(Mary and Joseph are betrothed, but not yet living together. Joseph is not aware of the recent visit of the Angel Gabriel to Mary, of Her “yes” to become the Mother of Jesus, and of the news that Mary’s cousin Elizabeth is also to become a mother. The scene is Mary’s house in Nazareth, and Joseph is visiting…)
Joseph tells Mary how he spent the day. He talks of his little nephews, and he takes an interest in Mary's work and in Her flowers. He promises to bring Her some beautiful flowers which the Centurion has promised him…
Mary smiles and thanks him. Then there is silence. Joseph looks at Mary's fair head bowed over Her embroidery. A look of angelical love. If an angel were to love a woman with the love of a husband, he would look at her like this.
Then Mary, as if She were taking a sudden decision, lays the embroidery on Her lap and says: « I also have something to tell you. I never have anything to say, because you know how retired I live. But today I have some news. I heard that our relative Elizabeth, Zacharias' wife, is about to have a child… »
Joseph opens his eyes wide and exclaims: « At her age? »
« At her age » replies Mary, smiling. « The Lord can do everything, and now He is giving this joy to our relative. »
« How do you know? Is the news certain? »
« A messenger came. One who would not tell lies. I would like to go to Elizabeth's, to help her and tell her that I am rejoicing with her. If you will allow Me… »
« Mary, You are my lady, and I am Your servant. Whatever You do is well done. When would You like to go? »
« As soon as possible. But I shall be away for some months. »
« And I will count the days waiting for You. Go, and don't worry. I will look after the house and Your little garden. You will find the flowers as beautiful as if You had taken care of them. Only… wait. Before Passover I must go to Jerusalem to buy certain things for my work. If You can wait for a few days, I will come with You as far as Jerusalem. I can't go any farther, because I must hurry back. But we can go there together. I will be happier if I know that You are not on the road by Yourself. When You want to come back, You can let me know and I will come and meet You. »
« You are so good, Joseph. May the Lord reward you with His blessings, and keep sorrow away from you. I always pray to Him for that. »
The chaste couple smile at each other angelically. There is silence again for a little while.
Then Joseph gets up. He puts his mantle on and he covers his head with the hood. He says goodbye to Mary Who has also got up, and he goes out.
Mary looks at him going out, and She sighs rather sadly. She then lifts Her eyes to Heavens. She is certainly praying…
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(Mary says to Maria Valtorta:)
« While I was praying, the Spirit of Whom I was full, said to Me: "Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You with Your spouse". When? How? I did not ask… The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far. It would do so also now…
I obeyed the divine command. And for months after that moment, I felt the first wound pierce My heart.
It was the first pain in My destiny of Co-Redeemer. I offered and suffered it in atonement, and to give you a guidance for similar circumstances in life, when it is necessary to suffer in silence for an event that casts a bad light on you, in relation to those who love you.
Entrust God with the protection of your reputation and affections. If you deserve God's protection with a holy life, you can proceed safely. Even if the whole world is against you, He will defend you with regard to those who love you, and He will cause the truth to be known… »
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(Returning to the events of the Gospel, Joseph accompanies Mary - each riding a donkey - to Jerusalem, where he finds a trustworthy old man to travel with Her to the home of Elizabeth and Zacharias. When Mary arrives there, She rings a bell at the gate. A little old man appears, and he opens the gate for Her…)
As soon as She is inside, Mary says: « I am Mary of Joachim and Anne, from Nazareth. I am your masters' cousin ».
The man bows down and welcomes Her… And while taking the donkey in, he exclaims: « Oh! What a great happiness, and what an upheaval to this household! Heaven has granted a child to the barren one, may the Most High be blessed! But seven months ago, Zacharias came back dumb from Jerusalem. He now makes him-self understood by gestures or by writing. Perhaps You already know. My landlady has longed so much for You, in this joy and this travail! She always spoke to Sarah about You, and she would say: "If I only had little Mary with Me! I wish She were still in the Temple! I would send Zacharias to fetch Her. But now the Lord wanted Her married to Joseph of Nazareth. She is the only one who can comfort me in my pain and help me to pray to God, because She is so good. And they all miss Her in the Temple… He then shouts: « Sarah, Sarah! » [and tells Mary] « My wife is a little deaf. But come, please, I'll show You the way. »
Instead of Sarah, a fairly old woman appears at the top of the staircase on one side of the house. Her face is all wrinkles, and her hair is very grey. It must have been very black at one time, because her eyelashes and eyebrows are still very dark. Also from the colour of her face one can tell that she was swarthy. Her present very obvi-ous pregnant condition is a strange contradiction to her evident old age, notwithstanding her wide and loose dress. She looks down, shading her eyes with her hand. As soon as she recognizes Mary, she raises her arms to the sky, and utters an « Oh! » of joy and surprise. She then rushes, as fast as she can, towards Mary. Also Mary, who always moves very quietly, now runs, as swift as a little deer, and reaches the foot of the staircase at the same time as Elizabeth. And She embraces with great affection Her cousin, who is crying with joy at seeing Her.
They remain embraced for an instant, and then Elizabeth detaches herself, exclaiming: « Ah! » - an exclama-tion of mingled joy and sorrow - and she places her hands on her enlarged abdomen. She bows her face and turns red and pale alternately. Mary and the servant hold out their hands to support her, because she staggers, as if she were unwell. But Elizabeth, after a moment of con-centration, lifts her face, which is now so bright that she looks much younger. She then looks at Mary with evident veneration, as if she sees an angel, and she bows in a deep salutation, exclaiming: « You are blessed amongst all women! Blessed is the Fruit of Your womb! (She says exactly that: two clearly separate sentences). How did I deserve that the Mother of my Lord should come to me, Your servant? There, at the sound of Your voice, the child leaped out of joy in my womb. And when I embraced You, the Spirit of the Lord whispered deepest truths to my heart.
