A Vision of Paul and the Early Martyrs

7/28/2019 A Vision of Paul and the Early Martyrs

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A Vision of Paul and the Early Martyrs Tul lianum Jail , Rome

Upside down cross signifies St. Peter's crucifixion which he asked to be upside down.

I see a large dark room. I call it a large room just to signify that it is very

spacious and constructed with stone. But it is a cellar which the light barely

enters through two floor-level slits which also serve for ventilation. It is quiteinsufficient, however, for the number of people gathered there and because of the

moisture oozing from the walls, made of almost square-shaped blocks of stonejoined with lime mortar, but with no plaster and beaten earth flooring.

I know it is the Tullianum jail. My counselor tells me. From the same source

I also know that the throng packed into such a small space is made up ofChristians imprisoned for their faith and waiting to be martyred. It is a time of

persecution, and precisely one of the first persecutions, for I hear mention of Peter

and Paul and know they have been killed under Nero.

You can't imagine the sharpness of detail with which I "see" this jail and thoseenclosed herein. I could describe the age, physiognomy, and clothing of each

individual. But in that case I would never finish. I shall thus limit myself to

stating the things, points, and personages that make the greatest impression onme.

There are people of every age and social conditon. From the elderly--who, inall mercy, should be left to a natural death--to children only a few years old who


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should rightfully be left to their innocent games, free and joyous, but who are

languishing as poor flowers who will never again see the flowers of the earth, inthe unhealthy shadows of this jail.

There are rich people with well cared-for clothing and poor people in poorclothes. And the language also contains variations in pronunciation and style,depending on whether it emerges from the educated lips of gentlemen or the

mouths of common people. Mixed together with the Latin of Rome, the foreign

words and pronunciations of Greeks, Iberians, Thracians, and many others arealso heard. But if the forms of clothing and speech are different, the spirit is the

same, guided by charity. They love one another with no distinction based on raceor wealth. They love one another and seek to provide mutual assistance.

The strongest give up the driest and most comfortable places--if you can call a

few slabs of stone scattered here and there serving as seats and cushions"comfortable"--to the weakest. And they cover them with their clothing,remaining with nothing but their tunics for the sake of modesty, using togas and

cloaks to act as mattresses and cushions and blankets for the sick trembling withfever or those wounded by tortures previously undergone. The healthiest help the

sickest by lovingly giving them something to drink--a little water poured from a

pitcher into a rustic recipient--and soaking some strips of cloth torn from theirclothes in it to provide bandages for dislocated or lacerated members and for the

brows burning with fever.

And they sing from time to time. A soft song which is certainly a psalm or

several psalms, for they alternate...

One of them begins as follows: "I love, for the Lord listens to the voice of myprayer."

Another says:, "O God, my God, I keep watch for You from the first light of

day. My soul is thirsty for You, and my flesh, much more. In a desert land,impassable and without water..."

A child moans in the half-darkness. The song halts.

Someone asks, "Who is crying?"

Someone answers, "Its Castulus. The fever and the burn give him no relief.

He is thirsty and cannot drink because the water burns his lips, scorched by the

fire."

"There is a mother here who can no longer give her milk to her baby," says an

imposing matron with a refined appearance. Have Castulus brought to me. Milk


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burns less than water."

Someone orders, "Castulus to Plautina."

A person comes forward that, from his clothing, I would deem to be either theservant of a Christian family who is sharing the lot of his masters or a commonlaborer. He is thickset, dark, and robust, with almost shaven hair and a short

dark-colored robe clasped at the waist by a belt. He is certainly carrying a poor

child about eight years old in his arms, as if on a stretcher. His clothing, thoughnow covered with earth and stains, is elegant, of pure white wool and with the

neck, sleeves, and bottom edge adorned with sumptuous Grecian embroidery. Hissandals are also elegant and beautiful.

Plautina sits down on a stone which an old man gives up for her. Plautina is

also dressed entirely in white wool. I do not remember the exact names for the

Roman clothes, but I think this long robe is called a chiamys, and the cloak, apalla. I cannot guarantee my memory, though. I know Plautina's clothing is very

beautiful and ample and envelops her graciously, turning her into a lovely livingstatue.

She sits down on the block of stone leaning against the wall. I distinctly seethe large stones overhanging her, against which she stands out with her slightly

olive-colored face, large black eyes, raven-black braids, and snow-white dress.

"Give him to me, Restitutus, and may God reward you," she says to themerciful bearer of the little martyr. And she separates her knees a bit to receive

the child, as if upon a bed.

When Restitutus sets him down, I see a ruin which makes me shudder. The

poor child's face is one big burn. Perhaps he was handsome. He is nowmonstrous. No more than a little hair on the back of his head; in front the skin is

bare and consumed by fire. There are no longer a brow and cheeks and a nose aswe conceive of them, but a bright red swelling, pink from the fierce heat, as if

caused by an acid. Instead of lips, another wound which is horrible to look at. Itseems they held just his face over the flame, for there is no more burn under hischin.

Plautina opens her tunic and, speaking with the love of a true mother, squeezesher round breast full of milk and has the drops trickle between the lips of the

child, who cannot smile, but who caresses her hand to show his relief. And then,after quenching his thirst, she lets some more milk fall upon the poor face to

medicate it with this balm, which is a mother's blood turned into nourishment and

the love of a woman left without children for someone left without a mother.


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The child no longer moans. With his thirst quenched and his agony soothed,

and rocked to sleep by the matron, he falls asleep, breathing with difficulty.

Plautina looks like a mother of sorrows, in view of her pose and expression.

She looks at the poor little child and certainly sees her child or children in him,and tears roll down her cheeks, and she thrusts her head backwards to keep themfrom falling onto the child's wounds.

The song resumes, "I anxiously awaited the Lord, and He turned to me and

heeded my cry."

"The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall lack nothing. He has set me in a grassymeadow. He has led me to refreshing water."

"Fabius is dead," a voice says at the back of the vault. "Let us pray," and theyall say the Our Father and another prayer which begins like this: "May the Most

High be praised, for He has mercy on His servants and opens His Kingdom to ourunworthiness without asking our weakness for anything but patience and good

will. May Christ be praised, for He suffered torture for those whom His mercyknow to be too weak to undergo it and has asked them only for love and faith.May the Spirit be praised, for He has given His fires for martyrdom to those not

called to the consummation of martyrdom and makes them holy with His

Holiness. So be it. (Maran atha) (I don't know if I am writing this correctly).

"How fortunate Fabius is!" and old man exclaims. "He is already seeingChrist!"

"We, too, shall see Him, Felix, and go to Him with the twofold crown of faith

and martyrdom. We shall be as if reborn, without a trace of stain, for the sins of

our past life will be washed in our blood before being washed in the Blood of theLamb. We sinned greatly--we who were pagans for long years--and it is a great

grace for the jubilee of martyrdom to come to us to make us new, worthy of theKingdom.

"Peace be with you, my brothers and sisters," thunders a voice which Iimmediately sense I have previously heard.

"Paul! Paul! Bless us!"

There is a rush of movement in the throng. Only Plautina remains motionless,with the pitiful burden on her lap.

"Peace be with you," the apostle repeats. And he advances up to the center of

the entrance hall. "Here I am with Diomedes and Valente to bring you Life."


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"What about the Pontiff?" many ask.

"He sends you his greeting and his blessing. He is alive, for the time being,and safe in the catacombs. Thefossores (Christians disguised as grave-diggers to

bury the martyrs) are guarding him well. He would come, but Alexander andCaius Julius informed us that he is too well known among the jailers. Rufus andthe other Christians are not always on guard duty. I--less well known and a

Roman citizen--have come. Brothers and sisters, what news do you have for

me?"

"Fabius is dead."

"Castulus suffered the first martyrdom."

"Sixta has now been led to torture."

"Linus has been taken with Urbanus and his sons to Mamertinus or to the

Circus--we don't know."

"Let us pray for them--whether alive or dead. That Christ may give all of them

His Peace.."

And Paul, with his arms opened in the form of a cross, prays (short, ratherunattractive, but an impressive man) in the middle of the dungeon. As if he, too,

were a servant, he is wearing a short dark robe with a little cloak and a hoodwhich he has thrust back in order to pray. Behind him are the two men he hasnamed, dressed as he is, but much younger.

When the prayer is over, Paul asks, "Where is Castulus?"

"On Plautina's lap, there, in the back."

