Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 29.13
Rest your soul in the light of this dawn of Jesus, to gain strength for the future crucifixions which will not be spared you, because we want you here and one comes here through pain, because we want you here and the higher one comes the more one has suffered to obtain Grace for the world.
GRM 30.1-9
30.1 Later I see a very wide country. The moon is at its zenith and it is sailing smoothly in a sky crowded with stars. They look like diamond studs fixed to a huge canopy of dark blue velvet and the moon is smiling in the middle of them with her big white face, from which streams of light descend and make the earth white. The barren trees seem taller and darker against so white a ground, whereas the low walls, which rise here and there on the boundaries, look as white as milk and a little house far away seems like a block of Carrara marble.
On my right I see a place enclosed by a thorn-bush hedge on two sides and by a low rugged wall on the other two. The wall supports a kind of low wide shed, which inside the enclosure is built in masonry and part in wood, as if in the summer the wooden part should be removed and the shed should become a porch. From the enclosure intermittent short bleatings can be heard now and again. It must be the little sheep which dream or perhaps sense that it is almost daybreak because of the very bright moonlight. The brightness is intense to an excessive degree and it is increasing more and more as if the planet were coming near the earth or were sparkling because of a mysterious fire.
30.2 A shepherd looks out of the door, and lifting one arm to his forehead to shield his eyes, he looks up. It seems unlikely that one should protect one’s eyes from moonlight. But the moonlight in this case is so bright that it blinds people, particularly those who come out from a dark enclosure. Everything is calm. But the bright moonlight is surprising.
The shepherd calls his companions. They all come to the door: a group of hairy men of various ages. Some are just teenagers, some are already white haired. They comment on the strange event and the younger ones are afraid. One in particular, a boy about twelve years old, starts crying, and the older shepherds jeer at him.
«What are you afraid of, you fool?» the oldest man says to him. «Can’t you see that the air is very quiet? Have you never seen clear moonlight? You have always been tied to your mother’s apronstrings, haven’t you? But there are many things for you to see! Once, I had gone as far as the Lebanon mountains, even farther. High up. I was young, and walking was a pleasure. And I was also rich, then… one night I saw such a bright light that I thought Elijah was about to come back in his chariot of fire. And an old man — he was the old man then — said to me: ‘A great adventure is about to take place in the world’. It was for us a misadventure, because the Roman soldiers came. Oh! Many things you will see, if you live… long enough.»
30.3 But the little shepherd is no longer listening to him. He looks as if he is no longer frightened, because he leaves the threshold and steals from behind the shoulders of a brawny herdsman, behind whom he had previously sought shelter, and goes out onto the grassy fold in front of the shed. He looks up and walks about like a sleep-walker or one hypnotised by something that compellingly attracts him. At one point he shouts: «Oh!» and remains petrified with his arms slightly stretched out.
His friends look at one another dumbfounded.
«But what is the matter with the fool?» says one.
«I will send him back to his mother tomorrow. I don’t want mad people as guardians of the sheep,» says another.
And the old man who had spoken earlier says: «Let us go and see before we judge him. Call also the others who are sleeping and bring your sticks. It might be a wild animal or some robber…»
They go in, they call the other shepherds and they come out with torches and clubs. They join the boy.
«There, there,» he whispers smiling. «Above the tree, look at that light. It seems to be walking along the ray of the moon. There it is, it is coming near. How beautiful it is!»
«I can only see a rather brighter light.»
«So can I.»
«So can I,» say the others.
«No. I see something like a body,» says one whom I recognise to be the shepherd who gave the milk to Mary.
«It is… it is an angel,» shouts the boy. «Here he is, he is coming down, he is coming near… Down! On your knees before the angel of God!»
A long and venerable «Oh!» comes from the group of shepherds, who fall down face to the ground and the older they are, the more they appear to be crushed by the refulgent apparition. The young ones are on their knees, looking at the angel who is coming nearer and nearer, and then he stops mid-air above the enclosure wall, waving his large wings, a pearly brightness in the white moonlight surrounding him.
«Do not fear. I am not bringing you misfortune. I announce a great joy for the people of Israel and for all the people of the world.» The angelic voice is the harmony of a harp and of singing nightingales.
«Today, in the City of David, the Saviour has been born.» In saying so, the angel spreads out his wings wider and wider, moving them as a sign of overwhelming joy, and a stream of golden sparks and precious stones seem to fall from them: a real rainbow creating a triumphal arch above the poor shed.
«… the Saviour, Who is Christ.» The angel shines with a brighter light. His two wings, now motionless, pointed upright towards the sky like two still sails on the sapphire of the sea, seem like two bright flames ascending to Heaven.
«… Christ, the Lord!» The angel gathers his sparkling wings and covers himself with them as if they were a coat of diamonds on a dress of pearls, he bows down in adoration, with his arms crossed over his heart, while his head bent down as it is, disappears in the shade of the tops of the folded wings. Only an oblong bright motionless shape can be seen for a few moments.
But now he stirs. He spreads out his wings, lifts his head, bright with a heavenly smile, and says: «You will recognise Him from the following signs: in a poor stable, behind Bethlehem, you will find a baby in swaddling clothes, in a manger for animals, because no roof was found for the Messiah in the city of David.» The angel becomes serious, almost sad, in saying that.
30.4 But from the Heavens many angels — oh! how many! — come down, all like him, a ladder of angels descending and rejoicing and dimming the moonlight with their heavenly brightness. They all gather round the announcing angel, fluttering their wings, exhaling perfumes, playing notes in which the most beautiful voices of creation find a recollection, but elevated to uniform perfection. If painting is the expression of matter to become light, here melody is the expression of music to give men a hint of the beauty of God. To hear this melody is to know Paradise, where everything is harmony of love which emanates from God to make the blessed souls happy, and then from them returns to God to say to Him: «We love You!»
The angelical «Glory» spreads throughout the quiet country in wider and wider circles and the bright light with it. And the birds join their singing to greet the early light, and the sheep add their bleatings for the early sun. But, as previously in the grotto for the ox and the donkey, I love to believe that the animals are greeting their Creator, Who has come down among them to love them both as a Man and as God.
The singing slowly fades away, as well as the light, and the angels ascend to Heaven…
30.5 … The shepherds come back to reality.
«Did you hear?»
«Shall we go and see?»
«And what about the animals?»
«Oh! Nothing will happen to them! We are going to obey God’s word!…»
«But where shall we go?»
«Didn’t he say that He was born today? And that they did not find lodgings in Bethlehem?» It’s the shepherd who gave the milk, who is speaking now. «Come with me, I know where He is. I saw the woman and I felt sorry for Her. I told them where to go, for Her sake, because I thought they might not find lodgings, and I gave the man some milk for Her. She is so young and beautiful, and She must be as good and kind as the angel who spoke to us. Come. Let us go and get some milk, cheese, lambs and tanned hides. They must be very poor… and I wonder how cold He must be Whose name I dare not mention! And imagine! I spoke to the Mother as I would have spoken to a poor wife!…»
They go into the shed and they come out shortly afterwards, some with little flasks of milk, some with little nets interwoven with matureed containing small whole round cheeses, some with baskets, each containing a little bleating lamb and some with tanned hides.
«I am taking them a sheep. She lambed a month ago. Her milk is very good. It will be useful if the woman should have no milk. She seemed a young girl to me and so pale! A jasmine face in moonlight,» says the shepherd who gave the milk. And he leads them.
