Notes for this keyword
Reading comfort
GRM 194.5 · Volume 3
«You did not tell Me who speaks of Me in the Book.»
«The Prophets, Lord. And even before, the Book speaks of You when Adam was expelled, and… then to Jacob, Abraham and Moses… Oh!… My father told me that he went to John — not this one other John, the one of the Jordan — and he, the great Prophet, called You the Lamb… Oh! Now I understand the lamb of Moses… You are Passover!»
GRM 198.9 · Volume 3
And during their absence the various groups continue their conversations. They narrate, comment and sigh on human harshness. Isaac tells what he has been able to find out about the Baptist. Some say he is at Machaerus, some at Tiberias. His disciples have not yet come back…
«But did they not follow him?»
«Yes. But near Doco those who had captured him crossed the river with their prisoner and no one knows whether they went up to the lake or down to Machaerus. John, Matthias and Simeon are moving around to find out and they will certainly not abandon him.»
«And you, Isaac, will certainly not abandon this new disciple. He will stay with Me for the time being. I want him to celebrate Passover with Me.»
«I will celebrate it in Jerusalem, in Johanna’s house. She saw me and offered a room for me and my companions. They are all coming this year. And we shall be there with Jonathan.»
«Those from Lebanon too?»
«Yes. Perhaps John’s disciples will not be able to come.»
«Johanan’s men are coming, did you know?»
«Are they? I will be at the door, near the priests offering sacrifices. I will see them and take them with me.»
«They will be arriving at the last moment. Their time is very limited. But they have a lamb.»
«I have one, too. A marvellous one. Lazarus gave me it. We will sacrifice this one and they can keep theirs for their journey back home.»
The shepherds of Lebanon, i.e. Daniel and Benjamin.
GRM 201.1 · Volume 3
It must be Wednesday morning because the group of apostles and women, preceded by Jesus and Mary with the boy between them, is approaching the Gate of the Fish. Joseph of Arimathea, who went to meet them as he had promised, is also there. Jesus looks for Alexander, the soldier, but does not see him.
«He is not here today either… I wonder why…»
The crowd is so large that it is quite impossible to inquire of the soldiers, and in any case it might not be wise to do so, as the Jews are more intolerant than ever before festivities; they are also upset because of the capture of the Baptist and they accuse Pilate and his satellites of being accomplices. I realise that the situation is such because of the epithets that are exchanged during squabbles between soldiers and citizens at the Gate, where picturesque… rude insults crack every moment like fireworks.
The women from Galilee are scandalised and they wrap themselves closer in their mantles and veils. Mary blushes, but proceeds without hesitation, as straight as a palm tree, looking at Her Son, Who does not even attempt to make the over-excited Jews see reason or induce the soldiers to be merciful towards the Israelites. And as some rather unpleasant epithet is addressed to the Galilean group, Joseph of Arimathea moves forward towards Jesus and is recognised by the crowd who become silent out of respect for him.
At last the Gate of the Fish is behind them, and the great crowd of people, pouring into the town in waves, rushes along the streets, along with donkeys and herds…
The group of apostles and women, preceded by Jesus and Mary with the little boy in their midst, approach the Pisces Gate. Gate to the north, at the foot of the Antonia fortress.
GRM 203.2 · Volume 3
My dear disciples who are to continue My work in future, come near Me. Many a time you have said to Me: “Teach us to pray as You pray. Teach us, as John taught his disciples, so that we may pray with the same words as our Master”. And I always replied to you: “I will do that when I see in you the minimum sufficient preparation so that the prayer may not be a vain formula of human words, but a real conversation with the Father”. That moment has now come. You now possess what is necessary to know the words worth being said to God. And I want to teach you them this evening, in peace and in our mutual love, in the peace and love of God and with God, because as true Israelites we have fulfilled the Passover precept and we have complied with God’s commandment concerning love for God and our neighbour.
Jesus speaks to the apostles.
