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GRM 173.2-4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

173.2«Peace be with you all!

Yesterday I spoke of prayer, of swearing, of fasting. Today I want to instruct you in other perfections. They are also prayer, trust, sincerity, love, religion.

The first thing I will speak to you of is the right use of riches, changed into as many treasures in Heaven by the goodwill of the faithful servant. The treasures of the earth do not last. But the treasures of Heaven are eternal. Are you fond of what is yours? Are you sorry to die because you will no longer be able to look after your property and you will have to leave it? In that case transfer them to Heaven. You may say: “What is of the earth will not enter Heaven and You have taught us that money is the filthiest thing on earth. How can we transpose them to Heaven?” No. You cannot take money, material as it is, into the Kingdom where everything is spiritual. But you can take the fruit of money.

When you give a banker your money, why do you do it? That he may make it bear interest. You do not deprive yourselves of it, not even temporarily, so that he may give you back the same amount. But out of ten talents you want him to give you back ten plus one or even more. Then you are happy and you praise the banker. Otherwise you say: “He is honest, but he is a fool”. And, if instead of ten plus one, he should give you nine, saying: “I lost the rest”, you would denounce him and send him to prison. What is the fruit of money? Does the banker sow your money and water it to make it grow? No. The fruit is given by a skillful handling of business, so that by means of mortgage deeds and interest loans, the money is increased by the premium rightly requested for the loan of the gold. Is it not so?

Now listen. God gives you earthly riches. To some people he grants a great deal, to some only as much as they need to live, and He says to you: “Now it is up to you. I have given them to you. Gain by these means an end as My love wishes for your own good. I have entrusted you with them, but not that you may turn them into evil. Make your wealth bear interest, for this real Fatherland, both because of the reputation I hold you in, and out of gratitude for My gifts”.

173.3And here is the method to reach this end.

Do not accumulate your treasures on the earth, living for them, being cruel for them, cursed by your neighbour and by God on account of them. It is not worth it, They are never safe in this world. Thieves can always rob you. Fire can always destroy your houses. Diseases of plants and animals can exterminate herds and orchards. How many things undermine your property! Whether it is real estate and unassailable, such as houses and gold; whether its nature is liable to be damaged, such as all living things, vegetables and animals, or precious cloths, they can be ruined. Thunderbolts, fire and floods can destroy houses; thieves, blight, dry weather, rodents and insects can damage fields; catching diseases, fever, crippling, murrain can destroy cattle; moths and mice can ruin valuable pieces of cloth and precious pieces of furniture; oxidization can corrode vases, chandeliers and artistic gates; everything is subject to destruction.

But if you turn earthly welfare into supernatural good, then it becomes free from all damage by time, men and calamities. Store your treasures in Heaven, where thieves cannot break them, and where no calamities occur. Work with merciful love for all the miseries of the earth. You may caress your money and kiss it if you wish so, you may rejoice at the plentiful crops, at the vineyards laden with grapes, at the countless number of olives which bend the branches of the olive-trees, and at your prolific sheep with turgid udders. You may rejoice at all that, but not in a sterile or human way. Rejoice with love and admiration, with supernatural delight and foresight.

“Thank You, my God, for this money, for these crops, plants, sheep and for this business! Thank you, sheep, plants, meadows, business, which serve me so well. May you all be blessed, because through Your goodness, o Eternal Father, and through yours, o things of mine, I can do so much good to those who are hungry, or are naked, homeless, sick, alone… Last year I did it for ten. This year — as I have more money, although I gave away much as alms, and the crops are more plentiful and the flocks larger — I will give twice, three times as much as last year. So that everybody, also those who have no wealth of their own, may partake of my joy and bless with me the Eternal Lord”. That is the prayer of a just man. A prayer, which joined to your deeds, transfers your wealth to Heaven, and not only keeps it eternally for you, but you will find it increased by the holy fruit of love.

