"Blessed Are the Eyes That See What You See"

Jesus preaching from a boat, James Tissot, Brooklyn museum

Matthew and Luke report, almost identically, this exclamation of Jesus but in different contexts:

• For Matthew 13:16-17, it is a commentary on the parable of the sower: "But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear! Amen, I say to you: many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it; to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
• For Luke 10:23-24, it is at the conclusion of the sending of the seventy-two disciples: "Then he turned to his disciples and said privately, 'Blessed are the eyes that see what you see! For I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.'"

Exegesis sees here a reference to a common source (Q source). Maria Valtorta illuminates, through the context of two distinct events, the meaning of this variation of the same statement.

Exegesis questioning

In Matthew 13:16-17, the beatitude ("Blessed") is part of a discourse on parables (parable of the sower, Matthew 13:3-9). It centers on the revelation of the mysteries of the Kingdom (v. 11), the opacity of the message for some, and the citation of Isaiah 6:9-10 (vv. 13-15). It mainly concerns the interpretation of the texts: why do some understand and others do not?

In Luke 10:23-24, the context is Missionary: joyful return of the 72 (vv. 17-20), victory over demons (v. 18), imminent eschatological revelation (vv. 21-22). The beatitude primarily concerns the messianic advent desired by prophets and kings.

Is it a single primitive tradition that Matthew, a direct witness, or Luke, a careful investigator, relocated to serve their purpose? Are the words spoken multiple times, which is possible but unverifiable? Or is it an important teaching repeated as Jesus does for other sayings?

These questions relate to the hypothesis of a common source called Q source, composed of a collection of Jesus' sayings common to the synoptic evangelists from which they would draw elements according to their theological intentions: Matthew, writing for a Jewish Christian community, stresses continuity with the prophets. Luke, addressing a more Hellenistic audience, emphasizes eschatological joy.

The central word "see" does not have the same meaning in Matthew and Luke. In Matthew, "see" means to understand the mystery. It is linked to the “open eyes” of the disciple, in contrast with the crowd. In Luke, "see" means to witness the messianic works, the signs of the Kingdom. Hence the question: has the theological meaning of “see” evolved from one tradition to another?

Both Gospels cite a desire of the prophets to "see" what the disciples see. But in Matthew it aims to highlight the revelation of the mystery through Jesus, while in Luke it is to show that the disciples participate in the salvation fulfillment.

For exegesis, it is therefore, globally, a matter of identifying the source of these similarities and the cause of these differences.

In Maria Valtorta

Contextualization

The notion of a source collection does not exist in Maria Valtorta’s work. It really concerns the transmission of the life and teachings of Jesus, whereas the visions are presumed to see their initial unfolding.

In this regard, the studied passages of Matthew and Luke are mainly found in two episodes set seven months apart:

Matthew 13:23-24, following the parable of the sower, is inserted in EMV 180.5. The parable itself is reported in EMV 179.5.

Luke 10:16-17 is found in EMV 280.5, reporting the return of the 72, but the imprecation against the unrepentant cities and Jesus’ exultation, which Luke inserts, are reported in an episode that took place one month earlier, when the Apostles are sent on mission before the 72 disciples (EMV 266.13-14).

The beatitude of Matthew

The parable of the sower and its explanation are not unique to Matthew (13:1-23): they are also reported by Mark (4:1-20) and Luke (8:4-15) who note complementary details that Maria Valtorta unifies into a single narrative, which corresponds to the presumed reality. Matthew’s specificity, as a witness of the scene, is the mention of the beatitude which is not in the other accounts.

Context

According to Maria Valtorta, the parable is given at Bethsaida where Peter resides. The Gospel of Mark specifies this took place "by the Sea of Galilee" and he is the only one to separate the parable from its explanation: the first took place before a crowd, the second when he “was alone” with the twelve and some disciples, which fits the nature of a teaching addressed only to the disciples. According to Maria Valtorta, this happens upon the return of the disciples to Peter’s house.

A discussion takes place between the God of the Old Testament, where God often appears as a distant and transcendent lawgiver (above all), and the immanent God, near and present, like a vital breath that animates us without crushing us. This is what Peter and Simon the Zealot (apostle) discover against Judas and what motivates the beatitude.

Specificity of Maria Valtorta’s narrative

The narration corresponds to Matthew 13:10-17. It has the same structure, the same citation of Isaiah, the same crowd/apostles distinction, and the same beatitude of eyes and ears. However, it is distinguished by a development of certain theological and mystical aspects.

• "Imitation" of God: "Adam’s perfection was still able to grow thanks to love which would have led him to an ever more exact image of his Creator. Adam, without the stain of sin, would have been a very pure mirror of God. This is why I say: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect"". Like the Father, therefore like God."

