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Places in The Gospel as it was revealed to me

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Aa

GRM 167

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus arrives at Jeanne de Kouza's house. She comes running when she hears that the Master is there. There are her Roman friends: Lydia, Valeria and Plautina. The latter seems to be the most respected; Valeria is the one whose child Jesus saved in Caesarea. In any case, they all want to listen to him, to make up their own minds about this philosopher. Jeanne fears that Jesus won't get on with his guests, but Christ reassures her, and when they meet up again with the Romans, he starts from the subject of flowers - which these three women love very much - and begins to talk about immortality and the eternal life of the soul.

After Jesus takes care of little Fausta himself, the conversation continues on the philosophers currently living in Rome, who don't follow their teachings. Jesus then declares that they are not pagans, they are atheists, for they no longer even have gods in their hearts. However, other pagan philosophers had a great elevation of life, and always sought the Good at all costs.

When the Roman ladies ask Jesus if he is God, Christ replies that he is the Son of the true God, and the Savior criticizes Olympus, created by man's imagination, at length. He also speaks of the altar dedicated to the unknown god, which the wise and true philosophers have intuited. Jesus goes on to talk about Creation and the soul in particular, and encourages Lydia, Valeria and Plautina to ask questions. They do so - the subject remains fairly focused on the theme of immortality, the soul and the Master's divinity - and then, when they fear reprisals from their gods, Jesus reassures them that they don't exist.

Finally, he leaves, and Jeanne accompanies him home. She confides in him that Kouza wants her to return to Jerusalem, and the Messiah encourages her to obey, as this will make it easier for her to follow him.

GRM 168.1-10

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Mary is alone in Nazareth. A knock at the door. It's Aglaia asking for mercy in Jesus' name. Mary immediately welcomes her, but the young woman is in tears. She considers herself a nobody, but the Virgin gives her confidence and invites her to speak.

Aglaé confessed her whole life. She talks about her youth, her parents, her attraction to the shows in Syracuse. She tells of a Roman patrician in front of whom she danced almost naked. She confesses to having followed him to Rome, where she led a life of debauchery. The patrician having grown weary, she survived by exploiting her dancing talents. A dancing master took her in, perfected her art, then threw her into the corrupt patriarchy of Rome. Eventually, she was brought to Palestine, and her new master led her to Hebron, where she discovered who Jesus was.

She fled a little later and found Jesus at Belle-Eau. She is the veiled woman. But soon the Master is attacked. He has to leave, and Aglaé waits for him, only to be spotted by the Pharisees. So she went to Nazareth, but the Virgin was nowhere to be seen. So she goes to Capernaum, where she is offered to be Christ's lover, but she doesn't dare present herself to the Lord in this way. The young woman goes to Nazareth and confesses everything to him.

Mary is shocked by her story, but assures her that everything begins for this repentant soul, and welcomes her into her home. The Virgin also assures her of Christ's forgiveness and says she will entrust her to a friendly family. In the meantime, Aglaé will stay in Nazareth.

GRM 169

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus climbs the Horns of Hattin. There, he reaches a village where his disciples and apostles are waiting for him. They give him feedback on their first preaching. Peter emphasizes his two cousins and especially John; the beloved, for his part, says that Peter has spoken well.

After some discussion, Jesus tells them that he wants to speak to them alone. It is then agreed to wait for the people to go home before Christ teaches the Twelve and the other disciples. In the meantime, the Master goes off to pray, and when evening comes, everyone gathers around him.

Jesus then returns to the preaching of the others, and declares that those who have given the most are those who have forgotten themselves the most, thanks in part to their union with God. Others had scruples and were afraid of doing the wrong thing. So Jesus talks about the conditions for perfect discipleship. He explains that the apostles and those who follow him are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Finally, the Savior teaches that God's light must shine in them, and warns priests not to lose sight of their mission. Woe to those who lose charity, woe to those who reject Wisdom, woe to those who become spiritually dead, woe to those who corrupt Christ's little flock.

Jesus' speech ends here.

GRM 170

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus is on the Horns of Hattin. The crowd is now present, and Christ begins to speak to them. They asked him what the Kingdom of God is, what God is, and how to conquer Heaven, and Jesus patiently answered them, inviting them in particular to follow the Law and to love. Then Jesus talks about the gifts God had given Adam and Eve. In particular, the Lord speaks of the soul, the natural gifts of beauty, integrity, intelligence and will, as well as moral gifts and the submissiveness of the senses and reason. He goes on to speak of sanctifying grace, which is the "life of the soul": God shines in his creature and wants us to be with him in Heaven. In fact, Jesus speaks of the immortality of the soul, and states that he will erase the sin of original sin and restore grace to us.

The second part of his speech is about how to conquer Heaven. After pointing out that the Law exists, he encourages souls not to see the path to holiness in terms of threat ("woe is me if I don't do this"), but in terms of love ("blessed would I be if I did this"). He then goes on to set out the Beatitudes, developing them one by one, before bringing his speech to a close.