338. Going towards Meiron. 23rd November 1945. A beautiful springtime dawn makes the sky rosy and the hills a pleasant sight. The disciples rejoice at the sight while gathering at the entrance of the village waiting for the late-comers. «It is the first day that it is not cold, after the hailstorms» says Matthew, rubbing his hands. «It was time! This is the new moon of the month of Adar!» exclaims Andrew. «Very well! If we had to go up on the mountains with the cold weather of the 338. Going towards Meiron. 204 past days!...» comments Philip. «But where are we going?» asks Andrew. «I wonder... From here we can go either to Saphet or to Meiron. And then?» replies James of Zebedee and he turns round to ask the sons of Alphaeus: «Do you know where we are going?» «Jesus told us that He wants to go to the north. That is all» says Judas of Alphaeus laconically. «Again? At the next moon we must begin our Passover pilgrimage...» says Peter not very enthusiastically. «We have plenty time» remarks Thaddeus. «Yes. But no time to rest at Bethsaida...» «We shall certainly go there to get the women and Marjiam» replies Philip to Peter. «What I ask of you is not to look bored or indifferent or the like. Jesus is most depressed... Yesterday evening He was weeping. I found Him weeping while we were preparing supper. He was not praying out on the terrace, as we thought. He was weeping» says John. «Why? Did you ask Him?» they all ask. «Yes, I did. But all He said was: “Love Me, John.”» «Perhaps... it's because of the people of Korazim.» The Zealot, who has just arrived, says: «The Master is coming here with Bartholomew. Let us go and meet Him.» And they set out, but they continue their conversation: «Or it is because of Judas. They remained alone last night...» says Matthew. «That's right! And Judas had previously stated that he was upset and wanted to be alone» remarks Philip. «He did not want to stay even with the Master! Whereas I would have been so glad to be with Him!» says John with a sigh. «And I!» says everybody. «I do not like that man... He is either ill, or bewitched, or mad, or possessed... There is something wrong with him» says Thaddeus resolutely. «And yet, believe me, on our way back here he was a model disciple. He always defended the Master and the interests of the Master, as none of us ever did. I saw him and heard him myself! And I hope you do not doubt my word» states Thomas. «Do you think that we do not believe you? No, Thomas! And we are pleased to hear that Judas is better than we are. But you can see it yourself. He is strange, is he not?» asks Andrew. «Oh! He certainly is. Perhaps innermost problems worry him... Or probably because he did not work any miracle. He is rather proud. Oh! for a good purpose! But he is keen on doing things and he likes to be praised for them...» «H'm! It may be! But the Master is sad. Look at Him over there: He does not look like the man we have always known. But, long live the Lord! If I find out who is making the Master suffer... Well! That's all! I know what I will do to him» says Peter. Jesus, Who is talking intently to Nathanael, sees them and quickens His pace smiling. «Peace to you. Are you all here?» «Judas of Simon is missing... I thought he was with You, because at the house, where he slept, they told me that they found his room empty and tidied up...» explains Andrew. Jesus knits His brows for a moment and becomes engrossed in thought, lowering His head. He then says: «It does not matter. Let us go just the same. Tell the people in the last houses that we are going to Meiron and to Giscala. If Judas should look for us ask them to direct him there. Let us go.» They all feel that the atmosphere is stormy and they obey without uttering a single word. Jesus continues His conversation with Bartholomew and is a few steps ahead of the others. I can hear famous names being mentioned by them during their conversation: Hillel, Jael, Barak and glorious events of Israel, which they recollect, commenting and admiring the great doctors, while Bartholomew regrets the past... «Oh! If wise Hillel were still alive! He was good and strong. He would not have 338. Going towards Meiron. 205 been upset. He would have judged You by himself, independently of others!» «Do not worry, Bartholomew! And bless the Most High Who has received him in His peace. The spirit of the Wise Man thus did not become aware of the excitement of so much hatred against Me...» «My Lord! Not only hatred!...» «More hatred than love, My friend. And it will always be so.» «Do not be sad. We will defend You...» «It is not death that grieves Me... It is the sight of men's sins...» «Death!... No!... Don't speak of death. They will not go to that extent... because they are afraid...» «Hatred will be stronger than fear. Bartholomew, when I am dead, and when I am far away, in Holy Heaven, say to men: “He suffered more because of your hatred, than because of His death”...» «Master! Don't say that! No one will hate You so much as to cause You to die. You can always prevent it. You are powerful...» Jesus smiles sadly, I