Bible - Gospel of John

45.1 I see a bare, flat country, without any villages or vegetation. There are no cultivated fields, but a few odd plants are growing here and there in clusters, like vegetable families, where the deep soil is less parched. Imagine that the arid waste land is on my right-hand side, with my back turned to the north, and the harsh area stretches southwards.

On my left instead, I can see a river with very low banks, flowing slowly from north to south. The very slow flowing water leads me to believe that there are no falls in the level of the riverbed and that it flows in such a flat country as to form a depression. The movement of the water is just enough to avoid the formation of marshes. The river is so shallow that the bottom can be seen: I would say the water is a metre deep, or a metre and a half, at the most. It is as wide as the river Arno in the S. Miniato-Empoli area: about twenty metres. However, I am not good at estimating. And yet its colour is blue with a light green hue near the banks, where on the humid soil, there is a strip of thick green vegetation, very pleasant to look at: the sight of the stony, sandy bleakness of the ground lying before it, is instead, a very monotonous one indeed.

The internal voice, which I told you I hear and tells me what I must take note of and know, is now warning me that I am looking at the Jordan valley. I call it a valley, because that is the name used to indicate the place where a river flows, but here it is incorrect to call it so, because a valley presumes the presence of mountains, but I do not see any mountains in the neighbourhood. In any case, I am near the Jordan, and the waste land on my right is the desert of Judah.

If it is correct to call a desert a place where there are no houses or man’s works, it is not so according to our idea of a desert. There are none of the undulating sands of the desert, as we understand it, but only bare ground strewn with stones and rubble, like alluvial grounds after a flood. There are hills in the distance.

And yet, near the Jordan there is great peace, something special and unusual, as one often feels on the shores of lake Trasimeno. It is a place that seems to be full of memories of angels’ flights and celestial voices. I cannot describe exactly what I feel. But I feel that I am in a place that communicates with my soul.

45.2 While I am watching these things, I notice that the right bank of the Jordan (according to my position) is becoming crowded with people. There are many men dressed in different fashions. Some seem ordinary people, some rich, and there are some who appear to be Pharisees, because their tunics are adorned with fringes and braids.

In the midst of them, standing on a rock, there is a man whom I recognise at once to be the Baptist, although it is the first time I see him. He is speaking to the crowds, and I can assure you that his sermon is not a sweet one. Jesus called James and John «the sons of thunder». Well then, what should we call this impetuous orator? John the Baptist deserves the names of thunderbolt, avalanche, earthquake, so impetuous and severe he is in his speech and gestures.

He is announcing the Messiah and exhorting the people to prepare their hearts for His coming, eradicating all obstructions and rectifying their thoughts. But it is a violent and harsh speech. The Precursor does not possess the light hand Jesus used to cure the wounds of hearts. He is a doctor who lays the wound bare, scrutinises it and cuts it mercilessly.

45.3 While I am listening — I am not repeating the words, because they are related by the Evangelists, but here they are amplified in impetuosity — I see my Jesus proceeding along a path, which is at the edge of the grassy shady strip coasting the Jordan. This rustic road (it is more a path than a road) seems to have been opened by the caravans and the people who throughout years and centuries passed along it to reach a point where it is easy to wade, because the water is very shallow. The path continues on the other side of the river and disappears from sight in the green strip of the other bank.

Jesus is alone. He is walking slowly, coming forward, behind the Baptist. He approaches noiselessly and listens to the thundering voice of the Penitent of the desert, as if He also were one of the many who came to John to be baptised and purified for the coming of the Messiah. There is nothing to distinguish Jesus from the others. His clothes are those of common people, but He has the appearance and handsomeness of a gentleman. There is no divine sign discriminating Him from the crowd.

But it would appear that John perceives a special spirituality emanate from Him. He turns around, and at once identifies the source of the emanation. He descends impulsively from the rocky pulpit and moves quickly towards Jesus, Who has stopped a few yards away from the crowd and is leaning against the trunk of a tree.

45.4 Jesus and John stare at each other for a moment: Jesus, with His very sweet blue eyes; John with his very severe black flashing ones. Seen from nearby, one is the antithesis of the other. They are both tall — their only resemblance — for all the rest, they differ immensely. Jesus is fair haired. His hair is long and tidy, His face is white ivory, His eyes blue, His garment simple, but majestic. John is hairy: his straight, black hair falls unevenly onto his shoulders, his sparse dark beard covers his face almost completely, but his cheeks, hollowed by fasting, are still noticeable, his feverish eyes are black, his complexion is dark, tanned by the sun and weather-beaten, his body is covered with hairs, he is half-naked in his camel-hair garment, which is tied to his waist by a leather belt and covers his trunk, reaching down to his thin sides, whilst his right side is uncovered and bare, completely weather-beaten. They look like a savage and an angel, seen close together.