Store your treasure in Heaven so that your heart may also be there, above and beyond the risk that not only your gold, your houses, fields and herds may suffer damage, but that your very heart may be attacked and robbed, corroded, burnt and killed by the spirit of the world. If you do that, you will have your treasure in your heart because you will have God within you until the blessed day when you will be in Him.

173.4But in order not to diminish the fruit of charity, take care to be charitable in a supernatural spirit. What I said with regards to prayer and to fasting applies also to charity and to any other good action you may do.

Keep the good you may do free from the violating sensation of the world, keep it immune from human praise. Do not profane the scented rose of your charity and of your good deeds, as it is a true censer of perfumes agreeable to the Lord. Good is profaned by a proud spirit, by the desire to be noted when doing good and by the quest for praise. The rose of charity is then dribbled and eaten away by the big slimy snails of satisfied pride and the censer is filled with the fetid straw of the litter on which the proud man basks like a well fed animal.

Oh! Those deeds of charity accomplished to be pointed out by people! It would be better, much better, if they had not been performed at all! He who does not do them, commits a sin of harshness. He who does them, letting people know both the amount given and the name of the person to whom it was given, and begging for praise, commits a sin of pride by making the offer known, as he says: “See how much I can afford?”, he sins against charity because he humbles the beneficiary by making his name known, and commits a sin of spiritual avarice as he wants to accumulate human praises… It is straw, nothing but straw. Let God and His angels praise you.

When you give alms do not have it trumpeted before you, to draw the attention of passers-by and win their praise, as the hypocrites do, who want to be praised by men and thus give alms only where they can be seen by many people. They, too, have received their reward and will not have another one from God. Do not commit the same sin and do not be so presumptuous. But when you give alms your left hand must not know what your right is doing, so secret and modest is your almsgiving and then forget about it. Do not linger admiring your deed, swelling with it like the toad that contemplates itself with its veiled eyes in the pond and sees also the clouds, trees and a chart near the bank reflected in the still water and when it sees that it is so small as compared to them, which are so large, it swells up with air until it bursts. Also your charity is nothing as compared to the Infinite, which is the Charity of God, and if you wanted to become like Him and make your small charity so big as to be equal to His, you would fill yourselves with the wind of pride and would end up by perishing.

Forget about it. Forget about the action itself. A light, a sweet voice will always be present with you and will make your day bright, sweet and happy. Because that light will be the smile of God, the honey will be the spiritual peace, which still comes from God, and the voice will be the voice of God, the Father Who will say to you: “Thank you”. He sees the hidden evil and the concealed good and will give you a reward for them.»

GRM 174.10 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

O children of God, defend yourselves against yourselves. Look after yourselves diligently against all temptations. There is no evil in being tempted. An athlete prepares himself for victory fighting. But it is evil to be overcome because you are not prepared and you are negligent. I know that everything serves as a temptation. I know that defence is exhausting. I know that it is tiring to have to struggle. But think of what you will gain through these things. And for one hour of pleasure, whatever kind it may be, would you like to lose an eternity of peace? What does the pleasure of the flesh, of gold, of thoughts leave you? Nothing. What do you gain by rejecting them? Everything. I am speaking to sinners, because man is a sinner. Well, tell me the truth: after satisfying your senses, your pride, your greed, have you felt fresher, happier, safer? In the hour following your satisfaction, which is always the time of meditation, have you sincerely felt that you were happy? I have never tasted the bread of sensuality. But I will reply in your stead: “No. Languor, unhappiness, uncertainty, nausea, fear, restlessness: that was the juice squeezed out of the hour spent in pleasure”.

