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Miracles of Jesus Christ

Theme: Biblical facts and elements in the New Testament · Page 7 of 8

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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.

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GRM 181.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

They enter Korazim when it is broad daylight. All the stems twinkle with dewy gems. Birds are singing everywhere. The air is pure and cool, it seems to savour of milk, of a vegetable milk rather than animal milk. The scent of the corn coming into ears, of the almond-groves laden with fruit… is the scent I could smell in cool mornings in the rich fields in the Po Valley.
They soon reach Elias’ house. Many people in Korazim already know that the Master has arrived, and while Jesus is about to enter the house, a mother rushes towards Him shouting: «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on my daughter!» She is carrying in her arms a little girl, about ten years old, who is very thin and waxen, or yellowish rather than waxen.
«What is the matter with your daughter?»
«She is feverish. She caught a disease at the pastures along the Jordan. Because we are the shepherds of a rich man. Her father sent for me when she was taken ill. He has gone back to the mountains. But You know that with this kind of disease one cannot stay up in high places. But how can I stay here? Our master has allowed me so far. But I look after the wool and the litters. This is the busy season for shepherds. If I stay here we shall be dismissed or separated. And if I go back to the Hermon I will see my daughter die.»
«Do you believe that I can cure her?»
«I have spoken to Daniel, Elisha’s shepherd. He said to me: “Our Child cures all diseases. Go to the Messiah”. I have come from beyond Merom carrying her in my arms and looking for You. I was going to walk until I found You…»
«You need walk no farther, but go home, to your peaceful work. Your daughter is cured because that is what I want. Go in peace.»
The woman looks at her daughter and at Jesus. She is perhaps hoping to see her daughter become fat and rosy all at once. Also the girl stares at Jesus with her tired eyes wide open and smiles.
«Do not be afraid, woman. I am not deceiving you. Her fever has gone forever. Day by day she will become a healthy girl. Let her go. She will no longer stagger neither will she feel tired.»
The mother puts the child down and she stands upright. She becomes more and more cheerful and at last she trills in her silvery voice: «Bless the Lord, mother! I am cured! I can feel it» and with the naivety of a little shepherd girl, she throws her arms around Jesus’ neck and kisses Him. Her mother, reserved as her age demands, prostrates herself and kisses His tunic blessing the Lord.
«Go. Remember the gift of God and be good. Peace be with you.»

Annotation

"What's wrong with your daughter?" "Fevers. She caught them in the pastures along the Jordan." Most likely yellow fever, or swamp fever, which wreaked havoc on populations throughout antiquity. See footnote in EMV 177: Swamp fevers (yellow fever or malaria) caused serious epidemics in antiquity. 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. Maria Valtorta reports here an opinion perfectly in line with Roman belief and not related to her knowledge as a nurse."

I was called to the sick girl by her father. Now he's gone back to the mountains. But you know that with this disease, you can't go to altitude. This medical indication deserves to be examined by competent people.

Keywords

GRM 183.2-5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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.»
183.3 Through the wide open door they enter a large hall which opens onto a lovely garden. The house seems to be divided by this kind of covered peristyle, which is full of pots with green plants, statues and inlaid articles. It is a mixture of a hall and greenhouse. In a room, the door of which opens onto the hall, there are some women weeping. Jesus goes in confidently. But He does not pronounce His usual greeting.
Among the men present there is a merchant who obviously knows Jesus, because as soon as he sees Him, he says: «The Rabbi of Nazareth!» and greets Him respectfully.
«Joseph, what is the matter?»
«Master, a stab wound in his heart… He is dying.»
«Why?»
A grey-haired unkempt woman stands up – she was kneeling near the dying man holding his limp hand – and with distracted face and voice she shouts: «Because of her, because of her… She has turned him into a devil… Mother, wife, children no longer existed for him! Hell will have you, satan!»
Jesus looks up and His eyes follow the trembling accusing hand and in a corner, against the dark red wall, He sees Mary of Magdala, more immodest than ever, wearing, I would say, nothing on half of her body, because she is half naked from the waist upwards, draped in a kind of hexagonal net decorated with little round objects which look like tiny pearls. But as she is in a half-light, I cannot see her well.
Jesus lowers His eyes once again. Mary, lashed by His indifference, stands up, whereas before she seemed somewhat depressed, and strikes a defiant pose.
«Woman» says Jesus to the mother. «Do not curse. Tell Me. Why was your son in this house?»
«I told You. Because she infatuated him. She did.»
«Silence. So, he was in sin, too, because he is an adulterer and an unworthy father of these innocent children. He therefore deserves his punishment. In this life and in the next one there is no mercy for those who do not repent. But I feel sorry for your grief and for these innocent children.
183.4 Is your house far?»
«About one hundred yards.»
«Lift the man and take him there.»
«It is not possible, Master» says Joseph, the merchant. «He is breathing his last breath.»
«Do as I tell you.»
They place a board under the body of the dying man and the procession slowly moves out. They cross the street and go into a shady garden. The women carry on crying loudly.
As soon as they enter the garden, Jesus addresses the mother. «Can you forgive? If you forgive, God will forgive. We must be kind-hearted, to obtain grace. He has sinned and will sin again. It would be better for him to die, because, if he lives, he will fall into sin again and he will also have to answer for his ingratitude to God Who has saved him. But you and these innocent ones (and He points at the wife and children) would give yourselves up to despair. I have come to save, not to lose. Man, I tell you: stand up and be cured.»
The man begins to recover. He opens his eyes, sees his mother, wife and children and lowers his head shamefully.
«Son, son» says the mother. «You were dead, if He had not saved you. Come to your senses. Don’t be infatuated for a…»
Jesus interrupts the old woman. «Be quiet, woman. Have mercy as mercy was granted to you. Your house has been sanctified by a miracle, which is always the evidence of God’s presence. That is why I could not work it where there was sin. You, at least, must endeavour to keep it such, even if he will not. Take care of him now. It is fair that he should suffer a little. Be good, woman. And you. And you little ones. Goodbye.» Jesus has laid His hand on the heads of the two women and of the children.
183.5 He then goes out passing in front of the Magdalene who followed the procession as far as the entrance of the house where she remained leaning against a tree. Jesus slackens His pace as if He were waiting for His disciples, but I think He does so to give Mary a chance of making a gesture. But she does not.
The disciples reach Jesus and Peter cannot help muttering between his teeth an epithet appropriate to Mary, who, wishing to strike an attitude, bursts into a laugh of a weak triumph. But Jesus heard Peter’s word and addresses him severely: «Peter. I do not insult. Do not insult. Pray for sinners. Nothing else.»
Mary stops her trilling laughter, lowers her head and runs away, like a gazelle, towards her house.

