Daniel of Nain
In Maria Valtorta’s work, the son of the widow of Nain, whom Jesus raises from the dead as recounted in Luke 7:11–17, is named Daniel. He had been dead for a day and a half. He was a young married man. His death devastates both his mother, a widow, and his wife - grief and subsequent joy drive them to the brink of madness. This is the first of the three resurrections performed by Jesus as recorded in the Gospel (excluding His own). The other two are the raising of Jairus’s daughter and Lazarus of Bethany. Daniel later has the opportunity to recount his experience to the suspicious Pharisees who question him.
On the evening of Good Friday, the memory of the four individuals Jesus raised - Lazarus, Mirjam, Jairus’s daughter, and Daniel - helps the Virgin Mary maintain hope in the Resurrection of her Son.
The Resurrection
Jesus raises against the funeral procession of the young man, dead for a day and a half. Everyone is moved to see a widow lose her only son. His mother has gone gray in a few hours.
Jesus stops the convoy and raises Daniel:"[Jesus] orders in the full strength of His voice: 'Young man! I tell you: get up!'[3]Daniel immediately stands up and calls his mother "with the stammering frightened voice of a terrified child."[4] She must teach him common gestures again.
Daniel's wife must be healed: the successive sorrow and joy have brought her to the brink of madness.
The memory he retains of it
Later, scribes and Pharisees bombard the young Daniel with questions: What did he experience when returning to life?
"Nothing. I was alive and healthy as if I had awoken from a long sound sleep."[5]
Does he remember his death?
"I remembered that I was very ill, in agony, and that is all."[5]
What did he see in the interval between life and death?
"Nothing. There is nothing. A black hole, an empty space in my life… Nothing.[5]
The Pharisees insist:
"But are you sure that you were dead?"[5]
The people of Nain leap up:
"Was he dead? What more do you want? When we put him into the coffin, he was about to start to smell. In any case, with all those balms and bandages even a giant would die!"[5]
On the evening of Good Friday, the memory of the three resurrected by Jesus: Lazarus, Miryam, the daughter of Jairus and Daniel, helps the Virgin Mary to keep hope in the Resurrection of her son.[6]
His name
Daniel means "God has judged." Historical reference: the famous prophet deported to the court of Babylon; he interprets dreams and descends with his companions into the pit where he is saved by the angel.
Where is he mentioned in the work?
GRM 189 GRM 612 GRM 649
Learn more about this character
Excerpts from the Dictionary of Gospel characters according to Maria Valtorta (Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise, Jean-François Lavère, Editions Salvator, 2012):
A tradition, taken up by Caesar Baronius and Saint Peter Canisius in the 16th century, names him Materne and places him in the list of the seventy-two disciples. From the year 42 (48 according to other sources), Peter sends him to evangelize northern Gaul and the Rhineland, with two companions: Euchaire and Valère.[7]His nickname, Maternus (maternal) could mean that he owed his resurrection to his mother whose grief stirred Jesus so much.
Saint Materne, a 1st-century disciple, should not be confused with Materne of Lombardy, who lived in the 3rd century.