The Virgin Mary

13.1 How beautiful Mary is dressed as a bride, among Her joyful friends and teachers! There is also Elizabeth amongst them.

She is dressed in snow-white linen, so soft and refined that it looks like precious silk. She is wearing around Her slender waist a burin wrought belt in gold and silver, made of medallions held together by little chains — each medallion is an embroidery of gold threads on heavy silver burnished by age. Probably because the belt is too long for Her, still a gentle girl, the last three medallions hang down in the front and fall amongst the folds of the very wide dress that is so long as to form a sort of train. On Her feet She is wearing white leather sandals with silver buckles.

Around Her neck the dress is held by a chain of small gold roses and silver filigree, reproducing on a smaller scale the design of the belt. Running through large holes on the loosely cut neck, the chain gathers the cloth and forms a kind of small frill. Mary’s neck emerges from the white pleated cloth with the grace of a stem wrapped in a precious fabric and seems even more slender and whiter than ever, the stem of a lily ending in a lily-like face, which is even paler than usual for the excitement – and purer. The face of a most pure victim.

Her hair no longer hangs over Her shoulders. It is arranged in a knot of plaits in a charming style, and precious burnished silver hairpins, all made with embroidered filigree at the top, hold it in position. Her mother’s veil is placed over the plaits and it falls in beautiful folds under the precious thin plate that encircles Her snow-white forehead. The veil falls down Her sides and since Mary is not as tall as Her mother, it falls lower than Her hips, whereas it reached Anne’s waist. She has nothing on Her hands, but is wearing bracelets on Her wrists. Her wrists are so thin that the heavy bracelets of Her mother cover the back of Her hands and would fall to the ground if She tossed Her hands.

13.2 Her friends gaze upon Her and admire Her. They twitter gaily like sparrows asking questions and expressing their admiration.

«Are they Your mother’s?»

«They are antique, are they not?»

«How beautiful, Sarah, this belt is!»

«And what about this veil, Susan? How refined it is. Just look at those lilies woven in it!»

«Let me see Your bracelets, Mary. Were they Your mother’s?»

«Yes, she wore them. But they belonged to My father’s mother.»

«Oh! Look. They have the seal of Solomon interwoven with thin little branches of palm and olive-trees and amongst these there are lilies and roses. Oh! Who did such perfect and refined work?»

«They belong to the House of David» explains Mary. «The women of the family have worn them for centuries, when they get married and they are left in heritage to the heiress.»

«Certainly! You are the heiress…»

«Did they bring You everything from Nazareth?»

«No, they did not. When My mother died, My cousin took My trousseau to her house to keep it safely. Now she has brought it back to Me.»

«Where is it? Where is it? Show it to Your friends.»

Mary does not know what to do… She would like to be kind, but she is not anxious to pull out all the things which are nicely laid in three heavy trunks.

Her teachers come to Her help: «The groom is about to arrive» they point out. «This is not the moment to cause confusion. Leave Mary alone. You are tiring Her. Go and get ready.»

The chattering group go away somewhat sulkily. Mary can now enjoy in peace the company of Her teachers who say words of praise and blessing to Her.

13.3 Elizabeth has also approached. And as Mary, deeply moved, is crying because Anna of Phanuel has called Her «daughter» and has kissed Her with true motherly love, Elizabeth says to Her: «Mary, Your mother is not here, and yet she is present. Her soul is rejoicing with Yours. Look, the things that You are wearing are giving You her caresses once again. You can still find in them the flavour of her kisses. One day, a long time ago, the day You came to the Temple, she said to me: “I have prepared Her dresses and Her trousseau, because I wish to be the one who weaves Her linen and makes Her bridal dresses, so that I shall not be absent on the day of Her joy”. And listen. In the last days, when I was assisting her, every evening she wanted to caress Your first little dresses and the ones You are now wearing and she would say: “I can smell the jasmine perfume of my little one and I want Her to perceive here the kiss of Her mummy”. How many kisses on this veil that is now shading Your forehead! There are more kisses than threads!… And when You will wear the cloth woven by her, just think that it was woven more by her motherly love than by the spool. And these jewels… Even in hard circumstances they were saved by Your father for You, that You might be beautiful in this hour, as befits a princess of the House of David. Be happy and cheerful, Mary. You are not an orphan, because Your parents are with You and Your husband is a father and a mother to You, such is his perfection…»

