Do not weep. You have also heard Me say:ay: "I am going to the Father and
then I will come back". If you loved Me beyond the flesh, you would
rejoice, because I am going to the Father after such a long exile… I am
going to Him Who is greater than I am and Who loves Me. I have told you
now, before it takes place, as I informed you of all the sufferings of
the Redeemer, before going to them, so that, when everything is
fulfilled, you may believe more and more in Me. Do not be so upset! Do
not be frightened. You hearts are in need of balance…I
have not much more time to speak to you… but I have so much to say! Now
that I have come to the end of My evangelization, I feel that I have
not said anything yet, and that there is still so much to be done. Your
mood increases My feeling. So, what shall I say? That I failed in My
task? Or that you are so hard-hearted that My work has been of no avail?
Shall I be in doubt about you? No. I rely on God and I entrust you, My
beloved ones, to Him. He will complete the work of His Word. I am not
like a father who dies without having any other light but the human one.
I hope in God. And, although within Myself I feel the urgency of all
the advice, of which I see you are in need, and I realise that time
flies, I am going towards My destiny with a quiet mind. I know that the
dew is about to descend on the seeds sown in you and it will make all of
them spring up, then the sun of the Paraclete will come and they will
become mighty trees. The prince of this world, with whom I have nothing
to do, is about to come. And if it were not for the purpose of
redemption, he would not have had any power over Me. But that is
happening so that the world may know that I love My Father and I love
Him so much that I will obey Him even to death, and I will, therefore,
do what He ordered Me to do.
It
is time to go. Stand up. And listen to My last words. I am the true
Vine. The Father is the Vinedresser. Every branch that bears no fruit He
cuts, and the one that does bear fruit He prunes, to make it bear even
more. You are already purified by My word. Remain in Me and I will
remain in you to continue to be so. The branch cut off from the vine
cannot bear fruit. The same applies to you, if you do not remain in Me. I
am the Vine and you are the branches. Whoever remains united to Me
bears fruit in plenty. But if one is cut off, one becomes a dry branch
and is thrown on the fire and burns there. Because, if you are not
united to Me, you can do nothing. So remain in Me and let My words
remain in you, then ask for whatever you want, and it will be done to
you. My Father will always be the more glorified, the more you bear
fruit and are My disciples.
As
the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Remain in My love that
saves. By loving Me you will be obedient, and obedience increases mutual
love. Do not say that I am repeating Myself. I am aware of your
weakness. And I want you to be saved. I have told you this so that the
joy I wanted to give you may be in you and may be complete. Love one
another, love one another! This is My new commandment. Love one another
more than each of you loves himself. There is no greater love than that
of a man who lays down his life for his friends. You are My friends and I
will lay down my life for you. Do what I teach and order you to do. I
will no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what
his master does, whereas you know what I do. You know everything about
Me. I have made known to you not only Myself, but also the Father and
the Paraclete, and everything I heard from God. You did not choose
yourselves. But I chose you and I elected you, so that you may go among
peoples and you may bear fruit in yourselves and in the hearts of those
who are evangelized, and your fruit may remain, and the Father may give
you everything you will ask of Him in My name.
Do
not say: "So, if You chose us, why did You choose a betrayer. If You
know everything, why did You do that?" Do not even ask who he is. He is
not a man. He is Satan. I said so to My faithful friend and I let My
beloved son say so. He is Satan. If Satan, the eternal mimic of God, had
not become incarnate in human flesh, this possessed man could not have
escaped My power of Jesus. I said: "possessed". No. He is much more: he
is annihilated in Satan. »
« Since You have driven demons away, why did you not free him? » asks James of Alphaeus.
« Are you asking that for your own sake, fearing that you are the one? Be not afraid of that. »
« I, then? »
« I? »
« I? »
« Be quiet. I am not mentioning that name. I am being merciful, do likewise. »
« But why did You not defeat him? Could You not do that? »
« I
could. But in order to prevent Satan from taking bodily form to kill
Me, I should have had to exterminate the human race before Redemption.
