Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 205.1 · Volume 3
«John of Endor, come here with Me. I must speak to you» says Jesus looking out of the door.
The man hastens towards Jesus leaving the boy to whom he was explaining something. «What do You want to tell me, Master?» he asks.
«Come upstairs with Me.»
GRM 205.1 · Volume 3
«John of Endor, come here with Me. I must speak to you» says Jesus looking out of the door.
The man hastens towards Jesus leaving the boy to whom he was explaining something. «What do You want to tell me, Master?» he asks.
«Come upstairs with Me.»
They go up to the terrace and they sit down in the most sheltered part, because the sun is already strong, although it is still morning. Jesus runs His eyes over the cultivated country, where day by day the corn is becoming golden and fruit is ripening on trees. He seems to be wishing to derive some thought from that vegetable metamorphosis.
«Listen, John. I think that Isaac is coming today to bring Me Johanan’s peasants before they leave. I told Lazarus to lend Isaac a wagon to quicken their return and thus avoid a delay which would cause them to be punished. And Lazarus has agreed, because he does everything I tell him. But I want something else from you. I have here a sum of money given to Me by a person for the poor of the Lord. Usually one of My apostles is responsible for keeping the money and giving alms. Generally it is Judas of Kerioth; sometimes one of the others. But Judas is not here. And I do not want the others to know what I want to do. I would not have told Judas either. You will do it, in My name…»
«I, my Lord?… I?… Oh! I am not worthy!…»
«You must accustom yourself to working in My name. Is that not why you came?»
«Yes, but I thought I had to work to rebuild my poor soul.»
«And I will give you the means. Against what did you sin? Against Mercy and Love. You demolished your soul by means of hatred. You will rebuild it through love and mercy. I will give you the material. I will make use of you especially for deeds of mercy and love. You are also capable of curing, and of speaking. So you are qualified to take care of physical and moral miseries and you are capable of doing it. You will start with this action. Here is the purse. You will give it to Micah and his friends. Divide it into equal parts. But divide it as I will tell you. Make ten parts and give four to Micah, one for himself and one each to Saul, Joel and Isaiah. Give the other six to Micah with instructions to give them to Jabez’ old father, for himself and his companions. They will thus be able to have some comfort.»
«All right. But what shall I tell them to justify it?»
«Say: “This is to remind you to pray for a soul that is redeeming itself” .»
«But they may think that it is I! It is not fair!»
«Why? Do you not want to redeem yourself?»
«It is not fair that they should think that I am the donor.»
«Never mind, do as I tell you.»
«I will obey… but at least let me give something as well. In any case… now I do not need anything anymore. I do not buy books and I have no poultry to feed. I am satisfied with very little. Take this, Master. I am keeping a minimum for my sandal expenses…» and from a purse attached to his belt he takes out some coins which he adds to Jesus’ money.
«May God bless you for your mercy…»
I asked Lazarus to lend Isaac a chariot so they could get home faster. They mustn't be afraid of a delay that could bring them punishment. Yokhanan (Giocana) only gave them six days to get there and back for Passover. Cf. EMV 190.
I have here a sum given to me for the Lord's poor. Aglaé. Cf. EMV 200.
GRM 205.2 · Volume 3
They go down, assembling the others as they procede, and they all sit down in a circle in the shade of the apple orchard. Also Lazarus, who was speaking to the Zealot, joins the company. They are about twenty people in all.
GRM 205.3-7 · Volume 3
«Listen. It is a beautiful parable that will guide you with its light in many cases.
A man had two sons. The elder was a serious, affectionate, obedient worker. The younger was more intelligent than his brother who was actually somewhat dull and preferred to be guided rather than tire himself making decisions by himself, but he was also rebellious, absent-minded, fond of luxury, pleasure loving, a squanderer and idle. Intelligence is a great gift of God. But it is a gift to be used wisely. Otherwise it is like certain medicines that, when taken in the wrong way, kill instead of curing. His father, as it was his right and duty, used to recall him to a more sensible life. But it was all in vain, the only result was that he answered back and became more obstinate in his wicked ideas.