You are blessed, because You believed that what does not appear possible to the human mind - was pos-sible for God! You are blessed, because by Your faith You will accomplish the things which the Lord predicted to You, and which the Prophets foretold for our times! You are blessed, for the Salvation You have brought to the house of Jacob! You are blessed for the Holiness You have brought to my son. I feel him leaping with joy, like a happy little kid, in my womb. Because he feels free from the burden of guilt, and he is called to be the Predeces-sor, sanctified before Redemption by the Holy One, Who is growing within You! »
Two tears run down like two pearls from Mary’s sparkling eyes to Her smiling lips, And with Her face raised to heaven and Her arms raised up - in the attitude that Her Jesus will take so often - She exclaims: « My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord » and She continues the canticle as it has been handed down to us. At the end, at the verse: « He has come to the help of Israel his servant etc. », she puts Her hands on Her breast, and kneels down, stooping to the ground, adoring God.
The servant… is now coming back from the orchard with a solemn old man, whose hair and beard are completely white, and who greets Mary from a distance with great gestures and loud guttural sounds.
« Zacharias is arriving » says Elizabeth, touching the shoulder of Mary, engrossed in prayer. « My Zacharias is dumb. God has punished him because he did not believe. I will tell You later. But now I hope that God will forgive him, because You have come. You, full of Grace. »
Mary rises and goes to meet Zacharias. She stoops to the ground in front of him, kissing the hem of his white robe that reaches down to the ground…
Zacharias welcomes Mary by gestures, and they both move toward Elizabeth. They all enter a room on the ground floor… where they make Mary sit down and they offer Her some new milk - there is still foam on it - and some small cakes.
Elizabeth gives some orders to the maid servant, who has appeared at last, her hands still covered with flour and her hair whiter than usually because of the flour dust on it. Perhaps she was baking bread. She gives orders also to the male servant, whose name I hear is Samuel, and tells him to take Mary's trunk to a room which she indicates...
In the meantime, Mary is replying to the questions Zacharias is asking Her, writing them on a wax tablet... From Her answers, I understand that he is asking Her about Joseph and Her married life with him. I also under-stand that Zacharias has been denied all supernatural light about Mary's state and Her condition of Mother of the Messiah. Elizabeth goes near her husband, and lay-ing her hand on his shoulder, in a loving attitude… she says to him: « Also Mary is a mother. Rejoice over Her happiness. » But she does not say anything else. She looks at Mary, Who looks at her but does not encourage her to say more…
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(Maria Valtorta describes a later vision…)
It is morning. I see Mary sewing, sitting in the room on the ground floor. Elizabeth is going to and fro, busy with the housework. And when she comes into Mary's room, she never fails to go and caress Her fair head…
(They talk about their pregnancies,, and Elizabeth de-scribes how uncertain she was at first…)
« I wanted to be sure that it was not a deception of the Evil One. Even though… I felt such a joy within me, that it could not possibly come from Satan. Afterwards… I suffered so much. I am old, Mary, really old, to be in this state. I suffered so much. Don't You suffer… »
« No. I don't. I have never been so well. »
« Of course. Quite right. You… there is no stain in You, as God chose You for His Mother. And that is why You are not subject to Eve's sufferings. The One You bear is holy. »
« I feel as if I had a wing in My heart and not a burden. I seem to have within Me all the flowers and all the birds that sing in springtime, and all the honey and all the sunshine… Oh! I am so happy! »
« Blessed Mary! Neither do I feel burden, tiredness or pain any longer, since I saw You. I seem to be new, young, freed from the miseries of woman's flesh. My child, after leaping happily at the sound of Your voice, is now quiet in his joy. I seem to have him, in me, as in a living cradle. And I see him sleeping, satisfied and happy, breathing like a little bird under the wing of its mother… I will now start working. He will no longer be a weight. I cannot see very well, but… »
« Never mind, Elizabeth. I will see to the spinning and weaving - both for you and for your baby. I am quick, and My sight is very good. »
« But you will have to see to Your… »
« Oh! There will be plenty of time!… First I will take care of you, since you are going to have your baby very shortly, and later I will see to My Jesus. »
It is beyond human possibility to tell you how sweet are Mary's expression and voice, how bright Her eyes are with sweet happy tears, and how She smiles in pronouncing that Name, looking at the clear blue sky. She seems to be enraptured, simply saying: « Jesus ».
Elizabeth exclaims: « What a beautiful name! The name of the Son of God, of Our Redeemer! »
« Oh! Elizabeth! » Mary becomes sad, and She seizes the hands of Her relative who had laid them across her enlarged abdomen. « Tell Me, since you were illuminated by the Spirit of the Lord when I came here, and you prophesied what the world does not know, tell Me: what will My Creature have to suffer to save the world? The Prophets… Oh! What do the Prophets say of the Saviour? Isaiah… Do you remember Isaiah? "He is the Man of sorrows. Through His wounds we are healed. He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. Yah-weh has been pleased to crush Him with suffering. After being condemned He was lifted up… " What lifting is he referring to? They call Him the Lamb. I cannot help think-ing of the lamb of the Passover, of the lamb of Moses, and I associate it with the serpent elevated by Moses on a cross. Elizabeth!… Elizabeth!… What will they do to My Creature? What will He have to suffer to save the world? »
Mary is crying, and Elizabeth comforts Her. « Mary, don't cry. He is Your Son, but He is also the Son of God. God will see to His Son, and will look after You, His Mother. And if so many will be cruel to Him, so many will love Him. So many!… For ever and ever. The world will look at Your Son and will bless You with Him. They will bless You, for You are the Spring from which redemption gushes out. The destiny of Your Son! He will be raised to the rank of King of the whole creation. Just think of that, Mary. King, because He will redeem the whole creation, and as such, He will be universal King. And He will be loved also in the world, in its lifetime.
My son will precede Yours, and will love Him. The an-gel told Zacharias. And he wrote it down for me. How painful t is to see him dumb, my Zacharias! But I hope that when the baby is born, the father will be freed from his punishment. Will You pray, too, since You are the Seat of the Power of God and the Cause of delight in the world. To obtain this grace I make my offerings to the Lord, as best I can. I offer my creature: because it be-longs to Him, as He lent it to His servant to grant her the joy of being called "mother". It is the testimony of what God has done for me. I want his name to be "John". Isn't my son a grace? And didn't God grant it to me? »
« And God, I am sure, will grant you the grace. I will pray… with you ».