«Yes, that is true! I certainly cannot complain. In two months he has been here twice, and today he has come for the third time, facing the rain and the windy weather, to take orders from Me… Fancy: orders from Me, a poor woman and much younger than he is! And he has denied Me nothing. He does not even wait for Me to ask. I think an angel must tell him what I want, because he tells Me before I can speak. The last time he said: “Mary, I think that You prefer to stay in Your father’s house. Since You are a daughter heiress, You can do so, if that is Your wish. I will come to Your house. However, in order to accomplish the rite, You will go for one week to my brother Alphaeus’ house. Mary already loves You so much. And from there the procession will start that will take You to Your house in the evening of the wedding day”. Was that not very kind of him? It did not even matter to him if the people should say that he has not a house which I would like… I would have liked it, because he is there and he is so good. Certainly… I prefer My own house… because of memories… Oh! Joseph is so good!»

«What did he say about Your vow? You haven’t told me yet.»

«He made no objection. On the contrary, when I told him the reasons, he said: “I will join my sacrifice to Yours”.»

«He is a holy young man» says Anna of Phanuel.

13.4 The «holy young man» is coming in just now in the company of Zacharias.

He is really magnificent. All dressed in gold yellow he seems an eastern sovereign. A splendid belt supports his pouch and his dagger, the former of morocco embroidered in gold, the latter with a morocco sheath and gold decorations. On his head he is wearing a turban, that is the usual piece of cloth worn like a hood, as is still customary amongst certain people in Africa, such as the bedouins, and it is held by a precious ring, a thin wire of gold, to which small bunches of myrtle are tied. He has on a new mantle, with fringes, and he wears it with great dignity. He is sparkling with joy. He has in his hands small bunches of myrtle in bloom.

«Peace to you, my spouse!» he greets Her. «Peace to everyone.» When he has received a reply to his greetings, he says: «I saw Your joy the day I gave You a branch from Your garden. I thought I should bring You some myrtle which I picked near the grotto You love so much. I wanted to bring You some of the roses that are already beginning to bloom near Your house. But roses do not last long. After a journey of several days I would have arrived here with only the thorns. And I want to offer You, my dear, only roses and spread Your way with soft scented flowers, so that Your feet may rest on them without touching anything dirty or harsh.»

«Oh! Thank you, you are so good! But what did you do to keep it so fresh?»

«I tied a vase to the saddle and I put the branches of the flowers in bud in it. During the journey they have burst into flower. Here they are, Mary. May Your forehead be garlanded with purity, the symbol of a bride, which, however, is much inferior to the purity of Your heart.»

Elizabeth and the teachers adorn Mary with a little garland of flowers which they form attaching the little white bunches of myrtle to the precious ring and they insert small white roses which they take from a vase placed on a small chest.

Mary is on the point of taking Her large white mantle to put it on Her shoulders, but Joseph precedes Her and helps Her to fasten it at the top of Her shoulders with two silver buckles. The teachers then arrange the folds with loving care.

13.5 Everything is ready. While they are awaiting I do not know what, Joseph takes Mary to one side and says to Her: «I have pondered a lot on Your vow these last days. I told You that I will share it with You. But the more I think of it, the more I realise that a temporary Naziritism is not sufficient, even if renewed several times. I have understood You, Mary. I do not yet deserve the word of Light, but a murmur of it comes to me. And it causes me to read Your secret, at least in its main lines. I am a poor ignorant man, Mary. A poor workman. I know nothing of letters and I have no treasures. But I place at Your feet my treasure: my absolute chastity, forever, to be worthy of being beside You, Virgin of God, “my sister spouse, enclosed garden, sealed fountain”, as our Ancestor says, who perhaps wrote the Song of Songs seeing You… I shall be the guardian of this garden of spices containing the most precious fruits and from which a spring of living water gushes out in a gentle surge: Your kindness, oh spouse, has conquered my soul with Your innocence, oh most beautiful one. You are more beautiful than dawn, You are a sun that shines because Your heart shines, You are full of love for Your God and for the world, to which You wish to give a Saviour with Your sacrifice of a woman. Come, my beloved spouse» and he takes Her gently by the hand and leads Her towards the door. All the others follow them and outside the joyful companions, all dressed in white and wearing veils, join them.

