Notes for this theme

Roman and Greek religion at the time of Christ

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GRM 177.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

This time the series [of greetings] is completed by the greeting of a centurion of the town, I think. He greets Him: «Hail, Master!» to which Jesus replies: «May God come to you.»
While the crowd draws close to see the outcome of the meeting, the centurion continues: «I have been waiting for You for several days. You do not recognise me as one of those who were listening to You on the Mount. I was wearing plain clothes. Are You not asking me why I went there?»
«No, I am not, but what do you want from Me?»
«I have instructions to follow those who hold meetings, because too often Rome has had to regret having granted permission for apparently honest meetings..»

Keywords

Rome

GRM 179.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Among the chosen people it should be possible to find everywhere spirits ready to receive the Messiah in Whose expectaion Patriarchs and Prophets were consumed by anxiety, the Messiah Who at last has come, preceded and accompanied by all the prophesied signs, the Messiah, Whose spiritual personality becomes clearer and clearer through the visible miracles worked on bodies and elements, and through the invisible ones worked on consciences which are converted and on Gentiles who turn to the True God. But it is not so. The promptitude in following the Messiah is strongly hindered by the children of that people and, what is sad to be said, it is more hindered the more one climbs to its higher classes. I am not saying this to scandalise you, but to induce you to pray and meditate.
Why does that happen? Why do Gentiles and sinners proceed farther on My way? Why do they accept what I say and the others do not? Because the children of Israel are anchored, or rather, they are stuck like pearl-oysters to the bank where they were born. Because they are filled, overwhelmed and obese with their wisdom and they cannot make room for Mine by throwing away what is superfluous to make room for what is necessary. The others do not suffer from such slavery. They are poor heathens or poor sinners, unimpeded like a boat which is adrift, they are poor people, who have no treasures of their own, but only heaps of errors or sins, of which they gladly strip themselves as soon as they understand what the Gospel is and they taste its fortifying honey, which is quite different from the nauseating mixture of their sins.

Keywords

GRM 180.6 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Now listen to the spirit of the parable.
We have four kinds of fields: the fertile ones, the thorny ones, the stony ones and the ones full of paths. We also have four types of spirits.
There are the honest spirits, the spirits of goodwill, prepared by their own will and by the work of an apostle, of a “true” apostle; because there are apostles who have the name but not the spirit of an apostle and they are more lethal for the will in formation, than birds, thorns and stones, They upset in such a way, through their intolerance, their haste, their reproaches and their threats, as to drive people away from God forever. There are others who, on the contrary, through an excess of benignity, utterly out of place, cause the seed to rot in too soft a soil. Because of their lack of vigour, they kill the vigour of the souls they cure. But let us consider true apostles, that is, the shining mirrors of God. They are paternal, merciful, patient, and at the same time they are strong, as their Lord is strong. Now: the souls prepared by them and by their own will can be compared to the fertile fields, free from stones and brambles, from couch-grass and darnel, in which the word of God thrives and every word, that is every seed, bears a bundle of ears, yielding in some places one hundred, in others sixty per cent. Are there any like that among those who follow Me? There certainly are. And they will be holy. They come from all castes and countries. And there are Gentiles among them and they will yield one hundred per cent because of their goodwill, only because of that, or because of their goodwill and that of an apostle or disciple who prepares them for Me.

Detail

Jesus explains the parable of the sower.

Keywords

GRM 182.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Peter comes back only the following morning. And he is calmer than when he left, because he was made welcome at Capernaum and the town had been cleared of Eli and Joachim.
«They must have taken part in the plot. Because I asked some friends when they had left, and I understood that they had not come back after going to the Baptist as penitents. And I do not think that they will come back so soon, now that I mentioned that they were present at the arrest… There is much turmoil because of the Baptist’s capture… I will ensure that the whole world knows about it… It is the best weapon we have. I also met Simon, the Pharisee… But if he really is what he appeared to me, I think he is favourably disposed towards us. He said to Me: “Tell the Master not to follow the Jordan along the western valley. The other side is safer” he said stressing the words. And he ended: “I have not seen you. I have not spoken to you. Don’t forget. And mind what you do in mine, yours and everybody’s interest. Tell the Master that I am a friend” and he kept looking up, as if he were speaking to the wind. They are always false, even when doing good things and… and I will say “strange”, so that You will not reproach me. But… ehi!… but I went and I had a little chat with the centurion. Just… to ask: “Is your servant well?”, and when I was told that he was, I said: “That is good! Make sure you keep him healthy because they are laying snares for the Master. The Baptist has already been captured…” and the Roman grasped the idea immediately. A cunning fellow he is! He replied: “Where there is a vexillum, there will be a guard for Him, and there will be someone reminding the Jews that no plot is allowed under the sign of Rome, death or the galley being the punishment”. They are heathens, but I could have kissed him. I like people who understand and take action! So we can go.»
«Let us go. But all that was not necessary» says Jesus.
«It was… it was necessary indeed!» Jesus says goodbye to the hospitable family and also to the new disciple, to whom He must have given some instructions.

