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Galilee region

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GRM 57

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus arrives in Nazareth with his apostles. He invites his disciples to accompany him home to meet his Mother. On his arrival, Christ is greeted by a flock of children. He responds to their greetings, then arrives at his home. His Mother is naturally happy to see him, but she is also anxious, because her relatives have told her what he did in the Temple. After their reunion, the disciples get to know him (except John, who has already met her) and they all sit down at table. Mary of Alphaeus is present in the house, and Jude tells her of his decision to follow Jesus. She is delighted, and the group shares anecdotes about Jesus' life. The vision ends.

GRM 57.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

57.1 Jesus is near Nazareth with His cousin and the six disciples. From the top of the hill where they are, the white village can be seen amongst the green of the trees, with its houses scattered up and down the sweetly undulating slopes, gently declining in some cases, more steep in others.

«Here we are, My friends. That is My house. My Mother is at home because there is smoke rising from the house. Perhaps She is baking. I will not ask you to stay with Me, because I imagine you will be anxious to go to your homes. But if you wish to share My bread with Me and meet My Mother, Whom John has already met, then I say to You: “Come”.»

The six disciples, who were already sad because of the impending separation, are all happy again and they accept the invitation wholeheartedly.

«Let us go, then.»

They go down the hillock quickly and take to the main road. It is evening. It is still warm, but the shades of evening are falling over the country, where the crops are beginning to ripen.

They go into the village. Women are coming and going from the fountain, men standing on the thresholds of their little workshops or working in the kitchen gardens wave to Jesus and James.

GRM 58

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus is in Capernaum: he goes fishing with Peter and Andrew. John and James are in the other boat.

Peter explains his work to Christ, who makes an analogy with souls. He explains that a fault is not irreparable in itself, but that the accumulation of such faults can turn into a habit and even a capital vice. We must always be vigilant to avoid falling into sin.

Simon of Jonah asks if the Father won't be too harsh on him, and Jesus assures him that he won't be too harsh on Peter, the new man. He also assures Andrew of his love, and speaks of all the disciples who will come after them, evoking the Kingdom of Heaven and the abundant catch the Savior will make. He also encourages his apostle not to be jealous, for everyone has a place in his heart. Peter is moved by his words; as for Andrew, Jesus tells him of his blessed death.

John arrives in the meantime and reveals that a blind man has come to be healed by Christ. Jesus wants to heal him right away, and in the face of Peter's thoughts of not having a good catch, he assures him of God's help whenever we are charitable.

Finally, the Lord heals the blind man. And it's a beautiful healing.

GRM 58.1-2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

58.1 Jesus says, and I become calm at once and the joy of such bright peace makes my heart cheerful: «See. He is so fond of episodes of blind people. Let us give him another one.» And I see.

58.2 I see a beautiful summer sunset. The sun has inflamed the whole of the western sky and the Lake of Gennesaret looks like a huge disc aflame, under a sky ablaze.

The streets in Capernaum are just beginning to become crowded; women go to the fountain, fishermen prepare their nets and boats to go fishing at night, children run playing in the streets, little donkeys carrying hampers go towards the country, probably to get vegetables.

Jesus appears at a door which opens onto a little yard completely shaded by a vine and a fig-tree. Beyond it there is a stoney lane, that runs along the lake. It must be Peter’s house, because he is on the shore with Andrew, arranging the fish baskets and nets in the boat, and sorting the seats and coils of rope. He is preparing everything to go fishing, and Andrew is helping him, coming and going from the house to the boat.

Detail

In a note to the second edition, it is written: in reality, this is the house of Peter's mother-in-law, is a correction by Maria Valtorta on a typed copy. De sa belle-mère, at the beginning of 58.8, is an addition by her hand on the same copy. Various passages in chapter 60 will mention Peter's two houses: his own in Bethsaida, and that of his mother-in-law in Capernaum.

GRM 59

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus comes to preach at the Capernaum synagogue. Jairus welcomes him and Jesus asks him for a scroll: the Spirit will guide him. So Jesus makes a commentary on the Book of Joshua and talks about the Kingdom of God, the need to sin no more, to repent, and to prepare for Heaven and the eternity to come. A man contradicts him at the end of his preaching, and sites the second book of the Maccabees. He says that God struck Israel, and Jesus replies that he is applying a human view to these words, whereas the Lord interprets them supernaturally. He says that, while God has struck down his people, he has nevertheless deeply loved Israel by sending them the salvation that is his Messiah.

The man then criticizes Christ and doubts that he is the Redeemer. In response, Jesus evokes the Forerunner and the dove that descended at his baptism: he affirms in all simplicity that he is the promised Redeemer. Since his interlocutor doubts this, he calls in a demon-possessed man to whom he has never spoken. The demon becomes agitated when he stands before the Son of God, and asserts that he is the Holy One of God. Jesus orders him to shut up and go away. The man is healed, and his interlocutor, defeated, leaves to the mockery of the crowd.

Jesus performs several physical miracles and then leaves the synagogue with difficulty.

