From the Desk of A Friend of Medjugorje: What if you had sat at a table with several others as Jesus ate with Gamaliel, Lazarus, and Joseph of Arimathea at Joseph’s house? What would be the questions addressed to Jesus?
February 22, 2011 A.D.
The following writing by A Friend of Medjugorje came through deep prayer. It is recommended that you enter into prayer before reading. It is important to pause, close your eyes and enter into a deep ardent prayer to the Holy Spirit that He will show and help you to understand all that is written, and not written, that Our Lady wants you to understand about your direction, your walk in life. It was published as a Words of the Harvesters to Caritas Field Angels and is being shared with you.
What if you had sat at a table with several others as Jesus ate with Gamaliel, Lazarus, and Joseph of Arimathea at Joseph’s house? What would be the questions addressed to Jesus? What were Jesus’ answers to Gamaliel, the greatest rabbi in Israel during Jesus’ time? Maria Valtorta, known as the Italian mystic who says she saw Jesus’ life, wrote what she saw in five volumes entitled, The Poem of the Man-God. Valtorta declares of her writing:
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“…that I have had no human source to be able to know what I write, and what, even while writing, I often do not understand.” 1
Another Maria who came to know The Poem of the Man-God is Medjugorje visionary Marija. Marija, in the beginning years of the apparitions, was approached by some seminarians to ask Our Lady about the Poem of the Man-God. Our Lady responded to Marija:
1982-1983
Because a storm of opposition erupted as a result of the writings of Maria Valtorta’s growing popularity, Caritas of Birmingham, Cardinal Ratzinger, and Pope John Paul II are recorded in Church history as a result of a verdict rendered concerning The Poem of the Man God. 3
The historic Church ruling cleared the way for the faithful to read the volumes. The Church only required they not be declared supernatural. This is always the way the Church works. Time gave the historic decision to Caritas and time will further clarify. What is important now is the Church’s approval for the faithful to read them, and that The Poem of the Man-God can be read, correlates to Our Lady’s words, “One must read them.” **see end note**
So, what was the conversation between Jesus and Gamaliel that Valtorta wrote of that took place in the home of Joseph of Arimathea? To set the scene, Gamaliel had believed, with other elders, that the Messiah was upon the earth. An encounter 19 years earlier with a child in the Temple had convinced the great Gamaliel and other elders of the Sanhedrin that this was the time of the Messiah. Gamaliel respected and believed Jesus to be a great holy man and unlike any other. Gamaliel had been studying Jesus and His words during the meal. Jesus, at one point, turns to Gamaliel and asks him if he has any questions. Maria Valtorta writes of their conversation.
Gamaliel: (There are) three questions that are always without an answer.
Jesus: Which questions?
Gamaliel: Is the Messiah alive? Was it that one? Is it this one?
Joseph of Arimathea interjects before Jesus can answer.
Joseph: It is He, I tell you, Gamaliel! Don’t you think that He is holy? Different? Powerful?…You do?… Well, then?…What are you waiting to believe?
Gamaliel does not reply to Joseph. He turns to Jesus and says:
Gamaliel: Do not be upset, Jesus, if I am tenacious of my ideas…Once, when the great wise Hillel was still alive, we both believed that the Messiah was in Israel. There was a great brightness of a divine sunshine on that cold day in a bitter winter! It was Passover…
After Gamaliel had told of what he believed was the Messiah, he continued to tell Jesus:
Gamaliel: One…a little more than a child…but God was shining on His innocent gentle face…I have been thinking of it and remembering it for the last nineteen years…and I try to hear that voice again…that spoke words of wisdom…In which part of the world does He now live? I ponder…He was God. In the appearance of a little boy in order not to frighten men…He, the Divine Being, in His appearance of merciful beauty, with the face and voice of a child and a divine mind, wanders on the earth to say to men: “I am”. So I think…When will He come back to Israel?…(But) Can the Holiness descend into Its Messiah as long as there is abomination amongst us?
Jesus: It can and does descend, because it is Mercy.
Gamaliel looks at Jesus pensively and then asks:
Gamaliel: What is your true name?
Jesus stands up stately and says:
Jesus: I am Who I am. The Thought and the Word of the Father. I am the Messiah of the Lord.
Gamaliel: You?…I cannot believe it. Great is Your Holiness. But that Child, in Whom I do believe, said then: “I will give a sign…These stones will vibrate when My hour comes.” I am awaiting that hour to believe. Can you give it to me, to convince me that You are the Expected One?
