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Locations - Lake Gennesaret - Lake Tiberias - Sea of Galilee

Theme: Galilee region · Page 2 of 2

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GRM 174.22 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

« I have finished. I am now going down towards the lake and bless you in the name of the One and Triune God. May peace be with you.»

But the crowds shout: «We are coming with You. Let us come. No one has words like Yours!» And they begin to follow Jesus Who goes down on the opposite side from which He came up and which is in the direction of Capernaum.

The descent is steeper but faster and they soon reach the foot of the mountain on a green flowery plain.

GRM 178

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Chapter title: Three men who want to follow Jesus.

Date of vision: Sunday, June 3, 1945

Calendar: Monday, February 21, 28 (8 Adar I 3788) according to maria-valtorta.org or Wednesday, March 1, 28 according to Valtorta.fr

Locations (map):Capernaum

Cycle: Apostolate in Galilee

Summary: Jesus makes his way with difficulty to the shore of Lake Tiberias, as the crowds hold him back. But Christ belongs to everyone, and many must have him. So he promises he'll be back. By the time he reaches Peter's boat, three men accost him. The first, having been won over by the Lord's words, promises to follow him. He asks what route he intends to take, and is not satisfied with Jesus' first answer - that he is taking the road to Heaven. When he asks in which houses he will stop, Jesus replies that the Son of Man has no place to lay his head, and the man understands that his home is everywhere. The Master then reminds us that we must be sacrificial, obedient, charitable to all, and heal the wounds of our brothers, without distancing ourselves from them because they are in the mud. His interlocutor asks him to try to follow his way, and Jesus actually encourages him to try.

The second man is challenged by the Savior. Christ urges him to follow, but Elijah has lost his father, and Jesus tells him to "let the dead bury their dead". He teaches that the mutilation of affections can serve to give wings to God's servant. As the man ponders, he has a little child pray aloud, and the youngster makes up his mind. Jesus supports him in his effort.

Finally, a third asks him to follow him after saying goodbye to his parents. But there's still too much humanity in him. He has to uproot the roots that are still too deep in the human, and if he can't, he has to pull them out. For to be a disciple, one must be totally free in spirit, and God is demanding. So you have to know how to carry your cross and put your hand to the plough without looking back. Jesus invites this person to work on himself before following him. Then the Master climbs into Peter's boat.

Chapter contents: 178.1: Jesus walks with difficulty through the crowd to the shore. 178.2: A scribe who hesitates to follow Jesus replies: Foxes have their dens, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. 178.3: A young man makes up his mind, leaving the dead to bury the dead. 178.4 : A third man will come later: No one who has put his hand to the plough can look back at what he has left.

Previous edition: Tome 3, chapter 38

GRM 179.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus says to me showing me the course of the Jordan, or rather, the mouth of the Jordan where it flows into Lake Tiberias, that is where the town of Bethsaida lies on the right bank of the river, with respect to those facing north: «The town nowadays no longer appears to be on the shore of the lake, but a little inland. And that puzzles scholars. The explanation is to be found in the earth that filled this part of the lake, as it was deposited there throughout twenty centuries by the river, by alluvia and landslides from the hills of Bethsaida. The town was then just at the mouth of the river and in fact the smaller boats, particularly in seasons rich in water, used to sail upstream, almost as far as Korazim; the river, however, was always used as a harbour and shelter for the boats of Bethsaida when the lake was very rough. I am not saying this for you, to whom it is of no interest, but for difficult doctors. And now go on.»

GRM 181.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

A clear dawn causes the lake to sparkle like pearls and envelops the hills in a mist as light as a muslin veil, through which olive and walnut-trees, houses and the background of villages look prettier than usual. Boats are sailing smoothly and quietly towards Capernaum. All of a sudden Peter turns the tiller of the rudder, so abruptly that the boat heels to one side.

«What are you doing?» asks Andrew.

«There is the boat of an owl[1]. It is leaving Capernaum now. My eyes are good and since yesterday evening I have the scent of a hound. I do not want them to see us. I am going back to the river. We will go on foot.»

Also the other boat has followed the manouevre, but James, who is holding the rudder, asks Peter: «Why are you doing that?»

«I will tell you later. Follow me.»

Jesus, Who is sitting astern, rouses when they are almost off the Jordan. «What are you doing, Simon?» He asks.

«We are getting off here. There is a jackal about. It is not possible to go to Capernaum today.»

Detail

It's the day after John the Baptist's arrest, and the apostles are suspicious of everyone.

Annotation

- I see an owl's boat! This sobriquet in Peter's mouth was inspired by the Palestine owl, otherwise known as the Great Horned Owl or Desert Owl (Bubo ascalaphus). It inhabits ruins and desolate places in great numbers, to which its mournful cry is well suited(source).

There's a jackal in sight. The jackal (schoual) is sometimes called a fox in the Old Testament. Indeed, they physically resemble each other.

GRM 186.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The view is beautiful. Only a few score of feet above the lake, it commands a view over the whole lake with the towns spread along its shores. Tiberias is splendid with its beautiful buildings on the opposite shore facing the apostles. Below this spot, at the foot the basaltic cliff, the short beach looks like a green pillow, whereas on the opposite shore, from Tiberias to the mouth of the Jordan, there is a rather widespread marshy plain due to the river having difficulty in resuming its course after delaying in the placid lake. But the plain looks like a garden, because it is so thick with marsh flora, and is densely populated with colourful variegated water fowl, which seem bedecked with jewels. The birds rise from the thick grass and from the reed-thickets, they fly over the lake, they dive into it to steal a fish from its water, and they rise even more brilliant, because the water has brightened up their plumage, and then they fly back to the plain where the wind plays swaying its many-coloured flowers.

Up here, instead, there are woods of very tall oak trees, under which the grass is soft and emerald-green, and beyond this strip of woods, on the other side of a large valley, the mountain climbs again, forming a very steep rocky summit, on which houses rise built on terraces. I think that the mountain side and the walls of the houses are all one, for its caves are used as dwellings, in a mixture of a troglodyte and ordinary village. It is a village characteristic of structures on large rising terraces, so that the roof of the house on the terrace below is at the height of the ground entrance of the terrace above it. On the sides where the mountain is very steep, so steep that no house can be built there, there are caves, deep crevices and descents dropping down to the valley. In the season of downpours the descents must become like many whimsical little torrents. All kinds of blocks, which the floods have rolled down to the valley, form a chaotic pedestal for the little mountain which is so wild and steep, hunchbacked and overbearing that it looks like a squire who wants to be respected at all costs.