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Money, power and wealth

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GRM 191.5-7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

(...) Listen to the parable that I have thought out for you.

There was once a very rich man. He wore the most beautiful garments, and in his purple and byssus clothes he used to strut about in squares and at home, respected by his citizens as the most powerful man in the country, and by his friends, who gratified his pride to gain benefits thereby. They feasted every day in his halls, where the multitude of his guests, all rich and none therefore needy crowded flattering Dives. His banquets were famous for the copiousness of food and of choice wines.

In the same town there lived a beggar, a great beggar. He was great in his misery as the other was great in his wealth. But under the crust of the human misery of Lazarus, the beggar, there was a treasure, which was even greater than Lazarus’ misery and Dives’ wealth. And it was Lazarus’ true holiness. He had never infringed the Law, not even when urged by need, and above all he had complied with the precept of love for God and for his neighbour. He, as is wont with poor people, used to go near the doors of rich people to ask for alms, so that he would not starve to death. And every evening he would go to Dives’ house, hoping to receive at least the crumbs of the pompous banquets which took place in the magnificent halls. He would lie in the street, near the door, and wait patiently.

But if Dives noticed him, he would have him driven away because that underfed body, covered with sores and ragged clothes, was too sad a sight for his guests. That is what Dives used to say. In actual fact, it was because the sight of so much misery and goodness was a continuous reproach to him. His well fed dogs, adorned with precious collars, were more pitiful than he was and they used to go near poor Lazarus and lick his sores, showing their great joy at being caressed by him. They even took the remains of the bountiful tables to him, so that Lazarus survived malnutrition thanks to animals. If he had relied on man he would have died, because man did not even allow him to enter the halls, after the banquet, to pick up the crumbs which had fallen from the tables.

191.6

One day Lazarus died. No one on earth noticed it, no one mourned him. On the contrary, Dives rejoiced not seeing on that day or afterwards that misery which he called a “disgrace” near his door. But the angels noticed it in Heaven. And when he was about to breathe his last breath in his cold barren cave, the celestial cohorts were present and in a bright dazzling light they picked up his soul and singing hosannas they took it to the bosom of Abraham.

Some time went by and Dives died. Oh! What a grand funeral! The whole town, already aware of his agony, crowded in the square where his abode was, some to be noticed as friends of the great man, some out of curiosity, some to gain favour with the heirs, and they all joined in the mourning, and their cries rose to the sky and with their cries also the false praises of the “great, just benefactor” who had died.

Can the word of man change God’s judgement? Can human apology cancel what is written in the book of Life? No, it cannot. What has been judged is judged and what has been written is written. And notwithstanding the grand funeral, the soul of Dives was buried in hell.

Then, in that horrible jail, eating and drinking fire and darkness, finding hatred and torture everywhere and in every moment of eternity, he raised his eyes to heaven. He raised his eyes to heaven which he saw in the brightness of lightning, in the fraction of a second, and the indescribable beauty of heaven remained present in his mind and tormented him in the midst of atrocious tortures. And he saw Abraham up there. Far, but bright, happy… and in his lap, bright and happy there was also Lazarus, poor Lazarus, once miserable, despised, revolting… and now? He was handsome in the light of God and of his holiness, full of God’s love, admired not by men but by the angels of God.

Dives weeping cried: “Father Abraham, have mercy on me! Send Lazarus, as I cannot possibly hope that you will do it yourself, send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and touch my tongue with it, to cool it, for I am in agony in these flames which pierce me continuously and burn me!”.

Abraham replied: “Remember, son, that you had all good things during your life, whereas Lazarus had all bad things. But he turned evil into good, whereas you did nothing but evil of all the good things. It is therefore just that now he should be comforted here and that you should suffer. In any case it is not possible to do it. Holy people are spread over the earth so that men may take advantage of them. But, if notwithstanding all the opportunities, he remains what he was – in your case, a demon – it is useless to make recourse to saints. We are now separated. Herbs are mixed when they are in the field. But when they are cut, the good ones are separated from the evil ones. That is what happens to you and to us. We were together on the earth and you rejected and tortured us in every possible way, you forgot us, acting against the law of charity. We are now divided. There is an abyss between you and us, and those who wish to cross it and come to you, cannot do it. Neither can you, where you are, cross the dreadful abyss and come to us”.

