Summary of EMV

Chapter title: Mary confides her vow to the High Priest.

Date of vision: Sunday, September 3, 1944

Calendar:November 7 (Elul 3754).

Location (map): Jerusalem

Cycle: Marriage to Joseph

Summary: Mary returns to her cell with other virgins. Just as she is about to enter her room, a mistress tells her that the High Priest wants to see her. So she goes, and discovers not only the priest, but also Zechariah and Anne of Phanuel. Simon ben Boethos tells her that he knows of her holiness, and would like her to stay in the Temple and pray to the Lord every morning. But the Law says otherwise, and she must marry. He reassures her by saying that he has not forgotten that she is of the line of David, and as she knows no one, they will rely on God to choose her husband. Mary then confided her vow of virginity to the high priest, who asked her when she had fulfilled it. The Mother of the Lord plunged into her memories to answer him. She tells him that she is not opposed to marriage, but still wants to remain a virgin. The high priest declares that God will give her a husband, who will be holy because she has entrusted herself to the Most High. She will tell her future husband about her vow.

Chapter contents: 11.1: Maria Valtorta is delighted by Mary's smile in the midst of a bombardment. 11.2: Mary returns to her cell with the virgins. 11.3: The Pontiff reminds her that she must marry. 11.4: But Mary has promised herself to the Lord and tells how. 11.5: You will tell your husband your vow.

Chapter title: Joseph chosen as the Virgin's spouse.

Date of vision: Monday, September 4, 1944

Calendar:Friday, December 23, year -7

Location (map): Jerusalem

Cycle: Marriage to Joseph

Summary: The high priest gathered the men of the tribe of David at the Temple. We learn in this chapter that he asked everyone to bring an almond branch. It is from this group that the Virgin's husband will be chosen. Everyone is curious, and Zachariah is present. The high priest finally arrives and reveals that one of the branches has blossomed in the middle of winter, and that this is the one who will marry Mary. Joseph is chosen as the lucky one and the high priest sends for the future Mother of Christ. Meanwhile, Simon ben Boethos reveals that Mary has made a vow. Joseph must help the All-Pure to tell her. When she arrives, everyone withdraws and the two fiancés get to know each other. Joseph speaks of the house of Nazareth, of Anne, of Joachim, and this gives the Virgin confidence. Her husband reveals to her that he is a Nazir, and this encourages her to tell him her vow, which he accepts: he even asks her to unite his vow with hers. Finally, St. Joseph affirms that he will take care of the house in Nazareth until Mary leaves the Temple for good.

Chapter contents: 12.1: A gathering of men in festive dress. 12.2: Joseph speaks with an old man. 12.3: A Levite brings a bundle of dry branches with a flowering branch. 12.4: Joseph is designated Mary's husband thanks to the miraculously flowering branch. 12.5: The Pontiff presents Joseph to Mary. 12.6: Joseph is a Nazirite. 12.7: Mary entrusts her consecration to God to Joseph, who accepts it. They will live in chastity. 12.8 : In Nazareth, the couple will live separately, with Joseph taking care of everything.

Chapter title: Marriage of the Virgin with Joseph, instructed by Wisdom that he would be the guardian of the Mystery.

Date of vision and dictation: Tuesday, September 5, 1944

Calendar: March 6 A.D.

Location (map): Jerusalem

Cycle: Marriage with Joseph

Summary: Joseph and Mary are engaged at the Temple in Jerusalem. Mary looks beautiful in her bride's trousseau. The virgins around her are ecstatic at her beauty, and it's her mistresses who come to their protégée's rescue. The maidens leave, and Elisabeth arrives. She tells her about Anne's wedding trousseau, and then the Virgin speaks of Joseph, who is described as a young saint. The bridegroom arrives, and the two fiancés meet again. Joseph is superb, and confides that he has been thinking about the Virgin's vow. He understands it and joins her in a perpetual naziréat. The high priest then betroths them. After this, Mary and Joseph leave Jerusalem for Nazareth... Jesus then gives a dictation about his putative father.

Chapter contents: 13.1: Mary's beauty in her bridal attire. 13.2: Her companions admire her. 13.3: Your clothes are your mother's caress. 13.4: Joseph arrives in his best clothes. His welcoming speech. 13.5: Joseph speaks of the vow of absolute chastity. 13.6: The Pontiff presides over the wedding. 13.7: The bride and groom leave in a chariot with Zechariah and Elizabeth. 13.8: Praise for Wisdom. 13.9: Joseph, guardian of the Bride and the Son of God. 13.10: Joseph, a new Aaron who believed without seeing. 13.11 : Joseph, a co-redemptive example of purity, fidelity and perfect love.

Chapter title: The bride and groom arrive in Nazareth

Date of vision: September 6, 1944

Calendar:March 6 A.D.