would say wearily, while with measured steps He climbs the mountainous road leading to Meiron, and the more the road climbs, the wider becomes the beautiful view of the lake of Tiberias, visible through an opening in a gorge, on nearby arch-shaped hills, which, however, obstruct the sight of lake Merom, while the view extends beyond the lake of Tiberias, on the tableland beyond the Jordan, as far as the remote indented mountains of Hauran, Trachonitis and Perea. But Jesus points to north-northeast saying: «After Passover we will have to go there, to Philip's tetrarchy. And we shall just have enough time to do so, as we shall have to be in Jerusalem once again for Pentecost.» «Would it not be more convenient to go there now? We could go beyond the Jordan, towards its sources... and then come back through the Decapolis...» Jesus passes His hand across His brow, with the tired gesture of one whose mind is clouded, and He whispers: «I do not know, I do not know yet!... Bartholomew!...» How much depression, sorrow, entreaty there is in His voice!... Bartholomew bends a little, as if he were hurt by Jesus' strange unusual tone, and he says with loving anxiety: «Master, what is the matter with You? What do You want from old Nathanael?» «Nothing, Bartholomai... Your prayer... That I may see clearly what is to be done... But they are calling us, Bartholomai... Let us stop here...» And they stop near a group of trees. The others appear round a bend of the path; they are in a group: «Master, Judas is running after us at breakneck speed...» «Let us wait for him.» And in fact Judas soon appears, running... «Master... I am late... I overslept and...» «Where, if I did not find you in the house?» asks Andrew who is amazed. Judas remains dumbfounded for a moment, but he is quick in collecting himself and he says: «Oh! I am sorry that my penance has become known to everybody! I was in the wood, all night, praying and doing penance... . At dawn I was overcome by sleep. I am weak... But the Most High Lord will pity His poor servant. Is that right, Master? I woke up late and I was aching all over.» «In fact you look rather worn out» remarks James of Zebedee. Judas laughs: «Of course! But my soul is delighted. Prayer does one good. Penance makes one's heart joyful. And it grants humility and generosity. Master, forgive Your foolish Judas...» and he kneels at Jesus' feet. «Yes. Stand up and let us go.» «Give me peace with a kiss of Yours. It will be a sign that You have forgiven the bad mood I was in yesterday. I did not want You, that is true. But it was because I wanted to pray...» «We could have prayed together...» Judas laughs and says: «No, You could not have prayed with me last night, or be where I was...» «Oh! That's nice! Why not? He has always been with us and He taught us to pray!» exclaims Peter who is utterly amazed. They all laugh. But Jesus does not laugh. He stares at Judas who has kissed Him and is now looking at Him with eyes glaring with biting malice, as if he wanted 338. Going towards Meiron. 206 to defy Him. He dares to repeat: «Is it not true that You could not have been with me last night?» «No, I could not. Neither will I ever be able to share the embraces of My soul with the Father, with a third party, nothing but blood and flesh, like you, and in the places where you go. I love solitude peopled with angels, to forget that man is the stench of flesh corrupted by sensuality, by gold, by the world and by Satan.» Judas no longer laughs, not even with his eyes. He replies gravely: «You are right. Your spirit has seen the truth. So where are we going?» «To venerate the tombs of the great rabbis and heroes of Israel.» «What? Gamaliel does not love You. And the others hate You» many of the apostles say. «It does not matter. I bow to the tombs of the just awaiting Redemption. I am going to say to their bones: “He Who inspired your souls will soon be in the Kingdom of Heaven, ready to descend from there on the last Day, to make you live again and forever in Paradise.”» They proceed until they find the village of Meiron. A lovely village, well kept, full of light and sunshine, situated among fertile hills and mountains. «Let us stop. In the afternoon we will leave for Giscala. The great sepulchres are scattered along these slopes, awaiting the glorious resurrection.» 339. At Hillel's Sepulchre at Giscala. 