John, after scrutinising Him with his piercing eyes, exclaims: «Here is the Lamb of God. How is it that my Lord comes to

me?»

Jesus replies calmly: «To fulfil the penitential rite.»

«Never, my Lord. I must come to You to be sanctified, and You are coming to me?»

And Jesus, laying His hand on the head of John, who had bowed down in front of Him, replies: «Let it be done as I wish, that all justice may be fulfilled and your rite may become the beginning of a higher mystery and men may be informed that the Victim is in the world.»

45.5 John looks at Him with his eyes sweetened by tears and precedes Jesus towards the bank of the river. Jesus takes off His mantle and tunic, and is left with loin cloth. He then descends into the water, where there is John, who baptises Him, pouring on His head some water taken from the river by means of a cup, tied to his belt. It looks like a shell or a half pumpkin dried and emptied.

Jesus is really the Lamb. A Lamb in the whiteness of His flesh, in the modesty of His gestures, in the meekness of His appearance.

While Jesus climbs onto the bank and after putting on His clothes concentrates on praying, John points Him out to the crowd and testifies that he recognised Him by the sign that the Spirit of God had shown him as an infallible means to identify the Redeemer.

But I am enraptured in watching Jesus pray, and I can only see His bright figure against the green of the river bank.

• Baptism of Jesus Christ
• Bible - Gospel of John
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• Rosary

47.1 I see Jesus walking along the green strip of vegetation that borders the Jordan. He has gone back to the same place where He was baptised. He is near the ford that apparently was well known and commonly used to cross to the other bank towards Perea. But the place, which was so crowded before, is now deserted. There are only a few travellers going on foot, or riding donkeys or horses.

Jesus does not seem to be aware of them. He proceeds along His way, northwards, absorbed in His thoughts. When He reaches the ford, He meets a group of men of different ages, who are discussing animatedly, and then they part, some southwards, some northwards.

Amongst those going northwards, I see John and James.

47.2 John is the first to see Jesus, and he points Him out to his brother and companions. They talk a little amongst themselves, and then John starts walking quickly to reach Jesus. James follows him, walking a little slower. The others do not show any interest. They walk slowly while discussing.

When John is near Jesus, about two or three metres behind Him, he shouts: «Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world!»

Jesus turns around and looks at him. There are now only a few steps between them. They look at each other: Jesus with His serious, scrutinising look, John with his pure eyes smiling in his beautiful, youthful face, that looks like the face of a girl. He is about twenty years old, and on his rosy cheeks there is only the sign of a blond down, like a golden veil.

«Whom are you looking for?» asks Jesus.

«For You, Master.»

«How do you know I am a Master?»

«The Baptist told me.»

«Well then, why do you call Me Lamb?»

«Because I heard him call You so one day, when You were passing by, just over a month ago.»

«What do you want from Me?»

«I want You to tell us words of eternal life and to comfort us.»

«But who are you?»

«I am John of Zebedee, and this is James, my brother. We are from Galilee, and we are fishermen. But we are also disciples of John. He spoke words of life to us and we listened to him, because we want to follow God and deserve His forgiveness doing penance and thus prepare our hearts for the coming of the Messiah. You are the Messiah. John said so, because he saw the sign of the Dove descending on You. He said to us: “Here is the Lamb of God”. I say to you: Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world, give us peace, because we no longer have anyone who may guide us, and our souls are upset.»

«Where is John?»

«Herod has taken him. He is in prison, at Machaerus. The most faithful amongst his disciples have tried to free him. But it is not possible. We are coming from there.

47.3 Let us come with You, Master. Show us where You live.»

«Come. But do you know what you are asking for? He who follows Me will have to leave everything: his home, his relatives, his way of thinking, also his life. I will make you My disciples and My friends, if you wish so. But I have neither wealth nor protection. I am poor, and I shall be even poorer, to the extent of not having a place where I may rest My head and I will be persecuted by My enemies, even more than a lost sheep is pursued by wolves. My doctrine is even more rigid than John’s, because it forbids also resentment. And My doctrine is concerned not so much with external matters, as it is with the soul. You must be re-born if you want to be My disciples. Are you willing to do that?»

«Yes, Master. Only You have words that can give us light. They descend upon us, and where there was darkness and desolation because we had no guide, they shed light and sunshine.»

«Come, then. Let us go. I will teach you on our way.»