Paul cuts through the crowd and approahces the group. He bends over and

observes. He blesses. He blesses the child and the matron. The child appears tohave awakened at the cries greeting the apostle, for he raises a little hand, trying

to touch Paul, who then takes the hand between his own and speaks. "Castulus,

do you hear me?"

"Yes," says the child, moving his lips with difficulty.

"Be strong, Castulus. Jesus is with you."

"Oh, why didn't you give Him to me? Now I can't any longer!" And a tear


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falls to aggravate his wounds.

"Don't cry, Castulus. Can you swallow a single crumb? You can? Well then,I'll give you the Body of the Lord. Then I'll go to your mother and tell her that

Castulus is a flower in Heaven. What should I say to your mother?"

"That I am happy. That I have found a mother. That she gives me her milk.That my eyes don't hurt any more. (It's not a lie to say so, is it--to console my

mother?) And that I 'see' Paradise and my place and hers better than if these eyes

of mine were still alive. Tell her fire doesn't hurt when the angels are with us andthat she shouldn't fear either for my sake or for hers. The Savior will give usstrength."

"Wonderful, Castulus! I shall tell your mother what you have said. God alway

helps, brothers and sisters. And you see this. He is a child. He is at the age whenpeople can't bear the pain of a slight malaise. And you see and hear him. He is inpeace. His is ready to suffer everything, after having already suffered so much,

provided he can go to the One whom he loves, and he loves Him because he is

one of those whom He loved--a child--and he is a hero of the Faith. Take heart

from these children, O brothers and sisters. I am returning from having takenLucina to the cemetery, the daughter of Faustus and Cecilia. She was onlyfourteen years old, and you know much she was loved by her family and how

weak she was in health. And yet she was a giant before the tyrants. You know

that with these (clothing disguise) I pass myself off as a fossor (grave digger) sothat I can gather as many bodies as possible and lay them in holy ground. I thus

live in contact with tribunals and see, as I live in contact with the circuses and

observe. And it is a comfort for me to think that I, too, in my hour--if God sopleases--shall be sustainted by Him like the saints who have preceded us. Lucina

was tortured with a thousand torments. Beaten, hung, stretched out, and twistedwith tongs. And she was always healed by the work of God. And she always

withstood all the threats. The final torture, before martyrdom, was aimed at her

spirit. The tyrant, on seeing her caught up with the love for Christ, a virgin whohad bound herself to the Lord our God, wanted to wound her in this love of hers.

And he condemned her to be with a man. But one, two, and ten who approachedall perished, struck down by a heavenly thunderbolt. Then, unable to break and

destroy the lily of her purity in any way, the tyrant ordered that she be bound and

hung in such a fashion that she would remain as if seated and then lowered swiftlyonto a pointed wedge, which tore apart her viscera. The barbarian thought he had

thus taken away her virginity. But her purity had never flourished so beautifully

as in that bloodbath, and from her torn viscera her lily spread forth to be pickedup by God's angel. She is now in peace.

Courage, brothers and sisters. I had fed her yesterday with the Bread of Heaven,and with the taste of that Bread she went to her final martyrdom. I shall now


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give that Bread to you as well, for tomorrow is a day of superhuman feasting for

you. The Circus awaits you. And you do not fear. In the beasts and snakes youwill see celestial appearances, for God will work this miracle for you, and the

jaws and coils will seem to you to be loving embraces; the roars and hisses,

heavenly voices; and, like Castulus, you will see Paradise, which is alreadydescending to welcome you into its blessedness."

The Christians, except for Plautina, are all kneeling and singing: "As the hind

longs for the brook, so my soul longs for You. My soul is thirsty for God. Forthe mighty, living God. When may I come to You, Lord? Why are you sad, my

soul? Hope in God, and it will be granted to you to praise Him. By day Godsends His grace, and by night He recieves the song of thanksgiving. Prayer to

God is my life. I shall say to Him, 'You are my defense'. Come. Let us joyously

sing to the Lord. Let us uplift shouts of joy to God our Savior. Let us present

ourselves to Him with cries of rejoicing. For the Lord is the great God. Come.Let us prostrate ourselves and worship Him who created us. For He is the Lord

our God, and we are the people nourished by Him, the flock guided by Him."

While they were singing, some Roman soldiers and jailers entered; they also

mount guard so that unfriendly people will not enter.

Paul prepares for the rite. "You shall be our altar," he says to Castulus. Can

you hold the chalice on your chest?"

"Yes."

A linen cloth is spread over the child's little body, and the chalice and breadare set upon it

And I attend the Mass of the martyrs, which is celebrated by Paul, and servedby the two priests accompanying him. It is not like today's Mass, though. It

seems to me to contain parts now lacking and to lack parts now in use. It lacksthe Epistle, for instance, and after the blessing--"May the Father and the Son and

the Holy Spirit bless you"--there is nothing else. But the parts are the same asnow from the Gospel to the Consecration. The Gospel read was that of theBeatitudes.

I see the linen cloth trembling on the chest of Castulus, who as Paul requested,

is holding the base of the chalice in his fingers so that it will not fall. I also see

that when Paul says, "This consecration of the Body..." the flush of a smile passesover the wounded face of the child, and then the little head suddenly sinks down

with a deathly heaviness which constantly grows.

Plautina seems to be jolted, but controls herself. Paul proceeds as if notnoticing anything. But when, after breaking the Host, he is about to bend over the


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little martyr to give him Communion as the first of all with a minuscule fragment,

Plautina says, "He's dead." And Paul pauses for an instant and then gives thematron the fragment intended for the child, who has remained with his fingers

clasped over the base of the chalice in his final contraction, and they have to

disengage them from it in order to take the chalice and give it to the others.

Then, after Communion has been distributed, the Mass ends. Paul takes off his

vestments and places them and the linen cloth and the chalice and the receptable

for the hosts in a bag he is carrying under his cloak. He then says, "Peace be withChrist's martyr. Peace be with holy Castulus."

And everyone responds, "Peace!"

"I shall now take him to another place. Give me a cloak to wrap him in. I

shall take him without waiting for nightfall. Tonight we shall come for Fabius.But I shall take him...as a child who has fallen asleep. Fallen asleep in the Lord."

One of the soldiers offers his red cloak, and they lay the little martyr upon it

and wrap him in it, and Paul takes him on his arm (the left arm), as if he is afather who is carrying his sleeping son somewhere else, with his head resting onhis father's shoulder

"Brothers and sisters, may peace be with you, and remember me when you arein the Kingdom." And he goes out, blessing them.

Jesus says:

"It is not the Gospel, but I want it to be considered one of the 'gospels of faith'

for you that fear.

You also fear persecutions. You no longer have the fiber of old. But I am

always Myself, children. You must not think that I can't give you an intrepidheart in the hour of trial. Without My help, no one, even then, could have

remained steadfast in the face of so much torture. And yet old men and children,young girls and mothers, and spouses and parents were able to die, encouraging

others to die, as if they were going to a celebration. And it was a celebration. An

eternal celebration!

They died, and their dying was a breach in the dike of paganism. Like water

which goes on eroding and eroding and slowly but inexorably breaks man's

sturdiest works, their blood, issuing from thousands and thousands of wounds,

gnawed at the pagan wall and, like many brooks, scattered into Caesar's militias,into Caesar's royal palace, into the circuses and spas, and among gladiators and


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animal keepers, those employed at the public baths, and the cultured and the

common folk--everywhere, unstoppable and invincible.

The soil of Rome soaked up this blood, and the city rises--I might say it is

cemented--with the blood and dust of my martyrs. The few hundred martyrs youare familia with are nothing compared to the thousands and thousands still buriedin the entrails of Rome and the thousands and thousands of others who, having

been burned on the stakes in the circuses, became ash scattered by the wind, or,

after being torn to pieces and devoured by beasts and reptiles, became excrementwhich was swept up and flung out as manure.

But if you do not know these unknown heroes of Mine, I know them all, and

their complete annihilation, even of their skeletons, has been what has fertilizedthe savage soil of the pagan world more than any manure and made it become

capable of bearing the Heavenly Wheat.

Now this soil of the Christian world is becoming pagan again, and poison

germinates, not bread. And that is why you are afraid. You have become too

estranged from God to have the fortitude of old in you.

The theological virtues are dying in the places where they are not already

dead. And you don't even remember the cardinal virtues. In not having charity, it

is only natural for you to be unable to love God to the point of heroism. In notloving Him, you do not hope in Him and do not have faith in Him. In not having

faith, hope and charity, you are not strong, prudent, and just. In not being strong,you are not temperate. And in not being temperate, you love the flesh more than

the soul and tremble over your flesh.

