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Virtues, Christian Qualities, and Human Qualities

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GRM 7.7-8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Intelligence is not given to everybody in the same way and at the same time. The Church has fixed the age of reason at six years of age, because that is the age when even a backward child can tell good from evil, at least in basically important matters. But there are children who long before that age are capable of discerning and understanding and wanting with sufficiently developed discretion. Little Imelde Lambertini, Rosa da Viterbo, Nellie Organ, Nennolina may give you confirmation (...) to believe that My Mother was able to think and speak like that. I have quoted four names at random amongst the thousands of holy children who populate My Paradise, after reasoning on earth as adults for possibly more or less years.

7.8. What is reason? A gift of God. God can therefore give it as He wishes, to whom He wishes and when He wishes. Reason in fact is one of the things that makes you more like God, the Intelligent and Reasoning Spirit. Reason and intelligence were graces given by God to Man in the Earthly Paradise. How full of life they were, when Grace was alive, still intact and active in the spirit of the first two Parents!

The Book of Jesus Ben Sirach states: “All wisdom is from the Lord, and it is His own forever”.hat wisdom, therefore, would men have had, had they remained children of God?

The gaps in your intelligence are the natural fruits of your fall from Grace and honesty. By losing Grace you banished Wisdom for centuries. As a meteor, which is hidden behind masses of clouds, Wisdom no longer reached you with its bright flashes, but through mist which your prevarications have rendered thicker and thicker.

Then Christ came and He restored Grace, the supreme gift of the love of God. But do you know how to keep this gem clear and pure? No, you do not. When you do not crush it with your individual will in sinning, you soil it with your continuous minor faults, your weaknesses, your attachment to vice. Such attempts, even if they are not a proper marriage with the septiform vice, are a weakening of the light of Grace and of its activity. And then, to weaken the magnificent light of intelligence that God had given the First Parents, you have centuries and centuries of corruption, which exert a harmful influence on the body and on the mind.

GRM 7.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Intelligence is not given to everybody in the same way and at the same time. The Church has fixed the age of reason at six years of age, because that is the age when even a backward child can tell good from evil, at least in basically important matters. But there are children who long before that age are capable of discerning and understanding and wanting with sufficiently developed discretion.

Keywords

GRM 7.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

7.8 What is reason? A gift of God. God can therefore give it as He wishes, to whom He wishes and when He wishes. Reason in fact is one of the things that makes you more like God, the Intelligent and Reasoning Spirit. Reason and intelligence were graces given by God to Man in the Earthly Paradise. How full of life they were, when Grace was alive, still intact and active in the spirit of the first two Parents!

The Book of Jesus Ben Sirach states: “All wisdom is from the Lord, and it is His own forever”. What wisdom, therefore, would men have had, had they remained children of God?

Annotation

Book of Ben Sira the Wise

Si 1, 1 : All Wisdom comes from the Lord, and remains with Him forever.

GRM 7.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The gaps in your intelligence are the natural fruits of your fall from Grace and honesty. By losing Grace you banished Wisdom for centuries. As a meteor, which is hidden behind masses of clouds, Wisdom no longer reached you with its bright flashes, but through mist which your prevarications have rendered thicker and thicker.

GRM 7.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Then Christ came and He restored Grace, the supreme gift of the love of God. But do you know how to keep this gem clear and pure? No, you do not. When you do not crush it with your individual will in sinning, you soil it with your continuous minor faults, your weaknesses, your attachment to vice. Such attempts, even if they are not a proper marriage with the septiform vice, are a weakening of the light of Grace and of its activity. And then, to weaken the magnificent light of intelligence that God had given the First Parents, you have centuries and centuries of corruption, which exert a harmful influence on the body and on the mind.

GRM 8.2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

8.2 They proceed slowly. Very slowly. They seem to be wishing to carry on their journey for as long as possible. Everything serves as a pretext to stop… But a journey must come to an end! And this one is about to end. Up there, at the top of this last stretch of the road, there are the Temple walls. Anne utters a groan and holds Mary’s hand tighter.

