Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 17.16
17.16 Jesus says:
«My Mother’s words should disperse all perplexity of thought also in the minds most confused and muddled by pseudo science.
[Still to come]
Text only present in the 1985 edition, tome 1, chapter 26, pp.109-111.
GRM 17.20-21
17.20 Do not be like the foolish children mentioned by Me in the Gospel; they heard other children sing and they plugged their ears, they heard them play the pipes and they did not dance, they heard them weep and they wanted to laugh. Do not be narrow-minded, do not be deniers. Accept the Light without malice and stubbornness, without irony and disbelief. Enough said about that.
17.21 To make you understand how grateful you must be to Him Who died to raise you to Heaven and to defeat Satan’s concupiscence, I wanted to speak to you, in this period of preparation for Easter, of what was the first link of the chain by which the Word of the Father was dragged to death, the Divine Lamb to the slaughterhouse. I wanted to speak to you about it, because at present ninety per cent of you are like Eve intoxicated by Lucifer’s breath and words, and you do not live, to love one another, but to glut yourselves with sensuality, you do not live for Heaven but for filth, you are no longer creatures gifted with soul and reason, but dogs without soul and without reason. You have killed your souls and perverted your reason. I solemnly tell you that brutes surpass you in the honesty of their love.»
GRM 18
Chapter title: Mary announces Elizabeth's maternity to Joseph and entrusts God with the task of justifying hers.
Date of vision and dictation: Saturday, March 25, 1944 (Feast of the Annunciation).
Calendar: Wednesday, February 21, year -5
Location (map): Nazareth
Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus
Summary: Mary is alone in her house in Nazareth. It must be the evening of the Annunciation. She prays, then eats very simply. Joseph arrives after she has finished, and is greeted by his wife. He brings her grapes and eggs, which he wants to offer to Mary. The Full of Grace realizes that he hasn't eaten, so she brings him what he needs: he just refuses the eggs, which are for Mary, and only for her. The patriarch of the Holy Family eats and they talk together. Joseph tells the story of his day, then, when there is silence, Mary speaks up, announcing her cousin's maternity. Joseph is surprised, and asks how she found out, then when Mary answers, she asks permission to go and see Elizabeth. Joseph replied in the affirmative, but asked her to wait a few days, as he had to go to Jerusalem. So they made their way there together. Afterwards, Joseph returns home, but it will be easier for him if he accompanies her to the Holy City. Mary thanks him, and shortly afterwards, Jesus' future father leaves. Mary lets him go, then sighs and prays, no doubt because of her pain at not being able to tell him her secret.
Mary then gives dictation to Maria, and tells her that after coming to herself, during the ecstasy of the Annunciation, her first thought turned to Joseph. She no longer felt any fear in the presence of her husband, but how could she tell him of her maternity? The Holy Spirit commanded her to be silent, and the All-Holy One brought her creaturely confidence to perfection. She abandoned herself to God, and experienced her first sorrow as co-Redemptrix. She then enjoins us to let God defend our reputation...
Chapter contents: 18.1: Mary gets ready for the evening meal. 18.2: Joseph arrives. 18.3: She makes him eat. 18.4: They talk about everything and nothing. 18.5: Mary goes to help Elizabeth when she is pregnant. 18.6: The couple separate. 18.7: What should I tell Joseph? 18.8: Leave it to me to justify you. 18.9: My first sorrow as Coredemptrix. 18.10: Entrust to God the care of your reputation.
GRM 18.7-10
18.7 Mary says:
«My dear daughter, when I came back to the reality of earthly life after the ecstasy that had filled Me with inexpressible joy, My first thought was for Joseph: a thought as sharp as a rose thorn, that pierced My heart enraptured among the roses of Divine Love, Who had become My Spouse only a few moments before.
By this time I loved My holy and provident guardian. Since the time when by the will of God, manifested to Me by the word of the Priest, I was married to Joseph, I had the possibility of knowing and appreciating the holiness of that Just man. When I became united to him, My dismay at being an orphan disappeared and I no longer regretted the lost retreat of the Temple. He was as sweet as My deceased father. With him I felt as safe as with the Priest. All perplexity had disappeared, it had even been forgotten, so far it was from My virginal heart. I had in fact understood that there was no reason whatsoever for hesitation or fear with regard to Joseph. My virginity entrusted to Joseph was safer than a child in his mother’s arms.
18.8 But now, how could I tell him that I was a Mother? I endeavoured to find suitable words to give him the news. A difficult task, as I did not want to boast of God’s gift and on the other hand there was no way of justifying My maternity without saying: “The Lord has loved Me amongst all women and has made Me, His servant, His Bride”. Neither did I wish to deceive him by concealing My condition from him.