191.7

Dives, crying more loudly shouted: “Holy father, at least please send Lazarus to my father’s house. I have five brothers. I have never understood what love is, not even among relatives. But now I understand what a terrible thing it is not to be loved. And since where I am there is hatred, in the fraction of a second, when my soul saw God, I understood what Love is. I do not want my brothers to suffer the pains that I am suffering. I am terrified because they are leading the same life as I did. Oh! send Lazarus to tell them where I am, and why I am here, and let them know that hell does exist, and it is dreadful, and that those who do not love God and their neighbour come to hell. Send him! So that they may provide in good time, and may not come here, to this place of eternal torture” .

But Abraham replied: “Your brothers have Moses and the Prophets. They should listen to them”.

And with a deep groan of a tormented soul Dives replied: “Oh! Father Abraham! They will be more impressed by a dead person… Listen to me! Have mercy!”.

But Abraham said: “If they have not listened to Moses and the Prophets, they will not believe either one who has risen from the dead for one hour to speak words of Truth to them. In any case it is not fair that a blessed soul should leave my bosom to go and be insulted by the sons of the Enemy. The time of insults is over for such souls. They are now in peace by the order of God Who sees that it is useless to endeavour to convert those who do not even believe in the word of God and do not practice it”.

That is the parable and its meaning is so clear that no clarification is required.

Annotation

In his dictation of August 2, 1943, Jesus refers to this bad rich man as Epulon, the name of the priests in charge of organizing banquets in ancient Rome, which the original of this episode uses "Epulone" as the equivalent of bad rich man.

"He turned his eyes to the Heaven he had glimpsed". This is to be understood as Maria Valtorta commented on a typed copy: "He turned his eyes towards the limbo of the saints he had glimpsed ... and whose peaceful beauty was already unspeakable ...".

"During that second when my soul glimpsed God" is to be understood in the sense of "at the moment of particular judgment", as Maria Valtorta notes in a typescript.

Gospel of Luke 16:19-31

Lk 16, 19-31 : "There was a rich man, dressed in purple and fine linen, who made sumptuous feasts every day. Outside his gate lay a poor man named Lazarus, covered with ulcers. He wished he could have eaten what fell from the rich man's table, but the dogs came and licked his ulcers. So the poor man died, and the angels took him to Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried.

In Hades, he was tortured; lifting up his eyes, he saw Abraham from afar and Lazarus close by. Then he cried out: "Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip his fingertip in water to cool my tongue, for I am suffering terribly in this furnace. - My child," replied Abraham, "remember: you received happiness during your life, and Lazarus, misfortune during his. Now he finds consolation here, and you, suffering. And in addition to all this, a great chasm has been established between you and us, so that those who would cross over to you cannot, and that, from there either, no one crosses over to us." The rich man replied, "Well, Father, I beg you to send Lazarus to my father's house. For I have five brothers: let him bear his testimony to them, lest they too come to this place of torture!" Abraham said to him, "They have Moses and the Prophets: let them listen to them! - No, Father Abraham," he said, "but if someone from the dead comes to them, they will be converted." Abraham replied, "If they won't listen to Moses and the Prophets, someone may rise from the dead: they won't be convinced."""

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 196.4.6 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

There are many loves and various powers. There is the love of first power: the one given to God. Then there is the love of second power: the love of a mother or of a father, because if the previous one is entirely spiritual, this one is spiritual by two parts and carnal by one. It is true that human affection is mixed in it, but the superior sentiment prevails, because a father and mother, who are such in a wholesome and holy way, do not only feed and caress the body of their child, but they also give nourishment and love to the mind and the spirit of their creature. And what I am saying is so true, that those who devote themselves to children, even if only to educate them, end up by loving their pupils as if they were of their own flesh. (...) There is the love for one’s wife: love of third power because it is made – I am always talking of wholesome and holy love – half of spirit and half of flesh. A man, besides being the husband of his wife, is a teacher and a father to her; and a woman is an angel and a mother to her husband, besides being his wife. These are the three highest loves. (...) The first one of the second series is the love for our neighbour. In actual fact it is the fourth in power. Then comes the love for science. Finally the love for work.

