Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 56.5
Only because I am Your cousin on Joseph’s side, am I not to acknowledge You for what You are, whereas the Baptist recognised You, although he had never seen You, here, on the banks of this river and he greeted You as the “Lamb of God”?
Jude speaks to Jesus and says:
GRM 56.7
«And you, Judas, My cousin, come with Me and these. But you will stay at Nazareth.»
«Why, Jesus?»
«Because you must prepare My way in My fatherland. Do you think it is a small mission? I can tell you that there is not a harder one…» Jesus sighs.
«And will I succeed?»
«You will and you will not. But it will be sufficient to be justified.»
«Justified of what? And with whom?»
«With God. With your fatherland. With your family. They will not be able to reproach us, because we offered good things: and if the fatherland and the family will disdain our offer, we shall not be blamed for their loss.»
GRM 57
Jesus arrives in Nazareth with his apostles. He invites his disciples to accompany him home to meet his Mother. On his arrival, Christ is greeted by a flock of children. He responds to their greetings, then arrives at his home. His Mother is naturally happy to see him, but she is also anxious, because her relatives have told her what he did in the Temple. After their reunion, the disciples get to know him (except John, who has already met her) and they all sit down at table. Mary of Alphaeus is present in the house, and Jude tells her of his decision to follow Jesus. She is delighted, and the group shares anecdotes about Jesus' life. The vision ends.
GRM 57.1
The children press round Jesus.
«Have You come back?»
«Are You staying here, now?»
«The wheel of my little barrow is broken again.»
«Do You know, Jesus. I have a new baby sister, and they have called her Mary.»
«The schoolmaster told me that I have learned everything and that I am a true son of the Law.»
«Sarah is not here, because her mother is very ill. She cries, because she is afraid.»
«My brother Isaac got married. We had a lovely feast.»
Jesus listens, caresses, praises, promises His help.
GRM 57.2
And they reach the house thus. Mary is already at the door, as a thoughtful boy informed Her.
«Son!»
«Mother!»
They are in each other’s arms. Mary, Who is much smaller than Jesus, is leaning with Her head on Her Son’s chest, clasped in His arms. He kisses Her blond hair. They enter the house.
The disciples, including Judas, remain outside, to leave Jesus and Mary free in their first effusions.
«Jesus! My Son!» Mary’s voice trembles, as if it were choked with sobs.
«Why, Mother, why are You so upset?»
«Oh! Son. They told Me… In the Temple, that day, there were some Galileans and some Nazarenes… They came back… and they told Me… Oh! Son!»
«But You can see, Mother, that I am well. I suffered no harm. God was glorified in His House.»
«Yes, I know, Son of My heart. I know it was like the blare awaking the sleepers. And I am happy for the glory given to God… I am happy that these people of Mine awake to God… I am not reproaching You… I will not be a hindrance to You… I understand You and… and I am happy, but I begot You, Son!…» Mary is still clasped by Jesus’ arms and She has spoken holding Her little open hands pressed against Her Son’s chest, Her head turned up towards Him, Her eyes shining with tears ready to run down Her cheeks. She is now silent, leaning Her head on His chest. She looks like a grey turtle-dove, in Her greyish dress, sheltered by two strong white wings, because Jesus still wears His white tunic and mantle.
«Mother! Poor Mother! Dear Mother!…» Jesus kisses Her again.
Jesus and his disciples arrive in Nazareth and head for the home of the Holy Family.
GRM 57.3.4
57.3 He then says: «Well, see? I am here, but I am not alone. I have My first disciples with Me, and the other ones are in Judaea. Also My cousin Judas is with Me and follows Me…»
«Judas?»
«Yes, Judas. I know why You are surprised. Among those who told You what happened, there certainly was Alphaeus with his sons, and I am not mistaken if I tell You that they criticised Me. But do not be afraid. Today it is so, tomorrow it will be different. A man is to be cultivated like the soil, and where there are thorns, there will be roses. Judas, of whom You are so fond, is already with Me.»
«Where is he now?»
«Outside with the others. Have You got enough bread for everybody?»
«Yes, Son. Mary of Alphaeus is taking it out of the oven just now. Mary is very good to Me, particularly now.»
«God will give her glory.» He goes to the door and calls: «Judas! Your mother is here! Come in, My friends!
(...) Mary of Alphaeus rushes in, flushed and covered with flour, she greets Jesus Who blesses her, she then leads the six men into the kitchen garden, to the fountain, and comes back happy. «Oh! Mary!» she says to the Virgin. «Judas told me. How happy I am! For Judas and for You, my dear sister-in-law. I know that the others will scold me. But it does not matter. I will be happy the day I know that they are all for Jesus. We are mothers and we know… we feel what is good for our children. And I feel that You, Jesus, are the wealth of my children.»