Detail

Case of adultery in Magdala.

Annotation

Your house is sanctified by the miracle, which is always proof of God's presence. In EMV 234.4/5, Jesus returns at length to this miracle and its context.

Keywords

GRM 185.1-6 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

185.1 Now that everybody is asleep I am telling you my joy. I «saw» today’s Gospel. Mind you, this morning when I read it, I said to myself: «This is an episode of the Gospel which I will never see, because it is not very suitable for a vision.» Instead, when I was not thinking about it, it came to fill me with joy.
185.2 This is what I saw.
A sailing boat, not excessively large, nor very small, a fishing boat, on which five or six people can move comfortably, is ploughing the water of the beautiful deep blue lake of Gennesaret.
Jesus is sleeping in the stern. He is dressed in white as usual. He is resting His head on His left arm and under His arm and head He has placed His blue-grey mantle, which has been folded many times. He is sitting, not lying, on the bottom of the boat and His head is resting on the board that is at the very end of the stern. I do not know how sailors call it. He is sleeping peacefully. He is tired. He is placid.
Peter is at the rudder. Andrew is busy with the sails, John and two more people – I do not know who they are – are sorting out the ropes and nets at the bottom of the boat, as if they were preparing for a catch during the night. I would say that the day is drawing to its end because the sun is already setting in the west. All the disciples have pulled their tunics up, gathering them around their waists by means of belts, in order to be free in their movements, passing from one part of the boat to another, stepping over oars, seats, baskets and nets, without being hindered by their clothes. None of them is wearing a mantle.
185.3 I see that the sky is clouding over and the sun is hiding behind huge storm clouds, which have suddenly appeared from behind the top of a hill. The wind blows them fast towards the lake. The wind, for the time being, is high up, and the lake is still quiet, it is only becoming darker and its surface is no longer perfectly smooth. There are no waves as yet, but the water is beginning to ruffle.
Peter and Andrew watch the sky and the lake and are preparing to draw close to the shore. But the wind suddenly rages over the lake that in a few minutes surges foaming. The swelling waves clash one against the other, they strike the little boat, lifting it up, lowering it down, tossing it in all directions, thus preventing all manoeuvres of the rudder as the wind prevents manoeuvring the sail, which has to be lowered.
Jesus is sleeping. Neither the steps and excited voices of the disciples, nor the howling wind, nor the waves pounding on the sides of the boat and its prow, awake Him. His hair is blowing in the wind and drops of water reach Him. But He is sleeping. John runs from stern to stern and covers Him with his mantle, which he has taken from below a board. He covers Him with delicate love.
The storm rages more and more furiously. The lake is as black as if ink had been poured into it and is streaked by the foam of the waves. The boat lets in water and is driven farther and farther to the open sea by the wind. The disciples are perspiring in their efforts to manoeuvre the boat and baling out the water which the waves pour in. But to no avail. They are paddling in the water that reaches up to their knees and the boat is becoming heavier and heavier.
185.4 Peter loses his calm and patience. He hands the rudder over to his brother, staggers towards Jesus and shakes Him vigorously.
Jesus wakes up and raises His head.
«Save us, Master, we are going down!» Peter shouts to Him (he must shout to make himself heard).
Jesus stares at His disciple, looks at the others and then at the lake. «Do you believe that I can save you?»
«Quick, Master» shouts Peter, while a real mountain of water moves fast from the centre of the lake towards the poor little boat. It is so high and dreadful that it looks like a water spout. The disciples who see it coming kneel down and hang onto whatever they can, certain that it is the end.
Jesus gets up. He stands on the stern board: a white figure against the livid storm. He stretches His arms out towards the billow and says to the wind: «Stop and be quiet» and to the water: «Calm down. I want it.» And the billow dissolves into foam, which falls harmlessly with a last roar, which fades into a whisper, while the wind dies down changing into a whistle and then a sigh. And the sky becomes clear once again over the appeased lake, while hope and faith fill the hearts of the disciples.
I cannot describe Jesus’ majesty. One must see it to understand it. And I enjoy it internally because it is still present in my mind and I think of how placid was Jesus’ sleep and how imperious was His command to the winds and the waves.
185.5 Jesus then says:
«I will not expound the Gospel in the same way as everybody else does. I will illustrate the circumstances preceding the Gospel passage.
Why was I sleeping? Did I perhaps not know that there was going to be a storm? Yes, I knew. Only I knew. Why was I sleeping, then?
The apostles were men, Mary. They were full of goodwill, but still very much “men”. Man thinks he is always capable of everything. When he is really capable of doing something he is full of haughtiness and attachment to his “ability”. Peter, Andrew, James and John were good fishermen and consequently they thought they were unexcelled in handling a boat. As far as they were concerned I was a great “Rabbi”, but a mere nothing as a sailor. Thus they thought I was unable to help them, and when on the boat to cross the Sea of Galilee, they begged Me to sit down because I was not capable of doing anything else. Also their love for Me was behind their attitude, as they did not want Me to do any material work. But their attachment to their own ability was greater than their love.
I do not impose Myself, Mary, except in exceptional cases. I generally leave you free and wait. On that day, tired as I was and being requested to rest, that is to let them act, clever as they were, I went to sleep. My sleep also included the ascertainment of how man is “man” and wants to do things by himself without feeling that God asks but to help him. I saw in those “spiritual deaf men”, in those “spiritual blind men”, all the spiritual deaf and blind people, who throughout centuries would ruin themselves, because “they wanted to do by themselves”, although I was bent over their needs awaiting to be asked to help them.
When Peter shouted: “Save us!”, My bitterness dropped like a stone. I am not “man”, I am the God-Man. I do not behave as you do. When someone rejects your advice or your help, and you see him in trouble, even if you are not so bad as to rejoice at it, you are uncharitable enough to look at him disdainfully and indifferently, without being moved by his shouts for help. Your attitude means: “When I wanted to help you, you did not want me? Well, help yourself now”. But I am Jesus. I am the Saviour. And I save, Mary. I always save as soon as I am asked to.
185.6 The poor men might object: “In that case, why do You allow single or collective storms to break out?”. If by My power I should destroy Evil, you would consider yourselves the authors of Good, which in actual fact is a gift of Mine, and you would not remember Me any longer, You would never remember Me. My poor children, you are in need of sorrow to remember that you have a Father. As the prodigal son remembered he had a father when he was hungry.
Misfortunes convince you of your nothingness, of your ignorance, which is the cause of so many errors, of your wickedness, the cause of so much mourning and grief, of your faults, the cause of the punishments which you inflict upon yourselves, as well as of My existence, of My power and of My goodness.
That is what today’s Gospel teaches you. “Your” Gospel of the present time, my poor children. Call Me. Jesus does not sleep except when He is in anguish because He sees that He is not loved by you. Call Me and I will come.»

