 Adoration of the Magi. Peter Paul Rubens | |
|
POEM OF THE MAN-GOD, Chapter 34. The Adoration of the Wise Men.
"My internal voice warns me: "Call the contemplations you are about to receive and which I will tell you, 'The Gospels of faith', because they will clarify for you and other people the power of faith and its fruits and will confirm you in the faith in God." I see Bethlehem, small and white, gathered like a brood of chickens under the stars...it is night. There is nobody in the streets, as it is so late. I notice that the night light is increasing; it descends from a sky crowded with stars, which are so beautiful in the eastern sky: they are so bright and large and seemingly so near that it is possible to reach out and touch those flowers sparkling in the velvet of the vault of Heaven. I raise my eyes to see the source of the increasing light. A star of such unusual size that the moon seems small in comparison, is moving forward in the sky of Bethlehem. And all the others seem to vanish and make room for it, as maidservants do when their queen passes by: its brightness is such that it outshines them all. From the sphere, which looks like a huge pale sapphire lit up internally by a sun, a trail departs in which blond topazes, green emeralds, opalescent opals, blood-red flashes of rubies and gentle sparklings of amethysts mingle with the prevailing pale sapphire. All the stones on earth are in the trail that sweeps the sky with a fast and undulating movement as if it were alive. But the prevailing color is the one emanating from the globe of the star: the heavenly pale sapphire hue which comes down and makes the houses, the streets, the ground of Bethlehem, the Savior's cradle, look like blue silver. It is no longer the poor town, which by our standards is smaller than a country village. It is a fantastic town of a fairy tale, all in silver. And the water of the fountains and of the vessels is liquid diamond. And with a brighter radiation of light the star stops over the little house on the narrowest side of the square. Neither the people dwelling in it, nor the people in Bethlehem see it, because they are all asleep in their closed houses, but the star quickens its shining pulsations and the trail vibrates and wavers faster and faster drawing a kind of semicircle in the sky. And the sky lights up because of the net of stars drawn by the trail, a net full of precious jewels which shine and color all the other stars with the most graceful hues, as if they were communicating their own joy to them. The little house is transfigured by the liquid fire of gems. The roof of the small terrace, the dark stone steps, the little door, are like a block of pure silver sprayed with diamond and pearl dust. No royal palace on earth has ever had or ever will have a staircase like this one, built to be used by angels and by a Mother Who is the Mother of God. The little feet of the Immaculate Virgin can alight on that white splendor, the little feet which are destined to rest on the steps of God's throne. But the Virgin does not know. She is awake near Her Son's cradle and is praying. There are splendors in Her soul which outdo the splendor with which the star is decorating material things. From the main road a cavalcade is approaching. Harnessed horses are led by hand, dromedaries and camels bear riders or are carrying loads. Their hooves make the sound of water that rustles and breaks against the stones of a torrent. When they reach the square, they all stop. The cavalcade, lit up by the star, is a fantasy of splendor. The harnesses of the most rich mounts, the clothes of the riders, their faces, their baggage, everything shines and the light of the star increases the splendor of metals, leathers, silks, gems, coats. Eyes are radiant and mouths smiling because another splendor shines in their hearts: the splendor of a supernatural joy. While the servants move towards the carvansary with the animals, three members of the caravan dismount from their mounts, which a servant takes away at once, and they walk towards the house. And they prostrate themselves, touching the ground with their foreheads, to kiss the soil. They are three personages of power as is quite obvious from their very rich attire. One of them, of a very dark complexion, who dismounts from a camel, envelops himself in a sciamma (Ethiopian garment) of pure bright silk, held tight to his waist by a precious girdle, from which a dagger or sword hangs with a jewel-studded hilt. Of the other two, who dismount from two splendid horses, one is wearing a beautiful striped robe, the dominant color of which is yellow, fashioned like a long domino with hood and cordon, which looks like a piece of gold filigree owing to the very rich golden embroidery. The third one is wearing a silk shirt puffing out of long large trousers, narrow at the ankles. He is enveloped in a very fine shawl which resembles a flowery garden, so bright are the flowers decorating it. On his head he has a turban held by a little chain covered with diamond