Facts about the apostles

Thank you, My friends, for your great love for Me. If you could see how it comforts Me, you would be amazed. See: I proceed among continuous frictions and disappointments. Disappointments for you. You must convince yourselves that I am never disappointed, because I have not been granted the gift of ignoring… That is another reason why I advise you to agree to be guided by Me. If I allow this or that thing, do not hinder it. If I do not interfere to put an end to something, do not endeavour to do it yourselves. Each thing is to be done at the right moment. Trust Me, in everything.

• Friendship with God
• Ignorance of Jesus Christ
• Jesus' omniscience
• Loving God
• Suffering and pain of Jesus Christ
• The apostles' concern and humanity

It is so perfect a prayer that neither the storms, heresies nor the course of ages will undermine it. Christianity will be split by Satan’s bite and many parts of My mystic body will be torn off and separated, forming independent cells in the vain desire to form a body as perfect as the mystical Body of Christ will be, which is the one formed by all the faithful believers united in the apostolic Church, the only true Church, as long as the earth exists. But those separated little cells, devoid of the gifts, which I will leave to the Mother Church to nourish My children, will always be denominated Christian, because of their worship of the Christ, and in their error they will always remember that they derive from the Christ. Well, they will pray with this universal prayer as well. Remember it carefully. Meditate on it continuously. Practise it in your actions. You need nothing else to sanctify yourselves. If one were alone, in a heathen place, without churches, without books, one would already have all the knowledge to meditate on in this prayer and a church in his heart for this prayer. One would have a safe rule of sanctification.

• Catholic Church
• Christianity
• Heresies and doctrinal errors
• How to perfect and sanctify yourself
• Primacy of the Church and of Peter
• Prophecies of Jesus Christ
• Separate religions (Protestantism - Orthodox - other Christian currents)

«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.»

• Bible - Book of Ben Sira the Wise - Ecclesiasticus or Sirach
• Bible - Gospel of Luke
• Lessons and Teachings for the Apostles
• Material wealth
• Parable of the prodigal son
• Parables
• Repentance and contrition

«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.

• Marziam's relatives
• Prayer
• Primacy of the Church and of Peter
• The Lord's Prayer

«Peace be with you. Yesterday I heard two unfortunate people speak. One at the dawn of life; the other at its decline: two souls bewailing their distress. And I wept in My heart with them, seeing how much sorrow there is on the earth, and how only God can relieve it. God! The exact knowledge of God, of His great infinite bounty, of His constant presence, of His promises. I saw how one man can be tortured by another one and how death can drive him to desolation, on which Satan works to increase his grief and cause ruin. I then said to Myself: “The children of God must not suffer such tortures. Let us grant the knowledge of God to those who ignore it, let us give it once again to those who have forgotten it in the storm of sorrow”. But I also saw that I am no longer sufficient by Myself for the infinite needs of My brothers. And I have decided to call many, in greater and greater numbers, so that all those who need the comfort of the knowledge of God may have it.

These twelve apostles are the first. As My representatives they can lead to Me, and therefore to comfort, all those who are bent under too heavy a burden of sorrow. I solemnly tell you: Come to Me, all of you who are afflicted, disgusted, broken-hearted, tired, and I will share your grief with you and give you peace. Come, through My apostles, disciples and women disciples, who are increasing every day with new people full of goodwill. You will find comfort in your grief, company in your solitude, the love of your brothers to make you forget the hatred of the world, you will find, above all, the supreme comforter, the perfect companion, the love of God. You will no longer doubt anything. You will no longer say: “Everything has come to an end for me!”. But you will say: “Everything begins for me in a supernatural world, which abolishes distances and cancels separations”, so that orphans will be reunited with their parents who have risen to Abraham’s bosom, and fathers and mothers, wives and widows will find their lost children and husbands.»

• Apostolate - Evangelism
• Discipleship - Following Jesus Christ
• Heart of Jesus Christ
• Knowing God
• Knowledge
• Lucifer - Satan
• Sending out the disciples
• Suffering and pain of Jesus Christ
• The Twelve
• The cry of Jesus Christ

In the town of My dearest disciple I will not speak the usual words to teach you. We shall be staying here for a few days and I want him to say them to you, because it is from here that I want to begin the direct contact, the continuous contact between apostles and people. That was decided in upper Galilee where it had a first bright success. But the humility of My disciples caused them to withdraw into the background, because they are afraid that they are not capable and that they would be usurping My place. No. They must do it, they will do well and help their Master. The true apostolic preaching is therefore to begin here, joining in one love only the Galilean Phoenician borders to the lands of Judah, the southern ones, bordering on the countries of the sun and sands. Because the Master is no longer sufficient for the needs of the crowds. And also because it is right that the eaglets should leave their nests and make their first flights while the Sun is still with them and His strong wing can support them.

