fr-Chapter 33 - Man and Woman, Parents and Children, Marriage and Family

The Relationship Between Man and Woman

1. Even before you came to earth, I already knew your life's path and your inclinations, and to assist you on your life's journey, I placed on your path a heart that would illuminate the way through its love for you. This heart was both that of a man and that of a woman. In this way, I wanted to give you a help so that you might become a pillar of faith, moral strength, and mercy for those who need it. (256, 55)

2. I wanted to let you share in the joy of being a father, and so I made you parents of human beings, so that you might give form to beings who resemble you and into whom the souls I send you would incarnate. Since there is maternal love in the Divine and Eternal— —I wanted there to be a being in human life who embodies it, and that being is the woman.

3. In the beginning, the human being was divided into two parts, and thus the two sexes were created: one—the man, the other—the woman; in him, strength, intelligence, and dignity; in her, tenderness, grace, and beauty. One is the seed, the other is the fertile earth. Behold here two beings who can only feel complete, perfect, and happy when united. In their harmony, they will form a single "flesh," a single will, and a single ideal.

4. When this union is inspired by the Spirit and by love, it is called marriage. (38:29–31)

5. Truly, I tell you: I see that in this age, men and women have strayed from their path.

6. I see men who do not fulfill their obligations; women who shirk motherhood; and others who encroach upon the domains intended for men, even though it was told to you in ancient times that the man is the head of the woman.

7. The woman should not feel neglected because of this; for now I tell you that the woman is the heart of the man.

8. Behold, this is why I have instituted and sanctified marriage. For in the union of these two beings, who are spiritually equal but physically different, lies the perfect state. (66, 68, 69)

9. How few there are who seek to live in the paradise of peace, light, and harmony by fulfilling the divine laws with love.

10. The path that humanity has traveled is very long, yet they still prefer to eat the forbidden fruits, which only accumulate suffering and disappointment in their lives. Forbidden fruits are those that, though good because God created them, can become harmful to humans if they have not prepared themselves properly or consume them in excess.

11. Man and woman take the fruit of life without preparation and do not recognize their responsibility toward the Creator when they conceive new beings for incarnation on Earth. (34, 12-14)

12. Some ask Me: "Lord, is human love perhaps unacceptable and abhorrent to You, and do You approve only of spiritual love?"

13. No, people. Although the highest and purest feelings of love belong to the spirit, I also placed a heart within the human body so that the heart might love, and I gave it feelings so that through them the heart might love everything that surrounds it.

14. Love whose roots lie solely in the physical realm is characteristic of irrational beings, because they lack a conscience to illuminate their path. Furthermore, I tell you that good unions always bear good fruit, and souls of light will incarnate within them. (127, 7-8, 10)

15. I do not demand superhuman sacrifices from you. I have neither called upon the man to cease being a man in order to follow Me, nor have I demanded of the woman that she cease being a woman in order to fulfill a spiritual task. I have not separated the husband from his wife, nor have I removed her from her husband so that she might serve Me; nor have I told parents that they must abandon their children or give up their work in order to follow Me.

16. To both, I made it clear when I made them "workers in this vineyard" that—in order to be My servants—they do not cease to be human, and that they must therefore understand how to give to God what is God's, and to the world what is due to it. (133, 55–56)

The Nature and Duty of Man

17. To you men I have granted an inheritance, a treasure: a wife entrusted to you to love and care for. And yet your companion has come to Me and has complained and wept before Me because of your lack of understanding.

18. I have told you that you are strong, that you were created "in My image and likeness." Yet I have not commanded you to humiliate the woman and make her your slave.

19. I have made you strong so that you may represent Me in your home: strong in virtue and in talent; and I have given you a woman as a companion to complement your earthly life, so that in mutual love you may find the strength to face trials and the vicissitudes of fate. (6, 61)

20. Consider, men, that it was often you who brought virtuous women down into your snares by seeking out their sensitive and vulnerable sides. But you must restore those mirrors—which were once clear but are now clouded—so that they may once again reflect the purity and beauty of their souls.