30.6 They set out in the moonlight aided by their torches, after closing the shed and the enclosure. They go along country paths, among thorn-bush hedges stripped by winter.
They go round Bethlehem. They reach the stable not the way Mary came, but from the opposite direction, so that they do not pass in front of the better stables, instead they find this one first. They go near the entrance.
«Go in!»
«I wouldn’t dare!»
«You go in!»
«No.»
«At least have a look.»
«You, Levi, who saw the angel first, obviously because you are better than we are, look in.» Before they said he was mad…. but now it suits them if he dare what they do not.
The boy hesitates, but then he makes up his mind. He goes near the hole, pulls the mantle a little to one side, looks… and remains enraptured.
«What can you see?» they ask him anxiously in low voices.
«I can see a beautiful young woman and a man bending over a manger and I can hear… I can hear a little baby crying, and the woman is speaking to Him in a voice… oh! what a voice!»
«What is She saying?»
«She is saying: ‘Jesus, little one! Jesus, love of Your Mummy! Don’t cry, little Son’. She is saying: ‘Oh! If I could only say to You: «Take some milk, little one». But I have not got any yet’. She says: ‘You are so cold, My love! And the hay is stinging You! How painful it is for Your Mummy to hear You crying so, without being able to help You!’ She says: ‘Sleep, soul of Mine! Because it breaks My heart to hear You crying and see Your tears!’ and She kisses Him, and She must be warming His little feet with Her hands, because She is bent with Her arms in the manger.»
«Call Her! Let them hear you.»
«I won’t. You should call Her, because you brought us here and you know Her!»
The shepherd opens his mouth, but he only utters a faint moaning noise.
30.7 Joseph turns round and comes to the door. «Who are you?»
«Shepherds. We brought you some food and some wool. We have come to worship the Saviour.»
«Come in.»
They go in, and the stable becomes brighter because of the light of the torches. The older men push the young ones in front of them.
Mary turns round and smiles. «Come,» She says. «Come!», and She invites them with Her hand and Her smile, and She takes the boy who saw the angel and She draws him to Herself, against the manger. And the boy looks, and is happy.
The others, invited also by Joseph, move forward with their gifts and they place them at Mary’s feet with few deep-felt words. They then look at the Baby Who is weeping a little and they smile moved and happy.
And one of them, somewhat bolder than the rest, says: «Mother, take this wool. It’s soft and clean. I prepared it for my child who is about to be born. But I offer it to You. Lay your Son in this wool. It will be soft and warm.» And he offers the sheep hide, a beautiful hide, well covered with soft white wool.
Mary lifts Jesus, and puts it around Him. And She shows Him to the shepherds, who, kneeling on the hay on the ground, look at Him ecstatically!
One of the boldest says: «He should be given a mouthful of milk, better still, some water and honey. But we have no honey. We give it to little babies. I have seven children, and I know…»
«There is some milk here. Take it, Woman.»
«But it is cold. It should be warm. Where is Elias? He has the sheep.»
Elias must be the shepherd who gave the milk. But he is not there. He remained outside and is looking from the hole, but he cannot be seen in the dark night.
«Who led you here?»
«An angel told us to come, and Elias showed us the way. But where is he now?»
The sheep declares his presence with a bleat.
«Come in. You are wanted.»
He enters with his sheep, embarrassed because they all look at him.
«It’s you!» says Joseph, who recognises him, and Mary smiles at him saying: «You are good.»
They milk the sheep and with the hem of a piece of linen dipped into the warm creamy milk, Mary moistens the lips of the Baby Who sucks the sweet cream. They all smile, and even more so, when Jesus falls asleep in the warmth of the wool, with the little bit of linen still between His lips.
30.8 «But You can’t stay here. It’s cold and damp. And… there is too strong a smell of animals. It’s not good… it’s not good for the Saviour.»
«I know,» replies Mary with a deep sigh. «But there is no room for us in Bethlehem.»
«Take heart, Woman. We will look for a house for You.»
«I will tell my mistress,» says Elias. «She is good. She will receive You, even if she had to give You her own room. As soon as it is daylight, I will tell her. Her house is full of people. But she will find room for You.»
«For My Child, at least. Joseph and I can lie on the floor. But for the Little One…»
«Don’t worry, Woman. I will see to it. And we will tell many people what we were told. You will lack nothing. For the time being, take what our poverty can give You. We are shepherds…»
«We are poor, too. And we cannot reward you,» says Joseph.
«Oh! We don’t want it. Even if You could afford it, we would not want it. The Lord has already rewarded us. He promised peace to everybody. The angels said: ‘Peace to men of goodwill’. But He has already given it to us, because the angel said that this Child is the Saviour, Who is Christ, the Lord. We are poor and ignorant, but we know that the Prophets say that the Saviour will be the Prince of Peace. And he told us to come and adore Him. That is why He gave us His peace. Glory be to God in the Most High Heaven and glory to His Christ here, and You are blessed, Woman, Who gave birth to Him: You are holy, because You deserved to bear Him! Give us orders as our Queen, because we will be happy to serve You. What can we do for You?»
«You can love My Son, and always cherish the same thoughts as you have now.»
«But what about You? Is there anything You wish? Have You no relatives whom You would like to inform that He has been born?»
«Yes, I have them. But they are far away. They are at Hebron…»
«I will go,» says Elias. «Who are they?»
«Zacharias, the priest, and My cousin Elizabeth.»
«Zacharias? Oh! I know him well. In summer I go up those mountains because the pastures are rich and beautiful, and I am a friend of his shepherd. When I know you are settled, I will go to Zacharias.»
«Thank you, Elias.»
«You need not thank me. It is a great honour for me, a poor shepherd, to go and speak to the priest and say to him: ‘The Saviour has been born’.»
«No. You must say to him: ‘Your cousin, Mary of Nazareth, has said that Jesus has been born, and that you should come to Bethlehem’.»
«I will say that.»
«May God reward you.
30.9 I will remember you, Elias, and every one of you.»
«Will You tell Your Baby about us?»
«I certainly will.»
«I am Elias.»
«And I am Levi.»
«And I am Samuel.»
«And I Jonah.»
«And I Isaac.»
«And I Tobias.»
«And I Jonathan.»
«And I Daniel.»
«And I Simeon.»
«My name is John.»
«I am Joseph and my brother Benjamin, we are twins.»
«I will remember your names.»
«We must go… But we will come back… And we will bring others to worship Him.»
«How can we go back to the sheep-fold, leaving the Child?»
«Glory be to God Who has shown Him to us!»
«Will You let us kiss His dress?» asks Levi, with an angelic smile.
And Mary lifts Jesus slowly, and sitting on the hay, wraps the tiny little feet in linen, and offers them to be kissed. And the shepherds bow down to the ground and kiss the tiny feet, veiled by the linen. Those with a beard clean it first; almost everyone is crying, and when they have to go, they walk out backwards, leaving their hearts there…
The vision ends in this way, with Mary sitting on the straw with the Child on Her lap and Joseph who, leaning with his elbow on the manger, looks and adores.
The angel who appears to the shepherds, and particularly to Levi, is St Gabriel the archangel. Jesus confirms this in EMV 136.6.