Therefore, during these days, I will be your friend and your comfort. They will be the word and will spread the seed that I gave them.»

• Preaching of the apostles
• Sending out the disciples

Judas then says what he did during the day. I understand that he went to inform his mother of their visit, and then he began to speak in the country near Kerioth together with Andrew. He then says: «But tomorrow I would like everybody to come. I do not want to be the only one to be noticed. As far as possible, we should go in twos, a Judaean with a Galilean. For instance, John and I, Simon and Thomas. I wish the other Simon came! But you two (he points at Alphaeus’ sons) can go together. I told everybody, also those who did not want to know, that you are the Master’s cousins. And you two (he points at Philip and Bartholomew) can also go together. I told them that Nathanael is a rabbi who came to follow the Master. That impresses people very favourably. And… you three will stay here. But as soon as the Zealot comes, we can form another couple. And then we will change around, because I want the people to meet everybody…» Judas is sprightly. «I spoke about the decalogue, Master, endeavouring especially to clarify those parts in which this area is more lacking…»

«Do not let your hand be too heavy, Judas, please. Always bear in mind that one achieves more by means of kindness than by intolerance and that you are a man as well. So examine yourself and consider how easy it is also for you to fall and how you become upset when you are reproached too frankly» says Jesus while Judas’ mother bends her head blushing.

«Do not worry, Master. I am striving to imitate You in everything. But in the village, which we can also see through that door (the doors are open while they are eating and a beautiful view can be seen from this room which is upstairs) there is a sick man who would like to be cured. But he cannot be carried here. Could You come with me?»

«Tomorrow, Judas, tomorrow morning, definitely. And if there are more sick people tell Me or bring them here.»

«You really want to benefit my fatherland, Master?»

«Yes. So that no one may say that I have been unfair to those who did no harm to Me. I help also wicked people! So why not the good ones of Kerioth? I wish to leave an indelible memory of Me…»

«What? Are we not coming back here?»

«We will come back again, but…»

214.4

«Here is the Mother, the Mother with Simon!» trills the boy who sees Mary and Simon climbing the staircase leading up to the terrace where the room is.

• André (apostle)
• Barthélémy - Nathanaël (apostle)
• Healing and physical miracles
• James of Alphaeus (apostle)
• James of Zebedee (apostle)
• John of Zebedee (apostle)
• Judas de Kérioth (apostle)
• Jude of Alphée (apostle)
• Marie de Kérioth (mother of Judas)
• Matthew (apostle)
• Philip (apostle)
• Preaching of the apostles
• Simon the Zealot (apostle)
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)
• Thomas (apostle)

They are also discussing the tour they are about to make, towards the fertile plains before the sea. And the names of past glories come to light again, giving rise to stories, questions, explanations and friendly discussions.

«When we reach the top of this mountain, I will show you all the areas in which you are interested. They may suggest you thoughts for your sermons to the crowds.»

«But how can we do that, my Lord? I am not capable» moans Andrew, and Peter and James join him. «We are the most unlucky ones.»

«Oh! In that case I am no better. If it was gold or silver, I could talk about it, but about these things…» says Thomas.

«And what about me? What was I?» asks Matthew.

«But you are not afraid of the public, you are debating» replies Andrew.

«Yes, but on different matters…» retorts Matthew.

«Of course!… But… Well, you already know what I would like to say, so just imagine that I have already told you. The fact is that you are worth more than we are» says Peter.

«Listen, My dear. There is no need to be sublime. Simply say what you think, with your firm belief. Believe Me, when one is convinced, one can always persuade others» says Jesus.

But Judas of Kerioth implores: «Give us some hints. An idea put forth properly may be useful in many ways. I think these places have been left without one word about You. Because no one seems to know You.»

«The reason is that there is still a strong wind blowing from the Moriah… It makes sterile…» replies Peter.

«It is because it has not been sown. But we will sow» retorts the Iscariot, who is sure of himself and happy after his first success.

