GRM 169.2
The Gospel as revealed to me
Translation in progress
Notes for this theme
Interaction with the apostles
Page 7 of 9
Reading comfort
Aa
GRM 174.16 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
The Iscariot is pensive in a corner. Jesus calls him three times, but he does not hear. At last he turns around: «Do You want me. Master?» he asks.
«Yes, go and take your food and help your companions.»
«I am not hungry. Neither are You.»
«Neither am I, but for different reasons. Are you upset, Judas?»
«No, Master. I’m tired…»
«We are now going to the lake and then to Judaea, Judas. To your mother’s, as I promised you…»
Judas cheers up. «Are You really coming only with me?»
«Of course. Love Me, Judas. I would like My love to be such in you as to preserve you from all evil.»
«Master… I am a man. I am not an angel. At times I feel tired. Is it a sin to feel the need of sleep?»
«No, providing you sleep on My chest. Look over there how happy the people are and how beautiful the scenery is from here. All Judaea must be lovely in springtime.»
«Most beautiful, Master. But spring, there, on the mountains, which are higher than here, is later. But there are beautiful flowers. The apple-orchards are magnificent. Mine, which is looked after by my mother, is one of the most beautiful ones. And when she moves about in it, with the doves following her to get some corn, believe me, it is a sight that soothes your heart.»
«I believe you. If My Mother is not too tired, I would like to take Her to see yours. They would love each other, because they are both good.»
Judas, drawn by this idea, cheers up and forgetting that «he was not hungry and he was tired» runs happily to his companions and tall as he is, he undoes the highest knots without any trouble and eats his bread and olives, as happy as a child.
Jesus looks at him pitifully and then goes towards the apostles.
Detail
Mary Magdalene burst onto the Mount of Beatitudes. At the time, she was a great sinner. Following a speech by Jesus, she left in a rage. After her intervention, Jesus goes to see Judas.
Annotation
I promised you: Reminder of the promise made to Judas in EMV 139.1.
Only, over there on the mountains, which are higher than here, spring comes later. Exactly: the difference is 3 or 4 weeks.
If my Mother isn't too tired, I'd be happy to take her to yours. They'd love each other, because they're both good people. Jesus wants to associate the two mothers who will have so much to suffer.
GRM 180.2 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
« I was rich and powerful. If God had not decided to preserve me for a purpose of His, I would have surrendered myself to despair and perished when I was persecuted and a leper. I would have acted harshly against myself… Instead a new wealth, which I had never possessed before, descended upon my desolation: the wealth of a conviction: “God exists”. First… God… Yes, I believed, I was a faithful Israelite. But mine was a faith of formalism. And I thought that the reward of my faith was always inferior to my virtue. I took the liberty of debating with God because I felt that I was still something on the earth. Simon Peter is right. I, too, was building a tower of Babel[1] by praising myself and satisfying my ego. When everything collapsed around me and I was like a worm crushed by the weight of all this human futility, then I no longer debated with God, but with myself, with my stupid self and I ended up by demolishing it. And as I did so, by making room for what I think is the God immanent in our earthly beings, I gained a new strength and wealth: the certainty that I was not alone and that God was watching over man defeated by men and by evil.»
«According to you, what is God, “the God immanent in our earthly beings” as you said? What do you mean? I do not understand you and I think it is a heresy. God is the One we know through the Law and the Prophets. There is no other God» says rather sternly Judas of Kerioth.
«If John was here he would tell you better than I can. But I will tell you as best I can. God is the One we know through the Law and the Prophets. That is true. But in what do we know Him? And how?»
Judas of Alphaeus exclaims: «Little and badly. The Prophets, who described Him for us, knew Him. The idea we have is a muddled one, as we can just see through a mound of explanations piled up by sects…»
«Sects? What do you mean? We have no sects. We are the children of the Law. We all are» the angry aggressive Iscariot says.
«The children of the laws. Not of the Law. There is a slight difference. Plural, not singular. In actual fact, we are the children of what we created, no longer of what God gave us» retorts Thaddeus.
