Notes for this theme
Reading comfort
GRM 54.7
«Holiness does not bar obedience. On the contrary, it makes obedience perfect. Besides everything else, there is a good example to be given. What would you say of a father, of an elder brother, of a teacher, of a priest who did not give good examples?»
GRM 56.5
«(...) It is He, Who sent You, Who is speaking here, in my heart, and says to me: “Go to Him”. It is She, Who bore You, my sweet teacher, Who with Her gentle look, as mild as a dove’s, says to me without uttering a word: “Be of Jesus!”. Can I ignore that heavenly voice that pierces my heart? Can I ignore the prayers of such a Holy Woman, Who implores me for my own good? Only because I am Your cousin on Joseph’s side, am I not to acknowledge You for what You are, whereas the Baptist recognised You, although he had never seen You, here, on the banks of this river and he greeted You as the “Lamb of God”? And I, should I not be capable of anything, although I was brought up with You, and I was good because I followed You, and I became a son of the Law through Your Mother, from Whom I learned not the six hundred and thirteen precepts of the rabbis, besides the Scriptures and the prayers, but the essence of them all?»
«And your father?»
«My father? He does not lack bread and assistance, and then… You give me the example. You have thought of the welfare of the people, rather than the little advantage of Mary. And She is alone. Tell me, Master, is it not right for a son to say to his father, without lacking respect: “Father, I love you. But God is above you and I will follow Him”?»
«Judas, My cousin and My friend, I tell you: you have made good progress on the way to Light. Come. It is lawful to speak thus to a father, when it is God Who calls. There is nothing above God. Also the laws of relationship cease, that is they are raised to a dignity, because with our tears we give our fathers and mothers a greater help and for something everlasting, not for a short time in this world. We draw them with us to Heaven, and by sacrificing our affections, to God. So, Judas, stay here. I have been waiting for you and I am happy to have you, the friend of My life at Nazareth.»
Jude speaks to Jesus and says:
GRM 59.4
Remove from yourselves the barrier of sin. Each of you has his own. Each has the one against the ten commandments of eternal salvation. Examine your consciences with sincerity and you will find your errors. Repent with sincere humbleness. You must repent. Not just with your mouths. You cannot laugh at or deceive God. But repent with a firm will, that will make you change your ways of living and return to the Law of the Lord. The Kingdom of Heaven is waiting for you. Tomorrow.
Tomorrow? you may ask. Oh! the hour of God is always an early morrow, even when it comes at the end of a life as long as the Patriarchs’. Eternity does not use as a measure of time the slow flowing of a sandglass. And the measures of time which you call days, months, years, centuries are but heartbeats of the Eternal Spirit that keeps you alive. But your souls are eternal and you must adopt the same measure of time for your souls as your Creator does. You must, therefore, say: “Tomorrow will be the day of my death”. No, not death for the faithful. But rest of expectation, waiting for the Messiah to open the gates of Heaven.
GRM 68.2
«Here, Master, the official.»
«Peace be with you. I ask to teach Israel, amongst the rabbis of Israel.»
«Are You a rabbi?»
«Yes, I am.»
«Who was Your teacher?»
«The Spirit of God Who speaks to Me in His wisdom and enlightens every word of the Holy Scriptures for Me.»
«Are You greater than Hillel, since You say You know all doctrines, without a teacher? How can one be formed if there is no one forming him?»
«As David was formed, an unknown little shepherd, who became a powerful and wise king by God’s will.»
«Your Name?»
«Jesus of Joseph of Jacob of the House of David, and of Mary of Joachim of the House of David and of Anne of Aaron. Mary, the Virgin married in the Temple by the High Priest, according to the law of Israel, because She was an orphan.»
«Who can prove that?»
«There must still be some Levites here who will remember the event and who were the same age as Zacharias of the class of Abijah, My relative. Ask them, if you doubt My sincerity.»
«I believe You. But who will prove to me that You are capable of teaching?»
«Listen to Me and you will judge for yourself.»
«You are free to do it… But… are You not a Nazarene?»
