Jesus and the Children’s Parable.

The square in Emmaus is crowded with people. It is really packed. And in the middle of the square there is Jesus, Who is moving with difficulty, so much is He surrounded and pressed by those who are besieging Him. Jesus is between the son of the chief of the synagogue and the other disciple and around Him there are, with the hypothetical intention of protecting Him, the apostles and disciples and among them many children, as they can easily creep everywhere […].

 

The attraction that Jesus exerted on the little ones is wonderful. Wherever He went, whether He was known or unknown, He was at once surrounded by children, happy to cling to His garments, even happier when His hand touched them lightly with a loving caress, even if at the same time He said grave things to adults; most happy if He sat down on a seat, on a little wall, or stone, or fallen trunk of a tree, on the grass. In that case, as they had Him at their own height, they were able to embrace Him, rest their little heads on His shoulder or knees, creep under His mantle and thus find themselves in His arms, like chicks that had found the most loving and protective defense.

 

And Jesus always defends them from the arrogance of adults, from their imperfect respect for Him [...] as it pretended to be zealous by driving away the little ones from the Master. Even now the usual sentence of Jesus can be heard in defense of His little friends: « Leave them alone! Oh! They do not disturb Me! It is not children who cause trouble and grief!»

 

Jesus bends over them, with a bright smile that makes Him young, so that He almost looks like their older brother, a kind accomplice in some of their innocent amusements, and He whispers: « Be good and quiet, so they will not send you away, and we shall be able to be together a little longer.»

 

« And will You tell us a nice parable?» asks the boldest one.

 

« Yes. One all for you. Then I will speak to your relatives. Listen, everybody. What is useful to the little ones is useful also to men. 

 

A man one day was summoned by a great king who said to him: “I heard that you deserve a prize because you are wise and you honor your town with your work and your science. [...] I will take you into the hall of my treasures and you will choose what you like, and I will give it to you. In this way I will also judge whether you are up to your fame.”

 

At the same time the king, approaching the terrace which surrounded his hall, cast a glance at the square in front of the royal palace and saw a poorly dressed boy pass by: a child of a very poor family, perhaps an orphan and a beggar. He turned to his servants saying: “Go to that boy and bring him here.”

 

The servants went and came back with the child to appear in the presence of the king. Although the dignitaries of the court said to him: “Make a bow, salute, say: 'Honor and glory to you, my king. I bend my knee before you, powerful king whom the Earth exalts as the greatest being existing.' ”, the boy refused to bow and repeat those words, and the scandalized dignitaries shook him rudely and said: “O king, this dirty boorish boy is a dishonor in your abode. Let us drive him out of here into the street. If you wish to have a boy near you we will go and look for one among the rich people in town […] and we will bring him to you. But not this boorish fellow who does not even know how to greet a person!”.

 

The rich wise man, who had previously humiliated himself with many deep servile bows, as if he were before an altar, said: “Your dignitaries are right. For the sake of the majesty of your crown you must ensure that your sacred person is given the homage due to it,” and while saying these words he prostrated himself to kiss the king's foot.

 

But the king said: “No. I want this boy. Not only that, but I want to take him as well into the hall of my treasures, so that he may choose what he wants and I will give it to him. I am perhaps not allowed, just because I am a king, to make a poor boy happy? Is he not my subject like each of you? Is it his fault if he is unhappy? No, God be praised! I want to make him happy at least for once! 

 

Come, child, and be not afraid of me” and he stretched out his hand which the boy took with simplicity kissing it spontaneously. The king smiled. And between two rows of stooping dignitaries, on purple carpets with golden flowers, he turned his steps towards the treasure room, with the rich wise man on his right hand side, and the poor ignorant boy on his left. And his royal mantle contrasted strikingly with […] the bare feet of the poor boy.

 

They went into the treasure room, the door of which was opened by two great men of the Court. It was a high, round, windowless room. But light flooded in through the ceiling made of a huge plate of mica. A mild light which, however, made the gold knobs of safes shine brightly and the purple ribbons of many parchment rolls glow on high ornate reading-desks. Stately rolls, with precious rods, and clasps and labels adorned with shining stones. Rare works which only a king could possess. And, ignored on a grim dark low desk, a small parchment rolled on a white piece of wood, tied with a rustic thread, as dusty as a neglected thing.

 

The king said pointing at the walls: “Here are all the treasures of the Earth, and others which are even greater than earthly treasures. Because here are all the works of human genius, and there are also works coming from superhuman sources. Go and take whatever you wish.” And he stood in the middle of the room, with folded arms, watching.