So what would I have redeemed? »
« Tell
me, Lord, tell me! » Peter has fallen on his knees and he shakes Jesus
phrenetically as if he were a prey to frenzy. « Is it I? Is it I? Shall I
examine my own conscience? I do not think so. But You… You said that I
will disown You… And I am quivering… Oh' how horrible if it is I!… »
« No, Simon of Jonah. It is not you. »
« Why
are You depriving me of my name "Peter"? So am I Simon again? See? You
are saying so!… It is I! But how could I? Tell me tell me, all of you
When was it that I became a traitor?… Simon?… John"… Tell me! »
« Peter,
Peter, Peter! I am calling you Simon because I am thinking of our first
meeting, when you were Simon. And I am thinking how you have always
been loyal since the first moment. It is not you. I, the Truth, am
telling you. »
« Who, then? »
« It is Judas of Kerioth! Have you not yet understood that? » shouts Thaddeus, who can no longer restrain himself.
« Why did you not tell me before? Why? » shouts Peter as well.
« Silence. It is Satan. He has no other name. Where are you going, Peter? »
« To look for him. »
« Leave that mantle and that weapon at once. Or shall I drive you away and curse you? »
« No,
no! Oh! my Lord! But I… but I… Have I become delirious, have I? Oh!
Oh! » Peter has thrown himself on the ground and is weeping at Jesus'
feet.
« I
give you My commandment: love and forgive one another. Have you
understood? Even if in the world there is hatred, let only love be in
you. For everybody. How many traitors you will find on your way! But you
must not hate them and return evil for evil. Otherwise the Father will
hate you. I have been hated and betrayed, long before you. And yet, as
you can see, I do not hate. The world cannot love what is different from
it. Therefore it will not love you. If you belonged to it, it would
love you; but you are not of the world, as I took you away from the
world. And that is why you are hated.
I
said to you: a servant is not greater than his master. If they have
persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well. If they have listened to
Me, they will listen to you, too. But they will do everything because
of My Name, since they do not know, they do not want to know Him Who
sent Me. If I had not come and I had not spoken, they would not be
guilty. But now their sin has no excuse. They have seen My deeds, they
have heard My words, and yet they have hated Me, and the Father with Me.
Because the Father and I are one Unit only with the Love. But it was
written: "You hated me for no reason". But when the Comforter comes, the
Spirit of truth Who proceeds from the Father, He will bear witness of
Me, and you also will witness for Me, because you have been with Me
since the beginning.
I
am telling you this so that, when the hour comes, you may not be
depressed and scandalised. The time is about to come when they will
expel you from synagogues, and those who kill you will think that they
are doing a holy duty for God. They have not known either the Father or
Me. That is their excuse. I have not told you these things
so extensively, before this hour, because you were just like new-born
babies. But the mother is now leaving you. I am going away. You must
become accustomed to other food. I want you to know.
Not
one of you has asked Me again: "Where are You going?". Sadness is
making you dumb. And yet My going away is a good thing also for you.
Otherwise the Comforter will not come. I will send Him to you. And when
He has come, through the wisdom and the words, the deeds and the heroism
that He will infuse into You, He will convince the world of its deicide
sin, and of justice with regard to My holiness. And a clear cut will
divide the world into reprobates, enemies of God, and believers. The
latter will be more or less holy, according to their will. But judgement
will be passed on the prince of the world and his servants. I cannot
tell you more, because you are not yet able to understand. But He, the
Paraclete, will give you the whole Truth, because He will not speak as
from Himself. But He will tell you everything He heard from the Mind of
God and will announce the future to you. He will take what comes from
Me, that is, what is still of the Father, and will tell you.
There is still a short time to see one another. Then you will no longer see Me. And then a short time later you will see Me.
You are grumbling among yourselves and in your hearts. Listen to a parable. The last one of your Master.
When
a woman has conceived and the hour of delivery comes, she is in great
distress, because she suffers and groans. But when her little child is
born and she presses it to her heart, all her pain comes to an end and
her sorrow changes into joy, because a man has come into the world.