GRM 181.6-7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

View in context

Quotation

The enemies come into the fields of the Master, that is to His disciples. They are many and Satan is the first one. The others are his servants, that is, men, passions, the world and the flesh. The disciple who is more easily struck by them is the one who is not entirely close to the Master, but is between the Master and the world. He is not capable and does not want to part completely with the world, the flesh, passions and demons, to belong entirely to Him Who wants to take him to God. And the world, flesh, passions and the demon scatter their seed in him: gold, power, women, pride, the fear of an unfavourable opinion of the world, the spirit of utilitarianism. “The great ones are the strongest. I will serve them so that they will be friendly to me”. And they become criminals and damned for such miserable things!…

Why does the Master, Who sees the imperfection of a disciple, not cast him away at once, even if He is not prepared to submit to the thought: “He will be My murderer”? That is what you are asking yourselves. Because it is useless to do so. If He did so he would not avoid having him as an enemy, a double and more dangerous enemy, because of his anger and his sorrow at being found out or at being found out or at being driven away. Yes, because of his sorrow. Because sometimes a bad disciple does not realise that he is such. The demon’s action is so subtle that he is not aware of it. He becomes wicked without even suspecting that he is subject to such action. And because of his anger, He is enraged at being known for what he is, when he is aware of Satan’s work and of his followers: the men who tempt weak people in their weak points, to remove from the world a saint who offends them, wicked as they are, when compared with his goodness. The saint then prays and trusts in God. “Let what You allow be done” he says. He adds only the clause: “providing it serves Your purpose”. The saint knows that the time will come when the wicked darnel will be rejected from the harvest. By God Himself Who does not allow more than what is useful to the triumph of His loving will.»

181.7

«If You maintain that Satan and his followers are always to be blamed… it seems to me that the responsibility of the disciple diminishes» says Matthew.

«Do not believe that. If there is Good there is also Evil and man is gifted with discernment and freedom.»

«You say that God does not allow more than what is useful to the triumph of His loving will. Therefore such an error is useful too, if He allows it, and it serves the triumph of the divine will» says the Iscariot.

«And you infer, as Matthew does, that that justifies the disciple’s crime. God created the lion without ferocity and the snake without poison, now one is ferocious and the other poisonous. That is why God separated them from man. Ponder over that and draw conclusions. »

GRM 187.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«I wish to go onto the infinite sea… towards other lands beyond it. I wish to go and speak of You. I am dreaming… of going towards Rome, towards Greece, towards dark places to take the Light there… so that those living in darkness may get in touch with You and may live in communion with You, Light of the world… I am dreaming of a better world… to be bettered through the knowledge of You, that is, through the knowledge of the Love that makes people good, pure, heroic, of the Love that makes the world love and raise Your Name, Your Faith, Your Doctrine above hatred, sin, flesh, above the vices of the mind, above gold, above everything… and I dream of going with my brothers on the sea of God, on the road of light to take You… as Your Mother once brought You down to us from Heaven… I dream that I am a child, who knowing nothing but love, is happy also when facing trouble… and sings to comfort the adults who ponder too much, and moves forward… facing death smiling… towards glory with the humility of one who does not know what he is doing, but knows only that he is coming to You, Love…»

Detail

John of Zebedee speaks.

GRM 211.6-8 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Are there no more servants of God in Israel? Yes, there are, But they are “idols”.

In Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles, the following is written among many other things. And I am drawing your attention to it because every word of the Book is a lesson that, as the Spirit had it written for a current event, refers to an event that will take place in the future. So it is written: “… When you enter Babylon you will see gods made of gold, silver, stone, wood… Be on your guard, do not imitate the foreigners, do not have any fear of their gods… Say in your hearts: ‘Lord, it is You only that we must worship’”. And the letter describes the details of those idols whose tongues are made by a craftsman and they do not make use of them to reproach their false priests, who strip them of their gold to clothe prostitutes with it and later they remove the same gold, desecrated by the perspiration of prostitution, to reclothe the idol; idols can rust and woodworm can corrode and are clean and tidy only if man washes their faces and clothes them, whereas they can do nothing by themselves, although they have sceptre and axe in their hands. And the Prophet concludes: “Therefore be not afraid of them”. And he continues: “Those gods are as useless as broken pots. Their eyes are full of the dust raised by the feet of those who enter the temple, and they close them tight, as in a sepulchre or like a man who has offended the king, because anyone can steal their precious robes. They cannot see the light of the lamps, so they are like temple beams, and the lamps serve only to blacken them with smoke, while owls, swallows and other birds fly over their heads and soil them with excrement, and cats nestle among their clothes and tear them. So you must not be afraid of them, they are dead things. Neither is their gold of any use to them, it is only a display, and if it is not polished, the idols do not shine, as they did not feel anything when they were made. Fire did not awake them. They were bought at fabulous prices. They are carried wherever man wants to take them because they are shamefully powerless… So why are they called gods? Because they are worshipped with offerings and a show of false ceremonies, which are not felt by those who perform them, nor believed by those who see them. Whether they are treated badly or well, they are incapable of paying back either treatment, as they are incapable of electing or overthrowing a king, they can give neither wealth nor evil, they cannot save a man from death or deliver a weak man from an overbearing one. They feel no pity for widows and orphans. They are like the stones of the mountains”… This is more or less what the letter says.

