Bread of Life John 6

Monday, 19th April 2010
3rd Week of Easter
John 6:24-29



After Jesus had fed the five thousand, the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus. When they found him on the other side, they said to him, ‘Rabbi, when did you come here?’

Jesus answered: ‘In all truth I tell you, you are looking for me not because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat. Do not work for food that goes bad, but work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.’

Then they said to him, ‘What must we do if we are to carry out God's work?’ Jesus gave them this answer, ‘This is carrying out God's work: you must believe in the one he has sent.’




Tuesday, 20th April 2010
3rd Week of Easter
John 6:30-35



The people said to Jesus, ‘What sign will you yourself do, the sight of which will make us believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’

Jesus answered them: ‘In all truth I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread; for the bread of God is the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

‘Sir,’ they said, ‘give us that bread always.’ Jesus answered them: ‘I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst.’





Wednesday, 21st April 2010
3rd Week of Easter
John 6:35-40


Jesus said to the crowd, ‘I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst. But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe. Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me; I will certainly not reject anyone who comes to me, because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me.

‘Now the will of him who sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, but that I should raise it up on the last day. It is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and that I should raise that person up on the last day.’








This is what I have come to teach you and to give you: the juice, the
air of the Law and of the Prophets, to give blood and breath back
to your souls dying from inanition and asphyxia. You are like
children whom a disease has made unable to tell what can nourish
them. You have plenty food in front of you, but you do not know
that it must be eaten to be changed into something vital, that is,
that it must really become part of us, through pure generous
loyalty to the Law of the Lord, Who spoke to Moses and the Prophets
on behalf of all of you. It is your duty, therefore, to come to Me to
receive the air and juice of eternal Life. But that duty presupposes
faith in you.



Because if one has no faith, one cannot believe My
words, and if one does not believe, one cannot come to Me and say:
"Give me the true bread". And if you do not have the true bread,
you cannot work the deeds of God, because you are unable to do
them. So in order to be nourished by God and to work the deeds of
God, you must do the basic work, which is: to believe in Him
Whom God sent.»



^But what miracles do You work that we may believe that You
have been sent by God and we may see the seal of God upon You?
What do You do, which the Prophets have not .already done,
although in a more modest form? Nay, Moses exceeded You,
because he fed our ancestors with wonderful food not once, but for
forty years. It is in fact written that our forefathers ate manna in
the desert for forty years, and it is written that Moses gave them
the bread of heaven to eat, as he was able to do so.»



«You are wrong. Not Moses but the Lord was able to do so. And
in Exodus we read: "Now I will rain down bread from the heavens.
Let the people go out and gather what is sufficient for each day, so
that I may test whether the people will follow My law or not. And
on the sixth day they will gather twice as much, out of respect for
the seventh day, which is the Sabbath". And the Hebrews every
morning saw the desert become covered with that "delicate thing
that resembles what is pounded in a mortar and is like hoarfrost
and coriander seed and has the lovely taste of flour kneaded with
honey". So it was not Moses but God who supplied manna. God
can do everything. He can punish and bless. He can grant and take
away. And I tell you that He always prefers to bless and grant
rather than punish and take away.



God, as the Book of Wisdom states, out of love for Moses — who,
according to Ecclesiasticus, "was beloved by God and men, of
blessed memory, and was made by God the equal of the holy ones
in glory, and strong to the terror of his enemies, and was able to
work miracles and stop them, and was raised high in the respect of
kings, and was His minister before the people, and saw the glory
of God and heard the voice of the Most High, and was the guardian
of the precepts and of the Law of life and science" — God, I was
saying, out of love for Moses, nourished His people with the bread
of angels and from heaven untiringly sent them bread already
prepared, containing every delight, satisfying every taste.



And remember what Wisdom says — as it came from heaven, from God,
and demonstrated His sweetness towards His children, it tasted as
each eater wished and produced the effects that each person
wanted, and was thus useful to babies, whose stomachs are still
delicate, and to adults enjoying good appetite and healthy diges-
tions, and to delicate girls and to decrepit old people. And, to
testify that it was not the work of man, it overturned the laws of
elements, and the mysterious bread, which at sunrise melted like
frost, endured fire. Or rather — it is still Wisdom speaking — fire
forgot its own nature out of respect for the work of God, its
Creator, and for the needs of the just people of God, so that, while
it burns to torture, in this case it became mild to assist those who
confided in God. Thus, by transforming itself in many ways, it
served the grace of the Lord, nourishing everyone, according to the
will of those who prayed the Eternal Father, so that the beloved
children might learn that it is not the reproduction of fruit which
nourishes men, but it is the word of the Lord that preserves those
who believe in God. In fact it did not consume the sweet manna, as
it was able to do, not even when it flared, whereas the mild morn-
ing sunshine could melt it, so that men should learn and remember
that the gifts of God are to be sought from the very beginning of
the day and of life, and that one must anticipate Light to receive
them, and rise and pray the Eternal Father at daybreak.



That is what manna taught the Hebrews. And I am reminding
you because that duty still lasts and will last for ever. Seek the
Lord and His celestial gifts without idling until the late hours of
day or of life. Rise and praise Him before the rising sun does, and
feed on His word, which consecrates, preserves and leads to True
life. It was not Moses who gave you the bread of Heaven, but it
was God the Father, and now I solemnly tell you that it is My
Father Who gives you the true Bread, the new Bread, the eternal
Bread, which descends from Heaven, the Bread of mercy, the
Bread of Life, the Bread that gives Life to the world, the Bread
that satisfies every hunger and removes all languor, the Bread
that gives eternal Life and eternal joy to those who eat it.»



^Give us some of that bread, Lord, and we shall not die.»



«You will die as every man dies, but you will rise to eternal Life,
^ you feed holily on that Bread, because those who eat it, become
incorruptible. With regard to giving it, it will be given to those
who ask My Father for it with pure hearts, upright intentions and
charity. That is why I taught you to say: "Give us our daily
Bread". But those who eat it unworthily, will become swarms of
infernal worms, like the baskets of manna kept contrary to in-
structions received. And the Bread of health and life will become
conviction and death for them. Because the greatest sacrilege will be
committed by those who place that Bread on a corrupt foul spiritual
table and profane it by mixing it with the sink of their incurable
passions. It would have been better if they had never taken it!»

«But where is that Bread? How can one find it? What is its name?»



«I am the Bread of Life. You will find it in Me. Its name is Jesus.

He who comes to Me will never be hungry again, and he who I
believes in Me will never be thirsty again, because celestial rivers i
will flow into him quenching all material ardour. I have already i
told you. And you have known Me by now. And yet you do not believe Me.

You cannot believe that everything is in Me. And yet it |
is so. All the treasures of God are in Me. And everything pertain- I
ing to the earth has been given to Me; thus the glorious Heavens i
and the militant earth are united in Me and even the expiating and
expecting mass of those who died in the grace of God are in Me,
because all power has been given to Me and is in Me.



And I tell you:everything the Father gives Me, will come to Me.
And I will not reject
those who come to Me, because I descended from Heaven not to '|
do My will, but the will of Him Who sent Me. And this is the will of I
My Father, of the Father Who sent Me: that I may lose not even one
of those He gave Me, but I may raise them from death on the last
day. Now the will of the Father Who sent Me is that whoever
knows the Son and believes in Him, will have eternal Life and I
may raise him on the Last Day, seeing that he is nourished with
faith in Me and is signed with My seal.»



People begin to grumble both inside and outside the ^synagogue
because of Jesus' new hardy words. And the Master, after taking
- breath, looks with ecstatically shining eyes towards the people
who are grumbling more loudly, that is towards the groups in
which there are some Judaeans. He resumes speaking.



«Why are you grumbling among yourselves? Yes, I am the Son of
Mary of Nazareth, the daughter of Joachim of the house of David,
a virgin consecrated in the Temple and then married to Joseph of
Jacob, of the house of David. Many of you have known the just
parents of Joseph, a royal carpenter, and those of Mary, the virgin
heiress of the royal stock. And you thus say: "How can He say that
He descended from Heaven?", and you become doubtful. |

I remind you of the Prophets who prophesied the Incarnation of|
the Word. And I remind you that it is a dogma, more for us
Israelites than for any other people, that He, Whose name we dare
not mention, could not become Flesh according to the laws of
mankind, and an impoverished mankind at that.



The Most Pure Uncreated One, if He humiliated Himself by becoming Man for the sake of man, could but choose the womb of a Virgin purer than
lilies to clothe His Divinity with Flesh.



The Bread that descended from Heaven in the days of Moses,
was placed in the gold Ark, which supported the Mercy Seat and was
watched over by Cherubim,behind the veils of the Tabernacle.
And the Word of God was with the Bread.



And it was right that it should be so, because the deepest
respect is to be paid to the gifts of God and to the tables of His
most holy Word. So what will God have prepared for His own Word and
for the true Bread that has come from Heaven? A more immaculate
and precious Ark than the gold one, to support the precious Mercy
Seat of His pure will to immolate Himself, watched over by the
cherubim of God, veiled by virginal purity, by perfect humility,
sublime charity and all the most holy virtues.



So? Do you not understand yet that My Paternity is in Heaven,
and that, consequently, I come from there? Yes, I descended from
Heaven to fulfil the decree of My Father, the decree of salvation of
men, according to what He promised at the same moment of con-
demnation, and He repeated to Patriarchs and Prophets. And that
is faith. And faith is given by God to souls of good will. No one,
therefore, can come to Me, unless My Father leads him to Me, as
although He sees that he is in darkness, He knows that he is crav-
ing for light. It is written in the Prophets: "They will be all taught.
by God". So, that was decided. It is God Who instructs them where
to go to be taught by God. Therefore, whoever has heard God
speak in the depth of his righteous soul, has learned from the
Father to come to Me.»



«And who has ever heard God or seen His Face?» ask many who
begin to show signs of irritation and scandal. And they conclude:

«You are either raving or You are a day-dreamer.»



«No one has seen God except Him Who came from God: He has

seen the Father. And I am He.


And now listen to the Creed of future Life, without which no
one can be saved.



I solemnly tell you that he who believes in Me has eternal Life. I
solemnly tell you that I am the Bread of eternal Life.



Your fathers ate manna in the desert and they died. Because
manna was a holy but temporary food and gave life as was re-
quired to reach the Land Promised by God to His people. But the
Manna Which I am, will have no limit of time or power. It is not on-
ly celestial, but divine and produces what is divine: the incorrupt-
ibility and immortality of what God created to His image and
likeness. It will not last forty days, forty months, forty years, for-
ty centuries. But it will last until the end of Time and will be given
to all those who hunger for what is holy and pleasing to the Lord,
Who will rejoice at giving Himself incommensurably to men, for
whom He became incarnate, that they may have the Life which
does not die.