Annotation

Now that everyone's asleep, I'd like to share my joy with you. I've "seen" today's Gospel. Maria Valtorta's daily catecheses, recorded in the "Cahiers" series, began in April 1943, but the Gospel visions didn't really start until January 1944. So this is one of the very first visions. The visions are not in chronological order.

Jesus is asleep at the stern. At the stern of the boat.

Jesus rises, standing on the table in the bow. His white face stands out against the livid storm. He stretches out his arms toward the waves and says to the wind, "Stop and be quiet," and to the water, "Calm down. I want you to." According to M.L. a reader, this episode of the calmed storm is to be compared with Psalm 106 (Hebrew 107), 23-30. This connection must have been present, after the fact, in the minds of the apostles who, like their contemporaries, knew the Psalms by heart. It also sheds additional light on Jesus' comments to Maria Valtorta.

Gospel of Matthew 8, 23-27

Mt 8, 23-27 : As Jesus got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, the sea became so rough that the boat was covered by the waves. But he was asleep. The disciples went to him and woke him up, saying, "Lord, save us! We are lost." But he said to them, "Why are you so fearful, men of little faith?" Then Jesus stood up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. The people were amazed, saying, "Who is this that even the winds and the sea obey him?"

Gospel of Mark 4, 37-41

Mk 4, 37-41 : A violent storm came up. The waves were crashing against the boat, so that it was already filling up. He was asleep on the cushion at the stern. The disciples woke him up and said, "Master, we're lost; don't you care?" Awakened, he threatened the wind and said to the sea, "Silence, be quiet!" The wind died down, and there was a great calm. Jesus said to them: "Why are you so fearful? Have you not yet faith?" Seized with great fear, they said to one another, "Who is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Gospel of Luke 8, 23-25

Lk 8, 23-25 : While they were sailing, Jesus fell asleep. A storm came up on the lake. They were submerged and in great peril. The disciples went to him and woke him up, saying, "Master, master! We're lost!" And he, awakening, threatened the wind and the turbulent waves. They calmed down, and calm was restored. Then Jesus said to them, "Where is your faith?" Filled with fear, they were astonished and said to one another, "Who is this that he even commands the winds and waves, and they obey him?"