13.6 They go through yards and porches, among the crowds that watch them, up to a point that is not the Temple, but seems to be a hall used for ceremonies, because there are lamps and rolls of parchment as in synagogues. They go as far as a tall lectern, almost a desk, and they wait. The others stand in an orderly fashion behind them. Other priests and curious people gather at the end.

The High Priest enters solemnly.

There is whispering amongst the curious crowd: «Is he going to marry them?»

«Yes, because She is of royal and sacerdotal rank. A flower of David and Aaron, the bride is a virgin of the Temple. The groom is of the tribe of David.»

The Pontiff joins the right hand of the bride with the right hand of the groom and he blesses them solemnly: «May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob be with you. May He join you and fulfil His blessing in you giving you His peace and numerous descendants with a long life and a happy death in the bosom of Abraham.» He then withdraws as solemn as when he entered.

The promise has been exchanged. Mary is Joseph’s spouse.

They all go out and they move in an orderly fashion to a hall where they stipulate the wedding contract which states that Mary, the daughter heiress of Joachim of David and of Anne of Aaron gives Joseph, as Her dowry, Her house and the estate attached to it, Her personal property and what She has inherited from Her father.

It is now all over.

13.7 The betrothed go out into the yard and they move towards the exit near the dwellings of the women assigned to the Temple. A comfortable heavy waggon is waiting for them. A tent is laid over it as a shelter and Mary’s heavy trunks are already loaded on it.

After farewell words, kisses and tears, blessings and advice, Mary gets into the waggon with Elizabeth, while Joseph and Zacharias sit in the front. They have taken off their best mantles and are all wearing dark ones.

The waggon departs at the heavy trot of a big dark horse. The Temple walls and then the city walls are receding and here is the country, new, fresh, blooming in the early springtime sunshine, with the corn a few inches off the ground, its little leaves, which look like emeralds, waving at a gentle breeze, which carries the scent of peach and apple flowers, of clover flowers and of wild mint.

Mary is weeping silently, under Her veil, and now and again She removes the tent and looks at the far away Temple and the city She has left…

• Engagement of Joseph and the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary in the Temple of Jerusalem (consecrated virgin)

• Anne of Aaron (mother of the Virgin Mary)
• Elizabeth of Hebron (mother of John the Baptist)
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Locations - House of Nazareth
• Locations - Nazareth
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

A waggon is moving along the road. It is the waggon that is carrying Joseph, Mary and Her cousins. Their journey is at an end.

Mary is looking with the eagerness of those who want to know, or better, want to recognise what they have already seen, but can no longer remember and they smile when a faint memory comes back to them and rests, like a light, on this or that thing, on this or that point. Elizabeth, Zacharias and Joseph help Her to remember, pointing to various places and houses.

Nazareth is already showing its houses, spread out on the undulations of its hills. Lit up from the left by the setting sun, it shows the white of its low wide little houses bordered in pink and surmounted by terraces. Some of them, fully illuminated by the sun, seem to be near a fire, so red are the fronts of the houses because of the sun, that also lights up the water of the ponds and of the low wells, with practically no parapets, and from which squeaky pails of water are being pulled up for the houses as well as water-bags for the orchards.

Children and women rush to the side of the road and look into the waggon and greet Joseph who is well known to them. But they are somewhat embarrassed and shy with regards the other three travellers.

But when the waggon enters the little town, there is no longer any embarrassment or shyness. Many people of all ages are gathered at the entrance of the village under a rustic arch of flowers and branches, and there is an outburst of shrill voices and a tossing of branches and flowers as soon as the waggon appears from behind the corner of the last house lying before it in the country. It is the women, girls and children of Nazareth greeting the bride. The men, more serious, are standing behind the excited and shouting crowd and they are greeting solemnly.

The waggon is not covered now by the tent, which was removed before reaching the village, both because the sun was no longer annoying them and to enable Mary to see Her native land. Mary thus appears in all the beauty of a lovely flower. White and blonde like an angel, She smiles lovingly at everybody: at the children who throw Her flowers and kisses; at the girls of Her own age who call Her by name; at the elderly women who bless Her with their cheerful voices. She bows to the men and in particular to one who is perhaps the rabbi or the elder of the town.

The waggon proceeds slowly along the main road, followed for a considerable distance by the crowd, for whom the arrival is an event.

