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Abraham

Theme: Old Testament characters

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GRM 177.4 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

Jesus watches him go away, then turns to the people present and says: «I solemnly tell you that I did not find so much faith in Israel. Oh! It is quite true[1]! “The people that walked in darkness saw a great light; on those who live in a land of deep shadow a light has shone”, and also “The Messiah will hoist His flag over the nations and gather them together”. Oh! My Kingdom! They will really flow to you in immense numbers! More numerous than all the camels and dromedaries of Madian and Ephah, than those who bring the gold and incense of Sheba, more numerous than all the flocks of Kedar and the rams of Nebaioth, will be those who come to you and My heart will exult with joy seeing all the peoples of the sea and the wealth of the nations coming to Me. The islands are waiting for Me to adore Me, and the children of foreigners will build the walls of My Church, the gates of which will lie open continually to receive the kings and the wealth of the nations and sanctify them in Me. What Isaiah saw, will be accomplished! I tell you that many will come from the east and the west and will sit with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas the children of the Kingdom will be thrown out into the dark, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.»

«You therefore foretell that the gentiles will be equal to the children of Abraham?»

«Not equal, but greater. You can only regret that it is due to your fault. Not I, but the Prophets say so, and the signs already confirm it.

Detail

Jesus has just healed the Roman centurion's servant, as recounted in the Gospel.

Annotation

Book of Isaiah, 9, 1

Is 9, 1 : The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and on those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, light has shone.

Isaiah 11, 10-12

Is 11, 10-12 : And it shall come to pass in that day, that the root of Jesse, lifted up as a standard for the peoples, shall be sought out by the nations, and his dwelling shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day: the Lord will stretch out his hand a second time to redeem the remnant of his people, that which remains in the lands of Assyria and Egypt, Patros, Ethiopia, Elam, Sennaar, Hamath and the isles of the sea. He will raise up a standard for the nations, and gather together the outcasts of Israel; he will gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four ends of the earth.

Isaiah 60, 5-10

Is 60, 5-10 : Then you will see him, and you will be radiant; your heart will leap and expand; for the riches of the sea will come to you, the treasures of the nations will come to you. Multitudes of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all those of Sheba will come, they will bring gold and incense, and publish the praises of Yahweh. All the flocks of Cedar will gather to you; the rams of Nabaioth will serve you; they will come up to my altar as a pleasing offering, and I will glorify the house of my glory.

Who are these that fly like clouds, like doves to their dovecote? For the isles hope in me, and the ships of Tarshish will come first; To bring back your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to honor the name of Yahweh your God, and the Holy One of Israel, because he has glorified you. The sons of foreigners will build your walls, and their kings will be your servants; for I struck you in my anger, but in my kindness I had compassion on you.

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 194.5 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«You did not tell Me who speaks of Me in the Book.»

«The Prophets, Lord. And even before, the Book speaks of You when Adam was expelled, and… then to Jacob, Abraham and Moses… Oh!… My father told me that he went to John — not this one other John, the one of the Jordan — and he, the great Prophet, called You the Lamb… Oh! Now I understand the lamb of Moses… You are Passover!»

GRM 210.3 · Volume 3

The Gospel as revealed to me

Quotation

«Let us make the women disciples happy by going to visit Abraham’s tomb, his tree and Jesse’s sepulchre and… what else did you say?»

«They say that this is the place where Adam lived and where Abel was killed…»

«The usual useless tales!» grumbles Judas.

«In one hundred years’ time they will also say that the Grotto of Bethlehem and many other things were a tale!»

Annotation

We please the women disciples by going to see Abraham's tomb, his tree: The tomb of the patriarchs: The oak of Mambré near Hebron (Genesis 13:18). Nearby, Abraham acquired the grotto of Macpelah, where he buried his wife Sarah (Genesis 23:19). He himself was buried there (Genesis 25:8-9). Cf. biblical texts below.

The tomb of Jesse: In Hebron, the tomb of David's father Jesse and his grandmother Ruth the Moabitess, wife of Boaz, is honored.

Itis said that this is the place where Adam lived and Abel was killed ... These are Jewish traditions (sometimes embellished) echoed by the Church Fathers (St. Jerome, Origen, St. Amboise, etc.).

Book of Genesis 13, 18

Gn 13, 18 : Abram pitched his tents and came to live at the oaks of Mambré, which are in Hebron; and there he built an altar to Yahweh.

Book of Genesis 23, 19

Gen 23, 19 : After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of Macpelah, opposite Mambre, which is Hebron, in the land of Chanaan.

Book of Genesis 25, 8-9

Gen 25, 8-9 : Abraham expired and died in a happy old age, old and full of days, and was reunited with his people. 9 Isaac and Ishmael, his sons, buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Seor the Hittite, which is opposite Mambre.