Teachings of Jesus on the Church and the Consecrated

Teachings of Jesus on the Church and the Consecrated

Cover page - CEV - 2019
Work Details
Author	Maria Valtorta
Text Selection	Emilio Pisani and Claudia Vecchiarelli
Pages	320
First Italian Edition
Title	Santi e non santi. Scritti sulla Chiesa e sulla vita consacrata
Publication	January 2010
Publisher	Centro Editoriale Valtortiano
French Translation
Title	Teachings of Jesus on the Church and the Consecrated
Translator	Yves d'Horrer
Publication	March 2019
Publisher	Centro Editoriale Valtortiano
ISBN	978-8879873321

This work presents itself as a selection of texts from the entire work of Maria Valtorta related to the early Church and the current Church as well as to the consecrated. It is to be noted that for Maria Valtorta, the term "Church" designates all Catholics.

"Oh! For that declaration by the pagans in the early centuries which you don’t hear anymore, or only very rarely, “See how much they love and how virtuous they are! See how they love each other! Because of this authenticity of the clergy and Christians of the early centuries, the world of that time became Christian."

Extracted from Maria Valtorta's Autobiography

In these passages from her Autobiography (1943), Maria Valtorta expresses a vision both critical and full of hope regarding the priestly Mission and the spiritual state of Europe. She strongly emphasizes the need for a renewed evangelization of Europe, which she compares to a mission land due to its practical Atheism and its rejection of faith, even more serious than the idolatry of distant peoples. She Calls Missionaries to return to evangelize a Europe in crisis, where Baptism is often reduced to an empty formula and where the Sacraments are despised. For her, the salvation of the world passes through the cross, sacrifice, and penitence, sources of spiritual energy allowing preachers to touch Hearts.

She insists on the complementarity of roles: the laity, through prayer and suffering, support the priests in their Mission, while the priests, ascending the altar, unite in themselves the Adoration of Mary and the action of Martha.

This text reveals a constant concern for the salvation of Souls and a vivid Call to holiness, both for priests and the faithful, in a world marked by dechristianization and loss of the sense of God.

"In my life I have met holy priests, without a doubt, real Priests with abundant charity, unquestioned zeal, and a fruitful apostolate. Creatures who live convinced of their mission and consume themselves in body and soul in the care of souls, entirely concerned with bearing these souls to God, utterly busied with inflaming them and pushing them towards charity and generosity. I have not found a real Director among them. Confessors emeriti, but not directors. But this depends on me, not them. You have realized how reluctant I am to open myself—and if I am now with a person I judge to be like the one I dreamed of as a Spiritual Director of my soul, imagine how closed I was when I did not see in the priest I approached a certain something telling me, “Entrust the secrets of your heart to this priest.” But in the midst of holy priests I have found many who are not holy.

I shall explain my idea. When I see a priest who is not very zealous in looking after souls and more concerned about human interests—houses, income, classes to be given, visits to be received, and so on and so forth—impatient towards poor souls, who are also bothersome, I admit, with their scruples and pettiness, but who, precisely for this reason, ought to be made virile in faith, a priest who, instead of assisting the real impulses of hearts, holds them back, not out of prudence—this would be proper—but out of lukewarmness in his own heart, since he feels that what is done for the Lord is always too much and one must not exaggerate—I then say that such a priest is not holy. Note that I pass over other human failings which bring me to tears and spur me to expiate with special penitences, but which I omit out of pity for human weakness, always present, even under a cassock...

Well then, I see so many of these lukewarm priests! The saints are scattered like rare flowers in a vast, grassy meadow, too rare for the multitude’s immense need to be evangelized once again.

I admire the work of the Missionaries who go to non-Christian lands to take Christ to the idolaters.... But the blacks of Europe, the neopagans of the Old World, who, after having been the first to receive the light of Christ, have again lost it under a heap of pleasures, vice, the race for wealth and power—who will convert them anew? Who will save them by taking them to God with the fire of an apostle? These poor blacks of Europe, whose baptism is now just an empty formula; for whom the words of Faith are a dead letter; ecclesiastical ceremonies, useless functions; the Sacraments, the pettiness of silly women—these poor blacks of Europe, who remember God to curse Him, who live like beasts, anxious only to satisfy their bellies, their desires, and their pocketbooks, who die in even more beastlike fashion, falling headlong into the hereafter without a final return to God—who will evangelize them? Who, spending his life in a preaching involving his whole life, understood not as years, but as deeds, will take them back to the Fount of All, persuading them of a life of the spirit—much higher than the life of matter, which is the divinity of the modern era—the life of the spirit providing the “enduring life” sung by Catherine [of Siena]?

Oh, have mercy, have mercy on these poor European multitudes, flocks left with too few real shepherds, badly guided by the others, who are concerned with numberless material trivialities more than the flock! Speak again, you Missionaries, to these blacks of Europe, much more unfortunate than the African Zulus, who have a faith, whatever it may be—in the snake, in the sun, in the stone, but a faith, while the poor idolaters of Europe do not. They are not even idolaters, since idolatry presupposes faith in an idol. These no longer believe in anything, not even in the pleasure which disgusts them without satiating them.... Come back, come back, Missionaries, to re-Christianize this Europe, dying in the decay of its atheism; make the word of the Verbum, “through whom all things were made,” the power of the Creator, and the light of a Faith assuring us of our celestial origin and our celestial goal shine in the eyes of the degraded, debased Europeans. With the Cross halt the precipitous descent towards the infernal abyss of this humanity which despairs, kills, and curses. Lift up Christ Crucified once again against the works of human pride, which uses its God-given genius to create a progress that is deadly from every point of view.

