I am aroused by the voice of my Jesus: «Here we are at the place I wanted.» I turn around. I see Him behind me, with John, Simon and Judas, near the rocky slope of the mountain, where there is a little path, or rather, where the long erosion of water, in the rainy months, has formed a very shallow channel throughout centuries, a drain for the water flowing from the mountain top and which is a path for wild goats rather than for men.
Jesus looks around and repeats: «Yes, this is the place that I wanted to bring you to. Here Christ prepared for His mission.»
«But there is nothing here!»
«You are quite right, there is nothing.»
«Who were You with?»
«With My soul and with the Father.»
«Ah! You stayed only for a few hours!»
«No, Judas. Not a few hours. Many days…»
«But who served You? Where did You sleep?»
«My servants were the wild asses that came to sleep in their caves, where I also had taken shelter. My maidservants were the eagles that said to Me with their harsh cries: “It’s daylight” and they flew away to attack their prey. My friends were the little hares that came up almost to My feet, gnawing at the wild herbs. My food and My drink were the same food and drink of the wild flower: the night dew and the sunshine. Nothing else.»
«But why?»
«To prepare well, as you say, for My mission. Things well prepared for are successful. You said so yourself. And My thing was not a small, a useless thing which would glorify Me, the Servant of the Lord, but it was to make men understand what the Lord is, and by means of such understanding, make Him loved in the spirit of truth. The servant that is concerned with his own triumph, and not with the Lord’s, is a miserable man! The servant who is anxious to make a profit, who dreams he will sit on a high throne built on the interests of God, which have been lowered down to the earth, whereas they are celestial interests, is also a miserable servant. He is no longer a servant, except in his external appearance. He is a merchant, a trafficker, a deceitful person, who deceives himself and men and would like to deceive God as well… a wretched man who believes he is a prince, whilst he is a slave. He belongs to the Evil One, his king of falsehood. Here, in this cave, Christ for many days lived fasting and praying to get ready for His mission.
80.3
And where would you have suggested I should have gone to prepare, Judas?»
Judas is puzzled and bewildered. Eventually he replies: «I would not know… I was thinking… to a rabbi… or with the Essenes… I do not know.»
«And was it possible for Me to find a rabbi who would tell Me more than the power and wisdom of God were telling Me? And could I — I the Eternal Word of the Father, Who was present when the Father created man and am aware of the immortal soul by which he is animated and of the power of free capable judgement with which he was endowed by the Creator — would I have gone to derive science and skill from those who deny the immortality of souls, final resurrection and also the freedom of man to act, attributing virtues and vices, holy and wicked deeds to a destiny, which they say is fatal and uncontrollable? Certainly not! (...)
80.5 I came here. I took My soul of the Son of man and I gave it its finishing touches and I thus finished the work of thirty years of humbleness and preparation in order to be perfect when starting My mission. Now I ask you to stay with Me for a few days in this cave. Our stay will be less depressing because we shall be four friends joining in our efforts against sadness, fears, temptation and the desires of the flesh. I was by Myself. It will be less painful because it is now summer and up here the mountain winds lessen the heat. I came here at the end of the Tebeth moon and the wind blowing down from the snowy tops was harsh. It will be less trying because it will be shorter and also because we have the necessary food to satisfy our hunger and in small leather flasks that I asked the shepherds to give you, there is enough water to last us for the days of our stay. I… I must snatch two souls from Satan. It can only be done by penance. I ask you to help Me. It will be training for you. You will learn how to snatch victims from Mammon: not so much with words but with sacrifice… Words!… The satanic uproar prevents one from hearing them… Every soul which is a prey of the Enemy is enveloped in a turbine of infernal voices… Do you want to stay with Me? If you do not want to, you may go and we will meet at Tekoah, near the market.»
«No, Master, I will not leave You» says John, while Simon at the same time exclaims: «You raise us by wanting us to be with You in this redemption.» Judas… does not appear to be terribly enthusiastic. But he puts a good face on… destiny and says: «I will stay.»
«Well, take the flasks and the bags and put them inside, and before the sun gets hot, break some wood and gather it near the crevice. The nights are severe, even in summer, and not all the animals are gentle. Light a branch at once. Over there, a branch of that gummy acacia. It burns very well. We will search in the crevices and with the fire we will drive out asps and scorpions. Go.»…