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GRM 181.3-7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«As we are still in the lovely season when the corn bursts into ears, I wish to tell you a parable taken from the corn. Listen.

The Kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while the man and his servants were asleep, his enemy came and sowed darnel seeds among the wheat and went away. At first no one noticed anything. Winter came with rain and frost, the end of the month of Tebeth came and the corn sprouted. The tiny little green leaves which had just come up, looked all alike in their innocent early days. The months of Shebat and Adar came and the plants grew and the spikes seeded. They then saw that it was not all wheat, and that there was also darnel, twisted with its thin strong bearbines round the corn stalks.

The servants of the master went to his house and said: “Lord, what seed did you sow? Was it not selected seed, free from every other seed?”.

“It was certainly so. I picked all the grain and they were all of the same quality. I would have noticed any other seed”.

“If so, why has so much darnel grown among your corn?”.

The landlord became pensive and said: “Some enemy has done that to harm me”.

The servants then asked: “Do you want us to go into the field and free the corn from the darnel, weeding it out patiently? Tell us and we will do it”.

But the master said: “No. Because you might weed out also the corn and almost certainly you would damage the ears which are still tender. Let them both grow till the harvest. Then I will say to the reapers: ‘Cut everything together, but before tying the sheaves, since the bearbines of the darnel are withered and friable, whereas the closed ears are stronger and harder, pick the darnel from the wheat and tie it into separate bundles. You will burn them and they will fertilize the soil. Take instead the good corn into the granaries and it will be used to bake good bread, to the great shame of my enemy who will have only gained to become despicable to God because of his envious malice’ “.

Consider now how often and how plentifully the Enemy sows in your hearts. And you must understand that it is necessary to watch patiently and constantly to ensure that little darnel is mixed with the chosen wheat. The fate of the darnel is to be burnt. Do you wish to be burnt or to become citizens of the Kingdom? You say that you want to become citizens of the Kingdom. Well, endeavour to be so. The good God gives you the Word. The enemy is vigilant to make it harmful, because the flour of wheat if mixed with the flour of darnel makes a bitter bread, which is harmful to the stomach. If there is darnel in your souls, pick it with goodwill and throw it away, so that you may not be unworthy of God.

Go, My children. Peace be with you.»

181.4

The crowds slowly disperse. The eight apostles, Elias, his brother and mother, old Isaac, whose soul rejoices seeing his Saviour, stay in the kitchen garden.

«Gather around Me and listen. I will explain the full meaning of the parable to you, as it has two more meanings, besides what I told the crowd.

In the universal sense the purport of the parable is as follows: the field is the world. The good seed is the children of the Kingdom of God sown by God in the world, while they wait to reach their end and be cut by the Mower and be taken to the Master of the world Who will store them in His granaries. The subjects of the Evil one are the darnel, which has also been spread in the field of God for the purpose of causing grief to the Master of the world and damage to the corn of God. The enemy of God has sown them deliberately, through witchcraft, because the demon really perverts the nature of man making him a creature of his own and then sows it to lead astray other people whom he has not been able to enslave otherwise. The harvest, that is the tying of the sheaves and carrying them to the granaries, is the end of the world and that is accomplished by the angels. They are given instructions to gather together the creatures which have been cut, to separate the corn from the darnel, and as in the parable the darnel is burnt, so the damned will be burnt in the eternal fire, at the Last Judgement.

The Son of man will have all scandalmongers and performers of iniquity removed from His Kingdom. Because the Kingdom then will be on the earth and in Heaven and many sons of the Enemy will be mixed among the citizens of the Kingdom on Earth. And, as prophesied also by Prophets, they will reach the perfection of scandal and abomination in every ministry on the earth and will be of great annoyance to the children of the spirit. The corrupt will have already been driven out of the Kingdom of God in Heaven, because no corruption will enter Heaven. And now the angels of the Lord, brandishing their sickles among the group of the last harvest, will mow down and separate the corn from the darnel and will throw the latter into the burning furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. The just, instead, the chosen seed, will be taken to the eternal Jerusalem, where they will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of My Father and yours.

181.5

That is the universal sense. But there is another sense, which is the answer to the question which you have been asking yourselves many times and particularly since yesterday evening. Your question is: “Can there be traitors in the mass of disciples?” and your hearts tremble with horror and fear. Yes, there may be some. There are certainly some.

The Sower sows the good seed. In this case, instead of sowing, we could say that He “picks”. Because the master, whether it is I or the Baptist, choses his disciples. How were they, therefore, led astray? No, I did not use the right word saying that the disciples are the “seed”. You may misunderstand. I will call them “field”. As many disciples as fields, chosen by the master to form the area of the Kingdom of God, the wealth of God. The master tires himself cultivating them so that they may yield one hundred per cent. He takes care of everything with patience, love, wisdom, hard work and perseverance. He also sees their wicked inclinations, their barrenness and avidity, their stubbornness and weakness. But he hopes all the time, corroborating his hope through prayer and penance, because he wishes to lead them to perfection.