Jesus caresses her head and smiles at her.
Jesus has found his Mother. He listens, then it's his turn to speak.
GRM 58
Jesus is in Capernaum: he goes fishing with Peter and Andrew. John and James are in the other boat.
Peter explains his work to Christ, who makes an analogy with souls. He explains that a fault is not irreparable in itself, but that the accumulation of such faults can turn into a habit and even a capital vice. We must always be vigilant to avoid falling into sin.
Simon of Jonah asks if the Father won't be too harsh on him, and Jesus assures him that he won't be too harsh on Peter, the new man. He also assures Andrew of his love, and speaks of all the disciples who will come after them, evoking the Kingdom of Heaven and the abundant catch the Savior will make. He also encourages his apostle not to be jealous, for everyone has a place in his heart. Peter is moved by his words; as for Andrew, Jesus tells him of his blessed death.
John arrives in the meantime and reveals that a blind man has come to be healed by Christ. Jesus wants to heal him right away, and in the face of Peter's thoughts of not having a good catch, he assures him of God's help whenever we are charitable.
Finally, the Lord heals the blind man. And it's a beautiful healing.
GRM 58.3-4
58.3 Jesus asks His apostle: «Will you have a good haul?»
«The weather is right. The water is calm, it will be clear moonlight. The fish will come to the surface from the bottom and my net will drag them.»
«Are we going by ourselves?»
«Oh! Master! How could we manage by ourselves with this type of net.»
«I have never gone fishing and I expect to be taught by you.» Jesus goes down very slowly towards the lake and He stops near the boat, on the coarse, pebbly sands.
«See, Master: this is what we do. I go out beside the boat of James of Zebedee, and we go thus to the right point, both boats together. Then we lower the net. We hold one end. You said You wanted to hold it.»
«Yes, if you tell Me what I have to do.»
«Oh! You only have to watch it going down. It must be lowered slowly without making any knots. Very slowly, because we will be in a fishing area, and any harsh movement may drive the fish away. Without knots, otherwise the net would close up, whereas it must open like a bag, or if You prefer so, like a veil blown by the wind. Then, when the net is fully lowered, we will row gently, or we may set sail, according to circumstances, forming a semicircle on the lake. And when we understand by the vibration of the safety peg that the haul is good, we head for the shore. When we are almost on the shore — not before to avoid running the risk of losing all the fish; not after, to avoid damaging both the fish and net on the stones — we will haul in the net. At this point we must be very careful, because the boats must be so close as to allow one boat to catch the end of the net from the other one, but they must not collide, to avoid crushing the netful of fish.
58.4 Please, Master, be careful, it is our daily bread. Keep an eye on the net, that jolts may not overturn it. The fish fight for their freedom with strong strokes of their tails, and if there is a lot of them… You will understand… They are small things, but if ten, one hundred, a thousand get together, they become as strong as Leviathan.»
«The same happens with sins, Peter. After all, one fault is not irreparable. But if one is not careful in controlling oneself, and one adds fault to fault, at the end a little fault, perhaps a single omission, or a simple weakness, becomes bigger and bigger, it becomes a habit, it becomes a capital vice. At times one starts with a lustful glance and ends up by committing adultery. At times, while simply lacking charity when speaking to a relative, one ends up by doing violence to one’s neighbour. Never, never allow faults to increase in seriousness and in numbers, if you wish to avoid trouble! They become dangerous and overbearing like the infernal Snake himself, and they will drag you down into Gehenna.»
«What You say is right, Master… But we are so weak!»
«Care and prayer are necessary to become strong and obtain help, together with a strong will not to sin. And you must have full trust in the loving justice of the Father.»
GRM 58.6-8
«Simon! Andrew! Here I am… I am coming…» John is rushing towards them, panting. «Oh! Master! Have I kept You waiting?» John looks at Jesus with the eyes of a lover.
Peter answers: «To tell you the truth, I was beginning to think you were no longer coming. Get your boat ready quickly. And James?…»
«Well… we are late because of a blind man. He thought Jesus was in our house and he came there. We said to him: “He is not here. Perhaps He will cure you tomorrow. Just wait”. But he did not want to wait. James said to him: “You have been waiting so long to see the light, what does it matter if you have to wait another night?” But he will not listen to reason…»
«John, if you were blind, would you be anxious to see your mother?»
«Eh! .. most certainly!»
«Well then? Where is the blind man?»
«He is coming with James. He got hold of his mantle and will not let it go. But he is coming very slowly because the shore is covered with stones, and he stumbles against them… Master, will You forgive me for being hard?»
«Yes, I will, but to make amends, go and help the blind man and bring him to Me.»
John runs away.
Peter shakes his head, but does not say anything. He looks at the sky which is becoming blue after being a deep copper hue, he looks at the lake and the other boats which are already out fishing and he sighs.
