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GRM 31.1
31.1 I see the big room where I have already seen the meeting of the Magi with Jesus and their adoration. I understand that I am in the hospitable house where the Holy Family has been received. And I see Zacharias’ arrival. Elizabeth is not there.
GRM 34
Chapter title: The Adoration of the Magi. This is the "Gospel of faith".
Date of vision: Monday, February 28, 1944.
Calendar: October, year -4
Location (map): Bethlehem
Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus
Summary: Maria sees Bethlehem in the middle of the night. The town is asleep. Then she sees the star guiding the Magi, shining supernaturally bright. The star stops in front of the inn where the Holy Family is staying. The Wise Men and their servants stop to worship the Savior for the first time, bowing to the ground. They then withdrew until the following morning. For Maria, the vision stops and resumes three hours later.
The Magi are dressed in majestic garments. They come to respectfully greet the Child. They take the opportunity to tell his Mother about their journey, and offer her three gifts: gold, as befits a King, incense in his capacity as God, and myrrh because her Son, who is the Redeemer of the world, will have to die. Mary turns pale at this mention, but contains her suffering behind a smile. The three Wise Men want to greet the Child one last time, and leave. Joseph accompanies them to their mounts.
Jesus then gives a dictation for our contemporary times. He underlines the faith of the three men, their abandonment to God, for they do not doubt, and they entrust their journey to Him, without splitting hairs. Their hearts tremble only when they arrive in Jerusalem and the star is hidden, but their conscience reassures them. Christ thus declares that those who are accustomed to meditating and who have an upright conscience have learned to examine themselves, to rectify themselves at the slightest deviation from conduct.
The Three Wise Men are also very rich, but they are humble and therefore truly great because of their humility. They see themselves as dust before the Most High, and when they arrive at a poor house, they don't say to themselves, "It can't be done!" They adore it, and then they leave, preparing to go and see their King with dignity. So they put on their best clothes, unlike men who go to the Eucharist with a thousand material concerns.
Finally, Jesus gives two considerations. The first concerns Joseph, who is delighted with the gifts, but remains humble. He was not offended that Mary was in the limelight. He too was humble because he was truly great. The second focuses on Mary, who urges Jesus to bless, even when discouraged by our evil deeds. She kisses his pierced hand and declares: "You are the Savior. Save!". Jesus cannot refuse his Mother, but we must make the effort to go to her.
Chapter contents: 34.1: The Gospels of faith. 34.2 : The plan of the city of Bethlehem. 34.3 : A star creates an enchantment. 34.4 : The Magi stop there at night. 34.5: In broad daylight, they bring their gifts. 34.6: They kneel before the child. 34.7: The eldest tells the story of their journey. 34.8: The significance of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 34.9: They regretfully leave home. 34.10 : The Magi had faith in everything. 34.11 : They did not seek any personal interest. 34.12 : The uprightness of their conscience. 34.13 : Their humility before God. 34.14 : Their piety. 34.15 : They are humble, generous, obedient and respectful of one another. 34.16 : Joseph guardian and protector of Purity and Holiness, without usurping rights. 34.17 : Mary is our Advocate. 34.18 : Meditate and imitate.
GRM 34.2-3
34.2 I see Bethlehem, small and white, gathered like a brood of chickens under the stars. Two main streets divide the town crosswise: one coming from beyond the town, and it is the main road that continues on the other side, the other road runs across the town, from one side to the other, but does not proceed further. There are other small streets dividing the town into many sections, without the slightest resemblance to a road layout as we know it, but suited to both the ground, on various levels, and to the various houses built here and there, according to the characteristics of the ground and the whims of the builder. Some run to the right, others to the left, some at a corner with the road skirting them, which consequently seems like a ribbon unwinding tortuously instead of being a straight one running from one end to the other without any diversion. Now and again there is a little square serving either for a market, or a fountain, or because, due to the total lack of a building layout, there is a small piece of sloping ground, not suitable for any structure.
The place where I seem to be standing, appears to be exactly one of those irregular little squares. It should be square, or at least rectangular. It is instead so strange a kind of trapezium that it looks like an obtuse angled triangle with a blunted tip. On the longest side: the base of the triangle, there is a low wide building, the widest in the village. Outside, there is a smooth, bare, high wall, with only two doors, which at present are closed. Inside instead, in the large square, there are many windows on the first floor; while underneath there are arcades surrounding yards strewn with straw and rubble, with drinking troughs for horses and other animals. Attached to the rustic pillars, there are rings to which the animals are tied, and on one side there is a large shed to shelter herds and mounts. I realise that it is the Inn of Bethlehem.