Both are now standing…both with deep dominating eyes, staring at each other. Jesus then lowers His right arm upon His chest as if He were swearing.
Jesus: You want that sign? And you will have it! I repeat the far off words: “The stones of the Temple of the Lord will vibrate hearing My last words.” Wait for that sign, doctor of Israel, a just man, and then believe, if you wish to be forgiven and saved. Blessed before time, if you could believe before! But you cannot. Centuries of wrong beliefs, on a just promise, and heaps of pride, are your bulwark against Truth and Faith.”
Gamaliel: You are right. I will wait for that sign. Good-bye.
Jesus: Good-bye, Gamaliel. May the Eternal Spirit enlighten you and guide you.
Valtorta writes after Jesus’ death that Gamaliel did wait to believe, and with great lamentation, witnessed the sign and the Temple veil split in two. With deep regret he went to the Virgin Mary, and only then became a Christian with the bitterness of waiting for the sign. Our Lady said in Medjugorje:
After December 15, 1982
One can always convert, but if your conversion comes late what you could have had in walking, with the kiss of Our Lady in Her moment, will have passed. Conversion is a beautiful and profound happening in one’s state of being, but Our Lady does not want us to delay. Our Lady said:
August 25, 1997
Gamaliel’s late conversion after seeing the sign was none-the-less bitter. The grace of walking with Jesus, being His apostle or disciple while Jesus walked the earth had passed.
As many know, in the Spring of 2010, the Vatican formed a new commission on Medjugorje. We have been informed that the new Vatican Commission has basically concluded its work, and we should see some type of statement. When it will be released we do not know. We have known this for a few weeks, but have not rushed to say anything. Why? Because what does it change? Why does anyone wait for the Church approval or limited approval? Mother Church does not require, nor restrain us, from evangelizing Medjugorje. You do not need a priest or bishop’s permission to spread Medjugorje. You have the right and duty to evangelize by the rite of Baptism. The Church, by its Canon Laws, grants the faithful the right to believe, spread and have devotion to private revelation, of which Medjugorje is included. You are not being disobedient in talking about, speaking of, holding conferences, promoting spiritual projects, etc. when spreading Medjugorje. Medjugorje is in the grace of the Church. The only way you would not be able to do these things, as a Catholic, is if Medjugorje were condemned; then and only then would we have to stop devotion to Medjugorje.
To be reluctant, to believe and think one must follow an opinion, a wish of another individual who opposes Medjugorje, be it a layman, priest or bishop is simply not being in accord with what the Church itself has granted to us. If one believes otherwise, one is obscured by, as Jesus told Gamaliel, “heaps of pride, are your bulwark against Truth and Faith.” Our Lady’s number one message in the beginning of the Medjugorje apparitions was that faith is in crisis. Our Lady is interested in you being in total obedience to the Church and to priests and bishops where they have jurisdiction. But the Church, itself, is to be obeyed in the longitude and latitude of the freedom that is given to evangelize. Our Lady, therefore, is not interested in you waiting for Church approval before you believe and spread Her apparitions in Medjugorje. Our Lady wants us to believe with faith in Her presence, now, and not wait to listen to Her. You have everything you need through your baptism and Canon Law to follow Her, to be obedient to Her, to let Her direct you spiritually, to let Her “construct” you spiritually as the first Christians in this, Her time.
Is your pride hurt because the Church has reserved judgment up until now? Is that what you want before you feel you can carry full authority to evangelize? If so, you do not understand obedience nor when and who you should be obedient to. Yes, a priest or a bishop can tell you not to put Medjugorje brochures inside a church because they have that jurisdiction, and you must be obedient to their authority in such a situation. This mentality, in making such a restriction, does not serve them, however, as it did not serve Gamaliel with his mentalities. Likewise, and on the other hand, the priest or bishop is not in violation of any aspect of the Church’s teaching or Church Law by allowing Medjugorje material to be spread within the churches. But regretful will be their use of authority, in styming the spreading of Medjugorje, when the sign comes. And how many more souls and nonbelievers could have converted in the time of grace and been brought to grace, even including being saved from the fires of hell itself.