Luke 2:8-20:
In the same region, there were shepherds who lived outdoors and spent the night in the fields tending their flocks. The angel of the Lord appeared before them, and the glory of the Lord enveloped them in his light. They were filled with great fear. Then the angel said to them: "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this is the sign that is given to you: you will find a newborn baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." And suddenly there was with the angel an innumerable heavenly company, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth to men, whom He loves."
When the angels had left the shepherds for heaven, the shepherds said to each other, "Let's go as far as Bethlehem to see what has happened, the event that the Lord has made known to us." They hurried there, and found Mary and Joseph, with the newborn lying in the manger. When they had seen, they told what had been announced to them about the child. And all who heard were amazed at what the shepherds had told them. Mary, however, remembered all these events and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, according to what had been announced to them.
GRM 31.1
«The man you sent me told me that you were homeless when He was born. You must have suffered a lot.»
«Yes, quite a lot. But our fears were greater than our discomfort. We were afraid the Child’s health might be injured. And we had to stay there for the first days. We lacked nothing, for ourselves, because the shepherds gave the good news to the people of Bethlehem, and many of them brought us gifts. But we had no house, not even a decent room, a bed… and Jesus cried so much, particularly at night, because the wind was blowing in from all directions. I used to light a little fire. Only a little one, because the smoke made Jesus cough… and it was still cold in any case. Two animals do not give out much heat, especially when the cold air comes in from all directions! We had no warm water to wash Him, nor dry clothes to change Him. Yes, He suffered quite a lot! And Mary suffered seeing Him suffer. I suffered.. so you can imagine His Mother’s anguish! She fed Him with milk and tears, milk and love… Now here it is much better. I had made such a comfortable cradle for Him and Mary had fitted it with a soft little mattress. But it is in Nazareth! Ah! If He were born there, it would have been different!»
«But Christ was to be born in Bethlehem. It was prophesised.»
GRM 32.1-6
32.1 I see a couple of people departing from a very modest house. A very young mother comes down an outside staircase holding in her arms a child wrapped in a white cloth.
I recognise our Mother. She is always the same: pale and blonde, agile and so kind in Her behaviour. She is dressed in white, with a pale blue mantle and a white veil on Her head. She is carrying Her Child so carefully.
Joseph is waiting for Her at the foot of the steps with a little grey donkey. Joseph is dressed entirely in light brown: both his tunic and his mantle are the same colour. He looks at Mary and smiles at Her. When Mary arrives near the little donkey, Joseph places the animal’s bridle on his left arm, he takes for a moment the Child, Who is sleeping peacefully, and thus allows Mary to sit more comfortably on the donkey’s saddle. He then hands Jesus back to Her and they set off.
Joseph is walking beside Mary, holding the bridle all the time and ensuring that the donkey goes straight ahead without stumbling. Mary is holding Jesus in Her lap, and lest He might feel cold, She spreads the edge of Her mantle over Him. Joseph and Mary speak very little but they often smile at each other.
The road, which is not a model road, winds along a country made barren by the season of the year. Only a few other travellers meet them on the road or overtake them.
32.2 Then I see some houses and the walls around a town. They go in through a gate and start walking on the ground which is all broken up, and very irregular. Progress is now much more difficult, both because the traffic causes the donkey to stop very often and because the holes, where stones are missing, make the poor animal jerk continuously and thus Mary and the Child are also disturbed.
The road is not flat. It is uphill, although very slightly. It is a narrow road running between high houses with small narrow low doors and only a few windows on the road. High above, the sky can be seen peeping with many thin blue strips between the houses, or rather between the terraces. Down in the street there are many people and much shouting. They meet other people on foot or riding donkeys or leading loaded donkeys and a crowd following a cumbersome camel caravan. At a certain moment, a patrol of Roman legionaries passes by with a great noise of hooves and arms and they disappear beyond an arch built across a narrow stony road.
Joseph turns left along a wider and more pleasant road. I can see the embattled town walls, with which I am already familiar, at the end of the street.
Mary dismounts from the little donkey near a gate where there is a kind of stall for other donkeys. I say «stall» because it is a kind of shed, or better still, a kind of shed spread with straw; there are also some poles with rings to which the animals are tied.
Joseph gives some coins to a little man who has gone up to him and with them he buys some hay and he draws a pail of water from a rustic well in the corner. He then feeds the donkey. He joins Mary and they both enter the enclosure of the Temple.
32.3 At first they turn their steps towards an arcade where the merchants are, to whom Jesus later will give a good lashing: the vendors of lambs and doves and the money-changers. Joseph buys two little white pigeons. He does not change any money: he obviously has what is required.
They then make for a side door, with eight steps, as all the doors seem to have, because the centre of the Temple is raised above the surrounding ground. The door opens into a great hall like the doors of our houses in towns, to give you an idea, only this one is larger and more ornate. In the hall there are two kinds of altars on the right and on the left, that is two rectangular constructions, the purpose of which I do not understand at first. They are like low basins, because the internal part is lower than the external rim, which is a few centimetres higher.
A priest approaches them, I do not know whether he was called by Joseph or whether he did so of his own accord. Mary offers Her two little pigeons and since I know their fate, I turn my eyes elsewhere. I look at the decorations of the very heavy portal, of the ceiling and of the hall. But I get the impression, by a side glance, that the priest sprays Mary with some water. It must be water, because I do not see any stains on Her dress. Then Mary, Who had given the priest a handful of coins together with the two pigeons (I had forgotten to mention that), goes into the real Temple, in the company of the priest.
I am watching everything. It is a most ornate place. Sculptured angels’ heads, palms and decorations adorn the columns, the walls and the ceiling. Light comes in through strange long narrow windows, obviously without panes, cut diagonally compared to the walls. I suppose the idea is to keep the rain out.
32.4 Mary moves forward to a certain point. She then stops. A few metres from Her, there are more steps on top of which there is a kind of altar, beyond which there is another construction.
I now realise that I thought I was in the Temple, instead I was in the part surrounding the real Temple, that is the Holy, beyond which no one can proceed, apparently, except the priests. What I therefore thought was the Temple, is but an enclosed vestibule, which on three sides encircles the Temple, in which the Tabernacle is enclosed. I do not know whether I have made myself understood. But I am neither an architect nor an engineer.
Mary offers the Child, Who has woken up and is turning His innocent eyes towards the priest, with the astonished look of infants a few days old. The priest takes Him in his arms and raises Him, with arms fully stretched out, towards the Temple, standing against the kind of altar placed on top of the steps. The rite is over. The Child is handed back to His Mother and the priest goes away.
32.5 There is a group of onlookers. Amongst them a little old man, bent with age and limping, makes his way leaning on a stick. He must be very old, I would say over eighty. He goes near Mary and asks Her to give him the Child for one moment. Mary satisfies him, smiling.
Simeon, whom I always thought belonged to the sacerdotal class, and is instead a simple believer, at least according to his garments, takes the Child and kisses Him. Jesus smiles at him with the typical smile of sucklings. He seems to watch him inquisitively, because the old man is crying and laughing at the same time and his tears form a sparkling embroidery running along his wrinkles and beading his long white beard, towards which Jesus stretches His little hands. He is Jesus, but still a child, and whatever moves in front of Him, draws His attention so that He wants to get hold of it to see what it is. Mary and Joseph smile and so do all the others who praise the beauty of the Child.
