THE VALTORTA ENIGMA A Fictionalized Life of Jesus? Jean-François Lavère THE VALTORTA ENIGMA A Fictionalized Life of Jesus? Rassemblement à Son Image Place des Fontaines CAPELLE 12850 ONET LE CHATEAU English translation by Gillian French Nicolini © For the French edition, September 2012, all reproduction, translation and adaptation rights reserved. Publisher : Editions Multi-Média Rassemblement à Son Image Place des Fontaines CAPELLE 12850 ONET LE CHATEAU To order, Tel: 05 65 78 01 95 www.asonimage.fr E-mail : [email protected] ISBN : 978-2-36463-025-3 This book also exists in Italian, German and Polish. It can be ordered from Rassemblement à Son Image, Place des Fontaines, CAPELLE, 12850 ONET LE CHÂTEAU, Tel: + 33 05 65 78 01 95 © Rassemblement à Son Image, Chrétiens Magazine, publishers, January 2012. The quotations excerpted from Maria Valtorta’s work “The Gospel as Revealed to Me” are reported with the gracious permission of the “Centro Editoriale Valtortiano S.r.l.”, viale Piscicelli 91, 03036 Isola del Liri (FR), Italy, www.mariavaltorta.com, exclusive publisher of the writings of Maria Valtorta, which are the property of the “Fondazione Maria Valtorta Cev – onlus.” Photo credits D.R., cover photo: Maria Valtorta at 25. © Centro Editoriale Valtortiano. To the Reverend Father A. R. and to my dear wife, Thanks to whom I undertook this study. CONTENTS Contents ..................................................................................... - 9 - Preface ...................................................................................... - 11 - Foreword .................................................................................. - 16 - Man of little faith, why did you doubt? .................................................... - 16 - God cannot deny Himself, nor can truth ever contradict truth.................. - 17 - “The agent of sin is the agent of punishment” .......................................... - 18 - Who does not dream of finding a treasure? .............................................. - 19 - Condemned by the Church ? .................................................. - 22 - What is the situation regarding Maria Valtorta’s work? ........................... - 25 - The judgement of the Church ................................................................... - 26 - A Clumsily Romanticised Life of Jesus? ............................... - 32 - Manzoni and Valtorta ............................................................................... - 33 - To judge fairly... ....................................................................................... - 34 - 1 / The theme ............................................................................................ - 35 - 2 / The narration ....................................................................................... - 36 - 3 / Period and Place .................................................................................. - 38 - 4 / The Characters ..................................................................................... - 42 - 5 / The text ................................................................................................ - 46 - The quest for precious pearls ................................................. - 51 - Mushroom-picker or archaeologist? ......................................................... - 52 - First and foremost, order and method. ...................................................... - 52 - How can the credibility level of the work be objectively estimated? ....... - 54 - This harmony of celestial things. .............................................................. - 56 - Errare humanum est... ............................................................................... - 61 - “There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation...” ................................................................................................... - 64 - The dating of the important events of the life of Jesus. ............................ - 65 - A little bit of maths... ................................................................................ - 66 - A good sketch is worth a thousand words ................................................ - 68 - The equal of the greatest geographers? ................................. - 80 - The Khafre and Menkaure pyramids have disappeared! .......................... - 82 - The petrified forest of Cairo ..................................................................... - 85 - Bethsaida, a landlocked fishing village! ................................................... - 86 - Enquiry in Phoenecia ................................................................................ - 88 - The cyclopean ruins of the ancient city of Hazor ..................................... - 92 - Did Maria Valtorta visit Antioch? ............................................................ - 93 - A beautiful panorama in the centre of Judea ............................................ - 99 - The Arbela gorges and the Horns of Hattin ............................................ - 106 - And so many, so many other forgotten sites... ........................................ - 109 - Distant view of Jerusalem and the Temple ............................................. - 115 - On the Way to Sycaminon ...................................................................... - 115 - The hot springs of Hamat Gader ............................................................. - 116 - And Jesus made His way through towns and villages ......... - 122 - Overland Travel. ..................................................................................... - 122 - Travel by water. ...................................................................................... - 124 - A few details on the method used. .......................................................... - 124 - A totally unexpected result. .................................................................... - 125 - Transportation of the dying Jonas on his pallet. ..................................... - 127 - On the way from Bethsaida to Cana. ...................................................... - 127 - Voyage from Nazareth to Maritime Caesarea ........................................ - 129 - A cruise along the Phoenician and Syrian coasts ................................... - 130 - From Ptolemais to Antioch ..................................................................... - 131 - Roman bridges, milestones, farriers ....................................................... - 134 - Jesus’s movements in Palestine .............................................................. - 138 - The Eye Witnesses .................................................................. - 141 - The twelve Apostles ............................................................................... - 142 - “Then the Lord designated seventy two others” ..................................... - 144 - Timoneus, head of the synagogue in the Jordan valley .......................... - 145 - Philip, the bad son, who became an evangeliser..................................... - 145 - Nicolaus, Deacon of Antioch rehabilitated? ........................................... - 146 - They drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias ............................. - 147 - Marjiam, the Evangeliser of Aquitaine. .................................................. - 149 - A certain Joseph, known as The Just ...................................................... - 153 - Full house at the Sanhedrin .................................................................... - 155 - The Female Roman notables .................................................................. - 158 - “Have nothing to do with that Just Man.” .............................................. - 158 - Who was Plautina? ................................................................................. - 160 - Converted to Christianity ....................................................................... - 161 - Plautina and Saint Lucina ....................................................................... - 162 - A mother called Albula and her daughter Flavia .................................... - 163 - The Jewish friends of Jesus .................................................................... - 165 - Joanna, Princess of Bether ...................................................................... - 165 - Joseph the Elder ...................................................................................... - 166 - Nicodemus, Prince of the Jews ............................................................... - 167 - Manaen, a Herodian Notable .................................................................. - 168 - Lazarus, the faithful and devoted friend ................................................. - 170 - And all the others, known or unknown ................................................... - 172 - The astonishing destiny of Thusnelda, the Barbarian ............................ - 173 - A very strange discovery near Pompeii .................................................. - 174 - “Lord, give me some of that water so that I may never be thirsty again”.- 175 - How were people named in Israel? ......................................................... - 181 - The identity of Roman citizens ............................................................... - 183 - On the correct use of I.T ......................................................................... - 183 - Twenty talents