«I was born at Bethlehem of Judah, at the time of the census decreed by Caesar. Banished by unfair orders, the children of David are now everywhere. But the family is of Judah.»
«You know… the Pharisees… all Judaea… throughout Galilee…»
«I know. But be reassured. I was born at Bethlehem, at Bethlehem Ephrathah, whence My family comes; if now I live in Galilee, it is only to fulfil the given sign…»
The official goes away a few yards, hastening to where they call him.
GRM 68.4
Here, Israel. Winter, the time of expectation, is over. Here is now the joy of the promise which is being accomplished. The Bread and Wine are about to be ready for your hunger. The Sun is among you. Everything breathes more freely and sweetly under this Sun. Also the precept of our Law: the first and most holy of the holy precepts: “Love your God and love your neighbour”.
GRM 68.5
68.5 The voice that spoke in the desert is no longer heard. But it is not mute. It still speaks to God on behalf of Israel and still speaks to every Israelite with an honest heart and it says — after teaching you to do penance to prepare the ways to the Lord Who is coming, and to be charitable giving what is surplus to those who lack even what is necessary, and to be honest without extorting and vexing — it says: “The Lamb of God, He Who takes away the sins of the world, Who will baptise with the fire of the Holy Spirit is amongst you. He will clear His threshing-floor and gather His wheat”.
Endeavour to recognise Him Whom the Precursor indicates to you. His suffering is imploring God to give you light. See. May your spiritual eyes be opened. You will recognise the Light that is coming. I pick up the voice of the Prophet announcing the Messiah, and with the power I receive from the Father, I amplify it and I add My authority to it and I call you to the truth of the Law. Prepare your hearts for the grace of the oncoming Redemption. The Redeemer is amongst you. Blessed are those who will be worthy of being redeemed, because they are men of goodwill.
Peace be with you.
GRM 70.3
Those who should impress it into its soul — because every place has its soul, that is the spirit for which it was built, and the Temple has, or should have, a soul of prayer and holiness — those who should energise such spirit, are instead the first to suffocate it. You can not give what you do not possess, John. And if there are many priests and Levites living there, not even one tenth of them are capable of giving life to the Holy Place. They give death instead. They transmit the death of their own souls, which are dead to what is holy. They have their formulae. But they do not have the essence of them. They are corpses that are warm only because putrifaction swells them.
GRM 70.6
« (...) I want you to love one another, without preferences, helping one another mutually and bearing with one another, No one is perfect, John, Neither the young nor the old. But if you have goodwill, you will reach perfection and what is wanting in you, I will supply. You are like the children of a holy family. In it there are very different characters. One is strong, another is sweet, or brave, or shy, or impulsive or very cautious. If you were all alike, you would be really strong in one character, but very weak in all the others. Whereas you thus form a perfect union, completed by you all. Love unites you, it must unite you, for the sake of God’s cause.»
«And for Your sake, Jesus.»
«First the cause of God and then the love for His Christ.»
GRM 72.3
It grieves Me only to notice how much man has been corrupted by Satan who perverts his thoughts. All men, you know! The thoughts of all of you have been misled by him! But the day will come, when you will have the Strength and the Grace of God, you will have Wisdom with His Spirit… you will then have everything to enable you to judge rightly.
Jesus said to John, Judas, and Simon the Zealot:
GRM 75.5
«Glory to God in the highest Heaven, and peace on earth to men of goodwill who have deserved to see the Light and serve it. The Saviour is among them. The Shepherd of the royal line is with His herd. The morning Star has risen. Rejoice, just people! Rejoice in the Lord. He Who made the vaults of heaven and has strewn them with stars, Who placed the seas at the boundaries of the land, Who created winds and dew, and fixed the course of seasons to give bread and wine to His children, He is now sending you a more sublime food: the living Bread that descends from Heaven, the Wine of the eternal Vine. Come to Me, you who are the first of My worshippers. Come to meet the Eternal Father in truth, to follow Him in holiness and receive His eternal reward.» Jesus has said the prayer, standing up, with His arms stretched out, while the disciples and shepherds are on their knees.»
Prayer recited by Christ to the Nativity shepherds he found.