Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 3.3
Joachim, when he sees Anne approaching, hastens to light his lamp; he is at the entrance of his little hut made of branches and is speaking to a man of about thirty years old, whom Alphaeus greets from a distance in his shrill voice saying: «Daddy.»
Anne in her stately walk passes along the rows of huts.
The husband of Sara of Nazareth - sister of Mary of Cleophas - is present for the feast. He was born around 52 BC.
GRM 3.3
Alphaeus’ father calls him [his son], but he answers: «I am staying with Anne. I will help her.» Everybody laughs.
«Leave him. He does not disturb us. He is not bound by the Law yet. Here or there he is but a little bird eating» states Anne.
He is not yet bound by the observance of the Law. Cf. Leviticus 23:36; Numbers 29:35. The end of the festival was a day of rest. The eighth day (Shemini Atzereth) is the Feast of the Joy of Torah (Sim'Hath Torah). It's a day of rest. The rain prayer is recited on this day. This festival closes the series of three pilgrimage festivals.
Book of Leviticus 23, 36
Lv 23, 36 : Seven days you shall offer sacrifices made by fire to Yahweh. On the eighth day, you shall have a holy assembly, and you shall offer sacrifices made by fire to Yahweh; it is a closing feast: you shall do no servile work.
Book of Numbers, 29, 35
Num 29, 35 : On the eighth day, you shall have a solemn assembly: you shall do no servile work.
GRM 3.3
Anne in her stately walk passes along the rows of huts. She is stately, yet humble. She is not haughty with anyone. She picks up the child of a very poor woman, as the urchin had fallen at her feet while running like a little scamp. Since he has dirtied his face and is crying, Anne cleans him, comforts him and hands him to his mother who has run towards them and is apologising. Anne says to her: «Oh! It’s nothing. I am glad he did not hurt himself. He is a lovely child. What age is he?»
«Three years. He is my second youngest and I am expecting another one shortly. I have six boys. Now I would like to have a girl… A girl is a lot for her mother…»
«The Most High has consoled you very much, woman!» sighs Anne.
And the woman goes on: «Yes. I am poor, but the children are our joy and the bigger ones already help with the work. And, Madam, (it is very obvious that Anne is of a higher social standing and the woman realises it), how many children have you got?»
«None.»
«None.» Isn’t this one yours?»
«No, he is the son of a very good neighbour. He is my consolation…»
«Did yours die or…?»
«I never had any.»
«Oh!» The poor woman looks at her pitifully.
Anne says goodbye to her, sighing very heavily, and goes to her hut.
«I have kept you waiting, Joachim. I was held up by a poor woman, the mother of six boys. Fancy that! And she is expecting another child shortly.»
Joachim sighs.
GRM 5.1.2.3.5
I see Anne coming out of the garden. She is leaning on the arm of somebody who is surely a relative, as they look alike. She is obviously several months pregnant and she looks tired, perhaps due to the same heat that is now exhausting me. (...)
Joachim is working around the rows of vines and olive-trees. There are two men with him, helping him. Although an elderly man he is quick and works eagerly. They are opening little channels at the end of a field to give water to the dry plants, and this water makes its way gurgling between the grass and the dry land. The flow forms circles that for one moment resemble a yellowish crystal and seconds later are only rings of wet soil, around the overloaded vine branches and the olive-trees.
Along the shady pergola, under which golden bees are buzzing, greedy for the sugar of the golden grapes, Anne moves slowly towards Joachim, who hastens towards her as soon as he sees her. (...)
Joachim, with the eagerness of all farmers, looks at the sky, while Anne, tired, cools herself with a fan that seems to be made of the dry leaf of a palm interwoven with many-coloured threads keeping it firm.
Anne’s companion interrupts: «Over there, beyond the Great Hermon, fast clouds are arising. There is a northern wind. It will refreshen and perhaps bring rain.»
«The breeze has risen for three days and then it sets when the moon rises. It will do the same again.» Joachim is discouraged.
«Let us go back inside. Even here one can hardly breathe, and in any case I think it is better to go back…» says Anne. (...) And in the meantime she moves towards the house, walking between her husband and her relative, who listen and, deeply moved, are silent. (...)
They all go in and Anne withdraws, while Joachim, standing at the door, talks with the workers, who have in the meantime joined him: the conversation is about the longed-for water which is a blessing for the parched land. But their joy turns into fear because a very violent storm is approaching with lightning and clouds threatening hail. «If the cloud bursts, it will crush the grapes and the olives like a millstone. Poor me!»
Joachim is also anxious for his wife, whose time has come to give birth to her child. His relative reassures him that Anne is not suffering at all. But he is agitated, and every time his relative or any other woman, amongst whom is Alphaeus’ mother, comes out of Anne’s room and goes back in again with hot water and basins and linens dried near the blazing fireplace in the large kitchen, he goes and makes enquiries, but he does not calm down despite their reassurances. Also the lack of cries from Anne worries him. He says: «I am a man and I have never seen a child being born. But I remember hearing that the absence of labour pains is fatal.»