«The laws derive from the Law» says the Iscariot.
«Also diseases originate in our bodies, but that does not mean that they are good» replies Thaddeus.
«But let me hear what this immanent God of Simon Zealot is.» The Iscariot, who cannot argue against the remark of Judas of Alphaeus, endeavours to take the discussion back to where it started.
Detail
Simon the Zealot speaks.
GRM 180.2-4 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
« I was rich and powerful. If God had not decided to preserve me for a purpose of His, I would have surrendered myself to despair and perished when I was persecuted and a leper. I would have acted harshly against myself… Instead a new wealth, which I had never possessed before, descended upon my desolation: the wealth of a conviction: “God exists”. First… God… Yes, I believed, I was a faithful Israelite. But mine was a faith of formalism. And I thought that the reward of my faith was always inferior to my virtue. I took the liberty of debating with God because I felt that I was still something on the earth. Simon Peter is right. I, too, was building a tower of Babel[1] by praising myself and satisfying my ego. When everything collapsed around me and I was like a worm crushed by the weight of all this human futility, then I no longer debated with God, but with myself, with my stupid self and I ended up by demolishing it. And as I did so, by making room for what I think is the God immanent in our earthly beings, I gained a new strength and wealth: the certainty that I was not alone and that God was watching over man defeated by men and by evil.»
«According to you, what is God, “the God immanent in our earthly beings” as you said? What do you mean? I do not understand you and I think it is a heresy. God is the One we know through the Law and the Prophets. There is no other God» says rather sternly Judas of Kerioth.
«If John was here he would tell you better than I can. But I will tell you as best I can. God is the One we know through the Law and the Prophets. That is true. But in what do we know Him? And how?»
Judas of Alphaeus exclaims: «Little and badly. The Prophets, who described Him for us, knew Him. The idea we have is a muddled one, as we can just see through a mound of explanations piled up by sects…»
«Sects? What do you mean? We have no sects. We are the children of the Law. We all are» the angry aggressive Iscariot says.
«The children of the laws. Not of the Law. There is a slight difference. Plural, not singular. In actual fact, we are the children of what we created, no longer of what God gave us» retorts Thaddeus.
«The laws derive from the Law» says the Iscariot.
«Also diseases originate in our bodies, but that does not mean that they are good» replies Thaddeus.
«But let me hear what this immanent God of Simon Zealot is.» The Iscariot, who cannot argue against the remark of Judas of Alphaeus, endeavours to take the discussion back to where it started.
180.3
Simon Zealot says: «Our senses need a term to catch an idea. Each of us, I am referring to us believers, believes, by the virtue of faith, in the Most High Lord and Creator, Eternal God, Who is in Heaven. But every being needs more than such bare, pure, incorporeal faith, which is fit and sufficient for the angels who see and love God spiritually, as they share with Him a spiritual nature and can see God. We have to create a “picture” of God for ourselves, which picture is made with the essential features that we ascribe to God, to give a name to His infinite absolute perfection. The more a soul concentrates, the more it succeeds in achieving an exact knowledge of God. That is what I say: the immanent God. I am not a philosopher. Perhaps I have applied the word wrongly. In short, I think that the immanent God is to feel, to perceive God in our spirits, to feel and perceive Him no longer as an abstract idea, but as a real presence, bestowing strength and a new peace upon us.»
«All right. But, to sum up, how did you feel Him? What is the difference between feeling by faith and feeling by immanence?» asks the Iscariot somewhat ironically.