The world must be saved, this so-called “civilized” world of ours, with cowl, cord, cross, and sacrifice. Only in these is salvation to be found. Everything else will be only the source of vaster ruins.

[…]Preachers are needed and ought to be in perfect condition; we can otherwise bid farewell to the preaching of the Gospel! But preachers should be supported by penitents. A radio makes no sound if the electricity is not turned on. Penitents, the souls offered in holocaust are—the plug that connects the current of God to the souls of his “public criers” and of those listening. A bad comparison, but true.

In particular, I also think that when a minister of God consumes himself hour by hour in the exercise of his ministry, without impatience, weariness, repugnance, fear, or excessive concern for his body, but in faithfulness to all the demands of his priestly work, with a cheerful will to act, and with inflamed charity able to clasp to its heart a great sinner as well as a pure soul—since he sees God in all of them—he is a host-soul. God Himself takes charge of administering sacrifice to him hour by hour, and that is thus enough.

We, then, the—idlers who are not capable of anything but suffering and praying, supply all the rest each day to complete that measure of sacrifice which must be deposited in the bank of heaven and, with substantial interest, is changed into assistance to the workers in the vine of Christ. We are the Marys, and you, priestly souls, are the Marthas of Jesus, who, it is true, said that the better part was the one chosen by the worshiping Mary, but who was very grateful to Martha, the industrious and practical woman of the house who provided for the needs of his Humanity.

The priest, moreover, on ascending the steps of the altar every morning to celebrate the Sacrifice, is at once Martha and Mary, since he worships and works.

[…] You mentioned it to me this morning.... It must be a great sorrow for priests to be present at this languishing of spirits destroyed by the microbes of indifference, skepticism, illicit pleasure, and rebellion....

But if it is a sorrow for all those who are still with God, what can it be for Jesus? Ah, we are really making our Savior undergo a new Passion with this trampling on his love, this neglect of even his memory...!

[…] In January Mrs. Soldarelli’s husband also died. I felt sorry for that soul going to God in such fashion—without reconciliation after so many errors. And I set to work so that it would be possible for the dying man to see a priest. His wife, blinded by affection, did not understand that her husband was condemned. But I knew he was. I thus called a priest. I cannot conceive of a soul’s being lost through our fault. This priest promised me he would go—but did not. I spent the whole final night of that unfortunate’s life praying.... Was it worth anything? Only God knows.

It is painful, though, to observe a certain slowness in assisting poor souls. It is useless to preach if the first to be lukewarm are those preaching. How necessary it is to pray for priests...! Souls are so often criticized because they are not prepared to do their duties as Christians. But, let’s say it outright and do so with sorrow, the parish priests charged with caring for these poor souls are often to blame—they are as leprous as can be, but precisely for this reason should be looked after.

The fact is that man died like this. And let us hope that his soul at the final moment turned to God on its own."

The prophetic dimension of the text

Written in 1943, these texts are set against a historical context marked by the Second World War and a Europe in full spiritual and moral crisis. Several elements allow the prophetic scope to be drawn:

1. Spiritual diagnosis of Europe and the Call to a new evangelization : Valtorta describes a dechristianized Europe, where faith is reduced to an empty formula and where the Sacraments are despised. This observation, made in the middle of the War, anticipates the massive secularization and loss of religious landmarks that will characterize the post-War period and the second half of the 20th century. Her Call to a "re-Christianization" of Europe, through sacrifice and preaching, anticipates John Paul II's diagnosis in Redemptoris Missio (1990). The Pope speaks there of a "new evangelization" for traditionally Christian but secularized regions, where Baptism is often reduced to a social formality. He insists on the necessity to "re-evangelize" societies where faith has become "a tradition of the past" rather than a living force.
2. Criticism of clerical lukewarmness : Her theme of "lukewarm" priests, preoccupied by material or administrative concerns to the detriment of their spiritual Mission finds an amplified echo in Evangelii Nuntiandi (1975). Paul VI emphasizes there that evangelization demands "evangelized evangelizers," that is priests and laypeople who themselves live a permanent conversion. He warns Against the risk of a "self-referential" Church more concerned with its structures than its Mission. Holiness is not a luxury but a necessity for the credibility of the proclamation. : "Contemporary man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers […] or if he listens to teachers, it’s because they are witnesses."
3. Role of laity and consecrated : Maria Valtorta emphasizes the complementarity between priests (the "Marthas") and laity (the "Marys"), Calling the latter to support the former by prayer and penitence. This vision anticipates the recognition of the role of laity in the Church, as promoted in Lumen Gentium (1964) and Apostolicam Actuositatem (1965). This vision, developed by Vatican II, is resumed in Evangelii Gaudium (2013). Pope Francis insists on the "co-responsibility" of the laity in the Mission of the Church. He often cites the image of the "saints next door," emphasizing that all the baptized are Called to be Missionaries, each according to his or her vocation: "All the baptized, whatever their function in the Church and their level of instruction in faith, are agents of evangelization." In 2024, by a personal letter to Don Ernesto Zucchini, president of the Maria Valtorta Foundation of Viareggio, he firmly placed the work of Maria Valtorta in this perspective.