I hear the words of the holy old man and I see the astonished gaze of Joseph, the deeply moved look of Mary as well as the glances of the little crowd, partly surprised and moved, partly laughing at the words of the old man. Amongst the latter there are some bearded and conceited members of the Sanhedrin, who shake their heads giving Simeon an ironic pitying look. They must think he is mad due to his old age.
32.6 Mary’s smile fades into paleness when Simeon mentions sorrow. Although She knows, that word pierces Her soul. She goes closer to Joseph, to be comforted, She presses Her Child to Her breast passionately and like a thirsty soul, She takes in the words of Anna of Phanuel, who being a woman, has mercy on Her suffering and promises Her that the Eternal Father will soothe the hour of sorrow with a supernatural strength. «Woman, He Who gave a Saviour to His people, will not lack the power to send His angel to console Your tears. The great women of Israel never lacked the help of the Lord and You are far greater than Judith and Jael. Our God will give You a heart of the most pure gold to withstand the storm of sorrow, so that You will be the greatest woman in Creation: the Mother. And You, Child, remember me in the hour of Your mission.»
And the vision ends here.
Luke 2, 22-38 : When the time prescribed by the Law of Moses for purification was fulfilled, Jesus' parents brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, according to what is written in the Law: Every first-born male shall be dedicated to the Lord. They also came to offer the sacrifice prescribed by the Law of the Lord: a pair of turtledoves or two small doves.
Now, there was a man in Jerusalem named Symeon. He was a righteous and religious man, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. He had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had seen Christ, the Messiah of the Lord. Under the influence of the Spirit, Symeon came to the Temple. As the parents presented the child Jesus to comply with the rite of the Law concerning him, Symeon received the child in his arms, and blessed God, saying:
"Now, O sovereign Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word. For my eyes have seen the salvation you were preparing in the face of the peoples: light that reveals itself to the nations and gives glory to your people Israel."
The child's father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Simeon blessed them, then said to his mother Mary: "Behold, this child will cause the fall and rise of many in Israel. He will be a sign of contradiction - and you, your soul will be pierced by a sword -: thus will be revealed the thoughts that come from the hearts of many."
There was also a woman prophet, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very advanced in years; after seven years of marriage, having been widowed, she had reached the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple, serving God day and night in fasting and prayer. Arriving at this very hour, she proclaimed God's praises and spoke of the child to all those awaiting Jerusalem's deliverance.
GRM 32.7-9
Jesus says:
«Two teachings, applicable to everybody, derive from the description given by you.
The former: truth is not revealed to a priest engrossed in rites, but absent with his spirit, it is instead revealed to a simple believer.
The priest, always in contact with Divinity, devoted to what concerns God and to everything that is above the flesh, should have realised at once who the Child was Who was being offered that morning in the Temple. But it was necessary for him to have a living spirit, in order to realise it. A mere robe covering a drowsy spirit, if not a dead spirit, was not sufficient.
The Spirit of God can thunder if It wants, and rouse like a thunderbolt and shake like an earthquake the dullest spirit. It can. But generally, as It is an orderly Spirit, as God is Order in each Person and way of acting, It inspires and speaks, not where there is sufficient merit to deserve its effusion — in which case Its effusions would be most rare and not even you would know their light — but where It sees the ‘goodwill’ to deserve such effusion.
How is such will exerted? With a life devoted, as far as possible, entirely to God: in faith, obedience, purity, charity, generosity and in prayer. Not in practices: in prayer. There is less difference between night and day than there is between practices and prayer. The latter is communion of the spirit with God, from which you emerge with fresh strength and a decision to belong more and more to God. The former are common habit exerted for various purposes, which are always selfish, and they leave you exactly as you were, on the contrary, they aggravate your burden with the faults of falsehood and sluggishness.
32.8 Simeon had such goodwill. He had not been spared troubles and trials in his life. But he had not lost his goodwill. Age and misfortunes had not impaired or shaken his faith in the Lord and in His promises, neither did his goodwill to be more and more worthy of God tire or falter. And God sent Him the ray of the Spirit to guide him to the Temple, that he might see the Light that had come to the world, before his eyes of a faithful servant closed to the light of the sun, awaiting to be reopened to the Sun of God glowing in the Heavens, which I had reopened when I ascended after my Martyrdom.
‘Prompted by the Holy Spirit’ says the Gospel. Oh! If men only knew what a perfect Friend the Holy Spirit is! What Guide, what Teacher! If they only loved and invoked Him, this love of the Most Holy Trinity, this Light of Light, this Fire of Fire, this Intelligence, this Wisdom! How much more they would know of what is necessary to know!
Look, Mary; listen, My children. Simeon waited all his long life before ‘seeing the Light’ and before knowing that God’s promise was fulfilled. But he never doubted. He never said to himself: ‘It is useless to persevere in hoping and praying’. He just persevered. And he deserved ‘to see’ what neither the priest nor the proud and dull members of the Sanhedrin saw: the Son of God, the Messiah, the Saviour in the flesh of a Child Who warmed him and smiled at him. He received the smile of God from the lips of a Child, his first reward for an honest and pious life.
32.9 The other lesson: the words of Anna. She too, a prophetess, saw in Me, a new-born Baby, the Messiah. And this is quite natural, considering her prophetic prerogative. But listen to what she says to My Mother, moved by faith and charity. And use her words as a light for your souls that quiver in these days of darkness and in this Feast of Light. ‘He who gave a Saviour will not lack the power to send His angel to console Your tears’.
Consider that God gave Himself to obliterate Satan’s work in your souls. And will He not be able now to defeat the satans that torture you? Will He not be able to wipe your tears routing these satans and sending you once again the peace of His Christ? Why do you not ask Him with faith? A real overbearing faith, a faith before which the rigour of God, indignant at your many faults, may turn into a smile and He may grant you His forgiveness, which is relief, and His blessing which will be a rainbow in this world submerged in a deluge of blood which you wanted yourselves.
Remember: the Father, after punishing men with the storm, said to Himself and to His Patriarch: ‘Never again will I curse the earth because of man, because his heart contrives evil from his infancy. Never again will I strike down every living thing as I have done’. And He has been faithful to His word. He has not sent a storm again. But how many times have you said to yourselves and to God: ‘If we are spared this time, if You save us, we shall never make wars again, never again’, and after, you have always made more terrifying ones? How many times, o false men, who have no respect either for God or for your own word? And yet God would help you once again, only if the large mass of the faithful would invoke Him with faith and ardent love.
Lay your worries at the feet of God: you who are too few to counterbalance the many who keep God’s rigour alive, you who have remained devoted to Him, notwithstanding the dreadful times which are increasing from day to day. He will send you His angel, as He sent the Saviour to the world. Do not be afraid. Be united to the Cross. It has always defeated the snares of the demon, who with the cruelties of men and the sadness of life endeavours to drive to desperation, that is, to separation from God, the hearts he cannot conquer in any other way.»
Maria has just seen the presentation of Jesus in the Temple.
GRM 39.2-3
39.2 I see Mary bending over a tub, or rather a terracotta container, in which She stirs something that steams in the cool clear air which fills the kitchen garden in Nazareth.
It must be the depth of winter, because, with the exception of the olive-trees, all the plants and trees are bare and look like skeletons. High above, the sky is very clear and there is a beautiful sunshine. But it does not mitigate the bitterly cold wind that shakes the bare boughs and the little green-grey branches of the olive-trees.