But I can still work the miracle. Believe, too, that in every persecution the

martyrs are able to be such through My aid. The martyrs--that is, those who stilllove Me. I then take their love to perfection and make them athletes in faith. I

come to the aid of those hoping and believing in Me. Always. In anycircumstance.

The little martyr remaining with his hand clasping the chalice, even beyonddeath, teaches you where strength is. In the Eucharist. When someone feeds on

Me, as Paul states, he no longer lives through himself, but Jesus lives in him

(Galations 2:20). And Jesus was able to endure all torments, without bending.Whoever lives by Me will thus be like Me. Strong.

Have faith."


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Written by Maria Valtorta. Taken from THE NOTEBOOKS 1944, February29.

Copyright 1998, CENTRO EDITORIALE VALTORTIANO, Isola del Liri,Italy. All rights reserved in all countries.

http://valtorta.org/

Jesus teaches Stratagems of Love for the ONLY HOLY

MILITIA--THE PRIESTHOOD

Jesus says: "When you have done your duty--I continue to speak to you priests--I authorize you to say what I taught My apostles to say when sent on their mission
http://valtorta.org/http://valtorta.org/http://valtorta.org/


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through Palestine. Remember, however, not to grow weary too quickly. I repeatedMy doctrine for three years. I was God. After three years, one out of twelveamong those who had been filled with Me betrayed Me. Countless others

abandoned Me in the hour of the trial. Do you claim to be more solicitous than I

was? More powerful? Obeyed more?

Remember that if brothers and sisters are to be forgiven seventy times seven,

spiritual children--and all Catholics are children for you, all of them withoutexception--are to be forgiven seventy times seventy times.

Remember that for you human differentiations concerning souls do not exist.

Indeed, there is a reversal of values. Man admires and reveres the honest, the good

and the pure. You must, not admire, but love those who are spirituallyunfortunate. The filthier they are, the farther they are from Me, the more you must

be a father and a light for them. No repugnance, no weariness, no abandonment,and no fear is granted to you. You must stoop over all forms of wretchedness.You must seek them to look after them. You must love them to bring them to

Love. When rejected, attack again: when derided, increase your charity. Make

use of human things to lead souls to supernatural things.

And must I teach you the sweet stratagems of love? Haven't you ever had afather, a mother, and brothers and sisters with whom you have used them to win a

bigger and bigger love for yourselves? Your faithful are children for you. Oh,how many things a father studies to make himself be loved by his child! The childis still an infant and the father, weary from his work, still bends over the crib and

repeats the sweet words so as to hear them spoken afterwards by the innocent little

mouth. He is a child, and the father bends to teach the baby to take his first steps,

shows him the flowers and the stars, and educates his mind in the first sensations,the first thoughts. Even if he is slow-witted, simple-minded, the father strives toopen his child's mind. Even if he is uncontrollably naughty, with a thousand

stratagems he seeks to change the child's heart.

And you? Why don't you have a father's feelings for your spiritual children?

Are they athiests? It doesn't matter. Pray and dare. Today, tomorrow, and eventhe day after tomorrow, and always, always, without tiring.

It is often enough to be able to look at a soul with a gaze of true love to conquer

it. Souls are not often wicked, as you think. They are disgusted, sick, ashamed.Disgusted with what the world--and the clergy therein have given them. Ashamed

of being sick. They wish to be cured, but they are ashamed to confess their


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illnesses.

Give them what they have not had: holy love. Go out to meet them. Persuadethem to open themselves without shame. They are reluctant flowers. But if love

warms them, they open.

Oh, holy dews and blessed rays that you priests by your sacrifice draw down

upon souls! Acts of repentance and redemption which make them children ofGod. Sacraments and grace which you infuse and which make you and them holy.

Be blessed for this work, O faithful servants who look after My harvest and Myvineyard. And blessed even if you bend over wild grass arising outside My

vineyard.

It is not necessary to leave one's country to be missionaries, O children.

Europe, the world, is entirely a missionary land, for man has again becomeidolatrous and heretical. In truth, I tell you that it would be necessary to till one's

native land, out of love for one's country, before others, for it is from a Christiancountry that the country's well-being comes, and where are the Christian nations

today?

Look around you. What do you see? Heaps of ruins and heaps of victims.

Who has produced them? One? Two? Four individuals? No. They are the agents,the ministers of Evil, who uses them as would a despotic king. But they are whatthey are because the populations over which they rule have let them be such,

finding in them the maximum representatives of their own sentiments. From a

people devoid of God because they have torn Him out of their souls, putting the

flesh, money, and power in His place--there arise the cobras that kill by theirthreefold hunger, which Satan incites.

It is useless to say, 'They were the cause of the present evil.' Say, all of you--Isay al l--including you priests, 'We were,' and you will be sincere.

Work in the uncultivated field is now harder. But act. Become like My first

apostles again. Become heroes of the priesthood again, which is the only holymilitia. Do your duty, all of you, to the point if immolation. For if the throngs arethen obstinate in being lost, I will provide for them. You will receive a reward all the

same, even if you come to Me with your arms, broken in the wearisome labor, ladenwith very few ears of grain.

But, I beg you--and I am God--do not be to blame for a lack of love. I do notforgive a lack of charity. It is a denial of God.


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THE NOTEBOOKS 1943, November 14.

Written by Maria Valtorta


Obummer wants all abortions legalized and have all taxpayerspay for it. He is by far the best actor infanticidal/abortion blood

money could every buy.

B. O. = Planned Parenthood = Black Genocide

New World Order puppet B.O. & Dems want U.S. taxpayers tofund abortion worldwide, even forced abortions in China

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus says:

"Are you grieved at this? So am I. Poor sons and daughters! The little ones

whom I loved so and who must die like this! And I caressed them with the tenderness

of a Father and God Who sees in the child the masterpiece, not yet profaned, of Hiscreation! The children who die, slain by hatred and in the midst of a chorus of hatred.

Oh, let fathers and mothers not profane the innocent holocaust of their clipped

flowers with their imprecations! Let fathers and mothers know that not a tear of theirchildren, not a moan of these immolated innocents remains unechoed in My Heart.

Heaven opens to them, for they do not differ at all from their distant little brothers,

killed by Herod out of hatred for Me. These, too, are killed by the sinister Herods,stewards of a power which I have given them so they would use it for good and for

which they must give Me an accounting.
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I would come for all. But especially for these, just born to life, a gift of God, andalready uprooted from life by cruelty, a gift of the devil. You should know, however,that to wash the contaminated blood which fouls the earth, which is shed with rancour

and cursing against Me, Who am Love, this dew of innocent blood is needed, the only

blood still able to flow forth without cursing, without hating, just as I, the Lamb, shedMy Blood for you. The innocents are the little lambs of the new era, the only oneswhose sacrifice, gathered in by the angels, is completely pleasing to My Father.

Afterwards come the penitent. Only afterwards. For even the most perfectones among them drag into their sacrifice the dross of human imperfections,

hatreds, and acts of selfishness. The firstin the ranks of the newly redeemed arethe children, whose eyes close amidst horror in order to reopen upon My Heart in

Heaven."

Written by Maria Valtorta. From THE NOTEBOOKS 1943, May 1.



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Guernica Picasso 1937

Antichrist, out of the pride of an hour, willbecome the accursed and dark one after having

been a star in My army.

Jesus says:

"If one were to observe closely what has been going on for some time, and

especially since the beginning of this century preceding the conclusion of thesecond millenium, one ought to think that the seven seals have been opened.

Never before as at present have I gone into action to return among you with My

Word to gather together the multitudes of My chosen ones so as to set out with

them and My angels to do battle against the hidden forces working to bore open the

gates of the abyss for mankind.

War, famine, pestilences, the instruments of military homicide--which are morethan the ferocious beasts mentioned by the Beloved one--earthquakes, signs in thesky, eruptions in the entrails of the earth, and the miraculous calls towards mystical

ways of little souls moved by Love, persecutions against My followers, the


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loftiness of souls and the lowliness of bodies--nothing is lacking among the signswhereby the time of My wrath and My judgment may seem to you to be near.

In the horror you experience, you exclaim: 'The time has come; it cannot get

more tremendous than this!' And you loudly call for the end which will free you.The blameworthy call for it, mocking and cursing, as always; the good call for itwho can no longer bear to see Evil triumphing over Good.

