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Who is Jesus?

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GRM 176.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

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Quotation

You call Me Messiah and Lord. You say you love Me and you praise Me. You follow Me and that seems love. But I solemnly tell you that not everyone amongst you will enter the Kingdom of Heaven with Me. Also amongst My earliest and latest disciples there are some who will not enter the Kingdom, because many will do their own will or the will of the flesh, of the world, of the demon, but not My Father’s. Not those who say to Me: “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but those who do the will of My Father, They will be the only ones to enter the Kingdom of God.

GRM 176.5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The day will come when I, Who am now speaking to you, after being the Shepherd, will be the Judge. Do not let the present appearance deceive you. Now My shepherd’s staff gathers together all the scattered souls and kindly invites you to come to the pastures of Truth. Later the staff will be replaced by the sceptre of the Judge King and My power will be quite different. It will not be with kindness but with implacable justice that I will separate the sheep fed with Truth from those which mixed Truth and Error or fed only on error. I will do that a first time and then once again. And woe betide those who between the first and the second appearance before the Judge will not have purged themselves because they will not be able to purge themselves of their poisons. The third category will not purge itself. No pain could purge it. They wanted nothing but Error, so let them be in Error.

And yet among them there will be someone moaning: “What, Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name did we not cast out demons and work many miracles?”. And then I will say very clearly to them: “Yes, you dared to clothe yourselves with My name that you might appear what you are not. You wanted your satanism to be considered as living with Jesus. But you are accused by the fruit of your deeds. Where are the souls you saved? When were your prophecies fulfilled? What was the result of your exorcisms? Who was the accomplice of your deviations? Oh! My Enemy is really powerful! But not more than I am. He helped you only to plunder more souls, and thanks to you, the circle of those swept away by heresy has widened. Yes, you have worked wonders, which apparently looked even greater than those of the true servants of God, who are not historians who astonish crowds, but are so humble and obedient as to amaze angels. My true servants, through their sacrifices do not create phantasms, but wipe them out of hearts; they do not impose themselves on men, but show God to the souls of men. They do nothing but the will of the Father and lead others to do it, like a wave that pushes the wave preceding it and draws the one following it, without putting themselves on a throne and saying: ‘Look’. My true servants do what I tell them, without thinking of anything else, and their deeds bear the sign of My unmistakable peace, kindness and order. I can therefore say to you: they are My servants, but I do not know you. Go away from me all of you, workers of iniquity”.

That is what I will say. And it will be a dreadful word. Take care you do not deserve it and proceed along the safe, although painful way of obedience, towards the glory of the Kingdom of Heaven.

Annotation

Gospel of Matthew 7, 21-23

Mt 7, 21-23 : Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day: Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name? did we not cast out demons in your name? and did we not perform many miracles in your name? Then I will say to them: I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of iniquity.

Gospel of Luke 13, 26-27

Lk 13, 26-27 : Then you will begin to say: We ate and drank before you, and you taught in our public places. And he will answer you: I tell you, I don't know where you're from; get away from me, all you workers of iniquity.

It is not with gentleness, but with inexorable justice that I, then, will separate the sheep fed on Truth from those who mixed Truth and Error or fed only on Error. Once and again I will play this role. Affirmation of the two judgments: the particular judgment and the last judgment. (See CCC n° 1021 and n° 1038).

Your Satanism: Maria Valtorta notes on a typewritten copy: It is addressed particularly to those who devote themselves to occult sciences or belong to anti-Christian sects, etc., in other words to sinners against the first commandment.

GRM 177.1-5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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

But this time the series is completed by the greeting of a centurion of the town, I think. He greets Him: «Hail, Master!» to which Jesus replies: «May God come to you.»

While the crowd draws close to see the outcome of the meeting, the centurion continues: «I have been waiting for You for several days. You do not recognise me as one of those who were listening to You on the Mount. I was wearing plain clothes. Are You not asking me why I went there?»

«No, I am not, but what do you want from Me?»

«I have instructions to follow those who hold meetings, because too often Rome has had to regret having granted permission for apparently honest meetings. But seeing and listening to You, I thought of You as a… as a…

177.2

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

«I will come and cure him.»

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

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

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

177.3

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

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

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

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

The centurion salutes, then bows and goes away.

177.4

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

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

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

177.5

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

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

Annotation

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gospel of Matthew 8, 5-13

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

Gospel of Luke 7, 1-10

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

Gospel of Luke 13, 28-29

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

Book of Isaiah, 9, 1

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

Isaiah 11, 10-12

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

Isaiah 60, 5-10

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

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

GRM 177.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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

«I will come and cure him.»