Maria Valtorta's 1943 text can thus be read as a spiritual prophecy, announcing the challenges of the Church in a secularized world and Calling for a response of faith, sacrifice and apostolic zeal — themes that will remain passionately relevant throughout the following century.

Summary of the work

From Maria Valtorta's Autobiography

• Holy or unholy priests. Europe to be re-evangelized. Preachers supported by penitents. Zeal in caring for Souls. p. 25

From The Gospel as Revealed to Me

• Chapter 31: By his holiness, Joseph is the model of the consecrated. The priest always deserves respect and obedience, but the true priest is recognized by his Soul. To Save, by prayer and sacrifice, a sacerdotal Soul returns to Save many Souls. p. 30
• Chapter 32: Truth is revealed to minds united with God, whether consecrated persons or simple faithful. Communion with God is achieved by prayer, not by routine piety practices. p. 32
• Chapter 44: Mary's tears at the moment of detaching without reluctance from her Son as well as Jesus' Blood strengthen the consecrated everywhere and at all times. p. 33
• Chapter 47: John, son of Zebedee, is the pure man Jesus seeks, and he recognizes him immediately. The value of virginity is great when willed, but sometimes forced, and often only apparent. The world despises the pure, but they alone know how to give the world the light of the words of God. p. 35
• Chapter 53: God's command requires priests to detach from wealth and to love the poor, so that they have no other wealth than God. Their body must serve the spirit, not the opposite. p. 37
• Chapter 70: Just as John is the archetype of true Disciples, who strip themselves of self, so Judas is the archetype of failed Apostles who remain themselves. Jesus and his Mother are the eminent, inimitable hosties, but John is the hostie imitable by all classes of those who love God. p. 39
• Chapter 96: Although Angels are pure and perfect spirits, they are inferior to men because, unlike latter, they cannot offer themselves to cooperate in the work of Redemption. Jesus' Disciples must prepare for the dignity of co-redeemers by beginning with the Purification of the body's senses to move on to purity of spirit. Praise for virginity willed to Belong to God alone. p. 40
• Chapter 98: Jesus' Disciples are diverse people who must become one. They are the Salt of the earth and the light of the world: therefore they must salt and illuminate. If those chosen for this destiny feel that they cannot remain faithful, it is better they withdraw: better to separate than to betray. Jesus' strength will act on the best, who will become heroes. Here are the essential characteristics of the character of an apostle: to be always vigilant and ready, always faithful to his Master in keeping his Soul in a state of Grace, to be honest, humble, chaste to do Good, faithful to his vocation, detached from all worldly appetite, satisfied with little, always forgiving without intransigence or malicious judgments, constantly improving and above all loving. p. 42
• Chapter 133: The apostle Andrew the Apostle is a model, acting discreetly and more effectively than others. Conversely, there will always be ministers of Christ who want to draw the world's attention to themselves, by their culture or other worldly interests: they will be more actors than priests. The true priest is a fully spiritual man, his Soul speaks to spirits and converts sinners. The world may not realize the Presence of these heroes, who save the world by their silent and discreet activity, following the example of the gentle Andrew the Apostle. p. 48
• Chapter 137: It may be that the true apostle, like Andrew the Apostle, does not know on earth the persons he saved. Blessed is the priest who doesn't need such incentive to fulfill his duty, and blessed is he who doesn't get discouraged by not seeing results from his own successes. One must not fall into idolatry of the ministry. p. 51
• Chapter 157: To the categories of Apostles and Disciples, Jesus associates a new one: that of Women Disciples. He thus gives a role to women, whom Israel has always set aside. For Mary, the Full of Grace who bore the Redeemer, Woman is no longer despised by God for being at the origin of sin, but is God's helper. It follows that The Women Disciples are coadjutors of the priests and, as such, must feel capable of facing the world and all its wickedness. The extent of the scope of action of Women derives from their capacity to love; as Disciples, they must elevate this love from sensual appetite to the pure flame of the spirit, becoming mothers and sisters to give confidence to repentant sinners and help those who continue the Master's work. Since they know how to suffer more than men, Woman is support and comfort in the martyrdom of persecutions, following the example of strong Women encountered in Israel's history. May Mary, the gentle Mother of the Redeemer, be the guide of Women Disciples as she is of men, who can learn much from Women. p. 52
• Chapter 164: Before the election of the Apostles, Jesus wants to retire with the Twelve to a mountain to spend a week of prayer, so that each is alone with his Soul and discovers what prayer is, reaching the Age of spiritual reason. They will meet only three times a day to pray together and break bread. At the end, they will no longer be themselves, but the ministers of Christ. p. 61
• Chapter 165: At the end of their spiritual retreat on the mountain, the Twelve have known the loving intimacy with God and have grown in virtue. They must now return to the world awaiting them, but they know they must love God more than the world, and keep the memory of Him deep in their Heart. From then on, they can be the Apostles, the leaders of the Church, chosen by people of different backgrounds, for unfathomable reasons. Just as, at Hezekiah's time, the Levites were Called to serve as helpers to priests, Jesus will associate the Disciples with the Apostles; they will have different tasks to accomplish, but no less holy. Woe to the apostle who falls and causes the ruin of many! They may falter, but they will win if they recall the Ecstasy experienced during this retreat on the mountain. p. 62
• Chapter 169: Jesus explains to the Apostles and Disciples how it is necessary to forget oneself, and to distinguish between the "spiritual self," which recalls the divine origin, and the "human self," whose memories can overcome the voice of the spirit. The different categories of Disciples, from the most perfect to the less advanced, depend on the varying abilities of each to suppress memories of the "human self." Jesus fully clarifies to the Disciples the idea, already exposed to the Apostles who can now better understand it, of the necessity to be the Salt of the earth and the light of the world. Severe condemnation of pastors who have lost charity and rejected wisdom, which led them to die spiritually and corrupt the flock. p. 66