Keywords

GRM 186.2.5-8 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus, after crossing the lake from north-west to south-east, asks Peter to land near Hippos. Peter obeys without objection and takes the boat down to the mouth of a little river, which is in flood because of the springtime rains and of the recent storm and flows into the lake through one of the wild rocky gorges common to this coastal area. The assistants – there is one in each boat – fasten the boats and are ordered to wait until evening to go back to Capernaum.
«And be as dumb as an ox» suggests Peter. «If they ask you where the Master is, reply without hesitation: “I don’t know”. And if anyone wants to know where He is going to, give the same reply. In any case it is the truth, for you don’t know.»
They part and Jesus begins to ascend a steep path which climbs the almost upright cliff. The apostles follow Him along a very hard path up to the top of the cliff which levels over to a tableland strewn with oak-trees under which there are many pigs pasturing.
«Stinking animals!» exclaims Bartholomew. «They prevent us from passing…»
«No, they do not. There is room for everybody» replies Jesus calmly.
In any case the swineherds, when they see the Israelites, endeavour to gather the pigs under the oak-trees, leaving the path free. And the apostles pass by, making endless grimaces, among the filth left by the grouting animals, which fat as they are, seem anxious to become even fatter.
Jesus passes without any fuss, saying to the swineherds: «May God reward you for your kindness.»
The swineherds, poor people not much cleaner than their pigs but infinitely thinner, look at Him amazed and then whisper to one another. One of them says: «Is He perhaps not an Israelite?» And the others reply to him: «Don’t you see that His tunic is fringed?»
The group of the apostles gather together, now that they can proceed in one group along a fairly wide path. (...)
186.5
But what are these ruins?»
«They all move away from the side of the mountain because stones and earth are rolling down and bouncing on the slope and they all look around amazed.
«There, there! Over there! Two men completely naked… are coming towards us gesticulating. Mad…»
«Or demoniacs» replies Jesus to the Iscariot, who was the first to see the two demoniacs come towards Jesus.
They must have come out of some cave on the mountain side. They are howling. And one, who is running faster, rushes towards Jesus. He is running so fast and moving his arms up and down so much as if they were wings, that he looks like a strange ugly big bird stripped of its feathers. He collapses at Jesus’ feet shouting: «You are here, Master of the world? What have I got to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Has the hour of our punishment already come? Why have You come to torture us before the time?» The other demoniac, both because his tongue is tied and because he is possessed by a demon who causes him to be dullwitted, does nothing but throw himself on the ground, face down, and weep. He then sits up, remains inert, playing with little stones and his bare feet. The demon continues to speak through the lips of the other man who writhes on the ground in a paroxysm of terror. I would say that he wants to react, whereas he can but worship, attracted and rejected at the same time by Jesus’ power. He howls: «I entreat You in the name of God, stop tormenting me. Let me go.»
«Yes. But out of this man. Unclean spirit, go out of them and tell Me your name.»
«Legion is my name because we are many. We have possessed these men for years and through them we break bonds and chains, and there is no strength of man capable of holding them. They are a terror, because of us, and we make use of them to have You cursed. We revenge ourselves on them for Your anathema. We degrade man below a beast to mock at You and there is no wolf, jackal, hyena, vulture or vampire like these whom we possess. But don’t cast us out. Hell is too horrid!…»
«Go out! In the name of Jesus, go out!» Jesus’ voice thunders and His eyes fire splendour.
«At least let us go into the herd of pigs You met.»
«Go.»
With a beastly howl the demons part from the two wretched men and in a sudden whirlwind, which causes the oak-trees to sway like reeds, they run into the large herd of pigs that with real demoniac cries begin to run, as possessed beings, through the oak trees, pushing, wounding, biting one another and hurl themselves into the lake, when, after reaching the edge of the cliff, they have but the water below as a shelter. The swineherds are overwhelmed and dumbfounded and while they shout seized by fear, hundreds of animals fall headlong into the calm water in a succession of splashes, causing the water to surge and foam; they sink, refloat, showing in turn their round bellies or their pointed snouts with terrified eyes, and in the end drown.
186.6
The swineherds run towards the town howling.
The apostles go towards the place of the disaster and come back saying: «Not one of them is saved! He has done them a bad turn.»
Jesus replies calmly: «It is better if two thousand pigs perish than one man. Give them some clothes. They cannot stay like that.»
The Zealot opens his bag and gives one of his tunics. Thomas another one. The two men are still somewhat stunned as if they were just awaking from a sound sleep full of nightmares.
«Give them some food. Let them go back to the normal life of men.»
Jesus watches them while they eat the bread and olives given to them and they drink out of Peter’s flask.
At last they speak: «Who are You?» asks one.
«Jesus of Nazareth.»
«We don’t know You» says the other.
«Your souls know Me. Get up now and go home.»
«We have suffered very much, I think, but I cannot remember very well. Who is this man?» asks the one who spoke on behalf of the demon, and he points at his companion.
«I do not know. He was with you.»
«Who are you? Why are you here?» he asks his companion.
The one who was dumb, and is still more inert, says: «I am Demetrius. Is this Sidon?»
«Sidon is on the sea, man. Here you are beyond the lake of Galilee.»
«Why am I here?»
Nobody can reply.
186.7
Some people are arriving followed by the swineberds. They look frightened and curious. When they see the two men dressed and tidy, their astonishment increases.
«That is Mark of Josiah!… And that is the son of the heathen merchant!…»
«And He is the one who cured them and caused our pigs to perish, because they became mad when the demons entered them» say the swineherds.
«Lord, You are powerful, we admit it. But You have already caused us too much harm! A damage of many talents. Go away, please, lest Your power should bring the mountain down and hurl it into the lake. Go away…»
«I will go. I do not impose Myself on anybody» and Jesus without further discussion goes back the way He came.
The demoniac who spoke follows Him, behind the apostles. Farther back, at some distance, there are many citizens watching whether He is really leaving.
186.8
They go down the steep path back to the mouth of the little rent, near the boats. The citizens remain on the terrace watching. The demoniac who has been cured goes down behind Jesus.
In the boats the assistants are terrified. They saw the pigs raining into the lake and are still contemplating their bodies which surface more and more numerous, more and more swollen, with their round bellies in the air and their stiff short legs like four pegs stuck into a huge fat bladder. «What happened?» they ask.
«We will tell you later. Loosen the boats and let us go… Where, my Lord?»
«To the gulf of Tarichea.»
The man who has followed them, now that he sees them getting into the boats, implores: «Take me with You, Lord.»
«No. Go home: your relatives are entitled to have you. Speak to them of the great things the Lord has done to you and tell them how He had mercy on you. This area is in need of faith. Light the flames of faith out of gratitude to the Lord. Go. Goodbye.»
«Comfort me at least with Your blessing, that the demon may not possess me again.»
«Be not afraid. If you do not want, he will not come. But I bless you. Go in peace.»
The boats depart from the shore westwards. Only then, when the boats are ploughing through the waters strewn with the swine victims, the inhabitants of the town, which did not want the Lord, withdraw from the terrace and go away.