It is growing dark and the evening is preceded by a furious and very violent storm: it brings torrential rain, wind, lightning, everything, except hail, which has fallen elsewhere.
One of the workers notices the ferocity of the gale: «It looks as if Satan has come out of Gehenna with his demons. Look at those black clouds! You can smell sulphur in the air and you can hear whistling and hisses, and wailing and cursing voices. If it is him, he is furious this evening!»
The other worker laughs and scoffs: «A great prey must have escaped him, or Michael has struck him with a new thunderbolt from God, and he has had his horns and tail clipped and burnt.»
A woman passes by and shouts: «Joachim! It is coming. And it is happening quickly and well!» and she disappears with a small amphora in her hands. (...)
The women arrive jubilant with a plump little baby wrapped in plain linen. (...)
Also the women are speaking of the storm and the unusual state of the moon, of the presence of the star and the rainbow. Along with Joachim they enter the happy mother’s room and give her her baby.
A relative helps Anne get around, and two men help Joachim work. During childbirth, other women come to help Mary's mother. At the same time, servants talk to each other. All these characters are unnamed. The relative may be Elisabeth of Hebron, who would have been in her thirties at the time.
GRM 6.4
Zacharias whispers something to his colleague, who nods smiling. He then approaches the group, which has reassembled, and as he congratulates the mother and father on their joy and their loyalty to the promises, he is given the second lamb, the flour and the cakes.
«So this daughter is sacred to the Lord? May His blessing be with Her and with you. Here is Anna. She will be one of Her teachers. Anna of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. Come here, woman. This little one is offered to the Temple as a victim of praise. You will be Her teacher and She will grow holy under your guidance. »
Mary is presented at the Temple and the priest who performs the ceremony learns that the little girl will be consecrated to the Lord when she is three years old.
GRM 8.2
«Come into this friendly house for a little while. Then we shall go together. Zacharias is here too.»
They all enter a low dark room where the only light is a big fire. The landlady, obviously a friend of Elizabeth, but unknown to Anne, kindly withdraws and leaves them alone.
Elisabeth invites Anne to a friend's house. The owner remains a stranger.
The "friendly house" near the Temple is probably that of Zebedee's parents. Zebedee's family supplied the Temple priests with fish from the lake.
The mistress of the house may therefore be Zebedee's mother, but there's no proof of this.
GRM 8.3
8.3 Anna, the prophetess, will take care of this flower of David and Aaron. At present She is the only lily of David’s holy issue in the Temple and She will be taken care of just like a royal pearl. Although we are approaching the time when the Messiah is to come, and the women belonging to the house of David should be anxious to consecrate their daughters to the Temple, because the Messiah will be born of a virgin of David, yet, because of the general weakening of faith, the places of the virgins in the Temple are empty. They are too few and none of the royal offspring, since Sarah of Elisha left three years ago to get married. It is true that there are still thirty years to the appointed time, but… Well let us hope that Mary will be the first of many virgins of David’s offspring before the Sacred Veil. And then… who knows…» Zacharias does not say anything else. But he looks at Mary thoughtfully.
Anne, Joachim and Mary are in Jerusalem. The Mother of the Savior is about to enter the Temple at the age of three. They are joined by Elisabeth, who shows them into a friendly house. Meanwhile, her husband arrives and Joachim reveals their sorrow.
The prophetess Anne will take great care of this flower of David and Aaron. Mary is a descendant of David through her father Joachim and of Aaron (brother of Moses) through her mother Anne. She is therefore of royal and priestly descent. Her priestly ancestry is deduced from her relationship with Elizabeth (Luke 1:5), and her royal race is deduced, in particular, from her marriage to Joseph "of the seed of David". Now, according to the Law of Moses, the orphaned heiress (Numbers 27:9) had to marry into the same clan (Numbers 36:8).
The times are coming to an end: Allusion to Daniel's prophecy about the seventy weeks (years) before the coming of the Messiah (cf. Daniel 9:22-27). This prophecy was widespread at the time of Christ.
The places reserved for virgins in the Temple are empty. The Messiah was to be a descendant of David (Isaiah 11:1f). He would be born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:13-14), but the belief that this virgin would have been educated in the Temple is not indicated. Anne-Catherine Emmerich mentions it in her Vie de la Vierge Marie (chapter 35): like Maria Valtorta, she attributes it to an unspecified tradition. It undoubtedly stems from the esteem in which the virgins of the Temple were held and the quality of their recruitment.
Six more lustres are needed to reach the set date. A luster is a period of 5 years. Among the Romans, it was the period at the end of which the censors (supreme magistrates) were elected. It was also the interval between two censuses.
GRM 20.1-2
We are in Jerusalem. I know the town very well now, with its streets and gates.
The first thing Mary and Joseph do is to go to the Temple. I recognise the stable where Joseph left his donkey on the day of Jesus’ presentation in the Temple. Also now he leaves the two donkeys there, after feeding them, and then he goes with Mary to worship the Lord.