« I suffer so much, seeing him dumb!… » Elizabeth is crying. « When he writes - as he can no longer speak to me - there seem to be mountains and oceans between me and my Zacharias. After so many years of sweet con-versation, now there is nothing but silence from his mouth. And particularly now, when it would be so nice to talk about who is about to come. I even refrain from speaking, to avoid seeing him getting strained in his efforts to reply to me by gestures. I have cried so much! How much did I long for You! The people of the village watch, talk and criticise. Such is the world. But when one has a pain or a joy, one needs to be understood, not criti-cised. But now my life seems completely improved. I feel a joy in me, since You came here. I feel that my test is about to end, and that I will soon be completely happy. I am right, am I not? I have resigned myself to everything. But if God would only forgive my husband! If I could only hear him pray once again! »
Mary caresses and comforts her, and in order to divert her attention, she invites her to take a little walk in the sunny garden.
They walk under a well cultivated pergola, as far as a little rustic tower, in the holes of which doves have nested.
Mary scatters the birdseed, laughing, because the doves have rushed on Her, cooing loudly and flapping noisily, forming iridescent circles around Her. They alight on Her head, shoulders, arms and hands, stretching their rosy beaks to snatch the grains from Her hands, gracefully pecking the Virgin's rosy lips and Her teeth that shine in the sun. Mary takes the golden corn from a little sack, and She laughs in the middle of that tournament of intru-sive greed.
« How fond they are of You! » points out Elizabeth. « You have only been here a few days, and they love You more than me, although I have always taken care of them. »
They continue walking until they reach an enclosure at the end of the orchard, where there are about twenty goats with their little kids. « Have you come back from the pasture? » Mary asks a little shepherd, caressing him.
« Yes, because my father said to me: "Go home, be-cause it is going to rain shortly and there are some sheep about to lamb. Make sure they have dry herb and litter". There he is, he is coming. » And he points to the wood, whence a continual trembling bleating can be heard.
Mary caresses a little kid, as fair as a child, which rubs itself against Her. And together with Elizabeth, She drinks some new milk that the little shepherd offers them.
Then the sheep arrive, led by a shepherd as hairy as a bear. But he is obviously a good man, because he is carrying a groaning sheep on his shoulders. He puts her down gently and explains: « She is about to lamb. She can only walk with difficulty. I put her on my shoulders and I hurried all the way, to get here in time. » The sheep, still limping painfully, is led into the fold by the boy.
Mary is sitting on a stone and is playing with the little kids and the lambs, offering clover flowers to their pretty rosy little faces. A black and white kid puts its little hooves on Her shoulder and smells Her hair. « It is not bread » says Mary laughing. « I will bring you some crumbs to-morrow. Be good, now. »
Once again cheerful, Elizabeth also laughs.
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(Maria Valtorta describes a still later vision…)
I see Mary, spinning very quickly under the pergola, where the grapes are growing bigger and bigger. Some time must have elapsed, because the apples are beginning to redden on the trees, and the bees are humming near the fig flowers already mature.
Elizabeth is now quite stout, and she is walking heav-ily. Mary looks at her carefully and lovingly. Also Mary's sides appear more round, when She gets up to pick up the spindle... The expression on Her face has changed. It is more mature: before She was a girl, now She is a woman.
The women go into the house because it is now get-ting dark, and the lamps are lit in the room. While waiting for supper, Mary begins to weave. « Does it never tire You? » asks Elizabeth, pointing to the loom.
« No, you can be sure of that. »
« I am exhausted by this heat. I have not suffered any longer, but now the weight is too heavy for my old kid-neys. »
« Take courage. You will soon be free. How happy you will then be. I am longing to be a mother. My Child! My Jesus! What will He be like? »
« As beautiful as You are, Mary. »
« Oh no! More beautiful! He is God. I am His maid. What I meant is, will He be fair or dark? Will His eyes be like a clear sky, or like the eyes of a mountain deer? I imagine Him more beautiful than a cherub; with golden curly hair; His eyes the same colour as the Sea of Galilee when the stars peep on the horizon; His tiny little mouth as red as a pomegranate that bursts when it matures in the sun; His cheeks as pink as this pale rose; with two little hands that could be contained in the hollow of a lily, they are so small and tiny; and with two tiny feet that I can hold in the hollow of My hand, so soft and smooth, even more so than the petal of a flower. See. The idea I form of Him is taken from all the beautiful things that nature suggests to Me.
And I can hear His voice. When He cries - because My Child will cry a little when He is hungry or sleepy, and it will always be a great pain for His Mummy Whose heart will be pierced every time She hears Him cry - when He cries, His voice will be like the bleating that now comes from a little lamb, only a few hours old, when it seeks its mother's breast, and her warm maternal fleece to sleep. When He laughs, My heart in love with my Creature will then be full of Heaven. (I can be in love with Him, be-cause He is My God, and it will not be against My consecrated virginity to love Him as a lover.) His voice, when He laughs, will be like the merry cooing of a happy little dove which is full and content in its cosy little nest.
And I think of Him when He is taking His first steps… a little bird hopping on a flowery meadow. The meadow will be His Mother's heart, it will be laid under His tiny pink feet with all Her love, so that He may not tread on anything that may hurt Him. Oh, how I will love My Child! My Son! Also Joseph will love Him. »
« But You will have to tell Joseph. »
Mary's face darkens, and She sighs. « Yes, I will have to tell him… I wish Heaven would tell him, because it is so difficult to tell. »
« Shall I tell him? We will ask him to come for John's circumcision… »
« No. I have entrusted God with the task of informing him of his happy destiny of apparent father of the Son of God, and He will do so. The Spirit said to Me that evening: "Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You". And He will do so. God never lies. It is a great trial, but with the help of the Eternal Father, it will be over-come…. »
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(Mary says to Maria:)
« To My eagerness for human help, God, giving beyond measure as He is wont, added an unforeseen gift of supernatural assistance. I went to give material help, and God sanctified My good intention by sanctifying, through this intention, the fruit of Elizabeth's womb. And by means of that sanctification, the Baptist was pre-sanctified. He relieved the physical pain of the elderly daughter of Eve, who had conceived at an unusual age.