• Bible - Gospel of John
• James of Zebedee (apostle)
• John of Zebedee (apostle)

47.10 I will forestall a remark as well. In his Gospel, John mentioning his meeting with Me says: “And the following day”. It would therefore appear that the Baptist pointed Me out the day after My baptism and that John and James followed Me at once. But that conflicts with what the other Evangelists said about the forty days spent in the desert. But you should read as follows: “(John having already been arrested), one day, later, the two disciples of John the Baptist, the ones to whom he had pointed Me out saying: ‘Here is the Lamb of God’, on seeing Me again, called Me and followed Me”. After I had come back from the desert.

And we went back together to the shores of the lake of Galilee, where I had taken shelter to begin evangelising from there, and the two – after being with Me during the whole journey and then for one day in the hospitable house of a friend of My relatives – spoke of Me to the other fishermen. But it was the initiative of John, whose will to do penance had made his soul, already so limpid owing to his purity, a masterpiece of pellucidity in which the Truth was clearly reflected, bestowing on him also the holy daring of the pure and generous, who are never afraid of stepping forward, wherever they see that there is God, and truth and doctrine and the way of God. How much I loved him for that simple, heroical feature of his!

• Bible - Gospel of John
• Contradiction of the Gospels
• James of Zebedee (apostle)
• John of Zebedee (apostle)

48.2 John comes out of a little street and goes quickly towards the lake. James follows him, but much more calmly. John looks at the boats that are already on the shore, but cannot see the one he is looking for. He sees it while it is still about one hundred yards from the beach, manoeuvring to enter the harbour, and holding his hands at the sides of his mouth, he shouts at the top of his voice, a long «Oh-e!», which must be their usual call. When he sees that they have heard him, he gesticulates with both his arms, obviously meaning: «Come, come.»

The men in the boat, not knowing what is the matter, lay on the oars and the boat moves faster than it did with the sail, which they have struck, probably to gain time. When they are about ten metres from the shore, John does not wait any longer. He takes off his mantle and his long tunic, and throws them on the shore, takes off his sandals, lifts his undertunic and holds it with one hand almost against his groin, then goes into the water to meet the boat arriving.

«Why did you two not come?» asks Andrew. Peter, sulkily, does not say a word.

«And why did you not come with me and James?» John replies to Andrew.

«I went fishing. I have no time to waste. You disappeared with that man…»

«I beckoned you to come.

48.3 It is Him. You should hear His words! We stayed with Him all day until late at night. We have now come to say to you: “Come”.»

«Is it really Him? Are you sure? We only saw Him then, when the Baptist pointed Him out to us.»

«It is Him. He did not deny it.»

«Anyone can say what suits him to impose himself on idiots. It is not the first time…» mumbles Peter, dissatisfied.

«Oh, Simon! Don’t say that! He is the Messiah! He knows everything! He hears you!» John is grieved and dismayed at Simon Peter’s words.

«Sure! The Messiah! And He showed Himself to you, James and Andrew! Three poor ignorant fishermen! The Messiah will need much more than that! And He hears me! Eh! My poor boy. The first sunshine of spring has damaged your brains! Come on, come and do some work. That’s much better. And forget such fairy tales!»

«I’m telling you. He is the Messiah! John said holy things, but He speaks of God. He who is not Christ cannot speak such words.»

48.4 «Simon, I am not a boy. I am old enough and I am composed and thoughtful. You know that. I did not speak much, but I listened a lot during the hours we spent with the Lamb of God and I can tell you that really He can but be the Messiah! Why don’t you believe? Why do you not want to believe? You may not believe, because you have not heard Him. But I believe Him. We are poor and ignorant? Well, He says that He has come to announce the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, of the Kingdom of peace, to the poor, humble and little ones before the great ones. He said: “The great ones already have their delights. They are not enviable delights when compared with the ones I have come to bring you. The great ones are already capable of understanding by means of their culture. But I have come to the ‘little’ ones of Israel and of the world, to those who weep and hope, to those who seek Light and are hungry for the real Manna, to whom learned men do not give light and food, but only burdens, darkness, chains, contempt. And I call the ‘little ones’. I have come to turn the world upside down. Because I will lower what is now held high, and I will raise what is now held in contempt. Let those who want truth and peace, who want eternal life, come to Me. Those who love Light, let them come to Me. I am the Light of the world”. Did He not say that, John?» James has spoken in a calm, gentle voice.

