make me proud”. I see people who, in their prayers, complain to God because He does not hear their prayers promptly; then when a poor wretch, very often a relative, says to them: “Listen to me”, they reply heartlessly: “No”. I see you crying because your money is squeezed out of your purses by your ruler. But then you squeeze blood out of those you hate and you are not filled with horror when you take the blood and life away from a body.

O Israel! The time of Redemption has come. Prepare its ways in hearts with goodwill. Be honest, good, love one another. The rich must not despise the poor; merchants must not defraud; the poor must not envy the rich. You are all of one blood, and you belong to one God. You are all called to one destiny. Do not shut with your sins the Heavens that the Messiah will open for you. Have you erred so far? Err no longer. Abandon all errors.

The Law is simple, easy and good as it goes back to the original ten commandments, illuminated by the light of love. Come. I will show you which they are: love, love, love. God’s love for you. Your love for God. Love for your neighbours. Always love, because God is love, and those are the Father’s children who know how to live love.

I am here for everybody, and to give everybody the light of God. Here is the Word of the Father that becomes food for you. Come, taste, change the blood of your spirits with this food. Let every poison vanish, let every lust die. A new glory is offered to you: the eternal one, to which all those will come whose hearts will truly study the Law of God.

Start from love. There is nothing greater. When you know how to love, you will already know everything, and God will love you, God’s love means help against all temptations. May the blessing of God be on those who turn to God with their hearts full of goodwill.»

Annotation

Book of Jeremiah 7, 3-7

Jer 7:3-7: Thus says the Lord of the universe, the God of Israel: Make your ways and your deeds better: I will make you dwell in this place. Do not trust in words of falsehood, saying: "Temple of the Lord! Temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!"

If indeed you make your ways and your deeds better, if indeed you uphold the right between a man and his neighbor, if you do not oppress the immigrant, the orphan or the widow, if you do not shed the blood of the innocent in this place, if you do not follow other gods to your misfortune, then I will make you dwell in this place, in the land I gave to your fathers, from time immemorial and forever1.

GRM 73.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«(...) Could it not be true that the shepherds and the sorcerers spoke the truth, revealed to them by God? Why do you carry on believing they were liars?»

«Because the years of the prophecy were not complete. We thought about it afterwards… after our eyes had been opened by the blood that reddened basins and rivulets.»

«And could the Most High not have advanced the coming of the Saviour, out of an excess of love for His people? On what did the sorcerers found their statement? You told Me they came from the East…»

«On their calculations concerning a new star.»

«Is it not written[2]: “A star from Jacob takes the leadership, a sceptre arises from Israel”? Is Jacob not the great Patriarch and did he not stop in the land of Bethlehem as dear to him as his eyes, because his beloved Rachel died there? And did the mouth of a Prophet not say: “A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots”? Jesse, David’s father, was born here. Is the shoot on the stock, cut at its roots by tyrannical usurpation, is it not the “Virgin” Who will give birth to Her Son, conceived not by deed of man, otherwise She would not be a virgin, but by divine will, whereby He will be the “Emmanuel” because: Son of God, He will be God and bring God among the people of God, as His name proclaims? And will He not be announced, as the prophecy says, to the people walking in darkness, that is to the pagans, “by a great light”? And the star the Magi saw, could it not be the star of Jacob, the great light of the two prophecies of Balaam and Isaiah? And the very massacre ordered by Herod, does it not come within the prophecies? “A voice is heard in Ramah… It is Rachel weeping for her children”. It was written that tears should ooze from Rachel’s bones in her sepulchre at Ephrathah when, through the Saviour, the reward would come to the holy people. Tears which were to turn into celestial laughter, just as the rainbow is formed by the last drops of the storm, but it says: “Here, the sky is clear again”»

«You are a learned man. Are You a rabbi?»

«Yes, I am.»

«And I perceived it. There is light and truth in Your words. But… Oh! too many wounds are still bleeding in this land of Bethlehem because of the true or false Messiah… I would never advise Him to come here. The land would reject Him as it rejects a stepson who caused the death of the true children. In any case… if it was Him… He died with the other slaughtered children.»

Annotation

Book of Genesis 35, 15-20

Gen 35:15-20

And Jacob called the place where God had spoken with him "Bethel". They broke camp and left Bethel. They still had some distance to go to reach Ephrathah, when Rachel gave birth. And her labor was painful. During this difficult birth, the midwife said to her: "Don't be afraid! You still have a son!" With her last breath, as she was dying, Rachel called him Ben-Oni (i.e.: Son-of-the-mourning); but his father called him Benjamin (i.e.: Son-of-the-right). Rachel died and was buried on the road to Ephrathah, i.e. Bethlehem. Jacob erected a stele over her grave. Today, this is still the stele at Rachel's grave.