I can give Myself, I can transubstantiate for the sake of men, so
that the bread may become Flesh and the Flesh may become
Bread, for the spiritual hunger of men, who without that Food
would die of starvation and spiritual diseases. But if one eats this
Bread with justice, one will live for ever. The bread which I will
give is My Body sacrificed for the Life of the world, is My Love
spread in the houses of God, so that all loving or unhappy souls
may come to the Table of the Lord, and may find solace to their
need to be united to God and relief to their sorrows.»



«But how can You give us Your flesh to eat? Who do You think
we are? Blood-thirsty beasts? Savages? Murderers? Blood and
crime disgust us.»



«I tell you solemnly that man is very often more cruel than
beasts, that sin makes men savages, that pride makes them blood-
thirsty murderers and that blood and crime will not disgust all the
people present here. And also in future man will be the same,
because Satan, sensuality and pride make him brutal. Man
therefore with greater care must rid himself of the dreadful germs
through the infusion of the Holy One.



I tell you solemnly that if
you do not eat the Flesh of the Son of man and you do not drink
His Blood, you will not have Life in you. He who eats My Flesh
worthily and drinks My Blood, has eternal Life and I will raise
him up on the Last Day. For My Flesh is real Food and My Blood is
real Drink. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood lives in
Me, and I live in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live for
the Father, so whoever eats Me will live also for Me and will go
where I send him, and will do what I want, and will live austerely,
as a man, and as ardently as a Seraph, and will be holy, because in
order to be able to feed on My Flesh and My Blood, he will abstain
from sin and will live ascending and finish his ascent at the feet of
the Eternal Father.»

.

^He is mad! Who can live like that? In our religion only the
priest is to be purified to offer the victim. He wants to make us vic-
tims of His madness. His doctrine is too painful and his language
too hard! Who can listen to Him and practise what He says?»
whisper the people present and many are disciples known as such.



The crowds disperse making their comments. And when the
Master is alone in the synagogue with His most faithful followers,
the number of disciples has diminished considerably. I cannot
count them, but I would say that, more or less, they are about one
hundred. So there must have been a remarkable defection also in
the group of the old disciples by now at the service of God. Among
those left there are the apostles, John the priest and John the
scribe, Stephen, Hermas, Timoneus, Ermasteus, Agapo, Joseph,
Solomon, Abel of Bethlehem of Galilee, and Abel the leper of
Korazim, with his friend Samuel, Elias (the one who did not bury
his father to follow Jesus), Philip of Arbela, Aser and Ishmael of
Nazareth, and some whose names I do not know. They are speak-
ing to one another in low voices commenting on the defection of
the others and the words of Jesus, Who with folded arms is leaning
against a high lectern.



«Are you scandalised at what I told you? And if I told you that
one day you will see the Son of man ascend to Heaven where He
was before, and sit beside His Father? What have you understood,
assimilated and believed so far? And how have you heard and
assimilated? Only through your humanity? It is the spirit that
gives life and is important.



The flesh is of no avail. My words are
spirit and life, and they are to be heard and understood through
the spirit to have life. But there are many among you whose spirits
are dead because they are without faith. Many of you do not really
believe. And they are staying with Me in vain. They will not
receive Life, but Death. Because they are staying with Me, as I said
at the beginning, either out of curiosity, or for human pleasure, or
worse still, for more worthless purposes. They have not been led
here by My Father, as a reward to their good will, but by Satan.


Nobody can really come to Me, unless it is granted to him by My
Father. You may go, you who find it difficult to remain here,
because you are ashamed, from a human point of view, to leave
Me, but you are more ashamed to stay at the service of One Who
seems "mad and hard" to you. Go. It is better for you to be far
away, than be here and do harm.»



Many of the disciples withdraw, among them there is John, the
scribe, Marcus, -the possessed Gerasene, who was cured by Jesus
and the devils possessing him were sent into pigs. The good
disciples consult with one another and run after their faithless
companions endeavouring to stop them.



^In the synagogue there is only Jesus with the chief ,of the
synagogue and the apostles... . .



Jesus turns towards the twelve apostles, who are deeply hu-
miliated and are standing in a comer and says to them: «Do you
want to go as well?» He says so without bitterness and without
sadness, but very seriously.



Peter replies with sorrowful transport: «Lord, where can we go?
To whom? You are our life and our love. You alone have words of
eternal Life. We know that You are the Christ, the Son of God. If
You wish, send us away. But we will not leave You of our own free
will, not even... not even if You should not love us any more...» and
Peter sheds large tears silently...



Andrew, John, Alphaeus' two sons also weep openly, and the
others, who are either pale or flushed through emotion, do not
weep, but are clearly suffering.



«Why should I send you away? Did I not choose you twelve?...»
Jairus has wisely withdrawn to leave Jesus free to console or
reproach His apostles. Jesus, Who has noticed his silent with-
drawal, sits down; He is tired, disgusted, grieved and depressed,
as if the revelation He is about to make, cost Him a greater effort
than He can possibly bear, and He says: «And yet, one of you is a
demon.»



His words drop slowly, frighteningly, in the synagogue, where
only the light of the lamps seems to be cheerful... and no one dare
speak. They look at one another with fearful disgust and painful
inquisitiveness and each one examines himself with even greater
anguish and uncertainty...

Christ Instructing Nicodemus John 3:1-7

Daily Word Of God


2nd Week of Easter
John 3:1-7


There was one of the Pharisees called Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, who came to Jesus by night and said, ‘Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher; for no one could perform the signs that you do unless God were with him.’ Jesus answered: ‘In all truth I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’
Nicodemus said, ‘How can anyone who is already old be born? Is it possible to go back into the womb again and be born?’

Jesus replied: ‘In all truth I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born through water and the Spirit; what is born of human nature is human; what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be surprised when I say: You must be born from above.’







Christ Instructing Nicodemus






...."Master, here is Nicodemus" says John going in first.
They greet one another, then Simon takes John and goes out of the kitchen, leaving the two alone.

"Master, forgive me if I wanted to speak to You in secret. I do not trust many people with regard to You and myself. I am not acting entirely out of cowardice. It is also prudence and the desire to be of greater assistance toYou, than if I belonged to You openly. You have many enemies. I am one of the few here who admire You. I sought Lazarus' advice. Lazarus is powerful by birth, he is feared because he stands high in the favor of the Romans, he is just in the eyes of God, he is wise by matured talent and learning, he is a true friend of Yours and mine. Those are the reasons why I wanted to speak to him. And I am happy that he came to the same conclusion as I did. I informed him of the last... discussions at the Sanhedrin about You."

"The last accusations. Tell the plain truth."

"The last accusations. Yes, Master. I was about to say: "Well, I am one of His followers, too" so that at least one would be in Your favor in that assembly. But Joseph, who was beside me whispered: "Be quiet. Do not let us disclose our thoughts. I will explain later." And when we came out he said: "It is better that way. If they know we are His disciples, they will keep us in the dark about their thoughts and decisions, and will be able to harm Him and us. If, instead, they think that we are only inquiring into His life, they will not resort to subterfuges. I realised that he was right. They are so...wicked! I also have my interests and my duties...and Joseph has his... You understand, Master..."


"I do not reproach you in any way. I was saying that to Simon, before you came here. And I have decided to go away from Jerusalem."

"You hate us because we do not love You!"
"No. I do not hate even My enemies."

"You say so. It is true. You are right. How sorrowful for me and Joseph! And Lazarus? What will Lazarus say, who today had decided to let You leave this place and go to one of the houses he owns in Zion. Lazarus is a very wealthy man. A large part of the town belongs to him as well as much land in Palestine. His father, to his own wealth and to Eucheria's, who belonged to Your tribe and family, added the reward of the Romans to their faithful servant, and he bequeathed a very large heritage to his children. And what matters more, a veiled but potent friendship with Rome. Without it, no one would have saved the household from abuse, after Mary's disgraceful behavior, her divorce, which was granted to her only because of her position, her licentious life in that town which is his domain, and in Tiberias, the elegant brothel which Rome and Athens have turned into a prostitution bed for many of the chosen people. Truly, if the Syrian Theophilus had been a more convinced proselyte, he would not have given his children the Hellenistic upbringing which kills so much virtue and disseminates so much voluptuousness, and which, imbibed and expelled without any consequence by Lazarus and especially by Martha, infected and proliferated in the dissolute Mary and made her the disgrace of her family and of Palestine! No, without the powerful shelter of the favor of Rome, they would have been anathematised more than lepers. But since the situation is such, take advantage of it."

"No. I am going to withdraw. Who want Me will come to Me."
"I should not have spoken!" Nicodemus is depressed.
"No. Wait and be convinced" and Jesus opens a door and calls: "Simon, tell Nicodemus what I was saying to you when he arrived."


"That the shepherds are sufficient for the humble people, Lazarus, Nicodemus and Joseph with Chuza for the mighty ones and that You are going away from Jerusalem without leaving Judaea. That is what You were saying. Why do You ask me to repeat it? What has happened?"

"Nothing. Nicodemus is afraid I might be going away because of what he told me."

"I told the Master that the Sanhedrin is more amd more hostile, and that He ought to put Himself under Lazarus' protection. He protected your property because Rome in on his side. He would protect also Jesus."

"It is true. It is good advice. Although my caste is disliked also by Rome, a word of Theophilus saved my property during my proscription and my leprosy. And Lazarus is very friendly to You, Master."

"I know. But I have decided. And I do what I said."
"We are going to lose You, then!"

"No, Nicodemus. Men of all sects go the the Baptist. Men of all sects and positions will be able to come to Me."

"We came to You because we knew that You were greater than John."

"You may still come. I will be a solitary rabbi like John, and I will speak to the crowds willing to hear the voice of God and capable of believing that I am that Voice. And the others will forget Me. If they are at least capable of that."





"Master, You are sad and disappointed. And You are right. Everybody listens to You. And they believe in You so much that they obtain miracles. Even one of Herod's men, whose natural goodness must be corrupted by that incestuous court, even Roman soldiers believe in You. Only we in Zion are so hard... But not everybody. You know... Master, we know that You have come from God, that You are His doctor, and there is none greater than You. Also Gamaliel says so. No one can work the miracles that You work unless God is with him. Also learned people like Gamaliel believe that. Why then can we not have the same faith as the humble people of Israel? Oh! Tell me. I will not betray You, even if You should say to to me: 'I lied to corroborate My wise words with a seal that nobody can deride.' Are You the Messiah of the Lord? The Expected One? The Word of the Father, incarnate to teach and redeem Israel according to the Covenant?"

"Are you asking that by yourself, or have others sent you to ask it?"

"By myself, Lord. I have a storm and a torment within me. Contrasting winds and voices. Why do I, a mature man, not have the peaceful certainty that this fellow has, although he is almost illiterate and a boy, the certainty that gives such a smile to his face, such light to his eyes, such sunshine to his heart? How do you believe, John, to be so certain? Teach me, son, your secret, by means of which you were able to see and understand that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah!"