 

The rich wise man went first towards the safes and lifted their covers with more and more feverish anxiety. Gold bars and jewels, silver, pearls, sapphires, rubies, emeralds, opals were shining in all the coffers, cries of admiration were heard as each one was opened. He then went to the reading-desks, and when reading the titles, his lips uttered new cries of admiration, and at last the man, highly enthusiastic, turned to the king and said: “You have an incomparable treasure: the stones equal the value of the rolls, and the rolls of the stones! Can I really make my choice freely?”

 

“I told you. As if everything belonged to you.”

 

The man threw himself with his face on the ground saying: “I worship you, o great king!” And he got up and ran first to the coffers, then to the desks, taking from both the best things he saw. The king, who had smiled a first time under his beard seeing the excitement with which the man ran from one coffer to another, and a second time seeing him throw himself on the ground worshiping, and a third time seeing the cupidity […] by which he chose gems and books, addressed the boy who was standing beside him saying: “And are you not going to choose the beautiful stones and the valuable rolls?”

 

The boy shook his head in denial.

 

“Why not?”

 

“Because with regard to the rolls, I cannot read them and as far as the stones are concerned I do not know their value. They are nothing but little stones to me.”

 

“But they would make you rich.”

 

“I have no father, no mother, no brother. Of what avail would it be to me to go to my shelter with a treasure in my bosom?”

 

“But you would be able to buy a house with it.”

 

“I would still be alone in it.”

 

“You could buy clothes.”

 

“I would still be cold without the love of relatives.”

 

“Food.”

 

“I could not become satiated with my mother's kisses or buy them at any price.”

 

“You could get teachers and learn to read.”

 

“I would like that better. But what could I read then?”

 

“The works of poets, philosophers, wise men, ancient words and the history of peoples.”

 

“Useless things, either vain or past. Not worth it.”

 

“What a silly child!” exclaimed the man whose arms by now were full of rolls, and his belt and tunic round his chest were swollen with gems. The king smiled once again under his beard. And taking the boy in his arms he carried him to the coffers, where he dipped his hand into the pearls, the rubies, the topazes, the amethysts […], tempting the boy to take some.

 

“No, king, I do not want any. I would like something else.”

 

The king took him to the desks and read stanzas of poets, episodes of heroes, descriptions of countries.

 

“Oh! it is beautiful to read. But that is not what I would like.”

 

“What, then? Tell me, and I will give it to you, my boy.”

 

“Oh! I don't think you can, o king, notwithstanding your power. It is not a thing of this world.”

 

“Ah! you do not want works of the Earth. Here, then: here are the works which God dictated to His servants. Listen.” and he read some of the inspired pages.

 

“That is much more beautiful. But to understand it properly, one must first know God's language well. Is there no book which teaches that, that can make us understand what is God?”

 

The king was quite astonished and did not laugh any more, but he pressed the boy to his heart. The man instead laughed derisively saying: “Not even the wisest men know what God is, and you, an ignorant boy, want to know? If you want to become rich by that!”

 

The king looked at him sternly while the little fellow replied: “I do not seek riches, I am seeking love and one day I was told that God is Love.”

 

The king took him to the grim desk, where the little dusty roll tied with a string was. He picked it up, unrolled it and read the first lines: “Let little ones come to Me, and I, God, will teach them the science of love. It is in this book, and I...”

 

“Oh! that is what I want! I will know God and by having Him, I shall have everything. Give me this roll, o king, and I shall be happy."

 

“But it has no value money-wise. That boy is really foolish! He cannot read and he takes a book! [...] He is poor and he does not take treasures.”

 

“I will strive to possess love, and this book will teach me. May you be blessed, o king, because you are giving me something which will no longer make me feel a poor orphan!”

 

“At least worship him as I did, if you think that you have become so happy through him!”

 

“I do not worship the man, but God Who made him so kind.”

 

“This boy is the true wise person in my kingdom, o man, whereas you have usurped the reputation of being wise. Pride and avidity have intoxicated you to such an extent that you maintain that a creature should be worshiped instead of the Creator […]. And you have not considered that you have gems, and I have had them, because God created them, and that you have rare rolls containing the thought of man, because God gave man an intellect.

 

This child who is cold and hungry, who is all alone, who has been struck by all kinds of sorrow, who would be excused and justifiable if he became intoxicated with the sight of riches, this child knows how to express just thanks to God for making my heart kind and he seeks but the one only necessary thing: to love God, to know love in order to have true riches here and in future life. 