On the other two equal sides there are several houses, some large, some small, some with a little orchard, some without, because in some cases the front of the house looks onto the square, in others, it is in the rear of the house facing the square. On the narrow side, facing the caravanserai, there is only one little house, with an outside staircase, which reaches the first floor and leads into its rooms. All the rooms are closed because it is night. There is nobody in the streets, as it is so late.
34.3 I notice that the night light is increasing, it descends from a sky crowded with stars, which are so beautiful in the eastern sky: they are so bright and large and seemingly so near that it is possible to reach them and touch those flowers sparkling in the velvet of the vault of Heaven. I raise my eyes to see the source of the increasing light. A star, of such an unusual size that the moon seems small in comparison, is moving forward in the sky of Bethlehem. And all the others seem to vanish and make room for it, as maidservants do when their queen passes by: its brightness is such that it outshines them all. From the sphere, which looks like a huge pale sapphire lit up internally by a sun, a trail departs in which blond topazes, green emeralds, opalescent opals, blood-red flashes of rubies and gentle sparklings of amethysts mingle with the prevailing pale sapphire. All the precious stones on earth are in the trail that sweeps the sky with a fast and undulating movement as if it were alive. But the prevailing colour is the one emanating from the globe of the star: the heavenly pale sapphire hue which comes down and makes the houses, the streets, the ground of Bethlehem, the Saviour’s cradle, look like blue silver. It is no longer the poor town, which by our standards is smaller than a country village. It is a fantastic town of a fairy tale, all in silver. And the water of the fountains and of the vessels is liquid diamond.
And with a brighter radiation of light the star stops over the little house on the narrowest side of the square. Neither the people dwelling in it, nor the people in Bethlehem see it, because they are all asleep in their closed houses, but the star accelerates its shining pulsations and the trail vibrates and wavers faster and faster drawing a kind of semicircle in the sky. And the sky lights up because of the net of stars drawn by the trail, a net full of precious jewels which shine and colour all the other stars with the most graceful hues, as if they were communicating their own joy to them.
The little house is transfigured by the liquid fire of gems. The roof of the small terrace, the dark stone steps, the little door, are like a block of pure silver sprayed with diamond and pearl dust. No royal palace on earth has ever had or ever will have a staircase like this one, built to be used by angels and by a Mother Who is the Mother of God. The little feet of the Immaculate Virgin can alight on that white splendour, the little feet which are destined to rest on the steps of God’s throne. But the Virgin does not know. She is awake near her Son’s cradle and is praying. There are splendours in Her soul which outdo the splendour with which the star is decorating material things.
Description of Bethlehem during the Epiphany and the arrival of the Magi.
GRM 34.5
The Magi climb the steps and go in. They enter a room that extends from the road to the back of the house. The little kitchen garden at the back can be seen through a window which is open to the sun. There are doors in the other two walls, and the owners, that is a man, a woman and some boys and younger children cast sidelong glances through them.
GRM 34.9
The room [where the three Wise Men were welcomed] is as long as the house
GRM 35
Chapter title: The flight into Egypt. Teachings on the last vision linked to the advent of Jesus.
Date of vision and dictation: Friday, June 9, 1944
Calendar: End of November, year -4. Period of the Festival of Lights, end of Kisleu.
Location (map):Bethlehem
Cycle: Birth and childhood of Jesus
Summary: Joseph sleeps in the house in Bethlehem. He seems to be having a sweet dream, then seems to be troubled before waking up. After dressing, he goes to the Virgin, who is praying beside the Child. He tells her that they must leave at once, as an angel has warned him to flee to Egypt. Mary complied immediately, and prepared their belongings quickly but orderly. Joseph returns to take a share of their belongings, and sadly tells her that they must take as much as they can, as they will have to stay away for a long time. Mary continues to gather the few remaining belongings, then prepares Jesus. When he falls asleep, after taking his milk, Joseph returns and informs her that Herod wants the little one to die. This pierces Mary's heart. She weeps and declares that she is costing Joseph a lot, but he replies that she always consoles him, and that the Magi's wealth will help them in the early days. Both are sad to have to leave, to give up everything and not return to Nazareth, but as long as they still have Jesus, they have everything.
The Savior's parents leave the house, and after greeting the owner of the house, they set off in the direction of Egypt.
Jesus then gives a dictation and emphasizes the simplicity of this vision, which in no way diminishes the humanity of Mary and Jesus or the divinity of Christ. Too often," he says, "we get discouraged by thinking that Mary, Jesus and Joseph were strong and that "they were them". But suffering was always their faithful companion. They didn't know the passions that are akin to vices, because they closed their hearts to Satan. On the other hand, they had many passions, such as love of country, holy affections for their family, and so on. But they didn't let these passions get in the way when it came to following God's will.