Finally one day, after a fierce quarrel, the younger son said: “Give me my part of the estate. So I will no longer hear your reproaches and my brother’s complaints. Let each have his own and no more about it”. “Be careful” replied the father, “because you will soon be ruined. What will you do then? Consider that I will not be unfair to favour you and I will not take a farthing off your brother to give it to you”. “I will not ask you for anything. You may be sure. Give me my part”.
The father had the estate and valuables assessed, and since money and jewels were worth as much as the real estate, he gave the elder brother the fields and vineyards, the herds and olive-trees, and the younger one the money and jewels, which the young man changed immediately into money. And after doing that in a few days, he went to a distant country where he lived like a lord, squandering all his money on a life of debauchery, making people believe that he was the son of a king, because he was ashamed to admit that he was a countryman and thus he disowned his father. Banquets, friends, women, robes, wines, games… he led a loose life. He soon saw that his money was coming to an end and that poverty was in sight. And to make matters worse, the country experienced a severe famine, which compelled him to spend his last penny.
205.4
He would have liked to go back to his father. But he was proud and decided not to. So he went to a wealthy man of the country, a friend of his in his happy days, and he begged him saying: “Take me among your servants, remembering the days when you enjoyed my wealth”. See how foolish man is! He prefers the lash of a master rather than say to his father: “Forgive me. I made a mistake!”. The young man had learned many useless things with his bright intelligence, but he did not want to learn the saying of Ecclesiasticus: “How ill-famed is he who deserts his father and how accursed of the Lord is whoever angers his mother”. He was intelligent, but not wise.
The man that he turned to, in exchange for the grand time he had enjoyed with the foolish young man, sent him to look after his pigs, because it was a pagan country and there were many pigs. So he was sent to pasture the herds of pigs in the farm. Filthy, in rags, stinking and starving — food in fact was scarce for all the servants and particularly for the lowest ones and he, a foreign ridiculed herdsman of pigs was considered such — he saw the pigs glut themselves with acorns and sighed: “I wish I could fill my stomach with this fruit! But they are too bitter! Not even starvation can make them palatable”. And he wept remembering the sumptuous banquets when he acted the “grand seigneur” only a short while before, laughing, singing, dancing… and then he would think of the honest substantial meals at his far away home, of the portions his father used to make impartially for everybody, keeping for himself the smallest one, happy to see the healthy appetite of his and he remembered the helpings his just father gave the servants and he sighed: “My father’s servants, even the lowest, have plenty of bread… and I am dying here of starvation…”. A long meditation, a long struggle to subdue his pride…
205.5
At last the day came when his humility and wisdom revived and he got up and said: “I will go back to my father! This pride of mine is silly, as it deprives me of my freedom. And why? Why should I suffer in my body and even more in my heart when I can be forgiven and receive comfort? I will go back to my father. That is settled. And what shall I say to him? What has matured in my heart here, in this abjection, in this filth, suffering the pangs of hunger! I will say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy of being called your son; treat me therefore as the least of your servants, but bear me to stay under your roof. That I may see you moving about… I cannot say to him: ‘… because I love you’. He would not believe me. But my behaviour will tell him and he will understand and before dying he will bless me once again… Oh! I hope so. Because my father loves me”. And when he went back to town in the evening he gave up his job and begging along the way he went back home. And he saw his father’s fields… and the house… and his father supervising the work… he was old, emaciated by grief but always kind and good… The guilty son seeing that ruin caused by him stopped frightened… but the father, looking around, saw him and ran to meet him, because he was still far away. And when he reached him, he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. Only the father had recognised his son in the dejected beggar and he was the only one to be moved with love.
The son, clasped in his father’s arms, with his head resting on his father’s shoulder, whispered sobbing: “Father, let me throw myself at your feet”. “No, son! Not at my feet. Rest on my heart, which has suffered so much because of your absence, and now needs to revive feeling your warmth on my chest”. And the son, crying louder, said: “Oh! father! I have sinned against Heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called son by you. But allow me to live among your servants, under your roof, seeing you, eating your bread, serving you, and you will be the breath of my life. Every time I take a morsel of bread, every time you breathe, my heart, which is so corrupt, will change and I will become honest…”
But the father, embracing him all the time, led him towards the servants, who had gathered together watching in the distance and he said to them: “Quick, bring the best robe, and basins of scented water here, and wash him, spray him with scents, clothe him, put new sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger. Bring a fattened calf and kill it. And prepare a banquet. Because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life, he was lost and has been found. Now I want him to find the innocent love of a child once again, and my love and the celebration of the household for his return, must give it to him. He must realise that he is always my dear last-born child, as he was in his childhood a long time ago, when he used to toddle beside me making me happy with his smile and his prattling”. And the servants did so.