14.3

«There is Your house, Mary» says Joseph, pointing with his whip to a little house which is just under the edge of an undulation of the hill. Behind the house there is a lovely large kitchen garden all in bloom, at the end of which there is a small olive-grove. Behind the olive-grove there is the usual boundary hedge of hawthorn and cactus. The fields that once belonged to Joachim, are farther beyond…

«As You can see, very little is left for You» says Zacharias. «Your father’s illness was a long and expensive one. Also the expenses to repair the damage done by the Romans were heavy. See? The road took away the three main rooms and the house was cut down in size. In order to enlarge it, without excessive expenses, a part of the mountain was adapted, where the grotto is. Joachim kept his supplies there and Anne her looms. You will do as You think best.»

«Oh! It does not matter if only little is left. It will be sufficient for Me. I will work…»

«No, Mary.» It is Joseph who is speaking. «I will work. You will do nothing but weave and sew things for the house. I am young and strong and I am Your husband. Please do not humiliate me with Your work.»

«I shall do as you wish.»

«Yes, in this case I do want it. In everything else Your wishes are the law. But not with regards to this.»

14.4

They have arrived. The waggon stops.

Two women and two men, about forty and fifty years of age respectively, are at the entrance and many children and young boys are with them. «May God give You peace, Mary» says the elder man and one of the women approaches Mary embracing and kissing Her.

«He is my brother Alphaeus and she is Mary, his wife, and these are their children. They have come to greet You and to tell You that their house is Yours if You wish so» says Joseph.

«Yes, come Mary, if it is painful for You to live by Yourself. The country is beautiful in springtime and our house is in the middle of fields full of flowers. And You will be the loveliest flower there» says Mary of Alphaeus.

«Thank you, Mary. I would come so willingly. But I am so anxious to see and recognise My own home. I left it when I was a little girl, and I have forgotten what it is like… Now I have found it again… and I feel I have found also My lost mother, My beloved father, and that I can hear the echo of their words… and I smell the perfume of their last breath. I feel I am no longer an orphan, because once again I have around Me the embrace of these walls… Please understand Me, Mary.» Mary’s voice trembles and Her eyes begin to shine with tears.

Mary of Alphaeus replies to Her: «As You wish, my dear. I want You to feel that I am Your sister and friend, and also a mother to You, since I am so much older than You are.»

The other woman has come forward: «Hello, Mary. I am Sarah, Your mother’s friend. I saw You being born. And this is Alphaeus, Alphaeus’ nephew, and a great friend of Your mother. What I did for Your mother, I am willing to do for You, if You wish so. See? My house is the one nearest to Yours and Your fields are now ours. But if You want to come, come whenever You wish. We will open a passage through the hedge and we shall be together, yet each of us will be at home. This is my husband.»

«Thank you all and for everything. Thank you for all the good you did to My parents and for your love for Me. May God the Almighty bless you for it.»

14.5

The heavy trunks are unloaded and carried into the house.

They go in. I now recognise the little house of Nazareth, as it was during the life of Jesus.

Joseph takes Mary by the hand and they go in. On the threshold he says to Her: «And now, on this threshold, I want a promise from You. That whatever may happen to You, whatever You may need, there is no other friend whom to turn to but Joseph and that, for no reason whatsoever, may You worry all by Yourself. Remember that I am everything for You and it will be a joy for me to make Your life happy and, since happiness is not always in our power, I will at least make it peaceful and safe.»

«I do promise, Joseph.»

The door and windows are opened. The last searching rays of sun enter.

Mary has now taken off Her mantle and veil, because, with the exception of the myrtle flowers, She has still Her bridal dress on. She then goes into the kitchen garden in bloom. She looks and smiles. Still held by the hand by Joseph, She goes round the garden. She looks as if She were taking possession of a lost place.

And Joseph shows Her his work: «See? I dug a hole here to gather the rain water, because these vines are always thirsty. I cut off the oldest branches of this olive tree to strengthen it and I transplanted these apple trees because two of them had withered. Over there I planted some fig trees. When they grow up they will shelter the house both from the excessive heat of the sun and from inquisitive people. The pergola is the old one. I only changed the rotten poles and I did some trimming. It will give You a lot of grapes, I hope. And here, look» and he leads Her proudly towards the side of the hill at the back of the house, which limits the northern side of the garden, «here I dug a grotto and I have reinforced it and when these little plants take roots, it will be almost identical to the one You had. There is no spring… but I hope to convey a little stream there. I will work in the long summer evenings, when I come to see You…»

14.6

«What do you mean?» asks Alphaeus. «Are you not getting married this summer?»

