The Poem of the Man God, Maria Valtorta

Just starting to read a little book by Leela Philip . It is a little compendium of the original huge ten volume work by Maria Valtorta. Leela is a dancer from India who lives, I think at present in Chicago. They really, really love the Poem of the Man God in India, it seems.

As you may know this was all under very strong Church Condemnation for many years but appears to have gotten off the hook at present. I tried reading it years ago but it made me feel uneasy. But I am giving it another little shot. At present I am reading about the birth of Our Lady and I have to say it is very,very beautiful and pleasing.

The Birth of the Virgin Mary as shown by Jesus Christ to Maria Valtorta
26th August 1944.
Maria Valtorta wrote:
Joachim is also anxious for his wife, whose time has come to give birth to her child. His relative reassures him that Anne is not suffering at all. But he is agitated, and every time his relative or any other woman, amongst whom is Alphaeus' mother, comes out of Anne's room and goes back in again with hot water and basins and linens dried near the blazing fireplace in the large kitchen, he goes and makes enquiries, but he does not calm down despite their reassurances. Also the lack of cries from Anne worries him. He says: « I am a man and I have never seen a child being born. But I remember hearing that the absence of throes is fatal. »
It is growing dark and the evening is preceded by a furious and very violent storm: it brings torrential rain, wind, lightning, everything, except hail, which has fallen elsewhere.
One of the workers notices the ferocity of the gale: « It looks as if Satan has come out of Gehenna with his demons. Look at those black clouds! You can smell sulphur in the air and you can hear whistling and hisses, and wailing and cursing voices. If it is him , he is furious this evening! »
The other worker laughs and scoffs: « A great prey must have escaped him, or Michael has struck him with a new thunderbolt from God, and he has had his horns and tail clipped and burnt. »
A woman passes by and shouts: « Joachim! It is coming. And it is happening quickly and well!» and she disappears with a small amphora in her hands.
The storm drops suddenly, after one last thunderbolt that is so violent that it throws the three men against the side wall; and in front of the house, in the garden, a black smoky cavity remains as its memory! Meanwhile a cry, one resembling the tiny plea of a little turtle-dove that for the very first time no longer peeps but cooes, is heard from beyond Anne's door. And at the same time a huge rainbow stretches its semicircle across the sky. It rises, or seems to rise, from the top of Hermon, which kissed by the sun, looks like a most delicate pinkish alabaster: it rises up in the clear September sky and through an atmosphere cleaned of all impurities, it crosses over the hills of Galilee and the plain to the south, and over another mountain, and seems to rest the other end on the distant horizon, where it drops from view behind a chain of high mountains.
« We have never seen anything like this! »
« Look, look! »
« It seems to enclose in a circle the whole of the land of Israel. And look! there is already a star in the sky while the sun has not yet set. What a star! It is shining like a huge diamond!...»
« And the moon, over there, is a full moon, three days early. But look how she is shining! »
The women arrive jubilant with a plump little baby wrapped in plain linens.
It is Mary, the Mother. A very tiny Mary, who could sleep in the arms of a child, a Mary as long, at most, as an arm, with a little head of ivory dyed pale pink. Her tiny carmine lips no longer cry but are set in the instinctive act of sucking: they are so small that one cannot understand how they will be able to take a teat. Her pretty little nose is between two tiny round cheeks, and when they get Her to open Her eyes, by teasing Her, they see two small parts of the sky, two innocent blue points that look but cannot see, between thin fair eyelashes. Also Her hair on Her little round head is a pinkish blond, like the colour of certain honeys which are almost white.