 

Man, I promised I would give you what you would choose. The word of a king is sacred. So, go with your stones and your rolls: multicolored pebbles and straw of human thought. And live trembling with fear of thieves and moths […]. And be dazzled by the vain flashes of those chips, and be disgusted with the sickly sweet flavor of human science, which is only flavor and not nourishment. Go. 

 

This child will remain with me and we will strive together to read the book that is love, that is, God. And we shall have no vain flashes of cold gems, nor the sickly sweet flavor of straw of the works of human knowledge. But the fire of the Eternal Spirit will grant us, even in this life, the ecstasy of Paradise and we shall possess Wisdom, which is more fortifying than wine, more nourishing than honey. Come, child, to whom Wisdom has shown her face, that you may desire her as a genuine bride.”

 

And after driving away the man, he kept the child and instructed him in divine Wisdom that he might be a just man and a king worthy of the sacred anointment on the Earth, and a citizen of the Kingdom of God in the other life.

 

That is the parable promised to the little ones and proposed to adults.

This is a lightly edited version of the beginning of chap. 511, The Poem of the Man-God, by Maria Valtorta. 

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Jesus Says

Jesus says: “To love Mary is to love Jesus.”

 

The context: The Lord is addressing Maria Valtorta personally. 

 

“. . . you will meditate on all the life of our Mother every day: on Her joys and sorrows. That is, My joys and My sorrows. Because since I, the Word, became Jesus, I have rejoiced and wept with Her and for the same reasons. So you can see that to love Mary is to love Jesus. It is to love Him more easily. Because I make you carry the cross and I put you on the cross. Mother instead carries you or stands at the foot of the cross to receive you on Her heart that can only love.

 

“Also at the moment of death Mary's bosom is more pleasant than a cradle. Whoever breathes his last in Her, hears nothing but the voices of the angelical choruses whirling round Mary. He does not see darkness, but sees the sweet ray of the Morning Star. He hears no weeping, but sees Her smile. He knows no terror. Of Us who love Her, who would dare tear from Mary's arms a creature of Her's?

 

“[...] And remain at Her feet at the foot of the Cross. You will adorn your garment with the rubies of My Blood and with the pearls of Her tears. You will have a queen's robe for your entrance into My Kingdom Go in peace. I bless you.” 

 

Maria Valtorta, The Poem of the Man-God, Chapter 492.

Jesus says: “The secrets of Mary are too pure and divine for a human mind to know them.”

 

The context: Maria Valtorta has just received Holy Communion, and Jesus asks her to write while she has ‘the fullness of Wisdom’ within her.

 

“The Mother is not different from the Son – in either human nature or the superhuman mission of Redemption. 

 

“The Son, to touch the apex of pain, had to experience separation from the Father: in Gethsemane, on the Cross. It was pain carried to infinite heights and harshness. The Mother, to touch the apex of pain, had to experience separation from the Son: in the three days of my burial.

 

“Then Mary was alone. She was left with only Faith, Hope, and Charity. But I was absent. It was the sword not driven in, but piercing and ransacking her Heart. She did not die from it by God’s will alone. For to remain deprived of union with her Son and God was such an agony for the Woman Full of Grace that without a special grace She would have died of it. 

 

“There are many secret pages that you do not know concerning the life of the Most Pure Co-Redeemer. I previously told you, ‘The secrets of Mary are too pure and divine for a human mind to know them.’ I shall point out just one of them for you, just enough to increase veneration in you for the Holiest One in Heaven, after God:

 

That most painful hour, in the sea of sorrows which was the life of my Mother, consecrated for supreme sorrow and supreme joy by her conception, was needed to complete what was lacking to my Passion. Mary is the Co-Redeemer. Since everything in Her is, then, inferior to God alone, her pain also had to be such that the pain of no other human creature would ever equal it.”

 

Maria Valtorta, The Notebooks, 1943, July 2.

Jesus says: 

 

“But shall we also become Satan's friends by hating those who hate us?”

 

The context: James, a cousin of Jesus, is concerned about being reproached by his older brother Joseph.

 

“In that case be silent. It is the only remedy to appease one's anger. Be humbly and patiently silent, and if you feel that you can no longer be silent without being rude, go away. To be able to be quiet! To be able to run away! Not out of cowardice, or lack of words, but out of virtue, out of prudence, charity, humility. It is so difficult to keep justice in debates! And the peace of the spirit. Something always descends into the depth of one's heart distorting, confounding, making an uproar. And the image of God reflected in every good spirit is obscured, it vanishes and its words can no longer be heard. 

