Maria Valtorta's work

Jesus is in Capernaum and leaves the disciples. Mary of Alphaeus, Mary Salome and the Virgin return to Nazareth. Susanna returns to Cana. For his part, Christ and the Twelve go to the Arbel Gorge to pray. He leaves Isaac, Timon and Joseph of Emmaus, urging them to join them in prayer.

Without a word, the group obeys, but the climb is difficult and by the end, even the youngest lose their cheerfulness. They're really in the mountains, near rocky caverns, and Jesus says they'll stay there in prayer for a week, to prepare his apostles for something great. They're a long way from any village, and the weather is quite mild; besides, they have just enough food.

Jesus has been with the first disciples for about a year, and the Savior wants to train them all to be his ministers. To this end, he uses the great weapon of prayer, and gives a short lesson on it. Finally, he points out that they will meet in the morning, at noon and in the evening, to pray together and break bread, and that each one will return to his cave, remaining "before God and his soul". Thanks to this retreat, they will reach the age of spiritual reason, and "the rest will come later".

The vision opens with birds attracted by the food near the caves. Jesus gives them breadcrumbs, and one bold bird even manages to take a piece of cheese. When the meal is over, Christ goes to wake the other apostles. Some are already ready, others are slower; John and Judas even have trouble getting up. Jesus goes to wake up his favorite, who, still fast asleep, takes him for his mother. Jesus laughs and gently wakes him up with a kiss on the cheek. The beloved disciple then wakes up completely, is surprised to see Jesus, and reveals to the Master what he has experienced in the cave. He had not come to see Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, during that week's retreat, but had come to Christ in the "Fire that is the Eternal Love of the Most Holy Trinity". After recounting his mystical experience to him, John asks not to say anything to his companions. Jesus agrees, and asks him to get ready for them to leave.

The Twelve are changed by this retreat: they are calmer, quieter, and more attentive to Christ's words. The soul has been king these last few days, and has made them grow: they are no longer children, but spiritual adolescents.

If Jesus were to remain with them, isolated from the world, he would soon turn them into great saints, but he must return to the world to fulfill the Father's Will. The Master will also send his apostles.

These are no longer the preferred disciples, but the apostles, the leaders of his Church. They will not be enough to accomplish everything, so they associate them with the disciples. They will all have the same mission, but their functions will be different. They will not all be perfect, nor will the spirit that animates them be eternal, for the world will tempt them, and they will have to defend themselves against temptation and against themselves.

The group now leaves the Gorge d'Arbel and heads for Tiberias for a few hours.

Jesus gives a short dictation to Maria, in which he points out that twenty centuries may have deprived the apostolic Gospel of certain parts. This does not harm the doctrine, but it does harm the ease of understanding the apostolic Gospel.

Jesus descends from the Gorges d'Arbel. Men and women are waiting for him, and Jesus performs miracles to reward their faith. Then they introduce him to the apostles and say that they will take care of the needs of the souls, while he goes to find others who are even more miserable than they are. Frightened, the apostles follow him, but Jesus encourages them to obey and assures them that they have incorporated his Word without their realizing it. Dejected, they watch the Master leave, but Thomas and James of Alphaeus encourage them to practice obedience, and Matthew encourages them to say a prayer to Wisdom rather than lament.

As soon as the Twelve have finished, the people join him and nag them with questions. In particular, they want to follow the Lord's way, even though they are like grandchildren. Simon the Zealot takes the floor and urges them to examine themselves, keeping in mind the cornerstone of their faith. This is immutable, since it comes from God. Then we must examine all the other stones to see if they are good, bad or useless. If they are bad and come from sensuality, hatred or Satan, they must be destroyed; if they come from God, they must be kept, and our spiritual edifice rebuilt with them. In short, we must demolish "in order to rebuild and to ascend by testing the quality of your old stones at the sound of God's voice."

John then goes on to encourage souls not to be afraid of the path of holiness, even if they are children. There are heroes of holiness like John the Baptist, but the Lamb of God knows that souls are not yet purified, so he himself shows us the way. And his way is love.

John's long speech impressed all present.

Hermas and Stephen listened to him, and Stephen blessed him. But John is very humble and appoints Peter as their leader (Simon de Jonas is stunned). When Stephen asks to follow Christ, Andrew's brother asks him to examine himself, to discern, and then to come to the Lord. In the meantime, he can stay with them to see how they live.

Mary is alone in Nazareth. A knock at the door. It's Aglaia asking for mercy in Jesus' name. Mary immediately welcomes her, but the young woman is in tears. She considers herself a nobody, but the Virgin gives her confidence and invites her to speak.

Aglaé confessed her whole life. She talks about her youth, her parents, her attraction to the shows in Syracuse. She tells of a Roman patrician in front of whom she danced almost naked. She confesses to having followed him to Rome, where she led a life of debauchery. The patrician having grown weary, she survived by exploiting her dancing talents. A dancing master took her in, perfected her art, then threw her into the corrupt patriarchy of Rome. Eventually, she was brought to Palestine, and her new master led her to Hebron, where she discovered who Jesus was.

She fled a little later and found Jesus at Belle-Eau. She is the veiled woman. But soon the Master is attacked. He has to leave, and Aglaé waits for him, only to be spotted by the Pharisees. So she went to Nazareth, but the Virgin was nowhere to be seen. So she goes to Capernaum, where she is offered to be Christ's lover, but she doesn't dare present herself to the Lord in this way. The young woman goes to Nazareth and confesses everything to him.

Mary is shocked by her story, but assures her that everything begins for this repentant soul, and welcomes her into her home. The Virgin also assures her of Christ's forgiveness and says she will entrust her to a friendly family. In the meantime, Aglaé will stay in Nazareth.

Jesus climbs the Horns of Hattin. There, he reaches a village where his disciples and apostles are waiting for him. They give him feedback on their first preaching. Peter emphasizes his two cousins and especially John; the beloved, for his part, says that Peter has spoken well.

After some discussion, Jesus tells them that he wants to speak to them alone. It is then agreed to wait for the people to go home before Christ teaches the Twelve and the other disciples. In the meantime, the Master goes off to pray, and when evening comes, everyone gathers around him.

Jesus then returns to the preaching of the others, and declares that those who have given the most are those who have forgotten themselves the most, thanks in part to their union with God. Others had scruples and were afraid of doing the wrong thing. So Jesus talks about the conditions for perfect discipleship. He explains that the apostles and those who follow him are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. Finally, the Savior teaches that God's light must shine in them, and warns priests not to lose sight of their mission. Woe to those who lose charity, woe to those who reject Wisdom, woe to those who become spiritually dead, woe to those who corrupt Christ's little flock.

Jesus' speech ends here.