Our Lady is wearing a heavy dark-brown dress, which is so dark that it is almost black, and She has tied in front of it a rough piece of cloth, like an apron, to protect it. She takes out of the vessel the stick with which She was stirring its contents and I can see some beautiful ruby-red drops dripping from it. Mary looks at them, She wets Her finger with them, checks the colour against Her apron and seems satisfied.
She goes into the house and then comes out with a lot of skeins of snow-white wool. She dips them patiently and carefully into the tub, one by one.
39.3 While She is busy doing that, Her sister-in-law, Mary of Alphaeus, comes in through Joseph’s workshop. They greet each other, and start conversing.
«Is it coming all right?» asks Mary of Alphaeus.
«I hope so.»
«That Gentile lady assured me that it is exactly the colour, and that is exactly how they do it in Rome. She gave it to me only because of You, because of the embroidery work You did for her. She said that not even in Rome is there anyone who can embroider so well. You must have become blind doing it…»
Mary smiles and shakes Her head as if to say: «It was a mere trifle!»
Her sister-in-law looks at the last skeins of wool, before handing them over to Mary. «How beautifully You have spun them! They are so thin and smooth that they look like hair. You do everything so well. And You are so quick! Will these last ones be of a lighter colour?»
«Yes, they are for the tunic. The mantle is darker.»
The two women work together at the tub. They then pull out the skeins of a beautiful purple colour and they run quickly to dip them into the ice-cold water that fills the little vessel under the thin spring of water that tumbles babbling softly. They rinse them over and over again, then they lay the skeins on canes which they fasten to the branches of the trees.
«They will dry very well and rapidly in this wind,» says Her sister-in-law.
«Let us go to Joseph. There is a fire in there. You must be frozen,» says Our Blessed Lady. «It was very kind of you to help Me. I did it very quickly and without working so much. I am very grateful to you.»
«Oh! Mary! What would I not do for You! To be near You is a great joy. And then… all this work is for Jesus. And He is such a dear, Your Son!… I will feel that He is also my Son, if I help You with His feast when He comes of age.»
The two women go into the workshop, which is full of the smell of planed wood, as is usual in carpenters’ workshops.
GRM 39.4-6
I see Jesus with His Mother going into the dining room (let us call it so), in Nazareth.
Jesus is a handsome young boy, twelve years old, tall, well built, strong but not fat. He looks older than His years, because of His complexion. He is already tall, in fact He reaches up to the shoulders of His Mother. His face is the rosy round face of a child and later, in His youth and then in His manhood, it will get thinner and thinner and it will become colourless, the colour of some very delicate alabasters with a hue of yellowish pink.
Also His eyes are still the eyes of a child. They are large, wide open when looking, with a sparkle of joy lost in the seriousness of His glance. Later they will not be so wide open… His eyelashes will cover half of them to conceal the excessive wickedness which is in the world, from the Pure and Holy One. Only when working miracles they will be open and bright, even brighter than now… to cast out demons and death, to heal diseases and sins. And they will no longer have that sparkle of happiness mingled with seriousness… death and sin will be more and more present and close, and with them the knowledge, also the human knowledge of the uselessness of His sacrifice, because of the unwillingness and aversion of man. Only in the rarest moments of joy, when He is with faithful believers and particularly with pure people, mostly children, will His holy mild kind eyes shine again with happiness.
But now He is at home with His Mother, in front of Him there is Saint Joseph who is smiling lovingly, and there are His little cousins who admire Him, and His aunt Mary of Alphaeus who is patting Him… He is happy. My Jesus needs love to be happy. And in this moment He has it.
He is dressed in a loose woollen tunic which is a light ruby red colour. It is soft, perfectly woven in its compact thinness. Round the neck, in the front, at the ends of the long wide sleeves and at the bottom of the tunic which hangs down to the ground, so that only His feet can be seen, there is a Greek fret which is not embroidered, but woven in a darker colour into the ruby of the tunic. He is wearing new sandals which appear to be very well made, they are not just the usual soles tied to the feet by means of straps of leather. His tunic must be the work of His Mother because Her sister-in-law admires and praises it.
His lovely blond hair is already somewhat darker than when He was a little boy, with auburn reflections in the curls ending under His ears. They are no longer the soft graceful curls of His childhood. It is not yet the wavy long hair of His manhood, reaching down to His shoulders, ending there in a soft, big curl. But it already resembles more the latter in its colour and style.
39.5 «Here is our Son,» says Mary lifting Her right hand which is holding Jesus’ left one. She seems to be introducing Him to everybody and confirming the paternity of the Just man who is smiling. And She adds: «Bless Him, Joseph, before leaving for Jerusalem. There was no ritual blessing for His first step in life, because it was not necessary for Him to go to school. But now that He is going to the Temple to be proclaimed of age, please bless Him. And bless Me with Him. Your blessing…» (Mary sobs softly) «will fortify Him and give Me strength, to detach Myself a little more from Him…»
«Mary, Jesus will always be Yours. The formality will not affect our mutual relationship. Neither will I contend with You for this Son, so dear to us. No one deserves, as You do, to guide Him in life, o my Holy Spouse.»
Mary bends down and takes Joseph’s hand and kisses it. She is the respectful, loving spouse of Her consort!
Joseph receives the sign of respect and love with dignity, he then lifts the hand which She has kissed and lays it on the head of his Spouse and says to Her: «Yes. I bless You, o Blessed One, and I bless Jesus with You. Come to me, my only joys, my honour and essence of my life.» Joseph is solemn. With his arms stretched out and the palms of his hands turned down above the two heads which are bent down, both equally blond and holy, he pronounces his blessing: «May the Lord look upon You and bless You. May He have mercy on You and give You peace. May the Lord give You His blessing.» And then he says: «And now let us go. The hour is favourable for the journey.»
39.6 Mary takes a wide dark brown mantle and She drapes it on the body of Her Son. How She caresses Him in doing so!
They go out, they close up the house. They set off. Other pilgrims are going in the same direction. Outside the village the women separate from the men. The children go where they like. Jesus stays with His Mother.
The pilgrims go along through the country which is so beautiful in the happiest springtime, and they sing psalms most of the time. The meadows are fresh and the crops are fresh, and the leaves on the trees have just begun to bloom. You can hear men singing in the fields along the roads and birds singing their songs of love among the branches of the trees. Clear streams reflect like mirrors the flowers on the banks, while little lambs are jumping about near their mothers… Peace and happiness under the loveliest April sky.
The vision ends in this way.
Physical description of the infant Jesus and Joseph's blessing before leaving for Jerusalem.
GRM 41.2-9
41.2 … When I awake with its memory in my heart, after I have recovered some of my strength and my mind is at peace, because they are all asleep, I find myself in a place which I have never seen before. There are yards and fountains and porches and houses, or rather pavilions, because they look more like pavilions than houses. There is a large crowd of people dressed in the ancient style of the Jews, and there is a lot of bawling. When I look around I realise I am inside the large building which Jesus was looking at, because I see the embattled wall surrounding it, the tower watching over it and the imposing building that rises in the centre, and around which there are beautiful and large porches, where many people are intent on activities.
I understand that I am in the enclosure of the Temple in Jerusalem. I see Pharisees in long flowing dresses, priests dressed in linen and wearing precious plates at the top of their chests and on their foreheads and with other sparkling points here and there on their varied robes, which are very wide and white, tied to their waists by precious belts. There are also others with fewer decorations, but they must still belong to the sacerdotal caste and are surrounded by younger disciples. I realise that they are the doctors of the Law.