Annotation

The employees tie up the boats - there is one per boat - and are ordered to wait until evening for the return to Capernaum. They are two anonymous figures, obviously carrying out maneuvers. They were undoubtedly present in EMV 185.

At least, let me into this herd of pigs: The original text speaks in the singular here: Lasciami. This singular request will be ingenuously interpreted by Peter in EMV 203.3.

Gospel of Matthew 8, 28-34

Mt 8, 28-34 : As Jesus reached the other side of the river, in the land of the Gadarenes, two possessed men came out from among the tombs to meet him; they were so aggressive that no one could pass by that way. Behold, they cried out, "What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come to torment us before the appointed time?" Now there was a large herd of pigs in the distance, looking for food. The demons begged Jesus, "If you expel us, send us into the herd of swine." He replied, "Go." They went out and into the pigs; and behold, from the top of the cliff, the whole herd rushed into the sea, and the pigs died in the waves. The guardians fled and went into the city to report all this, and in particular what had happened to the possessed. And behold, the whole town came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw him, the people begged him to leave their territory.

Gospel of Mark 5:1-20

Mk 5, 1-20 : They came to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, in the country of the Gerasenes. As Jesus got out of the boat, immediately a man possessed by an unclean spirit came forward from the tombs to meet him; he lived in the tombs and no one could bind him any more, not even with a chain; indeed he had often been bound with leg irons and chains, but he had broken the chains, broken the irons, and no one could restrain him. Constantly, night and day, he was among the tombs and on the hills, shouting and hurting himself with stones. Seeing Jesus from afar, he ran to him, bowed before him and cried out in a loud voice: "What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me!" For Jesus was saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come out of this man!" And he asked him, "What is your name?" The man said to him, "My name is Legion, for there are many of us." And they begged Jesus insistently not to drive them out of the country.

Now, on the hillside there was a large herd of pigs looking for food. So the unclean spirits begged Jesus, "Send us to these swine, and we will enter them." He allowed them to do so. They came out of the man and entered the pigs. From the top of the cliff, the herd rushed into the sea: there were about two thousand pigs, and they were drowning in the sea. Their guardians fled and spread the news in town and country, and people came to see what had happened.

When they came to Jesus, they saw the demon-possessed man sitting up, clothed, and coming to his senses, he who had had the legion of demons, and they were seized with fear. Those who had seen all this told them the story of the demon-possessed man and what had happened to the pigs. So they began to beg Jesus to leave their territory.

As Jesus climbed back into the boat, the possessed man begged him to be allowed to be with him. He did not consent, but said to him, "Go home to your family, and tell them all that the Lord has done for you in His mercy." So the man went away, and began to proclaim in the Decapolis region what Jesus had done for him, and everyone was in awe.

Gospel of Luke 8, 26-39

Lk 8, 26-39 : They landed in the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. As Jesus disembarked, a demon-possessed man from the city came to meet him. For some time he had not put on clothes, nor lived in a house, but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell at his feet and said in a loud voice: "What do you want from me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Please don't torment me." Indeed, Jesus was commanding the unclean spirit to come out of this man, for the spirit had taken hold of him many times. He was then kept bound in chains, with fetters on his feet, but he broke his bonds and the demon dragged him away to deserted places. Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" He replied, "Legion". Indeed, many demons had entered him. And these demons begged Jesus not to order them to go into the abyss. Now, there was a sizeable herd of pigs foraging on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to allow them to enter the pigs, and he did. They went out of the man and into the pigs. From the top of the cliff, the herd rushed into the lake and drowned. When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled; they spread the news in the town and in the countryside, and people went out to see what had happened.

When they came to Jesus, they found the man whom the demons had left, seated, clothed and restored to his senses, at Jesus' feet. And they were seized with fear. Those who had seen told them how the demon-possessed man had been saved. Then all the people in the territory of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave their home, because they were in great fear. Jesus got back into the boat and sailed away.

The man the demons had left asked if he could be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, "Go back home and tell everyone what God has done for you." So the man set off to proclaim throughout the town all that Jesus had done for him.