Detail

Synthesis of the different powers of love (explained in detail in this note).

GRM 203.11 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

“Forgive us our debts as we forgive those who are in debt to us”.

There are material debts and spiritual ones. There are also moral debts. The money or the goods that one has received as a loan and must give back, are a material debt. Esteem extorted and not given back and love wanted and not returned are a moral debt. To obey God, from Whom one would exact much giving Him very little, and to love Him are a spiritual debt. He loves us and is to be loved, as a mother, a wife, a son, from whom so much is exacted, are to be loved. A selfish man wants to receive, but does not give. But an egoist is poles apart from Heaven. We are in debt to everybody. From God to a relative, from a relative to a friend, from a friend to our neighbour, to a servant, to a slave, because they are all beings like ourselves. Woe to him who does not forgive! He will not be forgiven. God, out of justice, cannot remit the debt of a man who is in debt to Him, the Most Holy One, if man does not forgive his fellow man.

GRM 204.8 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«How can we make room, clearance and elevation for our souls?»

«By demolishing the useless things you have in your “ego”. Clear it of all wrong knowledge, and with the debris make the elevation for the sovereign temple. A soul is to be carried higher and higher, on the three steps. Oh! you Romans love symbols. Look at the three steps in a symbolic light. They can tell you their names: penance, patience, perseverance. Or: humbility, purity, justice. Or: wisdom, generosity, mercy. Or, finally, the splendid trinomial: faith, hope, charity. Look also at the symbol of the ornate strong enclosure which encircles the area of the temple. You must surround your soul, the queen of the body, the temple of the Eternal Spirit, with a barrier which may protect it without obstructing light or oppressing it with ugly sights. An enclosure that must be safe and free from the love and desire of what is inferior: flesh and blood, and must aim at what is superior: the spirit. The chisel of freedom is your will-power, which will smooth corners, and remove clefts, stains and flaws in the marble of your ego, so that it may be perfect around your souls. And at the same time, the enclosure protecting the temple is to be used by you as a merciful shelter for the more unhappy people who do not know what Charity is. The porches: they are the effusion of love, of piety, of your desire that more people may come to God, and are like the loving arms stretched like a veil over the cradle of an orphan. And beyond the enclosure: the most beautiful and most scented trees are a homage to the Creator. The trees, planted on a soil previously barren and subsequently cultivated, symbolise all kinds of virtues and form the second living flowery enclosure around the sanctuary; and among the trees, that is among the virtues, there are the fountains, a further effusion of love and another purification before approaching the propylaeum near which one must sacrifice one’s carnality and repudiate all forms of lust before ascending the altar. And then you may proceed further, to the altar and lay your offer on it and finally, crossing the vestibule, you may approach the cell, where God is. And what will the cell be like? Abundance of spiritual wealth, because you can never adorn God too much. Have you understood? You asked Me how Faith is built. I said to You: “Following the method used to build temples”. You can see that it is true.

GRM 205.3-7 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Listen. It is a beautiful parable that will guide you with its light in many cases.

A man had two sons. The elder was a serious, affectionate, obedient worker. The younger was more intelligent than his brother who was actually somewhat dull and preferred to be guided rather than tire himself making decisions by himself, but he was also rebellious, absent-minded, fond of luxury, pleasure loving, a squanderer and idle. Intelligence is a great gift of God. But it is a gift to be used wisely. Otherwise it is like certain medicines that, when taken in the wrong way, kill instead of curing. His father, as it was his right and duty, used to recall him to a more sensible life. But it was all in vain, the only result was that he answered back and became more obstinate in his wicked ideas.

Finally one day, after a fierce quarrel, the younger son said: “Give me my part of the estate. So I will no longer hear your reproaches and my brother’s complaints. Let each have his own and no more about it”. “Be careful” replied the father, “because you will soon be ruined. What will you do then? Consider that I will not be unfair to favour you and I will not take a farthing off your brother to give it to you”. “I will not ask you for anything. You may be sure. Give me my part”.