But the fields are open. They are not gardens enclosed in walls of protection, of which the only owner is the master, who is the only one who can go in. They are open. Placed as they are in the centre of the world, among the world, anyone can go near them and into them. Everybody and everything. Oh! darnel is not the only bad seed sown! Darnel could be the symbol of the bitter frivolity of the worldly spirit. But all the other seeds, scattered by the Enemy, come up in them. There are nettles, couch-grass, dodder, bearbines, and finally hemlock and poisonous herbs. Why? What are they?

Nettles: stinging untameable spirits which hurt through their excess of poison and cause so much trouble. Couch-grass: parasites who wear out the master as they can only creep and suck, taking advantage of his work and injuring the willing ones, who would make much more profit if the master were not upset and distracted by the cares required by the couch-grass. The sluggish bearbines rise from the ground only by making use of the efforts of other people. Dodders: they are a torture on the already painful road of the master and a torment to the faithful disciples who follow him. They twist, pierce, tear to pieces, scratch, cause mistrust and pain. The poisonous ones: the criminal disciples, who go as far as betraying and killing as hemlock and other poisonous plants do. Have you noticed how beautiful they are with their little flowers which later become white, red, blue-violet berries? Who would say that the white or pinkish star-shaped corolla, with its little gold heart, or the many-coloured corals, so much like other little fruits which are the delight of birds and children, can cause death, once they are ripe? No one. And the innocent ones fall into the trap. They believe that everybody is as good as they are… they pick and die.

They believe that everybody is as good as they are! Oh! The truth that makes the master sublime and condemns his traitor! How? Does goodness not disarm wickedness? Does it not make ill-will harmless? No, it does not, because the man who has fallen prey to the Enemy is indifferent to what is superior. And what is superior changes apperance, as far as he is concerned. Kindness becomes weakness on which it is lawful to tread and it stimulates his ill-will as the scent of blood stimulates a beast to slaughter.

Also the master is always innocent… and he lets his traitor poison him, because he cannot possibly believe that a human being can murder an innocent person.

181.6

The enemies come into the fields of the Master, that is to His disciples. They are many and Satan is the first one. The others are his servants, that is, men, passions, the world and the flesh. The disciple who is more easily struck by them is the one who is not entirely close to the Master, but is between the Master and the world. He is not capable and does not want to part completely with the world, the flesh, passions and demons, to belong entirely to Him Who wants to take him to God. And the world, flesh, passions and the demon scatter their seed in him: gold, power, women, pride, the fear of an unfavourable opinion of the world, the spirit of utilitarianism. “The great ones are the strongest. I will serve them so that they will be friendly to me”. And they become criminals and damned for such miserable things!…

Why does the Master, Who sees the imperfection of a disciple, not cast him away at once, even if He is not prepared to submit to the thought: “He will be My murderer”? That is what you are asking yourselves. Because it is useless to do so. If He did so he would not avoid having him as an enemy, a double and more dangerous enemy, because of his anger and his sorrow at being found out or at being found out or at being driven away. Yes, because of his sorrow. Because sometimes a bad disciple does not realise that he is such. The demon’s action is so subtle that he is not aware of it. He becomes wicked without even suspecting that he is subject to such action. And because of his anger, He is enraged at being known for what he is, when he is aware of Satan’s work and of his followers: the men who tempt weak people in their weak points, to remove from the world a saint who offends them, wicked as they are, when compared with his goodness. The saint then prays and trusts in God. “Let what You allow be done” he says. He adds only the clause: “providing it serves Your purpose”. The saint knows that the time will come when the wicked darnel will be rejected from the harvest. By God Himself Who does not allow more than what is useful to the triumph of His loving will.»

181.7

«If You maintain that Satan and his followers are always to be blamed… it seems to me that the responsibility of the disciple diminishes» says Matthew.

«Do not believe that. If there is Good there is also Evil and man is gifted with discernment and freedom.»

«You say that God does not allow more than what is useful to the triumph of His loving will. Therefore such an error is useful too, if He allows it, and it serves the triumph of the divine will» says the Iscariot.

«And you infer, as Matthew does, that that justifies the disciple’s crime. God created the lion without ferocity and the snake without poison, now one is ferocious and the other poisonous. That is why God separated them from man. Ponder over that and draw conclusions. »

Annotation

In this beautiful period when the ears of wheat are forming, I'd like to propose a parable borrowed from the grain of wheat. Listen to it. The parable of the wheat and the tares is briefly recounted in Matthew 13:24-30 (see below). At EMV 575.7, Jesus reminds John and James of this parable.

At the end of the month of Tebet, the grain germinated, and the tender green of the little weeds that were just starting to sprout was seen. At the end of the month of Tebet: early January; Shebat corresponds to January/February, Adar to February/March. See the calendar for the months and the explanations given here for the year.