Jesus, too, always followed God's will, even if it earned him the hatred of the Jews and the animosity of Judas. He goes on to criticize the great of this world, then dwells on Joseph's chastity and Mary's virginity, affirming them in black and white and going back on Matthew's words. Indeed, the evangelist took his sources directly from Mary, and her perpetual virginity was a known truth from the earliest times.
Christ dwells at length on the word "woman" in the Bible, to show that this term is not proscribed, infamous, impure language. He then turns to Matthew's words to say that Mary was "the true Mother of Jesus without being Joseph's wife. She will always remain: the Virgin, Joseph's wife".
Chapter contents: 35.1: A dream makes Joseph get up in the middle of the night. 35.2: At dawn we flee. 35.3: Mary hurries to gather her things. 35.4: She wakes the child and feeds him. 35.5: We have the wealth of the Magi and God with us. 35.6: Departure with three mounts. 35.7: Men, believing they were doing the right thing, made unreal what would have been so beautiful to leave real. 35.8: Our honorable human passions. 35.9: I did not seek worldly greatness. 35.10: Mary's virginity and Joseph's chastity. 35.11: Mary's grief torn from her home.
GRM 35.1
35.1 My spirit sees the following scene.
It is night. Joseph is sleeping in his little bed in his very small room: the peaceful sleep of a man after a hard day’s honest and diligent work.
I can see him in the dark room, because a thin ray of moonlight filters in through the window shutters left ajar, either because Joseph is too warm in the little room or because he wants to be woken by the early rays of light at daybreak and get up at once. He is lying on one side and is smiling at some vision he sees in his dream.
But his smile turns into an expression of anxiety. He is now sighing deeply as if he had a nightmare and he awakes with a start. He sits up on his bed, rubs his eyes and looks around. He looks at the little window where the feeble light comes in. It is the dead of night but he grasps his robe, which is lying at the bottom of the bed, and still sitting on the bed he pulls it on over the white short-sleeved tunic he is wearing next to his skin. He pulls the blanket away, puts his feet on the floor and looks for his sandals. He puts them on and ties them. He stands up and goes towards the door facing his bed, not the one at the side of his bed leading into the large room where the Magi were received.
He knocks very gently, a very soft knocking with the tips of his fingers. He must have heard a voice asking him to enter because he opens the door carefully and sets it ajar without making any noise. Before going to the door he has lit a small single flame oil lamp, and lights his way with it. He goes in. The room is a little larger than his own, and there is a low bed in it, near a cradle, with a night lamp in a corner, the flickering flame of which seems like a little star with a soft golden light that allows one to see without disturbing anyone sleeping.
GRM 35.6
35.6 Come, Mary, it is starting to dawn. It is time to say goodbye to our hostess and load our things. Everything will be alright.»
Mary gets up obediently. She puts on Her mantle while Joseph makes up a last parcel and goes out with it.
Mary lifts the Child gently, wraps Him in a shawl and clasps Him to Her heart. She looks at the walls that have given Her hospitality for some months and She touches them caressingly with one hand. Happy house, that deserved to be loved and blessed by Mary!
She goes out. She goes through Joseph’s little room, into the large room. The landlady, in tears, kisses Her goodbye and, lifting the edge of the shawl, she kisses the forehead of the Child Who is sleeping calmly. They go down the outside steps.
GRM 74
Jesus is in Bethlehem with John, Judas and Simon the Zealot. They go into the town itself, as Christ wants to show them where the three kings greeted him. Then Judas shows his practicality and uses trickery to obtain information about Anne of Bethlehem, who had given shelter to the Holy Family. He passes off the apostolic group as Judeans from Jerusalem, and the innkeeper, a man named Hezekiah, tells them about the massacre of the Innocents and the death of Anne. Jesus goes to visit the ruins, then speaks to the people of Bethlehem. But when he speaks of his Mother and the Messiah, they become openly hostile. The crowd becomes agitated and throws stones, but Jesus is unable to appease them or comfort their pain. In a heroic gesture, Judas protects Jesus and the group withdraws. So the Savior doesn't insist, and decides to go and meet the shepherds at the Nativity.
GRM 74.2
74.2 «Let us go.»
«Where, Master?»
«To Bethlehem.»
«Again? I do not think the situation is a favourable one for us…»
«It does not matter. Let us go. I want to show you where the Magi came and where I was.»