Peace, My chosen ones! A little while longer, and I shall come. The sum of

sacri f ice needed to justify the creation of man and the Sacri f ice of the Son ofGod is not yet fu lf il led. The marshaling of My cohorts is not yet finished, and theangels of the Sign have not yet placed the glorious seal upon all the brows of those

who have deserved to be chosen for glory.

The disgrace of the earth is such that its fumes, not very different from thoseissuing from Satan's dwelling, rise to the feet of God's throne with a sacrilegious

impetus. Before the appearing of My glory it is necessary for east and west to bepurified so as to be worthy of the appearance of My Face.

Purifying incense and oil consecrating the great, boundless altar where the last

Mass will be celebrated by Me, the Eternal Pontiff, served at the altar by all the

saints which heaven and earth contain in that hour, are the prayers and sufferingsof My saints, of My Heart's beloved, of those already marked with My Sign--of the

blessed Cross--before the angels have marked them.

It is on earth that the sign is engraved, and it is your will which engraves it.

Then the angels fill it with incandescent, indelible gold which makes your brows

shine like the sun in My Paradise.

Great is the present horror, My beloved; but how very, very much it still has toincrease to become the Horror of the last times! And if it truly seems that

wormwood has been mixed into man's bread, wine, and sleep, a very, very greatdeal more wormwood must still drip into your waters, onto your tables, and onto

your couches before you have reached the total bitterness which will be thecompanion of the last days of this race created by Love, saved by Love, which has

sold itself to Hatred.

For if Cain went roaming over the earth because he had shed innocent blood--

though still blood contaminated by original sin--and found no one to deliver himfrom the torment of the memory for God's sign was upon him for his punishment--and he begot in bitterness and in bitterness lived and saw others live and in

bitterness died--what is the race of man to suffer, which in fact shed, and sheds, the

most innocent Blood which has saved it?


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Go right on thinking, then, that these are the warning signs, but it is not yet thehour.

There are forefunners of the one I said could be called

Negation, Evil Incarnate, Horror, Sacrilege, the Son of Satan,Vengeance, and Destruction: and I could go on giving him namesdesignating him clearly and fearfully. But he is not yet present.

He will be a very lofty person, as lofty as a star. Not a humanstar shining in a human sky. But a star from a supernaturalsphere that, yielding to the flattery of the Enemy, will experiencepride after humility, atheism after faith, lust after chastity, thehunger for gold after Gospel poverty, and a thirst for honors afterconcealment.

To see a star plummet from the firmament is less fearful thanto see this creature, already chosen, plunge into the coils of

Satan--this creature will copy the sin of his elective father.Lucifer, out of pride, became the accursed and Dark One. The

Antichrist, out of the pride of an hour, will become the accursedand dark one after having been a star in My army.

As a reward for his denial--which will shake the heavens witha shudder of horror and make the pillars of My Church tremble in

the dismay his fall will occasion--he will obtain the completeassistance of Satan, who will give him the keys to the pit of the

abyss in order for him to open it. But let him open it altogetherso that the instruments of horror will come out which Satan has

concocted over millennia to lead men to complete despair, in such

a way that they will invoke Satan as King by themselves and runafter the Antichrist, the only one who will be able to open widethe gates of the abyss to make the King of the abyss come out,just as the Christ opened the gates of the Heavens to make grace

and forgiveness come out, which make men similar to God andkings of an Eternal Kingdom in which I am the King of kings.

As the Father has given Me all power, so Satan will give him all power, andespecially all power for seduction, to drag after him the weak and those corrupted

by the fevers of ambitions, as he, their chief, is. But in his unbridled ambition hewill still find Satan's supernatural aids to be too scanty, and he will seek additional

aid in the enemies of Christ, who, armed with increasingly deadly weapons which

their lust for Evil led them to create to sow despair in the masses, will help him

until God pronounces His 'Enough' and burns them to ashes with the splendor ofHis appearance.


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There has been much--too much--speculation over the centuries--and not out of

a good thirst and honest desire to remedy the insistent evil, but, rather, only out offutile curiosity--regarding what John says in chapter 10 of the Apocalypse. But

you should know, Maria, that I allow what may be useful to know to be known andconceal what I find to be useful for you not to know.

You are too weak, poor children of mine, to know the proper names of the

apocalyptic 'seven thunders'. My angel said to John: 'Seal what the seven thundershave said and do not write it down'. I say that it is not yet time for what is sealed

to be opened, and if John did not write it down, I will not say it.

Besides, it is not your lot to taste that horror and therefor...It only remains for

you to pray for those who will have to undergo it, that strength will not fail in them

and they will not come to form part of the mob of those who, under the lash of thescourge, will not experience repentance and will curse God instead of imploring

His help. Many of these are already on the earth, and their seed will be seventimes more demoniacal than they are.

I not My angel, I Myself swear that when the thunder of the seventh trumpet is

finished and the horror of the seventh scourge is fulfilled, without the race ofAdam recognizing Christ as King, Lord, Redeemer, and God, and, with theinvocation of His Mercy, his Name, in which there is salvation, I, by My Name and

by My Nature, swear that I shall halt that instant in Eternity. Time will cease, and

the Judgment will begin. The Judgment eternally separating the Good from Evilafter millennia of coexistence on earth.

Good will return to the fount from which it came. Evil will fall to the place to which it was pr

down at the moment of Lucifer's rebellion and from which it emerged to distrub the weakness of

seduction of the senses and of pride.

Then the mystery of God will be fulfilled. Then you will know God. Every man on earth, frlast man born, gathered together like grains on the dune of the eternal beach, will see God the Loand King.

Yes, you will see this God whom you have loved, cursed, followed, mocked, blessed, insulte

escaped from. You will see Him. You will then know how much He deserved your love and howas to serve Him.

Oh, the joy of those who have consumed themselves in loving and obeying Him! Oh, the terr

have been His Judases, His Cains, those who have preferred to follow the Adversary and Seduce

Word made man, in whom there is Redemption--the Christ: the Way of the Father; Jesus: the


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the Word: true Life."

From THE NOTEBOOKS 1943, August 20th.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The bombshell in Benedict's new Encyclical CHARITY IN TRUTH6/

Bye bye USA and all other national sovereignties.

If you do not like the UN's version of "truth or charity", they will convinceat your head. You won't be able to defend yourself, as you will already have

67. "In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt nee

of a global recession, for a reform of theUnited Nations Organization, and likewise ofeconominternational finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One

urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protpoorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to a

juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international coope

development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economiesto avoidany deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalancesthat would result;

integral and timely disarmament, food secur ity and peace;to guarantee the protection of the eregulate migration:for all this, there is urgent need of a true world politi cal authority, as my p

John XXIII indicated some years ago. Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to othe principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good, and to make

securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth. Furtauthor ity would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective powertoall, regard for justice, and respect for rights. Obviously it would have to have the authori ty to e

with its decisionsfrom all parties..." From the Vatican website, vatican.va


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Why would the pope meet with Obama whose hands are stained with the inaborted children? Why does the pope call for a UN with TEETH (armies, p

end the sovereignty of all nations? Is the pope the "star in the army of Jesand become the antichrist or his false prophet as written in Saint John's R

JOSEPH RATZINGER

Priest for 58 years.

Bishop for 32 years.

Cardinal for 27 years.

Pope for 5 years.

Appointed President of the International Theological Commission

Appointed Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Fait


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Appointed President of the Pontifical Biblical Commission 1

Confirmed Dean of the College of Cardinals 2002.

Elected and installed Pope 2005.

Please pray for His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. that he be more worried about appointing good bishops w

be holy priests, rather than advocating TEETH for theUnited Nations to promote depopulation through abor

and genetically modified food.

See: POPE BENEDICT XVI REJECTS CATECHISM OF JOHN PAUL II.
http://valtorta.org/pope_rejects_catechism_defaultpage.asphttp://valtorta.org/pope_rejects_catechism_defaultpage.asphttp://valtorta.org/pope_rejects_catechism_defaultpage.asp


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Moses Michelangelo

You Shall Have No gods in My Presence


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"It is said: "You shall have no gods in My presence. You shall not make yoursel

carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven or on the earth beneath or in

the waters under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. Forthe Lord your God, am a strong and jealous God and I punish the father's faults i

the sons, the grandsons, and the great-grandsons of those who hate Me, but I shokindness down to the thousandth generation of those who love Me and keep My

commandments". Jesus' voice resounds in the large room crowded with people;

is in fact raining and they have all taken shelter in it. In the first row there are foinvalids, that is, a blind man led by a woman, a child covered with sores, a wom

yellow with jaundice or malaria, and a man who has been carried there on a

stretcher.