settings. After venerating the house where the Savior is, they rise and go to the caravansary (square and hotel for caravans) where the servants have knocked and had the door opened. And the vision ends here. It starts again, three hours later, with the scene of the Magi adoring Jesus. It is daytime now. The sun is shining in the afternoon sky. One of the servants of the three Magi crosses the square and climbs the steps of the little house. He goes in. He comes out and goes back to the hotel. The three Magi come out, each followed by his own servant. They cross the square. The occasional passers-by turn round to look at the stately personages who are walking very slowly and solemnly. A full quarter of an hour has elapsed since the servant came out and thus the inhabitants of the little house have had time to prepare to receive the guests. The Magi are even more richly dressed than the night before. Their silks shine, the gems sparkle, a big bunch of precious feathers, covered with even more precious chips, quivers and shines on the head of the Wise Man wearing the turban. One of the servants is carrying an inlaid coffer, the metal reinforcements of which are all engraved gold; the second servant is holding a beautifully wrought chalice covered with a pure gold lid which is even more finely finished; the third servant has a kind of wide low amphora, also in gold, the cover of which is shaped like a pyramid at the top of which there is a diamond. The gifts appear to be heavy, because the servants are carrying them with some effort, particularly the one with the coffer. The Magi climb the steps and go in. They enter a room that extends from the road to the back of the house. The little kitchen garden at the back can be seen though a window which is open to the sun. There are doors in the other two walls, and the owners, that is a man, a woman and some boys and younger children cast sidelong glances through them. Mary is sitting with the Child in Her lap and Joseph is standing near Her. But She also gets up and bows when She sees the Magi entering. She is all dressed in white. She is so beautiful in Her plain white dress which covers Her from Her neck down to Her feet, from Her shoulders to Her slender wrists. She is so beautiful with Her head crowned with Her blond plaits, Her face more rosy for the emotion, with Her eyes smiling so sweetly while Her mouth gives a greeting: "May God be with you", that the three Magi stop for a moment, completely astonished. They then proceed and prostrate themselves at Her feet. And they ask Her to sit down. They do not sit down, although She asks them to do so. They remain kneeling, relaxing on their heels. Behind them, also on their knees, are the three servants. They are immediately after the threshold. They have placed three gifts they were carrying in front of the Magi, and now they are waiting. The three Wise Men contemplate the Child, Who I think must be nine to twelve months old. He is so lively and strong. He is sitting on His Mother's lap and smiles and prattles with a shrill voice like a little bird. He is all dressed in white like His Mother, with tiny sandals on His little feet. His dress is a very simple one: a small tunic, from which His restless feet protrude, and His plump little hands which would like to get hold of everything, and above all, a most beautiful little face in which two dark blue eyes shine, and a pretty mouth with dimples at the sides shows its first tiny teeth when it smiles. His pretty little curls are so bright and soft that they seem gold dust. The oldest of the Magi speaks on behalf of them all. He explains to Mary that one night the previous December, they saw a new star of an unusual brightness appear in the sky. The maps of the sky had never shown or mentioned such a star. Its name was unknown because it had no name. Born out of the bosom of God, it had flourished to tell men a blessed truth, a secret of God. But men had not paid any attention to it, because their souls were steeped in mud. They did not lift their eyes to God neither could they read the words that He writes with stars of fire in the vault of Heaven. May He be blessed for ever. They had seen it and had striven to understand its meaning. They were happy to give up the little sleep they usually granted themselves and forgetting even their food, they devoted themselves entirely to studying the zodiac. And the conjunctions of the stars, the time, the season, the calculation of the hours passed and of the astronomic combinations had told them the name and secret of the star. Its name: "Messiah". Its secret: "The Messiah had come to our world." And they had set out to worship Him. Each of them unknown to the others. Over mountains, across deserts, along valleys and rivers, travelling by night they had come towards Palestine, because the star was moving in that direction. Each of them unknown to the others. For each of them, from three different points on earth, it was going in that direction. And then they met beyond the Dead Sea. God's will had gathered