Book of Numbers 24, 15-17

Num 24, 15-17: Balaam again spoke these enigmatic words: "The oracle of Balaam, son of Beor, the oracle of the man with penetrating eyes, the oracle of the one who hears the words of God, who possesses the knowledge of the Most High. He sees what the Mighty One makes him see, he falls into ecstasy, and his eyes are opened. I see this hero - but not for now - I see him - but not up close: A star rises from Jacob, a scepter rises from Israel. It breaks the flanks of Moab, it decimates all the sons of Seth.

First Book of Samuel 17, 12

1 Sam 17:12: David was the son of that Ephrathite of Bethlehem in Judah, whose name was Jesse and who had eight sons. Now, in Saul's time, this man was an old man advanced in years.

Book of Isaiah

Is 7, 14 : Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin is with child, and will bear a son, and will call his name Immanuel (i.e.: God-with-us).

Is 9, 1 : The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light shine, and a light has shone on the inhabitants of the land of darkness.

Is 11, 1 : A branch will come forth from the stock of Jesse, father of David, a shoot will spring from his roots.

Book of Jeremiah 31, 15 :

Jr 31, 15 : Thus says the Lord: A cry goes up in Ramah, a lament and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her sons; she refuses to be comforted, for her sons are no more.

GRM 74.7-9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Men of Judah! Men of Bethlehem, listen! Women of the land sacred to Rachel, listen! Listen to One Who descends from David, and has suffered because of persecutions and has become worthy of speaking, and is speaking to you to give you light and comfort. Listen.»

The people stop shouting, quarrelling and buying and they gather together.

«He is a rabbi!»

«He certainly comes from Jerusalem.»

«Who is He?»

«What a handsome man!»

«And what a voice!»

«And His manners!»

«Of course, He is of David’s House!»

«He is one of ours, then!»

«Let’s listen to Him!»

The whole crowd is now gathered near the little staircase which looks like a pulpit.

«Genesis states: “I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman: She will crush your head and you will strike at Her heel”. It is also said: “I will multiply your pains in childbearing… and the soil shall yield you brambles and thistles”. That was the sentence against man, woman and the serpent.

I have come from far to revere Rachel’s tomb, and in the evening breeze, in the dew of the night, in the plaintive morning song of the nightingale, I heard ancient Rachel’s sobs being repeated, and they were repeated by the mouths of many mothers of Bethlehem, within their tombs or within their hearts. And I heard Jacob’s sorrow roar in the pain of the widowed husbands, deprived of their wives whom sorrow had killed… I cry with you… But listen, brethren of My land. Bethlehem, the blessed land, the least of the towns in Judah, but the greatest in the eyes of God and of mankind, roused Satan’s hatred because it was the cradle of the Saviour, as Micah says, destined to be the tabernacle on which the Glory of God, the Fire of God, His Incarnate Love was to rest.

“I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman; She will crush your head and you will strike at Her heel”. Which enmity is there greater than the one that aims at a mother’s children, the very heart of a woman? And which heel is there stronger than the Saviour’s Mother’s? The revenge of Satan defeated was therefore a natural one: he did not strike at the heel, but at the hearts of mothers, because of the Mother.

Oh! Pains were multiplied when the children were lost after giving birth to them! Oh! great was the trouble of being a childless father after sowing and toiling for the offspring! And yet, Bethlehem, rejoice! Your pure blood, the blood of the innocents has prepared a blazing purple way for the Messiah…»

74.8 The crowd, which has become more and more turbulent after Jesus mentioned the Saviour and His Mother, is now showing clear signs of agitation.

«Be quiet, Master» says Judas. «And let us go.»

But Jesus does not listen to him. He goes on: «… for the Messiah that the Grace of the God-Father saved from tyrants to preserve Him for His people and its salvation and…»

The shrill voice of a woman shouts: «Five, five I gave birth to, and not one is now in my house. Poor me!» And she yells hysterically.

It is the beginning of the uproar.

Another woman rolls over in the dust, she tears her dress, and shows a breast maimed of its nipple, shouting: «Here, here on this breast they slaughtered my first-born son! The sword cut off his face and my nipple at the same time. Oh! my Ellis!»

«And what about me! What about me? There is my royal palace. Three tombs in one, watched over by the father: my husband and children together. There, there! If there is a Saviour, let Him give me back my children, my husband, let Him save me from despair, from Beelzebub He must save me.»

They all shout: «Our children, our husbands, our fathers! Let Him give them back, if He exists!»