24th November 1945. From the village of Meiron Jesus and His apostles take a mountainous road that runs north-west through woods and pastures rising all the time. They have perhaps already venerated some sepulchres, because I can hear them speak about them. The Iscariot is now ahead with Jesus. At Meiron they must have received and given alms, and Judas is now giving an account of what he received and what he gave. He concludes saying: «And here is my offer. I swore last night I would give You it for the poor and as a penance. It is not much. I have not much money with me. But I convinced my mother to send me some frequently through many friends. In the past, when I came away from home, I had a good deal of money. But this time, as I had to travel across mountains by myself or with Thomas only, I took only what was sufficient for our journey. I prefer to do that. The only thing is... sometimes I will have to ask You for permission to leave You and go and see my friends. I have already arranged everything... Master, shall I continue to keep the money? Do You still trust me?» «Judas, you are saying everything by yourself. And I do not know why you do that. You must know that nothing has changed as far as I am concerned... because I hope that you will change and become once again the disciple you were in the past, and that you will become a just man, for whose conversion I pray and suffer.» «You are right, Master. But with Your help I will certainly become So. In any case... they are minor imperfections. Things of no importance. Nay, they help us to understand our fellow-men and cure them.» «Your morals, Judas, are strange indeed! And I should say more than that. I have never heard of any doctor falling voluntarily ill in order to be able to say: “Now I know how to cure people affected by this disease.” So am I an incapable man?» «Who says that, Master?» «You do. As I do not commit sins, I cannot cure sinners.» «You are You. But we are not You, and we need experience to learn...» «That is your old idea. The very same idea of twenty months ago. The only difference is that you then thought that I should commit sin to be able to redeem. I am really surprised that you have not tried to correct this... fault of Mine, according to your way of judging, and to gift Me with this... ability to understand sinners.» «You are joking, Master. And I am glad. I felt sorry for You. You were so sad. And it is double joy to me that I have made You joke. But I never thought of claiming to be Your master. In any case, as You can see Yourself, I have corrected my way of thinking as I now say that this experience is necessary only to us. To us, poor men. You are the Son of God, are You not? Your wisdom, 339. At Hillel's Sepulchre at Giscala. 207 therefore, needs no experience to be what it is.» «Well, you had better know that innocence is also wisdom, a much greater wisdom than the low dangerous knowledge of sinners. When the holy ignorance of evil should limit our ability to guide ourselves and other people, then the angelical ministry, which is always present in pure hearts, makes up for that. And you may rest assured that the angels, who are most pure, can tell Good from Evil and they can lead the pure souls, whom they guard, on the just path and to just deeds. Sin does not increase wisdom. It is not light. It is not a guide. Never. It is corruption, it is derangement of mind, it is chaos. Thus, he who commits it, tastes its flavour but at the same time loses the ability to savour many other spiritual things and no longer has an angel of God, a spirit of order and love, to guide him, instead, he has an angel of Satan to lead him into greater and greater disorder, because of the unappeasable hatred that devours those diabolical spirits.» «Listen, Master. And if one wanted to attain angelical guidance again? Is repentance sufficient, or does the poison of sin last even after one has repented and has been forgiven?... You know? For instance, one who has taken to drinking, even if he swears that he will not get drunk again, and is really determined in swearing so, always feels the stimulus to drink. And one suffers...» «One certainly suffers. That is why one should never become the slave of evil. But to suffer is not to sin. It is expiation. And as a repentant drunkard commits no sin but gains merits if he resists the stimulus heroically and does not drink any more, so he who has sinned, and repents and resists all stimuli, gains merit and will not lack supernatural help to resist. It is not a sin to be tempted. On the contrary it is a battle that brings victory. And believe Me, in God there is only the desire to forgive and help who has done wrong but has later repented...» Judas is silent for a little while... Then he takes Jesus' hand and kisses it, remaining bent over it: «Last night I exceeded the limit. I insulted You, Master. I told You that I would end up by hating You... How much I blasphemed! Can I ever be forgiven?» «The greatest sin is to despair of God's mercy... Judas, I said: “Every sin against the Son of man will be forgiven.” The Son of Man has come to forgive, to save, to cure, to lead souls to Heaven. Why do you want to lose Heaven? Judas! Look at Me! Wash your soul in the love emanating from My eyes...» «Do I not disgust You?» «Yes, you do... But love is stronger than disgust. Judas, poor leper, the greatest leper in Israel, come and invoke health from Him Who can give it to you...» «Give me it, Master.» «No. Not that way. There is no true repentance or firm will in you. There is only a faint effort of surviving love for Me and for your past vocation. There is a hint of repentance, but it is entirely human. That is not entirely bad. Nay, it is the first step towards Good. Cultivate it, increase it, graft it into