We then saw that the green was not just grain, but that there was also tares wrapped tightly with their fine, tenacious tendrils around the stems of the wheat. The botanical name for ryegrass is Lolium, close to the Italian Loglio used by Maria Valtorta. However, the Vulgate uses the word Zizania (from which comes the expression semer la zizanie). In Latin, this term can be generic and designate a weed in accordance with its Syriac meaning (Zizon), from which it derives. Agronomists call these unwelcome and invasive plants "weeds". See the commentary on chapter 181 on maria-valtorta.org(Pro e contro Maria Valtorta, La disputa tra Mir et Gregori, page 189 and following).

There was also weed, tightly wound with its fine, tenacious tendrils on the stalks of the wheat. Among the "weeds" Jesus mentions later, several plants bear tendrils, such as the bindweed or the Palestine dodder. Understandably, Jesus asks us not to pull them up, lest we pull up the good grain at the same time.

The enemy is watching to make it harmful, for grain flour mixed with darnel flour makes bitter bread, harmful to the intestines. (...) Now, thrown in by the enemy, all the other seeds sprout: here are nettles, couch grass, dodder, bindweed, and here are hemlock and poisonous herbs. Dodder has laxative properties and bindweed is a mild purgative. The flour of common ryegrass, mixed in small quantities with wheat flour, prevents the action of yeast. As for the intestinal disorders mentioned by Jesus, they must be caused by dodder or bindweed, or a type of ryegrass distinct from the common grass, which is sometimes used as a fodder plant.

These will attain, as the prophets announce, the perfection of scandal and abomination in all their earthly activity. For example, Deuteronomy 9:27; 11:31, 36; 12:11.

Deut 9:27: Remember your servants, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; look not to the stubbornness of this people, to their wickedness and to their sin.

We have not found any convincing verses in the other references given.

Here, then, is the universal meaning: Jesus had already commented on the meaning of the Parable in his catechesis of October 27, 1943.

You may ask: "But can there be traitors among the disciples? "See the previous chapter, in EMV 180.8. The betrayal of one of John the Baptist's disciples, which led to the prophet's arrest, caused quite a stir.

Now, thrown in by the enemy, all the other seeds germinate: here are nettles, couch grass, dodder, bindweed, hemlock and poisonous herbs. Palestine dodder (cuscuta palaestina) is a parasite that surrounds plants with numerous suckers. See remarkable botanical knowledge.

Have you ever seen how beautiful they are, with their tiny flowers that become so many little white, red, blue-purple balls? Red balls: Bittersweet (Solanum dulcamara). Its berries are said to cause abdominal pain, vomiting and headaches. Found in southern Eurasia.

Blue-purple balls: This is the case with myrtle-leaved corroyera (corriara myrtifolia). Its blue-purple fruits are appetizing, but cause alcohol poisoning in herds that eat them. They can be fatal under certain conditions. However, the plant is only common in the western Mediterranean. This may also be the case for Bryonia dioica. A climbing plant with tendrils, it can cause dermatitis of varying degrees of irritation on contact with the skin. Ingestion of plant parts (berries, root) causes vomiting and diarrhea, and can have serious consequences (delirium, cramps, etc.). The absorption of just a few dozen berries, attractive because of their color, is enough to cause the death of a child.

Good people believe that others are as good as they are! Ah, what a truth that elevates the master and condemns the betrayer! When rereading the typescript made by Father Migliorini, Maria Valtorta notes at this point: "To work to redeem with goodness, to work without hopes or illusions, out of pure desire to do one's duty to the extreme, to work so that others don't realize that this one is a bad one, so that they don't hate him ... What a divine lesson the Divine Master gives to spiritual guides and to all Christians!"

"God does not allow us to oppose the triumph of his loving will any more than is useful". On a leaf inserted in the typed copy, Maria Valtorta wrote:

"God has given man the intellect to understand, the reason to guide himself as a reasonable creature, the conscience to advise, the law to know how to regulate himself, the freedom to deserve what he wants to deserve: God and glory, or Hell and damnation.

Moreover, He has given him grace, or predestination to grace, so that it may be a stimulus, or a means, of raising the things listed below to a level capable of giving him a holy taste for the supernatural and for God.

Now, in the man who is intelligent, reasonable, conscious, free, and above all instructed in the Faith, knowing his last end and the divine Law, there should be only such actions as the Law prescribes and the knowledge of the end incites us to practice, even as reason and conscience indicate them as good to all, even to those who do not know revealed religion, in order toto obtain the eternal reward that the human intellect, all the more so when enlightened by Grace, is infinitely superior to all conceptions a believer can imagine.

But it sometimes happens that man, acting against reason, turns his freedom into a yoke of the cruellest of slaveries: that of the devil and sin, preferring Evil to Good.