«Anne, my dear, I am here with you!» a voice utters, coming out from the shade of a low arch built over a crossroads. And Elizabeth, who was waiting for them, approaches her and embraces her. And since Anne is crying she says: «Come into this friendly house for a little while. Then we shall go together. Zacharias is here too.»

They all enter a low dark room where the only light is a big fire. The landlady, obviously a friend of Elizabeth, but unknown to Anne, kindly withdraws and leaves them alone.

«You must not think that I am repenting or I am giving my treasure to the Lord unwillingly» explains Anne crying, «but it’s my heart… oh! how my heart aches, my old heart that is returning to its childless solitude! If you could only feel…»

«I know, my dear Anne… But you are good and God will console you in your solitude. Mary will pray for the peace of Her mother. Won’t you, Mary?»

Mary caresses Her mother’s hands and kisses them. She presses them to Her face to be caressed and Anne holds Her little face tightly in her hands and kisses it repeatedly. She is never tired of kissing Her.

Zacharias enters and greets them saying: «May the peace of the Lord be with the just.»

«Yes» replies Joachim, «implore peace for us, because our hearts are trembling in our offer, as Abraham’s did, while he was climbing the mountain, but we shall not find another offer to replace this one. Neither do we want it, because we are faithful to the Lord. But we are suffering, Zacharias. Since you are a priest of God, please understand us and do not be perturbed.»

«Never. On the contrary, your sorrow which does not go beyond reasonable limits and does not shake your faith, teaches me how to love the Most High. But take heart. »

Detail

Anne, Joachim and Mary are in Jerusalem. The Mother of the Savior is about to enter the Temple at the age of three.

Annotation

It's like Abraham's offering when he climbed the mountain, and we won't find another offering to redeem this one. Cf. Genesis 22:1-18. It is precisely on Mount Moriah, where the Temple is located, that the Bible places Isaac's sacrifice. He was replaced at the last moment by a ram.

Genesis 22, 1-8

Gen 22:1-8: After these events, God put Abraham to the test. He said to him: "Abraham! He replied, "Here I am!" God said, "Take your son, your only son, the one you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on the mountain I will show you."

Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. He split the wood for the burnt offering, and set off for the place God had indicated. On the third day, Abraham looked up and saw the place from afar. Abraham said to his servants: "Stay here with the donkey. Me and the boy will go all the way over there to worship, then we'll come back to you."

Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and loaded it onto his son Isaac; he took the fire and the knife, and the two of them went together. Isaac said to his father Abraham: "My father! - Well, my son?" Isaac replied, "Here's the fire and the wood, but where's the lamb for the burnt offering?" Abraham replied, "God will know how to find the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them set off together.

They arrived at the place God had indicated. Abraham built the altar there and laid out the wood; then he bound his son Isaac and put him on the altar, on top of the wood. Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slaughter his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said: "Abraham! Abraham!" He replied, "Here I am!" The angel said to him: "Don't lay a hand on the boy! Don't hurt him! I know now that you fear God: you did not refuse me your son, your only son."

Abraham looked up and saw a ram being held by its horns in a bush. He went and took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named the place "The Lord Sees". Today it's called "Sur-le-mont-le-Seigneur-est-vu". From heaven, the angel of the Lord called Abraham a second time.

He declared: "I swear by myself, oracle of the Lord: because you have done this, because you have not refused me your son, your only son, I will fill you with blessings, I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore, and your descendants will occupy the strongholds of their enemies. Because you have listened to my voice, all the nations of the earth will bless one another by the name of your descendants."

GRM 9.2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The books of wisdom may be applied to all men, who will find guidance in them and a light for their behaviour. But happy are those who can be recognised amongst the spiritual lovers of Wisdom.

Annotation

There are five wisdom books in the Bible: Proverbs - Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) - Song of Songs - Job - Wisdom (of Solomon) - Ecclesiasticus (Sirach).

GRM 9.2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Translation in progress

Keywords

GRM 9.3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The sacred fear of God is the root of the tree of wisdom, that thrusts its branches far and wide to reach with its top tranquil love in its peace, peaceful love in its security, secure love in its faithfulness, faithful love in its intensity: the total, generous, effective love of saints.