205.6
The elder son was out in the country and he did not know anything until his return. Coming towards the house in the evening, he saw that it was brightly lighted and he heard the sound of instruments and dancing coming from it. He called a servant who was bustling about and asked him: “What is happening?”. And the servant replied: “Your brother has come back! Your father had the fattened calf killed because his son has come back to him safe and cured of his wickedness and he ordered a celebration. They are only waiting for you to start”. But the first-born was angry because he thought that such a feast for his younger brother was unfair, as he was not only younger, but had also been wicked. And he did not want to go in, on the contrary he was about to walk away from the house.
But the father, informed of the situation, ran out and reached him and endeavoured to convince him, begging him not to spoil his joy. The elder brother replied to his father: “And you expect me not to be upset? You are unfair to your first-born and you hold him in contempt. I have served you since I was able to work, and I have done that for many years. I have never disobeyed an order of yours, not even a simple desire. I have always been near you, and I have loved you for two, to make you recover from the wound inflicted on you by my brother. And you have not even given me a lamb to have a feast with my friends. You are now honouring my brother and you have killed the best calf for him, who offended and abandoned you, and has been a lazy spendthrift and has now come back because he was driven by starvation. It is really worth while being a hard honest worker! You should not have done that to me”.
The father then, clasping him to his heart, said: “Son! Can you believe that I do not love you, because I do not celebrate your behaviour? Your deeds are holy by themselves, and the world praises you because of them. Your brother, instead, needs to be rehabilitated both in the eyes of the world and in his own. And do you think that I do not love you because I give you no visible prize? But day and night, in every moment of my life, you are present to my heart, and I bless you every moment. You have the continuous reward of being always with me, and what is mine is yours. But it was fair to have a feast, a celebration for your brother who was dead and has come back to good life, who was lost and has come back to our love”. And the first-born yielded to his father’s desire.
205.7
And that, My friends, is what happens in the House of the Father. And whoever feels that he is like the younger son of the parable must believe that if he imitates him in going to the Father, the Father will say to him: “Not at My feet. But rest on My heart, which has suffered because of your absence and is now happy because you have come back”. He who is in the situation of the first-born and without any fault against the Father, must not be jealous of the Father’s joy, but must take part in it and love the redeemed brother.»
Book of Sirach 3, 16
Si 3, 16 : He is like a blasphemer who forsakes his father; he is cursed by the Lord who angers his mother.
Gospel of Luke 15, 11-32
Lk 15, 11-32 : Jesus said: "A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, "Father, give me my share of fortune." And the father divided his property between them. A few days later, the younger son gathered up everything he had and left for a distant country, where he squandered his fortune by living a life of disorder. He had spent it all, when a great famine occurred in that country, and he began to find himself in need. He went to work for a local, who sent him to his fields to tend the pigs. He would have liked to fill his belly with the pods eaten by the pigs, but no one would give him anything.
So he turned inward and said to himself: "How many of my father's workers have plenty of bread, and I'm starving here! I'll get up, go to my father and tell him: Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your workers." He got up and went to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was seized with compassion; he ran to throw himself around his neck and covered him with kisses. The son said to him: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quickly, bring the finest garment to clothe him in, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, fetch the fatted calf, kill it, let's eat and feast, for my son here was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found." And they began to feast.
Now the eldest son was out in the fields. When he returned and was near the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling one of the servants, he asked what was going on. The servant replied, "Your brother has arrived, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has found your brother in good health." Then the eldest son became angry, and refused to enter. His father went out to beg him. But he replied to his father: "I've been in your service for so many years without ever transgressing your orders, and you've never given me a kid to feast on with my friends. But, when your son here returned after devouring your property with harlots, you had the fatted calf killed for him!" The father replied, "You, my child, are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. You should have feasted and rejoiced; for your brother here was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found!""