The father had the estate and valuables assessed, and since money and jewels were worth as much as the real estate, he gave the elder brother the fields and vineyards, the herds and olive-trees, and the younger one the money and jewels, which the young man changed immediately into money. And after doing that in a few days, he went to a distant country where he lived like a lord, squandering all his money on a life of debauchery, making people believe that he was the son of a king, because he was ashamed to admit that he was a countryman and thus he disowned his father. Banquets, friends, women, robes, wines, games… he led a loose life. He soon saw that his money was coming to an end and that poverty was in sight. And to make matters worse, the country experienced a severe famine, which compelled him to spend his last penny.

205.4

He would have liked to go back to his father. But he was proud and decided not to. So he went to a wealthy man of the country, a friend of his in his happy days, and he begged him saying: “Take me among your servants, remembering the days when you enjoyed my wealth”. See how foolish man is! He prefers the lash of a master rather than say to his father: “Forgive me. I made a mistake!”. The young man had learned many useless things with his bright intelligence, but he did not want to learn the saying of Ecclesiasticus: “How ill-famed is he who deserts his father and how accursed of the Lord is whoever angers his mother”. He was intelligent, but not wise.

The man that he turned to, in exchange for the grand time he had enjoyed with the foolish young man, sent him to look after his pigs, because it was a pagan country and there were many pigs. So he was sent to pasture the herds of pigs in the farm. Filthy, in rags, stinking and starving — food in fact was scarce for all the servants and particularly for the lowest ones and he, a foreign ridiculed herdsman of pigs was considered such — he saw the pigs glut themselves with acorns and sighed: “I wish I could fill my stomach with this fruit! But they are too bitter! Not even starvation can make them palatable”. And he wept remembering the sumptuous banquets when he acted the “grand seigneur” only a short while before, laughing, singing, dancing… and then he would think of the honest substantial meals at his far away home, of the portions his father used to make impartially for everybody, keeping for himself the smallest one, happy to see the healthy appetite of his and he remembered the helpings his just father gave the servants and he sighed: “My father’s servants, even the lowest, have plenty of bread… and I am dying here of starvation…”. A long meditation, a long struggle to subdue his pride…

205.5

At last the day came when his humility and wisdom revived and he got up and said: “I will go back to my father! This pride of mine is silly, as it deprives me of my freedom. And why? Why should I suffer in my body and even more in my heart when I can be forgiven and receive comfort? I will go back to my father. That is settled. And what shall I say to him? What has matured in my heart here, in this abjection, in this filth, suffering the pangs of hunger! I will say to him: ‘Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy of being called your son; treat me therefore as the least of your servants, but bear me to stay under your roof. That I may see you moving about… I cannot say to him: ‘… because I love you’. He would not believe me. But my behaviour will tell him and he will understand and before dying he will bless me once again… Oh! I hope so. Because my father loves me”. And when he went back to town in the evening he gave up his job and begging along the way he went back home. And he saw his father’s fields… and the house… and his father supervising the work… he was old, emaciated by grief but always kind and good… The guilty son seeing that ruin caused by him stopped frightened… but the father, looking around, saw him and ran to meet him, because he was still far away. And when he reached him, he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. Only the father had recognised his son in the dejected beggar and he was the only one to be moved with love.

The son, clasped in his father’s arms, with his head resting on his father’s shoulder, whispered sobbing: “Father, let me throw myself at your feet”. “No, son! Not at my feet. Rest on my heart, which has suffered so much because of your absence, and now needs to revive feeling your warmth on my chest”. And the son, crying louder, said: “Oh! father! I have sinned against Heaven and against you, I am no longer worthy to be called son by you. But allow me to live among your servants, under your roof, seeing you, eating your bread, serving you, and you will be the breath of my life. Every time I take a morsel of bread, every time you breathe, my heart, which is so corrupt, will change and I will become honest…”

But the father, embracing him all the time, led him towards the servants, who had gathered together watching in the distance and he said to them: “Quick, bring the best robe, and basins of scented water here, and wash him, spray him with scents, clothe him, put new sandals on his feet and a ring on his finger. Bring a fattened calf and kill it. And prepare a banquet. Because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life, he was lost and has been found. Now I want him to find the innocent love of a child once again, and my love and the celebration of the household for his return, must give it to him. He must realise that he is always my dear last-born child, as he was in his childhood a long time ago, when he used to toddle beside me making me happy with his smile and his prattling”. And the servants did so.