«God is safety, boy. When you perceive Him, as Simon says, by means of that word, which I do not understand literally, but I understand its spirit — and believe me, the trouble is that we understand only literally and we do not understand the spirit of God’s words — it means that you are able to grasp the idea of the terrible majesty, but also of the most sweet paternity of God. It means that, should all the world judge and condemn you unjustly, you would feel that One only, He, the Eternal One, Who is your Father, does not judge you, but absolves and comforts you. It means that if all the world should hate you, you would feel over you a love greater than any this world can offer. It means that if you were isolated in jail or in a desert you would always hear One speak to you and say: “Be holy, that you may be like your Father”. It means that for the true love for this Father and God, Whom at last you perceive as such, you accept, work, take and leave without any human consideration, as you are concerned only to return love for love and to copy God as much as possible in your actions» says Peter.
«You are proud! To copy God! You are not entitled to» declares the Iscariot.
«It is not pride. Love leads to obedience. To copy God seems to me a form of obedience because God said that He made us in His own image and likeness» replies Peter.
«He made us. We must not go higher up.»
«You are a poor wretch, my boy, if that is what you think! You are forgetting that we fell and that God wants to take us back to what we were.»
180.4
Jesus begins to speak: «Even more, Peter, Judas and you all. Even more than that. Adam’s perfection was still susceptible of improvement through love, which would have made him a more precise image of his Creator. Adam without the stain of sin would have been a most shining mirror of God. That is why I say: “Be perfect as your Father Who is in Heaven is perfect”. Like your Father. Therefore like God. Peter is quite right. And so is Simon. I ask you to remember their words and apply them to your souls.»
Peter’s wife almost faints from joy on hearing her husband being praised thus. She weeps behind her veil: she is quiet but happy.
Peter blushes so much that he seems to be having a stroke of apoplexy.
Detail
Simon the Zealot speaks. The question of faith is discussed further in 180.3.
GRM 180.7-8 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«We arrived at noon and he had been captured at daybreak…»
«Where? How? By whom? In his cave?» they all ask, they all want to know.
«He was betrayed!… They used Your name to betray him!» «How horrible! Who did that?» they all shout.
And John shuddering, whispering in a low voice what not even the air should hear, states: «It was one of his disciples…»
The confusion is at its highest pitch. Some curse, some weep, some are petrified with astonishment.
180.8
John throws his arms around Jesus’ neck and shouts: «I am afraid for You!… for You! The saints have their traitors who sell themselves for gold and for fear of the mighty ones, yearning for reward, obeying Satan. For thousands of things! Oh! Jesus! Jesus! How dreadful! My first master! My John who gave me to You!»
«It is all right! Do not worry! Nothing will happen to Me for the time being.»
«But later? What will happen later? I look at myself, at these… I am afraid of everybody, also of myself. Will one of us be Your traitor?…»
«Are you mad? And do you think that we would not tear him to pieces?» shouts Peter.
And the Iscariot: «Oh! You really are mad! It will never be I! But if I should feel so weak as to eventually become so, I would kill myself. Better than be the murderer of God.»
Jesus frees Himself from John’s grip, shakes Judas violently saying: «Do not swear! Nothing can make you weak, unless you want! And if that should happen, make sure you weep for it, and do not commit another crime in addition to deicide. He becomes weak who cuts off his vital link with God.»
Detail
John recounts the arrest of John the Baptist.
GRM 187.4 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«I wish to go onto the infinite sea… towards other lands beyond it. I wish to go and speak of You. I am dreaming… of going towards Rome, towards Greece, towards dark places to take the Light there… so that those living in darkness may get in touch with You and may live in communion with You, Light of the world… I am dreaming of a better world… to be bettered through the knowledge of You, that is, through the knowledge of the Love that makes people good, pure, heroic, of the Love that makes the world love and raise Your Name, Your Faith, Your Doctrine above hatred, sin, flesh, above the vices of the mind, above gold, above everything… and I dream of going with my brothers on the sea of God, on the road of light to take You… as Your Mother once brought You down to us from Heaven… I dream that I am a child, who knowing nothing but love, is happy also when facing trouble… and sings to comfort the adults who ponder too much, and moves forward… facing death smiling… towards glory with the humility of one who does not know what he is doing, but knows only that he is coming to You, Love…»
The apostles have not breathed during John’s ecstatic confessions… They remained still where they were, looking at the youngest one speaking with his eyes covered by his eyelids, like a veil thrown over the ardour rising from his heart, and looking at Jesus Who is enraptured finding Himself so completely in His disciple…
When John stops speaking, slightly bent forward – he reminds me of the gracefulness of the humble Mary of Nazareth – Jesus kisses his forehead saying: «We shall go and contemplate the sea, to let you dream My future Kingdom in the world once again.»
