GRM 37
The Gospel as revealed to me
Translation in progress
Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 37
Translation in progress
GRM 37.7
Many think that I did not suffer as a human being when the holy glance of the guardian of our home was extinguished by death. If I was God, and as such I was aware of the happy destiny of Joseph, and consequently I was not sorry for his death, because after a short time in Limbo, I was going to open Heaven to him, as a Man I cried bitterly in the house now empty and deprived of his presence. I cried over My dead friend, and should I not have cried over My holy friend, on whose chest I had slept when I was a little boy, and from whom I had received so much love in so many years?
Jesus said:
GRM 38.7
Jesus is a creature without any physical or moral faults. He will grow, therefore, upright and strong, both in His body and in His spirit.
Saint Joseph said of his Son:
GRM 39.4
I see Jesus with His Mother going into the dining room (let us call it so), in Nazareth.
Jesus is a handsome young boy, twelve years old, tall, well built, strong but not fat. He looks older than His years, because of His complexion. He is already tall, in fact He reaches up to the shoulders of His Mother. His face is the rosy round face of a child and later, in His youth and then in His manhood, it will get thinner and thinner and it will become colourless, the colour of some very delicate alabasters with a hue of yellowish pink.
Also His eyes are still the eyes of a child. They are large, wide open when looking, with a sparkle of joy lost in the seriousness of His glance. Later they will not be so wide open… His eyelashes will cover half of them to conceal the excessive wickedness which is in the world, from the Pure and Holy One. Only when working miracles they will be open and bright, even brighter than now… to cast out demons and death, to heal diseases and sins. And they will no longer have that sparkle of happiness mingled with seriousness… death and sin will be more and more present and close, and with them the knowledge, also the human knowledge of the uselessness of His sacrifice, because of the unwillingness and aversion of man. Only in the rarest moments of joy, when He is with faithful believers and particularly with pure people, mostly children, will His holy mild kind eyes shine again with happiness.
But now He is at home with His Mother, in front of Him there is Saint Joseph who is smiling lovingly, and there are His little cousins who admire Him, and His aunt Mary of Alphaeus who is patting Him… He is happy. My Jesus needs love to be happy.
GRM 40
The Holy Family arrives at the Temple in Jerusalem. After praying, Joseph and Jesus go to a room where Jesus is examined by doctors of the Law. Joseph introduces them to his Son, then the men address the Child. He declares his name and asserts that he knows how to read symbols and the true meaning of Scripture. Listening to him, the doctors recommend that Joseph entrust him to Hilled or Gamaliel.
Christ is made to read part of the Decalogue. He must continue by heart, and each time he pronounces the Lord's name, he bows. He asserts that if we bow to kings of the earth who are but dust, we must bow even more to the King of Kings, on whom every creature depends.
He was then asked about the Sabbath law and the sanctification of feasts. Does the hen who lays an egg or the ewe who gives birth on that day commit a sin? No, because the beast obeys the Creator's laws and commits no sin. If man makes her work on the Sabbath, it's her master who bears her sin.
The doctors are impressed. They ask a final question by having him read a passage from the second book of Chronicles. This passage, which took place a few centuries earlier, speaks of the scribe Saphan. He reads a book by the priest Elchias before the king and tears his clothes afterwards because the people no longer follow the Lord's prescriptions and his anger is great. Is there a symbol in this text? Jesus replies that it is rare for there not to be, and says that we must not circumscribe in time what is eternal. The Word declares that Israel no longer has the wisdom that comes from God, despite the six hundred and thirteen precepts, for they know them, but no longer put them into practice.
The doctors declare that the child is perfect and of age. The celebration comes to an end, and Joseph and Jesus return to Mary.
GRM 41
Jesus is alone in Jerusalem. Maria saw him looking in a particular direction, but the vision was short-lived. It resumed later and the mystic discovered the interior of the Temple. There are doctors of the Law there, including Gamaliel, Hillel and Chammaï, who are discussing David's prophecy and the Messiah. The first two argue that the Savior is already on Earth, while the other claims that Iseaël's slavery has only increased and that "the peace that should have been brought by him whom the prophets call 'the Prince of Peace' is far from reigning over the world". Jesus intervenes and declares that Gamaliel is right. He is asked what they are basing this on, and for a while the characters talk about the Nativity and the massacre of the Innocents. Then Hillel asks where the boy's wisdom comes from, and they want to examine him properly. He is given a scroll, and then comes the theme of the Forerunner. Jesus asserts that he is already on earth and that he will shortly precede Christ. Moreover, the Son of Joseph prophesies about the Kingdom of God and the Kingship of Christ, which is entirely spiritual. He even asserts that God's Sanctuary will no longer be torn down and destroyed, and Hillel understands his words by quoting another passage from the Book of Haggai.
