And another scene is immediately shown to me. It is a damp, dank, awful
prison cell in some building. A single torch gives a dim light and I can
make out a figure who is sitting against a moldy, fettered wall, his head
inclined to the right. A large rat scurries about the debris, but the man
does not notice.
Suddenly all is brightness, a silvery light more dazzling than sunlight.
Everything is transformed by this light which comes from, surrounds, and
comprises Our Lord'' glorified Body.
The man in the cell is Joseph of Arimethea. He, too, has been maltreated,
but his sorrow is obviously greater than his physical misery.
"My Lord!" he exclaims, moving from his sitting position to kneel before
Jesus, Who smiles at him with Infinite Love.
"Now that you have witnessed the truth, you will follow the Light into
eternity. No longer be afraid. Soon you will be released. Go to the
house where My Apostles are gathered and wait and pray with them."
"Yes, Lord, Yes!" Joseph's prayer is complete, from his heart. But Jesus
is already gone, and I follow to yet another place.
I am within the temple, which is a place of chaos, as on-lookers, temple
guards, priests, scribes, and general citizens have come to gaze and
exclaim over the damage to this place in the Friday afternoon earthquake.
Off in a side room, I see Gamaliel, who rests his head upon his arms as he
sits at a table, covered in dust and debris. His body posture is one of
defeat, as that which lies in ruin at his feet is proof of the reality of
Jesus Christ the Messiah. The sign he had needed was given. But he did
not have the faith to believe when the Messiah was in the midst of the people.
"You have witnessed the power of God," says Our Lord, Who stands before
Gamaliel.
Startled, the elderly man looks up. His face has aged considerably since
the day of the Sacred Passion.
"Yes, the Power of God. He said I would receive this sign. But I was
blind and stubborn and did not recognize Him."
"Behold, Gamaliel, you have learned a great lesson. Your eyes saw first
God's Justice and Power. Now behold His Glory, which has been won for all
who will believe."
Jesus' full Divinity transforms His body into its Glorified state, and
Gamaliel is so shaken, so filled with awe, reverence, and respect that he
can barely rise to his feet.
"O! My God, forgive an old man whose wisdom was clothed in pride. I am
your servant, the least of them, if You will have me."
"Gamaliel, it will be your voice which shall shake the walls which remain
in this temple. It will be your voice, which will help My Apostles to
establish the Gospel, which I have given to all the world. Let Israel hear
and believe, for the Kingdom of God lives forever in the hearts of the just."
"O! My Lord, all You say I will do. I…. May God have mercy on Israel."
"I am Mercy. Israel has rejected Me. Know that many generations shall
pass before Israel proclaims its messiah, who will be not I, but My enemy.
Know that when this happens the Kingdom of God is at hand and I will return
to claim My Kingdom. Go now to the house where my Apostles and My Holy
Mother are gathered in prayer. You will stay among them until your heart
is filled with the knowledge you must have to go forward. I bless you,
Gamaliel. Speak of Me often that all might know and love Me."
I am again above Jerusalem within Our Lady's embrace and she beckons me to
look at the distant horizon. As if by a miracle, which it can only be, I
see a succession of scenes where Jesus appears. I recognize His meeting
with the two men on the road to Emmaus. I see also that those disciples
which He had sent to Antioch to prepare the people to receive the Gospel,
see the Glorified Christ and are instructed as to their duties. To all,
Jesus' Love is paramount, and upon all, His Peace descends, leaving each
heart renewed, stronger.
There are hundreds of these brief scenes. They are swift, and I do not
recognize each person to whom Our Lord appears. But I do not need to know
whom. What is important, I am given to understand, is that all of these
apparitions occur in a short span of earthly time, and many occur
simultaneously. How wonderful is the life, which awaits us when we are no
longer tied and bound to our heavy bodies, not subject to the laws of time,
place, distance, etc. Then very gently, led by Our Blessed Mother, I find
that all of these interior visions fade and I am in my own room, pen in
hand, and I sense the profound peace and renewed heart which I have also
received. May God be praised!