21. Why do you despise today the very ones whom you once led into a life of depravity? Why do you lament the degeneration of women? Understand that if you had guided them along the path of My Law—which is the law of the heart and the spirit, of respect and love for one's neighbor—by loving them with the love that uplifts, and not with the passion that degrades, you would have no reason to weep and lament, and they would not have fallen.

22. Men seek and expect virtue and beauty in women. Yet why do you demand what you do not deserve?

23. I see that you still believe you have great merits, though you have few. Rebuild with your deeds, words, and thoughts what you have destroyed, and give honor, morality, and virtue the value they deserve.

24. If you strive in this way, men, you will assist Jesus in His work of salvation, and your hearts will be filled with joy when you see homes honored by good wives and virtuous mothers. Your joy will be great when you see that virtue returns to those who had lost it.

25. Salvation is for all. Why should not even the greatest sinner be saved? Therefore, I say to you, men: Work with Me to save those whom you have led to ruin, by instilling in them new hope with the light of My teaching. Let My loving thoughts reach their minds and hearts. Bring My messages to them even in prisons and hospitals, even to the places of the mire. For there they will weep with remorse and pain because they were not strong enough when the world, with its temptations, drew them into ruin.

26. Every woman was once a child; every woman was once a virgin; therefore, you could reach her heart with empathy.

27. I will make use of those men who have not defiled these virtues, and entrust this task to them. Remember that I have told you: "By your works you will be known." Allow the soul to speak through the earthly form.

28. But to those who were not willing to respect the charms I placed in that being, I say: Why do you say that you love, when what you feel is not love? Why do you cause others to fall, and nothing stops you? Consider: What would your heart feel if what you do to those defoliated flowers were done to your mother, your sister, or to your beloved and therefore respected wife? Have you ever thought of the wounds you have inflicted on the parents of those whom they raised with so much love?

29. Ask your heart, in a true examination of conscience, whether one can reap what one has not sown.

30. What are you preparing for your future life if you constantly hurt your neighbors? How many will be your victims? What will be your end? Truly, I tell you, you have made many victims in the whirlwind of your passions; some belong to your present and others to your past.

31. I want the heart and the mouth, which have been a refuge of faithlessness and lies, to become a refuge of truth and chaste love.

32. Illuminate the path of your neighbors through the Word and your example, so that you may be the saviors of fallen women. Oh, if only each of you would save at least one!

33. Do not speak ill of that woman, for the hurtful word that wounds one will wound all who hear it—for from that moment on, they too will become evil judges.

34. Respect the actions and secrets of others, for it is not your place to judge them. I prefer men who have fallen into sin and whom I will raise up again to hypocrites who put on a show of purity and yet sin. I prefer a great sinner who is sincere to the pretense of false virtue. If you wish to adorn yourselves, let it be with the festive garments of sincerity.

35. If you find a virtuous woman of noble sentiments and feel unworthy to approach her, even though you love her, and if you then humiliate and despise her, and, after suffering and recognizing your fault, turn to her to find comfort, you will knock in vain at her door.

36. If all the women who have played a role in every man's life had received from him the words and feelings of love, respect, and understanding, your world would not be at the height of sin that it is. (235, 18–32)

The Woman, Wife, and Mother

37. Women, it is you who, through your prayer, preserve the little peace that exists on earth—you who, as faithful guardians of the home, ensure that it does not lack the warmth of love. In this way, you unite yourselves with Mary, your Mother, to break human pride. (130, 53)

38. Women, you who wet the path of this world with your tears and mark your journey through this life with blood: Rest with Me, so that you may gain new strength and continue to be the refuge of love, the fire of the hearth, the strong foundation of the home that I have entrusted to you on earth. So that you may continue to be the lark whose wings shelter your husband and children. I bless you.