211.7

Now, we also have idols, no more saints, in the ranks of the Lord. That is why Evil can rise against Good. The evil that soils with excrement the intellects and hearts of those who are no longer saints, and nestles among the false robes of goodness.

They can no longer speak the words of God. Of course! Their tongue is made by man and they speak the words of man, when they do not speak Satan’s. And they can only foolishly reproach the innocent and the poor, but they are silent where they see the corruption of powerful people. Because they are all corrupt and they cannot accuse one another of the same crimes. They are greedy, not for the Lord, but for Mammon, and they work accepting the gold of lust and crime, bartering it, stealing it, seized with immoderate desire exceeding every limit and imagination. They are covered with dust, which rots on them and if they show clean faces, God sees their filthy hearts. They are corroded by the rust of hatred and the worm of sin and they cannot react to save themselves. They brandish maledictions as if they were sceptres and axes, but they do not know that they are cursed. Isolated in their thoughts and their hatred, like corpses in a sepulchre or prisoners in jail, they remain there, clinging to the bars lest somebody might take them away from there, because those dead people are still something: mummies, nothing else but mummies looking like human beings, while their bodies have turned into dry wood, and outside they would be old-fashioned articles in a world seeking Life, in need of Life as a child needs a mother’s breast, a world that wants one who can give it Life and not the stench of death.

They do live in the Temple and the smoke of the lamps, that is of honours, blackens them, but no light descends upon them; and all passions nestle in them like birds and cats, while the fire of their mission does not give them the mystical torture of being burnt by the fire of God. They are refractory to Love. The fire of Charity does not inflame them, as Charity does not clothe them with its golden brightness. The dual Charity in shape and source: charity of God and of neighbour, the form; charity from God and from man, the source. Because God withdraws from a man who does not love, and thus the former source ceases; and man withdraws from a wicked man, and also the latter source ceases. Charity deprives a loveless man of everything. They allow themselves to be bought at a cursed price, and to be led where it suits profit and power.

No. It is not right! No money can buy a conscience, particularly the conscience of a priest or a teacher. It is not right to acquiesce in the mighty things of the earth when they induce acts contrary to God’s commandments. That is spiritual inability and it states[3]: “A eunuch is not to be admitted to the assembly of the Lord”. Thus, if a man, impotent by nature, cannot belong to the people of God, can a spiritually impotent man be His minister? Because I solemnly tell you that many priests and masters are suffering from guilty spiritual barrenness, as they lack spiritual virility. Many. Too many!

211.8

Meditate. Observe. Compare. You will see that we have many idols, but few ministers of the Good, which is God. That is why the sanctuary towns are no longer a sanctuary. Nothing is now respected in Israel and saints die because those who are not saints hate them.

But I invite you: “Come!”. (...) 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. (...) Salvation means to follow the Voice of the Lord and believe in His Word. (...) 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.

I was asked upon My arrival: “But do You not bear us a grudge?” Grudge? No, I have love for you! And I hope to see you in the multitude of My people, whom I lead to God, in the new exodus towards the true Promised Land: the Kingdom of God, beyond the Red Sea of sensuality and the deserts of sin, free from all kinds of slavery, to the eternal Land, which abounds in delight and is saturated with peace… Come! This is Love passing by. Whoever wishes can follow Him, because only goodwill is required to be accepted by Him.