Even if God allows man to do what he chooses of his own free will, in order to judge and confirm him in grace, or to judge that he deserves punishment, nothing lessens man's guilt. For while it is true that man, at God's prompting or Satan's instigation, can do good or evil, it is no less true that man should follow God alone and his loving invitations, for it is from him that he has received all those natural, moral and supernatural gifts capable of making him a child of God, heir to the Kingdom."

Gospel of Matthew 13, 23-30; 36-43

Mt 13, 23-30; Mt 13, 36-43: He who received the seed into the good soil is he who hears the Word and understands it: he bears fruit a hundred, or sixty, or thirty to one." He offered them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who has sown good seed in his field. But while the people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. When the stalk grew and produced an ear of wheat, the weeds also appeared. The master's servants came to him and said: "Lord, is that not good grain you have sown in your field? Where did the tares come from?" He said to them, "An enemy has done this." The servants say to him, "Do you want us to go and remove it?" He replies, "No, by removing the tares, you risk uprooting the wheat at the same time. Let them grow together until harvest time; and, at harvest time, I'll say to the reapers: First remove the tares, bind them in bundles to burn; as for the wheat, gather it up to bring it into my granary."""

Then, leaving the crowds, he came home. His disciples came up to him and said, "Explain to us clearly the parable of the tares in the field." He answered them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the Kingdom; the tares are the sons of the Evil One. The enemy who sowed it is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. As the tares are taken away and thrown into the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom all those who cause stumbling and do evil, and throw them into the furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. He who has ears, let him hear!

GRM 184.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Now listen to the parable of how God works in the hearts of men to establish His Kingdom there. Because every heart is a small kingdom of God on the earth. Later, after death, all these small kingdoms will agglomerate into one, immeasurable, holy eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

The Kingdom of God is created in men’s hearts by the Divine Sower. He comes to his field – man belongs to God, because every man is initially His – and sows His seed. He then goes to other fields, to other hearts. Days follow the nights and nights the days. The days bring sunshine and rain, in our case rays of divine love and effusion of divine Wisdom speaking to the spirit. The nights bring stars and restful silence: in our case enlightening calls of God and silence for the soul so that it may collect its thoughts and meditate.

The seed, in this course of imperceptible but powerful influence, swells, splits, takes root, sprouts, grows. And all that happens without any help from man. The soil spontaneously produces grass from seeds, the herb becomes strong and supports the rising ear, the ear grows, swells, hardens, becomes golden and perfect when seeding. When it is ripe, the sower comes back and cuts it because the time of perfection has arrived for that seed. It cannot develop any further and so it is harvested.

My word does the same work in hearts. I am referring to the hearts which receive the seed. But it is a slow process. One must not spoil everything by being hasty. How troublesome it is for the little seed to split and take root! Such work is painful also for a hard wild heart. It must open itself, allow people to search it, accept new things and nourish them laboriously, appear different being covered with humble useful things, instead of the fascinating, pompous, useless, exuberant flourishing that covered it previously. It must be satisfied with working humbly for the benefit of the divine Thought, without drawing other people’s admiring attention. It must exert all its talent to grow and burst into ear. It must burn with love to become corn. And after overcoming all fears of human opinion, which are so grievous, after toiling, suffering and becoming attached to its new dress, it must be deprived of it by a cruel cut. It must give everything to receive everything. It must be divested to be clad again in Heaven with the stole of sainthood. The life of a sinner who becomes a saint is the longest, most heroic and glorious fight. I tell you.

Annotation

Gospel of Mark 4, 26-32

Mk 4, 26-32 : He said: "The reign of God is like a man who casts seed into the earth: night and day, whether he sleeps or rises, the seed germinates and grows, he knows not how. Of its own accord, the earth first produces grass, then an ear of corn, and finally a full ear of wheat. And as soon as the wheat is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, since harvest time has arrived." He went on to say: "To what shall we compare the reign of God? What parable can we use to represent it? It's like a mustard seed: when you sow it in the ground, it's the smallest of all seeds. But when you sow it, it grows and surpasses all vegetable plants; and it spreads out long branches, so that the birds of the air can make their nests in its shade."

GRM 187.3-4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«And where do we go from here? I am not familiar with this area» says Thomas.

«We will reach Tabor, we will coast part of it and will go to Nain via Endor; from there to the plain of Esdraelon. Be not afraid!… Doras, the son of Doras, and Johanan are already in Jerusalem.»

187.4

«Oh! It will be beautiful! They say that from the summit, from a certain spot, one can see the Great Sea, the Sea of Rome. I like it so much! Will You take us to see it?» John begs with his kind childish face raised towards Jesus.

«Why do you like to see it so much?» asks Jesus caressing him.