«Yes, and He said: “The world will not love Me. The great world will not love Me, because it is corrupted by vices and idolatry. Indeed, the world will not want Me: because as it is the offspring of Darkness, it does not love the Light. But the earth is not made only of the great world. There are on it also those who, mixed with the world, are not of the world. There are people who are of the world because they have been imprisoned in it, like fish in a net”. He said exactly that, because we were speaking on the shore of the lake and He was pointing to some nets which were being dragged to the shore with fish in them. In fact, He said: “See. None of those fish wanted to be caught in the net. Also men, intentionally, would not like to fall prey to Mammon. Not even the most wicked who, blinded by pride, do not believe they have no right to do what they do. Their real sin is pride. All the other sins grow from it. Those who are not completely wicked, would like even less to fall prey to Mammon. But they fall because of their frivolity and because of a weight that drags them to the bottom, and which is Adam’s sin. I have come to remove that sin, and while awaiting the hour of Redemption, to give those who believe in Me such a strength that will enable them to free themselves from the snares that trap them and will make them free to follow Me, the Light of the world”.»

48.5 «Well then, if He said that, we must go to Him at once.» Peter, with his impulsiveness, which is so genuine and I like so much, has decided at once, and is already acting accordingly, hastening to unload the boat which has already reached the shore: the fishermen have almost beached it, unloading nets, ropes and sails.

«And you, silly Andrew, why did you not go with them?!…»

«But… Simon! You reproached me because I did not persuade them to come with me… You have been grumbling all night, and now you reproach me because I did not go?!»

«You are right… But I did not see Him… you did… and you must have seen that He is not like us… He must have something compelling!…»

«Oh! Yes.» John says. «His face! His eyes! What beautiful eyes, aren’t they, James?! And His voice!… Oh! What a voice! When He speaks, you seem to be dreaming of Heaven.»

«Quick, quick. Let’s go and see Him. And you, (addressing the other fishermen) take everything to Zebedee and tell him to do as he thinks best. We will be back this evening in time to go fishing.»

48.6

They all get dressed and set out. But Peter, after a few yards stops and gets hold of John’s arm and asks him. «Did you say that He knows everything, and hears everything?…»

«Yes, I did. Just think that when we saw the moon high up in the sky, I said: “I wonder what Simon will be doing now”, and He said: “He is casting his net and he cannot set his mind at rest because he has to do it all by himself, since you did not go out with the twin boat in such a good evening for fishing… he does not know that before long he will be fishing with different nets and catching different fish”.»

«Holy Mercy! It’s true! Well, He will also have heard… also that I called Him little less than a liar… I can’t go to Him!»

«Oh! He is so good. He certainly knows what you thought. He already knew. Because when we left Him saying that we were coming to you, He said: “Go. But don’t let the first words of contempt discourage you. He who wants to come with Me must be able to make headway against the sneering words of the world and the prohibitions of relatives. Because I am above blood and society, and I triumph over them. And he who is with Me will also triumph forever”. And He also said: “Don’t be afraid to speak. The man who hears will come, because he is a man of goodwill”.»

«Is that what He said? Well, I’ll come.

48.7

Speak, speak of Him, while we are going. Where is He?»

«In a poor house; they must be His friends»

«Is He poor?»

«A workman from Nazareth. So He said.»

«And how does He live now, if He does not work any longer?»

«We did not ask Him. Perhaps His relatives help Him.»

«It would have been better if we had brought some fish, some bread and fruit…, something. We are going to consult a rabbi, because He is like… He is more than a rabbi, and we are going empty-handed! Our rabbis don’t like that…»

«But He does. We had but twenty pennies between us, James and I, and we offered Him them, as is customary with rabbis. He did not want them. But since we insisted so much, He said: “May God reward you with the blessings of the poor. Come with Me” and He gave them to some poor people: He knew where they lived. And when we asked Him: “Master, are You not keeping anything for Yourself?” He replied: “The joy of doing the will of God and serving His glory”. We also said: “You are calling us, Master. But we are all poor. What shall we bring You?”, He replied with a smile which made us enjoy the delights of Paradise: “I want a great treasure from you”, and we said: “But we have nothing”. And He answered: “A treasure with seven names, which even the poorest may have, while the rich may not possess it. You have it, and I want it. Listen to the names: charity, faith, goodwill, right intention, continence, sincerity, spirit of sacrifice. That is what I want from My followers, only that, and You have it. It is dormant, like a seed under a winter clod, but the spring sunshine will make it sprout into a sevenfold spike”. That is what He said.»

«Ah! Now I feel that He is the true Rabboni, the promised Messiah! He is not harsh with the poor, He does not ask for money… It is enough to call Him the Holy Man of God. We can go safely.»

And it all ends.

• Bible - Gospel of John
• John of Zebedee (apostle)
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)

49.7 Jesus goes out onto the little square. On the doorstep there are John and James with Peter and Andrew.

«Peace to you» says Jesus and He adds: «Here is the man who in order to be just must not judge before knowing. But he is honest in admitting he is wrong. Simon, you wanted to see Me? Here I am. And you, Andrew, why did you not come before?»