• The fragmentary understanding of the prophets: For Matthew 13:17, the understanding by prophets and the righteous was incomplete. In Maria Valtorta Jesus explains: "They consumed themselves in the desire to understand the mystery of the words but, once the light of prophecy went out, the words remained like extinguished coals, even for the saint who had them. Only God reveals Himself." The prophets did not “see” the events like a film. They received, by the Spirit, a real but veiled knowledge of the Messianic plan. They understood the deep meaning of the events, but not their concrete unfolding. Their mission was not to describe the future, but to announce the coming salvation.

The contested citation

In the continuation of his commentary on the prophets, Jesus announces to Peter what will be the coming of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost) and papal infallibility. The last sentence alerted Father Romualdo Migliorini who saw in it a reservation about this infallibility:

"That is why I told you this morning: "A day will come when you will recover everything I have given you." Now you cannot retain it. But later the light will come upon you, not for a moment, but for an indissoluble marriage of the Eternal Spirit with yours, which will make your teaching infallible concerning the Kingdom of God. And as it shall be for you, so it will be for your successors if they live by God as by a single bread."     

Maria Valtorta submits the objection to Jesus who answers it himself:

"I answer your question as follows:

It is true that the pope’s infallibility in the spiritual domain is a defined truth. It exists in each of my vicars, regardless of his way of life and degree of virtue. But it is just as true that you will not find a dogma defined and proclaimed by popes who are – notoriously or not – deprived of my Grace.

The soul not in a state of Grace cannot be in the friendship of the Holy Spirit. Anyone who would think such a thing is possible would truly have a heretical thought! God is just: as he treats the poor, so he treats the rich. As he treats the laity, so he treats the Sovereign Pontiff.          

Unfortunately, there are dark zones in the history of my Church. To close your eyes to not see these dark spots is to live in darkness regarding the whole Church, even the many and luminously angelic, divinely luminous glorious eras of my Church.        

Because we must be sincere also in these things, as I was with my apostles, my disciples and those who followed me. Large crowds who were not all composed of saints, not all lukewarm, not all wicked. I recognized the merit or demerit of each, I gave to each what he deserved, without considering particular emotional reasons. Truth is truth, in all things.

This is also true in the study of history. And in that of the history of my Church. History, to be history and not a fable, must be impartial.

The Ages of Darkness, moreover, are those announced in the prophetic allusions of the idol-shepherd and of this Sebna, prefect of the Temple. That it stings and burns, I admit. But it is not allowed to say "Anathema" to a truth. So rely on this certainty: dogmas are true and infallibility exists because I do not grant dogmas to those who do not deserve them. This was included in the phrase that caused the objection [...]"

On 30-6-45, at 8 in the morning."        

This explanation by Jesus is timely because papal infallibility (in matters of faith) is not conditioned on his holiness but on his office. It is constitutive of Catholic faith. It exists in every successor of Peter regardless of his way of life, which corresponds exactly to the Doctrine defined by the First Vatican Council (Pastor aeternus) and recalled by Vatican II (Lumen Gentium §25) as well as by the Catechism (§891–892), which is explicitly recalled here in Jesus’ commentary. He seems to distinguish what is the intangible and enduring transmission of faith from its magisterial explanation. Dogma strictly designates a revealed truth that the Church proposes in a "definitive and mandatory" way for all the faithful, so that denial constitutes heresy. This shows the importance of such a decision. Dogma has often been linked to controversies, which demands great care in the final judgment. Dogma is not limited to conflict situations: it also intervenes to explain and root a long-standing tradition alive in the faithful (eg. the Assumption). According to what Jesus clarifies in Maria Valtorta, these solemn moments would benefit from a particular presence of the Holy Spirit incompatible with a situation of grave sinner.

Summary

Matthew 13:16-17’s beatitude is part of a dynamic of progressive revelation, where the understanding of the mysteries of the Kingdom is reserved for those whose eyes and ears are opened by Grace. This beatitude is an invitation to see beyond appearances, and to understand what is veiled from the crowds.

In Maria Valtorta, this dimension is amplified by highlighting the continuity between the Old and New Testament, while insisting on the necessity of inner adherence to revealed truth. The beatitude then becomes a bridge between the prophetic promise and its fulfillment in Jesus, where understanding is no longer fragmentary but illuminated by the Spirit.

This approach opens a perspective to address Luke 10:23-24’s beatitude: if Matthew emphasizes the understanding of the mystery, Luke celebrates the active participation of the disciples in the advent of the Kingdom. Comparing the two texts will allow one to explore how these two dimensions — revelation and fulfillment — are articulated in Jesus’ preaching, and how Maria Valtorta integrates them into a unified vision of the messianic mission.

