Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 73.6
There is light and truth in Your words. But… Oh! too many wounds are still bleeding in this land of Bethlehem because of the true or false Messiah… I would never advise Him to come here. The land would reject Him as it rejects a stepson who caused the death of the true children. In any case… if it was Him… He died with the other slaughtered children.
A man from Bethlehem spoke to Jesus and said:
GRM 73.7
When your hearts are free from hatred, the Messiah will come; you will know Him then, because He is alive. He already existed when the massacre took place. I am telling you. It was Satan’s fault, not the fault of the shepherds and of the sorcerers that the massacre took place. The Messiah was born here for you, He came to bring the Light to the land of His fathers. The Son of a Virgin Mother of the line of David, in the ruins of the house of David, He granted a stream of Graces to the world, and a new life to mankind…
Jesus said to a man from Bethlehem:
GRM 73.10
«And yet… My friends, here the night of the twenty-fifth of Chislev, Feast of the Lights, Jesus Christ, was born of the Virgin, the Emmanuel, the Word of God made flesh, for the love of man: I Who am speaking to you . Also then, as now, the world was deaf to the voices of Heaven speaking to the hearts of men… and it rejected the Mother… and here… No, Judas, do not avert your eyes in disgust from those fluttering noctules, from those green lizards, from those cobwebs, do not lift with disgust your beautiful embroidered mantle, lest it may trail on the ground covered with animal excrement. Those noctules are the daughters’ daughters of the ones that were the first toys to be tossed before the eyes of the Child, for Whom the angels sang the “Gloria” heard by the shepherds, intoxicated only by an ecstatic joy, a true joy. The emerald green of those lizards was the first colour to strike My eyes, the first, after My Mother’s white face and dress. Those cobwebs were the canopy of My royal cradle. This ground… oh! you may tread on it without disdain… It is littered with excrement… but it is sanctified by Her foot, the foot of the Holy, the Most Holy, Pure, Immaculate Mother of God, Who gave birth, because She was to give birth, because God, not man, told Her and covered Her with His shadow. She, the Faultless One, trod on it. You can tread on it, too. And may the purity diffused by Her, by the will of God, rise from the soles of your feet to your heart…»
GRM 74.2
Why tell lies? I am the Truth and I want no lies in Me or around Me.
GRM 74.7-9
74.7 Jesus stretches out His arms. When Judas sees that gesture he says: «Don’t speak! It isn’t wise!»
But Jesus’ powerful voice fills the square: «Men of Judah! Men of Bethlehem, listen! Women of the land sacred to Rachel, listen! Listen to One Who descends from David, and has suffered because of persecutions and has become worthy of speaking, and is speaking to you to give you light and comfort. Listen.»
The people stop shouting, quarrelling and buying and they gather together.
«He is a rabbi!»
«He certainly comes from Jerusalem.»
«Who is He?»
«What a handsome man!»
«And what a voice!»
«And His manners!»
«Of course, He is of David’s House!»
«He is one of ours, then!»
«Let’s listen to Him!»
The whole crowd is now gathered near the little staircase which looks like a pulpit.
«Genesis states: “I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman: She will crush your head and you will strike at Her heel”. It is also said: “I will multiply your pains in childbearing… and the soil shall yield you brambles and thistles”. That was the sentence against man, woman and the serpent.
I have come from far to revere Rachel’s tomb, and in the evening breeze, in the dew of the night, in the plaintive morning song of the nightingale, I heard ancient Rachel’s sobs being repeated, and they were repeated by the mouths of many mothers of Bethlehem, within their tombs or within their hearts. And I heard Jacob’s sorrow roar in the pain of the widowed husbands, deprived of their wives whom sorrow had killed… I cry with you… But listen, brethren of My land. Bethlehem, the blessed land, the least of the towns in Judah, but the greatest in the eyes of God and of mankind, roused Satan’s hatred because it was the cradle of the Saviour, as Micah says, destined to be the tabernacle on which the Glory of God, the Fire of God, His Incarnate Love was to rest.
“I will make you enemies of each other: you and the woman; She will crush your head and you will strike at Her heel”. Which enmity is there greater than the one that aims at a mother’s children, the very heart of a woman? And which heel is there stronger than the Saviour’s Mother’s? The revenge of Satan defeated was therefore a natural one: he did not strike at the heel, but at the hearts of mothers, because of the Mother.