GRM 205.8 · Volume 3
… The apostles, together with Mary and the women, go towards the house, preceded by Marjiam who runs ahead frisking. But he soon comes back and takes Mary by the hand saying to Her: «Come with me. I have something to tell You, when we are alone.» And Mary follows him. They turn towards a well, situated in a corner of the little yard and completely covered by a thick bower that from the ground climbs up towards the terrace forming an arch. Behind it, there is the Iscariot.
«Judas, what do you want? Go, Marjiam… Speak. What do you want?»
GRM 205.8
… The apostles, together with Mary and the women, go towards the house, preceded by Marjiam who runs ahead frisking. But he soon comes back and takes Mary by the hand saying to Her: «Come with me. I have something to tell You, when we are alone.» And Mary follows him. They turn towards a well, situated in a corner of the little yard and completely covered by a thick bower that from the ground climbs up towards the terrace forming an arch. Behind it, there is the Iscariot.
«Judas, what do you want? Go, Marjiam… Speak. What do you want?»
«I am guilty… I dare not go to the Master or face my companions… Help me…»
«I will help you. But do you not consider how much grief you cause? My Son wept because of you. And your companions suffered. But come. No one will say anything to you. And, if you can, do not commit the same sins again. It is shameful for a man and a sacrilege against the Word of God.»
«And will You forgive me, Mother?»
«I? I count for nothing as far as you are concerned, since you think you are so great. I am the least of the servants of the Lord. How can you worry about Me, if you feel no pity for My Son?»
«Because I have a mother as well, and if You forgive me, I will feel as if she did, too.»
«She does not know about this fault of yours.»
«But she made me swear I would be good to the Master. I am a perjurer. I can feel the soul of my mother reproaching me.»
«You feel that, do you? But do you not feel the lament and the reproach of the Father and of His Word? You are disgraceful, Judas! You cause grief to yourself and to those who love you.»
Mary is very serious and sad. She speaks without bitterness but with much seriousness. Judas weeps.
«Do not weep. Improve yourself. Come» and She takes him by the hand and enters the kitchen.
Everybody is filled with astonishment. But Mary wards off any possible uncharitable remark. She says: «Judas has come back. Behave as the first-born did after his father’s speech. John, go and tell Jesus.»
John of Zebedee runs away. Silence hangs heavy on the kitchen… Then Judas says: «Forgive me, all of you, and you, Simon, first of all. Your heart is so paternal. And I am an orphan, too.»
«Yes, I forgive you. Please, say no more about it. We are brothers… and I do not like these ups and downs of forgiveness and relapses. They humiliate both the offender and the forgiver. Here is Jesus. Go to Him. That’s all.»
Judas goes away and Peter, not being able to do anything else, starts chopping wood with keen impetuosity…
GRM 206.1.7 · Volume 3
Jesus is speaking in the presence of Johanan’s peasants, of Isaac and many disciples, of the women amongst whom there is the Blessed Virgin Mary and Martha, and of many people from Bethany. All the apostles are present. The boy, sitting in front of Jesus, does not miss one word. I think Jesus has just begun to speak because people are still arriving…
Jesus says: «… it is because of this sensation of fear that I realise is so sharp in you, that today I wish to tell you a sweet parable. Sweet for the men of goodwill, bitter for the others. But the latter can remove the bitterness. Let them become men of goodwill, and the reproach, provoked in their consciences by the parable, will no longer exist. (...)
[Jesus tells the parable of the ten virgins.]
My dear disciples, I do not want you to be afraid of God, on the contrary I want you to have faith in His goodness. Both you who will remain here, and you who will be going away, must consider that, if you do what the wise virgins did, you will be invited not only to escort the Bridegroom, but like the virgin Esther, who became queen[3] in the place of Vashti, you will be chosen and elected to be brides, as the Bridegroom “found more approval and favour with you than with anybody else”. I bless you, who are about to go away. Take My words with you for yourselves and for your companions. May the peace of the Lord always be with you.»
Jesus goes near the peasants to say goodbye to them once more, but John of Endor whispers to him: «Master, Judas is here now…»
«It does not matter. Take them to the wagon and do as I told you.»