Keywords

GRM 189.1-5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Nain must have been a town of some importance in the days of Jesus. It is not a large town, but is well built, surrounded by its walls, lying on a low pleasant hill, an off shoot of the Little Hermon, commanding a very fertile plain which stretches towards the north-east.
One arrives here coming from Endor, after crossing a little river, which flows into the Jordan. But neither the Jordan nor its valley can be seen any longer, because they are concealed by hills which form an arch shaped like a question mark in the east.
Jesus follows a main road which links the lake region to the Hermon and its villages. Many inhabitants of Endor walk behind Him talking to one another animatedly.
Only a short distance separates the group of the apostles from the walls: about two hundred yards, at the most. And as the main road runs straight to one of the town gates, which is wide open because it is broad daylight, it is possible to see what is happening in the inner side of the walls. Thus Jesus, Who is speaking to the apostles and the new convert, sees a funeral coming towards them, with a great noise of weepers and similar eastern displays.
«Shall we go and see, Master?» ask many. And many of the inhabitants of Endor are already rushing to see.
«Yes, let us go» says Jesus condescendingly.
«Oh! It must be a boy. See how many flowers and ribbons there are on the stretcher» says Judas of Kerioth to John.
«Or it is probably a virgin» replies John.
«No, it is certainly a young man, because of the shades they have used. And there is no myrtle either…» says Bartholomew.
The funeral comes out from the other side of the walls. It is not possible to see what there is on the stretcher, which is carried shoulder high by the bearers. One understands that there is a corpse, wrapped in bandages and covered by a sheet, only because of its outline and that it is the body of a fully grown person, because it is as long as the stretcher.
A veiled woman is walking beside it, weeping, supported by relatives or friends. The only sincere tears in all that farce of mourners. And when a bearer trips on a stone or heap in the ground or stumbles and causes the stretcher to shake, the mother moans: «Oh! No! Be careful! My boy has suffered so much!» and she raises her trembling hand to caress the edge of the stretcher. And as she is unable to do anything else, she kisses the veils and the ribbons, which blown by a gentle breeze lightly touch the immobile corpse.
Peter, sympathetic, his good keen eyes welling up with tears whispers: «She is the mother.» But he is not the only one whose eyes are shining with tears at the sight. Also the Zealot, Andrew, John, and even the ever merry Thomas have tears in their eyes. They are all deeply moved. Judas Iscariot whispers: «If it were I! Oh! Poor mother of mine…»
189.2
Jesus, the kindness of Whose eyes is so deep as to be unbearable, makes His way towards the stretcher.
The mother, who is now sobbing louder because the funeral is about to turn towards the open sepulchre, pushes Him aside resolutely, when she sees that Jesus wants to touch the stretcher. I wonder what she is afraid of in her grief. She shouts: «He is mine!» and looks at Jesus with staring eyes.
«I know, mother. He is yours.»
«He is my only son! Why should he die, he was so good and dear, he was my joy, and I am a widow. Why?» The crowd of the hired mourners mourn more loudly, forming a chorus with the mother who continues: «Why he, and not I? It is not just that she who has borne a child, should see her offspring perish. The offspring must live, otherwise why was my womb torn to give birth to a man?» and she strikes her abdomen wildly and desperately.
«Do not do that! Do not weep, mother.» Jesus takes her hands clenching them firmly in His left hand, while with His right one He touches the stretcher saying to the bearers: «Stop and put the stretcher down.»
The bearers obey and lower the little bed that rests on its four legs.
Jesus takes the sheet covering the dead boy and pulls it back uncovering the corpse.
The mother shouts her grief and the name of her son, I think: «Daniel!»
Jesus, still clenching the mother’s hands in His, stands up, His eyes imposingly bright, the power of miracle shining majestically on His face, lowering His right hand, orders in the full strength of His voice: «Young man! I tell you: get up!»
189.3
The dead boy, wrapped in bandages as he is, sits up on the little bed and calls: «Mother!» He calls her with the stammering frightened voice of a terrified child.
«He is yours, woman. I give him to you in the name of God. Help him to get rid of the sudarium. And be happy.»
And Jesus makes the gesture of withdrawing. Impossible! The crowds rivet Him to the stretcher, on which the mother has thrown herself groping for the bandages, endeavouring to be quick, while the imploring childish moaning repeats: «Mother! Mother!»
The sudarium and bandages are undone and mother and son can embrace each other, and they do so without bothering about the sticky balms, which the mother removes from his dear face and hands, making use of the same bandages. As she has not clothes to put on him, she takes off her mantle and wraps him in it, caressing him all the time…
189.4
Jesus looks at her… he looks at the loving group, close together on the edge of the little bed, no longer a stretcher, and He weeps.
Judas Iscariot sees His tears and asks: «Why are You weeping, my Lord?»
Jesus turns His face towards him and says: «I am thinking of My Mother…»
The brief conversation draws the woman’s attention to her Benefactor. She takes her son by the hand, she supports him because his limbs are still somewhat numb, and kneeling down she says: «You, too, my son. Bless this Holy man Who has restored you to life and to your mother» and she bends to kiss Jesus’ tunic while the crowd sing hosannas to God and to His Messiah, Who by now is well known for what He is, because the apostles and the people of Endor have taken it upon themselves to tell Who is He Who worked the miracle. And the crowds exclaim: «Blessed be the God of Israel. Blessed be the Messiah, His Messenger! Blessed be Jesus, Son of David! A great Prophet is risen among us! God has really visited His people! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!»
189.5
At last Jesus can steal away and enter the town. The crowd follow and pursue Him, exulting in their love.
A man rushes towards Jesus and bows deeply to Him. «Please come and stay under my roof.»
«I cannot. Passover prevents Me from making any stop except those programmed.»
«In a few hours it will be sunset and this is Friday…»
«Exactly, that is why I must reach My resting place before sunset. I thank you just the same. But do not keep Me back.»
«I am the head of the synagogue.»
«So you mean that you are entitled to have Me. Man, if I had arrived here only one hour later, that woman would not have had her son restored to her. I am going where other unhappy people are waiting for Me. Do not be so selfish as to delay their joy. I will certainly come again and I will be with you in Nain for several days. Now let Me go.»
The man does not insist any more. He only says: «As You said. I will wait for You.»
«Yes. Peace to you and to the citizens of Nain. Also to you, people of Endor, peace and blessings. Go back to your homes. God has spoken to you through the miracle. Endeavour, through the power of love, to have all your hearts restored to Goodness.»
A last chorus of hosannas. Then the crowds let Jesus go and He crosses the town diagonally and goes out into the country, towards Esdraelon.

