Places in The Gospel as it was revealed to me

• Anne de Phanuël (mistress of the Virgin Mary in the Temple)
• Places - Jerusalem Temple
• Simon ben Boëthos (high priest during the Virgin Mary's childhood)
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

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.

• Places - Jerusalem Temple

• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Places - Jerusalem Temple
• Simon ben Boëthos (high priest during the Virgin Mary's childhood)
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

12.1 I see a rich hall with a beautiful floor, curtains, carpets and inlaid furniture. It must be still part of the Temple: there are priests in it, including Zacharias, and many men of every age, from twenty to fifty approximately.

• Places - Jerusalem Temple

«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.»

• Locations - House of Nazareth

• Anne of Aaron (mother of the Virgin Mary)
• Elizabeth of Hebron (mother of John the Baptist)
• Joachim of David (father of the Virgin Mary)
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Places - Jerusalem Temple
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary

• Anne of Aaron (mother of the Virgin Mary)
• Elizabeth of Hebron (mother of John the Baptist)
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Locations - House of Nazareth
• Locations - Nazareth
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

14.1 A very blue sky of a mild February is over the hills of Galilee. The gentle hills that I have never seen in the early history of Mary, are now instead as familiar to me as if I were born there.

The main road is fresh looking because of last night’s rain and it is neither dusty nor muddy. It is hard and clean as if it were the street of a town and it runs between two hedges of hawthorn in bloom. The hedges are so white that they look like a snowfall. The scenary is broken by the monstrous conglomerations of cacti, with thick leaves like palettes, spiked with stings and decorated with the huge granades of their peculiar fruits, grown without stem on the top of the leaves. Because of their colour and shape, the cactus leaves always give me the impression of sea depths and coral reefs, of jellyfish and other deep sea animals.

Beyond the hedgerows there is the country. The purpose of the hedges is to fence in the grounds of the various owners, and thus they stretch in every direction forming a strange geometrical design of curves and angles, lozenges, squares, semicircles and the most unbelievable acute and obtuse angled triangles, a design all sprayed with white, like a strange ribbon thrown over the country just for fun and over which hundreds and hundreds of birds fly, chirp, sing, in the joy of love, while working to build their nests. In the fields the corn is taller than in Judaea. The meadows are full of flowers and there are hundreds of fruit-trees all in full bloom, that look like clouds of vegetables, white, red, pink, with all shades of these colours: they seem to be an answer to the light clouds in the sky, which the setting sun paints pink, light lilac, periwinkle violet, opal blue and coral orange.

With the light evening breeze the first petals fall from the trees in blossom and they look like a swarm of little butterflies searching for pollen on wild flowers. And from tree to tree there are festoons of vines still barren, except at the top of the festoons, where there is more sunshine, and the first little innocent, surprised, trembling leaves are beginning to open.

The sun is setting peacefully in the sky, which is so benign in its deep blue. The light makes it even more limpid and causes the snow on Mount Hermon and other far away mountain tops to shine.

(...) Nazareth is already showing its houses, spread out on the undulations of its hills. Lit up from the left by the setting sun, it shows the white of its low wide little houses bordered in pink and surmounted by terraces. Some of them, fully illuminated by the sun, seem to be near a fire, so red are the fronts of the houses because of the sun, that also lights up the water of the ponds and of the low wells, with practically no parapets, and from which squeaky pails of water are being pulled up for the houses as well as water-bags for the orchards.

• Locations - Nazareth

«There is Your house, Mary» says Joseph, pointing with his whip to a little house which is just under the edge of an undulation of the hill. Behind the house there is a lovely large kitchen garden all in bloom, at the end of which there is a small olive-grove. Behind the olive-grove there is the usual boundary hedge of hawthorn and cactus. The fields that once belonged to Joachim, are farther beyond…

«As You can see, very little is left for You» says Zacharias. «Your father’s illness was a long and expensive one. Also the expenses to repair the damage done by the Romans were heavy. See? The road took away the three main rooms and the house was cut down in size. In order to enlarge it, without excessive expenses, a part of the mountain was adapted, where the grotto is. Joachim kept his supplies there and Anne her looms. You will do as You think best.»

«Oh! It does not matter if only little is left. It will be sufficient for Me. » (...)

The heavy trunks are unloaded and carried into the house.

They go in. I now recognise the little house of Nazareth, as it was during the life of Jesus. (...)

The door and windows are opened. The last searching rays of sun enter.

Mary has now taken off Her mantle and veil, because, with the exception of the myrtle flowers, She has still Her bridal dress on. She then goes into the kitchen garden in bloom. She looks and smiles. Still held by the hand by Joseph, She goes round the garden. She looks as if She were taking possession of a lost place.

And Joseph shows Her his work: «See? I dug a hole here to gather the rain water, because these vines are always thirsty. I cut off the oldest branches of this olive tree to strengthen it and I transplanted these apple trees because two of them had withered. Over there I planted some fig trees. When they grow up they will shelter the house both from the excessive heat of the sun and from inquisitive people. The pergola is the old one. I only changed the rotten poles and I did some trimming. It will give You a lot of grapes, I hope. And here, look» and he leads Her proudly towards the side of the hill at the back of the house, which limits the northern side of the garden, «here I dug a grotto and I have reinforced it and when these little plants take roots, it will be almost identical to the one You had. There is no spring… but I hope to convey a little stream there. I will work in the long summer evenings, when I come to see You…»

(...) «This is the big room under the mountain. If You agree, I will use it as a workshop when I come here. It is joined to the house, but not in the house. So I will not annoy You with noise and disorder. However, if You wish otherwise…»

«No, Joseph. That is perfectly all right.»

• Locations - House of Nazareth

• Annunciation
• Locations - House of Nazareth
• Saint Gabriel Archangel
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary