Notes for this theme

Reprobates and slaves welcomed by Jesus

Page 31 of 34

Reading comfort

GRM 203

The Gospel as revealed to me

Detail

Matthew, Thomas, Philip, Simon the Zealot say nothing in this chapter, but they are present.

Keywords

GRM 203.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus comes out with His apostles from a house near the walls and I think that they are still in the Bezetha district, because to go outside the walls, one must pass again by Joseph’s house, near the Gate, which I hear people call Herod’s Gate. The town is semi-deserted in the placid moonlit evening. I understand that they have celebrated Passover in one of Lazarus’ houses, which, however, is not the one of the Last Supper. They are, in fact, poles apart. One in the north, the other in the south of Jerusalem.
On the doorstep Jesus takes leave, with His usual kindness, of John of Endor, who is to take care of the women and whom He thanks for accepting that task. He kisses Marjiam, who has also come to the door and then sets out for Herod’s Gate.

Annotation

To leave the walls, we still have to pass Joseph's house, which is near the gate I've heard called Herod's Gate. Joseph of Arimathea, who had invited them the evening before.

Keywords

GRM 203.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«There is another reason, Simon…»
«Tell us, Master. I will be happy to change my mind about my companion.»
«Judas is jealous. He is agitated because he is jealous.»
«Jealous? Of whom? He is not married, and even if he were, and went with women, I think that none of us would be rude to a fellow disciple…»
«He is jealous of Me. Just think: Judas changed after Endor and after Esdraelon. That is, when he saw that I was taking care of John and of Jabez. But now that John, above all, John, will be going away, as he will be leaving Me and staying with Isaac, you will see that Judas will become merry and good once again…»
«Well!… But You are not going to tell me that he is not possessed by a little demon. And above all… No, I will say it! And above all You will not tell me that he has improved during these last months. I was jealous as well, last year… I would not have liked anybody except the six of us, the first six, do You remember? Now, now… Let me invoke God just this once as witness to what I am going to say. Now I say that the more the disciples increase in numbers around You, the happier I am. Oh! I would like to bring all men to You and I would also like to have all the necessary means to help those who are in need, so that misery may not hinder anyone from coming to You. God sees whether I am telling the truth. But why am I thus now? Because I let You change me. He… has not changed. On the contrary… Yes, Master… A little demon has possessed him…»
«Do not say that. Do not think that. Pray that he may be cured. Jealousy is a disease…»
«Of which one can be cured beside You, if one wants to. Ah! I will put up with him, for Your sake… But, how difficult it is!…»
«I gave you a prize for that: the boy. And now I will teach you how to pray…»

Detail

Peter is surprised by Judas' attitude and Jesus explains that he is jealous. Simon of Jonah then recounts that he too was jealous last year, but that he has now changed.

Keywords

GRM 203.13 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Get up and let us go. We shall go back to town at dawn. Or rather: tomorrow, you, Simon, and you, My brother (and He points to Judas), will go to fetch the women and the boy. You, Simon of Jonah, and you all, will stay with Me until they come back. Then we shall all go to Bethany together.»
And they go down to Gethsemane, where they enter the house to rest.

Keywords

GRM 204.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

In the peace of the Sabbath Jesus rests near a flax field in bloom belonging to Lazarus. Rather than «near» I should say that He is «immersed» in the tall flax, and sitting on the edge of a furrow He is engrossed in thought. Only an odd silent butterfly flutters near Him or a lizard rustles nearby, looking at Him with its jet-black eyes, raising its little triangular head with its light throbbing throat. There is nothing else. In the late afternoon, the least sigh of wind has also become silent among the tall stalks.
From far away, perhaps from Lazarus’ garden, the song of a woman can be heard and the joyful shouting of the boy who is playing with someone. Then one, two, three voices call: «Master! Jesus!»
Jesus arouses Himself and stands up. Although the fully grown flax is very tall, Jesus emerges a good height above the blue-green sea.
«There He is, John!» shouts the Zealot.
And John in turn calls: «Mother! The Master is here, in the flax field.»
And while Jesus approaches the path leading to the houses, Mary arrives.

Annotation

Jesus rests beside a field of flax in full bloom: flax is grown in most temperate and warm countries. Its flowers are blue, which prompted Aragon to write: "A large field of blue flax that mirrors the sky". Plants grow at a rate of 10 mm a day, and can reach 80 cm to 1 m in height.

Keywords

GRM 204.3-9 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«May Light come to you all.»
«Hail, Master!» greets Quintilian, who is wearing civilian clothes.
The ladies stand up to greet Jesus. They are Plautina, Valeria and Lydia; there is also another elderly woman, but I do not know who she is or whether she is of the same rank as the others. They are all wearing very plain clothes without any sign of distinction.
«We were anxious to hear You, but You never came. I was on duty when You arrived. But I never saw You.»
«Neither have I seen at the Gate of the Fish a soldier, who was a friend of Mine. His name was Alexander…»
«Alexander? I am not sure whether he is the one I am thinking of. I know that some time ago, in order to calm the Jews, we had to remove a soldier who was guilty of… speaking to You. He is now at Antioch. But perhaps he will come here again. How boring they are… they want to rule even now that they are subject! One has to be clever to avoid greater trouble… They make life difficult for us, believe me… But You are good and wise. Will You speak to us? I may be leaving Palestine soon, and I would like to have something to remind me of You.»
«Yes, I will speak to you. I never disappoint anyone. What do you wish to know?»
Quintilian looks at the ladies inquisitively.
«Whatever You wish, Master» says Valeria.
204.4
Plautina stands up again and says: «I have been thinking a lot… there is so much I would like to know… everything, to be able to judge. But if I may ask, I would like to know how can a faith, Yours, for instance, be built on a ground which You said is devoid of true faith. You said that our beliefs are vain. So we have nothing. How can we achieve something?»
«I will take as an example something that you have. Your temples. Your really beautiful sacred buildings, the only imperfection of which is that they are dedicated to Nothing, can teach you how one can achieve faith and where to place it. Watch. Where are they built? Which place, if at all possible, is chosen for them? How are they built? The place is generally spacious, open and elevated. And when it is not spacious and open, it is made so by demolishing what encumbers and obstructs it. If it is not elevated, they increase its height by means of a stereobate more elevated than the normal three steps used for temples placed on a natural elevation. They are generally surrounded by a sacred enclosure, formed by colonnades and porches inside which are enclosed the trees sacred to the gods, fountains and altars, statues and stelae and are usually preceded by a propylaeum beyond which is the altar where prayers to the deity are said. In front of it there is the place for the sacrifice, because the sacrifice precedes the prayer. Very often, and particularly in the more magnificent ones, a peristyle encircles them with a garland of precious marbles. Inside there is the front vestibule, outside or inside the peristyle, the cell of the deity and the rear vestibule. Marbles, statues, pediments, acroteria and gables, all polished, precious and decorated, make the temple a most noble building also for the coarsest sight. Is it not so?»
«Yes, it is, Master. You have seen and studied them very well» confirms Plautina praising Jesus.
«But we know that He never left Palestine!?» exclaims Quintilian.
«I never left Palestine to go to Rome or Athens. But I am acquainted with Greek and Roman architecture and I was present when the genius of man decorated the Parthenon because I am wherever there is life or a manifestation of life. Wherever a wise man meditates, a sculptor sculptures, a poet writes, a mother sings over a cradle, a man toils in fields, a doctor fights diseases, a living being breathes, an animal lives, a tree vegetates, I am there together with Him from Whom I come. In the rumble of the earthquake or in the peal of thunder, in the light of stars or in flood-tide and ebb-tide, in the flight of eagles or in the buzzing of mosquitoes, I am there with the Most High Creator.»
«So… You… You know everything. Both thoughts and deeds of men?» asks Quintilian again.
«Yes, I do.»
The Romans look at one another amazed.
204.5
There is a long silence then Valeria timidly begs: «Expand on Your idea, Master, so that we may know what to do.»
«Yes. Faith is built as they build the temples of which you are so proud. They make space for the temple, they free it from obstructions, they elevate it.»
«But where is the temple in which one should put faith, the true deity?» asks Plautina.
«Faith, Plautina, is not a deity. It is a virtue. There are no deities in true faith. There is only One and True God.»
«So… He is up there, in His Olympus, all by Himself? And what does He do if He is alone?»
«He is Self-sufficient and takes care of everything in creation. I have just told you that God is also present in the buzzing of a mosquito. He does not get bored, do not worry. He is not a poor man, the master of an immense empire in which he feels he is hated and lives trembling with fear. He is Love and lives loving. His Life is continuous Love. He is Self-sufficient because He is infinite and most powerful, He is Perfection. So numerous are the things created that live because of His continuous will, that He has no time to grow weary. Tedium is the fruit of idleness and vice. In the Heaven of the True God there is neither idleness nor vice. Soon, in addition to angels which now serve Him, He will have a great crowd of just people rejoicing in Him and the crowd will grow greater and greater with the future believers in the True God. »
«Are the angels genii?» asks Lydia.
«No, they are spiritual beings like God Who created them.»
«What are genii, then?»
«As you imagine them, they are falsehood. They do not exist, as you imagine them. But owing to the instinctive need of men to search for the truth, you have also realised that man is not only flesh and that there is something immortal in his perishable body. And that is the consequence of the incentive of the soul, which is alive and present also in heathens, and suffers in them, as it is disappointed in its desires, because it is famished longing for the True God Whom it remembers in the body in which it dwells and which is guided by a pagan mind. And the same applies to towns and nations. And thus you believe, you feel the need to believe in “genii”. And thus you give yourselves an individual genius, a family, a town, a national genius. You have the “genius of Rome”, the “genius of the emperor”. And you worship them as lesser deities. Come to the true faith. You will become acquainted and friendly with your angel, whom you will venerate, but not worship. Only God is worshipped.»
204.6
«You said: “Incentive of the soul which is alive and present also in heathens, and suffers in them because it is disappointed”. But from whom does the soul come?» asks Publius Quintilian.
«From God. He is the Creator.»
«But are we not born of woman through union with man? Also our gods are born thus.»
«Your gods do not exist. They are phantoms of your mind which needs to believe. Because such need is more peremptory than the need to breathe. Also he, who says he does not believe, does believe. He believes in something. The simple statement: “I do not believe in God” presupposes another faith. In oneself, perhaps, or in one’s proud mind. But one always believes. It is like thinking. If you say: “I do not want to think”, or: “I do not believe in God”, by those two simple sentences you prove that you are thinking that you do not want to believe in Him Whom you know to exist and that you do not want to think. With regards to man, to express the concept correctly you must say: “Man, like all animals, is born through the union of male and female. But the soul, that is the thing which distinguishes the animal-man from the animal-brute, comes from God. He creates it as and when a man is procreated, or rather: when he is conceived in a womb and He infuses it in the body which otherwise would be only animal”.»
«And have we got it? We pagans? According to Your fellow-countrymen it would not appear to be so…» says Quintilian ironically.
«Every man born of woman has it.»
«But You said that sin kills it. If so, how can it be alive in us sinners?» asks Plautina.
«You do not sin against faith, because you believe that you are in the Truth. When you become acquainted with the Truth and you persist in your error, then you will commit sin. Likewise, many things which are sinful for Israelites, are not so for you. Because no divine law forbids you. One sins when one consciously rebels against the order given by God and says: “I know that what I am doing is wrong. But I want to do it just the same”. God is just. He cannot punish one who does the wrong thing thinking that he is doing the right one. He punishes those, who being able to tell Good from Evil, choose the latter and persist in it.»
«So we have a soul and it is alive and present in us?»
«Yes, it is so.»
«And it suffers? Do You really think that it remembers God? We do not remember the womb that bore us. We could not tell what its inside was like. If I have understood You correctly, the soul is spiritually born of God. Can it possibly remember Him if our body does not remember the long time it was in a womb?»
«The soul is not material, Plautina. An embryo is. In fact the soul is infused when the foetus is already formed. The soul is, like God, eternal and spiritual. It is eternal from the moment it is created, whereas God is the Most Perfect Eternal Being and thus has no beginning in time and will have no end. The soul[1], the lucid, intelligent, spiritual work of God, does remember. And it suffers, because it longs for God, the True God, from Whom it comes, and it hungers for God. That is why it spurs the torpid body to endeavour to approach God.»