• Chapter 170: The beatitude of meekness applies particularly to priests, who must attract Souls by their patient, humble, and loving gentleness, as impetuosity and intransigence repel them. p. 72
• Chapter 178: To a scribe who wants to follow him, Jesus answers that he must not fear to be contaminated by contact with the miseries of men, for only inner purity matters. To a young man hesitating to accept his invitation to follow him, Jesus emphasizes the need to free oneself from human affections, then suggests a child pray for him, who makes his decision and follows him. To a third who would also like to follow him, but not before settling his affairs with his Family, Jesus tells him he will never do so, and advises him to remain a simple faithful. p. 73
• Chapter 180: Explanation of the parable of the sower. Fertile fields are spirits endowed with goodwill and accompanied by pastors who, without being intransigent or threatening, or overbearing and condescending, adapt a paternal and merciful sense to the power of God's word. Fields covered with thorns are spirits abandoned to neglect, which lets the entanglement of personal interests enter; they reappear everywhere like ants if not watched and smother the good grain. Rocky fields are spirits paralyzed by laws and Doctrines, which take nourishment away from the roots of simple Doctrine of God. Finally, fields crossed by paths and dusty are worldly and selfish spirits: under the surface of pleasures and comfort, they destroy all seed falling on the ground, which is open to paths of sensuality and lightness. p. 76
• Chapter 211: Many idols reign among God's ministers. They act humanly, if not Satanically, when they reprimand poor innocents and justify corrupted powerful who share their faults, when they externally show a holy Face but cultivate all kinds of evils in their Heart, when they are refractory to love for God and their Neighbor, letting themselves be carried where usefulness and power prevail. All this is a sign of spiritual weakness among many priests and teachers. p. 78
• Chapter 234: The apostle must not give up acting where he considers every effort useless because his merit does not lie in success, but in having tried everything to Save a Soul. The apostle must not be rigorous in a way that repels; he must know how to love, to bring the Soul to love. Jesus wanted Mary Magdalene's Soul, hence he pursued her with his love, without being scandalized at her sins and without caring that malevolent or ill-intentioned men showed scandal. Three conditions are necessary to Save a Soul. The first is the moral integrity of the one who addresses a crowd, but with the intention to reach those far away and touch their Heart by God's word. The second is to be both strict and merciful, giving Souls a pause to meditate and decide. The third is to have a big Heart full of tenderness when the repentant Soul dares to come, reflecting on her past and fearing to be rejected. One must make sinners love the teachers of Souls, have confidence and feel the comfort of their gentleness that heals wounds. p. 80
• Chapter 239: Jesus uses the parable of fishermen who catch a great variety of fish whose outward appearance deceives about their quality to teach the just Discernment in examining Consciences; He also indicates methods to adopt to direct them then concludes that the truth, both about fishermen and sins, will be known on the last day and will reserve good surprises. At the request of the Apostles, He proposes the parable of the pearl and advises to recall, to instruct the crowds, the new and old teachings. p. 83
• Chapter 250: Raising a spirit is greater than raising a body. The biblical episode of the Fire miraculously preserved in Nehemiah's well is compared by Jesus to the miracle of a spirit sunk in mud that becomes a flame Thanks to a priest; the latter brings it back to light and his heroism precedes the heroism of the sinner on the way to conversion. The sinner shows true repentance when the flame of love of his Heart unites with the flame of love of God: as the latter is greater, it dominates the other and absorbs it by burning what belongs to the past. The disciple must imitate the Master, who took without repugnance the outcasts of the earth to bring them to Heaven they aspired to. He continues to live on earth through the Vital part of priests, who allow infinite particles to draw life from them to form a single body. p. 88
• Chapter 258: Jesus instructs the apostle James, son of Alphaeus, on his future Mission, which will be important and of great responsibility, but which will bring glory. He announces that the Apostles will be persecuted and dispersed, but that he alone, as a descendant of the royal race, will remain in the royal city to speak of the sublime royalty of the King of Israel and of the world. To have the ability to sustain the faith threatened among many believers, to face misunderstandings and hostility, to refute errors, he must be perfectly another Christ. He must show firmness and gentleness both towards the Disciples of Christ disappointed by events and the Jews who defend the old faith. He must not despise pagans but conquer them, even accepting new forms of life, as long as they do not prejudice spiritual life. The commandment to love one's Neighbor sets no limit as to who is this Neighbor: it can be the distant barbarian as the close Jew, without excluding that the latter may worship more idols than the former. James must be vigilant so that Christians' faith is not in vain, so that no one takes a place that is not theirs, and so that the wise man is recognized among those who set themselves up as teachers — for if their words do not conform to their way of life, they are false prophets. To James' protests, who considers himself incapable of such hard task, Jesus opposes the importance his kinship with the Messiah, rejected in the eyes of repentant Jews, will have. And He assures him that the Fire of God will burn in his Heart as preacher of the Word. p. 93
• Chapter 259: Jesus is still with James, son of Alphaeus. They discuss aspects of the evangelizing Mission that will be perpetuated by the Apostles. On this subject, James asks for clarifications on the future organization of the Church, and Jesus instructs him in detail on the Sacraments, promising him a better understanding after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. At the end, the apostle receives further instructions on his future personal Mission as leader of the Church of Jerusalem. p. 100
• Chapter 262: Women will be part of the sacerdotal class, but without being consecrated priests like men. The latter will be great in Doctrine, while Women will know how to obtain and sustain by the power of prayer. This is, in essence, the main content of the answers given by Jesus to the Apostles, who wonder about the role of Woman in the new times. p. 108