«I do not know… Because it is huge and you cannot see its end… It makes me think of God… When we were up on Lebanon I saw the sea for the first time, because I had never been anywhere else, except along the Jordan or on our little sea… and I was moved so much that I wept. So much blue! So much water! And it never overflows!… What a wonderful thing! And the stars make paths of light on the sea… Oh! do not laugh at me! I looked at the golden way of the sun until I was dazzled, at the silvery way of the moon, until I could see nothing but whiteness and I saw them getting lost far far away. Those ways spoke to me. They said: “God is in that infinite distance and these are the ways of fire and purity, which a soul must follow to go to God. Come. Dive into the infinite, travelling on these two ways, and you will find the Infinite One”.»

«You are a poet, John» says Thaddeus admiringly.

«I do not know whether this is poetry. I know that it inflames my heart.»

«But you have seen the sea also at Caesarea and at Ptolomais, and quite close, too. We were on the beach! I do not see the need to go all that way to see some more sea water. After all… we were born on the water…» remarks James of Zebedee.

«And we are in it now as well, unfortunately!» exclaims Peter, who diverting his mind for a moment to listen to John, has not noticed a treacherous puddle and has got soaked… They all laugh, and he laughs too.

But John replies: «That is true. But from high above it is more beautiful. You see more and farther. You think that it is deeper and vaster… You wish… you dream…» and John is already dreaming… He looks in front of himself and smiles at his dream… He looks like a flesh-coloured rose spread with minute dew drops, so downy becomes his smooth clear skin of a young fair-haired man and as it gets sprinkled with a light perspiration it looks more like the petal of a rose.

«What do you wish? What are you dreaming?» Jesus asks His favourite disciple in a low voice and He looks like a father who questions a dear son speaking in his sleep. Jesus speaks to John’s soul, questioning him so gently as not to spoil the dream of His loving disciple.

«I wish to go onto the infinite sea… towards other lands beyond it. I wish to go and speak of You. I am dreaming… of going towards Rome, towards Greece, towards dark places to take the Light there… so that those living in darkness may get in touch with You and may live in communion with You, Light of the world… I am dreaming of a better world… to be bettered through the knowledge of You, that is, through the knowledge of the Love that makes people good, pure, heroic, of the Love that makes the world love and raise Your Name, Your Faith, Your Doctrine above hatred, sin, flesh, above the vices of the mind, above gold, above everything… and I dream of going with my brothers on the sea of God, on the road of light to take You… as Your Mother once brought You down to us from Heaven… I dream that I am a child, who knowing nothing but love, is happy also when facing trouble… and sings to comfort the adults who ponder too much, and moves forward… facing death smiling… towards glory with the humility of one who does not know what he is doing, but knows only that he is coming to You, Love…»

The apostles have not breathed during John’s ecstatic confessions… They remained still where they were, looking at the youngest one speaking with his eyes covered by his eyelids, like a veil thrown over the ardour rising from his heart, and looking at Jesus Who is enraptured finding Himself so completely in His disciple…

When John stops speaking, slightly bent forward – he reminds me of the gracefulness of the humble Mary of Nazareth – Jesus kisses his forehead saying: «We shall go and contemplate the sea, to let you dream My future Kingdom in the world once again.»

GRM 191.8 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

I would like to be able to help you all, also materially, but I cannot, and I am sorry for that. I can but point Heaven to you. I can only teach you the great wisdom of resignation and promise the future Kingdom to you. (...) It is better to be Lazarus than Dives, believe Me. Believe it and you will be blessed.

GRM 194.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«You said that You will open the gates of Heaven. Are they not closed because of the great Sin? My mother used to say that no one could enter until forgiveness had come and the just were waiting for it in Limbo.»

«It is so. But preaching the word of God I will go to the Father and… having obtained forgiveness for you, I will say to Him: “Father, I have fulfilled Your will. Now I want My reward for My sacrifice. Let the just, who are waiting, come to Your Kingdom”. And the Father will say to Me: “Let it be done as You wish”. I will then come down and I will call all the just, and at the sound of My voice Limbo will open its gates and the holy Patriarchs, the bright Prophets, the blessed women of Israel will come out rejoicing. And do you know how many children? There will be children of all ages, as many as the flowers in a flowery meadow! And they will follow Me singing and will ascend to the beautiful Paradise.»

GRM 203.7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

that I have come to establish. M.V. noted on typewritten copy: “As Jesus revealed the Father” (John 1:18) during his ministry as Master, and in the way He could reveal it to the living, it will still be through the Word, Son of the Father, that the citizens of the Kingdom of God will have knowledge of God.

Detail

“May Your Name be held holy”.

Oh! Name, which is holier and sweeter than any other name and which the fear of the guilty taught you to conceal under a different one. No, no longer Adonai. He is God. He is the God Who in an excess of love created Mankind. And Mankind, from now onwards, with lips cleansed by the purification that I am preparing, should call Him by His Name, awaiting to fully comprehend the true meaning of the Incomprehensible One, when the best children of Mankind, united to Him, will rise to the Kingdom that I have come to establish.