41.3 Among all these people I am lost, because I do not know why or what I am doing there. I go near a group of doctors where they have just started a theological dispute. Many people do the same.
Amongst the «doctors» there is a group headed by one whose name is Gamaliel and by another old and almost blind man who is supporting Gamaliel in the dispute. This man, whose name I hear is Hillel (I am writing it with an «h» because I hear an aspiration at the beginning of the name) seems to be a teacher or relative of Gamaliel, because the latter treats him with familiarity and respect at the same time. Gamaliel’s group is more broad-minded, whereas another group, and it is more numerous, is led by one whose name is Shammai, and is noticeable for its conservative, resentful intolerance the Gospel has clarified so well.
Gamaliel, surrounded by a compact group of disciples, is speaking of the coming of the Messiah, and founding his observations on Daniel’s prophecy, he states that the Messiah must have already been born, because the seventy prophesied weeks, from the time the decree of the reconstruction of the Temple was issued, expired some ten years before. Shammai opposes him stating that, if it is true that the Temple has been rebuilt, it is also true that the slavery of Israel has increased and the peace, which He Whom the prophets called «Prince of Peace» was to bring, is quite far from being in the world and in particular is far from Jerusalem. The town is in fact oppressed by an enemy who is so bold as to exert his domination inside the enclosure of the Temple, dominated by the Antonia Tower, full of Roman legionaries, ready to put down with their swords any riot that may break out for the independence of the country.
The dispute, full of captious objections, is dragged on endlessly. All the doctors show off their learning, not so much to beat their opponents as to display themselves to the admiration of the listeners. Their aims are quite obvious.
41.4 From the close group of the believers the clear voice of a boy is heard: «Gamaliel is right.»
There is a stir in the crowd and in the group of doctors. They look for the interrupter. But it is not necessary to search for him, because he does not hide. He makes his way through the crowd and goes near the group of the «rabbis». I recognise my Jesus adolescent. He is sure of Himself and open-hearted, His eyes are sparkling with intelligence.
«Who are You?», they ask Him.
«I am a son of Israel, who has come to fulfil what the Law prescribes .»
His bold and frank reply is appreciated and it gains Him smiles of approval and favour. They take an interest in the young Israelite.
«What is Your name?»
«Jesus of Nazareth.»
The feeling of benevolence fades away in Shammai’s group. But Gamaliel, more benignly, continues his conversation with Hillel. It is indeed Gamaliel who with respect suggests to the old man: «Ask the boy something.»
«On what do You base Your certainty?» asks Hillel.
(I will now put the names in front of the replies for the sake of brevity and clarity.)
Jesus: «On the prophecy which cannot be wrong about the time and the signs which took place at the time it came true. It is true that Caesar dominates us, but the world and Palestine were in such peace when the seventy weeks expired, that it was possible for Caesar to order the census in his dominions. Had there been wars in the Empire and riots in Palestine, he would not have been able to do so. Just as that time was completed, so the other period of sixty-two weeks plus one from the completion of the Temple is also being completed, so that the Messiah may be anointed and the remainder of the prophecy may come true for the people who did not want Him. Can you doubt that? Do you not remember the star that was seen by the Wise Men from the East, which stopped over the sky in Bethlehem of Judah and that the prophecies and the visions, from Jacob onwards, indicate that place as the one destined as the birthplace of the Messiah, son of the son of Jacob’s son, through David who was from Bethlehem? Do you not remember Balaam? ‘A Star will be born of Jacob’. The Wise Men from the East, whose purity and faith opened their eyes and ears, saw the Star and understood its Name: ‘Messiah’, and they came to worship the Light that had descended into the world.»
41.5 Shammai, glaring at Him: «Do you mean that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem-Ephrathah at the time of the Star?»
Jesus: «I do.»
Shammai: «Then he no longer exists. Don’t you know, Child, that Herod had all the born of woman, from one day up to the age of two years, slaughtered in Bethlehem and surrondings? You, Who are so wise in the Scriptures, must also know this: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah… it is Rachel weeping for her children’. The valleys and the hills in Bethlehem, which gathered the tears of the dying Rachel, were left full of tears, and the mothers have wept again on their slaughtered children. Amongst them, there certainly was the Mother of the Messiah.»
Jesus: «You are wrong, old man. The weeping of Rachel turned into a hosanna, because there, where she gave birth to ‘the son of her sorrow’, the new Rachel has given the world the Benjamin of the Heavenly Father, the Son of His right hand, Him Who is destined to gather the people of God under His sceptre and free it from the most dreadful slavery.»
Shammai: «How can that be, if He was killed?»
Jesus: «Have you not read about Elijah? He was carried off by the chariot of fire. And could the Lord God not have saved his Emmanuel so that He might be the Messiah of his people? He, Who parted the sea in front of Moses, that Israel might walk on dry ground towards its land, could He not have sent His angels to save His Son, His Christ, from the ferocity of man? I solemnly tell you: the Christ is alive and is amongst you, and when His hour comes, He will show Himself in His power.» Jesus, in saying these words, which I have underlined, has a sharp sound in His voice which fills the air. His eyes are brighter than ever, and with the gesture of command and promise He stretches out His right arm and hand and lowers them as if He were swearing. He is a boy, but is as solemn as a man.
41.6 Hillel: «Child, who taught you these words?»
Jesus: «The Spirit of God. I have no human teacher. This is the Word of the Lord Who speaks to you through My lips.»
Hillel: «Come near us that I may see You, Child, and my hope may be revived by Your faith and my soul enlightened by the brightness of Yours.»
And they make Jesus sit on a high stool between Gamaliel and Hillel and they give Him some rolls to read and explain. It is a proper examination. The people throng and listen.
Jesus reads in His clear voice: «Be consoled, my people. Speak to the heart of Jerusalem and call to her that her time of service is ended… A voice cries in the wilderness: ‘Prepare a way for the Lord… then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed…»’
Shammai: «See that, Nazarene. It refers here to an ended slavery, but never before have we been slaves as we are now. And there is the mention of a precursor. Where is he? You are talking nonsense.»
Jesus: «I tell you that the admonition of the Precursor should be addressed to you more than anyone else. To you and those like you. Otherwise you will not see the glory of the Lord, neither will you understand the word of God because meanness, pride and falsehood will prevent you from seeing and hearing.»
Shammai: «How dare You speak to a master like that?»
Jesus: «I speak thus. And thus I shall speak until My death, because above Me there are the interests of the Lord and the love for Truth of which I am the Son. And I add, rabbi, that the slavery of which the Prophet speaks, and of which I am speaking, is not the one you think, neither is the royalty the one you consider. On the contrary, by the merits of the Messiah, man will be made free from the slavery of Evil, which separates him from God, and the sign of Christ will be on the spirits, freed from every yoke and made subjects of the eternal kingdom. All the nations will bend their heads, o household of David, before the Shoot born of you and which will grow into a tree that covers the whole world and rises up to Heaven. And in Heaven and on the earth every mouth will praise His Name and bend its knee before the Anointed of God, the Prince of Peace, the Leader, before Him Who by giving Himself will fill with joy and nourishment every disheartened and famishing soul, before the Holy One Who will establish an alliance between Heaven and earth. Not like the Covenant made with the Elders of Israel when God led them out of Egypt, treating them still as servants, but infusing a heavenly paternity into the souls of men with the Grace instilled once again by the merits of the Redeemer, through Whom all good people will know the Lord and the Sanctuary of God will no longer be demolished and destroyed.»