Detail

Peter went to Capernaum and asked about John the Baptist's betrayal.

Annotation

Pierre arrived only the next morning. He's calmer than when he left, having found Capernaum a warm welcome and the town free of Eli and Joachim. These are the two Capernaum Pharisees most suspected of having organized the Baptist's arrest (see EMV 180.9).

I also met the Pharisee Simon and... But if he is as he appeared to me, he seems well-disposed. It was this Pharisee who organized the banquet where Mary Magdalene wept at Jesus' feet (Cf. EMV 236.1).

He said to me, emphasizing the words: "Advise the Master not to go along the Jordan in the western valley. The other side is safer. "Jesus mentions this" advice" in EMV 187.3.

However, I went to pay the centurion a little visit. So Peter has succeeded in overcoming his prejudice against pagans, as he envisaged out of love for Jesus, in EMV 181.1.

"Wherever there is a Roman sign, it will be a safeguard for him, and there will be someone to remind the Jews that, under Roman signs, it is not permitted to plot without exposing oneself to death or the galley. "Under the Pax Romana, examples of plotters being put to death were not uncommon.

Keywords

GRM 183.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Peter, Peter!… For My sake you will have to enter not towns of pleasure but real brothels… Christ did not come to save those who are already saved, but those who are Lost… and you shall be “Peter”, or Rock, not Simon, for that purpose. Are you afraid of becoming contaminated? No! Not even this one, see (and He points at the very young John) will suffer any harm. Because he does not want, as you do not want, as your brother and John’s brother do not want, as none of you, for the time being, wants. As long as one does not want, no harm is done. But one must not want resolutely and perseveringly. You will obtain will-power and perseverance from the Father, by praying with sincere intentions.

Annotation

A thinly veiled announcement of Peter's future stay in Rome, "the great prostitute". Another mention of this stay is made in EMV 310.5, then in EMV 545.7. Houses of prostitution (lupanaria) were common in ancient Greece and Rome as early as the 6th century BC. In ancient Roman slang, lupa, the she-wolf, is the animal symbolizing the prostitute.

Keywords

GRM 183.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The group proceeds in silence. The main road becomes a town street, paved with one handbreath wide square stones. The houses are more and more splendid and magnificent, surrounded by luxuriant flourishing gardens and orchards. I am under the impression that the elegant Magdala was for the Palestinians a kind of place of pleasure like some towns around our lakes in Lombardy: Stresa, Gardone, Pallanza, Bellagio and so on. Among the rich Paletinians there are many Romans, who must have come from other places, such as Tiberias or Caesarea, possibly officials of the Governor or merchants who export the most beautiful products of the Palestinian colony to Rome.

Detail

Maria Valtorta mentions Caesarea and Tiberias in a commentary on Magdala.

Annotation

Tiberias and Magdala were two lakeside towns with large Roman and Greek populations.

Keywords

GRM 183.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus proceeds, sure of Himself, as if He knew where to go. He follows the contour of the lake, which reflects the houses and gardens built on its borders.
A loud noise of crying people can be heard from a sumptuous house. It is the voices of women and children. The shrill voice of a woman shouts: «My son! My son!»
Jesus turns around and looks at His apostles. Judas steps forward. «No, not you» orders Jesus. «You, Matthew. Go and find out.»
Matthew goes and comes back: «A brawl, Master. A man is dying. A Jew. The man who wounded him, a Roman, has run away. His wife, mother and children have rushed to help him… But he is dying.»
«Let us go.»
«Master… Master… It happened in the house of a woman… who is not his wife.»
«Let us go.»

Detail

Jesus enters Magdala.

Annotation

It's a brawl, Master. There's a man dying, a Jew. The murderer has escaped: he was a Roman. Probably Mary Magdalene's Roman lover. He was glimpsed during the Sermon on the Mount (EMV 174.12).