And while I was praying, the Spirit of Whom I was full, said to Me: “Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You with Your spouse”. When? How? I did not ask. I had always relied upon God, and I had always allowed Myself to be led by Him exactly as a flower is led away by running water. The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far. It would do so also now.
18.9 O My daughter, how beautiful and comforting is faith in our Eternal Good God! He holds us in His arms as in a cradle, like a boat He steers us into the bright harbour of Goodness, He warms our hearts, comforts and nourishes us, He bestows rest and happiness, light and guidance on us. Reliance in God is everything, and God grants everything to those who trust in Him: He gives Himself.
That evening I elevated to perfection My reliance as a creature. Now I was able to do so, because God was in Me. Before I had the confidence of a poor creature, such as I was: a mere nothing, even if I was so much loved as to be the Faultless One. But now I had a divine confidence, because God was Mine: My Spouse, My Son! Oh! What a joy! To be One with God. Not for My own glory, but to love Him with a total union and say to Him: “You, only You are in Me: please assist Me with Your Divine perfection in everything I do”.
If He had not said to Me: “Be silent!”, I would probably have dared say to Joseph, with My face bowed to the ground: “The Spirit has penetrated Me and now the Embryo of God is in Me”, and he would have believed Me, because he held Me in high esteem and because like those who never lie, he could not believe that others lied. Yes, to avoid hurting his feelings in the future, I would have overcome My reluctance to praise Myself. But I obeyed the divine command. And for months after that moment, I felt the first wound pierce My heart.
It was the first pain in My destiny of Co-Redeemer. I offered and suffered it to repair and to give you guidance for similar circumstances in life, when it is necessary to suffer in silence for an event that casts a bad light on you in relation to those who love you.
18.10 Entrust God with the protection of your reputation and affections. If you deserve God’s protection with a holy life, you can proceed safely. Even if the whole world is against you, He will defend you with regard to those who love you and will cause the truth to be known.
Now rest, My dear, and be more and more My dear daughter.»
Mary describes her experiences after the Annunciation.
GRM 19
Chapter title: Mary and Joseph go to Jerusalem.
Date of vision: Monday, March 27, 1944
Calendar: Tuesday, March 19, A.D. -5
Location (map): Departure from Nazareth and journey to Jerusalem
Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus
Summary: Joseph and Mary set out for Jerusalem. They leave Nazareth with two donkeys. Joseph has brought a sort of luggage rack, and Mary thanks him for his foresight. They set off just as dawn was breaking. The two travelers meet a shepherd leading his flock: he has a newborn lamb in his arms, crying for its mother, but she follows her baby attentively. The flock passes by, and Joseph and Mary set off again. Arriving in the countryside, they speak little. The streets are busier as they approach hamlets, but the couple pay no attention to those they meet. They stop just in time for a heavy downpour, which turns into a light rain. Joseph takes care that Mary doesn't catch cold. Then they continue their journey.
Chapter contents: 19.1: Joseph picks Mary up with two gray donkeys. 19.2: Early-morning encounter with a flock of sheep and a lamb. 19.3: Quiet journey on more frequented roads, stopping to take shelter from a storm.
GRM 19.1
I see their departure to go to St. Elizabeth’s.
Joseph has come with two little donkeys to fetch Mary: one for himself, the other for Mary: one of the little animals has the usual saddle with a strange gadget attached to it. Later I gather that it is a kind of luggage-rack on which Joseph fastens a small wooden casket, a small trunk we would call it nowadays, which he brought for Mary’s clothes, to prevent them from getting wet.
GRM 20
Chapter title: Leaving Jerusalem. The beatific aspect of Mary. Importance of prayer for Mary and Joseph.
Date of vision: Tuesday, March 28, 1944
Calendar: Sunday, March 24, A.D. -5
Location (map): Jerusalem to Hebron
Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus
Summary: Joseph and Mary arrive in Jerusalem. They head for the Temple, stopping at a stable where Joseph left his horse during the Presentation in the Temple. They then go to an acquaintance's house for a bite to eat. Mary rests for a while, and Joseph returns with an old man who takes the same route as her. So she had to travel only a short distance on her own. Together they go to another gate of the Holy City, and then the couple say goodbye. The old man is very talkative, and Marie responds patiently. When he falls silent, she recollects herself in prayer.