You told me, for example, in EMV 62.2 | EMV 119.10 | EMV 149.3.
GRM 204.1-2 · Volume 3
«What do You want, Mother?»
«My Son, some Gentiles have come with some ladies. They say that they heard from Johanna that You were here. They also said that they have been waiting for You all these past days near the Antonia…»
«Ah! I know! I will come at once. Where are they?»
«At Lazarus’ house, in his garden. He is loved by the Romans and does not feel the repugnance towards them that we do. He let them go into the large garden with their carts, so that no one would be scandalised…»
«All right, Mother.
204.2
They are Roman soldiers and ladies. I know.»
«And what do they want from You?»
«What many in Israel do not want: light.»
«But how and what do they believe You are? God perhaps?»
«Yes, in their way of thinking. It is easier for them to accept the idea of the incarnation of a god in mortal flesh, than it is for us.»
«So they believe in Your faith…»
«Not yet, Mother. I must destroy theirs, first. For the time being they consider Me a wise man, a philosopher, as they say. But both their desire to become acquainted with philosophical doctrines and their inclination to believe the incarnation of a god as possible, are of great help to Me in leading them to the true Faith. Believe Me, they are more ingenuous in their way of thinking, than many Israelites.»
«But are they sincere? It is rumoured that the Baptist…»
«No. Had it been for them, John would be free and safe. Non-rebellious people are left in peace. On the contrary I can assure You that for them to be a prophet – they say a philosopher because the loftiness of supernatural wisdom is still philosophy to them – is a guarantee of respect. Do not worry, Mother. No harm will come to Me from that end…»
«But the Pharisees… if they find out, what will they say also about Lazarus? You are You… and You are to bring the Word to the world. But Lazarus!… They already offend him so much…»
«But they cannot touch him. They know that he is protected by Rome.»
«I leave You, Son. Here is Maximinus, he will take You to the Gentiles» and Mary, Who had walked beside Jesus all the time, withdraws quickly, and goes towards the Zealot’s house. Jesus on the other hand, goes through a little iron door in the garden wall, into a distant part of the garden, where it actually becomes an orchard and precisely near the place where Lazarus will be buried later.
GRM 211.3-4 · Volume 3
They get up and go towards Hebron, towards the Baptist’s house. When they are almost there, they see a serried group of citizens coming forward rather hesitatingly. They seem curious and embarrassed. But Jesus greets them smiling. They take heart, they open out and that severe person, the head of the synagogue, whom they had met in the previous year, emerges from the group.
«Peace to you!» greets Jesus instantly. «Will you allow us to stop in your town? I am here with all My favourite disciples and with some of their mothers.»
«Master, but do You not bear us, or me, a grudge?»
«Grudge? I do not know what it is, neither do I know why I should bear it.»
«Last year I offended You…»
«You offended an Unknown man, thinking it was your right to do so. Later you understood and you were sorry you had done it. But that is past. And as repentance cancels sin, so the present deletes the past. Now I am no longer Unknown to you. So what are your sentiments towards Me?»
«Of respect. Lord. Of… desire…»
«Desire? What do you want from Me?»
«To know You better than I do at present.»
«How? In what way?»
«Through Your word and Your deeds. We have received news about You, Your doctrine, Your power, and we were told that You were involved in the liberation of the Baptist. So You did not hate him, You did not try to oust our John!… He himself admitted that it was through You that he saw the valley of the holy Jordan once again. We went to him and spoke to him of You and he said to us: “You do not know what you have rejected. I should curse you, but I forgive you because He taught me to forgive and to be meek. But if you do not wish to be anathematised by the Lord and by me, love the Messiah. And have no doubts. This is his evidence: spirit of peace, perfect love, greatest wisdom, heavenly doctrine, absolute meekness, power over everything, total humility, angelical chastity. You cannot be wrong. When you breathe peace near a man Who says He is the Messiah, when you drink the love emanating from Him, when you pass from your darkness into Light, when you see sinners being redeemed and flesh being cured, then say: ‘This is truly the Lamb of God!’ “. We know that Your deeds are those mentioned by John. Therefore forgive us, love us, give us what the world expects from You.»