Annotation

In Jeremiah's letter to the exiles, it says, among other things, the following. Letter of Jeremiah 1:1-72 (sometimes inserted in Baruch 6). The biblical excerpt has been given below.

It says: "The eunuch shall not enter the assembly of the Lord. " In Deuteronomy 23.2.

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Book of Deuteronomy 23, 2

Deut 23.2: He whose testicles have been crushed or whose urethra has been cut off shall not enter the assembly of Yahweh.

Jeremiah 1:1-72 (sometimes transposed into Baruch 6:1-72) - On idols

Jer 1, 1-72 | Ba 6, 1-72 : Copy of the letter Jeremiah sent to those who were about to be taken captive to Babylon by the king of the Babylonians, to tell them what God had commanded them to say. Because of the sins you have committed before God, you are to be taken captive to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar, king of the Babylonians. So when you get to Babylon, you will stay there for many years and a long time, up to seven generations; and after that I will bring you out in peace. Now you will see in Babylon gods of silver, gold and wood, which are carried on the shoulders and inspire fear in the nations. Take heed, then, that you too do not imitate these foreigners and allow yourselves to be seized by the fear of these gods. When you see crowds of people thronging before and behind them, and paying them homage, say in your heart, "It is you, Master, who must be worshipped." For my angel is with you, and cares for your life.

For the tongue of these gods has been polished by a workman; it is overlaid with gold and silver, but they are only lies, and cannot speak. As for a girl who loves finery, gold has been taken, and crowns have been prepared to place on the heads of these gods. The priests go so far as to steal gold and silver from their gods, and use it for their own purposes; they even give it to the prostitutes in their houses. They adorn them with rich garments, like men, these gods of silver, gold and wood; but these can defend themselves neither from rust nor from worms. When they have been clothed in purple garments, they still have to wipe their faces, because the dust of the house covers them with a thick layer. Here's one holding a scepter, like a provincial governor: he won't kill anyone who offends him. This other carries a sword or an axe in his hand, but he cannot defend himself against the enemy or thieves. It is clear that these are not gods, so do not fear them.

As a man's vessel, when broken, becomes useless: so are their gods. If you place them in a house, their eyes fill with the dust of the feet of those who enter. Just as prison doors are carefully closed on a man who has offended the king, or on a man about to be led to his death, so the priests defend the dwelling of their gods with strong doors, with locks and bolts, lest they be robbed by thieves. They light lamps, and even more of them than for themselves, and these gods can see none. They are like one of the beams of the house, and it is said that their hearts are eaten away by the vermin that comes out of the ground, and devours them and their clothes, without their feeling it. Their faces turn black with the smoke that rises from the house. On their bodies and heads flutter the owls, swallows and other birds; and similarly frolic the cats themselves. By this you will know that they are not gods, so do not fear them.

The gold with which they are covered to embellish them, if someone does not remove the rust, they will not make it shine; for they did not even feel anything when they were melted down. These idols were bought at the highest price, and there is no breath of life in them. Having no feet, they are carried on shoulders, showing men their shameful impotence. May those who serve them be confused with them! If they fall to the ground, they won't get up of their own accord; and if someone puts them upright, they won't set themselves in motion; and if they lean, they won't straighten. It is as if offerings were placed before the dead. The priests sell the victims offered to them and make a profit from them; their wives salt them and give nothing to the poor or infirm. Women in childbirth or in an impure state touch their sacrifices. Knowing therefore from these things that they are not gods, do not fear them.