When they come out, they enter a house which apparently belongs to people they know. They take some refreshment there and Mary rests until Joseph comes back with a little old man. «This man is going Your way. You will not have to travel a long way by Yourself to get to Your relatives. You can trust him because I know him.»
20.2 They get on their donkeys again and Joseph goes with Mary as far as the Gate (it is not the one they entered but a different one) and they part there. Mary proceeds with the little old man who is as chatty as Joseph was silent and takes an interest in many things. Mary answers him patiently. In front of the saddle She now has the little trunk which Joseph’s donkey had carried earlier and She is no longer wearing the large mantle. Neither is she wearing the shawl, which is folded on the trunk, and She is really beautiful in Her dark blue dress and white veil that protects Her from the sun. How beautiful She is!
The old man must be somewhat deaf, because Mary, Who normally speaks in a very low voice, had to speak loudly to make Herself heard. And now he is tired. He has finished with all his questions and news and is dozing on the saddle, led by the donkey that is familiar with the road.
Mary takes advantage of this respite to collect Her thoughts and to pray. It must be a prayer that She sings in a low voice, looking at the blue sky, with Her arms crossed over Her breast, while Her face is bright and happy because of some internal emotion.
I see nothing else.
GRM 21.2-4
21.2 Mary, on Her donkey, is climbing up a rather well kept road, probably the main road. She is climbing because the village is higher up and it looks quite tidy. My internal warner says to me: “This place is Hebron.” You spoke to me of Montana. I cannot help it. It is indicated to me with this name. I do not know whether Hebron is the whole area or only the village. That is what I hear and that is what I say.
Mary is now entering the village. It is evening. Some women on their doorsteps watch the arrival of the stranger and gossip with one another. Their eyes follow Her and they are not happy until they see Her stop in front of one of the prettiest houses, in the centre of the village, with a kitchen garden in the front, and a well cultivated orchard in the rear and around it. The orchard continues into a large meadow that rises and slopes according to the sinuosity of the mountain and ends in a wood of tall trees, beyond which I do not know what there is. The whole place is surrounded by a hedge of blackberries or wild roses. I cannot tell exactly which, because, if you remember, the flowers and leaves of these two thorny hedges are very much alike and until their branches bear fruit it is easy to confuse them. In front of the house, that is on the side that skirts the village, the place is enclosed by a small low white wall, on top of which there are rows of rose-bushes, at present without flowers, but already full of buds. In the centre there is an iron gate. It is easily understood that it is the house of a notable of the village and a well-to-do family, because everything shows comfort and great order, if not riches and pomp.
21.3 Mary gets off the donkey and goes to the gate. She looks through the iron bars, but does not see anyone. She endeavours then to make Herself heard. A little old woman, who more curious than the others has followed Her, shows Her a strange gadget that is used as a bell. It consists of two pieces of metal balanced on a kind of yoke, at the end of which there is a rope. When the rope is pulled, the two metal pieces strike each other and make the sound of a bell or gong.
Mary pulls the rope, but so gently, that there is only a faint tinkling, which no one hears. Then the little old woman, whose face is all nose and pointed-chin and whose tongue is worth ten put together, gets hold of the rope and pulls it several times with all her might. She makes enough noise to raise the dead! «That’s how You do it, woman. Otherwise, how can they hear You? You know, Elizabeth is old and so is Zacharias. Now he is dumb as well as deaf. Also the two servants are old, don’t You know? Have You ever been here before? Don’t You know Zacharias? Are You…»
Mary is rescued from the deluge of information and questions by a little old man who suddenly appears panting. He must be a gardener or a farmer, for he is holding a hoe in his hand and there is a pruning knife tied to his belt. He opens the gate and Mary enters thanking the little woman but… leaving her recent question unanswered. What a disappointment for the curious soul!
As soon as She is inside Mary says: «I am Mary of Joachim and Anne, from Nazareth. I am your masters’ cousin.»
21.4 The man bows down and welcomes Her, he then calls out in a loud voice: «Sarah! Sarah!» He opens the gate again to let in the donkey that had been left outside. Mary, in fact, to get rid of the persistant little woman, had slipped inside very quickly and the gardener just as quickly had closed the gate in the face of the gossip.
When Mary arrives in Hebron for the visitation, an old woman comes to meet her. She is very talkative and curious, and Maria describes her as a gossip...
GRM 25.1
25.1 This is what I see the night between the Wednesday and Thursday of the Holy Week.
I see Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary and Samuel getting off a comfortable waggon, to which Mary’s little donkey is also tied. Mary is holding little John in Her arms and Samuel has a lamb and a basket with a pigeon in it. They get off at the usual stable, which must be the stopping place for all the pilgrims to the Temple, who leave their mounts there.
Mary calls to the owner and asks him whether anybody arrived from Nazareth the day before or early that morning. «Nobody, woman,» replies the little old man. Mary is surprised, but does not say anything else.
She gets Samuel to fix her little donkey, and then She joins the two elderly parents, and She explains Joseph’s delay: «He must have been held up by something. But he will certainly come today.» She takes the child again from Elizabeth to whom She had handed him before, and they all set out for the Temple.