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Notes for this theme

The Mystery of Suffering: Fasting, Sacrifice, and Penance

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Aa

GRM 1.3 · Volume 1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

God, to reveal Himself to men in the new and complete form, which starts the Redemption era, did not select for His throne a star in the sky, nor the palace of a powerful man. Neither did He want the wings of angels as the base of His feet. He wanted a spotless womb. Also Eve had been created spotless. But she wanted to become corrupt of her own free will. Mary, who lived in a corrupt world –Eve was in a pure world– did not wish to violate Her purity, not even with one thought remotely connected with sin. She knew that sin existed. She saw its various and horrible forms and implications. She saw them all, including the most hideous one: deicide. But She knew them solely to expiate them and to be, forever, the Woman who has mercy on sinners and prays for their redemption.

GRM 4.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

For the joy of having a Mother I whisper a mysterious word in the shade of the Temple that contained the hopes of Israel, of the Temple now at the end of its life, because a new and real Temple is about to come on earth, no longer containing the hopes of one people, but the certainty of Paradise for the people of the whole world, and for centuries and centuries until the end of the world.

Detail

In a dictation, Jesus speaks of the imminent birth of his Mother and pauses at the Temple in Jerusalem.

GRM 5.14

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

This is what you have done, Satan, to the children of God. Those whom you have corrupted, would have known the joy of having children without suffering any pain and would have experienced the joy of being born without fear of dying. But now you are beaten in a Woman and by a Woman. From now on, whoever loves Her will become once again God’s own, overcoming your temptations, to be able to look at Her immaculate purity. From now on mothers, though not able to conceive without pain, will find comfort in her. From now on She will be the guide for married women and the Mother of dying people, so that it will be sweet to die resting on that breast which is a shield against you, you Cursed One, and against the wrath of God.

Detail

Jesus speaks to Satan and says:

GRM 5.14

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Now, men, what is your love, what are your loves? Either lewdness disguised as love or an incurable fear of losing the love of your partner through her or other people’s lewdness. You are never sure of possessing the heart of your husband or wife, since lust entered the world. And you tremble and cry and become overwrought with jealousy, sometimes you kill to avenge a betrayal, sometimes you despair, and sometimes you lack will or even become insane.

GRM 6.2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

6.2 «The Lord has loved you very much…» says Elizabeth sighing.

«And that is why I am giving Him the thing I love most. This flower of mine.»

«How will you be able to tear it from your heart when the time comes?»

«Remembering that I did not have her and that God gave her to me. I shall always be happier now than then. When I know She is in the Temple I will say to myself: “She is praying near the Tabernacle, She is praying the God of Israel also for Her mummy” and I will have peace. And a greater peace I will have in saying: “She belongs entirely to Him. When these two old but happy parents, who received Her from Heaven, are no longer alive, He, the Eternal, will still be Her Father”. Believe me, I am fully convinced, this little creature is not ours. I was not able to do anything more… He put Her in my bosom, a divine gift to wipe away my tears and fulfil our hopes and our prayers. That is why She belongs to Him. We are the happy guardians… and may He be blessed for this!»

Detail

Anne speaks with Elizabeth, the future mother of John the Baptist. She asks her how she will know how to offer her child to God when the time comes.

GRM 6.7

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The Evil "so often makes use of the eye to penetrate the heart".

Keywords

GRM 7.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

« Oh! Daddy, when will you take Me to the Temple?»

«Soon, my dear. But are You not sorry to leave Your father?»

«Yes, very much! But you will come… in any case, if it did not hurt, what sacrifice would it be?»

«And will You remember us?»

«I always will. After the prayer for the Immanuel I will pray for you. That God may give you joy and a long life… until the day He becomes the Saviour. Then I will ask Him to take you to the celestial Jerusalem.»

The vision ends with Mary tightly clasped in Her father’s arms.

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 9.3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

How many trials they experienced, whilst you, men, do not want to have to suffer and cry, simply because you think that you are not completely wicked!