the supernatural, change it into real love for Me, make it a real return to what you were when you came to Me, at least that! Make it not a temporary, emotional inactive throb of sentimentalism, but a true active feeling attracting you to Good. Judas, I will wait. I can wait. I will pray. I will take the place of your disgusted angel, while waiting. My pity, patience and love are perfect and therefore greater than the pity, patience and love of angels, and I can remain beside you, in the disgusting stench of what is fermenting in your heart, in order to help you...» Judas is moved, he is really moved, he is not simulating. With trembling lips and voice made shaky by his emotion, looking pale, he asks: «Do You really know what I have done?» «I know everything, Judas. Do you want Me to tell you or shall I spare you this humiliation?» «I... cannot believe it...» «Well let us go over the past few days and tell the incredulous apostle the truth. This morning you lied several times. With regard to the money and to where you spent the night. Last night you tried to suffocate in lust your feelings, your hatred, your remorse. You...» «That's enough! That's enough! For pity's sake, say no more! Or I will run away from Your presence.» «On the contrary, you ought to cling to My knees and ask to be forgiven.» «Yes, forgive me, Master! Forgive me! Help me! It's stronger than I am. Everything is stronger than I am.» «Except the love you ought to have for Jesus... But come here, that I may help you to resist temptation and relieve you of it.» And He takes Judas in His arms shedding silent tears on his dark, haired head. 339. At Hillel's Sepulchre at Giscala. 208 The others, who are a few yards behind, have wisely stopped and comment: «See?! Perhaps Judas is really in trouble.» «And this morning he has spoken to the Master about it.» «What a fool! I would have done so straight away.» «It is probably something painful.» «Oh! It is certainly not bad behaviour of his mother! She is a holy woman! What can be so painful?» «Perhaps business not doing well...» «No! He spends and helps people generously.» «Well! It's his business! The important thing is that he is in agreement with the Master, and that seems to be the case. They have been talking for some time and peacefully. They are now embracing each other... Very well.» «Yes, because he is very capable and has many acquaintances it is a good thing that he is of good will and in agreement with us and above all with the Master.» «Jesus at Hebron said that the tombs of the just are places where miracles are worked, or something like that... There are many of them here. Perhaps those of Meiron worked a miracle for Judas' perturbation.» «Oh! if so, he will become entirely holy now at Hillel's sepulchre. Is it not at Giscala?» «Yes, Bartholomew.» «And yet last year we did not come this way...» «No wonder! We came from the other side!» Jesus turns round and calls them. They run towards Him joyfully. «Come. The town is close at hand. We must cross it to arrive at Hillel's tomb. Let us proceed in one group» says Jesus without any further information, while the eleven apostles cast inquisitive side glances at Him and Judas. The latter's face looks pacified and humble, and Jesus' is certainly not radiant. He is solemn but grave. They enter Giscala, a beautiful large well-kept town. There must be a flourishing rabbinical centre because I see many groups of doctors with disciples listening to their lessons. The apostles passing through and the Master especially draw the attention of many people and a great deal of them follow the group. Some sneer, some call Judas of Kerioth. But he is walking beside the Master and does not even turn round. They go out of town towards the house in the neighbourhood of which is Hillel's sepulchre. «How impudent of You!» «He is imprudent and impudent!» «He is provoking us.» «Desecrator!» «Tell Him, Uzziel.» «I will not be contaminated. Saul, you are only a pupil, you can tell Him.» «No. Let us tell Judas. Call him.» The young man, whose name is Saul, a thin pale fellow with very large eyes and mouth, approaches Judas and says to him: «Come. The rabbis want you.» «I will not come. I am staying where I am. Leave me alone.» The young man goes back to his masters and tells them. In the meantime Jesus, in the middle of His apostles, is praying reverently near Hillel's whitewashed sepulchre. The rabbis approach the group slowly, like silent snakes, and watch, and two elderly bearded ones pull the tunic of Judas, who, since they gathered to pray, is no longer protected by his companions. «Well, what do you want?» he asks in a low but resentful voice. «Is one not even allowed to pray?» «Just one word. Then we will leave you in peace.» Simon Zealot and Thaddeus turn round and tell the noisy disturbers to be quiet. Judas moves a few steps aside and asks: «What do you want?» I do not hear what the older man whispers in Judas' ear. But I distinctly see the gesture of Judas who steps aside resolutely saying: «No. Leave me in peace, poisoned souls. I don't know you, I don't want to have anything more to do with you.» The rabbinical group burst into a scornful laugh and threaten: «Watch what you do, you silly boy!» «You had better watch. Go away! You can go and tell the others. All the others. 