• Chapter 265: Long instruction by Jesus to the Apostles, who will have to evangelize where he alone could not reach. But, because of their level of formation, they will have to use different methods from the Master's in their contacts with the world, while firmly maintaining the foundations of a holy life. In addition to spiritual directives, Jesus also gives practical advice. Despite their current imperfections, which could make them deviate, they will finally face persecutions heroically. They must know that He himself will be killed in his Man-God flesh, and that all phases of Christ's life will be repeated in the life of the Church, from humble birth to the necessity to flee, and to sufferings and eternal triumph. Once the Church has Jerusalem in its midst, He will return; but this concerns the Future. Jesus goes back to instruct the Apostles on immediate events, to prepare them to face a destiny no different from that of their Master, then concludes by assuring them that every act of charity toward one's Neighbor will be rewarded as if addressed to Him. p. 110
• Chapter 276: The Lord's ministers must not give in to the mirage of gifts that cover the faults of the rich. p. 123
• Chapter 278: Jesus neglects those who follow him out of mere curiosity but teaches men of goodwill who follow him by vocation the need to be free of the weight of earthly loves. It is appropriate to detest sensuality of affections to raise them to the spiritual level. Two comparisons illustrate the requirement to properly examine the capacities of candidates before deciding to make Disciples. p. 124
• Chapter 362: To the hurry and fatigues that the Apostles exhibit at times, Jesus opposes calm, consistency, effort, and trust on which the Church will be built and will grow through the sacrifice of successive generations and the moral martyrdom of humble unknowns, faithful to a Mission facing opposition and even condemned, but which will serve to keep faith alive. There will be no other way to bring men back to the Gospel. At the Last Day all truth will be known, with justice for innocents and their persecutors. p. 130
• Chapter 365: The dialogue between Jesus and the child Marziam reveals the faults of priests. They must be respected in exercising their ministry even if they commit evil acts opposed to their Mission. They must not be judged. If we first recognize our own defects, we will discover what is good even in the bad. p. 137
• Chapter 380: Jesus exhorts the Apostles and future priests never to reject a small act of charity from bad persons because it could be the beginning of a slow conversion process. One must not be contemptuous like the Pharisees with a corrupted Soul. It is union with God that puts in priests' Hearts an infinite love for all. By contemplation, one loves God, and by action one loves one's Neighbor, but the two loves are not distinct because love is one. p. 140
• Chapter 388: Judas' Temptation is the idea of human greatness, and the concern of friendships to cultivate to reach it; this is the reason for his loss and that of other chosen. To dissuade him, Jesus would be ready to reiterate his Passion. p. 144
• Chapter 455: Sweet colloquy between Jesus and his Mother, to whom He entrusts the nascent Church, especially so she may teach the Apostles not to reject the many Judases but help them, and so she may protect the Church Against its Enemies. p. 146
• Chapter 457: Jesus cites a biblical episode whose protagonists are Moses and Aaron to present himself as the eternal Priest, who must strike and split the stone of Israel with the rod of Jesse's root, to make the Water of salvation gush forth. But Israel remains closed to Him, and God's house opens to others who come to it. p. 149
• Chapter 476: Works of mercy for the body's needs open the way to the spirit of the person benefiting and foster their reconciliation with God. Souls differ in terms of their tendencies and ReActions. A good master and doctor of Souls must learn to know them, study and heal them with the science of love. It is not the name, clothing and functions that make God's ministers masters and doctors of Souls, but their love. p. 151
• Chapter 495: True masters of Souls must lead an austere life and show patient mercy. Souls recovering from a fall do not immediately go to God but first meet a man, who must be the touchstone by giving an idea of what God is. p. 155
• Chapter 511: Jesus recommends his Apostles reflect in their lifestyle the Doctrine they must preach and avoid scandalizing Souls. He speaks of the Mission entrusted to the Women Disciples. Woman, who in Israel's view is inferior to man, may instead be worth more than him, since he draws his strength from a maternal Heart in the example of Mary Co-redeemer. p. 156
• Chapter 515: Pain is caused by obedience, necessary to redeem man from sin, which originates in disobedience. The pain of the perfect Obedient, Jesus Redeemer, is infinite, but that of men is limited, for they obey according to their abilities. If pain causes suffering, it is also a source of glory, light, and all Virtues. The world must recognize Jesus' Disciples by their obedience to all that is holy. The higher they ascend on the path of perfection, the greater their capacity for judgment. Descent, attracting because it brings sensual satisfactions, increasingly limits virtue and wisdom. Humility is the only permitted descent. p. 158
• Chapter 520: Judas of Kerioth is, as a person, a school for his fellow Apostles and their successors, who will face many Judases during their apostolic ministry. By his faults, he reveals man as he is, while Jesus shows man as he ought to be. The Apostles must try, with the same patience as Jesus, to change the former to become like the latter. What is decisive in conversion is the man's will and even more than love for God. But one must watch more closely over the spiritually weak brother and show him patient love. p. 161
• Chapter 539: Jesus instructs the apostle John, who accuses himself of non-existent faults: on seemingly sinful but justified Actions by a good motive, as long as they are not disobedient acts; on the natural needs of the flesh which, once experienced, teach forgiveness of others' weaknesses; on Temptations, which are meritorious, and on falls, which remove merit and Grace; on the difference between natural laws and disordered instincts; on perfection, obtained by poverty, chastity and obedience; on the absolute love of those who give their life; on good intentions that may not be followed. p. 163
• Chapter 555: To cheer up Peter, who feels crushed under the weight of his Mission, Jesus predicts his mandate to gather the confessions of Hearts, with the power to judge. He illustrates seven conditions that should guide him in evaluating sins, and recommends being pastor, master and doctor to heal Souls with gentleness and prudence. Some who consider themselves sinners may just be martyred by Temptations or troubled by ignorance. Forgiveness must always be given to those who repent, even if they relapse into sin. p. 169