The people at the meeting slowly go away. Many talk to Lazarus… And Lazarus turns towards Jesus, Who after leaving the peasants was going towards him, and says: «Master, before leaving us, speak to us again… It is the desire of the hearts of the people of Bethany.»
«Night is falling. But it is placid and serene. If you wish to gather on the cut hay, I will be speaking to you before leaving this friendly town. Or we can meet tomorrow, at dawn. Because the hour of farewell has come.»
«Later! This evening!» they all shout.
«As you wish. Go now. I will speak to you half way through the first watch»…
If you act like wise virgins, you will not only be called to escort the Bridegroom, but, like the young Esther, who became queen instead of Vashti, you will be chosen and elected as brides. Vashti - Vashti, "the beloved" in Persian. First wife of Ahasuerus (= Xerxes, 486-465), king of Persia, who repudiated her for refusing to attend a feast (Esther 2, 1-18). Esther is also mentioned in EMV 136.2 and EMV 414.1.
GRM 206.8-9.14-17 · Volume 3
… and in fact, untiring, Jesus sets out towards the middle of a recently cut meadow, on which the withering hay forms a sweet smelling soft rug, while the sun sets and also its glow disappears and crickets begin their early uncertain solitary chirping. He is followed by the apostles, the Maries, Martha and Lazarus and their household, Isaac and his disciples, and I would say by all the people of Bethany. Among the servants there is the old man and the woman, the two who on the Mount of Beatitudes found comfort for the rest of their days.
Jesus stops to bless the patriarch, who kisses His hand weeping, and caresses the boy walking beside Jesus and says to him: «“You are happy that you can follow Him all the time! Be good, be careful, son. You are very lucky! Very lucky, indeed! A crown is hanging over your head… You are blessed!»
When they are all settled, Jesus begins to speak.
[Jesus tells the parable of the king who holds a wedding feast for his son.]
Get up and let us go and rest. I bless you, citizens of Bethany. I bless you all and I give you My peace. And I particularly bless you, Lazarus, My friend, and you, Martha. I bless My oId and new disciples, whom I will be sending into the world to invite people to the wedding of the King. Kneel down, that I may bless you all. Peter, say the prayer I taught you, and say it here, standing beside Me, because that is how it is to be said by those who are destined by God for that task.»
They all kneel down on the hay, only Jesus and Peter remain standing. Jesus, tall as he is, is most handsome in His linen robe, and Peter, in his dark brown tunic, deeply moved, says the prayer, almost trembling, in a voice which although not beautiful is manly, going very slow for fear he might make a mistake: «Our Father…» The sobs of men and women can be heard…
Marjiam, kneeling just in front of Mary Who is holding his hands joined, is looking at Jesus with an angelical smile and says in a low voice: «Look, Mother, how lovely He is! And how lovely also my father is! I seem to be in Heaven… Will my mother be here, watching?»
And Mary, in a whisper ending in a kiss, replies: «Yes, My dear. She is here. And she is learning the prayer.»
«And what about me? Will I learn it?»
«She will whisper it to your soul while you sleep, and I will repeat it to you during the day.»
The boy bends back his little dark-haired head, resting it on Mary’s breast, and remains thus while Jesus blesses with the solemn Mosaic blessing.
Then they all get up and go to their homes: only Lazarus follows Jesus, entering Simon’s house with Him, to remain a little longer together. All the others come in as well. The Iscariot places himself in a semi-dark corner and looks mortified. He dare not go near Jesus with the others…
206.15
Lazarus congratulates Jesus. He says: «Oh! I am sorry to see You go away. But I am happier than I would have been, had I seen You go away the day before yesterday!»
«Why, Lazarus?»
«Because You looked so tired and sad… You did not speak, and You hardly ever smiled… Yesterday and today You have become once again my kind holy Master, and that makes me so happy…»
«I was so even if I was quiet…»
«You were. But You are serenity and word. That is what we want from You. We drink our strength at those sources. And now those sources seemed to be dried up. Our thirst was painful… You see that also the Gentiles are amazed, and they have come looking for them…»
The Iscariot, whom John of Zebedee had approached, dares to speak: «Of course, they also inquired of me… Because I was very often at the Antonia, hoping to see You.»
«You knew where I was» replies Jesus briefly.