«That is why I am here. I have come from far away to give to the town of John also what I give every place that accepts Me. Tell Me what you wish from Me.»
«We also have sick people, and we are ignorant. We are ignorant particularly with regards to what is love and goodness. John, in his total love for God, has an iron hand and a fiery word and he wants to bend everybody as a giant bends a blade of grass. Many give way to dejection, because man is more sinful than holy. It is difficult to be saints!… You… they say that You raise, You do not bend, You do not cauterise, You use balms, You do not crush, You caress. We know that You are paternal with sinners and You are powerful against diseases, whichever they may be, and above all the diseases of hearts. Our rabbis can no longer do that.»
211.4
«Bring Me your sick people and then gather in this garden, which has been abandoned and was desecrated by sin, after it had been made a temple for the Grace that lived in it.»
The people of Hebron spread out in all directions as fast as swallows. Only the head of the synagogue remains and together with Jesus and the disciples he goes in beyond the enclosure of the garden, to the shade of a bower where entangled roses and vines have grown wild. The population is soon back. With them there is a paralytic in a stretcher, a blind young woman, a dumb boy and two sick people, whose trouble I do not know. The last two are walking supported by other people.
GRM 211.5 · Volume 3
It is not legal to accuse unless one knows, neither can one pass judgement without interrogating the accused. But nowadays a new series of sentences and accusations has been added to those already existing in respect of the usual sins or alleged offences: the ones moved against those who come in the name of God. In the past they were moved against the Prophets, now they are repeated against the Precursor of Christ and against Christ.
You are aware of it. Drawn by deception out of the land of Shechem, the Baptist is now awaiting death in Herod’s prison, because he will never submit to falsehood or compromise, and his life may be crushed and his head cut off, but they will not be able to suppress his honesty or cut his soul off the Truth, which he has served faithfully in all its divine, supernatural and moral forms. And likewise Christ is persecuted with double and decuple fury, because He does not confine Himself to saying: “It is not lawful” to Herod, but He thunders the same “It is not lawful” wherever He finds sin or knows it is a sin, without excluding any class, in the name of God and for God’s honour.
GRM 211.8
I invite you: “Come!”. I call you in the name of your John who is languishing because he is a saint, who was struck because he precedes Me and because he endeavoured to remove the filth from the paths of the Lamb. Come to serve God. The time is near. Do not be unprepared for Redemption. Let the rain fall on the sown ground. Otherwise it will fall in vain. You people of Hebron must be the leaders! You lived here with Zacharias and Eliza: the holy people who deserved John from Heaven; and here John spread the scent of Grace by means of his true childish innocence and from the desert he sent you the anti-corrupting incense of his Grace, which has become a wonder of penance. Do not disappoint your John. He raised the love for our neighbour to an almost divine level, whereby he loves the last dweller on the desert, as he loves you, his fellow-citizens, and he certainly implores Salvation for you. And Salvation means to follow the Voice of the Lord and believe in His Word. And from this sacerdotal town come in a body to the service of God. I am passing and I call you. Do not be inferior to prostitutes, for whom one word of mercy is sufficient to persuade them to abandon their previous life and come on to the way of Good.
Jesus speaks to the people of Hebron, the town where John the Baptist grew up.
GRM 215.3-4 · Volume 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.»
Jesus is compared to John the Baptist on several occasions.
You mentioned John the Baptist. Well, I was with him, and it was he who pointed out Jesus as he was passing by, saying, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” ” When Jesus went down to the Jordan to be baptized, the heavens opened and a voice cried out: “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” and God’s love descended in the form of a dove to shine upon his head. See EMV 45.
GRM 567.16
Translation in progress