204.7
«So we have a soul as those whom you call “the just people” of your nation have? Exactly the same?»
«No, Plautina. It depends on what you mean. If you mean according to its origin and nature, it is exactly the same as the souls of our saints. But if you refer to its formation, then I say that it is different. And if you mean according to the perfection reached before death, then it may be completely different. But that does not apply to you heathens. Also a son of our people can be completely different from a saint, in future life. A soul is subjected to three phases, The first is creation. The second a new creation. The third is perfection. The first is common to all men. The second is peculiar to just people who through their will elevate their souls to a more complete revival, joining their good deeds to the perfection of God’s work, whereby their souls are spiritually more perfect and form a connection link between the first and third ones. The third is peculiar to the blessed souls, or saints, if you prefer so, who have exceeded by a thousand degrees the initial stage of their souls, a stage suitable to man, and have transformed them into something suitable to rest in God.»
204.8
«How can we make room, clearance and elevation for our souls?»
«By demolishing the useless things you have in your “ego”. Clear it of all wrong knowledge, and with the debris make the elevation for the sovereign temple. A soul is to be carried higher and higher, on the three steps. Oh! you Romans love symbols. Look at the three steps in a symbolic light. They can tell you their names: penance, patience, perseverance. Or: humbility, purity, justice. Or: wisdom, generosity, mercy. Or, finally, the splendid trinomial: faith, hope, charity. Look also at the symbol of the ornate strong enclosure which encircles the area of the temple. You must surround your soul, the queen of the body, the temple of the Eternal Spirit, with a barrier which may protect it without obstructing light or oppressing it with ugly sights. An enclosure that must be safe and free from the love and desire of what is inferior: flesh and blood, and must aim at what is superior: the spirit. The chisel of freedom is your will-power, which will smooth corners, and remove clefts, stains and flaws in the marble of your ego, so that it may be perfect around your souls. And at the same time, the enclosure protecting the temple is to be used by you as a merciful shelter for the more unhappy people who do not know what Charity is. The porches: they are the effusion of love, of piety, of your desire that more people may come to God, and are like the loving arms stretched like a veil over the cradle of an orphan. And beyond the enclosure: the most beautiful and most scented trees are a homage to the Creator. The trees, planted on a soil previously barren and subsequently cultivated, symbolise all kinds of virtues and form the second living flowery enclosure around the sanctuary; and among the trees, that is among the virtues, there are the fountains, a further effusion of love and another purification before approaching the propylaeum near which one must sacrifice one’s carnality and repudiate all forms of lust before ascending the altar. And then you may proceed further, to the altar and lay your offer on it and finally, crossing the vestibule, you may approach the cell, where God is. And what will the cell be like? Abundance of spiritual wealth, because you can never adorn God too much. Have you understood? You asked Me how Faith is built. I said to You: “Following the method used to build temples”. You can see that it is true.
204.9
Is there anything else you wish to ask Me?»
«No, Master. I think that Flavia has written what You said. Claudia wants to know. Have you written everything?»
«I have written everything most accurately» replies the woman handing over the waxed tablets.
«We will have time to read them again», says Plautina.
«It is wax. It is easily cancelled. Write everything in your hearts. It will never cancel.»
«Master, they are encumbered with vain temples. We are throwing Your words against them to demolish them. But it is a long tasks» says Plautina sighing. And she concludes: «Remember us in Your Heaven…»
«You may rest assured that I will. I leave you. I want you to know that your visit has been very dear to Me. Goodbye, Publius Quintilian. Remember Jesus of Nazareth.»
The ladies say goodbye and are the first to go away. Then Quintilian, who is somewhat pensive, leaves. Jesus watches them go away with Maximinus who leads them back to their wagons.