Elizabeth, a woman of fearless faith and confident submission to God's will, deserved to understand the mystery that was enclosed within Me. The Spirit spoke to her through the bouncing in her womb. The Baptist pronounced his first speech as the Announcer of the Word, through the veils and the diaphragms of veins and flesh that separated him from, and united him to - at the same time - his holy mother.
Neither did I deny My prerogative of being the Mother of the Lord, because Elizabeth was worthy of the information and the Light had revealed Itself to her. To deny it would have meant denying God the praise which - justly - should be given to Him. It was the praise that I bore in Me, and which I could not tell anyone… It is sweeter to pray together, rather than say our prayers by ourselves. I would have liked all the world to know of My destiny, not for My sake, but that they might join Me in praising My Lord… »
Elizabeth, in her holiness, understood, and was silent. Because a holy person is always submissive and humble.
The gift of God must increase our goodness. The more we receive from Him, the more we must give. Be-cause the more we receive, the more obvious it is that He is with us and within us. And the more He is with us and within us, the more we must endeavour to reach His per-fection.
That is why I worked for Elizabeth, postponing My own work. I was not afraid that I would not have time. God is the master of time. He provides for those who hope in Him, also in normal things. Selfishness does not speed matters up, it delays them. Charity does not delay, it speeds up. Always bear that in mind.
How much peace there was in Elizabeth's house! If I had not been worried about Joseph and… and my Child, Who was the Redeemer of the world, I would have been happy, But the cross was already casting its shadow on My life, and I heard the voices of the Prophets like a knell…
My name was Mary. Bitterness was always mingled with the sweetness that God poured into My heart. And it increased more and more, until the death of My Son. But when God calls us, Maria, to the destiny of victims for His glory, oh! it is sweet to be ground like corn in the mill-stone, to convert our pain into a bread that can strengthen the weak and make them capable of reaching Heaven!
Now, it is enough. You are tired and happy. Rest now with My blessing »
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(Although not clarified in Luke’s Gospel. Mary was present for the birth and circumcision of John the Baptist - described in detail by Maria Valtorta. Maria describes a later vision where Zacharias and Elizabeth arrive at Jerusalem with Mary, Who is holding little John in Her arms. But Joseph is late in arriving there to meet Her…)
Mary controls Her grief, lulling the baby, but it is obvious that She is worried. Although it is so warm that eve-rybody is perspiring, She has not taken off Her mantle, concerned as She is to conceal Her condition.
At long last, Joseph is announced by a loud knocking at the door. Mary's face shines, cheerful again. Joseph greets Her, because She is the first to go and meet him and greet him reverently. « The Lord's blessing on you, Mary! »
« And on you, Joseph. And praised be the Lord that you have come! Here, Zacharias and Elizabeth were about to leave, to be at home before night. »
« Your messenger arrived in Nazareth, when I was at Cana, working there. I was told the other evening, and I left at once. But although I have travelled without stopping, I am late, because the donkey lost one of his shoes. Please forgive me. »
« I am to be forgiven by you, because I have been away from Nazareth for such a long time! But see, they were so happy to have Me with them, that I decided to please them up till now. »
« You have done well, Woman. Where is the baby? »
They enter the room where Elizabeth is giving suck to little John... Joseph congratulates the parents on the sturdiness of the child, who screams and kicks, as if they were thrashing him, because he has been taken away from his mother's breast to be shown to Joseph. They all laugh at his protests…
Mary speaks very little. She is sitting quiet and silent in Her little comer, with Her hands on Her lap under Her mantle. Also when She drinks a cup of milk, and eats a bunch of golden grapes with a little bread, She speaks very little, and hardly moves. Her looks at Joseph are a mixture of pain and enquiry.
He also looks at Her. And after some time, bending over Her shoulder, he asks: « Are You tired, or are You not well? You look pale and sad. »
« I am sorry I have to part from little John. I am very fond of him. I held him on My heart only a few minutes after he was born… »
Joseph does not ask any more questions…
[Eventually it is time for Mary and Joseph to leave.] They get on their donkeys. Joseph has fastened Mary's little trunk to his saddle, as he had done when coming to Jerusalem. And before She gets on Her donkey, he makes sure that Her saddle is properly fastened. I see that Joseph looks at Mary when she mounts Her saddle. But he does not say anything. Their journey starts…
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(Mary says to Maria…)
« My Joseph suffered his passion. It began in Jerusa-lem when he noticed My condition. And it lasted several days, exactly as it had happened to Jesus and to Me. Neither was it less painful for his soul. And only because of the holiness of My just spouse, it was contained in such a dignified and secret form, that it has been hardly noticed throughout centuries.
Oh! Our first Passion! Who can feel its intimate and silent intensity? Who can describe My pain, when I realised that Heaven had not yet heard My prayer by reveal-ing the mystery to Joseph?
I understood that he was not aware of it, when I saw that he was respectful to Me as usual. If he had known that I bore in Me the Word of God, he would have adored that Word enclosed in My womb, with the acts of veneration which are due to God and which he would not have failed to accomplish. I would not have refused to receive such veneration, not for My own sake, but for Him Who was within Me and that I bore, just as the Ark of the Alliance carried the stone code and the vases of manna.
Who can measure My struggle against the dismay that endeavoured to overwhelm Me, in order to convince Me that I had hoped in vain in the Lord? Oh! I think it was the furious rage of Satan! I perceived doubt rising behind My back, and stretching its icy claws to imprison My soul and prevent it from praying. Doubt is so dangerous and lethal to the spirit. It is lethal because it is the first agent of the deadly disease called "despair", against which we must react with all our strength, so that our souls may not perish, and we may not lose God.