GRM 59.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

I see the synagogue of Capernaum. It is already crowded with people waiting. People near the door cast glances at the square, which is still sunny, though it is almost evening. At last there is a shout: «The Rabbi is coming.» They all turn towards the door, the shorter people stand on their toes or endeavour to push their way to the front. Some start discussing and shoving, notwithstanding the reproaches of those employed in the synagogue and of the elders of the town.

«May peace be with all those seeking the Truth.» Jesus is at the entrance and He greets them, blessing with His arms stretched forward. His tall figure stands out against the very bright light in the sunny square. He has taken off His white mantle and is wearing the usual deep blue one. He makes His way through the crowd, which opens out and then throngs around Him, like the waves round a ship.

GRM 60

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Peter asks Jesus to come to his house in Capernaum (which is really the house of his wife and mother-in-law). His mother-in-law is ill, and Simon asks his Master to heal her. So Jesus goes there and meets Peter's sisters-in-law. One of them tells them that his mother-in-law has a high fever and has stopped eating. The doctor even said she was going to die. But Jesus enters the room and performs a miracle. Surprised, Simon's mother-in-law doesn't even think of thanking the Master, or at least not until it's too late. Peter is flabbergasted and Jesus tells him to let it be. He tells him that there will be others like this, and that there have even been others in Nazareth, when he saved the mother of the child Sarah. Peter can't stand it when people don't love Christ, but Christ tells him that there will be many other animosities, including the "saints" who despise publicans, prostitutes, pagans and sinners, even though these will surpass them.

Peter's mother-in-law returns and offers them a meal. She reproaches her son-in-law, and Jesus encourages him to return to the house in Capernaum. John and James will also come, as they are partners.

Finally, the child James appears to hand over a purse from a stranger. Peter wants to know who it is, but the child remains silent... And so did Jesus.

GRM 60.1-2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

60.1 Peter is speaking to Jesus. He says: «Master, I would like to ask You to come to my house. I did not dare to ask You last Sabbath. But… I would like You to come.»

«To Bethsaida?»

«No, here… to my wife’s house. I mean her home.»

«Why do you want that, Peter?»

«Well, for many reasons… also because today I was told that my mother-in-law is ill. If You would heal her, perhaps she…»

«Tell Me, Simon.»

«What I wanted to say is… if You go to her, she would stop… yes, well, You know, it is not the same thing to hear people speak of someone and to see and listen to someone, and if the person in question heals… well…»

«You mean also the ill-feeling would come to an end?»

«No, not exactly ill-feeling. But, You know… there are many opinions in the village, and she… does not know whom she should listen to. Come, Jesus.»

«I will come. Let us go. You will tell those who are waiting for Me that I will speak to them from your house.»

60.2 They go as far as a low house, even lower than Peter’s house at Bethsaida, and it is also closer to the lake. It is separated from the lake by the pebbly shore and I think that when there is a storm, the waves break against the walls of the house, which, while being low, is very wide, as if several people lived in it.

In the kitchen garden in front of the house, facing the lake, there is only an old gnarled vine, supported by a rustic pergola, and an old fig-tree which the winds, blowing from the lake, have bent towards the house. The ruffled foliage of the tree brushes the walls of the house and beats against the shutters of the little windows, which are now closed as a protection against the bright sunshine. There is nothing but the vine and the fig-tree and a greenish little wall of a low well.

«Come in, Master.»

There are some women in the kitchen, some are busy mending the nets, some are preparing the food. They greet Peter and they bow embarrassed to Jesus, peering up at Him curiously.

Detail

Peter has two homes: one in Bethsaida, which is his own, the other in Capernaum, which is actually his mother-in-law's house and Porphyria's birthplace.

GRM 61

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Jesus gives a parable about the king's beloved horse. It speaks of the will of man, of the Son being sent by the Father to save his beloved creature. The people tell Jesus that, in the face of such an attitude, the horse must return to God, since his king wishes him well, and Jesus encourages them to follow the response they have given.

Next, Jesus wants to give the obolus. A hunchback shows up (who didn't dare ask for the miracle), as does an old man who has come to beg for his daughter's healing; she's bedridden. Jesus heals them.

Then there's a 27-year-old woman with seven children who has nothing left. He gives her a large sum of money and promises that God's help will not fail her.

Finally, there's a ragged old man to whom Jesus gives nothing. The man claims that Christ is unjust and makes a fuss. But Jesus rebukes him, for he is a liar, a usurer, a miser and a thief. He orders him to leave and, as the crowd laughs, Jesus rebukes them too, urging them never to lack charity by insulting a sinner, for everyone has his own sin. Jesus must have shamed him, for it is never permissible to be a thief, but he suffered for doing so, and he invites men not to be greedy, not to lie, to be pure and honest.

Finally, Jesus frees two of the possessed. But he is overwhelmed, because there are possessions fermenting in hearts that close them off to honesty and love. Jesus is sad. The vision ends there.

GRM 61.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

61.1 Jesus has climbed on top of a pile of baskets and ropes at the entrance to the kitchen garden of the house of Peter’s mother-in-law. The kitchen garden is crowded with people, and other people are on the lake shore, some sitting on the shore, some on the beached boats.