Keywords

GRM 186.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Is that not Gamala?» asks the Zealot.
«Yes, it is Gamala. Do you know the town?» says Jesus.
«I was a fugitive there, one night, a long time ago. Then I was affected by leprosy and I did not come out of the sepulchres any more.»
«Did they pursue you so far?»
«I was coming from Syria, where I had gone seeking protection. But they discovered me and only my flight to this place saved me from being captured. Afterwards slowly and continuously threatened I went down as far as the desert of Tekoa and from there, suffering already from leprosy, to the Valley of the Dead. Leprosy saved me from my enemies…»
«These people are heathens, are they not?» asks the Iscariot.
«Almost everybody. Only a few Jews are here on business, and then there is a mixture of beliefs, or no beliefs at all. But they did not treat the fugitive badly.»
«These are places for bandits. What gorges!» exclaim many.
«Yes, but believe me, there are more bandits on the other side» says John who is still impressed by the capture of the
Baptist.
«On the other side there are also bandits among those who enjoy the reputation of being just» concludes his brother.

Keywords

GRM 186.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«You were making grimaces because you had to pass near some animals.»
«They are unclean…»
«A sinner is much more so. These animals are made like that, and it is not their fault if they are like that. Man instead is responsible for being unclean because of his sins.»
«Why, then, are they classified as unclean[1] for us?» asks Philip.
«I have mentioned that once. In this commandment there is a supernatural reason and a natural one. The former reason is to teach the chosen people to live bearing in mind its election and the dignity of man, also in a common action like eating. A savage feeds on everything. It is enough for him to fill his stomach. A pagan, too, even if he is not a savage, eats everything, without considering that overeating foments vices and inclinations which degrade man. Indeed, pagans endeavour to reach this frenzy for pleasure, which is almost a religion for them. The more learned amongst you are aware of obscene celebrations in honour of their gods, which degenerate into lecherous orgies. A son of the people of God must be able to control himself, perfecting himself through obedience and prudence, bearing in mind his origin and his end: God and Heaven. The natural reason is not to stimulate the blood by means of food that causes a heat unbecoming of man, who is not forbidden also carnal love, but must always moderate it with the freshness of his soul tending to Heaven. Man must therefore make sure that the sentiment that joins him to his wife, in whom he must see a fellow creature like himself, not a female, is love, not sensuality. But the poor animals are neither guilty of being pigs nor of the effects that the flesh of pigs may cause in man’s blood on the long run. And the swineherds are much less guilty. If they are honest, what difference will there be, in the next life, between them and the scribe who is bent over his books but does not learn to be good? I solemnly tell you that we shall see swineherds among the just and scribes among the unjust.

Detail

Why were pigs declared unclean? Jesus answers this question, after the apostles had shown their disgust at these animals.

Annotation

Pigs are described as unclean in Leviticus 11:7 and Deuteronomy 14:8. More generally, the classification of clean and unclean animals, and the related prescriptions, are found in Genesis 7:2-3; Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14:3-21. See the altercation between Peter and an innkeeper in EMV 292.1.

Book of Leviticus 11, 7

Lv 11, 7 : Likethe swine, which has a divided horn and a cloven foot, but does not chew the cud: it will be unclean for you.

Deuteronomy 14, 8

Deut 14, 8: Like the swine, which has a divided horn but does not chew the cud: it shall be unclean for you. You shall not eat their flesh, nor touch their carcasses.

Book of Genesis 7, 2-3

Gn 7, 2-3 : Of all the clean animals, you shall take with you seven pairs, males and their females, and of all the animals that are not clean, you shall take two, a male and his female; seven pairs also of the birds of the air, males and their females, to keep alive their race on the face of all the earth.

Book of Leviticus 11

Lev 11: Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them: "Speak to the children of Israel, and say:

These are the animals you shall eat of all the beasts that are on the earth: Every animal that has a divided horn and a cloven foot, and chews the cud, you shall eat. But you shall not eat those that only chew the cud, or that only have a divided horn. Such is the camel, which chews the cud, but whose horn is not divided: it will be unclean to you. Like the jerboa, which chews the cud, but whose horn is not divided: it will be impure for you. Like the hare, which chews the cud but does not have a divided horn: it will be unclean for you. Like the pig, which has a divided horn and a cloven foot, but does not chew the cud: it shall be unclean for you. 8You shall not eat their flesh, nor touch their carcasses: they shall be unclean for you.

These are the beasts you shall eat of all that are in the waters: whatever has fins and scales in the waters, whether in the sea or in the rivers, you shall eat. But everything that does not have fins and scales, in the seas and in the rivers, among all the animals that move in the waters and among all the living creatures that are in them, you will find an abomination. They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, and their carcasses shall be an abomination to you. Everything in the waters that has no fins or scales is an abomination to you.

These are the birds you will abhor; they shall not be eaten, for they are an abomination: the eagle, the osprey and the vulture: the kite and all kinds of falcons; all kinds of ravens; the ostrich, the kite, the gull and all kinds of hawks; the owl, the cormorant and the owl; the swan, the pelican and the bearded vulture; the stork, all kinds of herons; the hoopoe and the bat.