• André (apostle)
• Apostolate - Evangelism
• James of Zebedee (apostle)
• Judas de Kérioth (apostle)
• Matthew (apostle)
• Preaching of the apostles
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)
• Thomas (apostle)

« And now let us enter Bethginna. You, precisely you, Philip, who are looking at Me so imploringly, will go around the village, with Andrew. While you are walking about, we shall stop near the fountain or in the village square.»

«Oh! Lord! Don’t send us alone. Please, come with us!» they beg.

«Go, I said. Obedience will be of more help to you than My mute presence.»

215.3

… And so Philip and Andrew go, at random, through the village, until they find a small hotel, an inn, rather than a hotel, and inside there are some brokers bargaining for lambs with some shepherds. They go in and stop disconcertedly in the middle of the yard, which is surrounded by very rustic porches.

The hotel-keeper rushes towards them: «What do you want? Lodgings?»

They consult looking at each other, and they appear to be utterly dismayed. Probably they cannot remember even one word of what they had decided to say. Andrew is the first to regain control of himself and he replies: «Yes, lodgings for us and for the Rabbi Israel.»

«Which rabbi? There are many of them! But they are wealthy gentlemen. They do not come to the villages of poor people to bring their wisdom to the poor. The poor have to go to them and we are lucky if they allow us to go near them!»

«There is only one Rabbi of Israel. And He has come to bring the Gospel to the poor, and the poorer and more sinful they are, the more He looks for them and approaches them» replies Andrew kindly.

«In that case He will not make much money!»

«He does not seek wealth. He is poor and good. When He can save a soul it is a full day for Him» replies once again Andrew.

«Oh! It is the first time that I hear that a rabbi is good and poor. The Baptist is poor but severe. All the others are severe and rich, as greedy as leeches. You over there, have you heard? Come here, you who travel around the world. These men say that there is a poor but good Master Who comes looking for poor people and sinners.»

«Ah! It must be the one who wears a white robe like an Essene. I saw him some time ago at Jericho» says one of the brokers.

«No. That one is by himself. It must be the one of whom Thomas told us, because he happened to speak about him with some shepherds on the Lebanon» replies a tall brawny shepherd.

«Indeed! And he would come as far as here, if he was on the Lebanon! For the sake of your eyes of a cat!» exclaims another one.

While the innkeeper is speaking and listening to his customers, the two apostles have remained standing in the middle of the yard like two poles.

215.4

At last one of the men says to them: «Ehi! You! Come here!

Who is He? Where does that man you spoke of come from?»

«He is Jesus of Joseph, from Nazareth» says Philip seriously and he looks as if he were expecting to be laughed at.

But Andrew adds: «He is the Messiah foretold. I implore you, for your own good, listen to Him. You have mentioned the Baptist. Well, I was with him, and he pointed to us Jesus Who was passing and said: “There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world”. When Jesus descended into the Jordan to be baptised, the Heavens opened and a Voice cried out: “This is My beloved Son, My favour rests on Him” and the Love of God descended like a dove, shining over His head.»

«See? It is the Nazarene! But tell me, since you say you are His friends…»

«No, not His friends: we are His apostles, His disciples and we have been sent to announce that He is coming, so that those who are in need of salvation may go to Him» clarifies Andrew.

«All right. But tell me. Is He really as some say, that is, a holy man, holier than the Baptist, or is He a demon as others describe Him? You are always with Him, because if you are His disciples, you must be with Him, tell us frankly. Is it true that He is lewd and a guzzler? That He loves prostitutes and publicans. That He is a necromancer and He evokes spirits at night to find out the secrets of hearts?»

«Why do you ask these men such questions? Ask them instead whether it is true that He is good. They will take it amiss and they will go and tell the Master our evil reasoning and we will be cursed. One never knows!… Whether He is God or a demon, it is better to treat Him well.»

It is Philip who speaks now: «We can reply to you quite frankly because there is nothing wicked to be concealed. He, our Master, is the Saint of all saints. He spends His days teaching. He goes tirelessly from place to place seeking the hearts of men. He spends the night praying for us. He does not disdain the pleasures of the table and friendship, but not for His own advantage, but only to approach those who otherwise would be unapproachable. He does not repel publicans and prostitutes but only because He wants to redeem them. His way is traced out with miracles of redemption and miracles over diseases. Winds and seas obey Him. But He does not need anybody to work His prodigies, neither does He have to evoke spirits to know hearts.»