39. I exalt the man and the woman's place at the man's right hand. I sanctify marriage and bless the family.

40. In this time, I come with the sword of love to set all things right, for they have previously been displaced by man. (217, 29-31)

41. Truly, I tell you, human renewal must begin with the woman, so that her fruits—who will be the people of tomorrow—may be free from the blemishes that have led you to degeneration.

42. Afterward, it will be up to the man to contribute his part to this work of restoration; for everyone who has corrupted a woman will have to set her aright again.

43. Today I have inspired you to save the woman who has stumbled on her path; and when you then present to Me the one you have saved, I will give her a flower, a blessing, and great peace, so that she may not fall again.

44. If you fulfill this task in this way, those beings who have been wounded by the world will feel the love of Jesus entering their hearts.

45. I will hear it when they say to Me in their prayer: "My Father, do not look upon my sin; look only upon my pain. Do not judge my depravity; look only upon my suffering." At that moment, My consolation will descend upon that tormented heart, and it will be cleansed with tears. If only you knew that the sinner's prayer is felt more deeply than that of the proud one who considers himself righteous and pure. (235, 16–17, 43–45)

46. People show few signs or characteristics of the love with which I have given you life. Of all human emotions, the one most similar to divine love is maternal love, for in it there is selflessness, self-denial, and the desire to make the child happy, even if it requires sacrifice. (242, 39)

47. To you barren women, the Master says: You have longed and prayed for your womb to become a source of life, and you have hoped that one evening or one morning you would hear the beating of a tender heart within you. But the days and nights have passed, and only sobs have escaped your breasts, because no child has knocked at your door.

48. How many of you who hear Me, and who have been robbed of all hope by science, will have to become fertile so that you may believe in My power, and many may recognize Me through this miracle. Watch and be patient. Do not forget My words! (38, 42-43)

The Upbringing of Children and Youth

49. Fathers of families, avoid mistakes and bad examples. I do not demand perfection from you, only love and care for your children. Prepare yourselves spiritually and physically, for in the hereafter great legions of souls await the moment to become human among you.

50. I desire a new humanity that grows not only in number but also in virtue, so that people may see the promised city drawing near and their children may attain to dwell in the New Jerusalem.

51. I want the earth to be filled with people of good will, who are the fruits of love.

52. Destroy the Sodom and Gomorrah of this age; do not allow your hearts to grow accustomed to their sins, and do not imitate their inhabitants. (38:44–47)

53. Zealously show your children the way; teach them to fulfill the laws of the Spirit and of matter; and if they violate them, rebuke them, for you, as parents, represent Me on earth. Remember then Jesus, who, filled with holy wrath, taught the merchants of Jerusalem a lesson for all time by defending the cause of God, the immutable laws. (41, 57)

54. Today you are no longer little children and can understand the meaning of My teachings. You also know that your soul did not come into being at the same time as the body you possess, and that the origin of one is not that of the other. Those little children whom you cradle in your arms carry innocence in their hearts, yet in their souls they harbor a past that is at times longer and more calamitous than that of their own parents. How great is the responsibility of those who are to nurture those hearts, so that their souls may make progress on their path of development.

55. Therefore, do not look upon your children with any less love. Consider that you do not know who they are, nor what they have done. Rather, increase your care and love for them, and thank your Father for having placed His mercy within you to make you guides and counselors to your spiritual brothers and sisters, for whom you are temporarily parents in regard to their bodies and blood. (56, 31-32)

56. I tell fathers that just as they care for their children's material future, they should also care for their spiritual future, because of the mission they brought into the world in this regard. (81, 64)

57. Know that when the soul incarnates, it brings all its abilities with it, that its destiny is already written, and that it therefore has nothing in the world that it must first receive. It brings a message or a task of atonement. Sometimes it reaps a (good) harvest, and at other times it pays a debt. But in this life it always receives a lesson in love from its Father.