 

“Peace! Peace among brothers. Peace also with enemies. If they are our enemies, they are Satan's friends. But shall we also become Satan's friends by hating those who hate us? How can we lead them to love if we are out of love ourselves? You may say to Me: ‘Jesus, You have already said so many a time and that is what You do, but they always hate You.’ I will always say so. When I am no longer with you, I will inspire it into you from Heaven. And I also tell you not to count defeats, but victories. Let us praise the Lord for them! No month goes by without some conquest being made. That is what the workman of the Lord must take notice of, rejoicing in the Lord, without the anger of worldly people when they lose one of their poor victories.”

 

Chapter 488. the Poem.

Jesus says: “My doctrine is a Doctrine of love.”

 

The context: The Lord is speaking to the citizens of Hippo, a coastal city by the Sea of Galilee.

 

“You must, therefore, have kind hearts, because God is love and He prescribes love, because the Law is love, because the prophets and the Books of Wisdom advise love and My doctrine is a doctrine of love. Sacrifices and prayers are vain unless their base and altar is love for your neighbor and particularly for the poor and needy, to whom you can give all forms of love by means of bread, beds, clothes, comfort and doctrine, leading them to God. 

 

“Poverty, by disheartening people, causes spirits to lose that faith in Providence, which is beneficial to resist the trials of life. How can you expect a poor man to be always good, patient, pious, when he sees that those who have received everything from life, and thus, according to common opinion, from Providence, are hardhearted, without true religion − because their religion lacks the first and most essential part: love − they are without patience and, although they have everything, they cannot even tolerate the entreaties of a starving man?”

 

Chapter 451, the Poem.

 

Jesus says: “If you love Me, you will love My Doctrine.”

 

The context: The Lord continues to speak to the citizens of Hippo.

 

“Come to Me, all you of good will. Be not afraid of what you are or you were. I am Water that cleanses the past and fortifies for the future. Come to Me, you who are poor in wisdom. Wisdom is in My word. Come to Me, start a new life on new ideas. Be not afraid of not knowing, of not being able to do it. My Doctrine is easy, My yoke is light. I am the Rabbi Who gives without asking for recompense, without asking for any recompense but your love. If you love Me, you will love My Doctrine and consequently your neighbor and you will have Life and the Kingdom. Rich people, divest yourselves of your attachment to riches, and buy with them the Kingdom by means of all the words of merciful love for your neighbor. Poor people, divest yourselves of your dejection and come onto the way of your King. 

 

“With Isaiah I say: “Oh, come to the water all you who are thirsty, and you as well who have no money come and buy.” With love you will buy what is love, what is imperishable food, the food which satisfies and fortifies.”

 

Chapter 451, the Poem.

 

Jesus says: “Pride is the lever that overturns spirits and the magnet that tears them away from Me.”

 

The context: The Lord is sending forth a large missionary force of His disciples.

 

“Well, listen. I will now bless you and dismiss you. You will spread out, as usual, through Palestine. You will gather here again for Passover. Do not fail to come… and during these next months fortify your hearts and the hearts of those who believe in Me. Be more and more just, unselfish, patient. Be what I taught you to be. Go round towns, villages, secluded houses. Shun no one. Put up with everything. You are not serving your own egos, as I do not serve the ego of Jesus of Nazareth, but I serve My Father. Serve your Father as well. Thus, His interests, not yours, are to be sacred to you, even if they bring sorrow or detriment to your human interests. Be guided by the spirit of self-denial and obedience.

 

“I may send for you or I may tell you to remain where you are. Do not judge My instructions. Obey them, whatever they may be, with the firm belief that they are good and given for your good. And do not be jealous if I send for some and not for others. You know... Some have departed from Me… and I suffered because of that. They were the ones who still wanted to act according to their own wills. Pride is the lever that overturns spirits and the magnet that tears them away from Me. Do not curse those who left Me. Pray that they may come back. [...] Love one another. And help one another. My dear friends, may your spirits tell you all the rest, reminding you of what I taught you, and may your angels repeat it to you. I bless you.”

 

Chapter 493, the Poem. 

 

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The Three Days of St. Joseph’s Passion.

“When Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost. Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately.” [Matt. 1: 18-19.]