The two brothers look at each other embarrassed. Andrew whispers: «I did not dare.»

Peter blushes, but does not speak. But when he hears Jesus say to his brother: «Were you doing any wrong in coming? One must not dare do only evil things» he intervenes frankly: «It was my fault. He wanted to bring me to You at once. But I… I said… Yes, I said “I don’t believe it”, and I did not want to come. Oh! I feel better now!…»

Jesus smiles, then He says: «And because of your sincerity I tell you that I love you.»

«But I… I am not good… I am not capable of doing what You said in the synagogue. I am quick-tempered and if anyone offends me… eh!… I am greedy and I like money… and in my fish business… eh!… not always… I have not always been honest. And I am ignorant. And I have little time to follow You to receive Your Light. What shall I do? I would like to become as You say… but…»

«It is not difficult, Simon. Are you acquainted a little with the Scriptures? Are you? Well, think of the prophet Micah. God wants from you what Micah said. He does not ask you to tear your heart apart, neither does He ask you to sacrifice your most holy affections. He does not ask you for the time being. One day, without being requested by God, you will give God your own self. But He will wait while the sun and the dew turn you, a thin blade of grass as you are now, into a sturdy, glorious palm tree. For the time being, He asks you only this: to be just, to love mercy, to take the greatest care in following your God. Strive to do that and Simon’s past will be cancelled and you will become a new man, the friend of God and of His Christ. No longer Simon, but Cephas, the safe rock on which I lean.»

«I like that! I understand that. The Law is so… is so… that is, I cannot comply with it any longer, as the rabbis have made it. But what You say, yes,… I think I will be able to do it. And You will help me. Are You staying in this house? I know the owner.»

«I am staying here. But I am going to Jerusalem and after I will preach throughout Palestine. I came for that. But I will often be here.»

«I will come to hear You again. I want to be Your disciple. A little of the light will enter my head.»

«Your heart, above all, Simon. Your heart. And you, Andrew, have you nothing to say?»

«I am listening, Master.»

«My brother is shy.»

«He will become a lion. It is getting dark. May God bless you, and grant you a good haul. Go now.»

«Peace be with You.» They go away .

• André (apostle)
• Bible - Gospel of John
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)

49.9 With regards to the previous vision, this morning, the 14th of October Jesus says to me:

«I want you and everybody to consider John’s behaviour: particularly one point that always escapes everybody’s notice. You admire him because he was pure, loving, faithful. But you do not notice that he was great in humility as well.

He, the first one responsible for Peter’s coming to Me, was modestly silent about that detail. The apostle of Peter, and consequently the first of My apostles, was John. First in recognising Me, first in speaking to Me, in following Me, in preaching Me. And yet, see what he says? “Andrew, Simon’s brother, was one of the two who had heard John’s words and had followed Jesus. The first person he met was his brother Simon, to whom he said: ‘We have found the Messiah’ and he took him to Jesus”.

Besides being good, he is just, and since he knows that Andrew is distressed because of his shy and reserved disposition, and that he would like to do so much, but does not succeed in doing it, he wants the acknowledgement of Andrew’s goodwill to be handed down to posterity. He wants Andrew to appear as Christ’s first apostle with Peter, notwithstanding that Andrew’s shyness and uneasiness with his brother have been the cause of the failure of his apostolate.

49.10 Amongst those who do something for Me, who can imitate John, instead of proclaiming himself an unexcelled apostle, without considering that his success depends on a multitude of things, which are not only holiness, but also human daring, luck and the occasional chance of being with other people less daring and less lucky, but perhaps holier?

When you succeed doing some good, do not boast about it, as if the merit were entirely yours. Praise God, the Lord of the apostolic workers, and have a clear eye and a sincere heart to see and give each the praise they deserve. A clear eye to discern the apostles who sacrificed themselves and are the first real incentive for the work of the others. Only God sees them: they are timid and seem to be doing nothing, whereas they draw from Heaven the fire that urges daring workers. A sincere heart in saying: “I work. But this fellow loves more than I do, he prays better than I do, I am not able to sacrifice myself as he does and as Jesus said: ‘… in your private room with the door closed pray secretly.’ Since I am aware of his humble holy virtue, I want to make it known and say: ‘I am an active instrument; he is a power that inspires me, because, joined as he is to God, he is a channel of celestial energy for me’”.

And the Blessing of the Father, that descends to reward the humble man, who secretly sacrifices himself to give strength to the apostles, will descend also on the apostle who sincerely acknowledges both the supernatural and silent help of the humble one, and his merits that superficial men do not notice.

It is a lesson for everybody.