58. You who guide your children through this life, ensure that when the time of childlike innocence has passed, they walk the path of My Law. Awaken their feelings, reveal their abilities to them, and always encourage them toward the good; and truly, I tell you, whoever you lead to Me in this way will be flooded with the light that radiates from that divine fire which is My love. (99, 64–65)

59. Spiritually, you have already traveled a long way, and now you are amazed at the intuition and development that the new generations reveal from their earliest childhood. For these are souls who have experienced much and now return to lead humanity forward—some on the paths of the Spirit and others on the paths of the world, according to their abilities and their mission. Yet in all of them, people will find inner peace. These beings of whom I speak to you will be your children. (220, 14)

60. Do you think that a child, faced with the bad example of an earthly father who is depraved or malicious, commits a fault if he does not follow his way of life? Or do you think that the child is obligated to follow in his parents' footsteps?

61. Truly, I tell you, it is conscience and reason that should guide you onto the right path. (271, 33-34)

62. Blessed innocence is infected by the corruption of the world; the youth follow its path at a breathtaking pace, and even the virgins have lost modesty, chastity, and decency. All these virtues have vanished from their hearts. They have nourished worldly passions and crave only the pleasures that lead them to ruin.

63. I speak to you with complete clarity so that you may set out and take a firm step in the development of your soul. (344, 48)

64. Kindle in the youth a love for their neighbor; give them great and noble ideals, for it will be the youth who tomorrow will fight to achieve an existence in which justice, love, and the sacred freedom of the spirit shine forth. Prepare yourselves, for the great battle of which the prophecies speak has not yet come. (139, 12)

A Word to the Children and Virgins

65. You, souls of children, all have a Divine Father in Me, and if I have given you human parents in material life, it was so that they might give life to your body and represent your Heavenly Father to you. I have told you: "You shall love God more than all created things," and I have added: "You shall honor your father and your mother." Therefore, do not neglect your duties. If you have not gratefully acknowledged your parents' love, and you still have them in this world, then bless them and acknowledge their merits. (9, 19)

66. On this day I speak especially to the young women who tomorrow must brighten the life of a new home with their presence; they should know that the heart of the wife and that of the mother are lights that illuminate that sanctuary, just as the Spirit illuminates the inner temple.

67. Prepare yourselves for this now, so that your new life does not take you by surprise; prepare now the path upon which your children will walk—those souls who await the hour to approach your womb to take on form and human life, to fulfill a mission.

68. Be my collaborators in my plans of restoration, in my work of renewal and justice.

69. Turn away from the many temptations that lie in wait for your steps in this time. Pray for the sinful cities, where so many women are perishing, where so many sanctuaries are being desecrated, and where so many lamps are going out.

70. Through your example, spread the seed of life, truth, and light, which puts a stop to the consequences of humanity's lack of spiritualization.

71. Virgins of this people: Awaken and prepare yourselves for battle! Do not be blinded by the passions of the heart; do not let yourselves be dazzled by the unreal. Unleash your gifts of intuition, inspiration, your sensitivity, and your tenderness. Become strong in the truth, and you will have equipped yourselves with your best weapons to face the struggle of this life.

72. To pass on love through your blood, to support your children with the essence of life—which is the love of which I speak so much to you—you must first experience it, allow yourselves to be permeated by it, and feel it deeply. This is what My teaching seeks to accomplish in your hearts. (307, 31–36)

Marriage and Family

73. The law of marriage came down as a light speaking through the spirit of the patriarchs, so that they might recognize that the union of man and woman signifies a covenant with the Creator. The fruit of this union is the child, in whom the blood of his parents flows together as proof that what is joined before God must not be separated on earth.

74. The joy that the father and mother feel when they have brought a child into the world is similar to that which the Creator experienced when He became a Father by giving life to His beloved children. When I later gave you laws through Moses so that you might know how to choose a spouse and not covet your neighbor's wife, it was because people had strayed, through their free will, onto the paths of adultery and passion .