And why call them gods? For it is women who come to bring their offerings to these gods of silver, gold and wood. And in their temples the priests sit, their tunics torn, their heads and faces shaven, and their heads uncovered. They roar and shout before their gods, as if at a funeral feast. Their priests strip them of their garments, and they clothe their wives and children in them. Whether harm or good is done to them, they can give neither back; they are unable to establish a king or overthrow him. Nor can they give wealth, or even a coin. If someone, having made a vow to them, does not fulfill it, they do not claim. They will not save a man from death, nor snatch the weak from the hand of the powerful. They will not restore sight to the blind, nor deliver the distressed. They will not have pity on the widow, nor do good to the orphan. These idols of wood, overlaid with gold and silver, are like rocks cut out of the mountain, and those who serve them will be put to shame. How can we believe or say that they are gods?

The Chaldeans themselves dishonor them, when, seeing a man who cannot speak, they present him to Bel asking that the mute speak, as if the god could hear anything. And though they realize it, they cannot abandon these idols; for they have no feeling. The women, wrapped in rope, go and sit on the paths, burning coarse flour; and, when one of them, drawn by some passer-by, has slept with him, she reproaches her neighbor for not having been deemed worthy of the same honor, and for not having seen her rush braid broken. Everything that is said about idols is a lie. How then can we believe or say that they are gods?

They have been fashioned by craftsmen and goldsmiths; they cannot be otherwise than the workers want them to be. And the workers who fashioned them don't have long to live: how then could their works be of long duration? They have left nothing but lies and disgrace to posterity. Whether war comes, or some other calamity, the priests deliberate among themselves as to where they will hide with their gods: how then is it not understood that these are not gods, who cannot save themselves from war or some other calamity?

These idols of wood, overlaid with gold and silver, will later be recognized as lies; for all nations and kings it will be obvious that they are not gods, but works of men's hands, and that there is no divine work in them. To whom, then, would it not be obvious that they are not gods?

They will never establish a king over a land, nor give rain to men. They will not know how to judge their own affairs, nor will they protect against injustice, since they can do nothing, like crows that stand between heaven and your earth. And when the fire falls on the house of these wooden gods, overlaid with gold and silver, their priests will flee and be saved; but they will be consumed like beams in the midst of the flames. They will resist neither a king nor an enemy army. How can we admit or think that they are gods?

They will not escape thieves and robbers, these gods of wood, covered in silver and gold. Men more powerful than them will take away the silver and gold, and walk away with the rich clothes with which they've been covered, and these gods won't be able to help themselves. So it is better to be a king displaying his strength, or a useful vessel in the house, which the master uses, than to be these false gods; or a door to a house, guarding what is there, than to be these false gods; or a wooden pillar in a king's house, than to be these false gods. The sun, the light and the stars, which are bright and sent for the benefit of men, obey God. Likewise the lightning, when it appears, is beautiful to behold; the wind also blows over all the land; and the clouds, when God commands them to cover the whole earth, carry out what they are ordered to do. Fire too, when sent from on high to consume the mountains and forests, does as it is commanded. But idols are not comparable, either in beauty or in power, to all these things. We must therefore neither think nor say that they are gods, since they can neither discern what is right, nor do good to men. Knowing therefore that they are not gods, do not fear them.

They cannot curse or bless kings. They don't show the nations signs in the sky; they don't shine like the sun, they don't shine like the moon. Beasts are better than them, since they can flee to find shelter and be useful to themselves. So in no way is it obvious to us that they are gods; so don't fear them.

Just as a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers protects from nothing, so it is with their wooden gods, covered in gold and silver. Just like a thorn bush in a garden, on which all the birds land, or a dead man thrown into a dark place, so are their wooden gods, overlaid with gold and silver. The very purple and scarlet that spoil on them make it clear that they are no gods. They themselves will eventually be devoured and become a disgrace in the land. Better is the righteous man who has no idols; he will not have to fear confusion.

GRM 212.5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Idolatry has not yet died in the hearts of men, and will never rest, on the contrary it will rise, like yeast in flour. Almost every man now has his own golden calf. The earth is a forest of idols, because every heart is an altar, but hardly ever there is God upon it. He who is not a slave of one evil passion, is slave of another and he who has not one wicked desire, has another with a different name. He who has no greed for gold, has a greed for positions, he who has no lust for the flesh, is an utter egoist.