Maria then describes the Virgin as she sees her in her bedroom, with her glorified body. La Pleine de Grace is very beautiful. Maria concludes with a dictation, drawing attention to the ardent prayer of Joseph and Mary. It invites the soul never to divest itself of the protection of prayer. She urges us to invoke the name of the Lord, even if we are imperfect, to call upon him to communicate his holiness to us. We must imitate the people who endlessly sing the Sanctus.
Chapter contents: 20.1: Joseph presents Mary with a travelling companion. 20.2: The talkative old man ends up dozing off. Mary prays. 20.3: Maria Valtorta lingers to contemplate the chaste Mary. 20.4: Contrast with the tragic hours of the Passion. 20.5: Presence gives great peace. Maria Valtorta recalls Jesus' suffering in Gethsemane. 20.6: Mary and Joseph always give first place to prayer. 20.7 : In weakness or holiness, always invoke the Lord's holiness. 20.8 : Living prayer has its source in love and suffering united to that of Mary and Jesus.
GRM 20.5
It is difficult to explain and make you understand what I feel and what has been happening since February the eleventh, when in the evening I saw Jesus suffer in His Passion. That sight has changed me completely. Whether I die now or in one hundred years’ time, that vision will always be the same in intensity and consequences. Previously I used to think of the sorrows of Christ, now I live them, because one word, or a glance at an image is enough to make me suffer all over again what I suffered that evening and be horrified at those tortures; and I grieve over His desolate sufferings, and even if nothing reminds me of them, their remembrance tears my heart.
GRM 20.6-8
20.6 Mary says:
«I will not speak much, because You are very tired, My poor daughter. I only wish to draw your attention and the attention of readers to the constant habit of Joseph and Mine of giving priority to prayer. Tiredness, haste, worries, troubles never hindered our prayer, on the contrary they helped it. It was always the queen of our troubles, our relief, our light, our hope. If in sad moments it was a consolation, in happy ones it was a song. But it was always the constant friend of our souls. It detached us from the earth, from our exile, and it raised us up towards Heaven, our Fatherland.
Not only I, Who by now had God with Me and I had but to look at My bosom to worship the Holy of Holies, but also Joseph felt united to God when he prayed, because our prayers were a true adoration of our whole beings, which melted with God by worshipping Him and by being embraced by Him.
And please note that not even I, although I had the Eternal God in Me, not even I felt exempted from respectful homage to the Temple. The deepest holiness does not exempt anyone from feeling a mere nothing with regard to God and from converting such nothingness into an endless hosanna to God’s glory, since He allows us to do so.
20.7 Are you weak, poor, faulty? Invoke the holiness of the Lord: “Holy, Holy, Holy!” Invoke the Blessed Holy One to assist you in your misery. He will come and instil His holiness into you. Are you holy and rich in merits in the eyes of God? Invoke the holiness of the Lord just the same. It is infinite and will increase yours. The angels, who are superior to the weaknesses of mankind, do not cease singing their “Sanctus” not even for an instant, and their supernatural beauty increases with each invocation of the holiness of our God. Imitate the angels.
Never divest yourselves of the protection of prayer, which blunts the weapons of Satan, the malice of the world, the incentives of the flesh and mental pride. Never lay down this weapon, which causes Heaven to open and pour out Its graces and blessings.
The world needs a shower of prayers to be purified from the sins that draw punishments from God. And since only few people pray, those few must pray as if they were many. They must multiply their living prayers to make up the necessary amount to obtain graces. Prayers are living when they are flavoured with true love and sacrifice.
20.8 My dear daughter, it is a good thing, pleasing to God and praiseworthy, that you should suffer because of the sufferings of My Jesus and Mine, in addition to your own. Your sympathetic love is so dear to Me. But do you want to kiss Me? Kiss the wounds of My Son. Dress them with the balm of your love. I suffered spiritually the pangs of the scourges, of the thorns and the torture of the nails and of the cross. And likewise I feel spiritually all the caresses given to my Jesus, as they are as many kisses given to Me. And then come. I am the Queen of Heaven. But I am always the Mother…»
And I am happy.
GRM 20.8
20.8 My dear daughter, it is a good thing, pleasing to God and praiseworthy, that you should suffer because of the sufferings of My Jesus and Mine, in addition to your own. Your sympathetic love is so dear to Me. But do you want to kiss Me? Kiss the wounds of My Son. Dress them with the balm of your love. I suffered spiritually the pangs of the scourges, of the thorns and the torture of the nails and of the cross. And likewise I feel spiritually all the caresses given to my Jesus, as they are as many kisses given to Me. And then come. I am the Queen of Heaven. But I am always the Mother…»
And I am happy.