49.11 Is he My favourite? Yes, he is. Does he not resemble Me also in this? Pure, loving, obedient, but also humble. I looked at Myself in him as in a mirror and I could see My virtues in him. I therefore loved him like another Self. I could see in him the glance of My Father, Who considerd him a little Christ. And My Mother would say to Me: “I feel as if he were My second son. I seem to be seeing You, reproduced in a man”.

Oh! How well the One Full of Wisdom knows you, My beloved! The two celestial blues of your pure hearts mingled into one veil only to form a protection of love for Me, and they became one love only, even before I gave My Mother to John and John to My Mother. They loved each other because they realised they were alike: children and brothers of the Father and of the Son.

• André (apostle)
• Bible - Gospel of John
• Dictations of Jesus and the Virgin Mary in the EMV
• John of Zebedee (apostle)
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)

An elderly man goes near the group, inquisitively. Jesus turns around to caress a child who is pulling His mantle and sees him. He stares at him, intensely. The man blushes and greets Him, but does not say anything else.

«Come! Follow Me!»

«Yes, Master.»

Jesus blesses the children and walking beside Philip, (He calls him by his name) He goes back home. They sit in the little kitchen garden.

«Do you want to be My disciple?»

«Yes, I do… but I dare not hope for so much.»

«I have called you.»

«Then I am Your disciple. Here I am.»

«Did you know about Me?»

«Andrew spoke to me about You. He said to me: “The One you were pining after has come”. Because Andrew knew that I yearned for the Messiah.»

«Your expectation has not been disappointed. He is in front of you.»

«My Master and my God!»

«You are a well-intentioned Israelite. That is why I am manifesting Myself to you.

50.6

Another friend of yours is waiting, he is a sincere Israelite, too. Go and say to him: “We have found Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph of the House of David, Him of Whom Moses and the Prophets have spoken”. Go.»

Jesus remains alone until Philip comes back with Nathanael-Bartholomew.

«Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no fraud. Peace be with you, Nathanael.»

«How do You know me?»

«Before Philip came to call you, I saw you under the fig-tree.»

«Master, You are the Son of God. You are the King of Israel!»

«Because I said I saw you, while you were meditating under the fig-tree, you believe? You will see greater things than that. I solemnly tell you that Heaven is open and because of your faith you will see angels descending and ascending above the Son of man: that is above Me, Who am speaking to you.»

«Master! I am not worthy of such a favour!»

«Believe in Me and you will be worthy of Heaven. Will you believe?»

«I will, Master.»

• André (apostle)
• Barthélémy - Nathanaël (apostle)
• Bible - Gospel of John
• Philip (apostle)

I see Jesus entering the enclosure of the Temple with Peter, Andrew, John, James, Philip and Bartholomew. There is a very large crowd both inside and outside the enclosure. Pilgrims are arriving in flocks from every part of the town.

From the top of the hill on which the Temple is built, one can see the narrow twisted streets of the town, swarming with people. It seems as though a mobile, multi-coloured ribbon has been laid between the white houses. The town looks like a rare toy indeed, a toy made of gaily-coloured ribbons between two white threads, all converging onto the point where the domes of the House of the Lord are shining.

Inside it is… a real market. The concentration of a holy place has been destroyed. Some run, some call, some bargain for lambs, shouting and cursing because of the extortionate prices, some drive the poor bleating animals into their enclosures (rough partitions made of ropes and pegs, at the entrance of which stand the merchants or owners, awaiting buyers). Blows with cudgels, bleatings, curses, shouts, insults to the boys who are not quick in gathering together or selecting the animals, abuses to the purchasers who haggle over prices or who go away, more serious insults to those who wisely brought their own lambs.

Near the benches of the money-changers there is more bawling. It is obvious that either always, or at Passover time, the Temple operated as a… stock exchange or black market. There was no fixed rate of exchange. There must have been a legal rate, but the money-changers imposed a different one, making whatever profit they fancied for exchanging the money. And I can assure you they were not joking in their usury transactions!… The poorer the people were and the farther they came from, the more they were fleeced: old people more than young people, those coming from beyond Palestine more than the old folk.

Some poor old men looked over and over again at the money they had saved in a whole year, I wonder with how much hard work, they took it out and put it back into their purses dozens and dozens of times, going from one money-changer to another and at times ending up by going back to the first one, who took avenge for their original desertion by increasing the premium for the exchange. And the big coins passed from the hands of the sighing owners into the clutches of the usurers and were changed into smaller coins. Then a further tragedy would take place with vendors over the choice and payment of their lambs, and the poor old men, particularly if they were half blind, were fobbed off with the most wretched little lambs.