Shammai: «Do not blaspheme, Child! Remember Daniel. He states that after the death of Christ, the Temple and the Town will be destroyed by a people and a leader who will come from afar. And You declare that the sanctuary of God will no longer be demolished! Respect the Prophets!»
Jesus: «I solemnly tell you that there is Someone Who is above the Prophets, and you do not know Him and you will not know Him because you do not want to. And I tell you that what I said is true. The true Sanctuary will not be subject to death. But like its Sanctifier it will rise to eternal life and at the end of the world it will live in Heaven.»
41.7 Hillel: «Listen to me, Child. Haggai says: ‘… The One Expected by the nations will come… great then shall be the glory of this house, and of this last one more than of the previous one’. Does he perhaps refer to the Sanctuary of which You are speaking?»
Jesus: «Yes, master. That is what he means. Your honesty leads you towards the Light and I tell you: when the sacrifice of Christ is accomplished, you shall have peace because you are an Israelite without wickedness.»
Gamaliel: «Tell me, Jesus. How can the peace of which the Prophets speak be hoped for, if destruction is going to come to these people by war? Speak and enlighten me as well.»
Jesus: «Do you not remember, master, what those said who were present on the night of Christ’s birth? That the angels sang: ‘Peace to men of goodwill’ but these people are not of goodwill and will not have peace. They will not acknowledge their King, the Just Man, the Saviour, because they expect Him to be a king with human power, whereas He is the King of the spirit. They will not love Him, because they will not like what Christ preaches. Christ will not defeat their enemies with their chariots and their horses, He will instead defeat the enemies of the soul, who endeavour to imprison in hell the heart of man which was created for the Lord. And this is not the victory Israel is expecting from Him. Your King will come, Jerusalem, riding a ‘donkey and a colt’, that is, the just people of Israel and the Gentiles. But I tell you, that the colt will be more faithful to Him and will follow Him preceding the donkey and will grow in the ways of Truth and Life. Because of its evil will, Israel will lose its peace and suffer for centuries and will cause its King to suffer and will make Him the King of sorrow of Whom Isaiah speaks.»
41.8 Shammai: «Your mouth tastes of milk and blasphemy at the same time, Nazarene. Tell me: where is the Precursor? When will we have him?»
Jesus: «He is. Does not Malachi say: ‘Here I am going to send My messenger to prepare the way before Me; and the Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter His Temple, and the angel of the Covenant Whom you are longing for’? Therefore the Precursor immediately precedes Christ. He already is, as Christ is. If years should elapse between him who prepares the ways for the Lord and Christ, all the ways would become obstructed and twisted again. God knows and arranges beforehand that the Precursor should precede the Master by one hour only. When you see this Precursor, you will be able to say: ‘The mission of Christ is beginning’. And I say to you: Christ will open many eyes and many ears when He comes this way. But He will not open yours or those of people like you, because you will be putting to death Him Who is bringing you Life. But when the Redeemer sits on His throne and on His altar, higher up than this Temple, higher than the Tabernacle enclosed in the Holy of the Holies, higher up than the Glory supported by the Cherubim, maledictions for the deicides and life for the Gentiles will flow from His thousands and thousands of wounds, because He, o master who are unaware of it, is not, I repeat, is not the king of a human kingdom, but of a spiritual Kingdom and His subjects will be only those who for His sake will learn to regenerate in the spirit and, like Jonah, after being born, will learn to be born again, on other shores: ‘The shores of God’, by means of a spiritual regeneration which will take place through Christ, Who will give humanity true Life.»
41.9 Shammai and his followers: «This Nazarene is Satan!»
Hillel and his followers: «No. This child is a Prophet of God. Stay with me, Child. My old age will transfuse what I know into Your knowledge and You will be Master of the people of God.»
Jesus: «I solemnly tell you that if there were many like you, salvation would come to Israel. But My hour has not come. Voices from Heaven speak to Me and in solitude I must gather them until My hour comes. Then with My lips and My blood I will speak to Jerusalem, and the destiny of Prophets stoned and killed by her, will also be My destiny. But above My life there is the Lord God, to Whom I submit Myself as a faithful servant, to make of Myself a stool for His glory, waiting that He will make the world a stool at the feet of Christ. Wait for Me in My hour. These stones shall hear My voice again and vibrate hearing My last word. Blessed are those who in that voice will have heard God and believed in Him because of it. To them Christ will give that kingdom which your selfishness imagines to be a human one, whereas it is a heavenly one and therefore I say: ‘Here is Your servant, Lord, Who has come do to Your will. Let it be consummated, because I am eager to fulfil it’.»
And here, with the vision of Jesus with His face burning with spiritual ardour and raised to Heaven, His arms stretched out, standing upright in the midst of the astonished doctors, the vision ends.
Luke 2:42-51
When he was twelve, they went on a customary pilgrimage. At the end of the festival, as they were returning home, young Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, unbeknownst to his parents. Thinking he was in the pilgrims' convoy, they made a day's journey before looking for him among their relatives and acquaintances. When they didn't find him, they returned to Jerusalem, continuing their search. After three days, they found him in the Temple, seated among the doctors of the Law: he was listening to them and asking them questions, and all who heard him raved about his intelligence and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him: "My child, why have you done this to us? See how your father and I have suffered looking for you!" He said to them, "How is it that you sought me out? Didn't you know that I must be with my Father?" But they didn't understand what he was saying. He went down with them to Nazareth, and was submissive to them. His mother kept all these events in her heart.
GRM 41.3-5
Gamaliel, surrounded by a compact group of disciples, is speaking of the coming of the Messiah, and founding his observations on Daniel’s prophecy, he states that the Messiah must have already been born, because the seventy prophesied weeks, from the time the decree of the reconstruction of the Temple was issued, expired some ten years before. Shammai opposes him stating that, if it is true that the Temple has been rebuilt, it is also true that the slavery of Israel has increased and the peace, which He Whom the prophets called «Prince of Peace» was to bring, is quite far from being in the world and in particular is far from Jerusalem. The town is in fact oppressed by an enemy who is so bold as to exert his domination inside the enclosure of the Temple, dominated by the Antonia Tower, full of Roman legionaries, ready to put down with their swords any riot that may break out for the independence of the country.
The dispute, full of captious objections, is dragged on endlessly. All the doctors show off their learning, not so much to beat their opponents as to display themselves to the admiration of the listeners. Their aims are quite obvious.
41.4 From the close group of the believers the clear voice of a boy is heard: «Gamaliel is right.»
There is a stir in the crowd and in the group of doctors. They look for the interrupter. But it is not necessary to search for him, because he does not hide. He makes his way through the crowd and goes near the group of the «rabbis». I recognise my Jesus adolescent. He is sure of Himself and open-hearted, His eyes are sparkling with intelligence. (...)
«On what do You base Your certainty?» asks Hillel.
(I will now put the names in front of the replies for the sake of brevity and clarity.)