Who can truly tell Joseph's pain, his thoughts, the disturbance of his feelings? Like a little boat caught in a great storm, he was in a vortex of conflicting ideas, in a turmoil of reflections, of which one was more piercing and painful than the other. He was, to all appearances, a man betrayed by his wife. He saw his good reputation and the esteem of his world collapse around him. Because of Her he saw scornful fingers pointed at himself, and he felt pitied by the village people. Above all, he perceived that his love and esteem for Me had fallen, struck to death, before the evidence of a deed.
justifying You with Your spouse". When? How? I did not ask… The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far. It would do so also now…
I obeyed the divine command. And for months after that moment, I felt the first wound pierce My heart.
It was the first pain in My destiny of Co-Redeemer. I offered and suffered it in atonement, and to give you a guidance for similar circumstances in life, when it is necessary to suffer in silence for an event that casts a bad light on you, in relation to those who love you.
Entrust God with the protection of your reputation and affections. If you deserve God's protection with a holy life, you can proceed safely. Even if the whole world is against you, He will defend you with regard to those who love you, and He will cause the truth to be known… »
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(Returning to the events of the Gospel, Joseph accompanies Mary - each riding a donkey - to Jerusalem, where he finds a trustworthy old man to travel with Her to the home of Elizabeth and Zacharias. When Mary arrives there, She rings a bell at the gate. A little old man appears, and he opens the gate for Her…)
As soon as She is inside, Mary says: « I am Mary of Joachim and Anne, from Nazareth. I am your masters' cousin ».
The man bows down and welcomes Her… And while taking the donkey in, he exclaims: « Oh! What a great happiness, and what an upheaval to this household! Heaven has granted a child to the barren one, may the Most High be blessed! But seven months ago, Zacharias came back dumb from Jerusalem. He now makes him-self understood by gestures or by writing. Perhaps You already know. My landlady has longed so much for You, in this joy and this travail! She always spoke to Sarah about You, and she would say: "If I only had little Mary vith Me! I wish She were still in the Temple! I would send Zacharias to fetch Her. But now the Lord wanted Her married to Joseph of Nazareth. She is the only one who can comfort me in my pain and help me to pray to God, because She is so good. And they all miss Her in the Temple… He then shouts: « Sarah, Sarah! » [and tells Mary] « My wife is a little deaf. But come, please, I'll show You the way. »
Instead of Sarah, a fairly old woman appears at the top of the staircase on one side of the house. Her face is all wrinkles, and her hair is very grey. It must have been very black at one time, because her eyelashes and eyebrows are still very dark. Also from the colour of her face one can tell that she was swarthy. Her present very obvi-ous pregnant condition is a strange contradiction to her evident old age, notwithstanding her wide and loose dress. She looks down, shading her eyes with her hand. As soon as she recognizes Mary, she raises her arms to the sky, and utters an « Oh! » of joy and surprise. She then rushes, as fast as she can, towards Mary. Also Mary, who always moves very quietly, now runs, as swift as a little deer, and reaches the foot of the staircase at the same time as Elizabeth. And She embraces with great affection Her cousin, who is crying with joy at see-ing Her.
They remain embraced for an instant, and then Eliza-beth detaches herself, exclaiming: « Ah! » - an exclamation of mingled joy and sorrow - and she places her hands on her enlarged abdomen. She bows her face and turns red and pale alternately. Mary and the servant hold out their hands to support her, because she staggers, as if she were unwell. But Elizabeth, after a moment of concentration, lifts her face, which is now so bright that she looks much younger. She then looks at Mary with evident veneration, as if she sees an angel, and she bows in a deep salutation, exclaiming: « You are blessed amongst all women! Blessed is the Fruit of Your womb! (She says exactly that: two clearly separate sentences). How did I deserve that the Mother of my Lord should come to me, Your servant? There, at the sound of Your voice, the child leaped out of joy in my womb. And when I embraced You, the Spirit of the Lord whispered deepest truths to my heart.
You are blessed, because You believed that what does not appear possible to the human mind - was possible for God! You are blessed, because by Your faith You will accomplish the things which the Lord predicted to You, and which the Prophets foretold for our times! You are blessed, for the Salvation You have brought to the house of Jacob! You are blessed for the Holiness You have brought to my son. I feel him leaping with joy, like a happy little kid, in my womb. Because he feels free from the burden of guilt, and he is called to be the Predecessor, sanctified before Redemption by the Holy One, Who is growing within You! »
Two tears run down like two pearls from Mary’s sparkling eyes to Her smiling lips, And with Her face raised to heaven and Her arms raised up - in the attitude that Her Jesus will take so often - She exclaims: « My soul pro-claims the greatness of the Lord » and She continues the canticle as it has been handed down to us. At the end, at the verse: « He has come to the help of Israel his servant etc. », she puts Her hands on Her breast, and kneels down, stooping to the ground, adoring God.
The servant… is now coming back from the orchard with a solemn old man, whose hair and beard are completely white, and who greets Mary from a distance with great gestures and loud guttural sounds.
« Zacharias is arriving » says Elizabeth, touching the shoulder of Mary, engrossed in prayer. « My Zacharias is dumb. God has punished him because he did not believe. I will tell You later. But now I hope that God will forgive him, because You have come. You, full of Grace. »
Mary rises and goes to meet Zacharias. She stoops to the ground in front of him, kissing the hem of his white robe that reaches down to the ground…
Zacharias welcomes Mary by gestures, and they both move toward Elizabeth. They all enter a room on the ground floor… where they make Mary sit down and they offer Her some new milk - there is still foam on it - and some small cakes.
Elizabeth gives some orders to the maid servant, who has appeared at last, her hands still covered with flour and her hair whiter than usually because of the flour dust on it. Perhaps she was baking bread. She gives orders also to the male servant, whose name I hear is Samuel, and tells him to take Mary's trunk to a room which she indicates...