Oh! Pains were multiplied when the children were lost after giving birth to them! Oh! great was the trouble of being a childless father after sowing and toiling for the offspring! And yet, Bethlehem, rejoice! Your pure blood, the blood of the innocents has prepared a blazing purple way for the Messiah…»
74.8 The crowd, which has become more and more turbulent after Jesus mentioned the Saviour and His Mother, is now showing clear signs of agitation.
«Be quiet, Master» says Judas. «And let us go.»
But Jesus does not listen to him. He goes on: «… for the Messiah that the Grace of the God-Father saved from tyrants to preserve Him for His people and its salvation and…»
The shrill voice of a woman shouts: «Five, five I gave birth to, and not one is now in my house. Poor me!» And she yells hysterically.
It is the beginning of the uproar.
Another woman rolls over in the dust, she tears her dress, and shows a breast maimed of its nipple, shouting: «Here, here on this breast they slaughtered my first-born son! The sword cut off his face and my nipple at the same time. Oh! my Ellis!»
«And what about me! What about me? There is my royal palace. Three tombs in one, watched over by the father: my husband and children together. There, there! If there is a Saviour, let Him give me back my children, my husband, let Him save me from despair, from Beelzebub He must save me.»
They all shout: «Our children, our husbands, our fathers! Let Him give them back, if He exists!»
Jesus waves His arms imposing silence. «Brethren of My land: I would like to give you back your children, in their flesh. But I tell you: be good, be resigned, forgive, hope, rejoice in hope and exult in one certainty: you will soon have your children, angels in Heaven, because the Messiah is about to open the gates of Heaven, and if you are just, death will be a new Life and a new Love…»
«Ah! Are You the Messiah? In the name of God, tell us.»
Jesus lowers Him arms, in so sweet and kind a gesture as if He were embracing them all, and He says: «Yes, I am.»
«Go away! Go away! It’s Your fault, then!»
A stone is thrown amid hisses and jeers.
74.9 Judas reacts at once in a most praiseworthy way… Oh! if he had always behaved thus! He jumps in front of Jesus, standing on the low wall of the landing, with his mantle wide open and undaunted he protects Jesus from the stones. His face bleeds and he shouts to John and Simon: «Take Jesus away. Behind those trees. I’ll follow. Go, in the name of Heaven!» And he shouts to the crowd: «Mad dogs! I am of the Temple and I will report you to the Temple and to Rome.»
The crowd is scared for a moment. Then the shower of stones is resumed at once, but fortunately, they are not experts. And Judas, fearless, receives them, and replies with offensive language to the curses of the crowd. Furthermore: he catches a stone thrown at him, and he throws it back on the head of an old man who is shouting like a magpie plucked alive! And as they attempt to climb up his pedestal, he quickly picks up an old branch from the ground, (he has now come off the little wall) and he swings it round on backs, heads and hands mercilessly.
Some soldiers rush to the spot and with their lances they make their way through the crowd: «Who are you? Why this brawl?»
«I am a Judaean and I have been attacked by these plebeians. A rabbi, well known to the priests, was with me. He was speaking to these dogs. But they became wild and attacked us.»
«Who are You?»
«Judas of Kerioth, I was a man of the Temple, now I am a disciple of rabbi Jesus of Galilee. I am a friend of Simon the Pharisee, of Johanan the Sadducee, and of Joseph of Arimathaea, the Counsellor of the Sanhedrin, and finally, of Eleazar ben Anna, the Proconsul’s great friend, and you can check.»
«I will. Where are you going?»
«I am going to Kerioth with my friend, then to Jerusalem.»
«Go. We will protect your back.»
Judas hands some coins to the soldier. It must be illegal… but quite normal, because the soldier takes them swiftly and cautiously, he salutes and smiles. Judas jumps down from his platform, he goes through the uncultivated field, skipping now and again, and he reaches his companions.
«Are you seriously hurt?»
«No, it’s nothing, Master! In any case, it’s for You… But I gave them a licking as well. I must be covered with blood…»
«Yes, on your cheek. There is a rivulet here.»
John moistens a small piece of cloth and wipes Judas’ cheek.
«I am sorry, Judas… But see,… to tell them that we are Judaeans, according to your good practical sense…»
«They are beasts. I believe You are now convinced, Master. And I hope you will not insist…»
«Oh! no! Not because I am afraid. But because it is useless, just now. When they do not want us, we must not curse them, but withdraw praying for the poor, foolish people, who die of starvation and cannot see the Bread. Let us go along this out-of-the-way path, towards the shepherds, if we can find them. I think we will be able to get on to the Hebron road…»
«To have more stones thrown at us,?»
«No. To say to them: “I am here”.»
