On April 23, 1943, Good Friday, Maria Valtorta received the first of a series of “dictations” - mainly attributed to Christ, but also, on occasion, to God the Father, the Holy Spirit, Mary, and other figures associated with Divine Revelation1 - which would extend over a number of years, largely coinciding with the period in which, in response to Christ’s invitation, she contemplated and wrote in narrative form all of the major episodes connected with the life of the Redeemer.2
This new phase in her human and, above all, spiritual development did not appear abruptly, but had been preceded by many years of progressive union with Christ, culminating in an act of personal self-sacrifice whereby Maria Valtorta had offered herself as a “victim soul” desirous of cooperating with the work of redemption.3
Bedridden as a result of serious and growing infirmity, virtually cut off from normal social life, and generally not understood by those immediately in contact with her, under the insistent touch of inspiration she blossomed into a prolific writer, always maintaining, however, that the content of her “dictated” or revealed works, was not a literary creation of her own, but that she was merely a willing instrument in the hands of God and wrote down what she heard or saw.
The magnitude of her production and the sources to which it is attributed present us with an extraordinary spiritual event in this century which warrants attentive consideration.
The body of her works is entirely sealed by an intense perception of “Catholicity”- what it means to be a Catholic believer at this stage in history, with a lively awareness of the twenty centuries of Christianity which have already transpired and of the challenges which now face the Church and all mankind.
The Notebooks grouped together in this volume were all written in 1943, in the midst of the world war (two other volumes have been published in Italian, including texts from 1944 and from the 1945-1950 period, respectively). They thus reflect an acute, and sometimes agonizing, consciousness on the part of the writer of Italy’s involvement in the war and of the human and spiritual errors which contributed to it. This concern of hers provided a backdrop for certain observations by Christ on such subjects as the abuse of power, the diabolical dimensions of war, and the loss of Christian faith among large sectors of the population. But it would be wrong to limit the context to this historical period alone, for the volume also contains numerous passages with an explicitly prophetic content dealing, for example, with impending ecological imbalances in the world, bloody conflicts, and the apocalyptic battle between Good and Evil as presented not only in the Book of Revelation, but in terms of new applications of passages contained in the Old Testament prophets. A comprehensive vision of the Last Times is thus provided, with particular reference to the mission of the Vicar of Christ and of all convinced Christians in conveying the Redeemer’s life and teachings and in sharing his human and heavenly destiny - both sufferings and glorification - to the full.
One of the keynotes of these texts is the fusion of Christ’s forcefulness in affirming his Divine Sonship and unique role in time and eternity with his tenderness in approaching troubled souls and patiently seeking to raise them to faith, hope, and love through his self-sacrificing humility and their cooperation. He repeatedly insists on the need for all believers - and religious attitudes themselves - to be purified and freed from dross, especially in the case of priests, who are responsible for the welfare of many souls and who must, therefore, be Christ-like in their action. Love and pain, when joined to Christ in deep personal prayer, are the two wings enabling lowly mankind to take flight towards union with the Holy Trinity.
The presence of Mary also forms part of this work, sometimes by way of teachings and intimate confidences about her life with Christ and, on occasion, in special contemplations of her holiness and supernatural maternity.
The Holy Spirit briefly, but emphatically, manifests Himself as dynamic Love in Person, clasping the Father and the Son in a single embrace and acting throughout creation.
Another major theme of the work is the primacy of the “spirit,” capable of participating in the life of the Divinity, over the “soul” and the “body” in the human structure. The earthly person must respect the spirit’s “right” to holiness, to the possession of God made possible by the Redeemer, and act in accordance with the supernatural longings the spirit experiences. Those who fail to do so, silencing the spirit and contravening its inclinations, are guilty of “slaying” it, depriving both God and themselves of mutual joy in beatitude.
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.
Rome David G. Murray
August 28, 1996
1 The commentaries attributed to her guardian angel have already been published in English as The Book of Azariah (Isola del Liri, Italy: Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, 1993), translated by David G. Murray.
2 Published in English in five volumes as The Poem of the Man-God (Isola del Liri, Italy: Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, 1986-1990), translated by Nicandro Picozzi. A new edition is planned on.
3 Cf. Maria Valtorta, Autobiography (Isola del Liri, Italy: Centro Editoriale Valtortiano, 1991), translated by David G. Murray.