Detail
John of Zebedee speaks.
Keywords
GRM 195.1-3 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
It is raining and Peter seems to me the opposite of Aeneas, because instead of carrying his father, he has little Jabez on his shoulders, completely covered by Peter’s large mantle. The boy’s little head emerges above the grey-haired head of Peter, who, with the boy’s arms around his neck, dabbles in the puddles, laughing wholeheartedly.
«We might have been spared all this» grumbles the Iscariot, who is irritable because of the water pouring from the sky and splashing his clothes with mud.
«Eh! Many things could be spared!» replies John of Endor, staring at handsome Judas with his one good eye, which I think can see as well as two.
«What do you mean?»
«I mean that it is useless to expect the elements to have consideration for us, when we have none for our neighbour, and concerning matters that are by far more important than a few drops of water or a splash of mud.»
«That is true. But I like to be tidy and clean when I go to town. I have many friends there, and high up.»
«Then watch that you do not fall.»
«Are you teasing me?»
«Nooooh! But I am an old teacher and… an old pupil. I have been learning since I was born. First I learned to vegetate, then I observed life, then I became acquainted with the bitterness of life, I practised a useless justice, the justice of “man alone” against God and society. God punished me with remorse, society with fetters, so, after all, I was the victim of justice. At last, now, I have learned, I am learning how “to live”. Now, since I am a teacher and a pupil, you will realise that it is natural for me to repeat the lessons.»
«But I am an apostle…»
«And I am a poor wretch, I know, and I should never take the liberty of teaching you. But, see, you never know what one may become. I thought I was going to die an honest and respected teacher in Cyprus and I became a murderer and a convict serving a life sentence. But when I raised a knife to take vengeance, and when I was dragging the fetters hating the universe, if anyone told me that I was to become a disciple of the Holy One, I would have doubted whether his mind was sound. And yet… Here I am! So, I may be able to give a good lesson also to you, an apostle. Because of my experience. Not because of my holiness, I would not dream of it.»
«That Roman was right in calling you Diogenes.»
«Of course. But Diogenes was looking for a man and could not find one. I, luckier than he, found a snake where I thought there was a woman, and an adulterer where I thought I saw a friendly man, but after wandering about for many years, as I became insane through such experience, I have found the Man, the Holy One.»
«I know no other wisdom but Israel’s.»
«If that is so, you already have the means for salvation. But now you have also the science, or rather the wisdom of God.»
«It is the same thing.»
«Oh! no! It is like a foggy day compared to a sunny day.»
«Well! Are you anxious to teach me? I don’t feel like it.»
«Let me speak! Once, I used to speak to children: they were absent-minded. Then I spoke to shadows, they cursed me. Then to chickens: they were better, far better than the first two groups. Now I speak to myself, as I am not yet able to speak to God. Why do you want to stop me? I have but one eye, the mines ruined my life, I have suffered from heart trouble for years. At least let my mind be fruitful.»
«Jesus is God.»
«I know, and I believe it. More than you do. Because I have revived through His work, you have not. No matter how good He is, He is still God, and I, a poor wretch dare not treat Him with familiarity as you do. My soul speaks to Him… my lips dare not. My soul does, and I think that He perceives it weeping out of gratitude and repentant love.»
195.2
«That is true, John. I do perceive your soul.» Jesus comes into the conversation of the two. Judas blushes with shame, the man of Endor with joy. «I perceive your soul, that is true. And I perceive also the work of your mind. What you said is correct. When you have been formed in Me, your experience as a teacher and a diligent pupil will be of great help to you. Speak, do speak, also to yourself.»