«What?… They will certainly beat us. They have been suffering for thirty years because of You.»
«We shall see.»
They enter a cool, shady, thick little wood, and I lose sight of them.
Jesus came to the ruins of Anne's house. He decided to speak to the people of Bethlehem, who had lost their children in the massacre of the Innocents.
GRM 75.2-3
«Who are You?»
«One Who loves you.»
«You would be the first in so many years. Where are You from?»
«From Galilee.»
«From Galilee? Oh!» The man watches Him carefully. Also the other two have come near. «From Galilee» repeats the shepherd, and he adds in a very low voice, as if speaking to himself: «He came from Galilee, too… From which town, my Lord?»
«From Nazareth.»
«Oh! Well, tell me. Has a Child ever come back to Nazareth, a Child with a woman whose name was Mary and a man called Joseph, a Child, Who was even more beautiful than His Mother, so beautiful that I have never seen a fairer flower on the slopes of Judah? A Child born in Bethlehem of Judah, at the time of the edict? A Child Who later fled, most fortunately for the world. A Child, oh! I would give my life just to hear whether He is alive… He must be a man by now.»
«Why do you say that His flight was a great fortune for the world?»
«Because He was the Saviour, the Messiah and Herod wanted Him dead. I was not there when He fled with His father and Mother. When I heard of the slaughter and I came back… — because also I had children (he sobs), my Lord, and a wife… (he sobs), and I heard they had been killed (he sobs again), but I swear by the God of Abraham, I was more afraid for Him than for my own family — I heard He had fled and I could not even enquire; I could not even take away my own slaughtered creatures… They threw stones at me, as they do with lepers and unclean people, they treated me like a murderer… and I had to hide in the woods, and live like a wolf… until I found a master. Oh! it’s no longer Anne… He is hard and cruel… If a sheep gets hurt, if a wolf preys on a lamb, he either beats me till I bleed or he takes my poor pay, and I have to work in the woods for other people, I must do something, to pay him back three times the value. But it does not matter. I have always said to the Most High: “Let me see Your Messiah, at least let me know that He is alive, and all the rest is nothing”. My Lord, I have told You how the people in Bethlehem treated me, and how my master deals with me. I could have repaid them in their own coins, I could have wronged them, stealing, so that I would not suffer under my master. But I preferred to suffer, to forgive, to be honest, because the angels said: “Glory to God in the Highest Heaven and peace on earth to men of goodwill”.»
«Is that what they said?»
«Yes, they did, my Lord, You must believe, at least You, Who are good. You must know and believe that the Messiah is born. No one would believe it any longer. But angels do not lie… and we were not drunk, as they said. This man here, was a boy then, and he was the first to see the angel. He drank but milk. Can milk make one drunk? The angels said: “Today, in the town of David the Saviour was born, He is Christ, the Lord. And here is a sign for you. You will find a Child wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger”.»
«Did they say exactly that? Did you not misunderstand them? Are you not mistaken, after such a long time?»
«Oh! no! Isn’t it, Levi? In order not to forget, — we could not forget in any case, because they were heavenly words and were written in our hearts with a heavenly fire — every morning, every evening, when the sun rises, when the first star starts shining, we repeat them as a prayer, as a blessing, to have strength and comfort in His name and in His Mother’s.»
«Ah! You said: “Christ”?»
«No, my Lord. We say: “Glory to God in the Highest Heaven and peace on earth to men of goodwill, through Jesus Christ Who was born of Mary in a stable in Bethlehem and Who, wrapped in swaddling clothes, was in a manger, He Who is the Saviour of the world”.»
Jesus comes to see the shepherds of Bethlehem. The oldest, Elijah, asks:
GRM 75.3
«I am poor. A carpenter as far as the world is concerned. I am rich only in My love for the world, and in the love I get from good people. I have come to stay with you, to share the evening meal with you and sleep beside you on the hay, and to be comforted by you…»
GRM 75.3
75.3 «But, in short, whom are you looking for?»
«Jesus Christ, the Son of Mary, the Nazarene, the Saviour.»
«It is I.»
GRM 75.4
«And my children?»
«They are angels, Elias. Angels who will repeat the “Gloria” when the Saviour is crowned.
«King?»
«No, Redeemer. Oh! What a procession of just people and saints! And in front there will be the white and purple phalanges of the martyrs! As soon as the gates of Limbo are opened, we shall ascend together to the eternal Kingdom. And then you will come and will find your fathers, mothers and children in the Lord! Believe Me.»
«Yes, my Lord.»