53.2

I see an old couple, man and wife, come back pushing a poor little lamb which must have been found faulty by the sacrificers. They cried and begged the vendor, who, far from being moved, replied with nasty words and rude manners.

«Considering what you want to spend, Galileans, the lamb I gave you is even too good. Go away! Or if you want a better one, you must pay five more coins.»

«In the name of God! We are poor and old! Are you going to prevent us from celebrating this Passover which may be our last one? Are you not satisfied with what you wanted for a poor little lamb?»

«Go away, you filthy lot. Joseph the Elder is now coming here. I enjoy his favour. God be with you, Joseph! Come and make your choice!»

The man whose name is Joseph the Elder, that is Joseph of Arimathea, enters the enclosure and picks a magnificent lamb. He passes by, stately and proud, magnificently dressed, without even looking at the poor old people weeping at the gate, that is the enclosure entrance. He almost bumps into them when he goes out with the fat, bleating lamb.

53.3

But Jesus also is now nearby. He also has made His purchase, and Peter, who probably bargained for Him, is pulling a fairly good lamb.

Peter would like to go at once where they offer the sacrifices. But Jesus turns to the right, towards the dismayed, weeping, undecided old couple, who are knocked about by the crowds and insulted by the vendor.

Jesus, Who is so tall that the heads of the poor old souls reach only up to His heart, lays one hand on the shoulder of the woman and asks her: «Why are you crying, woman?»

The little old woman turns round and she sees the young, tall, stately man, wearing a beautiful new white tunic and a snow-white mantle. She must think He is a doctor because of His garments and His appearance and is greatly surprised, because doctors and priests pay no attention to the poor, neither do they protect them from the stinginess of merchants. She explains to Jesus the reason for their tears.

Jesus addresses the lamb vendor: «Change this lamb for these believers. It is not worthy of the altar, neither is it fair that you should take advantage of two poor old people, only because they are weak and unprotected.»

«And who are You?»

«A just man.»

«By Your way of speaking and Your companions’, I know You are a Galilean. Can there be a just man in Galilee?»

«Do what I told you, and be a just man yourself.»

«Listen! Listen to the Galilean Who is defending His equals! And He wants to teach us of the Temple!» The man laughs and jeers, imitating the Galilean accent, which is more musical and softer than the Judaean, at least I think so.

Many people go near them and other merchants and money-changers take their companion’s side against Jesus.

Amongst the people present there are two or three ironical rabbis. One of them asks: «Are You a doctor?», in such a way that even Job would lose his temper.

«Yes, I am.»

«What do You teach?»

«This I teach: to make the House of God a house of prayer and not a usury or a market place. That is what I teach.»

53.4

Jesus is formidable. He looks like the archangel posted on the threshold of Eden. He has no flashing sword in His hand but the beams from His eyes strike the impious mockers like lightning. Jesus has nothing in His hands. All He has is His wrath. And full of wrath, He walks fast and solemn between the benches, He scatters the coins which had been sorted out so meticulously according to their values, He overturns the benches and tables, and everything falls on the ground with great noise, in the bustle of rebounding metals and beaten wood, angry cries, shrieks of terror and shouts of approval. He then snatches from the hands of the stable-boys some ropes with which they were holding oxen, sheep and lambs, and He makes a very hard lash, in which the slip-knots are real scourges: He lifts it, swings it and strikes mercilessly with it. Yes, I can assure you: mercilessly.

The unforeseen storm hits heads and backs. The believers move to one side admiring the scene; the guilty ones, chased as far as the external wall, take to their heels, leaving their money on the ground and abandoning in a great confusion of legs, horns and wings, their animals, some of which run and fly away. The bellows, bleatings, and fluttering of turtle doves and pigeons, added to the burst of laughter and shouting of the believers at the escaping usurers, overcome even the plaintive chorus of lambs, slaughtered in another yard.

53.5

Priests, rabbis and Pharisees rush to the spot. Jesus is still in the middle of the yard, on His way back from the chase. The lash is still in His hands.

«Who are You? How dare You do that, upsetting the prescribed ceremonies? From which school are You? We do not know You, neither do we know where You come from.»

«I am He Who is Mighty. I can do anything. Destroy this true Temple and I will raise it to give praise to God. I am not upsetting the holiness of the House of God or of the ceremonies, but you are perturbing it, allowing His House to become the centre of usurers and merchants. My school is the school of God. The same school that the whole of Israel had when the Eternal God spoke to Moses. You do not know Me? You will know Me. You do not know where I come from? You will learn.»