«Once, Master, not long ago, you told me that it is wrong to speak to one’s ego» remarks Judas insolently.
«That is true, I did[1]. But that was because you were grumbling with your ego. This man is not grumbling, he is meditating, and for a good purpose. He is not doing anything wrong.»
«In brief, I am wrong!» Judas is aggressive.
«No, your heart is impatient. But the weather cannot be always good. Farmers want rain. It is charity to pray that it may rain. And this is also charity. But look, there is a beautiful rainbow forming an arch from Ataroth to Ramah. We are already beyond Ataroth, we have passed the large sad valley, and here the country is cultivated and pleasant under the sun, which is breaking through the clouds. When we are in Ramah we shall be thirty-six stadia from Jerusalem. We shall see the Holy City again after that hill, which is the place of the horrid lewd crime committed by the men of Gibeah[2]. What a terrible thing is the concupiscence of the flesh, Judas…»
Judas does not reply, instead he delays splashing angrily in the puddles.
195.3
«What’s the matter with him, today?» asks Bartholomew.
«Be quiet, lest Simon of Jonah should hear you. Let us avoid all arguments… and do not let us upset Simon. He is so happy with his boy!»
«Yes, Master. But it is not right. I will tell him.»
«He is young, Nathanael. You were young, too…»
«Yes… but… he should not be lacking in respect towards You!» He raises his voice without wishing to do so.
Peter rushes towards them: «What’s the matter? Who is lacking in respect? The new disciple?» and he looks at John of Endor, who has discreetly withdrawn when he understood that Jesus was correcting the apostle and is now speaking to James of Alphaeus and Simon Zealot.
«Not in the least. He is as respectful as a young girl.»
«Oh! Good! Otherwise… his only eye was in danger. Well… it must be Judas!…»
«Listen, Simon, could you not busy yourself with your little friend? You took him away from Me, and now you want to become engaged in a friendly conversation I am having with Nathanael. Do you not think that you want to do too many things?»
Jesus smiles so gently that Peter becomes uncertain about his own thoughts. He looks at Bartholomew… who, however, has raised his aquiline face and is scanning the sky… Peter’s suspicion fades away.
Peter’s attention is completely diverted by the apparition of the Holy City, which is now near and is visible in all the beauty of hills, olive-groves, houses, and above all of the Temple, a sight which must always have been a source of emotion and pride for Israelites.
Detail
Barthélémy and Pierre intervene more in EMV 195.3, following what happens in EMV 195.1-2.
Annotation
- That Roman is right to call you Diogenes. In 192.6.
- It's true, I said it. In EMV 183.1.
When we get to Ramah, we'll be thirty-six furlongs from Jerusalem. 36 x 185 m = 6.6 km.
Gibeah or Guibeah: In the days of the judges, an old man invited a Levite from Ephraim and his concubine to lodge with him for the night. Shortly afterwards, men from Gibeah, scoundrels, surrounded the house, demanding that the Levite be handed over to them so they could have relations with him. The old man offered them his daughter, but they refused. The Levite gave them his concubine. They abused her all night, so much so that she died in the morning. Pieces of her body were sent to the tribes of Israel as a token of infamy (Judges 19:15-30). As the tribe of Benjamin sided with the guilty men of Gibeah, the other tribes waged war against them. Twice, they suffered heavy losses before finally defeating the Benjaminites and delivering Gibeah to the fire (Judges 20).
GRM 195.2-3 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«Jesus is God.»
«I know, and I believe it. More than you do. Because I have revived through His work, you have not. No matter how good He is, He is still God, and I, a poor wretch dare not treat Him with familiarity as you do. My soul speaks to Him… my lips dare not. My soul does, and I think that He perceives it weeping out of gratitude and repentant love.»