«I did. But I was hoping You would not disappoint those who were expecting You. Also the Romans were disappointed. I do not know why You behaved like that…»
«And you are asking Me? Are you not aware of the humours of the Sanhedrin, of the Pharisees, and of others as well, with regards to Me?»
«What? Were You afraid?»
«I was disgusted.
206.16
Last year, when I was alone — all by Myself against the whole world, which did not even know whether I was a prophet — I bore evidence that I was not afraid. And you were a conquest of that audacity of Mine. I spoke openly against a whole world of howlers; I caused the voice of God to be heard by a people who had forgotten it; I cleansed the House of God of the material filth in it, without any hope of purifying it of the more serious moral filth nesting in it, because I am not unaware of the future of men. But I had to do My duty, because of My zeal for the House of the Eternal Lord, which had been converted into a place where swindlers, usurers and thieves bawled, and I did it to arouse from their torpor those whom centuries of priests’ carelessness had caused to fall into spiritual lethargy. It was a cry to gather My people and take them to God… This year I have come back… And I saw that the Temple is still the same… it is even worse. It is no longer a den of thieves, but a place of conspiracy, it will later become the centre of Crime, then a brothel and finally it will be destroyed by a power greater than Samson’s, crushing a caste unworthy of being called holy. It is useless to speak in that place, where, I would remind you, I was forbidden to speak. Faithless people, whose poisoned leaders dare to forbid the Word of God to speak in His House! I was forbidden. I was silent for the sake of the least ones. It is not yet time to kill Me. Too many people are in need of Me, and My apostles are not yet strong enough to take on their arms My off-spring: the World. Do not weep, Mother, forgive, good Mother, Your Son’s need to tell those, who wish to or may deceive themselves, the truth that I know… I will be silent… But woe to those who cause God to be silent!… Mother, Marjiam, do not weep!… Please. Let no one weep.»
But in actual fact they are all weeping more or less bitterly.
Judas, as white as death in his striped red and yellow robe, dares still to speak, in a moaning ridiculous voice: «Believe me, Master, that I am amazed and grieved… I do not know what You mean… I know nothing… It is true that I have not seen anyone of the Temple. I have broken off contacts with everybody… But if You say so it must be true…»
«Judas!… You have not seen Sadoc either?»
Judas bends his head grumbling: «He is a friend. I met him as such, not as one of the Temple…»
206.17
Jesus does not reply to him. He turns to Isaac and John of Endor, to whom He gives more advice concerning their work.
Meanwhile the women comfort Mary Who is weeping and the boy who is weeping seeing Mary weep.
Also Lazarus and the apostles are sad. But Jesus comes towards them. He is smiling kindly once again, and while embracing His Mother and caressing the child, He says: «And now I will say goodbye to you who are staying. Because we are leaving tomorrow at dawn. Goodbye, Lazarus. Goodbye, Maximinus. Joseph, I thank you for your kindness to My Mother and the women disciples, while waiting for Me. Thank you for everything. Lazarus, bless Martha once again in My name. I will come back soon. Come, Mother, to rest. And you, too, Mary and Salome, if you wish to come.»
«Of course we are coming!» say the two Maries.
«Well… to bed. Peace to everybody. God be with you.» He makes a gesture of blessing and goes out holding the boy by the hand embracing His Mother…
The stay in Bethany is over.
Among the servants are the old man and the woman, the two who, on the Mount of Beatitudes, found comfort even for their daily lives. Ishmael and Sarah of Bethany.
GRM 206.14 · Volume 3
«Get up and let us go and rest. I bless you, citizens of Bethany. I bless you all and I give you My peace. And I particularly bless you, Lazarus, My friend, and you, Martha. I bless My oId and new disciples, whom I will be sending into the world to invite people to the wedding of the King. Kneel down, that I may bless you all. Peter, say the prayer I taught you, and say it here, standing beside Me, because that is how it is to be said by those who are destined by God for that task.»