 

Mary says:

 

« But now, how could I tell him that I was a Mother? I endeavored to find suitable words to give him the news. A difficult task, as I did not want to boast of God's gift and on the other hand there was no way of justifying My maternity without saying: “The Lord has loved Me amongst all women and has made Me, His servant, His Bride.” Neither did I wish to deceive him by concealing My condition from him. 

 

« And while I was praying, the Spirit of Whom I was full, said to Me: “Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You with Your spouse.” When? How? I did not ask. I had always relied upon God, and I had always allowed Myself to be led by Him exactly as a flower is led away by running water. The Eternal Father had never abandoned Me without His help. His hand had always supported, protected and guided Me so far. It would do so also now. [...]

 

Reliance in God is everything, and God grants everything to those who trust in Him: He gives Himself. » 

 

[Poem of the Man-God, Maria Valtorta, Vol 1, chap 18; p. 93-94.]

〰

Mary is at the home of Elizabeth and Zacharias, and she has been speaking to Elizabeth about her future Son. Joseph has not yet arrived from Nazareth.

 

« Oh, how I will love My Child! My Son! Also Joseph will love Him. »

 

« But You will have to tell Joseph. »

 

Mary's face darkens, and She sighs. « Yes, I will have to tell him... I wish Heaven would tell him, because it is so difficult to tell. »

 

« Shall I tell him? We will ask him to come for John's circumcision... »

 

« No. I have entrusted God with the task of informing him of his happy destiny of putative father of the Son of God, and He will do so. The Spirit said to Me that evening: “Be silent. Entrust Me with the task of justifying You.” And He will do so. God never lies. It is a great trial, but with the help of the Eternal Father, it will be overcome. No one must learn from My mouth what the benignity of the Lord has done. Certainly you are the exception, because the Spirit revealed it to you. »

 

« I have not mentioned it to anybody, not even to Zacharias who would have been very happy. He thinks you are a mother according to nature. »

 

« I know. And I decided that out of prudence. The secrets of God are holy. […] God hid this joyful light from Zacharias, who rejected your late maternity as something impossible. […] You perceived the secret living in Me. He did not perceive anything. Until the screen of his incredulity does not fall before the power of God, he will be separated from supernatural lights. »

 

[Chapter 22, p, 108.]

 

〰

Forty days later, Joseph is in Jerusalem with Mary to attend the Presentation of the Baptist in the Temple, and the Purification of Elizabeth. 

 

Mary says:

 

« Also My Joseph suffered his passion. It began in Jerusalem when he noticed My condition. And it lasted several days, exactly as it had happened to Jesus and to Me. Neither was it less painful for his soul. And only because of the holiness of My just spouse, it was contained in such a dignified and secret form, that it has been hardly noticed throughout centuries.

 

« Oh! Our first Passion! Who can feel its intimate and silent intensity? Who can describe My pain when I realized that Heaven had not yet heard My prayer by revealing the mystery to Joseph? I understood that he was not aware of it when I saw that he was respectful to Me as usual. If he had known that I bore in Me the Word of God, he would have adored that Word enclosed in My womb, with the acts of veneration which are due to God and which he would not have failed to accomplish, as I would not have refused to receive, not for My own sake, but for Him Who was within Me and that I bore, as the Ark of the Alliance carried the stone code and the vases of manna […].

 

« Who can truly tell Joseph's pain, his thoughts, the perturbation of his feelings? Like a little boat caught in a great storm, he was in a vortex of conflicting ideas, in a turmoil of reflections, of which one was more piercing and painful than the other. He was, to all appearances, a man betrayed by his wife. He saw his good reputation and the esteem of his world collapse around him; because of Her he saw scornful fingers pointed at himself and felt pitied by the village people. Above all, he perceived that his love and esteem for Me had fallen, struck to death, before the evidence of a deed.

 

« In this respect, his holiness shines brighter than Mine. And I give this witness with the affection of a spouse, because I want you to love My Joseph, this wise, prudent, patient and good man, who is not separated from the mystery of Redemption, on the contrary, he is closely connected to it, because he suffered for it, consuming himself in sorrow for it, saving your Savior at the cost of his own sacrifice because of his holiness. 

 

« Had he not been so holy, he would have acted in a human way, denouncing Me as an adulteress so that I should be stoned, and the Son of My sin should perish with Me. […] But Joseph was holy. His pure spirit lived in God. His charity was ardent and strong. And out of charity he saved your Savior for you, both when he refrained from accusing Me to the elders, and when he saved Jesus in Egypt, leaving everything with prompt obedience.

