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30.6 They set out in the moonlight aided by their torches, after closing the shed and the enclosure. They go along country paths, among thorn-bush hedges stripped by winter.

They go round Bethlehem. They reach the stable not the way Mary came, but from the opposite direction, so that they do not pass in front of the better stables, instead they find this one first. They go near the entrance.

«Go in!»

«I wouldn’t dare!»

«You go in!»

«No.»

«At least have a look.»

«You, Levi, who saw the angel first, obviously because you are better than we are, look in.» Before they said he was mad…. but now it suits them if he dare what they do not.

The boy hesitates, but then he makes up his mind. He goes near the hole, pulls the mantle a little to one side, looks… and remains enraptured.

«What can you see?» they ask him anxiously in low voices.

«I can see a beautiful young woman and a man bending over a manger and I can hear… I can hear a little baby crying, and the woman is speaking to Him in a voice… oh! what a voice!»

«What is She saying?»

«She is saying: ‘Jesus, little one! Jesus, love of Your Mummy! Don’t cry, little Son’. She is saying: ‘Oh! If I could only say to You: «Take some milk, little one». But I have not got any yet’. She says: ‘You are so cold, My love! And the hay is stinging You! How painful it is for Your Mummy to hear You crying so, without being able to help You!’ She says: ‘Sleep, soul of Mine! Because it breaks My heart to hear You crying and see Your tears!’ and She kisses Him, and She must be warming His little feet with Her hands, because She is bent with Her arms in the manger.»

«Call Her! Let them hear you.»

«I won’t. You should call Her, because you brought us here and you know Her!»

The shepherd opens his mouth, but he only utters a faint moaning noise.

• Levi of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)

The shepherd opens his mouth, but he only utters a faint moaning noise.

30.7 Joseph turns round and comes to the door. «Who are you?»

«Shepherds. We brought you some food and some wool. We have come to worship the Saviour.»

«Come in.»

They go in, and the stable becomes brighter because of the light of the torches. The older men push the young ones in front of them.

Mary turns round and smiles. «Come,» She says. «Come!», and She invites them with Her hand and Her smile, and She takes the boy who saw the angel and She draws him to Herself, against the manger. And the boy looks, and is happy.

The others, invited also by Joseph, move forward with their gifts and they place them at Mary’s feet with few deep-felt words. They then look at the Baby Who is weeping a little and they smile moved and happy.

• Elijah of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Joseph of Jacob (Saint Joseph)
• Levi of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• The Virgin Mary

«He should be given a mouthful of milk, better still, some water and honey. But we have no honey. We give it to little babies. I have seven children, and I know…»

«There is some milk here. Take it, Woman.»

«But it is cold. It should be warm. Where is Elias? He has the sheep.»

Elias must be the shepherd who gave the milk. But he is not there. He remained outside and is looking from the hole, but he cannot be seen in the dark night.

«Who led you here?»

«An angel told us to come, and Elias showed us the way. But where is he now?»

The sheep declares his presence with a bleat.

«Come in. You are wanted.»

He enters with his sheep, embarrassed because they all look at him.

«It’s you!» says Joseph, who recognises him, and Mary smiles at him saying: «You are good.»

They milk the sheep and with the hem of a piece of linen dipped into the warm creamy milk, Mary moistens the lips of the Baby Who sucks the sweet cream. They all smile, and even more so, when Jesus falls asleep in the warmth of the wool, with the little bit of linen still between His lips.

• Elijah of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)

«Is there anything You wish? Have You no relatives whom You would like to inform that He has been born?»

«Yes, I have them. But they are far away. They are at Hebron…»

«I will go,» says Elias. «Who are they?»

«Zacharias, the priest, and My cousin Elizabeth.»

«Zacharias? Oh! I know him well. In summer I go up those mountains because the pastures are rich and beautiful, and I am a friend of his shepherd. When I know you are settled, I will go to Zacharias.»

«Thank you, Elias.»

«You need not thank me. It is a great honour for me, a poor shepherd, to go and speak to the priest and say to him: ‘The Saviour has been born’.»

«No. You must say to him: ‘Your cousin, Mary of Nazareth, has said that Jesus has been born, and that you should come to Bethlehem’.»

«I will say that.»

«May God reward you.»

• Elijah of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Elizabeth of Hebron (mother of John the Baptist)
• Zacharie (father of John the Baptist)

«I will remember you, Elias, and every one of you.»

«Will You tell Your Baby about us?»

«I certainly will.»

«I am Elias.»

«And I am Levi.»

«And I am Samuel.»

«And I Jonah.»

«And I Isaac.»

«And I Tobias.»

«And I Jonathan.»

«And I Daniel.»

«And I Simeon.»

«My name is John.»

«I am Joseph and my brother Benjamin, we are twins.»

«I will remember your names.»

«We must go… But we will come back… And we will bring others to worship Him.»

«How can we go back to the sheep-fold, leaving the Child?»

«Glory be to God Who has shown Him to us!»

«Will You let us kiss His dress?» asks Levi, with an angelic smile.