They all kneel down on the hay, only Jesus and Peter remain standing. Jesus, tall as he is, is most handsome in His linen robe, and Peter, in his dark brown tunic, deeply moved, says the prayer, almost trembling, in a voice which although not beautiful is manly, going very slow for fear he might make a mistake: «Our Father…» The sobs of men and women can be heard…
Marjiam, kneeling just in front of Mary Who is holding his hands joined, is looking at Jesus with an angelical smile and says in a low voice: «Look, Mother, how lovely He is! And how lovely also my father is! I seem to be in Heaven… Will my mother be here, watching?»
And Mary, in a whisper ending in a kiss, replies: «Yes, My dear. She is here. And she is learning the prayer.»
«And what about me? Will I learn it?»
«She will whisper it to your soul while you sleep, and I will repeat it to you during the day.»
The boy bends back his little dark-haired head, resting it on Mary’s breast, and remains thus while Jesus blesses with the solemn Mosaic blessing.
Jesus has just told a parable. In front of a small congregation, it's Peter who has to recite the Lord's Prayer. This is what Jesus wants.
GRM 206.15-17 · Volume 3
Lazarus congratulates Jesus. He says: «Oh! I am sorry to see You go away. But I am happier than I would have been, had I seen You go away the day before yesterday!»
«Why, Lazarus?»
«Because You looked so tired and sad… You did not speak, and You hardly ever smiled… Yesterday and today You have become once again my kind holy Master, and that makes me so happy…»
«I was so even if I was quiet…»
«You were. But You are serenity and word. That is what we want from You. We drink our strength at those sources. And now those sources seemed to be dried up. Our thirst was painful… You see that also the Gentiles are amazed, and they have come looking for them…»
The Iscariot, whom John of Zebedee had approached, dares to speak: «Of course, they also inquired of me… Because I was very often at the Antonia, hoping to see You.»
«You knew where I was» replies Jesus briefly.
«I did. But I was hoping You would not disappoint those who were expecting You. Also the Romans were disappointed. I do not know why You behaved like that…»
«And you are asking Me? Are you not aware of the humours of the Sanhedrin, of the Pharisees, and of others as well, with regards to Me?»
«What? Were You afraid?»
«I was disgusted.
206.16
Last year, when I was alone — all by Myself against the whole world, which did not even know whether I was a prophet — I bore evidence that I was not afraid. And you were a conquest of that audacity of Mine. I spoke openly against a whole world of howlers; I caused the voice of God to be heard by a people who had forgotten it; I cleansed the House of God of the material filth in it, without any hope of purifying it of the more serious moral filth nesting in it, because I am not unaware of the future of men. But I had to do My duty, because of My zeal for the House of the Eternal Lord, which had been converted into a place where swindlers, usurers and thieves bawled, and I did it to arouse from their torpor those whom centuries of priests’ carelessness had caused to fall into spiritual lethargy. It was a cry to gather My people and take them to God… This year I have come back… And I saw that the Temple is still the same… it is even worse. It is no longer a den of thieves, but a place of conspiracy, it will later become the centre of Crime, then a brothel and finally it will be destroyed by a power greater than Samson’s, crushing a caste unworthy of being called holy. It is useless to speak in that place, where, I would remind you, I was forbidden to speak. Faithless people, whose poisoned leaders dare to forbid the Word of God to speak in His House! I was forbidden. I was silent for the sake of the least ones. It is not yet time to kill Me. Too many people are in need of Me, and My apostles are not yet strong enough to take on their arms My off-spring: the World. Do not weep, Mother, forgive, good Mother, Your Son’s need to tell those, who wish to or may deceive themselves, the truth that I know… I will be silent… But woe to those who cause God to be silent!… Mother, Marjiam, do not weep!… Please. Let no one weep.»
But in actual fact they are all weeping more or less bitterly.
Judas, as white as death in his striped red and yellow robe, dares still to speak, in a moaning ridiculous voice: «Believe me, Master, that I am amazed and grieved… I do not know what You mean… I know nothing… It is true that I have not seen anyone of the Temple. I have broken off contacts with everybody… But if You say so it must be true…»
«Judas!… You have not seen Sadoc either?»
Judas bends his head grumbling: «He is a friend. I met him as such, not as one of the Temple…»
Jesus does not reply to him. He turns to Isaac and John of Endor, to whom He gives more advice concerning their work.
Meanwhile the women comfort Mary Who is weeping and the boy who is weeping seeing Mary weep.