Jesus is speaking leaning against the empty manger. John and the two cousins,Matthew and Philip are near Him, while Judas, Peter, Bartholomew, James and

Andrew are at the entrance door letting in those who arrive late. Thomas andSimon are moving amongst the people telling children to be quiet, collecting alm

and listening to requests.

"You shall have no gods in My presence".

"You have heard how God is omnipresent with His eyes and His voice. Truly,

are always in His presence. Whether we are locked in a room or are amongst the

crowds in the Temple, we are in His presence. If we are concealed benefactorshiding our faces also from the people we help, or murderers who attack and killwayfarers in a lonely gorge, we are always in His presence. A king in the middlof his court, a soldier on the battlefield, a Levite inside the Temple, a wise man

bent over his books, a peasant in the furrows, a merchant at his desk, a mother

watching over a cradle, a bride in her nuptial room, a virgin in the secrecy of herfather's dwelling, a child studying at school, an old man lying down to die, they

all in His presence. They are all in His presence and also the actions of men are iHis presence. All the actions of men! A dreadful word! And a comforting one!

Dreadful if the actions are sinful, comforting if they are holy. To know that Godsees us, prevents us from doing evil and encourages us to do good. God sees thatam doing the right thing. I know that He does not forget what He sees. I believe

that He rewards good deeds. I am therefore certain that I shall be rewarded and I

rest on that certainty. It will give me a happy life and a placid death, because boin life and in death my soul will be comforted by the bright light of God's

friendship. That is the reasoning of a person who does good. But why do evil-doers not consider that idolatry is one of the forbidden things? Why do they not

say: "God sees that whilst I simulate a holy cult, I worship a false god or false

gods, to whom I have erected an altar unknown to men but known to God"?


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"Which gods, you may object, if even in the Temple there is no image of God?

Which are the faces of these gods, if it was impossible for us to give a face to thetrue God? Yes, it is impossible to elaborate a face, because the Perfect and MostPure One cannot be worthily represented by man. Only the spirit can catch a

glimpse of the incorporeal and sublime beauty and can hear His voice andappreciate the caresses which He bestows upon a holy person worthy of suchdivine contact. But the sight, the hearing, the hand of man cannot see or hear, an

therefore they cannot repeat with sound on a lyre, with a mallet and a chisel on

marble, what the Lord is. Oh! endless happiness when you, souls of just people,

will see God! The first glance will be the dawn of the blessedness which will beyour companion for centuries without end. And yet what we cannot do for the trGod, man does for false gods. And one erects an altar to woman; another to gol

another to power; another to science; another to military triumphs; one worships

mighty man, equal to himself by nature, but greater in arrogance or luck; another

worships himself and says: "There is no one like me". Such are the gods of thoswho are the people of God."

"Do not be astonished at the heathens who worship animals, reptiles and stars.How many reptiles, how many animals, how many dead stars you worship in yo

hearts! Lips utter lies to flatter, to possess, to corrupt. Are those not the prayers

secret idolaters? Hearts brood over thoughts of vengeance, of illicit trades, ofprostitution. Are those not the cults devoted to the impure gods of lust, greed,

wickedness?

It is said: "You shall adore nothing but your true, one, eternal God". It is said: "Iam a strong jealous God".

"Strong: no other strength is greater than His. Man is free to act, Satan is free totempt. But when God says: "Enough" man can no longer do wrong, Satan can n

longer tempt. The latter is driven back to his hell, the former is checked in his

misuse of evil doing, to which there is a limit, beyond which God does not allowanyone to go."

"Jealous. Of what? Of which jealousy? Of the petty jealousy of petty men? No.The holy jealousy of God for His children. The just, loving jealousy. He createyou. He loves you. He wants you. He knows what is harmful to you. He is aw

of what is capable of separating you from Him. And He is jealous of what

interposes between the Father and His children and diverts them from the only lowhich is health and peace: God. Understand that jealousy which is not mean, is

not cruel, is not restrictive of freedom. It is infinite love, infinite goodness,unlimited freedom, which gives Itself to the limited creature, to draw it to Itself

and in Itself for ever, and associate it to Its infinity. A good father does not want

enjoy his wealth by himself. But he wants his children to enjoy it with him. Aft

all he accumulated his riches more for his children than for himself. God acts


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likewise but He conveys to His love and desire the perfection which is in all His

actions."

"Do not disappoint the Lord. He promises the guilty fathers and the children of t

guilty children punishment. And God always keeps His promises. But do not bedisheartened, o children of man and of God. Listen to the other promise and

rejoice: "I show kindness down to the thousandth generation of those who loveand keep My commandments". Down to the thousandth generation of good

people. And to the thousandth fault of the poor children of man, who fall not ou

of wickedness but because of their thoughtlessness and Satan's snares. And Hiskindness is even greater. I tell you that He stretches His arms out towards you, i

with penitent hearts and faces washed by tears you say: "Father, I have sinned. I

know. I humble myself and I confess my sin to You. Forgive me. Yourforgiveness will be my strength to start living again' the true life".

"Do not be afraid. Before you committed sins out of weakness, He knew that yo

would sin. His Heart is closed only if you persist in your sin and want to sin, thumaking of a certain sin or of many sins your gods of horror. Demolish every ido

make room for the True God. He will descend in His glory to consecrate your

hearts, when He sees that He is the only one in you."

"Give God's dwelling back to Him. His abode is not in the temples built with

stones, but in the hearts of men. Wash its threshold, clear its interior from all

useless or sinful decorations. Only God. He only. He is everything! In no wayinferior to Paradise the heart of a man in which God dwells, the heart of a man wsings his love to the divine Guest."

"Of every heart make a Heaven. Start your cohabitation with the Most High. In

your eternal future it will improve in power and joy. But even here it will excee

the trembling amazement of Abraham, Jacob and Moses. Because it will no longbe the dazzling, frightening meeting with the Mighty One, but the permanent life

with Father and Friend Who descends to say: "It is a joy for Me to be amongstmen. You make Me happy. Thank you, son."

The crowd, over a hundred people, break the spell after some time. Some beco

aware that they are weeping, some that they are smiling at the same hope of joy.At last the crowd seem to awake, they seem to whisper, to sigh vigorously, and

finally utter a cry as of liberation: "May You be blessed! You are opening for us

the way of peace!"

Jesus smiling replies: Peace is with you, if from now on you follow good."

He then goes towards the invalids. He touches with His hand the child, the blind

man, the woman who is completely yellow, He bends over the paralytic and says


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I want it."

The man looks at Him and then shouts: "There is warmth in my dead limbs!" an

he stands up, as he is, until they pull a blanket from his little bed over him, and t

mother lifts her child, who is no longer covered with sores, and the blind manwinks at the first contact with light, and women shout: "Dina is no longer as

yellow as buttercups."

The place is in utter confusion. Some people shout, some bless, some push to sesome try to go out and tell the village. Jesus is assailed from all directions.

Peter sees that they are almost crushing Him and he shouts: "Boys! They are

suffocating the Master! Come and let us make room" and with great efforts thetwelve disciples elbow their way through the crowd, kicking also a few shins, an

they free the Master and take Him out. "I will see to this tomorrow" he says. "Ywill stay at the door and the others at the other end of the room. Have they hurtYou?"

They seemed to have gone mad. What manners!

"Leave them. They were happy... and so was I. Go to those who want to be

baptised. I am going to the house. Judas, you and Simon will give alms to the

poor. Give them everything. We have much more than is fair for the apostles othe Lord. Peter, go. Do not be afraid of doing too much. I will justify you with

the Father, because I am ordering you to do it. Goodbye, friends."

And Jesus, tired and wet with perspiration, goes into the house, while each of thedisciples does his duty among the pilgrims.


From POEM OF THE MAN-GOD, volume 1, chapter 120.



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Worshippers in China at Easter Vigil Mass, April 11, 2009.

Jesus Teaches About Observing Holy Days

The weather is not so dreadful although it is still raining, and people can come to theMaster.

Jesus is listening, on one side, to two or three people, who have great things to tellHim and then reach their places looking much calmer. He blesses also a little boywhose little legs are badly fractured and whom no doctor would cure. They all, infact, said: "It is useless, they are fractured high up, near the spine." His mother is

talking, weeping as she explains: He was running with his little sister in the villagestreet. A Herodian came at full speed on his wagon and ran him over. I thought he

was dead. But it is worse. See. I am keeping him on this board... because there is

nothing else to be done. And he suffers, because the bone pierces his flesh. Andlater, when it will no longer pierce him, he will suffer because he will be compelled

to lie on his back.