«No. Mary wants to weave Her woollen clothes, the only things missing from Her trousseau. And I agree with Her. Mary is so young that it does not matter if we wait for a year or more. In the meantime She will get used to the house…»

«Well! You have always been somewhat different from other people and you still are. I do not know who would not be in a hurry to get married to a beautiful flower like Mary, and you are delaying things by months!…»

«A joy awaited for a long time is a joy to be taken delight in more intensely» replies Joseph with a gentle smile.

His brother shrugs his shoulders and asks: «Well, then, when are you thinking of getting married?»

«When Mary is sixteen. After the feast of the Tabernacles. The winter evenings will be sweet for the newly weds!…» and he smiles again looking at Mary. A smile of a gentle secret understanding. A smile of a brotherly chastity giving comfort. He then resumes his tour of the garden. «This is the big room under the mountain. If You agree, I will use it as a workshop when I come here. It is joined to the house, but not in the house. So I will not annoy You with noise and disorder. However, if You wish otherwise…»

«No, Joseph. That is perfectly all right.»

14.7

They go back into the house and light the lamps.

«Mary is tired» says Joseph. «Let us leave Her in peace with Her cousins.»

They all say goodbye and go out. Joseph stays for a few moments and speaks to Zacharias in a low voice.

«Your cousin is leaving Elizabeth with You for a little while. Are You happy? I am. Because she will help You… to become a perfect housewife. With her You will be able to arrange Your things and Your furniture, and I will come every evening to help You. With Elizabeth You can purchase the wool and whatever You may need. And I will see to the expenses. Remember, You have promised to come to me for everything. Goodbye, Mary. Sleep the first night as the landlady of this house and may the angel of God make Your sleep peaceful. May the Lord be always with You.»

«Goodbye, Joseph. May you also be under the wings of God’s angel. Thank you, Joseph. For everything. As far as I can, I will requite your love with Mine.»

Joseph says goodbye to His cousins and goes out.

And the vision ends with him.

• The Virgin Mary

The heavy trunks are unloaded and carried into the house.

They go in. I now recognise the little house of Nazareth, as it was during the life of Jesus.

Joseph takes Mary by the hand and they go in. On the threshold he says to Her: «And now, on this threshold, I want a promise from You. That whatever may happen to You, whatever You may need, there is no other friend whom to turn to but Joseph and that, for no reason whatsoever, may You worry all by Yourself. Remember that I am everything for You and it will be a joy for me to make Your life happy and, since happiness is not always in our power, I will at least make it peaceful and safe.»

«I do promise, Joseph.» (...)

[Joseph's brother Alphée asks:]

«Well, then, when are you thinking of getting married?»

«When Mary is sixteen. After the feast of the Tabernacles. The winter evenings will be sweet for the newly weds!…» and he smiles again looking at Mary. A smile of a gentle secret understanding. A smile of a brotherly chastity giving comfort. He then resumes his tour of the garden. «This is the big room under the mountain. If You agree, I will use it as a workshop when I come here. It is joined to the house, but not in the house. So I will not annoy You with noise and disorder. However, if You wish otherwise…»

«No, Joseph. That is perfectly all right.»

• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• The Virgin Mary

• Annunciation
• Locations - House of Nazareth
• Saint Gabriel Archangel
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary

What I see. Mary, a very young girl: She looks fifteen years old, at the most. She is in a small rectangular room: a room most suitable for a girl. Along one of the longer walls there is a bed: a low bed, without bedstead, covered with thick mats or carpets, which appear to be laid on boards or cane-trellis, because they are very stiff and without any curve, as is usual with our beds. Against the other wall there is a kind of bookcase with an oil lamp, some rolls of parchment, some needlework carefully folded: it seems to be embroidery work.

Beside the bookcase, towards the door, which opens onto the kitchen garden and which is now covered by a curtain gently moved by a light breeze, there is the Virgin sitting on a low stool. She is spinning some linen which is as white as snow and as soft as silk. Her little hands, just a little darker than linen, are whirling the spindle very quickly. Her beautiful young face is slightly bent forward and She is smiling gently as if She were caressing or following some sweet thought.