• Chapter 565: Jesus offers bees as a model to God's Workers: they work without apparent fatigue, they know how to choose what is healthy, they share tasks without envy or jealousy, they do not waste time on useless or dangerous flights, they do not attempt adventures, they do not rebel. p. 172
• Chapter 594: Jesus draws from the withered fig tree a lesson on the death of a nation, Religion or individual when the Vital marrow of holiness and spirituality atrophies. Worldly wisdom must be opposed by the wisdom of the spirit, in all truth and without considering disadvantages for practical life. Everything is obtained by the power of prayer, but one must first forgive and give Peace. p. 173
• Chapter 596: The new Temple, which is the Church, will be the union of all men who have God within them, that is Grace, Life, Light, Charity. God builds it with the goodwill of men, who will thus form one body with Jesus; the latter is the mystical Head, and Peter the visible leader. The head, seat of intelligence, communicates with the members, who transmit reactions and sensations and receive commands and advice, which they act upon for the Good of the entire body. Holy in its head, the Church will not collapse under the blows of its Enemies, Thanks to the goodwill of the members forming it. Supported on the solid and perfect foundations established by the Head-Jesus, built by the good stones of spirits inhabited by God, the Church will grow over time. But woe to the priests of this new Temple if they do not watch over the quality of the material used, causing the crumbling and collapse of the Edifice until only the cornerstone of the foundation remains. They must know how to judge with charity and act with firmness, for it is better to have fewer stones than many useless weights such as Pride, greed, sensuality and many other sins. p. 175
• Chapter 606: Jesus teaches that true evolution is when the animal man evolves toward the spiritual man. The more the spirit develops, the more one knows God and possesses Life. The true priests, whether consecrated or lay, are those who let themselves be burned by charity. p. 181
• Chapter 629: Jesus gives his priests the power to absolve sins so that men, lifted from their falls, may always be saved in his Blood. To exercise this ministry of Purification, one must be pure. To duly perform the consecration of the Bread and Wine, which will become in the priest's hands the Body and Blood of Christ, one must take example from the inviolate purity of the Woman who bore in her womb the Word incarnate. Perfection and purity are necessary to administer forgiveness and the Eucharist. Throughout the Church's history, terrible evils have succeeded periods of return to the cross. To support many poor children, Jesus offers people with active charity, but his greatest pain is to see priests become objects of Scandal and death instead of being Leaven that lifts and a source that quenches. Blessed are the laity who compensate with their love and sacrifice for priests' deficiencies. Truly blessed are the priests who remain Apostles. p. 182
• Chapter 631: Having noted the harm to faith that their defection during the Passion may have caused, the Lord's Apostles understand how true it is that the people observe the faults of those in higher places and judge them severely. p. 188
• Chapter 634: The risen Jesus instructs the Apostles and Disciples on the Church: the need for hierarchy, the danger of soulless formalism that would cause religion to die as a vital force in the world, the Church's unity amid the multiplicity of local Churches, the paternal availability to heal those who have separated, the requirement always to prioritize love, as He did towards Judas Iscariot. Jesus cannot hide the suffering caused to Him by Judas' faults; He will always feel it before each guilty priest who causes Scandal or damage. He recommends the Apostles to watch with greatest care over future priests and to support them. The Apostles could do all that He Himself did, including miracles, but they must especially excel by the holiness of their lives. The world will not lose the Presence of Jesus, whose second coming begins from the Resurrection and will culminate at the Final Judgment. His manifestations must be humble sermons, never desiring anything extraordinary, so as not to cause spiritual decline: every gift is a trial. p. 189
• Chapter 635: The Redeemer's sacrifice restored Grace to the just who died before Him; He opened the possibility to give it, through the Sacraments, to those who will live after Him and are always prone to sin. It is from this idea that the risen Jesus starts instructing the Apostles on the Sacraments, beginning with Baptism: it originates in the Water that flowed from His side as a sign of the total consumption of the Sacrifice that washes away original sin, but was anticipated during the Last Supper by washing the feet of the Apostles, who needed Purification before receiving in food and drink the Body and Blood of the Lord. He then illustrates, one by one, the other Sacraments, their nature, their effects, the conditions to administer them worthily and make them effective. He insists particularly on the importance of the priesthood and predicts a Future of corrupted priests when the Gospel will be well taught scientifically but poorly spiritually; yet only the Gospel will be the source of life and salvation. Finally, in response to questions from Peter and other Apostles, Jesus teaches them how to behave with Jews and pagans, the near and the far, since He has come for all. The Holy Spirit will counsel them and make them understand all. p. 196
• Chapter 649: Approaching her Blessed passage from earth to Heaven, Mary entrusts the apostle John with her spiritual joy of having accomplished everything, even assisting in the sacerdotal formation of the Apostles. To John, qualified as a man loving par excellence, she entrusts the task to remind each of the Apostles, whose character differences she describes, of Jesus' recommendation to love and love one another. She praises love, who has always loved in pain, and affirms that the Apostles, by loving, can continue this spiritual Motherhood she began at Calvary to give the Lord to many children. p. 217
• Chapter 652: Always make Jesus' Mother loved more. Give spiritual masters and soul directors indications on diverse methods to be saviors. Make known the mystery of Judas, as this mystery of the fall of a spirit who received extraordinary Good deeds will repeat often. These are three of the seven reasons why Jesus gave us the Work written by Maria Valtorta. p. 221