GRM 203.8 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

“May Your Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven”.

Desire its coming with all your strength. If it came, it would be the joy of the earth. The Kingdom of God in hearts, in families, among citizens and nations. Suffer, work, sacrifice yourselves for this Kingdom. Let the earth be a mirror reflecting the life of Heaven in each individual. It will happen. All this will happen one day. Centuries of tears and blood, of errors, persecutions, of darkness relieved by flashes of light radiating from the mystical Light of My Church will precede the moment in which the earth will possess the Kingdom of God. Oh! My Church: although a boat, it will never be sunk, as it is also a cliff unshakeable by breakers and will hold high the Light, My Light, the Light of God. And it will then be like the intense blazing of a star which, having reached the perfection of its existence, disintegrates, an immeasurable flower of the ethereal gardens, to breathe its existence and love at the feet of its Creator, in a rutilant throb. But it will most certainly come. And then there will be the perfect, blessed eternal Kingdom of Heaven.

GRM 206.2-6 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

The Kingdom of Heaven is the house of the nuptials of God with souls. The moment a soul enters it, is the day of the nuptials.

Now listen. It is a custom with us that virgins escort the bridegroom when he arrives, to take him with lights and songs to the nuptial house together with his sweet bride. When the procession leaves the house of the bride, who wearing a veil and deeply moved turns her steps to the place where she will be queen, that is, to a house which is not hers, but will become hers the moment she becomes one body with her husband, the procession of the virgins, who are generally friends of the bride, runs to meet the happy couple, forming a circle of lights around them.

Now it happened that in a town there was a wedding. While the bride and bridegroom were making merry with relatives and friends in the house of the bride, ten virgins went to their place, that is, to the hall in the groom’s house, to be ready to go out and meet him when the sound of cymbals and songs warned them that the young couple had left the bride’s house to come to the groom’s. But the feast in the house of the nuptials extended and night fell. As you know, the virgins always keep their lamps lit, so that they do not waste time at the right moment. Now, of these ten virgins, five were wise and five were foolish, and all their lamps were lit and shining. The wise ones, full of wisdom, had provided themselves with small flasks full of oil, to fill up their lamps in the event they should have to wait longer than expected, whereas the foolish ones had only filled their little lamps.

One hour went by after the other. Cheerful conversation, tales and jokes made their waiting pleasant. But later they did not know what to say or what to do, and weary and tired, the ten girls sat down more comfortably and slowly fell asleep with their lamps lit and close to them.

206.3

At midnight a cry was heard: “The bridegroom is coming, go and meet him!”. The ten girls got up on hearing the order, took their veils and garlands, adorned themselves and ran to the shelf where the lamps were. The light of five of them was already fading… The wicks, no longer sustained with oil, which was finished, were smoky, their light was becoming fainter and fainter and they would go out at the least whiff of air, whereas the flames of the other five lamps, which had been refilled by the wise virgins before they fell asleep, were still bright and became even brighter when more oil was added to the lamps.

“Oh” begged the foolish girls “give us some of your oil, otherwise our lamps will go out as soon as we move them. Yours are already so beautiful!…” . But the wise virgins replied: “The wind is blowing in the night outside and heavy drops of dew are falling. There is never enough oil to give a flame strong enough to withstand the wind and dampness. If we give you some, also our lights will begin to fade away. And the procession of the virgins would be really a sad one without the flickering flames of lamps! Go, run to the nearest vendor, beg, knock, make him get up to give you some oil”. And the foolish girls, panting, creasing their veils, staining their dresses, losing their garlands while pushing one another and running, followed the advice of their companions.

But while they were on their way to buy some oil, the bride and the bridegroom appeared at the end of the street. The five virgins, with their lamps lit, ran to meet them and the young couple entered the house in the midst of them for the final ceremony, when the virgins at the end would escort the bride to the nuptial room. The door was closed behind them and those who were outside were left out. And that was the case of the five foolish bridesmaids, who at last arrived with the oil, but found the door closed and in vain they knocked, hurting their hands and moaning: “Lord, lord, open the door for us! We were in the wedding procession. We are the propitiatory virgins chosen to bring honour and good luck to your wedding”. But the bridegroom, leaving for a moment the closest guests whose leave he was taking while the bride was entering the nuptial room, from the upper part of the house said to them: “I tell you that I do not know you. I do not know who you are. I did not see you rejoicing around my beloved bride. You are usurpers. You are therefore left out of the nuptial house”. And the five foolish girls, weeping, went away along the dark streets, with their useless lamps, their creased dresses and torn veils, while their garlands were practically destroyed or lost.

206.4

And now listen to the meaning of the parable. I told you at the beginning that the Kingdom of Heaven is the house of the nuptials of God with souls. All the faithful are called to the celestial wedding because God loves all His children. Sooner or later everybody arrives at the moment of the nuptials and it is a great fortune to arrive.