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soul". That is the commandment of the Sabbatical rest."

"Man is not greater than God. And yet God created the universe in six days and Herested on the seventh. Why then does man take the liberty of not imitating the Father

and breaking His commandment? Is it a foolish commandment? No. It is truly abeneficial commandment to the body, to morals and to the spirit."

"A tired body needs rest, like every other being in creation. An ox, which has worked

in the field, rests, and we let it rest, so that we may not lose it. Likewise, the donkey

that carries us and the sheep that gives birth to a little lamb and gives us milk, need arest. Also the soil of the field rests, and we let it rest, so that during the months that it

is deprived of seed, it may be nourished and become saturated with the salts that arecontained in rain or emerge from the earth. Also animals and plants, which obey the

eternal laws of wise reproduction, rest well, also without our consent. Why then does

man not want to imitate the Creator, Who rested on the seventh day, whereas inferiorbeings, both vegetable and animal, which only received an instinctive order, know

how to comply with it and obey it?

"It is a moral commandment, besides being a physical one. Man for six days belongs

to everybody and everything. Like a thread in a loom he moves up and down,

without being ever able to say: "Now I am going to attend to myself and to my dear

ones. I am a father and today I belong to my children, I am a husband and today Iwill devote myself to my wife I am a brother and I will rejoice with my brothers, I ama son and I will look after my old parents'.

"It is a spiritual commandment. Work is holy. Love is holier. God is Most Holy. So

we must remember to devote at least one day out of seven to our good and holy

Father, Who gave us life and keeps us alive. Why should we have less respect forHim than for, our fathers, our children, brothers, wives and our bodies? Let the day

of the Lord be His. Oh! It is pleasant to take shelter in a loving home in the evening,after a day's work! It is pleasant to come back to it after a journey! Why then not

take shelter in the house of the Father after six days' work? Why should we not be

like the son who comes back after a six day journey and says: "Here I am, I want to

spend my day of rest with you"?

But now, listen. I said: "Do an honest job".

"You know that our Law orders us to love our neighbour. Honest work forms part of

our love for our neighbour. An honest working person does not steal in business,does not defraud a workman of his pay, does not exploit him guiltily, he remembersthat a servant and a workman are made of body and soul like himself, and he does not

treat them like lifeless pieces of stone which it is lawful to break or strike with one'sfoot or an iron rod. Who does not do that, does not love his neighbour and therefore

commits a sin in the eyes of God. His earnings are cursed, even if he offers part of


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them as alms to the Temple."

"Oh! What a false offer! And how can anyone dare place it at the foot of the altarwhen it drips the tears and blood of an exploited subordinate or its name is "theft",

that is, betrayal of one's neighbour, because a thief is the betrayer of his neighbour?Believe Me, one does not keep a holy day unless one makes use of it to examine andimprove oneself and make amends for the sins committed during the previous six

days."

"That is the observance of holy days, not the merely exterior observance, which doesnot change one jot of your way of thinking. God wants living deeds, not sham

deeds. A false respect for His Law is a mere sham. And a mere sham is the falseobservance of the Sabbath, that is a rest taken to show obedience to the

commandment in the eyes of men, when the hours of idleness are spent in vice, in

lust, in orgy, in planning how to exploit and damage one's neighbour in the oncomingweek. The observance of the Sabbath is a sham, when the material rest is not coupled

with an inner, spiritual, sanctifying examination of oneself, with the humble avowal

of one's misery, with the firm determination to improve oneself during the oncomingweek."

"You may say: 'And if one falls into sin again?' What would you say of a child, who,

having fallen once, should not wish to take another step, that he may not fall again?That he is foolish. That he must not be ashamed if his steps are uncertain, becausewe were all like that when we were little ones, and our fathers did not stop loving us

because of that. Who does not remember the profusion of maternal kisses andpaternal caresses we received every time we fell?"

"The most sweet Father, Who is in Heaven, does the same. He bends over His littleone who is weeping on the ground and says to him: "Do not weep. I will raise you.

Next time you will be more careful. Come into My arms now. Here all your troubleswill cease and you will go away strengthened, cured and happy". That is what our

Father, Who is in Heaven, says. And that is what I say to you. If you could have

faith in the Father, you would succeed in everything. A faith, mind you, like the faith

of a child. A child believes that everything is possible. He does not ask whether andhow something may happen. He does not measure the depth of things. He believes in

those who inspire confidence to him and does what they tell him. Be like childrenwith the Most High. How He loves those stray angels which are the beauty of the

earth! In the same way He loves the souls that become as simple, good and pure as a

child."

"Do you wish to see the faith of a child to learn to have faith? Look. You all feelsorry for the little one whom I am clasping to My chest and who, contrary to what

doctors and his mother said, has not cried while sitting in My lap. See? For a long

time he has done nothing but cry day and night without getting any rest, instead herehe has not cried and has fallen asleep placidly against My heart. I asked him: "Do


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you want to come in My arms?" and he replied: "Yes", without considering hismiserable state, the probable pain he might feel, as a result of being moved. He saw

love on My face, he said: "Yes" and he came. And he felt no pain. He was happy tobe up here, and see things, after being confined to that flat board, he enjoyed lying on

the soft warmth of a body and not on the hard wood, he smiled, he played and he fellasleep still holding a lock of My hair in his tiny hand. I will now wake him with a

kiss..." and Jesus kisses the brown hair of the child who wakes up smiling.

"What is your name?"

"John."

"Listen, John. Do you want to walk? Do you wish to go to your mummy and say to

her: "The Messiah blesses you on account of your faith"?'

"Yes. replies the little one clapping his hands. He then asks: "Will You make mego? On the meadows? No more the ugly hard board? No more the doctors who hurtme?"

"No more, never again."

"Ah! How I love You!" and he throws his arms round Jesus' neck and kisses Him,

and to kiss Him better, with a jump he kneels on Jesus' knees and a hail of kissesdescends on the forehead, the eyes, the cheeks of Jesus.

The child, who had been paralysed up to this point, in his joy, has not even realised

that he has been able to move. But the shouting of his mother and of the crowd,rouses him and he turns round surprised. The large innocent eyes of his thin facelook around inquiringly. Still on his knees, with his right arm round Jesus' neck, he

asks Him confidentially -- pointing at the crowd in tumult and at his mother, whofrom the other end is calling him, joining his name to Jesus' at the same time: "John!Jesus!"

"Why are the people and my mother shouting? What is the matter with them? Are

You Jesus?

"Yes, I am. The people are shouting because they are happy that you can walk.Goodbye, little John" Jesus kisses and blesses him. "Go to your mummy and be

good."

The child, sure of himself, comes off Jesus' knees, runs to his mother, flings his armsround her neck and says: "Jesus blesses You. Why are you crying, then?"

When the crowd has calmed down a little, Jesus says in a thundering voice: "Behavelike little John, you who commit sin and hurt yourselves. Have faith in the love of


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God. Peace be with you."

And while the shouts of the acclaiming crowd are mingled with the happy tears of themother, Jesus leaves the room, escorted by his disciples, and it all ends.

Written by Maria Valtorta. From POEM OF THE MAN-GOD, Volume 1, chapter

125.


You Shall Not Fornicate

Jesus says to me:

"Be patient, My dear soul, with regard to the double

work. This is a period of endurance. You know how

tired I was in My last days?! You see it. When walking

I lean on John, on Peter, on Simon, also on Judas... Yes.

And although miracles emanated from Me, even by

simple contact with My clothes, I was not able to change

that heart! Let Me lean on you, little John, to repeat the

words which I spoke in the last days to those stubborn

dull-minded people who heard the announcement of My

torture without being affected by it. And let the Masterpreach for hours in the sad plain of the Clear Water. And

I shall bless you twice: for your fatigue and for your pity.

I count your efforts, I gather your tears. For your efforts

on behalf of your brothers you will be rewarded as those

who wear themselves out to make God known to men.

The tears shed for My suffering during the last week will

be rewarded with Jesus' kiss. Write and may you be

blessed.


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Jesus is standing on a kind of platform made with boards

in one of the large rooms, the last one, and is speaking in

a very loud voice, near the door, so that He may be heard

by those in the room and also by those in the shed or on

the threshing floor, which is flooded by the rain. The

people standing there in their large dark coarse mantles,

which are proof against water, look like so many lay

brothers. The weakest people are in the room, the

women under the shed, the strongest, mainly men, are in

the yard, in the rain.