«Simon?»
«Master?»
«Don’t be afraid. You will have a good haul, even if you are the last one to go out.»
«Also this time?»
«Every time you are charitable, God will grant you the grace of abundance.»
58.7 «Here is the blind man.»
The poor man is coming forward between James and John. He is holding a walking stick in his hand, but is not using it at present. He walks better, supported by the two men.
«Here, man, the Master is in front of you.»
The blind man kneels down: «My Lord! Have mercy on me.»
«Do you want to see? Stand up. How long have you been blind?»
The four apostles gather around the other two.
«Seven years, Lord. Before, I could see well, and I worked. I was a blacksmith at Caesarea on Sea. I was doing well. The harbour, the good trading, they always needed me for one job or another. But while striking a piece of iron to make an anchor, and You can imagine how red hot it was to be pliable, a splinter came off it, and burnt my eye. My eyes were already sore because of the heat of the forge. I lost the wounded eye, and also the other one became blind after three months. I have finished all my savings, and now I live on charity…»
«Are you alone?»
«I am married with three little children… ; I have not even seen the face of one of them… and I have an old mother. And yet she and my wife earn a little bread, and with what they earn and the alms I take home, we manage not to starve. If I were cured!… I would go back to work. All I ask for is to be able to work like a good Israelite and thus feed those I love.»
«And you came to Me? Who told you?»
«A leper who was cured by You at the foot of Mount Tabor, when You were coming back to the lake after that beautiful speech of Yours.»
«What did he tell you?»
«That You can do everything. That You are the health of bodies and of souls. That You are a light for souls and bodies, because You are the Light of God. He, although a leper, had dared to mingle with the crowd, at the risk of being stoned, all wrapped in his mantle, because he had seen You passing by on the way to the mountain, and Your face had kindled hope in his heart. He said to me: “I saw something in that face that whispered to me: ‘There is health there. Go!’ And I went”. Then he repeated Your speech to me and he told me that You cured him, touching him with Your hand, without any disgust. He was coming back from the priest after his purification. I knew him. I had done some work for him when he had a store at Caesarea. I came, asking for You in every town and village. Now I have found You… Have mercy on me!»
58.8 «Come. The light is still too bright for one coming out of darkness!»
«Are you going to cure me, then?»
Jesus takes him to Peter’s house, in the dim light of the kitchen garden, he places him in front of Himself, in such a position that his cured eyes may not see, as first sight, the lake still sparkling with light. The man looks like a very docile child, he obeys without asking questions.
«Father! Your Light to this son of Yours!» Jesus has stretched His hands over the head of the kneeling man. He remains in that position for a moment. He then moistens the tips of His fingers with saliva and with His right hand He lightly touches the open, but lifeless eyes.
A moment. Then the man blinks, rubs his eyelids as if he were awakening from sleep, and his eyes were dimmed.
«What do you see?»
«Oh!… oh!… oh!… Eternal God! I think… I think… oh! that I can see… I see Your mantle… it’s red, isn’t it? And a white hand… and a woolen belt… oh! Good Jesus… I can see better and better, the more I get used to seeing… There is the grass of the earth… and that is certainly a well… and there is a vine…»
«Stand up, My friend.»
The man who is crying and laughing, stands up, and after a moment’s hesitation between respect and desire, he lifts his face and meets Jesus’ eyes: Jesus smiling full of merciful love. It must be beautiful to recover your sight and see that face as the first thing! The man screams and stretches out his arms. It is an instinctive action. But he controls himself.
But Jesus opens His arms and draws to Himself the man who is much shorter than He. «Go home, now, and be happy and just. Go with My peace.»
«Master, Master! Lord! Jesus! Holy! Blessed! The light… I see… I see everything… There is the blue lake, the clear sky, the setting sun, and then the horns of the waxing moon… But it is in Your eyes that I see the most beautiful and clear blue, and in You I see the beauty of the most real sun, and the chaste light of the blessed moon. You are the Star of those who suffer, the Light of the blind, the living active Mercy!»
«I am the Light of souls. Be a son of the Light.»
«Yes, Jesus, always. Everytime I close my re-born eyes, I will renew my oath. May You and the Most High be blessed.»
«Blessed be the Most High Father! Go!»
And the man goes away, happy, sure of himself, while Jesus and the dumbfounded apostles get into two boats and begin their navigation manoeuvres.
And the vision ends.
Healing a blind man. In 58.7, another miracle is described: a leper is healed by Jesus, and it was this cripple who encouraged the blind man to come to Jesus. According to maria-valtorta.org, this is Christ's first anonymous miracle, but, as Jesus points out in EMV 54.7, the miracle at Cana was his first prodigy.
GRM 58.8
«I am the Light of souls. Be a son of the Light.»