From the Notebooks 1943, Notebooks 1944 and Notebooks 1945-1950

• June 14, 1943: True priests, as were those of the early times, are too rare. We must pray for the last times. p. 223
• June 15, 1943: Virgins who consecrate themselves in complete purity of feeling and with a true vocation are too few. Often it is earthly motivations that lead to enter the convent, where tendencies proper to the human being do not disappear. Souls victims must greatly pray for the brides of Christ. p. 226
• July 5, 1943: Order and disorder in the Church's garden. Justice will be done at Christ's return. p. 229
• July 18, 1943: Know how to recognize the gift of the Work. Less science and more charity among priests. p. 232
• July 23, 1943: Stars upset by the apocalyptic prediction. The Church in the last times. p. 233
• August 2, 1943: Science rooted in earth denies the signs of Heaven. Praise of virginity of spirit and condemnation of rationalism. p. 235
• August 5, 1943: Among the humble and simple people there are prophets, servants and saints. The servants of Evil are cursed. p. 237
• September 20, 1943: The Master replaces corrupted masters by small individual heresies, but it is priests who reject His help. p. 238
• October 28, 1943: The Shepherd replaces proud and hard-hearted shepherds, who feed themselves instead of giving their lives for their sheep. Jesus favors the lambs who love Him. p. 241
• November 4, 1943: Scholars do not understand the love relationships of the Song of Songs, veiled by the smoke of human science which darkens the light of God's thought. p. 243
• November 13, 1943: Keep mouth and Heart pure to transmit God's word. Purification is obtained by penitence. The Scandal of corruption Against the jewels of the sacerdotal crown. p. 244
• November 14, 1943: Priests' duty must know no fatigue nor make distinctions. Ruses of love to conquer Souls. Europe and the whole world are mission lands. Blessed are the priests who immolate themselves. p. 248
• November 29, 1943: The spirit of the world corrupts priests' Hearts and lets abomination enter God's house. p. 251
• December 2, 1943: Attachment to earthly realities makes lose supernatural joy and natural well-being. If God's interest prevails, saintly works are done. Priests must return to Christ to bring light into Darkness. p. 251
• December 3, 1943: Priests must study nothing other than Jesus, expiatory Victim, whom they must imitate. p. 253
• December 9, 1943: May the Pope show pity to the lambs of his flock oppressed by the powerful, and raise his voice Against them even at the cost of his life, that God's Law is immutable. If justice disappears in the Church, we will have a shepherd-idol, who will generate The Antichrist. p. 254
• December 11, 1943: The Church, perfect as an institution, is not in its men when they prioritize earthly interests and serve political power. Past and future evils will be united by abomination, forewarning the last times. The extreme teaching Christ Himself will give through the signs of His Passion will mark a period of Peace preparing for the Last Judgment. p. 257
• December 17, 1943: Martyr and corrupt priests, in a vision of the Mother of the Priesthood. p. 260
• January 27, 1944: The faithful reflect how priests form them. Priests should be light that illuminates, mercy that comforts, Fire that purifies, love that attracts. But instead of being pastors who sacrifice for the flock, priests cultivate idols of jealousy, power, wealth, politics, sensuality, sects. God will hold them accountable for dead Souls. p. 262
• May 18, 1944: Main moments of Jesus' life are repeated at Mass. The priest whose hands, consecrating holy Species, touch the Lord's Body must be virgin. p. 268
• May 27, 1944: One's right to be chosen for Wisdom gifts is not given by charges or titles. p. 269
• May 29, 1944: In the weekly suffering program, three days must be dedicated to priesthood, so that the consecrated are to the faithful what the vital elements of light, Water and air are to the earth. Souls die from not finding sources of life in priests. Priests even torture the chosen who compensate by their sacrifice for priests' shortcomings. p. 270
• November 14, 1944: Dry priests cause more suffering than whip lashes. Especially those currently in training are idolaters, impure and atheists. They have lost their spiritual innocence. p. 273
• December 27, 1944: As Man and Master, Jesus adores His own divine nature in the Eucharist, and He shows the greatest respect to the priest when exercising his ministry. p. 274
• August 18, 1945: Do not prevent an illegitimate child to consecrate himself to God. The sacerdotal or religious vocation is not reserved to members of a regular Family, but is always a sign of God's paternity, who asserts His own rights even on a person despised for being conceived in a sinful union. Nevertheless, when Jesus instructs a sister who wants to leave her congregation to found an institute for such vocations, He exposes the passion awaiting her with harsh realism. p. 275
• December 18, 1945: The writer must greatly pray for priests, especially those who, on this Christmas feast, will ascend the altar for the first time, so that they will truly be "to Christ, with Christ and for Christ." p. 279
• December 19, 1945: The little voices Jesus raises and which will proliferate in the last times are like small stars whose light guides men into the right Heart and which lack the brightness of the bigger stars, namely the active clergy convinced of the faith they preach. p. 280
• April 1, 1946: Mary's love and pain, the Mother, for young priests, whom she Calls "my children." p. 281
• January 19, 1947: Even the Lord respects the dignity of the priest when he speaks in God's name. p. 281
• July 27, 1947: It is true that Jesus was priest and victim at Calvary. But He was only mystically His own Priest, as the true priests were Jews and pagans who slaughtered Him on the cross: the former out of hatred, the latter out of obedience to orders and laws. He had come for them, for they were great sick ones. Selfishness prevented Jews from benefiting, whereas pagans could, due to their altruism. Prayers are needed for today's pagans to have the same fate as those then, and for current priests (not only the consecrated, but all baptized) not to share the fate of priests and Pharisees of the time. p. 281
• March 30, 1949: Priests' faults — starting with Judas — are a true heartbreak for Jesus, because it is mud thrown on the Head of the mystical Bride; they cause infinite faults in laity and ruin some Souls; finally, they are offenses of ill will and rebellious spirit. Like Judas, priests love themselves and are attached to money and honors. p. 284
• May 13–15, 1949: The Virgin is saddened by a priest suffering in a prison in Hungary, but even more by priests whose only source of torment is their ill will. p. 285
• September to November 1950: What happens in the Church when pastors require their lambs to show charity but deny it to themselves, when one loves material life too much, when heresies and immorality are allowed to prosper, when one prefers to Believe false prophets rather than spirits of light, when science rejects wisdom and thereby destroys the simple faith of the "little ones" and questions Revelation's foundations. The priestly apostolate should not be limited to inside the Church, because much must be done outside. The chosen had salt to salt in turn, they had light to illuminate in turn: if they do not, it is because they lack zeal and do not burn themselves out. The sacerdotal apostolate must foster the lay apostle and support him. The sins of the Pharisees and scribes of old repeat today and bear many names. The Church experiences descents when its members become more rational men than divinized. It is better that people with erroneous vocations — of which Judas of Kerioth is the prototype — withdraw. God's servant must be continually and tirelessly active, following the Master's example. Whoever saves even one Soul saves his own. p. 286