The beatitude of Luke

Jesus sends the seventy-two two by two, James Tissot, Brooklyn museum

Maria Valtorta’s account (EMV 280.5) follows Luke 10:17-20’s narrative: the joyful return of the 72 is followed by a sharing of missionary exploits. The amazement comes from the submission of demons witnessed by Jesus in spirit: "I saw Satan fall like lightning" and he exhorts them to rejoice not in miracles but in salvation.

Interference of Luke according to Maria Valtorta

However, Jesus’ exultation for the revelation made "to the little ones" (vv. 20-22) is not located there: it is positioned one month earlier, in EMV 266, at the return of the Apostles sent first, two by two, to evangelize (EMV 266.13-14) in accordance with the Gospel accounts. At this point is inserted the reference to children as bearers of God’s love:

"Here is the one who knows how to love the most among you, the child. But don’t tremble you who already have beard on your cheeks and even silver hairs. Whoever is born anew in Me becomes "a child"."

It is this parallel between child and disciple in Christ that would cause the interference, in Luke, with the exultation since it introduces the beatitude.

Maria Valtorta’s chronology on the very point of the imprecation against the unrepentant cities and the exultation is more consistent with the text of Matthew 11:1-17. She reports them similarly in EMV 266.

Beatitude extended to the Future of the Church

In Maria Valtorta’s account, the beatitude, confined in Luke to "prophets and kings" of the past, extends to the history of salvation:

"From now on those who will love me will know all things [...] Then you will speak for Me. And then... Oh! the great crowds, not because of number, but because of the Grace of those who will see, know and hear what you now see, know, hear! Oh! the great, the crowds beloved by my "little-great ones"! Eternal eyes, eternal spirits, eternal ears! How can I explain to you, who surround me, what it will be to live eternally, more than eternally, beyond measure, those who will love me and whom I will love until abolishing time, and they will be "the citizens of Israel" even if they live when Israel is only a memory of a nation and they will be contemporaries of Jesus living in Israel. And they will be with Me, in Me, until they know what time has erased and what Pride has confused. What name will I give them? You apostles, you disciples, the believers will be called "Christians". And these? What name will they have? A name only known in Heaven. What reward will they have already on earth? My Kiss, my word, the warmth of my flesh. All, all, all Myself. Me, them. Them, Me. Total communion..."

This vision of the Future, in which Jesus exults, ends with a somewhat enigmatic reference to "those who will love me and whom I will love until abolishing time" whose name will be known in Heaven. It calls for a future development.

The beatitudes of Matthew and Luke according to Maria Valtorta

The beatitudes of Matthew 13:16-17 and Luke 10:23-24, whether shared from a common source or an oral tradition, are inscribed in distinct theological dynamics: one centered on the revelation of the Kingdom mysteries, the other on the messianic advent and the active participation of the disciples. Exegesis, interrogating the Q source or the evangelists’ editorial intentions, highlights the richness of these complementary perspectives but also the tensions between understanding and fulfillment, between prophetic heritage and eschatological experience.

Maria Valtorta, through the narrative and mystical contextualization of these passages, offers an original reading key. She unifies these two dimensions by showing how progressive revelation — from the prophets to the disciples — culminates in a total communion with Christ. The beatitude is no longer just a statement of privilege, but a promise of divine intimacy, extended to all who, through the centuries, will access the "vision" through love and Grace. By broadening the scope of these words to the Future of the Church, she recalls that the mystery of the Kingdom is limited neither to a time nor to a place, but unfolds in a history of salvation where every believer is called to become "contemporary" with Christ.

Thus, the questions raised by exegesis — on the source, the evolving meaning of "see", or the continuity between Old and New Testament — find in Valtorta’s work an answer that goes beyond mere textual harmonization. They fit into an organic vision of Revelation, where the Word becomes flesh not only in Jesus but also in the living experience of those who, yesterday as today, welcome the gift of his eyes and ears. In this, Maria Valtorta does not merely illuminate an exegetical debate: she invites contemplative reading, where the beatitude becomes a path toward ever deeper communion with Christ, "him in us, us in him."

This perspective, rooted both in patristic tradition and open to spiritual aggiornamento, offers a way to approach the unity of Scripture and the Mission of the Church. It recalls that revealed truth is never an object of speculation but a light communicated to those who, like the prophets of old, desire to "see" and "hear" — not to satisfy curiosity, but to unite with the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Offering a general overview of a whole. (Example: a synoptic table). In the Catholic context, often refers to one of the first three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) because of their common framework.

In-depth research on God, faith, religious Doctrine.

Analysis of the historical, cultural, and literary context of Biblical texts to better understand what they meant at the time they were written and how they can be interpreted today.

First part of the Bible from the book of Genesis until before the coming of Jesus Christ. Parallel

Second part of the Bible, from the coming of Jesus Christ until the Apocalypse.

The Gospel as it was revealed to me (Maria Valtorta).

Analysis of the historical, cultural, and literary context of Biblical texts to better understand what they meant at the time they were written and how they can be interpreted today.