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

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

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

Annotation

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

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

GRM 177.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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

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

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

Detail

Jesus has just healed the Roman centurion's servant, as recounted in the Gospel.

Annotation

Book of Isaiah, 9, 1

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

Isaiah 11, 10-12

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

Isaiah 60, 5-10

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

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

GRM 178.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

They are already in sight of the lake, after a fierce struggle, when a middle-aged refined looking man goes near the Master and touches His shoulder to attract His attention.

Jesus turns around and stops, asking: «What do you want?»

«I am a scribe. But our precepts can in no way be compared to Your word and I am fascinated by it. Master, I do not want to leave I will follow You wherever You go. Which way are You going?»

«The way to Heaven.»

«I do not mean that. I am asking You where are You going now. In which houses will You stop after the present one, so that I may always find You?»

«Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. The world is My home, wherever there are spirits to be taught, distress to be relieved, sinners to be redeemed.»

«Everywhere, then.»

«You are right. Can you, a doctor in Israel, do what these simple men do for My sake? This is what is required here: sacrifice, obedience, charity for everybody, a mind adaptive for everything and with everybody. Because compliance is alluring. Because he who wishes to cure must bend over all sores. Afterwards there will be the purity of Heaven. But here we are in mud and we have to pull out of the mud, on which we walk, the victims already submerged in it. We cannot lift our clothes and move to one side because the mud is deeper there. Purity must be within us. We must be filled with it so that nothing else can enter. Can you do all that?»

«At least let me try.»

«Try. I will pray that you may succeed.»

Annotation

Gospel of Matthew 8, 18-22

Mt 8, 18-22 : Jesus, seeing a crowd around him, gave the order to leave for the other side. A scribe came up to him and said, "Master, I will follow you wherever you go." But Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Gospel of Luke 9, 57-58

Lk 9, 57-58: Along the way, a man said to Jesus, "I'll follow you wherever you go." Jesus told him, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

GRM 178.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. The world is My home, wherever there are spirits to be taught, distress to be relieved, sinners to be redeemed.»

«Everywhere, then.»

«You are right.»

Annotation

Gospel of Matthew 8, 18-22

Mt 8, 18-22 : Jesus, seeing a crowd around him, gave the order to leave for the other side. A scribe came up to him and said, "Master, I will follow you wherever you go." But Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Gospel of Luke 9, 57-58

Lk 9, 57-58: Along the way, a man said to Jesus, "I'll follow you wherever you go." Jesus told him, "Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

GRM 179.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Peter then confesses his great grief: «The trouble is that I am a blockhead and my mind wanders easily. When You speak in a square, on a mountain, amongst a large crowd, I understand everything, but I do not know why, I remember nothing. I told also my companions and they say that I am right. Other people, I mean the people who listen to You, understand You and remember what You say. How often have we heard someone say: “I have no longer done that because You told us”, or: “I came because once I heard You say so and so I was impressed by it”. We instead… hum! it’s like a water course which passes by and does not stop. The river bank no longer has the water that has passed by. It is true that other water comes, a great deal of it, but it passes by, it passes by… And I am terrified at the thought that, if what You say will come true, the moment will come when You will no longer be there to play the part of the river and… and I… What will I give to those who are thirsty if I cannot save even one drop of the great lot You give me?»

Also the others support Peter’s moaning, complaining that they are left with nothing of what they hear, whilst they would like to remember everything to reply to those who ask them questions.

Jesus smiles and replies: «I do not think so. People are very satisfied with you as well…»

«Certainly… of course! For all we do! Make room for You, by elbowing our way through the crowds, carrying sick people, collecting alms and saying: “Yes, that is the Master!”. Wonderful, isn’t it?»

«Do not defame yourself too much, Simon.»

«I am not defaming myself. I know myself.»

«That is the most difficult wisdom. But I wish to relieve you of your great fear. When I speak and you cannot understand and remember everything, ask Me without any fear of boring or discouraging Me. We always have some hours of privacy, when you can open your hearts to Me. I give so much to so many. And what would I not give you whom I love so much that God could not love you more? You spoke of waves that pass by and nothing is left on the bank. The day will come when you will realise that every wave has deposited a seed and that a plant has grown from every seed. You will find in front of you flowers and plants for all occasions and you will be amazed at yourself saying: “What has the Lord done to me?” because you will then be redeemed from the slavery of sin and your present virtues will have reached a great height of perfection.»

«You say so, my Lord, and I rest upon Your word.»