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GRM 173.7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Do not be of little faith. Do not worry about an uncertain future saying: “What shall I eat when I am old? What shall I drink? How will I clothe myself?”. Leave such worries to the Gentiles, who do not have the lofty certainty of the divine paternity. You have it and you know that the Father is aware of your needs and loves you. Therefore trust Him. Seek first what is really necessary: faith, goodness, charity, humility, mercy, purity, justice, meekness, the three and four main virtues, and all the others as well, in order to be the friends of God, and have a right to His Kingdom. And I can assure you that all the rest will be given to you as well, without having to ask for it. There is no rich man richer than a saint or any man safer than he is. God is with the saint and the saint is with God. He does not ask anything for his body, and God supplies what is necessary. But he works for his soul, and God gives Himself to him in this world, and Paradise in the next one.

GRM 174.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

One of the men comes: «I have a daughter, Lord. Unfortunately she went to Tiberias with some girl friends and it was as if she had taken some poison. When she came back to me she was like a mad woman. She wants to go away with a Greek man… and then… Why was she born? Her mother is heartbroken and perhaps will die of grief… I… only Your words, which I heard last winter, keep me from killing her. But, I tell You, my heart has already cursed her.»

«No. God, Who is a Father, only curses an accomplished and obstinate sin. What do you want from Me?»

«That You get her to mend her ways.»

«I do not know her and she will certainly not come to Me.»

«But You can change her heart also from far away! Do You know who sent me to You? Johanna of Chuza. She was leaving for Jerusalem when I went to her mansion to ask her whether she knew that wretched Greek. I was afraid she might not know him, because she is good, although she lives at Tiberias, but since Chuza has contacts with the Gentiles… She does not know him. But she said to me: “Go to Jesus. He called my soul back from very far away and He cured me, by that call, of my phthisis. He will cure your daughter’s heart as well. I will pray and you must have faith”. I have faith. You can see it. Have mercy on me, Master.»

«Your daughter this evening will weep on her mother’s knees asking to be forgiven. You must be as good as her mother and forgive her. The past is dead.»

«Yes, Master. As You wish and may You be blessed.»

He turns around to go away… but retraces his steps: «Forgive me, Master… But I am so afraid. Lust is such a demon! Give me a thread of Your tunic. I will put it in my daughter’s pillow. The demon will not tempt her while she is asleep.»

Jesus smiles and shakes His head… but satisfies the man saying: «That your mind may be quieter. But you must believe that when God says: “I want it” the demon goes away without any further need. So keep this as a souvenir of Mine», and He gives him a small tuft from His fringe.

Detail

A man tells how he went to see Jeanne de Kouza in Tiberias, after his daughter had been seduced by a Greek.

GRM 174.15 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

I cannot allow the word of God to be mocked at by heathens…

Detail

Jesus was interrupted by mocking and debauched Romans. Christ therefore announces their departure from the Mount of Beatitudes, and facing Peter, who is a little surprised, he says the following.

Annotation

Exactly in the spirit of "Give not your pearls to swine". A theme that Jesus develops a little further on.

GRM 176.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

« Above all love the will of God.»

«Eh! If everything is within its control, also our errors are within it» exclaims Thomas in a philosophical tone.

«Do you think so? But it is not so. .»

Annotation

Jesus sidesteps his answer to Thomas, because he then makes it a subject of meditation for everyone. He explains this point in 176.4-5.

GRM 177.1-5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus enters Capernaum coming from the country. Only the Twelve are with Him, or rather, only eleven apostles, as John is not there. The usual greetings of the crowd form a vast range of expressions, from the entirely simple ones of children, to the rather shy ones of women, to the enraptured ones of people cured miraculously, and those which are either curious or ironical. There are enough to satisfy all tastes. And Jesus replies to everybody according to how He is greeted: caressing the little ones, blessing the women, smiling at those cured miraculously, and with deep respect for the others.

But this time the series 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. But seeing and listening to You, I thought of You as a… as a…

177.2

I have a servant who is ill, Lord. He is lying in my house, in his bed, paralyzed by a disease of the bones and he suffers dreadfully. Our doctors cannot cure him. Your doctors refuse to come. I invited them to come because it is a disease caused by the corrupt air of this area and they know how to cure it with the herbs of the feversome soil of the shore where the water stagnates before being absorbed by the sand of the sea. I am very sorry because he is a faithful servant.»

