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Elements in the Christian life

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GRM 80.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

After My Baptism I came here: I was clean, but one is never clean enough with regards to God, and the humility in saying: “I am a man and a sinner” is already a baptism which makes the heart clean.

Detail

After John’s baptism, Jesus made the following statement.

GRM 80.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Now, My friends, you will learn something of which that man had only a faint idea. After My Baptism I came here: I was clean, but one is never clean enough with regards to God, and the humility in saying: “I am a man and a sinner” is already a baptism which makes the heart clean. I had been called “the Lamb of God” by the holy prophet who saw the Truth and saw the Spirit descend upon the Word and anoint Him with its chrism of love, while the voice of the Father filled the Heavens saying: “This is My beloved Son in Whom I am very pleased”. You, John, were present when the Baptist repeated those words… After being baptised, although I was clean both by My nature and by appearance, I wanted to “prepare”. Yes, Judas. Look at Me. May My eyes tell you what My mouth does not yet speak. Look at Me, Judas. Look at your Master, Who although was the Messiah, did not consider Himself superior to man, on the contrary, knowing He was the Man, He wanted to be so in everything, except in yielding to evil. Exactly so.»

Annotation

Matthew 3:13–17 and 4:1–11: Then Jesus appeared. He had come from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me!” But Jesus replied, “Let it be so for now, for it is proper for us to fulfill all righteousness.” So John let him be. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened: he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he became hungry.

The tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But Jesus replied, “It is written: ‘Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Then the devil took him to the Holy City, set him on the pinnacle of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” Jesus said to him, “It is also written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

The devil took him again to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. He said to him, “I will give you all this, if you will fall down and worship me.” ’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For it is written: “You shall worship the Lord your God, and him alone shall you serve.”’

Then the devil left him. And behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Mark 1:9–13

In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth, a town in Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And as soon as he came up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. A voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.” ” Immediately the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, and there he remained for forty days, tempted by Satan. He lived among the wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.

Luke 3:21–22 and 4:1–13: As all the people were being baptized, and after Jesus had also been baptized and was praying, the heavens opened. The Holy Spirit, in bodily form like a dove, descended upon Jesus, and a voice came from heaven: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the banks of the Jordan; led by the Spirit, he went into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and when that time was over, he was hungry.

The devil then said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” Jesus replied, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.’”

Then the devil took him to a high place and showed him, in an instant, all the kingdoms of the earth. He said to him, “I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. So if you will worship me, all this will be yours.” Jesus replied, “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve him alone.’”

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, set him on the pinnacle of the Temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you,’ and again, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Having thus exhausted every form of temptation, the devil left Jesus until the appointed time.

John 1:29–34: The next day, seeing Jesus coming toward him, John declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world; it is of him that I said, ‘The one who comes after me has surpassed me, for he was before me.’ And I did not know him; but I came baptizing with water so that he might be revealed to Israel.” Then John gave this testimony: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. And I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain—that is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ I have seen, and I testify: this is the Son of God.”

GRM 80.9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

It is not a sin to be sad in painful circumstances. It is a sin to go beyond sadness and fall into inertness and despair.

GRM 80.9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

And here I experienced the weariness of the hero and of the ascetic who in an hour of forewarning realise the uselessness of their efforts… I cried… Sadness… a lure for Satan. It is not a sin to be sad in painful circumstances. It is a sin to go beyond sadness and fall into inertness and despair. 

Detail

Jesus speaks about his temptation in the desert.

GRM 80.9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Temptation did not give up because of My comment: “Man does not live on his senses only” and he spoke to Me of My mission. He wanted to seduce the Messiah after failing with the young Man. And he incited Me to crush the unworthy ministers of the Temple with a miracle… A miracle, the fire of Heaven, is not to be bent to form a wicker wreath to crown ourselves… And we must not put God to the test, asking for miracles for human purposes. That is what Satan wanted. The reason mentioned by him was an excuse: the truth was: “Boast of being the Messiah”, as he wanted to lead Me to another lust: the lust for pride.

He was not daunted by My reply: “You must not put the Lord your God to the test” and he circumvented Me with the third power of his nature: gold. (...)

Keywords

GRM 80.9

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

A miracle, the fire of Heaven, is not to be bent to form a wicker wreath to crown ourselves… And we must not put God to the test, asking for miracles for human purposes.

GRM 80.11

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

My first contacts with the world had sickened and depressed Me. It is too ugly. My soul has now been nourished with the lion’s marrow: the union with the Father in prayer and solitude. And I can go back to the world and take My cross upon Me once again, the first cross of the Redeemer: the cross of the contact with the world. With the world, in which there are too few souls called Mary, called John…

GRM 82.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus arrives from a side street and looks around. He does not see anybody yet. He waits patiently, leaning against the trunk of a tree, and finds the opportunity of speaking to the boys about charity, that starts with God and from the Creator descends to all creatures.

«Do not be cruel. Why do you want to annoy the birds of the air? They have their nests up there, and their little ones. They do not harm anyone. They give us their chirping and cleanliness, because they eat the rubbish left by men and the insects that are harmful to crops and fruit. Why wound them, or kill them, depriving the little ones of their fathers and mothers, or the latter of their little ones? Would you be glad if a wicked man came to your house and destroyed it, or killed your parents, or took you away from them? No, you would not be happy. Well, then, why do to these innocent creatures what you would not like done to yourselves? How will you refrain one day from doing harm to men if, children as you are now, you harden your hearts and hurt defenceless, kind little creatures such as these birds? Do you not know that the Law says: “Love your neighbour as yourself”? He who does not love his neighbour does not even love God. And he who does not love God, how can he go to His House and pray to Him? God might say to him, and he does say it in Heaven: “Go away. I do not know you. You, My son? No, you are not. You do not love your brothers, you do not respect in them the Father Who created them, so you are not a brother and a son, but an illegitimate child: a stepson to God, a stepbrother to your brothers”. See how the Eternal Lord loves? In the cold months, He makes His little birds find the barns full of hay, so that they may nest there. In the hot months, He protects them from the sun with the foliage of trees. In winter the corn in the fields is just covered with earth and it is easy for them to find the seed and nourish themselves. In summer they quench their thirst with the juice of fruits, and they build solid, warm nests with hay and the wool left on brambles by sheep. And He is the Lord. You, little men, created by Him like the little birds, and therefore their brothers in creation, why do you want to differ from Him and think that you can be cruel to these little animals? Be merciful with everybody, not depriving anyone of what is due to one: both amongst men and animals, your servants, your friends and God…»

«Master?» calls Simon «Judas is coming.»

«… and God will be merciful with you, and will give you everything you need, as He does with these innocent creatures. Go and take the peace of God with you.»

GRM 82.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Do you not know that the Law says: “Love your neighbour as yourself”? He who does not love his neighbour does not even love God. And he who does not love God, how can he go to His House and pray to Him? God might say to him, and he does say it in Heaven: “Go away. I do not know you. You, My son? No, you are not. You do not love your brothers, you do not respect in them the Father Who created them, so you are not a brother and a son, but an illegitimate child: a stepson to God, a stepbrother to your brothers”.