The Gospel as Revealed to Me, Simplified
 Cover page of volume 1, EMVF, 2022 reissue
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| Work Details | |
|---|---|
| Author | Maria Valtorta |
| Text selection and commentary | Valérie Arroyo for the collection - Vincent Julien for the first volume |
| Pages | 298 |
| Publication | 2015, 5th revised and expanded edition, 2022 |
| Publisher | Éditions Maria Valtorta France |
| ISBN | 978-2-36463-397-1 |
| Distribution | Bookstore - online sales - Publisher's website |
This collection reprises the major work of Maria Valtorta "with the authentic dialogues, without the long descriptions." It was designed for "youth (from 12 years old) and adults" wishing to access the essentials of these visions. The selection of texts, as well as the explanatory notes, were done by Valérie Arroyo for the entire collection, assisted by Vincent Julien for the first volume.
Valérie Arroyo, born in 1960, was trained at the Cathedral School of Paris[1] and in Spiritual Discernment. She taught biblical courses in parish and now does catechesis.
Genesis of the project[edit | edit source]
In 2015, the publisher Maria Valtorta France (EMVF) asked her to adapt The Gospel as Revealed to Me for teenagers, which she undertook by adapting Maria Valtorta's monumental work for this audience. The 33-volume collection required 10 years of adaptation.
Content[edit | edit source]
This transcription is faithful to the original work translated into French. It includes the authentic dialogues, without the long descriptions. Numerous added notes help readers find the canonical Gospels and the spiritual heritage of the Church. Indeed, they provide details about the biblical references mentioned in the Work, articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church involved, the various characters encountered, and places of Palestine traveled by Jesus and his Apostles...). The chapters "To go deeper" inserted at the end of each volume are intended to deepen points of Doctrine or Jesus' teachings on different spiritual themes. Finally, the title highlights a striking theme of each volume.
Preface to the collection of thirty-three volumes[edit | edit source]
This text presents the nature and interest of the collection by giving the floor directly to Jesus, giving his instructions to Maria Valtorta whom He briefly presents."Maria Valtorta (1897-1961), a suffering mystic soul, lived the privilege, for nearly ten years of her life, of contemplating in visions scenes of the life of Jesus. Jesus Himself opened up to her to explain this particular charism that the Lord allowed:"I intend to alternate your contemplations including the explanations I give you afterward, with actual 'dictations', to elevate your soul by granting you the beatitude of vision, and also because it highlights the difference in style between your text and mine. Moreover, faced with so many books that speak about Me and that, edit after edit, change after change, embellishment after embellishment, have become unreal, I wish to give those who believe in Me a vision brought back to the truth of My stay on earth. I do not come out diminished, but on the contrary greater in my humility which for you becomes bread, to teach you to be humble and to resemble Me, who was a man like you and who bore under my human aspect the perfection of a God[2]."Jesus even specifies to Maria Valtorta His intentions through these writings:
"Do you know, Maria, what you are doing? Or rather what I am doing by revealing the Gospel to you? It is a stronger attempt to bring men to Me. You desired it with your ardent prayers. I no longer limit Myself to the word. It tires them and drives them away. It is a sin, but it is so...I resort to vision, to the vision of My Gospel and I explain it to make it clearer and more appealing.
To you, I give the comfort of vision. To all, I give the means to desire to know Me. And if once again it is of no use, if, like cruel children, they reject the gift without understanding its value, my gift will remain to you and my indignation will be theirs. I could, once again, make this old reproach to them: ‘We played the flute, and you did not dance. We sang lamentations, and you did not weep[3].' But never mind. Let the 'unconvertible' accumulate burning coals on their heads and let us turn to the sheep who seek to know the Shepherd. The Shepherd is Me and you are the staff that leads them to Me[4]."
Editorial stance[edit | edit source]
It is the knowledge of the young audience that led Valérie Arroyo and the publisher to define this "simplification". But it also reaches a broader audience sometimes puzzled by the many details contained in the visions. They are useful in creating the conditions of an immersive experience and in justifying the authenticity of the vision, but they surprise some.
Collection summary[edit | edit source]
| Volume 1 | Volume 2 | Volume 3 | Volume 4 |
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Notes and references[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Known as the Collège des Bernardins, it is the theological faculty of the Diocese of Paris. It hosts about 3,000 students annually, clerics or laypeople.
- ↑ The Gospel as Revealed to Me, Volume 1, EMV 44, pp. 299/300
- ↑ See Matthew 11:17 or Luke 7:32.
- ↑ The Gospel as Revealed to Me, Volume 1, EMV 45, p. 309.