«How can He?… You said that winds and seas obey Him… But they are not endowed with reason. How can He give them orders?» asks the innkeeper.

«Tell me, man: according to you is it more difficult to give an order to the wind or the sea or to death?»

«By Jehovah! You cannot give orders to death! You can throw oil on the sea, you can hoist sails over it, or, more wisely, you can avoid going to sea. You can lock doors against the wind. But you cannot give an order to death. There is no oil capable of calming it. There is no sail which, hoisted on our little boat, can make it sail so fast as to leave death behind. And there are no locks for it. It comes in when it wants to, even if the doors have been locked. Oh! No one gives orders to that queen!»

«And yet our Master commands it. Not only when it is near. But also after it has come. A young man of Nain was about to be put into the dreadful mouth of his sepulchre, and He said to him: “I tell you: rise!” and the young man came back to life. Nain is not in the country of the hyperboreans. You can go and see.»

«Just like that? In the presence of everybody?»

«On the road. In the presence of the whole of Nain.»

215.5

The innkeeper and his customers look at one another in silence. Then the innkeeper says: «But He will do that only for His friends.»

«No, man. For all those who believe in Him and not for them only. He is Mercy on the earth, believe me. No one turns to Him in vain. Listen. Is there anyone amongst you who suffers from or weeps because of diseases in the family, doubts, remorse, temptations, ignorance? Go to Jesus, the Messiah of the Gospel. He is here today. He will be elsewhere tomorrow. The Grace of the Lord Who is passing should not be let it pass in vain» says Philip who has become more and more sure of himself.

The innkeeper ruffles his hair, opens and closes his mouth, tortures the fringes of his belt… at last he exclaims: «I will try! I have a daughter. Up to last summer she was all right. Then she became a lunatic. She remains like a mute animal in a corner, she never moves from it and only with difficulty her mother can dress her and feed her. The doctors say that her brain has been burnt by too much sunshine, others say that it is due to an ill-starred love. The people say she is possessed. How can that be, as she has never been away from here?! Where would she have got that demon? What does your Master say? That a demon can take also an innocent person?»

Philip replies without hesitation: «Yes, to torture the relatives and drive them to despair.»

«And… Can He cure lunatics? Should I hope?»

«You must believe» says Andrews promptly. And he tells them of the miracle of the Gerasenes and concludes: «If those who were a legion in the hearts of sinners fled thus, why should the one who forced his way into the heart of a young person not flee? I tell you, man: for those who hope in Him also what is impossible becomes as easy as breathing. I have seen the works of my Lord and I am a witness of His power.»

«Oh! in that case which of you is going to call Him?»

«I will go myself, man. I will soon be back.» And Andrew runs away while Philip remains speaking to them.

215.6

When Andrew sees Jesus standing in a lobby out of the merciless sun shining in every part of the square, he runs towards Him saying: «Come, Master. The daughter of the innkeeper is lunatic. Her father implores You to cure her.»

«Did he know Me?»

«No, Master. We have tried to make You known to him…»

«And you have succeeded. When one reaches the point of believing that I can cure an incurable disease, one is already well advanced in faith. And you were afraid that you did not know how to do it. What did you tell him?»

«I don’t think I could tell You. We told him what we thought of You and of Your deeds. Above all we told him that You are Love and Mercy. The world has such wrong knowledge of You!!!»

«But you know Me well. And that is enough.»

215.7

They arrive at the small inn. All the customers are standing at the door, full of curiosity, and in the middle there is Philip with the innkeeper who keeps talking to himself.

When he sees Jesus, he runs to meet Him: «Master, Lord, Jesus… I… I believe so firmly that You are You, that You know everything, You see everything, You can do everything, I believe it so firmly that I say to You: Have mercy on my daughter although I have so many sins in my heart. Do not punish my daughter because I have been dishonest in my trade. I will no longer be grasping, I swear it. You can see my heart with its past and with its present thought. Forgive and have mercy on us, Master, and I will speak of You to everybody who comes here, to my house…» The man is on his knees.

Jesus says to him: «Stand up and persevere in your present sentiments. Take Me to your daughter.»

«She is in a stable, my Lord. The sultry weather makes her feel worse. And she will not come out.»

«It does not matter. I will go to her. It is not the sultry weather. It is the demon who perceives My coming.»

They go into the yard and then into a dark stable, followed by all the rest.