There is a great silence in the little house and in the kitchen garden. There is a great peace both on Mary’s face and in the surrounding place. There is peace and order. Everything is neat and tidy and the room, although very modest looking and very modestly furnished — it is almost as bare as a cell — has something austere and regal about it because of its cleanliness and the care with which everything is laid: the clothes on the bed, the rolls, the lamp, the copper pitcher near the lamp, with a bunch of branches in bloom in it. I do not know whether they are peach or pear branches. They are certainly branches of a fruit-tree, with pinkish white flowers.

16.2 Mary begins to sing in a low voice, then She raises Her voice slightly. But She does not sing loudly. Still, it is a voice vibrating in the little room and one can perceive the vibration of Her soul in it. I do not understand the words as they are spoken in Hebrew. But as now and again She repeats «Jehovah» I realize that it is a sacred song, perhaps a psalm. Mary is probably remembering the songs of the Temple. And it must be a happy memory because She lays Her hands in Her lap, while still holding the yarn and the spindle, and lifts Her head leaning against the wall: Her face is beautifully flushed and Her eyes are lost behind… I wonder what sweet thought. Her eyes are shining with tears, which appear but do not overflow and they make Her eyes look larger. And yet those eyes are smiling, they are smiling at a thought they can see and by which Mary is abstracted from the earthly world. Mary’s face, flushed and girded by the plaits She wears rolled up like a crown around Her head, seems a beautiful flower, as it emerges from Her plain white dress.

The song changes into a prayer: «Most High Lord God, do not delay any longer in sending Your Servant to bring peace to the world. Grant us the favourable time and the pure and prolific virgin for the coming of Your Christ. Father, Holy Father, grant Me, Your servant to offer My life for this purpose. Grant Me to die after seeing Your Light and Your Justice on earth and after knowing that our Redemption has been accomplished. O Holy Father, send the Promise of the Prophets to the earth. Send the Redeemer to Your maidservant, so that in the hour of My death, Your abode may be opened to Me, as its gates have already been opened by Your Christ for all those who have hoped in You. Come, come, O Spirit of the Lord. Come to the faithful who are expecting You. Come, Prince of Peace!…» Mary remains absorbed in this way…

16.3 The curtain moves fast, as if someone behind it ventilated it with something or shook it to draw it. And a pearl white light mixed with pure silver makes the slightly yellow walls clearer and makes the colours of the cloths brighter and Mary’s raised face more spiritual. And in such light, while the curtain is still drawn on the mystery to be accomplished, the Archangel prostrates himself: the curtain no longer moves: it is hanging stiff against the doorposts like a wall separating the inside from the outside.

It must necessarily take a human appearance. But it is a transhuman appearance. Of what flesh is this beautiful and gleaming figure made? With what substance did God form it to make it perceptible to the senses of the Virgin? Only God can possess such substances and use them so perfectly. It is a face, a body, eyes, a mouth, hair and hands like ours. But they are not our dull matter. It is a light that has taken the colour of flesh, of eyes, hair, lips, a light that moves and smiles, looks and speaks.

16.4 «Hail, Mary, full of Grace, Hail!» The voice is a sweet arpeggio as of pearls thrown on a precious metal plate.

Mary is startled and lowers Her head. And She is even more startled when She sees the shining creature kneeling at about a metre from Her and looking at Her with infinite veneration, his hands crossed over his chest.

Mary jumps to Her feet and She squeezes against the wall. She turns pale and red alternately. Her face shows surprise and fear. She subconsciously presses Her hands against Her breast hiding them under Her large sleeves. She stoops, endeavouring to conceal Her body as much as possible. An attitude of gentle modesty.

«No. Do not fear. The Lord is with You! You are blessed amongst all women!»

But Mary continues to be afraid. Where has that extraordinary being come from? Is he a messenger of God or of the Deceiver?

«Do not fear, Mary!» repeats the Archangel. «I am Gabriel, the Angel of God. My Lord has sent me to You. Do not be afraid, because You have found grace in the eyes of God. And You will conceive and bear a Son and You will call Him “Jesus”: He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High (and such He will really be). And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Ancestor David and He will rule over the House of Jacob forever, and His reign will have no end. Understand, o Holy Virgin loved by God, Daughter blessed by Him, called to be the Mother of His Son, what Son You will generate!»