339. At Hillel's Sepulchre at Giscala. 209 Have you understood? You can apply to anybody You like, but not to me, you devils» and he leaves them. He has spoken so loudly that the apostles turn round dumbfounded. Jesus does not. Not even after the scornful laugh and threat: «We will see you again, Judas of Simon! We will meet again!» that resounds in the silence of the place. Judas goes back to his place, he moves aside Andrew who had gone close to Jesus, and as if he wished to be defended and protected, he takes the hem of Jesus' mantle in his hands. The angry men then rage against Jesus. They come forth threatening and shouting: «What are You doing here, You, anathema of Israel? Go away? Don't make the bones of the Just man, whom You are not worthy to approach, stir in the grave. We will tell Gamaliel and will have You punished.» Jesus turns round and looks at them, one at a time. «Why are You looking at us like that, You demoniac?» «To become better acquainted with your faces and your hearts. Because not only My apostle will see you again. I will, as well. And I want to know you well so that I can recognise you at once.» «Well have You seen us? Go away. If Gamaliel were here, he would not allow You to be here.» «I was here last year with him...» «That is not true, You liar!» «Ask him, and since he is an honest man, he will tell that I was here with him. I love and venerate Hillel, I respect and honour Gamaliel. They are two men through whose justice and wisdom the origin of man is revealed, as they remind us that man was made in the likeness of God.» «We don't, do we?» interrupt the energumens. «It is dimmed in you by interests and hatred.» «Listen to Him! That is how He speaks and offends in the house of other people. Go away from here, corrupter of the best people in Israel! Or we will have to pick up stones. Rome is not here to protect You, You intriguer with the heathen enemy...» «Why do you hate Me? Why do you persecute Me? What wrong have I done you? Some of you have benefited from Me; everybody has been respected by Me. So why are you so cruel against Me?» Jesus is humble, meek, afflicted and loving. He implores them to love Him. They take it as a sign of weakness and fear and they become more furious. The first stone flies skimming James of Zebedee, who quickly makes the gesture of reacting by throwing it against the assailers, while all the others gather round Jesus. But they are twelve against about one hundred. Another stone strikes Jesus' hand while He is telling His disciples not to react. The back of His hand is injured and bleeds. It seems to be already wounded by the nail... Jesus then stops praying. He straightens up imposingly, looks at them and crushes them with a glare. But another stone strikes the temple of James of Alphaeus and it begins to bleed. Jesus is now compelled to paralyse their action by means of His power, to defend His apostles, who obeying Him, receive the volley of stones without reacting. And when the cowards are overwhelmed by Jesus' will and by His frightful imposing attitude, He says: «I am going. But you must know that Hillel would have cursed you for what you are doing. I am going away. But remember that not even the Red Sea prevented the Israelites from going on the way pointed out to them by God. Everything flattened out and became a level road for the passing God. The same applies to Me. As Egyptians, Philistines, Amorites, Canaanites and other peoples could not stop the triumphal march of Israel, so you, who are worse than they were, will not be able to stop My march and mission: Israel. Remember what they sang at the well of the water given by God: “Rise, o well, that was sunk by the princes and dug by the leaders of the people, with the giver of the Law, with their staves.” I am that Well! It was dug by Heaven in response to the prayers and the justice of the true princes and leaders of the holy People, which you are not. No. You are not. The Messiah would never have come for you, because you do not deserve Him. In fact His coming is your ruin. Because the Most High is aware of all the thoughts of men and has always been aware of them, even before Cain, from whom you descend, existed, and before Abel, whom I resemble, before Noah, My symbol, and before Moses who first used My symbol, before Balaam who prophesied the Star, before Isaiah and all the prophets. And God knows your hearts and is struck with horror at them. He has always been horrified at them as He has always rejoiced at the just for whose sake it was just to send Me and who really 339. At Hillel's Sepulchre at Giscala. 210 drew Me from the depths of Heaven, that I might bring Living Water for the thirst of men. I am the Source of eternal Life. But you do not wish to drink at it. And you will die.» And He walks slowly through the paralysed rabbis and their pupils and goes on His way, slowly, solemnly, in the amazed silence of men and things. 