Jesus: «On the prophecy which cannot be wrong about the time and the signs which took place at the time it came true. It is true that Caesar dominates us, but the world and Palestine were in such peace when the seventy weeks expired, that it was possible for Caesar to order the census in his dominions. Had there been wars in the Empire and riots in Palestine, he would not have been able to do so. Just as that time was completed, so the other period of sixty-two weeks plus one from the completion of the Temple is also being completed, so that the Messiah may be anointed and the remainder of the prophecy may come true for the people who did not want Him. Can you doubt that? Do you not remember the star that was seen by the Wise Men from the East, which stopped over the sky in Bethlehem of Judah and that the prophecies and the visions, from Jacob onwards, indicate that place as the one destined as the birthplace of the Messiah, son of the son of Jacob’s son, through David who was from Bethlehem? Do you not remember Balaam? ‘A Star will be born of Jacob’. The Wise Men from the East, whose purity and faith opened their eyes and ears, saw the Star and understood its Name: ‘Messiah’, and they came to worship the Light that had descended into the world.»
41.5 Shammai, glaring at Him: «Do you mean that the Messiah was born in Bethlehem-Ephrathah at the time of the Star?»
Jesus: «I do.»
Shammai: «Then he no longer exists. Don’t you know, Child, that Herod had all the born of woman, from one day up to the age of two years, slaughtered in Bethlehem and surrondings? You, Who are so wise in the Scriptures, must also know this: ‘A voice is heard in Ramah… it is Rachel weeping for her children’. The valleys and the hills in Bethlehem, which gathered the tears of the dying Rachel, were left full of tears, and the mothers have wept again on their slaughtered children. Amongst them, there certainly was the Mother of the Messiah.»
Jesus: «You are wrong, old man. The weeping of Rachel turned into a hosanna, because there, where she gave birth to ‘the son of her sorrow’, the new Rachel has given the world the Benjamin of the Heavenly Father, the Son of His right hand, Him Who is destined to gather the people of God under His sceptre and free it from the most dreadful slavery.»
Shammai: «How can that be, if He was killed?»
Jesus: «Have you not read about Elijah? He was carried off by the chariot of fire. And could the Lord God not have saved his Emmanuel so that He might be the Messiah of his people? He, Who parted the sea in front of Moses, that Israel might walk on dry ground towards its land, could He not have sent His angels to save His Son, His Christ, from the ferocity of man? I solemnly tell you: the Christ is alive and is amongst you, and when His hour comes, He will show Himself in His power.» Jesus, in saying these words, which I have underlined, has a sharp sound in His voice which fills the air. His eyes are brighter than ever, and with the gesture of command and promise He stretches out His right arm and hand and lowers them as if He were swearing. He is a boy, but is as solemn as a man.
Daniel 9, 21-27: I was still speaking in prayer when Gabriel - the being I had seen at the beginning of the vision - came swiftly to me at the hour of the evening offering. He instructed me, saying: "Daniel, I have come out now to open your understanding. From the very beginning of your supplication, a word has arisen, and I have come to announce it to you, for you are loved by God. Understand the word and seek to understand the apparition.
Seventy weeks have been set aside for your people and your holy city, to put an end to perversity and put an end to sin, to atone for guilt and bring about eternal justice, to fulfill vision and prophecy, and to consecrate the Holy of Holies. Know and understand! From the moment the order to rebuild Jerusalem was given until the coming of a messiah, a leader, there will be seven weeks. For sixty-two weeks, the squares and walls will be rebuilt, but it will be in the distress of the times. And after the sixty-two weeks, a messiah will be removed. The people of a future leader will destroy the city and the Holy Place. Then, in a flood, its end will come. Until the end of the war, the devastations decided upon will take place.
For a week, this ruler will strengthen the covenant with a multitude; for half the week, he will cause the sacrifice and offering to cease, and on one wing of the Temple there will be the Abomination of Desolation, until the decided extermination grounds the author of this desolation."
GRM 41.11-13
41.11 Jesus says:
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«Let us go back, far back. Let us go back to the Temple where I, a twelve year old boy, am disputing. Or rather, let us go back to the roads which take one to Jerusalem and from Jerusalem to the Temple.
See Mary’s distress when She realised, after the groups of men and women had gathered together, that I was not with Joseph.
She does not reproach Her spouse bitterly. Every woman would have done that. You do so for much less, forgetting that man is still the head of the family. But the pain that appears on Mary’s face pierces Joseph’s heart more than any bitter reproach. Mary does not give vent to dramatic outbursts. You do so for much less because you love to be noticed and pitied. But Her repressed sorrow is so obvious: She starts trembling, Her face turns pale, Her eyes are wide open and thus She arouses pity more than any outburst of tears and cries.
She is no longer tired or hungry. And yet the journey was a long one and She has not taken any food for so many hours! But She leaves everything: the bed She was preparing and the food which was ready to be handed out. And She goes back. It is night, it is dark. It does not matter. Every step takes Her back to Jerusalem. She stops the caravans and pilgrims and questions them. Joseph follows Her and helps Her. A long day’s walk back to Jerusalem and then the feverish search in town.
Where, where can Her Jesus be? And by God’s provision for many hours She will not know where to look for Me. To look for a child in the Temple does not make sense. What could a child be doing in the Temple? At the most, if he had got lost in town and his little steps had brought him back there, he would have cried for his mother and thus would have attracted the attention of people and of the priests, who would have taken the necessary steps to find the parents by means of announcements left at the gates. But there was no announcement. No one in town knew anything of this Child. Beautiful? Blond? Strong? There are so many like that! It is too little to enable anyone to say: ‘I saw Him. He was there or there’!
41.12 Then, after three days, the symbol of three other days of future anguish, Mary, exhausted, enters the Temple, walks along the yards and the halls. Nothing. She runs, the poor Mother, whenever She hears the voice of a child. Even the bleating of the lambs give Her the impression that She hears Her Creature weeping and looking for Her. But Jesus is not weeping. He is teaching. All of a sudden, from beyond the barrier of a large group of people, She hears His voice saying: ‘These stones will vibrate…’ She endeavours to make Her way through the crowd, and succeeds after much effort. There is Her Son, standing in the midst of the doctors with His arms stretched out.
Mary is the Prudent Virgin. But this time anxiety overcomes prudence. It is a hurricane that demolishes everything. She runs to Her Son, embraces Him, lifting Him off the stool and putting Him down on the ground and She exclaims: ‘Oh! Why have You done this to us? For three days we have been looking for You. Your Mummy is dying with pain, Son. Your father is exhausted with fatigue. Why, Jesus?’
You do not ask ‘why ‘ of Him Who knows. ‘Why’ He behaved in a certain way. You do not ask those with a vocation ‘why’ they leave everything to follow the voice of God. I was Wisdom and I knew. I was ‘called’ to a mission and I was fulfilling it. Above the earthly father and mother there is God, the Divine Father. His interests are above ours, His affections are superior to everything else. And I tell My Mother.
I finish teaching the doctors with the lesson to Mary, the Queen of doctors. And She has never forgotten it. The sun began to shine again in Her heart now that She had Me, humble and obedient, beside Her, but My words are deeply rooted in Her mind. There will be much sunshine and many clouds will gather in the sky during the next twenty-one years I will still be on the earth. And great joys and many tears will alternate in Her heart during the next twenty-one years. But never again will She ask: ‘My Son, why have You done this to us?’
Oh, insolent men, learn your lesson.
41.13 I directed and enlightened the vision, because you, little John, are not able to do anything further. […]»