And Mary lifts Jesus slowly, and sitting on the hay, wraps the tiny little feet in linen, and offers them to be kissed. And the shepherds bow down to the ground and kiss the tiny feet, veiled by the linen. Those with a beard clean it first; almost everyone is crying, and when they have to go, they walk out backwards, leaving their hearts there…

The vision ends in this way, with Mary sitting on the straw with the Child on Her lap and Joseph who, leaning with his elbow on the manger, looks and adores.

• Benjamin of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Daniel of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Elijah of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Isaac de Yutta (shepherd of the Nativity)
• John of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Jonathas of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Joseph of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity who died before Christ's public life)
• Levi of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)
• Matthias (shepherd of the Nativity - formerly Tobias of Bethlehem)
• Samuel of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity who died before Christ's public life)
• Simeon of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)

30.10 Jesus says:

«I will speak today. You are very tired, but have a little more patience.

It is the eve of Corpus Christi. I could speak to you about the Eucharist and the saints who became apostles of Its cult, as I spoke to you of the saints who were apostles of the Sacred Heart. But I want to speak to you of something else and of a class of worshippers of My Body who are the forerunners of Its cult. That is: the shepherds. They were the first worshippers of My Body of the Word, Who had become Man.

Once I told you and also My Church says this, the Holy Innocents are the protomartyrs of Christ. Now I tell you that the shepherds are the first worshippers of the Body of God. And they have all the qualifications to be the worshippers of My Body, o Eucharistic souls.

Firm faith: they believe the angel promptly and unquestioningly.

Generosity: they give all their wealth to their Lord.

Humility: they approach people, who from the human point of view, are poorer than they, and they do so with a modest attitude that does not humiliate them, and they profess themselves their servants.

Desire: what they are unable to offer, they endeavour to obtain by means of charitable work.

Prompt obedience: Mary wishes to inform Zacharias and Elias goes at once. He does not postpone the matter.

Love finally: they suffer in departing from the grotto and you say: ‘They leave their hearts there’. And you are right.

But should the same not happen with My Sacrament?

• Blessed Sacrament - Eucharistic Adoration
• Eucharist
• Shepherds of the Nativity

And there is another point, and it is entirely for you: note to whom the angel reveals himself first and who deserves to hear Mary’s love effusions. Levi: the boy.

God shows Himself to those who have a child’s soul and He shows them also His mysteries and allows them to hear His divine words and Mary’s. And those with a child’s soul have also Levi’s holy daring and they say: ‘Let us kiss Jesus’ dress’. They say that to Mary. Because it is always Mary Who gives you Jesus. She is the Bearer of the Eucharist. She is the Living Pyx.

He who goes to Mary, finds Me. He who asks Her for Me receives Me from Her. When a creature says to Mary: ‘Give me Your Jesus that I may love Him’, My Mother’s smile causes Heaven’s colours to change into a more lively brightness because of its greater delight.

Say, therefore, to Her: ‘Let me kiss Jesus’ dress, let me kiss His wounds’. And dare even more: ‘Let me rest my head on Your Jesus’ Heart, that I may delight in It’.

Come. And rest. Like Jesus in His cradle, between Jesus and Mary.»

• Levi of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)

«The man you sent me told me that you were homeless when He was born. You must have suffered a lot.»

• Elijah of Bethlehem (shepherd of the Nativity)

«The man you sent me told me that you were homeless when He was born. You must have suffered a lot.»

«Yes, quite a lot. But our fears were greater than our discomfort. We were afraid the Child’s health might be injured. And we had to stay there for the first days. We lacked nothing, for ourselves, because the shepherds gave the good news to the people of Bethlehem, and many of them brought us gifts. But we had no house, not even a decent room, a bed… and Jesus cried so much, particularly at night, because the wind was blowing in from all directions. I used to light a little fire. Only a little one, because the smoke made Jesus cough… and it was still cold in any case. Two animals do not give out much heat, especially when the cold air comes in from all directions! We had no warm water to wash Him, nor dry clothes to change Him. Yes, He suffered quite a lot! And Mary suffered seeing Him suffer. I suffered.. so you can imagine His Mother’s anguish! She fed Him with milk and tears, milk and love… Now here it is much better. I had made such a comfortable cradle for Him and Mary had fitted it with a soft little mattress. But it is in Nazareth! Ah! If He were born there, it would have been different!»

«But Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. It was prophesised.»

• Jesus as a child
• Nativity of Jesus Christ
• Rosary
• Shepherds of the Nativity
• Suffering and pain of the Virgin Mary

31.9 Obedience always saves you, even if the advice given to you is not completely perfect .

As you know, we obeyed. And we were right to do so. It is true that Herod confined the slaughter of the children to Bethlehem and its surroundings. But could Satan not have spread and propagated such hatred much farther and wider and have induced all the mighty ones in Palestine to commit a similar crime in order to kill the future King of the Jews? He could have done that and it would have happened in Christ’s early days, when the repeated miracles had drawn the attention of both the crowds and of those in power. If such an event had taken place, how could we have crossed the whole of Palestine, to go from Nazareth to Egypt, the hospitable land for persecuted Jews, and make such a journey with a little child, and while persecution was raging? It was easier to flee from Bethlehem, even if the flight was equally painful.

Obedience always saves you. Remember that.

• Escape to Egypt
• Herod the Great
• Holy Family
• Massacre of the Innocents
• Obedience
• Persecution