Discovery of the work
From divorced parents, in a family where Catholicism was only formal, I left a private institution at the end of my secondary studies completely disenchanted: following a life choice, I stopped all practice. 40 years later, on the internet, I came across "The Word that Gives Eternal Life." The passage recounted Jesus' agony in Gethsemane, an excerpt from "The Gospel as Revealed to Me" by Maria Valtorta. Initially, I photocopied the texts to read at leisure, then I acquired the 10 volumes, the 3 "Notebooks," the "Diaries," and everything related to Maria Valtorta.
Impact on faith
It was a spiritual regeneration, because from the moment of agony, I had been shaken, as if I had been waiting for this to "return home," which explains the thirst with which I embarked on this discovery. I read the 10 volumes twice in a row, taking notes, following on the "map of Palestine at the time of Jesus" and especially internalizing what I learned about the God-Man, seeking to know him more deeply, participating in his life among the apostles, truly discovering them as human beings and following with them the teaching given by Jesus through words and behavior: Jesus the master, my master too.
He became henceforth the intimate guide to whom I opened my heart and mind, where I try to welcome him because I have returned to Faith, the Church, the sacraments, Sunday mass for Him, praying internally, and I try to correspond to what he expects of me because then he gives me such gentle peace, but if I fall short, I am in such discomfort that I go to confession: in others, I see Christ.
Graces received
Currently, I am rereading the Work while following the Gospel celebrations at mass, but I also reread passages such as the Passion: Gethsemane, the Last Supper, when I feel the need. I also revisit the Notebooks where I always discover something new. I enroll people in "Jesus Today," which parallels the day's Gospel with the same passage in "The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me," that is, the context in which it was spoken. I also read about the lives of great saints: Saint Augustine, Francis of Assisi, Francis de Sales, Sister Faustina, Padre Pio, Thérèse of the Child Jesus.
We only love what we know, and it is thanks to this work that I have known and loved Jesus. Through this life of the God-Man, I have felt "involved." It is through what I have been able to understand about Jesus revealed by this "unimaginable gift for humanity" that is "The Gospel as It Was Revealed to Me." I do not believe in chance: this fortuitous discovery was offered to me by Jesus! He brought me back to Him, saving my soul, He brought me out of nothingness.
What would you say to someone hesitating to discover this work?
It is never too late "the first step is the hardest," and this work is also available in audio version (CD, USB key).
And finally, "may the grace of your Lord Jesus Christ be with all those who see in this book an approach to Me and ask that it be fulfilled, to defend them, with the cry of Love: Come, Lord Jesus!"
(Jesus, in the Farewell to the Work volume 10)
Additional testimony
I would add that "The Gospel as it was revealed to me" is not a fifth Gospel: it illustrates and reactivates the same scenes and places the Gospels in the context of the 3 years of Jesus' public life; which makes the text very lively and sometimes more accessible, especially when Jesus, knowing that clarification would be welcome, states it himself.
Here are 4 examples:
- "Woman, what is there between you and me now?" Jesus says to his mother at the wedding in Cana? (Jn 2:1)
Correspondence Maria Valtorta: T1 EMV 52.7 page 359
- "Who are my mother and my brothers?" (Luke 8:21)
Correspondence Maria Valtorta: T4 EMV page 269 chapter 14
- "You will drink my cup" (Mt 20:20-28)
Correspondence Maria Valtorta: T9 EMV 577.9
And it is about the Sabbath, second first Luke V,1 so evident in Maria Valtorta T3 Ch217 old edition ch 79.