Location (map): Nazareth

Cycle: Marriage to Joseph

Summary: Maria describes Nazareth. Mary returns to her city, after years of living in the Temple. She is betrothed to Joseph, who accompanies her, along with Zechariah and Elizabeth. Nazareth celebrates with them. They arrive at the house and Joseph, Zechariah and Elizabeth show her Joachim's home and garden. The Virgin also met Alpheus, Mary of Cleophas and her children. Then she meets Sarah, and her son, Alphée, Anne's boyfriend. Joseph is touring the house with his wife, and her brother learns that they won't be having the wedding right away. He is astonished, and Joseph replies that they will not perform the ceremony until Mary's sixteenth birthday. The future saint then makes her promise that she will call on him whenever she needs him. The family takes their leave, and Zechariah decides to leave Elizabeth to teach her cousin how to be a perfect housewife. This will also allow Mary to decorate her house to her liking.

Chapter contents: 14.1: The road through the hills of Galilee. 14.2: Triumphal entry into Nazareth. 14.3: Joseph points out Mary's house from afar. He is the one who will work there. 14.4: Mary welcomes Alphaeus and Sarah. 14.5: Joseph offers himself to Mary as a confidant. 14.6: The wedding will take place when she is sixteen. 14.7: Elizabeth will stay with her cousin for a while.

Chapter title: En guise de conclusion au Protévangile

Dictation date: Saturday, September 16, 1944.

Cycle: Marriage with Joseph

Summary: Jesus announces that the Protevangile is over. Maria is now in exile, and he tells her that he showed her these visions in these very hard times because he wanted to take care of her. He soon announces the end of the war and the end of her exile. Christ also thanks her for the great help she has given Italy and her village through her victim-spirit. He then encourages her to continue, because it is through soul-hosties that the complete ruin of a homeland can be avoided. Then comes a brief intervention from Our Lady: Maria has seen these episodes for this troubled time and has received a chain of gifts. The Virgin invites her to love him more and more.

Chapter contents: 15.1: Blessed visions far from the ferocity surrounding Maria Valtorta. 15.2: Some of your suffering will cease. 15.3 : Many hosts have been consumed as a result of your example. 15.4: Wisdom instructs you more and more in the understanding and practice of the Science of Life. 15.5 : Mary to Maria: I carried you with me in the secret of my early years, now love me as a daughter and sister in your destiny as a victim.

Chapter title : The Annunciation

Date of vision: Wednesday, March 8, 1944

Calendar: Wednesday, February 21, A.D. 5 (15 Adar I 3756).

Location (map): Nazareth

Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus Christ

Summary: This chapter recounts the Annunciation. Mary is in Nazareth, praying to God for the coming of her Messiah. Just then, the Archangel Gabriel arrives. Everything happens as the Gospels tell us.

Chapter contents: 16.1: Mary runs off with a smile on her face. 16.2: She sings and prays for the coming of the Messiah. 16.3: The Archangel Gabriel appears. 16.4: The dialogue between Gabriel and Mary.

Chapter title: Eve's disobedience and Mary's obedience

Date of dictations: Sunday, March 5, 1944 (EMV 17.1 to 17.7) and Wednesday, March 8, 1944 (EMV 17.8 to 17.21)

Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus

Summary: Jesus gives his first dictation. He starts from Genesis and explains what man's dominion was to be: he was to dominate the flesh, but also the moral and spiritual character. Christ then talks about the soul and the discussions we might have with it, then returns specifically to the Fall of Adam and Eve. He also talks about Lucifer and the origin of Evil.

In a second dictation, Mary speaks of her various joys at the moment of the Annunciation. The joy of being a mother. Joy at being the one through whom peace reconciled heaven and earth. Joy at having made God happy. Joy as a believer in her joy-filled God. The Mother of Christ goes on to speak of Eve's disobedience, and of the obedience that the Immaculate practiced on every occasion. She pronounced her Fiat on every occasion, and invites Maria to be a springboard for other souls to rise towards God.

Finally, Jesus gives a final dictation. After returning to those who do not welcome the Work or who are skeptical about it, he returns to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and gives it a symbolic connotation. The Master also dwells on the condemnation of Adam and Eve, which may seem too severe. The Savior dwells on the forbidden fruit, as well as on the Fullness of Grace.

Chapter contents: 17.1: Ask your soul for heavenly truths. 17.2: Man was called to dominate everything. 17.3: The birth of evil in Lucifer. 17.4 : Procreation willed by God. 17.5 : Satan awakens the flesh in Eve, who does not turn to the Father. 17.6 : A greater condemnation weighs on woman. 17.7 : Grace against the three concupiscences. 17.8 : Exult my spirit. 17.9: I didn't know I was without blemish. 17.10 : The joy of being the mother of a man and of God. 17.11 : The joy of having made God happy. 17.12: Eve's disobedience and its consequences. 17.13: I obeyed in joy and in sorrow. 17.14: My "yes" erased Eve's "no" to God's command. 17.15: To be a springboard for others to succeed in walking to the Cross. 17.16: The metaphorical or symbolic tree. 17.17: The seriousness of the first sin. 17.18: The love of men was to be without lust. 17.19: Eve believed Satan and desired what was not good without remorse. 17.20 : Receive the Light. 17.21 : Wild beasts surpass you in the honesty of their loves.