In this context we must not ignore or discount what God’s position has been over the last 30 years. It is plain for all to see, if God so willed it, He could have had Medjugorje approved long ago. But He has not. Why? Because Medjugorje is a lay led movement led by Our Lady Herself. Therefore, Medjugorje is positioned in the Church to be freely spread by the laity without restriction to all peoples of the world. Lay people are risen up as lay evangelists who will help Our Lady triumph into a new time, a springtime for the Church; the triumph of the Immaculate Heart; the first time in the history of the Church when the Church will be renewed through the laity; chosen apostles of this time, during these last times Our Lady will appear on earth. The lay apostles called and raised up by Our Lady for the triumph. A triumph that will not happen by the Church approving Medjugorje, but through the apostles of the latter days of which St. Louis de Montfort wrote:
“They shall be as the sons of Levi, well purified by the fire of great tribulation…They shall be the true apostles of the latter times…Mary is the one who, by order of the Most High, shall fashion them for the purpose of extending His empire over that of the impious…” 4
The shepherds of the Church will accompany Our Lady in Her triumph…But the path to the triumph will come through the laity, who accept the call to be Her apostles. Our Lady said:
October 2, 2010
Our apostleship work is humble. But it is the humble foundation upon which the springtime for the Church will be built upon. You humble apostles will be gloriously rewarded later. Now you are called to offer and sacrifice your life for Our Lady’s plans for the salvation of the world. Our Lady said:
February 25, 1988
Our Lady expects from us as faithful Christians to respect all areas where the authority of the Church has jurisdiction. At the same time, it is not the interest of Our Lady for you to wait for Church approval! We are not to be concerned for Church approval. It is not Our Lady’s interest for you to be reserved or hesitant in spreading Medjugorje because the Church has not given official approval. The Church allows you to do what Our Lady calls you to do…
February 25, 1995
What did the angels say to the apostles and disciples after Jesus ascended to Heaven?
“…why are you standing there looking at the sky?…” Acts 1:11
Do you not grasp this moment clearly enough to seize it with all your being, to live and spread Our Lady’s messages of holiness, and even give all you possess to seek first God’s Kingdom, placing everything at His disposal? Do you not understand? Do you even want to understand? Our Lady has descended and ascended for 30 years! 30 years!
Do you just stand there, o’ man, with your hands in your pockets, looking up at the sky?
If you have the means to come to Caritas and be in the presence of the Holy Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace when She descends and ascends each day and you don’t, you will one day, as did Gamaliel, regret it bitterly. What you could have done, yet did not.
If you do not have the means to come, ask Our Lady. She will get you here. Every encounter with Our Lady in the time of grace will be a sweet balm in the time of lamentation.
August 25, 1997
Gamaliel himself realized his thoughts and ideas caused him to miss the time of grace. Do not fall into the same foolish mentality or let others who possess such a foolish mentality keep you from the great love of God that descends on the earth each day—The Holy Virgin Mary. Do not hesitate to come into Her presence. Do not hesitate to accept and spread Our Lady’s coming.
April 2, 2008
Spread everywhere Our Lady’s apparitions this March 19-23, 2011. Bring everyone you can to be a part of a kiss directly from Heaven for the heart. As Gamaliel asked Jesus the question and waited, ask yourself, are you going to wait to believe only when there is Church approval? If so…
What if you had been there…? The Church allows you the grace to believe—now!.
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With the Hope to See You and with Love,
For Updated Information about March 19-23, 2011 Visit This Page
** NOTE REGARDING POEM OF THE MAN -GOD: For years this message was quoted as, “It makes for good reading.” However, this message was a political tone-down of Our Lady’s words due to a prior condemnation of the volumes. The original words of Our Lady, “One must read them,” have since been clarified to a closer translation given through Marija during a meeting with the prayer group. The condemnation of The Poem of the Man-God also has since been clarified as not condemned. For a greater clarification please click to download THE MOST RECENT DECISION OF THE HOLY SEE REGARDING THE WORK THE POEM OF THE MAN-GOD
Endnotes:
1. Maria Valtorta, The Poem of the Man-God, Volume One, pg. X, 1986, Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, Italy, pp 611-612
2. A Friend of Medjugorje, Words from Heaven, 12th ed., 2011, St. James Publishing
3. “The Most Recent Decision of the Holy See Regarding the Work of The Poem of the Man-God by Maria Valtorta,” Prot.N. 144/5 I, dated April 17, 1993
4. St. Louis De Montfort, True Devotion to Mary, 1941, Tan Books & Publishers, pp. 34-35
27 thoughts on “The Vatican’s New Commission in Regards to a Verdict on Medjugorje – Why Are You Waiting to Believe? – What If You’d Been There?”