75. After that time had passed, I came into the world as Jesus and exalted marriage—and with it, human morality and virtue—through My benevolent teaching, which is always the law of love. I spoke in parables to make My Word unforgettable, and I made marriage a sacred institution.

76. Now that I am among you once more, I ask you, men and women: What have you made of marriage? How few can answer this satisfactorily! My sacred institution has been desecrated; death and pain spring from that source of life. On the pure white of this scroll of law are the stains and marks of man and woman. The fruit that should be sweet is bitter, and the cup that people drink is full of gall.

77. You are straying from My laws, and when you stumble, you ask yourselves in fear: Why is there so much pain? Because the desires of the flesh have always drowned out the voice of conscience. Now I ask you: Why do you have no peace, even though I have given you everything necessary to be happy?

78. I have spread a blue mantle across the vault of heaven so that you might build your "love nests" beneath it, so that there, far from the temptations and entanglements of the world, you might live with the simplicity of birds; for in simplicity and in sincere prayer one can feel the peace of My Kingdom and the revelation of many mysteries.

79. Everyone who unites in marriage before My Divinity—even if their union is not confirmed by a clergyman—enters into a covenant with Me, a contract that remains recorded in the Book of God, in which all destinies are written.

80. Who can erase these two intertwined names from there? Who in the world can dissolve what has been united in My Law?

81. If I were to separate you, I would destroy my own work. If you have asked Me to be united on earth, and I have granted it to you—why then do you not keep your vows and renounce your oaths? Is this not a mockery of my law and my name? (38, 32–37, 39–41)

82. I have spoken to the heart of the woman, mother, and wife who did not know how to preserve purity in her heart, nor was she able to give her life partner and children the warmth of tenderness and understanding.

83. How could men and women elevate their spiritual lives if they have not first corrected the grave errors that exist in their human lives?

84. My work requires that its disciples know how to bear witness to it through the sincerity and truthfulness of their actions in their lives.

85. To both of you I ask: Do you have children? Then have mercy on them. If you could but glimpse their souls for a single moment, you would feel unworthy to call yourselves their parents. Do not set a bad example for them; be careful not to raise your voices in the presence of the children.

86. I know that in this age, more than ever before, there are problems within marriages—problems for which those involved find only one solution: separation, divorce.

87. If people possessed the necessary spiritual knowledge, they would not commit such grave errors, for they would find in prayer and spiritualization the inspiration to resolve the most difficult entanglements and to pass the hardest trials.

88. My light reaches all hearts, even those that are sorrowful and downcast, to give them new courage to face life. (312, 36 42)

89. In the "Second Era," I entered the homes of many married couples who had been wed according to the Law of Moses, and do you know how I found many of them? Quarrelling, destroying the seed of peace, love, and trust. I saw enmity and discord in their hearts, at their table, and in their bed.

90. I also entered the homes of many who—without their marriage having been confirmed by the law—loved one another and lived as the larks do in their nest, cherishing and protecting their little darling.

91. How many there are who live under one and the same roof and yet do not love one another, and since they do not love one another, they are not united but spiritually separated! Yet they do not reveal their division, for fear of divine punishment or human laws or the judgment of society; yet this is no marriage; among these people there is neither fellowship nor truthfulness.

92. Nevertheless, they put on a show of their false togetherness, visit families and churches, go for walks, and the world does not condemn them because they know how to conceal their lack of love. How many, on the other hand, who love one another must hide, conceal their true unity, and endure a lack of understanding and injustices.

93. Humanity has not evolved sufficiently to see through things and judge the life of one's neighbor correctly. Those who hold the of spiritual and worldly laws do not apply true justice to punish such cases.

94. But those times of understanding and insight that I announce to you, in which humanity will be perfected, will come, and then you will experience, as in the times of the patriarchs before Moses, that the union of lovers takes place just as I have done today with my children: in a spiritual manner. So will you also do in those future times: in the presence of the parents of those who are to unite, of friends and relatives, in the greatest spirituality, brotherhood, and joy. (357, 25–27)