340. The Deaf-Mute Cured near the Phoenician Border. 25th November 1945. I do not know where the pilgrims spent the night. I know that it is morning once again, that they are on their way, still across mountainous places, that Jesus' hand is bandaged, and so is the forehead of James of Alphaeus, while Andrew is limping badly and James of Zebedee is without his bag, which his brother John is carrying. Twice Jesus has asked: «Can you manage to walk, Andrew?» «Yes, Master. I walk badly because of the bandage. But it is not very painful.» And the second time he adds: «And what about Your hand, Master?» «A hand is not a leg. It is resting and it is not very sore.» «H'm! Swollen as it is and with the wound into the bone, I can hardly believe that it is not very sore... Oil is good for it. But perhaps we should have got some of that ointment of Your Mother's from...» «From My Mother. You are right» says Jesus quickly on hearing what is about to escape the lips of Peter, who blushes with embarrassment and looks desolately at Jesus. The Master smiles at him and lays His injured hand on Peter's shoulder to draw him to Himself. «It will hurt if You hold it thus.» «No, Simon. You love Me and your love is a very wholesome oil.» «Oh! In that case You should already be cured! We have all suffered seeing You ill-treated like that, and there are some of us who wept.» And Peter looks at John and Andrew... «Oil and water are good medicines, but tears of love and pity are more powerful than anything. See? I am much more cheerful today than yesterday. Because today I know how obedient you are and how much you love Me. Everyone.» And Jesus looks at them with His habitually sad mild eyes, which this morning are shining, although faintly, with joy. «But what hyenas they are! Never seen so much hatred!» says Judas of Alphaeus. «They must have been all Judaeans.» «No, brother. Regions have nothing to do with it. Hatred is the same everywhere. Remember that I was driven out of Nazareth months ago and they wanted to pelt Me with stones. Do you not remember?» says Jesus calmly, which comforts the Judaean apostles for Thaddeus' words. They are in fact so consoled that the Iscariot says: «But I will tell them that! Oh! I will indeed! We were not doing anything wrong. We did not react, and He spoke of nothing but love from the very beginning. And they threw stones at us, as if we were snakes. I will tell them.» «And who are you going to tell, if they are all against us?» «I know who I will tell. In the meantime, I will tell Hermas and Stephen as soon as I see them. And Gamaliel will know at once. But at Passover I know who I will tell. I will say: “It is not fair to do that. Your fury is against the law. You are guilty, not He.”» «It would be better if you did not approach those men!... I think that you are guilty in their eyes, as well» advises Philip wisely. «That's true. It is better if I never get in touch with them again. Yes. It is better. But I will tell Stephen. He is good and has no poison...» «Never mind, Judas. You would not change anything for the better. I have forgiven them. Let us forget about it» says Jesus calmly and convincingly. Twice, crossing two little streams both Andrew and the two Jameses dampen the bandages on their bruises. Jesus does not. He proceeds peacefully as if He felt no pain. But His hand must be really sore, if He has to ask Andrew to break His bread, when they stop to eat; and if He has to beg Matthew to tie His sandal, when the sandal laces come undone... Above all, if, when going down a steep short cut, He bumps into a tree trunk, because His foot has slipped, and He cannot help 340. The Deaf-Mute Cured near the Phoenician Border. 211 moaning, while His bandage becomes stained once again with blood. In fact they stop at the first house of the village, where they arrive at sunset, to ask for some water and oil to doctor His hand, which, once the bandage has been removed, looks all swollen with a large bluish bruise on the back and the red wound in the middle. While waiting for the landlady to come with what they have asked for, they all bend to look at the wound and they make their comments. But John moves away to one side to hide his tears. Jesus calls him: «Come here. It is nothing serious. Do not weep.» «I know. If I had it, I would not weep. But You have it. And You are not telling us how painful is this dear hand, which has never harmed anybody» replies John, to whom Jesus has abandoned His wounded hand; and John gently caresses the finger-tips, the wrist, all around the bruise and then gently turns it over to kiss the palm and rest his cheek in the hollow of the hand saying: «It is hot!... How painful it must be!» and loving tears drop on it. The woman brings water and oil and John with a piece of linen cleans the blood that stains the hand, gently pouring some lukewarm water on the wound, which he then dresses with oil, and binds up with clean strips of cloth and finally kisses the binding. Jesus lays His other hand