195.2 «That is true, John. I do perceive your soul.» Jesus comes into the conversation of the two. Judas blushes with shame, the man of Endor with joy. «I perceive your soul, that is true. And I perceive also the work of your mind. What you said is correct. When you have been formed in Me, your experience as a teacher and a diligent pupil will be of great help to you. Speak, do speak, also to yourself.»
«Once, Master, not long ago, you told me that it is wrong to speak to one’s ego» remarks Judas insolently.
«That is true, I did. But that was because you were grumbling with your ego. This man is not grumbling, he is meditating, and for a good purpose. He is not doing anything wrong.»
«In brief, I am wrong!» Judas is aggressive.
«No, your heart is impatient. But the weather cannot be always good. Farmers want rain. It is charity to pray that it may rain. And this is also charity. But look, there is a beautiful rainbow forming an arch from Ataroth to Ramah. We are already beyond Ataroth, we have passed the large sad valley, and here the country is cultivated and pleasant under the sun, which is breaking through the clouds. When we are in Ramah we shall be thirty-six stadia from Jerusalem. We shall see the Holy City again after that hill, which is the place of the horrid lewd crime committed by the men of Gibeah. What a terrible thing is the concupiscence of the flesh, Judas…»
Judas does not reply, instead he delays splashing angrily in the puddles.
Detail
Judas speaks to John of Endor.
Annotation
- That's right, I said it. In EMV 183.1.
Gibeah or Guibeah: In the days of the judges, an old man invited a Levite from Ephraim and his concubine to lodge with him for the night. Shortly afterwards, men from Gibeah, scoundrels, surrounded the house, demanding that the Levite be handed over to them so they could have relations with him. The old man offered them his daughter, but they refused. The Levite gave them his concubine. They abused her all night, so much so that she died in the morning. Pieces of her body were sent to the tribes of Israel as a token of infamy (Judges 19:15-30). As the tribe of Benjamin sided with the guilty men of Gibeah, the other tribes went to war with them. Twice, they suffered heavy losses before finally defeating the Benjaminites and delivering Gibeah to the fire (Judges 20).
Judges 19, 10-30
Jg 19, 10-30 : The husband did not consent to spend the night; he got up and left. He came as far as Jebus, which is Jerusalem, with the two pack donkeys and his concubine. By the time they were near Jebus, it was very dark. So the servant said to his master, "Come, please, let us turn aside to this city of the Jebusites, and spend the night there." His master replied, "We will not turn aside to a foreign city, where there are no children of Israel; we will go as far as Gibeah." again he said to his servant, "Come, let us try to reach one of these places to spend the night, either Gibeah or Ramah." They walked on, and the sun set when they were near Gabaa, which belongs to Benjamin. They turned this way, to spend the night at Gabaa.
When the Levite entered, he stopped in the town square, and there was no one to receive them into his house to spend the night. 16But, behold, an old man returned in the evening from working in the field; he was a man of the hill-country of Ephraim, who sojourned in Gibeah, and the people of the place were Benjamites. When he looked up, he saw the traveler in the town square, and the old man said, "Where are you going and from where have you come?" He replied, "We are going from Bethlehem of Judah to the end of the mountain of Ephraim, where I come from. I had been to Bethlehem of Judah, and now I am going to Yahweh's house, and there is no one to receive me in his house. However, we have straw and fodder for our donkeys, and also bread and wine for me, for your maid and for the young man who is with your servants; we lack nothing." The old man said, "Peace be with you! Only I will provide for all your needs; but don't spend the night in the square." He let him into his house, and gave fodder to the donkeys; the travelers washed their feet, then ate and drank.
While they were gladdening their hearts, behold, men from the city, perverse people, surrounded the house and, knocking loudly at the door, they said to the old man, master of the house, "Bring out the man who came into your house, so that we may know him." The master of the house went out to them and said, "No, my brothers, please don't do evil; since this man has entered my house, don't commit this infamy. Here is my daughter, who is a virgin, and her concubine; I will bring them out to you, and you shall do violence to them and treat them as you please; but do not commit such an infamous deed upon this man." The men would not listen. So the man took his concubine and brought her outside. They got to know her and abused her all night until morning, then sent her away at dawn.