Her ears are two small shells, transparent, perfect. Her tiny hands... what are those two little things groping in the air and ending up in Her mouth? Closed, as they are now, they are two rose buds that split the green of their sepals and show their silk within. When they are open, as now, they are two ivory jewels, made of pink ivory and alabaster with five pale garnets as nails. How will those two tiny hands be able to dry so many tears?
And Her little feet? Where are they? For the time being they are just kicking, hidden in the linens. But now the relative sits down and uncovers Her... Oh, the little feet! They are about four centimetres long. Each sole is a coral shell, with a snow white top veined in blue. Her toes are masterpieces of Lilliputian sculpture: they, too, are crowned with small scales of pale garnet. But where will they find small sandals, when those little feet of a doll will take their first steps, sandals small enough to fit such tiny feet? And how will those little feet be able to go such a long way and bear so much pain under the cross?
But that for the time being is not known, and the onlookers smile and laugh at her kicking, at Her well shaped legs, at Her minute plumpish thighs that form dimples and rings, at Her little tummy, a cup turned upside-down, at Her tiny perfect chest. Under the skin of Her breast, as soft as fine silk, the movement of Her breathing can be seen and the beating of Her little heart can be heard, if, as Her happy father is doing now, one lays one's lips there for a kiss... This is the most beautiful little heart the world will ever know: the only immaculate heart of a human being.
And Her back? They are now turning Her over and they can see the curve of Her kidneys and then the plump shoulders and the pink nape of Her neck, which is so strong that the little head lifts itself up on the arch of the minute vertebrae. It looks like the little head of a bird that scans the new world that it views. She, the Pure and Chaste One, protests with a little cry at being thus exposed to the eyes of so many, She, Entirely Virgin, the Holy and Immaculate, Whom no man will ever see nude again, protests.
Cover, do cover this bud of a lily which will never be opened on earth and which, still remaining a bud, will bear its Flower, even more beautiful than Herself. Only in Heaven the Lily of the Trine Lord will open all its petals. Because up there, there is no particle of fault that may unwillingly profane its spotlessness. Because up there the Trine God is to be received, in the presence of the whole Empyrean, the Trine God that within a few years, hidden in a faultless heart, will be in Her: Father, Son, Spouse.
Here She is again, in Her linens, in the arms of Her earthly father, whom She resembles. Not at the moment. Now She is just a little human baby. I mean that She will be like him when She has grown into a woman. She has nothing of Her mother. She has Her father's colour of complexion and eyes and certainly also his hair. His hair is now white, but when he was young it was certainly fair, as one can tell from his eyebrows. She has Her father's features, made more perfect and gentle, being a woman, but that special Woman. She has also the smile, the glance, the way of moving and height of Her father. Thinking of Jesus, as I see Him, I find Anne has given her height to her Grandson and her deep ivory colour to His skin. Mary, instead, has not the stateliness of Her mother: a tall and supple palm-tree, but She has the kindness of Her father.
Also the women are speaking of the storm and the unusual state of the moon, of the presence of the star and the rainbow. Along with Joachim they enter the happy mother's room and give her her baby.
Anne smiles at one of her thoughts: « She is the Star » she says. « Her sign is in Heaven. Mary, arch of peace! Mary, my Star! Mary, pure moon! Mary, our pearl! »
« Are you calling Her Mary? »
« Yes. Mary, star and pearl and light and peace... »
« But it means also bitterness... Are you not afraid of bringing Her misfortune? »
« God is with Her. She belongs to Him before She existed. He will lead Her along His ways and all bitterness will turn into heavenly honey. Now be of Your mummy... for a little longer, before being all of God ...»
And the vision ends on the first sleep of Anne, a mother, and Mary, an infant.
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*Arpeggio: the sounding of notes in rapid succession.
Excerpt from: The Gospel As Revealed To Me
Revelations of Jesus Christ to Maria Valtorta