John becomes as red as a strawberry, he then bends his head, as if he were apologising for saying such a great thing, and replies simply: "By loving."

"By loving! And what about you, Simon, an upright man, on the threshold of old age, you, a learned man, so tried as to be induced to fear deceit everywhere?"

"By meditating."

"Loving! Meditating! I also love and meditate and I am not yet certain!"




Jeus cuts in saying: "I will tell the true secret. They knew how to be born again, with a new spirit, free from all ties, virgin of all ideas. And they therefor understood God. If one is not born again, one cannot see the kingdom of God nor believe in its King."

"How can a man be born again? Ejected from his mother's womb, man cannot go back into it. Are You referring perhaps to reincarnation, in which many pagans believe? No, it is not possible of You. In any case it would not be going back into a womb, but a reincarnation beyond time. That is, not now. How?"

"There is but one life of the body in the world and only one eternal life of the soul beyond the world. Now I am not speaking of the flesh and blood, but of the immortal spirit, which is born to true life by means of two things: through water and the Spirit. But the greater is the Spirit, without Whom water is but a symbol. He who has been cleansed through water, must then purify himself through the Spirit and through the Spirit he must become inflamed and shine, if he wishes to live in the bosom of God here and in the eternal Kingdom. Because what is born of the flesh, is and will remain flesh, and dies with the flesh after serving it in its carnal lusts and sins. But what is born of the Spirit is spirit and it lives going back to the Spirit of which it was born, after bringing up its own spirit to the perfect age. The Kingdom of Heaven will be inhabited only by those beings which have reached a perfect spiritual age. Do not be surprised, therefor, if I say: 'It is necessary for you to be born again.' These two knew how to be born again. The younger subdued the flesh and caused the spirit to revive by putting his ego on the stake of love. All matter was burnt. From the ashes there arose his fresh spiritual flower, a wonderful helianthus that turns towards the eternal Sun. The older one laid the axe of honest meditation to the root of his old way of thinking, he uprooted the old plant leaving only the shoot of good will, of which he caused his new thoughts to be born. He now loves God with a new spirit and sees Him. Everybody has his own method of reaching the harbor. Every wind is good providing one knows how to unfurl the sails. You feel the wind blowing, and according to its direction you can adjust the brails. But you cannot tell where the wind comes from, neither can you call the one you need. Also the Spirit calls and It comes calling and passes by. But only who is alert can follow it. A son knows the voice of his father, the spirit knows the voice of the Spirit of which it was born."




"How can that happen?"

"You, a teacher in Israel, are asking Me? Do you not know these things? We speak about and witness to what we know and have seen. Now, then, I speak about and witness to what I know. How will you ever be able to believe what you have not seen, if you do not believe the witness I am bearing to you? How can you believe in the Spirit, if you do not believe in the Incarnate Word? I have descended to ascend again and take with Me those who are down here. Only One descended from Heaven: the Son of Man. And only One will ascend to Heaven with the power to open Heaven: I, the Son of Man.

Remember Moses. He raised a serpent in the desert to heal the diseases of Israel. When I am raised, those who are now blind, deaf, dumb, mad, lepers, ill because of the fever of sin, will be cured and whoever believes in Me will have eternal life. Also those who believe in Me, will have that blissful life. Do not bend your forehead, Nicodemus. I have come to save, not to lose. God did not send His Only-Begotten Son into the world so that those in the world might be condemned, but that the world might be saved through Him. In the world I have found all the sins, all the heresies, all the idolatries. But can the swallow flying swiftly over dust soil its feathers with it? No. It only takes along the sad roads of the earth a particle of the blue sky, and the scent of the sky, it utters a call to rouse men and make them raise their eyes from the mud and follow its flight which returns to the sky. I do likewise. I have come to take you with Me. Come!... Who believes in the Only-Begotten Son will not be judged. He is already saved, because the Son speaks in his favor to the Father and says: "He loved Me." But it is useless to perform holy deeds, if one does not believe. He has already been judged because he did not believe in the name of the Only-Begotten Son of God. Which is My Name, Nicodemus?"
"Jesus."




"No. Savior. I am Salvation. He who does not believe in Me, rejects his salvation and is judged by the eternal Justice. And this is the judgement: 'Light was sent to you and to the world, in order to save you, but you and men preferred darkness to light, because you preferred evil actions, which were customary to you, to the good actions He pointed out to you, that you might follow them and be saints.' You hated the Light because evil-doers love darkness for their crimes, and you avoided the Light that it might not illuminate your hidden wounds. I am not referring to you, Nicodemus. But that is the truth. And the punishment will be proportioned to the judgement, both for individuals and for communities. With regard to those who love Me, and practice the truth I teach, and are therefor born in their spirits a second time, by a more genuine birth, I say that they are not afraid of the light, on the contrary they go towards it, because their own light increases the light by which they were enlightened, a reciprocal glory that makes God happy in His children and the children in the Father. No, the children of the Light are not afraid of bing enlightened. Nay, in their hearts and by means of their deeds they say: 'Not I, He, the Father, He, the Son, He the Spirit, have worked the good in me. Glory be to them, for ever.' And from Heaven replies the eternal song of the Three Who love one another in their perfect Unity: 'Eternal blessing to you, true son of Our will.' John, remember those words when the time comes to write them. Nicodemus, are you convinced?"

"Yes, Master, I am. When will I be able to speak to You again?"

"Lazarus will know where to take you. I am going to him before going away from here."
"I am going, Master. Bless Your servant."
"My peace be with you."

Nicodemus goes out with John.

Jesus addresses Simon: "Do you see the work of the power of Darkness? Like a spider, it lays its snares and entangles and imprisons who does not know how to die in order to be born again like a butterfly, so strong as to tear the dark cobweb and go beyond it, carrying on its golden wings pieces of shining network as a souvenir of its victory, like oriflammes and banners taken from the enemy. To die to live. To die to give you strength to die. Come, Simon, and rest. And God be with you."
It all ends.

John 20:24-29 Jesus Appears to the Apostles with Thomas

Sunday, 11th April 2010
Second Sunday of Easter or
Divine Mercy Sunday
John 20:24-29


Thomas, called the Twin, who was one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord,’ but he answered, ‘Unless I can see the holes that the nails made in his hands and can put my finger into the holes they made, and unless I can put my hand into his side, I refuse to believe.’

Eight days later the disciples were in the house again and Thomas was with them. The doors were closed, but Jesus came in and stood among them. ‘Peace be with you,’ he said. Then he spoke to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; look, here are my hands. Give me your hand; put it into my side. Do not be unbelieving any more but believe.’ Thomas replied, ‘My Lord and my God!’
Jesus said to him: ‘You believe because you can see me. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.’







Jesus Appears to the Apostles with Thomas. Speech
on Priesthood.

The apostles are gathered in the Supper room, around the table
where the Passover supper was consumed. But out of respect, the
central seat, that of Jesus, has been left empty.

Also the apostles, now that there is no longer One Who groups
and distributes them according to His will or by choice of love, have
placed themselves differently. Peter is still in his place. But Judas
Thaddeus is now in John's place. Then comes Bartholomew, the old-
est of the apostles, then James, John's brother, almost at the comer
of the table on the right hand side, with respect to me who am look-
ing on. John is sitting near James, but on the narrow side of the
table. After Peter, instead, comes Matthew, and after him Thomas,
then Philip, then Andrew, then James, Judas Thaddeus' brother,
and Simon Zealot on the other sides. The long side in front of Peter
is empty, as the apostles are sitting closer than they were at
Passover.

The windows are closed and the doors are locked. The lamp, of
which only two flames are lit, sheds a feeble light only on the ta-
ble. The rest of the large room is in a dim light.

As there is a sideboard behind him, John is entrusted with the
task of serving his companions with what they wish of their frugal
meal, consisting of fish, which is on the table, bread, honey and
fresh cheese. As he turns again towards the table, to give his elder
brother the cheese he asked for, John sees the Lord.

Jesus has appeared in a very strange manner. The central part
of the wall behind the apostles sitting at the table — a wall all of
one piece except for the little door in the comer — brightens up at
about one metre from the floor, with a feeble phosphoric light, like
that shed by certain little pictures, which are luminous only in the
dark at night. The light, about two metres high, is oval, like a niche.
From the brilliancy, as if He were advancing from behind veils of-
luminous mist, Jesus emerges with increasing neatness.

I do not know whether I have made myself understood. His Body
seems to flow through the thickness of the wall, which does not
open. It remains compact, but the Body passes just the same. Light
seems to be the first emanation of His Body, the announcement of
His approach. The Body at first consists of soft lines of light, as in
Heaven I see the Father and the holy angels: immaterial. Then it
becomes more and more material, taking the aspect of a real body
in everything, that of His Divine glorified Body.

It has taken me a long time to describe this, but it happened in
a few seconds.
Jesus is dressed in white, as when He rose and appeared to His
Mother. He is most handsome, loving and smiling. He is standing
with His arms along the sides of His Body, a little detached from
it, but with His Hands towards the floor and the palms towards
the apostles. The two wounds of His Hands are like two diamond
stars, from which two very bright beams issue. I do not see His Feet,
covered by His tunic, or His Chest. But from the fabric of His gar-
ment, which is not an earthly one, light emanates where the divine
Wounds are concealed. At the beginning Jesus seems to be nothing
but a Body of lunar whiteness, later, when it materialises appear-
ing outside the halo of light, His hair, eyes, skin have their natural
colours. In short, it is Jesus, Jesus-Man-God, but looking more
solemn now that He has risen.

John sees Him when He is already like that. Nobody else had
become aware of the apparition. John jumps to his feet, dropping
the plate of the little round whole cheeses on the table and, laying
his hands on the edge of the table, he bends a little towards it side-
ways, as if he were attracted by a magnet, and in a low subdued
voice he utters an intensely expressive «0h!».

The others, who had raised their heads from their plates at the
noisy fall of the plate of the cheese and at John's start and had
looked at him with astonishment, when they see his ecstatic posture,
look in the same direction as he is looking. They turn their heads
or they turn round, according to their position with respect to the,
Master, and they see Jesus. They all stand up, deeply moved and
happy, and they rush towards Him, as He, smiling more brightly
advances towards them, walking now on the floor like all mortals.
Jesus, Who previously looked fixedly only at John, and I think
that the latter turned round because he felt attracted by that glance
that caressed him, looks at them all and says: «Peace to you.»
They are all now around Him, some on their knees at His feet,
and among these there is Peter with John — and John even kisses
the hem of His tunic and presses it to his face as if he wished to be
caressed by it — some farther back, standing, but stooping in a
respectful attitude.

Peter, to arrive quicker, jumps over the seat without waiting for
Matthew to come out first and make room for him. It must be borne
in mind that the couch-seat served for two persons at a time.
^he only one who has remained a little farther away, somewhat
embarrassed, is Thomas. He is on his knees near the table. But he
dare not come forward, on the contrary, he seems to be trying to
hide behind the corner of the table.