Gamaliel then speaks to him of the Peace spoken of by the prophet, and Jesus responds with the words of the Gloria: "Peace to men of good will". However, Israel does not have this good will, so it will not have Peace and will reject its Messiah. Finally, Jesus returns once more to the Forerunner, following a remark by Shammai, asserting that he will shortly precede Christ. He ends by saying that if everyone were just like Hillel, salvation would come to Israel. Hillel offers to stay with him, but the Child says he must remain in solitude. And so the vision ends.
Maria then explains how she knew who Hillel and Gamaliel were (thanks to the voice of her inner counselor). Finally, Jesus gives a dictation on the recovery of Jesus and Mary in the Temple, and the grief of Mary and Joseph. He returns to the famous question, "My son, why have you done this to us?"
GRM 42.2
42.2 Jesus is working at a large carpentry bench. He is planing some boards which He then rests against the wall behind Him. He then takes a kind of stool, clamped on two sides by a vice, He frees it from the vice, and He looks to see whether the job is perfect, He examines it from every angle, He then goes to the chimney, takes the little pot and stirs the contents with a little stick or brush, I am not sure; I can only see the part protruding from the pot and which is like a little stick.
Jesus is wearing a rather short tunic, the colour of which is dark hazelnut: the sleeves are rolled up to His elbows, and He is wearing a kind of apron on which He wipes His fingers after touching the little pot.
He is by Himself. He works diligently, but peacefully. No abrupt or impatient movement. He is precise and constant in His work. Nothing annoys Him: neither a knot in the wood which will not be planed, nor a screwdriver (I think it is a screwdriver) which falls twice from the bench, nor the smoke floating in the room which must irritate His eyes.
Now and again He raises His head and looks towards the southern wall, where there is a closed door, and He listens. At one point He opens a door which is on the eastern side and opens onto the road, and He looks out. I can see a small portion of the dusty little road. He seems to be waiting for someone. He then goes back to His work. He is not sad, but very serious. He closes the door again and goes back to work.
Challenge: The screwdriver doesn't exist.
Note: Regarding the screwdriver, Maria writes her uncertainty. As one note puts it, "the screw and the screwdriver didn't exist back then".
GRM 43
Mary gives Maria a lesson and returns to the Infancy Gospel. She dwells on the discreet miracles that punctuated his hidden life. The Virgin also returns to the spirtual evolution of her husband, then declares that the visions were given according to Maria's needs, for she would not have borne to see certain things, and Heaven is not cruel: it acts to comfort us, not to panic us.
Mary dwells on the Magi's gifts, which vanished like snow in Egypt, barely enabling them to re-establish their home and workshop in Nazareth. The Holy Family gained no material goods from Jesus, but all that mattered to Joseph and Mary was keeping their treasure, Christ.
The Virgin goes on to encourage Maria as she experiences great suffering, declaring that martyrdom "does not lie in the form of torture, but in the constancy with which the martyr endures it". We must live it in God and ask for his help, because what we cannot do, he will do in us...
GRM 44
Jesus prepares to leave Nazareth. Mary is clearly distressed. Her Son eats, and after her bag is ready, Mary isolates herself for a moment. Jesus goes to join her, and it turns out that she is weeping in Joseph's workshop. Jesus speaks to her and they both go into the garden, where Jesus gives her his recommendations. Then they recite the Lord's Prayer together, to lean on God in this hour of trial. Jesus then leaves, leaving his Mother in Nazareth.
Christ then gives dictation, and speaks of Mary's suffering following her separation from Christ. For a moment, he explains why he is giving the Work, and how he gives the lessons. Then he declares that this vision applies to all those who must undergo painful renunciation and leave their families. This lesson is for parents and children alike.
Mary has suffered separation from her Son, but she has not rebelled against God's Will. She wept - but who wouldn't have wept, guessing how her Child would suffer? She knew that her relatives were full of human common sense, and that they would not understand Christ's departure or preaching. She knew how her Son would encounter hostility during His ministry. She also wept, suffered and made amends, for all mothers who have to part with their offspring. The tears of the Mother and the Blood of Jesus Christ strengthen those who have to show heroism, and they strengthen consecrated souls and victim souls in particular.
In the hour of trial, Mary prays with Jesus. Suffering does not prevent her from praying, on the contrary. And Jesus tells us that we must always pray with him, for it is Jesus who justifies us.
GRM 44.7
Jesus says:
«This is the fourth sorrow of Mary, Mother of God. The first was the presentation in the Temple; the second, the flight into Egypt; the third, the death of Joseph; the fourth, My separation from Her.
As I knew the desire of your spiritual Father, yesterday evening I told you that I will hasten the description of “our” sorrows, so that they may be known. But, as you see, some of My Mother’s had already been illustrated. I explained the flight before the Presentation, because it was necessary to do so on that day. I know. You understand and you will explain the reason to the Father verbally.»