Peter, barefooted and wearing only his short tunic and

with a piece of cloth on his head, comes and goes, and isalways in a good humour even if he has to paddle in

water and take unexpected showers. John, Andrew and

James are with him. They are cautiously transferring

from the other room sick people and are guiding or

supporting blind or lame people.

Jesus is patiently waiting for them all to be settled. He is

only sorry that the four disciples are wet like sponges

dipped into a pail of water.

"It is nothing! We are like pitched wood. Don't worry.

We are getting baptised again and the baptiser is God

Himself." replies Peter to Jesus' commiserations.

At last they are all settled and Peter thinks he can go and

put on a dry tunic. And he goes away with the other

three.

But when he comes back again to the Master, he sees the

large grey mantle of the veiled woman appear round the

corner of the shed and he goes towards her without

considering that to do so he must cross the yard

diagonally in a heavy shower of rain which is getting

heavier and heavier, while the water of the pools splashes

up to his knees. He takes her by the elbow, without

displacing her mantle, and pulls her towards the wall of

the large room, out of the rain. He then places himself


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beside her, as stern and still as a sentry.

Jesus sees him and He smiles bending His head to

conceal the brightness of His smile. He starts speaking.

"Those amongst you, who have been coming to Me

regularly, must not say that I do not speak orderly, and

that I skip some of the ten commandments. You hear. I

see. You listen. I apply My speech to the pains and the

sores that I see in you. I am the Doctor. A doctor calls

first on those who are more seriously ill, on those who

are closer to death. He then visits those who are not so

dangerously ill. I do the same."

"Today I say to you: "Do not fornicate".

"Do not look round endeavouring to read the word

"lustful" on somebody's face. Love one another. Would

you love anyone who read that word on your face? No,

you would not. Well, then, do not try to read it in the

worried eyes of your neighbour or on his forehead that

blushes and bows to the ground. And then... Oh! tell Me,

especially you men. Which of you has not tasted thisbread made with ashes and excrement, which is sexual

satisfaction? And is lust only what carries you for one

hour between the arms of a prostitute? Is lust not also

the desecrated union with your wife, desecrated because

it is ratified vice as it is reciprocal sensual satisfaction,

which, however, evades its consequences?"

"Marriage means procreation and its act means

and mustbe fecundation. Otherwise it is immoral. You

must not make a brothel of your nuptial beds. And that

is what they become if they are soiled by lust and are not

consecrated by maternity. The earth does not reject the

seed. It receives it and makes a plant of it. The seed

does not escape from the furrow after being laid there.

But it takes root at once and it strives to grow and bear

fruit, that is the vegetable creature born of the union

between soil and seed. Man is the seed, woman is the


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soil, the fruit is the son. It is sinful to refuse to bear fruit

and scatter strength in vice. It is prostitution performed

on the nuptial bed, and in no way differs from the other

prostitution, on the contrary it is aggravated by

disobedience to the commandment that says: "Be one

flesh and multiply by bearing children".

"Therefor, women deliberately barren, legal and honest

wives in the eyes of the world, but not in the eyes of

God, you can see that you may be considered prostitutes

and you fornicate just the same even if only with your

husbands, because you do not seek maternity but too

often you are only after pleasure. And do you notconsider that pleasure is a poison that contaminates every

mouth that tastes it? It burns with a fire that seems to

satisfy, instead it falls out of the fireplace and devours,

more and more insatiable, leaving a sour taste of ash on

the tongue as well as disgust, nausea and contempt both

of oneself and of the partner in pleasure, because when a

conscience revives, and it does revive between two heats,

one can but feel such contempt of oneself, being lowered

below the level of beasts.

"You shall not fornicate" it is said. A great deal of the

carnal actions of men are fornications. And I do not take

into consideration the inconceivable obsessive union

which Leviticus condemns with the following words:

"Man: you must not lie with a man as with a woman" and

"You must not lie with any animal, you would thereby

become unclean. And woman will do likewise and will

not offer herself to an animal, because it would be a foul

thing". But after mentioning the duty of husband and

wife in marriage, which is no longer holy when it

becomes barren through malice, I am going to speak of

the true and proper fornication between man and woman

performed out of reciprocal vice or for compensation in

money or in gifts."

"The human body is a magnificent temple that contains


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an altar. God should be on the altar. But God is not

where there is corruption. Therefore an impure body has

a desecrated altar without God. Like a drunken person

who wallows in mire and in the regurgitations of his own

drunkenness, man lowers himself in the brutality of

fornication and becomes worse than the most impure

worm and beast."

"Tell Me, if among you there is anyone who has

perverted himself to the extent of dealing with his body

as one deals in fodder or animals at the market, which

benefit did he gain? Take your hearts in your hands,

examine them, question them, listen to them, note theirwounds, their pangs and then tell Me: was the fruit so

sweet as to deserve such pain to a heart that was born

pure and that you have compelled to live in an impure

body, and to beat to give life and heat to lust, and to be

worn out by vice? Tell Me: are you so perverted that you

do not sob secretly, hearing the voice of a child calling:

"mummy", or thinking of your mothers, you women of

pleasure who have run away from home or have been

driven out of them, so that the rotten fruit may not

contaminate with its oozing rottenness the other good

ones? Thinking of your mothers who probably died

broken-hearted, having to say: "I gave birth to disgrace?"

"Do you not feel your hearts shudder with shame, when

you meet an old solemn looking man because of his

white hair and you consider that you have soiled your

fathers' heads with handfuls of mud and have exposed

them to the scorn of their native country?"

"Do you not feel your entrails writhe with regret when

you see a happy wife or an innocent virgin and you have

to say: "I have given up all that and I will never be like

that again!?"

< FONT>

"Do you not realise how miserable you are when you are


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thirsty for the kiss of a child and you dare not say: "Give

me it" because you have killed lives at their birth, you

have rejected them as boring burdens and as a useless

hindrance, detached from the tree that had borne them,

and thrown out to make dung, and now those little lives

shout at you: "murderers!"?

"But, above all, are you not terrified of the Judge Who

created you and is waiting for you to ask you: "What

have you done of yourself? Did I, perhaps, give you life

for that? How dare you come to My presence, you nest

swarming with worms and putrefaction? You have had

everything of what was your god: pleasure. Go to theplace of eternal malediction"."

"Who is weeping? Nobody? Are you saying: nobody?

And yet My soul is going to meet another soul that is

weeping. Why is it going to meet her? To anathematize

her because she is a prostitute? No. Because I feel sorry

for her soul. I feel repulsion for all her filthy body,

sweaty with wanton exertion. But her soul!"

"Oh! Father! Father! Also for this soul I have taken

flesh and I left Heaven to be her Redeemer and the

Redeemer of many souls like hers! Why should I not

pick up this stray sheep and take her to the fold, clean

her, unite her to the flock, give her pastures and a love as

perfect as only Mine can be, so different from the love

that so far she called love, but instead was hatred, such a

pitiful, complete, sweet love that she may no longer

regret the past or may regret it only to say: "Too manydays have I lost away from You, eternal Beauty. Who

will give me back the time I lost? How can I enjoy in the

short time which is left to me, what I would have enjoyed

if I had always been pure?"

"And yet, o soul oppressed by all the lust of the world,

do not weep. Listen: you are a filthy rag. But you can

become a flower once again. You are a dunghill. But

you can become a flower-bed. You are an impure


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animal. But you can become an angel. Once you were an

angel. And you used to dance on the flowery meadows,

a rose amongst the roses, as fresh as they were, sweet-

smelling with virginity. And you happily sang your

childish songs, and then you would run to your mother,

to your father and say to them: "You are my love". And

the invisible guardian who is at the side of each creature

would smile at your blue-white soul... And then? Why?

Why did you tear off your wings, those of a little

innocent being? Why did you tread on the hearts of your

father and mother to run after other unreliable hearts?

Why did you compel your pure voice to utter false

sensual words? Why did you break the stem of the roseand desecrate yourself?"

"Repent, daughter of God. Repentance invigorates,

purifies and elevates. Can man not forgive you? Not

even your father could forgive you? But God can.

Because the bounty of God is not to be compared to

human goodness and His mercy is infinitely greater than

human misery. Honor yourself by making your soul

honorable through an honest life. Justify yourself with

God committing no more sins against your soul. Obtain

from God a new name. That is what matters. You are

vicious. Become honest. Become the sacrifice and the

martyr of your repentance. You knew how to make a

martyr of your heart to give pleasure to your flesh. Now

make a martyr of your flesh to give eternal peace to your

heart."