Any winged insect that walks on four legs, you will abhor. But of all the winged insects that walk on four legs, you shall eat those that have legs above their legs, to leap on the earth. These are the ones you shall eat: every kind of locust, every kind of solam, every kind of hargol, every kind of hagab. Every other winged beast with four legs is an abomination to you.

These also shall make you unclean: whoever touches their dead body shall be unclean until the even, and whoever takes away any part of their dead body shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the even.

Any animal that has a divided horn, but is not forked-footed and does not chew the cud, will be unclean to you; whoever touches it will make himself unclean. And of the four-footed animals, everything that walks on the soles of its feet will be unclean to you: whoever touches their dead body will be unclean until evening; and whoever carries their dead body will wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. These animals will be unclean for you.

Among the little beasts that crawl on the earth, these are the ones that will be unclean for you: the weasel, the mouse and all kinds of lizards; the shrew, the chameleon, the salamander, the green lizard and the mole. These are the unclean reptiles for you: whoever touches them dead will be unclean until evening. Anything on which dead ones fall shall be unclean: wooden utensils, clothing, skins, sackcloth, anything you use; you shall put it in water, and it shall remain unclean until evening, after which it shall be clean. If any of it falls into the middle of any earthen vessel, everything in the middle of the vessel will be defiled, and you will break the vessel. Any foodstuff prepared with water will be defiled; any beverage used in any vessel will be defiled. Every object on which anything of their dead body falls will be defiled; the oven and the vessel with its lid will be destroyed; they will be defiled and you will hold them to be defiled. But the springs and cisterns, where the pools of water are formed, will remain pure; however, whoever touches the dead body will be unclean. If anything of their dead body falls on a seed that is to be sown, the seed will remain pure; but if water has been put on the seed, and anything of their dead body falls on it, you will hold it unclean.

If one of your food animals dies, whoever touches its corpse will be unclean until evening. Whoever eats of its dead body shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening; whoever carries its dead body shall wash his clothes and be unclean until the evening.

Every creeping thing that creeps on the earth is an abomination to you; it shall not be eaten. You shall not eat any animal that crawls on the ground, whether it be one that crawls on its belly, or one that walks on four feet or on many feet; for they are an abomination to you.

Do not make yourselves abominable by all these creeping things; do not make yourselves unclean by them; you will be defiled by them. For I am Yahweh, your God; you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy; and you shall not be defiled by all creeping things that creep upon the earth. For I am Yahweh, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt to be your God. You shall be holy, for I am holy. "This is the law for all four-footed animals, for birds, for every living thing that moves in the water, and for every creeping thing that crawls on the earth, so that you may distinguish between the unclean and the clean, between the animal that can be eaten and the animal that cannot be eaten.

Deuteronomy 14, 3-21

You shall not eat any abominable thing. These are the animals you may eat: the ox, the sheep and the goat; the stag, the gazelle and the fallow deer; the ibex, the antelope, the wild ox and the wild goat. You shall eat of every animal that has a divided horn and a cloven foot, and that chews the cud. But you shall not eat of those that only chew the cud, or that only have a divided horn and a cloven foot; such are the camel, the hare and the rabbit, which chew the cud but do not have a divided horn: they shall be unclean to you; such again is the pig, which has a divided horn but does not chew the cud: it shall be unclean to you. You shall not eat their flesh, nor touch their carcasses.

These are the animals you shall eat of all that are in the waters: you shall eat everything that has fins and scales; but everything that does not have fins and scales you shall not eat: it shall be unclean for you. You shall eat every clean bird. These are the ones you shall not eat: the eagle, the osprey and the vulture; the falcon, the kite and all kinds of goshawk; all kinds of raven; the ostrich, the owl, the gull and all kinds of sparrowhawk; the owl, the ibis and the owl; the pelican, the cormorant and the loon; 18the stork and all kinds of heron; the hoopoe and the bat. 19You shall regard every winged insect as unclean: it shall not be eaten. You must eat every pure bird. You shall not eat any dead animal. You shall give it to the stranger within your gates to eat, or sell it to a foreigner; for you are a people holy to Yahweh, your God. You shall not boil a kid in its mother's milk.

Keywords

GRM 186.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

A savage feeds on everything. It is enough for him to fill his stomach. A pagan, too, even if he is not a savage, eats everything, without considering that overeating foments vices and inclinations which degrade man. Indeed, pagans endeavour to reach this frenzy for pleasure, which is almost a religion for them. The more learned amongst you are aware of obscene celebrations in honour of their gods, which degenerate into lecherous orgies.