Elie has lost his children in the massacre of the Innocents. He asks the Master about their fate.
GRM 76.1.3-5
76.1 A fresh valley resounding with the water of a silvery little torrent flowing foamy southwards among the rocks. The gay freshness of the water spreads out on the little pastures on the banks, but its moisture seems to climb up the very green slopes of the hills. It is a beautiful, varied, emerald green, that from the soil through the bushes and shrubs of the brushwood reaches up to the top of the tall trees of the wood. Many of them are walnut trees. The wood is spotted with many green open spaces, covered with thick grass, which are good, healthy pastures for herds.
Jesus is going down towards the torrent with His disciples and the three shepherds. He stops patiently to wait for a sheep that has been left behind or when one of the shepherds has to run after a lamb that has gone astray. He is the Good Shepherd now. He has provided Himself with a long branch to push aside blackberry, hawthorn and clematis branches, which stick out in all directions, and catch garments. And the stick completes His pastoral figure.
«See? Juttah is up there. We will cross the torrent, there is a ford, which is very useful in summer, without having to use the bridge. (...)
[Jesus speaks of the bones, the intercession of the dead, and the communion of saints. Then he says:]
«But here we are at the ford. I can see a row of stones emerging from the shallow water.»
«Yes, Master, it is that one there. At the time of floods it is a roaring waterfall, now there are seven streamlets flowing placidly between the six large stones of the ford.»
In fact, six large stones, cut quite squarely, are laid across the torrent, at about a foot from each other and the water, which before them is like a large sparkling ribbon, is divided into seven minor ones, rushing happily to join together again beyond the ford, forming one only fresh stream which flows, babbling among the stones.
The shepherds watch the sheep crossing, some walk on the stones, some prefer crossing in the stream, only a foot deep, and they drink the pure gurgling water.
Jesus crosses the stones followed by His disciples. They resume walking on the other bank.
76.4 «You told me that You want to inform Isaac that You are here, but You do not want to go into the village?»
«Yes, that is what I want.»
«Well, we had better part. I will go to him, Levi and Joseph will stay with the herd and with You. I’ll go up here. It will be quicker.» And Elias starts climbing up the mountain side, towards the white houses which are so bright up there in the sunshine.
I seem to be following him. He is now at the first houses. He goes along a tiny path between houses and kitchen gardens. He walks thus for about ten metres. He then turns into a wider road and then enters the square. I forgot to mention that this is happening in the early morning hours. I am saying so now because the market is still on in the square and housewives and vendors are shouting under the shady trees of the square.
Elias goes resolutely to the point where the square ends and quite an attractive street starts. Perhaps the nicest in the village. At the corner there is a little house, or rather, a room with its door wide open. Almost on the threshold there is a little bed, on which an emaciated sick man is lying, asking all passers-by for alms, in a plaintive voice.
Elias dashes in. «Isaac… it’s me.»
«You? I was not expecting you. You were here last month.»
«Isaac… Isaac… Do you know why I have come?»
«No, I don’t… You are excited. What’s happening?»
«I have seen Jesus of Nazareth, He is a man, now, a rabbi. He came looking for me… and He wants to see us. Oh! Isaac! Are you not well?»
Isaac, in fact, has fallen back as if he were dying. But he comes round: «No. The news… Where is He? What is He like? Oh! If I could see Him!»
«He is down in the valley. He sent me tell to you exactly this: “Come, Isaac, because I want to see you and bless you”. I’ll call someone now to help me and I’ll take you down.»
«Is that what He said?»
«Yes, it is. But what are you doing?»
«I’m going.»
Isaac throws away the blankets, he moves his paralysed legs, he throws them off the straw mattress, he puts his feet on the floor, he stands up, still somewhat hesitating, and shaky. It all happens in an instant, under Elias’ wide open eyes… who at last understands and begins to shout… A little woman looks in curiously. She sees the sick man stand up and cover himself with one of the blankets, since he has nothing else, and run away, shouting like a mad man.
«Let us go… this way, it will be quicker and we will not meet the crowd… Quick, Elias.»
They run through a little door of a kitchen garden in the back, they push the gate, made of dry branches, and once outside, they run along a narrow dirty path, then down a little road along kitchen gardens and finally through meadows and thickets, right down to the torrent.
76.5 «There is Jesus, over there» says Elias, pointing at Him. «The tall, handsome one, with fair hair, with a white tunic and red mantle…»
Isaac runs, he cuts through the grazing sheep, and with a cry of triumph, joy and adoration he prostrates himself at Jesus’ feet.