 

« The three days of Joseph's passion were short in number, but deep in intensity. And they were tremendous also for Me, those days of My first passion. Because I was aware of his suffering, which I could not alleviate, in fact I had to obey God's command Who had said to Me: “Be silent!”

 

« And when, after we arrived in Nazareth, I saw him go away with a laconic goodbye, and bent as if he had aged in a short time, and I noticed that he no longer came to see Me in the evening as he used to do, then I tell you, My children, that My heart wept very bitterly. Closed in My house, all alone, in the house where everything reminded Me of the Annunciation and the Incarnation, and where everything reminded Me of Joseph, married to Me with spotless virginity, I had to fight despair and Satan's insinuation, and hope, hope, hope. And pray, pray, pray. And forgive, forgive, forgive Joseph's suspicion, his disturbance and just despair. 

 

« My children: it is necessary to hope, to pray, to forgive to obtain God's intervention in our favor. […] Hope beyond measure. Pray with confidence. Forgive to be forgiven. God's forgiveness will be the peace you desire, My children. »

 

[Chapter 25, pp. 124-125.]

 

〰

“Whereupon Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately. But while he thought on these things, behold the angel of the Lord appeared to him in his sleep, saying: Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he shall save his people from their sins.” [Matt. 1: 19-21.]

 

At Her home in Nazareth.

 

Mary starts at a loud resolute knocking at the door. She lays the distaff and spindle down and rises to go and open. Although Her dress is loose and wide it does not conceal the rotundity of Her pelvis.

 

Joseph is standing in front of Her. Mary turns pale, also in Her lips. Her face is so bloodless that it looks like a host. Mary looks at Joseph with sad inquiring eyes. Joseph looks at Her with imploring ones. They are both silent, looking at each other. 

 

Then Mary says: « At this time, Joseph? Is there anything you need? What do you want to tell Me? Come in. »

 

Joseph enters and closes the door. He is still silent. « Speak, Joseph. What is it you want from Me? »

 

« I want You to forgive me. » Joseph bends down as if he wanted to kneel down. But Mary, Who is always so reserved in touching him, seizes him resolutely by his shoulders and stops him. Mary's face blushes and blanches in rapid succession, one moment it is all red and immediately afterwards it is as white as snow, as it was before. « You want Me to forgive you? I have nothing to forgive you, Joseph. I can but thank you once again for everything you have done here while I was away and for your love for Me. »

 

Joseph looks at Her, and I can see two large tears welling up in the cavity of his deep eyes, they remain there as if they were on the rim of a vase, and they then roll down on to his cheeks and his beard. « Forgive me, Mary. I mistrusted You. Now I know. I am not worthy of having such a treasure. I lacked in charity, I accused You in my heart, I accused You unfairly, because I did not ask You to tell me the truth. I sinned against God's law, because I did not love You as I loved myself... »

 

« Oh! no! You have not sinned! »

 

« Yes, I have, Mary. If I had been accused of such a crime, I would have defended myself. But You... I was not giving You the possibility of defending Yourself, because I was about to take a decision without questioning You. I have been unfair to You, because I offended You with my suspicion. [...] Who suspects does not know. And I did not know You as I should have done. But for the torment I suffered... three days of torture, forgive me, Mary. »

 

« I have nothing for which to forgive you. On the contrary, I ask you to forgive Me for the pain I caused you. »

 

« Oh! Yes, it was a great pain! What a torture! Look! I was told this morning that my temples are white haired and my face wrinkled. These past days have been more than ten years of my life! But why, Mary, have You been so humble as to conceal Your glory from me, Your spouse, and thus allow me to suspect You? »

 

Joseph is not on his knees, but he is bent so low that he is as good as kneeling down, and Mary lays Her tiny hand on his head and smiles. She seems to be absolving him. And She whispers: « If I had not been humble in the most perfect manner, I would not have deserved to conceive the Expected One, Who is coming to pay for the sin of pride that ruined man. And then I obeyed... God had requested such obedience. It cost Me so much... because of you, because of the pain that you were to suffer [...] » 

 

Mary weeps quietly while speaking. So quietly that Joseph, bent down as he is, does not notice it until a tear falls on the floor. He then lifts his head and – it is the first time I see him do this, he presses Mary's little hands in his dark strong ones and he kisses the tips of the rosy slender fingers that protrude like fresh buds of a peach-tree from the circle formed by his own hands.

 

[Chapter 26, pp. 126-127.]

 

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