53.6

And turning towards the people, without noticing the priests any longer, tall in His white tunic, with His mantle open and blowing behind His back, His arms stretched out like an orator at the most important part of his speech, He says: «Listen, Israel! Deuteronomy[1] states: “You are to appoint judges and scribes at all the gates… and they must administer an impartial judgement to the people. You must be impartial; you must take no bribes, for a bribe blinds wise men’s eyes and jeopardises the cause of the just. Strict justice must be your ideal, so that you may live in rightful possession of the land that Yahweh your God is giving you”.

Listen, Israel. Deuteronomy states: “The priests and scribes and the whole of the tribe of Levi shall have no share or inheritance with Israel, because they must live on the foods offered to Yahweh and on His dues; they shall have no inheritance among their brothers, because Yahweh will be their inheritance”.

Listen, Israel. Deuteronomy states: “You must not lend on interest to your brother, whether the lack be of money or food or anything else. You may demand interest on a loan of a foreigner; you will lend without interest to your brother whatever he needs”.

The Lord said that.

But now you see that in Israel judgements are administered without justice for the poor. They are not inclined to justice, but they are partial with the rich, and to be poor, to be of the common people means to be oppressed. How can the people say: “Our judges are just” when they see that only the mighty ones are respected and satisfied, whereas the poor have no one who will listen to them? How can the people respect the Lord, when they see that the Lord is not respected by those who should respect Him more than everyone else? Does he who infringes the Lord’s commandment respect Him? Why then do the priests in Israel possess property and accept bribes from tax-collectors and sinners, who make them offerings to obtain their favours, while they accept gifts to fill their coffers?

God is the inheritance of His priests. He, the Father of Israel, is more than a Father to them and provides them with food, as it is just. But not more than what is just. He did not promise money and possessions to His servants of the sanctuary. In eternal life, they will possess Heaven for their justice, as Moses, Elijah, Jacob and Abraham will, but in this world they must have but a linen garment and a diadem of incorruptible gold: purity and charity, and their bodies must be subject to their souls, which are to be subject to the true God, and their bodies are not to be masters over their souls and against God.

I have been asked on what authority I do this. And on what authority do they violate God’s command and allow in the shade of the sacred walls usury on their brothers of Israel, who have come to obey the divine command? I have been asked from what school I come and I replied: “From God’s school” Yes, Israel, I have come from and I will take you back to that holy and immutable school.

53.7

He who wants to know the Light, the Truth, the Way, he who wants to hear once again the voice of God speaking to his people, let him come to Me. You followed Moses through the deserts, Israel. Follow Me, because I shall lead you through a far worse desert, to the true blessed Land. At God’s command, I will draw you to it, across an open sea. I will cure you of all evils lifting up My Sign.

The time of Grace has come. The Prophets expected it and died waiting for it. The Prophets prophesied it and died in that hope. The just have dreamt of it and died comforted by that dream. It is now here.

Come. “The Lord is about to judge His people and have mercy on His servants”, as He promised through Moses.»

The people crowding around Jesus stand open-mouthed listening to Him. Then they comment on the new Rabbi’s words and ask His companions questions.

Jesus goes to another yard, separated from this one only by a porch. His friends follow Him, and the vision ends.

• Bible - Gospel of John
• Purification of the Temple by Jesus Christ
• Temple merchants
• The wrath of Jesus Christ
• Wear and tear

53.7 He who wants to know the Light, the Truth, the Way, he who wants to hear once again the voice of God speaking to his people, let him come to Me. You followed Moses through the deserts, Israel. Follow Me, because I shall lead you through a far worse desert, to the true blessed Land. At God’s command, I will draw you to it, across an open sea. I will cure you of all evils lifting up My Sign.

The time of Grace has come. The Prophets expected it and died waiting for it. The Prophets prophesied it and died in that hope. The just have dreamt of it and died comforted by that dream. It is now here.

Come. “The Lord is about to judge His people and have mercy on His servants”, as He promised through Moses.

• Bible - Book of Deuteronomy
• Bible - Book of Exodus
• Bible - Gospel of John
• Exodus
• I am the Way, the Truth and the Life

«I suffer seeing that the world does not love Jesus. They do not know Him, and they do not want to know Him. Oh! It is such a pain! As if someone tore my heart with burning thorns. As if I had seen someone treading on my mother or spitting upon my father’s face… Even worse… As if I had seen Roman horses eating in the Holy Ark and resting in the Holy of Holies.»

«Do not cry, My dear John. You shall say it for this present time and for endless times in future: “He was the Light and He came to enlighten darkness; but darkness did not know Him. He came to the world that had been made for Him, but the world did not know Him. He came to His own town, to His domain, but His own people did not accept Him”. Oh! Do not cry like that!»

• Bible - Gospel of John
• Writing the Gospels