But listen further. You know how girls consider it an honour and fortune to be invited as bridesmaids of the bride. Let us see whom the various people represent and you will understand better. The Bridegroom is God. The bride is the soul of a just person who, after the period of engagement in the house of the Father, that is under the protection of and in obedience to God’s doctrine, living according to justice, is taken to the house of the Bridegroom for the wedding. The virgin-maids are the souls of the faithful, who following the example set by the bride – the fact that she was chosen by the Bridegroom because of her virtues means that she was a living example of holiness – endeavour to achieve the same honour by sanctifying themselves.

206.5

They are in a white, clean, fresh dress, with white veils, crowned with flowers. They are holding lighted lamps in their hands. The lamps are very clean, and the wicks are nourished with the purest oil so that they may not be unpleasant.

In a white dress. Justice steadily practised gives a white dress and the day will soon come when it will be most white, without even the most remote remembrance of stain, it will be of supernatural, angelical whiteness.

In a clean dress. One must always keep the dress clean through humility. It is so easy to dim the purity of the heart. And those

whose hearts are not pure cannot see God. Humility is like water that washes. A humble man soon notices that he has darkened his robe, because his eyes are not dimmed by the fumes of pride and thus he runs to his Lord and says: “I have stained the purity of my heart. I weep at Your feet to be cleansed. Oh! my Sun, purify my heart through Your benign forgiveness and Your paternal love!”

In a fresh dress. Oh! the freshness of a heart! Children have it by gift of God. The just have it by gift of God and through their own will. Saints have it by gift of God and through their will elevated to heroism. But will a sinner, whose soul is torn, burnt, poisoned and disgraced, ever be able to have a fresh robe? Oh! of course he will. He begins to have it the moment he looks at himself with disgust. He increases its freshness when he decides to change life. He brings it to perfection when through penance he washes, detoxicates, cures and recomposes his poor soul. And with the help of God, Who does not refuse assistance to anyone who asks Him for holy help, and through his own will elevated to super-heroism — because it is not necessary for him to protect what he has, but to rebuild what he destroyed and thus he must work twice, three times, seven times as much — and with untiring penance, relentless against his sinful ego, he will take his soul back to the freshness of a child’s soul. A new freshness, made precious by experience, which makes him the master of other people who were once like him, that is, sinners.

With white veils. Humility! I said[1]: “When you pray or do penance, do not let the world see you”. In the Wisdom Books it is written[2]: “It is right to keep the secret of the King”. Humility is the candid veil worn to defend the good we do and the good God grants us. We must not be proud of the privileged love granted to us by God, nor seek foolish human glory. The gift would be taken away at once. But from the depth of our hearts we must sing to our God: “My soul proclaims Your greatness, o Lord… because You have looked upon Your lowly handmaid”.»

Jesus makes a short pause and casts a glance at His Mother, Who blushes under Her veil and bends forward as if She wanted to tidy the hair of the boy sitting at Her feet, but in actual fact to conceal her deep-felt remembrance…

Crowned with flowers. A soul must weave its daily garland of virtuous deeds, because nothing withered or slovenly looking is to appear in the presence of the Most High. I said daily. Because a soul does not know when God-Bridegroom may appear and say: “Come”. Therefore you must never tire renewing the garland. Be not afraid. Flowers wither. But the flowers of virtuous wreaths do not wither. God’s angel, whom every man has at his side, picks up these daily wreaths and takes them to Heaven. And they will be there in the throne for the new blessed soul when it enters the nuptial house as the bride.

206.6

Their lamps are lit. They have them to honour the Bridegroom and to see the way. How refulgent faith is, and what a kind friend it is! It gives a flame as bright as a star, a flame that smiles because it is sure in its certainty, a flame that also brightens the instrument supporting it. Also the flesh of man nourished with faith seems to become brighter and more spiritual, even in this world, free from premature withering. Because he who believes holds onto God’s words and commandments in order to possess God, his ultimate aim, and therefore he shuns corruption, he is not perturbed or afraid, he feels no remorse, he is not compelled to make an effort to remember lies or to conceal evil deeds and remains young and handsome by means of the beautiful incorruptibility of saints: flesh and blood, mind and heart free from lust to contain the oil of faith, to give light without smoke. A constant will to feed that light forever. Everyday life, with its disappointments, ascertainments, contacts, temptations, disagreements, tends to diminish faith. No! It must not happen. Go every day to the source of the sweet, sapiential oil of God. A lamp with little oil can be put out by the least puff of wind or by the heavy dew of the night. The night… The hour of darkness, of sin, of temptation comes for everybody. It is night for the soul. But if the soul is filled to the brim with faith, its flame cannot be put out by the wind of the world or by the fog of sensuality.