Jesus, while stretching out His Hands to be kissed — the apos-
tles seek them with holy loving eagerness — looks around at the
lowered heads, as if He were looking for the eleventh. He has actu-
ally seen him from the very beginning and He is behaving so only
to give Thomas time to pluck up courage and come forward. When
He sees that the incredulous apostle dare not do so, ashamed as he
is of his lack of faith, He calls him: «Thomas. Come here.»

Thomas raises his head, embarrassed, almost in tears, but he dare
not go. He lowers his head again.

Jesus takes a few steps towards him and repeats: «Come here,
Thomas.» Jesus' voice is more authoritative than the first time.
Thomas stands up reluctantly, abashed, and goes towards Jesus.
«Here is the man who does not believe unless he sees!» exclaims,
Jesus. But in His voice there is the smile of forgiveness.

Thomas feels that, he dares to look at Jesus and sees that He is
really smiling, so he musters up courage and walks faster.
«Come here, quite close to Me. Look. Put your finger, if it is not
sufficient for you to look, into the wounds of your Master.»

Jesus has stretched His Hands out, then He has opened His tunic
on His chest, uncovering the gash on His Side. No light emanates
now from the Wounds. It no longer emanates since He began to walk
like a mortal Man, when He came out of the halo of lunar light, and
the Wounds now appear in their bloody reality: two irregular holes,
the left one of which extends as far as the thumb, and they pierce
a wrist and a palm at its base, and a long gash, which in the upper
part is lightly curved like a circumflex accent, on His Side.

Thomas trembles, looks but does not touch. He moves his lips,
but is not able to speak clearly.

«Give Me your hand, Thomas» says Jesus so kindly. And with His
right hand He takes the right one of the apostle, He grasps his fore-
finger and takes it towards the hole of His left Hand, He thrusts
it well into it, to make him feel that His palm has been pierced, and
then from His Hand He takes it to His Side. Now He grasps the four
fingers of Thomas, at their base, at the metacarpus, and puts those
four big fingers into the gash of His Side, making them go in dee-
ply, not limiting Himself to leaning them against its edge, and He
holds them there, looking fixedly at Thomas. A severe yet kind look,
while he continues to say: «...Put your finger here, put your fingers
and also your hand, if you wish so, into My Side and do not doubt,
but believe.» That is what He says while doing what I have said
previously.

Thomas — it would appear that the closeness of the divine Heart,
which He almost touches, has communicated courage to him — suc-
ceeds at last in speaking and uttering words, and falling on his knees
with his arms raised and bursting into tears of repentance, he says:
«My Lord and My God!» He cannot say anything else.

Jesus forgives him. He lays His right hand on his head and re-
plies: «Thomas, Thomas! You believe now because you have seen...
But blessed are those who will believe in Me without seeing! Which
reward shall I have to give them, if I have to reward you, whose
faith has been assisted by the power of seeing?...»

Then Jesus lays His arm on John's shoulder, He takes Peter by
the hand and approaches the table. He sits at His place. They are
now sitting as they were on Passover evening. But Jesus wants
Thomas to sit next to John.

«Eat, My friends» says Jesus.

But no one is hungry any more. Joy fills them. The joy of con-
templation.

So Jesus gathers together the little cheeses scattered on the ta-
ble, He puts them on a plate, He cuts them and hands them out, and
He gives the first bit just to Thomas, laying it on a piece of bread
and passing it behind John's shoulders; He pours wine from the am-
phorae into a chalice and hands it to His friends: this time Peter
is the first to be served. Then He has some honeycombs given to J
Him, He breaks them and gives the first bit to John, with a smile
which is sweeter than the golden trickling honey. And to encourage
them He eats some of it Himself. He tastes nothing but the honey.
John with his usual gesture rests his head on Jesus' shoulder, and
Jesus draws him to His Heart and speaks holding him so.

You must not get upset, My friends, when I appear to you. I am
always your Master, Who has shared with you food and sleep and
Who has chosen you because He loves you. I love you also now.»
Jesus lays much stress upon these last words.

«You» He continues «have been with Me in the trials... You will
be with Me also in the glory. Do not lower your heads. On Sunday
evening, when I came to you for the first time after My Resurrec-
tion, I infused the Holy Spirit into you... may the Spirit come also
to you who were not present... Do you not know that the infusion
of the Spirit is like a baptism of fire, because the Spirit is Love,
and love cancels sins? Therefore your sin of desertion, while I was
dying, is forgiven.» .

In saying so Jesus kisses the head of John who did not desert, and
John weeps for joy. •
I have given you the power to remit sins. But one cannot give
what one does not possess. So you must be certain that I possess
this power in a perfect manner and I make use of it for you, who
must be pure in the highest degree to purify those who will come
to you, soiled with sin. How could one judge and purify, if one
deserved to be condemned and were personally impure? How could
a man judge another man if he had planks in his own eyes and
infernal weights in his heart? How could he say: "I absolve you in
the name of God" if, because of his own sins, he did not have God
with him?

^My friends, consider your dignity of priests.
Before, I was among men to judge and to forgive. Now I am
going to the Father. I am going back to My Kingdom. The faculty to
judge is not taken off Me. On the contrary, it is entirely in My hands,
because the Father has entrusted it to Me. But it is a terrible judge-
ment because it will take place when it is no longer possible for man
to obtain forgiveness through years of expiation on the Earth. Each
human being will come to Me with his spirit when, through material
death, he leaves his body as useless mortal remains. And I will judge
him for the first time. Then Mankind will come again clothed with
its flesh, resumed by divine order, to be separated into two parts.
The lambs with the Shepherd, the wild billy-goats with their Tor-
turer. But how many men would there be, who would be with their
Shepherd, if after the Baptismal bath they did not have who can
forgive them in My name?

That is why I create priests. To save those who had been saved
by My Blood. My Blood saves. But men continue to fall into death.
To fall again into Death. It is necessary for them to be continuous-
ly washed in It, seventy and seventy times seven, by those who have
the authority to do so, so that they may not be a prey to Death. You
and your successors will do that. That is why I absolve you of all
your sins. Because you need to see, and sin blinds one, because it
deprives the spirit of the Light which is God. Because you need to
understand, and sin makes one dull, because it deprives the spirit
of the Intelligence which is God. Because it is your ministry to pu-
rify, and sin sullies, because it deprives the spirit of the Purity
which is God.

Great is your ministry of judging and absolving in My name!
When you consecrate the Bread and Wine .for you and make them
My Body and My Blood, you will do a great, supernaturally great
and sublime thing. In order to accomplish it worthily you must be
pure, because you will touch Him Who is the Pure One and you will
nourish yourselves with the Flesh of a God. You must be pure in
your hearts, minds, limbs and tongues, because with your hearts
you must love the Eucharist, and no profane love is to be mixed with
this celestial love, as that would be a sacrilege. Pure in your minds,
because you must believe and understand this mystery of love, and
the impurity of thought kills Faith and Intellect. The science of the
world remains, but the Wisdom of God dies in you. You must be
pure in your limbs, because the Word will descend into your
bosoms, as it descended into Mary's womb by deed of the Love.

You have the living example of how a bosom, which receives the
Word Incarnate, must be. The example is the Woman Who, without
original sin and without personal sin, bore Me. Look how pure is
the summit of the Hermon still enveloped in the veil of winter snow.
From the Mount of Olives it looks like a lot of lilies stripped of
their petals or like sea-foam, that rises like an offering against the other
whiteness of the clouds, blown by the April wind along the blue
fields of the sky. Look at a lily that now opens the mouth of
its corolla to a scented smile. And yet both purities are not so
bright as that of the womb that carried Me. Dust blown by the winds has
fallen on the snow of the mountain and on the silk of the flower. Human
eyes cannot perceive it, so light is it. But it is there, and it spoils
the whiteness. Even more, look at the purest pearl taken from the
sea, from the shell where it was bom, to adom the sceptre of a king.
It is perfect in its compact iridescence, that is unaware of the
desecrating touch of all flesh, as it was formed in the pearly hol-
low of the oyster, isolated in the sapphire fluid of sea depths. And
yet it is not so pure as the womb that bore Me. In its centre there »
is a grain of sand: a very minute corpuscle, but still an earthly one.
In Her Who is the Pearl of the Sea, there is no grain of sin, not even
of incentive to sin. The Pearl born in the Ocean of the Trinity to
bring the Second Person to the Earth, She is compact around Her
fulcrum, which is not the seed of earthly concupiscence, but the
spark of the eternal Love. The spark that found correspondence in
Her and thus engendered the Divine Meteor, that now calls and
draws to Itself the children of God: I, the Christ, the Morning Star.
I give you that inviolate Purity as example.

But when, as vintagers do with vats, you dip your hands into the
sea of My Blood and from it you draw what is needed to cleanse
the soiled stoles of the poor wretches who committed sin, be per-
fect, in addition to being pure, in order not to stain yourselves with
a greater sin, even more, with several sins, by shedding or touch-
ing the Blood of a God in a sacrilegious manner, or by failing in
love and justice, denying or giving it with a severity that is not of
the Christ, Who was good to the wicked to attract them to His Heart,
and three times good with the weak, to encourage them to be trust-
ful. Such severity would be used three times undeservedly, because
it would be used against My Will, My Doctrine and Justice. How
can one be severe with lambs when one is an idol shepherd?

0 My beloved friends, whom I am sending along the roads of the
world to continue the work that I began and that will be pursued
until the end of Time, remember these words of Mine. I am telling
you them so that you may repeat them to those whom you will con-
secrate to the ministry, to which I have consecrated you.

see... I look at future ages... Time and the infinite crowds of
\men that will exist are all in front of Me... I see... massacres and
wars, false peace treaties and horrible slaughters, hatred and rob-
bery, sensuality and pride. Now and again a green oasis: a period
of return to the Cross. Like an obelisk that indicates pure water
among the arid sands of the desert, My Cross will be raised with
love, after the poison of evil has made men rabid, and around it,
planted on the edges of healthy waters, there will thrive the palms
of a period of peace and wealth in the world. Spirits, like deer and
gazelles, like swallows and doves will rush to that pleasant, cool,
nourishing shelter, to be cured of their sorrows and hope once again.
And it will gather its branches close together like a dome as a pro-
tection from storms and dog-days and will keep away serpents and
wild animals with the Sign that puts Evil to flight. And it will be
so, as long as men so wish.

I see... Men and men... women, old people, children, warriors,
scholars, doctors, peasants... They all come and pass by with their
loads of hopes and sorrows. And I see many stagger, because their
sorrow is too great, and their hope has slipped off the load first of
all, as the load is too heavy, and their hope has crumbled on the
ground... And I see many fall on the roadsides, because they are
pushed by others who are stronger, stronger or luckier, as their
weights are lighter. And I see many who, feeling that they are aban-
doned by those who pass by, and they are even trampled on, and
feeling that they are about to die, go to the extent of hating and
cursing.