From the Book of Azariah

• 14^th lesson: Putting the Gospel into practice is not about the outward aspect of functions, but about becoming all things to all men, as the Lord's ministers did in the early Church and amid persecution dangers. Today's priests value not their personal sacrifice, but human respect. p. 299
• 27^th lesson: The harvest is abundant, but the Workers are few, Jesus said seeing the crowds like sheep without a shepherd. We must pray with the same compassionate love as He, because the world dies from lack of priests who are true Workers of the Lord. p. 300

From the Lessons on the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans

• Lesson no. 10: True Circumcision is that of the Heart. Scandals disgust the just and make the indifferent mock. The Church undergoes shocks whose effects surpass our imagination. There is more faith among the flock's sheep than among most shepherds. p. 302
• Lesson no. 13: Catholics, practitioners and even the consecrated cannot understand God's Call if seized by the Pride of reason and spirit. Even if they perceive it, they prefer not to hear it. p. 307
• Lesson no. 19: The royal priesthood of every Christian consists in offering oneself as a host after preparation made of heroic will, charity, mortifications and virtue, to do only the Father's will. p. 308
• Lesson no. 43: When the Master described by examples and parables the merits of the humble and the lack of merits of those who exalt themselves, He spoke for all, but had the opposite figures of Peter and Judas Iscariot in mind. Studying the Apostles' characters is enlightening to guide on paths of Wisdom. Pharisees, scribes and priests were deprived of light, because from Wisdom they knew only the letter but not the spirit, and they could not renounce themselves. p. 308
• Lesson no. 48: In the Church, there are strong Souls and weak Souls. Teachings and advice to guide them with charity and justice can be drawn from the prophet Ezekiel's book and the Master's evangelical examples. p. 310

From the Notebooks

• April 25, 1948: Enemies lurk in the shadows. The Antichrist progresses in Hearts remaining without Christ. Members of the teaching and militant Church must act like in the catacombs era, without waiting to ask at the last moment a miraculous intervention, but going everywhere to preach the Gospel and testify by their life, to eradicate a false and harmful Doctrine. Mission lands are not distant lands, but ours. We must fight ignorance, which is true evil, and make the Church known not as it is, but as Christ founded it. It is necessary that the Church use new means in a world that evolves, but remains immutable in dogma and Doctrine. The holiest must be taken and scattered to establish Christ's reign, supported by the hidden penitence of victim Souls. We must go, teach, love. p. 317
• May 25 and 26, 1948: Priests' hostility to Mary's manifestations, which grant miracles of true lasting conversions, is what pains the Lord and His Mother the most. Jesus asks to be Home in Hearts to find rest there. p. 325
• May 28, 1953: Pray for priests, so that they become heroic and ardent again like those of early times. p. 326

Fellowship of the Church who are not part of the clergy or religious orders.