True and false Gifts of Supernatural

(CEV) “The Notebooks 1945-1950”, p. 178
Jesus says: “You would not regard it as bad. if a good father said to you, ‘Give me your hand and I’ll guide you along the bumpy path,’ or ‘Do you see, my son? This flower, this berry is not good. It seems to be, but it’s not. Never taste them, then. They contain harmful fluids.’

[…]. You belong to my array: the array of those lacking malice who at heart are defenseless against the crafty world and Satan, extremely crafty in his works. It is a glory. But it is also a continuous danger. And I give special help to these defenseless ones precisely because they are such, so that they will not be deceived by lying appearances.

You must not measure the supernatural entirely in one way. The supernatural is everything which lies beyond the natural world. Isn’t that so? But in the supernatural, the extranatural, there are two currents, two rivers: the one coming from God and the one coming from the Enemy of God.

Phenomena, when taken externally and superficially, are almost identical, for Satan is able to simulate God, with the perfection of evil.

But one sign of those who are mine is the deep peace and the order found in the phenomena and communicating themselves to those who are present; another sign is the incrementing of the natural faculties of intelligence and memory, for the heavenly supernatural is always Grace, and Grace augments man’s natural faculties, too, so as to be remembered exactly in its manifestations.

In the phenomena which are not mine, on the other hand, there is always an effusion of something which disturbs or diminishes the habitual supernatural seriousness by prompting curiosity, that sense of breezy, empty interest you get when you go to a show at a theater, a show with jugglers and the like. In phenomena which are not mine there is always disorder. After the cracking of blinding rockets, there is smoke and mist taking away the purity of the previously existing light, and you have thus seen and heard, but afterwards cannot remember anything with complete precision and fall into contradictions, even unwillingly. Satan, with his long-nailed hand, stirs and stirs to deride and exhaust.

Finally, a very exact sign appears in subjects themselves. The action of a being always corresponds to my action in a being. Let me explain. When I instruct, everything is changed in the one instructed. There enters into him a zealous hurry to do what I say, and not in slow phases of elevation, as observed in ordinary desires to be sanctified; rather, in swift, but enduring movements, the soul rises and changes from what it was into what I want it to be.

These are the souls seized by ‘good will.’ It grinds them and destroys all that was past, all that was the previous self and recomposes them in the new form according to my model. They are the tireless artificers of their immortal selves. They see they are changing for the better. But they are never content with the degree of goodness attained and work to arrive at greater perfection. Not because of their pride, but out of love for Me.

In the souls that, in a contrary sense, are false contemplatives and false instruments, this untiring metamorphosis is lacking. In that case, as followers of Satan, they feed on and delight in what they have.

And sometimes, at the beginning, they really received a gift from Me. They cradle themselves in the pride of being ‘something.’ And this ‘something’ grows day by day like an overfed animal. Indeed, it overfeeds on pride which Satan silently and abundantly showers around them.

This ‘something’ gets big, big and monstrous.

Yes, monstrous. It is a monster because it loses its primitive appearance -mine- and takes on a Satanic appearance.

They put on a halo of false lights. They exploit more or less relative celebrity to crown themselves. And they contemplate themselves. They say, ‘I am taken care of. I have now gotten there!’ And they go blind that way, to the point where they cannot see what they are.

And they go deaf that way, to the point where they cannot distinguish the different voices speaking in them. Mine is so different from Satan’s! But they no longer hear it. And as I withdraw, Satan gives them what they want: forms of vanity. And they array themselves with these….

What can God do with these people desirous of Evil who prefer an iridescent robe, illuminations, and applause to the cross, nakedness, thorns, concealment, and assiduous work within and around themselves in Goodness and for their own and others’ good? What should God do with these mountebanks of sanctity, entirely caught up in idle stories and lies?

God withdraws. He abandons them to the father of Deceit and Darkness. And they take pleasure in the gifts Satan gives them as a reward for their action. They profess to be ‘saints’ because they see they succeed in matters which are extranatural. They do not know that they are born of their pride, which Satan feeds. And they do not improve, you know? They do not. Even if they apparently do not regress, it is clear to even the most superficial that they do not improve.

[…] Be careful with the multicolored glistening which dissolves into mist! I always leave light and concrete, orderly, clear elements.

Watch out for the false saints, who are more injurious to my triumph than all the open sinners. The holy supernatural exists. I inspire it. It should be accepted and believed. But let every jar upon which there is written ‘Oil of Supernatural Wisdom’ not be accepted at first sight or every closed book upon which there is written ‘God is here.’ Be sure that a hellish stench does not emerge from the former and heretical formulas do not emerge from the latter. Also observe the outside of the vase and the book, where and how it likes to remain.

To use figurative language, observe whether it is humble on being approached and active to an extreme degree in terms of holiness. If you see that its evolution towards Goodness is slow or entirely lacking, open your eyes. Open them twice if you see in this soul pleasure at being noticed. Open them three, ten, or seventy times if you find it to be proud and deceitful. “Peace be with you, […]”

Maria Valtorta: The Notebooks

“These Notebooks belong to a category of mystical literature which the Catholic Church has long been familiar with: that of so-called “private revelations.” A private revelation is not binding for the faith of Christians, but its value is to be measured by its capacity to instruct and inflame souls, spurring them to love God more and apply divine teachings to their everyday lives. In the confidence—and the conviction—that this work superabounds in these inspired qualities, we offer it for the spiritual nourishment of readers. —David Murray

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.