"Go. You may all go away. Each with his burden and his

thoughts, and meditate. God awaits everybody and

rejects none of those who repent. May God grant you

His light that you may know your souls. Go."

Many go away towards the village. Some go into the

large room. Jesus goes towards the sick people and cures

them.

< FONT group talking low voices corner: gesticulating


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getting excited discussing their various opinions. Some

accuse Christ, defend Him, some exhort both parties

riper judgement. At end, most bitter ones, probably

because fewer than other two groups, take middle course.

go Peter, who carrying away three stretchers people

cured miraculously, are now useless, assail him

overbearingly large room which has become guest-room

for pilgrims. They say him: Man Galilee, listen to us.?

Peter turns round looks as if they were rare animals. He

does speak, but expression his face is wonderful. Simon

casts a glance five furious and then goes out, leaving

them all in lurch.>

One of the five resumes speaking: "I am Samuel, the

scribe; this is Sadoc, another scribe; and this is Eleazar, a

well known and mighty Judaean; and this is

Callascebona, the famous elder; and, finally, this is

Nahum. Do you understand? Nahum!. the tone of his

voice is really bombastic.

Peter bows lightly at each name, but at the last one his

head stops half way and with the greatest indifference hesays: "I don't know. Never heard of it. And... I don't

understand anything."

"You rough fisherman! Bear in mind that he is Annas'

trustee!"

"I don't know Annas; or rather I know many women

whose name is Anna. There is a swarm of them also in

Capernaum. But I don't know of which one he is thetrustee.."

"He? Am I being addressed as "he"?"

What do you want me to say to you? Ass or bird? When

I went to school the teacher taught me to say "he" when

speaking of a man, and, if I am not mistaken, you are a

man."

The man becomes infuriated, as if he were tortured by


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the words. The other man, who spoke first, explains:

"Annas is Caiaphas' father-in-law..."

"Ah!... I see!!! Well?"

"I am telling you that we are indignant!"

"At what? At the weather? I am indignant too. I have

changed my clothes three times and I have no more dry

ones."

"Don't be silly!"

"Silly? It's the truth. If you are not indignant at the

weather, at what then? With the Romans?"

"With your Master! With the false prophet!"

"Hey! Dear Samuel! Be careful because if I wake up I

am like the lake. From dead calm I become stormy in a

moment. So watch how you speak..."

Also the sons of Zebedee and of Alphaeus have come in

together with the Iscariot and Simon and they gather

round Peter who shouts louder and louder.

"You shall not touch with your plebeian hands the great

men of Zion!"

"Oh! The handsome young gentlemen! And you shall

not touch my Master otherwise you will be flying into

the well at once and then you will really get purified,

both internally and externally."

"I wish to draw the attention of the doctors of the Temple

to the fact that this house is a private one," says Simon

calmly. And the Iscariot corroborates the situation

saying: "And I can guarantee that the Master has always

had the greatest respect for other people's houses, and

above all for the House of the Lord. Have the same

respect for His."

"Be quiet, you sly worm."


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"Sly in what? You are disgusting and I came where there

is no disgust. And God grant I have not been completely

corrupted by being with you!"

"Summing up: what do you want?" asks James ofAlphaeus sharply.

"And who are you?"

"I am James of Alphaeus, and Alphaeus of James, and

James of Matan, and Matan of Eleazar, and if you wish

so, I will mention all my ancestors up to king David from

whom I descend. And I am a cousin of the Messiah. So I

ask you to speak to me, since I am of the royal familyand a Judaean, if your arrogance feels disgust in speaking

to an honest Israelite who knows God better than

Gamaliel and Caiaphas. So, speak up."

"Your Master and relative gets prostitutes to follow

Him. That veiled woman is one of them. I saw her

while she was selling some gold. And I recognised her.

She is Shammai's lover and has run away from him.

Which is a disgrace to him."

"To whom? To Shammai the rabbi? In that case she

must be an old crock. And thus out of danger..." remarks

the Iscariot teasingly.

"Be quiet, you fool! To Shammai of Elchi, Herod's

favourite."

"Well now! It means that she is no longer particularly

fond of the favorite. She has to go to bed with him. Not

you. Why worry then?" Judas Iscariot is superlatively

ironical.

"Man, do you not think that you are dishonouring

yourself by playing the spy?" asks Judas of Alphaeus.

"And do you not consider that he dishonors himself who

lowers himself to commit a sin, not he who endeavours

to save a sinner? Why is my Master and brother

dishonoured, if, when speaking, His voice reaches also


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the ears profaned by the slaver of lustful people in

Zion?"

"His voice? Ah! Ah! Your Master and cousin is thirty

years old and He is a greater hypocrite than the others.And you all sleep soundly at night..."

"You vile reptile. Get out of here or I will strangle you,"

shouts Peter, and James and John echo his words, while

Simon simply says: "Shame on you! Yourhypocrisy is so

great that it regurgitates and overflows and you slaver

like a snail on a pure flower. Go out and become a

man, because now you are but slaver.I recognise you,

Samuel. Your heart is always the same. May God

forgive you. Go away from my presence."

While the Iscariot and James of Alphaeus are holding

Peter, who is seething with anger, Judas Thaddeus, who

more than ever is now like his Cousin, having the same

blue flashing look and stately expression, says in a

thundering voice: "He dishonours himself who

dishonours an innocent person. God gave us sight and

speech to accomplish holy deeds. A slanderer misuses

and degrades them, employing them for evil deeds. I

will not soil myself by a rude deed offensive to your

white hair. But I will remind you that wicked people

hate an upright man and a fool vents his spleen without

considering that he betrays himself. Who lives in

darkness mistakes a branch in bloom for a reptile. But

who lives in light sees things as they are, and if they are

denigrated, he defends them for justice' sake. We live inlight. We are the chaste, beautiful generation of the

children of light, and our Leader is the Holy One Who

knows neither woman nor sin. We follow Him and

defend Him from His enemies, Whom He has taught us

not to hate but to pray for. Old as you are, you may learn

from a young man, who has become ripe because

Wisdom is his teacher, not to be so quick in speaking and

not good at all in doing good. Go. And inform those


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who sent you that God rests on His glory in this poor

dwelling, not in the desecrated house which is on mount

Moriah. Goodbye."

The five men dare not reply and they go away.

The disciples discuss whether they should tell Jesus Who

is still with the people He has cured. They decide it is

better to inform Him. They go to meet Him, they call

Him and they tell Him.

Jesus smiles peacefully and replies: "Thank you for

defending Me. . . but what can you do? One gives what

one has."

"However, they are not entirely wrong. We have eyes to

see and many people do see. She is always out there,

like a dog. It does You no good." say many of the

disciples.

"Leave her alone. She will not be the stone that will

strike My head. And if she is saved... it is well worth

being criticised for such a joy!"

It all ends on that sweet reply.

Written by Maria Valtorta. FromPOEM OF THE MAN-

GOD, volume #1, chapter 123.


Copyright 1986 by Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, srl, Isola del

Liri, Italy. All rights reserved in all countries.


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Sinai Gustave Dore

You shall not take My Name in vain

hey are so restless that they look like a beehive which has been upset. They speak and cast sidelong glances

bout what is worrying them and Peter says to John: Go and look for the Master. He is in the wood near th

runs away.reason for so much excitement and unkindness. I would have gone and welcomed him with full honours

his foster brother.. But who lives with hyenas catches their smell and instinct. In any case, you would lik


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want, and I have to protect her. If you touch her I am not the Master Just for your information. eautiful Herodias?

watch over her, like a queen is not disturbed and respect her". And that is what I am doing. homas.

t many of them.r certainly knows. But I don't. him everything.

ur brother a god?

ays James of Alphaeus. My brother saw her yesterday, when he was coming back from the river with theface. She is a soul seeking God. She is nothing else for Me and I want her to be so for every body ". And

g like a cockerel.

m Jesus? mple. We, people of the lake, earn our bread working, not informing. Never be afraid of an accusation frog the Master, because I am here re ignorant than you are. I know, but it does not worry me. I would worry if I were like you as far as my h

t is there in my heart that is so disgusting? Speak, accuse me, offend me Zealot and Bartholomew. Stop it, Judas. Respect Peter's grey hair. what there is in me

There is pride, enough to fill this kitchen, there is falsehood and lust.

be quiet.my friend, if I say something to you. He has his fault

A Vision of Paul and the Early Martyrs

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