Passover: Judas and Peter's behaviors

(CEV) From “The Poem of the Man-God”, Vol. 5, p. 573

Maria Valtorta: “I see Judas. He is alone. He

[…],who had run away after the arrest, is a prey to contrasting ideas. In fact the Iscariot looks like a furious wild beast hunted down by a pack of mastiffs.

Every breath of wind rustling among leaves, any noise in the streets, the gurgling of a fountain make him start and turn round suspiciously and with terror, as if an executioner had caught up with him. […] In his crazy running he goes toward the centre of the Town. […]

While running so blindly, he bumps against a stray dog, the first dog I have seen since I [Maria Valtorta] had visions, a big grey hairy dog that moves to one side snarling, ready to hurl itself upon the disturber.

Judas opens his eyes and meets the two phosphorescent ones staring at him, and he sees the white uncovered fangs that seem to be laughing in a diabolic manner. He gives a shriek of terror.

The dog, that perhaps takes it for a cry of menace, rushes upon him and they both roll in the dust: Judas underneath, paralyzed by fear, the dog on top of him. When the animal leaves the prey, perhaps considered unworthy of a struggle, Judas is bleeding because of two of three bites, and his mantle is badly torn.

One bite has injured Judas’ cheek, exactly where he kissed Jesus.

His cheek is bleeding and the blood stains the neck of Judas’ yellowish garment. It forms a sort of collar of blood soaking the red cord that fastens the garment round the neck, making it even redder. Judas, touching his cheek with his hand and looking at the dog that is going away, but he looks at it from the opening of a door, whispers: «Beelzebub!», and with a fresh shriek he runs away chased by the dog for some time.

He runs as far as the little bridge near Gethsemane. Here, either because it was tired of chasing him or because it was rabid and the water turns it away, the dog abandons the prey and goes back snarling. Judas, who had rushed into the torrent to get stones to throw at the dog, when he sees it go away, looks around and realizes that the water reaches half-way up his calves. Without bothering about his garments, which are getting wetter and wetter, he bends down as far as the water and drinks, as if he were parched by fever, and he washes his cheek that is bleeding and must be painful.

(CEV) From “The Poem of the Man-God”, Vol. 5, p. 580

Jesus says: “Dreadful but not useless. Too many people think that Judas did something of little importance. Some even go to the extent of saying that he is well deserving, because Redemption would not have taken place without him, and that he is therefore justified in the eyes of God.

I solemnly tell you that, if Hell did not already exist and was not perfect in its torments, it would have been created even more dreadful and eternal for Judas, because of all sinners and damned souls, he is the most damned and the biggest sinner, and throughout eternity there will be no mitigation of his sentence.

Remorse could have also saved him, if he had turned remorse into repentance.

But he would not repent and, to the first crime of betrayal, still compatible because of the great mercy that is My loving weakness, he added blasphemy, resistance to the voices of Grace, that still wanted to speak to him through recollections, through terrors, through My Blood and My mantle, through My glances, through the traces of the institution of the Eucharist, through the words of My Mother.

He resisted everything.

He wanted to resist.

As he had wanted to betray.

As he wanted to curse.

As he wanted to commit suicide.

It is one’s will that matters in things. Both in good and in evil. When one falls without the will to follow, I forgive.

Consider Peter. He denied Me. Why? Not even he knew why.

Was Peter a coward? No. My Peter was not cowardly.

Facing the cohort and the guards of the Temple he had dared to wound Malcus (the one who had his ear cut) to defend Me, risking his own life thereby.

He then ran away, without the will to do so. Then he denied Me, without the will to do it. Later he did remain and proceed on the bloody way of the Cross, on My Way, until he reached death on a cross. And then he bore witness to Me very efficiently, to the point of being killed because of his fearless faith.

I defend My Peter.

His bewilderment was the last one of his human nature. But his spiritual will was not present at that moment. Dulled by the weight of his humanity, it was asleep.

When it awoke, it did not want to remain in sin, but it wanted to be perfect. I forgave him at once.

Judas did not want.

You say that he seemed mad and hydrophobic. He was so through satanic fury.

His terror in seeing the dog, a rare animal particularly in Jerusalem, was a consequence of the fact that, from time immemorial, that form was attributed to satan to appear to men.

In books of magic it is stated that one of the forms preferred by satan to appear to men is that of a mysterious dog or cat or billy-goat.

Judas already a prey to terror brought about his crime, being convinced that he belonged to satan because of his crime, saw satan in that stray animal.

He who is guilty, sees shadows of fear in everything. It is his conscience that creates them. Then Satan instigates such shadows, which might still bring a heart to repent, and turns them into horrible ghosts that lead to despair. And despair leads to the last crime: suicide.

What is the use of throwing away the price of the betrayal, when such deprivation is only the fruit of wrath and is not corroborated by a righteous will of repentance?

Only in such case the act of divesting oneself of the fruits of evil deeds becomes meritorious. But he did not do that. A useless sacrifice. […]

[Judas] did not want. Meditate on the power of free will, of which you are the absolute arbiters.

Through it you can have Heaven or Hell. Meditate on what persisting in sin means.

Maria Valtorta: The Poem of The Man-God

Evaluation of the Work of Maria Valtorta by Padre Livio Fanzaga, Catholic priest (Radio Maria):”So I would say just that, dear friends, because I read The Poem of the Man-God, three times, 5 volumes ( CEV, ed), and then I am able to evaluate it in its complexity and its value, I feel like saying, dear friends, I do not know any more commentary on the Gospel more orthodox, more uplifting, more stimulating than this, and I would like, dear friends, that all of you would accept the invitation from the Virgin Mary to read this books because it’s all true (They do not contain errors against faith and morals of the Catholic Church…) . Then read these books, my dear friends, because we would surely gain great benefits for your souls. It is not difficult to get them, and they do not cost a lot, 5 books that can be for you an indispensable spiritual nourishment “

Content taken from the works of Maria Valtorta with the permission of the “Centro Editoriale Valtortiano Srl”- Viale Piscicelli, 89/91 – 03036 Isola del Liri, (FR – Italy), www.mariavaltorta.com, which has all the rights upon Valtorta’s Works.