«I will come and cure him.»

«No, my Lord. I am not asking You to go to all that trouble. I am a heathen, filth, as far as you are concerned. If the Jewish doctors are afraid of becoming contaminated by coming to my house, all the more reason it would contaminate You, Who are divine. I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof, but if You say only one word here, my servant will be cured because You rule over everything. Now if I, who am subject to my authorities, the first being Caesar, for whom I must act, think and behave as I am told, can in turn order soldiers under me, and if I say to one: “Go” to another: “Come” and to a servant: “Do that”, the first one will go where I send him, the other will come because I call him, and the third will do what I tell him, You, as You are Who You are, will be immediately obeyed by the disease, which will vanish.»

«But the disease is not a man…» objects Jesus.

«Neither are You a man, You are the Man. You can therefore give orders to elements and fevers, because everything is subject to Your power.»

177.3

Some elders of Capernaum take Jesus aside and say to Him: «He is a Roman, but listen to him because he is an honest man who respects and helps us. It was he who built our synagogue and he has given strict instructions to his soldiers not to gibe at us on Sabbaths. Grant him, therefore, the grace, for the sake of Your town so that he may not be disappointed and irritated, and his fondness for us may not turn into hatred.»

And Jesus, after listening to them, turns around smiling at the centurion and says: «Go ahead and I will come after you.»

But the centurion says once again: «No, my Lord, I have told You: it would be a great honour if You entered under my roof, but I do not deserve so much; say only one word and my servant will be cured.»

«Let it be so. Go and have faith. This very moment the fever is leaving him and life is flowing back into his limbs. Endeavour to get Life to come also to your soul. Go.»

The centurion salutes, then bows and goes away.

177.4

Jesus watches him go away, then turns to the people present and says: «I solemnly tell you that I did not find so much faith in Israel. Oh! It is quite true[1]! “The people that walked in darkness saw a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone”, and also “The Messiah will hoist His flag over the nations and gather them together”. Oh! My Kingdom! They will really flow to you in immense numbers! More numerous than all the camels and dromedaries of Madian and Ephah, than those who bring the gold and incense of Sheba, more numerous than all the flocks of Kedar and the rams of Nebaioth, will be those who come to you and My heart will exult with joy seeing all the peoples of the sea and the wealth of the nations coming to Me. The islands are waiting for Me to adore Me, and the children of foreigners will build the walls of My Church, the gates of which will lie open continually to receive the kings and the wealth of the nations and sanctify them in Me. What Isaiah saw, will be accomplished! I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.»

«You therefore foretell that the gentiles will be equal to the children of Abraham?»

«Not equal, but greater. You can only regret that it is due to your fault. Not I, but the Prophets say so, and the signs already confirm it.

177.5

Now some of you should go to the house of the centurion and ascertain that his servant is cured as the faith of the Roman deserved. Come. Perhaps in the house there are some sick people waiting for Me.»

Jesus with the apostles and a few more people turns His steps towards the usual house where He stays when in Capernaum, while most of the people, driven by curiosity, rush towards the centurion’s house making a great noise.

Annotation

He greets him with "Ave, Maître! Salve in the original Italian, as in the Salve Regina, not Ave as in theAve Maria.

I've been waiting for you for several days. You don't recognize me, but I was among those listening to you on the mountain. I was dressed in civilian clothes. Indeed, Maria Valtorta had noticed his presence on Tuesday(EMV 171.1).

These are diseases that come from the corrupted air of these regions: Swamp fevers (yellow fever or malaria) caused serious epidemics in ancient times. They are mentioned several times in the work. For centuries, these fevers were attributed to unhealthy air (aria cattiva, from which the Italian word mala aria = bad air), without ever making the connection with mosquitoes. Here, Maria Valtorta reports an opinion perfectly in line with Roman belief, and not related to her knowledge as a nurse.