Chapter title: Mary announces Elizabeth's maternity to Joseph and entrusts God with the task of justifying hers.

Date of vision and dictation: Saturday, March 25, 1944 (Feast of the Annunciation).

Calendar: Wednesday, February 21, year -5

Location (map): Nazareth

Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus

Summary: Mary is alone in her house in Nazareth. It must be the evening of the Annunciation. She prays, then eats very simply. Joseph arrives after she has finished, and is greeted by his wife. He brings her grapes and eggs, which he wants to offer to Mary. The Full of Grace realizes that he hasn't eaten, so she brings him what he needs: he just refuses the eggs, which are for Mary, and only for her. The patriarch of the Holy Family eats and they talk together. Joseph tells the story of his day, then, when there is silence, Mary speaks up, announcing her cousin's maternity. Joseph is surprised, and asks how she found out, then when Mary answers, she asks permission to go and see Elizabeth. Joseph replied in the affirmative, but asked her to wait a few days, as he had to go to Jerusalem. So they made their way there together. Afterwards, Joseph returns home, but it will be easier for him if he accompanies her to the Holy City. Mary thanks him, and shortly afterwards, Jesus' future father leaves. Mary lets him go, then sighs and prays, no doubt because of her pain at not being able to tell him her secret.

Mary then gives dictation to Maria, and tells her that after coming to herself, during the ecstasy of the Annunciation, her first thought turned to Joseph. She no longer felt any fear in the presence of her husband, but how could she tell him of her maternity? The Holy Spirit commanded her to be silent, and the All-Holy One brought her creaturely confidence to perfection. She abandoned herself to God, and experienced her first sorrow as co-Redemptrix. She then enjoins us to let God defend our reputation...

Chapter contents: 18.1: Mary gets ready for the evening meal. 18.2: Joseph arrives. 18.3: She makes him eat. 18.4: They talk about everything and nothing. 18.5: Mary goes to help Elizabeth when she is pregnant. 18.6: The couple separate. 18.7: What should I tell Joseph? 18.8: Leave it to me to justify you. 18.9: My first sorrow as Coredemptrix. 18.10: Entrust to God the care of your reputation.

Chapter title: Mary and Joseph go to Jerusalem.

Date of vision: Monday, March 27, 1944

Calendar: Tuesday, March 19, A.D. -5

Location (map): Departure from Nazareth and journey to Jerusalem

Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus

Summary: Joseph and Mary set out for Jerusalem. They leave Nazareth with two donkeys. Joseph has brought a sort of luggage rack, and Mary thanks him for his foresight. They set off just as dawn was breaking. The two travelers meet a shepherd leading his flock: he has a newborn lamb in his arms, crying for its mother, but she follows her baby attentively. The flock passes by, and Joseph and Mary set off again. Arriving in the countryside, they speak little. The streets are busier as they approach hamlets, but the couple pay no attention to those they meet. They stop just in time for a heavy downpour, which turns into a light rain. Joseph takes care that Mary doesn't catch cold. Then they continue their journey.

Chapter contents: 19.1: Joseph picks Mary up with two gray donkeys. 19.2: Early-morning encounter with a flock of sheep and a lamb. 19.3: Quiet journey on more frequented roads, stopping to take shelter from a storm.

Chapter title: Leaving Jerusalem. The beatific aspect of Mary. Importance of prayer for Mary and Joseph.

Date of vision: Tuesday, March 28, 1944

Calendar: Sunday, March 24, A.D. -5

Location (map): Jerusalem to Hebron

Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus

Summary: Joseph and Mary arrive in Jerusalem. They head for the Temple, stopping at a stable where Joseph left his horse during the Presentation in the Temple. They then go to an acquaintance's house for a bite to eat. Mary rests for a while, and Joseph returns with an old man who takes the same route as her. So she had to travel only a short distance on her own. Together they go to another gate of the Holy City, and then the couple say goodbye. The old man is very talkative, and Marie responds patiently. When he falls silent, she recollects herself in prayer.

Maria then describes the Virgin as she sees her in her bedroom, with her glorified body. La Pleine de Grace is very beautiful. Maria concludes with a dictation, drawing attention to the ardent prayer of Joseph and Mary. It invites the soul never to divest itself of the protection of prayer. She urges us to invoke the name of the Lord, even if we are imperfect, to call upon him to communicate his holiness to us. We must imitate the people who endlessly sing the Sanctus.

Chapter contents: 20.1: Joseph presents Mary with a travelling companion. 20.2: The talkative old man ends up dozing off. Mary prays. 20.3: Maria Valtorta lingers to contemplate the chaste Mary. 20.4: Contrast with the tragic hours of the Passion. 20.5: Presence gives great peace. Maria Valtorta recalls Jesus' suffering in Gethsemane. 20.6: Mary and Joseph always give first place to prayer. 20.7 : In weakness or holiness, always invoke the Lord's holiness. 20.8 : Living prayer has its source in love and suffering united to that of Mary and Jesus.