In the meantime, Mary is replying to the questions Zacharias is asking Her, writing them on a wax tablet... From Her answers, I understand that he is asking Her about Joseph and Her married life with him. I also under-stand that Zacharias has been denied all supernatural light about Mary's state and Her condition of Mother of the Messiah. Elizabeth goes near her husband, and laying her hand on his shoulder, in a loving attitude… she says to him: « Also Mary is a mother. Rejoice over Her happiness. » But she does not say anything else. She looks at Mary, Who looks at her but does not encourage her to say more…
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(Maria Valtorta describes a later vision…)
It is morning. I see Mary sewing, sitting in the room on the ground floor. Elizabeth is going to and fro, busy with the housework. And when she comes into Mary's room, she never fails to go and caress Her fair head…
(They talk about their pregnancies, and Elizabeth de-scribes how uncertain she was at first…)
« I wanted to be sure that it was not a deception of the Evil One. Even though… I felt such a joy within me, that it could not possibly come from Satan. Afterwards… I suffered so much. I am old, Mary, really old, to be in this state. I suffered so much. Don't You suffer… »
« No. I don't. I have never been so well. »
« Of course. Quite right. You… there is no stain in You, as God chose You for His Mother. And that is why You are not subject to Eve's sufferings. The One You bear is holy. »
« I feel as if I had a wing in My heart and not a burden. I seem to have within Me all the flowers and all the birds that sing in springtime, and all the honey and all the sunshine… Oh! I am so happy! »
« Blessed Mary! Neither do I feel burden, tiredness or pain any longer, since I saw You. I seem to be new, young, freed from the miseries of woman's flesh. My child, after leaping happily at the sound of Your voice, is now quiet in his joy. I seem to have him, in me, as in a living cradle. And I see him sleeping, satisfied and happy, breathing like a little bird under the wing of its mother… I will now start working. He will no longer be a weight. I cannot see very well, but… »
« Never mind, Elizabeth. I will see to the spinning and weaving - both for you and for your baby. I am quick, and My sight is very good. »
« But you will have to see to Your… »
« Oh! There will be plenty of time!… First I will take care of you, since you are going to have your baby very shortly, and later I will see to My Jesus. »
It is beyond human possibility to tell you how sweet are Mary's expression and voice, how bright Her eyes are with sweet happy tears, and how She smiles in pronouncing that Name, looking at the clear blue sky. She seems to be enraptured, simply saying: « Jesus ».
Elizabeth exclaims: « What a beautiful name! The name of the Son of God, of Our Redeemer! »
« Oh! Elizabeth! » Mary becomes sad, and She seizes the hands of Her relative who had laid them across her enlarged abdomen. « Tell Me, since you were illuminated by the Spirit of the Lord when I came here, and you prophesied what the world does not know, tell Me: what will My Creature have to suffer to save the world? The Prophets… Oh! What do the Prophets say of the Sav-iour? Isaiah… Do you remember Isaiah? "He is the Man of sorrows. Through His wounds we are healed. He was pierced through for our faults, crushed for our sins. Yah-weh has been pleased to crush Him with suffering. After being condemned He was lifted up… " What lifting is he referring to? They call Him the Lamb. I cannot help think-ing of the lamb of the Passover, of the lamb of Moses, and I associate it with the serpent elevated by Moses on a cross. Elizabeth!… Elizabeth!… What will they do to My Creature? What will He have to suffer to save the world? »
Mary is crying, and Elizabeth comforts Her. « Mary, don't cry. He is Your Son, but He is also the Son of God. God will see to His Son, and will look after You, His Mother. And if so many will be cruel to Him, so many will love Him. So many!… For ever and ever. The world will look at Your Son and will bless You with Him. They will bless You, for You are the Spring from which redemption gushes out. The destiny of Your Son! He will be raised to the rank of King of the whole creation. Just think of that, Mary. King, because He will redeem the whole creation, and as such, He will be universal King. And He will be loved also in the world, in its lifetime.
My son will precede Yours, and will love Him. The an-gel told Zacharias. And he wrote it down for me. How painful it is to see him dumb, my Zacharias! But I hope that when the baby is born, the father will be freed from his punishment. Will You pray, too, since You are the Seat of the Power of God and the Cause of delight in the world. To obtain this grace I make my offerings to the Lord, as best I can. I offer my creature: because it belongs to Him, as He lent it to His servant to grant her the joy of being called "mother". It is the testimony of what God has done for me. I want his name to be "John". Isn't my son a grace? And didn't God grant it to me? »
« And God, I am sure, will grant you the grace. I will pray… with you ».
« I suffer so much, seeing him dumb!… » Elizabeth is crying. « When he writes - as he can no longer speak to me - there seem to be mountains and oceans between me and my Zacharias. After so many years of sweet con-versation, now there is nothing but silence from his mouth. And particularly now, when it would be so nice to talk about who is about to come. I even refrain from speaking, to avoid seeing him getting strained in his efforts to reply to me by gestures. I have cried so much! How much did I long for You! The people of the village watch, talk and criticise. Such is the world. But when one has a pain or a joy, one needs to be understood, not criticised. But now my life seems completely improved. I feel a joy in me, since You came here. I feel that my test is about to end, and that I will soon be completely happy. I am right, am I not? I have resigned myself to everything. But if God would only forgive my husband! If I could only hear him pray once again! »
Mary caresses and comforts her, and in order to divert her attention, she invites her to take a little walk in the sunny garden.
They walk under a well cultivated pergola, as far as a little rustic tower, in the holes of which doves have nested.
Mary scatters the birdseed, laughing, because the doves have rushed on Her, cooing loudly and flapping noisily, forming iridescent circles around Her. They alight on Her head, shoulders, arms and hands, stretching their rosy beaks to snatch the grains from Her hands, grace-fully pecking the Virgin's rosy lips and Her teeth that shine in the sun. Mary takes the golden corn from a little sack, and She laughs in the middle of that tournament of intru-sive greed.
« How fond they are of You! » points out Elizabeth. « You have only been here a few days, and they love You more than me, although I have always taken care of them. »
They continue walking until they reach an enclosure at the end of the orchard, where there are about twenty goats with their little kids. « Have you come back from the pasture? » Mary asks a little shepherd, caressing him.
« Yes, because my father said to me: "Go home, because it is going to rain shortly and there are some sheep about to lamb. Make sure they have dry herb and litter". There he is, he is coming. » And he points to the wood, whence a continual trembling bleating can be heard.
Mary caresses a little kid, as fair as a child, which rubs itself against Her. And together with Elizabeth, She drinks some new milk that the little shepherd offers them.