You know how to cure them with herbs from the feverish soil of the shore where the waters stagnate before being absorbed by the sand of the sea. We're probably talking about agrimony (agrimonia eupatoria), which grows in marshes. Pliny mentions it. When infused, it is used to combat malaria (from palus = marsh, in Latin). The seaside marsh mentioned by the centurion may well be Dor (now Al Tantura), south of Mount Carmel. It was not drained until 1892. Malaria was rampant there.

Think it was he who built the synagogue. Only Luke 7:5 mentions this detail.

I assure you that many will come from the east and the west, and they will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, while the sons of the Kingdom will be cast into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. This is the end of the story in Matthew 8:11-12, while Luke mentions it elsewhere (Luke 13:28-29).

Jesus, accompanied by the apostles and a few others, heads for the house where he usually stays when in Capernaum. The house of Thomas of Capernaum. Thomas is probably a distant relative of Jesus.

Gospel of Matthew 8, 5-13

Mt 8, 5-13: As Jesus entered Capernaum, a centurion came up to him and begged, "Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." Jesus said to him, "I'll go and heal him myself." The centurion replied, "Lord, I'm not worthy for you to come under my roof, but just say the word and my servant will be healed. I myself, who am subject to authority, have soldiers under my command; to one I say, 'Go', and he goes; to another, 'Come', and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this', and he does it." At these words, Jesus was in awe and said to those who followed him, "Amen, I declare to you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith. So I tell you, many will come from east and west and take their places with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the feast of the Kingdom of Heaven, but the sons of the Kingdom will be thrown into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. And Jesus said to the centurion, "Go home, that all may be well with you according to your faith." And that very hour, the servant was healed.

Gospel of Luke 7, 1-10

Lk 7, 1-10 : When Jesus had finished telling the people all his words, he entered Capernaum. There was a centurion whose slave was sick and about to die, and the centurion was very fond of him. Having heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish notables to ask him to come and save his slave. When they got to Jesus, they begged him earnestly: "He deserves this from you. He loves our nation: it was he who built the synagogue for us." Jesus was on his way with them, and was already not far from the house, when the centurion sent some friends to tell him: "Lord, don't take this trouble, for I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof. That's why I didn't give myself permission to come to you. But say the word and let my servant be healed! I'm someone subordinate to an authority, but I have soldiers under my command; to one I say, 'Go', and he goes; to another, 'Come', and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this', and he does it." Hearing this, Jesus was in awe of him. He turned and said to the crowd following him, "I declare to you, not even in Israel have I found such faith!" When they returned home, they found the slave in good health.

Gospel of Luke 13, 28-29

Lk 13, 28-29 : Then there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, while you are thrown out. They will come from the East and the West, from Aquilon and from the South; and they will take their places at the banquet in the kingdom of God.

Book of Isaiah, 9, 1

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

Isaiah 11, 10-12

Is 11, 10-12 : And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, lifted up as a standard for the peoples, shall be sought out by the nations, and his dwelling shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day: the Lord will stretch out his hand a second time to redeem the remnant of his people, that which remains in the lands of Assyria and Egypt, Patros, Ethiopia, Elam, Sennaar, Hamath and the isles of the sea. He will raise up a standard for the nations, and gather together the outcasts of Israel; he will gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four ends of the earth.

Isaiah 60, 5-10

Is 60, 5-10 : Then you will see him, and you will be radiant; your heart will leap and expand; for the riches of the sea will come to you, the treasures of the nations will come to you. Multitudes of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those of Sheba will come, they will bring gold and incense, and publish the praises of Yahweh. All the flocks of Cedar will gather to you; the rams of Nabaioth will serve you; they will come up to my altar as a pleasing offering, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Who are these that fly like clouds, like doves to their dovecote? For the isles hope in me, and the ships of Tarshish will come first; To bring back your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to honor the name of Yahweh your God, and the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. The sons of foreigners will build your walls, and their kings will be your servants; for I struck you in my anger, but in my kindness I had compassion on you.

GRM 177.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.»

«You therefore foretell that the gentiles will be equal to the children of Abraham?»

«Not equal, but greater. You can only regret that it is due to your fault. Not I, but the Prophets say so, and the signs already confirm it.»

Detail

Jesus speaks to the Jews.

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.

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.