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Discipleship - Following Jesus Christ

Theme: New Testament · Page 2 of 11

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GRM 58.5

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«But shall we be Your only apostles?»

«Are you jealous, Peter? No, don’t be! Others will come and in My heart there will be love for everybody. Don’t be greedy, Peter. You do not yet know Who loves you. Have you ever counted the stars? Or the stones in the depth of the lake? No, you could not. And even less you would be able to count the loving throbs of which My heart is capable. Have you ever been able to count how many times this lake kisses the shore with its waves in the course of twelve moons? No, you would never be able to do so. And even less you would be able to count the loving waves that My heart pours out to kiss men. Be sure of My love, Peter.»

GRM 64.4

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

(...) The Beloved of the Father still has a garden in this world which is domineered by Mammon. The garden in which He feeds on His celestial food: love and purity; the bed where He picks the flowers dear to Him, flowers not stained with sensuality, greed, pride. These ones. (Jesus caresses as many of the children as He can, patting with His hand the little attentive heads, one big caress that touches them lightly and makes them smile happily). Here are My lilies.

Solomon in all his wealth, did not have a robe more beautiful than the lily that scents the valley, neither did he possess a diadem of a more splendid gracefulness than the one in the pearl chalice of a lily. And yet, for My heart, there is no lily worth one of these. There is no flower-bed, no garden of wealthly people, all cultivated with lilies, that I consider worth only one of these pure, innocent, sincere, simple, little children.

Men and women of Israel! You, great and humble people according to your wealth and position, listen! You are here because you want to know Me and love Me. You must therefore know the first condition to become Mine. I will not speak difficult words. Neither will I give you more difficult examples. I say to you: “Take example from these children”.

Which of you has no children, nephews, or little brothers in their childhood, at home? Are they not a restful comfort, a bond for parents, relatives, friends? Their souls are as pure as a clear dawn, their faces scatter clouds and inspire hope, their caresses dry your tears and give you new strength! Why is there so much power in them, although they are weak, defenceless and still unlearned? Because they have God in themselves, they have strength and wisdom in God. The true wisdom: they know how to love and believe. They know how to believe and want. They know how to live in such love and such faith. Be like them: simple, pure, loving, sincere, faithful.

There is no wise man in Israel greater than the smallest of these children, whose souls belong to God and His Kingdom belongs to them. Blessed by the Father, loved by the Son of the Father, flowers of My garden, may My peace be with you and with whoever will imitate you for My sake.

Detail

Jesus is among children, and they are telling the crowd about him.

GRM 65.1

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«When all the trees bloom in spring, the happy farmer says: “I will have a good crop” and that hope causes his heart to rejoice. But from springtime to autumn, from the month of flowers to the month of fruit, how many days, winds, rains, sunshine and storms must pass, and sometimes wars or the cruelty of the mighty ones and diseases of plants, and at times diseases of the men of the fields, so that the plants, no longer hoed up, no longer watered, pruned, supported or cleaned, although they promised copious fruit, wilt and die or bear no fruit!

You follow Me. You love Me. Like plants in springtime you adorn yourselves with purposes and love. Israel, indeed, at the dawn of My mission is like our sweet countryside in the bright month of Nisan. But listen. Like the excessive heat in dry weather, Satan, who is envious of Me, will come to scorch you with his wrath. The world will come with its icy winds to freeze your blooms. And passions will come like storms. And tedium will come like a persistant rain. All My enemies and yours will come to sterilise what should be the fruit of your inclination to bloom in God.

I am warning you because I know. Will everything then be lost, when I, like a sick farmer, even more than sick: dead, will no longer be able to speak to you and work miracles for you? No. I will sow and cultivate as long as I have time. Then everything will grow and ripen for you, if you keep good watch.

Look at the fig-tree near the house of Simon of Jonas. Whoever planted it did not find the right and most favourable spot. Planted as it was near the damp northern wall, it would have withered, if by itself it had not found protection to survive. And it sought sunshine and light. There it is: all bent, but strong and proud, drawing the rays of the sun from early dawn and converting them into nutrition for its hundreds and hundreds of sweet fruits. It defended itself by itself. It said: “The Creator wanted me, that I may give joy and food to man. And I want to join my will to His”. A fig-tree! A speechless tree! A soulless tree! And will you, children of God, the children of man, will you be inferior to a wooden plant?

