GRM 182.3-5 · Volume 3
The Gospel as revealed to me
Quotation
«Are you going far?»
«Up to the high mountains. The hot weather is coming… Will You not speak to us? Up there, where we are, only the winds speak, and sometimes the wolf speaks and it slaughters… as it happened to Zacharias’ father. During the whole winter we were hoping to see You, but we never found You.»
«Let us go under the shade of that thicket and I will speak to you.» And Jesus goes ahead of them, holding the little shepherd by the hand and caressing with the other hand the little lambs which raise their heads, bleating.
The shepherds gather the flock under a coppice and while the sheep lie down ruminating or grazing or rubbing themselves against tree trunks, Jesus speaks.
182.4
«You said: “Up there, where we are, only the winds speak, and sometimes the wolf speaks and slaughters”. What happens up there, happens in men’s hearts through the work of God, of men and of Satan. You may, therefore, have up there what you would have in any other place.
Do you know the Law well enough and its ten commandments? And you, too, boy? In that case you know enough. If you faithfully practise what God commanded, you will be holy. Do not complain of being far from the world. That will preserve you from much corruption. And God is not far from you, but closer in that solitude, where you can hear His voice in the winds, which He created, in the herbs and in the water, whereas you would not hear it among men. Your flock teaches you a great virtue, or rather, many great virtues. It is meek and obedient. It is satisfied with little and grateful for what it has. It loves and knows those who take care of it and love it. Do likewise saying: “God is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. He watches us. He protects us and grants us not what is the source of vice, but what is necessary to live”. And keep wolves away from your hearts. Wicked men are wolves: they seduce you and incite you to evil actions by Satan’s order and it is Satan himself who induces you to sin so that he may tear you to pieces.
Be watchful. You shepherds know the habits of wolves. They are shrewd, as sheep are simple and innocent. They steal close to you, after watching from above the habits of the herd, they sneak closer through bushes and lie as still as stones to avoid drawing your attention. Do they not look like huge stones which have rolled down on to the meadows? Then, when they are sure that no one is watching, they spring and bite. That is how Satan behaves. He watches you to find out your weak points, he roams about you, he seems harmless and absent, concerned with something else whereas he is watching you, and then he suddenly leaps to induce you to sin, and sometimes he is successful.
But close to you there is a doctor and a compassionate spirit. God and your angel. If you are wounded, if you have been taken ill, do not go away from them, as a dog which has become rabid does. On the contrary, while weeping shout to them: “Help!”. God forgives those who repent and your angel is ready to implore God with you and for you.
182.5
Love one another and love this boy. Each of you must feel as if he were somehow the father of the orphan. The presence of a child amongst you should influence every action of yours through the holy restraint of respect for a child. And let your company make up for what death deprived him of. We must love our neighbour. This boy is the neighbour entrusted to you by God in a special manner. Teach him to be good, a faithful believer, honest and free from vices. He is worth much more than one of these sheep. Now, if you take care of the sheep because they belong to their owner, who would punish you if you should let them perish, how much more care you must take of this soul which God entrusts to you for Himself and for his dead father. His situation as an orphan is a sad one indeed. Do not make it more painful by taking advantage of him and vexing him because he is only a youngster. Remember that God sees the deeds and tears of every man and takes everything into account, in order to reward or punish.
And you, My boy, remember that you are never alone. God sees you and so does the spirit of your father. When something upsets you and induces you to do wrong, say: “No, I do not want to be an orphan forever and ever”. You would be, if you damned your soul by sinning.
Be good. I bless you so that all goodness may be with you. If we were going the same way, I would continue to speak to you for a long time. But the sun is rising and you must go, and so must I. Your task is to protect the sheep from the heat, Mine to relieve men of another ardour, a more dreadful one, the passions of their hearts. Pray that they may consider Me as their Shepherd. Goodbye, Zacharias. Be good. Peace be with you.»
Jesus kisses the little shepherd and blesses him and while the flock moves slowly away, His eyes follow him. He then carries on along His way.
Detail
Jesus speaks to some shepherds, one of whom is a young orphan named Zachariah.