Annotation

Gospel of Luke 7, 11-17

Lk 7, 11-17 : Afterwards, Jesus went to a town called Naim. His disciples and a large crowd were traveling with him. He arrived near the town gate just as a dead man was being taken to be buried; he was an only son, and his mother was a widow. A large crowd from the city accompanied the woman. Seeing the woman, the Lord felt compassion for her and said, "Don't weep. He reached out and touched the coffin; the pallbearers stopped, and Jesus said, "Young man, I command you, rise." Then the dead man stood up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother. Fear seized everyone, and they gave glory to God, saying, "A great prophet has arisen among us, and God has visited his people." And this word about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the whole region.

Keywords

GRM 192.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Is that the top of Mount Carmel, my Lord?» asks His cousin James.
«Yes, it is, brother. That is the chain of the Carmel and the highest peak is the one that gives the name to the chain.»
«The world must be beautiful also from there. Have You ever been up there?»
«Yes, once, by Myself, at the beginning of My mission. And at the foot of it I cured the first leper. »

Annotation

Unidentified episode. This miracle must have taken place after the first miracle at Cana.

Keywords

GRM 199.4-5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«And now, let us go and see those unhappy people!» says Jesus, and turning His back to the town He goes towards a desolate place on the slope of a rocky hill which lies between the two roads from Jericho to Jerusalem, A strange place, similar to a flight of steps after the first slope, up which climbs a path, so that there is a drop of at least three yards from the first terrace to the path, and the same from the second one. It is an arid, dead… extremely sad place.
«Master» shouts Simon the Zealot «I am here. Stop where You are, that I may show You the way…» and the Zealot, who was leaning against a rock to be in the shade, comes forward and leads Jesus up the steps of a path leading towards Gethsemane, but separated from it by the road that from the Mount of Olives goes to Bethany.
«Here we are. I lived among the tombs of Siloam and my friends are here. Some of them. The others are at Ben Hinnom, but cannot come… They would have to cross the road and would be seen.»
«We shall go to them also.»
«Thank You! On their part and mine.»
«Are they many?»
«Winter has killed most of them. But here there are still five of those to whom I had spoken. They are waiting for You. There they are, on the edge of their prison…»
There are probably ten monsters. I say «probably», because if five, who are standing up, are clearly visible, the others, because of the greyish hue of their skin, the deformity of their faces and the fact that they hardly protrude from the stone barrier, cannot be counted accurately and they may be more than five or less. Among those standing up there is only one woman. One can tell only by her white dishevelled hair hanging coarse and dirty over her shoulders down to her waist. There is no other sign by which one could tell her sex, because the disease, which is in an advanced stage, has reduced her to a skeleton, destroying all feminine forms. Likewise among the men, only one still has traces of moustache and beard. All the others have been made hairless by the destructive disease.
They shout: «Jesus, our Saviour, have mercy on us!» and they stretch out their deformed or ulcerated hands. «Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!»
«What do you want Me to do for you?» asks Jesus looking towards their misery.
«We want You to save us from sin and from this disease.»
«Your will and repentance will save you from sin…»
«But if You wish, You can cancel our sins. At least those, if You do not want to cure our bodies.»
«If I say to You: “Choose either one or the other”, which one would you prefer?»
«God’s forgiveness, Lord. To be less desolate.»
Jesus has a gesture of approval. He smiles brightly, raises His arms and shouts: «Let it be granted. I want it.»
Granted! The grace might be granted for their sins, or for their disease, or for both, and the five unhappy people remain uncertain. But the apostles have no uncertainty and they can but shout their hosannas when they see the leprosy disappear as fast as a flake of snow that falls on a fire. The five then understand that the full grace has been granted to them. Their shouting resounds like a cry of victory. They embrace one another and throw kisses at Jesus, as they cannot prostrate themselves at His feet. They then turn to their companions saying: «And you still refuse to believe? What miserable wretches are you?»
«Good! Be good! Your poor brothers need time to think. Say nothing to them. Faith is not imposed, it is preached with peace, kindness, patience and perseverance. That is what you will do after your purification, exactly as Simon did with you. After all, the miracle preaches by itself. You who have been cured, will go to the priest as soon as possible. You, who are still ill, wait for us this evening. We will bring you some food. Peace be with you.»
Jesus descends again on to the road followed by the blessings of everybody.
199.5
«And now let us go to Ben Hinnom» says Jesus.
«Master… I would like to come. But I realise that I cannot. I will go to Gethsemane» says Lazarus.
«Go, Lazarus. Peace be with you.»
While Lazarus is slowly walking away, the apostle John says: «Master, I will go with him. He walks with difficulty and the road is not very good. I will join You later at Ben Hinnom.»
«Yes, you may go. Let us go.»
They cross the Kidron, walk along the southern side of Mount Tophet and enter the little valley completely strewn with tombs and filth. There is not one tree or any shade from the sun, which blazes down on this southern side heating the stones of these new hellish terraces where the stinking smell of burning rubbish increases the heat. And inside the sepulchres, similar to crematoria, there are poor bodies, which are wasting away… Siloam may be unpleasant in winter, damp as it is and facing north, but this place must be dreadful in summer…
Simon Zealot lets out a shout calling them, and first three lepers, then two, then one, and another one come, as best they can, to the prescribed limit. There are two women here, and one of them is holding by the hand a horrible looking boy whose face is particularly affected by leprosy. He is already blind… And there is a noble looking man, notwithstanding his miserable state. He speaks on behalf of everybody: «Blessed be the Messiah of the Lord, Who has come down to our Gehenna, to free from it those who hope in Him. Save us, o Lord, because we are perishing! Save us, Saviour! King of the House of David, King of Israel, have mercy on Your subjects. Oh! Shoot of the stock of Jesse, of Whom it is said that in Your time there will be no evil, stretch out Your hand and pick up the remains of Your people. Cast away this death from us, wipe our tears, because that is what is said of You. Call us, Lord, to Your delicious pastures, to Your fresh waters, for we are thirsty. Lead us to the eternal hills where there is no sin or sorrow. Have mercy, Lord…»
«Who are you?»
«John, one of the Temple. I was probably infected by a leper. As You can see, I caught the disease only recently. But these!… Some of them have been awaiting death for years, and this little girl came here even before she could walk. She does not know what is the creation of God. What she knows or what she remembers of the wonders of God are these tombs, this merciless sun and the stars at night. Have mercy on the guilty and the innocent ones, o Lord, our Saviour.» They have all knelt down stretching out their hands.
Jesus weeps at so much misery. He then opens His arms shouting: «Father, I want it: health, life, sight and salvation for them.» He remains with His arms stretched out praying intensely with all His spirit. He seems to become thinner and to rise in prayer, a flame of love, white and powerful in the powerful gold of the sun.
«Mummy, I can see!» is the first cry, which is answered by the shout of the mother who clasps her cured little girl to her heart; then the shouts of the others and of the apostles… The miracle has been worked.
«John, as you are a priest, you will lead your companions in the rite. Peace be with you. Towards evening we shall bring some food also to you.» He blesses and is about to go away.
But John, the leper, shouts: «I want to follow Your steps. Tell me what I must do, where I must go to preach You!»
«In this desolate barren land, which must turn to the Lord. Let the town of Jerusalem be your field. Goodbye.»