205.6

The elder son was out in the country and he did not know anything until his return. Coming towards the house in the evening, he saw that it was brightly lighted and he heard the sound of instruments and dancing coming from it. He called a servant who was bustling about and asked him: “What is happening?”. And the servant replied: “Your brother has come back! Your father had the fattened calf killed because his son has come back to him safe and cured of his wickedness and he ordered a celebration. They are only waiting for you to start”. But the first-born was angry because he thought that such a feast for his younger brother was unfair, as he was not only younger, but had also been wicked. And he did not want to go in, on the contrary he was about to walk away from the house.

But the father, informed of the situation, ran out and reached him and endeavoured to convince him, begging him not to spoil his joy. The elder brother replied to his father: “And you expect me not to be upset? You are unfair to your first-born and you hold him in contempt. I have served you since I was able to work, and I have done that for many years. I have never disobeyed an order of yours, not even a simple desire. I have always been near you, and I have loved you for two, to make you recover from the wound inflicted on you by my brother. And you have not even given me a lamb to have a feast with my friends. You are now honouring my brother and you have killed the best calf for him, who offended and abandoned you, and has been a lazy spendthrift and has now come back because he was driven by starvation. It is really worth while being a hard honest worker! You should not have done that to me”.

The father then, clasping him to his heart, said: “Son! Can you believe that I do not love you, because I do not celebrate your behaviour? Your deeds are holy by themselves, and the world praises you because of them. Your brother, instead, needs to be rehabilitated both in the eyes of the world and in his own. And do you think that I do not love you because I give you no visible prize? But day and night, in every moment of my life, you are present to my heart, and I bless you every moment. You have the continuous reward of being always with me, and what is mine is yours. But it was fair to have a feast, a celebration for your brother who was dead and has come back to good life, who was lost and has come back to our love”. And the first-born yielded to his father’s desire.

205.7

And that, My friends, is what happens in the House of the Father. And whoever feels that he is like the younger son of the parable must believe that if he imitates him in going to the Father, the Father will say to him: “Not at My feet. But rest on My heart, which has suffered because of your absence and is now happy because you have come back”. He who is in the situation of the first-born and without any fault against the Father, must not be jealous of the Father’s joy, but must take part in it and love the redeemed brother.»

Annotation

Book of Sirach 3, 16

Si 3, 16 : He is like a blasphemer who forsakes his father; he is cursed by the Lord who angers his mother.

Gospel of Luke 15, 11-32

Lk 15, 11-32 : Jesus said: "A man had two sons. The younger said to his father, "Father, give me my share of fortune." And the father divided his property between them. A few days later, the younger son gathered up everything he had and left for a distant country, where he squandered his fortune by living a life of disorder. He had spent it all, when a great famine occurred in that country, and he began to find himself in need. He went to work for a local, who sent him to his fields to tend the pigs. He would have liked to fill his belly with the pods eaten by the pigs, but no one would give him anything.

So he turned inward and said to himself: "How many of my father's workers have plenty of bread, and I'm starving here! I'll get up, go to my father and tell him: Father, I've sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your workers." He got up and went to his father. While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was seized with compassion; he ran to throw himself around his neck and covered him with kisses. The son said to him: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants, "Quickly, bring the finest garment to clothe him in, put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet, fetch the fatted calf, kill it, let's eat and feast, for my son here was dead, and has come back to life; he was lost, and is found." And they began to feast.

Now the eldest son was out in the fields. When he returned and was near the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling one of the servants, he asked what was going on. The servant replied, "Your brother has arrived, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has found your brother in good health." Then the eldest son became angry, and refused to enter. His father went out to beg him. But he replied to his father: "I've been in your service for so many years without ever transgressing your orders, and you've never given me a kid to feast on with my friends. But, when your son here returned after devouring your property with harlots, you had the fatted calf killed for him!" The father replied, "You, my child, are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. You should have feasted and rejoiced; for your brother here was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found!""

GRM 206.5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Humility! I said: “When you pray or do penance, do not let the world see you”. In the Wisdom Books it is written: “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”.

Annotation

I said, in EMV 172.5 and in EMV 172.8.

Book of Tobit 12, 7

Tb 12, 7 : It is good to keep the king's secret hidden, but it is honorable to reveal and publish the works of God.