Then the sheep arrive, led by a shepherd as hairy as a bear. But he is obviously a good man, because he is carrying a groaning sheep on his shoulders. He puts her down gently and explains: « She is about to lamb. She can only walk with difficulty. I put her on my shoulders and I hurried all the way, to get here in time. » The sheep, still limping painfully, is led into the fold by the boy.
Mary is sitting on a stone and is playing with the little kids and the lambs, offering clover flowers to their pretty rosy little faces. A black and white kid puts its little hooves on Her shoulder and smells Her hair. « It is not bread » says Mary laughing. « I will bring you some crumbs tomorrow. Be good, now. »
Once again cheerful, Elizabeth also laughs.
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(Maria Valtorta describes a still later vision…)
I see Mary, spinning very quickly under the pergola, where the grapes are growing bigger and bigger. Some time must have elapsed, because the apples are beginning to redden on the trees, and the bees are humming near the fig flowers already mature.
Elizabeth is now quite stout, and she is walking heav-ily. Mary looks at her carefully and lovingly. Also Mary's sides appear more round, when She gets up to pick up the spindle... The expression on Her face has changed. It is more mature: before She was a girl, now She is a woman.
The women go into the house because it is now getting dark, and the lamps are lit in the room. While waiting for supper, Mary begins to weave. « Does it never tire You? » asks Elizabeth, pointing to the loom.
« No, you can be sure of that. »
« I am exhausted by this heat. I have not suffered any longer, but now the weight is too heavy for my old kidneys. »
« Take courage. You will soon be free. How happy you will then be. I am longing to be a mother. My Child! My Jesus! What will He be like? »
« As beautiful as You are, Mary. »
« Oh no! More beautiful! He is God. I am His maid. What I meant is, will He be fair or dark? Will His eyes be like a clear sky, or like the eyes of a mountain deer? I imagine Him more beautiful than a cherub; with golden curly hair; His eyes the same colour as the Sea of Galilee when the stars peep on the horizon; His tiny little mouth as red as a pomegranate that bursts when it matures in the sun; His cheeks as pink as this pale rose; with two little hands that could be contained in the hollow of a lily, they are so small and tiny; and with two tiny feet that I can hold in the hollow of My hand, so soft and smooth, even more so than the petal of a flower. See. The idea I form of Him is taken from all the beautiful things that nature suggests to Me.
And I can hear His voice. When He cries - because My Child will cry a little when He is hungry or sleepy, and it will always be a great pain for His Mummy Whose heart will be pierced every time She hears Him cry - when He cries, His voice will be like the bleating that now comes from a little lamb, only a few hours old, when it seeks its mother's breast, and her warm maternal fleece to sleep. When He laughs, My heart in love with my Creature will then be full of Heaven. (I can be in love with Him, because He is My God, and it will not be against My conse-crated virginity to love Him as a lover.) His voice, when He laughs, will be like the merry cooing of a happy little dove which is full and content in its cosy little nest.
And I think of Him when He is taking His first steps… a little bird hopping on a flowery meadow. The meadow will be His Mother's heart, it will be laid under His tiny pink feet with all Her love, so that He may not tread on anything that may hurt Him. Oh, how I will love My Child! My Son! Also Joseph will love Him. »
« But You will have to tell Joseph. »
Mary's face darkens, and She sighs. « Yes, I will have to tell him… I wish Heaven would tell him, because it is so difficult to tell. »
« Shall I tell him? We will ask him to come for John's circumcision… »
« No. I have entrusted God with the task of informing him of his happy destiny of apparent father of the Son of God, and He will do so. The Spirit said to Me that evening: "Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You". And He will do so. God never lies. It is a great trial, but with the help of the Eternal Father, it will be over-come…. »
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(Mary says to Maria:)
« To My eagerness for human help, God, giving beyond measure as He is wont, added an unforeseen gift of supernatural assistance. I went to give material help, and God sanctified My good intention by sanctifying, through this intention, the fruit of Elizabeth's womb. And by means of that sanctification, the Baptist was presanctified. He relieved the physical pain of the elderly daughter of Eve, who had conceived at an unusual age.
Elizabeth, a woman of fearless faith and confident submission to God's will, deserved to understand the mystery that was enclosed within Me. The Spirit spoke to her through the bouncing in her womb. The Baptist pronounced his first speech as the Announcer of the Word, through the veils and the diaphragms of veins and flesh that separated him from, and united him to - at the same time - his holy mother.
Neither did I deny My prerogative of being the Mother of the Lord, because Elizabeth was worthy of the informa-tion and the Light had revealed Itself to her. To deny it would have meant denying God the praise which - justly - should be given to Him. It was the praise that I bore in Me, and which I could not tell anyone… It is sweeter to pray together, rather than say our prayers by ourselves. I would have liked all the world to know of My destiny, not for My sake, but that they might join Me in praising My Lord… »
Elizabeth, in her holiness, understood, and was silent. Because a holy person is always submissive and humble.
The gift of God must increase our goodness. The more we receive from Him, the more we must give. Because the more we receive, the more obvious it is that He is with us and within us. And the more He is with us and within us, the more we must endeavour to reach His per-fection.
That is why I worked for Elizabeth, postponing My own work. I was not afraid that I would not have time. God is the master of time. He provides for those who hope in Him, also in normal things. Selfishness does not speed matters up, it delays them. Charity does not delay, it speeds up. Always bear that in mind.
How much peace there was in Elizabeth's house! If I had not been worried about Joseph and… and my Child, Who was the Redeemer of the world, I would have been happy, But the cross was already casting its shadow on My life, and I heard the voices of the Prophets like a knell…
My name was Mary. Bitterness was always mingled with the sweetness that God poured into My heart. And it increased more and more, until the death of My Son. But when God calls us, Maria, to the destiny of victims for His glory, oh! it is sweet to be ground like corn in the mill-stone, to convert our pain into a bread that can strengthen the weak and make them capable of reaching Heaven!