«How can this come about, since I do not know man? Perhaps the Lord God will no longer accept the offer of His maidservant and does not want Me a Virgin for His love?»

«Not by deed of man You will be a mother, Mary. You are the Eternal Virgin, the Holy Virgin of God. The Holy Spirit will come upon You and the power of the Most High will cover You with its shadow. So the Child born of You will be called Holy and Son of God. Our Lord God can do everything. Elizabeth, the barren one, in her old age has conceived a son who will be the Prophet of Your Son, and will prepare His ways. The Lord has removed her disgrace and her memory will remain amongst peoples together with Your name, as the name of her creature will be joined to the name of Your Holy Son, and until the end of centuries you will be called blessed, because of the Lord’s Grace which has come to you both and particularly to You, by means of Whom Grace has come to all peoples. Elizabeth is in her sixth month and her burden lifts her to joy, and will lift her even more when she hears of Your joy. Nothing is impossible to the Lord, Mary, full of Grace. What shall I tell my Lord? Let no thought whatsoever disturb You. He will protect Your interests if You trust in Him. The world, Heaven, the Eternal Father are awaiting Your word!»

Mary crosses Her hands over Her breast and bowing down deeply, She says: «I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let what you have said be done to Me.»

The Angel shines out of joy. He kneels in adoration because he certainly sees the Spirit of God descend upon the Virgin bent down in assent, and he disappears without moving the curtain, but leaves it well drawn over the holy Mystery.

• Annunciation
• Bible - Gospel of Luke
• Incarnation
• Rosary
• The Virgin Mary

17.8 Mary says:

«I obeyed in My joy, because when I understood the mission to which God called Me, I was full of joy, My heart opened like a closed lily and it shed that blood which was to become the soil for the Lord’s Seed.

17.9 The joy of being a mother.

I had consecrated Myself to God since My childhood, because the light of the Most High had shown Me the cause of evil in the world and, as far as it was in My power, I wanted to remove from Myself every trace of Satan.

I did not know I was pure. I could not think I was. That simple thought would have been presumption and pride, because, since I was born of human parents, it was not right for Me to think that I was the Chosen One to be the Faultless One. The Spirit of God had informed Me of the pain of the Father because of the corruption of Eve, who had lowered herself to the level of inferior creatures, whereas she was a creature of grace. It was My intention to soothe that pain by remaining unprofaned by human thoughts, wishes and contacts and thus restoring an angelical purity in My body. The palpitations of My heart were to be only for Him, and only for Him My whole being.

But if there was no passion of the flesh in Me, there was still the sacrifice of not being a mother. Also Eve had been granted by the Father Creator the gift of maternity, a maternity devoid of what now degrades it. The sweet and pure maternity without a sensual burden! I experienced it! Of how much did Eve divest herself by giving up such wealth! More than immortality. And do not think that I am exaggerating. My Jesus and I, His Mother, with Him, have experienced the languor of death. I, the sweet languor of a tired person who falls asleep, Jesus, the intense languor of who dies sentenced to death. So we also experienced death. But only I, the new Eve, experienced maternity without any kind of profanation, that I might tell the world how sweet was the destiny of woman called to be a mother without any bodily pain. And the desire of such pure maternity was possible and actually existed in the Virgin wholly devoted to God, because that maternity is the glory of woman.

If you consider in what high esteem the Israelites held a mother, you will realise even more what sacrifice I had made when I consecrated Myself to virginity. Now the Eternal Good Father granted Me, His servant, this gift, without divesting Me of the purity I had wrapped Myself in to be a flower on His throne. And I rejoiced with the double joy of being the mother of a man and the Mother of God.

17.10 The joy of being the Woman by means of Whom peace was re-established between Heaven and earth.

Oh! What a joy to have desired this peace for the sake of God and of men and to know that it was coming to the world through Me, the poor handmaid of the Almighty! What a joy to say: “Men, do not cry any longer. I have in Me the secret that will make you happy. I cannot tell what it is because it is sealed in Me, in My heart, just as the Son is enclosed in My pure womb. But I am already bringing it to you, and the moment when you will see Him and hear His Holy name is getting nearer and nearer”.