And finally vigilance, vigilance, vigilance. He who is unwarily trustful and says: “Oh! God will come on time, while my light is still on”, and makes up his mind to go to sleep instead of keeping awake, and goes to sleep without providing what is necessary to get up and be ready at the first call, and he who waits until the last moment to procure the oil of faith or the strong wick of goodwill, runs the risk of being left out when the Bridegroom arrives. Be vigilant, therefore with prudence, perseverance, purity, confidence, so that you may always be ready for God’s call, because you really do not know when He will come.

206.7

My dear disciples, I do not want you to be afraid of God, on the contrary I want you to have faith in His goodness. Both you who will remain here, and you who will be going away, must consider that, if you do what the wise virgins did, you will be invited not only to escort the Bridegroom, but like the virgin Esther, who became queen[3] in the place of Vashti, you will be chosen and elected to be brides, as the Bridegroom “found more approval and favour with you than with anybody else”. I bless you, who are about to go away. Take My words with you for yourselves and for your companions. May the peace of the Lord always be with you.»

Jesus goes near the peasants to say goodbye to them once more, but John of Endor whispers to him: «Master, Judas is here now…»

«It does not matter. Take them to the wagon and do as I told you.»

Annotation

If you act like wise virgins, you will not only be called to escort the Bridegroom, but, like the young Esther, who became queen instead of Vashti, you will be chosen and elected as brides. Vashti - Vashti, "the beloved" in Persian. First wife of Ahasuerus (= Xerxes, 486-465), king of Persia, who repudiated her for refusing to attend a feast (Esther 2, 1-18). Esther is also mentioned in EMV 136.2 and EMV 414.1.

Gospel of Matthew 25, 1-13

Mt 25, 1-13 : "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten brides invited to a wedding, who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were careless, and five were far-sighted: the careless ones took their lamps without oil, while the far-sighted ones took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was late, they all dozed off to sleep. In the middle of the night, there was a cry: "Behold the bridegroom! Come out to meet him." Then all the girls woke up and began to prepare their lamps. The carefree ones asked the provident ones, "Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out." The provident girls replied, "That will never be enough for us and for you, so go and buy some from the merchants instead." As they went to buy some, the bridegroom arrived. Those who were ready entered the wedding hall with him, and the door was closed. Later, the other girls arrived in their turn and said, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" He replied, "Amen, I tell you, I don't know you."

Watch therefore, for you know not the day nor the hour.

Book of Esther 2, 1-18

Esther 2, 1-18: After these things, when King Ahasuerus' anger had subsided, he remembered Vashti, what she had done and the decision that had been made about her. Then the king's servants, who were on duty near him, said: "Let maidens be sought for the king, virgins and fair of countenance; let the king appoint officers in all the provinces of his kingdom to gather all maidens, virgins and fair of countenance, to Susa, the capital, in the women's house, under the supervision of Aegeus, the king's eunuch and guardian of the women, who will provide for their grooming; and let the maiden who pleases the king become queen in Vashti's stead. " The king agreed, and so he did.

In Shushan, the capital, there was a Jew named Mordecai, son of Jair, son of Semei, son of Cis, of the race of Benjamin, who had been taken from Jerusalem among the captives deported with Jechonias, king of Judah, by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He brought up Edissa, who is Esther, his uncle's daughter; for she had neither father nor mother. The girl was beautiful of form and graceful of face; on the death of her father and mother, Mordecai had adopted her as his daughter.

When the king's order and edict were published, and many girls were gathered in Shushan, the capital, under the supervision of Aegeus, Esther was also taken and brought to the king's house, under the supervision of Aegeus, keeper of the women. The girl pleased him and won his favor; he hastened to provide her with the things necessary for her toilet and sustenance, to give her seven maidens chosen from the king's household, and he made her spend time with them in the best apartment of the women's house. Esther made neither her people nor her birth known, for Mordecai had forbidden her to speak of them. Every day, Mordecai walked around the courtyard of the women's house to see how Esther was doing and how she was being treated.

And when the time came for each girl to go to King Ahasuerus, after having spent twelve months doing what was prescribed for women - and this was the time of their purification: for six months they purified themselves with myrrh oil, and for six months with the spices and perfumes used among women - and the girl went to the king, she was allowed to take with her what she wanted, to go from the women's house to the king's house. She would go there in the evening, and the next morning she would go to the second women's house, under the supervision of Susagaz, the king's eunuch and guardian of the concubines. She did not return to the king again, unless the king desired her and she was called by name.

When it was her turn to go to the king, Esther, daughter of Abihail, uncle of Mordecai, who had adopted her as his daughter, asked for no more than what Aegaeus, the king's eunuch and keeper of the women, appointed her; but Esther was pleasing to all who saw her. Esther was brought to King Ahasuerus, to his royal household, in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign. The king loved Esther more than any other woman, and she obtained grace and favor with him more than any other maiden. He put the royal diadem on her head, and made her queen in place of Vashti. The king gave a great feast to all his princes and servants, Esther's feast; he gave rest to the provinces and lavished largesse with royal munificence.