The
same applies to you. You will weep and the world will laugh at you. But
later your sorrow will change into joy. A joy that the world will never
know. You are sad now. But when you see Me again, your hearts will be
filled with a joy of which no one will ever be able to deprive you. Such
a full joy, that it will obliterate every need of yours to ask for
anything for your minds, hearts and bodies. You will feed on seeing Me
again, and you will forget everything else. And just from that moment
you will be able to ask for anything in My name, and it will be given to
you by the Father, so that your joy may be greater and greater. Ask, do
ask. And you will receive.
The
time is coming when I shall be able to speak to you of the Father in
plain words. That will happen because you will have been faithful in the
trial and everything will have been overcome. So your love will be
perfect, as it will have given you strength in the trial. And what you
are short of, I will add it for you, taking it from My immense treasure
and saying: "Father, as You can see, they have loved Me believing that I
came from You". Having descended into the world, now I leave it and I am going to the Father, and I will pray for you. »
« Oh!
now You are explaining things clearly. Now we know what You mean and
that You know everything and that You give answers without being
questioned by anybody. You really come from God! »
« Do
you believe now? At the last hour? I have spoken to You for three
years! But the Bread that is God and the Wine that is Blood that did not
come from man is already working in you, and is giving you the first
thrill of deification. You will become gods if you persevere in My love
and in My possession. Not as Satan said to Adam and Eve, but as I say to
you. It is the true fruit of the tree of Good and of Life. Evil is
defeated in him who feeds on it, and Death is dead. He who eats of it
will live for ever and will become "god" in the Kingdom of God. You will
be gods if you remain in Me. And yet now… although you have this Bread
and this Blood in yourselves, as the hour is coming in which you will be
scattered, you will go away on your own account and will leave Me all
alone… But I am not alone. I have the Father with Me. Father, Father! Do
not abandon Me! I have told you everything… To give you peace. My
peace. You will still have trouble. But have faith. I have conquered the
world. »
Jesus
stands up, He opens His arms out crosswise and with His face shining
brightly He says the sublime prayer to the Father. John quotes it
integrally.
The apostles are shedding tears more or less openly and noisily. As a last thing, they sing a hymn.
Jesus
blesses them. He then says to them: « Let us put on our manntles now.
And let us go. Andrew, tell the owner of the house to leave everything
as it is, as I want that. Tomorrow… you will be pleased see this place
again. » Jesus looks at it. He seems to be blessing walls, furniture,
everything. He then puts on His mantle and sets out, followed by the
disciples. Beside Him there is John on whom He leans.
« Are you not saying goodbye to Your Mother? » Zebedee's son asks Him.
« No. Everything has already been done. Furthermore, make no noise. »
Simon,
who has lit a torch at the chandelier, illuminates the wide corridor
that leads to the door. Peter opens the main door cautiously and they
all go out into the street, and then, working a gadget, they close the
door from outside. And they start off.
--------------------
17th February 1944.
Jesus says:
« In addition to the consideration on the love of a God Who becomes Food for men, four main teachings stand out from the episode of the Supper.
The First: the necessity for all the children of God to obey the Law.
The
Law prescribed that a lamb was to be consumed at Passover according to
the ritual given to Moses by the Most High, and I, the true Son of the
true God, did not consider Myself exempted, because of My divine
quality, from the Law. I was on the Earth: Man among men and the Master
of men. I had, therefore, to do My duty towards God as and better than
anybody else. Divine favours do not dispense from being obedient and
from making an effort towards a greater and greater holiness. If you
compare the most sublime holiness with divine perfection, you will
always find it full of defects, and consequently it is obliged to strive
to eliminate them and achieve a degree of perfection as similar as
possible to God's.
The second: the power of Mary's prayer.
I
was God Who had become Flesh. A Flesh, that being without stain, had
the spiritual strength of dominating the flesh. And I do not refuse, on
the contrary I implore the help of the Full of Grace, Who in that hour
of expiation would have also found Heaven closed over Her head, that is
true, but not to the extent that She should not succeed in detaching and
angel from it, since She is the Queen of angels, to console Her Son.