Now, it is enough. You are tired and happy. Rest now with My blessing »
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(Although not clarified in Luke’s Gospel. Mary was present for the birth and circumcision of John the Baptist - described in detail by Maria Valtorta. Maria describes a later vision where Zacharias and Elizabeth arrive at Jerusalem with Mary, Who is holding little John in Her arms. But Joseph is late in arriving there to meet Her…)
Mary controls Her grief, lulling the baby, but it is obvious that She is worried. Although it is so warm that everybody is perspiring, She has not taken off Her mantle, concerned as She is to conceal Her condition.
At long last, Joseph is announced by a loud knocking at the door. Mary's face shines, cheerful again. Joseph greets Her, because She is the first to go and meet him and greet him reverently. « The Lord's blessing on you, Mary! »
« And on you, Joseph. And praised be the Lord that you have come! Here, Zacharias and Elizabeth were about to leave, to be at home before night. »
« Your messenger arrived in Nazareth, when I was at Cana, working there. I was told the other evening, and I left at once. But although I have travelled without stopping, I am late, because the donkey lost one of his shoes. Please forgive me. »
« I am to be forgiven by you, because I have been away from Nazareth for such a long time! But see, they were so happy to have Me with them, that I decided to please them up till now. »
« You have done well, Woman. Where is the baby? »
They enter the room where Elizabeth is giving suck to little John... Joseph congratulates the parents on the sturdiness of the child, who screams and kicks, as if they were thrashing him, because he has been taken away from his mother's breast to be shown to Joseph. They all laugh at his protests…
Mary speaks very little. She is sitting quiet and silent in Her little comer, with Her hands on Her lap under Her mantle. Also when She drinks a cup of milk, and eats a bunch of golden grapes with a little bread, She speaks very little, and hardly moves. Her looks at Joseph are a mixture of pain and enquiry.
He also looks at Her. And after some time, bending over Her shoulder, he asks: « Are You tired, or are You not well? You look pale and sad. »
« I am sorry I have to part from little John. I am very fond of him. I held him on My heart only a few minutes after he was born… »
Joseph does not ask any more questions…
[Eventually it is time for Mary and Joseph to leave.] They get on their donkeys. Joseph has fastened Mary's little trunk to his saddle, as he had done when coming to Jerusalem. And before She gets on Her donkey, he makes sure that Her saddle is properly fastened. I see that Joseph looks at Mary when she mounts Her saddle. But he does not say anything. Their journey starts…
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(Mary says to Maria…)
« My Joseph suffered his passion. It began in Jerusalem when he noticed My condition. And it lasted several days, exactly as it had happened to Jesus and to Me. Neither was it less painful for his soul. And only because of the holiness of My just spouse, it was contained in such a dignified and secret form, that it has been hardly noticed throughout centuries.
Oh! Our first Passion! Who can feel its intimate and silent intensity? Who can describe My pain, when I real-ised that Heaven had not yet heard My prayer by revealing the mystery to Joseph?
I understood that he was not aware of it, when I saw that he was respectful to Me as usual. If he had known that I bore in Me the Word of God, he would have adored that Word enclosed in My womb, with the acts of venera-tion which are due to God and which he would not have failed to accomplish. I would not have refused to receive such veneration, not for My own sake, but for Him Who was within Me and that I bore, just as the Ark of the Alliance carried the stone code and the vases of manna.
Who can measure My struggle against the dismay that endeavoured to overwhelm Me, in order to convince Me that I had hoped in vain in the Lord? Oh! I think it was the furious rage of Satan! I perceived doubt rising behind My back, and stretching its icy claws to imprison My soul and prevent it from praying. Doubt is so dangerous and lethal to the spirit. It is lethal because it is the first agent of the deadly disease called "despair", against which we must react with all our strength, so that our souls may not perish, and we may not lose God.
Who can truly tell Joseph's pain, his thoughts, the disturbance of his feelings? Like a little boat caught in a great storm, he was in a vortex of conflicting ideas, in a turmoil of reflections, of which one was more piercing and painful than the other. He was, to all appearances, a man betrayed by his wife. He saw his good reputation and the esteem of his world collapse around him. Because of Her he saw scornful fingers pointed at himself, and he felt pitied by the village people. Above all, he perceived that his love and esteem for Me had fallen, struck to death, before the evidence of a deed.
In this respect, his holiness shines brighter than Mine. And I give this witness with the affection of a spouse, because I want you to love My Joseph - this wise, prudent, patient and good man - who is not separated from the mystery of Redemption. On the contrary, he is closely connected to it, because he suffered for it, consuming himself in sorrow for it, and saving your Saviour at the cost of his own sacrifice, because of his holiness.
Had he not been so holy, he would have acted in a human way, denouncing Me as an adulteress so that I should be stoned, and so that the Son of My sin should perish with Me. If he had been less holy, God would not have granted him His light as guidance in his trial. But Joseph was holy. His pure spirit lived in God. His charity was ardent and strong. And out of charity he saved your Saviour for you, both when he refrained from accusing Me to the elders, and when he saved Jesus in Egypt, leaving everything with prompt obedience.
The three days of Joseph's passion were short in number, but deep in intensity. And they were tremendous also for Me, those days of My first passion. I was aware of his suffering, which I could not alleviate. In fact I had to obey the command of God, Who had said to Me: "Be silent!"
After we arrived in Nazareth, I saw him go away with a laconic goodbye, bent as if he had aged in a short time. And I noticed that he no longer came to see Me in the evening as he used to do. Then I tell you, My children, that My heart wept very bitterly. Closed in My house, all alone - in the house where everything reminded Me of the Annunciation and the Incarnation, and where everything reminded Me of Joseph, married to Me wit h spotless virginity - I had to fight despair and Satan's insinuation, and hope, hope, hope. And pray, pray, pray. And forgive, for-give, forgive Joseph's suspicion, his disturbance and just despair.
My children: it is necessary to hope, to pray, to forgive to obtain God's intervention in our favour. You must live your passions, because you deserved them with your sins. I can teach you how to overcome them and turn them into joy. Hope beyond measure. Pray with confidence. Forgive to be forgiven. God's forgiveness will be the peace you desire, My children… »