Poor children! Among all these, struck by life, who pass by or fall,
My Love has deliberately spread some compassionate Samaritans,
good doctors, lights in the night, voices in the silence, so that the
weak who fall may find assistance, and once again they may see
Light and hear the Voice that says: "Hope. You are not alone. Over
you there is God. Jesus is with you". I have deliberately placed this
active charity, so that My poor children may not die in their spirits,
losing their paternal abode, and they may continue to believe in '
Me-Love, seeing My reflecion in My ministers. "

But, o grief that makes the Wound of My Heart bleed as it did
when it was opened on Golgotha! But what do My divine eyes see?
Are there perhaps no priests among the infinite crowds passing by?
Is that why My Heart is bleeding? Are seminaries empty? So does-
My divine invitation no longer resound in hearts? Is man's heart
no longer capable of hearing it? No. Throughout ages there will be
seminaries and Levites in them. Priests will come out of them, be-
cause in the hour of adolescence My invitation will have sounder
with a celestial voice in many hearts, and they will have followed
it. But other, other, other voices will have come later with their
youth and maturity, and My Voice will have been overwhelmed in
those hearts. My Voice that speaks throughout ages to its ministers,
that they may always be what you are now: the apostles at Christ's
school. The cassock has remained. But the priest is dead. This will
happen to too many in the course of ages. Useless dark shadows,
they will not be a lever that lifts, a rope that pulls, a fountain that
quenches people's thirst, corn that satisfies their hunger, a heart
that is a pillow, a light in darkness, a voice that repeats what the
Master says to him. But for poor mankind they will be a weight
of scandal, a weight of death, a parasite, a putrefaction... Horror!
Once again and always I shall have the greatest Judases of the fu-
ture in My priests!

My friends, I am in My glory, and yet I weep. I take pity on these
infinite crowds, herds without shepherds or with too few shepherds.
Infinite pity! Well, I swear it on My Divinity, I will give them the
bread, the water, the light, the voice that those chosen for this work
do not want to give. I will repeat the miracle of the loaves and fish
in future ages. With few mean little fish, and with scanty crusts of
bread — humble laic souls — I will give food to many people, and
they will be satisfied, and there will be some for those of the fu-
ture, because "I feel sorry for this people" and I do not want it to
perish.

Blessed are those who will deserve to be such. Not blessed because
they are such. But because they will have deserved it with their love
and sacrifice. And most blessed those priests who will remain apos-
tles'. bread, water, light, voice, rest and medicine for My poor chil-
dren. They will shine in Heaven with a special light. I swear it to
you, I Who am the Truth.

"Let us get up, My friends, and come with Me, that I may teach
you again to pray. It is prayer that nourishes the strength of the
apostle, because it blends him with God.»

And here Jesus stands up and goes towards the little staircase.
But when He is at its bottom, He turns round and looks at me.
Oh! Father! He looks at me! He thinks of me! He looks for His little
«voice», and the joy of being with His friends does not make Him
forget me! He looks at me over the heads of the disciples, and smiles
at me. He raises His hand blessing me and He says: «Peace be with
you».

Thursday, 8th April 2010
Thursday within Easter Octave
Luke 24:36-43



The disciples were still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you!’ In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But he said, ‘Why are you so agitated, and why are these doubts stirring in your hearts? See by my hands and my feet that it is I myself. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.’

And as he said this he showed them his hands and his feet. Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, as they were dumbfounded; so he said to

them, ‘Have you anything here to eat?’ And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which he took and ate before their eyes.






Jesus Appears to the Ten Apostles.

^They are gathered in the Supper room. It must be late in the
evening, because no noise comes from the street or the house. I think
that all those, who had come earlier, have withdrawn to their houses
°r to sleep, tired of so many emotions.

^ The ten apostles, instead, after eating some fish, some of which
is still left on a tray on a sideboard, are conversing in the light of
only one little flame of the chandelier, the one closest to the table,
at which they are still sitting. Their conversation is fragmentary,
and sounds like monologues, as each seems to be talking to him-
self, rather than to his companion. And the others let him speak,
while they, in turn, speak of something completely different. But
one feels that these rambling talks, that give me the impression of
the spokes of a broken wheel, deal with one subject only, which is
their centre, even if they are so disconnected, and it is Jesus.

My hope that Lazarus has not misunderstood, and that the wom-
en have understood better than he did...» says Judas of Alphaeus.
«At what time did the Roman lady say that she saw Him?» asks
Matthew.

No one replies to him.
«I am going to Capernaum tomorrow» says Andrew.
«How wonderful! To arrange things in such a way that Claudia's
litter should come out just at that moment!» says Bartholomew.
«We made a mistake in coming away at once this morning, Peter...
If we had stayed, we would have seen Him as the Magdalene did»
says John with a sigh.

«I don't understand how He could be at Emmaus and at the man-
sion house at the same time. And how He was here with His Mother,
and there with the Magdalene and at Johanna's all at the same
time...» says James of Zebedee talking to himself.

«He will not come. I have not wept enough to deserve it... He is
right. I say that He will keep me waiting for three days because
of my three denials. How was I able to do that?»

«How transfigured was Lazarus! I tell you: he looked like a sun
himself. I think that it happened to him as it did to Moses after he
had seen God. And immediately after — it's true, isn't it, you who
were there? — immediately after he had offered his life!» says the
Zealot.

No one listens to him.
James of Alphaeus turns towards John and asks: «What did He
say to those from Emmaus? I think that He excused us, did He not?
Did He not say that everything happened because we Israelites
failed to understand the nature of His Kingdom?»

John does not pay attention to him, and turning round to look
at Philip, he says... wasting his breath, because he does not speak
to Philip: «It is sufficient for me to know that He has risen. And
then... And then that my love may be stronger and stronger. You
have noticed this, eh! If you consider things properly, He has gone
in proportion to the love we have had: the Mother, Mary Magda-
lene, the children, my mother and yours, and then Lazarus and
Martha... When did He appear to Martha? I say when she intoned
David's psalm: "The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He has
laid me in meadows of green grass. He has led me to waters of re-
pose. He has called my soul to Himself..." Do you remember how
she made our hearts beat violently with that unexpected song? And
those words are connected to what she said: "He has called my soul
to Himself". Martha, in fact, seems to have found her way again...
Previously, she, the strong woman, was lost! Perhaps, when call-
ing her, He told her the place where He Wants her. And more than
that, it is certain, because, if He gave her a rendezvous, He must
know where she will be. What did she mean by: "accomplishment
of the nuptials"?»

Philip, who has looked at him for a moment, and then has left
him to talk to himself, says moaning: «If He comes, I shall not know
what to say to Him... I ran away... and I feel that I will run away.
Previously out of fear of men. Now out of fear of Him.»

«Everybody says: He is most handsome. Can He be more hand-
some than He already was?» asks Bartholomew.

I will say to Him: "You forgave me without saying one word,
when I was a publican. Forgive me also now with Your silence, be-
cause my cowardice does not deserve YourWord"» says Matthew.
«Longinus said that he was thinking: "Shall I ask Him to be cured
or to believe?" But his heart said: "To believe", and then the Voice
. said: "Come to Me", and he felt that he wanted to believe and that
he was cured at the same time. That is exactly what he told me»
states Judas of Alphaeus.

«My mind is always fixed on the idea that Lazarus was rewarded
at once because of his offering... I also said: "My life for Your glory".
But He has not come» says the Zealot with a sigh.

^What do you think, Simon? As you are a learned man, tell me:
what shall I say to Him to make Him understand that I love Him
and I ask Him to forgive me? And you, John? You have conversed
a great deal with the Mother. Help me. If you are compassionate,
you cannot leave poor Peter alone!»

John feels pity for his dejected companion and says: «Well... I
would simply say to Him: "I love You". Repentance and the wish
for forgiveness are also included in love. But... I don't know. Simon,
what do you think?»

And the Zealot: «I would say what was the cry for miracles:
"Jesus, have mercy on me!" I would say: "Jesus". Nothing else. Be-
• cause He is by far more than the Son of David!»

«That is exactly what I think and makes me tremble. Oh! I will
hide my head... Also this morning I was afraid of seeing Him and...»
«... and then you were the first to go in. But don't be so afraid.

One would think that you do not know Him» says John encourag-
ing him.

^The room lightens brightly, as if there were a dazzling flash.
The apostles cover their faces, fearing it is lightning. But they hear
no noise and they raise their heads.

Jesus is in the middle of the room, near the table. He stretches
out His arms Saying: «Peace be with you.»

No one replies. Some look paler, some flush, they all look at Him
with fear and embarrassment. They are fascinated and at the same
time they are almost anxious to run away.

Jesus takes a step forward, smiling more brightly. «But do not
be so afraid! It is I. Why are you so upset? Were you not wishing
to see Me? Did I not let you know that I would come? Did I not tell
you on Passover evening?»

No one dare open his mouth. Peter is already weeping, and John
is already smiling, while His two cousins, with shining eyes and
lips that tremble without uttering a word, look like two statues
representing desire.

«Why do you have in your hearts thoughts that are in such con-
trast between doubt and faith, love and fear? Why do you still want
to be flesh and not spirit, and only with the latter see, understand,
judge, act? Have your old egos not been completely burnt by the
flame of sorrow, and have your new egos not risen to a new life?
6! am Jesus. Your Jesus, Who has risen from the dead, as He had
said. Look, John, who have seen My wounds, and you all, who are
not aware of My torture. Because what you know is quite different
from the exact knowledge that John has. Come, be the first. You
are already completely cleansed. So cleansed that you can touch Me
without fear. Love, obedience, loyalty had already cleansed you.
My Blood, which wetted you completely when you took Me down
from the Cross, has finished cleansing you. Look. These are real
hands and real wounds. Look at My feet. Can you see that the mark
is that of the nail? Yes. It is really I and not a ghost. Touch Me.
Ghosts do not have bodies. I have real flesh on a real skeletons He
lays His Hand on the head of John who has dared to approach Him:

«Can you feel it? It is warm and heavy.» He breathes on his face:
«And this is My breath.»

«0h! my Lord!» John whispers in a low voice, so...

«Yes. Your Lord. John, do not weep out of fear and desire. Come
to Me. I am always the one who loves you. Let us sit down, as usual,
at the table. Have you nothing to eat? Well, give Me it.»

Andrew and Matthew, with the gestures of sleep-walkers, from
the sideboards take bread and fish, and a tray with a honeycomb,
a corner of which has just been nibbled at.

Jesus offers the food and eats, and gives each of them a little of
what He eats. And He looks at them. He is so kind and so majestic
that they are paralysed.

James, John's brother, is the first who dares to speak: «Why do
You look at us so?»