Oh! Not for Herself, poor Mother! She also has tasted the bitter
abandonment by the Father, but by means of that suffering offered for
Redemption, She obtained and made it possible for Me to overcome the
anguish of the Garden of Olives and to bring the Passion to completion
in all its multiform bitterness, each of which aimed at cleansing a form
and a means of sin.
The
third: self-control and endurance of offences, the sublime charitable
attitude towards all offences, as can be possessed only by those who
make the Law of Charity the life of their lives, as I had proclaimed.
And I had not only proclaimed it, but I had really practised it.
You
cannot imagine what it was for Me to have the Traitor at My table, to
have to give Myself to him, and humiliate Myself before him, to have to
share with him the ritual chalice, and put My lips where he had put his,
and make My Mother do the same. Your doctors have discussed and still
discuss the rapidity of My end and they say it originated in a heart
lesion brought about by the blows of the scourging. Yes, My heart was
injured also by those blows. But it had already been damaged at the
Supper. I was heart-broken by the effort of having to endure the Traitor
at My side. It was at the Supper that I began to die physically. What
followed was only au increase of an already existing agony. What I was
able to do, I did it because I was all one with the Love. Also when the
God-Love withdrew from Me, I was able to be love, because I had lived of
love during my thirty-three years. It is not possible to reach
perfection, as
is required to forgive and put up with our offender, if one has ,lot
acquired the habit of love. I had acquired it, and I was able to forgive
and bear that masterpiece of an Offender, which was Judas.
The
fourth: the more one is worthy of receiving a Sacrament, the greater is
its effect. That is: if one has become worthy of it through persevering
good will, that subdues the flesh and makes the spirit sovereign,
mastering concupiscences, directing one's being towards virtues, bending
it like a bow towards the perfection and above all of Love.
Because,
when you love, you are inclined to make the person you love happy.
John, who loved Me as nobody else did, and who was pure, received the
utmost transformation from the Sacrament. He began as from that moment
to be the eagle, that is accustomed to soaring easily in the High Heaven
of God and staring at the eternal Sun. But woe to him who receives the
Sacrament without being worthy of it, and who, on the contrary, has
increased his human unworthiness with mortal sins. Then instead of being
the germ preservation and life, it becomes the germ of corruption and
death. Death of the spirit and decomposition of the flesh, whereby it
"bursts", as Peter says with regard to Judas. It does not shed blood,
the vital liquid always beautiful in its purple hue, but its entrails
burst out, blackened by lechery, rottenness pouring out of the
decomposed body, as out of the carrion of an unclean animal, a
disgusting sight for passersby.
The
death of the profaner of the Sacrament is always the death of a
desperate person who, therefore, does not know the placid passing away
peculiar to those who are in grace, or the heroic death of the victim
who suffers intensely but looks fixedly at Heaven and feels certain
peace in the soul. The death of one in despair is marked dreadful
contortions and terror, it is a horrible convulsion of the soul already
gripped by the hand of Satan, who chokes it to detach From the body and
suffocates it with his nauseating breath. That "he difference between
those who pass away after being nourished with love, faith, hope and
every other virtue and heavenly doctrine and with the angelical Bread
that accompanies them with its fruit better still if with its real
presence - in the last journey, and those who pass away, after the life
of a brute, with the death of a brute that Grace and the Sacrament
cannot comfort. The former is the serene end of a saint, to whom death
opens the eternal Kingdom. The latter is the frightful fall of a damned
soul, that feels it is falling into eternal death and in a moment knows
what it wanted to lose and for which it can no longer find any remedy.
Acquisition and joy for the former; despoilment and terror for the
latter.
This
is what you give yourselves, according to whether you believe and love,
or you do not believe and you deride My gift. And it is the lesson of
this contemplation. »
Maria Valtorta
The Poem of the Man God
Maria Valtorta
The Poem of the Man God