Keep good watch to bear fruits of eternal life. I will cultivate you, and at the end I will give you such a powerful juice, that you will never find a more powerful one. Do not allow Satan to laugh at the destruction of My work, of My sacrifice and of your souls. Seek light. Seek sunshine. Seek strength. Seek life. I am the Life, Strength, Sunshine and Light of those who love Me. I have come to take you whence I came. I am speaking to you here, to call you all and point out to you the ten commandments that give eternal life. And with loving advice I say to you: “Love God and your neighbour”. It is the first condition to fulfil everything else well. It is the most holy of the holy commandments. Love. Those who love God, in God and for the Lord God, will have peace both on the earth and in Heaven, for their abode and their crown.»

People go away with difficulty after Jesus’ blessing.

Detail

At the start of his public life, in Capernaum, Jesus talks about plants and crops, compares him to men, and then talks about Peter's figuer who sought to survive. He then applies it to souls.

We learn that plants are "soulless".

GRM 66.2

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

« (...) If everyone should betray You, I will remain with You and defend You.»

«You, Judas? And on what do you base your certainty?»

«On my honour as a man.»

«Which is more fragile than a cobweb, Judas. It is God we have to ask for the strength to be honest and faithful. Man!… Man accomplishes human deeds. To accomplish spiritual deeds — and to follow the Messiah with truthfulness and justice is to accomplish a spiritual deed — it is necessary to kill man and make him be born again. Are you capable of so much?»

GRM 67.3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Love. I say nothing else. Love your neighbour as the Lord God of Israel prescribes. Do not always be of Cain’s blood. And why are you so? For the sake of a few coins, you who might have become murderers. For a few palms of land. For a better position. For a woman. What are such things? Are they eternal? No. They last less than a lifetime, which lasts an instant of eternity. And what do you lose if you follow them? The eternal peace promised to the just, and which the Messiah will bring you together with His Kingdom. Come on to the way of Truth. Follow the Voice of God. Love one another. Be honest. Be moderate. Be humble and fair. Go and meditate.

GRM 70.8

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

He is the one who divests himself also of his own way of thinking and judging, in order to be “the disciple”. He is the one who gives himself without wishing to withhold even a particle of himself, as his self was before becoming a disciple. Judas is the one who does not want to divest himself of himself. His donation is therefore unreal. He carries with himself his ego diseased with pride, sensuality and greed. He maintains his way of thinking. And he thus counteracts the effect of the donation and of Grace.

Judas: the first of all the apostles who failed. And they are so many! John: the first of those who become victims out of love for Me. And you are one of them.

My Mother and I are the sublime Victims. It is difficult to reach us, in fact it is impossible, because our sacrifice was of total bitterness. But My John! He is the victim that all My lovers can imitate: virgins, martyrs, confessors, evangelisers, servants of God and of the Mother of God, devoted to activity or contemplation: he is an example for everyone. He is the one who loves.

Note their different ways of reasoning. Judas investigates, quibbles, is obstinate, even when he pretends to give in, he still has mental reservations. John feels he is nothing, he accepts everything, he does not ask for reasons, he is satisfied with making Me happy. That is the example.

Detail

Jesus tells Maria about John and says:

GRM 76.6

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

76.6 Do you want to be My disciple, Isaac?»

«Oh! But I am not capable!»

«Can you avow Who I am? Avow it against jeers and threats? And tell people that I called you and you came?»

«Even if You did not want, I would avow all that. I would disobey You in that, Master. Forgive me for saying so.»

Jesus smiles. «You can see then that you are capable of becoming a disciple!»

«Oh! If that’s all one has to do! I thought it was more difficult, that we had to go to school with the rabbis to learn how to serve You, the Rabbi of rabbis… and to go to school at my age…» The man in fact must be at least fifty years old.

«You have done your schooling already, Isaac.»

«Me? No.»

«Yes, you have. Have you not continued to believe and love, to respect and bless God and your neighbour, not to be envious, not to wish what belongs to other people, and even what was your own and you no longer possessed, to speak only the truth, even if it should be harmful to you, not to associate with Satan committing sins? Have you not done all these things, in the last thirty years of misfortunes?»

«Yes, Master.»

«So you see, you have done your schooling. Go on doing so and reveal, in addition, to the world, that I am in the world. There is nothing else to be done.»

Detail

Jesus asks Isaac to follow him and be a disciple, but Isaac thinks he won't know how to act well.