Jesus waves His arms imposing silence. «Brethren of My land: I would like to give you back your children, in their flesh. But I tell you: be good, be resigned, forgive, hope, rejoice in hope and exult in one certainty: you will soon have your children, angels in Heaven, because the Messiah is about to open the gates of Heaven, and if you are just, death will be a new Life and a new Love…»

«Ah! Are You the Messiah? In the name of God, tell us.»

Jesus lowers Him arms, in so sweet and kind a gesture as if He were embracing them all, and He says: «Yes, I am.»

«Go away! Go away! It’s Your fault, then!»

A stone is thrown amid hisses and jeers.

74.9 Judas reacts at once in a most praiseworthy way… Oh! if he had always behaved thus! He jumps in front of Jesus, standing on the low wall of the landing, with his mantle wide open and undaunted he protects Jesus from the stones. His face bleeds and he shouts to John and Simon: «Take Jesus away. Behind those trees. I’ll follow. Go, in the name of Heaven!» And he shouts to the crowd: «Mad dogs! I am of the Temple and I will report you to the Temple and to Rome.»

The crowd is scared for a moment. Then the shower of stones is resumed at once, but fortunately, they are not experts. And Judas, fearless, receives them, and replies with offensive language to the curses of the crowd. Furthermore: he catches a stone thrown at him, and he throws it back on the head of an old man who is shouting like a magpie plucked alive! And as they attempt to climb up his pedestal, he quickly picks up an old branch from the ground, (he has now come off the little wall) and he swings it round on backs, heads and hands mercilessly.

Some soldiers rush to the spot and with their lances they make their way through the crowd: «Who are you? Why this brawl?»

«I am a Judaean and I have been attacked by these plebeians. A rabbi, well known to the priests, was with me. He was speaking to these dogs. But they became wild and attacked us.»

«Who are You?»

«Judas of Kerioth, I was a man of the Temple, now I am a disciple of rabbi Jesus of Galilee. I am a friend of Simon the Pharisee, of Johanan the Sadducee, and of Joseph of Arimathaea, the Counsellor of the Sanhedrin, and finally, of Eleazar ben Anna, the Proconsul’s great friend, and you can check.»

«I will. Where are you going?»

«I am going to Kerioth with my friend, then to Jerusalem.»

«Go. We will protect your back.»

Judas hands some coins to the soldier. It must be illegal… but quite normal, because the soldier takes them swiftly and cautiously, he salutes and smiles. Judas jumps down from his platform, he goes through the uncultivated field, skipping now and again, and he reaches his companions.

«Are you seriously hurt?»

«No, it’s nothing, Master! In any case, it’s for You… But I gave them a licking as well. I must be covered with blood…»

«Yes, on your cheek. There is a rivulet here.»

John moistens a small piece of cloth and wipes Judas’ cheek.

«I am sorry, Judas… But see,… to tell them that we are Judaeans, according to your good practical sense…»

«They are beasts. I believe You are now convinced, Master. And I hope you will not insist…»

«Oh! no! Not because I am afraid. But because it is useless, just now. When they do not want us, we must not curse them, but withdraw praying for the poor, foolish people, who die of starvation and cannot see the Bread. Let us go along this out-of-the-way path, towards the shepherds, if we can find them. I think we will be able to get on to the Hebron road…»

«To have more stones thrown at us,?»

«No. To say to them: “I am here”.»

«What?… They will certainly beat us. They have been suffering for thirty years because of You.»

«We shall see.»

They enter a cool, shady, thick little wood, and I lose sight of them.

Detail

Summary: Jesus has come to the ruins of Anne's house. He decides to speak to the people of Bethlehem, who have lost their children in the massacre of the Innocents.

Annotation

Book of Genesis 3, 14-19

Gn 3, 14-19 : Then the Lord God said to the serpent: "Because you have done this, you will be cursed among all the animals and beasts of the field. You will crawl on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring: she will bruise your head, and you will bruise her heel."

Then the Lord God said to the woman: "I will multiply the sorrow of your pregnancies; in sorrow you will bear sons. Your desire will lead you to your husband, and he will rule over you."

Finally, he said to the man: "Because you listened to the voice of your wife, and ate the fruit of the tree that I forbade you to eat: curse the ground for your sake! You will eat from it in sorrow all the days of your life. Of itself, it will give you thorns and thistles, but you will get your food by tilling the fields. By the sweat of your face you shall earn your bread, until you return to the earth from which you came; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."

Book of Jeremiah 31, 15

Jer 31:15: Thus says the Lord: A cry goes up in Ramah, a lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her sons; she refuses to be comforted, for her sons are no more.