Oh My Mother my husband and I say our Rosary almost every day in loving thanks giving for all your help and blessing and graces in our lives and the life of our family mostly all in the UK. Though they are not living their catholic faith except for our First son who on his own… We bind our children and families to our Rosary and pray Our Lady will soon pray that God Love will penetrate their being. Oh Mother I Love You and Your Jesus more and more every day. I offer myself completely to you and pray for family unity. I pray You will be with Us at each step. I thank You so very much for Your presence and always when praying at the window look for Your presence in the wind and feel so happy when I see the leaves of the trees sing their gentle movement. Thank You Dear Mother. Thank your dear brother and sisters of Caritas and especially the Visionaries. THANK YOU .
Oh My Mother my husband and I say our Rosary almost every day in loving thanks giving for all your help and blessing and graces in our lives and the life of our family mostly all in the UK. Though they are not living their catholic faith except for our First son who on his own… We bind our children and families to our Rosary and pray Our Lady will soon pray that God Love will penetrate their being. Oh Mother I Love You and Your Jesus more and more every day. I offer myself completely to you and pray for family unity. I pray You will be with Us at each step. I thank You so very much for Your presence and always when praying at the window look for Your presence in the wind and feel so happy when I see the leaves of the trees sing their gentle movement. Thank You Dear Mother. Thank your dear brother and sisters of Caritas and especially the Visionaries. THANK YOU .
OCTOBER 7TH WILL BE MY 71ST BIRTHDAY. MY HUSBAND AND I WILL CELEBRATE THIS SPECIAL DAY PRAYING THE HOLY ROSARY. IT IS SUCH A SPECIAL GIFT TO BE ABLE TO PRAY THE ROSARY EVERY SINGLE DAY AND OFFER THESE BEAUTIFUL PRAYERS BACK TO THE HOLY MOTHER AND JESUS. I GIVE MY VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GIFT BACK TO THEM. FOR GOD GAVE US LIFE AND LIFE BELONGS TO GOD. OCTOBER 7TH HAS VERY SPECIAL MEANING FOR ME AS WHEN I PRAY AND FEEL THE WIND I KNOW MY MOTHER IS THERE WITH US. THANK YOU CARITAS FOR THIS WONDERFUL WEBSITE. MAY BLESSINGS BE ON YOUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD.
Thank you and god bless you all. i do not know but i feel mother mary speaks through you inspite of my nothingness. As you have written collect your family children and pray inside the room. unknowingly i did this. am bit lazy but i did. no children, my husband is pagan , i have no children but i did this alone with you all. at 6pm i came out from my room. and went see my mail and there i saw you all. and your messages. thank you. i saw one pink colour rosary lying in the water in my dream. i thought to by that same colour i dont know why. i am not good. please do pray and my husband nad family. thank you and god bless. you all.
Oh, Mama Mary, thank you for Your Great Love for us! I entrust to Your Immaculate Heart, our families here in S.A.,Tx. and we will come to Honor You and Consecrate our families and gather in prayer for these two Feast Days. We love you Mama Mary! LONG LIVE MARY in the hearts of All Her children! Praise Be God Forever! Keep blessing abundantly, the Community of Caritas for all they do to help us draw closer to You, Mama! Thank You!
Mother Mary we send our love to you with praises to Our Lord, God. We join in prayers to consecrate our families and One Nation Under God. Thank you, Mother Mary!
Our Mother Mary you can count with us, we will join you during these special two days also. May it be Your will with all of us for this Nation and all Families. May Prayer come first in all our lives 24/7. Mua!
Thank you for this invitation to prayer on October 6 & 7. Thank you for encouraging me to continue in hope for my family. It will be me in the bedroom praying for the family with Our blessed Mother for the family. Thank you again for this invitation. May our Lady bring my family to know and love The Lord Jesus and His blessed Mother. Thanks be to God. amen
I love Our Lady so much. Through Her we find our way to Her son, Our Lord Jesus. She is always with us. She helps us on our path to the Heavenly Father. She guides us and wants us to pray the rosary. We must pray, pray, pray. Help us Blessed Mother so we may all find peace in our hearts.