17.11 The joy of having made God happy: the joy of the believer for his God made happy.

Oh! The joy of removing from God’s heart the bitterness of Eve’s disobedience, pride and disbelief!

• Annunciation
• Joys of the Virgin Mary
• Rosary
• The Virgin Mary

Joy gushed out of My heart like the stem of a rose. But it was soon decorated with sharp thorns and it was clenched in the tangle of sorrow, like branches enveloped by bindweeds. Sorrow for the pain of My spouse: it suffocated My joy. Sorrow for the pain of My Son: a thorn that pierced My joy.

Eve wanted pleasure, triumph, freedom. I accepted sorrow, humiliation, slavery. I gave up My peaceful life, the esteem of My spouse, My own freedom. I kept nothing for Myself. I became the maid of God in the flesh, in morals, in the spirit, relying on Him not only for the virginal conception, but also for the protection of My honour, for the consolation of My spouse, for the means suitable to elevate him also to the sublimation of marriage, so that we could restore man and woman to their lost dignity.

17.14 I embraced the will of the Lord for Myself, My spouse and My Creature. I said “Yes” for the whole three, as I was certain that God would not break His promise to assist Me in My sorrow of a spouse who realises she is considered guilty, and of a mother who knows she is generating a Son to deliver Him to sorrow.

I said “Yes” and nothing else. That “Yes” cancelled Eve’s “No” to God’s command. “Yes, My Lord, as You wish. I will know what You want Me to know. I will live as You want Me to live. I will rejoice if You wish so. I will suffer for what You want Me to suffer. Yes, forever, My Lord, from the moment Your ray made Me a Mother to the moment You called Me back to You. ‘Yes’, forever ‘Yes’. All the good voices of the flesh, all the good passions of the spirit were under the weight of My perpetual ‘Yes’. And above, on a diamond pedestal, there was My spirit, lacking wings to fly to You, but it was the master of the whole ‘ego’ subdued and made Your servant. Servant in joy, servant in sorrow. But smile, o God. And be happy. Guilt has been defeated. It has been removed and destroyed. It lies under My heel, it was washed in My tears and destroyed by My obedience. The new Tree will be born of My bosom and it will bear the Fruit that knows all the evil because It suffered it all in Itself and will give all the good. All men will be able to come to It and I shall be happy if they take of It, even if they do not remember that It was born of Me. Providing man is saved and God is loved, let it be done to His handmaid what is done to a clod of earth on which a tree is planted: a step to ascend”.

17.15 Mary, we must always be steps so that other people may ascend to God. It does not matter if they tread on us, providing they are successful in reaching the Cross. It is the new tree that has the knowledge of Good and Evil, because it tells man what is good and what is evil, so that he may choose and live, and at the same time it is a medicine that cures those who are intoxicated by the evil they wanted to taste. Let our hearts be under the feet of men, that the number of the redeemed may increase and the Blood of My Jesus not be shed fruitlessly. That is the destiny of the maids of God. But then we deserve to receive the holy Host in our hearts and to say at the foot of the Cross drenched with His Blood and our tears: “Here is, o Father, the immaculate Host which we offer to You for the salvation of the world. Look at us, Father, melted with It and give us Your blessing for Its infinite merits”.

• Annunciation
• Passion of the Virgin Mary and Joseph
• Rosary
• Suffering and pain of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary - New Eve

17.13 I went along the road of the two sinners, but in the opposite direction: I obeyed. I obeyed in every way. God inspired Me to be a virgin. I obeyed. When I loved virginity that made Me as pure as the first woman before she met Satan, God asked Me to get married. I obeyed, elevating marriage to the degree of purity intended by God when He created the First Parents. I was then convinced that My destiny was solitude in marriage and the contempt of people because of My holy sterility, when God asked Me to be a Mother. I obeyed. I believed that it was possible and that the word came from God, because I was filled with peace when I heard it. I did not think: “I deserved it”. I did not say: “Now the world will admire Me, because I am like God, creating the flesh of God”. No, I did not. I lowered Myself in My humbleness.

• Annunciation
• Humility of the Virgin Mary
• Motherhood of the Virgin Mary
• The Virgin Mary
• Virginity
• Virginity in marriage

• Elizabeth of Hebron (mother of John the Baptist)
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Locations - House of Nazareth
• Summary of EMV
• The Virgin Mary