Micah 5:1

Mi 5, 1 : And you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, the smallest of the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me the one who is to rule Israel. Its origins go back to ancient times, to the days of yore.

GRM 78.6-7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The synagogue is on the square. They go in. Jesus goes to the lectern. He begins to speak, bright in His beautiful robes, His face inspired, His arms stretched out in His usual attitude.

«People of Kerioth, the Word of God is speaking to you. Listen. He Who is speaking to you is but the Word of God. His sovereignty comes from the Father and will return to the Father after Israel has been evangelised. May your hearts and minds be opened to the truth, so that you may be freed from errors and confusion.

Isaiah said: “For all the footgear of battle, every cloak rolled in blood is burnt and consumed by fire. For there is a Child born to us, a Son given to us, and dominion is laid on His shoulders; and this is the name they give Him: Wonder-Counsellor, Mighty-God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace”. That is My Name. We leave to Caesar and the Tetrarchs their preys. I will commit a robbery. But not a robbery deserving to be punished by fire. On the contrary I will snatch from Satan’s fire many of his preys and I will take them to the Kingdom of peace, of which I am the Prince, and to the future century: the eternal time of which I am the Father.

“God”, says David, from whose stock I descend, as was prophesied by those who saw the future because of their holiness which was so pleasing to God, that He chose them as His messengers, “God elected one only… my son… but the work is great: this palace is not for man but for God”. It is so. God, the King of kings, elected one person only: His Son, to build His house in the hearts of men. And He has already prepared the materials. Oh! How much gold of charity! and copper, silver, iron, rare wood and precious stones! They are all gathered in his Word Who makes use of them to build God’s abode in you. But if man does not help the Lord, the Lord will build His dwelling place in vain. One must reply to gold with gold, to silver with silver, to copper with copper, to iron with iron. That is, love is to be given for love, continence to serve Purity, perseverance to be loyal, strength to be steadfast. And one must carry stones today, wood tomorrow: a sacrifice today, a deed tomorrow and thus build. You must always build the Temple of God in your hearts.

The Master, the Messiah, the King of everlasting Israel and of God’s eternal people, calls you. But He wants you to be pure for the work. Relinquish pride: praise is due to God. Relinquish human thoughts: the Kingdom belongs to God. Be humble and say with Me: “All things are Yours, Father. Everything that is good is Yours. Teach us how to know You and serve You in truth”. Say: “Who am I?” And acknowledge that you will be something only when you become purified dwellings into which God may descend and rest.

You are all pilgrims and strangers in this world, learn how to gather together and proceed towards the promised Kingdom. The road: the commandments fulfilled not because of fear of a punishment, but out of love for You, holy Father. The Ark: a perfect heart in which the nourishing manna of wisdom is treasured and the branch of a pure will is certain to bloom. And come to the Light of the world, that your houses may be bright with light. I bring you the Light. Nothing else. I have no riches and I do not promise worldly honours. But I possess all the supernatural wealth of My Father and I promise the eternal honour of Heaven to those who will follow God with love and charity.

Peace be with you.»

78.7 The people, who have listened attentively, begin to murmur somewhat agitated. Jesus speaks to the head of the synagogue. Other people, perhaps the important people, join the group.

«Master, but are You not the King of Israel? We were told…»

«I am.»

«But You said…»

«That I neither possess nor promise worldly wealth. I can speak but the truth. Yes, it is so. I know what you think. But the error is due to a misinterpretation and your great respect for the Most High. You were told: “The Messiah is coming” and you thought, like many in Israel, that Messiah and king were the same thing. Raise your minds higher up. Look at this beautiful summer sky. Do you think it ends there, where the air seems a sapphire vault? No, the most pure, the most azure spheres are beyond it, up as far as Paradise, which no one can imagine, where the Messiah will lead all the just who die in the Lord. The same difference exists between the Messiah’s royalty, as understood by men, and His true Royalty: which is entirely divine.»

«But will we, poor men, be able to raise our minds so far up?»

«Yes, if you only want to. And if you want to, I will help you.»

«How shall we call You, if You are not a king?»

«Call Me Master, or Jesus, as you wish. I am a Master and I am Jesus, the Saviour.»

Annotation

Isaiah 9:4-5

Is 9, 4-5: "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light arise; and on the inhabitants of the land of darkness a light has shone. You have lavished joy, you have made gladness grow: they rejoice before you, as one rejoices at the harvest, as one exults at the sharing of the spoil." 1

First Book of Chronicles 29, 1

1 Chr 29, 1: "King David addressed the whole assembly: 'My son Solomon, the only one God has chosen, is young and weak, while the work to be done is great, for this citadel is not for a man, but for the Lord God."