GRM 217.4 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
He turns to His disciples: «Come. Let us go and look for a place where to lie down among the sands that are now near. The stars will keep us company and dew will refresh us. God, Who sent manna to Israel, will provide nourishment also for us, His poor faithful servants.» And Jesus leaves the rancorous group and goes away with His disciples, while night is falling with its first violet shadows…
They find at last a hedge of Indian figs, on the top leaves of which, bristling with thorns, is some fruit which is beginning to ripen. Anything is good when one is hungry. And stinging themselves, they pick the ripest ones and proceed thus until the fields become sandy dunes. The noise of the sea can be heard in the distance.
«Let us rest here. The sand is soft and warm. Tomorrow we will go to Ashkelon» says Jesus and tired as they are, they all lie down at the foot of a high dune.
Detail
Objection raised: Pricklypears are an anachronism. See the annotation.
Context: Jesus is leaving after being accosted by a hostile group of Pharisees.
Annotation
They finally come across a hedge of prickly pear cacti, at the tops of which—bristling with thorns—figs are beginning to ripen. This detail is intriguing: the prickly pear cactus is said to have been imported from Mexico by Christopher Columbus. Is this a glaring anachronism or a rare piece of knowledge on Maria Valtorta’s part? See the commentary and a video on the subject.