The girl, unkempt and lean, becomes agitated in the darkest corner and as soon as she sees Jesus, she shouts: «Back, go back! Do not disturb me. You are the Christ of the Lord, I am one struck by You. Leave me alone. Why do You always follow me?»

«Go out of this girl. Go. I want it. Give your prey back to God and be quiet!»

There is a heart-rending shout, a jerk, her body becomes flabby and collapses onto the straw… then she calmly, sadly asks questions expressing her amazement: «Where am I? Why am I here? Who are they?» and she invokes: «Mummy». The young girl becomes shy when she realises that she is without veil and with a torn dress in the presence of many strangers.

«Oh! Eternal Lord! But she is cured…» and strange to be seen the innkeeper weeps like a child and tears stream down his ruddy cheeks… He is happy and he weeps and does not know what to do, except kiss Jesus’ hands, while the mother of the girl also weeps, surrounded by her amazed little ones, and kisses her first-born now free from the demon.

All the people present shout in amazement and many more rush to see the miracle. The yard is full.

«Remain with us. Lord. It is getting dark. Rest under my roof.»

«Man, we are thirteen.»

«Even if you were three hundred it would not matter. I know what You mean. But the greedy dishonest Samuel is dead, Lord. Also my demon has fled. Now there is a new Samuel. And he will still be the innkeeper. But a holy one. Come, come with me, that I may pay you homage as a king, a god. Such as You are. Oh! blessed be the sun that brought You here today…»

• André (apostle)
• Anonymous characters
• Healing and miracles for the possessed
• Healing and miracles on children
• Miracles of Jesus Christ
• Philip (apostle)
• Preaching of the apostles
• Samuel of Betginna

Jesus is walking through the fields. It is a hot day. The place is desert. There is not a soul in the fields. There are only ripe ears of corn and a few trees here and there. Sunshine, corn, birds, lizards, green tufts of grass, which is still in the calm of the air, are the only things to be seen around Jesus. On one side of the main road along which Jesus is walking — a dusty dazzling ribbon between the fields undulating with corn — there is a little village, on the other side a farm. Nothing else.

Everybody is hot and proceeds in silence. They have taken off their mantles but as they are wearing woollen tunics, however light they may be, they suffer the heat just the same. Only Jesus, His two cousins and the Iscariot are wearing linen or hempen clothes. Jesus’ and the Iscariot’s garments are of white linen, whereas those of Alphaeus’ sons look thicker and heavier than linen and they are also dyed in a darker ivory shade, exactly the shade of unbleached hemp. The others are wearing their usual robes and are drying their perspiration with the linen cloth which covers their heads.

They reach a thicket of trees at a crossroads. They stop in the healthy shade and drink avidly out of their flasks.

«It is as warm as if it had been on the fire» grumbles Peter.

«I wish there was a little stream here! But there is absolutely nothing!» sighs Bartholomew. «I will have none left before long.»

«I think I would say that it is better to walk on the mountains» moans James of Zebedee, who is flushed with heat.

«A boat is the best of all. It is cool, restful, clean, ah!» Peter’s heart flies back to his lake and his boat.

«You are right. But there are sinners on the mountains as well as on the plains. If they had not driven us away from the Clear Water and had not persecuted us so closely, I would have come here between Tebeth and Shebat. But we shall soon be on the seaside. The air is cooled there by the open sea wind» says Jesus comforting them.

«Eh! We need it! We are like dying pikes here. But how can the corn be so beautiful when there is no water?» asks Peter.

«There is underground moisture which keeps the soil damp» explains Jesus.

«It would be better if it was above ground instead of under. What am I going to do with it, if it is down there? I have no roots!» says Peter impulsively and they all laugh.

Judas Thaddeus becomes serious and says: «The soil is as selfish as some souls, and it is equally arid. If they had allowed us to stop in that village and spend the Sabbath there, we would have enjoyed shade, water and rest. But they drove us away…»

«And we would have had food as well. Now we have not even that. And I am hungry. I wish there was some fruit! The fruit trees are all close to the houses. And who is going to pick it? If the people here are in the same mood as those over there…» says Thomas, pointing at the village they left behind, to the east.

«Take my portion of food. I am not very hungry» says the Zealot.

«You may take also Mine» says Jesus. «Those who feel more hungry, should eat.»

But when the food portions of Jesus, of the Zealot and of Nathanael are put together, they look very scanty, as one can tell from the dismayed looks of Thomas and the younger ones. But they nibble silently at their tiny portions.

