A child awakes Matthias and then Jesus.

trendsfitness.blogspot.com - (Jesus and the apostles with some disciples rest in a shed on some hay during a very hot day, after Jesus promises to speak to the peasants when it is cooler at sunset.)

The little fellow seen a short time ago, who is now beautiful in his very short shirt, the only garment he has on in this torrid hour, puts his little dark head out of the kitchen door, watches closely, and comes forward cautiously with his tender little feet aching on the hot ground. His loose little shirt almost slips off his plump shoulders. He reaches the disciples and tries to step over them to go and look at Jesus once again. But his little legs are too short to get over the sturdy bodies of adults, and he stumbles falling on Matthias who awakes and sees the little face of the mortified child, ready to cry. He smiles and understanding the reason for the little fellow's maneuver, he says: "Come here, I will put you between Jesus and myself. But you must be silent and still. Let Him sleep, because He is tired."

And the child sits down happily, adoring Jesus' beautiful face. He looks at Him, studies Him, and is dying to caress Him and touch His golden hair. But Matthias is vigilant smiling and does not allow him. The child then asks in a low voice: "Does He always sleep like that?"

"Always like that" replies Matthias.

"Is He tired? Why?"

"Because He walks and talks so much."

"Why does He talk and walk?"

"To teach children to be good and to love the Lord to go to Heaven with Him."

"Up there? How does one do that? It's far..."

"Your soul, do you know what a soul is?"

"No!"

"It is the nicest thing we have, and ...."

"More than our eyes? My mummy says that my eyes are two stars. Stars are beautiful, you know?!"

The disciple smiles and replies: "It is more beautiful that the little stars of your eyes, because a good soul is more beautiful than the sun."

"Oh! Where is it? Where have I got it?"

"Here. In your little heart. And it hears and sees everything and it never dies. And when one is never bad and dies as a just person, one's soul flies up there with the Lord."

"With Him?" and the child points at Jesus.

"With Him."

"But has He got a soul?"

"He has a soul and divinity. Because that Man you are looking at is God.

"How do you know? Who told you?"

"The angels did."

The boy, who was sitting leaning on Matthias, cannot take in the news quietly, and he jumps to his feet asking: "Have you seen the angels?" and he looks at Matthias opening his big eyes wide. The news is so astonishing that he forgets Jesus for a moment and thus he does not see that He has half-opened His eyes, awakened by the boy's exclamation. Jesus closes His eyes once again smiling and turns His head round to the other side.

"Be quiet! See? Your are waking Him up...I will send you away."

"I'll be good. But what are the angels like? When did you see them?" His voice is a whisper again.

And Matthias patiently tells the boy, who is sat again in an ecstasy on his chest, what happened on Christmas Night. And he patiently replies to all the boy's questions: "Why was He born in a stable? Had He no home? Was He so poor that He could not find a house? Has He got a house now? Has He no Mother? Where is His Mother? Why does She leave Him all alone, since She knows that they wanted to kill Him? Does She not love Him?..." A hail of questions and one of answers. And the last one--to which Matthias replies "His holy Mother loves Her Divine Son very much, but She makes a sacrifice of Her sorrow for letting Him go about, so that men may be saved. And to console Herself She considers that there are still good men capable of loving Him" bringing this reply:

"Does She not know that there are good children who love Him? Where is She? Tell me, because I will go and say to Her: "Do not weep. I will give all my love to your Son." What do you think? Will she be pleased?"

"So much, my child" says Matthias kissing him.

"And will He be glad?"

"Yes, very much. You will tell Him when He awakes."

"Oh! Yes...But when will He awake?" The boy is anxious...

Jesus can resist no longer. He turns round, with His eyes wide open and a bright smile, and He says: "You have already told Me, because I have heard everything. "Come here, child."

Oh! the boy does not need to be told twice and he throws himself on Jesus, caressing and kissing Him, touching His forehead, His golden eyebrows and eyelids with his little finger, looking at himself in His blue eyes, rubbing himself against His soft beard and silky hair, repeating at each discovery: "How lovely You are! Lovely! Lovely!" Jesus and Matthias smile.

Then as the others wake up, because the boy is not so careful now about making too much noise, the disciples and apostles smile seeing such an accurate examination by the little man in the bud, half-naked, plump, who moves blissfully up and down Jesus' body, scanning it from head to food and ends up by saying: "Turn round!" and he explains why: "To see Your wings" and then he is disappointed he asks: "Why have You not got them?"

"I am not an angel, My child."

"But You are God! How can You be God if you are not full of wings? How will You be able to go up to Heaven?"

"I am God. Just because I am God I do not need wings. I do what I want and I can do everything."

"Well then make my eyes like Yours. They are beautiful."

"No. I gave you the ones you have and I like them as they are. Ask Me, instead, to make your soul just, so that you can love Me more and more."

"You gave me that as well, so You must like it as it is" replies the little one with childish logic.

"Yes, I like it very much now because it is innocent. But while your eyes will always be the hue of ripe olives, your soul may change from white to black, if you are bad."

"No, not bad. I love You and I want to do what the angels said when You were born: "Peace to God in Heaven and glory to men of good will" says the boy mistaking, which makes the adults guffaw, and the little fellow mortified becomes dumb.

But Jesus comforts him while correcting him: "God is always Peace, My child. He is the Peace. But the angels were giving Him glory because the Savior was born and they were giving men the first rule to obtain the peace, which was to derive from My birth: "to have good will". The one you want."

"Yes, give me it. Put it here where that man said that I have my soul" and with his forefingers he beats his little chest several times.

"Yes, My little friend. What is your name?"

"Michael!"

"The name of the powerful Archangel. Well, I give good will to you, Michael. And may you be a confessor of the true God, saying to persecutors what your angelic patron said: "Who is like God?" May you be blessed now and always" and He imposes His hands on him.

But the little one is not convinced. He says: "No, kiss me here. On my soul. And Your blessing will go into it and will remain closed in it" and he uncovers his chest to be kissed without anything being interposed between his body and Jesus' divine lips.

All those who are present smile and are moved at the same time. And quite rightly! The wonderful faith of the innocent child, who has gone to Jesus, some may say by instinct, but I say: urged by his soul, is really touching, and Jesus points it out saying: "Ah! if everybody had the heart of a child!..."

Hours have gone by in the meanwhile. The house becomes busy again. The voices of women, children and men can be heard. And a mother calls: "Michael! Michael! Where are you?" and she appears at the door and with fear in her eyes she looks at the low well with a dreadful thought in her heart.

"Be not afraid, woman. Your son is with Me."

"Oh! I was afraid...He likes to play with water so much..."

"And in fact he came to the Living Water that descends from Heaven to give Life to men."

"He has troubled You... But he slipped away so silently that I did not hear him..." says the woman apologizing.

"Oh! no! He has not disturbed Me. He has comforted Me! Children never grieve Jesus."

Men and other women approach Jesus. The head of the family says: "Come in and take some food. And forgive us if we did not make You the master of our house the first moment we saw You..."

"I have nothing to forgive you. I have been very comfortable here. I feel honored by your respect. We had food, and your well is cool and your hay soft. More than what is necessary for the Son of Man. I am not a Syrian satrap."...

Excerpted from THE POEM OF THE MAN-GOD, volume 3, pp. 752-755.

Written by Maria Valtorta

Posted by Jhoe XD