Detail

The Roman ladies came to meet Jesus in Bethany.

Annotation

The ladies stand up to salute. There's Plautina, Valéria and Lydia and, in addition, another, older one, who I don't know who she is or what she is, whether she's of the same rank or a lower one. This is Flavia Domitilla, who writes what Jesus says on wax tablets (EMV 204.9).

- The soul is not raw matter, Plautina. The embryo is. It is so true that the soul is given only when the fetus is already formed INFUSION OF THE SOUL: The embryo, yes, instead of:the fetus, yes, is a correction by Maria Valtorta on the original manuscript, where she inserts: "So true that the soul is given when the fetus is already formed". This phrase is present in the 1985 French translation by Felix Sauvage, but has been removed on the grounds that it would contradict other statements in the chapter, but this statement, which is in line with that of St Thomas Aquinas (see below), is confirmed by other statements such as in EMV 118: Man is first of all only an animal embryo, no different from that of a sheep.

The soul is, in the likeness of God, eternal and spiritual. This position was upheld by Saint Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church, in the tradition of Aristotle. He estimated the insufflation time at 40 days (about 6 weeks). Today, as science advances, John Paul II, without deciding on the exact moment of insufflation, reminds us that from the very origin of the embryo, there is a personal definition to be respected (we all come from it). Anthropological study leads us to recognize that, by virtue of the substantial unity of the body with the spirit, the human genome has not only a biological significance; it is the bearer of an anthropological dignity which has its source in the spiritual soul which penetrates and vivifies it"(Address to the members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, February 24 1998 {it}). For his part, St Thomas Aquinas affirmed "The soul pre-exists in the embryo; it is there first nutritive, then sensitive, and finally intellective"(Summa Theologica, Part I, Question 118, from whence comes the soul of Man, Article 2, Answer).

The soul, lucid, intelligent, spiritual, the work of God, remembers this. This has already been discussed above, in EMV 204.5, as well as in EMV 94.7, EMV 121.7, EMV 154.7 (with a note), EMV 157.5, EMV 169.5, EMV 344.7 (in the mouth of a child), EMV 428.4 (with a note), EMV 534.6 (in the mouth of an old man), EMV 554.10, EMV 556.8.

The memory that souls have of God is dealt with more specifically in : EMV 10.9 | EMV 286.7 | EMV 290.9. Furthermore, Mary "was never deprived of the remembrance of God", as we read in EMV 4.6; this is illustrated in EMV 10.8/10 and in the last lines ofEMV 11.4. Mary's soul is also mentioned in EMV 136.6 and EMV 348.9/10.

Keywords

GRM 204.10 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«What are You thinking of, Master?» asks Lazarus.
«That there are many unhappy people in the world.»
«And I am one of them.»
«Why, My dear friend?»
«Because everybody comes to You, except Mary. Is she the greatest ruin?»
Jesus looks at him and smiles.
«You are smiling? Are You not sorry that Mary cannot be converted? Are You not sorry that I am suffering? Martha has done nothing but weep since Monday evening. Who was that woman? Don’t You know that for the whole day we hoped it was she?»
«I am smiling because you are an impatient child… And I am smiling because I think that you are wasting energy and tears. Had it been she, I would have rushed to tell you.»
«So it was not she?»
«Oh! Lazarus!…»
«You are right. Patience! Still patience!… Master, here are the jewels that You gave me to sell. They have become money for the poor. They were beautiful. Ladies’ jewels.»
«They belonged to “that” woman.»
«I thought so. Ah! Had they been Mary’s… But she!… I am losing hope, my Lord!…»
Jesus embraces him without speaking for a little while. He then says: «Please do not mention those jewels to anybody. She must disappear, without being admired or desired any longer, like a cloud driven elsewhere by the wind, without leaving any trace in the blue sky.»
«You may be sure, Master… and, in exchange, bring me Mary, our unhappy Mary…»
«Peace be with you, Lazarus. I will keep My promise.»

Keywords

GRM 205.1-2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«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…
205.2
John, before long we shall be parting, because you will be going with Isaac.»
«I am sorry about that, Master. But I will obey.»
«I am sorry as well to send you away. But I need itinerant disciples so badly. I am no longer sufficient. I will soon be sending the apostles and then the disciples. And you will do a lot of good. I will keep you for special missions. In the meantime you will become formed with Isaac. He is so good and the Spirit of God has really instructed him during his long disease. And he is the man who has always forgiven everything… On the other hand, the fact that we have to part does not mean that we shall never meet again. We shall often meet, and every time we are together, I will speak just for you, remember that…»
John bends very low, he hides his face in his hands, bursts into bitter tears and moans: «Oh! Then tell me at once something to persuade me that I have been forgiven… that I can serve God… If You knew how I see my soul, now that the smoke of hatred has vanished… and how I think of God…»
«I know, do not weep. Be humble, but do not be disheartened. Disheartenment is still pride. Be humble, that is all. Cheer up, do not weep…»
John of Endor slowly calms down…
When Jesus sees that he has become calm, He says: «Come, let us go under that thicket of apple-trees and gather our companions and the women. I will speak to everybody, but I will tell you how God loves you.»
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.

Annotation

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.

Keywords

GRM 205.1 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«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…»

Annotation

I have here a sum given to me for the Lord's poor. Aglaé. Cf. EMV 200.

Keywords

GRM 205.2 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

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.