«Because I want to know you.»
«Do You not know us yet?» ,

«As you do not know Me. If you knew Me, you would know Who
I am and how I love you, and you would find words to tell Me your
torture. You are silent, as if you were before a mighty stranger of
whom you are afraid. Not long ago you were speaking... For almost
four days you have been talking to yourselves saying: "I will say
this to Him...", saying to My Spirit: "Come back, Lord, that I may
tell You this". Now I have come, and you are silent? Have I changed
so much that I no longer seem Myself to you? Or have you changed
so much that you no longer love Me?»

John, sitting near his Jesus, makes the usual gesture of laying his
head on His chest, while he whispers: «I love You, my God», but
he becomes stiff, preventing such abandon out of respect for the
shining Son of God. Because Jesus seems to be shedding a light,
although His Body is like ours.

But Jesus clasps him to His Heart, and then John opens the flood-
gates to his blissful tears. And it is the sign for everybody to do
the same.

^eter, two seats behind John, falls on his knees between the ta-
ble and the seat and he weeps shouting: «Forgive me, forgive me!
Take me out of this hell in which I have been for so many hours.

Tell me that You have seen my error for what it was. Not of the
spirit, but of the flesh that overwhelmed my heart. Tell me that You
have seen my repentance... It will last until my death. But... but
do tell me that I must not fear You as Jesus... and I, and I... I will
try to behave so well, as to make also God forgive me... and die...
having only a long purgatory to suffer.»

«Come here, Simon of Jonah.»
«I am afraid.»
«Come here. Be no longer cowardly.»
, «I do not deserve to come near You.»

«Come here. What did My Mother say to you? "If you do not look
at Him on this veronica, you will never have the heart to look at
Him again". 0 foolish man! Did that Face not tell you with its SOT-
rowful look that I understood you and forgave you? And yet I gave
that linen as comfort, guide, absolution and blessing... But what
has Satan done to you to blind you so much? Now I say to you: if
you do not look at Me now, that I have spread a veil on My glory
to adapt Myself to your weakness, never again will you be able to
come to your Lord without fear. And then what will happen to you?
You sinned out of presumption. Do you want now to sin again out
of obstinacy? Come, I tell you.»

Peter drags himself along on his knees, between the table and the
seats, covering his weeping face with his hands. Jesus stops him
when he is at His feet, by laying His Hand on his head. Peter, weep-
^g more bitterly, takes that Hand and kisses it, amid hearty sobs
Without restraint. He can only say: «Forgive me! Forgive me!»
Jesus frees Himself from his grip and lifting the chin of the apos
tie with His hand, He compels him to raise his head, and He stares
at his reddened, burnt eyes, tortured by repentance, with His own
clear bright Eyes. He seems to be wishing to pierce his soul. He then
says: «Come on. Remove the shame of Judas from Me. Kiss Me
where he kissed Me. Wash with your kiss the sign of betrayal.»
Peter raises his head, while Jesus bends even more, and he touches
His cheek lightly... then he rests his head on Jesus' knees and re-
mains thus... like an old child who has done wrong but is forgiven.
^he others, who now see Jesus' kindness, become somewhat
daring, and they approach Him, as best they can.

His cousins are the first to come... They would like to say so much,
but they do not succeed in saying anything. Jesus caresses them and
encourages them with His smile.

Matthew comes with Andrew. Matthew says: «As in Caperna-
um...», and Andrew: «I... I love You, I do.»

Bartholomew comes moaning: «I was not wise, but foolish. He is
wise» and he points at the Zealot, at whom Jesus is already smiling.
James of Zebedee comes and he whispers to John: «You should
tell Him...»; and Jesus turns round and says: «You have said it for
four evenings, and I have pitied you all that time.»

Philip, the last, comes completely stooped. Jesus compels him to
raise his head and says to him:-«Greater courage is required to
preach the Christ.»

^They are all now around Jesus. They pluck up courage little by
little. They find again what they had lost or had feared they had
lost for good. Confidence and tranquillity come to light again and,
although Jesus is so majestic as to make His apostles have a new
respect for Him, they at long last find the courage to speak.

It is His cousin James who says with a sigh: «Why have You done
this to us, Lord? You knew that we are nothing and that everything
comes from God. Why did You not give us the strength to remain
beside You?»

Jesus looks at him and smiles.
«Now everything has happened. And You do not have to suffer
anything any more. But do not ask this sort of obedience of me any |
more. I have grown five years older every hour, and Your suffer-1
ings, which love and Satan have also increased five times more in I
my imagination than what they really were, have really consumed |
all my strength. I have left only what I need to continue to obey,
holding, like one who is drowning with his hands broken, my|
strength with my will, like teeth set on a board, in order not to
perish... Oh! do not ask Your leper that any more.» |

Jesus looks at Simon Zealot and smiles.
«Lord, You know what my heart wanted. But later I no longer
had my heart... as if the rascals who had captured You had torn it
off me... and I was left with a hole through which all my previous
thoughts escaped. Why did You allow that, Lord?» asks Andrew.
«I... you say it was your heart? I say that I was one who no longer
had his reason. Like one who is struck by a club on the nape of his
neck. When, at dead of night, I found myself at Jericho... oh! God!
God!... But can a man perish like that? I say that that is what pos-
session is like. Now I realise what is that dreadful thing!...» Philip
opens his eyes wide at the recollection of his suffering.

«Philip is right. I was looking back. I am old and not devoid of
wisdom. And I did not know anything of what I had known till that
hour.11! looked at Lazarus, so tortured but so sure of himself, and
I said to myself: "But how can it be possible that he still knows
how to find a reason and I can no longer find anything?» says
Bartholomew.

«I also was looking at Lazarus. And as I hardly know what You
have explained to us, I was not thinking of knowledge. But I said
to myself: "If at least my heart were like his!"; instead I felt noth-
ing but grief, grief, grief. Lazarus was grieved but had peace... Why
so much peace for him?»

Jesus in turn looks first at Philip, then at Bartholomew and then
at James of Zebedee. He smiles and is silent.

Judas says: «I was hoping to get to see what Lazarus certainly
saw. That is why I was always close to him... His face!... A mirror.
Shortly before the earthquake on Friday he was like a man who
is crushed to death. Then all of a sudden he became imposing in his
grief. Do you remember when he said: "An accomplished duty gives
peace"? We all thought that it was only a reproach for us or an ap-
proval for himself. Now I think that he said so refering to You.

Lazarus was like a lighthouse in our darkness. How much You have
given him, Lord!»
Jesus smiles and is silent.

«Yes. His life. And perhaps with it You have given him a differ-
ent soul. Because, after all, in what is he different from us? And
yet he is no longer a man. He is already something more than a man,
and considering what he was in the past, he should have been even
less perfect in spirit than we are. But he has made himself, and we...
Lord, my love has been empty like certain ears of wheat. I have
produced only chaff» says Andrew.

And Matthew: «I cannot ask for anything. Because I have already
received so much with my conversion. Of course! I should have liked
to have what Lazarus had. A soul given by You. Because I also think
as Andrew does...»

«Also the Magdalene and Martha were like lighthouses. It must
"e their race. You did not see them. One was piety and silence. The
other! If we were like a bundle round the Blessed Mother, it is be-
cause Mary of Magdala grouped us together with the flames of her
fourageous love. Yes. I said: the race. But I must say: love. They
have exceeded us in love. That is why they have been what they
have been» says John.

Jesus smiles and is always silent.
«But they have received a great reward for it...»
«You appeared to them.»
«To the three of them.»
«To Mary immediately after Your Mother...»
It is clear that the apostles have a regret for these privileged ap-
paritions.

«Mary for so many hours has known that You had risen. And we
can only see You now...»
«They are no longer in doubt. With us, instead, well... only now
we feel that nothing has come to an end. Why to them, Lord, if You
still love us and You do not reject us?» asks Judas of Alphaeus.
«Yes. Why to the women, and in particular to Mary? You also
touched her forehead, and she says that she seems to be wearing
an eternal crown. And to us, Your apostles, nothing...»

^Jesus no longer smiles. His Face is not upset, but He has i
stopped smiling. He looks gravely at Peter, who was the last to;
Speak, recovering boldness as his fear vanishes, and He says:
«I had twelve apostles. And I loved them with all My Heart. I had
chosen them and like a mother I took care to bring them up in My
Life. I had no secrets for them. I told them everything, I explained
everything, I forgave everything. Their humanity, their thought-
lessness, and their stubbomess... everything. And I had some dis-
ciples. Some rich and some poor disciples. I had women with a
gloomy past or of a delicate constitution. But the apostles were the
favourite ones.

My hour came. One betrayed Me and handed Me over to the ex-
ecutioners. Three slept while I was sweating blood. All of them,
with the exception of two, ran away cowardly. One denied Me out
of fear, although he had the example of another one, who was young
and faithful. And, as if it were not enough, among the twelve I had
a desperate suicide and one who doubted My forgiveness so much
that only with difficulty and through maternal words he believed
in God's Mercy. So that, if I had looked at My group, if I had looked
at it with human eyes, I should have said: "With the exception of
John, faithful out of love, and of Simon, faithful to obedience, I no
longer have disciples". That is what I should have said while I was
suffering in the enclosure of the Temple, in the Praetorium, along
the streets, on the Cross.

had some women... And one, the most guilty in the past, has
been, as John said, the flame that has joined together the broken
fibres of hearts. That woman is Mary of Magdala. You denied Me
and you ran away. She defied death to be close to Me. When they
insulted her, she uncovered her face, ready to receive spittle and
slaps, considering that by doing so she would resemble her cruci-
fied King more. And when people sneered at her from the depth
of their hearts because of her firm faith in My Resurrection, she con-
tinued to believe. Although tortured, she took action. When she was
desolate this morning she said: "I will divest myself of everything,
but give me my Master". Can you still dare to ask Me: "Why to her?"
I had some poor disciples: the shepherds. I did not approach them
very often, and yet how able they were to acknowledge Me with
their faithfulness!

I had some shy women disciples, like all the Hebrew women. And
yet they left their homes and amid a tremendous crowd of people
that cursed Me, they came to give Me that assistance that My apos-
tles had denied Me.

I had some heathen women who admired the "philosopher". Such
I was for them. But the mighty Roman ladies were able to lower
themselves to Hebrew customs, to say to Me, in the hour that I was
forsaken by a world of ungrateful people: "We are friends of
Yours."

My face was covered with spittle and blood. Tears and perspi-
ration dripped on My wounds. Filth and dust encrusted them. Whose
hands cleansed Me? Yours? Or yours? Or yours? None of your hands.
This man was near My Mother. This one was gathering together the
scattered sheep. You. And if My sheep were scattered, how could
they help Me? You were concealing your faces, because you were
afraid of the scorn of the world, while your Master was covered with
the contempt of all the world. And He was innocent.