Detail

Simon the Zealot asked Jesus to go to the Valley of Death, where there are lepers.

Annotation

And Simon, who had leaned against the rock for a little shade, steps forward and leads Jesus along a stepped path that leads to Gethsemane, but is separated from it by the road that leads from the Mount of Olives to Bethany. This is followed by Maria Valtorta's drawing, which we reproduce here. She has placed the "little mount" in the center, on the top of which she has written "leper" three times. To the north is "Gethsemane", from which she wrote "The shortest road to Bethany and Jericho". On the other side, she has written in pencil: "The Mount of Olives is here". To the west she makes the "Cedron" flow, beyond which she has traced "The longest road to Bethany and Jericho".

And so it is with the men, only one of whom has a remnant of a moustache and beard. The others have been shaved by this destructive disease. Zechariah the leper. Cf. EMV 417.2.

Keywords

GRM 211.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

If you do not wish to be anathematised by the Lord and by me, love the Messiah. And have no doubts. This is his evidence: spirit of peace, perfect love, greatest wisdom, heavenly doctrine, absolute meekness, power over everything, total humility, angelical chastity. You cannot be wrong. When you breathe peace near a man Who says He is the Messiah, when you drink the love emanating from Him, when you pass from your darkness into Light, when you see sinners being redeemed and flesh being cured, then say: ‘This is truly the Lamb of God!’

Detail

John the Baptist speaks to the people of Hebron and tells them to love the Messiah.

Keywords

GRM 211.4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Bring Me your sick people and then gather in this garden, which has been abandoned and was desecrated by sin, after it had been made a temple for the Grace that lived in it.»
The people of Hebron spread out in all directions as fast as swallows. Only the head of the synagogue remains and together with Jesus and the disciples he goes in beyond the enclosure of the garden, to the shade of a bower where entangled roses and vines have grown wild. The population is soon back. With them there is a paralytic in a stretcher, a blind young woman, a dumb boy and two sick people, whose trouble I do not know. The last two are walking supported by other people.
Jesus greets each sick person saying: «Peace to you.» Then He asks the kind question: «What do you want Me to do for you?» followed by the chorus of lamentations, as each one wishes to tell his own story.
Jesus, Who was sitting, stands up and goes to the dumb boy, whose lips He wets with His saliva and utters the great word: «Open.» And He repeats it wetting the sealed eyelids of the woman with His finger moistened with saliva. He then stretches out His hand to the paralytic and says to him: «Rise!», and finally He imposes His hands on the two sick people saying: «Be cured, in the name of the Lord!». And the boy who previously mumbled, says distinctly: «Mummy!», while the young woman winks at the light with her unsealed eyelids, and with her fingers protects her eyes from the unknown sun, weeping and laughing, and looks again, with half open eyes, not being accustomed to the light, at the leaves, the earth, the people and particularly at Jesus. The paralytic comes boldly off the stretcher and his compassionate bearers lift it, empty as it is, to make the people afar understand that the grace has been granted, while the two sick people cry for joy and kneel down to venerate their Saviour.
The crowds are frantically shouting hosanna, Thomas, who is near Judas, looks at him so intensely and with such a clear expression, that Judas declares to him: «I was foolish, forgive me.»

Annotation

Thomas, who is standing next to Judas, looks at him so intensely and with such a clear expression that Judas replies, "I was a fool, forgive me." This follows a discussion between Thomas and Judas, in which the Iscariot accused Jesus of no longer performing miracles. Cf. EMV 210.