them there, and they then proceeded together, understanding one another, notwithstanding that each spoke his own language: by a miracle of the Eternal Father they were able to understand and speak the language of each country. They had gone together to Jerusalem, because the Messiah was to be the King of Jerusalem, the King of the Jews. But over the sky of that city, the star had concealed itself and they felt their hearts breaking with pain and had examined themselves to ascertain whether they had failed to deserve God. But when their consciences reassured them, they had applied to king Herod and had asked him in which royal palace the King of the Jews was born because they had come to adore Him. And the king had gathered the chief priests and the scribes and had asked them where the Messiah might be born. And they replied: "In Bethlehem, in Judah.”. And they had come towards Bethlehem and as soon as they left the Holy City, the star had reappeared to them, and the night before their arrival in Bethlehem its brightness had increased; the whole sky was ablaze. Then the star had stopped over this house engulfing all the light of the other stars in its ray. And they had understood that the Divine New-Born Baby was there. And now they were worshipping Him, offering their gifts, and above all, their hearts, which never cease thanking God for the grace granted to them; neither would they ever stop loving His Son Whose holy human body they had now seen. Later they intened to go back to king Herod, because he also wanted to adore Him. In the meantime, here is the gold which befits a king to possess, here is the incense which befits a God, and here, Mother, here is the myrrh because Your Child is a Man as well as God and He will experience the bitterness of the flesh and of human life as well as the inevitable law of death. Our souls, full as they are of love, would prefer not to utter those words and we would rather think that His flesh is also eternal as His Spirit. But, Woman, if our writings and above all our souls are right, He is Your Son, the Savior, the Christ of God and consequently, to save the world, He will have to take upon Himself the evil of the world, of which one of the punishments is death. This myrrh is for that hour. That His holy flesh may not be subject to the rot of putrefaction, but may preserve its integrity until its resurrection. And on account of this gift, may He remember us and save His servants by allowing them to enter His Kingdom. In the meantime that we may be sanctified, will You, Mother, trust Your Little One to our love. That His heavenly blessing may descend upon us, while we kiss His feet.” Mary, Who has overcome the fright caused by the words of the Wise Man, and has hidden with a smile the sadness of the doleful allusion, offers the Child. She lays Him in the arms of the oldest one, who kisses Him and receives His caress, and he then hands Him over to the other two. Jesus smiles and plays with the little chains and fringes of the robes of the three Magi and He looks curiously at the open coffer, full of a yellow sparkling substance, and He smiles at the rainbow produced by the sun shining on the brilliant top of the lid of the myrrh. They then hand back the Child to Mary and they stand up. Mary also gets up. They bow to one another, after the youngest has given an order to the servant, who goes out. The three Men go on speaking for a little while. They cannot make up their minds to depart from the house. Tears shine in their eyes. At last they move towards the door, accompanied by Mary and Joseph. The Child waned to get down and give His hand to the oldest of the three, and He walks thus, held by His hands by Mary and the Wise Man, both of whom bend down to steady Him. Jesus walks with a hesitant step, like all children, and He laughs kicking His little feet on the strip of the floor lit up by the sun. When they reach the threshold--it must not be forgotten that the room is as long as the house--the Magi take leave kneeling down once again kissing Jesus' feet. Mary, bending down over the Child, takes His hand and guides it, in a blessing gesture over the head of each Wise Man. It is already a sign of the cross, traced by Jesus' little fingers, guided by Mary. The three Men go down the steps. The caravan is already there waiting for them. The horses' studs shine in the setting sun. People have gathered in the little square watching the unusual sight. Jesus laughs clapping His hands. His Mother has lifted Him up on the wide parapet of the landing and is holding Him against Her breast with Her arm so that He may not fall. Joseph has gone down with the Magi and is holding the stirrup to each of them while they mount their horses and the camel. Servants and masters are now all on horseback. The starting command is given. The three Men bow down as low as the necks of their mounts in a final gesture of homage. Joseph bows down. Also Mary bows and then She guides Jesus' hand again in a gesture of goodbye and blessing. | |
Written by Maria Valtorta
|