Towards morning, the woman fell at the door of her husband's house, and stayed there until daylight. Her husband got up in the morning and, having opened the door of the house, went out to continue his journey. And behold, the woman, his concubine, was lying at the entrance of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, "Get up and let's get out of here." But no one answered. So the husband put her on his donkey and set off for his home.
When he got home, he took a knife and, seizing his concubine, cut her limb from limb into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout the land of Israel. All who saw this said, "Nothing like this has ever happened or been seen since the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt to this day; ponder it, consult and pronounce."
GRM 196.6 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«And the other loves?» ask together Simon Zealot and the man from Endor.
«The first one of the second series is the love for our neighbour. In actual fact it is the fourth in power. Then comes the love for science. Finally the love for work.»
«Is that all?»
«That is all.»
«But there are many more loves!» exclaims Judas of Kerioth.
«There are other hungers. But it is not love. They are the negation of love. They deny God, they deny man. It cannot be love because it is negation and Negation is Hatred.»
«If I deny consent to evil, is that Hatred?» asks Judas Iscariot once again.
«Poor me! You are more captious than a scribe! Can you tell me what is the matter with you? Is the rarified air of Judaea affecting your nerves like a cramp?» exclaims Peter.
«No. I like to learn and to have many clear ideas. It is quite possible we may have to speak to scribes and I do not want to be short of arguments…»
«And do you think that in the moment of need you will be able to pull out the colour required from the sack where you stock all the rags?» asks Peter.
«Rags the words of the Master? You are swearing?»
«Don’t pretend you are scandalized. They are not rags in His mouth; but once they have been mishandled by us they become rags. Try and give a piece of precious byssus to a boy… It will soon become a dirty torn rag. And that is what happens to us. Now if you expect to fish at the right moment the little rag you need, what with the rag, and what with its dirt… uhm! I do not know what you will be up to.»
«Don’t worry. That is my business.»
«Oh! You may be sure that I will not worry! I have enough problems of my own. And then… ! I am happy providing you cause no harm to the Master. Because, in that case, I would also mind your business…»
«You can do that when I do something wrong. But that will never happen, because I know how to behave… I am not ignorant…»
«Instead I am, I know. And because I am, I do not stock any ballast, to flaunt it later, at the right moment. But I implore God and God will help me for the sake of His Messiah, of Whom I am the least and most faithful servant.»
«We are all faithful» replies Judas haughtily.
«Oh! You are bad! Why do you offend my father? He is old and he is good. You must not do that. You are bad and you frighten me» says Jabez with stern countenance, after being silent and listening carefully.
«And that makes two!» whispers James of Zebedee in a low voice, touching Andrew with his elbow.
Although he has spoken in a low voice, the Iscariot hears him.
«You can see, Master, whether the words of the silly boy of Magdala have left a trace» says Judas raging with anger.
Detail
Jesus has just spoken of the different powers of love. First there's God's love, then fatherly and motherly love, then conjugal love.
Annotation
GRM 198.7 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«I said: a red dress and a green sash. He will look lovely. Much better than the shade he has on now.»
«Red will be all right. Also Jesus was dressed in red. But I would say that a red sash would be better on a red dress, or at least it should be embroidered in red» says Mary gently.
«I was saying green because I see that Judas, who is swarthy, looks very smart with those green stripes on his red tunic.»
«But these are not green, my friend!» laughs Judas.
«No? What shade are they then?»
«This hue is called “agate vein”.»
«How do you expect me to know that?! They look green to me. I saw that hue also on leaves…»
The Most Holy Virgin interrupts benignly: «Simon is right. It is the exact shade of leaves at the first rain in the month of Tishri…»
«That’s it! And since leaves are green I was saying that it was green» concludes Peter happily. The Sweet Mother has also settled this small matter peacefully.
Detail
Peter talks about Marziam's clothes for her coming-of-age party.