on John's lowered head. The woman asks him: «Is He your brother?» «No. He is my Master. Our Master.» «Where have you come from?» she asks the others. «From the Sea of Galilee.» «So far! Why?» «To preach Salvation.» «It is almost evening. Stop in my house. It's a poor house. But we are honest. I can give you some milk as soon as my sons come back with the sheep. My husband will be pleased to welcome you.» «Thank you, woman. We will stay here if the Master wishes so.» The woman goes away to do her housework while the apostles ask Jesus what to do. «Yes. It is a good idea. Tomorrow we will go to Kedesh and then towards Paneas. I have been thinking, Bartholomew. It is better to do as you suggested. You gave Me a good piece of advice. I hope I will thus be able to find other disciples and send them ahead of Me to Capernaum. I know that some must have already been to Kedesh, and the three shepherds from Lebanon are among them.» The woman comes back and asks: «Well?» «Yes, good woman. We are staying here for the night.» «And for supper. Oh! accept my invitation. It is no burden to me. And after all we have been taught to be merciful by some men who are the disciples of that Jesus of Galilee, who is called the Messiah and works so many miracles and preaches the Kingdom of God. But He has never been here. Perhaps because we are at the SyroPhoenician border. But His disciples came. And that is already a lot! Here in the village, we all want to go to Judaea at Passover, to see if we can find this Jesus. Because we have some sick people and His disciples cured some of them but not everyone. Among the latter there is the young son of a brother of my brother-in-law's wife.» «What is the matter with him?» asks Jesus smiling. «He is... He does not speak and he does not hear. Perhaps a demon entered the womb of his mother to make her suffer and drive her to despair. But he is good, not like a possessed. The disciples said that Jesus of Nazareth is needed for him, because there must be something missing, and only that Jesus... Oh! here are my sons and my husband! Melkiah, I have welcomed these pilgrims in the name of the Lord and I was telling them about Levi... Sarah, go and milk the sheep and you, Samuel, go down into the grotto and bring some oil and wine and get also some apples in the attic. Hurry up, Sarah, we will prepare the beds upstairs.» «Do not tire yourself, woman. Any place will suit us. Could I see the man of whom you were speaking?» «Yes... But... Oh! Lord! Are You perhaps the Nazarene?» «I am.» The woman drops on her knees shouting: «Melkiah, Sarah, Samuel! Come and worship the Messiah! What a day! And I have Him in my house! And I have been speaking to Him! And I brought Him water to cleanse His wound... Oh!...» she is choking with emotion. She then runs to the basin and sees that it is empty: 340. The Deaf-Mute Cured near the Phoenician Border. 212 «Why have you thrown that water out? It was holy water! Oh! Melkiah! The Messiah is here with us.» «Yes, but be good, woman and do not tell anybody. Go and get the deaf-mute and bring him here...» says Jesus smiling... ... And Melkiah is soon back with the deaf-mute, his relatives and at least half of the people in the village... The mother of the poor fellow worships Jesus and implores Him. «Yes, it will be done as you wish» and He takes the deaf-mute by the hand and draws him away from the crowd, who are pressing together and whom the apostles are busy pushing back, to protect Jesus' wounded hand. Jesus draws the deaf-mute close to Himself, puts His forefingers into his ears, touches his lips with His tongue, then raising His eyes to the sky, which is growing dark, He breathes on the face of the man and shouts in a loud voice: «Be opened!» and lets him go. The young man looks at Him for a moment while the crowds whisper. The change in the countenance of the deaf-mute is surprising: from listless and sad it becomes amazed and smiling. He touches his ears with his hands, presses them, takes his hands away... He persuades himself that he can really hear, he opens his mouth saying: «Mother! I can hear! Oh! Lord, I adore You!» The crowd is seized by the usual enthusiasm, also because they ask one another: «How can he be able to speak if he never heard a word since he was born? A miracle in the miracle! He loosened his tongue and opened his ears and at the same time He taught him to speak. Long live Jesus of Nazareth! Hosanna to the Holy Messiah!» And they press against Jesus Who raises His wounded hand to bless them, while some, urged by the woman of the house, wet their faces and limbs with the remaining drops of water left in the basin. Jesus sees them and shouts: «Because of your faith you are all cured. Go home. Be good and honest. Believe in the word of the Gospel. And keep to yourselves what you know, until it is time to announce it in the squares and throughout the whole world. May My peace be with you.» And He goes into the large kitchen where the fire is blazing and the light of two lamps flicker.
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