I was thirsty. Yes. You had better know also that. I was dying
of thirst. I had nothing but a temperature and pain. My Blood had
already been shed in Gethsemane, drawn by the grief of being
betrayed, forsaken, denied, beaten, overwhelmed by the infinite
sins and by God's severity. And it had been shed in the Praetori-
um... Who thought of giving Me a drop of water for My parched
throat? A hand of Israel? No. The pity of a heathen. The same hand
that, by an eternal decree, opened My chest to show that My Heart
already had a mortal wound, the one made by lack of love, by
cowardice and by the betrayal. A heathen. I remind you: "I was
thirsty and you gave Me drink". There was not even one person in
the whole of Israel who gave Me comfort, either out of lack of pos-
sibility to do so, as in the case of My Mother and the faithful wom-
en, or because of bad will. And for the Unknown One a heathen
found the pity that My people had denied Me. In Heaven he will
find the sip he gave Me.

I solemnly tell you that, while I refused all comforts, because
when one is a Victim one must not mitigate one's destiny, I did not
want to reject the heathen, in whose offer I tasted the sweetness
of all the love that will come to Me from the Gentiles, as
compensation for the bitterness Israel gave Me. It did not quench
My thirst,but it relieved My dejection. That is why I took that ignored sip.
To draw to Me him who was already inclined towards Good. May
he be blessed by the Father for his pity!

Are you no longer speaking? Why do you not continue to ask
Me why I acted so. Do you not dare ask? I will tell you. I will tell
you everything of the whys of this hour.

Who are you? My continuators. Yes, you are, notwithstanding
your bewilderment. What are you to do? To convert the world to
Christ. Convert it! It is the most delicate and difficult matter, My
friends. Indignation, disgust, pride, excessive zeal, are all harmful
to success. But, as nothing and nobody would induce you to be kind,
complying, charitable with those who are in darkness, it has been
necessary — do you understand? — it has been necessary for you,
once for all, to crush your pride of Hebrews, of males, of apostles,
to make room only for the true wisdom of your ministry: for meek-
ness, patience, compassion, love without ostentation and disgust.
You can see that everybody, among those whom you looked at
with scorn or with proud indulgence, has exceeded you in believ-
ing and in acting. Everybody. The woman who had sinned in the
past. Lazarus, imbued with profane culture, the first who in My
Name has forgiven and guided. And the heathen ladies. And Chuza's
delicate wife. Delicate? She really surpasses all of you! The first
martyr of My faith. And the soldiers of Rome. And the shepherds.
And the Herodian Manaen. And even Gamaliel, the rabbi. Do not
start, John. Do you think that My Spirit was in darkness? All of
you. And I say this so that in future, remembering your error, you
may not close your hearts to those who come to the Cross.

I tell you. And I know that, although I tell you, you will not do
it until the Strength of the Lord bends you like twigs to My Will,
which is to have Christians all over the Earth. I defeated Death.
But it is not so hard as old Hebraism. But I will bend you.

You, Peter, instead of weeping dejectedly, since you are to be
the Stone of My Church, have these bitter truths engraved in your
heart. Myrrh is used to preserve from corruption. So, become im-
bued with myrrh. And when you want to close your heart and the
Church to someone of a different faith, remember that is was not
Israel, it was not Israel, it was not Israel, but it was Rome that
defended Me and took pity on Me. Remember that not you, but a
woman, a sinner, remained at the foot of the Cross and deserved
to be the first to see Me. And in order not to be worthy of reproach,
be the imitator of your God. Open your heart and the Church say-
ing: "I, poor Peter, cannot despise anybody, because if I do, I shall
be despised by God, and my error will become alive once again in
His eyes". Woe to you, if I had not broken you so! You would not
have become a shepherd, but a wolf.»

Jesus stands up. He looks most imposing.
«My children. I will speak to you again, while I remain among
you. But, in the meantime, I absolve you and forgive you. May the
peace of forgiveness come to you, after the trial, that, although hu-
miliating and cruel, has been beneficial and necessary. And with
this peace in your hearts, become once again My faithful strong
friends. The Father sent Me into the world. I send you into the world
to continue My evangelization. All kinds of miseries will come to
you asking for relief. Be kind, thinking of your misery when you
remained without your Jesus. Be enlightened. It is not possible to
see in darkness. Be pure to give purity. Be love, to love. Then He
will come, Who is Light, Purification and Love. But in the mean-
time, to prepare you for your ministry, I communicate the Holy
Spirit to you. For those whose sins you forgive, they will be for-
given. For those whose sins you retain, they will be retained. May
your experience make you just in judging. May the Holy Spirit
make you saints, so that you may sanctify. May your sincere wish
to ovecome your faults make you heroes for the life expecting you.
What is still to be said, I will tell you when your absent companion
has come. Pray for him. Remain with My peace and without being
upset by doubts about My love.»

And Jesus disappears as He had come in, leaving an empty place
between John and Peter. He disappears in a flash that is so bright
that it makes the apostles close their eyes. And when their dazzled
'eyes are opened again, they find that only Jesus' peace is left, a
flame that burns and cures and consumes the bitterness of the past
in one only desire: to serve.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples of Emmaus

Luke 24: 13 - 35 Reading for wednesday of Easter week.

13 That very day two of them were going to a village named Emma'us, about seven miles from Jerusalem,
14 and talking with each other about all these things that had happened.
15 While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.
16 But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.
17 And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad.
18 Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?"
19 And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,
20 and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him.
21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened.
22 Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning
23 and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive.
24 Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see."
25 And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!
26 Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
27 And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
28 So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further,
29 but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them.
31 And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.
32 They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?"
33 And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them,
34 who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"
35 Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread




Jesus Appears to the Disciples of Emmaus.

Along a mountain road two middle-aged men are walking fast

turning their backs on Jerusalem, whose mountains are disappear-
ing more and more behind those that follow with uninterrupted
undulations of summits and valleys.
They are speaking to each other. The elder one says to the other,
who must be about thirty-five years old at most: «Believe me: it
was better to do so, I have a family, and you have one, too.
The TemPle is not joking. They want to have really done with this matter.

Are they right? Are they wrong? I don't know. I know that thev
clearly intend to put an end to this matter once for all.»

«To this crime, Simon. Give it its right name. Because it is at least
a crime.»

«It depends. Love instigates us against the Sanhedrin. But
perhaps... who knows!»

«Not at all. Love enlightens. It does not lead to error.»

«Also the Sanhedrin, also the Priests and the Chiefs love. They
love Jehovah, Whom all Israel has loved since the agreement was
made between God and the Patriarchs. So, love is light also for them
and does not lead to error!»

«Their love is not for the Lord. Yes. Israel has been in that Faith
for ages. But tell me. Can you say that it is still Faith what the
Chiefs of the Temple, the Pharisees, the scribes, the Priests give us?
You can see it. With the gold sacred to the Lord — people already
knew or at least suspected that it happened — with the gold sacred
to the Lord they have paid the Traitor and now they are paying the
guards. The former, to make him betray the Christ, the latter to
make them lie. Oh! I don't know how the eternal Power has lim-
ited Itself to overthrowing the walls and tearing the Veil! I tell you
that I would have liked the new Philistines to have been buried un-
der the ruins. All of them!»

«Cleopas! You would be complete vengeance.»

«I would. Because, let us admit that He was only a prophet, is it
legal to kill an innocent? Because He was innocent! Have you ever
seen Him commit one of the crimes with which they charged Him
to kill Him?»

«No. Not even one. But He made one mistake.»

«Which, Simon?»

«He did not show His power from the height of His Cross, to
confirm our faith and to punish the incredulous sacrilegious people.
He should have accepted the challenge and descended from the
Cross.»

«He has done more than that. He has risen from the dead.»

«Is it really true. Risen how? Only with His Spirit or with His
Spirit and His Body?»

«But the spirit is eternal! It need not rise!» exclaims Cleopas.

«I know that, too. What I mean is whether He has risen only with
His Nature of God, superior to all the snares of man. Because they
laid snares to His Spirit through the terror of man. You did hear,
didn't you? Mark said that at Gethsemane, where He went to pray
against a rock, there is blood everywhere. And John, who has
spoken to Mark, said to him: "Do not let that place be trampled on_
because it is Blood sweated by the Man-God". If He sweated blood
before being tortured, He must have been terrified of the torture.^

«0ur poor Master!...» they become silent feeling dejected.

Jesus joins them and asks: «What were you speaking of? In the
silence I could hear your words at intervals. Who has been killed?
It is a Jesus veiled under the humble appearance of a poor wayfarer
who is in a hurry.

The two do not recognise Him. «Have you come from far away,
man? Have you not stopped in Jerusalem? Your dusty tunic and
your sandals in that state look like those of an indefatigable
pilgrim.»

«I am. I have come from very far...»

«So you must be tired. Are you going far?»

«Yes, very far, even farther than the place from which I come.»

«Are you in business? Markets?»

«I have to purchase an enormous number of herds for the greatest
Lord. I have to go round the whole world to choose sheep and lambs,
and I have to go also among wild herds, which, however, once they
have been tamed, will be better than the ones which at present are
not wild.»

«Hard work. And have you gone on your way without stopping
in Jerusalem?»

«Why do you ask Me?»

«Because you seem to be the only one who is unaware of what hap-
pened there these past days.»

«What happened?»

«You have come from afar and therefore perhaps you do not know.
And yet your way of speaking is Galilean. So, even if you are the
servant of a foreign king or the son of emigrated Galileans, you must
know, if you are circumcised, that for three years in our Father-
land a great Prophet had risen, named Jesus of Nazareth, powerful
in deeds and in words before God and before men, and He went
preaching all over the Country. And He said that He was the
Messiah. His words and His deeds were really those of the Son of God,
as He said He was. But only of the Son of God. All Heaven... Now
you know why... but are you circumcised?»

«I am the first-born and sacred to the Lord.»

«Then do you know our Religion?»

«I know every syllable of it. I know the precepts and the customs.
The Halacha, the midrash and the Haggadah are known to Me like
the elements of the air, of the water, of the fire and of the light,
that are the first to which tend the intelligence, the instinct and the
needs of man, shortly after he is bom.»

«Well, in that case you know that Israel was promised the
Messiah, but as a powerful king who would re-unite Israel. This one
instead was not so...»

«How, then?»

God of an eternal spiritual kingdom. He did not re-unite, on the
contrary He divided Israel, because the country is now divided be-
tween those who believe in Him and those who say that He is a
criminal. Really, He was not the stuff kings are made of, because
He only wanted meekness and forgiveness. And can one subdue and
defeat with such weapons?...»

«So?»

«So the Chiefs of the Priests and the Elders of Israel captured Him
and sentenced Him to death... charging Him, really, with crimes
of which He was not guilty. His only fault was to be too good and
too severe...»

«If He was one, how could He be the other?»

«It was possible, because He was too severe in speaking the truth
to the Chiefs in Israel and too good in not working miracles of death
on them, striking His unjust enemies dead.»

«Was He as severe as the Baptist?»

«Well... I would not know. He used to reproach scribes and
Pharisees very severely, particularly recently, and He threatened
those of the Temple, as if they were marked by the wrath of God.
But if one was a sinner and repented, and He saw true repentance
in that heart, because the Nazarene read hearts better than a scribe
can read the text, then He was kinder than a mother.»