Praying the rosary with so many others during this time will be a privilege and an honor. Medjugorje and Caritas are always in our hearts.
My wife and I will do as we are asked through Our Lady as She is the answer to all.
Please do not hesitate to believe! I asked for a sign back in the early 90’s so that I might teach my PSR children; I was given the sign almost immediately! My son and I watched as my rosary turned gold, link by link. My son is nearly 29 now and says when times get hard and he begins to doubt he remember the rosary turning gold. I absolutely believe that these apparitions are true. If you ask for a sign I am sure Our Lady will help you believe. Also I have read and reread The Poem of the Man-God. It is a beautiful 5 volumes read. You will be given graces as you read, pray and clarity. Do not wait. Our Blessed Mother will help you.
Please do not hesitate to believe! I asked for a sign back in the early 90’s so that I might teach my PSR children; I was given the sign almost immediately! My son and I watched as my rosary turned gold, link by link. My son is nearly 29 now and says when times get hard and he begins to doubt he remember the rosary turning gold. I absolutely believe that these apparitions are true. If you ask for a sign I am sure Our Lady will help you believe. Also I have read and reread The Poem of the Man-God. It is a beautiful 5 volumes read. You will be given graces as you read, pray and clarity. Do not wait. Our Blessed Mother will help you.
Brothers and sisters, I’ve just recently found out about these apparitions of Our Lady and they’ve been happening since I was 1! Nobody divulges it in churches, we know nothing. If it weren’t for the Internet I would probably never know, or I would know only after the Church’s approval. I thank you very much for your work, as Mary said, I thank you for have responded to Her call. And in this way I can receive this great grace of hear Her heavenly messages. God bless you.
Like the saying goes there is no time like the present time. (to have faith and believe). The conversation between Gamaliel and the Lord Jesus is striking. You ask the question what if you had been there? As you point out 19 yrs. earlier he and others of the Sanhedrin witnessed for the 3 days the child Jesus among them and BELIEVED that the messiah was amoung them! ~ How sad that with time doubt sets in, like with so many of us. Instead of asking who is the messiah how will we know him? HAVE
i love jesus
While visiting my relatives in Croatia last April, I made a pilgrimage to Medjugorje. While there, I prayed for someone I hadn’t seen in 3 years because of an argument we had and exactly one week later, without warning, I was in Zagreb when I saw this person and we chatted for a short while but, 3 months later we picked up where we left off and have been talking ever since. She is someone I love dearly and I pray that things will become even better. For we walk by faith and not by sight.
Dear Friend of Medjugorje, Thank you for your wonderful letter, I believe it! Two years ago I was on retreat and had an experience of Our Lady at the grotto of Our Lady of Fatima. I felt that she was calling me to something and that her presence was close to me. I know now that this March 19th retreat was the answer. I am able to attend due to Our Lady’s help and some wonderful laity. I look forward to being with you and I am in prayer with all of you. Sister Wendy Marie
Our Lady has blessed me in being with you last week to help as we prepare for Our Lady Queen of Peace. A prayerful plea to Our Lady’s apostles….The community of Caritas is working 18 hours a day, 4 hours of prayer. It is ONLY by Gods divine grace and Our Lady that is sustaining them to prepare for US the gift of being in the presence of Our Lady. PLEASE come and help if you can, if only for a day. Our Lady needs our prayers AND our labor. The harvest is plenty but the labors are few. PEACE
I’m about to start on my 2nd reading of Poem of the Man God. My heart has ached for Gamaliel after reading about him – as I can only imagine the ache in his heart after Jesus left. I know so many Gamaliels living today and my suffering is knowing what I know now and their turning their attention to other worldly attractions. If not for Our Lady & Caritas, I would be with them.
This is a wonderful article which gets to the very heart of how everyone should be responding to Medjugorje but how, instead, through what they call ‘prudence’ most prefer to keep their distance and wait… Caritas has been strongly persecuted and for a time I believed those who persecute their mission but this article finally shows to me the authenticity of their inspiration.
Wow!
Thank you for your wonderful writing. Its so true! only God masters our hearts, and if you have faith, than you believe, with or without the approval of the church. Its in the heart, and I truly believe and feel it. I so want to be present in March for this special moment, my hands are tide. I am asking if its Gods will for this to be the time and be present it will happen. I am praying for this to be possible. Help me and pray for Gods will if this time is meant for me. its in my heart. PRAY!