The patient Zealot goes towards a spot where a row of green plants on the parched soil suggests the presence of moisture. There is in fact a trickle of water in the bottom of a ditch, just a trickle, which is bound to disappear before long. He shouts to his distant companions to come and refresh themselves, and they all rush there, and following the intermittent shade of a row of plants on the bank of the half dry brook, they are able to refresh their dusty feet, and wash their perspired faces. But first of all they fill their empty flasks and leave them in the water, in the shade, to keep them cool. They sit down at the foot of a tree and being tired they doze off.

216.3

Jesus looks at them lovingly and sympathetically and shakes His head. The Zealot, who has gone to drink once again, notices His gesture and asks Him: «What is the matter, Master?»

Jesus stands up, He goes towards the Zealot and clasping him with one arm He takes him towards another tree saying: «What is the matter? I grieve at your fatigue. If I were not sure of what I am doing to you, I could never set My mind at peace while causing you so much trouble.»

«Trouble? No, Master! It is a joy to us. Everything vanishes following You. We are all happy, believe me. There is no regret, there is no…»

«Be quiet, Simon. Humanity remonstrates also in good people. And from a human point of view, you are not wrong in remonstrating. I have taken you away from your homes, from your families, from your business and you came thinking that it was going to be quite different to follow Me… But your present remonstration, your internal protest will calm down one day, and you will then realise that it was good to go through fog and mud, through dust and dog-days, persecuted, thirsty, without food, following a persecuted, hated, slandered Master… and worse still. Everything will seem beautiful to you then. Because your minds will be different, and you will see everything in a different light. And you will bless Me for leading you along My difficult way…»

«You are sad, Master. And the world justifies Your sadness, but we are no part of it. We are all happy…»

«All? Are you sure?»

«Are You of a different opinion?»

«Yes, Simon, I am. You are always happy. You have understood. Many others have not. See those who are sleeping? Do you know how many thoughts they are turning over in their minds even while sleeping? And all those among the disciples? Do you think they will be faithful until everything is accomplished? Look: let us play this old game that you certainly played when a boy (and Jesus picks a round fully ripe dandelion growing among the stones. He raises it gently to His mouth, blows and the dandelion dissolves into tiny umbrellas, which wander in the air with their little tufts on top of the tiny handles). See? Look… How many have fallen on My lap as if they were in love with Me? Count them… They are twenty-three. They were at least three times as many. And the others? Look. Some are still wandering, some have fallen because of their weight, some, which are proud of their silvery plume, are haughtily rising higher, some are falling into the mud that we made with our flasks. Only… Look, look… Of the twenty-three that were on My lap, seven more have gone. That hornet flying by was enough to blow them away!… What were they afraid of? Or by what were they allured? Were they afraid of its sting? Or were they allured by its beautiful black and gold hues, or by its graceful appearance, its iridescent wings?… They have gone… Following a deceitful beauty. Simon, the same will happen to My disciples. Some will go because of their restlessness, some because of their inconsistency, their pride, their dullness, their frivolity, their lust for filth, some for fear, some because of their foolishness. Do you think that in the crucial hour of My mission I shall have beside Me all those who now say to Me: “I will come with You”? The tiny tufts of the dandelion, which My Father created, were more than seventy… and now there are only seven left on My lap, because some more have been blown away by this puff of wind that has caused the thinner stems to flutter away… It will be like that. And I am thinking of how much you have to struggle to be loyal to Me…

216.4

Come, Simon. Let us go and look at those dragonflies dancing over the water. Unless you prefer to have a rest.»

«No, Master. Your words have grieved me. But I hope that the cured leper, the persecuted man whom You have rehabilitated, the solitary whom You have gifted with company, the nostalgic man longing for love to whom You have opened Heaven and the world may find and give love, I hope that that man will not abandon You…»

• André (apostle)
• Barthélémy - Nathanaël (apostle)
• James of Alphaeus (apostle)
• James of Zebedee (apostle)
• John of Zebedee (apostle)
• Judas de Kérioth (apostle)
• Jude of Alphée (apostle)
• Lessons and Teachings for the Apostles
• Matthew (apostle)
• Philip (apostle)
• Simon the Zealot (apostle)
• Simon-Pierre - Simon de Jonas (apostle)
• The Twelve
• The apostles' concern and humanity
• Thomas (apostle)