«And did Rome allow an innocent to be killed?»

«Pilate condemned Him... But he did not want to, and said that
He was "just". But they threatened to report him to Caesar, and
he was frightened, sin short He was condemned to be crucified and
He died on the Cross. And that, together with the fear of the mem-
bers of the Sanhedrin, has greatly disheartened us. Because I am
Cleopas, the son of Cleopas, and he is Simon, both from Emmaus,
and relatives, because I am the husband of his oldest daughter, and
we were disciples of the Prophet.»

«And are you no longer so?»

«We hoped that He would free Israel and also that, by means of
a miracle, He would confirm His words. Instead!...»

«What words had He spoken?»
' «We have told you: "I have come to the Kingdom of David. I am
the peaceful King" and so forth. And He used to say: "Come to the
Kingdom", but, then, He did not give us the kingdom. And He
would say: "On the third day I will rise from the dead". Now this
is the third day since He died. And it is even finished, because it
is later than the ninth hour, and He has not risen. Some women and
guards say that He has risen. But we have not seen Him. The guards
•now state that they said so to justify the theft of the corpse made
by the disciples of the Nazarene. But the disciples!... We all
abandoned Him out of fear when He was alive... and we certainly did
not steal Him now that He is dead. And the women... who believes
them? That is what we were talking about. And we wanted to know

whether He intended to say that He would rise only with the Spirit
that had become divine again, or also with His body. The women
gay that the angels — because they say that they saw also angels
after the earthquake, and it may be, because on Friday some just
people had already appeared out of their sepulchres — they say that
the angels said that He is like one who has never died. And in fact
that is how the women seemed to see Him. But two of us, two chiefs,
went to the Sepulchre. And while they saw it empty, as the women
had said, they did not see Him there or anywhere else. And it is
a great desolation, because we no longer know what to think!»

Oh! how foolish you are and hard to understand! And how slow
you are in believing the words of the prophets! And had all that not
already been said? The error of Israel is this: they have misinter-
preted the regality of the Christ. That is why He was not believed.
That is why He was feared. That is why you are now in doubt. In
high places, in low ones, in the Temple, in villages, everywhere peo-
ple thought of a king according to human nature. The
reconstruction of the Kingdom of Israel was not limited, in the mind of God,
in time, in space and in means, as it was in you.

Not in time: no royalty, even the most powerful one, is eternal.
Remember the mighty Pharaohs who oppressed the Jews in the days
of Moses. How many dynasties have come to an end, and only soul-
less mummies remain of them at the bottom of secret hypogea! And
a remembrance remains, if even that still remains, of their power
of one hour, and even less, if we measure their centuries by the
eternal Time. This Kingdom is eternal.

In space. It was called: Kingdom of Israel. Because the stock of
the human race came from Israel; because in Israel there is, so to
say, the seed of God; and therefore, by saying Israel, it was meant:

the kingdom of those created by God. But the regality of the King
Messiah is not limited to the small space of Palestine, but it stretches
from north to south, from east to west, wherever there is a being
with a spirit in its body, that is, wherever there is a man. How could
one person alone gather under him all the peoples, hostile to one
another, and form only one kingdom, without shedding rivers of
blood and subjecting them all by means of cruel oppressions of
armed men? So, how could He have been the peaceful king
mentioned by the prophets?

In means: the human means, I said, is oppression. The superhu-
man means is love. The former is always limited, because peoples
rebel against the oppressor. The latter is unlimited, because love
^ loved or, if it is not loved, it is derided. But as it is spiritual, it
cannot be attacked directly. And God, the Infinite, wants means
be like Himself. He wants what is not finite, because He is
eternal: the spirit; what belongs to the spirit; what leads to the Spirit;

That has been the error: that men conceived in their minds a
Messianic idea that is wrong in means and form.

Which is the highest regality? God's. Is it not so? Therefore, this
Admirable, this Immanuel, this Holy, this sublime Germ, this
Strong, this Father of the future century, this Prince of peace, this
God like Him from Whom He comes, because so is He named and
so is the Messiah, will He not have a regality like that of Him Who
generated Him? Of course, He will! A regality which is completely
spiritual and eternal, immune from violence and blood, unaware
of betrayals and abuse of power. His Regality! That which the Eter-
nal Goodness bestows also on poor men, to give honour and joy to
His Word.

''But did David not say that this powerful King had all things
placed under His feet as a footstool? Did Isaiah not narrate all His
Passion, and did David not count, one might say, also His tortures?
And is it not said that He is the Saviour and Redeemer, Who with
His holocaust will save sinful mankind? And is it not stated, and
Jonah is the sign, that for three days He would be swallowed by
the insatiable stomach of the Earth, and then He would be ejected
as the prophet was by the whale? And was it not said by Him: "My
Temple, that is My Body, the third day after being destroyed, will
be rebuilt by Me (that is. by God)?" And what did you think? That
by magic He would raise the walls of the Temple again? No. Not
the walls. But Himself. And God only could make Himself rise from
the dead. He has raised the true Temple: His Body of the Lamb.
Sacrificed, as Moses received the order and the prophecy, to pre-
pare the "passage" from death to Life, from slavery to freedom,
of men, the children of God and slaves of Satan.

How did He rise? you ask each other. I reply: He has risen with
His true Body and with His Divine Spirit that dwells in it, as in
every mortal body there dwells the soul as queen of the heart. That
is how He has risen after suffering everything to expiate everything,
and make amends for the primitive Offence and for the countless
ones that every day are committed by Mankind. He has risen as it
had been said under the veil of the prophecies. He had come at His
time, I remind you of Daniel, at His time He was sacrificed. And
listen and remember, at the time predicted after His death the
decide town will be destroyed.

Be advice you to do this: read the prophets with your souls, not
with proud minds, from the beginning of the Book to the words of
the Sacrificed Word; remember the Precursor who indicated Him
as the Lamb; recall which was the destiny of the symbolic Mosaic
lamb. The first-born of Israel were saved through that blood.
Through this Blood the first-bom of God will be saved, that is, those
who with good will have made themselves sacred to the Lord.
Remember and understand the Messianic psalm of David and the
Messianic prophet Isaiah. Remember Daniel, recall to your minds,
but raising these from the filth of the earth to the celestial blue,
recall every word on the regality of the Saint of God, and you will
understand that no other more just or more strong sign could be
given to you than this victory over Death, than this Resurrection
accomplished by Himself. Remember that it would have been con-
trary to His mercy and to His mission to punish from the height
of His Cross those who had put Him on it. He was still the Saviour,
even if He was the Crucified scoffed at and nailed to a scaffold! His
limbs were crucified, but His spirit and will were free. And with
the latter He wanted to wait, to give the sinners time to believe and
to invoke His Blood on themselves, not with blasphemous cries, but
with groans of contrition.

SNOW He is risen. He has accomplished everything. Glorious He
was before His incarnation. Three times glorious He is now that,
having humbled Himself in a body for so many years, He sacrificed
Himself, elevating Obedience to the perfection of being able to die
on the Cross to do God's Will. Most glorious, with His glorified
Body, now that He ascends to Heaven, and enters into the eternal
Glory, beginning the Kingdom that Israel has not understood. To
this Kingdom, in a more and more pressing manner, through the
love and the authority of which He is full, He calls the tribes of the
world. As foreseen and predicted by the just of Israel and by the
prophets, all peoples will come to the Saviour. And there will no
longer be Judaeans or Romans, Scythians or Africans, Iberians or
Celts, Egyptians or Phrygians. The land beyond the Euphrates will
join the springs of the perennial River. The Hyperborians beside
the Numidians will come to His Kingdom, and races and languages
will fall away. There will no longer be different customs and differ-
ent colours of skins and hair, but there will be an immense bright
pure people, one language only and one love. It will be the King-
dom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven. And eternal Monarch: the
Sacrificed Lord Who has risen again from the dead. The eternal sub-
jects: the believers in His Faith. Do believe, in order to belong to it.

Here is Emmaus, My friends. I am going farther. No stop is
granted to the Wayfarer Who has to travel so far.»

«Sir, you are more learned than a rabbi. If He were not dead, we
should say that He has spoken to us. We should like to hear some
more and wider truths from you. Because now, we are like sheep
without a shepherd, upset by the storm of Israel's hatred, and we
are no longer able to understand the words of the Book. Do you want
us to come with you? See, you would go on teaching us, completing
the work of the Master Who was taken away from us.»

«You have had Him for such a long time and was He not able to
complete your instruction? Is this not a synagogue?»

«Yes, it is. I am Cleopas, the son of Cleopas the synagogue Lead-
er who died in the joy of having become acquainted with the Messiah.»

«And have you not succeeded yet in believing with clear firm
faith? But it is not your fault. After the Blood, the Fire is still miss-
ing. And then you will believe, because you will understand.
Goodbye.»

«0 sir, it is nearly evening and the sun is beginning to set. You
are tired and thirsty. Come in. Stay with us. You will speak to us
of God, while we share bread and salt.»

"Jesus goes in and they serve Him with the customary Jewish
hospitality, offering Him drinks and water for His tired feet. '

Then they sit at the table and the two beg Him to offer the food
for them.

Jesus stands up holding the bread in the palms of His hands, and
raising His eyes to the red sky of the evening, He recites the thanks-
giving for the food and sits down. He breaks the bread and gives
some to His two guests. And, in doing so, He reveals Himself for
what He is: the Risen Lord. He is not the bright Risen Lord Who
appeared to the others who are dearer to Him. But He is a Jesus
full of majesty, with the wounds very clear in His long Hands: red
roses against the ivory of His skin. A Jesus fully alive in His recom-
posed Body. But He is also clearly God in the majesty of His eyes
and of all His aspect.

The two recognise Him and fall on their knees... But when they
dare to lift their faces, there is nothing left of Him except the broken
bread. They take it and kiss it. Each takes his own piece and after
enveloping it in a linen cloth, he puts it, like a relic, on his chest.

They weep saying: «It was He! And we did not recognise Him. And
yet did you not feel your heart burn within you while He spoke and
explained the Scriptures to us?»

«Yes, I did. And now I seem to see Him again. And in the light
coming from Heaven. The light of God. And I see that He is the
Saviour.»

«Let us go. I am no longer hungry or tired. Let us go and tell
Jesus'disciples in Jerusalem.»

«Let us go. Oh! I wish my old father had enjoyed this hour!»

«Don't say that! He has enjoyed it more than we have. Without
the veils used out of pity for the weakness of our flesh, he, the just
Cleopas, with his spirit has seen the Son of God enter heaven again.
Let us go! Let us go! We shall arrive at dead of night. But if He so
wishes, He will find a way to let us pass. If He has opened the gates
of death, He will certainly be able to open those of the walls! Let
us go.»

And in the fully purple sunset, they go speedily towards Jerusalem.