 

Interesting, I thought we weren't allowed to talk of this here.

 

I will have to study up on its history again. The forward of the book has the approval of a Cardinal, and Archbishop and several other Bishops. I will delete the thread if the Church still bans it. I don't think it does.

 

I've read it.
It seems very genuine.
There are no big statements contrary to the faith. It is a simple, forthright book. "If" it is contrived (which I personally don't believe) - well, it didn't put me off my faith. Most normal people have the ability to discern.

 

Very suspect. It was on the index before VII.

 

Highly suspect
I avoid it

 

It's not a rule on this board to my knowledge. I haven't read it myself, but I am curious to know what others think of it. What is good or bad.

 

I will have to check. It was in the bad books once upon a time . But then so was Padre Pio. Very much so.

I must check and see

 

We have at least one previous thread where the topic was banned.

 

I will have a wee look. I think Pope Benedict wrote something about it when he was in charge of the Congegration of the Faith..its been so long..now let me see...

 

"The Poem of the Man-God" is a five-volume narrative of Jesus's life written by Maria Valtorta, a 20th-century Italian mystic. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI, addressed the work while serving as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. He acknowledged its use of literary forms to narrate Jesus's life, but also noted that it was not considered divinely revealed.
Here's a more detailed explanation:

• The Work:
  "The Poem of the Man-God" is a lengthy account of Jesus's life, presented as visions and dictations received by Maria Valtorta. It aims to fill in details not found in the four Gospels.

This video discusses the views of Cardinal Ratzinger regarding the writings of Maria Valtorta:

• Cardinal Ratzinger's Involvement:
  When Cardinal Ratzinger headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he addressed concerns about the work's status. He clarified that the "visions" and "dictations" were literary forms used by the author, not a divinely revealed account.

• Not Divinely Revealed:
  Cardinal Ratzinger, and the Church, emphasized that "The Poem of the Man-God" is not considered to be divinely inspired or revealed.

• Not Forbidden:
  While not endorsed as divinely revealed, the Church has not prohibited its reading or considered it doctrinally erroneous. It's considered a literary work with a spiritual purpose, but not on the same level as Scripture.

• Debate and Controversy:
  The work has been the subject of debate and controversy, with some Catholics finding it helpful for their faith while others express concerns about its claims and status.

 

No , if its alright with Pope Benedict its fine with me.

 

It's a personal choice then. A work of imagination. Not holy writ. And not to be taken as such.

Did she claim she had divine revelations? To me that is the sticking point.

 

No one has to believe in it. No one has to not believe in it.

I am enjoying reading it. I would suggest before judging in it, since the Church permits us to read it, to do so and then make your own evaluation.

You don't have to believe it. You don't have to not believe it.

Whatever. But best to read it first.

 

The Gospel as Revealed to Me - Maria Valtorta | Page 5 | Mother of God

Ah, I see Padraig has locked this thread. I guess a moratorium has indeed been applied.
BrianK, Dec 23, 2024

So, the moratorium has been lifted?

 

This is what I remember.

 

Be warned; I found it difficult to get. And as such; expensive.

But I very, very much enjoyed reading it. Again, there are no big claims or fancy revelations in it. It is a very simple book.

 

I read it years ago like as a novel. I sometimes skipped the parts where she wrote what she heard Mary or another Saint (I can’t remember who) would comment on the section of the novel. I found it interesting just as I enjoyed other Christian fiction stories

 

Well I am still reading away at it. I really love it and find it very prayerful. Is it really dictated by Jesus and Mary? Well I am perfectly open to it. Why not? But it does not matter to me, even if it is just imagination I find it beautiful. The chapter today Our Lady was 12 years old in the Temple in Jerusalem and God announces to her that He is soon to do what He promised and to be born of a Virgin. Not for a second does Mary in her great humility suppose it is her.

Then Joseph is chosen through the blossoming staff to be Mary's Husband. All this is all in line with Catholic Legend.

It is so strange for me reading the description of Mary and Joseph from Maria Valtorta. Especially that of Saint Joseph. Does the description of Maria Valtorta on St Jospeh match as I saw him when I met him? Well..not really...maybe a little bit. St Josephs beard, physically it was auburn as she says but it was kind of different shades of auburn, burnished so to speak. Also St Joseph seemed childlike and very,very innocent and very,very approachable. Just a really, really nice person. So loveable. Someone you could go up to and give a big hug too and he wouldn't mind. A little bit of this comes across with Maria Voltorta .

Also Our Lady, of course I saw her in her glory. Maria is not describing this, but as she was on Earth. So I make allowances.

 

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For those interested in reading the volumes, Woman Clothed with the Sun shared this information (on the same thread that Sam posted above: The Gospel as Revealed to Me - Maria Valtorta):
The books are online for free download, in several formats here:
https://archive.org/details/VolIV6162018MariaValtorta